Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or profit from it. I do own the two new characters, Ben & Maggie. I know a lot of people don't like stories with original characters, so be forewarned. Also, this story was written before season 3, so Charlie has not yet invented the curvelet analysis he uses in the episode "Provenance."

Chapter 1

I have to admit that my first day as a visiting professor at CalSci was more than a little scary. My husband, Ben, and I had arrived from the east coast the day before, and were still getting acclimated to the time change, the weather, the traffic, and the new (to us) campus. We were scheduled to address a meeting of the faculty to introduce our new program. If the program was as well-received by Cal Sci's mathematicians and scientists as it had been by Upstate New York Art Institute's artists, we were in for a long semester.

My plan was to let Ben do the talking. His doctorate, his academic credentials and his intellect teamed with his British accent to make anything he said sound a lot more impressive. Unfortunately, he had been waylaid and had sent me into the lion's den to find seats for us. About halfway down the auditorium I found two aisle seats next to a pair of professors engaged in an animated discussion.

"Excuse me," I said when they didn't appear to notice me right away. "Are these seats taken?"

The nearer one, a very young looking man with a shock of black curls, looked up and smiled. "No, they're not. Have a seat. I'm Charlie Eppes."

"Hi, Charlie. I'm Maggie Cole."

"Maggie, this is Larry Fleinhardt. He's in the physics department, and I'm in applied mathematics. What's your field?"

"Hi, Larry. I'm in art history and museology." Two sets of eyebrows raised, as I knew they would. "My husband and I are here for a semester to develop a program between our two schools. We're hoping to develop art electives that are more meaningful to mathematicians and scientists than the traditional courses. And we're hoping to find someone from Cal Sci to develop math and science electives for our art students."

Larry nodded. "That makes a great deal of sense. You know, Einstein said, 'After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well."

"And I think there needs to be something of the scientist in the artist, as well," I added. "Though my last excursion into the field of science was a college physics class called 'The Physics of Light and Color,' which we nicknamed 'Physics for Artists.'"

"Did you enjoy the class?" Larry asked.

"I have to admit, I did."

"And yet you were not persuaded to abandon art and turn your energies to the sciences."

"No, but I consider myself a better artist because of it."

Ben slipped into the seat beside me. I turned and gave him a quick one-armed hug. "Larry Fleinhardt, Charlie Eppes, this is my husband, Ben Cole. Ben, Larry is a physics professor and Charlie is a math professor."

Ben reached across me to shake hands. "Hullo, Larry and Charlie. Say, Charlie, are you the Eppes of the Eppes Convergence?"

Charlie beamed. "Why, yes, I am. Are you familiar with my work?"

Ben looked mildly embarrassed. "No, not really. You were in the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle this week."

Larry smiled at Charlie. "Very impressive, Charles! You're becoming part of the culture."

A no-nonsense woman stood at the podium and called the meeting to order. I believe her name was Dr. Wilson. She conducted a great deal of business that held no interest at all for me, and finally announced our presence. "I would like to introduce two visiting faculty members, Dr. Bennington Cole and Ms. Maggie Cole. They are here as part of a special cooperative program between Cal Sci and their home college, the Upstate New York Art Institute. Dr. Cole is a respected art historian with degrees from Oxford, the Sorbonne and Heidelberg. He is a recognized authority on the impressionists, especially Monet, and has published several books in his field. Ms. Cole is a lecturer on museum science and will be teaching drawing and painting classes here. But I'll let them explain their program to you."

Ben and I took the stage to lukewarm applause. With the exception of our two new friends, it seemed that the reaction of most of the faculty members was somewhere between hostility and boredom. I was glad we had decided to let Ben do the talking. I could handle people in small doses, but crowds terrified me.

Ben took the podium and turned on the charm. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. We are honored to have been invited to present our program to you. I realize we represent a field of learning that is not of great interest to most of you. And I must say that you represent fields that are a mystery to us. Basically, our intention is to present the art electives your students are required to take for graduation in a manner that will be more meaningful to them. And I would hope that some time in the future, one or two of you might be willing to present science or math in such a way to our students.

"I will be teaching one section of art history as influenced by developments in the sciences, and one section of the use of scientific techniques to authenticate works of art. Maggie will be teaching two sections of drawing for scientists. Because these courses are new, Maggie and I will be presenting sample lectures here tomorrow afternoon at 2:00. We invite you to join us, and please bring your questions and concerns, to us any time. Our office, home address, phone numbers and email addresses are listed in the new faculty directory. Thank you."

We left the stage to slightly more enthusiastic applause. I couldn't help but wonder if they were applauding because Ben's talk was so short.

We slid into our seats. Charlie touched my arm and whispered, "Join us for coffee after the meeting?"

"Sounds good," I whispered.

He patted my arm consolingly. "Your program sounds interesting."

I leaned over to Ben and whispered, "Would you like to join Charlie and Larry for coffee after this?"

He nodded and whispered, "Though a good stiff drink might be more in line."

The meeting finally came to an end. A few of the faculty members came over to us and made polite noises, but most of them avoided us. Finally, we left the auditorium and walked toward a nearby coffee shop. Charlie and Larry seemed at a loss for words, which I imagined was rare for them. I decided to break the silence. "Well, that could have gone better. To be honest, that was about the same reaction we got at our school."

Larry said, "And yet you were determined to persevere."

Ben said, "We feel strongly that this approach will produce stronger, more well-rounded students at both of our institutions. Perhaps Maggie and I are just not the salesmen we thought we were."

We arrived at the coffee shop and Ben said, "I vote we table this discussion and just enjoy the rest of the day."

The coffee shop was a charming, rambling place with nooks, tables, booths and conversation pits. The menu, posted on whiteboards and blackboards on the walls behind the counter, proclaimed an impressive collection of coffees, teas and desserts. Charlie and Larry knew exactly what they wanted, so they ordered while Ben and I perused the menus. I finally settled on a chai tea latte and Ben chose a pot of Darjeeling. Charlie and Larry led us to a small cluster of loveseats with a coffee table in the middle.

Ben was pleased to learn that his teapot contained loose tea and there was a small strainer balanced on the lip of his cup. "Oh, finally! I despaired of ever finding a place over here that makes a proper cuppa."

Larry nodded. "Heat the pot by rinsing with boiling water. Place the leaves in the pot, and add the water – boiling for black teas, and slightly cooler for green or white teas. Steep for four minutes, and enjoy."

Charlie laughed. "Larry can wax eloquent on any subject."

Ben toasted Larry with his teacup. "A true Renaissance man, Dr. Fleinhardt! Have you applied your physics to the study of tea, then?"

"No, I spent a semester in Oxford. My landlady insisted that it was a key part of a well-rounded education."

"Right she was."

Charlie took advantage of the break when Larry and Ben sipped their drinks. "Ben, I was interested in your use of scientific techniques to authenticate works of art. Are you familiar with wavelet analysis?"

"Yes, the work of Dr. Hany Farid of Dartmouth, right? I've read his articles about his work with the works of Pieter Bruegel, but have never seen the process in person. And I'm afraid most of his math was beyond my understanding."

"I built on Farid's work to develop an algorithm that helped solve a forgery case for the FBI here."

"Really? A painting?"

"No, ten dollar bills, but the principle is the same."

"It most definitely is. I would love to see your work, Charlie."

Larry glanced at Charlie. "And I'm sure Charles would love to show it to you. He is so young, brilliant and full of himself."

Charlie gave Larry a mock scowl. "At the very least, I think I can explain wavelet analysis so you can understand it."

At that moment, a cell phone sounded loudly. Half the people in the coffee shop checked to see if it was theirs. It was Charlie's. "Hello?" he said, "Oh, hi, Don!... No, I'm in the coffee shop with Larry and a couple of visiting professors. Why?" His eyes widened as he listened. Suddenly he laughed. "Don, you have got to come meet us. You want to meet here or in my office?... Your office? Sure. I'll be bringing a couple of Monet experts with me, if that's okay with you."

He flipped his phone shut and picked up his coffee to take a long drink.

"Charles," Larry scolded. "You are being cruel. Tell us what Don wanted and why he needs two Monet experts."

"Well, first off, for Maggie and Ben's benefit, Don is my brother. He's an FBI agent, and I have been working as a consultant on some of his cases. He was involved in a raid on a drug warehouse, and they turned up a painting. He says they think it's a Monet. What an incredible coincidence!"

"I don't know, Charles. Do you believe in coincidences? And did you consider that our new friends might have other plans for the afternoon?"

Charlie looked chastened as he glanced from Ben to me. "I am sorry. Did you have other plans?"

Ben chuckled. "Nothing we couldn't postpone for a Monet, right, Dear?"