Summary: Charlie was comforted in his belief that sending his coworker's research to Pakistan was the right thing for humanity, but what Charlie didn't contemplate was one of the professors he sent the research to having less than savory ties. When Charlie comes face to face with the unintended consequences of his actions, he struggles with how to move forward. Told mainly from Don's perspective.
A/N: So this is my first fanfiction- please be gentle. I always thought that Charlie got off too easy when the whole "When Worlds Collide" episode and story arch started. Things could have easily gone very wrong and this is "that" story. The show has always teased with the theme of Charlie's innocence and naivety vs. his brother's world, and this story tries to play that out a bit. Told mainly from Don's point of view
Disclaimer: The usual disclaimers apply. I don't own anything from Numb3rs and I'm not making any money from this.
Warning: No beta, but I did my best! Mostly language
Don was relived, more so than he cared to admit. It seemed that Charlie's recent brush with law… hell Don thought, more like Charlie's recent blatant disregard for the law… had been resolved. It had been a brutal week, all starting with his kid brother surrendering to authorities for sending unauthorized information to professors in Pakistan. Don shook his head as he collapsed onto his California King, too tired to move. And they called him the stubborn one he thought. Charlie has been so confident that what he was doing was the right thing that he put his entire career in jeopardy. What aggravated Don even more was that Charlie didn't seem to realize what his actions could mean for Don's job. Instead, Charlie did what Charlie thought best, acting as though he had the monopoly on morals in this situation. Don sympathized for what Charlie was trying to accomplish, he really did, but Charlie had no grasp on the potential consequences of his actions and was seemingly unwilling to accept the fact that there may be people out there that know better than him on threats to the homeland, including his own brother.
And that was just the beginning of his week.
His crack team of FBI agents had been working around the clock after two rock climbers had been found murdered over some shiny rocks, which ended with Don being chased through the mountains by three perps with guns. To top it all off, his "brain box" as Agent Edgerton had so artfully put it, had almost been blown off. If it hadn't been for Charlie … his brainiac brother whom he loved but wanted to throttle lately… the FBI would have still been picking up brain matter.
Don propped an extra pillow under his head and closed his eyes, trying to fend off the headache he knew that was coming. Edgerton had flown to CalSci and hauled Charlie out of there and put him on the case when Don had gone missing on the mountain, overlooking the minor detail that Charlie was sans security clearance. Don sighed; Edgerton had always been one to skirt the rules when it suited him. And this was one time Don was very glad he did. Even though he was aggravated with his brother, Don knew somewhere really REALLY deep down that they needed Charlie, though he wouldn't be admitting that out loud anytime soon.
Drifting to thoughts of Charlie's hearing, Don felt a little bad about the fact that there had been a brief moment where he had hoped the Judge would throw the book at his brother. Charlie had stepped way out of line this time, and part of Don wanted Charlie to have to own up to it.
"Professor Eppes," the Judge had railed. "If it were up to me you would be sitting in a jail cell right now with a long time to think about what you did, but you have made a few friends along the way that have asked me to take into consideration the work you have done." The Judge then read off the names of those that had submitted affidavits on Charlie's behalf. The list was long, including one Agent Ian Edgerton. Both Charlie and Don's heads had snapped up at the mention of the sniper's name. Don wasn't even aware that Ian had known about the hearing, but then again he wasn't really surprised, it was Edgerton after all. Ian had developed a soft spot for the curly haired professor. Don thought it was a mixture of amusement and appreciation. Charlie had grown to think of Ian as a friend, a title not many would bestow upon the feared sniper, and Ian seemed to have accepted Charlie's "voodoo" and a useful tool, along with his eccentricities. An odd pairing indeed thought Don.
Many of the affidavits the Judge ran through cited the fact that though Charlie had a somewhat irrational idealistic view of things, Charlie had provided invaluable assistance in numerous cases involving homeland security, and contributed to the Country's safety. "Irrational view?" Charlie began to mutter. Don threw a poignant look in his brother's direction and appreciated that Charlie has enough sense to catch it and close his mouth. "So" the Judge continued slowly, as if daring Charlie to speak, "this Court has begrudgingly accepted the offer of probation, but if you so much as sneeze in the wrong direction Professor Eppes, you will never set foot in a post office without me knowing about it. You will kiss your clearance and any hope of working with the Government ever again goodbye, do I make myself clear?" Charlie shook his curls in the affirmative "yes your honor."
As Don drifted off, he knew that they had gotten lucky. What Charlie had done could have easily gone bad. His brother had always been sheltered from the world, and Don had tried to protect Charlie's innocence in many ways. But Don knew that Charlie's naivety could end up costing them one day, especially when Charlie was playing in Don's world.