Acknowledgements:
Omi as always
The BTN8rs - with apologies
The Numb3rs dot org crew - since I did the whole alphabet inspired by their challenge
Disclaimers:
"A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend" - Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I do not own any Numb3rs characters nor do I have any rights to
anything related to the TV show Numb3rs. I plead fair use and claim
only my own writing and characters.
Seven Years.
Stockton hadn't been that far away, nor had college, so even though he hadn't lived at home since he was 18, Don had still felt like he never really left.
Then he got accepted into the FBI and left for Quantico and a new life far from California.
He'd seen a lot of the United States tracking fugitives with Billy and even owned a condo for a while with Kim in New Mexico.
But California was still home.
He'd driven his own car from New Mexico after having arranged to have the rest of his belongings shipped over.
Kim had cried when they'd split up, but even she had known long before he told her he was leaving that they would never wind up getting married.
Don swallowed hard and rubbed at his road weary eyes. He really did love her, he just knew he didn't love her enough. The fact that he'd come running back to California as soon as he found out his mother was sick was a good indicator.
Family came first, and Kim learned that that didn't mean the family she'd wanted to make with him.
His car drove down the exit of its own accord, driving on autopilot now that he was on familiar streets.
As he made the final turn to his family's street he put his stoic face back on. They were going through enough. They didn't need to hear about his problems as well.
He didn't see his father's car as he pulled into the driveway and he wondered if they were at the doctors getting an update. It could be good news, it could be bad news. A sick feeling lodged in the pit of Don's stomach. Cancer was already a hard diagnosis to take. The idea that things could get worse, that she might not make it...
Don pushed that thought from his head and walked up to the front door.
The door opened just before he reached for the knob and Charlie stood on the threshold.
"Don!"
He opened his arms and Don walked into the house and into his brother's embrace.
"Welcome home."