Title: Theoretically
Rating: K
Summary: A brief scene between Don and Charlie. Good old fashioned sibling rivalry.
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own it. Just playing around with the characters. Believe me no one is paying me for this stuff. one shot
A/N: This is my first Num3rs fic, and well it's really short. I was just thiking of when my brother and I have this argument around the house. I love reviews good or constructive,but I hate flames.
Theoretically
Don Eppes was sitting up in his brother's room his head leaned against the back wall in frustration, "Charlie, I really need to know what this guy is going to do next."
The younger Eppes was furiously writing on the chalkboard near the window on the right wall. He rubbed an eraser over an error in his calculations as he responded irritably, "I know, but this is a very complex problem, and it takes time. I'm doing the best I can here."
Don knew his brother wasn't lying, but still this was taking longer than he wanted it to. He placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose, and let out a heavy sigh. He could hear the chalk scraping against the board at a rapid pace, occasionally broken by a moment of silence indicating his brother was running the information over inside his head.
He and Charlie had been after this guy for three days now, and it didn't look like they were getting any closer to solving the problem. Even with the new information provided, his little brother was having trouble making any kind of predictions. Don was tired, hungry, and frustrated all at once. Noticing that the writing had stopped he glanced over in his brother's direction hopefully.
The younger Eppes merely waved his hand, and continued to stare at the board. Don leaned his head back up against the wall and closed his eyes. He would just rest them for a few minutes, and then go back to the office and check in with the others to see if any new leads had come up.
Opening his eyes slowly he looked over to see Charlie still writing on the board, and shifting through a pile of paper lying on the bed. He leaned up and tilted his head to the side, to get the crick out of his neck. "Any luck Buddy?"
Charlie was a little stunned to suddenly hear his brother's voice and turned over mumbling, "Um, well I've made a little progress. I just have to run these figures through the algorithm..."
By this point Don wasn't really paying attention anymore. He just couldn't focus on listening to his brother ramble on and on about numbers when he was tired. Yawning, the elder Eppes stretched his arms over his head, and managed to catch his brother's last comment. "You've been asleep for about two hours. I didn't want to wake you since..."
Don cut him off, "I've been asleep that long?" He glanced down at his watch and realized he had indeed been out for a solid two hours. Well there was no point in going to the office now. It could wait until the morning, and maybe by then Charlie would have run the numbers sufficiently enough to give them a lead. Flopping back into the soft chair he stared out the window, and listened to the steady sound of the chalk on the chalkboard.
Suddenly Don heard their father's voice call from downstairs, "...ie!"
The elder Eppes sighed, "Did he say Donnie or Charlie?"
Charlie didn't stop scribbling as he replied, "I couldn't tell. So which one of us is going to find out?"
Don smirked. Honestly he hated it when their father called him Donnie, because it was always so confusing to tell which one of the boys Alan was calling when they were out of the room. He really didn't want to get up right now. Besides the way the day had been going, he would get all the way down there and find out that his father had wanted Charlie the whole time. "You do it."
The younger Eppes turned around moaning, "Why do I always have to check."
Don waved his hand toward the door, "You're closer."
Charlie suddenly got an evil grin and Don inwardly groaned. He realized his mistake too late. Right on cue his brother began to explain, "You know theoretically you're closer. If you run the distances through this algorithm and apply basic geometric principles..."
Don threw his hands up in exasperation, "Never mind, I'll check!" He stormed out of the room hearing his brother's stifled laughter as he turned back to his work on the board. He hated it when his brother pulled the math jargon stuff to get out of being picked on. If dad had wanted Charlie instead of him, he was going to pay dearly. Maybe he could show Amita that picture of Charlie when he was three, and had on one of their mother's old dresses. Nah, he wouldn't do that, it didn't fit the crime. But he could threaten to show it to her.
Reaching the kitchen he asked, "Did you want me dad?"
Alan looked up from the sink, "Yeah, somebody from the office is on the phone."
Drats, he thought as he picked up the phone, now I can't even threaten to show the picture to Amita. "Agent Eppes."