Disclaimer: I do not own 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or 'Numb3rs' and I am not Joss Whedon (BtVS), Nicolas Falacci (N), or Cheryl Heuton (N). No infringement is intended and no profit is being made.
Don and Buffy: the Prequel
Two Years Previously…
Don looked at the woman with absolute disgust. How dare she take this case away from him! He'd worked tirelessly for two weeks before this blond devil showed up. How in hell did she have this kind of authority over him. Wait. Why was he bottling this up? Bottling up emotions isn't good for the soul!
"How dare you take this case from me!" Don shouted.
"How dare I?" the woman shouted back. "I dare because your director says so and he says so because the President says so and the President says so because I say so. That's how I dare. How dare you yell at me?"
"How dare I?" Don re-shouted back. "I dare because I am very, very angry! I am probably displacing that anger at you instead of at healthier targets, but in all honesty Summers, I really don't care!"
"Why don't we take this back to your office, Eppes? We can yell at each other without everyone overhearing us!" the Buffy Summers re-re-shouted back.
Don grabbed the Buffy's arm and pulled her across the room past his staring colleagues and brother.
Once the door was closed, Don was about to start yelling again but instead folded his hands across his chest and looked at the ground. Unsure what to do, the Buffy tried to put her hand on Don's shoulder, but he shrugged it away.
"Eppes?" she asked tentatively.
"What is it?" Don sighed.
Buffy stared at the strange man for a minute, eyebrow raised. He was hot one minute and cold the next. "Want to talk about it?" she asked, lifting his head to meet her eyes.
"Not particularly," he said as he pulled away from her.
"Try me," she replied. "I can almost see the weight on your chest that's holding you down."
When he continued to ignore her, she decided to try again, saying, "I'm told that I'm a good listener," not adding that people tended to be sarcastic when telling her so.
"Fine." Don started to pace as he thought of the right words to say. "It's so hard, having other people tell me what to do. I'm getting sick and tired of having other people do my job. Charlie's always coming up with these brilliantly insane solutions while I'm an idiot in comparison. I feel like no one thinks I can do my job by myself."
He looked at her for a minute before adding, "Having my director call you in certainly isn't helping me with that."
"You know, I have a genius younger sister. She's not as smart as Charlie, but she's 21 and finishing a PHD in Linguistics. We work for the same company so it isn't hard to feel overshadowed every so often."
"Try all the time." Laughing bitterly, Don added, "Even when I do get to solve a case by myself, Charlie's always got some new idea that makes him even more famous."
"My sister is always complaining that I overshadow her; that she'll forever be known as Buffy's little sister. Your brother didn't feel that way growing up?"
"I… I don't know," Don said quietly. "I never paid that much attention to him."
"And he couldn't possibly be trying to show you that he isn't just your annoying little brother anymore?" Buffy asked.
"I know he's not, but he's always around," he said, frustrated with his life. "Even when I want to be alone."
"If you're so against Charlie helping you on cases, why ask him to help you?"
"Because…"
"Yes?"
"Because he's the best," Don replied firmly. Though his brother annoyed him, Don still respected his achievements. "So I should just let it go?"
"Just keep being good at what you do," Buffy stated. "Your team is the best in L.A. for a reason. It was the best long before Charlie started helping you out and will continue to be the best long after he moves on."
Don moved over to his chair and sat down. After playing with his pens for a minute, he decided to break the silence. "So you're saying I shouldn't worry about Charlie so much?"
"Pretty much."
"Any chance you'll let me keep this case?"
"Sorry."
"I had to ask."
"I know."
"Are they good men? The ones taking over the case?"
"The best."
"I can live with that."
