numb3rs mystery - I agree, I love finding new Numb3rs stories. It's probably my favorite to write too. Hope you enjoy the story!

A/N: Insomnia struck so I went on and finished. Enjoy!


Chapter 2 – Let's Go To A Ballgame

As they entered the room, Collin ran over and jumped up on the bed to hug the woman, who smiled and hugged him back.

"Hey sweetie," she greeted happily, though sounding exhausted.

"I get to pitch Saturday!" he told her excitedly.

She smiled. "That's awesome, Collin. I'm proud of you."

"What's so awesome?" the nurse asked, walking around Chloe and over to the monitor by the bed.

"I'm pitching in my game Saturday," Collin informed her.

"That's great, big guy," the nurse told him. Then turning to the woman smiled, "Your boy's growing up Kaitlyn."

Kaitlyn smiled sadly as she held Collin, who looked utterly content to stay in his mother's embrace.

After making her notes, Marge saw Chloe's expression and said, "Hey Collin, why don't you come with me so I can get you a slice of the good cake out of the cafeteria as congratulations?"

Collin's eyes lit up, and he looked to his mother for permission. Kaitlyn nodded her head in encouragement, and Collin got down and followed Marge. Chloe smiled at them as they walked out, but it fell when she turned back to her mother.

Sighing, Kaitlyn asked somberly, "So, what's up?"

"Remember that lady I was telling you about that's trying to get me to go to CalSci?" she started casually, walking over towards the bed. Kaitlyn nodded. "Well, she gave me a tour today."

"That's great Chloe. How was it?" Kaitlyn inquired with a small smile.

"Guess who I ran into," Chloe said pointedly.

Furrowing her brows, Kaitlyn asked, "Who?"

"Don."

Kaitlyn didn't say anything. If her eyes hadn't widened slightly, Chloe would've almost thought she hadn't heard what she'd said.

"Apparently his brother is one of the professors," Chloe continued lightly. Kaitlyn nodded slowly, a faraway look in her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Are you ever gonna tell him?" Chloe asked bluntly.

Looking up at her daughter, Kaitlyn sighed, looking even more tired than she had when Chloe and Collin had arrived.

Despite the tears forming in her mother's eyes, Chloe continued, "He deserves to know the truth."

Swallowing, "I know that," Kaitlyn agreed softly, closing her eyes. Taking another deep breath, she said, "I feel bad enough for lying to him all these years. I should've told him then, but telling him now…it'd seem like –"

"And what happens when you can't tell him?" Chloe interrupted. Kaitlyn looked back at her daughter with a sorrowful expression.

-0-

"Son of a bitch!" Chloe muttered angrily after the box of DVDs she'd been stocking slipped, dumping them all over the floor.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she bent down and began picking up the movies.

"Want a hand?"

Chloe looked up at Amita. "I got it, but thanks though," she replied, trying to give her a smile.

Amita bent down and picked up a few movies anyway. "Everything okay?" she asked Chloe in concern, seeing the teenager's tired and frustrated expression.

Nodding as she stood with the box, Chloe answered nonchalantly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Shrugging, Amita followed as Chloe began walking toward the counter. "I dunno, you just seem a little on edge," she said slowly.

"Just stuff at home," Chloe sighed.

"Oh. Well, the other day you kinda left in a hurry, I wasn't sure whether maybe it had something to do with seeing Don," Amita added cautiously.

Chloe looked up at Amita. Shaking her head she assured her, "It wasn't Don. I'd just forgotten I'd told my aunt I'd take my cousin to soccer practice."

"Oh. OK," Amita smiled, feeling a little silly. Then changing the subject, asked, "So, have you thought any more about applying?"

"You're not gonna drop this are you?" Chloe half chuckled, half sighed.

Amita smirked, but it fell slightly when she saw Chloe's downcast eyes. "What's stopping you?" she asked gently.

"It's complicated," Chloe admitted quietly, purposefully not looking at Amita.

-0-

"You're still coming tomorrow, right?" Collin asked, turning to look at his sister.

Chloe looked up from her homework. "Yeah, you know I am bud," she assured him.

Collin smiled. "I know, just making sure."

Smirking, Chloe promised firmly, "I'll be there."

"Good," Collin smiled, turning back to his TV show.

Chloe sighed and bit her lip as she watched him for a few more minutes before going back to her homework.

-0-

"Agent Eppes? You have a visitor."

Don looked up and saw Chloe approaching his desk. "Thanks," he muttered to the agent, who nodded and left. "Hey," he greeted the teenager.

"Hey," Chloe replied, attempting to smile, but didn't succeed in easing the awkwardness. "Can we talk?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sure," Don nodded, confused, but lead the way to the conference room.

After Don shut the door behind them, Chloe broke the silence. "I'm sorry about just kinda taking off the other day," she started.

"It's OK, Chloe," Don assured her, still not sure what this was about. "I'll admit, it was a little weird," he added lightly.

Chloe smirked, nodding in agreement, shuffling her feet.

Don broke the silence that had fallen by asking cautiously, "What's going on Chloe?"

Taking a deep breath, Chloe looked up at him with an almost pensive expression. "Do you have any free time right now?"

Furrowing his brows, Don glanced at his watch, then back up at Chloe. "Yeah, I got time. Why, what's up?" He was beyond confused now.

"I wanna show you something," Chloe told him.

Sighing, Don agreed slowly, "OK, sure."

-0-

"So...why are we at a Little League game?" Don questioned as they sat down on the bleachers.

"Because..." she started slowly. She swallowed and pointed out one of the players. "You see number fifteen?"

Don looked out onto the field and noticed the boy she was talking about, but the kid was facing the other direction so he couldn't get a good look at him. "Yeah. What about him?"

Chloe took a deep breath. "That's my little brother."

After a minute, Don finally commented, "I didn't know you had a brother."

She just nodded. "Yeah. His name's Collin," she informed him.

For a few minutes they both just sat there watching the game, neither saying anything.

After a deep breath, Don worked up the nerve to ask, "How old is he?"

"Seven."

For a minute, Don felt like he couldn't breathe. With that one word Chloe had explained it, why Kaitlyn disappeared, why she'd never talked to him, and why Chloe had acted so weird when he first saw her again. Though it was possible that he was wrong, Chloe refusing to look him in the eye pretty much confirmed his theory.

He opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say. He was slightly afraid to know the answer to the question he wanted to ask.

But Chloe seemed to know that, and looked him in the eyes and told him, "He's your son."

Don closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "That's why you guys moved," he stated under his breath.

It wasn't a question, but Chloe nodded anyway. "She was afraid to tell you. Because of your job…she didn't know how receptive you would be to having a kid," she explained. Don sighed and put his head in his hands, leaning his elbows on his knees. Chloe bit her lip for a second before finally honestly telling him, "She really did love you. She was just scared."

He rubbed a hand over his face before turning his head to look at Chloe. "Why are you telling me now?"

She half-shrugged. "You're a good guy Don. You deserved to know from the beginning."

Don took a few deep breaths as he watched the game, particularly Collin.

Chloe bit her lip and took a breath before continuing. "Look, my dad...he walked out on me. You were never given the choice," she explained slowly.

Don watched her for a second before turning back to watch Collin. "Does he know?" he questioned hesitantly.

"Who his father is?" Don nodded. Chloe grinned a little. "Yeah." Don looked back over at Chloe. "Mom always told him who you were."

They sat there in silence, watching the game, for several minutes. It was a lot for Don to process.

Finally, he took a breath and looked up. "So…Do I get to meet him?"

Chloe smirked. "That depends..." she started. Don looked at her curiously. "You still like hot dogs?" she asked lightly. Don gave her a questioning look. Chloe chuckled, but explained, "We have this little tradition, I take him out for hot dogs after ever game."

Don looked at her oddly. "You still remember that?"

Looking back out at the game, Chloe had a distant expression covering her features. "When Mom told me she was pregnant," she began quietly, "I honestly didn't know what to think."

"You were ten," Don pointed out.

Nodding, but not looking at Don, Chloe continued, "After I found out she wasn't going to tell you, I wanted to remember as much as I could about you." Don furrowed his brows. Chloe bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Mom may have told him about you, but she didn't tell him everything," she stated. "I barely know anything about my dad. I didn't want Collin to not know his," she explained.


A/N: I have class tomorrow so it may be a day or two before I can get the next chapter up. I'll do my best though. And of course, reviews are always appreciated!