I don't own Numb3rs. I miss the show greatly though. This is my pathetic attempt at a fanfic for the show. It's not exactly great but I had an inspiration. I'm still working through it too so reviews are a source of weather or not I should continue.

There won't be any pairing slash or otherwise in this. I know. I'm trying something different.

"Ah come on!" Carlos whined, his deep voice suddenly sounding very feminine.

Sheila rolled her eyes and barely managed to suppress an annoyed huff. She really could have cared far less for his trying to win her over. She didn't want to go where all the other teens were hanging out. She had things to work on and she had a feeling her new housemate would be able to help out. He was good with numbers. She was better with science even if she understood that numbers and math were extremely important to her sciences.

Boys were far less important in comparison to her studies at the moment. She really only liked the man who was staying with her mother and her. She smiled inwardly at how he treated her. It was like she really mattered to him. She liked that. It was better than being Carlos' arm candy. Why he was the only boy who hadn't picked up on that was baffling to her. Every other boy picked up on it the second time she'd declined! Why couldn't Carlos?

"No!" she growled. "I've got homework to do!"

"Your first day and they give you homework?" he scoffed, his voice turning venomous as he spoke the word homework. She snorted softly at how he reacted to it. She knew well enough that he would but she was still slightly surprised. It wasn't like it was the plague.

Well, to him it probably was since it was taking her away from him.

"Come on," he whined again. "You should get out of that house."

"And run the risk of getting shot for real? No thanks." She watched the scenery whirl past as Carlos drove like the idiot he was. She wasn't in the mood for a ticket but Carlos had this talent for not getting caught by patrol cars. As much as it annoyed her, she had to be somewhat thankful that he had that talent. A fire fight wasn't something she wanted to get into even if she didn't mean to be there.

"Oh you know I wouldn't let nothin' happen to you!" he said in his annoying bravado.

"Double negative," she sighed as she rubbed her temple. "You've basically just told me that you would let something happen to me." She sent a cold look at him and watched as he shivered. He chuckled happily inwardly. He was so easy to scare when it was her talking. "Why are you even bothering to drive me there anyway?"

"Because someone's gotta look out fer ya right?" The bravado was back and her stomach was suddenly trying to return her lunch.

"I do believe I will take the bus tomorrow," she replied calmly. His eyes widened and he stared at her in amazement. She looked at him levelly and then returned her attention to the road. She didn't give a damn what he thought about her way of getting to school considering he wanted her to wash dishes and do laundry.

"Come on Babe!" he begged. "You know what I mean!" Her green eyes narrowed and she shot him with a lethal look.

"I'm not your girl so don't call me 'Babe' like it's some honor to be your bitch," she snarled, her soprano voice abruptly dipping into the contralto range. She was dead serious about this subject. He knew that too but he continued to cross the thick line she'd thrown in front of him as if he didn't. One would think he would have learned but he never did. Even when his buddies warned him to watch what he said, he never seemed able to.

"Whoa," he said holding a hand up. "Come on. Take it easy Sheila."

"Stop the car," she snarled in the same tone.

Her body was tense as Carlos sighed, his eyes showing he was cursing himself, and pulled the car over. She swung the door open as soon as he was slow enough that she wouldn't be throwing herself from the car. He slammed the brake – just as she knew he would – and her seatbelt caught her protectively. She unlatched it and yanked her bag out after she tossed herself away from the vehicle.

"Come on Sheila," Carlos begged. "Let's not fight."

"Little late for that," she hissed as she shrugged the bag onto her shoulders.

She loved her Coleman backpack so damned much. It held so much more than a tote or a bulky purse. She stomped off, knowing full well that he was going to trail her in the car until she got home. Thank god she was only a block or two away from her house. She didn't like being stalked even when she knew of it.

She stomped up the steps to her porch and dug her keys out of her pocket as she skipped up to the porch. She unlocked the door and slipped into the house. As soon as the door closed, she relocked it. She turned again, her eyes closed, listening as Carlos' car drove off with a squeal. She leaned back against the door and slid down to the floor. She was about to curl into a ball as tight as she could possible make when a voice called to her.

"Sheila?" her mother's patient asked from the dining room. Her head snapped up to look at the man she'd come to really like in less than a month. She liked messing with his dark curls as he smiled over his math problems. He was like a twin brother she had always wanted or at least an older brother who wasn't following Dad.

"Oh…" she breathed as he moved toward her. "Hey Charles."

He knelt next to her and looked at her with concern. She hugged her legs to her body as he gazed at her with those brown eyes that almost begged for something to help them remember who he was. All he remembered was a first name and nothing else. She stayed still as he moved to sit on her right, an arm wrapping over her shoulders. His hands twined together gently, pulling her into his side almost like a loving brother; a loving brother she hadn't seen or felt in five years.

"What happened?" he asked gently. She felt her left hand slide over his torso so she could pull herself closer to that warmth she felt denied of. She closed her eyes and wished for it to not be a dream. She was almost tempted to ask him to pinch her. "Sheila," he whispered.

"Carlos was being Carlos," she murmured. "You know how I act to so called tough guys."

He chuckled. "Yeah I do," he laughed. "A lot of people know how you act around tough guys." He shrugged softly so he wouldn't shake her too much. "I don't blame you really."

She sighed with relief. Here was someone she could always talk to. He was like a sponge that continued to absorb her troubles and cast them off to some unreachable place. It was like he could throw her worries into space in a tightly sealed capsule without causing any kind of insane anomaly in the universe.

"I feel better now," she giggled. He smiled his sweet smile and ruffled her hair.

"Relax," he said kindly. He patted her back, her backpack softening the gesture slightly. One of his brows lifted. "Homework already?" He sounded surprised. She nodded.

"Most of it is math related." She smiled pleadingly at him and he laughed as he understood. He nodded and helped her to her feet.

"Let's work together then," he beamed.

She nodded enthusiastically and he happily led her to the dinner table. Within the hour, the table was covered in papers, most of them covered in mathematical equations and formulas as they both huddled over separate papers. Charles was rubbing his scar and the point of his tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Sheila was poring over science papers with as much ease as she had expected. Her math was not nearly as bad as she'd feared. Charles was one those mathematicians that made math make real sense. She had actually gotten through her math homework with the same amount of ease she usually had with science –she'd been faster even.

"Charles," she began as she found a problem she didn't understand.

"Charlie," he corrected automatically. She gave him a confused look. "What?" he asked when he finally came up from the work he'd dragged from his room when they'd finished her math.

"You just corrected me on your name," she explained. "You said 'Charlie.'"

He cocked his head to the side. "It must have been a nick name I guess," he murmured, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"One memory down," she cheered softly as she patted his shoulder. He smiled at her feeling better than he'd expected. She was right. It was one less memory to worry about. She felt so much better considering he'd remembering something more. They shared a smile for a long moment until she leapt up and fetched two glasses and orange juice.

"What's this?" he asked with a laugh.

"Celebration drinks!" She chimed. "You remembered something! Therefore, we celebrate it!"

Charlie smiled wider as he realized how serious she was. He had to admit that she at least had the decency to not go for the stash of wine her mother kept for parties. They still had no idea if he was an alcoholic and so they had all avoided having parties that had to have booze around him just in case. It was probably a good thing.

He took the glass she handed to him and toasted. Their glasses clinked together and they took a sip. He then smirked and proposed a celebration of her getting into CalSci. They toasted again and took a deeper drink. He sighed in joy just before Maria bustled in, balancing grocery bags in her arms. She saw the two drinking orange juice together and smiled sweetly.

"I'm glad to see you two are still getting along," she chimed as she shuffled through the small house. She placed the bags on the counter and kissed Sheila's forehead. "May I ask what the occasion would happen to be?"

"Charles remembered his nickname," Sheila smirked.

"It's kind of understandable though," Charlie explained quickly. "Charlie is a normal nickname to the name Charles."

Maria was smiling though. "That's still something to toast."

Charlie gave up. "Fine!"

Please review. Thanks.