Walking into the familiar house, Don noticed that it felt eerily empty. It was six o'clock on a Friday night. Normally, Charlotte was whipping up something for dinner and greeting him with a smile for actually joining her. It was amazing what he had found himself doing for the past few months. His chosen profession was still his top priority, but he was learning to make room at the top of the list for his relationship with Charlotte. To find the house empty at this time of night was strange, but when he found the notebook open on the dining room table along with all of her financial documents and the blueprints to her house in Colorado, he suddenly knew why she'd been preoccupied for the last few weeks and why the house was empty on a Friday night. There was only one place she could be and he jogged across the street to the house he grew up in. "Hey Babe." He said quietly as he walked into the garage.
The sound of his voice pulled her from her thoughts and she checked her watch as she quickly wiped away her tears. "Don, oh my. I am so sorry. I got caught up with something. I can have dinner on the table in no time."
He caught her shoulders as she tried to jet past him. "We can always order in." She looked away suddenly as she shook her head. "It is Friday night. Let me buy dinner for my girl." She finally nodded and he held her. It was rare for her to get overly emotional about anything. It was even stranger for her to withhold her emotions. There was only one explanation for her to be so emotional and yet so reserved. She was trying to protect him from something. He'd watch her do it with his brother on numerous occasions, but never with him. He figured he was due. "What are you and Charlie working on?" He asked over dinner.
"Nothing important, he was just helping me crunch a few numbers."
"Babe, you haven't let go of my hand for longer than a few seconds since we left my brother's house where I found you crying after I walked in to an empty house to find the blueprints to your house in Colorado lying open on the table. You've got to give me a little more credit than that. I don't buy that it's nothing. Math has never made you cry before."
"There was more than just the blueprints open on the table."
"And that was personal stuff that I didn't look at. My only concern was you." It wasn't completely true. He'd glanced at her notebook where he'd seen his name written in the 'pro' column of a pro versus con chart of some sort, but he didn't think that moment was the right time to tell her that he'd seen that.
"OK, now you have to give me a little more credit." She actually found herself smirking slightly as she looked into his eyes for the first time that night. "You are a highly trained investigator and I am almost certain that you at least looked at the open pages of the books that were open."
"So what if I did, Charlie. You're still evading my question. What were you and Charlie working on that had you so upset?"
She took a deep breath. "Charlie's reworking the math that my accountant gave me last week because I wanted a second opinion. I am burning through my savings faster than I anticipated due to the fact that apparently no one ever got rich working for the FBI and I am trying to save my house in Colorado while maintaining a residence here in L.A."
"You're thinking of going back on the road?" His heart sank and he suddenly lost his appetite.
"No, I'm trying to not be forced into selling my house in Colorado." Charlotte shook her head and sighed as she leaned back in her chair. He deserved the truth, though she didn't want to have to tell him. "Baby, I saved and invested very well while I was working for myself. I bought the lot in Silverthorne so I could build the house I always wanted. It took me three months just to find the right architect and another three before I met a contactor I actually felt comfortable with leaving alone to build the design without me being on site. That house was my escape, my serenity after being on the road for three to six months at a time. I love that place, but I love it here in L.A. I finally found a place to call home with friends I could actually call family. So, I bought this place. I can handle the mortgage just fine on what I'm making, but when you tack on the utilities, taxes, and repair costs, it's just depleting what I worked so hard to put away. The only way I could stop the hemorrhage is to sell my place in Colorado, but I can't bring myself to do it."
"And you shouldn't have to." Don moved closer to her. "Charlie, why didn't you say something before now? This is actually something I can help you with." The confusion spread across her face. "My suggestion to you is that you should rent out a room."
There was a sparkle in his eye, so she knew he was up to something, but her head was in such a fog, she couldn't quite catch on. "Who am I renting this room to?"
"Me." The laugh that echoed through the dining room was the laugh that he'd come to love. It was rich, honest, and made her eyes light up. "I have the FBI seal of approval."
"I can't get a better recommendation than that, Baby."
He grinned. "Babe, it makes sense. I mean I'm over here half the time anyway and this way you can keep your dream home."
"You know something. It's just so crazy it might just work." It was a big step moving in together, but she needed the help, he needed to get out of that hole in the wall he paid way too much for, and she was tired of trying to find a rational solution. It was time for the unconventional, spontaneous, and what felt right. Standing up, she went to him and straddled his lap before leaning down and kissing him. "Thank you. I know it sounds so silly to be so worked up over an inanimate object, but I love that place."
"You are very welcome and you are not being silly. I've seen you being silly, Doc. This is not you being silly."
"Hey Charlie, I think I came up with a solution…Oh my. I am so sorry." Charlie quickly turned around after walking into the dining room to find his brother making out with his friend. "I'm just going to leave the notebook on the table here and I'll be going."
"Charlie," Charlotte walked over to him with a smile, "you don't have to leave. Your brother and I were actually just discussing my predicament."
"That was actually, um, not a, um, discussion, Charlie. I don't know if you are aware, but a discussion usually involves words."
She laughed. "OK, we were just finishing a discussion about my predicament and I was about to call you. Thank you for your figures, but Don helped me find a solution."
"Yeah, and it didn't involve numbers, Bro." Don joked as he stood up.
"Everything is numbers." Charlie gave his standard answer.
"Not this time. My solution was just to become your new neighbor."
Charlie looked at his brother dumbfounded. He had been poised to give his standard argument, but was taken aback by what Don had said. "Wait a minute. You're buying the house from her?"
"No, Charlie, I'm moving in. You're looking at Charlotte's new tenant."
"That's fantastic! Then I guess you don't need this then." He held up his notebook.
"No, you can leave that. I may need it later when I come to my senses." Charlotte grinned over at her lover, best friend, and new tenant.
"Oh, this is not a good way to start off." Don smirked.
"OK, I, um, I'm going to go." Charlie quickly made his way back to the front door still smiling.
"That's it. I'm moving into the master bedroom." Don didn't even notice his brother leaving as he moved closer to Charlotte.
"Let's explore just why that goal is unachievable, shall we?" She laughed.
"You think so." He pinned her against the wall. "I am a highly trained professional. I can get anyone to admit to anything."
"I'd be interested in seeing those so-called powers of persuasion, Agent Eppes."
He kissed her deeply. "How was that?"
"Less questions, more persuasion." She was breathless and kissed him again only pulling away when she heard the phone in her office ringing. "Damn." They kissed once more before she ran to the solarium and closed the door.
"Damn is right, Babe." Don leaned against the wall and caught his breath, cursing when his cell phone rang. When it rained it poured. "Eppes." There was a new case; of course there was a new case. "I'm on my way." He hung up as Charlotte walked back into the room and kissed him. "Babe, I've got to go."
"OK. Rain check?"
He kissed her again. "I'll be by to collect."
"You better be, Eppes." She called after him before she laughed. It had to be why they worked so well together. Neither one of them was willing to completely give up their careers being their top priority, but they were willing to allow room at the top.
