Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.
Chapter 45: The Tale of How the Question Was Popped
" Okay, spill the beans, How'd you pop the question?" Asked a very eager Megan Reeves.
" Yeah man, spill." Added David.
The two of them had Colby cornered at his desk, they weren't budging until they got answers.
" Yeah, why don't you spill." Came another voice from behind Colby's cubical, a voice they all knew well.
Colby whirled around and stared up at Don with startled green eyes before he averted his gaze to the floor, his ears turning a light shade of pink. Well, at least Don didn't have his gun out, Colby was safe, for now. Megan and David exchanged smiles, they now had extra back-up.
" I think you should be asking me about how the question was popped." Came another voice, everyone turned their gazes to Charlie Eppes.
" Wait... You popped the question?" Asked Don.
" Well technically, I was doing some laundry when I found the little velvet box with the wedding bands inside the sock drawer." Answered Charlie.
" Wait, you found the ring box in the sock drawer, of all places?" Asked Megan.
Charlie knodded his head yes.
Then three eyes turned back to grill Colby, who sat squirming in his seat, his ears growing redder by the second.
" So Granger, how long did you have these rings, which I'd like to see when we all get home by the way?" Asked Don with a tiny smirk and a quirk of his eyebrow.
" Well I...I...I..." Colby stuttered, suddenly tongue-tied.
" He had them for seven months." Said Charlie, answering for him.
" Hold it, he had them for that long without asking you, Granger... I never pegged you as a chicken, well maybe once or twice." Said David with a grin as Colby shot him a death-glare.
" Hey, lay off man, or would rather I called up my buddies in the NSA who're buddies with guys in the CIA?" Warned Charlie as David immediately relented.
" Well go on, what happened next?" Asked Megan eagerly.
" Well, I found the rings and stared at then for the better part of four hours, then I remembered I had to do the laundry and dashed out to the garage where I sat and thought about it some more. I think Colby can tell you the rest." Said Charlie with a smile his lover's way.
By now, Colby had regained his voice and spoke with perfect clarity.
" Well, when I got home, I greeted Charlie like I always do and headed upstair to change for dinner. When I get there, I'm taking of my watch and putting it on the nightstand when I see that ring box there too. Then the door closes behind me and Charlie's standing there, he walks up to me and explains how he stumbled onto the box while he was rummaging through the sock drawer. He asks me how long I had them, I answer. He asks me why I didn't ask, I give him the whole, "I didn't want to drive you away" line and then told him to just forget he ever found them, told him I'd return the rings back to the jewlers or pawn them. I go back to changing when he hits me with " What if I don't want you to get rid of them, what if I wanna be married to you?". Colby paused as he and everyone else turned their gazes to Charlie, now the one blushing bright red as he squirmed where he stood.
" The rest is history." Finished Colby with a small grin plastered on his face, which Charlie returned.
" Wow, that was totally sappy." Grinned Don as wrapped his arm around Charlie's neck.
" Hey, let's see you do better when you find someone... Oh wait that's right, you don't get out much so that future looks grim." Smirked Charlie, chuckle when Don swatted him playfully on the back of his curly head.
" So Don, are you okay with this?" Asked Colby calmy.
Don looked Colby in the eye and then smiled.
" Yeah, yeah, I'm okay with this. But like I said before, hurt my brother in any way, nobody's ever gonna find your body. Got it?" Said Don.
" Got it. Don't worry, I never will." Said Colby, meeting Don's gaze without fear or hesitation, meaning these words with every fiber of his being.
Don nodded.
" Hey c'mon, I'll give you a lift back to CalSci." Said Don to Charlie, who nodded and followed. As he left with his big brother, Charlie sent a mega-watt smile back at his two friends and the man he was going to marry before he and Don disappeared into the elevator.
The drive back to CalSci was filled with teasing on Don's part, and countering each jab on Charlie's.
As he watched his baby brother walk away, Don couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and happiness wash over him.
" My kid brother's getting married... to one of my guys."
With a small chuckle and a final smile as he watched Charlie disappear into the building, Don pulled away from the sidewalk and headed back to the office, he still had a job to do, a case to solve, and a team to lead, which so happened to include his future brother in law.
A few hours later, Don and Colby were both headed home to Casa Eppes, where Alan and Charlie greeted them.
The soon to be married couple were the subject of some goodnatured teasing over dinner. Once the table was cleared, the four men moved to the livingroom where Don was the first to ask a question.
" Hey Colby, how'd your parents take the news?" Asked Don.
At this, Alan, Colby, and Charlie all chuckled.
" Well, I called them up and was about to break the news to my dad when he jumped to the conclusion that me and Charlie were breaking up. Then my mom gets on the line and goes into a hysterical rant, asking me what I did to make things go wrong. While I was trying to explain by yelling into the phone, Charlie here was laughing his head off and I can assume that Alan heard the comotion and came running up the stairs to see what was wrong. That was when I screamed into the phone that me and Charlie weren't breaking up, we were getting married. My mother went " Oh" before she passed out." Said Colby.
Don was silent for a moment before he started laughing hartily.
" What happened next?" He asked once he'd calmed down a little.
" My dad came onto the line and started talking while also baring all of my mother's dead weight. He congratulated me and then asked to speak to Charlie." Continued Colby before Charlie took over.
" When I get the phone, John says, and these are his exact words, Charlie, before my back give out on me, I'd just like to say that it would be an honor to have you as my son in law. Ow. I tell him I felt the same way and then I hung up, give the poor guys some mercy." Said Charlie with a grin.
" Oh man, that's just... Oh man." Don trailed off as they all started laughing once again.
When they calmed down again, Alan spoke his account.
" Well, after they hung up the phone, Colby looks up and spots me standing in the hall. I tell you, his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates before Charlie saw me too. At this point, I'm about to pass out so the two of them grab an arm each and sit me down on the bed. I ask them the already answered question, just for confirmation and then I give them my blessing. That's how I found out. What about you Donnie, how you get the news?" Asked Alan.
" Charlie told over lunch today. I mean, we are sitting at the table when Chuck here says that he had something to tell me, immediately, I think something's wrong with you dad, but then he says it concerns him and Colby. I jump to the same conclusion as Colby's mother as I now know. I ask him if they're breaking up when Charlie blows his top and just blurts it out. After the usual shocked silence, I ask him when and how and find out that once again, I'm last on the list to find out." Said Don, send a mock glare his baby brother's way where he sat beside Colby.
" Ah Don, you were second to last." Corrected Charlie.
" Same thing." Countered Don before he grinned.
" Well, now we have ourselves a wedding to plan." Said Alan with a grin.
Charlie and Colby shared a look that conveyed one clear message.
" Oh Boy. We're actually doing this."
