Thought Police

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This story is on an AU track.

Chapter 12: The Eppes Convergence

Alex was quickly glad that she had thought to pick a member of Don's team for the airport run. Even if she'd had an idea of who she was looking for, she doubted she'd have been able to pick out any of the Eppes family in the chaos that was the Kennedy Airport arrival concourse.

Colby scanned the crowd, having the advantage of height as well as the ability to identify the people they were looking for. "I don't see them yet," he reported to the Lieutenant, who he could tell was quickly becoming frustrated with her limited visibility. "Don't worry, I'm keeping my eyes open."

She gave a dry laugh. "You know, normally I don't mind being small. I've certainly never let it stop me. But these are the situations that make me hope that my little girl takes after her father."

Colby laughed too, but stopped abruptly as something caught his attention. "I think - yeah, that's them. Mr Eppes!" he called out loudly, only to promptly be drowned out by dozens of other shouts.

Alex chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. "I'm not sure that'll work. Everyone else seems to have the same idea, the result of which is likely to be that no one hears anyone."

"I think I figured that out," he laughed back. "You think I'd be used to it with how many times I've been through LAX, but I guess I'm a small-town boy at heart - hey!" he shouted, beginning to wave his arm in the air. "Over here! Okay," he said to Alex in a more normal tone, "she saw me. They're headed this way."

Three people emerged from the crowd, headed straight for Alex and Colby. The leader of the group - in fact, the only one of the three who seemed fully aware of her surroundings - was a black-haired woman who was very clearly pregnant. Following her were an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a tall woman who looked as though she was lost and moving on autopilot.

Colby reached the man first, exchanging a quick hug with him. "Alan, I am so sorry." He stepped back, waving Alex over. "Alan Eppes, this is Lieutenant Alex Eames. She's heading up the task force working on Don's case. Alex, this is Alan Eppes, Don's father." He then indicated the tall woman. "Don's wife, Robin Brooks."

"We spoke on the phone." Alex extended her hand, but Robin appeared not to notice, so she drew it back.

"And this is Amita Ramanujan-Eppes," Colby continued, indicating the last member of the group. "Charlie's wife."

"I'm sorry," Alex said quickly, "we weren't expecting you."

Amita just shrugged. "It's okay. I'm here to work, not be coddled."

The blonde couldn't help but grin. "A woman after my own heart, then."

As the five of them proceeded towards the parking lot, Amita dropped back to talk to Colby. "If you're here," she asked in an undertone, "who's with Charlie? Please tell me you didn't leave him -"

"Unsupervised?" Colby finished.

She grimaced a little. "For lack of a better word, yes."

"Of course not," he assured her, "I know better. One of the detectives on the task force is with him. Apparently, he and Charlie knew each other before."

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I probably sound like a mother hen, don't I?"

"Maybe a little," he said with a smile. "But I understand. We've both seen how he gets when someone he loves is threatened."

Amita swallowed hard, staring at the backs of Alan and Robin. "I just hope - " but she didn't have the words to finish the sentence.

"I know." He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "So do I."

xxxxxxxxx

Amita clambered out of the car as soon as the engine was turned off, but Robin, who had yet to speak a word, had to be guided out by Alan. Alex made a mental note to make time for a one-on-one meeting with her; Robin was clearly in bad shape.

Not that he's the only one who seems disconnected, Alex thought to herself when, upon emerging from the elevator, they nearly crashed into Wylie, who didn't even seem to notice. She quickly sought out Cho. "What's with him?"

"He just needs some air," the Austin team leader replied. "He's hitting walls, and it's getting him frustrated to the point where he's starting to lose focus. So I sent him to go clear his head."

"Fair enough. These people are serious about their Internet security, huh?"

"It certainly seems that way. For a minute there, Wylie looked like he wanted to throw the computer out the window. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen him get that upset."

"Excuse me." That was Amita, standing right behind Alex. "Did I hear that right? You have a computer problem?"

"That's right," Cho replied without missing a beat. "We're trying to locate some information that someone really doesn't want us to have. Wylie's a computer expert, but even he's having difficulty."

"Maybe I can help," she offered. "I'm a bit of a computer expert myself - not to say that your guy can't handle it, but as they say, two heads are better than one."

"At this point, he'd probably welcome the help." Cho was nodding. "He should be back soon."

"Give me -" she paused to consider. "About half an hour to talk with Charlie. Then I'll join your guy and see if we can't figure this out."

xxxxxxxxx

Zach and Bobby glanced up when the door opened, but the mathematician was buried so deep in his work that he didn't even notice anything had changed until the woman in the doorway spoke softly. "Charlie."

His head shot up, and he blinked rapidly several times as if uncertain that what he was seeing was real. "Amita?" Then he all but sprinted across the room to embrace her.

Amita wrapped her arms tightly around his back, one hand rubbing gentle circles. "How are you holding up?"

"Better," he murmured, "now that you're here."

"Charlie," she chided gently. "Don't try that with me. I know you too well."

He swallowed hard. "It's my brother, Amita," he said after a moment. "He's always been the strong one. And now he's - he's gone. He was counting on me, and I couldn't figure it out in time, and now he's gone."

"Charlie." Zach stood, slowly approaching the couple. "This isn't your fault. We've all been putting everything we have into this case, and that includes you. No one blames you for not being able to accomplish the impossible."

A soft, choked sound escaped the mathematician's lips. "I do."

Amita hugged him even tighter. "I know, Charlie. You've always been hard on yourself. But I have confidence in you. You saved me when it seemed impossible; I know you can do this too."

xxxxxxxxx

"You're putting a lot of faith in Charlie," Zach said to Amita in an undertone. "I know he's good, but..."

"I know," she replied. "Believe me, I know. But as odd as it seems, it's what he needs right now. He's feeling guilty over a perceived failure, and that can mess with his head and make him start second-guessing himself and his work. By telling him that I believe in him, I'm helping him find that faith in himself." She sighed. "I know that if, God forbid, things don't work out, I'm going to have an even bigger issue on my hands. But as long as there's still hope, I have to put that aside and make sure Charlie doesn't end up self-sabotaging because of his personal doubts."

Zach began to nod now. "They're really close, aren't they? Charlie and Don? I don't think I realized until this happened just how close."

"Oh, they're close, all right. About as close as possible for two brothers who are so different and so much alike at the same time."

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Really?"

An expression of curiosity crossed her face. "It surprises you that much?"

"No. Well, yes, in a way, I suppose. It's not about what I've seen here, though. I don't know if anyone mentioned it to you, but I knew Charlie, years ago."

"I think Colby said something about that."

"Well, in any case, back when I knew Charlie, he and Don were barely on speaking terms. Not unlike me and my own brother - or so I thought. Now I'm realizing how wrong I was."

"How's that?" she asked even more curiously.

"Because Don and Charlie love each other," Zach said bluntly after a moment. "And I'm certain now that that was the case even ten years ago. They may have been distant, but you can't tell me that Don wouldn't have gone to the ends of the earth for his brother all the same even then."

Amita shook her head, smiling. "You're right about that. Even before they were close, when I first saw the two of them interact, it was clear how much Don cared for Charlie, and vice-versa. You and your own brother don't...?"

"No, we don't. We barely speak at all. It's rooted in some of the same issues of resentment that have caused problems for Don and Charlie - in that sense, there is a similarity - but Don and Charlie have a brotherly bond that ultimately transcends that. My older brother and I can barely stand to be in the same room. The last time we tried to talk, he insulted my daughter, right in front of her. Made a nine-year-old girl cry just to get under my skin. That's when I told him I was done trying to have a civil relationship."

It was Amita's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Wow. Okay, yeah, no. Don and Charlie have had their share of shouting matches, but I can't imagine either of them ever stooping to that level."

"And on that note -" he glanced at his watch. "I have to go, or I'm going to be late picking her up. Serena's already waiting for me."

Amita only nodded. "And I'm sure Wylie's wondering where I've gotten to. Go ahead."

xxxxxxxxx

Andrea had fallen asleep in the car and only roused slightly when coaxed, so Zach simply gathered her into his arms. He'd gotten looks for carrying a child of her age in public, and one person had even verbally accused him of spoiling her, but he refused to let that bother him. He knew, even if they didn't, that it was really only in the past year that anyone had ever held or carried her. No amount of love and attention would be enough to make up for everything she'd been denied, let alone enough to damage her in any way.

Alex, walking the hall to calm her own daughter, smiled at him when he stepped out of the elevator. "Looks good on you."

He smiled back. "Same for you. Thanks for being flexible about this."

She laughed a little, adjusting the baby in her arms. "Well, I'd be one to talk, wouldn't I?"

"Fair point."

At that moment, Andrea shifted a bit on Zach's shoulder, lifting her head. "Dad?"

"Hey, sleepyhead. We're at my office now, remember?"

"'Course I r'member," she mumbled.

"Of course, what was I thinking?" He smiled fondly at his daughter. "You're still sleepy, huh? Want to take a nap?"

"Okay."

He looked back to Alex. "Give me two minutes, okay? Then I'll get back into the work."

"Of course." The Lieutenant followed him part of the way into the squad room before turning towards the desk where she had stashed Sarah's things while Zach continued towards the bunk room. As she was securing the baby into her car seat, someone tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump almost a foot in the air.

"Sorry, Lieutenant," the officer said softly, "but I didn't want to call out to you and risk waking the baby."

She smiled. "Much appreciated. How can I help you?"

"There's an FBI agent here looking for 'the person in charge of the Don Eppes case'. He's insistent on talking to you, wouldn't give me a message or even a name."

"Okay, I'm on my way." She finished fastening Sarah in and sighed. As if I didn't have enough to deal with? Who is this person to just waltz into the squad room, anyway?

Ooh, any guesses on who the mysterious stranger is?

The chapter title is a play on Charlie's canonical mathematical breakthrough of the same name.

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