Consulting
Author: Alicia
Rating: K+ (Sorry but after loosing an archive in another Fandom to an MPAA cease and desist order, I'm a little leery of using their rating system.)
Genre: I'll call it AU.
Summary: Charlie makes his way home from a 'conference'
A/N: I have a habit of getting these little ideas and playing with them. This one was born of Don having no idea just how much of a security clearance Charlie had. It's also prompted by a comment that Charlie was probably better traveled than Don was.
Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs or anything associated with it. I'm making no money off this. I do own Jessie and Mike they are the product of my imagination.
Andrews AFB
6 am EDT
The plane taxied to a stop at the end of the runway. Charlie waited before trying to make his way off the plane. It was just easier that way.
Finally, Charlie grabbed his crutches and made his way off the plane. He stopped at the bottom and looked around sure enough there was Jessie just as she promised. He made his way over to her.
"Hey, Jess. Thanks for meeting me."
"No problem. I assume you have bags?"
"Just one, I can get it though."
"No offense Charlie but you look like you can barely stay on those crutches as it is let alone carry anything."
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit. If you were fine you'd be going home to your Dad and Don rather than asking to stay with Mike and me."
"You might have a point." Charlie tells her as they head to collect his bag.
10 minutes later, they were settled in the car and headed out.
"So what did you tell your dad?" Jessie decided to cut straight to the chase.
"That something came up and the job was going to last longer than I thought."
"So he thinks you've been where?"
"D.C."
"Gee, isn't that convenient? And in reality you were where?"
"Kabul. I was doing some consulting with the military on cryptography stuff."
"So what happened? Mike never came back on crutches from a crypto consult."
This was what Charlie liked about Jessie she understood his work. Jessie was the only child of a Princeton physics professor whose husband was a professor of applied mathematics at Georgetown. When he'd decided he couldn't head straight home he'd called Mike and Jessie hoping they'd let him recuperate with them.
"Car bomb went off nearby; I got sliced up by flying glass."
"And you won't go home why?"
"Give me a break Jess. My dad doesn't think I should be working with Don. He'd flip if he found out about the other stuff. Both he and Don have this idea of me and what I do and consulting with the military doesn't fit anywhere in that description. They think of me as the absent minded professor."
"Have you tried explaining it to them?"
"Not really. It's never come up. I don't really think showing up on crutches with stitches in my leg and muscle damage is the best way to approach the subject."
"Point taken. Your mom understood though, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did, but she was different and even she agreed it would be best not to tell my dad."
Jessie and his mother had met years before while Charlie was attending Princeton. Jessie was one of the few people Charlie had ever met as a child that didn't treat him like a freak because of his IQ. Charlie's theory was it was because of her father. They'd lost touch for a while but reconnected when she'd attended a conference with Mike where Charlie was a guest lecturer.
"Mike okay with my staying with you?"
"Of course, he's fine with it. He did threaten to have you do a guest lecture for one of his classes in lieu of rent."
Charlie laughed that sounded like the kind of thing Mike would say.
Finally, they arrived at the house. Jessie sent Charlie on in and told him to lie down for a while. It took some maneuvering but eventually Charlie managed to be settled in the guest bedroom.
Jessie left him with a promise she wouldn't let him sleep more than an hour or two.
Georgetown University Hospital
3 days later
Charlie headed down the hallway to meet Jessie. The doctor had just informed him that the damage to his leg had healed enough for him to start some physical therapy. He was supposed to come in tomorrow to get started and then 3 days a week after that. The doctor thought he'd be off the crutches and walking normally in about 3 weeks.
Charlie came around the corner and froze. He wondered if he could back up without being seen.
"Charlie!"
Well that answered that question.
Charlie took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was probably to come.
"Hi, Terry. How are you?"
"I'm fine. What happened to you?"
"Long story. What are you doing here?" Charlie asked.
"I live in DC now."
"Oh. I knew you'd left LA but I had no idea you'd ended up here. Don never mentioned it."
"Doesn't surprise me."
"Charlie!" Jessie called.
"Hi, Jessie. Jessie this is Terry Lake. Terry this is my friend Jessie Atwater."
The two women shook hands.
"Jessie, how do you know Charlie?"
"My father was one of Charlie's professors when he was at Princeton and my husband is a colleague. Are you ready to go Charlie?"
"Almost. I've got to schedule a physical therapy appointment for tomorrow." Charlie started steering Jessie towards the main desk for the floor hoping they could escape without too many more questions.
"What do you need physical therapy for? And why are you staying here instead of going home for it?" Terry asked.
"Yeah, right. And explain things?" Jessie snorted.
"Explain what?" A new voice entered the conversation.
Charlie looked towards the sound and was relieved to find an FBI agent he didn't know standing there.
"Will, this is Charlie Eppes. Charlie this is my new partner Will Andrews."
"Any relation to Don Eppes?"
"He's my brother. Nice to meet you. Jessie and I need to be going. Great to see you again Terry." Charlie used the moment to make his getaway without having to answer any questions.
Georgetown University Hospital
Physical and Occupational Therapy Clinic
4 days later
Charlie finished getting dressed and made his way out to waiting room. He hated physical therapy but he really wanted to get rid of the crutches and get home.
He opened the door and stopped in shock. Don was sitting in the waiting room. The two of them just stared at each other.
Jessie decided someone needed to take control and it might as well be her. "All right you two. Let's go. Don you can ride with us but I don't want to hear a word out of either of you until we get home."
She led and Charlie and Don just followed.
Jessie and Mike's house
40 minutes later
Charlie was proud of himself he actually managed to start the conversation.
"How long did Terry wait before calling and telling you she saw me?"
"She didn't call me. I called the DC office for some information and Andrews mentioned meeting you. I had to pump Terry for information and she never could answer the question, what happened to you?"
"It's a long story."
"Actually, no it's not." Jessie volunteered.
Charlie shot her a dirty look. Jessie just shot him one right back.
"So, tell me."
"I got hurt on the job."
Jessie didn't even try stopping the snort that came out at that comment.
"How does a mathematician get hurt on a consulting job?"
"I was consulting with the military."
"And?"
"In Kabul."
"Kabul? What the hell were you doing in Afghanistan?" Don shouted.
"He was consulting with some cryptographers." Jessie volunteered.
"Why would you go do something so dangerous?" Don demanded while doing his best to ignore Jessie.
"Because the whole point of going into applied math instead of theoretical math was to be useful and be able to see my skills accomplish something. Besides this is the first time I've ever been hurt during a consulting job."
"You've done this kind of stuff before?"
"Yes. I've done this kind of stuff before. You know I've consulted with the NSA and of course the FBI is it really that surprising that I've consulted with the military?" Charlie asked.
Don just looked at him.
"Don."
"I guess not. Why didn't you tell us where you were going?"
"It never came up?" Charlie asked hoping Don would buy that.
"So, asking where you're going isn't bringing it up." Don snorted.
"I didn't think you'd buy that. Would you believe I didn't want Dad to worry?"
"That I'd believe. How you keep it from us the other times?"
"I had mom's help."
That seemed to stop Don cold.
"She knew?"
"Yeah, she knew. She also suggested that we not tell Dad. She said one of the things Dad liked about my job was that he didn't have to worry about me the way he worried about you."
"She said that? When?"
"Before she got sick."
"When I was on the fugitive squad," It wasn't a question.
"Yeah. Look, Don, I don't do that much consulting with the military. I take precautions. . ."
"Obviously not enough precautions" Don growled.
"That's not true. This was the result of a car bomb going off in the neighborhood. I was sliced up by flying glass. Statistically speaking it could have happened in downtown LA."
Don took several deep calming breaths.
"Okay, I'll concede you might have a point about your chances of getting hurt but I still think you should let us know when you go on one of these trips."
"Why? So you two can worry about me?" Charlie blew out a frustrated breath.
"No, at least not entirely."
"Then what?"
"Well, what if this had been worse? Don't you think we would have had more trouble dealing with it if the first we knew of you being in Kabul was a call from a hospital?"
"Good point."
"Plus, it would cut down on your use of sick days if you didn't have to stay away from home to recuperate," Jessie interjected.
Charlie just rolled his eyes at her.
"Charlie?"
"Just a second, Don. I'm thinking."
Don decided it would be better to wait Charlie out and see what he had to say. It took almost 5 minutes but he was finally rewarded for his patience.
"What about a compromise?"
"What kind of compromise?"
"I tell you where I'm going but we agree that for right now Dad doesn't need to know."
"Any particular reason why you don't want him to know?"
"I don't want him to worry any more than he already does."
"Okay, I guess I can understand that. I'll agree on one condition."
"What's that?"
"You consider telling Dad about the consulting and I reserve the right to tell him if I think the situation warrants it."
Charlie frowned, "Agreed but if you decide to tell him you wait until I've left."
"Why?"
"Because what I do on these consulting trips is important but usually classified I'm not sure I can explain to Dad in a way he would understand."
Don could understand where Charlie was coming from. His Dad had never understood his working on the fugitive squad or some of the other things Don's job required him to do.
"Agreed."
"Thanks."
"So when will you be home?"
"Probably next Friday, I should be off the crutches by Monday. What are you going to tell Dad?"
"That yes, I saw you; you're fine and should be home by the end of the week.
"Sounds good. Thanks Don."
"You're welcome."
The end