I do not own any characters associated with the TV show Numb3rs. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Present

"Hello?" Don had entered the house, but no one appeared to be home.

"Hey, Donnie, how was work?" His father appeared from the kitchen.

"Actually, it's not going that great. I should still be there, but I need to talk to Charlie."

"You're not staying for dinner?"

"I can stay, just not for long." Alan could tell from the tense look on Don's face that something was really bothering him. He had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't just work.

"Your brother's upstairs." Don made a move toward the stairs, but his father continued. "He came in with a look worse than the one you're wearing. You want to tell me what's going on?"

"Honestly, dad, I don't know. And even if I did, it's probably not my place to say."

"So this is some problem of Charlie's."

"Yeah."

"Should I be concerned?"

"No, don't worry about it; I've got this one covered."

"Did you upset your brother?"

"No! Why do you always assume it's me?"

"Don't get all upset. And what are you talking about? I don't 'always assume it's you!' It's just that there aren't many people who can get under Charlie's skin enough to have that kind of effect."

"He looked pretty bad, huh?"

"About as bad as I've seen him since your mother died."

"Look, I've got an idea what this is about. Just let me go talk to him."

Alan gave his son an appraising look as though deciding whether or not that was really the best course of action. "Well, knowing him he hasn't eaten since breakfast so do me a favor and get him down here for dinner. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Thanks, dad."

Don headed upstairs, gathering his thoughts on the way. He hated nosing into Charlie's business but he didn't want to ignore what had happened either. As the big brother, Don always felt he needed to protect Charlie. Ever since they went to school together, protecting Charlie had included trying to shield him from the pain the opposite sex could inflict. Don still kicked himself for ever letting him go out with Alison, his first girlfriend, who ended up breaking his heart.

He walked in the solarium, but as he suspected, Charlie wasn't working on the case. All of his papers were still in his bag, even his laptop sat untouched. He was staring out the window at the back yard.

"Hey, buddy."

Charlie snapped around, obviously unaware Don had entered the room. "Hey, Don, I was just…" He walked over to the table and started pulling papers out of his bag.

Don walked over and put his hand on Charlie's arm. "Don't. I didn't come here about work."

Charlie turned his face to his brother's and Don took his hand away. "You want to tell me what happened today?"

Charlie did his best to make his face go blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, you're gonna have to do way better than that, Charlie. I think you forgot who you're talking to."

"I didn't forget." Charlie mustered a determined look and shrugged his shoulders. "I thought it was okay that we didn't talk about our past relationships with each other?"

Don saw that one coming a mile away, but he was ready for it. "So she is an ex."

"Why does it matter? Why do you care?" He was clearly on the defensive, which was not where Don wanted him.

"Come on, Charlie, I thought we got past this."

Charlie shook his head and looked at the floor. "I know; I thought we did too."

"If you really don't want to talk about it, then say so; just don't lie to me about it."

Charlie let out a deep breath and his shoulders sagged. He threw himself down in the armchair by the window.

"It's a long story."

"They always are." They exchanged half-smiles before Charlie continued.

He took a deep breath and let it out sharply. "You already know we met on a case. It was about three years ago. We spent a lot of time together, working on it. She just… I'd never met anyone like her." Charlie turned and stared out the window. "One day, things just changed. Then one thing led to another, and before I knew it I was…I don't know. I couldn't even concentrate on the case, on anything. I'd never felt that way about anyone in my whole life. I guess I really haven't since. Then suddenly she was just…gone. She had to go away for her assignment, and I never saw her after that."

"Until today."

"Yeah."

"Well that explains it."

Charlie turned to his brother with a pained expression. "Don, I should be honest, I don't know if I can work on this case with her there."

"Come on, Charlie, I've got no choice about her helping! Besides, you can't always run away from these things, even if you want to. Trust me on that."

"You don't understand; it's…complicated."

"Complicated or not, you'll have to talk to her eventually."

"It's been so long; I wouldn't even have a clue where to start."

Don couldn't offer Charlie advice on this particular subject; it wasn't exactly his realm of expertise either. He started wondering how he hadn't heard about this woman before if they were so involved, and then something occurred to him.

"Three years ago…that was when mom got sick."

"Yeah, I know." Charlie turned back to the window.