Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or the characters. No copyright infringement is intended. The math in this story is from Wikipedia.

A/N: This chapter is a little short, so I'm posting two chapters at once. Many thanks to my beta, seether79! She's back! Yay!

Chapter 5

"So, like I was saying, Megan, um… I just thought I'd drop by the office and um, see if you weren't busy…"

Even over the phone, there was no mistaking the amusement in Megan's voice. "Charlie, you're the worst liar I've ever heard."

Charlie sighed. He'd tried to convince his brother this wouldn't work, but Don had refused to listen.

"Is Don there listening?"

Charlie glanced over at Don before replying, "Um, no."

Megan laughed. "Oh, Charlie! You can't lie at all can you?"

"I can too!" Charlie blurted out before wincing at how petulant he sounded.

Megan chuckled. "You know, it's interesting… Your brother's actually very good at it. I bet he tricked you into coming to the office today. Am I right?"

Assuming she was about to berate him for how easily he'd fallen for his brother's deception, he answered in a guarded tone, "Maybe."

"Well, try looking at it this way," she offered kindly, "maybe that's because you're the good one in the family. Huh?"

He knew she meant well, but it grated against him. All through high school pretty girls who only had eyes for his big brother had dismissively called him a sweet kid. Teachers and principals had held him up as an example of good behavior for Don, unintentionally driving a wedge further between them. No matter how old or successful he became, being compared to his brother always rubbed him the wrong way.

Unaware she'd caused any offense, Megan continued, "Listen, I gotta go. Tell Don I said 'hi.' And tell him if he gets so much as a drop of water on my hair when I come into the office on Monday, I'll break his legs. Okay?"

"Okay," he replied absently as he continued to stew over her comments.

"Bye, Charlie," Megan crooned sweetly before hanging up the phone.

Charlie stood listening to a dial tone and burned with frustration. Don and David were grinning at him with barely suppressed excitement. He wasn't looking forward to telling them he'd failed. Even worse was Amita's skeptical expression. He wasn't sure if she couldn't believe he'd be successful or just couldn't believe he'd agreed to make the phone call in the first place. Either way, he became determined to prove Megan wrong.

Before he'd even finished the thought, Charlie tightened his grip on the phone and said, "Yeah? So you'll come?"

Don and David silently cheered and exchanged high-fives while Amita simply raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Charlie blinked, bewildered by his own actions. Unable to figure a way out of it, he continued with the charade. "Ten minutes? Okay. Tell you what. I'll meet you out front, okay? Yeah, right in front of the building."

As he hung up the phone, Don thumped him on the back. "Way to go, Charlie!" he exclaimed. "Okay, we've still got a few water balloons left, right? Let's go!"

Charlie interrupted quickly, "Actually, Don and I need a minute." He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this, but confiding in Don seemed like his only option.

Don shot him a quizzical glance, then turned back to David without missing a beat and said, "Look, why don't you go keep a lookout? Charlie and I'll work on getting a few more balloons ready, alright?" David grinned and the two fell into a quick strategy discussion.

Charlie took Amita aside. "Would you mind going with David? I just need a couple minutes to talk to Don."

Amita looked slightly puzzled, but swiftly nodded. "Sure, no problem." With a smile she added, "Hanging out with you two is a little dangerous right now anyway."

Charlie smiled and ducked his head. "Thanks for being such a good sport today."

"No problem. It's been fun," she assured him as she reached out and patted him on one of the few dry spots left on his shirt. She let her hand linger there. Charlie concentrated on not making any sudden moves that might dislodge it and just enjoyed the feel of it.

In a playful tone she added, "Actually, it's given me a few ideas. The balcony on the south side of the math building would be a prime location for a water balloon attack. And I know you pass under there everyday."

Charlie did an exaggerated double take and Amita laughed. "What? You thought I wouldn't want to play? Don was the one who decided I was off-limits. Not me. Remember?"

Before Charlie could decide how to react to that, Don bumped him with his shoulder and jerked his head to indicate he should follow him. Charlie, already missing the feel of Amita's hand on him, only had time for a quick glance back at her before he turned and jogged to catch up with his brother.