Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Numb3rs or the characters therein. All characters are fictional and should not be associated with any other person- real or imagined.

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Donny opened his eyes, grabbed Buddy and was half-way out of his bed when he realized there was a strange noise coming from behind him. Sitting still on the edge, he held tight to the rabbit and slowly turned around. A small cot was set up on the right side of the room, a large form under the blankets rising and falling to the deep rhythm of snoring that filled the air. Donny leaned over his own bed, trying to see the amazing mouth that could expel such a loud, booming noise, but his view was blocked by the pillow the person had folded up over the top half of his face, the lower half lost behind a shoulder. He faced the bathroom again, his body starting its typical shiver as he stuck his thumb fearfully in his mouth. Donny wanted to hide under the covers, but the need to use the restroom overcame him and he fled there for safety instead.

When he finished, he gradually opened the bathroom door, listening for snoring; it was still there alright. He hesitated, frightened of the new presence in his room, but despite those fears he decided to conduct an investigation, because not knowing who was on the cot caused him more anxiety than if there actually were someone bad lying there. Donny lowered himself to his hands and knees, stuck Buddy's left ear in his mouth and bravely crawled along the floor past his bed, sticking his head around its end to peek at the cot. He was not sure who was under the blankets, but he knew that the people here would not let anything bad happen to him; still, his fear steadily rose as he crawled to the top end of the cot.

Donny peered at the gaping hole in the man's head as he bent over his shoulder, no more than two inches away from his face, wondering how so much sound could come out of such a little space. Swinging from Donny's mouth as he moved to get a better view, Buddy's foot brushed the man's mouth and barely touched the end of his nose, making it twitch until he sneezed- his mouth closed spasmodically, sucking in the rabbit's foot and making him choke. He bolted up, spitting out the gagging softness and sputtering small bits of yarn-like fur, his eyes snapping open. Startled, Donny fell back on his haunches and just sat frozen, the man blinking until he was fully awake, smiling when he saw him on the floor and then swinging his legs out of bed as he began stretching.

"Good morning, Donny. It is good to finally see you."

Pressing up against his bed, Donny gaped at the man, tears flowing down his face as he trembled uncontrollably. Alan tried to talk quietly to his son, "It's okay, Donny, I'm not going to hurt you. Don't be afraid. Everything's alright," resisting the urge to run after him when he scrambled on all fours to hide in the bathroom

Alan had been warned not to tell his son he was his father. This had upset him, but he understood that the new information might confuse Donny because he only remembered Dr. Thompson as Mommy and thought he had no other family members. Alan had also been warned not to discuss his late wife, or to say any negative words about 'Mommy', as Donny had a strong emotional attachment to Thompson, and any verbal attack on her would only interfere with Alan's attempt to gain his son's trust. It hurt, though, not to be able to tell him he did not need to rely on a fake mother's love, because his father was there to give him the real thing. Also painful was how Donny was trying to escape him, as if he was the cause of everything of which he was afraid.

Eventually, Alan gave up trying to communicate with his son, the day nurse coming in, carrying a small cooler bag. He reached next to his cot, grabbing his night bag to take advantage of the facilities as soon as his son exited them. Debra called to Donny, his appearance hesitant until she pulled out the first bottle, then he ignored his father and climbed back into bed, the satisfaction of his hunger his only concern. Alan went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and shave, getting dressed as quick as he could. Having only gotten a few hours sleep, Alan had not been able to wake up before his son, but planned to do so the next two days; they had too little time to form even a tentative bond for him to waste any of it with oversleeping.

After checking the schedule Wang had given him, Alan turned on the water to start filling the tub and poured in a generous amount of liquid bubbles, exiting in time to see Donny finishing his last bottle. Calling him over, Debra introduced him as "a very nice man named Alan who is going to help take care of you" and then indicated that he should take over for her, as she moved aside to give him room to stand next to the bed. Donny's eyes went wide and he began to whimper, but his nurse shushed him quiet and held the bottle at its end until Alan grasped it around the middle, her hand skillfully letting go. Time whisked back thirty-five years and Alan was confronted by the image of his baby boy, quietly feeding in his arms. Tears came to his eyes and he desperately wanted to throw himself at his son, cradle his body in a tight embrace while covering him in kisses and telling him over and over again how much he loved him, really loved him; but he bit his lip and tightly wound up his emotions, concentrating on making a connection with his son's eyes so he could pierce into his soul and find any remnant of the bond they once shared. Donny refused to look at him, though, first staring at Debra and then the ceiling, defeating all of Alan's attempts to wordlessly reach him.

While Alan finished feeding Donny, Debra checked his bath water and placed three toy boats on top. She then went to walk her patient to the tub, wordlessly indicating to Alan to follow, and then showing him how to help his son get undressed without doing all the work for him.

"Now, put your arm under him like this, and let him lean his weight on you just so; this allows you to have a firm grip and makes it easier to slide him in. The rehab nurse visiting your house today will be suggesting bars in the bathroom, but until Donny has a firm grip, you will need to continue helping him in. And at no point leave him alone. As you probably know, bathrooms are terribly famous for being scenes of accidents."

She handed Alan a wash cloth while he climbed down to his knees with a slight groan.

"I am getting just a little too old for this. I think I'll assign his younger brother this job."

Donny looked over at Alan curiously. His younger brother? He didn't have any brothers- only Mommy. Squinting at the man, a stirring of familiarity began to be raised, some faint, fuzzy scene scrabbling up from the dark pit in his mind; he tried to clear the ragged edges away to be left with a clear picture, but the awareness of his Mommy suddenly appeared, throwing a shadow over his thoughts like a sack and carrying them dreamily away. When Alan tried to wash him, Donny folded his arms across his chest, scowling at his father, his confusion at what the man had said making him angry and defiant. I have no younger brother and I want you to go away.

Debra would have none of his oppositional behavior. Using one of the two phrases she had learned got an immediate response from her patient, she told him, "Be a good boy, Donny, and let Alan take care of you." The other phrase was its opposite, "Don't be a bad boy, Donny" both of which she would have to teach his father. Reluctantly, he put down his arms and let Alan bathe him, the entire time half-heartedly playing with his boats. Debra sighed, knowing he could pout all day when they strayed even a little bit from his routine, but it couldn't be helped; he had to come to accept his father and adjust to change. She knew the latter would not be accomplished in just three days, but at the least he should learn to allow his father to care for him, whether he liked it or not. Anything beyond that would no longer be her concern.

Surprised that his son showed no signs of embarrassment, Alan thoroughly washed and dried him. He had little awkward feelings himself as his view of Donny had shifted to the one he had of him as a child; taking care of him was like falling into an old habit- an extremely outdated habit, but one to which he had been well-accustomed at one time. Except for the bottle-feeding and when he administered the baby powder, as they were strange things to do in regards to a grown man. Debra showed him that he needed to help Donny with his shirt, jeans, socks, and shoes, but not his boxers.

After the bath, both the nurse and Alan thought they were seeing progress, as Donny was being compliant in allowing his father to do everything else for him, even handing his father his brush so he could tenderly fix his hair, careful of his temples. When Alan asked him simple questions, he gave his father, short, shy answers while he sat comfortably between his knees, even smiling for a moment when showing off Buddy. Debra noticed that he had stopped sulking and she thought things might go well after all. Until they were entering the recreation room, and she remembered to put on his belt; by the time Alan and Donny had sat on the couch, her patient was pouting again and being stubbornly defiant, refusing to play with or look at his father. Debra could not understand why the recreation room had suddenly upset him.

Donny had felt good after the bath, enjoying how gentle Alan's hands were when touching him, and relinquishing his anger to the inviting smile that the man sported. He was not aware that a portion of his mind had been roused by the familiarity of his father's voice, and touch, and smell, naturally releasing his anxiety and permitting him to swiftly attach to him. Then the belt coiled around him and reminded Donny of what happened to little boys who talked to strangers, and silently communicated to him that Alan was a stranger. He became angry at himself for being bad and forgetting what Mommy had warned him, and for forgetting the teeth that had emphasized that what she said was true. Rubbing the thick leather that constricted his ability to move beyond Melinda's delusion, Donny remembered what he needed to do to be good, and spending time talking and playing with Alan was not one of them. Mommy had promised she would come back to get him, and he believed her; she was supposed to take care of him, not Alan, and nothing either Debra or Alan said would change that. He kept that attitude for most of the next two days, allowing his father to tend to his needs only when he was directed to do so but absolutely refusing to talk or play with him, or to offer another smile.

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It was late afternoon, the last day that Donny would be in the institution. He and Alan were sitting on the couch in the recreation room, one at either end. Cartoons were playing on the television while the elder gentleman busied himself fiddling with the locomotive of the train set, having taken it from its box in an attempt to regain his son's interest; thus far, it was not working. Stubbornly ignoring him, Donny sat fidgeting on the couch, trying to focus on the action colorfully splashing across the television, but despite himself his mind and emotions were continually drawn to the man who sat across from him. He was sad that he could not play with Alan, and that he talked so nicely to him but he could not respond. Whenever he felt he would falter in being good, Donny rubbed his thumb across his belt and kept his desires in check.

Alan knew that Dr. Wang was not completely satisfied with their progress, having talked to him earlier in the day. The doctor was concerned that Donny had yet to accept his father as caretaker, continuously having to be told to allow Alan to see to his needs by Debra in the day and other staff at night. Alan was not satisfied at all. Whenever he spoke to his son, the conversation was one-sided and ended up with him getting a perfect view of his back. While feeding him, closed eyes shut him out. Most of the day they spent in the recreation room together, but Donny was so unresponsive to him that he felt worse than if he had been alone.

Alan believed the main blockage between them was that he had not told him he was his father; he believed it might be difficult for Donny at first, but that in the long run it would be an effective and quick way for them to bond. But until he had formed some kind of acceptable link to Donny, the doctor thought it might be too much of an emotional upheaval to tell his son the news. Alan was becoming more frustrated and angry every minute he spent getting rejected by his son, his need to tell him who he was becoming overwhelming, and he found himself trying hard to keep himself under control.

"Look, Donny," he said, moving closer to him across the couch. "Now, this is a good locomotive engine, classical really. See this tells you its engine number, and look at the details they included in this compartment here." Donny ignored the proffered toy, staring at the television beyond his father's hands, while his thumb was resting under the side of his belt. Alan set the train down on the floor and then momentarily compressed his hands against his face. Nudging closer on the couch, he reached out to run a hand through his son's hair as he had so often done in the past, but Donny twisted his head out from under his father's caress, saying the first word he'd said to him in two days-

"Don't."

Having elicited some verbal activity, Alan tried to stroke Donny's head again, receiving the same response, but in a harder, manlier voice tone-

"Don't."

Alan would not allow his firstborn to refuse him what he thought was his parental right- the right to provide the simple but loving touch. When he deliberately stretched his hand out once again, Donny straightened to glare at his father while he shrugged away the other man's hand with his own-

"Don't! Only Mommy," he stated emphatically.

It was too much for Alan to endure, being told that a strange madwoman could touch and hold his son while he, his father, was brushed aside. His emotions brimming over at last, he clamped Donny's hand down at his side and bowed into him, regretting every last word he said even as they thundered from his mouth.

"Mommy's gone and she's not coming back- not now, not ever! I'm your daddy and you're going to come live with me! I'm going to take care of you and so is your brother!"

Donny looked at his father aghast, turmoil brewing inside his mind as conflict rose and fell along his racing pulse. His outer body sat petrified but inside his emotions and comprehension clambered out of control, spinning around and making him dizzy; in the space of minutes he surrendered to emotional fatigue, stimulated memories swaying him to believe in his heart that every word he had heard was true.

Crying tears of regret and relief from having finally told his son the truth, Alan slipped his arms around Donny's now-pliable form, drawing his head to his chest when he met no opposition, rocking him softly in his arms, apologizing profusely for all that he had said, for yelling at him and for not being there for him when he had needed him most. At last, Alan could run his fingers through his son's hair, his hands moving relentlessly, rubbing his back and arms and side as he poured kisses on his face, telling him over and over how much he loved him and would take care of him.

But the tears that poured down Donny's face were ones of misery, his father's words about Mommy tearing him apart.

It doesn't matter, he cried, hiding his face in the folds of his father's shirt, when you see how worthless and bad I am, you won't want me, either.