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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Colby inwardly groaned.

"Yes, thank you, I would like to have some of that cake now."

The agent was sitting in the sparse kitchen of Caleb's farm house. He had led her back up the path to the house, trying to guide her to open up about another connection between Don Eppes and Melinda Thompson, one that she had not spoken of during their first conversation, all the while he was guiltily hoping it was the final bit of information that she would have to offer.

Because the agent was hungry, extremely hungry.

And though he had been used to eating food in the armed forces that seemed comprised of the sand that surrounded him, since coming home he had promised himself that never again would he let food that dry and tasteless pass his lips.

Unless absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, since he had not eaten anything since that morning, and even that had been very little, he found himself at 'necessary'.

Because the information that Caleb had to offer was more important than the steak dinner he had hoped to grab.

And besides, it was cake.

Wasn't it?

Colby found the atmosphere in the kitchen to be much homier than the air that had surrounded them outside on the front porch. If he hadn't known any better, he would have said that Caleb was correct in describing the valley as sad, because he had felt mournful spirits all around them as they sat in the sun. Oddly, as it had fallen into night, the ghosts had disappeared and he felt like he was now sitting in a kitchen that was no different from any other he had ever been in. Caleb had said the night hid their sins, and maybe she was right about that, too.

Or he was just feeling that way because he sensed an ease of tension in the woman who sat across from him.

"Here you go," Caleb said politely. She placed a third of the loaf on Colby's plate. He thanked her and quickly dug in, wanting to be done with it so that he could concentrate on what she had to say. He was surprised to find the cake was moist and hid a hint of sweetness in the soft taste of wheat that could be detected in every mouthful. When he finished, he further surprised himself when he asked for another piece, grateful when she gave him a second third of the loaf, refilling his glass of tea.

Colby munched on the cake slowly. Swallowing, he asked, "How did you know Don's parents are Margaret and Alan Eppes?"

He watched Caleb stand at the sink with her hands pressing into the counter. She raised her head and looked out the window, staring at the moon that was just beginning to appear in a corner of the sky, the darkness reminding her of Melinda's black eyes.

"I told you she came back here- months after the incident. And she was looking for a live baby, her little boy." Caleb turned around and went to sit with Colby at the Formica table in the center of her kitchen. Clasping her hands, she explained, "She found him. Or at least she thought she did."

Colby pushed his plate away and sat back in his chair. He stared at the woman across from him in disbelief. "You're not going to tell me that baby was Don Eppes?"

Looking away, she replied, "It seems crazy, I know. But it could have been anybody's baby that she found here, it just so happened that it was Maggie and Alan's."

Folding his arms and leaning on them, pushing into what Caleb was telling him, Colby told her, "You have to tell me everything that happened between the Eppes and Melinda. I need to know."

"I know, Colby. It's just I never thought it would come up. Or that the incident could have an effect on the Eppes thirty-five years later, especially because they never knew about it."

"Never knew about what?"

"Never knew that Melinda had tried to kidnap their newborn son."

Colby was startled by the revelation. The woman had tried to kidnap Don thirty-five years ago? If Caleb was telling him the truth about the attempt, then she was correct in saying that Alan Eppes had not known about it; otherwise, the moment Melinda's name came up, he would have remembered the incident and associated the two.

"How could they not know?"

Pushing strands of hair from her face, Caleb shook her head and continued, "Because we didn't tell them." She raised her eyes to Colby, meeting his gaze. "Yes, it's another secret I've kept, but it is not something that I feel bad about doing. It was the best thing we could do for Melinda, and the Eppes really didn't need to know."

"The Eppes stayed at this commune?" Colby tried to picture Alan Eppes in a tye-died shirt and ragged jeans, smoking marijuana, but he failed to conjure up the image.

Caleb gave a little laugh, shaking her head again. "Maggie? Lord, no. She was so fussy about her baby it took an hour of her husband's coaxing before she would allow me to watch him. No, Alan would have loved to stay here- but not Maggie. And since they were practically joined at the hip, Alan had to settle for a visit."

Thinking back to a case they had earlier in the year, Colby tried to remember what details had been in Alan Eppes' file concerning anti-establishment activities during the early seventies. Don had left his dad's file on his desk, and the younger agent couldn't help but take a peek to see what information the Bureau could possibly have on the gentle and kind elder Eppes. He had been disappointed to read about peace demonstrations outside federal buildings and voter registration tables set up in Crenshaw. None of it was of any interest to Colby.

Not until now.

Colby realized that Randy Thompson had also been involved in voter registration- hell, he thought, according to Caleb he was like the movement's unsung spokesman.

Speaking his thoughts aloud, he asked, "The voter registration movement- is that why Alan and Maggie came here?"

"Very good, Colby," Caleb nodded her approval. "Yes, they came to see the famous Thoreau, who had disappeared from the movement's eye during that summer and who was rumored to have settled at this commune. Of course, the rumors were true- but by the time the Eppes came to visit, Randy had already moved on, taking Melinda with him." Caleb's eyes shadowed briefly. "They were both disappointed that Randy was not here. Despite that, Alan wanted to stay, interview people, see if he could gather more supporters for a peace protest they were going to stage in L.A. Maggie wanted to go home immediately; she wasn't interested in the nefarious activities that were occurring in the commune, and she was afraid that if they stayed someone might hurt her baby. I guess Maggie's motherly instincts were warning her to leave."

Caleb murmured under her breath. "They should have listened to those instincts."

Standing, Caleb took Colby's dishes to the sink and set up some water. Grabbing an old rag, she wiped the kitchen table and then went back to the sink to wring it out, leaving it on the counter when she finished. She returned to the table and sat down, looking wrung out herself as she explained the rest of her story.

"It was one day, only one day that the Eppes came and stayed. Fate, I guess, that Melinda also returned to retrieve her baby on that same day, and during the four hours that the Eppes were away from their son. As I said, it took an hour for Alan to convince Maggie to leave her baby with me- here in the house, of course, while they went down to the valley, meeting with the residents of the commune. Though, Maggie wasn't too thrilled about the house, either. She only left her baby with me a little over four hours before she came back for him. From one of their conversations I overheard when they first got here, it sounded like Alan had convinced Maggie to come to the commune with the promise that there was a house she could stay at. Only, Maggie wasn't too happy when she found it devoid of electricity and water."

Caleb allowed herself a moment to think. "Really, she wasn't too different from Melinda. Neither of them was happy about this commune. But, Maggie was more sure of herself, and wouldn't let her husband talk her into doing anything that she really did not want to do. That's why they left that night. By the time Melinda had developed a will of her own, it was too late. Her baby was already gone, and so were the chances of her having another."

"So, Melinda returned and found the Eppes' baby?" Colby asked, intrigued by the coincidences active in the lives of the Thompsons and Eppes.

"Yes, she did. And if I had been Melinda, I would have thought that baby mine, too- would have desperately wanted it be mine." Her eyes glowing, Caleb eagerly told Colby, "He was just what Melinda would have expected her baby to look like. Black hair and dark eyes, just like hers, little curls framing his face… and that smile, so intriguing. One rarely sees a baby that looks so appealing. Melinda had come straight to the house, to confront me about her son. She walks into my bedroom, and what does she see?" Not expecting a response from Colby, she answered her own question. "She sees me, the last person who had possession of her son, with a baby whose features matched her own. Once her eyes caught site of him, in her mind, I was no longer in the room. She walked right past me to the bed, and lay down next to him. He smiled at her and wrapped his little hand around her finger. You can understand why she thought he was her own?"

"Yes," Colby agreed, "I guess I can. At least, when she first saw him, I understand why she thought the baby was hers, especially if she thought her child was alive. But, did you explain to her that her baby had died, and that the one she was holding was someone else's?"

"I tried to, but she wouldn't listen to me when I said the baby was Don Adam Eppes, and his parents would be returning shortly. She had glared at me, and told me, "His name might be Don Adam- but his last name is Thompson, not Eppes." That's when Randy and Alfie came in. They had been looking for her. She'd taken off from Alta Sierra, and they assumed she would come to the commune, looking for her child, one she had yet to stop talking about. She was leaving out my bedroom door, attempting to take the Eppes' baby, when they walked in and took him from her." Caleb folded her shoulders inwards and wrapped her arms around her body. "I thought Melinda had screamed the night, that night…she gave birth. But it didn't compare to the screaming and howling that came out of her when Randy took that baby from her. It's the last memory I have of her- arms stretched out and heart-wrenching screaming, begging for her little boy, while Randy and Alfie dragged her from the room."

Caleb and Colby sat quietly as they contemplated what the effects would be on a woman who has her child taken from her twice. Obviously, Colby thought, the effects had been mentally detrimental. Otherwise, Melinda would not have kidnapped Don again, so many years later.

Gently breaking the silence, Colby quietly asked, "So, did she ever understand that her child had died?"

"According to Alfie, she came to accept it. I don't know what could have happened to make her think that Don Eppes was her son again. Maybe it was the shock of Randy dying; really, I don't know. I truly believed it ended that night. Melinda was long gone by the time Alan and Maggie returned, and I did not feel the need to tell them what Melinda had done- Randy had assured me she would not be going anywhere until the doctors said she was completely healed. I thought telling the Eppes would make Maggie more paranoid about her son's safety, and if they pressed charges, it would only hurt Melinda's chances of getting better. I couldn't bring myself to hurt her again."

Colby thought about this new chapter in Melinda's story. If Caleb would testify in court, or swear out a statement, they would have a motive for Melinda kidnapping Don, something they did not have before; and they would have the prior attempt, which would further their case against her. But if Caleb refused to talk, it would do them no good, because, besides Melinda, the other principles involved were all dead.

Except for Alfie.

Colby thought they might be able to track Caleb's old boyfriend down if they searched the public records and found out who had been paying the taxes on her farm for the past three decades. It wasn't much, but if Caleb refused to talk, he was their next best choice.

It would also help if they could find the baby's grave. Colby couldn't recall if the bones of a baby would last that long in the ground. That was a secondary problem, though, as Caleb's land was acres in size and finding the gravesite would be cumbersome, near impossible. No, he would have to go through with his threat and visit Caleb again, the next time with a subpoena in hand.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Caleb interrupted Colby's inner conversation.

"I was wondering if you ever found that gravesite."

Sitting straight, defensively, Caleb asked, "Why is that important?"

"If we could find the remains of the child and match its DNA to Melinda, she might leave my friend alone. She continues to harass him."

Caleb sighed loudly. "Then why don't you give a DNA test to Don Eppes and compare it to Melinda?"

They stared at each other, the answer hanging in the air between them.

It was Colby's turn to sigh, but he did not say a word. So, Caleb supplied the answer, "You've seen it, too, haven't you? That obsessive look in Melinda's eyes. There is no way a DNA test is going to convince her that Don Eppes is not her little boy. She'll call you a liar, just like she called me one, when I tried to explain to her that her baby was dead, the first time she tried to take him."

"So, you don't know where the grave is?"

"I can not show you where that baby is buried. It has been too many years."

"Caleb, is there anything else you can tell me?"

"No, nothing that I can."

Caleb walked him back to the path. This time, she sent him with the shovel and a flashlight, telling him to leave them both at the side of the road. She sat on her front porch rocking, refusing to move from her spot until she saw Colby's headlights turn on and then drive away up and over the hill. When she was certain he was not returning, she went into her house and came back outside with another flashlight.

She walked down her front stairs and walked around to the side of her porch, moved aside a loose slat of wood and climbed underneath, slowly crawling along the dirt that loosely lay there, making a floor for the crawlspace that was formed by her stairs, the porch, and the lower front of her house. She sat down in the far corner, brushing away the dirt that had drifted over the five small stones that acted as markers for Melinda's baby's grave.

Caleb sat praying for peace to come to the living people for whom three of the markers represented: herself, Alfie, and Melinda, especially Melinda.

She was sorry she had to lie to Colby about knowing where the grave was; she had tried to be an honest person ever since that horrible night. This time, though, she believed the lie would prevent, not be the cause of, further pain to Melinda. In a sense, she hadn't lied when she said she could not tell him where the grave was, not because she did not know, but because she had been keeping the secret it contained to herself, for thirty-five years, and could not reveal it now. She knew doing so would serve no purpose- at least, not anymore.

Only some of the things she had said about the grave had been lies; others had not. When Melinda had been taken away the night of her delivery, Caleb had dug a makeshift grave out in the fields, in the first place she could. But, despite what she told Colby about not wanting to find it, the next day Caleb had gone looking for it, afraid Melinda would want a proper burial for her child and she would not have a body to bury. It had taken the entire day, but Caleb had located overturned dirt in one of the alfalfa fields, and she had pulled the blankets and their contents out into the light of the lowering sun. Then, she had waited till dark, and taken the bundle to the house, burying it under the front porch, hoping the thick blankets and protection from the elements would allow some part of the baby's body to survive, so Melinda could have something to bury.

Caleb had never been able to go into the alfalfa fields again without thinking about the baby. This was what had driven a wedge between her and Alfie, more so than anything that had occurred that ominous night. She had not been able to let it go and it had tainted everything good in her life, exemplified by her inability to be with him in the one place that had been theirs and theirs alone.

The night Melinda showed up looking for her son, Caleb was truthful when she told Colby that she had tried to tell Melinda that her baby had died. She had kept from Colby the fact that she had tried to show Melinda the gravesite, but the crazed woman had been deaf to everything she said. When Randy and Alfie had taken Melinda away, Caleb had stood there watching the woman screaming for her son, and she had known that it was too late for Melinda to accept and properly mourn the loss of her child.

That was when Caleb had decided to keep the grave's location and its contents secret. She had kept it to herself for so long that it was easy to lie to Colby and tell him that she could not tell him where it was.

But there had been something else she had kept from Colby, and from everybody else, other than the grave's location.

Caleb had kept from him the truth about the grave's contents.

From the time Melinda had delivered, till the time she had returned to the commune, Caleb remembered how the young woman had hysterically asked about her little boy.

Melinda was so obsessed about finding her little boy, that Caleb came to realize that showing the grave and its contents to her would not have helped her accept her child's death. It would have simply convinced Melinda that her baby was still alive, and would have probably sent her further over the edge, never to return.

Because what Caleb knew was something no one else did.

Something she had found out when she had dared to look at the body of the baby, one time after the midwife had shoved the blood-soaked blankets into her arms, Caleb hoping to prove to herself that she had not caused the death of Melinda's son, that hope quickly fading when she saw the dead baby for herself.

Caleb had seen the baby.

After Melinda tried to kidnap the Eppes' baby boy, Caleb knew she could never show the grave's contents to Melinda, that the remains of the body inside it could not have convinced Melinda years ago, nor could they convince her now, that her baby was, indeed, dead. So, Caleb saw no point in letting Colby and the FBI dig up the grave, allowing them to disturb what little peace she had left in her life, and maybe further destroying what was left of Melinda's sanity.

Caleb had seen the baby.

And only she knew…

that the baby Melinda had delivered…

who had died during childbirth…

whose body she had accepted in a mound of blankets...

and she had buried under the front porch of her house…

That the body of the baby in the gravesite before her…

Was the body of a baby girl.