Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. I don't think I can stand to own a mathematical genius like Charlie.

Author's Note: This is my first Numb3rs fanfiction, although I do write on a somewhat regular basis. So, like everyone else, I would appreciate reviews to help make this better. Also, I do not promise that I will have regular updates, but I'm going to be trying to update about once a week.

Don was found, for the first time in about ten years, sitting in the back of the classroom. No matter how hard he tried, he could not understand what the professor was talking about. It took all of Don'ts concentration to keep from falling asleep.

Don began to wonder what it would be like to have a brother who was not a mathematical genius. "Would I understand his classes more?" he mused.

"And that is your answer, Janet." Don snapped back into reality. Charlie hit the chalk against the blackboard and turned back to face the class. Although Don had been there for the past ten minutes, Charlie gave a small not towards Don, acknowledging his presence for the first time.

"Okay, class. Is that all the questions you have?" The classroom was silent, except for the occasional pencil scratch or tap. Charlie glanced around before saying, "Then you have the test on this next Tuesday." Charlie turned back around to erase the board, while the flurry of the students gathering their supplies persisted behind him.

Don waited for the commotion to die down before heading to the front of the room, a folder in hand. Still with his back turned, Charlie greeted Don. "Hi, Don."

"Hey, Professor Eppes." Charlie turned to look at his grinning brother before replacing the eraser on the rack. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Don. I knew you were here, and I knew you would be coming over to the desk after class. Statistically, it would have been the only logical thing you would have done. Besides, I'm not always zoned out from the rest of the world to concentrate on numbers, you know." Charlie grabbed his bag and motioned to his office. Don gave a small chuckle before taking the invitation into his brother's office. Charlie followed, leaving the door open.

"So," he said, sitting in his chair and placing his stuff down, "You said you've got a new development in the case?"

Don nodded, the smile on his face disappearing into a more serious one. "We think we have figured out where the students are being taken." Charlie took the folder, looking at all the data the agents collected. This was an unusual case for them, because although they were about to hire Charlie once again to consult, they had found the pattern on their own. Don cleared his throat, and Charlie looked up to face him. "Now, the odd thing is-"

"Uh, Don?" Don stopped talking, and looked at where Charlie was looking. In the doorway stood what Don presumed was one of Charlie's students. "Yes, Stephanie? What can I help you with?"

"Well, you told me to come in today after class to talk about my thesis…" the girl's voice trailed off. Charlie suddenly became red in the face, muttering something about forgetting his appointment. "I can come in sometime tomorrow, if that would be better for you?"

Charlie hesitated for a moment before answering. When he did, it was slow, and Don could tell he was embarrassed about forgetting his student. "Yeah. That would work better. I'm sorry, something has come up today."

"That isn't a problem, Professor. That would actually work better for me, too. What time should I come tomorrow?"

"How does about an hour before class sound?"

Stephanie nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Good-bye, Professor." She turned her head towards Don. "Good-bye, Sir." She turned, heading out the door. A glint from her back alerted Don, and he connected her to the case he was about to discuss with Charlie.

After she left the doorway, Don pulled his gun out of his holster, and yells, "FBI! TURN AROUND, AND PUT YOU HANDS ABOVE YOU HEAD!" He couldn't imagine a girl, looking around the age of eighteen, could have kidnapped five girls, but with the looks of having a gun in her pocket, Don figured it would be better to be safe than sorry.

Nervously, Stephanie turned around to face the agent, all of her stuff now scattered around her on the floor. "Now, slowly take the gun out of your pocket."

Stephanie looked completely confused. "But, Sir, I don't have a gun in my pocket."

Still holding his gun out, Don walked around Stephanie until he was able to see what he thought was the gun. Seeing nothing, he returned the gun to his holster, and told Stephanie to relax. "Stephanie, if I may ask, why are you wearing your belt backwards?"

Stephanie, apparently much more comfortable, sighed. Don couldn't tell if it was a sigh of frustration or relief. "Because, Sir-"

"Agent Eppes. You've called me 'Sir' enough now, I think."

"Agent Eppes, I was trying to find out how long it would take for somebody to notice something out of the norm. My roommate last night got a little frustrated when I told her something was out of order. She claimed that nobody notices anything that is that subtle a change. So, I wanted to see if anybody would notice it. Surprisingly, I have been out of my dorm room since seven this morning. It is now four in the afternoon, and you are the first person to comment on it." She suddenly chuckled, saying, "I guess it's good that someone that observant is working for the FBI."

Don pulled out a business card from his wallet, laughing to himself. "Here's my card. If you spot anything extremely 'out of the norm', call me, okay? We can always use more eyes for the FBI."

Stephanie took the card. "I will, Agent Eppes. Don't worry." She smiled. "I'd better be going. It was nice meeting you. I'll see you tomorrow, Professor." With a small nod, she finally exited the classroom without incident.

Don turned to Charlie, and noticed how upset he was. "Hey, Buddy, what's wrong?"

Charlie sighed. "I've never forgotten about a student before. That's all."

"Charlie, that was my fault. I insisted on coming today. Besides, she said that it would be better for her to come tomorrow as well. Don't beat yourself up about it." Charlie looked up, and sighed again. "Look, I would appreciate it if you came to the office with me, and then we can go out and just hang out, okay?"

He nodded, and picked up his stuff. Together, the brothers walked out of the room and headed towards the front entrance to the Math and Science building at Cal Sci. As they were opening the doors, however, Don's phone rang.

"Eppes."

"Don, it's Megan. We have another abduction that we think is relevant to the case. How soon can you get over to Cal Sci?"

"You mean a student was abducted here? I mean, Charlie and I are already here, about to leave."

"Then head to the back exit of the Math and Science building. The girl's stuff was there, and witnesses said…never mind. I'll tell you when I get over there."

"Got it." The cell phone snapped shut quickly. Charlie's eyes were wide open, obviously after hearing Don's end of the phone conversation.

"A student was abducted here?"

"Yeah. Back exit of this building. Let's go."

They started walking fast to the scene, before Charlie put two-and-two together. "Don, it isn't Stephanie, is it?"

Don's eyes grew wide enough to match his brother's. Quietly, he swore under his breath, and picked up his pace even more, with Charlie close to his heels.

Reaching the crime scene, Don showed his identification to the officer in charge, and pulled Charlie under the police tape as well. All that remained was a couple of scattered books, all with the name 'Stephanie Broker' on labels

Minutes afterward, Megan and David showed up on the scene. Megan walked over to Don, and consequently Charlie. Charlie was muttering to himself, and Don just looked shocked, though he trying to hide it as much as he could.

"What do we know about the vic?" Megan asked him.

"Stephanie Broker, I'm guessing around age eighteen." Megan nodded to Don, but before she was able to reply, he said, "And Charlie and I saw her just minutes before the abduction."

The same shocked expression that Don had on his face showed up on her face. Charlie still looked incredibly worried, but at least he had stopped muttering. "Don?" she asked cautiously. "You do know what this means, right?"

Don nodded, and he stopped trying to hide his shock. Charlie looked at him quizzically, confused as to what it meant.

"What it means, Charlie, is-" Don had to stop to breathe, and instead just sighed loudly. "It means that we are both suspects for kidnapping. And, if this follows the kidnappings that have been happening lately, a charge of murder is added to the deal as well." Charlie's face no longer showed worry. It showed downright terror. Don could not blame him. He felt exactly the same way.