Title: Home Is Where The Heart Is.
Fandom: CSI/Numb3rs.
Pairing: Don/Charlie.
Author: Aiden.
Chapters: (4/?)
Ratings: FRT 13
Warnings: Incest, angst, hurt/comfort, language.
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
Summary: Don meets the team.
Beta: SRS/Silvia *hugs* Thanks a bunches for all the help.
Author's note: More Amita whumping, I really don't like her.
It was Don's first day at the LA FBI office; he was nervous and excited at once. After having to run for their lives, everything was finally falling into place for Don and Charlie.
New town, new job… new life together.
Waiting outside of his boss' office, Don turned when the tall, blond-haired Assistant Director greeted him. "Eppes," he said, extending his hand.
"Director Merrick," Don replied as he shook the other man's hand firmly.
"Let's walk to your office so that I can introduce you to your team."
The director gave him a quick tour of the departments as they made their way to the floor where Don's office would be located.
"Here we are," Assistant Director Merrick said, pointing to an open area with several cubicles facing into a small common area. "This is your area, and your office is over there," he said, pointing to an office door. "Let me introduce you to your team."
They walked towards a large conference room, where a woman and two men sat at the table. When Don followed the director into the room, the first thing that hit his sensitive nose was the scent of wolves.
Another pack.
Damn.
Narrowing his gaze, he looked over the three agents carefully. The woman was tall and athletic, but not an alpha. Of the two men, one was a wolf and the other was a human. The wolf was tall, black, and well muscled, but not alpha material.
The human was also tall, but blond with tanned skin and light eyes.
Everyone in the room stood up at their entrance, and Don saw the woman step in front of the darker man. Don realized that the woman was the enforcer and the black man was the beta. An enforcer would only protect an alpha and beta with their lives, and the man was not an alpha. Had either wolf been an alpha, the fight for territory and dominance would have been instantaneous.
Did the director even know that he had wolves working for him?
Smiling, he walked over to his new team. "Hi, I'm Don Eppes," he introduced himself, showing the wolves that he wasn't a threat to them.
Keeping an eye on the director, the enforcer smiled slightly. "I'm Megan Reeves."
"I'm David Sinclair," the beta introduced himself, following the enforcer's lead.
Oblivious to the undercurrents in the room, the blond smiled and extended his hand to Don. "I'm Colby Granger. Welcome to the team."
"Thanks," Don nodded.
Merrick smiled at the agents. "Well, I'll leave you to catch up with your team. Good luck, Agent Eppes."
"Thank you, sir." Don smiled at him. 'Prick', he thought. Don didn't like him. He'd been reading up on the Assistant Director, and knew that he'd gotten the position by pulling strings. The man had never been in the field, it was all politics - and Don hated politics.
Megan snickered quietly. 'Isn't that the truth,' she sent back to Don.
Hearing Megan's reply, Don looked at her - then at David, who was also grinning.
The only one who didn't laugh was Colby. "Did I miss something?"
"No, Colby you didn't," David reassured his friend.
'He doesn't know?' Don sent to Megan.
'No,' she said, discretely shaking her head. Heading to the door, she invited Don to follow her, leading him down the hall and to the break room. Turning to look at the stranger before her, Megan asked softly, "So, you're an alpha?"
Don nodded, curious to see where this was going.
"Do you have a pack?" Megan asked him.
"No." Don shook his head. "For now, it's just me and my mate."
Megan thought about that. "No pack, but you're an alpha. That must mean your mate pledge her undying loyalty to you."
"Yes, he did," Don answered. He looked at Megan, sadness evident in his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Megan asked him, concerned.
Don looked at her, smiling, "Yeah I'm fine."
Megan had a feeling there was more to the story, but Don had blocked his mind from her. He must be a strong wolf because only the most powerful wolves could block their mind from other wolves. Not every alpha was capable of doing that.
Suddenly, Don's cell rang. Looking at the caller ID, he smiled and turned away. "Charlie."
'Don,' Charlie answered, his voice trembling.
Don could hear the panic in his mate's voice. "Charlie, what's wrong?"
At that moment, two men walked out of the elevator and walked towards them.
"We are looking for Agent Eppes," one of the men said.
"I'm Agent Eppes. Charlie, hold on for a second." Lowering his cell, Don looked at the two men. "And you are?"
"I am Detective Williams and this is Detective Jones. Do you know an Amita Ramanujan?" the detective asked.
"Yes, I do. She works at CalSci," Don answered.
The detective nodded. "She was attacked this morning."
"Is she okay?" Don asked, concerned about Amita and Charlie.
"She is in the hospital. She's been beaten and raped," the detective said solemnly.
Saddened, Don shook his head. He didn't really like her because of all the trouble she'd caused between Charlie and him, but no one deserved this. "So what can I do for you?" he asked, wondering why they were coming to the FBI with a police case.
"I took her statement about a half hour ago, Agent Eppes. She is accusing you of raping her," the detective said with a grim expression on his face.
"What?!" Don looked shocked "Why would she do that? I didn't even see her this morning."
"Agent Eppes, where were you this morning?" one of the detectives asked him
"I was at home. My brother can verified that," Don answered, still taken back about what the detectives had told him.
"When did you meet her?"
"I met her a few weeks ago when I moved down here," Don explained. He had a pretty good idea why Amita had accused him, but he couldn't just blurt it out here in the open.
"How well do you know her?" the detective asked.
Angry and frustrated at being accused of a crime he hadn't committed, Don glared at the detective. "Why don't you cut to the chase. Did I have a sexual relationship with her? No, I don't."
"She told us you had, she wanted to break it up but you wouldn't have it. It got out of hand and you raped her," one of the detectives explained to Don.
"Talk to my brother. He will tell you that I've never had any kind of relationship with her whatsoever," Don said, anger evident in his voice.
"He can be covering for you," the detective said.
Don sighed, this was getting out of hand. He had one choice left. "I didn't do it and I didn't sleep with her because…I'm gay," he confessed.
"Uhm, oh, okay," the detective scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"But why would she accuse you of something so horrible?" Megan asked. They were joined by David and Colby.
"I don't know," Don said, shrugging his shoulders. "I really don't know." Except, he did… He looked down and saw the phone in his hand, remembering his brother was still on the line.
"Shit, Charlie." He put the phone to his ear. "Charlie." He listened for a few minutes and sighed, "Charlie, calm down. I know, don't worry. Everything will be alright, I promise. I have to go now. I'll see you at home tonight." He clicked his phone shut and looked up straight into Megan's eyes.
She knew, she knew everything. She knew that Charlie was his mate, she smiled at him, understanding. She knew that Don could never do something horrible like raping anyone. It was like she was seeing right through to his soul. He looked down again. This was getting complicated. Would she still respect him if she found out that Charlie was also his brother?
"Is there anything else, detective?" Don asked, looking at the young man.
"No, that is all for now. We'll keep you informed of the investigation."
The two detectives said their goodbyes and walked off.
"Who is she?" David asked Don.
"She used to be my brother's doctoral student. Now, she is a teacher at CalSci," Don explained.
Megan looked up. "Wait a minute, Charlie Eppes? He is your brother?"
"Yeah," Don looked down, "And my mate," he mumbled.
"Oh," Megan looked at him. "He is a great guy."
Don looked up and saw nothing but understanding and acceptance in his Agents eyes. "You guys know him?" Don asked curious.
"He didn't tell you?" David smiled. "He consulted for us on a case."
Don looked surprised. "He did? I didn't know that."
"Yeah," Colby said. "We solved that case based on some algorithm thingy he developed. He explained it at the time, but I just remember a bunch of letters and squiggles."
Don laughed. "I will quote you on that when I see him tonight."
~.~
Don was on a warpath. He had heard that Amita had been discharged from the hospital, and he was on the way to her apartment. It was really easy for him to get inside, the lessons he got from Lucian on how to open a door came in really handy right now. He sat on the couch in the dark waiting for the witch.
A half hour later, he heard the door being unlocked.
Amita entered, switching on the light. She jumped when she saw Don sitting on the couch. "What the fuck are you doing here?" her tone belligerent, hardly acting like the frightened rape victim she was supposed to be.
"You know exactly why I'm here," Don growled. He stood and stalked towards her.
Watching his approach, Amita was startled to see how predatory he was behaving, like an animal hunting prey. "You don't scare me," she spat out foolishly.
Don didn't stop until he was invading her personal space. "If I were you, I would be scared… terrified," he hissed, backing her up against the wall. "You listen to me very carefully. You had better stay away from Charlie," he snarled in her face. "If I ever see you near him again, I will hurt you very badly. There won't be enough of you to piece back together. Do you understand me?"
Amita snorted. "You are an FBI agent; it's not in your nature to hurt innocent people."
Letting his eyes glowed yellow, Don raised a hand and transformed it into a paw with wickedly, sharp talons. Rubbing Amita's cheek, he smiled cruelly. "And who says I'm just an FBI agent? That was your first mistake, Amita. You didn't do your homework. I'm a wolf, and I won't hesitate to destroy you if you come near me or my mate again," he growled at her, a flash of razor-sharp canines visible.
"Get away from me," Amita yelled. "What are you?" Her face paling as Don's threat sank in.
Don stepped back and grinned evilly. "If you don't leave my mate alone, I will become your worst nightmare."
"Your mate?! Is that what Charlie is? Your lover? That is just wrong. I'll tell the police that you are fucking your brother? How soon do you think it will take the FBI to fire you and throw you in jail?" Amita yelled, losing control of her temper.
Anger roiled through Don. Turning around, he had her pinned to the wall in one swift move. "One word out of you and you'll be dead before the night is through. You have one day to leave town," he said, tightening his paw around her throat." If you're still here tomorrow, I will hunt you down and make you disappear." Don licked his canines hungrily as he delivered his threat. "You look like you'd make a tasty snack.."
"Go ahead… tell the FBI, but do it from another town." Loosening his grip, Don stepped back. "Besides… Who would believe you? You're already lying to the cops – and they know it." He turned around and walked towards the door. "But keep something in mind before you go to the FBI with your little… fantasy. I can find you anywhere, anytime. I can invade your life whenever I want."
He opened the door and walked into the hallway, closing the door behind him. He heard her cursing and yelling. Smiling, he waited for the elevator.
He had a mate to comfort.
TBC.
