A/N: So there's probably only one more chapter of this, and an epilogue. Which means it'll probably be finished either tonight or tomorrow. Lucky you.

Pippy93: Glad you like it.

And thanks for the favs and alerts, guys. It really makes me feel good.

Chapter Five: Charlie has his first date with Ian, and Amita's date is a jerk.

-SE-

Charlie hung up the phone, almost giddy with relief. He hadn't been miss-reading the signals, and hadn't just made a huge fool of himself. He then realised that he should probably call his father and let him know that he wouldn't be home tonight.

He waited while the phone rang, before going to the answering machine. He heaved a sigh of relief – at least he wouldn't have to go through an interrogation just yet. That could wait until he came home.

-SE-

"Hey Dad, just letting you know that I won't be home till late tonight. I'll, uh… I'll tell you about it when I get back. Catch you later!" *beep*

Alan smiled in delight. He knew that tone of voice – his youngest had a date! He was a little put out that Charlie wasn't bringing the girl home to meet him. But maybe, he reasoned, he'd already met her. Maybe it was Amita! He really hoped it was. Amita was a lovely young lady, and she could keep Charlie intellectually stimulated. They made a good couple.

Humming happily to himself, Alan headed to the kitchen to make his own dinner. Maybe he'd call Art later, see if he felt like going bowling.

-SE-

Charlie cleared his throat and straightened the cutlery for the fifth time in as many minutes. It was already at perfect right angles to the table edge, but he couldn't help himself. He hadn't been this nervous in ages, not even for his date with Amita. It probably didn't help that the last time he'd had a boyfriend was nearly seven years ago, and he'd been a bit of an asshole. Heh. Don really hadn't liked the guy – had nearly beaten the guy to a pulp when Charlie had caught him in someone else's bed. The brothers hadn't really been getting along at the time, but Don was still insanely protective of his little brother.

He glanced at his watch. 6:33. Edgerton was late. Charlie felt his face fall – maybe Ian had decided not to show up. Maybe he hadn't meant it when he said he wanted to see him. Maybe it was all a horrible mistake.

"Don't look so thrilled, Professor," Ian smirked as he slid into his seat. "You might break something."

Charlie jumped and looked up in delight, then nearly swallowed his tongue. Damn, but Ian was hot in his casual attire. He looked like a predator. A very stylish and well-dressed predator.

"I, uh," Charlie stammered, then hung his head sheepishly. "I thought maybe you'd reconsidered."

"And stand you up?" The smirk turned softer, into a tender smile. "Never happen." Charlie let out a breath in relief. "Now tell me how you managed to escape the warden to meet me."

"Don?" Charlie grinned. "Easy. I didn't tell him." Ian let out a laugh, and Charlie decided that he really liked that sound. "I mean, I don't want to hide this, I just don't want him to know just yet."

"I get it," Ian nodded. "He'll probably throw a fit when he finds out I've corrupted you."

"Who says you did the corrupting?" Charlie asked, and Ian had to swallow hard at the evil glitter in the professor's dark eyes.

Maybe Charlie wasn't as innocent as everyone treated him.

-SE-

Alan opened the front door to find Amita standing there, looking rueful.

"Amita!" He said in surprise. "What are you doing here? Isn't Charlie with you?"

"No," Amita said, confused. "I was looking for a friendly face… hoping to talk to him."

"Oh, well," Alan stepped aside to let her in. "He's not here, but I can be pretty friendly when the occasion calls for it. You want some coffee or something?"

"Please," Amita nodded, a little sadly. "I don't mean to intrude, I just don't want to be alone right now."

"It's no problem. Come on through to the kitchen, we can talk there."

"Thanks." She followed him and took a seat at the counter, sighing. "I was on a date, which went south pretty quickly."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Alan commiserated. "Nothing to talk about?"

"Ugh," she made a sound of disgust. "I realise that my date with Charlie didn't go so well, but I'd rather sit in silence for an hour than listen to a condescending ass for half an hour. I mean, I'm an intelligent woman. I have a degree, I'm studying for a second, I've worked with some brilliant minds."

"Absolutely," Alan agreed. He'd always known that she was smart.

"So faced with that," Amita continued angrily, "why would someone just assume that I want to settle down, stay at home and pop out kids? I made it clear that I'm not looking to start a family yet, but all he could talk about was having kids to carry on the family name!"

"Sounds like a jerk," Alan said decisively as he placed Amita's coffee down in front of her. She smiled up at him, a great deal of the tension leaving her.

"Yeah. I told him not to bother calling for a second date." She took a deep breath, then a sip of coffee. "Mmm, perfect. So, is Charlie working late tonight?"

"Well," Alan started, a little confused, "he left a message saying he wouldn't be home until late, and that he'd tell me more when he got home. I just assumed… I mean, it certainly sounded like he had a date as well. I figured he was going out with you but didn't want to jinx it."

"Charlie doesn't believe in jinxes," Amita smiled. "But you could be right about the date. I encouraged him to try a relationship when we spoke today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Nothing's going to happen between us, and he deserves to be with someone who makes him happy. We both do."

"I agree," Alan nodded. He was about to continue when they heard what sounded like a shout of rage from Don, followed by a crash at the front of the house. Both Alan and Amita ran to the front door, and Alan pulled it open just in time to see Charlie trying to pull his older brother off of someone.