Bloody hell, we're up to 100 reviews… This is officially my most popular story. Wow.
Dysgrammatophobia , I Keep Goldfish In My Bra, mjels: Don/Amit was a bit of a surprise for me as well. But it was an idea put in my head by a flamer, and I couldn't not write it. Something about Charlie sleeping her way through Don's co-workers, and what would her reaction be if Don started sleeping with her friends… I couldn't resist. So a fail to that flamer for making me laugh and inspiring a side-plot.
Babygurl1944: Hope you like this one too.
Robertaa: I like that pairing too, in case you couldn't tell. Hope you approve of this chapter.
Joniskpelare: Colby'll be fine. Maybe. I haven't really decided what to do with him yet.
Allieluvsedward: Did you hear me complaining? Feel free to bug me any time I'm not updating.
Ddee: …I think I hate you now. Okay, maybe not, but see the note below. This chapter answers a few of the question. And you're welcome.
Aelwing: Yeah, Meg/Larry is sweet. And: what bad English? You're fine. Better than I can type French. I can read it fine, but writing in French is beyond my reach.
Whitelighter013: Glad you like it. I haven't found many other femme-Charlies on this site, though I may have just missed them. Hope you continue to enjoy.
Optimouse: Thanks!
PLEASE NOTE: Thanks to the thoughts Ddee put in my head, there is now an alternate version over on adultfanfiction dot net, that is Don/Charlie. It involves surprisingly few changes… and is going to have my first attempt at writing smut. So if you want a laugh, go over there and read it. Or bug me enough and I might put it up here too.
A couple lines are taken from M*A*S*H and Bagenders, because they were funny and fit in here. Cookies go to whoever can spot them.
-BDBD-
Chapter Ten: Relationships Confirmed. …what it says on the tin, really.
Ian found himself frozen in place. His professor was just full of surprises – he never would have expected her to show up on his doorstep after running away from her family and boyfriend. Yet here she was, playing nervously with a lock of hair and looking about five second from bolting again. So Ian did the sensible thing and stepped to one side, giving her an invitation to bolt towards him instead of away.
Charlie smiled shyly and stepped inside, never breaking eye contact. Ian had the feeling that she'd lose her courage if she looked away, so he closed the door without taking his gaze off her. He found it incredibly amusing that she had chosen his house as the safe place to run to, but wasn't about to jeopardise this chance by saying so. The only sign of his amusement that he let out was a slight quirk of his lips, which could be seen as a smile if Charlie chose to do so.
After a few seconds of silence, weighing up the possible repercussions, Ian removed Charlie's backpack and placed it on the floor, then put his hands on her waist, gently pulling her forwards. Apparently, that was what Charlie had been waiting for, as she responded by leaning up to kiss him fiercely.
Smiling into the kiss, Ian picked her up and decided that he could give her a much more thorough welcome in the bedroom.
Charlie didn't appear to have any objections.
-BDBD-
Amit awoke and started to stretch, when he realised that he wasn't alone in bed. There was a lean, definitely-male body spooned behind him with an arm draped over his waist. After a moment, a goofy grin spread across the young man's face as he realised that last night hadn't been just a vivid dream.
He wriggled a little to get more comfortable, until the arm around him tightened in an effort to keep him still and a growl came from behind him.
"Quit moving, or I'll arrest you for interfering with a Federal Agent's sleep."
Amit let out a chuckle as his companion's hand started stroking his stomach.
"I must say that for a ladies' man, you really seemed to know what you were doing."
"Well," Don smiled as he nuzzled into his young partner's neck, "the geography may be unfamiliar, but the technique's the same. And I've never had any complaints about my technique."
"Mmm, I'm certainly not complaining," Amit sighed as he firmly stomped on his jealousy. He didn't like the thought of Don with anyone else, but he was the one who had brought it up.
Don, however, seemed to realise what was going through his mind and began licking the back of Amit's neck, while the hand that had been stroking his stomach started moving a little lower on each stroke.
"I realise that I've slept around a lot," he tried to reassure the young man in his arms, "but I've never cheated on a partner. If this is going to be a real relationship, then you're not going to find me in anyone else's bed."
The mix of gentle words and soft touches was enough to reduce Amit to a gasping pile of mush, and he happily ignored the fact that this was Charlie's older brother. It had been far too long since someone had been so tender with him, and he was going to enjoy it for as long as possible.
-BDBD-
That evening, Charlie sat on Ian's back porch and watched as the sniper set up some targets. He seemed convinced that shooting something would help to relieve some of the stress that she was feeling, and she was too happy to argue.
After a few minutes he beckoned her over, so Charlie put her water bottle down on the ground and made her way to him, eyeing the gun he held ruefully. It was a pistol of some sort, she knew that much. Beyond that, however…
"It's not going to bite," Ian smirked. "Trust me, you'll feel better after letting a few rounds off."
"I dunno about that," Charlie smiled as she assumed the shooting position he'd shown her earlier. "I think the sex was enough to have me feeling pretty damn good."
"Hmm," Ian hummed in contentment as he ran his hands down her sides and slipped them around her waist. It had left him feeling quite content as well, enough so that he was prepared to accept Charlie's request that he not call Don and tell him that she was here.
With Ian's arms wrapped firmly around her waist, Charlie sighed, aimed and fired. She still wasn't a very good shot, but figured that if it meant so much to Ian, she'd give it a try.
As she fired off a few more rounds, she realised that this was what had been missing from her relationship with Colby – neither of them had really been willing to compromise. Something that was as much her fault as his.
-BDBD-
Alan hummed happily to himself as he read the latest email Charlie had sent. She still wasn't giving him any details about where she was, but she seemed a lot calmer. There was some math-talk that he'd need Larry to translate, which was also good. It showed that she was still exercising her remarkable brain.
He was thankful for that, since Don didn't seem to be using his brain at all. Honestly, one of these days Alan was going to sit his son down and explain that there was simply no way for him to hide the fact that he was in love. Not from his team, and not from his father.
-BDBD-
"Have you decided when you're going back?" Ian asked casually over dinner, as though the answer didn't really matter to him. Charlie knew that it was just an act.
"Not for a while," she shrugged. "I still need to get a few things sorted before I can face all that again. It's… nice, having somewhere to hide, where no one will come looking for me. And I can't fault the company."
Ian nodded, and the two continued eating in silence for a while. Then he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to his guest. When she raised an eyebrow in question, he shrugged.
"Can't see you staying somewhere long without needing to work on some sort of math problem. And I know how much working on paper irritates you."
At that, Charlie broke into a grin and accepted the packet of whiteboard markers.
"Good thing you've got such big windows," she laughed.
-BDBD-
A/N: Yeah, I got Don and Amit together. Because I realised that in every story I write, somewhere there is a gay relationship. Since Charlie has decided to be straight this time, Don got to be the homoqueersicle.
Also, everyone should go read Zillah Chronicles, which will contain all of the Zillah stories and one-shots, and will be posted tonight.