Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs.
Three months passed, and Charlie was still an eight year old. He had finally learned the truth about Margaret two months earlier. It had led to an epic meltdown with Don comforting his little brother. Alan and Millie had been at the store.
"Daddy, what's for dinner?" Charlie asked his father. He was really hungry. Amita and Robin were coming over for dinner.
"Chicken, mashed potatoes, and noodles," Alan explained. It was one of Charlie's favorite meals. He would always mix the noodles in with the mashed potatoes. They were great that way, according to his youngest son. Alan and Don didn't believe it, but Margaret and Charlie had always eaten it that way.
"Yay," Charlie cried. He couldn't wait to eat now. He hoped Larry was coming over too. His friend Megan was in town, and Don had said that Larry and Megan had eloped to Vegas.
The doorbell rang. With Alan warning him to be careful, Charlie bolted towards the door. He opened it to reveal the five months pregnant Amita. Charlie knew about the baby and the fact that he was older, but didn't know that the little girl was his.
"Hey, Charlie," Amita told him. She headed towards the couch. Her feet were killing her. She really hoped Charlie was back by the time the baby was born.
"How are you feeling?" Charlie asked. He was excited about the baby. He had asked Amita if he could name the baby, and Amita had been surprised. She had agreed though.
"Great," Amita answered honestly. She had been to the doctor today, and she was gaining the right amount of weight.
The door opened again a few minutes later. David, Colby, Robin, Don, Larry, and Megan entered the Craftsman.
"Donnie, I missed you," Charlie informed his brother. He had done some math problems earlier, but had been extremely bored afterwards.
"I miss you too, Buddy," Don said. As much as he loved the normal version of his brother, he had still missed the younger version.
"Did you catch any bad guys?" Charlie asked. He was enthralled by Don's job and had declared his brother "awesome".
"Not yet," Don admitted. His team was on the verge of catching a murderer, but they weren't quite there yet.
A few months earlier, Charlie had brought up Don's thirteenth birthday and asked Don why he wasn't mad about that. Don had been shocked because he didn't know that Charlie thought he had been mad. Charlie had cried over the fact, and Don had forgiven him again. He hadn't realized how much he had hurt Charlie over small things like that when they were younger.
"You look handsome today," Megan informed the little boy. She loved the small version of Charlie, and hoped he would remember this when the ten months were up.
"Thanks," Charlie answered, suddenly shy. Megan was really nice to him. He liked that Larry liked her.
"What's on TV tonight?" Colby asked Charlie. He and little Charlie got along really well, just like with the older version. Charlie went to him when there was a problem if Alan, Don, or Larry weren't around.
"I don't know," Charlie confessed. There had been nothing on earlier, so Charlie had just watched the koi. It was fun to see them swim around.
"Have you picked a name for the baby yet?" Amita questioned. She had her own ideas, but wanted to see what Charlie had chosen.
Charlie nodded. He was excited about his name choice. "I'm not telling you," he told her. He probably would, but Amita didn't know that yet.
Amita saw right through him. "You can tell me," she assured him. If Charlie had chosen a horrible name, she had six back-ups chosen.
Charlie sighed. "I picked out Caroline Margaret Ramanujan," he explained. He had poured through the baby books Amita had given him, and he kept going back to Caroline.
Amita gave a watery smile to the eight year old. "That's perfect, Charlie. We can even call her Carly," she told him. The baby's last name would be Eppes, but Charlie didn't know that. Caroline had been on her list of back-up names, so that was a good thing. She had chosen Caroline Jacqueline Eppes though. Caroline Margaret Eppes was pretty.
"You like it?" asked the amazed Charlie. He had expected her to reject the name. His second choice had been Isabelle Rose.
"I love it," Amita assured him, trying not to cry. She couldn't believe how sweet the eight year old was.
"Dinner's ready," Alan called from the kitchen. Everyone bolted to the table so they could eat.
"This is really great," David told Alan. He loved Alan's cooking. Dinner at the Eppes house was never dull.
"I am so hungry right now," Amita confessed. She was eating a lot of food lately because of the pregnancy. Amita loved being pregnant. It was one of the most amazing things in the world.
"Robin and I have some news," Don said. Alan looked excited. He hoped the news was an engagement. He couldn't wait for Robin to become an Eppes.
"We're getting married," Robin announced. Don had proposed the night before, and she had accepted. Robin loved Don so much and couldn't wait to be his wife.
"That's great," Charlie told them. He hugged his brother and future sister-in-law. Congratulations echoed around the table as everyone continued to eat.
"When do you think you'll get married?" Amita asked. She hoped grown up Charlie proposed soon. She loved him a lot and the baby would only make things better.
"We want a small wedding and we want it in a few months," Robin explained. The wedding was probably just going to be her parents, brother, Don's family, Amita, and Don's team.
"Can we have it outside?" Don asked Alan. Getting married in the backyard seemed like the right thing to do. Robin had told him it would be perfect.
"Of course," Alan said. He was gaining a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter in only a few months. Life was really good. He couldn't wait until more good things happened.
"Thank you," Robin told him, struggling not to cry. The proposal had made her emotional. Stupid emotional events.
"You're welcome," Alan replied. He would offer help to plan the wedding. Margaret would be so thrilled about adding Robin to the family.
"Is there any dessert?" Megan asked. She was craving chocolate so bad right now.
"Chocolate cake," Charlie informed her. He had begged his father to buy the cake at the store, and he was glad to have thought of it.
"That sounds great," Colby said. He couldn't wait for dessert. Dinner had been wonderful and dessert would top that off.
Things were improving for the Eppes family, but no one was sure if Charlie would ever be the same after the ten months was up.
All they could do now was just be happy and go with the flow.
TBC