Title: High Society

Chapter 13: The Poison Cousins

Authors: Rabid Raccoons

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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They lay in post-coital repose, naked and sweaty. The sheets were in a tangled heap on the floor, so they air-dried as they recovered from Round #2, during which Amita had the upper hand. Charlie was flat on his back, almost asleep, when Amita spoke.

She had collapsed onto Charlie's chest and eventually rolled off onto her side afterwards. Now, she was raised on one elbow tracing circles around one of his nipples. "If you want," she said softly, almost shyly – which was quite a feat, considering her position at the moment – "I'll stop working with Dane."

Charlie grunted in automatic response and let her words swim around his cloudy head for a moment. When he actually understood the offer, he forced his eyes open and shifted until he was lying on his side, facing Amita. "I've never been much of a liar," he answered, brushing at the fine hairs at her temple. "I can't pretend I don't find that idea attractive." Before Amita could respond, Charlie hurried on. "But I don't want that, 'Mita. You say there's nothing going on – I trust you. This research is important, and I know it means a lot to you. I won't ask you to give it up out of some petty, childish jealousy."

She smiled brilliantly and kissed him quickly – entirely too quickly, in Charlie's opinion. "Thank-you, Charlie," she said, disentangling their lips long enough to form words. "Higgs boson is important to me." Her tone became wistful. "I wish that I was still working with Larry on it. I mean, I know we exchange e-mails, and Dane and I will work with him this weekend…but it's just not the same, you know?"

Charlie chuckled, his hand by now twisting in the dark hair at the back of her head. "It's true that there is nothing that quite compares to research with Dr. Larry Fleinhardt."

Amita grinned and playfully twisted Charlie's nipple. "You could come with us," she tempted. "Columbus Day is a holiday for you, too!"

"Ow!" Charlie protested, putting his hand over hers. "Too much of a good thing there, okay?" He explained over her low laugh. "I'd love to see Larry – that's one reason I don't think I should go. You know how he and I can get, when we're together. He needs to be able to devote his time to you, and…Dane, and the research. I'll fly out to see him some other time; or maybe we can talk them both into coming here for Thanksgiving!"

"Good idea," Amita agreed right away. "I'll start working on him and Megan this weekend, and then you and Alan can start bombarding them with an e-mail campaign next week!"

Charlie rolled his eyes and was about to laugh when the sharp trill of Amita's cell caused him to groan instead. "Speaking of Dad, he's probably calling you because I turned my cell off," he groused.

Amita smiled and climbed over him to snag the cell off the bedside table. This left one pendulous breast hanging virtually in his mouth, so Charlie did what comes naturally at such a time. Amita gasped and bit back a moan as she checked the caller I.D. on her cell. Loathe to remove her breast from its current home, she settled instead on top of Charlie, who had rolled onto his back again. She bit her lip and then flipped open the phone. "Don," she greeted a little breathlessly.

Charlie immediately expelled her breast from his mouth and tried to sit up, looking wildly over her shoulder as if he expected to find his brother standing over them. Amita yelped and flew off the edge of the bed, landing with a thump on the floor, narrowly missing hitting her head on the nightstand.

"Amita?" Don asked, after pausing briefly. "Are you all right?"

Amita glared up at Charlie and threw one of the tangled sheets at him. "I'm fine," she assured Don. "You just…woke me up, that's all."

Don began to apologize profusely. "Damn, Amita, I'm sorry. It's only a little after 8, I didn't think it was too late to call…"

Amita twisted around so that her back was to Charlie and she could lean against the bed. "It's not, Don, really. I haven't gone to bed, I must have just…dozed off, or something…Are you looking for Charlie?"

There was another brief pause. "Uh…no," Don finally admitted. "David and I just came back from a crime scene – it looks like a home invasion. Father murdered; Mom and teenage daughter raped and beaten –the two of them are critical, and may die as well."

Amita shuddered. "That's horrible."

"Right," Don agreed. "We found something fishy on the guy's PC – our tech says it's a pretty sophisticated encryption; overkill for the average person who just uses his computer for a little online banking."

Amita began to see the light. "You want me to come down and take a look at it," she guessed.

She could hear the relief in Don's voice. "It could probably wait until morning."

She was already up, bringing her hastily discarded bra with her. "No, tonight's good. I have an early class tomorrow, and I want to at least come in and see what we're dealing with. Maybe get some decryption programs working on it."

"Thanks, Amita. I really appreciate this."

She smiled, spying her blouse near the bedroom door and walking toward it. "Not a problem, Don. I'll see you soon." Amita disconnected, bent over to pick up the blouse and turned. Charlie was sitting up on the edge of the bed, pulling on his socks. She frowned slightly, confused. "What are you doing?"

Charlie looked up and winked, then smiled. "I'll give you a ride; Don needs help, right?"

For the first time that day, she suddenly felt naked; exposed. "Charlie," she demurred, "you don't have to do that. It's a hard drive, and they've already taken it to the lab – you won't even be able to get in, there. In fact, at this hour you won't even be able to get a Visitor's Pass in the lobby."

Charlie hesitated. "Don can call down and leave my name," he started.

Amita crossed to the end of the bed, stopping at the top dresser drawer to grab a clean pair of underwear. She tossed the phone onto the bed and leaned over to pull on the lace thong. "You know he won't do that," she said as she straightened. "He didn't call you; he knows you have no clearance. He called me."

Charlie bristled, lowering his foot to the floor without putting the sock on. He looked ridiculous sitting there naked, but for one foot, and Amita couldn't help smiling as she reached around her back to secure her bra into place. Charlie misunderstood the expression. "Great. So now you're laughing at me, too!"

The smile slid off Amita's face. "No, Charlie, I'm not. And neither is Don – he just doesn't understand why you threw it all away." Charlie's mouth dropped open and he looked as shocked as if she had slapped him. She sighed as she pulled her blouse over her head. "Charlie," she said, as soon as her head popped out of the neck hole, "I'm not saying you did anything wrong, or that you 'threw' anything away. I just wish you and Don could try to see things from each other's perspectives."

"He's just going to do the same thing to you," Charlie warned. "Don calls, and you jump out of bed with me to suit up and run down there at 8 o'clock at night! Before you were his Great White Hope, how often did Don call you just to say 'Hello', or to invite us on a double-date with him and Robin? All Don cares about is what you can do for him."

Amita finally gave up on finding her skirt and walked to the closet to withdraw another. "Charlie, that's not fair," she reprimanded lightly. "Wouldn't you be hurt if Don did something that meant he would never be able to come to see you at CalSci?"

"Like he ever does," Charlie muttered, throwing himself onto his back and staring at the ceiling. "You see him there a lot? Especially now that he can't bring work to my office and interrupt my day with something that is ALWAYS more important?"

Fully clothed now, Amita perched on the edge of the bed and leaned over to kiss Charlie good-bye. "You're the one who applied for reinstatement of your clearance. Just try to be the bigger man," she advised when she pulled away. Charlie rolled over onto his side and she placed a hand on his naked hip. "You did what you did because it was the right thing to do. That's one thing I love about you, Charlie. Give your brother some time to adjust; a little understanding – it's the right thing to do."

Charlie sulked into the pillow. "I'm a bigger man than Don," he said, as he watched Amita rise from the bed and prepare to exit the bedroom. "Just remember that, Wench."

…………………….

Charlie didn't want to know how long Don kept Amita at the office – and he didn't want to place her in the awkward position of not being able to tell him anything, if she ever came home – so about 30 minutes after she left, he headed home. It was after 9 p.m. when he arrived, and the only light was in the solarium. He found his father sitting at the desk, studying blueprints. "Hey, Dad."

Alan looked up, startled. "Charlie! I'm sorry, I didn't even hear…is it time for dinner?"

Charlie shook his head and grinned. "Usually you're the one reminding me not to forget my meals."

Alan smiled and leaned back in his chair. He slapped a hand on his midriff for emphasis. "I can well afford to miss a few meals, my son. You are not quite so well insulated, on the other hand."

Charlie leaned against the doorframe and yawned. "It's after 9; Amita and I had a date. What's so fascinating?"

Alan waggled an eyebrow and then leaned back over the desk. "Must be a school night, if your date ended so early. Stan sent over some plans for me to see. He's bidding another waterfront project – this one's out in Carmel, and he's already lost a few bids out there. He wants to go in thoroughly prepared."

Charlie wandered over to the desk and stood over it, looking down at the plans. "When's the meeting? Don took her."

Alan glanced up, confused. "What?"

Charlie poked at the plans. "I asked when the meeting is."

Alan sat back again and studied his youngest. "Don took Amita?"

Charlie shrugged. "We were at her place, and he called with some all-consuming F.B.I. need."

Alan clasped his hands together and tented his index fingers under his chin. "I don't recall this level of sarcasm when your brother's 'all-consuming F.B.I. needs' involved you, Charlie. You lost your clearance all by yourself, with your eyes wide open. It's hardly fair to blame Don – or Amita – for it now."

Charlie made a huff of displeasure but did not reply. Alan tipped forward again and tapped the plans. "The meeting is on Friday, but I'd like to have these back to him by Wednesday at the latest."

"Are you going with him?"

Alan sighed. "I was thinking about it. An all-expenses-paid jaunt to Carmel? Then your cousin called from San Diego."

Charlie looked nonplussed for a moment. Most of his cousins were a great deal older than he and Don, and had lived out of the area for quite some time – if not his entire life – and he was having trouble remembering who lived in San Diego. "Danny?" he finally guessed.

Alan rolled his eyes. "Danny is Morty's son, in Jersey. San Diego is where your mother's Aunt Irene moved several years ago, to be closer to her grandchildren?"

Charlie smiled as it all came rushing back to him. "Oh, that's right. The Poison Cousins."

Alan moved his hand to hide the smile on his face. "Oh, how Irene hated it when you and Don called them that. Poor Sam. And Ella." A snort of laughter escaped him.

Charlie's smile widened. "I seem to recall that Aunt Irene was never that fond of you, either."

Alan nodded and agreed. "Always said your mother could have done better."

"So what's up with Salmonella?"

"Stop that." Alan shook his head. "Just Ella phoned. You know that Aunt Irene has been living in a retirement complex down there. Some fancy continuous care community, so that if she needs assisted living or even more help later, she won't have to move again." Charlie nodded, and Alan continued. "Seems the old dear has met a widower on the third floor and wants to get married. This weekend."

Charlie's eyes widened. "She didn't invite you to the wedding, surely?"

Alan smiled. "Not much chance of that. Your cousins are inviting me to come down Thursday or Friday, and talk her out of it. They're convinced he's a gold-digger."

"Of what gold, exactly?" asked Charlie. "Does her pension even cover the retirement village?"

"Just barely," agreed Alan. "I told them the last thing that would help was for me to talk to Irene about her money, but Ella still begged me to at least come down and meet the man."

Charlie started laughing, and Alan interrupted. "I must admit, I'm curious. You know Stan has a project going in San Diego right now as well, and I was just there not four months ago to check on its progress. I stopped by to visit Irene then, and there was no mention of this man. She introduced me to her Bridge club and hurried me out the door so she wouldn't be late for lunch – didn't want to lose her table." He spoke a little louder, to be heard over Charlie's snickers. "I figured I could tell her I was back to check on the municipal building – maybe tell her you're engaged?"

Charlie suddenly stopped laughing. "It'll be a long engagement, Dad. Let's wait a while, okay? At least with Irene. You can tell Salmonella, I guess."

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling your cousins that?"

"Right." Charlie yawned again. "I have to log on to my lap top and see if my T.A. e-mailed me about any disasters during my last class – then I'm turning in. I'm still tired."

Alan frowned. "You must have had a touch of the flu – a hangover would never affect you for this long."

"Maybe," Charlie agreed. "I feel okay now, though – just tired, and I have an early class. So you're going?"

"Yes," Alan answered. "I will check on the project for Stan, as long as I'm there, so I intend to go down on Thursday. I should only be gone for a few days."

Charlie nodded. "Well, give my best to Aunt Irene. Not to mention…"

"I know, I know," sighed Alan, bending over the plans again. "Salmonella."

…………………….

End, Chapter 13