Author's notes: Wow, over 250 hits and two reviews, this must really suck. Oh well. I continue to write because I do it to entertain myself!! Anyway, just a note to let you know that this is set after season 4, but I've decided not to follow the series in that no one has decided to quit. Also, Larry is still hanging out with the Monks.

Numb3rs Numb3rs Numb3rs

Monday morning had dawned bright and clear. Don had arrived at work early hoping to catch up on some routine paperwork that had been piling up on his desk. The last several weeks had been a rush of cases; a kidnapping that had ended badly, a drug bust that had seized an unbelievable amount of meth and illegal weapons and three bank robberies.

Stretching back into his seat, he tried to loosen some of the knots that had developed in his lower back. Looking out of the window that led to the series of cubicles that were occupied by a wide variety of agents he noticed that Megan had just arrived and was carrying a sack from the Brooklyn Bagel Bakery. Walking to her desk, she noticed Don in his office and raised the sack invitingly. "Megan I love you!" Don spoke aloud as he lifted himself from the chair.

"Good morning boss." Megan's tone was very chipper for a Monday morning. "I thought we should start the week out on a good note so I dropped by Brooklyn's." She picked up the bag. "Some are still warm from the oven." She headed for the break room with Don trailing behind her.

"They smell great. Did you get that cream cheese with the jalapenos?" Don moved ahead of her and pushed open the door.

"Yes I did. A couple of others as well." Megan started to unload the contents of her bag. "Why don't you start a fresh pot of coffee?"

"Sure thing." Don dumped the remainder of the pot he had made earlier that morning and rinsed it out.

"Only half a cup of coffee grounds please, normally you and Granger make it thick enough to hold the spoon upright."

"Good coffee should stick to you ribs." Don grumbled as he opened up the coffee can. "Besides you get a higher dose of caffeine that way."

"Yup, just what Granger needs." Megan spoke as another man opened up the door to the break room.

"What do I need?" He playfully challenged Megan. "Hey bagels." Colby's joy at seeing bagels was evident.

"See, he's already a poster child for ADHD. All it takes for a bagel to distract him from his original thought." Megan smiled at Colby.

Colby held back from reaching for a bagel for just a moment. "I'll have you know that my mind can operate on so many different levels that mere food does not distract me, it just goes to another plane of existence."

"Plane of existence?" Don snorted. "You are starting to sound like Larry."

"Don!" Megan's tone was joking. "To compare Larry's mind to Colby's is like the difference between Einstein and the collective I.Q. of the Three Stooges."

Colby smiled at Megan's teasing, "Which Curly? Curly or Curly Joe?

Don took up the cause, "You know Megan, technically there were a total of seven Stooges, although the one that replaced Larry never filmed a movie with them." He pushed the brew button on the machine and stood back to enjoy the easy banter of his agents.

"Bad analogy, I forget every male on this planet loves the Three Stooges." Megan took a bagel and split it in half.

"Ohhhh, a wise guy!" Colby replied in his best Curly tone.

"Give it up Granger." Megan smoothed cream cheese onto the bagel. "You've got a face for radio. Nuk nuk nuk." She fired back.

"Not bad Megan. So are you a closet Stooge fan?" Colby grabbed half of her bagel and took a bite.

"Colby!" She swatted his hand away from her other half. "I've seen a few episodes in my time."

"Good morning everyone."

They all turned their focus on the door. David had just pushed open the break room door.

"So have I missed anything earth shattering?" David walked over to the bagels and helped himself to a poppy seed topped one.

"Just Megan and Colby doing their two Stooges routine." Don filled up a cup of coffee and shoved the decanter back under to continue filling.

Megan smiled, "But you were here too Don, doesn't that make you the third?"

"Maybe so, but I'm Moe. He was the brains of the outfit." Don set the cup down and began preparing a bagel for himself.

"So Megan, what gives? Bagels on a Monday?" Colby licked his fingers and reached for a bagel of his own.

"Truth be told, I was starving. Larry had invited me to the monastery this weekend because it was his weekend to cook for the Brothers. Let me put it this way, there are only so many ways to prepare tofu and none of them edible. I'm just trying to make up for the lost nutrients."

"Weekend at a monastery, hmmmm. Sounds like my weekend." Colby sighed.

"Wait a minute, I had set you up with a date with that personal trainer from my gym." Megan looked questioningly at the young agent.

"Oh we went out alright. I offered a movie, but she wanted to do "something" more physical." Seeing Megan's shocked look he continued, "Little did I know that it meant rock wall climbing at a local club. Turns out she is overly competitive and so when I beat her time three times she got pissed and left me there."

"Sorry Colby, she seemed like she might be your type." Megan replied sheepishly.

"Worse thing was that she had offered to drive, so I had to take a cab home."

"At least you got some exercise out of the deal." Don chimed in. "On Saturday, Charlie and I took Dad to a Civil Engineering exhibit at the LA County History Museum."

"That sounds exciting." Megan took a sip of the coffee and reached for more creamer. "Are you sure you only used half of a cup? This tastes really thick."

"Scouts honor." Don held up his fingers. "Don't get me wrong, the museum was great," Don's tone became slightly sarcastic. "One can never get enough at looking at pictures and blueprints of bridges, buildings and roads." He shook his head, "However, there was a reason for all of this fun, one of the bridges Dad designed was part of the show."

Colby finished chewing, "Why do I think that Charlie enjoyed it more than you?"

"You kidding between the civil engineering exhibit and the Zuni Fetishes, I couldn't pry him out of the place. If it weren't for the fact that he had a "big" date with Amita we would probably still be there."

"Zuni Fetishes? Kinky." Colby snorted. "Never pictured Charlie as being interested in religious carvings."

"Seems the museum has almost 4,000 of them. Thankfully only 99 were displayed." Don refilled his cup. "Charlie is planning on making arrangements to go in privately and study the other 3,852."

"What about you David?" Megan smiled at her friend. "Exciting weekend?"

"Pretty low key in comparison to everyone else's stories." David sat his cup down. "Took Claudia out for supper."

"What! You actually took her out instead of you having her cook for you?" Colby teased.

"Hey, what can I say, she makes a mean pot roast. Besides, how many times have you tried to wrangle an invite to come for supper when she is cooking?" David shot back good-naturedly. "I took her to Little Door for supper."

"The Little Door, wow you sure go all out." Megan's voice was filled with awe that her friend would pick such a romantic spot.

"Well, when you ask a woman for her hand in marriage you don't go to Pizza Hut." David said smugly and waited for his words to sink in.

It was only a moment when everyone erupted; congratulations flew about the room.

Colby slapped his friend on the back, "Alright man, what made you decide on this weekend. I though you that talked about Christmas or the jumbotron at a Lakers game?"

"That kidnapping case last week made me decide that life is too short not to be with the one you love. When I had to take that guy in to identify his fiancée's body, I decided that the time was now."

"Congrats, so when is the wedding?" Megan asked.

"She wants October."

Colby smiled broadly, "Great, that gives us six months to plan your bachelor party."

"That's a frightening thought." Megan shuddered mockingly.

"No seriously," Colby defended. "It will be a bachelor party to end all bachelor parties. We will make it a night for David to remember."

Author's notes: Ok, so who thought it was David? I tried to be sneaky. So hit that little button and give me some feedback. Thanks.