Disclaimer: I own nothing whatsoever about Numb3rs. I only own the original characters and settings.
A/N: So many of you reviewed rooting for epilogue number one so here it is! All 2,302 words of it…
It had been almost a month since he had been released and Charlie still couldn't believe how lucky he was to be alive.
He almost died at the scene of the accident months ago and he almost didn't pull through during the surgery. Then once it seemed that he was home free his still damaged lungs became infected. He could tell that his doctor didn't expect him to survive through that obstacle either but he did.
Once his cast was removed from his leg he would be receiving therapy for it. He was told that he would most likely have a limp from now on but that didn't bother him so much, it wasn't like he was an athlete or anything. (He would always be able to beat Don at basketball.)
His broken arm was still in a cast as well and it bothered him at first. It made it slightly difficult to write legibly but that didn't stop him from working on the many problems that were in his head. He still wasn't back teaching at Cal Sci and wouldn't be for some time but he always was working on something.
At the moment, though, he didn't have a pencil or piece of chalk in his hand. In fact there wasn't a pad of paper or a chalkboard anywhere around the young professor. He was working on his new challenge of late.
"Can you say Fibonacci?"
He was lying on the couch, in the sitting room, with his injured leg propped up by pillows. On his lap sat a small toddler, who shook his head giggling. His chest was still sore but the child seemed to realize that and was never rough around him.
"I don't think he'll be able to say that for quite some time, Charlie. You know he is only two."
"You have no faith in my teaching abilities," Charlie said smiling and looking at Tim who was sitting in the armchair a few feet away. "You'll see. Soon Tristin will be reciting his time's tables. Won't you, Tristin?"
Tim laughed slightly brushing his dark shaggy hair out of his pale face.
Alan had offered to watch Stephanie's kids for her after the birth of her two youngest. She had a set of twin girls soon after Charlie had been released. She named them Dana and Christi.
She was still staying at Don's apartment with her brother and all of them had grown extremely close to the Eppes family. Both Don and Charlie felt like Steph was their sister and they were almost uncles to her children. Tim even felt like a part of their family.
Alan loved seeing them over at the house. He missed his boys being so little and kept insisting that he didn't have anything better to do since he was retired. They were there almost every day.
Stephanie was still unemployed but Don said something about his office needing a secretary and that he might be able to get her the position if she wanted it. It would pay well and her family could still stay with him until she had enough for her own place.
The truth was that he enjoyed having the company.
Stephanie had embraced him when he told her about the job offer but told him she'd rather wait until the twins were at least three months old. Don told her he would keep the position open until she was ready to take it.
Her father had finally been caught and arrested almost two weeks ago and he was going to stand trial for child abuse and attempted murder of his own son. Both Stephanie and Tim were going to have to testify against him to make sure he got exactly what he deserved but neither of them was too happy about having to see him again. But they knew that sometimes you have to do what you don't want to.
They had to make sure he never hurt anyone else ever again…
"Tristin," a voice called from the doorway. "It's time for you and your little brother and sisters to take a nap."
It was Alan. He was acting like a grandfather to the children and they absolutely adored him. He wandered over to the couch and the young boy raised his arms above his head wanting to be held. Alan picked him up and held him in one arm.
"You're getting so big," he said kindly. "Soon you'll be bigger than me!"
That made him start giggling again. He rested his head on the elder's shoulder and started sucking his thumb.
"Time for you to go to sleep upstairs," he said starting for the stairs. "I'll be right back you two, lunch is almost ready."
"Thanks Dad."
"Thanks Mr. Eppes."
Charlie adjusted himself slightly on the couch.
"So when does that come off?" he asked Tim eyeing the large black cast.
"The doctor said only in a few more weeks. How about you?"
"Only a few more weeks for my arm, but a bit longer for the leg." Charlie had a weary smile on his face. "I'm getting tired of being waited on. If the leg cast was off then I could at least go places without people asking me if I'd like help."
"My sister bugs me enough about this," Tim said knocking on his broken arm.
Charlie had found out soon after meeting Tim that he had graduated from high school a week before Charlie's accident. He had an almost perfect GPA and extremely high SAT scores. He seemed to have a knack in the mathematics field and was very fascinated when he found out that Don's brother was a mathematics genius. He and Charlie had long discussions on different mathematicians and of different math and science related principles.
Charlie was also ecstatic when he discovered that Tim had an interest in his field. He and Charlie had long discussions on different mathematicians and of different math and science related principles. Charlie enjoyed talking to someone who shared his interests.
The boy kept insisting that he wasn't going to go to college though. He kept saying that Stephanie needed his help with the kids and that he wouldn't have the money for it anyway. Charlie asked him if he even applied for scholarships or anything that might've made it possible for him to go to school but his answer was always no.
Charlie asked his sister what she thought about the matter and she said that she wanted him desperately to go to school. She kept insisting that he go and that was the only reason he actually took the SATs. Their mother wanted both of them to continue their education.
Alan arrived back downstairs with Stephanie and they both wandered into the kitchen.
"Lunch will be ready in five so get yourselves situated boys," he called from the kitchen. "And Don said he might stop by for lunch today seeing that he let out early today. So don't scream if you see the front door open without warning."
"Alright Dad," Charlie called back. He sat up straighter and swung his legs off the couch gently. He grabbed the metal crutches leaning on the coffee table and stood with them tucked gently under his arms. He was getting better and better at moving around the house with assisting pieces of metal.
Tim stood up slowly holding his broken arm to his sore ribs. Moving for both him and Charlie was painful because of their broken ribs but both of them were gradually getting used to the occasional jolts of pain.
They made their way to the table, which was set for five people. Tim and Charlie had settled into chairs opposite each other by the time Stephanie arrived out of the kitchen with a pitcher of lemonade. Alan followed her out a few seconds later with a large plate of sandwiches. She sat down next to her brother while Alan sat down next to his son. They were just about to take their food when they heard a familiar voice come from the front door.
"Hello?" Don peeked into the dining room. "Aww… Don't tell me you started without me," he said with mock hurt in his voice.
"Not yet, Donnie, but hurry up or we'll have to start," Alan said taking his sandwich.
Don immediately sat down next to his brother and his smile faltered for a second.
No one really noticed though… it was only for a second…
Everyone served themselves and the instantly conversations started. Their chatter ranged from what Don was working on, to what Charlie was trying to tech Steph's two-year-old. A small silence spread during the center of the meal as most of them tried to contain their laughter.
That's when the young genius spoke up, barley able to contain the information he so badly wanted to tell.
"Tim," Charlie started. "I have to tell you something."
The boy looked up from his examination of his lunch. "Yeah?"
"Well, I applied you for a scholarship to Cal Sci and," he paused. "You got the scholarship…"
He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the boy across the table. He looked at the paper and opened it slowly. His jaw dropped.
"Charlie," he said in a voice that wouldn't have been heard if the table was as noisy as it had been moments before. "This pays for everything. All of the tuition… all of the books…everything…"
He looked up with a face filled with amazement.
"How did you manage to…"
"I had to pull some strings but it was mostly because the grades you've managed to uphold. You were a worthy candidate. And I asked Steph already so you don't have to worry about her needing your help during the day. Cal Sci is close enough so you can keep living with Don and your sister if you wanted..."
Tim's face exploded into a smile that he targeted to the man across from him and Stephanie shared the look.
"Thank you…" he said. "Thank you so much…"
Later that afternoon, after lunch was cleared away, almost everyone was sitting in the living room watching baseball. Tim and Alan were in a heated discussion about the best player's stats, while Stephanie didn't seem to care either way. She just kept throwing in whatever input she had to give.
Charlie was still sitting at the kitchen table writing something out in a notebook when Don came out of the kitchen with a beer in his hand. He looked up as Don sat down next to him.
"What are you working on?" he asked taking a swig of his drink.
"Something for Larry," Charlie said setting his pencil down on the table. He looked at Don hard. He'd been acting weird around him lately and he didn't know why. Now seemed like a good time to ask. "What's wrong?"
A rare look was upon Don's face. It was a look of concern and memory. Charlie could tell that he was thinking hard about something.
"Nothing," Don said setting his beer on the table. "I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
A small silence settled between them for a moment. Don took a large gulp of beer.
"Don, if you can't talk to your own brother about what's bothering you who can you tell?"
He set his bottle down gently before speaking up.
"You almost died Charlie," Don exclaimed quietly, not wanting the people in the living room to lose concentration on the game. "And it would've been my fault…"
Charlie's jaw dropped.
This was what it was all about?
Don had been acting strange around him ever since he was sent home.
"Don, you weren't the one who hit me with that JEEP. So the accident wasn't your…"
"But it was my fault that you were out on your bike in the first place."
"I've always known about the chances of getting into a biking accident," Charlie said calmly. "It's not like you forced me onto my bike and made me ride it…."
"I started that fight," Don continued as if Charlie hadn't spoken. "I should've stopped it before it started. I don't even remember what it was about…"
"Well neither do I and I don't expect to dwell on it either."
Don looked up from his lap and stared at him.
"How can you just forgive me like that when I was the reason you were almost killed?"
"You're my brother… we do stuff like that."
He smiled widely but Don couldn't drop his gaze. They heard their father yelling at the television form the other room.
"Come on," Charlie said, suddenly shutting his notebook and standing leaning on the table. "Let's go someplace else to talk."
Don looked up surprised. "Huh?"
"Go dump that," Charlie said pointing to his beer. "And let's go out for a real drink. I'll buy."
Don's eyes widened. What was getting into his little brother?
"Sound good?" Charlie asked without missing a beat using his crutches to gain more balance.
"Sure…" Don said still dazed at what his brother was proposing.
He'd never been out drinking with Charlie before. He didn't even realize that Charlie knew what a bar was.
Don emptied his bottle into the sink and threw it into the recycling bin.
"We'll be back in a bit Dad!" he called opening the door.
Their father was too far into his baseball discussion to hear him. Don smiled slightly.
"You ready?" Charlie asked from behind him.
"Yeah," Don said quietly finally showing a genuine smile. "You know something Charlie… you are truly one of a kind…and I don't know what I'd do without you…"
"Same here, Don," Charlie said following his brother out the door. "Same here…"
End
A/N: Finally finished! I wrote this in less than an hour after failing to fall asleep at 3 in the morning. After immediately finishing this I wandered over to my bed and passed out. :-D
I hope this seemed to be a good way to end this because I just rolled with an idea and it took me to this. You never really see Charlie drink so I thought about him and Don going to a bar.
Now everyone is happy: Stephanie has a place to live and good people to help out with her kids, Tim is going to go to college, Charlie is back home, Alan is acting like a grandparent, and Don finally can let some guilt of the accident leave him. :sigh: YAY FOR HAPPY ENDINGS!
Most of you said you liked seeing Don with kids so I threw in that scene with Charlie and Tristin just for cuteness. ;-D
So now that that's over I hope you can still find it in your hearts to tell me how you liked (or didn't like) the ending! I hate ending fics…it's always so final and I never know if it's good enough! I get so frustrated… :sigh: Oh well!
You so totally haven't seen the last of me though. I am working on three new Numb3rs fics at the moment and have ideas for about four more so I think I'll be here for awhile!
Thankies all my reviewers!
TheDudeLordOfFantasy a.k.a. Kathleen