Disclaimer: I don't own NUMB3RS.

A/N: I know I haven't really posted anything for a while, and my other stories are on kind of permanent hold since I can't open the files, but I've had bits and pieces of this one for a while and I finally got the inspiration to write again. Hope you like :)

Chapter 1 – A Blast From the Past

Amita stood in the aisle staring at the two movies in her hands, trying to decide which one she should rent for her and Charlie's movie night.

"This one," she heard as a hand pointed to the one in her left hand.

She turned around and smiled at the teenager. "Hey Chloe," she greeted happily. "I was wondering if you were working today."

Chloe chuckled. "It seems like I'm always working."

Amita smirked. "I know the feeling."

"So, you guys are having another movie night I take it?" Chloe questioned, motioning to the movies Amita was holding.

She nodded. "Yep. So this one?" Amita confirmed, holding up the one Chloe had pointed to earlier. Chloe nodded. "Thanks, you're a lifesaver."

Chloe smiled. "No problem."

"Chloe!" the guy at the counter called.

"What's up Tyler?" she asked as she went over.

"Stupid computer's acting up again," he complained.

Chloe rolled her eyes and pushed him aside. "Let me see," she sighed.

Tyler moved out of the way as Chloe began typing on the keyboard. "Hey, I'm just gonna go look to check to see if that movie's in," he told her.

"Whatever," she muttered.

He rolled his eyes at her and started heading down one of the aisles, passing Amita as he did.

"You know," Amita started as she walked over to the counter. Chloe sighed exasperatedly. "CalSci has a good -"

"Don't," Chloe warned. Amita gave her a look, and Chloe sighed. "Look, you know the deal. It's not that I'm not interested in going to college, but it's just not an option for me right now," she told her simply.

Amita shrugged. "But what could it hurt to just look?" she countered.

-0-

"OK, so admit it," Amita said triumphantly.

Chloe chuckled. "Fine, you were right, CalSci is an amazing school," she agreed as they walked down the hallway. "But that's not the issue. Honestly, I'd love to go to a school like this. But, I just…can't."

Amita sighed. "You know, there are scholarships and grants and stuff. I'm sure you'd be able to -" She stopped mid-sentence at the look Chloe was giving her. "Fine. Come on, I want you to meet someone," she said, motioning for Chloe to follow her. "Hey Charlie," she greeted as they entered his office. "This is the girl I was telling you about."

"Chloe, right?" he double checked as he shook her hand.

She nodded. "Yeah. Nice to meet you."

"You too. Good choice in movie by the way, it was good," he complimented.

Chloe smirked. "Thanks. I've gotten pretty good at guessing what movies people will like after working at the video store for so long."

"And it's a big help, since I can never decide," Amita added.

Charlie and Chloe both smirked.

"Oh Amita, I was wondering -" Larry started when he entered the office, but stopped when he noticed Chloe. "Ah, you must be the young lady Amita's been talking about. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he politely.

"You too," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Chloe, this is Professor Larry Fleinhardt," Amita told her. "He's also one of our good friends, I think I might've mentioned him…"

"Yeah, I think you have," Chloe agreed.

"So, I hear you're considering attending here," Larry commented.

Chloe sighed, giving Amita an exasperated look. "Well, you heard wrong," she told him. "I'd like to, but that's just not gonna happen anytime soon."

"Oh really? That's a shame," he said.

"Hey guys –Oh sorry. Am I interrupting something?" Don asked when he came in, pausing at the door.

"No, it's OK. Come on in," Charlie told him. Don walked over to the group, but did a double take when he saw Chloe. Charlie noticed, and said, "Oh, Chloe, this is my brother -"

"Don Eppes," she sighed, but was talking more to Don than finishing Charlie's sentence.

"Chloe?"

Charlie, Amita, and Larry all looked at each other.

"You two know each other?" Larry questioned.

Don looked like he wasn't sure what to say, but Chloe answered, "He used to date my mom."

"Yeah," Don agreed. "It's been a while," he commented.

Chloe nodded. "Eight years," she stated.

"When did you all move back to LA?" Don asked.

"Few years ago," Chloe answered. Don nodded slowly, looking like he was about to say something, but Chloe beat him to it. "I gotta go, I'm already running a little late," she said nonchalantly, glancing at her watch as she turned to Amita. "Thanks for the tour Amita, I'll see you later."

"Anytime," Amita told her as Chloe began to leave.

After Chloe was gone, Larry spoke first, "Was it just me, or did she seem in a hurry to leave?"

Amita raised her eyebrows in agreement as Charlie turned to his brother.

"What exactly happened between you and her mom?" he asked.

Don shrugged, looking honestly confused as he turned back to the group. "I dunno. We dated when I was teaching at Quantico, and then they moved to Tampa to be near her sister."

-0-

"Hey," Chloe greeted cheerfully, walking into the kids' bedroom.

"Hey," the boy replied quietly, not moving from where he was laying on his stomach on the top bunk, chin resting on his hands as he seemed to not be paying attention to anything.

Chloe bit her lip. "Aunt Kristen said your coach is gonna let you pitch in Saturday's game, why aren't you excited bud?" she asked curiously as she leaned on his bed, folding her arms under her chin. He gave a half shrug, but Chloe noticed he was looking at the picture on his shelf. She looked back over at him, placing a hand on his arm. "Collin…" she started quietly, but he cut her off.

"No, it's okay sis," he told her, and sighed. "Sometimes I just wish my dad could be here for some stuff," he admitted.

Chloe gave him an understanding smile, but glanced over at the picture of their mother and Don that Collin had been looking at. She looked back over at her brother and asked, "You wanna go see Mom?"

Collin nodded, and jumped down off the bed and started pulling on his shoes.

A/N: The second chapter's almost finished, and I'll probably have it up either later tonight or tomorrow. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!