Disclaimer: I have neither association with nor rights to anything related to the television show Numb3rs. But I do like it.

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The Space Between

By

Tru False

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day out—cold but clear—and the sun played off the hood of the suburban like a bright, happy little dancing light. Don squinted at it behind his sunglasses, annoyed.

He had been irritated since the meeting this morning when Charlie had shown up, uninvited and unannounced, and had told them about his breakthrough idea for an equation on the check fraud case. His brother could waltz around FBI headquarters now as he pleased—normally Don was happy not to have to go sign him in and out every time, but today, it had annoyed him. Everyone was excited about the equation and its possible implications—normally Don would have been proud of Charlie, but today, it had annoyed him. Terri, thankfully, seemed to get that he was in no mood, and was staying uncharacteristically quiet in the seat next to him. Charlie, who of course had to come along, was also quiet in the back seat. Don looked in the rearview mirror at Charlie's head bouncing up and down slightly with the bumps in the road—it annoyed him. When everyone and everything is irritating you, it's usually not them…it's you his conscience, which sounded suspiciously like his father's voice, chided inside his head.

Don pulled the black Suburban neatly into the bank's parking lot. As Terry and Charlie began to unfasten their seatbelts, Don turned to Charlie in the backseat.

"Charlie, you can stay here. We just need to ask this guy a few questions."

But Charlie looked bouncy, almost exuberant. "Well, okay…but it's not like I don't know everything that's going on with the case," he countered. "I'd like to come with you…I would know what questions to ask to be sure the data we get is right for the equation I have in mind."

Don knew Charlie was on the edge of his seat. He could probably already see the equation forming in his head…where it might go three steps down the line…four steps if step three went a certain way. It was what he liked to call Charlie's "math high," and it had always irritated the hell out of him.

Don took a deep breath and Terry smiled slightly as she got out of the car, closing the door on their conversation.

"Charlie" Don started, irritation clear in his voice, "Terry and I are professionals, alright? We certainly know what questions to ask a potential witness, and we don't need a consultant—no matter how gifted—to help us do it." That seemed to deflate his brother quickly. Don swore under his breath. "Look, Charlie…" he paused as if trying to put his thoughts across in the right way, "I really appreciate all the help you've been giving us lately." Charlie looked out the window and squinted slightly – he knew where this was going. Don moved his head to the side, trying to get Charlie to meet his gaze. "Buddy—Really, I do. But you're not an Agent, alright? You're not a member of our team, you don't need to be in on every meeting with us, and you don't need to help us question witnesses, period." Don paused and waited until Charlie finally looked at him. "Just, please, wait here in the car…we'll be right back and you can start working your equation with whatever this new guy gives us. Okay?"

Don unfastened his seatbelt and put his hand on the door handle. He turned back slightly towards Charlie's direction. "Charlie…okay?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie turn back towards the window. "Yeah, that's fine" Charlie mumbled, already sounding far-off as he stared through the window at what Don could only guess was some imaginary chalk-board or vector graph or…whatever.

"Good" he said quietly as he got out of the car, an old but familiar feeling of ditching his younger brother suddenly kicking in. After all, Charlie had been extremely helpful on several cases—invaluable, in fact, a few times. He could see where it would be demeaning to have to wait in the car. But Don was feeling a growing need to establish the order of things. Don was in charge, Terry was his partner, and Charlie was none of the above…and lately those lines were getting a little blurred. He pushed the guilty feeling down, annoyed at the situation, annoyed at himself, but mostly still annoyed at Charlie and his ever-present tag-along mentality.

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Terry had waited for Don by the steps to the bank. She smirked slightly at him as he approached, turning into step with him as they went up the stairs. "He wanted to come along?"

He shook his head ruefully. "Of course…it's just like when we were kids. He's driving me crazy. I wish he would just get his own life and live it."

"Well, you were the one who brought him in as a consultant…"

"I know that."

"And he has helped us solve several cases much more quickly than we could have otherwise…"

"Terry, I know that too." Don said shortly.

"And he'll probably help us break this one open once we get him some data. He seems to actually enjoy financial fraud cases, unlike us…"

Don stopped at the top of the stairs. "Terry." She stopped and turned toward him. "You're not helping."

She gave him a suppressed smile. "I know. He just seems to really be getting excited about all this…about working with us." You she corrected mentally.

She turned to start walking again, but stopped, surprised when he didn't move with her.

Don took a breath and held it, looking up slightly, like he was trying to express something difficult. She studied him closely. This sort of thing was rare from him.

"What?" she prodded after a few seconds.

He let the breath out. "I guess sometimes I feel like…like I'm always having to fight Charlie off. Like he's always got to get a foot into my life, and then he starts doing whatever I'm doing, but better, and faster, and…smarter." There was that word again. "I don't like feeling that way about him," he added quietly. He waved his hand then suddenly, as if to push these admissions away. "This is stupid. I'm acting like a little kid. None of this matters…we're adults now and it is what it is."

She grabbed his hand as he made to start walking. "Don't do that."

He looked down at her hand holding his and felt his heart skip. She let go and looked hard at him. He felt like she could see right through him. It had always been that way, and it had always unnerved him. Truthfully, it was a big part of why he had left her. She could easily have gotten too close. But what had scared him personally made them a great team professionally, and he was glad of their friendship now. He wasn't good at talking to people, but with Terry, at least he sometimes felt like trying.

"Come on," he said after a moment, breaking eye-contact, "let's get this guy questioned and get out of here. After all…" he grinned at her, "Charlie is waiting in the car."

She returned the smile as Don reached for the heavily tinted double doors and opened one, letting her step through first.