#imagine numb3rs

[sun-ni-day]

Numb3rs 5x23 Angels and Devils

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Unknown Trajectory

Don Eppes x Reader

Words: 3864

Part One of Three

Summary: Charlie begins a specialty course, co-taught by a teacher in criminology. He invites Don as a guest speaker to show the kids first hand the importance of mathematics in crime solving. Don, however, finds more interest in Charlie’s co-worker. When he and the reader begin a relationship, they keep it hidden from the genius mathematician, but find that their growing feelings for each other are only the start of the equation. 

Notes: What started as a fluff idea turned into a three part drama. Welp. I know this isn’t the most popular show for imagines, but god I love writing for Don. Rob Morrow is just great. I hope there are some of you out there who enjoy! Let me know I’m not alone haha. 

More Crime Drama imagines: HERE

-

Don felt like a kid called to the principal’s office. It was stupid. He’d been to Charlie’s place of work countless times, but in those instances, he was there to do a job. He didn’t have to stand up in front of a bunch of kids with higher IQs than him and try to explain how his genius kid brother helps him do his job. 

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” he whined, fixing his tie in Charlie’s mirror. 

“And I really, really appreciate it, Don,” Charlie said. “I mean, explaining things with Dr. Y/L/N is one thing, but having you here to let them see the real-life connections I think will really help their understanding of the concepts.”

Don shook his head. “I better not just end up standing up there like an idiot while you and some other ancient law professor with a stick up his ass use me like some, I don’t know, ventriloquist dummy.” Leaning against the desk, Don had his back to the door. “Who is this Dr. Y/L/N, anyway?”

“Well not ancient and not a ‘he,’” a voice behind him chided. “As for the stick though, I’m afraid I have some students who might agree with you.” 

Don gave his brother- who could very clearly see the door opening- a deadly glare. 

Charlie’s brows raised and he laughed nervously. “Y/N. Good of you to stop by before the lesson.”

“I figured I should meet our special guest before he leads our class for the day.” You smiled at Charlie and held out your hand to his brother with a playful glint in your eye. “You must be Agent Eppes.” 

“You can call me Don,” he grimaced. He shook your hand, giving you an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. It’s been a long day and my brother kinda sprang this on me and when he talked about you he made you sound….”

“Like an ancient law professor with a stick up his ass?” You teased. 

“I did not!” Charlie protested. 

“It’s okay, Agent Eppes.” Your smile conveyed no hard feelings. In fact, it lit up the room. “I’m just giving you a hard time. Charlie’s told me so much about you.” 

Don glared at him again. Charlie held up his hands innocently.

“All good things,” you laughed. Starting back to the door, you turned around again to give the older Eppes a wink. “Mostly.”

Don bit the inside of his cheek, finding himself utterly speechless. His brother, however, was not.

“We should probably go,” Charlie said. “We don’t want to be late for our own class, hm?” 

“Yes, I can’t wait for Agent Eppes to lead our discussion.” You watched the FBI Agent’s face fall.

“Leading? Who said I was leading?” He looked to Charlie in an irritated panic. “I said I’d answer a few questions.”

Charlie patted him on the back. “You’ll do great.”  

The two of you ushered him into the rush of students before he had the chance to bail. 

The class went better than he expected, though it certainly helped to have you sitting with your students, looking up at Don with interested eyes and a stunning smile. By the time it was over, he was almost a little disappointed that he had to leave. 

“I’ve got to run,” Charlie said on your way out of the classroom. “I promised Larry I’d help him with a demonstration, but we’ll definitely get together to discuss the next assignment, yeah?” 

You nodded, giving him a bright smile. “Today was amazing. I can’t wait to see what the students are going to write for their research assignments.” 

“Yeah, me too.” He put a hand on Don’s shoulder. “And thanks a lot for coming today. I think it really made a difference.” 

“After all the cases you’ve helped with, it’s the least I can do, Charlie,” Don said. 

“See you guys later.” And he was off, diving in between students and hurrying down the hall so he wouldn’t be late. 

You motioned for Don to follow you outside so you could get out of the chaos. The sun just barely peeked out from fluffy white clouds, providing a break from L.A.’s usual heat.

“Really, Agent Eppes, I can’t even begin to thank you for today. I think it really helped them understand the point of the class, seeing you and Charlie interact and hearing about what you do,” you beamed. “It was amazing.”

“Thank you for having me, Dr. Y/L/N,” he said. “It was honestly a lot more fun than I thought it would be.” 

You smiled. “You can call me Y/N.” 

“Only if you stop calling me Agent.” 

You pretended to debate the idea and nodded. The two of you found a bench to sit on. His arm brushed against yours, giving you goosebumps despite the warm air.

Don inhaled sharply, running a hand through his dark hair. “Listen, I really am sorry about what I said before the lecture. I was freaking out about talking to all those kids and I was being an ass.”

“You really don’t have to worry.” Looking over the courtyard, you laughed with a sigh. “Believe it or not, I’ve been called worse.” 

“Can I at least make it up to you?” He asked. He leaned a little closer. “Buy you dinner?”

You turned to him with a smirk. “Are you asking me out, Don?” 

“Only if you’re saying yes, Y/N.” 

The clock on the quad struck three and you stood up, taking a piece of paper from your bag and writing your number. 

“I guess I can accept that form of apology,” you said, walking away with a new sway in your step. 

Don watched you go, the simple fun of flirty taking root as something much more complicated in his chest. He ignored it, for now, but found that it never really went away. Especially when he thought about that smile. 

-

The first weekend, he had to cancel due to a series of bank robberies. 

That Wednesday, you rescheduled due to a case your friend needed an expert witness for. 

Almost two weeks passed before you found the slightest open window, and even then it was just a couple of hours during a time that would definitely be classified as ‘booty call’ appropriate. But, despite the connotations of the hour, you made the call. 

“Eppes.”

“Hey, Don. It’s Y/N.” You bit your lip, starting to regret the call already. “Sorry, it’s late.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I was up anyway. Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I was just calling because… God this is stupid,” you sighed. “Do you want to come over?” 

There was silence and then-

“Uh… sure?” 

“Only if you aren’t busy. I was planning on ordering a pizza because I haven’t eaten all day and I thought, well, it isn’t exactly fancy, but it still kinda counts as a dinner date, so I called and-”

“A dinner date it is,” Don said before you could spiral too much. “Just tell me your address and I’ll head over, yeah?

You relayed the apartment address and hung up, any confidence you’d had when the two of you first met having totally dissipated. 

It took him only twenty minutes to find your place, which was far shorter than you’d anticipated. Your kitchen table was littered with research files and the living room was in an even worse state. 

“Oh God,” you sighed, running a hand down your face, and opened the door. 

Don stood with a pack of beer in hand and a cautiously optimistic smile. 

“Hey,” he greeted. 

“Hi. Come in. Sorry about the mess. I was cleaning, and then the pizza got here, and then you…” You winced as he looked around, but there was no judgment in his face. 

“If you think this is a mess, you should see mine,” he laughed. His eyes fell upon the already full table. “Where do you want to eat?” 

“Um.” Your eyes searched around in a panic. Finally, you shrugged. “Fire escape.”

“Ah, dinner under the stars,” he teased. “Very romantic.” 

You both climbed out of the window and onto the landing. Don’s hand found the small of your back to make sure you didn’t fall as you sat down on the first step. He sat beside you a step down. 

At first, you both just talked about each other’s days, how you’d been since the last time you saw each other- though, you’d spoken on the phone several times in between. He made a joke about having a lesson with Charlie but admitted they couldn't have solved the case without him. You talked about how well the course seemed to be going, and how the kids still mentioned how much they loved hearing from Don. 

“So how does a beautiful criminology professor end up working with my math wiz brother?” Don smiled, taking a sip from his beer. 

You shifted on the step of the fire escape, shoulder bumping his. 

“I, actually, approached Charlie.” 

He raised a brow. “Really?”

“Uhuh.” You took a bite of your pizza, leaning forward so the grease wouldn’t drip onto your chin. “I heard what he'd been working on for the FBI and I just found it totally fascinating.” Setting the food aside, you leaned against the rail. “He’s taught me a lot.”

“Whether you ask him to or not, right?” Don chuckled. 

“He’s definitely…” You thought for a moment. “Enthusiastic.” The thought of Charlie’s over-caffeinated ramblings made you smirk. “But, I don’t know. I had to take College Algebra twice, so I might not be the easiest student to teach.” 

“I’m sure you’re a dream compared to me and my team.”

You swallowed a drink, shaking your head. “Not from what he says. I mean, you should hear the way he talks about working with you. He just lights up, Don.”

Don hummed but said nothing, and brought the bottle back to his lips. 

The two of you sat in the quiet of the evening, leaning closer ever so slightly, like magnets put next to each other. There was a side of you that blared warning sirens, reminding you of all the reasons this was your first date in two years. That, and he was a federal agent who, on more than one occasion, Charlie had joked about his utter lack of a love life. But you ignored all of it when you closed the space between you.

There was no hesitation, no worry of what this meant. His lips moved against yours, his hand cupping your cheek before moving to the nape of your neck, deepening the kiss.

Suddenly, all of the stress and pressure from his week melted away. Don smiled against your sigh, setting the pizza box on the landing so he could pull you closer. 

You were both so lost in the moment, you didn’t notice the rain until it started to pour. 

When you finally broke apart, your shirt clung to your skin. His white T-shirt might as well have vanished altogether with how the water turned it completely transparent. 

But the rain was warm and welcoming. It ushered in suggestions. It encouraged. 

Needless to say, the two of you spent the rest of the evening inside. 

-

When Don woke up, his arms were empty, his shirt was drying on the back of a chair, and blinds were drawn back, allowing the sun to blind his tired eyes before he remembered where he was. 

He checked the clock on the nightstand. 7:30. 

“Great," he muttered. 

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he ran a hand down his face to try and wake himself up. With his vision adjusting, he noticed the paper lying over the top of his drying shirt.

Had to prepare for an 8:00 lecture. Didn’t want to wake you. Maybe meet for lunch?

P.S. There's coffee in the kitchen. I made sure to leave it on so it’ll be hot for you. 

Don laughed to himself. Usually, he was the one who had to sneak out because of work. It had to be the first time he’d woken up alone because of homework. 

He put on his clothes and made his way to the kitchen where, sure enough, the coffee pot was left on. He switched it off and poured himself a cup, glancing around at the chaos that was your living room and table in the daylight. It reminded him of the garage when Charlie was on a roll with some equation or another. But he didn’t mind it. He could see how dedicated you were to your job, like he was. So, even though he had to lean against the counter rather than sit at the table, everything already felt so familiar, more welcoming than his own cold and empty apartment. 

He got a call not long after he finished his coffee and sighed. Another day, another case. Still, he thought about your note as he drove. Maybe he could still stop by CalSci. He’d probably have to talk to Charlie anyway and besides, he still owed you a meal. 

-

It was cutting it close, but Don managed to have time to get to CalSci just before noon with some sandwiches from a deli on the way. As he made his way to your office, he followed the sound of a very cheesy 80s power ballad that rang over the gaggle of students. The closer he got to the door, the more he could pick your voice out from Foreigner. 

“Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far. To change this lonely life.”

Don opened the door just a crack and found you jumping around, using a gavel as a microphone. 

“I wanna know what love is. I want you to show me!”

He bit his lip to keep from smiling too widely. Don let you finish the verse before he finally spoke up.

“So this is what you ditched me for, huh?” He said loud enough so you’d hear him over the music. 

Your body went stiff and you slammed your hand on the radio’s off switch. You whipped around, cheeks red as a beat, and ran your fingers through your hair which had become a bit of a mess from head-banging for the past half hour. 

“Don,” you gasped, “hi.” 

“Hey,” he grinned. “Don’t stop on my account, I just figured I’d drop by with that lunch you mentioned.” He set the bag of food on your desk. “I didn’t know what kind you’d like, so I got turkey or roast beef.”

“How romantic,” you teased, leaning on the desk with your hand on his arm. 

“It’s better than soggy pizza, I can tell you that.” 

You groaned, running a hand down your face. “I still can’t believe I called you last night. I swear, I don’t usually do that kind of thing. I just figured it might be our only chance to-”

“I had a good time.” He assured you, tucking a wild hair behind your ear. “A great time, actually.” He placed his hand behind your head. “I’m glad you called.” 

Your lips just barely brushed his when you pushed back with a reluctant sigh. 

“I can’t do this.” 

Don let his hand fall back to his side and tried not to let his face fall as well. He cleared his throat and took a step away from you. 

“Right,” he said stoically. “Okay.”

“Oh my God, no that came out wrong,” you exclaimed. “I mean I can’t do this right now.”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay?”

“Don, I really, really enjoyed last night.” You took his hands in yours. “I had more fun than I’ve had in a long time and, I know our schedules are crazy, but I would really like to see you again. Preferably not on my fire escape, though I’m definitely not upset about what that led to.” The memory of his lips against yours, his hands grasping yours, his body against yours popped into your mind. You shook your head, forcing yourself to focus. “I just can’t do it right now because-”

With the knock at the door, you let your hands drop his and you both stepped further away from each other. 

“Are you ready to go over-” Charlie started. His words and his feet halted, however, when he saw you weren’t alone. “Don, hey. What are you doing here?” 

You and the agent exchanged a look and an unsaid understanding passed between you, though neither of you knew the reason.

“I, uh, I was coming to see you and thought I’d say hi to Dr. Y/L/N,” Don said. 

“Yeah, I had a couple of questions about some of your… procedures that I wanted to clear up for the next lesson,” you coughed to cover your lie. “Don was nice enough to stop by since he’s here to see  you.” 

“Right.” Don nodded. 

Charlie blinked. “Ooooookay.” He waved the files in his hand. “So, are you ready to go over the equations to narrow down possible killers from larger lists?” 

“Actually, Charlie, I do need to talk to you,” Don said. “It’s about that serial killer we think may have started up again.” 

“Right.” Charlie tapped his chin with the folder. “Um, Y/N can I take a rain check? We can talk it over after your last class?”

“Sounds good.” You gave him a tight smile. “Good luck catching bad guys. Both of you.” Both Eppes nodded, Don mouthing an apology so Charlie wouldn't see.

 You returned it with finger guns. 

Once they were gone, you hit your palm to your forehead. “Finger guns?” You chided yourself. “Really?”

With a sigh, you switched on the radio and rummaged through the bag Don brought you for the turkey sandwich. 

“Hey, Charlie. Yeah, let’s talk about class,” you said in mock conversation. “Oh, and by the way? I had sex with your brother. That’s not going to be weird right?” 

You let your forehead fall to your desk, narrowly missing your sandwich.

This was going to be more complicated than you thought. 

-

“I’m serious!” You giggled. “I am deathly afraid of, you heard it, swans.” 

“Swans?” Don shook his head. “Like white fluffy birds they put on valentines cards, those swans?”

“Don’t let the cards fool you. Swans are demonic little creatures.” You sipped your wine, still sniggering. “I got chased by one as a kid. The thing almost bit me. Scarred me for life.” 

“Well, if we ever come across any rogue swans, I’ll protect you,” he smiled. 

“Oh, right, my knight in shining Kevlar going up against waterfowl. That’s something I’d pay to see.” 

You both laughed a little too loudly, the other patrons at the restaurant casting looks in your direction. Despite that, the wine and candlelight definitely set a different scene than beer on your fire escape. Though, you might still prefer the latter.

It’d been two months since that night. And somehow, in the face of all the obstacles your jobs posed- including keeping everything a secret from his brother- you’d managed to build something resembling a real relationship. Which excited and terrified you. 

“How were classes today?” He asked, pouring you more wine. 

“Your brother scares me with how smart he is sometimes,” you exclaimed.  “I mean, the things he’s able to figure out using symbols that mean absolutely nothing to me…” 

“Welcome to my world, sweetheart.” 

Don placed his hand on top of yours, gently drawing circles on the back of your wrist, seeming lost in thought. 

“Speaking of Charlie,” he started, glancing up at you with a question you’d both had on your mind. 

“Right,” you sighed. 

“Should we…” Don cleared his throat. “We should tell him, right? It’s weird that we haven’t told him.”

“I thought that too.” You swirled your wine in the glass. “But now isn’t it more weird that we haven’t told him? I mean, what do we say? That we’ve been seeing each other for a couple months now and just forgot to mention it?” 

“Yeah, but we can’t go on sneaking around like high school kids, right?” 

“I know, I know. But it still just feels… weird.”

Don raised a brow. “Dating me feels weird?” 

“No,” you rolled your eyes, poking his arm. “But dating my co-worker’s brother behind his back is a little odd.”

“Charlie’s a big boy, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Besides, it's not like you two were a thing.” Don took a drink.

You lowered your eyes. 

“Wait,” he swallowed. “You and Charlie…” He shook his head in disbelief “And you didn’t think to mention it?” 

“It wasn’t even really a thing,” you defended. “It was… a fraction of a thing. A teeny tiny percentage of a thing.” He still stared at you wide-eyed, so you continued. “We were at an end-of-the-year function for faculty, had a couple drinks, and went for a walk.”

“That’s it?”

You bit your lip. “And we kissed. But that was it!”

“You kissed my brother?” He exclaimed.

People around you started to whisper. 

You lowered your voice. 

“Now who’s acting like a high schooler?” You scoffed, leaning back in your chair. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just-” Don held up his hands, holding back laughter. “Difficult to imagine. That’s all.” 

“Obviously, we decided to just be friends and that's part of how our joint class came to be,” you said. 

He nodded, but couldn’t contain his smirk. “But you didn’t want to say anything about us just in case he carried a torch for you, huh?”

“No, it isn’t that.” You knew as well as anybody that Charlie had eyes for one person and you were over the moon that he and Amita were finally working things out. But you also couldn’t bear the thought of upsetting him over something like this, especially after not telling him for so long. “I just didn’t want to make things awkward.” 

“Well, like I said, Charlie’s a grown man,” Don shrugged. “Even if he did have a problem, he’d get over it.” 

The waitress brought the check and Don snagged it before you could. You finished your wine and he ate the last piece of bread by the time she got back. 

“I will say though,” you mused as the two of you stood to leave, laying a hand on his chest. “All of the secrecy is more than a little bit sexy, hm?”

He cocked a brow. “Yeah?” 

You nodded. “Makes you seem like James Bond.” 

He chuckled, his hand finding the small of your back to lead you back to the car. 

“Alright, then maybe you should get me to a secure location, Dr. Y/L/N,” he teased. “We wouldn’t want to blow my cover.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.” You winked and got in the car. 

While it certainly wasn’t a path you expected to be on, for the first time in a long while, you were enjoying the ride. 

Maybe, this time, things would be different. 

For both of you.

[sidleyparkhermit]

for the word finder game, because i am very annoying but think i am very clever: "all" "use" "math" "every" and "day"

all (from magnetic reconnection ch.3, aka the time travel fic)

It was only much later, seated on the futon surrounded by notes and paper plates, warmed by the cozy fire in the fireplace, that Charlie really noticed how Larry had kept the conversation going nonstop at all the moments when Charlie should’ve stepped in to help pay for the food.

use (from magnetic reconnection ch.3, immediately before the previous excerpt)

The moment he hung up the phone, Larry resumed their conversation from yesterday, pulling notes out of his slim briefcase and making use of the available flat surfaces — which mostly meant the big Japanese futon mattress on the floor, because the desk in the corner was completely covered with books and papers already.

math (from then a miracle occurs)

The thing with Charlie was not some pervy secret that he needed to have a complex about. No one was coming to his door with pitchforks and hemlock if he acted on his feelings for a 30-year-old tenured math professor.

every (from the case is altered, the terror three-way bodyswap fic with eventual irving/bridgens/peglar) (which is not, however, the set of three people who get bodyswapped)

What was happening was so mysterious I could not guess at it — myself still being half-absent, as when one is woken from the very deepest of sleep and for a suspended moment barely remembers what it is to be human — but since this man spoke to me like a friend who believed he had every reason to be here, I would respond in kind and ask him for help, as I would ask a reasonable friend.

day (from then a miracle occurs. couldn't find this one in the singular anywhere, except in the chapters of magnetic that I already posted on AO3)

It was his first stop after recovering his ability to do things like walk in gravity — a process that had eaten up more days than he’d like. Rationally, he knew he was doing very well for a man who’d joined the space program at 50; still, he was impatient.

[twig-gy]

[id: tags reading ‘#imagine meeting the god your ex was trying to make you worship and he’s the most pathetic lonely sad wet dog in the world #and he looks at you like you’re the most special wonderful intelligent person in the world #he stares at you with total adoration. he clings to you like glue and you cling back. he loves you. he loves you and he can’t leave #and he never would and he’s so. so broken. #and the ‘prophet’ who ruined everything is here too. but different. you see yourself in him. you see a mirror in his horrible sad eyes #and you can’t help but love and pity them. #/sad emoticon/ #and then you take it upon yourself to destroy the two people making them so sad.’ end id]

from an rb of this post by @s4fety-1n-numb3rs

[sethizah]

I have a fixation on old TV series and there is one that, because of the fandom and its incredible stories, I have developed a special affection for. But for about 3 years now there's been no one writing anything...everyone abandoned it :( and now there are only new A/B fics which aren't really my taste since the series is about 2 brothers. So, imagine my happiness upon finding more than 30 (old) fics that I've never read. Oh this is going to be wonderful 😍 #numb3rs

[overrated-sheep]

NO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN BECAUSE THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN CHARLIE AND DON IS SO INTERESTING TO PLAY WITH!!

Okay so we have charlie who’s been a known genius since four and don who’s felt inferior because of it! But ofc charlie has also felt like an outsider because of his genius! WHICH LIKE OBVIOUSLY IN SHOW AND IN FIC WEAVES AN INTERESTING ARC FOR THEM AHHHHH

I finished watching it and am actually rewatching it and the second episode when we see charlie go into a catatonic math state after don narrowly escapes a headshot we also see don try to break charlie out of his need to solve an unsolvable problem. charlie speaks in numbers right? it’s what he understands best so IMAGINE WITH ME IF YOU WILL! dons trying to snap charlie out of his shock and charlie replies with “statistically you’re dead now!” but don grabs charlie’s hands and presses them to his neck, leading charlie’s fingers to find his pulse and asking him to count and to calculate his bpm 🥴 look i’m just saying there’s a lot of good untapped potential for these two SO PLEASE WATCH NUMB3RS 😣😭

[bullet-prooflove]

Could you do an nsfw for Ian Edgerton using j, k, p, and r pretty please? 🥺 I just started rewatching NUMB3RS and I forgot how hot he was ...

OMG Thank you so much, I love Ian and I don’t get much of a chance to write about him. He is so attractive!

Joker:

Initially it starts as just sex and Ian brings the same intensity into the bedroom that he does to everything else. He’s very domineering, it’s about taking what he needs and then leaving you absolutely ruined in the sheets,

As things develop into more, he starts to relax a little, show vulnerability. His playful side comes out and he brings that wry sense of humour into the bedroom. He gets a little more playful, there’s a lot more smiles and laugher.

Kinky:

I would say although Ian’s more dominant, he’s used to conventional sex. He’s more about positions originally as there hadn’t been much space for him to explore. He really enjoys watching the two of you, in a mirror, the reflection of the French windows, he just loves seeing the two of you together, knowing you’re his.

You’re a bit more experimental, whispering in his ear why don’t we try this and Ian is happy to oblige, I imagine he learns a lot from you in that respect. Ian’s version of sensation play is drinking a cold beer and chasing all over your body with chilled lips and a heated tongue.

I think your both into breath play a little, nothing two extreme but Ian’s hand on your throat at the right moment, gets you off like nothing else.

Ian’s a bit of a talker.

“You like that don’t you sweetheart, gonna come for me aren’t you?”

Place:

For Ian camping outdoors, getting to spend the night with you in the woods, looking up at the stars is perfect. He likes to make love to you in front of the campfire and fall asleep to the sound of the forest.

Ian doesn’t feel comfortable in hotel rooms or luxury spaces like that so stays at places like that are a firm no. He’s flexible on B&Bs if it’s for something special like your birthday and he’s taking you wine tasting.

When he stays at your place he always leaves the French windows ajar because you have woodland at the back of your house and he enjoys being close it, however due to his paranoia, he’s always sleeping between you and the door.

Restraints:

Ian is more likely to use his body to restrain you, his hands pinning yours above your head, his hips sinking into yours. He likes you vocal so there’s never any gags involved, he also likes to look into your eyes when he fucks you so no blindfolds.

Ian hates being out of control. He dislikes being restrained and anything that goes along with it. You get the sense that something happened to him during his time in the military that he isn’t ready to tell you yet.

[altschmerzes]

Did you ever watch Numb3rs? I feel like you would enjoy the vibe.

yes!!! i did!! and you're right, it was totally up my alley, you got me in one XD honestly a piece of media that will forever have a soft spot in my heart for many reasons but particularly for its portrayal of jewish characters and a like. soul searching arc for a character that brought him to connect more strongly with judaism. also an absolutely top shelf sibling dynamic. mwah. beloved.

(one of the lost media things that haunts me most is the unaired pilot where gabriel macht played don eppes. i want to see it so bad. he's one of my fave actors and i'd be FASCINATED to see his take on don, though rob morrow did a great job and i can't imagine it being anyone else)

[hummingbird-of-light]

Round 3: Second story for @badthingshappenbingo ~

Title: Caution! Wet Floor

Fandom: Numb3rs

Character(s): Larry Fleinhardt, Don Eppes

Relationship(s): Larry Fleinhardt & Don Eppes

Rating: G

Words: 593

Prompt: Arm in a Sling

Warnings: Broken Bones, Accidents

(You can also find this story on AO3)

~ Caution! Wet Floor ~

"I just can't believe it. I just can't believe that such an incredibly embarrassing accident has happened to me of all people. What will my students say?"

With a pained expression, astrophysicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt rubbed his injured arm, which was lying in a triangular bandage wrapped in a sling around his shoulder. It was a first aid measure that Don had taken. The temporary splint only had to hold until they reached the hospital.

"Well, they'll probably say that you went all Fleinhardt," Don replied, a hint of a grin on his face. Larry gave the agent a dirty look.

"Don't start using my name as an adjective! It's quite enough when Charles does it. I expect better from his older brother, so – ouch, ouch, ouch!" One wrong move and Larry's arm hurt indescribably again. He squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Don looked over at him and gave him a sympathetic smile before looking back at the road. If traffic in Los Angeles continued to be this slow, it would be an eternity before they reached the hospital.

"I'm sorry, Larry. I didn't mean it like that. And it would be better if you tried to sit still and not get too excited."

The professor had a tendency to gesticulate wildly during his tirades, which was not a good idea in his current state.

Larry sighed heavily and leaned his head back into the headrest of the car.

"I know, I know. Oh, if only I'd remembered that Wednesdays are always the day they clean the corridors! Then this bloody arm fracture wouldn't have happened in the first place," he complained.

"Maybe next time you're on your way to a lecture, you should just not have your nose buried in a book, but focus on your surroundings. That can be really helpful."

Larry heard the mischievous undertone in Don's voice very clearly and once again he glared at his friend.

"Donald Eppes," he said in a warning voice and the agent shrugged his shoulders.

"What, I'm just saying."

Larry simply shook his head and mumbled a quiet "No respect" to himself before the two men remained silent for quite a while.

The silence was only broken when Don suddenly couldn't hold back a laugh and snorted.

"What's so funny, young man?" Larry demanded to know, his eyes narrowed suspiciously and Don waved his hand away.

"It ... it was kinda funny. The way you slid along the freshly mopped floor, trying to find your balance. Almost like a cartoon."

For a moment, Larry felt annoyed at Don's sudden burst of laughter, but then he imagined the image that had presented itself to the his best friend's brother as he had turned into the corridor.

A small, elderly man in a floral shirt, slithering through the corridor like Bambi across the frozen lake and eventually falling to the floor, only to slide on belly first.

The physicist couldn't help but smile. It had certainly looked very amusing.

"Sorry, sorry. I ... No, it wasn't funny at all. You're hurt. I shouldn't laugh about it," Don quickly apologized, but Larry only shook his head.

"It is all right, Don." He patted the driver of the car on the knee before laughing himself. "Who knows ... Maybe the story will even get an honor roll entry in my students' yearbook."

"Oh, I'm quite sure it will, Larry. After all, you're one of the best professors CalSci has. If you're not a celebrity, who is?"

Both men laughed and suddenly the pain was only half as bad.

[electricsakura16]

Meet Kimchi, based on my imagination involving an ATHF with traits of Freda and Tabitha (Master Shake's previous girlfriends).

Facts:

Her full name is Kimberly Brutananadilewski, goes by Kim for short and is nicknamed Kimchi.

She is obnoxious and short-tempered, but is obviously more understanding and has potential trust and care for her friends and even Ramen and Abigail (OC I currently own).

She is female and goes by She/Her pronouns

Around Master Shake's age

She is Pansexual and Biromantic

Obviously looks forward to Abigail and wishes she could be like her

She and Carl sometimes get into scuffles with eachother

First met the Aqua Teens when she was caught sulking in the streets

Loves Y2K Aesthetic

Her nickname "Kimchi" comes from her likeness of said Korean side dish

Truly loves Master Shake, Would later become his love interest at the end of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

She likes McBling and Pink Colors

Her chore is washing Carl's car

She and Carl raised on their own eversince their mother disappeared and then their father (Sad)

She owns a pink cellphone in the past seasons, she would later use a pink smartphone in the later seasons (even on Season 12)

She uses typical slangs such as "Oh my god" and "Gross!"

She once had an ex-boyfriend.

Relationship Chart:

Carl Brutananadilewski - Older brother

Master Shake - Close Friend/Crush, Later love interest

Frylock - Friend

Meatwad - Friend

Burgen - Friend

Ramen - Best Friend

Abigail - Looks forward to/Wants to be her

Dr. Weird - Hates

Steve - Acquaintance

Mooninites - Alright with

Plutonians - Alright with

Suninites - Alright with

Bubble Gumellia (by LilyPinkyBunnyUwU) - Friend

Tulip (by LilyPinkyBunnyUwU) - Friend

Mr. Signals (by LilyPinkyBunnyUwU) - Friend

Wi-Flora (by LilyPinkyBunnyUwU) - Friendly Towards

Saturnians (by LilyPinkyBunnyUwU) - Friendly Towards

Paintette (by LilyPinkyBunnyUwU) - Friend

[kitkatpancakestack]

KITKAT YOU WATCHED NUMB3RS?!!!???? i've never met someone besides my mom who also watched that show

AKDJSKS Listen sometimes I'm not convinced any of us watched it and that it was a collective fever dream. Idk what it was about that show but I was fucking hooked. Just imagine little tweenager me sneaking off to watch Numb3rs, logged onto ff.net at all hours of the night. I always say spn was my first fandom obsession but I'm a LIAR and a FAKE bc Numb3rs is RIGHT THERE. Don and Charlie were my number ones 😌 looking back, I should have known my weird obsession about emotionally-distant-siblings-who-are-not-actually-all-that-emotionally-distant and would do anything for each other was priming me perfectly to make spn my entire personality for like 10+ years sjdjsksdj

[crazyk-imagine]

GIFS I

Gifs I don’t want to lose :)

Top Gun + Top Gun: Maverick

The Dog fight Scene

More of the scene

More dog fight scene

Hangman & Coyote

Hangman and his darts

Bob in the sky

Hangman during the dog fight

The one time you see the other pilots

An adorable duo

Fritz during the dog fight

Bob’s move

“Hangman in costume”

“College Jake”

Yale in the sky

TGM cast

Bob

Bob and Mickey in college collage

Top gun as troubled birds?

TG and TGM teachers

Icemav

Bob and Fanboy as besties

Shock

Bob, Fanboy, and Coyote

Dagger Squad

Rooster @ Hangman

Hangman @ Rooster

Bob’s hair

Kermit and Lewis

Things associated with BB

The Squad

Brad

Quarter of the dagger squad playing jenga

Mav and Rooster

Mav runs to Rooster

Rooster learns Mav is insane

Bradshaw boys // B Boys 

Goose Goose

Anthony as Goose

Iceman, Maverick, Goose, and Slider

Iceman

Iceman being Iceman

Wolfman and Hangman

“Nerd” boys being proud of Nat

Glen

Cleaned up Dagger Squad 

Sassy Bradley

Edit

Should have been a real pic in the movie

Wolfman and Hollywood

Slider and Iceman

Top Daggers

Fanboy and Payback

Wolfman and Hollywood

Dramatic Hannix

Hannix

Sad Hannix

The cast 

Butts

Everybody Wants Some!!

Finnegan with his cowboy hat // Cowboy hat

Finnegan dancing // more dancing

Finnegan // Pt. 2

Finnegan and the bull

Finnegan and Coma dancing

Supernatural

Richard Speight Jr fangirling

Jensen *tsk tsk*

Gag reel

Dean

The cast and their hair

Dean stealing candy

Dean cleaning himself 

Funny post

Dick Hunter

More Dean

Alternate Dean’s

Swat Supernatural 

Dean

Sam and Dean

Dean

Devotion

Jonathon and Glen 

Glen in devotion

Glen in his uniform

Glen in his whites

Narnia

Lucy and Peter

Tiktok song

Dialogue

Susan w/ Eliza H lyrics

Pevensie Ages

Small timeline

Viva la Viva w/ Peter

Sad times w/ Peter

Moodboard series

Hamilton lyrics x Narnia peeps

William Mosley gifs // Pt. 2

Narnia book remodel

Peter edit

Parallels

Merlin

Merlin

Merlin and poetry

Merlin curses

Arthur’s love language for Merlin

More Merlin

Gwaine

More Gwaine

Merlin edit

Arthur

Arthur accpeting magic (what we deserved to see)

Non Merlin watcher comments

Rupert Young being cocky

Merthur

Break my heart // Pt.2 

Arthur learned the truth 

Edits

Merlin

Arthur messing with Merlin

Arthur defying his Father

The End

Locations 

Arthur undressing

BBC Merlin

BBC Merlin

Funny

Interesting 

Bridgerton

Kanthony

Character develpment - Anthony

The family dancing

The family

Mentions of the sting

Stranger Things

Equipped Nancy

Eddie

Nancy and Eddie

Platonic Soulmates

This is music

Ted Lasso

Jamie 

More Jamie

Some more Jamie

Jamie 

Jamie

Sleepy Jamie

More Jamie

Lot more Jamie

(Don’t judge me) Jamie

Character development

Jamie (cold upstairs, hot downstairs)

Jamie

Parallels

Jamie

The strings

Character arc

Cartwheels

Roy

Jamie

Cuteness

Dance Dance

Pass the ball

Dance dance again

Fist bump

Beard and Roy

The Richman Way

Lasso dance

The end

Uncle Roy

Jamie

Birthday

Jamie knows Roy

Progress

After the poster

More progress

Jamie being mature

Last practice

Jamie and Sam

Jamie

Ted and Rebecca

Jamie 

Jamie and Sam 

You missed a good one

Wizard of Oz

Father and Son

Jamie

Will and convos

Sassy trio

Tears

The Fashion Police

Team fines

Jamie and Dani

Facts

Jamie

Sweaty Jamie 

Triple Frontier

The boys

Makes me cackle

How I imagined the end in One Shot

The main four

Santi

Frankie

Will

More Will

Benny

More Benny

“After” the movie Benny

Menacing walk Benny (future unwritten scene?) 

AU Will 

Marvel/ DC

Zemo dancing

Bucky

More Bucky

Not Bucky but fits the vibe

Misc

Willard dancing

Willard and Ren Dancing

Marko, Paul, Dwayne, and David

Lindsay embarrassing Flack

Shane and Ryan through the years

Shane and Ryan

Ryan

Salem Saberhagen Icons Pt. 1 // Pt. 2

Salem Saberhagen

Chris Knight deleted scene

Chris Knight

Black Phone

Leatherface (2017)

Numb3rs “date night”

Eric saves Jack

Monk

The boys and Lassie

Benny icons for My babysitters a vampire

Bowers gang

(Book) Stan Uris

Stan and Ritchie

IT

Harry potter

Fred and George being adorable

Now you see me

Bohrap

Queen commentary

Tom Hiddleston is a real life prince

James Diamond

Kira Yukimura

Fic edits

BTR vibes

Glen Powell

P & P Trivia

Know your Leatherface

Drew in the puppy interview

Rafe obx 3

Lewis 

“College Student”

Art History meme

Deadpool

American Psycho

Shower AP Scene

AP Lines

Rafe

Phil Dunster

Dungeons and Dragons 

Aemond Targaryen 

Ken talk

Behind the scenes - HOTD - AT

DPS things

Wolf transformation

The toast

Aemond T

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Risk Assessment

Don Eppes x Reader

Words: 3844

Part Two of Three

Summary: As your feelings for each other push boundaries you’d both set for yourselves a long time ago, Don distances himself during a tough case and you have to decide if your relationship is worth the risk.

Notes: I know it’s been a minute, but I haven’t forgotten about my Don fans out there (we are few, but we are powerful haha) I love this show and the brother dynamic and Don’s emotional complexity is just so fun to write. I will hopefully have the last part up at some point soon. 

More Don: HERE 

-

You took the stairs two at a time, heart beating out of your chest, and mind reeling. You didn’t hear the nurses asking you if you needed help over the panic in your head. All the news said was that there was a shootout between a suspect and FBI agents. Many casualties, including one agent in critical condition. 

So when Megan called you that he’d be here, you’d almost gotten sick waiting in traffic. How she’d known to call you, you hadn’t given much thought to. 

By the time you reached the right floor, you couldn’t breathe, your eyes were blurring with tears, and your legs wanted to give out. But you kept going. 

Doctors rushed by with a gurney and all you saw was the blood. 

You started to follow them. 

He found you first. 

Don put one hand on your shoulder to stop you from rushing after the gurney and one hand on your cheek to bring your eyes to his. 

“Don,” you sobbed, shaking your head and blinking away tears, worried he’d be gone when you looked again. “I thought- I hadn’t heard anything and I-”

“I’m okay, baby. See?” He motioned to the bandaged cut on his forehead. “I’m fine. Just take a deep breath for me, sweetheart.” 

“Oh my God,” you threw your arms around his neck. “Thank God. I saw the news and I just knew you were there. I had this awful feeling and then Megan…” You trailed off, burying your face in his neck. 

Don nodded. “Megan told me she called you, but your connection got cut off.” He pulled back to kiss your forehead. “I’m sorry for worrying you, but I’m okay. I promise.” 

“No, I’m sorry,” you sniffed, wiping your face with the back of your hand. “I should have waited. Instead, I barged in here like, well, like the FBI.” 

He led you over to some chairs where you could both sit, not letting go of your hand. From around the corner, Megan came with a pair of coffees from the cafeteria, stopping when she saw the two of you. She ducked back behind the corner before either of you saw. 

“You’re really okay?” You asked, fingers grazing the wound on his head. 

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I got pushed out of the way by…” His eyes followed the trail of doctors hurrying with the person you’d seen before. “Her name’s Anderson. Took a bullet to the neck.” 

“Jesus.” 

“Worst part is, the guy got away.” His grip on your hand tightened. “This sicko that’s been shooting people in broad daylight and we almost had him and he still got away.” 

He swallowed hard and kept his eyes on the hall. 

A silence fell between you as you calmed down and his shoulders tensed. Finally taking a deep breath, you sighed. 

“Don, I’m so sorry.” 

He let go of your hand. “It’s not like you pulled the trigger.” Don ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “You know, you really aren’t supposed to be here and I think I’ve freaked you out enough for the night, huh? Why don’t you go back to your place and I’ll meet you there?”

You were taken aback, but not totally surprised. When it came to stuff like this, your boyfriend wasn’t the most open. But, then again, neither were you. It was something you had in common- bottle it up and hope it doesn’t burst. 

“Yeah, okay.” You stood, kissing the top of his head. “I can make something up for you, if you want? I think I’ve still got some of that pasta you liked. I can throw it in the microwave.”

“That’d be great, actually.” He tilted his chin up, pulling your lips to his for one more kiss. “I’ll call if anything else happens, okay? And I promise, if the connection goes bad, I won’t leave you hanging.” 

“I’ll hold you to that, Agent Eppes.” You kept looking back at him as you left as if waiting for him to call you back. But he didn’t. So you left.

Now with the seat open, Megan crossed the room to sit beside her team leader.

“So that’s the mystery woman,” she said, handing him the coffee. 

“Mystery woman?” He scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on, for the past four months you show up to work with this big grin on your face and then this happens-”

“Speaking of which,” he interrupted. “What the hell were you thinking calling her? You know, it really freaked her out. She didn’t know what happened and she comes sprinting in here like, I don’t know, I’m dying. I hate doing that to her.”

“Don.” Megan shook her head. “You’re the one who told me to call her.” 

His brows furrowed. “What?”

“I mean, sure, you were kinda out of it from hitting your head, but you just kept saying, ‘Y/N. Call Y/N. I want to see her.’ So you gave me your phone and I called her,” she explained. 

Don leaned back in the chair, piecing together bits of fuzzy memory. He took a drink of coffee. 

“Huh.” 

Megan nodded, drinking from her own cup. “So you guys seem pretty serious.” 

“Megan…” He groaned. 

“I’m just saying, if she’s the one you’re asking for in your hour of need, it can’t just be a fling, right?”

“Isn’t it a crime to harass the guy with a head injury?” 

She opened her mouth to rebuttal, but both agent’s focus switched to the doctor approaching them. And from the looks of his expression, it wasn’t good. 

-

You heard more details on the news than you did from Don. In the days following the shooting, authorities were in an intense manhunt for a man named Pete Nicholsen, the lead suspect in a series of killings involving a hooded shooter in public places. 

Agent Anderson was paralyzed from the neck down. 

That, you heard from Megan. 

In fact, you hadn’t heard anything from Don in two days. 

It was Charlie who invited you over for dinner. He said things had been tense and that having some company might be nice, especially since you and his brother seemed to get along at the lecture. 

He told you he might be in the garage, so he left the door unlocked. But when you opened the door, it was the older Eppes brother you saw first. 

Don sat in the living room. While there wasn’t any light, you could tell it was him by the way he sat, leaned forward with a beer in his hand. Like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

“Hey stranger,” you greeted softly. 

Don’s back straightened up and his head whirled around. 

“Hey.” A small smile graced his lips and he stood to meet you. “What are you doing here?” 

“Charlie invited me. He thought a guest would make dinner less… tense.”

“I see,” Don grunted, running a hand down his face. “So he still doesn’t know?” 

You shrugged. “I didn’t tell him. He just thinks we ‘get along.’”

“I wonder what gave him that idea,” he smirked, putting a hand on your cheek and pulling you in for a kiss. 

You sighed against his lips, melting into his touch. You hadn’t stopped thinking about it for two days. Thinking about how he was at the hospital. That same tension was there now, even as he kissed you. 

“Don,” you said, pulling away. “Are you okay? I know that there’s been a lot going on, but you kinda vanished on me and I’m not going to lie, I’ve been pretty worried. I mean, I have to learn everything from the TV and sure, I get that maybe you don’t want to talk about it but-”

“Honey, slow down,” Don sighed. He leaned against the back of the chair, nodding. “You’re right, I had to step back for a couple of days. With what happened to Anderson and then you showing up at the hospital thinking it was me, when it should have been me, I don’t know, there was just a lot going through my head I had to deal with, okay?” He took your hand, running his thumb over your knuckles, slowly going back and forth to calm you down. Or to calm him down. He couldn’t really tell. “But I’m back now, alright? You don’t have to worry.” 

Despite his reassuring words, the tone of his voice only increased your already growing concern. You remembered the gut-churning panic you’d felt when you thought he was the one in that hospital bed. You thought about every surge of electricity you felt spark in you whenever he smiled. Even now, the way he was looking at you, guarded and all, you still just wanted him to look at you for forever. 

This is what you were afraid of and yet you didn’t want it to stop. 

“Don, I-” You started but were cut off by the sound of footsteps. 

“Hey, Y/N, you’re here.” Charlie beamed. “Dinner’s almost ready.” 

With his brother’s eyes on you, you stepped away from Don to join Charlie in the dining room, letting those three terrifying words die on your lips. 

-

It was your turn to play the ‘dealing alone’ game. Not out of pettiness, but out of protection. While your heart was so full and your chest ached when he wasn’t around, your brain reminded you of all the reasons you hadn’t wanted to let things get this far to begin with. You told yourself a long time ago that nothing was worth the risk of getting hurt again. 

And all of it was because of a stupid four-letter word. 

The repetitive rattle of your fingers against the table helped tune out the rest of the cafe. Unfortunately, that included your lunch date.

“You okay there?” Megan asked with an amused smile. “You look like you just joined Larry in space for a second.”

“Sorry,” you sighed, shaking your head. “I’ve just been thinking about a lot.” Sliding your empty plate aside, you eyed her curiously. “Like why you asked me to have lunch. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have a badass FBI best friend, but this just felt a little out of the blue.” 

“Alright, you’ve got me there,” she admitted. “Though I wouldn’t mind having a brilliant criminology professor in my back pocket whenever I want to remind the boys that this job isn’t all about running around with a gun.” 

You both laughed and you felt some of the weight on your chest lighten. 

She took a drink of her coffee. “There is something I wanted to ask you about, if it isn’t overstepping our budding friendship…” 

“You’re wondering about how I know your team leader.”

“No, I know about the class you teach with Charlie, and Don complained about his little guest appearance the whole week leading up to it,” she said. A smirk teased her lips. “I was more wondering why you two are keeping your relationship a secret.” 

Your mouth fell open and she laughed. 

“I read people for a living, remember?” She pointed out. “I had some suspicions, but when he kept asking me to call you when he had that head injury and you came running into the hospital like John Wayne, it pretty much confirmed what I thought.” 

“He asked you to call me?”

Megan nodded. “Oh yeah. You were all he could talk about when he was all loopy. It was pretty cute, actually.” 

You covered your growing smile with your hand, imagining Don doped up on pain meds and rambling about you to his co-worker. But then you remembered the circumstances and remembered who was really hurt that day. 

“So you figured it out,” you shrugged. 

She pointed a finger at you playfully. “And you haven’t answered my question.” 

“It’s,” you took a deep breath, “complicated.”

“With Don? Shocker,” she teased. 

You both finished your meals and paid. On the way out, she put a hand on your arm, giving you a smile that was somewhere between friendly and concerned.

“This job can be a lot to handle, especially when you're involved romantically with someone in the field,” she said. “And I know Don isn’t much of a touchy-feely kinda guy, but I think that you’ve been really good for him. I mean, I’ve really never seen him so happy. But, like I said, I know it can be a lot so if you ever want to talk, I’m around, okay?” 

You laughed. “Thanks, but I pretty much wrote the book on ‘emotional detachment.’ I think I can handle Agent Eppes.”

She lifted her hands in mock surrender. “Maybe that’s even more reason to talk to someone about it.” 

With a look that conveyed the phrase ‘just think about it,’ she went back to her car and you walked back to yours, trying your best to shrug off her ability to not only read you, but also the issues that you were starting to notice in a relationship she shouldn’t even know about. 

-

Charlie was in the middle of explaining to the class the ways equations can be used to track the spread of a bioterrorism attack when you saw him. You looked up from the notes you were taking and there he was. Standing outside the window. Waving at you. He looked like a normal guy. Nice haircut, clean clothes, new-looking backpack. But something about him seemed familiar. While you couldn’t place from where, something in your gut was telling you to not look him in the eye. 

No one else seemed to notice him and he was gone by the end of the lecture. Still, you couldn’t shake the unease from your nerves. 

“Earth to Professor Y/L/N,” Charlie teased, waving a piece of chalk in front of your face. “If you really thought it was that boring, you could have just said so.” He smirked and took a seat across from you. 

You looked around. The students had all left and you hadn’t even noticed. 

“It was really interesting, Charlie. I’m sorry,” you sighed. “I guess my head is just somewhere else.” 

“Yeah, you uh,” he nodded, “you’ve kinda seemed that way for a while. Is everything okay? If the class has too much to your plate, I can take over some more of the grading-”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You already do too much as it is.” You stood, packing your class notes into your briefcase and hugging it to your chest. “Besides, I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping well.” His concern only deepened so you came up with something more reasonable than dreaming about his brother choking on his own blood with a hole in his throat. “New neighbors. Probably just some partying college kids.” 

“Uhuh,” he hummed, narrowing his eyes. Whether or not he believed you, he didn’t press the issue. Charlie wasn’t exactly great when it came to emotions and, while it was deeply bothering him to see someone he liked to think of as a friend in a bad place, if it wasn’t solvable through math, there wasn’t much he could do. 

“Do you want to go grab some coffee?” You asked, hoping to change the subject. The last thing you needed right now was a line of questions that you weren’t ready to answer. 

“Coffee sounds perfect.” 

You were both halfway to the campus cafe when you heard the shots. At first, you thought someone had set off fireworks or something, but you remembered the man outside of the window. You’d seen him on the news. 

Pete Nicholsen.

-

He took the stairs two at a time, sprinting into the courtyard where campus security, police, and other FBI had already gathered, along with a whole audience of students and staff. Don didn’t give himself time to think. He just ran.

Don spotted Sinclair first, standing over the body of a woman with Y/H/C hair. She wore a blazer and had a briefcase busted open just a few inches away from her hand. He tried to calm his breathing as his mind went into a frenzy. 

The call was shots fired at Cal Sci. One casualty. Female. He only had one thought. 

What had he brought you into?

“Who is it?” He asked his fellow agent. 

“We’re looking for her I.D. in her things now,” David explained. 

“I need it now, damnit!” Don ran around to the other side, hoping to be able to see the woman’s face, and tried to prepare himself to see yours.  

“Agent Eppes!” A voice called from the crowd. 

He spun on his heel, frantically scanning the group of students. 

“Don!” 

He turned again and saw you. 

All of the breath in his lungs exhaled in a sigh of relief. He motioned to Colby that he’d be right back and rushed across the courtyard. It took every ounce of control he could muster not to pass the police line and pull you into his arms just to make sure you were really there. 

“Are you okay? Were you out here when it happened?” He asked, making sure to keep a step away to maintain his composure. “Where’s Charlie?”

“I’m fine. And he’s working with Larry to get a jumpstart into figuring out where this guy could have gone after he-” You caught a glimpse of the body through the crowd of law enforcement. “Oh my god.” 

“Hey, just look at me, okay?” He whispered. “Keep your eyes on me, sweetheart.” 

“Don.” You blinked, took a deep breath, and focused back on him. “Don, I saw him.” 

He froze, that same sinking weight in his chest coming back. “What?” 

“He was outside-” You ran your fingers through your hair, trying not to panic. “Nicholsen was outside of the classroom. With me and Charlie. He waved at me like he knew who I was.” 

Cal Sci. One Casualty. Female. 

“Okay,” he cleared his throat and nodded. “Okay, then I’m going to need you to come with me. And we should go get Charlie.” Don motioned to Colby and the others again, pointing in the direction of Charlie’s office. They continued investigating the crime scene. “This just got a lot more complicated.” 

He helped you push through the crowd, his eyes scanning every face expecting to see Nicholsen’s confident smirk looking back at him. Once out of the way of the scene, Don found a deserted hallway and let his barrier break. He locked you in his embrace, cradling the back of your head with his shaking hand. 

“I don’t have to tell you what I thought when I got that call,” he said against your shoulder. 

You rubbed your hand back and forth across his tense shoulders. “I guess we’ve traded places this week.”

Don pulled back. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be,” You looked at him and those dark eyes and nodded determinedly. “I want to catch this guy, Don.” 

“No.” He started walking toward his brother’s office. “You aren’t touching this case anymore. Neither is Charlie. This guy knows who you both are. I’m not giving him a chance to take another shot at you.” 

“You can’t be serious-”

“What do you think that is?” He shouted, spinning around and pointing back toward the courtyard. “It’s a message, Y/N. That is a warning shot. The next time, he isn’t going to miss and I can’t let that happen. I-” 

Three words lingered on his lips, brought out by the terrifying thought of losing you. 

Don swallowed hard and continued down the hall. “We have to go.” 

The truth was, he had two thoughts when he got that call.

Please not her. 

I love her. 

And it scared him to death. 

-

His apartment was dark. When you unlocked the door with the key he’d given you, it didn’t even look like he was home. But once you got into the living room, he was there like he’d been at Charlie’s place. Alone. In the dark. With a bottle of beer in his hand and a blank stare in his eyes. 

“Don?” 

He jumped, blinking up at you like you’d pulled him out of a trance.

“Hey. I didn’t even hear you come in,” he said. He sounded exhausted, but there was something else too. Something that worried you. 

“I looked over some data with Charlie. He thinks he might be able to figure out how to finally catch this son of a bitch.” You sat on the arm of the chair, rubbing his shoulders. 

He shrugged you away. “I thought I told you that you were both off the case.” 

You stood again, crossing your arms. “And you thought that was going to work?” You scoffed. “Have you met your brother?” 

Don set the bottle down on the side table so hard you thought it might break. 

“Damnit, Y/N, you saw the guy outside of your classroom,” he snapped. “He shot a woman on your campus that matches your description.” He stood too, looking you in the eye. “He’s still out there and you think this is a joke?” 

“Charlie isn’t going to hide, Don,” you fired back. “And neither am I. The quicker we find this guy, the quicker all of this is over, right?”

“It isn’t that simple.” 

“Don,” you sighed, reaching out for him again. This time, he didn’t pull away, but when your hand found his cheek, you recognized the look in his eye. 

Conclusion. 

“Donnie, what is this about?” 

He took a deep breath and gently took your hand away. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” 

You opened your mouth but found your throat had gone dry and the air had left your lungs. 

Don clenched his jaw to keep himself in control. Already, a voice in his head was screaming at him to stop, repeating those same two thoughts from before. 

Please.

I love her.

But that was exactly why he had to. He’d realized today how much he had to lose. And he couldn’t bear the weight pushing down on his chest. Maybe it was time to let it go. 

As the tear slipped down your cheek, he hated himself for the weakness that got him there. He couldn’t protect you. He wasn’t strong enough to face those emotions of panic and loss like he got a glimpse of today. You deserved someone who could hold you without thinking about everything going wrong. 

You didn’t say anything. You just went into his bedroom, grabbed a few of your things, and walked to the door, stopping to look back at the man you’d fallen so totally in love with and loved him all the same even though your heart was breaking. 

“I thought we were worth the risk, you know.” Was all you said before closing the door behind you. The apartment fell into a silence that seeped into his head. 

Don sat back down and stared into the dark. 

[theragamuffininitiative]

So last night I had a super angsty dream randomly about Numb3rs involving in-show trauma meeting my evil imagination's fresh angst, and I haven't watched any episodes in A While but big oof and basically the Janus List/Trust Metric arc is forever ingrained in my personal psyche. 😭

[geminiimagines]

Having Charlie as a boyfriend would include...

The best boyfriend ever

He will support you in anything that you do 

Lots of late night chats about math, or just life in general 

Charlie trying to get you into math (if you’re not already)

Lots of nose kisses

Date nights often include staying late CalSci 

Dinner with his family 

Oh, you’re feeling down? He just happened to have your favorite coffee or tea. 

He won’t outright spoil you, but who could on a teacher’s salary? Charlie will  buy your favorite book if ask 

He’ll take you stargazing for a date talk about how the stars formed. 

[firebirdsdaughter]

When Peter is in another show…

… And his name is still Peter.