Symmetry - Numb3rs
Jul. 31st, 2008 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strangevisitor7One Ficathon down - two to go!!!
Title: Symmetry
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
strangevisitor7
Beta:lyl_devil & idontlikegravy
Rated: G
Word Count: 685
Fandom: Numb3rs
Spoilers: For “When Worlds Collide” and the end of season 4
Written for:family_haven ficathon for magisterequitum
Prompt: Don's thoughts about Megan leaving the team
Characters: Don Eppes; mentions of Charlie and Megan
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators.
Summary: Episode tag for season four: Don reflects on everything that has happened since Megan announced she was leaving
Symmetry
Don entered his apartment and closed the door behind him. Standing in the hallway hands on his hips, he stared at the floor trying to get his conflicting emotions under control.
What the hell had Charlie been thinking?. He’d asked himself that question over and over again since his brother had sent those documents to a foreign national and Don still didn’t have an answer.
Feeling the weight of the keys in his hand, Don gave into his anger and flung them across the apartment. He channeled all of his rage into that simple act. The keyring impacted the wall, cracking the plaster before dropping behind the couch.
Great. Ignoring the need to fish the keys out before he forgot where they were, Don stalked into the kitchen. Opening the fridge he reached for a beer only to remember that he’d had the last one the night before.
Damn. He slammed the door shut with a resounding thud that rattled the appliance.
He scrubbed both hands across his face and debated pulling out the hard stuff. After a few silent moments of internal debate, he decided against alcoholic oblivion, instead resigning himself to a night of sobriety.
Walking toward the bedroom, Don began shedding clothes and equipment. Stripped down to his boxers, he flung himself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Things were spinning out of control. The well-oiled team he’d worked with over the past three years was falling apart.
Megan was already gone, starting a new life in DC and Charlie had betrayed him.
He didn’t begrudge Megan the opportunity to follow her dreams but he dreaded heading into the office on Monday with the prospect of trying to find someone to fill her spot. And if he was being honest with himself, he needed to find someone to replace Charlie, too. If that was even possible.
It had been the perfect balance of brains, brawn and heart. He understood that teammates came and went but the kind of symmetry the five of them had had was like capturing lightning in a bottle.
Don snorted at the word symmetry. That was a ‘Charlie-like’ thought but it fit and drove home the point that Don had lost something he feared he’d never find again.
Charlie. He’d lost more than the perfect team. He’d lost his brother.
Over the years he’d resigned himself to the idea that he and Charlie would never get along, never have the kind of connection that came naturally to other brothers. Then they’d started working together and he’d learned that he not only respected Charlie but that he also enjoyed his company in a way he never had when they were kids.
Don didn’t know if he could ever forgive Charlie and reclaim what they’d built over the past few years.
If Megan were here she’d probably tell him he was overreacting. Or maybe she’d just verbally smack him into forgiving Charlie, make him appreciate his brother’s motivation. She had a way of seeing right to the heart of the matter and showing Don the fallacy of his thoughts.
Either way Megan was gone and he was in no mood to understand why Charlie had specifically disobeyed him. Charlie had chosen a dangerous and idealistic position over the relationship with his brother. No matter how he phrased it, Don couldn’t get past the feelings of betrayal.
The cell phone rang, jolting Don out of his head. He sat up, reached for the phone and glanced at the caller ID. The identity of the caller surprised him and he wondered if she should add psychic to her growing list of credentials.
“Hey Megan,” he intoned neutrally as he answered the phone.
“Hey Don,” she replied, he could hear the smile in her voice.
“It’s awfully late there. What’s up? ” he asked.
“I know, but I wanted to talk to you about Charlie.”
Megan may be on the other side of the country but it was clear she would always be here for him. Don smiled for the first time in days.
“Yeah, let’s talk about Charlie.”
Title: Symmetry
Author:
strangevisitor7Beta:
lyl_devil & idontlikegravy Rated: G
Word Count: 685
Fandom: Numb3rs
Spoilers: For “When Worlds Collide” and the end of season 4
Written for:
family_haven ficathon for magisterequitum Prompt: Don's thoughts about Megan leaving the team
Characters: Don Eppes; mentions of Charlie and Megan
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators.
Summary: Episode tag for season four: Don reflects on everything that has happened since Megan announced she was leaving
Don entered his apartment and closed the door behind him. Standing in the hallway hands on his hips, he stared at the floor trying to get his conflicting emotions under control.
What the hell had Charlie been thinking?. He’d asked himself that question over and over again since his brother had sent those documents to a foreign national and Don still didn’t have an answer.
Feeling the weight of the keys in his hand, Don gave into his anger and flung them across the apartment. He channeled all of his rage into that simple act. The keyring impacted the wall, cracking the plaster before dropping behind the couch.
Great. Ignoring the need to fish the keys out before he forgot where they were, Don stalked into the kitchen. Opening the fridge he reached for a beer only to remember that he’d had the last one the night before.
Damn. He slammed the door shut with a resounding thud that rattled the appliance.
He scrubbed both hands across his face and debated pulling out the hard stuff. After a few silent moments of internal debate, he decided against alcoholic oblivion, instead resigning himself to a night of sobriety.
Walking toward the bedroom, Don began shedding clothes and equipment. Stripped down to his boxers, he flung himself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Things were spinning out of control. The well-oiled team he’d worked with over the past three years was falling apart.
Megan was already gone, starting a new life in DC and Charlie had betrayed him.
He didn’t begrudge Megan the opportunity to follow her dreams but he dreaded heading into the office on Monday with the prospect of trying to find someone to fill her spot. And if he was being honest with himself, he needed to find someone to replace Charlie, too. If that was even possible.
It had been the perfect balance of brains, brawn and heart. He understood that teammates came and went but the kind of symmetry the five of them had had was like capturing lightning in a bottle.
Don snorted at the word symmetry. That was a ‘Charlie-like’ thought but it fit and drove home the point that Don had lost something he feared he’d never find again.
Charlie. He’d lost more than the perfect team. He’d lost his brother.
Over the years he’d resigned himself to the idea that he and Charlie would never get along, never have the kind of connection that came naturally to other brothers. Then they’d started working together and he’d learned that he not only respected Charlie but that he also enjoyed his company in a way he never had when they were kids.
Don didn’t know if he could ever forgive Charlie and reclaim what they’d built over the past few years.
If Megan were here she’d probably tell him he was overreacting. Or maybe she’d just verbally smack him into forgiving Charlie, make him appreciate his brother’s motivation. She had a way of seeing right to the heart of the matter and showing Don the fallacy of his thoughts.
Either way Megan was gone and he was in no mood to understand why Charlie had specifically disobeyed him. Charlie had chosen a dangerous and idealistic position over the relationship with his brother. No matter how he phrased it, Don couldn’t get past the feelings of betrayal.
The cell phone rang, jolting Don out of his head. He sat up, reached for the phone and glanced at the caller ID. The identity of the caller surprised him and he wondered if she should add psychic to her growing list of credentials.
“Hey Megan,” he intoned neutrally as he answered the phone.
“Hey Don,” she replied, he could hear the smile in her voice.
“It’s awfully late there. What’s up? ” he asked.
“I know, but I wanted to talk to you about Charlie.”
Megan may be on the other side of the country but it was clear she would always be here for him. Don smiled for the first time in days.
“Yeah, let’s talk about Charlie.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 04:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 04:09 am (UTC)And for the record - I am on Charlie's side I've been in academia & free exchange of ideas is what it's all about. The minute Charlie would publish those ideas (since they are not classified) everyone would have them any way.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 05:07 am (UTC)The only reason that this was even looked at askant is because the first person who sent the information was Pakistani. Nobody (except Charlie) even went over the data to see if it could be used to make a weapon.
Since the information could NOT be used to make a weapon, there was no reason to arrest Phil Sanjrani, nor was there any real reason to arrest Charlie.
Things will be worked out. Meanwhile... this is a great little story. I can see poor Don would take Charlie's actions personally. He just needs some time to get over the shock.
Good work!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 03:11 pm (UTC)Don and Charlie are stubborn that's why they need someone like Megan in the mix. Hope the new cast additions are good but I will miss Megan
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 01:07 pm (UTC)Exactly! As an academic librarian I completely agree. The scientific community and scientific advancement is built on the free (ignoring things like publishing costs and journal costs and I'll avoid my open access soapbox) sharing of information so others can build on it. Charlie most certainly would have published it and then everyone would have had access to it (barring, of course, barriers like costs of subscriptions and whatnot).
At the same time, Don isn't an academic, so he doesn't really understand that the way Charlie does. He does understand, however, that there were people who didn't want that information going out (regardless of that the information was/if it was classified/etc.) and that puts him at odds with Charlie. And I think you did a lovely job of conveying that and Don's frustration with the whole situation.
Wonderful fic!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 03:14 pm (UTC)Don isn't an academic, so he doesn't really understand that the way Charlie does. Exactly! I did feel that this was the source of the conflict and I thought the show leaned a little to heavy in favor of Don's POV. Looking forward to how it all gets reconciled in the fall
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-02 03:16 am (UTC)Oh, foey! Well, if you need any company, I'll be glad to hope on over - no soapbox, but I've got a stool and a loud voice. :)
I remember making the comment after the episode aired, that Charlie and the government agents were speaking two vastly different languages, only the government guys didn't know it.
The show, up until now, has mostly showed Charlie in this vast and strange land called 'the FBI', where he doesn't really know why things are done certain ways, but he's learning as he goes. It was nice to see roles reversed, where Don was confused about the unspoken rules in academia and how things likes borders don't mean as much to academics as they do to organizations like the FBI.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 03:35 pm (UTC)I do believe this could be a scene from the show. Megan always has been a voice of reason and that relationship between her and Don is there.
I see both Don's side of his anger as well as Charlie's justification for his actions. Neither one is completely right and neither one is completely wrong. It all depends on the varying shades of grade that you choose to look at.
Again, thank you very much for taking up my prompt.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-01 03:48 pm (UTC)Megan always has been a voice of reason .
I completely agree and that is why i will miss her character so much
I do believe this could be a scene from the show. - Wow! Thank You - that means so much to me as this is only my second story in the Numb3rs fandom.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-02 02:59 am (UTC)And the key thing worked great. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-02 03:51 am (UTC)It seems this story oped a small pandora's box i had no idea even existed in the fandom. I take that as a good thing.
It was nice that people came to the story's defense!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-02 10:52 am (UTC)Great characterization of Don and Megan does have that ability to smack someone verbally, huh?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-02 01:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-02-27 03:03 am (UTC)I like this a lot. A nice take on Don's thoughts, and I love that Megan might be able to talk him through it.
One thing I adore about Numb3rs is presenting both sides of the argument, and that's definitely what they did with this storyline. Both sides are right, and both sides are wrong.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-02-27 01:46 pm (UTC)I bookmark things all the time that I mean to get back to and never do.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-01 01:38 am (UTC)Who did they replace Megan with? I haven't seen Numbers in forever *sigh another show to add to my msu see list*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-01 05:45 am (UTC)