Fic: Larger and Smaller Decisions, Chapter 1 (Numb3rs, Colby, Don / Martin, David)
Title: Larger and Smaller Decisions, Chapter 1
Pair: Don Eppes / Martin Fridegord
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
NUMB3RS Main List
Follows: Lost Cause
Prologue
“Granger.”
“You’re awake?”
“No, I’m sleep talking. Why are you calling at this hour?”
“It`s not that early." David whispered. "I’ve been waiting for two hours, I didn’t wanna call too early and wake you up.”
“W had a long night and it’s Sunday morning, we`re sleeping.”
“I know-”
“And why are you whispering?”
“Ian’s in the bathroom. I don’t want him to hear about this, or he’d explode. Can I come to your house?”
“Sure… I need to get up anyway and move Charlie back to bed.”
“Did he fell off?”
“No, he fell asleep in the nursery. Flu season and constant screaming when Helen’s not sleeping. She was screaming, not Charlie, but it was a really close call just before she finally went to sleep."
“Couldn’t you just move him while he was sleeping?”
“I could have, but he doesn’t like to be carried after I dropped him on the floor.”
“Maybe it’s time to pump up your workout regime…”
“No, we were babysitting Don’s cat. That thing started to hone it’s claws on my calf.”
“Yeah, she does that to Ian too.”
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“Yeah, I’ll tell him. Bye.” Don grinned and hung up. He pocketed the phone and got up from the overstuffed deckchair, stretching leisurely in the beaming sun. “Martin?”
The man swimming briskly across the pool didn’t hear him. Don sat down on the ledge and splashed his legs into the cool water. Martin swam to him, grabbed the ledge and lifted himself half-way up.
“Are they okay?”
“Yeah, Tommy’s having fun with his cousin, and Catherine said they even got to ride on a pony while she was grooming her horse. One of the stablemen put them on and walked the pony. Watch out or that kid will be one more horse nut in your family.”
“When are they coming back?”
“They’ll get some lunch on the way back and they`re still gonna go for a little ride before leaving, so maybe three hours. And your dad called, they’ll be eating out too.”
“How’s mom?”
“Your dad said she and that shrink friend of hers were trying to one-up each other, but she seemed to be in better spirits.”
“Good, then we have some time alone. We need to talk about something.” Martin got up from the water and sat down next to Don. “I cleared my schedule for Monday and Tuesday, I want to stay here few for more days.”
“Okay.”
“And… I’ve been thinking about something’s, and it’s becoming pretty obvious that things can’t go on the way they are now. I don’t think it’s good for Tommy or my parents. And my sisters have their own lives and their own families.”
“True.” Don nodded. “I think I know where you’re going with this.”
“I got an offer some time ago, I said I would consider it.”
“Forget I said that, I have no idea where you’re going with this.”
“They offered me a promotion.”
“So what’s there to consider? Of course you’ll take it.” A suspicions hit Don and few possible scenarios ran through his mind. “Or is it somewhere away from L.A.? Do they want you to move?”
“No, nothing like that.” Martin chuckled and grabbed his towel from the ledge. “My contract’s only got couple months left, and they want to make sure I stay. I’ve dealt with a lot of big clients and they’re afraid I’ll take them with me somewhere else.”
“They actually said that?”
“I’ve been working with these people for years, I know their thought processes better than they do. It would mean a pay rise, bigger office and some other incentives.”
“What’s the downside? There’s gotta be one.”
“The big one? It would mean cutting down on my travelling days. I know I sometimes complain about them, but I like that part of the job.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“I wanted to keep the things the way they are. I’m perfectly happy in my current job.”
“But?”
“When we talked about kids, one of the reasons we decided against it was that I was always coming and going. I wouldn’t want to add a child to that and I still think so.” Martin bit his bottom lip, drying himself slowly and obviously considering his next words. “You know what I’m thinking, don’t you?”
“You’re thinking about Tommy.”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re gonna take the job.”
“Yes. And I hope you… I know this wasn’t what we planned, but I can’t leave him here. I just can’t.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to apply for a legal guardianship.” He turned to meet Don’s eyes. “I hope you’ll understand why I have to do it, but I do understand if you don’t want to be involved in it. If you don’t, I… I have no idea what I’d do then.”
“You’d go ahead with it anyway.”
“I think so.”
“Listen…” Don wasn’t sure where to start, so he started with the most obvious issue. “Just so we’re clear, I’m sure as hell not gonna walk out over something like this. I like the kid, and I get why you wanna take him home.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like it was with Charlie and Colby. Or David and Ian. They planned it for a long time, went through the whole process, but this is something different. Tommy’s been dragged across the country all his life and now the only stabile thing in his life is dead. It’s… It’s a big responsibility.”
“I know.” Don slid his hand across Martin’s shoulders. The man’s wet hair was still dripping water down his back. “But it`s not some helpless little baby. He’s almost six, you can talk to him and reason with him.”
“Don, we’re not talking about a hostage situation or a terrorist.” Martin laughed and leaned against him. “He’s a little boy.”
“A great little boy.” Don agreed. “You really should do more of your negotiations in a Speedo, I almost said yes before you even started.”
“I’ll remember that.” Martin rested his head on Don’s shoulder and didn`t say anything for a while. Sun beamed down and warmed them up. “Don…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think I’m going overboard if I’m already thinking about signing him up for Five Oaks?”
“A private school?”
“It’s the best in L.A. and I know most of the admission committee.”
“Yeah, that would be going overboard.”
“I just want to get him to a good start.”
“You wanna guess what I talked about with Catherine yesterday?”
“When did you talk to her?”
“When you were taking Tommy upstairs. She was already sure you wanted to take him home with you.”
“Well, she’s a sharp woman.”
“And I told him the same thing I’m telling you now: You’ll be a great daddy.”
Martin pulled back a bit and gave him a serious glance. Don wasn’t sure what he had said, but then Martin’s expression softened again.
“Not daddy, he already has a daddy, wherever he is. Just like he has a mother, she just isn’t here. I’m his uncle and that’s how it’s going to stay.”
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“Have you had any mail today?” David marched into the house before Colby could even say hello.
“It’s Sunday, so no mail.”
“Well, I got something. It was left at the front door.” David handed him two plastic bags. “I told Ian we were out of milk.”
“How are you planning to explain it took this long to get some milk?”
“I’ll tell him there was a long queue, just read it.”
“Okay.” Colby took a look at the first bag. Inside it was a letter and a grainy. The other one contained a printed picture. “What the hell…?”
“Good question.”
“Are going to report this?”
“Yeah, when I go to the office tomorrow.” David scratched his temple. He had ignored his usual shaving schedule and now a thin layer of itchy stubble was growing on his head. “Normal cheap printing paper, no distinguishing features. Looks like your average office printer.”
“Why not home?”
“It’s mussed in couple places. No one keeps their own printers in that shape, but in an office no one bothers to fix it.”
“Good idea, Sherlock.” Colby read the letter once more. “Maybe you should show it to Megan. Nutjobs are her speciality.”
“I was thought about that too. I’ve been called worse names than that, but those guys had the guts to do it face to face.”
Chapter 2