The Connections Series, Part 12/?, "Voices on the speaker phone" (Charlie/Colby, PG-13)
The Connections Series is back! YAY! **claps like crazy**
So now we enter the second half of the story. Everybody will have an important role, especially Don and Alan. Not telling you anything else. You'll have to read!! ;)
One little thing, though. I'm having college exams since last week, so it's a little difficult for me to post every other day, so please, be patient... I'll keep posting, of course, but there will be a little bit of delay.
Besides, during the second half of May, I'm planning to launch a new het series, and probably a second series about Charlie/Colby. Arggg... Too much work, so little time. :)
So that's pretty much it. As always, I'm waiting for your amazing comments. Enjoy, criticize, feel free to curse me or to love my writing. It's ok! :D
* * *
Title: Voices on the speaker phone
Series: The Connections Series, Part 12/?
Characters: Charlie/Colby, Megan, Larry, Don, Alan
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Amita's kidnapper has escaped from jail, and this leads to Megan hearing some weird voices on the speakerphone that will completely change the story.
Feedback: ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME AND APPRECIATED.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Beta: Thanks to the lovely
irena_adler . Your help was truly appreciated. This chapter's POVs were pure hell. I couldn't have done it without you. :)
***
Go to Part 11: Experimental nearness, NC-17
Go to Part 13: Completely insane, PG-13
* * *
The Connections Series
Part 12: “Voices on the speaker phone”
“Hey, Megan!” Don yelled when he saw the female agent seated next to Larry at a table outside a cheap restaurant.
“Don!” Megan responded and waved her hand at Don. She approached the car and saw that Alan was in the passenger’s seat. She said hello to him and then continued speaking to Don. “Hey, can I ask you something?” she asked Don.
“Sure.”
“Charlie and Colby. How were they when they met tonight?”
“What do you mean? You knew Colby was coming over?”
“Yeah, I was supposed to be there. I was going to be some kind of coach between them.”
Don took a glance at Larry, who was waiting at the table, looking at the stars and probably mumbling their names to himself. “Well, you changed your plans, obviously.”
”Yeah, I thought it would be better for them to handle this by themselves, you know? They’re adults, and they’ve been getting closer these last months.”
“I think you’re right…” Don muttered, and went silent. He was thinking about the little awkwardness that Colby showed when Don had reminded him of the promise to tell him Charlie’s big secret regarding Amita. “Oh, the answer to your question is… they were… weird, you know. But it’s normal, they haven’t been speaking lately.”
“Oh, I hope everything turns out to be ok. They have become each other’s partners, as I see it.”
“I think that too. That’s why I left. I wanted to give them some space, too.”
Alan interrupted him, and smiling kindly, he said, “And because he had a ‘hot’ date… Is that the way you kids say it these days?”
“Yes, that’s exactly the word, Mr. Eppes,” Megan nodded, laughing and leaning against the car.
“Of course, I’m not going to be there. I’m going to night yoga class,” Alan explained.
“That’s fantastic! Those kinds of oriental practices are amazing. I’m into krav maga myself. It’s a little rougher than yoga, though.”
”Well, it makes me feel like I’ve taken ten years out of my shoulders for a whole day.”
“Exactly, that’s one of the many benefits!”
“And it’s great for the skin... You know, the other day I saw this documentary about karate…”
“Hey, guys, time out!” Don suddenly said, and he looked a little annoyed. “Remember someone needs to be in a fancy restaurant outside town at nine o’clock.”
With that, Alan went silent. The hope of having grandchildren before he was too old was stronger than ever, but again, that happened every time Don claimed he had met a new woman.
Don said goodbye to Megan, and then pointed at Larry and muttered “Hey, is he ok? He seems a little…”
“In his own world, I know,” she responded, looking at her lover counting the stars and writing some kind of map on a napkin. “But yeah, he’s all right.” She smiled and waved her hand to Don, who smiled back and put the vehicle in movement again.
Megan returned to her table and sat beside Larry.
“Is everything ok?” he wanted to know.
“Yes, everything’s fine… Don’s going to a date, Alan’s going to yoga class and Charlie and Colby are all alone in the house…”
“Oh, yeah… I wonder if there’s calm hovering over the Eppes residence…”
“Don said they were acting awkward but not fighting when he left.”
Larry joined the fingers of his hands and his face went worried. He didn’t say anything.
“What is it, Larry? Is it the stars in your map napkin that don’t fit the ones in the sky?” she joked, sipping an orange juice she had asked for earlier.
“No, not really. The starts are exactly the way I expected them to be in their eternal journal through the vault of heaven. It’s Charles that I’m worried about.”
“Why?”
“I was just considering the way he acted when this meeting with Colby was suggested, he might have a reaction that can’t be characterized as a peaceful one.”
“But you said that finally he accepted to meet him.”
“Yeah… but Charles has been acting weird lately. At this point, I guess we should consider all the possibilities.”
“Do you think I was wrong to leave them alone?” Megan asked a little surprised that Larry seemed to not agree with her decision, even when he seemed to the last time they had talked about it.
“Not at all. I actually think it was the best thing to do, like I told you yesterday when we met outside the FBI. But… I have my doubts that this is going to end well tonight…”
“Well, we’ll get to know tomorrow, probably.”
”Yeah, I guess we will.”
Then the conversation turned into some kind of dissertation about multi-star systems. It was so fascinating for Megan to listen to Larry exposing his deeper thoughts and points of view about the latest theories. And it was so sweet and cute to hear him comparing her to some of the most beautiful constellations in the sky.
However, the display of such interesting topics was interrupted by a phone call. When it was about eleven o’clock, Megan’s phone rang, and she had to take the call, because it was Don who wanted to speak with her.
“Don?”
“Hey, Megan…”
“What’s going on? Didn’t you have a date?”
“Yeah, but I’m getting into the car right now. David just called me. Amita’s kidnapper has escaped from jail.”
“What?”
“Yes, it’s what you’ve just heard. His guards say that he’s been rambling about getting to destroy the most important thing in Amita’s life.”
“Oh god, that means he could be going after her and Charlie! Even if she has just broken up with him, psychologically, he’s still the person she cares the most about!”
“I know, that’s what I thought, too. I’m going to find Amita right now and then I’m taking her to the house. I want everybody to gather together there.”
“Of course. See you in half an hour.”
Megan hung up and started taking her stuff. She explained to Larry what Don had said, and the physicist became utterly worried.
“I’m going with you,” he claimed.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t want you to be in the middle of a situation, if there’s any.”
Larry’s face was so tense, and his eyes just screamed, Please, let me see if Charles is ok, so Megan thought about it for a few seconds and finally muttered a not very sure “Ok.”
They took a cab and while they were going to the Eppes’ residence, Megan dialed Charlie’s number on her cell phone to check if everything was ok there and to inform him that Don, Larry and she were arriving.
With her eyes fixed on Larry’s, she waited for an answer, but all she heard was incoherent words.
* * *
Charlie and Colby were kissing fervently on the bed when Charlie’s cell phone rang. Even if he was completely concentrated on the person pressing against his body, he instinctively tried to grab the device.
“Don’t answer,” Colby muttered, kissing Charlie’s ear.
“Mmm… I… I have to…”
“Why?” Colby’s voice sounded disappointed, so Charlie had to give me some explanations.
“It could… be Don,” he muttered, and moaned when Colby softly caressed his back. “He could be calling… to say… that he’s coming home… His dates usually… don’t work anyway…”
It was a very good excuse. Colby took a deep breath and stopped with his demonstrations of affection. Charlie felt the arms around his back loosen and he reached again for his cell phone. He pressed the green button, accepting the incoming call.
“Hello?” he said, and he heard a familiar female voice.
“Is it Don?” Colby asked, on the bed behind him.
Charlie shook his head. “Megan,” he explained, but before he had the chance to actually talk to her, Colby grabbed his hand to take him back to bed. The cell phone fell to the floor.
“Colby!” Charlie yelled, but he was laughing.
“Just… don’t… move…” Colby whispered while he took Charlie’s wrists and placed them together above the mathematician’s head. Then he tenderly kissed Charlie and with that he earned his trust and his affection all over again.
* * *
Megan put the phone against her ear and she heard some strange noises and gasps in the background.
“Colby!” she heard Charlie say.
“Just don’t move…” Colby responded.
And more weird noises that included Charlie and Colby whining. Then, suddenly, the communication was cut off. Someone had hung up on the other side. Megan stared at her cell phone and Larry noticed it.
“What is it?” Larry asked.
“Something’s going on there.”
”What do you think it is?”
“I’m… I’m not really sure. There are two possibilities. One is positive, the other not so much. Let’s hope it’s the first one.”
Larry’s eyes widened. “Ok,” he just muttered, and stared at the shops that they were passing by.
When they got to the house, they waited for the cab to disappear in the middle of the night and looked for a window that showed a room with the lights on. But the house was in complete darkness. Don wasn’t there yet.
“Ok, I’m not liking this,” Larry whispered, and Megan took out her gun. “I guess it’s very practical to always have that at hand.” They approached the front door and waited for a second.
She tried to listen to any sounds there could come from the inside, but she just shook her head. “You should stay here, Larry.”
“But what if Charles and Colby are taken as hostages and…?”
Megan saw that Larry was so scared that something could happen to his former student that he was able to leave his pacifist profile behind and enter the house even if it was dangerous. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Larry just nodded, and she checked she had her cell phone with her, just in case she needed to ask for backup or an ambulance for her lover. They were in the dark living room when they heard gasps coming from upstairs. Megan looked at Larry, who nodded again, saying he was ok, although he seemed to be about to pass out. “Larry, I really want you stay here.”
After hearing those gasps, Larry accepted she was right and that she should continue by herself from now on. Megan went upstairs being very careful not to make any noise and she placed a little flashlight above the gun she held in her hands.
She was sure the noises came from Charlie’s bedroom. She went to its door and opened it a little, but all she could see was a huge pile of papers, a chair and a little table. And she could hear more panting.
It appeared to her that this was the display of the good one between the two possibilities she had had in her head.
And suddenly, she heard a scream and someone stumbling, like if the people that were in that room had noticed her presence behind the door. So Megan just entered the bedroom and pointed the flashlight and the gun to the opposite side, trying to figure out some kind of human shape.
Her mouth hung open when Charlie and Colby got off the bed and when they stumbled together trying to put their boxers on in the shadows. She watched them get up and stare at her in astonishment. Their skin was sweaty and their faces flushed, embarrassed and in shock under the light of the flashlight.
* * *
THE SONG I CHOSE FOR THIS CHAPTER:
BAJOFONDO - "GRAND GUIGNOL"
(this is a song from an argentine band. The music mixes tango with electronic dance. I love it!!)
So now we enter the second half of the story. Everybody will have an important role, especially Don and Alan. Not telling you anything else. You'll have to read!! ;)
One little thing, though. I'm having college exams since last week, so it's a little difficult for me to post every other day, so please, be patient... I'll keep posting, of course, but there will be a little bit of delay.
Besides, during the second half of May, I'm planning to launch a new het series, and probably a second series about Charlie/Colby. Arggg... Too much work, so little time. :)
So that's pretty much it. As always, I'm waiting for your amazing comments. Enjoy, criticize, feel free to curse me or to love my writing. It's ok! :D
* * *
Title: Voices on the speaker phone
Series: The Connections Series, Part 12/?
Characters: Charlie/Colby, Megan, Larry, Don, Alan
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Amita's kidnapper has escaped from jail, and this leads to Megan hearing some weird voices on the speakerphone that will completely change the story.
Feedback: ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME AND APPRECIATED.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Beta: Thanks to the lovely
irena_adler . Your help was truly appreciated. This chapter's POVs were pure hell. I couldn't have done it without you. :)
***
Go to Part 11: Experimental nearness, NC-17
Go to Part 13: Completely insane, PG-13
* * *
The Connections Series
Part 12: “Voices on the speaker phone”
“Hey, Megan!” Don yelled when he saw the female agent seated next to Larry at a table outside a cheap restaurant.
“Don!” Megan responded and waved her hand at Don. She approached the car and saw that Alan was in the passenger’s seat. She said hello to him and then continued speaking to Don. “Hey, can I ask you something?” she asked Don.
“Sure.”
“Charlie and Colby. How were they when they met tonight?”
“What do you mean? You knew Colby was coming over?”
“Yeah, I was supposed to be there. I was going to be some kind of coach between them.”
Don took a glance at Larry, who was waiting at the table, looking at the stars and probably mumbling their names to himself. “Well, you changed your plans, obviously.”
”Yeah, I thought it would be better for them to handle this by themselves, you know? They’re adults, and they’ve been getting closer these last months.”
“I think you’re right…” Don muttered, and went silent. He was thinking about the little awkwardness that Colby showed when Don had reminded him of the promise to tell him Charlie’s big secret regarding Amita. “Oh, the answer to your question is… they were… weird, you know. But it’s normal, they haven’t been speaking lately.”
“Oh, I hope everything turns out to be ok. They have become each other’s partners, as I see it.”
“I think that too. That’s why I left. I wanted to give them some space, too.”
Alan interrupted him, and smiling kindly, he said, “And because he had a ‘hot’ date… Is that the way you kids say it these days?”
“Yes, that’s exactly the word, Mr. Eppes,” Megan nodded, laughing and leaning against the car.
“Of course, I’m not going to be there. I’m going to night yoga class,” Alan explained.
“That’s fantastic! Those kinds of oriental practices are amazing. I’m into krav maga myself. It’s a little rougher than yoga, though.”
”Well, it makes me feel like I’ve taken ten years out of my shoulders for a whole day.”
“Exactly, that’s one of the many benefits!”
“And it’s great for the skin... You know, the other day I saw this documentary about karate…”
“Hey, guys, time out!” Don suddenly said, and he looked a little annoyed. “Remember someone needs to be in a fancy restaurant outside town at nine o’clock.”
With that, Alan went silent. The hope of having grandchildren before he was too old was stronger than ever, but again, that happened every time Don claimed he had met a new woman.
Don said goodbye to Megan, and then pointed at Larry and muttered “Hey, is he ok? He seems a little…”
“In his own world, I know,” she responded, looking at her lover counting the stars and writing some kind of map on a napkin. “But yeah, he’s all right.” She smiled and waved her hand to Don, who smiled back and put the vehicle in movement again.
Megan returned to her table and sat beside Larry.
“Is everything ok?” he wanted to know.
“Yes, everything’s fine… Don’s going to a date, Alan’s going to yoga class and Charlie and Colby are all alone in the house…”
“Oh, yeah… I wonder if there’s calm hovering over the Eppes residence…”
“Don said they were acting awkward but not fighting when he left.”
Larry joined the fingers of his hands and his face went worried. He didn’t say anything.
“What is it, Larry? Is it the stars in your map napkin that don’t fit the ones in the sky?” she joked, sipping an orange juice she had asked for earlier.
“No, not really. The starts are exactly the way I expected them to be in their eternal journal through the vault of heaven. It’s Charles that I’m worried about.”
“Why?”
“I was just considering the way he acted when this meeting with Colby was suggested, he might have a reaction that can’t be characterized as a peaceful one.”
“But you said that finally he accepted to meet him.”
“Yeah… but Charles has been acting weird lately. At this point, I guess we should consider all the possibilities.”
“Do you think I was wrong to leave them alone?” Megan asked a little surprised that Larry seemed to not agree with her decision, even when he seemed to the last time they had talked about it.
“Not at all. I actually think it was the best thing to do, like I told you yesterday when we met outside the FBI. But… I have my doubts that this is going to end well tonight…”
“Well, we’ll get to know tomorrow, probably.”
”Yeah, I guess we will.”
Then the conversation turned into some kind of dissertation about multi-star systems. It was so fascinating for Megan to listen to Larry exposing his deeper thoughts and points of view about the latest theories. And it was so sweet and cute to hear him comparing her to some of the most beautiful constellations in the sky.
However, the display of such interesting topics was interrupted by a phone call. When it was about eleven o’clock, Megan’s phone rang, and she had to take the call, because it was Don who wanted to speak with her.
“Don?”
“Hey, Megan…”
“What’s going on? Didn’t you have a date?”
“Yeah, but I’m getting into the car right now. David just called me. Amita’s kidnapper has escaped from jail.”
“What?”
“Yes, it’s what you’ve just heard. His guards say that he’s been rambling about getting to destroy the most important thing in Amita’s life.”
“Oh god, that means he could be going after her and Charlie! Even if she has just broken up with him, psychologically, he’s still the person she cares the most about!”
“I know, that’s what I thought, too. I’m going to find Amita right now and then I’m taking her to the house. I want everybody to gather together there.”
“Of course. See you in half an hour.”
Megan hung up and started taking her stuff. She explained to Larry what Don had said, and the physicist became utterly worried.
“I’m going with you,” he claimed.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t want you to be in the middle of a situation, if there’s any.”
Larry’s face was so tense, and his eyes just screamed, Please, let me see if Charles is ok, so Megan thought about it for a few seconds and finally muttered a not very sure “Ok.”
They took a cab and while they were going to the Eppes’ residence, Megan dialed Charlie’s number on her cell phone to check if everything was ok there and to inform him that Don, Larry and she were arriving.
With her eyes fixed on Larry’s, she waited for an answer, but all she heard was incoherent words.
* * *
Charlie and Colby were kissing fervently on the bed when Charlie’s cell phone rang. Even if he was completely concentrated on the person pressing against his body, he instinctively tried to grab the device.
“Don’t answer,” Colby muttered, kissing Charlie’s ear.
“Mmm… I… I have to…”
“Why?” Colby’s voice sounded disappointed, so Charlie had to give me some explanations.
“It could… be Don,” he muttered, and moaned when Colby softly caressed his back. “He could be calling… to say… that he’s coming home… His dates usually… don’t work anyway…”
It was a very good excuse. Colby took a deep breath and stopped with his demonstrations of affection. Charlie felt the arms around his back loosen and he reached again for his cell phone. He pressed the green button, accepting the incoming call.
“Hello?” he said, and he heard a familiar female voice.
“Is it Don?” Colby asked, on the bed behind him.
Charlie shook his head. “Megan,” he explained, but before he had the chance to actually talk to her, Colby grabbed his hand to take him back to bed. The cell phone fell to the floor.
“Colby!” Charlie yelled, but he was laughing.
“Just… don’t… move…” Colby whispered while he took Charlie’s wrists and placed them together above the mathematician’s head. Then he tenderly kissed Charlie and with that he earned his trust and his affection all over again.
* * *
Megan put the phone against her ear and she heard some strange noises and gasps in the background.
“Colby!” she heard Charlie say.
“Just don’t move…” Colby responded.
And more weird noises that included Charlie and Colby whining. Then, suddenly, the communication was cut off. Someone had hung up on the other side. Megan stared at her cell phone and Larry noticed it.
“What is it?” Larry asked.
“Something’s going on there.”
”What do you think it is?”
“I’m… I’m not really sure. There are two possibilities. One is positive, the other not so much. Let’s hope it’s the first one.”
Larry’s eyes widened. “Ok,” he just muttered, and stared at the shops that they were passing by.
When they got to the house, they waited for the cab to disappear in the middle of the night and looked for a window that showed a room with the lights on. But the house was in complete darkness. Don wasn’t there yet.
“Ok, I’m not liking this,” Larry whispered, and Megan took out her gun. “I guess it’s very practical to always have that at hand.” They approached the front door and waited for a second.
She tried to listen to any sounds there could come from the inside, but she just shook her head. “You should stay here, Larry.”
“But what if Charles and Colby are taken as hostages and…?”
Megan saw that Larry was so scared that something could happen to his former student that he was able to leave his pacifist profile behind and enter the house even if it was dangerous. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Larry just nodded, and she checked she had her cell phone with her, just in case she needed to ask for backup or an ambulance for her lover. They were in the dark living room when they heard gasps coming from upstairs. Megan looked at Larry, who nodded again, saying he was ok, although he seemed to be about to pass out. “Larry, I really want you stay here.”
After hearing those gasps, Larry accepted she was right and that she should continue by herself from now on. Megan went upstairs being very careful not to make any noise and she placed a little flashlight above the gun she held in her hands.
She was sure the noises came from Charlie’s bedroom. She went to its door and opened it a little, but all she could see was a huge pile of papers, a chair and a little table. And she could hear more panting.
It appeared to her that this was the display of the good one between the two possibilities she had had in her head.
And suddenly, she heard a scream and someone stumbling, like if the people that were in that room had noticed her presence behind the door. So Megan just entered the bedroom and pointed the flashlight and the gun to the opposite side, trying to figure out some kind of human shape.
Her mouth hung open when Charlie and Colby got off the bed and when they stumbled together trying to put their boxers on in the shadows. She watched them get up and stare at her in astonishment. Their skin was sweaty and their faces flushed, embarrassed and in shock under the light of the flashlight.
* * *
THE SONG I CHOSE FOR THIS CHAPTER:
BAJOFONDO - "GRAND GUIGNOL"
(this is a song from an argentine band. The music mixes tango with electronic dance. I love it!!)
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