The Derivative  Chapter 10: Influence

The Derivative  Chapter 11: Prediction

Chapter 1 <- Chapter 10

My foot tapped repeatedly as I sat in a chair outside the principal's office. I had no idea why I had been called out of my english class to be here. Not that I was complaining about being taken out of a monotonous lecture on adjectives and adverbs. 

“Hey Abby” I looked up as the door opened and Mrs. Clive was there looking down at me. “Come on in” 

I grabbed my backpack and walked into the office, Clive closing the door behind me. Principal Brick was sitting behind his desk. I always thought his name fit his features with how square his head was. 

“Take a seat Abby” he offered, I nodded and sat down. Clive took the seat next to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you Ms. Calvin from Mrs. Clive here as well as your other teachers. Many of whom are concerned about certain behavioral issues you’ve shown since joining us here.” 

“If this is about that fight in the cafeteria I thought we had that sorted out I mean I didn’t cause it” I quickly defended myself sitting up in my seat. 

“We know Abby, that's not what we’re talking about” Clive reassured me. 

“Then what is it?” I asked, growing suspicious. 

Brick sat forward resting his hands on his desk. “To be completely honest with you Abby, originally we were led to believe by your social worker, a Mr. Grant, that your behavioral problems would be expected considering your history with the foster system and problematic past parent situation.” I shifted in my seat “however, Mrs. Clive has brought a different perspective onto the situation”

My head snapped to look at the teacher. She had a light smile on her face “I got into contact with a friend of mine Michelle Wiat she’s a principal at an elementary school it turned out you attended. She told me about the advanced courses she put you in College Algebra, Calculus. As well as your IQ testing she provided all the documentation as well” 

There was a moment where my brain was flustered hearing Ms. Wiat’s name again after so long. Then I finally collected my thoughts “so what does this mean? Are you finally putting me in advanced courses?” 

“Not exactly” Brick objected “we believe at this time that this school can no longer provide what you need to learn” 

“In other words we know you’re not thriving here” Clive cut in “so I’ve arranged here with Mr. Brick for you to possibly test out of high school” 

I was stunned at the news but felt excitement bubbling within me “serious like no more school?” 

“Part of it will require you to continue your education somewhere else such as college, university, or career center but you will no longer be attending high school” Brick explained. 

“This is awesome,” I cheered excitedly. 

“Don’t get too excited you’ll have to take a test to prove you’re capable and that’s only if your father approves all of this” Clive clarified. 

I felt my excitement hit a wall “my father?” 

“Yes we’ll be sending you home today with a note detailing everything and asking for a parent teacher conference to discuss any other issues that may come of this” Brick informed “since you are still a minor you can’t just make these decisions on your own” 

“Right” I murmured as Brick handed me a letter. 

“Don’t worry Abby this will all work out and then we’ll get to see what heights you’ll truly be able to reach” Clive reassured me with a hand on my shoulder. As I looked at the paper I didn’t feel as sure. 

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

3rd POV. 

Abby sat out in the hallway at school. She was reading Twelve Years a Slave. The nine year old had been kicked out of her 4th grade class for calling another kid an asshole after he broke her pencils. 

“Abigail” she looked up at the familiar disappointed voice of the principal. 

“Hello” the girl greeted. “Call me Abby” 

The principal, Mrs. Wiat, sighed and sat down next to the girl. “Whatcha reading?” 

“Twelve Years a Slave” Abby replied, showing the teacher the book cover. 

“Advanced book for someone your age” The principal voiced genuinely surprised. 

“It’s a good read but I feel bad for Solomon. He just wants to escape his captivity.” Abby voiced “he didn’t ask for any of his problems he just got dragged into it” 

“Do you relate to him?” The woman pressed sensing something. 

Abby shrugged and didn’t make eye contact. “Maybe a little” 

“Abby, you know calling people mean things is wrong” The principal explained. 

“But he broke my pencils,” the girl defended. 

“I understand but lashing out isn’t the answer” Mrs. Wiat kept her voice even as she spoke. “Abby, you've been fighting with other kids and not doing your homework. Is there something going on at home? Something you want to tell me?” 

The girl shook her head quickly “no nothing” 

“Okay” the principal nodded. “Then why don’t you do your homework?” 

“Because isn’t the point of homework to practice the stuff you learn in class?” The fourth grader asked. 

“That’s right,” the principal nodded. “Which is why you need to do it to learn.” 

“But I already know the stuff,” Abby objected. “I mean I get perfect scores on the tests so why do I have to do the homework?” 

The principal found herself speechless at the fourth graders logic. “Because it factors into your grade” 

“Well what's more important in school for me to learn or for me to get good grades?” The girl challenged. 

“Abby” the principal sighed. Then a thought came to her “I want to send a note home with you for your mother” the principal explained “I want to talk to her and get you in a more advanced program at least for your reading level maybe math also” 

“Does this program have homework?” Abby questioned. 

The principal chuckled lightly “Unfortunately Abby all of life has homework.”

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Abby POV. 

“What you think he’ll say no?” Charlie asked as he moved some papers around on the table. 

“I don’t know what he’s going to say,” I exclaimed, my chin resting on the table the note from my teachers in my hands. “That’s the part that bothers me.” 

“Well then I suppose the only way to resolve that would be to ask him” Charlie argued. I let out a breath in a huff. “Listen Abby, you've been arguing to learn more advanced curriculum since you got here and I’d wager even before then. This is a great chance for you. I’m sure Don will see that and let you test out okay?” 

“Yeah” I murmured. “Don’t tell him about this though I want to be the first one to talk to him” 

“My lips are sealed” the mathematician vowed as he typed on his laptop. 

A moment later Alan came in from the kitchen and I folded the note and stuffed it in my pocket. “Hey,” he greeted “Charlie whatcha working on there?” 

“Sabermetrics” Uncle C replied with a sigh “baseball math found on a dead man’s computer Don’s having me look at it for a case” 

“Oh” Alan murmured a little put off from the dead man fact. He walked up behind Charlie peering over his shoulder “What do these formulas tell you?” 

“The ones I’ve recovered indicate that the Dodgers are not on the right track to win the pennant next year” Charlie informed. 

“Like you needed math to figure that one out, huh?” Gramps muttered. 

Charlie chuckled “no” 

“I heard that, uh, Don was leaning towards the wife.” Alan voiced. 

“That’s right,” Charlie confirmed. 

“Seems to be the first place they look nowadays” Alan mused. 

“I don’t understand” Charlie agreed “I mean, if you hate the person you’re married to that much, get divorced.” 

“Even the thought of divorce holds its own special horrors, let me tell you” Alan sighed. 

“Well, you and mom never thought about- I mean, I was never witness to any kind of-” Charlie stammered as his father leaned on a chair. 

“That’s exactly the way we wanted it.”  Alan explained. Charlie shifted in his chair, eyes still fixed on Alan urging him to continue “well, it was a long time ago, we, um. We had a little rough patch there for a moment, but we got through it.” 

Charlie closed his laptop slowly and I looked between the two men wondering where this conversation was going “how rough a patch are we talking about?” Uncle C questioned. 

“It was when you were 13 years old,” Alan offered willingly “and you went off to Princeton.” 

“Mom came with me,” Charlie added. 

“The separation was pretty hard on both of us” Alan admitted “and aside from the money matters, there was this irrational jealousy. Anyway, even the possibility of divorce was never discussed, because we loved each other too much.” 

“I don’t remember any of it,” Charlie murmured. “I don’t even remember a raised voice between the two of you.” 

“That’s because your mother and I both agreed that we wouldn’t stress you or Don any more than we had to.” Alan explained sitting down. “Charlie that’s how parents argue in front of their children; they disguise the big things as little things.” 

Charlie was quiet for a moment looking at his work. I stood up and made to leave the room a churning feeling in my gut. “Abby you alright?” Alan called after me. 

“Yeah, yeah fine I just, homework” I lied horribly but Gramps didn’t seem to be questioning it and I didn’t really give him time to before I was bolting up the stairs. 

I collapsed on the bed in Don’s old room. Charlie going to college early had put a huge strain on his parents' lives. What kind of strain would I be putting on Don if I graduated early? In all my nagging why hadn’t I considered how this would affect Don. After everything my mom went through and sacrificed for me growing up was I really going to make my other parent sacrifice for me too? Let alone one I’d only known for less than a year? 

I groaned and grabbed the pillow covering my face. When did my life get so complicated? 

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

3rd POV. 

Abby sat bored in yet another class at school. She glanced at the clock and sighed. Wondering how difficult it would be to slip out a side door during a passing block. The public library wasn’t too far from the school and it would be open at this time. 

Then her mom's words came back to her. She glanced around the class all of whom were still working on the algebra assignment she had already finished. How was she going to become friends with any of them? Most of them were upper middle class with well to do parents. Nice clothes, new backpacks, and cell phones. Abby wore thrift store clothes, had an old backpack that had seen better days, and never had a cell phone in her life. 

The bell rang jogging her from her thoughts. Gathering her things Abby headed out into the hallway. Going to the freshman lockers to ditch her stuff from algebra and grab her English stuff. 

They were reading “Of Mice and Men” which she had already read years prior. She remembered every word and had told her teacher as much but the woman had still insisted that Abby bring her copy to class everyday. Despite the obvious redundancy. 

“Hey gutter kid” Abby heard the call and turned just in time to get hit in the face by someone’s backpack. “Oops looks like Miss smarty pants isn’t much of a quick thinker.” 

Abby recovered quickly and looked to see who had thrown the bag. She wasn’t surprised to see a gaggle of laughing popular kids not far off. She looked down at the back pack and reared punting it down the hall. 

She smirked broadly as one of the kids ducked and another got a face full as she had. 

“Why you little” One of the kids came at her, pinning her to the locker. She kicked out on reflex and before she knew it a fight had broken out in the hallway. 

When a teacher finally showed up and pulled them apart. Abby was shocked that he first turned to the kid who had started it. 

“What happened?” the teacher asked them. 

“She attacked me-“ 

“I did not you liar!” Abby objected loudly. 

“You be quiet” The teacher ordered her. 

“But I didn’t-“ 

“Come on I’m taking you to the office now” the teacher ordered. He grabbed Abby’s arm and led her down the hallway. 

Not long after she was sitting outside the principal's office. She could hear everything going on inside. 

“She has a history of ditching” the teacher, Mr. Simons, was saying. “And now she’s picking fights.” 

“Abby skips because she isn’t learning anything in her classes if you put her in the advanced class-“ 

“That girl shouldn’t even be in regular classes,” Simons objected. “And don’t act like she’s some genius from the look of her I’d say she skips to go out drinking and do drugs-“ 

“Don’t you dare talk about my daughter like that!” Janice yelled. 

“Settle down both of you and Simons sit the hell down” the principal suddenly snapped. Then continued in a quieter but not any less tense tone “What exactly did Chris say happened?” 

“That she attacked him in the hallway” Simons stated “unprovoked” 

“Alright and what did Abby-“ 

“Why do you need any more convincing? It’s obvious what happened! What are you going to trust the word of some delinquent that can’t be bothered to show up to class or the straight A quarterback.” 

“My daughter is no liar!” Janice exclaimed. “She doesn’t go to class because she already knows everything that’s being taught cuz you refuse to put her in the advanced classes” 

“Do you really think a girl with elementary school education like Swiss cheese is actually going to make it in an advanced class?” Simons scoffed arrogantly. 

“She can remember everything that she’s ever read perfectly just ask her” Janice shot back. 

“Will you two stop!” The principal exclaimed and sighed. “I’m putting both students involved on temporary suspension” 

“What!” Simons exclaimed. The office descended into loud bouts of indiscernible yelling. Abby closed her eyes and tuned them and the world out the best she could. 

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

“You alright?” Charlie asked hesitantly as him and Don left the Lorman group headquarters. 

“Yeah” Don murmured “It’s just all this stuff about predicting human potential I can’t help thinking about how it’d impact Abby you know?” he explained as the pair loaded into his SUV. “I mean she doesn’t really talk about it but I got enough from her social worker to know that her and Janice lived in some not great neighborhoods growing up.” 

“And this predictive model would have slighted against her despite her potential” Charlie inferred. 

“Exactly I mean she’s incredibly smart” Don explained “and I’ve been trying to go to bat with her regarding these advanced courses and stuff. Like, you were already in college at her age and she’s that same kind of smart. I just want her to have all the opportunities she deserves.” 

Charlie chuckled slightly “you know this side of you Abby brings out it- its kinda weird” 

“Yeah? Good weird or bad weird?” Don inquired. 

“Definitely good weird” Charlie assured. 

Don sighed “I guess I finally just understand what Mom and Dad meant when they said they wanted the world for us, you know. And that’s what I want for Abby” Don explained and Charlie smiled working very hard to keep his mouth shut about Abby’s letter from her teachers. 

_____________

Don glanced up at Abby as she ate her fries, her eyes scanning over the book she had laying on the table. They were eating dinner in their apartment now that he was back from the long case he’d just worked. The man took a deep breath deciding he had given her enough time “so I talked to Ms. Clive today and set up the time for the parent/teacher conference” 

Abby’s head snapped up so fast he was a little concerned “how did you? Did she tell you? Uh…” she fumbled over her words. 

Don scoffed setting down his burger “Abby, first off my job is to figure things out second off if you want a secret kept your uncle is the last person you should tell” Abby groaned putting her head in her hands and muttering a curse word or two towards Charlie. Don chuckled lightly “the only thing I don’t get is why you didn’t tell me. I mean, this is what you’ve been after forever I thought you would have jumped at it” 

“I was and I am… excited” Abby replied carefully biting her lip nervously which made Don shift in his seat. “It’s just… I know me going to college early is a big deal and it’s going to change things for me a- and for you and I didn’t want to make your life harder than I already had” 

Don was surprised by the confession and even more concerned as his daughter refused to make eye contact with him. He thought about what to say and only one thing came to mind “Abby I want the world for you” he told her. 

The girl looked up in surprise, her eyes meeting her father’s “what?”

“Listen I don’t care if this is going to change some things. Because I’m here for you” Don explained “Listen, I appreciate the concern but it’s the parents job to worry about the kid not the other way around or at least not until I’m old and gray” a small smile spread on Abby’s face. 

“Thanks Don” Abby told him. 

“Yeah, of course” Don nodded and he could tell Abby felt a lot better. Not just from this situation but it was like another wall had fallen down, chain had been released. And for him it was like another puzzle had been solved, another crisis averted. For both another step toward being family. 

Chapter 12 -> 

This! I love when I hear someone say I’m great writer. But I’m inspired by people who comment about the details about a fic I’ve written! What they like about the characters or how they connect. It’s so motivating and simply seeing a comment like this makes my entire day!

THE MISCONCEPTION ABOUT COMMENTING ON FIC

I’ve read all kinds of posts both from writers and readers lamenting about comments on fic. Authors are upset when they don’t get any, readers don’t know what kinds of comments to leave, etc. And it finally clicked in my brain why I think a lot of people don’t bother writing comments. 

And this is what it boils down to:

Writers do not want praise.  We just want to talk about our story. 

I can’t speak for everyone obviously - but I think the majority of writers don’t care so much for the “omg you’re a brilliant writer!!” comments as much as we just want to hear your thoughts on the story. Even if it’s just your thoughts as you’re reading of “oooh x happened! I can’t believe y said this! What’s going to happen now that z has happened?!” We literally just want to talk about what we’ve written like you would with a friend about a tv show. We’re not out here demanding praise like some entitled narcissist. 

While praising our writing skills or writing style is appreciated, it doesn’t need to be said on every fic and every chapter that you read. If you regularly comment on someone’s work that’s telling enough that you like our technique. Readers shouldn’t feel pressured to have to praise a writer’s abilities every time they want to comment. 

In the grand scheme of things, talking about the fic/chapter is actually more helpful to us writers instead of spewing praise. It’s the same with artwork. As nice as it is that people tell me “wow your art is so pretty!” it’s a LOT more useful to me to get comments like “I love their expressions!” or “the lighting on this is gorgeous!” because then I know WHAT people are liking about it. If no one ever comments on my backgrounds, I now know what to improve. If most people comment on liking the expressions, I now know the strong points of my art and can use it to my advantage to make even better art in the future. 

The same goes for fic. If multiple people tell me they liked a certain part of the story I now know that things similar to that are a hit. It’s feedback I can use to improve the story and give my readers more of what they want. Without that I have no idea what they like about the fic.

Talking with a writer about their story also gives them inspiration!! Nothing gets us more in the mood to work on a fic than to have people wanting to talk about it. A lot of times just talking about one of my fics with someone will give me that push to continue working on it. Getting a comment that just says “great chapter” or “you’re a great writer” doesn’t do much to motivate us to continue that particular fic. But if you talk about the story and the characters it gives us motivation to continue working on it, may even give us ideas for future chapters. I would hope that those of you with “comment anxiety” find this approach so much easier than trying to praise the writer every time you read.

So that fic the author hasn’t updated in forever that you’re dying to read? Talk to them about the fic and the elements of the story! It will make the writer want to talk to you about it and will get their mind thinking about it, hopefully inspiring them to continue where they left off. Fics that are left in silence are more likely to be abandoned or even deleted because nothing feels worse than putting your heart into a story to have no one say anything about it. 

TLDR; Writers do not want praise, we just want to talk with our readers about the story itself, and these are the kinds of comments that inspire us to keep writing more. 

The Derivative Chapter 17: Kids Stuff

Chapter 1 <- Chapter 16

Don knew he was handling things differently. Every case that involved kids was bad however, he could feel them hitting him a little deeper now. Lucinda Shay was a single mother just like Janice had been and when he saw her son at the crime scene all he could think of was what Abby must have gone through when she was alone after her mom died. 

Despite this he had to stay focused on the case, keep his emotions in check, that was the only way they were going to catch the killer and get justice for Lucinda and Daniel. He entered the office and spotted Charlie standing out like a curly headed traffic cone dressed in orange with David and Colby who were gray and white suits. 

Don quickly made it over to his brother “hey, thanks for coming” he gave Charlie a pat on the shoulder. 

“No problem” 

“Hey did the kid see anything?” David asked, gesturing toward where Megan was sitting with Daniel playing cards. 

“Well, if he did, he’s not saying anything.” Don replied. 

“I didn’t know Lucinda Shay had a kid” Charlie voiced. 

“Yeah little boy named Daniel,” Don explained, pointing to show Charlie, who looked back letting sadness drift into his eyes. “What? You knew her?” 

“I met her a few times.” Charlie explained “when the scandal first broke at the SEC, I was asked to examine the accounting related to Syntel’s offshore partnerships. She was very helpful” 

“Yeah” Colby murmured “well sweetheart plea bargain will do that for you” 

“You know I don’t think she knew what Syntel was doing at first but once she figured it out, she blew the whistle” Charlie informed “Was her son there when…?” 

“Yeah” Don murmured, cutting Charlie’s question off. 

“What can I do?” Charlie asked. 

“Well, we’re putting together a list of former employees and shareholders” Don explained “maybe you could narrow it down?” 

“I’ve already analyzed the company’s SEC filings. It’s a pretty good picture of who made money, who lost money.” Charlie explained. 

“All right, well, whatever you can do, we’d appreciate it,” Don said gratefully. 

“You got it,” Charlie agreed. 

“Thanks” Don murmured, patting his brother on the shoulder again as he headed over to where Megan was sitting with the boy. 

“What’s going to happen to her son?” Charlie questioned. 

“We don’t know” David admitted “she’s a single-parent mom. I’m trying to run down the father, any other relative, but, uh, so far no luck.” 

“You know after Abby’s mother died they were able to find Don” Charlie offered “I mean it took a couple months but, you could find someone for this boy” 

“We’ll be trying Charlie,” David reassured the mathematician. 

Meanwhile Don was knocking at the door of the sitting room Megan and Daniel were in. His partner looked up and he gestured for her to come and talk. She told Daniel she’d be right back before getting up and meeting Don outside of the room and earshot of the boy. 

“How’s he doing?” Don asked. 

Megan cleared her throat glancing back at the boy before turning to Don “there’s some blunt effect in response to the trauma.” she explained. 

“What’s that, like some kind of post traumatic shock kind of thing?” the man inquired. 

“A little” Megan informed “this is more immediate and hopefully it’s temporary. But he’s like an overloaded circuit. He’s just shut down right now.” 

“I’m going to need him to talk to us,” Don murmured ruefully. 

“I know that,” the woman reassured, glancing back at the boy “but he’s too fragile right now.” 

Don shrugged “I know, but if he knows who shot his mother-” 

“It’s exactly the problem” Megan clarified “he probably did, and he’s a little boy and he’s terrified. And if we push him too far now, we may never get what we need” 

“All right, all right” Don agreed, walking past Megan into the room and taking the seat across from the boy “hey Daniel” he greeted attempting to shake the twisting feeling in his gut and the thought of Abby. “I’m Don Eppes. Remember? From before?” he paused and when the boy gave no indication of response he sighed “Look, I’m sorry about what happened to your mom, but-” he hesitated as Daniel shifted and grimaced slightly “I know how rough this must be for you, what- what you must be thinking.” He took a breath and glanced back out at the bullpen, the thought of a young, alone Abby still pulling at the back of his brain thoughts of his own mother as well “Actually, you know, to be honest, I don’t know what you’re thinking. But I do know something about what you’re feeling.” he admitted “You know, not too long ago my mom died.” Daniel looked up at that but his eyes quickly flickered back to the table “yeah she was like the one person who had the right answer for everything. You know, I mean all the time. And then all of a sudden she was gone” Don took a deep breath “Here’s what I’m hoping. That you and I maybe could partner up. Maybe help each other out.” he paused, gauging the boy carefully before continuing “I need to know if you saw anything this morning, Daniel.” 

“No,” Daniel barely whispered, shaking his head. 

“You sure?” Don pressed carefully. 

“The doorbell rang,” Daniel voiced. 

“Mm-hmm and your mom answered it?” The agent inquired. Daniel nodded “did you hear any voices?” 

Daniel shook his head “just the gun” 

“What about after?” Don asked “Did you see anything, hear anyone?” Daniel shook his head looking down at the table again curling into himself. “All right, okay.” Don backed off “Hey, that’s a good start. Good job” 

“I want…” Daniel spoke up voice choked with emotion “I want her to come back” 

“Yeah” Don sighed, biting his lip “I know you do. Me, too.” 

As Don got up to leave gesturing for Megan to take his place sitting with the boy he wandered into the breakroom. He let off a large breath and reached for his phone on his belt. He wanted to call Abby and just hear her voice for whatever reason but a quick glance at his watch told him she’d be in class and unable to take his call. So he took another deep breath and replaced his phone on his belt before making for the coffee. 

___________________

Abby POV. 

I walked out of class with an annoyed groan. “Oh dear did Prof. Lisben assign another tedious reading exercise?” 

I looked up at the question to see Larry meandering down the hallway. “Essay” I explained “and I already have two others due for other classes” 

“Ah I see” Larry sighed as we began to walk down the hallway “quite the taxing conundrum” 

“I mean professors do realize that we have more classes than theirs, right?” I asked. 

“If they do I suppose they don’t care” Larry declared juggling the apple in his hand “such is the lot of the student I suppose” 

I hummed in agreement as we reached my uncle’s office and headed inside. He was working on the blackboard with his back to us as we entered. What looked to be some kind of tree-pruning algorithm. 

“Charles” Larry spoke calmly. Charlie about jumped out of his skin though. 

He let off a breath once he realized it was just us “I wish you wouldn’t do that” he muttered. 

“Boo” I shrugged. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Larry apologized “but why are you splitting a tree-pruning algorithm?” 

“I’m trying to reduce a cumbersome set of variables to a common point” Uncle C explained as I headed over to one of the various chairs in the office and sat down. 

“Okay, well, a bit of pruning I understand” Larry said “but why divide it into subsets?” 

“Because I’m dealing with different groups of suspects each with almost opposite motives for committing the same crime” Charlie informed. 

“Ah, so an FBI case” I voiced. 

“Yes, Don asked for my help” Charlie informed “one set lost money and wants revenge. The others made money and wants to keep it.” 

“Oh, this is about Syntel Corp.” Larry deduced coming closer. 

“How do you know that?” Charlie questioned, surprised. 

“What’s a Syntel Corp?” I asked. 

“A large corporation that was caught with a fraud scandal not long ago” Charlie explained. 

“Oh” I nodded in realization.

“I heard about the Chief Financial Officer being killed.” Larry informed “you might recall I lost a considerable investment in Syntel” 

“Yeah? Well, you got an alibi for this morning?” Charlie joked. Larry let out a breath “I’m kidding” Charlie chuckled and I smirked. 

“Ah don’t be too quick to dismiss me as a suspect” the physicist objected. 

“Why, how much you lose?” Uncle C inquired, exchanging a concerned glance with me. 

“175,000” Larry sighed. 

“Dollars?” Charlie questioned in surprise. 

“No euros” I muttered and earned a small glare from my uncle. 

“Look, in my defense, I didn’t count on being defrauded,” Larry pointed out. 

“Oh wow, well, are you okay, financially?” Charlie asked. 

Larry scoffed “well let’s just say the words ‘publish or perish’ have taken on a brand-new meaning. But, yeah, I mean, fortunately, I’ve hedged my bets on Google.” 

“Well help me then” Charlie voiced, turning back to the chalkboard and I swiveled in my seat to get a look as well. “I’ve, uh, I’ve got to combine two different groups of suspects,” Uncle C explained, raising up the front of his chalkboard. “According to monetary incentives and risk/reward ratios”

“So we need to rank them according to their motive for committing the murder” Larry clarified. 

“While also taking into account what might deter them from choosing murder verses another path hence the risk/reward” I added. 

“That’s right,” Charlie agreed. 

“Okay, what do these variables here express?” Larry inquired, pointing past Charlie at an equation on the chalkboard. I craned my neck to see the board around my uncle. 

“Well, I derived them from the bankruptcy data.” Charlie informed, “I assigned probability values to motives according to the suspects’ current circumstance.”

“Current circumstances?” Larry questioned confused “like what, where are they now or..?”

“Right,” Charlie nodded. 

“Okay,” Larry murmured, pacing around the younger professor. As we all thought on the problem. “Charles” Larry finally voiced after a moment and my uncle hummed in response. “Just as a thought experiment” the physicist paused and Charlie nodded for him to continue as I sat forward in my seat “what if you didn’t know the story of the Garden of Eden?” 

“Adam and Eve” Charlie muttered as Larry gestured to the apple in his hand. 

“What does this have to do with the creation of the world?” I inquired confused. 

“It’s just a thought experiment, let me explain” Larry advised me and I nodded. “Let's say you met them after they were exiled from Eden. Now, as they both suffer equally under the same punishment, how would you know which of them had taken the bite from the forbidden fruit?” 

“But they both-” 

“Shhh shhh shhh thought experiment” Larry hushed me as the cogs in Charlie’s brain began to turn. 

“The outcome doesn’t provide enough information to discern the inputs” Charlie deduced “if I really want to figure out who’s guilty I’ve got to reconstruct the original fraud at Syntel” 

“Precisely” Larry concluded “you’ve got to go back to the apple” the man took a large bite of his snack. 

Charlie turned back to his chalkboard and began working again at a dizzying rate. Meanwhile Larry meandered back over to my side of the desk. “You know people are always so hard on Eve but Adam was just as bad if not worse” I voiced. 

“What’s that?” Larry questioned. 

“Well Eve had to deal with the literal devil Adam just had to say no to a naked woman” I pointed out. Larry made a humming noise as his eyebrows rose on his head and he practically nodded with his hands. 

________________________

3rd POV. 

Don sighed as Charlie headed out of the room and his eyes scanned the bullpen landing on Daniel who was at a desk with his meager bag of belongings. “How’s our kid doing?” he asked Megan, eyes still on the boy. 

“Uh, I guess he’s a little better, but you know,” she let off a breath. “how would any of us be doing in his situation?” 

“Yeah” Don sat down next to her “any word from family services?” 

“There is no father in the picture” Megan explained “and we found a grandmother in” she reached for a pad of paper where she had written a note down “Bethany, Oklahoma. She has a heart condition and she can’t fly.”

“So what happens to him?” Don inquired looking over to see an agent talking nicely to the boy. 

“Well, tonight he’s going to go to this group home.” Megan informed. 

Don felt his stomach drop “oh come on you’ve got to be kidding me” he stated “I mean, that’s a nightmare. You know what those homes are like Abby’s social worker said she was put in one after her mom died. And- and she hated it” 

“I know” Megan defended “but I called WITSEC and they won’t put a minor into custody without a court order. And you know what? It’s not really any better than a group home is, anyway.” 

“I know, but I just don’t want him to get twisted around, till whatever chance we have of getting what he knows is gone.” Don explained trying to keep his emotions in check and make a logical argument. He had to stop thinking about Abby on this case.

“Well, I don’t like this at all,” Megan agreed “but I’m not set up to take care of a kid and you can barely handle the one you have” 

“Thanks” Don muttered but knew she was right. 

“What are we supposed to do?” Megan asked and Don looked back out at the kid, an idea coming to mind. 

“Charlie has an extra room at his house” he voiced. 

“Seriously? Charlie?” Megan asked skeptically. 

“Well my dad’s there and Abby is staying over to so-” he gestured vaguely with his hand. 

“Okay” Megan nodded “I guess it’s something” 

“Yeah,” Don muttered. He watched the kid for a moment longer.

“Don” his partner finally broke the silence with a tone that made him turn to look at her eyes and he could tell she was profiling him. “If you keep acting like this case isn’t hitting you differently you’re not going to handle it properly” she declared.

Don’s eyebrows knit together “I’m not- I just-” he cut off at her look. 

“That boy reminds you of Abby. You said it yourself a second ago that Abby was in the system after her mom died and before they found you as her guardian.” Megan voiced “it’s okay if it gets to you.” 

“Yeah” Don sighed. Knowing she was once again right. 

_______________________

Abby POV.

I gasped as my eyes scanned over the page of the book I was reading. “What?” Gramps asked mildly concerned as he sat reading in his chair. 

“Plot twist- I- neh-” I ended up just making a weird noise and waving him off as I continued reading the story. 

“Okay then” I heard the man mutter then there was noise from further in the house. 

“Charlie that you?” Alan called. 

“No, Dad, it’s me,” my father’s voice replied. “Hey Abby” he called in greeting and I waved in his general direction. My eyes still transfixed on the story in my hand. 

“Donnie. What are you doing here so late?” Alan questioned “I thought Abby would be spending the night and dinner’s been put away already” 

“She is and I don’t need dinner.” he paused “look-” 

“If you’re looking for Charlie he’s not here yet” Gramps informed. 

“Actually, I think I can talk to you” Don explained “I mean I’m sure he’ll be okay with it, but..” Don trailed. 

“And who is this?” I heard Alan inquire and I finally looked up to see a boy standing in the foyer looking around a bag hung on his shoulder.  

“This is Daniel.” Don introduced. 

“He’s not my brother is he?” I asked and both men gave me a look. 

________________

I sat a plate of PB&J down in front of Daniel as Alan and Don talked in the other room. The boy immediately picked it up to start eating. Once Don had explained what was happening I felt bad for the kid and my previous joke. This kid and I actually had a lot in common. 

“Thanks” he murmured after a moment. 

“No problem” I replied with a small smile. Then paused “I’m sorry about your mom. I lost my mom too and I know it hurts” 

He looked up at me in a little surprise “you lost your mom?” 

“Yeah and I didn’t know my dad back then either.” I explained “so I know it can be scary when you don’t have anybody but I know my dad now and I know he’ll work to get your mom justice at least okay?” 

The boy nodded slightly and I looked up to see Don coming over. “Hey buddy” he greeted Daniel taking a seat. “She makes a pretty good sandwich, huh?” he asked, sharing a glance with me. 

“Mom’s is better,” Daniel stated. 

“Yeah” Don nodded “yeah, I’m sure that’s true” 

“I was thinking about what you asked me,” Daniel explained hesitantly “you know, about what I saw?” 

“Uh-huh,” Dad murmured, encouraging the boy to continue. 

“There was a car” Daniel informed “After I heard the gunshot, I looked out the window.” 

“Do you remember what kind of car it was?” Don questioned carefully. 

“It was black or blue, maybe” Daniel offered thinking “big but not as big as an SUV.”

“You think if I showed you some pictures, maybe you’d remember?” Don suggested “I mean, you just have to do the best you can. It’s uh..” he trailed, losing the words. 

“So did you find them?” Daniel asked after a moment. 

“Who?” Don questioned. 

“The people who killed my mom” the boy stated. 

“Why do you think-” Don pressed, confused as I looked at the boy in surprise “I mean, are you remembering something?” 

“They were talking,” Daniel explained “at your office” a sad and guilty expression befell my father’s face as the boy continued “they said there are, like, 6,000 people who wanted to kill my mom.” 

“Oh, no, no, no” Don quickly objected “oh, no that’s not, that’s not… I think the thing is, um, you know, sometimes when we don’t know who the bad guys are, we start with a really big list. And, uh, it doesn’t mean everyone on it wanted to hurt your mom. I mean, in fact, I really think we’re probably just looking for one person.”

“Where am I gonna sleep?” Daniel asked, changing the topic. 

“Uh, I thought I’d put you up in my room” Don suggested giving me a look to tell me I would not be staying in the room I normally held in the house. “How’s that?” 

“Where will you sleep?” Daniel inquired, looking confused. 

“Oh, I don’t live here anymore, it’s from when I was a kid,” Don explained. “Abby stays in it when she sleeps here. It’s a pretty good room. I think you’ll like it.” 

“But you’re gonna stay right?” the boy clarified “you’re not gonna leave?” 

 Don looked back at the boy’s worried gaze before replying “uh, yeah, I can stay, sure” he agreed. “Yeah, you got it.” 

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

3rd POV. 

Abby blinked her eyes open. There was a figure looking down at her. She was laying down. There was a mask on her face and cool air was coming from it. Everything seemed hazy. She was looking up at the night sky. There were a lot of moving figures at the edge of her vision and she smelled smoke. 

“My mom” Abby tried but the words were quieter and hard to get out “where’s my mom?” Hadn’t they just been driving a second ago? How had she gotten here? She couldn’t remember. That started her heart to beat faster and her breathing picked up. She always remembered. Why couldn’t she remember what just happened?

“Hey you’re awake” the person above her, who was still little more than a blur, spoke comfortingly. “Try to stay calm. What’s your name?” 

“Abby” the girl replied softly, a sharp pain stabbing her side “where’s my mom?” she grunted through the pain.

“I don’t know Abby but we’re going to get you to the hospital” the person replied. She tried to sit up but her back wouldn’t move. The only responsive part of her body seemed to be her arm and when she lifted it up she could see the blood covering it.  “Abby?” She heard the person but they were muffled as her arm fell and the hazy darkness consumed her vision again.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Abby POV. 

I gasped awake sitting up in bed and putting a hand to my mouth half expecting the oxygen mask to still be there. I took a couple deep breaths as the memory faded and looked around. I was in the guest room of Charlie’s house. And according to the clock on the nightstand it was the middle of the night. 

I took another deep breath and sighed getting up. It figured that everything going on with Daniel would stir up my memories of my mother’s death. I opened the door to the room quietly and carefully krept down the hallway and stairs. I was cutting through the foyer heading for the kitchen when the light flicked on behind me and I whirled around. 

Don was sitting up on the couch giving me a disgruntled and questioning look. “I was just getting a glass of milk,” I informed at a whisper. 

The man sighed and looked at his watch. “Why so late?” 

I shrugged “couldn’t sleep” 

“Nightmare?” 

“Sort of” 

Don sighed and started to get up. “Yeah I could use some milk too” he stated and we both headed into the kitchen. I hopped up to sit on the counter as my father got two mugs and filled them with milk. “My mom always said if you heat it up it helps you sleep” he informed. 

“Actually, while milk does have trace amounts of tryptophan which is used within the brain to make serotonin and melatonin. It’s been tested and proven that milk doesn’t help you sleep better. Heated or not. It’s just relaxing” I explained. Don gave me a look as he placed the mugs in the microwave. “Sorry” 

Don sighed, pressing the button to start the microwave and turning to me. “It’s fine at this point I’m used to the random fact dropping in the house” 

“Fair enough” I smirked. There was a quiet moment when neither of us spoke and the kitchen was only filled with the sound of the microwave humming. 

“Listen Abby-” Don started hesitantly but then was cut off by the sudden beeping of the microwave that made us both jump. He sighed, removing the two steaming mugs and handing me mine so I could blow on it softly. “Abby” he started again “I wanted to ask you, ab- about when you were in foster care” he stated. I looked at him a little confused over the top of my mug. “It’s just Megan mentioned something today and you know Daniel was almost sent to a group home before I offered to watch him and uh- you never really talk about your experience so-” 

“Dad” I cut off the man’s rambling. “It’s okay,” I reassured him, feeling comfortable at least talking about that side of my history. “I wasn’t there long to be honest. It was just one house I’d been in the hospital for two week after the accident because of the my injuries and uh, yeah the mom was mean, the dad was ignorant, the daughter was a brat, and the son was a perv” Don choked on his milk slightly at the last but Abby kept talking “I was there for about a month before I ran away.”

“A month?” Don questioned, perplexed. “But I thought it was a whole six months before you came to live with me after Janice died”

“It was,” I nodded. “I just spent most of it on the streets” Don blinked at me in shock. I had figured my social worker had already told Don that. “It’s not that big a deal” I spoke quickly “i’m fine” 

“Yeah but you were really homeless for five months?” the man exclaimed. 

I shrugged, pushing away the thoughts of a dancing girl with red hair, an old abandoned apartment building, an underpass, an old house with loud music and a smiling boy on a table. “It was just another season of my life” 

Don sighed taking a drink from his mug “you’re too young to have seasons to your life”

“Maybe” I murmured holding my warm mug with both hands “but it made me who I am today so, not all bad” 

A girl with flaming red hair was spinning dancing to the music as lights flickered around her and people bounced and swayed to the music. She took my hand and pulled me up onto the coffee table twirling me around and we laughed. 

I blinked away the memory, the smile fading from my face as Don straightened from where he had been leaning on the counter opposite me. He placed his mug in the sink “well we should try and get some sleep” 

“Yeah” I nodded, hopping off the island counter and heading back to my room with my still half filled mug. “Goodnight” I called as I reached the steps and Don made it to the couch. 

“Goodnight” he called in reply. 

________________

“... look I couldn’t get a hold of you, so I asked him, and he said it would be okay.” Don was telling his brother as I came downstairs in the morning. 

“Okay for what?” Charlie questioned. 

“For Lucinda Shay’s kid to stay here.” Don murmured checking his phone then spotting me coming over. 

“Of course, yeah, that’s fine.” Charlie replied a little surprised “Daniel Shay is upstairs” 

“I think he just got up” I informed the men who turned to me “I heard him head to the bathroom” 

“Look, I also need another favor” Don continued as he tucked in his shirt. “I gotta get to the airport to see if I can catch up with Thomas Galway. You two think you can hang here till Dad gets back?” 

“You need me to baby-sit?” Charlie asked. 

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to leave him here alone.” Don explained. 

“He’s eleven he doesn’t need that much babysitting Uncle C” I scoffed at the professor “you don’t have to look so scared” 

“I’m not- I’m not scared” Charlie objected adamantly. “Actually, I have a way with children, so..” 

“Oh, yeah?” Don asked skeptically and I raised a dubious eyebrow at the mathematician.

“Yeah. I’ve been told I do.” Uncle C insisted. 

“You positive there wasn’t sarcasm involved?” I questioned and earned a reproachful look from my Uncle. 

“It’s just for ten minutes,” Don interjected, grabbing his jacket and heading for the stairs “come on, I’ll introduce you.” 

________________

“Hey Granger” I called as I approached my uncle’s office. 

The agent who had been standing in the doorway turned and smiled. “Hey Abby” I came up beside him and spied my uncle in the room working completely oblivious to his audience. “Does he always work like that?” Granger questioned, seeming fascinated. 

“Nah, this is him more relaxed actually” I murmured. 

Granger scoffed and finally knocked on the door stepping fully into the office as I followed. “Charlie, Don sent me down to check and see what you got from the supercomputer,” he explained, grabbing the professor’s attention.

Charlie hummed in disappointment “he must not have gotten my message” 

“I guess not” Granger murmured then looked into my uncle’s bowl of bubble gum “ooh, can I take one of these?” Charlie shrugged and the agent picked his candy as I went around to sit on the desk past the candy bowl. “Which message?” 

“There was a glitch in the data run,” Charlie explained. “But- uh, can you just tell me which one you’re taking?” 

“This red one” Granger replied, holding up the candy and I scoffed as Charlie dug around for the data sheet for his little experiment. 

“That’s very interesting,” the mathematician informed, writing down the information. 

“Okay,” Granger muttered, shooting me a glance I just shrugged. “So, look how small is this glitch, because Megan profiled seven ex-employees, all who have the potential to be the killer.” The agent handed Charlie the file and I hopped off the man’s desk to peek over his shoulder and he shifted the file out of view. “And anything you have might help us take this guy down before he has a chance to shoot another Syntel exec.” 

“I think I have one of these names on my list, actually” Charlie said and I took a step to the side when I saw him grab the bottom of the chalkboard in order to flip it. “Yeah, Morton Standbury, but the probability of Morton’s guilt is less than ten percent” Charlie tried to explain but Granger was already getting out his phone “I mean, that’s hardly conclusive” 

“Great, thanks,” the agent murmured, giving a thumbs up and putting his phone to his ear as he headed out of the office “David, hey, it’s me. Listen, Megan was right on with her hunch. The Stanbury guy is a match” he gave one final wave before disappearing. 

“Success?” I questioned giving Charlie a look. He just hummed looking back at the board “on only ten percent” 

__________________

3rd POV. 

Alan smiled softly as Don got up from talking to Daniel. “What?” his eldest questioned as he passed him heading for the back door. 

“Nothing,” Alan shrugged following his son. “Uh you know actually,” he paused, catching Don at the door. “You’ve just grown so much since, uh since Abby came along and uh, well I guess this boy is just bringing that out a bit.” 

Don let off a breath looking down to avoid Alan’s eye. “Well Abby changed a lot of things you know” he paused, biting his lip “I’ll come by later” he murmured heading back out the door. Alan watched him go and nodded lightly. 

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

“I have a granddaughter” Alan voiced in bewilderment as both his sons and him sat at the kitchen table. The older one hunched over and looking like he was in between ill and dazed. 

“I have a niece,” Charlie added, just as shocked as his father. 

“I have a-“ Don hesitated to say it “I have a daughter.” He let out a large breath with the statement “I have a daughter I never even knew existed.” The man opened his mouth to speak more on it but found the words gone and ended up looking like a fish on land. 

“Well what are you going to do?” Charlie asked the big question. 

“He’s going to take her in.” Alan declared, looking to his eldest. “Aren’t you? ‘Cause if you don’t I will” 

“Of- of course I’m going to take her in.” Don answered quickly “I just- I just-“ but the words wouldn’t come and the man simply stood up and left the room heading outside into the yard. 

Alan watched him go. Charlie rose slightly from his seat as if to follow him. The elder quickly raised a hand to stop him. “I’ll talk to him,” he declared, getting to his feet. 

Alan headed outside to see Don pacing the yard back and forth. Running his hand through his hair and over his face. 

“Donnie” Alan spoke up to draw his son’s attention. “Talk to me” 

“It- its nothing Dad I just need a minute” the son attempted. 

His father saw right through him. “Uh huh sure because finding out you're a father is nothing” the man stated sarcastically. 

Don stopped in his pacing and turned to look at his father. The elder man took a seat on the back steps. A couple seconds later Don staggered over to join him. 

“It’s just I have no idea what it is to be a father,” Don admitted. “I mean my work is my life and I’m not in any type of relationship. I’ve never really even thought of kids b-“

“What? You think there’s a manual for this?” Alan cut his son off. “The day me and your mother brought you home I was more nervous and terrified than I had ever been in my life” Alan advised. “I also was far happier than I had ever been. You see, no father knows what they are doing; they figure it out along the way. They take from those who influenced them and they try to do what’s best for their kid.” He paused before adding “and pray they don’t mess them up to bad” 

Don scoffed. Looking out at the yard. “Do you think I can be a good dad?” 

Alan looked at his son with loving eyes. “I think you’re going to be the best Dad you possibly can and that with that you’ll be just fine” 

Don smiled lightly. As his father pat him on the back. This however did little to quell the nervous churning in his stomach. 

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Abby POV. 

“Do you have any idea what I could do with 300 million dollars?” Larry asked milling about Uncle C’s bookshelf as I sat on the floor doing homework and Uncle C worked on his computer at his desk. 

“Three hundred and twelve” Charlie corrected. “You said you were alright” 

“No, I am.” Larry assured “I was talking about my application for the Talis Foundation Research Grant” 

“Why are you worried about that?” Charlie asked. 

“Yeah weren’t you just bragging yesterday how you would smoke the competition and they’d be fouls not to choose you?” I asked. 

“I was but now Ivan Tsgorski has taken over the chairmanship of the grant committee” Larry explained coming over. 

“You attacked his theory on polarization flux,” Charlie pointed out. 

I winced “oh that’s not good” 

“I merely pointed out certain characteristics of gravitational waves that he had chosen to ignore” the physicist defended. 

“Larry I was there when he gave that paper” Charlie reminded “and you stood up and you called him a big, fat cheater in front of a room full of people” 

I gaped up at the older professor “you did not?!” 

“Well, no. Now you’re exaggerating” Larry objected “that room could not have been more than half full” 

I scoffed in amusement at this discovery. “Might we get back on task?” Charlie interjected. “And you back to your homework” he peered over his desk at me. 

“You’re no fun Uncle C” I pouted. 

“Come on, that essay isn’t going to write itself, meanwhile we have to solve a case” Charlie decreed, looking to Larry. 

“All right, okay,” Larry muttered, rubbing his face with the palm of his hands as he plopped into the seat in front of Charlie’s desk. “the money, the money, the money. The money is not where we thought it would be” 

“It should show up in the company’s cash flow statements, after the fraudulent transactions” Charlie explained as I attempted to focus on my mind numbing essay. 

“You know all these funds, they would have been transferred electronically, correct?” Larry voiced. 

“I imagine so,” Charlie agreed. 

“Electronic transactions” Larry stood up as he continued “have no mass and cannot be constrained in the manner of physical objects” 

“But they are bound by time, Larry,” Charlie pointed out. “And time only flows one way” 

“Please do not start a philosophical debate right now I am already bored out of my mind” I warned my uncle as the physicist wandered over toward the doors. Uncle Charlie sighed and gave me a look before Larry once again called our attention. 

“Are you aware you have standing water in this corner?” Larry asked, crouching down at the space between the two doors. 

“I know about the leak” Charlie muttered with annoyance “I called maintenance” 

“And?” 

“And they’ve got to tear out the wall and find the source of the leak” Charlie explained getting up while I craned my neck to see what Larry was up to. I saw him pull up the carpet in the corner. “What is with you today Larry? All I ask is for a little focus. Now what are we missing?” 

“Patience” I muttered under my breath and Charlie let out an exasperated breath. 

“What are you doing?” he pestered the physicist who pulled out a pen. 

“Finding the leak,” Larry stated, snapping the pen and pouring the ink into the puddle. 

“Well, you’re making a mess” Charlie stammered as I got to my feet and came over to look over his shoulder. 

“Well by staining the currents we can observe the ink spread out on the pooled water,” Larry explained “and then figure out the flow pattern” we watched the ink move in the water drifting closer to the wall “and once we know how it flows… yeah, you see?” he pointed “it’s not coming down from the wall. It’s coming up from the floor” 

“That’s cool Larry,” I commented. 

“That’s it” Charlie muttered “we’re missing the flow” 

_________________

I headed into the house quickly and was met with a lot of FBI. “What happened?” I asked, approaching my uncle and father. 

“Daniel’s missing,” Don quickly informed. 

“What!?” 

“It’s okay, Mr. Eppes. We’re gonna find him” Megan was reassuring Gramps as she entered the room with him. 

“I went into the kitchen to get a couple of cans of soda for us.” Alan explained “he was standing over there, right by the table” Gramps pointed past me and Charlie as Don raised his hands to try and calm his father down. “He couldn’t have gotten away” 

“It’s not your fault. So could you please just calm down?” Don asked as me and Charlie headed over to the table. 

“I would have seen him,” Alan insisted. 

“You're not helping the situation Dad” Don sighed. 

I looked at the table that pretty much only held a phone and a couple magazines “could he have made a call?” I suggested. 

“Let’s see,” Charlie muttered, picking up the phone and hitting redial. 

 “Hey, Don, give me a second.” Granger called while walking in, my father turned and spotted Charlie on the phone. “I just talked to David. He said he found something in the Syntel employment records.” 

“Hold on,” Dad ordered his agent and then turned to his brother who was now talking to the person on the phone “Charlie, you got to keep the line clear” then turned back to his agent “say what?” 

“Okay can you hold on a second” Charlie muttered into the phone then looked to Don “Dad said he saw him here. I hit redial. It’s National Cab Company.” 

“Cab? Why the hell would he take a cab?” Gramp questioned. 

“Running away?” I asked in confusion. 

“All right, I’m on the cab.” Granger declared heading out of the room. 

“Tell me if you get anything,” Don told him, his eyes lingering on me for a moment before a thought occurred to him and he  jumped into action. “Megan, come with me. I think I know where he is.” with that he was heading from the house. 

“I hope he’s alright,” Alan muttered. 

“Me too Gramps” I agreed. 

______________

I waved alongside Charlie and Alan as Daniel waved goodbye from next to Don. “I liked the kid, shame he has to go” I muttered. 

Alan hummed “yes well the next stray we pick up you can look after” 

Charlie scoffed “admit it you liked having him around” 

“Yeah well” Alan sighed “having someone young in the house was a nice change of pace I suppose” 

I smiled as we watched Daniel give my father a hug. Don passed the boy off to a flight attendant at the door to the airport waving goodbye. “What?” he asked with a chuckle as he rejoined us. 

“My hope for grandchildren has been rekindled” Alan decreed and I gave him a look. 

“What am I chop liver?” 

“Grandchildren who I get to enjoy before they become angsty teenagers” Alan replied. 

“Ah” I scoffed. 

“Don’t start dad.” Don complained. 

“I’m not making a formal request, I’m simply saying it would be nice” Gramps explained. 

“Come on,” Don muttered. 

“Dad you do realize how long the odds actually are for this man?” Charlie joked. 

“Charlie, what’s your problem, huh?” Don defended quickly as he pulled me into a side hug “I already contributed. You got nothing” 

“Wow now I’m a bragging point” I muttered sarcastically. 

“Well, given your dating pattern” Charlie argued “or absence of a dating pattern-” 

“Look, I wouldn’t talk if I were you, buddy” Don countered. 

“I’m crunching numbers, kid” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Statistically I’m on course to be way ahead of you in the stable family environment for offspring” 

“Yeah, yeah, makes sense you’re older” Alan agreed as my father released me and we started walking. 

“I don’t see siblings in my future” I muttered jokingly. “Well anymore planned ones” 

“Hey, keep it up” Don muttered pulling his keys from his pocket “it’s a long walk home” 

Me, Alan, and Charlie all exchanged a look and bit our tongues following my father to the parking lot. 

Do autistic kids "grow out" of their autism? Why does it sometimes seem like there are so few autistic adults?

For Autism Acceptance Month, I covered this topic in this comic to help explain this disconnect! YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Twitter

reminder to:

straighten your back

go pee goddAMN IT STOP HOLDING IT

go take your meds if you need to

drink some water

go get a snack if you havent eaten in a while

maybe wander around the house/stretch a little if you’ve been sat at the computer a while (artists especially: sTRETCH THOSE WRISTS)

reply to that text/message from earlier you’d forgotten about

maybe send a nice lil message to someone having a bad day?

[Watching Raiders of the Lost Ark]

Son: Who are the bad guys in this movie? Husband: The Nazis. [pause for a beat] Again. Except not in space this time.  Me: Yes, Nazis, take note: whether you’re on land or in space, either way Harrison Ford is coming to foil your plans. 

Doofenshmirtz is trans and it’s undeniable at this point.

phases of joining a new fandom

1. obsessively consume all canon content faster than human beings should be capable 2. pick a ship at random and read 2/3 of everything that exists on AO3 for that ship 3. The YouTube Edits Phase™ 4. what’s in this tag on tumblr? (repeat as many times as necessary) 5. scream

The Derivative Chapter 14: Judge

Chapter 1 <- Chapter 13

“Hello, Gramps?” I called coming into the house with Amita.

“Kitchen” the man called back.

“Hey” Charlie greeted us with a smile from where he sat at the kitchen table with Larry.

“How is CalSci’s most recent addition to the student body?” Larry inquired.

“Pretty good” I replied, adjusting my backpack on my shoulders. “Homework sucks”

The three adults chuckled light “well that doesn’t ever change” Amita scoffed and we took seats at the table.

“Hello ladies” Alan greeted, coming in with a tray of coffee cups.

“Hi Mr. Eppes,” Amita smiled.

“Alan, please” the man replied, setting the tray down and taking a seat.

We each took a cup and started to chat as we drank. I’d been attending CalSci for a couple weeks now and it was already far better than high school. Even though I was the youngest in all my classes being just shy of seventeen.

“Oh so I was at the court today looking for Don,” Charlie explained, “and he was talking to the prosecutor Hodges. I think he was going to lunch with her before I interrupted.”

“Lunch as in friends or lunch as in a date?” Amita inquired, sipping her coffee.

“It didn’t seem like a friend's thing” Charlie stated “I think he was asking her out” I shifted in my seat at the information.

“You say her name is Hodges?” Alan inquired standing up.

“Yeah. Nadine” Charlie offered as we all got up to follow the other man toward the living room “she seemed pretty interested in him, too. Although I’m not really good at reading those kinds of signals”

“No you're not” Amita muttered and we exchanged an amused look behind the professor’s back.

“You know that term dark matter?” Larry spoke up “that has always perplexed me. It fallaciously implies that the 95% of our universe that can’t be observed is some amorphous eventles, just, uh, emptiness” he shrugged as we all took seats. Amita and Charlie taking the couch and me grabbing a seat on the floor in front of the coffee table.

“I’m sorry?” Amita looked at him questioningly.

“The random musings of Professor Fleinhardt” I offered with a grin that made the others chuckle lightly.

“I suppose it’s all too human,” Larry continued uninhibited by our humor “instead of just admitting to the present limits of our knowledge, we simply declare things to be unknowable.”

“This somehow relates to dating?” Alan questioned from where he was still standing.

“Oh I’m sorry; to reading signals” the physicist clarified, coming around the chair he had been standing behind “and, of course, to Rhonda Pickford.”

“I’m not familiar with her work,” Amita said.

Larry sat his coffee cup on the table clapping his hands together to gesture with them “she had a crush on me in fifth grade” he admitted.

“Oh” Amita murmured as I had to restrain a small laugh.

“And of course girls in fifth grade suddenly became 95% unknowable,” Larry explained.

“Huh, isn’t that the truth,” Alan muttered.

“I’m not following” Charlie voiced in minor confusion.

“Then keep up” I replied back sarcastically even though I had no idea where the eccentric man was going either. My Uncle just shot me a look as Larry continued.

“Oh well, you see, I labeled her to be dark matter, and I just moved on to more accessible pursuits. Like uh,” he chuckled slightly “space invaders, actually.”

“So what happened to this, um, uh Rhonda?” Alan asked as Larry sat down.

“Oh, she became a professional cheerleader.” Larry informed.

“Really?”

“She did. Yes, she did” Larry muttered.

“I doubt that Don actually views women as dark matter.” Gramps objected.

“I think I might be some kind of proof of that,” I murmured taking a sip of my coffee. I was trying very hard to keep the overwhelming amount of sarcasm out of my voice.

“Well, she’s a prosecutor.” Amita voiced “I’m sure he’ll see her again.”

“Actually, Don thinks there’s a chance that the man she’s prosecuting may be behind the murder of the judges wife” Charlie informed.

“So they’ll be seeing each other a lot” I wasn’t sure my attempt to make that sound like a question rather than an annoyed statement quite succeeded based on the hum my grandfather made to my right.

“You know something?” Larry spoke up again “under that reasoning wouldn’t that make this prosecutor just as likely a target?”

We all mulled over that thought before Amita declared that we needed to talk about something brighter and changed the subject. I sighed picking up my empty coffee cup and saucer heading for the kitchen.

I entered and placed my dishes in the sink. A moment later Alan came in to do the same thing. I shifted to the island getting a cookie from the package we had sitting there. “So, uh, you’re alright. Right?” Alan asked, turning on the sink to rinse mine and his cups.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I inquired leaning on the island.

“Well you just started college which can be a little overwhelming and this thing with Don and dating” he muttered as I took a bite of my cookie.

“I’m fine Grandpa, it’s just a little weird thinking of my dad dating” I explained.

“I see,” Alan nodded, “any particular reason?”

I shrugged “not really” sometimes I hated how observant my grandfather could be. “Thanks Gramps for the concern but really I’m fine” I told him and promptly left the kitchen before he could probe anymore. Dark matter indeed.

______________

“Says the guy who only eats white food” I muttered, popping another piece of popcorn in my mouth.

“Touche” Larry nodded as we walked down the hall at CalSci. Him with his tray of food and me with a bag of popcorn “still I must agree with Alan that it is a fairly odd food choice”

“Have you ever tried it?” I argued.

“Well no,” Larry conceded as we reached Charlie’s office.

“Then don’t judge” I stated. The man shrugged as I opened the office door and walked in.

Within the office was my uncle and Amita along with another woman I didn’t recognize. However I could spot the badge and gun from the doorway. Meaning she probably worked with my father.

“Oh, well, this is where all the fun is, huh?” Larry voiced.

“Professor Fleinhardt, my dear niece,” Charlie greeted us.

“Hey Larry, hey Abby” Amita called from her place sitting at a computer.

“This is Megan Reeves” Uncle C introduced the woman “she’s working with Don”

“Uh, hi. Hi” Larry stammered in greeting as Megan smiled at him.

She then looked to me “you’re Don’s daughter?” Megan asked me with a curious look.

“Um, yeah you must be his new partner?” I inferred recalling what Don had told me about Terry’s leaving and the new female agent assigned to his office.

“Yup” Megan nodded.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Larry murmured, gesturing to my and his food as he ate.

“Oh, no, not at all” Megan assured as I tossed a couple more pieces of popcorn in my mouth. “You realize all your food is white?” she questioned the physicist.

“Mm, yes, I prefer white food.” Larry explained.

“Why is that?” Megan inquired further as Larry headed around me and my Uncle toward the desk.

“Supersymmetry” He offered “it’s a theory that describes the nature of connectivity in complex multi dimensional space” he moved some files in order to sit in the chair behind Charlie’s desk.

“You know symmetry is also a term we use in behavioral science to explain obsessive behavior” she suggested.

“Oh, is it now?” Larry questioned with an amused tone.

“I have a two year old nephew who won’t eat anything but pasta with butter,” Megan explained as I pulled my popcorn out of the reach of my scavenging uncle. “We’re a little worried he might be a budding scientist.”

“Larry has a tendency to live out his theories,” Charlie explained. Megan chuckled, lightly nodding in response, an endeared smile on her face. I glanced between her and the physicist, a small smirk growing on my face “Amita, are you ready to show us the 3-D scatter plot distribution of all the relevant cases?”

“Sure,” the computer guru replied, finishing her typing. We all looked at her screen curiously to see the scatter plot.

“It looks like a random buckshot of points” Megan muttered.

“Except for a small number of cases that stand out” Charlie advised. Amita typed in the next filter criteria and most of the points dropped down to the bottom of the graph.

“Wow, that’s a lot less files than I originally gave you” Megan observed.

“Yeah and we’re not even done yet” Charlie murmured. “Amita,” Uncle C grabbed a pad of paper and started writing. I glanced over his shoulder and quickly realized the filter he was putting together. “Do you think you can filter the rest through something like this?”

Amita took the paper and looked it over “It looks kind of like decision theory”

“Except it’s reverse decision theory isn’t it?” I voiced, giving my uncle a look. He nodded “Smart move”

“Thank you,” Charlie smirked. “Decision theory values are determined by risk and reward” he explained further to those who might not be aware.

“Corporations use it to weigh business plans, what products to develop, what companies to do business with.” Larry chimned in.

“Like a hunter searching for food.” Charlie analogized “he’s constantly evaluating his terrain, his available prey, and rival predators weighing them against his own appetite, his own strength, his needs. Until he makes what he considers an optimal decision.”

“But reverse decision theory flips it around” I offered.

“You take the optimal goal and you reverse the process,” Larry added.

“In other words you start with the final decision?” Megan inferred.

“The murder of Alison Trelane” Amita explained.

“That’s right.” Charlie agreed “and then, determine which predator is most likely by inclination, by opportunity to have made that decision”

The computer chirped as the final results boiled down to two points. “There you go” I murmured “your hunters”

____________ 3rd POV.

“So Charlie tells me you were shot at this afternoon. Huh again?” Alan muttered as the Eppes family sat around the kitchen table for dinner.

Don sighed annoyance flaring in him as he shot a look across the table at his little brother “oh, yeah? Well, what Charlie should have said was more like” he paused trying to figure out how to better phrase the encounter he’d had with Raymond outside the courthouse. “I was in the vicinity of shooting. Let’s put it that way.” he hazarded a glance at his daughter sitting next to him. She didn’t look up but impaled her next bite of food on her fork with a bit more force than probably necessary.

“He saved this prosecutor” Charlie declared, probably trying to earn favor with his brother with the praise but just bugging him more. “And yet, he still won’t ask her out, for some reason.”

The only one to catch the eye roll demonstrated by the resident teenager was Alan who made note of the reaction. “Really? What’s the problem” he questioned.

“Yeah, she’s hot, man. She’s perfect” Charlie encouraged. Don started shaking his head in denial “she’s interesting. You said she was perfect.”

“No, I didn't,” Don objected.

“So now you only date women who have something wrong with them?” Alan inquired of his eldest.

“I’m not dating anyone,” Don clarified.

“So I noticed.” Alan murmured.

“Yeah what’s that about?” Charlie asked.

“Look, you know” Don finally snapped holding up a hand “with what I do, relationships are, they’re- they’re just not easy, okay? Especially when you’re a single father?” Abby’s head popped up ever so slightly and Don somewhat regretted adding the last statement “would you just trust me?”

“Come on, Don,” Alan objected, “just because something might go wrong doesn’t mean that you don’t take a shot.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?” Don’s voice raised slightly with his mounting frustration at both his family and himself. “It’s more complicated than that. Among other things, I don’t want to put someone at risk. I don’t want to be a risk for someone.” he paused and spared a glance at his daughter who was now looking at him with her sharp gaze “another someone” he muttered in addition “you understand?”

“I see,” Alan murmured leaning forward slightly “which means that police and lawyers and judges shouldn’t get married?”

“Yeah well look at judge Trelan” Don pointed out “Think I want to go through that? No, sir” Don sighed and glanced over at Abby again he did a double take but she’d already turned away by his second look. She no longer held that sharp look she’d given him and a tension in her shoulders had eased. She almost looked sad about something.

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

“Here’s our new home,” Janice announced, leading her daughter into the building she was calling their home.

“It stinks in here,” Abby commented.

“It’s called having character squirt” Janice’s latest boyfriend spoke from where he appeared in the living room with a beer in hand.

“Hey Danny” Janice greeted him with a kiss. “Abbs, why don’t you go upstairs and settle in?”

“First door on the right” Danny offered the instruction. Six year old Abby left her mother down stairs with Danny climbing the steps.

The first room on the right was a dingy place. There was a mattress in one corner with a window next to it. The grey, probably at one point green, paint was peeled in places. Water marks were on the beige ceiling and the wood floor creaked with each of Abby’s steps.

The girl dropped her bag and walked over to the window looking out at the yard below. There was noise down stairs and moments later Janice came storming down the hallway.

“You said you stopped Danny!”

“I have babe I swear!”

“Then what are you doing hanging out with Darryl?”

“He’s my brother!”

“He’s a meth head!”

Abby decided to tune them out as they fought. Busying herself with making up her bed with the sheets in her duffel bag.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Abby POV.

A tap on my shoulder drew me from my memory. I slid my blinders to the top of my head and looked up to see Don looking down at me, a questioning look on his face.

“What’s up?” I inquired.

“I just wanted to talk to you real quick” Don muttered “about what Dad and Charlie were saying at dinner” he began “I know that me dating might not be the most comfortable subject for you an-”

“I think you should,” I declared before he could finish.

Don froze where he’d been scratching the back of his head and gave me a confused look “What?”

I sighed “I think you should ask the prosecutor out”

Don opened his mouth as if to say something but he closed it again with a sigh when nothing came out. He came over and sat down next to me on the bed. “So you’re okay with this?”

“Not really” I admitted taking my blinders off my head and fiddling with them “I mean my mom dated a lot of guys and most of them pretty crappy and part of me can’t help but relate that to this” I murmured Don nodded taking in the information. “But I don’t think not wanting to be a risk for someone is a reason not to date them. I mean you deserve to be happy and it’s really their choice if they want to take that risk with you”

“So if I asked Nadine out?” Don prompted.

“I wouldn’t be thrilled about it but I’d give her a shot” I declared.

Don nodded “alright” just then his phone beeped he looked at it and sighed “I got to go”

“Be safe” I told him as he got up and headed for the door.

“Made a promise remember?” he replied with a light smirk before heading down the hall.

A second later Alan appeared in the doorway. “How much of that did you overhear?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

“Enough to know I’m proud of you” he declared.

“Yeah well he deserves it” I replied and we shared a smile.

___________

“Okay, Donnie, it’s time to eat” Alan announced as me, him, and Charlie headed into my father’s office.

“Hey,” Don greeted.

“You eat dinner yet?” Charlie inquired.

“Lobster at the Oceanfront. Charlie’s buying” Alan declared.

“And hurry I’m starving” I added.

“Let’s go, I'm driving” Charlie stated, holding up his keys.

“Yeah, well, that’s not an incentive” Don objected, grabbing his coat and giving his brother a look.

“Which is why I need another adult witness,” Alan replied “insurance purposes, you know?”

I chuckled lightly then spotted a blonde haired woman that was all dressed up coming toward us. She stopped before us with a smile. “Nadine,” Don introduced, “this is my father Alan, and, uh, Charlie you know right? And this, uh, is my daughter Abby” he introduced me last with a hand on my shoulder.

“Hi nice to meet you” she smiled at all “Charlie good to see you again” then her gaze shifted to me “and it’s a real pleasure to meet you Abby, your Dad speaks quite highly of you”

“Uh thanks” I murmured, exchanging a look with my father.

Nadine then addressed Don “I need to grab something out of my car. Can I just meet you out there?” she asked.

“I’ll be two seconds,” Don assured her.

“All right” she then smiled at us, all waving farewell, as she walked away.

“Wow, she is one hot looking prosecutor” Alan murmured.

“Alright, easy there, pop,” Don spoke up.

“I know I'm your father” Gramps replied “but she’s still one hot looking prosecutor”

I shook my head “please stop” I muttered and the men chuckled, Don messing up my hair slightly as we continued to walk forward.

“We’re trying to figure out what to do about Hector Machado,” Don explained. “I mean, this guy might end up collecting reward money for reporting a crime that he probably arranged. So it’s a working dinner.”

“Which explains the professional working dinner cologne” Alan pointed out.

“Busted,” I murmured.

“Hey” Don objected with a slight smirk as he walked away from us “I never ruled out the possibility of some kind of quantum entanglement”

Alan looked to Charlie with a questioning look “that’s not one of mine” he admitted.

My grandfather’s gaze shifted to me “not mine either, but I like it” I replied and we all shared a small laugh.

Chapter 15 ->