crack_van | Numb3rs 1 Through 30, by Jennamajig (PG)

Fandom: NUMB3RS
Characters: Don, Charlie, Alan, Margaret
Length: 24,577 words
Author on LJ:

jennamajig
Author Website: Stories (and other things)
Why this must be read:

Don, more Don. Charlie. P vs NP.

Using a series of sharp, insightful, and sometimes touching vignettes, Jennamajig tells Don's story up until the Numb3rs premiere. I love fics that fill in backstories. This one builds on the glimpses we get in the series. I consider it canon (well, it should be).

Number One:

He was nine when his three-year-old brother could do his math homework.

He was sitting at the kitchen table. His math textbook was open, and his assignment consisted of multiplying two digit numbers. He remembered being distracted. He had Little League tryouts the next day. His mother was washing dishes and trying to get him to focus.

Charlie sat on the floor, occupied by some blocks.

The problem was forty-six times nineteen. Don was no slough when it came to math, but he hated his nine times tables and the sun was shining. He wanted to practice.

"Donnie," his mother said, turning off the water and wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You're almost done. And your father won't be home for another hour. He promised to help you prepare for tomorrow."

"An hour's a long time. You could help me practice, Mom," he told her and she smiled.

"A ball player, I'm not. That's your father's department. Math homework, now that I can do." She lifted her hand and pulled out the chair next to him, sliding into it and turning his text so she could read it. "Now, forty-six times nineteen..."

"Eight, seven, four!"

Both of them had turned at the exclamation. It had come from Charlie, who was standing up. He'd managed to stack all his blocks up into some sort of tower. He grinned, then proceeded to put his thumb in his mouth.

Numb3rs 1 through 30