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“Did you hear we have a guest lecturer? I was considering going to his seminar tomorrow night,” Amita said. She, Charlie, and Larry meandered across campus unhurriedly. Granted, at seven months pregnant, Charlie had a limited ability and even less inclination to hurry.
“Oh, I didn't know that. Who is it?” Charlie asked not catching the concerned look Larry was flashing Amita. Helping Don had pulled him away from campus over the past several days, leaving him behind when it came to both campus events and gossip.
“Well, Charles,” Larry cut in. “It'll be a familiar face...”
Amita gave Larry a confused look, catching the undercurrents in his response. Larry held up a hand to forestall her, but before anyone could say anything else, a voice from a little distance away interrupted.
“Hale! Is that you?”
It took Charlie a moment to respond to his unbonded name, he had become so used to Eppes. He swung around, looked, then stiffened. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“What? That's Penfield, the guest lecturer,” Amita looked back forth between him and a resigned looking Larry.
Charlie held up a half hearted hand in greeting, looking put upon as Penfield strode over and came to a halt in front of the group.
“Hello, Marshall,” Larry said, seemingly about to take a role as Switzerland and retreat into neutrality.
“It's been a long time,” Penfield replied before turning his attention back to Charlie. “Hale, er, wait – it's Eppes now, isn't it? You have a mate.” He said this as if he were announcing some salacious secret. As if the fact he had mated was something on the down low, and Penfield had the pleasure of saying it out loud at Charlie's expense. Charlie resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“Obviously.” Charlie held his arms out from his sides as if to say 'look at me in my present state.' Penfield, though slender, towered above Charlie in terms of height, forcing the omega to look up at him. Charlie did not appreciate his smirky tone, or anything else about Penfield for that matter. His days at Princeton came rushing back, some memories less than comfortable. Some involved Penfield. “I heard from Amita that you're a guest lecturer?” As difficult as it was when faced with Marshall Penfield, Charlie did his best to slap a veneer of civility over his annoyance.
“Oh yes, I'll be discussing Deep Current Sets. You should come. You might learn something.” He turned to Amita and favored her with a smile. “You'll be there of course.”
“I will,”Amita replied with an uncertain glance at Charlie.
Penfield checked his watch. “I have to go. See you later Eppesy.”
“Eppesy? Really?” Charlie huffed.
“I feel like I'm missing something.”
“Marshall and Charlie both attended Princeton,” Larry began. “Their relationship wasn't always the easiest.”
“Penfield's a jerk, you mean.”
“Now, now, Charles, I didn't say that. You are colleagues and rivals and both adults now--”
“He called me Eppesy, and did you see the way he was smirking,” Charlie went on, oblivious to Larry's attempts to smooth things over.
* * *
“I've been working the information for Don,” Charlie began when Colby and David turned up in his office the next morning. However, he wasn't able to get anything else out before an unwelcome presence turned up at his door.
“Hi Eppesy, is that game theory I see?” Penfield asked wandering over to examine the blackboard.
Charlie immediately bristled. Omegas weren't considered territorial, that trait being commonly associated with alphas. However, when going into heat or pregnant, omegas tended to develop a very strong sense of their own space – what was theirs versus what was others', what was safe versus what was not. Penfield being in Charlie's space immediately set his level of discomfort through the roof.
“Yes, it's something I'm working on for the FBI,” Charlie replied, hoping Penfield would get bored and leave.
“FBI, really?” He nodded. “Interesting.”
“I've been doing consulting work.” Leave, please leave... “These are Agents Sinclair and Granger.”
“Gentlemen,” Penfield acknowledged Colby and David. He turned back to Charlie. “What is this for?”
“A murder investigation. The man had a lot of enemies.”
Penfield studied Charlie's work. “I can see that.” He turned back towards Charlie. “I was actually looking for the lovely Amita. We have plans for lunch.”
If Charlie had been a dog or cat his hackles would have gone up. Amita, of course, could see whoever she wanted. However, seeing his closest friend with Penfield of all people was disconcerting. The fact that Penfield was obviously telling him this to rub it in his face made him all the more upset. It was a calculated ploy by Penfield to throw him off balance – Charlie could tell by the gloating expression on his face.
“What? That doesn't bother you does it? It's not like you're interested in women,” he scoffed in a tone guaranteed to set Charlie off.
Charlie glared up at Penfield, radiating menace. Or radiating as much menace as he could considering he was half Penfield's size and pregnant. “I hope you realize Amita's a smart girl. She'll know that this,” he held up his thumb and forefinger to denote a short length, “isn't six inches.”
“Ooo,” Colby couldn't quite hold back, while David covered his mouth to try and hide the laugh threatening to burst forth.
“And what do you know about women, Eppesy?” Penfield replied, looking down at Charlie with a haughty expression. “Except that you practically are one.”
“Math fight,” whispered Colby to David.
“Ah, I think I hear her voice down the hall. See you Eppesy.” With that Penfield sauntered out leaving a fuming Charlie standing in the middle of his office.
Charlie turned, suddenly remembering the two FBI agents who had just witnessed the entire exchange. “I am not,” he sputtered. “Sorry, Penfield is just maddening. Here's what I came up with for Don. I've been able to considerably slim down the list of subjects using a game theory analysis.” He picked a folder up off the desk and handed it to Colby, trying to pretend the altercation with Penfield hadn't just happened.
“OK, thanks Charlie. This will help. Givens just has too many reasons for people to want him dead.”
“True, but not everyone's motives are equally strong. The probability is very high that Given's killer is one of the names on that list.”
“Great, thanks.” Colby and David filed out leaving Charlie alone with his thoughts.
* * *
“Looks like Charlie has an arch-enemy,” Colby said with a grin.
“What? Who, Charlie?” Don tried to imaging who, exactly, in Charlie's life could be an arch-enemy. What would the arch-enemy of a mathematician even look like?
Colby let out a laugh. “Someone he knows from college. I went to pick up the work he did for the case and walked into the middle of a math fight.” He handed a manila folder to Don. “He's narrowed down the list of potential suspects that have a reason to want Arthur Givens dead.”
Don flipped through the folder. “Good, this looks a lot more manageable. A math fight,” he smiled. “I can't even begin to imagine what that looks like.”
“Hey Charlie,” Don greeted his mate when he walked in carrying a book bag and laptop. He eyed Charlie with amusement. “I hear you have an arch-enemy.” The corners of his mouth quirked upward.
“Huh? What?” Charlie deposited his belongings on the dining room table.
“Colby said something about a math fight. What have you been getting up to that you have an arch enemy?”
Exasperation briefly flashed across Charlie's face, only deepening Don's humor. “I do not have an arch enemy. CalSci is hosting a guest lecturer who happens to be someone I went to school with at Princeton. We have some history, that's all.”
“History, huh?” Don't curiosity was piqued, trying to figure out what college age Charlie had been up to, but then he hadn't really been college age. Typical kids would have been in high school while Charlie was at Princeton.
Charlie walked closer to Don. “He was always looking down his nose at me, trying to poke holes in all my work. You'd think it was his life's mission. It was really hard being in college that young, and he made everything worse.”
“Sounds like he might be intimidated by you,” Don said, watching disbelief spread across Charlie's face.
“Intimidating? Do I look even remotely intimidating?”
Don bit back a laugh. “I don't mean physically. I mean intellectually. You're a smart guy, usually the smartest in the room. You were what? Thirteen, doing the work college aged kids were doing. So yeah, you can be intimidating...physically, you're sexy as hell.”
“I'm starting to resemble a straw that swallowed a golf ball,” Charlie sighed, carefully lowering himself to sit down beside Don. “But thank you.”
“What? You don't believe me? Trust me Charlie, you're a very attractive straw.” He pressed his lips to Charlie's cheek, briefly nuzzling against his soft curls, and kissing his forehead. Don wasn't exaggerating. He found Charlie's changing body fascinating, and he looked damn good. A little softer, healthy, and round with his child.
“I'm pretty sure that's an alpha thing,” Charlie replied, missing the point.
“So what if it is? Doesn't mean the feeling isn't real.” He sat back slightly in order to study his mate. “Feeling insecure?” He asked. Charlie wasn't one to put too much stock in appearances, nor did he have many hangups relating to his status. However, being pregnant meant putting his status on display in a way it usually wasn't.
“I'm not insecure,” he huffed.
“I mean...you don't usually carry a big glowing neon sign that says 'look at me, I'm omega.' I can understand how this could be a little uncomfortable for you.” He slid his arm around Charlie, holding him close. He felt some of the tension leave his mate's body.
“Mostly it doesn't matter, and I don't care, but this thing with Penfield is throwing me off.” He curled in closer against Don. “He's holding a lecture tonight. I came home to eat dinner, and I should go back...”
“Well, whatever you want to do. I'm waiting for a call, and then I'll probably be running back to the office for a little while. Colby and David are trying to track down a suspect. If they bring him in, I need to be there.”
“I should go to the lecture.” Charlie sounded resigned rather than enthused. “Now I need to find food. That means I have to get up.” He leaned more heavily against Don for a long moment before sitting forward and hauling himself to his feet.
* * *
Charlie sat midway down and next to the aisle. He wasn't going to just hide in the back, but he didn't find himself eager to be front and center either. Leave that spot for the CalSci students who were much more eager than he was. He lounged in his seat, managing to find a relatively comfortable position and listened to Penfield.
When it came to the field of mathematics, Penfield was no slouch. In fact, Charlie had always carried with him a grudging respect for the man's thinking and skills. If only he wasn't so irritating. Not going to the lecture wouldn't have looked good. He might trade barbs with Penfield in private, but he wasn't going to publicly snub him. And besides, Charlie had to admit to a certain level of curiosity regarding his rival.
Amita was sitting a few rows down and towards the center. A good seat. Charlie sank deeper into the chair, more alert and focused than he might have appeared. He slowly straightened as Penfield wrapped up. Charlie wasn't sure if he should stick around and say something or leave, avoiding a repeat of their earlier meeting. He decided to let the students file out first.
“Ah, so you came,” Penfield said, wandering over and stopping in front of Charlie.
Charlie shrugged. “I wanted to see what you had to say.” An honest answer as far as it went.
“Amita, myself and some of the other students were going out for dessert. Amita told me you have a substance abuse problem with lemon meringue. You can come along, if you like.”
For one moment, Charlie was sorely tempted just for the pie, but quickly shook the thought of crisp citrus chased by sugary sweetness and a buttery crust away. “Thank you, I'll pass.”
“You sure?”
“My son spent most of last night kicking me, so you'll excuse me if I'm not up for much.” Also true, though Charlie could have set his weariness aside for pie. He mentally thanked his unborn child for giving him a legitimate excuse to avoid an entire evening with Penfield. Watching Penfield flirt with his best friend while making snide remarks just wasn't top on his list of things to do. He shifted, sitting forward to rise.
“Need a hand there?” Penfield asked. Charlie looked like he might refuse as he tried to move himself in a better position to achieve lift off. Penfield rolled his eyes. “Oh come one, Eppesy. I'm not about to leave a pregnant person trapped in these seats.” He held out a hand to Charlie who stared at it a moment before grudgingly sliding his own into Penfield's grip.
Charlie's hand was slender, small, and warm. It's size startled Penfield as he hefted the omega up. For as long as he'd known Hale, Eppes he mentally corrected himself, he had always favored baggy clothes, and Penfield was used to being taller than other people. Now suddenly he realized how small Hale – no Eppes - was. Penfield looked at him as if seeing him for the first time – his sweet, pretty features and small size, just how much Charlie screamed omega even without being pregnant.
Charlie must have noticed Penfield looking at him oddly, because he drew into himself, became guarded. Penfield wondered what quirk of genetics had allowed such a brilliant mind to be born into this particular shell. Not that he really cared about Eppesy's status. Of course he teased him about it sometimes. It was low hanging fruit, irresistibly tempting when wanting to aim a quick jab at his rival.
“Oh don't look at me like that,” Penfield said. “I won't tell anyone you got stuck in the chair,” he smirked while Charlie's expression became grumpier than previously. “Sure you don't want any pie?”
“Yeah, I need to get home.”
Charlie walked back to his car, glad he had finally decided to get his driver's license. Bicycling wasn't appealing in his current state, and it saved waiting for the bus. He settled into the seat, stuck the key in the ignition, and sat. Larry thought he was being too ego driven, and Don suggested he was feeling insecure. They weren't entirely wrong. Don especially had hit close to the mark, closer than Charlie was comfortable with. He had spent his entire life immersed in the field of mathematics. From the time he was a very young child, he had been set up to live this life. Which was fine. Charlie loved math, found wonder and beauty there. He liked teaching at CalSci as well as the consulting work. Math had even opened a door to law enforcement agencies for an omega of all people.
But all of that came with a certain amount of pressure. Pressure to be good enough, to meet people's high expectations, to make his family's sacrifices worthwhile, to be the person he was supposed to be. It wasn't as if all of these things ate at him constantly. But from time to time one or more would rear their heads, breaking the surface, and disturbing his thoughts. Somehow Penfield managed to call them all up at once.
He turned the key, and the car rumbled to life. He wondered if Don and the team had caught their suspect and if Amita was really interested in Penfield or just his work.
He and Larry snagged breakfast from the cafeteria the next morning and sat companionably eating in Charlie's office. “Larry, do you think I'm being insecure?”
Larry set down the powdered doughnut and brushed sugar from his hands. “I take it this is in reference to Penfield?”
“Yeah, Don asked me last night if I was feeling insecure.”
“Well, are you? It seems like a reasonable path of inquiry.”
Charlie was silent for a moment. “Maybe a little,” he admitted. “I worry that I'm no longer the boy wonder that everyone had such big plans for – I'm now grown up and no longer ahead of schedule. Maybe I haven't done enough.”
“Charles, you've accomplished a lot in what has been a short period of time. You're only thirty-one. You have the entire rest of your life ahead of you, decades, half a century or more. You don't need to worry about Penfield. He's always liked to go after your work, because of your status – and when I say status, I don't mean your secondary gender.”
“Yeah, about that. I've never really minded being omega...except during my first heat cycle when I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. And I'm used to being the mathematician who is also an omega, but now that I'm obviously carrying a baby around, I've become the omega who happens to be a mathematician. I like being pregnant, but...”
“You don't want people to look at you differently. Well, fair or not, you are an anomaly in their world, so they notice. But that doesn't change what you can do or even what they think of you. Not that you should be worrying about that. You cemented your place in the field of mathematics a long time ago, and being pregnant isn't going to change that. Besides, I happen to have it on good authority that the female portion of the student population and the alphas think you're cute.”
Charlie didn't quite know how to respond to that. “Ah, well, alphas...that seems be a thing with alphas.”
“What's a thing with alphas?” Don asked, sauntering in.
“And one of said alphas approaches. Hi Don, we were just discussing the fact that alphas tend to appreciate the physique of an omega carrying a child.” He gestured to Charlie who had buried his face in his hands. Charlie wondered how Don had perfected such impeccable timing.
“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't we?”
“Why indeed,” Larry said, looking at his friend who was trying not to squirm.
“OK, now that that's been established. It looks like our suspect, Richard Denvers wasn't working alone. He pulled the trigger, but someone set Givens up. Richard isn't wanting to talk – I get the feeling he's afraid to. I'm starting to think Givens really pissed off the wrong person at some point.”
“I can run an algorithm to determine the probability of who was likely to have crossed paths with Denvers, cross referenced with those who had the most motive to want Givens dead. That's assuming, of course that there isn't another person he stole money from. Though if there is, I might be able to work backwards from Denvers. I need to know as much about Denvers' movements as possible.”
“I thought you might say something like that, so here you go.” Don handed Charlie a thick packet of papers.
“Hey Eppesy – oh, I didn't realize I was interrupting something.” Penfield stood in the doorway.
Charlie groaned inwardly, and willed Penfield from his door. Penfield remained. “Marshall, this is Don.”
Don, of course, knew who Penfield was. He eyed Penfield, looking, in Charlie's estimation, extra alpha. “Don Eppes. Nice to meet you.” Penfield was taller than Don, but he lacked Don's breadth and sheer presence.
“You must be the man Hale here got the new name from.”
“That would be me.” Don's manner was pleasant. He didn't really know Penfield, and only had Charlie's description to go on. However, he had that look he had when he wasn't completely sure of someone.
“If you're looking for Amita, she's not here yet,” Charlie interrupted, hoping Penfield would leave.
“Actually, I was just stopping by to see what you were working on. Your FBI related problem intrigued me.”
Charlie inwardly drew himself together. He didn't have anything to lose being civil to Penfield. He won't be around here too much longer anyway, he told himself. He explained the case and their need to find the second suspect. Penfield, to his credit, set aside most of his snide remarks in favor of diving into the math, or maybe Don being there helped tamp down the obnoxious behavior. They worked together for awhile, sometimes engaging in mild bickering, but mostly keeping on task. Don meanwhile swiped a piece of toast off Charlie's tray.
“They do best together when given a task to accomplish,” Larry said quietly to Don. “That was my tactic at Princeton. I had them in some of the same classes. I must be off. I have a class to prepare for.”
Eventually Penfield noticed the time and hurried out, leaving Charlie's office much quieter than it had been.
Now alone in the office, Don moved into Charlie's personal space and pulled him into a kiss, that turned into another kiss, that turned into far less innocent kisses. He backed Charlie up until the omega was sitting on the edge of his desk. His hands caressed Don's face, neck and shoulder's. He was dimly aware that pretty soon more people would be descending on the building, and perhaps it wasn't the time or place to make out with Don. Finally Don broke off the contact looking pleased with himself.
“Let me know when you've finished looking into these suspects,” Don said while Charlie caught his breath.
“Yeah sure, of course.”
He gave Charlie one last smile and made his way out into the hall that was starting to fill with the sound of students trooping off to morning classes and professors arriving at work. He carefully slid down off the desk. He had an hour to kill before a scheduled meeting with a student, so he decided to work on Don's problem. Charlie closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the feel of Don's soft mouth and strong hands. He also replayed in his mind his interactions with Penfield since he had darkened the door of CalSci with his presence. Don was right. As much as Charlie might not like to admit it, he was suffering from a major case of insecurity. But more than that, while Penfield may have been intimidated by him, Charlie was equally intimidated by Penfield.
It wasn't the abstract idea that someone might be better than he was. He might have a bit of an ego where mathematics were concerned, but he wasn't so arrogant as to believe that no one could ever surpass his work. But somehow Penfield being the one to do it bothered him. Penfield was a symbol of his days at Princeton when he was just beginning his journey and everyone held such high hopes and expectations. Penfield besting him felt like a failure to live up those expectations. Of course Penfield was also an ass, but Charlie knew being an ass shouldn't bother him nearly as much as it did. Your work has nothing to do with his, aside from the fact he likes to poke holes in it. But if it weren't him, it would be someone else. You shouldn't make it personal. He told himself, knowing he was right.
He met with the student, did some work on Don's case, and with a sigh trudged off to track down Penfield. He would be leaving the next day, and Charlie didn't want to leave things standing the way they had been. He didn't like feeling that immature or that Penfield had the power to make him behave that way.
He found Penfield in the lecture hall from the previous night cleaning off one of the dry erase boards. “Hey, Marshall,” he greeted him, not entirely sure what he was going to say.
Marshall turned. “Ah, I should have known it was you from the sound of your ungainly approach.”
Charlie started to bristle, but then took a deep breath and let it go. “You try moving quietly when you're carrying another human being in your midsection.”
“Touche. What brings you here?”
“I never told you last night, but your lecture was impressive.” It wasn't mere flattery. Penfield had been in his element and it showed. Charlie knew the CalSci students who went had only gained from the experience. And that's what's really important.
Penfield looked surprised and pleased. “Really? Thank you. You know, I've always been impressed with your work. The way you look at things...”
Now it was Charlie's turn to be surprised. “Really? You always seemed bent on disproving it.”
Penfield made a dismissive face. “No, by pulling it apart, I'm better able to understand it.”
“I've always found your math incredibly deep,” Charlie said. If Penfield hadn't been impressive, he would never have had the power to bring Charlie's insecurities to the forefront.
“Thank you, that means a lot, Eppesy.” Penfield held out his hand, and Charlie took it without hesitation.