Acknowledgments:
To Omi and all the Don/Terry shippers out there - How about a little romance for Valentine's Day?
Disclaimers:
"A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend" - Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I do not own the characters Don or Terry nor do I have any rights to anything related to the TV show Numb3rs. I plead fair use and claim only my own writing and characters.
Just case the fine folks at Warner Bros. look me up they own Speedy Gonzalez not me.
'Caught up in the Rapture' is an Anita Baker song - I don't own it, I just love AB and wish she'd get some more recognition for her talents.
"Lake! Wait up!"
Terry Lake was crossing the Quantico campus at her usual breakneck pace, more than ready to start the weekend after spending the last couple of hours in a mind-numbingly dull forensic accounting class. She was ambitious and ready to take on the glass ceiling that held many female agents back. That meant lots of studying and not fraternizing with any of her handsome male classmates, especially the one flagging her down right then.
"What are you, Speedy Gonzalez?" Don Eppes had caught up to her and was pretending to be out of breath. She knew he was in good shape and wouldn't really have been winded by the brief jog. She'd noticed that much about him. Actually, she'd noticed quite a bit about Don from the time they'd started Quantico a few months back but she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her goals.
"Yeah, that's me..." she drawled, her tone sarcastic yet humorous. "A tiny male Hispanic cartoon character mouse. Good job with the profiling, Don. You were right on the money that time." She kept heading towards the parking lot but he kept pace right beside her.
Don chuckled and mock bragged "Another example of my stellar abilities. I'll be running my own Bureau office by the time I'm 30 at this rate."
Terry scoffed good-naturedly but wondered if it might actually come true. Don was probably the only other person in her year that was just as, if not more, ambitious than she was. A natural leader, he had sought out the five best agents in training in their year and formed an exclusive study group. Terry had been the first one he asked.
"So..." Don began, suddenly seeming a little nervous, "You want to go grab some pizza tonight?"
Terry's heart gave a little flip. They'd been working together in study group for months. He'd never asked her out and she'd not realized until that moment that she'd been hoping he would.
"Sorry, Don. I've got a ton of laundry to do and if I don't do it tonight I'll be stuck indoors all weekend naked with nothing clean to wear." Good job, she thought to herself. Way to discourage a guy from asking you out... naked... What was she thinking?
Don nodded. "I can work with that. You use Super Suds on Roanoke?"
Terry was taken aback. "No, it's too noisy there and too hard to get the good dryers. I go to Caroline's on 40th."
"Okay then. 7:30. I'll pick you up at your apartment and we'll hang at the laundromat. I'll bring the quarters. I'll even carry all your laundry bags for you" he said with a gentlemanly bow.
Terry was speechless and could only nod for a second. "I... guess..."
"Good! See you later then." Without waiting for a response Don was off jogging across the parking lot to his own car.
"What just happened here?" Terry shook her head and got into her car, finding herself unable to shake the happy grin that had come across her face.
A few hours later Terry heard a knock on her apartment door. He's punctual; I'll give him that, she thought, noting that the clock said 7:30 exactly. She opened the door to find him standing there wearing a t-shirt and jeans. She let out a breath in relief, glad to see he hadn't dressed up as if this was a real date. Although she didn't think of herself as a 'girly girl' Terry had found herself agonizing over what to wear that night. She'd decided to hedge her bets by wearing comfortable old jeans and a tank top but with a nice soft fuzzy sweater over it.
"Hey."
"Hey. Come on in." Terry stood back and ushered him into the apartment. He'd been there many times for study group but the living room suddenly felt small with just the two of them in it.
"So... Load me up! I am your personal pack mule this evening." Don joked, flexing his arm muscles.
Terry had to laugh. "Okay, Mr. Universe..." She joked. "Let's do this."
Don made two trips to his car and then carried the rest on their way out.
They fell into easy conversation as they always did, talking about theory and homework assignments and their instructors.
When they got to Caroline's Sit and Spin Don wouldn't let Terry carry anything in. He unloaded everything into the empty laundromat then sat on one of the washing machines and looked around the place.
"Cool... It's got the retro vibe going on that's for sure." The room definitely was a throwback to the 50s but more in a fun, redecorated way than a run down one. "Dead though."
"That's why Friday nights are good laundry nights." Terry explained. "No competition."
Don nodded. There was no attendant on site but there was music playing. Rather than dreary elevator music it was a selection of current upbeat pop songs which gave the place an almost festive atmosphere.
"Music's a heck of a lot better than Super Suds too."
"Just wait," Terry said with a smile. "The music gets better later in the evening."
Proclaiming himself 'laundry challenged' Don begged off helping Terry sort the clothes.
Terry groaned and asked "What, did your mother always do your laundry for you, big bad FBI guy?"
"Actually she and my little brother Charlie would always do the laundry together. They liked it. It was one of their things." Don shrugged. He had already told Terry about his genius baby brother but only the basics. "Charlie loves folding the clothes. He'd work out the number of degrees in the angle of each fold he made and figure out how much the surface area of each piece was reduced by for each fold." Don shook his head at the memory.
"What was it like growing up together?" Terry asked.
"Weird..." Don mused. "For eight years I'm just this happy go lucky normal kid who played little league and stuff you know? Then when Charlie's 3 or so my parents figured out he wasn't just ahead of the curve on benchmarks he was capable of calculating them. Everything changed after that." He fell silent for a moment and Terry raised her eyebrows at him to prod him into telling more.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking Miss Psych. Sure I resented him sometimes, especially during high school, but he was my brother you know? My only sibling. The funny thing was even though he could wipe the floor with me academically he totally idolized me. His big brother, the jock. He'd come to all my baseball games and I'd see him up in the stands scribbling out stats and equations. I never told my teammates but he was like a secret weapon to me. He'd run the numbers on all the opposing team's pitchers and tell me the best way to get a hit or a walk off of them." Don paused for a moment. "I think, no I know, I still would have gotten a baseball scholarship without his help. Maybe not to USC but it was cool for us to have something to bond over. I even taught him some hand signals so we could communicate while I was in the dugout. He'd run the numbers from previous innings and signal me if I needed to change my approach at all. I didn't always follow his lead because the game's not something you can perfectly predict but when I did and got a home run he was the one cheering the loudest and that's saying something because my dad can be pretty damn loud."
By now Terry had all her laundry in machines and was leaning against a dryer when she noticed a car pull up outside. Don saw it as well and jumped down off the washer and headed outside. "Ah... Dinner is served!"
Terry laughed as Don paid the pizza delivery girl and brought the box inside. "Wait, there's more!" he exclaimed and jogged out to his car returning with a small cooler. He opened it up and handed her a cold bottle of beer and took one out for himself as well. It was the same obscure local brand she bought when it was her turn to provide food and drinks for study group. Nice attention to detail Eppes, she thought to herself. A for effort.
"Here, let me get that for you." Don offered, putting his hand over Terry's to steady the bottle so he could open it. He had stepped in close and Terry could feel a heady magnetism hit her with their bodies so near to each other. She'd felt it last night as well during study group. They'd been practicing interrogation techniques, and Don had been grilling her about a jewelry heist she was supposed to have been in on. He was good but she was better, or so she had thought at the time. He was nearing the end of his time limit and he finally played the last of his 'bad cop' cards. He invaded her personal space by trapping her in her chair, his hands on either armrest while his face came right up to hers demanding to know where the jewels were. Rather than being intimidated she'd been turned on by his heat, his energy, his physical charisma. She suddenly found it hard to focus on her 'character' but gathered up the control needed to blow him off with a cool retort.
"Damn! I can't break you, Lake!" Don complained. He turned his back on her and she could tell he was watching the tiny hourglass they were using to time the session run down. He watched it for a second then let out a discouraged "Oh, man!" and plopped down on his seat as if admitting failure.
Terry felt smug and couldn't help but gloat at beating him. "Too bad, Don. Thanks to you I just got away with stealing a half million in diamonds."
"Time!" One of the other students called out.
"What? Wait... The time had already run out!" Terry protested and then it suddenly hit her and she looked at Don, incredulous. It was his turn to look smug. "You played me!" she protested.
Don stood up and took a bow, accepting applause from the others for his brilliant coup de grace. Totally annoyed, Terry went over and started pounding her fists on his chest. "You bastard! You cheated!"
Don quickly grasped her slender arms in his strong hands to keep her from pummeling him. He held her still in front of him and looked down at her with a wicked grin. "All's fair in love and the war on crime, Lake."
For that brief moment there was an intense energy between them, a powerful attraction that neither had seen coming. They broke apart awkwardly and after a second Don called out "Next up!"
"Earth to Lake...You still with me?" Don waved a hand in front of her face. She'd been absentmindedly chewing on a bite of pizza with a faraway look in her eyes.
Terry shook herself back to reality. "I'm here. Just trying to figure out how to get you back for last night," she smirked.
"Ah...Well if it makes you feel any better I'll let you throw me next time we're working on takedown procedures." Terry, who'd studied Judo for years, had gotten a reputation the first week at the academy when she threw a man over twice her size so hard on the mat he'd had trouble getting up afterwards. After that no one thought of her as a 98-pound weakling.
Just then a buzzer went off. "Dryer time. Got more quarters?" she asked Don.
"This part I think I can handle. You get to kick back now." He jumped down from where he was sitting on the washer next to the pizza box and in a move that surprised Terry he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up to sit in his place. "Keep that machine warm for me, okay?" he joked with a wink. Terry smiled and started working on another piece of pizza.
As each washer finished Don moved the contents to a dryer, confirming the temperature settings with Terry each time.
They polished off the last of the pizza, talking and laughing, as comfortable with each other as if they'd known each other their whole lives. Don carried the empty pizza box to the big trash bin outside and when he returned he heard a new song had started up and saw that Terry was bouncing along with the beat. "Swing! Oh, man you didn't tell me they played swing music here. Alright!"
Terry flashed him a grin as she bopped by. "Told you the music got better later. Every Friday night six swing songs back to back." She was obviously unable to keep still and Don knew an opening when he saw one.
"Then let's not waste time!" He swooped in and pulled her to him and started dancing. Terry was startled but delighted especially when she found that Don was obviously as experienced at swing dancing as she was. He led perfectly and, even in the cramped quarters of the laundromat, managed to dance her all over the room without running into anything.
The last swing song finally ended and they stood breathless for a second as the next song started. The program shifted to ballads and an Anita Baker song started playing. Still holding Terry, Don shifted and started slow dancing with her. Still coming down from the high energy, Terry took a moment to breathe a little before melting into Don's arms, relaxing as if she belonged there.
When we met, I always knew I would feel the magic for you On my mind constantly In my arms is where you should be
I love you here by me, baby You let my love fly free I want you in my life for all time
Caught up in the rapture of love Nothing else can compare When I feel the magic of you
We stand side by side Till the storms of life pass us by Light my life, warm my heart Say tonight will be just the start
In one of those rare moments that fate provides so infrequently, Don sought out Terry's lips at the same moment she sought out his. Their lips met and a charge of electricity ran through both, their dance forgotten as the kiss deepened.
For a moment they weren't FBI agents in training, study group partners, or even Don and Terry. They were just a man and a woman lost in each other.
A harsh buzzer brought them back from their reverie.
"Dryer's done." Don whispered.
Terry tried to regain her composure, something made more difficult by the fact Don's arms were still wrapped around her.
"Can't let the clothes sit there. They'll get wrinkled." She argued softly.
"Can't have that." he replied with a smile and let her loose.
They both walked back to the dryer and spent the next fifteen minutes folding clothes in silence as each dryer finished.
Don carried everything back out to the car, drove her home and carried everything into her apartment again. When he was done he stood at the door about to leave. While Terry was trying to figure out what to say he took one of her hands in his own and ran his thumb lightly over the back of her hand, a gesture Terry found both soothing and romantic at the same time.
"I had a great time, Terry," he said, gazing at her. When she looked up at him and flashed him a happy smile he pulled her into his arms for another electrifying kiss. When they broke apart she was floating and almost didn't hear him say goodnight before the door shut behind him. She stood with her back against the door then slid down to sit on the floor. She placed her fingers to her lips as if she could still feel him there. It wasn't until then she realized something. He'd finally called her Terry.
Pizza in a laundromat. Who'd have thought it'd be the best date ever.
In his car heading home Don was thinking the exact same thing.