Author's note: I do not own Numb3rs or its characters. This follows my fics So Long Farewell, You've Got Mail, and Probability Theory, and is set after the first episode of the fourth season. It is AU from then on.

Professional Development

Don was trying to remember why he attended these things. He knew that these professional development courses looked good when it came to things like promotions and pay raises, but honestly, Charlie was more interesting to listen to in full math mode. And there was really nothing to do to entertain himself either. He didn't even have anyone here to share his misery with or make jokes about the boringness of the speaker with.

A flash of blond hair caught his eye, and Don frowned. That couldn't be her. He craned his neck to try and see the person better. A smile broke out on his face. It was Terry. Things just started to look a little more interesting. They had been emailing one another back and forth since her transfer, but they hadn't actually seen one another since her last night in L.A. Don drummed his fingers on his leg, waiting for the next break. As sound as they were given ten minutes for coffee and bathroom breaks, he made a beeline for his friend.

"Terry!"

She whirled around. "Don?"

The next thing he knew she was hugging the life out of him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Being bored to death. What about you?"

Don laughed. "The same. I'm starving. What do you say we skip the next session and get something to eat and catch up?"

It didn't take the two of them long to find a hole in the wall pizza place. Before long they had ordered a pizza and were discussing their latest cases over beer. Email had been good for keeping up with the basics of one another's life, but it wasn't great for detail, especially when it came to potentially sensitive material. Don had missed dinners like this. Things just hadn't been the same in L.A. without Terry around. Sure, Megan and Colby had become integral parts of his team and even friends, but it wasn't the same. Terry had been his best friend since the academy. And she understood him better than just about anyone.

It was easy enough to lose track of time. Don had Terry laughing with the saga of Charlie and Amita as well as the whole ordeal with his dad and Millie. Terry returned the favor with stories from the FBI office in D.C. Her best stories weren't about her team but about a friend of hers that had been partnered with a civilian forensic anthropologist. Don was going to have to meet Seeley Booth at some point to compare notes about obnoxious geniuses that you couldn't help be fond of. It was nearly midnight when they realized they had missed the rest of the session.

Neither of them really cared. Don walked Terry back to her hotel room.

"So are you going to the one in Vegas on utilizing forensic evidence in a month and a half?"

Terry laughed. "Yes. Pizza and beer again?"

"Sounds like a date."