What Happened That Morning

Amita was bored. She had met Charles Edward Eppes when she was an undergraduate at CalSci, and instantly fallen in love. Sure, it had taken a while for her to realise it, and even longer for him to realise it, but she was infatuated. Hanging on his every word, engrossed in his theories and genius and his math. His beautiful mind drew her towards him, and his intelligence was what she fell in love with first. Her love of the man followed soon after.

Within three years she was living in the Eppes house with Charlie, Alan and to be honest, Don as well. Within four, they were engaged to be married. Amita was happy and adjusted and she couldn't remember a time when things were going better in her life. Almost a year to the day that they were afianced, the wedding took place. All her family, her friends, and the love of her life, gathered in one room, for the reception, made her weep with joy. Either that or it was the baby Eppes growing in her belly. She was eclared by a beaming Alan as the happiest woman alive, and she made no corrections to his claim.

Now though, while still surrounded by romance, happiness and perfection, she was decidedly bored.

So she dropped by the FBI for a visit, and was amused when security smiled and beamed her through without the rountine. Even the doormen were getting to know her.

Nikki and Liz were in the office, working at the same desk, when Amita strolled through. The beautiful mathematician held both hands on her large belly, a habit she had adopted ever since she hit her sixth month, a content smile plastered on her face, giving the distinct impression that she was not all there.

"Yo, Amita." Nikki leant back in her chair, clearly glad for an excuse to get off of whatever paper trail which she was chasing. "How's baby Eppes goin'?" Her colleague leant back as well, discarding all thought of paperwork and looking rather pleased as she did so.

"Healthy I hope. Kicking a lot?"

"Yeah. Keeps waking me up in the middle of the night." Amita grinned, and Nikki wrinkled her nose.

"Cute." Amita shrugged.

"Not really. I think it's gonna be an athlete, the way that it's going at it." They all laughed. "So what's up with you two?" Amita smirked, sitting down none too delicately on a nearby chair and adopting a careful tone. Liz smiled, and looked at the ground, blushing slightly. "Spill."

"Nah, it's nothing." She insisted, and Nikki hit her lightly on the arm with a piece of paper.

"The very fact that you say it's nothing tells her that it is in fact something." She chided, then turned back to Amita, a proud smirk on her face. "Liz has a date."

"Ooh." Amita mocked, good-naturedly. "With whom?"

"We've been dating for ages now, no you can't meet him, and yes there's a good chance I'm gonna get laid." She blew back, making Nikki chuckle. "Seriously, I haven't let him meet you guys because then he'd have to meet the boys." Amita cocked her head to one side.

"And why is that a bad thing?"

"Because, the boys are like my brothers. You know how they act sometimes. Like I need protection." Liz explained, fiddling with her badge which was lying on the tabletop. "Which I don't. They do it to Nikki too." Amita turned her head as Nikki started speaking.

"Yeah. I can't believe Don did that yesterday." Her look was almost embarrassed. "And it looked like it really hurt as well." Liz nodded in agreement. Amita frowned.

"What happened?" She asked.

"There was this suspect who thought it would be funny to... let's just say that his hands weren't where any gentleman's would be." Liz replied. Nikki shook her head, unsure of what to say really. "So Don thought that he'd show him some manners. Slammed him up against a wall and arrested him for assaulting a federal officer. He was none too gentle, either."

"Wow."

"It was kind of embarrassing." Nikki added. "No, scratch that. It wasn't embarrassing. It was mortifying." Amita laughed, a small plan forming in her large brain.

"Don protects you a lot?" She asked, slyly, and Liz shot her an interested glance. She recognised that voice. Nikki shrugged, as though she thought nothing much of it.

"He's my partner. I guess he feels obliged."

"Nothing more than that?" Nikki looked not unlike a deer caught in the headlights.

"Why?" She asked suspiciously, and Liz stifled a smile. "What?"

"I've been trying to tell her for weeks." Liz informed Amita, and Nikki caught onto what they were talking about.

"There is nothing," She rolled her eyes. "He's my partner. My work partner. You read too much into stuff, Liz." Liz shrugged.

"Not wanting to sound too much like his ex here, but I can tell when he's being a work partner and when he's being Don." She wrinkled her nose. "If you know what I mean." Nikki smiled wryly.

"Don't worry. I get you." She leaned forwards, for emphasis. "But you're wrong." Amita's eyebrows contracted. There was something off about this conversation.

"You like him, don't you?" Nikki pretended to look appalled.

"I don't know what you're smoking, but it can't be good for the baby." She sassed, and returned to her work, wanting nothing more to do with this line of questionning.

"It's okay, Nikki, your secret's safe with us." Amita teased, gently, and Nikki bent her head further down into her paperwork, embarrassed. Liz and Amita smirked to each other, and Amita stood, looking somewhat proud. "Well that's all for now, I really need to go to CalSci... some of my students aren't taking too kindly to their new professor, and they're having problems with combinatorics." Liz nodded.

"Cool. Not that I know what combinatorics are, but that's still cool." They both grinned. "Bye Nik." Amita called, smiling mischieveiously at the awkward agent, who mumbled a goodbye in return. She shared one last knowing look with Liz, then started off to the elevato, hands back on her belly.

Once there, she smiled pleasantly at the closed doors. There was a certain deviousness to the plot forming in her head, and a certain self importance to her smile. Screw combinatorics. Don and Nikki were her maternity leave project.