Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you'd recognize, and I am certainly not profiting from them, unless you consider the fun and joy of creating a semi-original story to be profiting. And the "Peacock Inn" is really an inn in Princeton. I've taken the liberty of keeping its real name and including some of the inn's features in my story. I've never been to Princeton, so I hope I do it justice.

This is a Numb3rs/House crossover, but heavy on Numb3rs.

"Keeping Secrets" Chapter 1

"Amita!" Charlie called, waving to be seen in the crowd at the arrivals gate.

Amita looked around, then seeing Charlie, she smiled and waved back. She glanced behind her, waiting for Larry to catch up. "Go," he said, laughing. "You two have been apart for six long days."

"Thanks," Amita said as she hurried past the security gates and into the waiting area. Charlie took her into his arms and gave her a hug.

"Welcome to Newark," he murmured into her hair. "I've missed you."

She pulled back and looked at him. "I've missed you too. You look tired." She touched his cheek. "And you're hot."

"No," Charlie said, nuzzling her neck. "You're hot."

"Seriously," she said, pulling back again, "are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's just been a long, tiring week."

"How'd things go with the NSA? Or was it the military?"

"I can't tell you. But after four days working pretty much around the clock, I was able to finish up what they needed. So I'm just tired. A few days of seminars, sharing ideas with people who actually understand what I'm talking about, and I'll be back to normal."

Larry came up beside the two. "Or at least as normal as you – uh – normally are, Charles."

"Larry! Welcome to Newark! Do you guys have any checked baggage?"

"Oh, yes," Larry said, "I'm afraid the books I brought would never fit under my seat."

"Well, let's go," Charlie said, leading the way to baggage claim. Once they had collected their belongings, Charlie said, "I hope the car I rented is big enough for all this. You know, Larry, we're only going to be here for a week. I'll go get the car. You guys wait here with the stuff."

Charlie pulled up a few minutes later. As they loaded the car, Charlie said, "Have you had supper?"

"No, Charles, our biological clocks are still on Pacific time," Larry said, digging through his carry on.

"That's good. On the way to Princeton, we'll stop at the place Mom and I loved when we were here."

On the outskirts of Newark, Charlie found what he was looking for. "You are in for the treat of your lives," he said, pulling into the parking lot.

"White Castle?" Amita asked incredulously. "Your mother's favorite restaurant in New Jersey was White Castle?"

"Well," Charlie said, grinning, "she probably just humored me. You want to eat here or in the car?"

"How close are we to Princeton?" Amita asked.

"About another hour, depending on the traffic," Charlie said.

"Why don't we eat here, then," she said. "They have restrooms, right?"

"Of course," Charlie laughed. He pulled into a parking spot and led the way into White Castle. "It's been so long since I've had White Castle," he said, inhaling the perfume of onions, hamburgers and pickles. "My mouth is watering already."

Though Charlie already knew exactly what he wanted, he waited while Larry and Amita perused the menu. Finally, Larry said, "Charles, I do believe I'll have two chicken sandwiches and fries. The chicken sandwiches are as small as the hamburgers, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," Charlie said, holding his thumb and finger about two inches apart. "They're tiny."

Amita bit her lip and shook her head. "No salads? Nothing the least bit healthy... I'll have two jalapeno cheeseburgers and an order of cheese sticks."

"What?" Charlie asked, "no slyders? Well, let's do this," he led the way to the counter and placed their orders and added his own. "A sack of ten cheeseburgers. No fries." Noticing Larry and Amita staring at him, he said, "Hey, they reheat just fine. Besides, I am expecting the two of you to try at least one of the classics."

"Ah, Charles," Larry sighed, "what has become of this country if a hamburger can be considered a classic, on par with the writings of Tolstoy, the works of Mozart or the art of Leonardo DaVinci?"

Charlie nudged Larry, "Wait 'til you taste it before you bemoan the plight of our culture."

They ordered sodas, and found a table. Larry took the sandwiches and fries Charlie handed him, and stared at them. "Charles, I'm afraid I am feeling just a touch of trepidation over this."

Charlie was halfway through his first cheeseburger. He swallowed and said, "Just dive right in, Larry. I've never had the chicken, but if it's anything like their burgers, you'll love it."

Amita took a delicate bite of her jalapeno burger and said, "Mmm. This is good, Charlie. Even if it's not healthy." She washed it down with a sip of her diet soda. "No wonder your mom loved this place."

Charlie stared at Amita for a long moment. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

She shook her head as she took another bite. "Nope. This is good."

Larry had taken his first tentative bite. "Charles," he said when he had swallowed, "this is indeed very good."

"Now I know you guys are pulling my leg."

Larry looked confused. "Charles, why would we do that?"

"No reason," Charlie said as he started his second, or was it his third, burger. "Mmm. They're just as good as I remember."

Charlie had started to slow down by the time Larry and Amita had finished their meals. He pushed the bag to the center of the table. "Help yourselves."

Larry shook his head, "No thank you, Charles. I believe the chicken was quite enough for me."

Amita smiled and took one of the tiny burgers. "I have got to see if they're as good as you think they are." She took a bite. "Mmmm. Not bad. I liked the jalapeno cheeseburger better, though."

As they were picking up the remnants of their meals, Charlie looked into the sack. Of the ten tiny cheeseburgers, only four were left. Amita had had one, which meant Charlie had had five. He shrugged and took another one. He grinned at Amita. "That leaves three for a midnight snack."

"Charles!" Larry exclaimed. "Where are you finding the room for so many burgers?"

"Hmm?" Charlie swallowed. "I spent the past week working round the clock. I didn't have much time to eat, and I've been looking forward to this for months, ever since we decided to come to this conference."

Larry shrugged. "Well, then you deserve it. I still don't see how you found room for so much!"

Charlie put his arm around Amita's waist as they walked to the car. "Wait until you see the inn where I've booked our rooms. It's a colonial mansion, built in 1775. And the rooms are incredible. I got us three rooms, side by side."

"But Charlie, it must be expensive..."

"It's my treat. Both of you have been so helpful, so supportive. And the work you've done with me on Don's cases has just been amazing. It's the least I could do." He grinned and gave Amita a little squeeze as she climbed into the passenger's seat. "Well, that and the White Castle. Larry, the room I reserved for you is an antique lover's dream. And, Amita, your room has a four poster bed. And they all have fireplaces. Though in June, we shouldn't need them. All of the rooms are named after previous owners. Larry, your room is van Cleeves. Amita, you're in Swain, and I'm in Lindsay. They've just put in wi fi, a few months ago, so we'll be right at home."

"Ah, Charles," Larry said, "don't you find it somewhat strange to have wi fi in a 1775 mansion?"

"No more strange than having seatbelts in an antique car," Charlie laughed.

"I did not desecrate my car like that by choice," Larry moaned.

As they drove south and west, they finally left the back to back cities behind and reached the suburbs. Finally, they reached the quaint little city of Princeton. It seemed as if the university made up half of the town, and it was a beautiful university. Amita, who had never been to Princeton before, was intrigued. "I never expected anything in New Jersey to be this pretty."

"Aw, that's not fair," Charlie said, "I thought Newark was lovely."

"Oh, Charles," Larry said, "I do believe the presence of White Castles has clouded your judgment."

"It could be," Charlie said, laughing. He pointed ahead. "There's your home away from home for the week."

The Peacock Inn was every bit as beautiful as Charlie had said it was. It had turquoise clapboard siding, bright fuchsia shutters and bright white trim, a full porch across the front, and was almost hidden behind lush trees and shrubs.

"Oh, Charlie!" Amita exclaimed. "It is beautiful!"

He pulled into the parking lot. "Wait until you see the inside. I hope you like your rooms. If not, maybe we can switch, though they only have seventeen to chose from, and I tried to find..."

Amita laughed and pressed her fingertips to Charlie's lips. "Hush. I know the rooms will be perfect."

The pleasant little woman at the front desk looked up and greeted them with a smile. "Dr. Eppes! How nice to see you. And these must be your friends, Dr. Ramanujan and Dr. Fleinhardt." She stood and reached across the desk to shake hands. "I do hope you'll enjoy your stay with us."

"Oh, I know we will, Ms. Lindsay," Charlie said. They went through the formalities of checking in, and then Ms. Lindsay showed them to their rooms.

"Dr. Eppes, you know we've added wi fi since the last time you were here?" Ms. Lindsay said as she unlocked the first room.

"Yes, I'd heard. The perfect combination of eighteenth century elegance and twenty first century technology,"

"You have been reading our website," Ms. Lindsay laughed. "Well, here is Dr. Fleinhardt's room, the van Cleeves room. Dr. Eppes thought you'd enjoy the antiques. You're welcome to use the fireplace, but I do hope we've gotten past any need of it by now. It was a hard winter, but this week is supposed to be lovely." She handed Larry his key and led the way to the next room. "Dr. Ramanujan, your room is The Swain. The bed is antique, but the mattress, thank goodness, is modern. I do hope you won't need the down quilt, but it's here if you do. I am guessing you Californians are accustomed to warmer weather than we have. Do let me know if you need anything, dear."

"And, Dr. Eppes, I do hope you've gotten settled in comfortably. Do you need any help bringing your friends' luggage up?"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Lindsay. We can manage."

They did manage to carry Larry and Amita's belongings up to their rooms in a single trip. It was nearly nine o'clock – 6 o'clock to Larry and Amita. After they had settled in, they gathered in Charlie's room. "Would you like coffee or tea?" Charlie asked, "I could have Ms. Lindsay..."

"No, no, that will not be necessary, Charles. At least not for me," Larry said, looking at Amita. "But if you'd..."

"No, I'm good," Amita said.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Charlie asked.

"I think I'd just like to relax," Amita said, "It's been a long day. And, Charlie, you look like you could use about twelve hours sleep. You're giving a seminar tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"And your old friend, Marshall Penfield, is scheduled right after you."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I wonder if he'll spend his time trying to debunk what I've presented. It would be just like him."

"Now, Charles," Larry said soothingly, "if he does decide to go that way again, I'm sure you'll be up to the task of debunking his debunking."

"I hope so," Charlie said with a yawn. "My mind is still a little scrambled with jet lag."

"But, Charlie, you've been here for a week. You should be over jet lag by now."

Charlie stammered, "Well, of course. I mean, I have been here long enough. So I guess I can't use that excuse any more. Let's see. How about lack of sleep. I did burn the midnight oil last week."

"Well, that settles it," Amita said, standing. "We'll make an early night of it and see the sights tomorrow."