numb3rsflashfic | The Consequences of Obsession by Jestana, Challenge #5: Obsession (Reply)

Title: The Consequences of Obsession
Pairing/Characters: Megan Reeves, Larry Fleinhardt; LF/MR.
Rating/Category: G
Word Count: 1,854
Spoilers: Takes place during Double Down
Summary: When Larry needs someone to listen, he turns to Megan.
Notes/Warnings: Other fics.

The Consequences of Obsession
When she heard the knock on the door, Megan wasted no time getting up and answering it, smiling when she saw who was waiting on the other side. "Hey, Larry, won't you come in?"

"Thanks, Megan, I hope I'm not disturbing you," he replied, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his blue jacket as he moved past her into the apartment.

She closed the door and turned to look at him. "No, I was waiting for you, actually."

"Were you?" He glanced up at her without actually lifting his head, his face unreadable.

She nodded, stepping closer to him. Her voice was soft and sympathetic when she spoke. "Don told me Charlie was going to visit the casino and I knew he wouldn't go without you."

"Oh." Larry closed his eyes and sighed softly, his shoulders slumping.

Megan wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into a gentle hug. He didn't respond at first, but she eventually felt his arms slide around her waist as he rested his cheek on her shoulder. "Come on, we'll be more comfortable in the living room."

"Living room, right." He sighed again and allowed himself to be steered in that direction and sat down with very little coaxing on Megan's part.

Frowning with concern, Megan sat down beside him. "Are you all right?"

"No, I don't think I am," he answered quietly, his eyes trained on his hands, which he was slowly rubbing together as if he was trying to rub something off them.

She covered his hands with hers, stopping their motion for the moment. "Would you like some tea, Larry?" He nodded silently and Megan squeezed his hands before rising to get the tea. This was a side of Larry she had yet to see and it troubled her. For all his absent-minded ways, he was unfailingly polite and never failed to chastise himself for forgetting his manners. That he had not done so showed that he was either deep in thought or deeply disturbed about something. Megan was pretty sure she knew which, but she was not about to make any assumptions. That settled in her mind, she finished making the tea and returned to the living room. Larry hadn't moved from his spot and was once again rubbing his hands together. "Here you are, Larry."

"Thank you, Megan," he answered absently, accepting the tea and staring into it as if it were an oracle of some kind.

Megan sat down beside him once more and noticed that he seemed to be holding his cup rather tightly, as if he was afraid he'd drop it if he loosened his grip. He hadn't taken a sip of the tea, either, which he normally would have by now. "Larry, what's troubling you?"

"I thought I could control it," he replied, his voice soft and tortured. "I thought I could do what needed to be done and leave it at that. I couldn't, though." He sighed, setting his untouched tea on the table to rub his face. "The siren song of the blackjack tables was too much for me. Once I started, I didn't want to stop. I wanted to keep going, keep beating the house." He slouched on the couch, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. "All I could focus on was the cards the dealer placed in front of me and the chips that I kept piling up."

Megan listened in silence, hearing the torture in his voice. "Larry, why didn't you simply say no? I'm sure Charlie and Amita would have understood."

"I hate to say no to him, Megan," he told her, dropping his hands to look at her directly for pretty much the first time that evening. "He was so eager, so ready to learn." Though his eyes were still looking at her, she knew he wasn't seeing her at the moment. He was remembering something. "That's the way he is. In order to understand his data, he needs to experience whatever it is he's analyzing, as much as possible."

She smiled wryly, understanding what Larry meant. "He and Don tend to have a narrow focus when they're working on something."

"Exactly and I didn't want to spoil his fun." He shrugged, blinking as his memories faded away. "Besides, it wasn't until we were actually at the casino that I realized how much trouble I was going to have."

He'd begun rubbing his hands together again and she captured them gently. "Larry, why do you keep rubbing your hands together?"

"I can still feel the texture of the cards and the chips." His voice was low and tortured as his hands closed around hers. "Even though it's been at least an hour since we finished, my fingers are itching to play again."

Tugging on his hands, she pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him once more. Softly, she murmured in his ear, "Hold on to me. I'm here." She continued murmuring in his ear as he slid his arms around her, all but clinging to her. She released a silent sigh. I always wondered what sort of skeletons he'd have in his closet. I didn't know they've been haunting him for so long... Pushing those thoughts away, Megan focused her attention on the man in her arms. "Would you like to stay with me tonight?"

"If it wouldn't be an imposition." His voice was muffled due to his cheek being pressed into her shoulder, but he made no move to let go of her.

She smiled sadly, brushing her lips across his forehead. "No, of course it wouldn't. You should know that by now, Larry."

"Thank you, Megan."

"You're welcome, Larry."

*15*21*14*9*
"Well, you know, I know two who will never get that chance." Larry turned and walked away, deeply disappointed. He'd hoped that Leonard would have learned from his mistakes, but he obviously hadn't. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced up. He managed a wan smile. "Hello, Megan."

Her voice was gentle and empathetic as she replied, "I seem to be asking this a lot these days, but are you all right?"

"Profoundly disappointed," he answered quietly, glancing over his shoulder where Leonard had been standing. By now, though, he was gone. He sighed heavily. "How could he do something like that, Megan?"

She steered him into a nearby conference room, one with solid walls instead of glass ones. Once she'd closed the door behind them, she wrapped her arms around him. He closed his eyes as he rested his cheek on her shoulder and slipped his arms around her waist. Over the last few days, Megan had been a steady source of comfort. With all the memories of those days he'd rather forget being dredged up, she was the one person he could turn to who wouldn't make any demands. She was simply there, ready to listen or hold him. At that moment, she was rubbing his back gently, her voice soft in his ear, "I really can't say, Larry. From what you've said, he could never walk away from it like you did. He never tried to conquer the addiction. You did, and that's why you're not in his position."

"I can't walk away from it," he told her, his cheeks burning with shame. "What Leonard said was so true."

Her lips brushed his forehead and he felt it all the way down to his toes. "What exactly did Leonard say that was so true, Larry?"

"Actually, it's more what he reminded me of than what he said," he answered with a wry smile, quite comfortable where he was.

She laughed, her shoulder shaking under his cheek. "All right, what did he remind you of?"

"He reminded me of the rush I'd get when I'd beat the house, when I'd walk out of the casino with more than double the money I'd started with." His arms tightened around her, as if he could keep from getting swept up in the memories by holding on to her. "It felt so good at the time, but my grades started suffering. I was missing so many classes and forgetting to turn in assignments. I very nearly lost everything like Leonard had."

By now, she had wrapped both of her arms around him and was holding him as tightly as he was holding her. "But you didn't, Larry. You walked away from it. You saw what it was doing to you and you stopped it from completely ruining your life the way it did Leonard's. That is where you differ from him, Larry." She eased him back a few steps and tilted his head up so his eyes locked with hers. "If those kids had come to you, you would have told them what it almost did to you and refused to help them beat the house. When they went to him, he helped them down a more dangerous path than you two walked. He helped them cheat."

"That's almost the same thing I said to him," he told her quietly. He sighed sadly. "If he had only refused to help them, those two young men would still be alive and the other wouldn't be on his way to jail."

She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "People like Leonard Philbrick don't learn from their mistakes. People like Larry Fleinhardt do, though."

"Thank you, Megan, I needed that reassurance." He smiled faintly up at her.

She smiled back, kissing him again, with a little more warmth than before. "I'm done for the day, would you like to go somewhere and get your mind off what's happened?"

"Yes, I would, but I promised Charlie I'd have dinner with him, Alan, and Don tonight." He smiled apologetically. "Perhaps we can take a rain check?"

She nodded, patting his shoulder. "Yes, a rain check will be just fine."

"I'll see you soon, I expect." He cleared his throat, reluctantly dropping his arms from around her. "Have I told you how much I appreciate what you've done for me these last few days?"

She shook her head, frowning slightly. "No, you haven't."

"Well, I do. Very much." He stretched up slightly to kiss her softly.

She smiled bemusedly. "I'm always glad to help, Larry."

"You know, it goes both ways," he told her sincerely. "If you need me for anything, you know where to find me."

She nodded, smiling softly. "Yes, I know."

"I should go." He kissed her once more. "Have a good evening, Megan."

"You, too, Larry." She remained where she was as he left the conference room.

*15*21*14*9*
"Hey, Megan, your secret admirer is back," Colby greeted her the next day.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about, Granger?"

"You got flowers again." He nodded to her desk.

She smiled when she saw the bouquet sitting on her desk. A dozen white tuberoses waited for her. Spotting a card amongst them, she opened it. There were only two words written on it, but she knew they expressed a wealth of emotion and sincerity: Thank you.

End
Post-Fic Note: The idea of Larry still being able to feel the cards actually came from