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numb3rsflashficTitle: Eight Days of Chanukah
Characters: Charlie, Don, Alan (no pairings)
Rating/Category: PG (really more G)
Word Count: 1,295
Spoilers: none really
Summary: Eight days, eight gifts.
Notes/Warnings: I'm assuming they're Jewish (since the actors themselves are); authoress is not Jewish and apologizes in advance. (I did, however, do as much research as I possibly could while attempting to recall everything all of my Jewish friends ever told me about Chanukah and actually consulting one of them). Another warning, I sense another of my infamous continuing series here. *sigh* Oh! And this is my first post on this comm (third posted Numb3rs fic though!).
by Ami-chan aka princessacadra
It was the one time of year where they could all just relax, take a moment to breathe and re-center themselves, the one time when Don would be there and wouldn’t be busy and wouldn’t be called away. It was the first day of Chanukah and though it wasn’t unusual for all of them to be at the house – now Charlie’s house, technically, but still the family’s house – it felt different somehow. They said the three blessings and lit the first candle on the menorah and though it wasn’t strictly necessary or even part of the season, commercialism had won them over long ago and they exchanged one gift each.
Nothing was odd until Charlie got to his gift from Don. He stared at it for a long, long time and could not come up with anything other than the obvious… “It’s a dog toy?” He squeezed it and it squeaked. “A dog toy?” Squeak. Squeak.
Don just smiled in return and ruffled Charlie’s hair. He didn’t get it and neither, apparently, did their dad, but Charlie put the dog toy aside and just chalked it up to Don’s odd sense of humor. Hadn’t Don told him once that he would have rather had a dog than a little brother? It was a sad sort of joke, he decided. Typical Don.
The next day they recited the first and second blessings before lighting two of the candles on the menorah. Don’s sense of humor hadn’t improved any, Charlie could see. He’d gifted him with a black dog collar, complete with tags with the name “Sir Charlie” on them. He wasn’t particularly amused, though Don seemed to find it hilarious.
“Uh… ‘Sir Charlie’?”
“Yeah, don’t you like it?” Don was wearing a shit-eating grin and held it up to Charlie’s neck while Charlie stared at him because, well, Don had seriously lost it.
The days passed, one by one – the third day it was a dog bowl that Charlie had no idea what to do with accept to add it to the other items Don had given him, the fourth day a rawhide bone which he had no use for, the fifth day a leash, presumably to go with the black collar.
On the sixth day, the Shabbat, the day that always made their father particularly sad because there were no women to light the Shabbat candles since their mother's passing. The blessings were said first, the menorah candles lit, and eighteen minutes before the sunset the two Shabbat candles were lit by their dad. Afterwards he said loudly that either of them could hurry up and get married so that he wouldn’t have to light them himself. Though neither Don nor Charlie made a comment on that out loud they both exchanged a look that clearly said that was not going to happen. Or at least not any time soon.
That night Don’s gift to Charlie was a little puppy-sized sweater, which Charlie added to his growing collection.
The seventh night was even stranger than the previous gifts – Charlie was given a large cage that he could only assume was supposed to hold an animal of some sort. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
Don nodded in agreement. “Probably.”
Then, finally, it was the last day of Chanukah and Charlie was expecting another of Don’s ridiculous dog-themed items. The blessings were said, the menorah candles lit and then Don ducked out for a moment, saying he had to get Charlie’s gift. Wincing, Charlie wondered if it was another large cage or possibly a pet carrying case of some sort. What he didn’t expect was the box that he was handed. The box that he was handed that jumped.
“Don?”
“Open it.” Don was grinning as Charlie set the box down and very carefully opened it. Only to be attacked by a devouring tongue. A puppy tongue.
Charlie, having fallen backwards at the surprise attack, sat blinking as a small puppy tried to climb into his hair, on his shoulder, anywhere he could. “You got me a dog?”
“Hey, where’s the collar?”
It clicked in Charlie’s sluggish mind just then. “Sir Charlie? You named the dog Sir Charlie??”
Don, having discovered the pile of “doggie items” where Charlie had tossed them, triumphantly dug out the collar and attached it to the squirming puppy. “This,” he explained, taking the puppy from Charlie and hauling him to his feet, “Is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. So, naturally his name has to be Charlie and since his breed is named after royalty, Sir Charlie.”
Charlie blinked owlishly as the puppy was deposited into his arms. “I can’t believe you got me a dog.” Then, coming back to himself, “When? When did you get him? How come I didn’t know about this?”
“Ah, Charlie, you’re so oblivious that it wasn’t that hard for you not to notice. Little Charlie here has been hangin’ out with me for a couple weeks now. Still working on the housetraining thing, here, but that’s what the cage is for, right?” Don was ruffling the puppy’s head as he spoke, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
“I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a dog!” A puppy tongue in his ear made Charlie twitch and close one eye in annoyance. “What do I do with him?”
“Poor Charlie. Here.” Don pulled a book out of his back pocket and tossed it at Charlie who caught it awkwardly, still attempting to keep a hold of the puppy.
It was a book on puppy training that Charlie would actually have to read. He wasn’t all that fond of reading unless said reading consisted of math, but… it was a cute puppy. “Is he going to get big?” Charlie suddenly asked in alarm, wondering if in a few months the little creature in his arms would be a very huge dog that would be knocking him off his feet and smothering him. That would be a bit scary.
“Nah, he’s a cat-sized dog, ten, maybe fourteen pounds at most. You’re not a big-dog person, Charlie, I’d never do that to you.”
Charlie sniffed, wondering if he should be offended. “So, what? You don’t think I could handle a bigger dog?”
“No, I don’t.” There was a smug look on Don’s face that Charlie ignored, but only because Don was right but he wasn’t about to tell him that.
“A furry little rat, that’s all we needed.” Their dad was saying, shaking his head at Sir Charlie and his youngest son.
“He doesn’t look like a rat!” Charlie protested, holding the puppy close to him.
Don took Charlie by the arm and spun him around so that he was facing their dad. He then held up the puppy beside Charlie and announced, “Look, dad, they have the same eyes.”
“WHAT? No we don’t!” His eyes weren’t that big! That dark brown, maybe, but his eyes weren’t like that! Don’s snort and their dad’s chuckle said otherwise, however, and Charlie glowered at them both before claiming back the puppy.
“A good match, huh?” Don was commenting while their dad was muttering something along the lines of, “Well you know who will be taking care of him, don’t you? You know Charlie…”
Though Don laughed he also stood up for him. “Yeah, but he’s never had something to take care of before. It might keep him a bit more grounded, you know? They’ll be okay.”
Charlie turned his attention to the squirming creature in his lap, studying the fluffy ears, wagging tail, and large brown eyes. It was true, he’d never had a pet before at all, but Charlie knew that it definitely would be okay for him and Sir Charlie.
-The End-
notes: Shabbat candles are generally lit by women – married women will sometimes light candles for her whole family (so if she has two children she’d light four candles for herself, husband, and children) and girls starting as young as age three will light their own Shabbat candles. If there are no women to light the Shabbat candles, as is the case with the Eppes family, then a husband/older child can light them (single women/men can light their own candles if their mothers aren’t lighting them on their behalf). And while some light candles for their whole family, two Shabbat candles is traditional and the candles themselves are usually white.
Characters: Charlie, Don, Alan (no pairings)
Rating/Category: PG (really more G)
Word Count: 1,295
Spoilers: none really
Summary: Eight days, eight gifts.
Notes/Warnings: I'm assuming they're Jewish (since the actors themselves are); authoress is not Jewish and apologizes in advance. (I did, however, do as much research as I possibly could while attempting to recall everything all of my Jewish friends ever told me about Chanukah and actually consulting one of them). Another warning, I sense another of my infamous continuing series here. *sigh* Oh! And this is my first post on this comm (third posted Numb3rs fic though!).
by Ami-chan aka princessacadra
It was the one time of year where they could all just relax, take a moment to breathe and re-center themselves, the one time when Don would be there and wouldn’t be busy and wouldn’t be called away. It was the first day of Chanukah and though it wasn’t unusual for all of them to be at the house – now Charlie’s house, technically, but still the family’s house – it felt different somehow. They said the three blessings and lit the first candle on the menorah and though it wasn’t strictly necessary or even part of the season, commercialism had won them over long ago and they exchanged one gift each.
Nothing was odd until Charlie got to his gift from Don. He stared at it for a long, long time and could not come up with anything other than the obvious… “It’s a dog toy?” He squeezed it and it squeaked. “A dog toy?” Squeak. Squeak.
Don just smiled in return and ruffled Charlie’s hair. He didn’t get it and neither, apparently, did their dad, but Charlie put the dog toy aside and just chalked it up to Don’s odd sense of humor. Hadn’t Don told him once that he would have rather had a dog than a little brother? It was a sad sort of joke, he decided. Typical Don.
The next day they recited the first and second blessings before lighting two of the candles on the menorah. Don’s sense of humor hadn’t improved any, Charlie could see. He’d gifted him with a black dog collar, complete with tags with the name “Sir Charlie” on them. He wasn’t particularly amused, though Don seemed to find it hilarious.
“Uh… ‘Sir Charlie’?”
“Yeah, don’t you like it?” Don was wearing a shit-eating grin and held it up to Charlie’s neck while Charlie stared at him because, well, Don had seriously lost it.
The days passed, one by one – the third day it was a dog bowl that Charlie had no idea what to do with accept to add it to the other items Don had given him, the fourth day a rawhide bone which he had no use for, the fifth day a leash, presumably to go with the black collar.
On the sixth day, the Shabbat, the day that always made their father particularly sad because there were no women to light the Shabbat candles since their mother's passing. The blessings were said first, the menorah candles lit, and eighteen minutes before the sunset the two Shabbat candles were lit by their dad. Afterwards he said loudly that either of them could hurry up and get married so that he wouldn’t have to light them himself. Though neither Don nor Charlie made a comment on that out loud they both exchanged a look that clearly said that was not going to happen. Or at least not any time soon.
That night Don’s gift to Charlie was a little puppy-sized sweater, which Charlie added to his growing collection.
The seventh night was even stranger than the previous gifts – Charlie was given a large cage that he could only assume was supposed to hold an animal of some sort. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
Don nodded in agreement. “Probably.”
Then, finally, it was the last day of Chanukah and Charlie was expecting another of Don’s ridiculous dog-themed items. The blessings were said, the menorah candles lit and then Don ducked out for a moment, saying he had to get Charlie’s gift. Wincing, Charlie wondered if it was another large cage or possibly a pet carrying case of some sort. What he didn’t expect was the box that he was handed. The box that he was handed that jumped.
“Don?”
“Open it.” Don was grinning as Charlie set the box down and very carefully opened it. Only to be attacked by a devouring tongue. A puppy tongue.
Charlie, having fallen backwards at the surprise attack, sat blinking as a small puppy tried to climb into his hair, on his shoulder, anywhere he could. “You got me a dog?”
“Hey, where’s the collar?”
It clicked in Charlie’s sluggish mind just then. “Sir Charlie? You named the dog Sir Charlie??”
Don, having discovered the pile of “doggie items” where Charlie had tossed them, triumphantly dug out the collar and attached it to the squirming puppy. “This,” he explained, taking the puppy from Charlie and hauling him to his feet, “Is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. So, naturally his name has to be Charlie and since his breed is named after royalty, Sir Charlie.”
Charlie blinked owlishly as the puppy was deposited into his arms. “I can’t believe you got me a dog.” Then, coming back to himself, “When? When did you get him? How come I didn’t know about this?”
“Ah, Charlie, you’re so oblivious that it wasn’t that hard for you not to notice. Little Charlie here has been hangin’ out with me for a couple weeks now. Still working on the housetraining thing, here, but that’s what the cage is for, right?” Don was ruffling the puppy’s head as he spoke, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
“I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a dog!” A puppy tongue in his ear made Charlie twitch and close one eye in annoyance. “What do I do with him?”
“Poor Charlie. Here.” Don pulled a book out of his back pocket and tossed it at Charlie who caught it awkwardly, still attempting to keep a hold of the puppy.
It was a book on puppy training that Charlie would actually have to read. He wasn’t all that fond of reading unless said reading consisted of math, but… it was a cute puppy. “Is he going to get big?” Charlie suddenly asked in alarm, wondering if in a few months the little creature in his arms would be a very huge dog that would be knocking him off his feet and smothering him. That would be a bit scary.
“Nah, he’s a cat-sized dog, ten, maybe fourteen pounds at most. You’re not a big-dog person, Charlie, I’d never do that to you.”
Charlie sniffed, wondering if he should be offended. “So, what? You don’t think I could handle a bigger dog?”
“No, I don’t.” There was a smug look on Don’s face that Charlie ignored, but only because Don was right but he wasn’t about to tell him that.
“A furry little rat, that’s all we needed.” Their dad was saying, shaking his head at Sir Charlie and his youngest son.
“He doesn’t look like a rat!” Charlie protested, holding the puppy close to him.
Don took Charlie by the arm and spun him around so that he was facing their dad. He then held up the puppy beside Charlie and announced, “Look, dad, they have the same eyes.”
“WHAT? No we don’t!” His eyes weren’t that big! That dark brown, maybe, but his eyes weren’t like that! Don’s snort and their dad’s chuckle said otherwise, however, and Charlie glowered at them both before claiming back the puppy.
“A good match, huh?” Don was commenting while their dad was muttering something along the lines of, “Well you know who will be taking care of him, don’t you? You know Charlie…”
Though Don laughed he also stood up for him. “Yeah, but he’s never had something to take care of before. It might keep him a bit more grounded, you know? They’ll be okay.”
Charlie turned his attention to the squirming creature in his lap, studying the fluffy ears, wagging tail, and large brown eyes. It was true, he’d never had a pet before at all, but Charlie knew that it definitely would be okay for him and Sir Charlie.
-The End-
notes: Shabbat candles are generally lit by women – married women will sometimes light candles for her whole family (so if she has two children she’d light four candles for herself, husband, and children) and girls starting as young as age three will light their own Shabbat candles. If there are no women to light the Shabbat candles, as is the case with the Eppes family, then a husband/older child can light them (single women/men can light their own candles if their mothers aren’t lighting them on their behalf). And while some light candles for their whole family, two Shabbat candles is traditional and the candles themselves are usually white.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 07:38 am (UTC)I've thought for a *long* time that Charlie needed a pet for the same reason Don mentioned, as well as unconditional love from someone who doesn't know what "math genius" means. Dogs are also great frisbee playmates who don't care if your "flying eagle" toss goes awry!
I can see Charlie taking Sir Charlie to work and great confusion ensuing. ("Have you seen Charlie?" "No, isn't he in his cage?")
no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 06:36 pm (UTC)There's a mystery movie series from the 30s and 40s called The Thin Man, etc. (starring William Powell and Myrna Loy). May be before your time (*g*). Nick and Nora Charles (!) had a terrier named Asta who helped them solve their mysteries. The series was famous for it's wacky stories and witty dialog. I can see Sir Charles digging up (literally) clues while Charlie and Don try to figure them out. Such as:
Charlie: "Sir Charles dug up this weird thingie exactly half way between the other two thingies. I can use the XYZ algorithm to figure out what it means!"
Don: "Charlie, Sir Charles dug up a bone!"
Larry: "Well, you never know, Don. The mysteries of the cosmos can deliver its messages in mysterious ways!"
David: "I'll write the memo on that."
Megan: "You guys are nuts!"
Colby: "I wish I'd gone to work for WalMart."
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Date: 2006-01-09 06:31 pm (UTC)I've often wondered whether Charlie could handle an animal. I thought a pet was exactly what he needed to 'ground' himself a bit, and give him a little friend.
However, I believe Alan summed it up with you know who will be taking care of him, don’t you?
Still, it's a very cute thought and fic.