"Long Lost Love"

Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I don't own Numb3rs. And this is a rewrite.

"Mom, I am fine. I promise, Lily said into her cell phone.

"Are you sure? I know you hate flying," her mother responded with concern in her voice.

"I am positive. Besides, we are about to take off and I need to shut off my phone. I love you and I will call you when I land in LA. Bye," she said quickly before hanging up her phone and switching it off.

She tossed her phone in her bag and pushed it under the seat in front of her. She double checked her seat belt and put her head back against her seat. She glanced out the window in the darkness and let her mind wonder.

She found out two weeks ago that her transfer to LA had been approved. Since then her life had been a whirlwind. She packed everything she needed and wanted to keep and sold the rest, including her car. She broke her lease with her landlord and called her parents to let them know she would be moving back LA.

FLASHBACK

"Yes Mom, I am sure," she said through her cell as she packed some of her clothes.

"I mean you have so many more opportunities being there in DC. Moving back to LA, well you haven't been there in years. What if it isn't what you remember?" her mother asked.

"Mom, it will be ok. Besides I visited Vanessa for the holidays remember?"

"Yes, but, visiting and living there again is two completely thing."

"I know, Mom. I need to get away from DC for a while. Besides, it will also be nice to be in the same time zone as my parents."

"Why don't you just move to Riverside and find a different job?"

"Mom, I like working for the FBI. I can do real good here. Besides what would I do in Riverside?"

"You could move in with us, teach music, perform, the sky is the limit since you have your Masters."

"Mom, you know I don't want to be a teacher, and I high doubt your retirement community will let your thirty-four-year-old daughter move in with you."

"I know," her mom responded defeated. "I just miss you and worry about you."

"I know mom. I am always careful at work, promise. And look now I will only be about an hour away from you, more with traffic. I mean it will be a little less once I move back into the old house. We could even meet halfway and do dinner once a week."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. I will tell your father you say hello. Love you baby."

"Love you mom. I will call you later," she said softly before hanging up the phone.

END FLASHBACK

The plane took off with out any issue and as soon as she could she leaned her seat back and drifted off to sleep.

The plane gave a jolt and she woke up with a start, instinctively reaching for her side arm, only to realize it was not there. She looked around confused for a moment and then remembered where she was. None of the other passengers were phased by the planes jolt, probably just some turbulence. She took a deep breath and called for the attendant.

"What can I help you with, ma'am?" the flight attendant asked as he cleared the call button.

"Can I just have some water, and do you have anything for a headache?" she asked politely.

"Of course. I will be right back," he said with a smile before walking away.

She glanced at her watch. Eleven Forty-Five.

At least I slept through most of the flight, she thought to herself.

"Here are you, ma'am," the flight attendant said returning with a cup of water and a small thing of ibuprofen.

"Thank you," she said taking the items from him.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No, thank you," she responded with a small smile. She quickly took the medication and gulped down her water as another flight attendant came by with a trash bag.

"Trash?" she asked with a smile. Lily smiled back and handed her the cup and the ibuprofen packet and said, "Thank you."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I ask that you please buckle your seatbelts and turn of all electronics. Please return your seats to their upright position and return your tray tables to their locked position. We have begun our descent in LAX. We will be arriving at Gate forty-two in 20 minutes. It is currently sunny with a temperature of seventy-five degrees and the current time is ten am. On behalf of American Airlines, thank you for flying with us and welcome to Los Angeles. We are cleared for landing. Flight attendants, please take your seats," the piolet's voice said over the intercom system.

Lily looked out the window and took a deep breath. She hated landing most of all. It was the sudden touch down and hard breaking that made her dread it. She could see the ground getting closer. She pushed her head into the back of her seat and closed her eyes, gripping the arm rests of her seat. She took a sharp breath as the plane jolted. They had landed, and she was safe back on ground. She relaxed some and watched out the window as they approached the gate and docked. She sat there for a few more minutes while everyone around her grabbed their items and started to get off the plane. She took a few deep breathes and then gathered her belonging and exited the plan.

When she finally walked out the exit she looked around for the nearest restroom. She needed to change. She had worn comfortable clothing for the flight and given that one of the agents from the new team she was assigned would be picking her up, she wanted to make a good impression. She walked into one of the bigger stalls and changed into some black slacks and a white blouse with her black heels. She pulled her hair out of her clip and let her soft auburn curls flow down her past her shoulders, with one shake of her head. On a normal work day, she would leave it up, but today was a little different. She touched up her makeup, brushed her teeth and double checked herself in the mirror before pulling on her black blazer and leaving the restroom.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she looked around for the baggage claim. Once she spotted the sign, she followed it downstairs to grab her luggage. As she reached the lower level, she saw a gentleman with sunglasses, who was clearly an agent, holding a sign with her name on it.

She made her way through the crowd towards him. As she walked towards him, she took him in. He had dark hair and was tall. She could tell he had the typical build for a male agent, fit, probably played sports sometime in his life. As she got closer, he started to walk towards her. He probably had received a picture of her and her auburn hair was hard to miss. He removed his glasses a few paces from her and she had a chance to look at his face fully. He was handsome, and his brown eyes seemed like they could look right though you. He looked strangely familiar but she couldn't place where she knew him from.

"Are you Agent Lily Turner?" He asked snapping her out of her train of thought.

"Yes," she responded with a smile.

"I am Agent Don Epps," he said reaching his hand out. "Figured I would pick up my new team member myself."

"Thank you, sir," she said taking his hand and shaking it after switching her bag to her other hand. "That was very nice of you. I was actually prepared to take a taxi."

"Please call me Don. Well there had actually been an issue with your lodging," he said abruptly.

"There has?" she asked worriedly. She was supposed to be staying in an apartment just outside of Los Angeles for a few months, until the current tenants at her parents' old house vacated when their lease was up.

"Yes, the apartment you were supposed to rent, well, it caught on fire," he said quickly. "But not to worry," he added quickly. "If it is alright with you, I have a found a separate lodging for you."

"Where? I chose that apartment building because it was perfectly located. Do they know how it caught fire? Why was I not notified?" she asked in rapid fire.

"Breathe Agent Turner," he said trying to calm her. "It caught fire early this morning. You were already in the air. It is still under investigation but they do not think it was an accident. Luckily none of your belongings had been delivered to the building yet," he said calmly.

"Call me Lily," she said quickly before continuing, "I sent most of my belongings to my parents' house in Riverside. Do they know where the fire started?"

"They think the basement, but that is all they would give us. We have been looking for alternative lodgings for you until you find another apartment," he said simply.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that. I could have simply stayed at a hotel," she said softly and turning to grab her luggage of the belt.

"Nonsense, do you know how much hotels are in that area? Besides we figured out a solution. One of our consultants, that we use often, he recently bought a house and happens to have a spare room. He offered to let you stay there until you find a new place," he said helping her grab her bags off the belt.

"Thank you. I am not sure. I mean I am grateful for the offer but," she started as she pulled the handle up on one of her bags.

"No buts. I won't let one of my agents go without a roof over their head," he said as he grabbed the handles of her other bags and started to walk towards the exit. She followed quickly behind him, wishing she had left her heels on.

"Here," he said taking her bags and placing them in the back of a black SUV.

"Thank you," she said as she handed him her last bag.

"Look," he said closing the hatch. "Why don't you meet our consultant? See the house, see if you will get along. We can head over there now and if you decide to stay, drop off your bags then go meet the team," he said leaning against the back and putting his sunglasses on.

Lily took a second to think about what Don was saying. It would be nice to not have to pay for a hotel and have a kitchen until she can find a new apartment.

"Alright," she said with a small sigh. "I will meet the consultant and see what happens."

"Great," Don said with a smile. "Hop on in. I know the way," he said walking to the driver side door and getting in. Lily walked over to the passenger door and climbed into the SUV.

"So, how well do you know this consultant? I mean you must be close if you know where they live," she said as they pulled out of the airport and onto the highway.

"You could say that. He is my brother," he responded.