Disclaimer: Numb3rs doesn't belong to me. No copyright infringement intended.
This started out as a drabble for brothers100 at LiveJournal. I revised it, so I hope you like this version better.
Charlie Eppes hurt so much, but he knew his brother would rescue him. Don always saved him. That's what he did. Charlie didn't know how much time had passed since his kidnapping, and he was so tired.
"Don?" he called hopefully. He had been asking for his brother for awhile now, hoping desperately for an answer.
The door burst open and Charlie sighed in relief. Gunshots rang out, and he was relieved to see his kidnapper dead. "I want Don," he told Liz.
"I'm here, Baby. You're rescued now, Buddy," Don murmured. He pulled his brother in for a hug and didn't let go until they got to the hospital.
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Alan Eppes burst through the hospital, looking for his sons. Charlie had been kidnapped three days earlier, and everything had been tense since then. "Is he okay?" he asked Colby.
Colby sighed. "He's hurt, but fine," he assured Alan. Luckily, Charlie was going to end up being perfectly healthy after this. Colby was thrilled, because he didn't know what the team and Don would do without the mathematician. They all loved Charlie.
Alan sighed in relief. "I'm so happy. Thanks, Colby," he replied. He had been so worried about his youngest son, and just knowing that he was fine was good enough.
"I just hope Charlie isn't too traumatized by this," Robin murmured. She was also worried about Don's brother. He was always nice to her. It didn't matter if she didn't understand the math all the time.
"He'll just go to therapy," David told her. Maybe Dr. Bradford would be able to help him, considering the therapist helped Don out a lot.
"Don isn't leaving his side," Nikki told Alan. She had never seen her boss so oveprotective of Charlie before, and it was a shock. He had gotten scary the past few days, despite not being allowed on the case. Upon learning that the team knew of Charlie and the kidnapper's location, Don had insisted on going. No one had been able to say no to his request.
"That's good." Alan sat sat down in a chair, hoping that Don would come out of Charlie's hospital room soon. He wanted to see his son with his own eyes.
"I actually feel great for the first time in days because we saved Charlie," David commented. A sense of panic had surrounded the team immediately after learning of the mathematician's kidnapping.
"I need to see him!" Amita told Larry. She had been freaking out for days, and couldn't calm down. What if Charlie had died?
"You'll see him soon, Amita. Charles is going to be just fine," Larry comforted. He was also worried about Charlie, but panicking right now was not the best thing right now.
"I'm so scared," Amita sobbed into Larry's shoulder. Seeing Charlie might make her feel better. To know that he wasn't hurt all that bad would be a relief.
XXXXXXX
Charlie opened his eyes to Don. "Hey, Buddy," Don said. He had refused to leave Charlie's side once, preferring to stay by his brother. He wanted to make sure that his little brother was safe. Charlie was his number one priority at the moment.
"Hi," Charlie replied, his voice hoarse from screaming for hours on end. He was so happy to see Don. He had known from the start that his big brother would save him.
"How are you feeling, Baby?" Don questioned. He was still worried about Charlie, and knew that everyone else was too. They were out in the waiting room, desperately hoping to see Charlie.
Charlie smiled. Don only called him Baby when he was really worried about him. He didn't say it very often. Buddy was used the most often. "I hurt a little, but I'm glad to be away from the torture," Charlie admitted.
Don winced. "You're safe now, Charlie. Nobody's ever going to hurt you again," he assured his younger brother. Don would make sure that this didn't happen to Charlie again. He wouldn't be consulting for awhile, that was for sure. Charlie would protest that, but Don didn't care. He had been terrified and on edge for three days straight.
"I know. You won't let them." Charlie knew that. Don was going to be even more overprotective than he already was. He wasn't looking forward to that at all, but it was expected.
"Charlie, are you going to be okay? You were kidnapped, and I don't want you to playing that off." Don expected nightmares, but he still wanted his brother to recover from the kidnapping.
"I'm okay now, Don. As long as the guy is dead, I'll be fine. I know this isn't going to happen again. I'll need to some time to get over the trauma, but I will be." Charlie couldn't believe how much he had just said right now, considering he was in a little bit of pain.
"You really scared me, Buddy," Don reluctantly admitted. He really didn't admit weaknesses too often, but this was his brother. He loved Charlie.
"Love you too, Donnie," Charlie muttered. He was so tired that he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Hopefully, he wouldn't have nightmares.
Don was surprised that he had said it out loud, but it didn't matter. He did love Charlie, and his little brother should know that. "Have a good nap, Charlie," he whispered. Don still wasn't about to leave Charlie's hospital bed. He was going to take some vacation time and spend a few days with Charlie. They needed it.
Alan came into the room. "What are Charlie's injuries?" he asked his oldest son. He saw the cast on Charlie's arm, but he didn't know what else had happened to him.
Don sighed. "He has a broken arm, bruises, a concussion, and a sprained ankle," he explained. Charlie was lucky he hadn't been injured worse. He could be dead. Wait a minute. Charlie could have died. What would he have done then?
Alan sighed. "It could have been worse than that," he said. He was so happy about Charlie not being hurt badly.
"It's my fault. If I hadn't brought him in on this case, Charlie wouldn't have been kidnapped," Don told his father. He felt so guilty.
"I told you before that it's not your fault," Alan reminded him. He couldn't remember how many times he had told Donnie that in the past three days.
"I can't help but feel guilty." Don felt immensely guilty. Under the pretense of anger and worry, guilt had been simmering the entire time. Robin had managed to keep the guilt at bay for a little while, but now it was back in full force.
"Don, it wasn't your fault. It never was your fault," Alan comforted. He was worried about both of his sons, and that wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
Charlie had been saved, and the Eppes family was stronger because of it. They would eventually get over those three traumatic days, even though Charlie was in therapy for a long time because of his kidnapping.