Part One:

Don sighed, stretching out on his chair, when his phone rang to break the silence. He grappled around his pockets for a moment before locating the phone, hands clumsy from hours of looking through case files. Don glanced at the caller id before answering.

"Hey Dad, what'sup?" Don asked in a cheery voice.

"Hey Donnie." Came his father's short reply. "Where are you?"

"At work, why? Is everything okay?"

Alan paused for a second before answering, "Are you almost wrapped up with whatever you're doing?"

Donnie glanced at the clock, 7:34, "Yeah I'm just about to head out."

"Can you swing by the house before heading to your apartment?" Alan asked.

"Yeah sure, what's wrong?" Don asked in confusion, worry creeping into his mind.

Alan paused again, "It's your brother. He's been working on this one problem for days now; I haven't even seen him come into the house the past three days. I don't think he's been eating the food I bring him and I don't think he's been sleeping."

Don sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, massaging it lightly. "What do you want me to do?" The words came out sharper than he intended. "I mean," he continued hastily, "you know what he's like when he gets like this."

"I know, Donnie but I haven't been able to talk sense into him and both Larry and Amita are out of town at a conference." Alan said.

Don nodded to himself before answering, "I'll be there, give me fifteen."

Alan sounded relieved, making Don wonder how bad it really was. "Thank you, Don."

Don pulled the phone away from his ear and snapped it closed. "God damnit Charlie." He thought bitterly, "Can't you ever think about taking care of yourself?"

He made his way to his car and spent the entire drive thinking what he was going to say to his little brother.

Xxxxxx

When Don arrived to the house he saw that both the garage and house lights were on. He went to the garage first, suspecting Charlie hadn't magically snapped out of it in the time it took to drive over. When he stepped into the barn he had to stop for a moment to gape at the chalk boards cover literally every inch of the room. Don could see where Charlie had run out of room on the walls and ceilings and begun to write of boards simply placed on the floor. He was currently writing on one of the boards on the wall, scratching away furiously with his chalk.

Don sighed and gingerly made his way to his little brother, being extraordinary careful to not step of any of the many boards covering the ground. As Don grew closer he noted that Charlie was refusing to acknowledge his presence, or just hadn't even noticed it.

"Hey Charlie." Don said softly, not wanting to spook the younger man if the latter was true. When Charlie didn't respond or make any indication that he had heard him Don tried again, louder this time and he coupled it with placing his hand on his shoulder.

Charlie shrugged the hand off, "I'm working, Don." He mumbled. Don had to refrain from rolling his eyes, so he had noticed him.

"You need to take a break." Don said evenly, "Dad says you've been out here for days."

Again Charlie didn't reply, his focus purely on what he was writing.

Don sighed again and put both his hands on Charlie's shoulders, trying to turn him away from the board. "Come on Charlie, you have to take a break!"

Charlie jerked his body back and continued scribbling quickly, "I'm fine Don, just go back to the house. You're not even supposed to see what I'm working on."

"I can't read it anyway." Came Don's short reply, "Now come on, let's go inside." He grabbed Charlie's arm but Charlie yanked it back again.

Charlie whipped his head around to look at Don, momentarily pausing his writing. "I'm trying to work Don and I can't focus on it if you keep talking so please just leave so that I can continue my train of thought!" He spat the words out in one quick burst and turned back to the board, resuming his writing.

Don felt his stomach turn at the sight of his brothers face. He looked drawn, face unnaturally pale and his forehead had a light sheen of sweat on it. He had obviously lost weight and Don could see that his hands had developed a slight tremor. "God damnit Charlie!" He mutters under his breath, tone frustrated. As he watched Charlie work he saw his knees buckle slightly and Charlie tipped forward. Charlie grabbed the bottom of the board he was working on and pushed himself back up, his writing never faltering. That was the last straw for Don.

"Charlie, you need to come inside now!" Don snapped, concern and anger lacing his voice. Charlie didn't even seem to notice that anyone spoke. Don gave up on words and reached up, grabbing Charlie's writing arm and forcing it down to his side.

Charlie looked back at him but instead of looking furious at being disturbed like Don expected he looked confused.

"Don?" Charlie asked, utterly confused.

"When did you get here?"

"I-I've been here." Don replied, quite confused himself.

Charlie shook his head and tossed the chalk to his left hand, continuing writing.

"Charlie, please come inside." Don said gently, worry for his brother reaching a peak. He let go off Charlie's arm and watched as the man switched the chalk back to his right hand and continued writing.

Charlie paused halfway through writing an 'x', both of his hands traveling down to the lip at the bottom of the board where he braced himself, his knuckles turning white from the tense grip. He bowed his head and breathed heavily, his face twisted in an expression of pain. Don stepped up to him, putting his hands on his shoulders.

"Carlie are you okay?" Don asked, worry causing a pitch in his voice. Charlie rolled his shoulders back, pushing Don off of him. He grabbed a new piece of chalk from the tray, having dropped the last one, and continued writing furiously, his face still twisted in pain and pale.

Don shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. He took a deep breath, realizing what he had to do. He took another step towards his little brother and wrapped both his arms around him in a position like a bear hug to pin both of Charlie's arms at his sides. Charlie struggled against him but Don was stronger, especially in his weakened state. Don pulled him away from the board, trying to be as gentle as he could.

Charlie shouted at him and pushed back but Don held on. "Don, let me go!" Charlie yelled, straining desperately. "I have to finish this! If I don't finish it people are going to-" he cut himself off, causing Don to look down at him in confusion.

"People are go to what, charlie?" Don asked. Charlie didn't respond, instead beginning to struggle again. Don stopped walking and loosened his grip on his brother. "You aren't thinking straight." He said slowly, "You are sick and you aren't thinking straight."

Charlie turned his head around to scowl at his brother, his face furious. He tried to push against Don but it was weaker this time. His face relaxed slightly and he murmured "Don." In a small voice akin to a child before his eyes rolled back in his head and he sagged to the ground.

Don's eyes widened in surprise as he was dragged down to the ground, just barely managing to slid a hand under Charlie's head to keep it from slamming into the ground too hard. He shifted Charlie's body off of him so that he lay flat on the ground between two boards. Charlie was incredibly pale, his breath coming out in short pants. Don pressed two fingers to his neck, his anxiety levels rising when he felt how quickly Charlie's heart was beating.

Don brushed some hair back from Charlie's forehead, his completely lax face frightening Don more than he cared to admit. He tapped Charlie's face lightly to try to rouse him. "Charlie," he murmured, "come on, wake up." Charlie didn't stir so Don pulled out his phone and quickly dialed 911. He gave the information to the woman on the other side of the line and felt a rush of relief when she told him the ambulance was coming. Don debating for a moment between hanging up and calling his father, not wanting to leave Charlie's side, or staying on with the dispatcher in case anything happened to Charlie. He decided on the later, figuring that his father would come out once hearing the ambulance.

It wasn't long before Don could hear the ambulance coming and, just as he had predicted, Alan came running out.

"What happened?" Alan gasped breathlessly as he ran into the room, dropping to his knees next to his sons.

"He just collapsed." Don murmured, "He wasn't really making sense and he seemed confused and then he just collapsed. I was going to call you but I didn't want to hang up on the operated in case anything happened and I couldn't leave him…" He trailed off as Alan shook his head.

"It's fine." He said dismissively. He placed his hand lightly on Charlie's chest as if to shake him awake before glancing at Don. "His heart's beating far too fast, isn't it?" He asked worriedly.

Don nodded, "The ambulance should be here just about now."

Right on cue the sirens cut off and two men burst into the room, immediately making their way to Charlie, who was still unconscious. Don and Alan stepped back to let them work. One man held Charlie's wrist to check his pulse while the other pried his eyes open and shined a light in.

The man checking his pulse looked at his partner with concern on his features. "Get the paddles!" He directed quickly, "He's in cardiac arrest!"

Don heard his father gasp behind him as he tried to push past Don to get to Charlie but Don held him back, knowing that his father would only get in the way.

The second paramedic pulled a defibrillator from his bag and made quick work of setting it up. He ripped Charlie's shirt open and began placing electrodes across his chest, hooking them up to a monitor as he finished. Don noted with concern how quickly his brothers heart was beating. The first paramedic charged the paddles before yelling "Clear!" And pressing them to Charlie's chest. His body arched as the electricity ran through him and his heart rate jumped on the monitor but quickly returned to its unnaturally fast pace.

"Again." The other man directed.

"Clear!"

Charlie's body jumped again and his heart rate jumped with him, stalling for a terrifying moment, then starting back up again. Don forced himself to control his breathing, well aware of how close to panicking he was. Charlie's heart rate began to slow down as the four other men watched but the paramedic still held his position with the paddles charging in case it was needed again. The other decided it was unnecessary.

"Let's get him on a board." He said. The two men swiftly maneuvered Charlie so that he was laying out on the stretcher and slipped an oxygen mask over his face. The next few minutes of the paramedics carrying Charlie and loading him into the ambulance went by in a blur and the next thing Don knew his father was standing in front of him.

"Don." Alan said softly, "Can I-"

Don cut him off with a nod, knowing exactly what his father was asking. "Go ahead." He said, "I'll follow along behind." Alan nodded his thanks and clambered into the back of the ambulance, the paramedic hopping in after him and closing the door. The siren flipped on and the ambulance sped off, leaving a thoroughly frightened Don in its wake. Don followed closely behind the ambulance, his mind running through possible scenarios. Two words kept repeating in his mind, "Cardiac arrest." Charlie was too young for that, way too young for that. He was only a bit behind the ambulance but by the time he raced into the hospital Charlie was already being wheeled into the operating room, Alan being left behind in the hallway looking lost and confused. Don grabbed his arm lightly and lead him over to the chairs in a corner of the waiting room. Both men sat down heavily.

"I should call Amita and Larry." Don muttered and on further thought added, "And the team. I don't want them to find out in the papers or something." Alan nodded in response, not taking his eyes off the OR doors. Don stood up and walked around the corner to where the vending machines were for a bit of privacy before dialing Amita. She picked up after the third ring.

"Hello?" She asked.

"It's Don." Don replied.

Her tone considerably brightened, "Oh hey Don, what's up?"

"Is Larry with you?" Don asked.

"Yeah he's right here." Amita said, "Do you want me to put the phone on speaker?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

There was a slight sound of shuffling before Larry's voice came through, "How are you Don?"

Don ignored the question, "Are you two sitting down?"

"Um...no?" Amita replied with hesitation, "What's wrong?"

"You should probably sit down." Was Dons only reply. He waited for the sound of scuffling to stop before continuing, "Charlie collapsed. He went into cardiac arrest. Now we're not sure why yet but he's in the OR now."

He was met with a few moments of silence before Larry broke it. "Wha-what happened?" He stuttered. Don noted that this was probably the only time he had seen the genius lose his composure.

"I don't know." Don admitted, "My dad gave me a call an hour ago saying that he didn't think Charlie was eating or sleeping because he was working on some project and that he needed me to talk to him because Charlie wouldn't listen to him. He seemed really confused and off and I had to literally pull him away from what he was working on. Then he just collapsed." Each word that Don spoke was like a knife to his heart. Charlie wasn't supposed to get hurt like this.

There was a sound like a sharp intake of breath before Amita spoke, "We're coming back." Larry murmured in agreement from the background.

Don shook his head, "No, no your conference isn't over for another day."

"I don't care." Amita said with finality, "I'm coming."

"Amita, please." Don sighed, "Charlie won't be out anytime soon and I'm sure when he does he won't be up for visitors. Besides, wasn't it Charlie that persuaded the two of you to go to the conference anyway?"

There were murmurs of agreement from both people on the other side of the line before Larry finally said, "Alright. But I want updates the second you get them."

"Of course." Don agreed immediately. "Do you guys have any other questions, because I have to inform the rest of my team. They've all gotten pretty close to Charlie and I don't want to leave them out of the loop."

Amita and Larry both told him no and they exchanged goodbyes before hanging up. Don repeated the process with each member of his team, barely managing to convince each to stay home and get some rest. He finally hung up on the last call and slammed his phone closed to tuck it back into his pocket. Before he went back to the waiting room however he did a few dollar bills out of his pocket and got two cups of coffee from the machine, he wasn't sure how long he and his father would be waiting. Alan nodded his thanks when handed the steaming cup but no words were exchanged. After a few moments they sink into a tense and uncomfortable silence, waiting for news on Charlie.

{{{{{2 hours later }}}}}

After a few hours a doctor finally stepped through the double doors and approached Don and Alan.

"Family of Charles Eppes?" He asked, his name tag read Adams.

Both Alan and Don stood, nodding. "How is he?" Don asked worriedly.

"Well I'll give it to you straight." Adams said, "Charles had a heart attack."

"What?" Don all but yelled, his eyes wide with shock.

"He had a heart attack." The doctor repeated patiently.

"He's barely thirty!" Alan snapped, "How did this happen?"

"Basically he overworked his heart." Adams replied, "His heart was under massive strain which lead to cardiac arrest, producing a heart attack. From what we can tell he is malnourished, dehydrated, and suffering from exhaustion. We also found a number of dextroamphetamines in his system."

Don interrupted, "What do you mean dextroamphetamines? He was taking drugs?" He asked, anger coloring his voice. Alan looked at him wide-eyed in shock.

"No, no." Adams assured him, "Everything we found is over the counter, nothing illegal." Both Alan and Don breathed a sigh of relief. "But," Adams continued, "the combination of multiple drugs and little to no food or water lead to his collapse and heart failure. He shouldn't have any lasting problems or conditions from this but he will need to be hospitalized in order to recuperate and allow us to monitor him. In addition we will be having a discussion with him explaining how 'stay awake' drugs don't replace sleep." He said the last sentence with humor, glancing at Don knowingly.

"Can we see him?" Don asked.

"Because of his weakened condition only immediate family will be admitted, and you can only stay for a short time. He's unconscious now, and will be for a little while because of the drugs he's on but you can see him now. He's in room 140." Adams explained.

"Thank you." Don said, speaking for himself and his father.

Adams nodded, "You're welcome, and please help make sure he doesn't do this to himself again- he's far too young for this."

Don let out a quiet chuckle, thanked the doctor again, and lead his father to Charlie's room. They made their way into the room quietly because even though they knew he wouldn't be waking up for a while Don wanted to disturb him as little as possible. However, as he laid eyes on his little brother Don was the one who was disturbed. Charlie was deathly pale, his dark hair in stark contrast to the rest of his skin. A cannula snaked from his nose and multiple bags of fluids hung from a pole which held the IV in his arm. Don couldn't help but notice how young and small Charlie seemed in the bed, it added fresh pain to his heart.

"How could this have happened?" Alan asked, his voice taking on a tone of desperation.

Don just shook his head, "I don't know, I think it might have had something to do with his consulting job."

Alan looked at Don sharply, "You had him working on top of all this?"

"No!" Don said quickly, "No of course not. I meant his other job. He said something about needing to do it because people might die if he didn't. At least I think that's what he was saying, he wasn't making much sense."

"What do you mean 'his other job'? Other than being a professor?" Alan asked.

Don shook his head again, "I don't know if Charlie wants people to know, I found out by accident."

Alan glared at him, "You can't just say something like that when he looks like this and not expect me to ask questions."

"Let's just say Charlie works with some other agencies that prefer not to be named." Don said quietly.

Alan glanced at him oddly but returned his gaze to his youngest son. Don took a step forward and took Charlie's hand, waiting for Alan to do the same on the other side before sitting down. Don brushed a stray curl of hair out of Charlie's face, letting his hand rest in the top of his head for a moment before drawing it back. They remained like that for almost twenty minutes before a nurse knocked on the door lightly and entered.

"I'm really sorry to kick you guys out but visiting hours are over." She said sweetly, "You can come back at eight in the morning tomorrow."

Don nodded at her, "Thank you. We'll be out in just a minute."

She smiled lightly, "No problem." She said as she left the room.

Don looked back at his sleeping brother and squeezed his hands before whispering, "Get better, Charlie. I love you." He ran a hand through his hair again before standing up and leaving the room, giving his father a moment to himself. After a minute Alan joined him and they made their way to Don's car.

It was the next day when the doctor informed Don and Alan that Charlie should wake up and therefore could only be visited by one person at a time. Alan had insisted upon Don visiting Charlie first. Don suspected that it had something to do with the fact that his father seemed to know that Don partially blamed himself for what had happened. There was still little happening at the office so Don took the day off and went to visit Charlie.

He sat in an uncomfortably hard plastic chair that he had pulled over to the side of Charlie's bed. Don sat with his hand over Charlie's as he dozed off, tired from not getting any sleep the night before. All of the sudden Don felt a twitch under his hand. His eyes shot open and he jerked up, eyes staring intently on his little brother. "Charlie?" He half whispered.

Charlie emoted a soft groan and shifted a little. Don brushed some hair away from his face and leaned closer, "Hey Charlie," he murmured quietly, "can you open your eyes?" Charlie groaned softly again but his eyes flickered open slowly. Don couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as Charlie rolled his head to look at him.

"What happened?" Charlie asked, blinking in confusion.

Don suppressed an awkward chuckle, "You had a heart attack."

Charlie's eyes widened considerably, "What? That's-that's highly improbable, statistically. The average age for a-"

Don cut him off, "Slow down, you need to take it easy."

Almost instantly Charlie's eyes widened with a mix of shock and horror. "What day is it?"

"It's Thursday, the fifteenth." Don replied patiently.

"Oh God." Charlie gasped, "I have to get back to work!"

Don scoffed, "Are you kidding me, Charlie, that's what put you in here in the first place. In case you didn't hear me before, you had a heart attack!"

Charlie tried to sit up but decided against it and flopped back to the bed with a groan of pain. He held his eyes shut tightly for a moment and clenched his jaw against the pain as it rushed through his chest. He heard Don calling his name worriedly but it sounding like it was coming from a distance. When he finally reopened his eyes Don was staring at him with an expression akin to fear and the nurse call button in his hand. "Are you alright?" Don asked anxiously, turning the call button over in his hand.

"I'm fine, Don." Charlie muttered, "You didn't actually call the nurse did you?"

Dons lips parted slightly, the closest thing to a jaw drop as Charlie had ever seen him manage. "Of course I did." He replied.

Charlie sighed, "I said I'm fine, Don. I just need to get back to work."

Don scoffed and shook his head, "Sure you are. And you're not going anywhere until the doctor clears you."

"Don you don't understand," Charlie pleaded, "I need to finish this, it's incredibly important!"

"What's so important it's worth you life?" Don snapped.

"Some things are more important then one man!" Charlie retorted. As he grew angry with his brother's antics his heart rate began rising steadily, causing him to almost double over as a new wave of pain wracked his body.

Don went to his brothers aid, anger momentarily forgotten but before he could do anything a nurse bustled in.

"Now what's going on in here?" She asked, sweetly enough but she glared accusingly at Don.

Charlie waved a hand in her direction, "I'm fine, my brother is simply overreacting."

Don stepped in for his obstinate brother, "He's in pain." He stated simply.

The nurse moved closer to Charlie and pulled her stethoscope off from around her neck, pressing it to his chest. She hummed softly to herself as she listened to his heart before pulling away. "Is it just pain or does it feeling like your chest is tight and hard to breathe?" She asked.

"It's just pain." Charlie assured.

The nurse nodded and pursed her lips before pulling a syringe out from her pocket. "I assumed as much." She said, "This should take the edge off and help you rest."

Immediately Charlie became defensive. "No, no." He said, shaking his head, "I need to be able to think clearly, I have to get back to wor-work." He stuttered the last word as he was seized by a sudden burst of pain. Despite the excruciating feeling in his chest he tried to push himself up off the bed. Don caught his shoulders and tried to push him back down but Charlie resisted, pushing back. Don glanced over at the nurse and nodded. She uncapped the needle and tapped it to clear it of air before sticking it into Charlie's IV and injecting it. "No, no." Charlie mumbled. "Don, I need to think." As the drug began to take effect Charlie looped his hands behind Dons neck in an effort to keep himself up, muttering about how he needed to get back to work.

Don shushed him softly and gently pried his fingers from around his neck. He leaned forward and guided Charlie back down to the bed. Charlie's mumbles had turned to heavy breathing as he fought against the drug that was quickly pulling him under. Despite his addled state Charlie still managed to shoot a glare to his brother; one that clearly read as betrayal.

Don felt his heart twist as he watched his brothers face fall lax, the expression simply melting off as the drug took full effect. Charlie's normally vibrant eyes, bright with curiosity dulled to the point where they conveyed no emotion before flickering shut, the last image they saw being Don.

~Two Days Later~

"Whoa, wait what are you doing?" Dan snapped as Charlie shrugged a suit jacket over his shoulders and reached for his keys. Don had been staying at Charlie's house for the past few days so that when Alan was busy there would still be someone there. Charlie had disliked the arrangements but despite his protests, Don stayed. Don stanched the keys away, causing Charlie to flash him an indignant look.

"I have to go back to CalSci." Charlie replied coldly, "I have classes to teach."

"It's only been two days." Don insisted, knowing that short of physically restraining his brother there was really nothing he could do to stop him. "Don't you think you should take another few off?"

Charlie shot him another annoyed look before responding with, "That's two days of classes that I haven't taught and we have midterms coming up." He grabbed his keys and stuffed them in his pocket before trying to push past Don to walk out the door.

Don grabbed his arm, halting his stride. "Just, be careful." He said softly.

Charlie sighed lightly, his anger at his older brother disappearing, "I'll be fine Don." He muttered. Charlie pulled open the door and left, leaving Don to listen to the sound of his car pulling out of the driveway with worry.

Despite his older-brother instincts Don listened to him leave then turned and made his way back to the living room where he had been working from home. He knew Charlie would be okay, he always was.