DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

"My son is named William too," I heard my mother saying and I froze in place. It can't be! How did she know? She couldn't have known! Why did she say that to me?

It took me a while to realize that my sister is yelling, calling her: "Mom, mom, mom!"

"Dana, what's happening?" I yelled at the phone, too: "Dana?"

There was no answer. My sister kept talking, but not to me. She was crying now. I didn't need her answer, anyway. I knew. My mother just died.

I hung up the phone. I stayed on the line for too long. Why did I call her in the first place? Not only it was dangerous, it was heartbreaking too. I listened my mother die, but I couldn't be there with her. I couldn't be there for my sister. My family probably hates me by this point. How could they not? All they know is that I'm gone. They don't know why. They'll never know why.

I threw the brand new mobile phone in the first trash can. I hid the number as I dialed, so that she couldn't call me back, but my sister is an FBI agent, she might try to trace the call. I doubted she would though. I knew my sister gave up on me, just as she thinks I gave up on her.

If only I could tell her how far away from truth that is!

My mother didn't give up on me. I guess she's the only one. Maybe it would be easier for me if she did. For me, for her, for everybody…

There was something else. Someone else was with my mother and sister, I heard Dana talking to him. I knew who it was even though I never met him. He was a family too. He was my sister's lover and my brother.

It sounds incestuous, I know, but it's not really if you take into account that I'm only their half-brother. It's just hard to think of Dana as merely a half-sister or of him as anything but a stranger. Neither one of them knows…

I didn't know either, until my father died. I wish my mother never told me, but she thought I had a right to know. My father knew, and he forgave her a long time ago, but my siblings were kept in darkness. Mom said it was up to me whether we'll tell them or not. It was a choice I couldn't make. It was a situation I couldn't handle. I fell apart and it killed my marriage. I even lost the visitation rights for my children. My heart breaks every time I think about my Maggie or Charlie Junior, which is why I don't allow myself to remember them anymore.

It's not just the fact that my mother cheated on my father. I could live that. But did she have to cheat on him with Cancerman? He was an evil man, as I learned later from Dana. I started to believe myself to be evil, too. I seemed to destroy everything I touch, just like him.

One day I just left, moved, disappeared. I kept in touch with my family, but I never visited. It didn't seem to bother anyone but mom, but not even she insisted much on my return. With me out of picture, she was allowed to see my children again, her grandchildren.

After my next move, I left her with no new contact information. I just vanished. It was for the best. I was a drunken looser, obsessed with gambling and having unprotected sex, which probably resulted in more children carrying that bastard's genes. I never forgot my family. I kept in touch with Skinner and he informed me of everything I needed to know: death of my niece, birth of my nephew… At the same time, I made him promise never to tell them anything about me. One day, I thought, when I get hold of myself, when I get my life back in order, I will come back to them as the same old Charlie that they knew and loved, but not like this. Nobody needed this Charlie. The only problem was, he wasn't willing to leave me. He kept winning. I kept sinking.

It was Skinner who called me to tell me that my mother is dying, that she was asking for me. Skinner and I go back a long way. He was my ex-wife's father's best friend, back in the day when we were still dating. He was always at her house, and despite the age difference we became good friends. When he told me that FBI is looking to recruit more doctors, I suggested my sister, knowing that she wasn't happy with her choice of career.

"Are you sure about this?" Skinner asked me: "It's a dangerous job."

"My sister is a tough girl," I answered: "I'm sure she can make a difference."

"All right then," Skinner agreed: "If she accepts, I'll make sure that she ends up under my supervision, so that I can keep an eye on her and insure her safety."

"Just don't tell her that you know me. She won't accept if she finds out that it was her baby brother's idea."

"It's a deal!" Skinner laughed.

Skinner is man of his word. He never told her.

I kept walking, lost in thoughts, until I reached my apartment building. I sighed heavily, as I walked inside for the last time. I couldn't stay, it wasn't safe, not after I made that call. Italy itself wasn't safe anymore, and I debated which country to go to next.

He found me sitting at the kitchen table, with my head in my hands and packed bags on the floor next to me. I was extremely grateful for his timely arrival. If he came just a few minutes later, the bottle in front of me might not still be unopened and I struggled hard to keep it that way. He didn't need to see me drunk. I couldn't do this, not to him, the only person who made my life bearable. He was my strength, my only reason for living. I left my country to keep him safe and I wouldn't hesitate to kill for him if I had to.

"What's happening, uncle?" he asked me worriedly.

"I'm sorry William," I said, knowing that it will break his heart to leave this country, his school, his girlfriend… "We have to move again."