Open up the sky
All gather around
Praise the Lord and
Take a look at what I found
I got love that's as big as raging storm
I got walls coming down that I don't need no more
I got a sign on the door that says, 'Lonely don't live here anymore'

Kasey Chambers, "Sign on the Door"

Part 2 – Will Makes an Impression

Don and Will pulled into the driveway of a very nice Craftsman house. The pictures that Will had seen didn't do it justice. Don turned off the car and sat there for a moment, breathing deeply.

Don finally unbuckled his seatbelt and said, "Here we go…"

Will followed Don up the sidewalk. Will was struggling to assume his undercover mindset, to be what he needed to be to survive the next hour. Usually, that was one of the things he loved about Don, his ability to let Will be himself. Will spent most of his time as other people, most of his time as one artificial persona or another, but Don stripped that away and made the naked Will underneath feel real. However, the naked Will was feeling very exposed right now. He grimaced and reached once again for his training.

Too soon, Don opened the front door and called, "Dad? Charlie?"

"Donnie!" An older man came out of the kitchen, wearing a pair of mitten potholders. Alan Eppes, father, once-anti-war radical, retired city planner. Don said he wasn't surprised when Don told him he was bisexual. Let's see how he reacts when confronted by concrete proof.

Mr. Eppes stopped short and Will made himself smile. Mr. Eppes eyed him and pulled off his potholders. "Hi. I don't think we've met."

"Dad, this is Will, Will Stevens. He's my …"

Will was so distracted by the adorable sight of Agent Don Eppes blushing, that he didn't immediate realize that Don hadn't finished his sentence. Multiple possibilities flitted through Will's mind, but he settled on the simplest.

"'Boyfriend' is the word he's looking for," Will said, grimacing internally at the defiance in his voice.

"Yeah," Don mumbled and Will wondered uneasily if he'd gone too fast. Had they used the word 'boyfriend' with each other yet? Well, it was out there now.

"Ah," Mr. Eppes said, his voice cool, his eyes appraising. He politely reached out a hand. "Nice to meet you." His grip tightened painfully on Will's hand and Will resisted the urge to squeeze back.

Unaware of the power struggle, Don said, "Dad, this is the friend from the DEA who … helped me when I got into trouble."

Mr. Eppes's attitude changed completely, from distance and wariness to warmth and gratitude. "Oh!" He took Will's hand in both of his and his grip was now friendly. "Thank you."

"Umm, you're welcome," Will responded.

With a start, Will realized that when Don had first introduced them, Mr. Eppes had thought that Will was the one who'd beaten and tortured Don. That, until Don had said that it was Will who helped him, that Mr. Eppes thought Don was still so broken that he was now bringing home his tormentor. Had Will missed signs that Don was still that messed up? Was he just seeing in Don what he wanted to see?

Don walked inside and Will followed automatically. With the ease of long familiarity, Don began shedding jacket, keys, badge and gun on a side table. Mr. Eppes made a cook's sound of dismay and turned back to the kitchen. Don thumbed through the mail in a green bowl while Will looked around.

Will hardly registered what he looked at while he worried about what Mr. Eppes might know. Will was aware that Don had been damaged, he had demonstrated that very well in the Chamber, but Will had hoped that Don had healed some, had gotten over the shock of discovering his bisexuality and the loss of his boyfriend to his brother. Will knew that the Don he had seen at the Chamber was an aberration, and that Don was normally strong and confident. He'd thought that Don had regained a lot of his swagger in the last few months. Was it just wishful thinking on Will's part?

Under his breath, Will murmured his relaxation mantra from Aikido. He wasn't going to get through this if he started second-guessing himself.

Someone came thumping down the stairs -- a slender man with a riot of dark curls. Will had only seen him from far away before, and, though he knew Charlie was only five years younger than Don, Will kept wanting to use the word "boy" to describe him.

"Hey, did I hear Don?" Charlie called then stopped and stared. Will found himself impaled by a pair of big brown eyes that fairly glowed with intelligence and curiosity.

"Do I know you?" Charlie asked.

With Charlie's arrival, Don almost seemed to shrink, to withdraw into himself, like a sea anemone withdrawing into the coral for protection. Then, just as abruptly, Don straightened up and bristled, now like a pufferfish determined to defend its territory against a shark. "No, Charlie," Don said. "This is Will."

"Hi," Charlie said, his bright eyes sweeping over Will.

"Charlie," Will said, holding out his hand. "I've heard so much about you." Though highly colored by Don's inferiority complex.

Charlie took the hand and shook it slowly, his hand dry and unexpectedly calloused against Will's. "I bet Don's told you the most embarrassing stories he knows."

"Not at all," Will said, pulling his hand from Charlie's distracted grip. "Everyone in LA envies the FBI their amazing mathematician."

"Oh?" Charlie said, brightening.

Will held back a smile. It was too easy to read Charlie. He was like a child, eager for praise from his elders.

"Where's your boy tonight?" Don asked.

For a second, Will didn't know what Don meant, and then he realized Colby and all urge to smile fled. Did Don want Colby here for comparison purposes? Or was Will just here to show Colby what he missed?

"He had to do laundry," Charlie said grumpily. "Said that if he didn't, he was gonna have to start showing up at work in a garbage bag."

"Hmm," Don said, and Will could tell that Don was picturing Colby in that garbage bag. A jolt of jealousy shot through Will, so painful that he had to clench his fists to keep from crying out. He'd managed to suppress all memory of Colby, file him away in the category of things to deal with when his relationship with Don was stronger. Why had he insisted they come over here? He'd forgotten that Colby would be included as part of this family.

"Are you here for a case?" Charlie asked Will.

It took all of Will's undercover training to answer casually. "Nope. Just dinner. And to meet Don's family."

"Meet his …" Charlie's eyebrows shot up. "You and him?"

"Yeah," Don said, reaching for Will's hand in a way that helped slightly to settle Will's jangling nerves. "Me and him."

"Wow!" Charlie said, his eyes growing wide. "That's weird but cool!"

Will blinked at this easy acceptance. First Don's father then his brother … You'd think Don brought boyfriends over all the time. "You do have an odd family," he mumbled.

Charlie laughed, looking even younger, then, with a last speculative glance at Will, headed towards the kitchen. Don watched him go, the bristly defensiveness muted but still present.

Will mentally set aside his own fears and focused on the task at hand, convincing Don that Charlie wasn't going to steal him. He squeezed Don's hand. "See, that wasn't so bad."

"Not yet," Don grumbled, still staring at the door to the kitchen.

Will shook his head and gently tilted Don's face up for a soft kiss. He urged reassurance into the kiss and, unexpectedly, received some back from Don.

Will pulled away and took Don's hand. "It's a nice house."

"Yeah," Don said, and kept hold of Will's hand as they walked into the front room. "I grew up here. Really strange that my brother now owns it. But I still think of it as my parents' house."

"Your mom?" Will asked.

"She died a few years ago. Cancer."

Will grimaced, he'd forgotten. "I'm sorry."

Don stopped in the middle of the room and seemed a little at a loss, so Will sat on the couch and encouraged Don to sit next to him.

Will reached for a neutral topic. "I saw blueprints in the dining room, what are they for?"

"My dad has always had blueprints around," Don said. "He's doing consulting right now too."

Will responded and they carried on a conversation, neither paying much attention to what they were saying, just chattering on automatic. Cautiously, in case it made Don uncomfortable, Will put his arm around Don. With a soft sigh, Don leaned into Will. That small gesture brought an unexpected lump to Will's throat. He was with his boyfriend, showing affection in his boyfriend's parents' house, just like a heterosexual couple could. Don snuggled closer and Will tightened his hold.

Mr. Eppes approached from the kitchen, clearing his throat noisily. Don jerked away from Will, but Will forgave him because Don was blushing like a teenager who'd gotten caught necking with his date.

Will smiled at Mr. Eppes, who smiled back, perhaps sharing amusement at Don's out-of-character prudishness.

The dish of lasagna that Mr. Eppes was holding smelled promising. "Got enough for an extra plate?"

"Are you kidding?" Mr. Eppes said, "With this recipe, if my boys don't eat too, I'm drowning in lasagna for a week."

Don and Will got to their feet and followed Don's father to the table. Charlie came out of the kitchen with two extra place settings and many searching glances at Will. Will resisted the urge to see if he'd suddenly grown horns. Mr. Eppes set the lasagna down and went back to the kitchen.

"Sit! Eat!" Charlie said. "Or else it's lasagna leftovers for me, too."

Mr. Eppes returned with a steaming basket of garlic bread and served everyone a slice then a generous portion of lasagna.

Schooling his face in case he needed to control a gag reflex, Will took a judicious taste of the lasagna. He was pleasantly surprised. "This is excellent, sir."

"It's Alan," Mr. Eppes said, "It's an old family recipe from the homeland." He shook his head and laughed. "Actually, it's from a restaurant that Don's mother and I used to go to all the time. When they were closing, I got the chef to give me the recipe."

Will nodded and was reaching for his glass of water when Mr. Eppes said, "So, tell us about yourself."

Will blinked. Next to him, Don chuckled.

"What," Mr. Eppes said cheerfully, "you thought I was gonna be so shocked that you were gonna get out of the customary quizzing?"

Well, actually, yes. He couldn't help but compare Mr. Eppes's direct and pleasant method to the oblique and hostile questions that Don would get if he ever met Will's family. Not going to happen, not if I can help it.

Now, he just had to prove that he was safe, non-threatening and worthy to date an Eppes.

He took a drink of water then put on his best 'I'm harmless' smile. "Where should I start?"