Well, one person asked me to continue so thank you for your amazing comment Lady Asphodelic! I hope you enjoy Charlie's story:)
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Don ran a hand down his rough face as he shifted in the uncomfortable chair. His father was sitting in the chair across from him on the other side of Charlie's bed. The genius was still asleep, though it had only been a few hours since he had gotten out from the operating room. Don was almost dozing off, with his head resting down so that it was resting on his chest, when he felt Charlie's hand shift under his own. He shot his head up and was leaning closer to his brother in a flash. His actions woke Alan, who leaned forward as well. Don brushed a stray curl of hair away from his face and looked at his still too pale face for any signs of waking up. However, Charlie's eyes remained tightly closed and Don found himself leaning back in his chair in disappointment, Alan following his lead. As they fell back into silence Don couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved that his brother was still asleep. Mentally he cursed himself for feeling like that, but still the thought remained. Don couldn't help but feel guilty for what had happened, despite his team and father telling him he shouldn't numerous times. "I should have protected him." The emotional side of his mind said as the logical side told him that as a hostage there was nothing he could have done. The big brother part of him mind however focused on the fact that Charlie had a whole secret side of him- one that had something to do with James Donovan and Derek Williams. Alan, unable to fall back asleep, offered to run to a shop for some coffee. Don, sick of hospital coffee, agreed and thanked him. It was another five minutes after their father had left the room when Charlie moved his hand again. Don leaned forward in his chair again, scanning Charlie's face anxiously for signs of wakefulness. As he watched expectantly, Charlie began to flicker his eyelids open.
"Come on, buddy." Don whispered encouragingly, "That's it, just open your eyes." Charlie complied, sluggishly prying open his eyes and blinking. His eyes were both brighter and duller than normal. They lacked the gleam of knowledge and curiosity that usually accompanied the genius, but it was made up for by the haze of drugs that filled them. The sight made Don feel like a shard of ice was being shot into his heart and was traveling down to settle in his stomach. "How're you feeling, buddy?" Don asked softly. Charlie's movements were slow and lethargic as he rolled his head and eyes so that he faced his brother.
"My head feels funny." He said slowly, not quite slurring but very close. "It's buzzing."
Don chuckled, "Yeah, Charlie, they have you on a lot of stuff."
Charlie grinned lopsidedly, "The numbers are gone."
"What?" Don asked, drawing his eyebrows together, "What numbers?"
Charlie motioned to his head almost absentmindedly, "The numbers. They're always there." He grinned again, "They're not here now though. That only usually happened when I'm drunk."
Don nodded like he understood, but in all honestly he didn't have a clue what Charlie meant. He chose to disregard the comment about Charlie being drunk. Deciding to make the most of his alone time with Charlie while he was, incapacitated, he chose to bring up what had happened earlier.
"Hey Charlie?" He said, "Do you know who James Donovan is?"
Charlie shook his head, "Nope. It's classified."
Don shook his head, "Well you said you were him earlier, so it's not very classified anymore."
Charlie furrowed his brow, "Damn." He muttered under his breath, "Bob's going to kill me."
Don stifled a laugh, "You know you can tell me anything Charlie, such as why Derek Williams was trying to kill you?"
Charlie let out a shuddering sigh, "I killed his girlfriend." He said quietly. His voice was filled with sorrow.
"What happened?" Don asked gently.
"Five years ago I used to lead a team." Charlie started, "It was compiled of some of the smartest people in the US. I was the leader. Since we were all consultants they gave us each fake names to operate under. That's all we knew each other by, well that and our skills. I went by the name James Donovan, I was the mathematician. I worked with Derek Williams- a scientist who was brilliant at forensics, Isobella Kera- a profiler and an expert at behavioral analysis, and Sarah Black- a hacker who could decrypt anything. Sarah and Derek were seeing each other. They tried to keep it hidden but we all knew. We worked together for a few years, tackling some of the NSA's most difficult cases. We were trained and treated as agents but when we weren't working together we did our own things. On the last case we worked we were called together to gather evidence on a man named Dimitri Vescula. He was a crime lord with ties to a terrorist group, and the NSA needed us to get everything we could on what they were planning. They told us that Vescula and his gang would be out of a warehouse for about an hour while they detained them. That was our window. We didn't have a lot of time so we just did a quick sweep. It seemed safe to we breached." Charlie stopped and took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. He brushed a hand under his eye to sweep away any stray tears.
Don gripped his hand tighter, "It's okay, Chuck." He said, "You don't have to tell me everything." He pushed aside the thoughts about Charlie apparently belonging to a secret team of geniuses and focused on supporting his brother.
Charlie shook his head, "No, no, it's okay. I can do this." He took another deep breath and continued, "We entered the room and began collecting as much information as we could. Papers, computer data, pictures- anything. We still don't know who actually triggered the alarm but all of the sudden one went off. The computer Isobelle was hacking shut off and the room started locking down. We didn't even know they had security measures like that in place. The whole room was filled with this beeping and we just broke into a panic as we tried to find the bomb and disarm it. We didn't find it in time." His voice broke in the last sentence and tears flowed freely down his cheeks but he stubbornly refused to make a sound.
Don swallowed the lump that rose in his throat and leaned over so that he could hug his brother. The two brothers embraced each other as Charlie cried.
~Meanwhile Alan stood outside the room, two coffees in his hands. His eyes brimmed with tears as well, but he knew that this was a moment for his sons. He turned back around and wandered to the sitting area where he remained.~
"It's okay, it's okay." Charlie whispered, pushing Don away weakly.
Don shook his head, "No, Charlie, it's not! Have you ever talked to anyone about this?"
Charlie shook his head, "No. It's classified."
Don sighed and shook his head before running a hand through his hair. "Do you want to hear the rest?" Charlie asked tentatively.
Don nodded, knowing that Charlie needed to get it out of his system. With Don's permission, Charlie continued. "The whole room went up in flames. I was thrown against a wall and lost consciousness for a few moments. When I woke up the fire was everywhere, I could barely breathe- the smoke was so thick. I managed to find Isobelle and I carried her to a window so she could get out before I went back for Derek and Sarah. When I found them he was cradling her body. She had been closest to the bomb- she died immediately. He refused to leave her, but he was weakened by the smoke. I managed to pull him away and get us out seconds before the whole building went up. I passed out again, and woke up hours later in a hospital. Derek was sitting next to me. As soon as he realized I was awake he began screaming at me. He blamed me for Sarah's death. He said that she was still alive, that I left her behind. He had to be dragged from the room. The next night I went home and he followed me there. He threatened me and dad, I'm sure if you were there he would have threatened you too. I called our handler and he took Derek away. That was the last I heard from him. That same night I got a call saying the team was disbanded. Sarah was dead, Derek was unstable, and Isobella had been paralyzed by the blast. And I was just fine." He spat the last sentence with such venom that Don realized he blamed himself just as much as Derek blamed him. All the things he had said to get Williams to release him had been an act.
"It wasn't your fault." Don assured, "You couldn't have known."
Charlie just shook his head, "I was their leader, and I failed them." He wiped another tear from his face and carried on with the story, "I found an article a few weeks ago for a professor in New York named Elisa Baker being killed. It was Isobelle. I knew it was only a matter of time before Derek came for me too. I never thought it would be like this." He looked sadly at the bruises on Don's throat. "I'm so sorry, Don." He whispered sadly.
"Charlie, don't ever apologize." Don said forcefully, "None of this was your fault, you hear me? None of it."
Charlie nodded and sniffled, "Thank you Don." He said.
"For what?" Don asked.
"For listening." Charlie replied.
Don smiled at his little brother, "I'm always going to be here for you, Charlie, no matter what. Anytime you need to talk, buddy. I'm here."
Charlie smiled back, but even as he did so he could feel his eyelids growing heavier. The drugs combined with the stress were making him sleepy and his bed was just so warm. He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest and the face of his brother slowly began to slide out of focus. Don saw Charlie being pulled back under as his eyelids began flickering. He laid a hand comfortingly on Charlie's knee.
"Get some sleep, buddy." Don said, "You deserve it." Charlie nodded and hummed softly as his eyes slid shut. Within moments his breathing deepened and evened out, a sure tell he was asleep. Don leaned back in his chair, there were still many questions left unanswered for him but he was content with waiting until Charlie was ready to share them all. Alan knocked on the door softly and entered, handing the coffee to Don.
As Don nodded his thanks, Alan whispered, "What did he say?"
Don just shook his head, it was Charlie's story to tell, "He just had to get some things off his chest."
Alan nodded, and the two drifted back into a comfortable silence. It might not be totally resolved, but Don knew that if he gave his brother time eventually it all would be.
