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The stalker part 2

by elessar73

*** 3. chapter : Gifts and Surprises ***

Charlie pulled his car onto the parking lot of the 'Mirage'. His family had discovered the Spanish restaurant by chance, during his stay in the nearby Medical center. Flashes of memory danced through Charlie's mind; green, heartless eyes watched him closely, a knife dangled over his face. Charlie shook his head violently to banish the image. This was supposed to be a happy evening and Mary Clark wouldn't destroy it, never again. The young professor checked his watch and sighed, once again, he was late. Well at least he had a good excuse. The surprise he had organized for his father and brother had needed much more attention than he'd expected.

A smile played around Charlie's mouth, picking out the destination for the holiday trip he'd wanted to give to his father and brother was the easiest part by far. Somehow he hadn't calculated all the small issues correctly. And it had happened to him, the master of numbers. Finding the perfect time when neither Don nor Alan would have any appointments was difficult. Checking with the FBI to get Don a leave of absence without him knowing was trickier, but he had done it. It's always good to have friends in high places. His grin grew into a big smile, and now he was here. The plane tickets to Hawaii together with the room reservation lay sound and safe in his briefcase. He couldn't wait to see the surprised faces of his family. Imagining the faces Don and Alan would make when the learned about the holiday trip deepened his smile. The memories of Mary Clark were forgotten.

Charlie got out of his car and walked across the gravel pathway towards the restaurant. He could hear the sound of silverware clicking on plates, fractions of conversations and laughter through the open terrace doors. It was a nice spring evening, with a cloudless sky and millions of stars shining down on him, holding the promise of a wonderful evening. Charlie was pleased; it was the perfect day for surprises. He took the steps and pushed the door to the restaurant open. Charlie scanned the room in search of his family when a waiter approached him.

"Sir," the man asked in a bright Spanish accent. "May I help you?"

"I hope so," the young professor answered nonchalantly offering his best smile. "I have a reservation for Eppes. I guess my family's already here, I'm a little late," Charlie explained when his attention was drawn towards familiar laughter. The young man's smile brightened even more. "There they are," he announced with a smile in his voice. Charlie nodded his thanks to the waiter and crossed the dining room to get to his family.

"Hey," Charlie greeted his father and brother rubbing across the arms and slumped down in the remaining free chair. "Sorry I'm late, but it was a little swamy at CalSci."

"That's nothing new Buddy." Don clapped his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, the champagne was a good substitute for your presence." Don reached for the bottle seated in a champagne bucket and poured a drink for his him.

"Thanks," Charlie raised his glass. "Let's chink glasses." The three champagne glasses met in the middle above the table.

"To us," Alan offered the toast smiling brightly at his two boys thankful to have them both still around.

"So Buddy, what's about the surprise? Huh?" Don was curious to find out.

Charlie couldn't hide the grin that formed on his face. 'Big FBI brother's behaving like a little boy.' A short glance at Alan revealed that he was eager to find out what was going on as well. "Okay," Charlie gave in a theatrical sigh on his lips. "Actually I thought we could wait till the dessert."

Don shifted uneasy on his seat. "Oh come on Buddy, don't be cruel. You've let us wait long enough." Don's curiosity was now clearly evident in his voice.

"Well, before you both explode." Charlie shook his head, but leaned down to his backpack to search through his papers. He grinned victoriously when he found what he'd been searching for. He pulled a big brown envelope out of his bag and placed it on the table right in front of him. "Well,", he started his speech, "the last few months were a little rough."

Don squeezed his eyes and wondered where his brother was going from here.

"That's the understatement of the year," Alan felt the need to add and expressed out loud, what Don was feeling.

"However," Charlie cleared his throat, when memories hit him again. "You've both done so much for me, protecting me, always being there for me, saving me." Charlie felt a wave of emotions sweep over him. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He had to finish his speech before his emotions overwhelmed him. Charlie swallowed hard as he felt his brother's concerned look of on him. "I've got something for you." The young professor pushed the envelope into the middle of the table. "That's for you."

Alan and Don shared an inquiring look, feeling unsure about what to do next. "Come on guys, open it." Charlie said to no one specifically.

"Go ahead, Dad." Don grabbed the envelope and gave it to his father. Alan hesitated to take it, somehow he was afraid of what to expect.

Charlie clapped him encouragingly on his shoulder; he had regained his composure and just wanted to enjoy the moment. "It won't bite, Dad."

Alan nodded slightly, the spell that had bound him broke and he opened the envelope. A shy smile on his face he pulled several sheets of papers out. Confused he locked eyes with Charlie. His son's dark eyes sparkled with joy. Encouraged Alan took a closer look on the papers and took in a gasping breath when he realized what he was holding in his hand.

"Charlie." Alan's eyes grew wide. "This is amazing, but..." Alan was running out of words, tears appeared in his eyes.

"Dad," Charlie pulled his father in a tight embrace. "Everything's fine. You deserve it."

Alan felt tears roll down his cheek and he could barley held back a sob. Finally he let go of his younger son and faced Don who had grabbed the papers out of his hands. Don sat there in absolute disbelief and stared numbly at the papers.

"Buddy, you shouldn't, you mustn't. I mean we're family and of course we're there for you. You don't need to pay for it." Overwhelmed with emotions Don shook his head. The agent felt tears in his eyes too, embarrassed he looked at the ground.

Charlie reached out his hand and touched his brother's arm wondering for the first time if he had done the right thing. In his imagination his family had reacted in a much different way with pure joy and delight. But instead he was looking into unbelieving faces.

"If you don't want to go I can give it back," the young man whispered softly, taken aback by the behavior of his family. He stared down at his lap.

Though Don was still caught up in his thoughts, the big brother in him didn't miss the disappointment in his little brother's voice. His head flew up to find Charlie staring with sad eyes at the ground.

"No Charlie, please, it's wonderful, just great. Two weeks in Hawaii, that's just amazing, but…" Don struggled for words. "I have a job to do, and I can't just take two weeks off."

"That's all?" Charlie asked his face brightening up again.

"Well, apart from the fact, that you shouldn't give us such a big gift, it is pretty important." Don rubbed his forehead nervously.

A fat grin spread out on Charlie's face. "It's all covered, Bro," he stated in a happy tone.

Don's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "What?"

"Like I said, I've got it all covered. You have two weeks vacation. Merrick agreed."

Don shook his head. His genius brother had really pulled out all the stops. He searched his father's eyes. They glittered with joy and Don hadn't the heart to destroy that, and in fact he didn't have a reason to destroy it at all. Happily he sighed. "Hawaii, here we come." Don grabbed his glass and held it up to clink it with his family.

TBC