-1Title: An Eppes Christmas Carol
Author: 1st endeavor
Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter1
A/N: I really appreciate your reviews.
Chapter 4 - "Revelations"
At 10:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve in a Craftsman house located in Pasadena, three men sat quietly on the floor near a flickering fireplace. The older man lay on some cushions directly in front of the fire. A younger man sat with his legs crossed and his back against a chair, a cushion placed behind him for maximum support and the third man sat against the wall directly across from his younger brother. The only other light in the room radiated from a Christmas tree.
They had arrived home almost at the same time. Alan had been dropped off by a cab and not ten minutes later his oldest son had pulled into the driveway. He had stood in the doorway, holding a bag of potatoes in his arms, waiting for Don to get out of his car when another pair of headlights blinded him as his youngest son pulled in and parked behind his brother's car.
Charlie had been completely soaked, from the top of his curly head to his shoes and there had been an odor of fuel surrounding him. Forestalling their questions with a shake of his head and a mumbled "I need a shower" he had gone straight up the stairs before joining them by the fire.
All three were now silent, each one lost in his own thoughts just letting the warmth from the fire comfort them.
Alan was the first one to break the silence as he noticed a bandage on the side of Don's cheek.
"Donnie, what happened, what did you do to your face?."
This question got Charlie's attention and he leaned over to get a closer look.
"Yeah, what happened?" he asked.
Don had decided not to tell them about the incident earlier in the day but before he knew it he had told them the whole story about the raid on the warehouse and the suspect shooting at him.
Alan's face paled and he stammered out. "How…how did the bullet miss you.?"
Don ruefully dug his watch out of pants pocket.
"Mom's watch." he answered "I was wearing the watch that she gave me for Christmas, you know our last one together and somehow the bullet deflected off of the watch face and missed my head.." he paused and raised his head to look at them. "I could hear it as it passed by my ear." he added softly and stopped to clear his throat.
"The bandage just covers a cut from the shattered dial on the watch. I'm okay though," he added quickly, " so you don't have to worry about me. I was really lucky… just a scratch on my cheek and a small bruise on my wrist where my watch was." His eyes lowered to the watch in his hand.
Although he tried not to show it, they could tell that he was visibly shaken by the close call that he had experienced that day. The agent stretched out a trembling hand and set the watch on the floor in front of him.
His father and brother just stared at him in awe, both too shocked to say anything, overcome by the impact of his words.
Alan shifted his position and started to reach for the watch when Charlie suddenly grabbed his arm and stared at the cut on his forearm.
As his concerned eyes met his fathers, he asked. "Dad, how did you hurt your arm?
His older son leaned over and narrowed his eyes. "Wait, where's your car, I don't remember seeing it out front, did you have an accident?
Charlie looked at his brother and agreed with him. "Your right, it's not out front…how did you get home? he asked as he turned back to his father.
Alan didn't want to say anything, in light of what Don had survived that afternoon, he felt they had been traumatized enough but from the looks on their faces he knew he would have to tell them the truth.
"All right, I was involved in an accident this evening. I was at a stop light and a truck came around the corner too fast and lost control. The driver put on his brakes but the truck continued to slide right toward my car."
He paused and swallowed, looking from son to son, the fear of the moment returning to him and he reached out a shaking hand to gently touch Don's face and then Charlie's.
"I thought …I would never get to see you two again." he added softly.
Impulsively, his youngest grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it, while Don patted his other forearm.
Alan cleared his throat and continued. "I couldn't get my seatbelt off and when the truck hit the car and the airbag deployed, I covered my head with my arms and waited for the end." he finished shakily.
His sons sat open-mouthed for a moment and then Don shook his head as if to clear his mind and asked, "What happened next?"
Alan shook his head slowly, "I'm….I'm not really sure. I heard the windshield shatter and some glass hit my arm and then everything just…stopped. Then some people came and helped me out and I remember walking around to the front of my car. The front end was crumpled up and the windshield was broken but the rest of it didn't look too bad. I had to have it towed in though. I called a cab when I couldn't get in touch with you Donnie." He sighed sadly, "Now I know why."
He shrugged his shoulders "Believe me, it could have been a lot worse . The driver was able to get control of it just in time. I was pretty lucky."
"And the only injury was the cut on your arm?" Don asked, shifting his position so he could get a better look at it. "It's not very deep. Dad, that's….that's amazing."
Alan huffed, "No more amazing than your bullet encounter."
The older man's head lowered and then he suddenly brought it back up again and his expression changed to one of realization. He pulled back from his sons and began searching through his pockets.
Startled by his behavior, Charlie cried out. "Dad, what is it, what's wrong?"
Alan shook his head. "I just remembered something. I was wearing the watch your mother gave me, you know, like Donnie's. Our last Christmas together she gave us all watches, remember?" he asked as he pulled the object from his shirt pocket.
Pointing at it he said excitedly. "Look, the dial's broken. The glass from the windshield must have hit it first and was diverted from my head."
He quickly turned his wrist over and sure enough there was a small bruise where his watch had been. His eyes met those of his sons and with a shaking hand he placed the watch on the floor next to Don's.
Don scooted back and leaned against the wall again and with an elbow on an upraised knee he covered his mouth with his hand and stared at the watches, to overcome with emotion to speak.
Alan slumped against the cushions, suddenly at a loss for words.
Charlie didn't move, he seemed frozen in a sitting position, his blank eyes never leaving the watches on the floor. Calculations were racing through his mind, odds and probabilities, statistics and analysis were coming at him at an alarming rate. He knew something that the other two were not yet aware of and his face visibly paled in the firelight.
Don looked up just as his brother's face turned a ghostly white and reacted instantly .He was afraid the younger man was going to pass out so he scooted over and grabbed his brother's wrist.
Charlie let out a hiss of pain and jerked his arm back from his brother as he scooted backwards.
Once again Don's eyes narrowed suspiciously , this time at his brother and he asked. "What's wrong with your arm?" as he moved to sit beside of him.
Alan had moved closer as well and with concerned eyes on his youngest he commented.
"You never told us why your clothes were soaked when you came in. What happened to you today?"
Charlie looked from one to the other and swallowed. He couldn't do this now, he needed to work on his calculations, he had to make some sense out of all of this, he could tell them about this some other time. Some of the panic must have shown in his eyes, because Alan grabbed his other hand and turned his head to make him look at him.
"It's okay son, just take a deep breath and talk to us. Please don't retreat into your numbers. Please Charlie?"
Don squeezed his shoulder from his other side pleading with him. "Come on buddy, don't do this."
The younger man swallowed again, ducked his head and then shook it hesitantly. A few years ago he would have made a run for the garage and his equations, they were his sanctuary against extreme emotional situations but he was surprised to find that he didn't want to do that now. He did want to tell them and he raised his head and took a deep breath.
"I know that sometimes I lose myself in the numbers but that isn't what is happening here. The probabilities of what I am about to tell you are just too numerous to even consider."
"As a matter of fact, it is a mathematical impossibility….and yet, it happened." he said more to himself than anyone else.
"Come on Charlie, speak English." Don demanded, the frustration clearly evident in his voice.
The young man paused and took a deep breath before saying, "I guess you guys were a little too busy to hear about the plane crash at LAX this evening."
"Plane crash." Alan whispered."
Don's eyebrows shot up, "Your plane crashed?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, something to do with the landing gear. The front wheels came down but the rear ones only came halfway down and collapsed when we hit the runway. It seemed as if the plane was dragged for miles before it finally came to a stop. I can still hear the sound of the metal scrapping along the runway and smell the engine fuel."
He took a deep breath and continued on with his story feeling comfort now at having them both sitting so close to him.
"I thought it was the end,… you know. I mean, I've done the statistics for the FAA on crashes like this one and in all of them the friction from the metal on the tarmac ignites the engine fuel and the plane explodes…..killing all on board." he whispered ducking his head back down once again.
"But not this time." Alan whispered as he gently pushed a curl aside so he could see his son's eyes.
"What was different about this one?" Don asked in a tremulous voice. "Did they figure it out?"
Charlie shook his head. "No, they don't have a clue. The pilot had radioed ahead of course and the emergency crews were on hand. The firemen hit us with foam as soon as we touched down and kept trying to keep us covered to prevent the fuel from igniting. We jumped out of the emergency exit as soon as the plane came to a stop and ran as fast as we could and somehow we all got out before the plane exploded. The thing is….they've tried this before and it has never worked."
The only sound in the room came from the crackling fire behind them. The younger man glanced at his father and brother and finished his story.
"We were covered with foam and fuel so they hosed us down to get it all off. The paramedics checked me out and let me go so I just picked up my car from the parking garage and headed home."
"What about your arm….did you hurt it getting off the plane.' Alan asked trying to get a closer look at it.
Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a bruise, Dad, something hit me when we landed. I was bent over in my seat, with my arms over my head and things were flying all around the cabin and then something hit me really hard and caused the bruise. Don't worry, the medics checked it out, it's not broken or anything."
Don gently took his brother's hand and as he turned it over he pulled it closer to the firelight, wincing as he got a good look at the dark black and blue mark on the top of his wrist. There was no doubt in his mind that whatever object had hit him would surely have killed Charlie if it had hit his head instead of his wrist. It was a wonder that his wrist hadn't been broken. His eyes widened when he realized the shape of the bruise. It was perfectly round, just like the shape of a watch.
Alan noticed it as well and they locked eyes momentarily before turning to face Charlie.
The younger man just nodded his head and deftly reached into his pants pocket. He held the watch up so they could see the broken dial.
"Why is your bruise so much darker than ours? Alan asked as he studied his son's wrist.
"If I had to make a guess, I'd say it had to do with trajectory. The bullet must have hit your watch at an angle." He glanced at his brother who nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah, the guy was hiding up on a catwalk right above me and as I was bringing my gun around the bullet hit the watch."
"Dad, the glass also caught your watch at an angle, so you didn't get the full force of the hit. In my case, the object hit the watch straight on, bearing the full weight of the impact."
Clearing his throat he asked, "Don, what time is shown on your watch?"
"Huh?" the agent asked as he picked up his own watch and answered. "It was broken at 6:37 p.m. … why?"
Charlie swallowed and then asked his Dad the same question.
Puzzled, Alan picked up his own watch and checked the time. His eyes widened and he made eye contact with Don. "It's the same…it's impossible…but it's the same time as yours."
Two pair of eyes slowly turned to face Charlie.
"What about yours…..what time is on your watch?" Alan asked but somehow he already knew what the answer was going to be.
The young man didn't even have to look at it to know what it said so he held it so they both could clearly see that it also read 6:37 p.m.
"I don't get it….how could something like this happen? " Don wondered aloud.
"The odds," the professor's voice faltered here, "the odds would favor maybe one of us surviving….two of us at the most….and the odds of all three of us surviving? Well as I said before, it would be a mathematical impossibility...and the odds of it all happening at the same time...I couldn't even begin to guess.""
Alan suddenly turned his watch over and then looked at his sons.
"Do you remember what your mom had inscribed on the backs of your watches.?" he asked excitedly.
"Yeah, sure." Charlie answered. "She wrote, "Always wear this on Christmas Eve."
Don agreed, "That's the same thing that is on mine."
Alan nodded his head, "Mine too. I thought it was so I would always remember her on Christmas, but now I'm not so sure."
"What are you thinking Dad.?" Charlie asked.
"What if……now I know this is going to sound crazy….but what if she knew what was going to happen today? " He held up his hand to forestall any arguments. "I know …I know….but I believe that some how she knew and she was looking out for us."
Charlie opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out and turned to look at his brother who appeared to be as speechless as he was.
No one had an answer. They sat there in silence, overwhelmed by the events of the day and the implications of Alan's words..
Moments later, Charlie came to a decision. On the plane, in those last few moments he had regretted the fact that he had never told his family how much they had meant to him and now he had been given a second chance.
"Dad, Don, on the plane when I thought I was going to die, I thought of you two." he stretched out his hands and held Alan's hand in his right hand and took his brother's hand with his left hand.
He ducked his head to gather his words carefully and then raised his head to look them in the eye.
'I have never told you how much I love you both and if I had died today, you would have never known how I felt about you," he paused and took a deep breath. "Now you know, and Don, I just wanted to tell you how much ….well, I mean….what you said in the Vanity Fair interview….it means a lot to me."
Don moved closer so that he could take hold of his father's hand as well and now they were all joined in a circle. He hesitated momentarily and then taking a deep breath he began.
"Dad, Charlie, as I watched that bullet coming toward me, I also thought of the two of you and how I had never told you how much I love you both and somehow today I was given a second chance too., " and squeezing their hands tightly, he went on. "I was pretty sure that you knew how I felt Dad, but I don't think that Charlie has any idea."
He looked his brother in the eye as he said. "I love you Charlie and I'm sorry I never let you know how I felt before now."
"Don, Charlie," Alan spoke quietly as tears ran down his cheeks. "As the truck was coming toward me, I closed my eyes and saw your faces and whispered that I love you both so very much and I wanted another chance to tell you that. It looks like we all got a second chance today."
The emotional events of the day had taken it's toll on them. Tears glistened on their faces in that moment of truth and suddenly Margaret's angel began to glow brighter and brighter. They remained in the circle and were still holding hands as they turned to look at the angel.
A warmth seemed to radiate from the angel and encircle them, surrounding them protectively.
Simultaneously, Don and Charlie both whispered "Mom" and Alan softly whispered "Margaret."
The bright light and the warm feeling made them become drowsy and one by one they fell asleep in that circle.
As they lay there the ghost of Margaret Eppes gently kissed her husband's lips and whispered "I love you" as she watched him smile.
She kissed Don's forehead and whispered his name lovingly and watched as his face relaxed in his sleep.
As she ran her hand through Charlie's curls and kissed his cheek a single tear fell from beneath his lashes and he whispered, " I miss you, Mom."
A/N: One more chapter left.