Disclaimer: I do not own 'nor claim to own the rights to Numb3rs or any of it's characters. The following story is written for entertainment purposes only.

"If I'd Only Known"

By: Lorrie

3 Disagreements

Mob connections

2 bullets

1 Father's anguish and retribution

Chapter 7 - If I'd Only Known . . . About Things Left Unsaid (Charlie's POV)

Charlie entered the ICU with uncertainty. He cringed when he saw Don lying so still on the bed before him. I don't remember ever seeing Don this still, not even when he's sleeping. He thought as he cautiously took a seat beside of the bed.

His hand reached out to touch his brother and then he quickly jerked it away as if he had been burned, realizing that he was afraid of what Don would feel like. He forced himself to try again and managed to lay his hand on his brother's arm, just lightly at first. He hadn't really known what to expect, if his skin would be cold and rigid, or warm and supple, but once he had his hand there, he couldn't make himself move it.

He sat in silence for a while, just staring at his own hand on Don's forearm, absently slowing moving up and down just fractions of an inch. He felt the tears stinging his eyes as he listened to the heart monitor and the respirator reminding him that Don wasn't conscious, he didn't realize he was even there with him . . . or maybe he did.

Charlie's mind rested on something that Larry had read to him recently from one of his Life Science magazines; something about ones consciousness being trapped in an unconscious body; able to hear, but not able to communicate. He pulled himself together and forced his eyes to look at Don's face. The breathing tube snaked from his mouth, upward to the respirator which was compressing rhythmically, forcing air into Don's lungs. Charlie studied his face and moved his hand from Don's arm and gently touched his cheek. "Don. Can you hear me? I want you to know that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to hide in my numbers again like I did with mom. I'm here for you." He waited for a moment, hopeful that there would be some response, but there was none.

The nurse stepped in and Charlie started to get up, knowing that he had been sitting there longer than the 15 minute rule.

"No, no, please, keep your seat. He's responding to your voice." She said quietly.

"What do you mean? He hasn't moved." Charlie said.

"No, but these numbers tell us a lot." She pointed to the blood pressure monitor, which also showed Don's pulse. "Keep talking to him. He hears you." She wrote something down in the chart and left the room.

Charlie noted the BP and pulse read out. BP is 122 / 82. He noted and then turned back to Don, his hand on his cheek again. "Don, I am so sorry about this morning." He felt the hot tears in his eyes again. "I know you were just trying to look out for me, that you didn't want me to be somewhere where I might get hurt." He pulled in a ragged breath. "It's just sometimes I get so caught up in the numbers and I really want to help you on your cases." He laughed slightly. "It's important to me because it's important to you." He paused and looked at the readout again. 130 / 82. That could be due to anything. He reasoned.

He settled back into the chair, moving his hand from Don's cheek back to his hand. As he did so, he looked at the readout again. 122/82. "You do hear me, don't you?" Charlie asked and as he tightened his grip on Don's hand, he felt a very slight movement of Don's fingers. "Nurse! Nurse!" He yelled.

The same nurse who had encouraged him to continue talking to Don quickly came into the room. "What is it?" She asked urgently.

"He moved his fingers. I felt him move his fingers against my hand." Charlie answered excitedly.

The nurse moved closer to Charlie. "See if you can get him to do it again."

Charlie tightened his grip on his brother's hand. "Don, squeeze my hand again." Nothing. "Don, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Nothing happened.

"Charlie, sometimes the body has uncontrolled muscle impulses. Maybe that's what happened." The nurse explained.

"No, he squeezed my hand." Charlie insisted and turned back to Don. "Don, I love you and I know you can hear me, now squeeze my hand, damn it!" Don's fingers moved slightly at first and then began to curl around Charlie's hand. Charlie had tears running down his cheeks as he looked up at the nurse. "See."

The nurse smiled. "Yes, I see. Stay with him while I get the doctor in here. I think someone is on the verge of waking up."

When the nurse left the room. Charlie stared at Don again. "I do love you Don and I am sorry about the fight this morning. I don't ever want to leave things like that left unsaid again. Things can happen too fast and well, we may never have the opportunity to say the things that matter the most." Don's fingers wrapped around Charlie's hand a little tighter, causing Charlie to smile. "I'm glad you feel the same way, bro."

TBC