Disclaimer: Standard still applies.
A/N: I'd like to warn you all that Charlie is going to get worse before he gets better.

"What happens at one?" Amita asked, sitting the couch next to Charlie.

"My therapist comes by." Charlie nodded, he was still shaken up, but he was acting more normal. What Amita had seen scared her. She never once thought that she would see Charlie like that.

"Amita." Alan began, "Where are you staying while you are here in town?"

"Oh. It's a hotel not that far away." She smiled.

"Nonsense. You will stay here with Charlie and me. You can sleep in the guest room?"

Don smiled, "Also known as my old room."

"Thank you Mr. Eppes. That would be wonderful."

"Really, call me Alan." He smiled as the door bell rang. Alan turned to Charlie. "You going to get that?"

Charlie blinked, "M-Me?" Alan nodded at him. Charlie looked around as he heard the door bell ring again, everyone was watching him. He couldn't back out of it. He closed his eyes and sighed, getting up.

Charlie knew that either Dr. Tirry or Dr. Roland would be at the door. It was one o'clock, but Charlie's imagination was having a field day. What if it was someone who was going to take him away because he broke down in the kitchen when Amita found out? What if it was someone coming after him because he had helped solve a case that put someone in jail and they were going to take revenge on him?

Charlie slowly opened the door and let out his breath when he saw Dr. Harry Roland there. Harry smiled, "Ah, Charlie!" He walked, "I don't think you've ever answered the door when I've came." He walked in and saw all the people, "Wow. Hey, Chuck. I think you're popular."

"Don't call me Chuck."

Harry laughed, "Did you know that the first time I met you, you told me to call you Chuck?"

"I-I did?" Charlie swallowed.

Harry nodded, "Course you where on morphine then, and I also had to say hello to a windmill and some silly putty. Blue I believe. I'm pretty sure you called them Toby and Flynn."

"I-I what?" Charlie was blushing a bit, he knew it.

Harry clapped his hand over Charlie shoulder, "Don't worry about it. Just introduce me to the lady there and we will be fine. Unless she is here for you." He winked at Charlie.

Charlie rolled his eyes. Dr. Roland was usually very nice and happy like this. It put Charlie as ease, when he was with Dr. Tirry he was more jumpy and paranoid. He lead Harry to the others, "A-Amita?" He asked timidly. He didn't want to interrupt her or anything that would bother her. He didn't want to be trouble.

"Yes, Charlie?" She smiled at him.

"This is Dr. Roland. Dr. Roland this is Amita."

The two of them shook hands. "Amita? Yes. I think Charlie has talked about you."

"He has?" Amita raised a polite eyebrow. Charlie had talked about her to his therapist? What did he say?

Charlie stepped between them, "A-Alright. Let's j-just n-not talk a-about th-this." He stuttered.

Harry held up his hands in defense, "Alright. That's fine Charlie. Shall we go into the garage today?"

Charlie nodded, nervously itching his head, "Yeah. That'd work today."

Amita watched them both leave, she turned to the three left in the living room, "So, do they always talk in private?"

"No." Alan said, "Some days we sit and talk with him. We never know when it will all of us or just him and the doctor.

Amita nodded. "So, what do we do when they're busy?"

"Whatever we want." Don said with a shrug. "We just stay out of whatever room they are in."

"So garage is off-limits?" Amita asked. "For how long?"

"It changes a lot. Sometimes is less than an hour," Alan started, "And one time it was right before dinner and Dr. Roland ate with us."

"You need to talk to her."

Charlie had been pacing in front of Dr. Roland who was laying down on the couch. "W-What? W-Why?"

"We have talked about her before. And she was a kinda key role to why you threw yourself at your math and didn't eat or sleep. She was part of your downfall."

"I-I can't tell her that." Charlie said, sitting down on the floor.

"Why not?"

"It'd hurt her too much. She can't ever know." Charlie was talking quietly.

Harry turned his head to Charlie, "You don't tell her, I will."

Charlie head bolted in the direction of Harry. "You wouldn't. You can't."

He shrugged, "So, what's she doing here? I thought she worked at Harvard."

Charlie nodded, "She does. She's here giving guest lectures. We were going to meet for lunch."

Harry nodded, "Ah yes. And she didn't know, did she?"

Charlie shook his head and sort of cradled himself, "Nope. She saw though. She could see right through me."

"And how did you handle it?"

Charlie thought about it, "Not well."

"Elaborate."

"I-I got worked up when she found out and she got me calmed down again." Charlie answered, laying down on the floor.

Harry brought himself up on his elbows and watched his patient. He licked his dry lips, "How severe was it this time?"

"I got pretty bad, but I'm better now. " Charlie closed his eyes. "I think the medicine I had with my lunch made me drowsy today." He yawned.

Harry watched Charlie, "So, you ate like you should?"

"She interrupted the," yawn, "sandwich eating."

"Any other side-effects showing up today?" Harry asked as he got up to look for a blanket. He thought he saw Charlie's head shake but he wasn't for sure because when he found a blanket, Charlie was asleep. He rolled his eyes and put the blanket over Charlie. He walked out the garage and into the house. "Hello again, everyone." He said as he stepped into the living room.

"Where's Charlie?" Amita asked, studying the doctor.

"He dozed off." Harry said, "Floor in the garage. I put a blanket over him."

"Charles fell asleep when you were talking to him?" Larry asked, concerned.

Harry nodded grimly. "He claimed it to be a side-effect of one of the medications. And it very well could be."

"But?" Don asked, getting worried.

"He said that when you found out," Dr. Roland pointed to Amita, "He started, uh. Freaking out." He turned to the others, "And no, that's not his exact words."

Amita nodded, "He did. I got him to calm down. Why?" She was confused.

"He also said it was a pretty bad one." Harry continued.

Alan nodded, "Yes. I haven't seen him act like that in a while. He was acting like that more when he was still in the hospital and when he first came home." He stood up beside Dr. Roland, "What are you saying?"

"I'm afraid he may have a relapse. Take good care of him. I'd have someone in the garage for when he woke up." He turned a bit, "I will be going now. See ya later." He waved and left.

Don had taken the rest of the day off. He called in after Dr. Roland said the word, "relapse". Don was currently waiting for his brother to wake up. He had taken up residence on the couch in front of Charlie.

Alan had decided that he would wait in the garage for Charlie to wake up. But when he opened the door and saw that the doctor had just grabbed a blanket from the boxes, and the blanket was one that his wife had given Charlie when he was younger, Alan suddenly had to be somewhere else. So, Don took over.

He didn't want to believe that Charlie was having a relapse. Charlie was only sleeping as a side-effect, not because he was depressed. Right? Had Charlie been sleeping more lately? Don thought about it and decided that he had been. Charlie was often in bed around 9. Wasn't it good that Charlie was finally sleeping? Don shook his head, apparently if a person suddenly starts sleeping all the time it might mean that they are depressed. Charlie had been doing so well. He couldn't be depressed again. Charlie would have told Don. Right? Don quickly looked down at Charlie when he heard a groan. "Buddy?"

"Donnie?" Charlie asked, he didn't want to open his eyes. And his left arm hurt. And his neck. Where was he?

"Wake up, Buddy." Don was smiling a bit, for when Charlie opened his eyes. "You took a nice long nap, but now you need to get up. It's almost dinner time."

Charlie was groggy. What had happened? He groaned again when he tried to sit up.

"Open your eyes."

Charlie did as he was told. Oh. It was the garage. Now Charlie remembered falling asleep on the floor. "I think I slept on my arm and neck wrong." He said miserably.

Don laughed, "Yeah. Sleeping on the floor can do that to you. Here, let me help you up." He grabbed his younger brother and pulled him up.

Charlie swayed. He wasn't fully awake yet. "Do we still have some of my pain medicine from before?"

"Just for a stiff arm and neck?" Don asked. He looked at Charlie. He did look like he was in pain. "We'll ask dad, kay?"

Charlie nodded and let Don lead him inside the house.

"Look who's awake." Alan said as he got out another plate.

Don sat Charlie down at his chair, and Amita sat down next to Charlie. "Dad?" Everyone could hear the pain in his voice, "Do we still have pain relievers from before?"

"Why?" Alan was apprehensive.

"Well, he was sleeping on the floor," Don was answering for him, "And apparently he slept on his arm and neck wrong."

Alan wasn't for sure if he should give some to his son. Charlie could want them for many reasons if he was having a relapse. But what if he wasn't? What if Charlie really was in pain? Alan shot a look at Charlie who had his eyes closed and was moaning slightly. He did seem to be in pain. "Yeah. I think we still have some. I'll go and get them."

Amita watched Charlie closely. He seemed to be swaying. "Charlie?"

He turned and opened his eyes slightly at her.

"How are you feeling?" He started rubbing circles on his back.

"Groggy. Dizzy. Tired. Hurting." He said, waiting for his dad to come back.

Don sat down on the other side of Charlie. "You alright? You didn't like, sleep wrong and pinch a nerve or something did you?"

Charlie turned to Don and gave him the same slanting eyes at him, but with a glare. "No, Don. I did not." He said deadly cool.

Alan came back with a glass of water and some pills. "Here, Charlie."

Charlie greedily took the pills and drank all the water. The water helped him a lot. He hadn't realized how dry his mouth was. A plate of food appeared in front of him. The smell hit his nose. Oh God. No. He quickly ran into the bathroom and retched. So much for the pills. He came out of the bathroom to see them all staring at him.

"Charlie." Alan said, "Something you wanna tell us?"

"I don't feel well." He moaned back as he walked toward his chair. When he sat down Amita felt his forehead.

"He has a temperature." She said, worried.

"Apparently sleeping on the floor of the garage for an afternoon is not so good for me." Charlie said with a slight smile.

Alan sighed, "Want me to make you some soup?" He didn't even wait for Charlie to answer, "I'll make you some soup."

"Or I could just go to bed." Charlie offered, getting up from his chair..

"No." Don said, grabbing Charlie's arm and pulling him down to the seat, "You didn't finish your lunch today. You need to eat something. Because I know you didn't eat all of your breakfast."

Charlie sighed as the plate was taken away and a bowl took it's place.

They had made sure that he ate all of his soup.

Amita turned off all the lights when she went upstairs. Charlie went up to his room a little bit after dinner and Don left around 9. Alan was falling asleep in his chair, so Amita made him go to bed before she did. He didn't want to because he felt as if he was being a bad host. She smiled and told him that she understood and would probably go to sleep soon. So, now she was shutting off all the lights in the house as she made her way upstairs. Did she leave a light on? No. That light was coming from upstairs. Charlie's room. He was awake. Amita shrugged. She'd better go and check on him. See if he still had a fever and how he felt. The door was slightly ajar and she knocked, "Charlie?" She didn't get an answer, so she went on inside.

Charlie understood Don better now. He understood why Don liked them so much. He never knew before. But now he felt stronger holding onto it. It's cold body contrasted with his fever hot one. He liked how shiny it was. This time there would be no coming back. He would be gone this time. Maybe he'd be with his mom. He was never nothing to his mom, she had always loved and cared for him. She would have never used him. "I'm coming, Mom." He murmured to himself. Before he never really knew why Don had given it too him. Don had claimed it was because Charlie needed it for self defense in case anyone came after him when Don wasn't there. But Charlie knew now. Don had given it to him so that he could be out of Don's life forever. It's what Don really wanted.

Charlie didn't hear Amita say his name as he brought it to his mouth. Great. His mouth was too small, it didn't fit.

Charlie didn't hear Amita opening the door as he brought it up to his temple. It fit nicely there.

But for some reason, it disappeared from his hands. Charlie hadn't realized it, but he was crying. He had been for quite some time now. But someone was wiping his tears away. Amita. And she was taking his tears. She had his tears.

Amita had opened the door and what she saw frightened her. Charlie had been sitting on his bed, cross legged and with a gun moving from his mouth to his temple. He was smiling. He was also crying. She had to stop him. Amita ran up to him and grabbed the gun. Where did he get the gun? She dropped the gun to the floor and started drying Charlie's tears. She was crying herself. If she hadn't gone to bed then, Charlie would be dead. And she would have never seen him again.

Charlie was still crying. He started shaking. He was hot, he was in pain, and he couldn't end it. He wanted peace. He wanted his mind to stop working. He wanted all the pain and suffering to end. But it never ended. He felt arms around him.

Amita was rocking him. "Charlie. You are special. You need to live. Do you hear me?" She kept whispering to him.

Charlie was losing a battle. He hated losing. He wanted it to end. Charlie heard a voice murmuring in his ear. He started listening to it. It was telling him how great he was, and how he should live and treasure his life. He stopped shaking and just cried. He couldn't stop. Why couldn't he stop crying?

Amita's heart collapsed when she heard Charlie's guttural sobs. She had to calm him down and make him stop crying before he made himself sick. "Charlie." She murmured, "It's alright. You can stop crying now."

Charlie didn't want to stop. If he stopped then he would have to face the consequences for losing and living. "Amita!" He said quickly.

She hadn't been ready for him to talk so suddenly. "Charlie?" She said soothingly.

"You can't tell anyone."

"What? I have to. Charlie. You almost shot yourself in the head." She couldn't believe she said that. "Where did you get the gun?"

"Don gave it to me awhile ago." He said, as his crying became less. "To p-protect m-myself in case I g-got attacked at h-home."

She was drying the last of his tears. "I need to tell someone about this, Charlie. Or you do."

"No." He shook his head as he let go of her, "No. No. No." He was talking rather fast, "We can't."

She started rubbing circles on his back, "Shh. Charlie. Calm down. Why can't we? Tell me?"

"I-If I-I don't get b-better then I-I'll get comm-committed to an Insti-Institution. I wanna stay at h-home."

Amita didn't want him committed anymore than he wanted it. "Promise you will never do this again?"

"P-Promise." He smiled weakly at her.

She sighed, Charlie knew how to push her buttons. He knew what to say to get her to give in. She knew that she shouldn't have given in, it was wrong of her. Giving in to Charlie could mean Charlie getting worse, he wouldn't heal those scars marked on his soul if she gave in to him. But she did, she agreed. "Alright. It will be our secret. But I'm taking the gun with me. And you need to sleep." She tucked Charlie in bed and left the room. She had to leave. She hated seeing Charlie like that.