Hey all. Been a while, and not an exciting chapter, more of a filler. Sorry, but it's finals week, and I'm almost brain dead at the moment. But still, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still not mine etc etc

Don followed Dr. O'Brien through the halls of the hospital, and tried to slow his breathing. His need to see his brother was growing with every step he took, and if it weren't for the fact that he didn't know which room his brother was in, he would have ran and left the doctor behind. Finally, they arrived at a room, and the doctor paused.

"I'll give you a few minutes alone while I ensure the OR is finished being prepped," he told the agent, and left.

Don took a split second to collect himself, then walked into the room. His breath caught as he saw his brother lying so vulnerably on the bed. "Hey, buddy," he said softly, holding one of Charlie's hands between his.

Charlie cracked open an eye. "Donnie?"

"It's me. I just came to tell you a few things." Charlie nodded, so Don continued. "First, you did good telling us about dad. My boss sent a team to get him, he's at a safe house right now. You did good," he said, as Charlie's eyes filled slightly. "Also, I just spoke to the doctor. Sounds like you haven't had that restful break you were talking about," he teased gently.

Charlie managed a smile. "Next time, I'll stay and help on a case," he promised.

Don choked back the sob that had been threatening for a while now. He only had a bit longer, and he wasn't going to waste it. "Listen, Charlie. I know that you are in a lot of pain, and you've gone through a hell that I can't begin to understand. But I need you to do something for me."

Charlie tried to sit up slightly, then winced and fell back down. "Anything, Don, you know that. You saved my life today."

"The doc said that the surgery you are about to have is pretty risky." Don didn't like having to tell his brother this, but he needed to do it, at least for Charlie to understand what Don needed. "Doc seems pretty optimistic, but you need to promise that you are going to stay with me, alright? I know you're hurting, but I need you to come back, alright?"

A tear fell down Charlie's bruised face, and Don gently wiped it away. "I'll always be there, Donnie," he whispered.

Don knew his time was out when a nurse knocked on the door. He nodded to her once, then lifted his brother's hand and squeezed it. "I'll be waiting for you, buddy. See you in a few hours."

Charlie tried to smile, and nodded back at him. "You got it, jock."

Colby walked into the waiting room, and thought for a moment that he was back at the FBI, since there were so many agents there. His confusion must have shown on his face since David came up to him. "Everyone else is fine, Saks was the worst, and he's about to be released. Everyone was waiting to hear about Charlie." The unasked question hung in the air.

Colby felt a lump form in his throat. If there was one thing that all agents could agree on, it was that you never messed with one of their own. Even though none of these agents had met the mathematician, they acknowledged him as one of them. Colby cleared his throat, then motioned David, Ian, Tony, and McGee to follow him to an empty corner in the room. He looked first at the NCIS agents. "Ziva is with Gibbs and Megan. They'll be fine, but you can go see them if you want."

"First, have you heard anything about Charlie?" Tim asked worriedly, Tony and David nodding in agreement.

Colby sighed. "He's alive, they're taking him to surgery right now, then another surgery later once he's recovered slightly."

Ian was the first to speak. "You know what his injuries are?" he asked matter-of-factly, though it wasn't how he was feeling. This wasn't some random victim, this was the professor.

"Concussion, malnutrition, dehydration, four broken ribs, bruised liver, dislocated shoulder that was set badly, gunshot wound to the thigh which is infected, and a lot of broken bones and ligaments in his feet. They're looking at his feet and liver now, they'll do surgery on his GSW later tonight or tomorrow." He took a breath. "There's a chance he won't make it through the surgery… he's pretty weak."

Tim felt the ground crumble beneath him, and the FBI agents weren't faring much better. David's face was filled with such worry, and Edgerton looked furious. "Where's Eppes?" the sniper asked.

"Doctor let him see Charlie for a minute before they took him to surgery. He'll probably come on down after that." Colby sighed, then looked at David. "Would you call Wright and tell him? I'd do it myself, but I…" he trailed off, raking a hand over his face. The fitful sleep he'd gotten in the woods was catching up to him.

David nodded, understanding what his partner was needing. "Got it, you go get some coffee," he ordered with a small smile. He pulled out his cell and walked a ways away.

Colby walked towards the coffee machine. Normally, he never drank the swill, hospital coffee was nasty stuff, but right now he just needed the caffeine. Edgerton followed him over as the NCIS agents went up to see their team leader.

"The professor is going to be fine," Ian said quietly.

Colby closed his eyes tightly as he leaned against the machine. "Don't do that. That crap is what we say to families to make them feel better. We both know this might not go the way we want it to."

Ian nodded. "Agreed. We both know that he's a fighter, though." The sniper clapped a hand on his shoulder and left to go pace off the excess nerves he had.

Not long later, Don returned to the waiting room, looking around at all the agents still there. "Everyone alright?" he asked David worriedly.

The agent nodded. "They're just waiting on news of Charlie."

Don just nodded and turned to all the DC agents. "Hey, you guys can stay if you want, but the surgery is going to take a few hours, and he has another one after that. So I'd say go home, shower, get some rest. I can make sure that you all know how he is in the morning," he promised.

Fornell nodded to the agents, and they left. He looked at Don. "You staying?" he asked.

Don looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course I'm staying," he said heatedly.

Fornell just nodded. "I'll bring some dinner for you and your agents. Hospital food sucks," he said, and then turned and left.

Don was shocked and touched at the gesture, then remembered that Fornell had an agent that was being looked at as well, since he didn't see Saks around. He made his way over to a chair in the corner and sat on the hard plastic, putting his head in his hands. He wished Robin was here, she always made things easier. He pulled out his cell and dialed the number.

"Robin Brooks," she answered quickly.

"Hey," he breathed.

"Don! How's the case going? Have you found him yet?" she demanded, hearing the pain and fatigue in his voice.

"Yeah, we got him," he told her, and echoed her sigh. "He's in surgery right now, and he'll have another one pretty soon after that."

Robin smiled in relief. "I'm glad you found him, and I'm sure the surgeries are going to go great. Have you called your father yet?"

Don growled. "No, I can't. He's at a safe house right now, Charlie gave us a warning, and we managed to get a few agents on him soon enough."

"Soon enough? Don, what's going on?" Robin demanded.

"I can't give you specifics, but this could be bigger than we thought. The people who had Charlie were going to grab our father to use as leverage. He's at a safe house with the FBI for now, so I can't tell him about Charlie."

She could hear the agony in his voice. "What can I do?" she begged.

Don thought about that, but his brain was close to fried. "Can you call Amita for me? Don't give her specifics, just let her know we found him and he's in the hospital, and that we can't answer anything yet?"

Robin nodded, then realized he couldn't see her. "Of course I will. How are you holding up?"

"I'm not sure. It's still sinking in, you know?"

"I understand. I'll go call Amita, but will you let me know after Charlie's surgery how it went?"

"Sure, not a problem," he said, and yawned. Like Colby, the sleepless night and the busy day were leaving him drained.

"You're about to crash. Get some rest, I'll call you in few hours if I haven't heard anything."

"Thanks, Robin," he said quietly, and hung up the phone. He looked around, and saw his two agents and Ian by the coffee machine talking, but decided he was too tired to get up right now. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and waited.

A/N: Bit shorter than usual, and I wasn't expecting to put Robin in this chapter, but I figured Don needed someone other than the guys to talk to. We'll get back to the NCIS agents soon, as well as Charlie's prognosis.