A/N - Thank you everyone for such nice reviews. They are very much appreciated. Sorry about the cliff hanger. Chapter six isn't a cliff hanger which is good because the holiday weekend is upon us. I won'tbe able to post Chapter Seven probably until Sunday. We have a lot going on here in the next two days.
I want to thank Elaine Battersby from the CalSci Library. She is the most wonderful beta on the planet and has gone a long way to helping me put this story in an easy to read format. (my punctuation and grammar leave a bit to be desired he he he)

Please enjoy your weekend and thank you again for the reviews. It makes doing this worth it.
Love, Alice I

Chapter Six

Don took a few minutes to find his voice before he could answer Jack's question. "Charlie came to see Dr. Spector on Tuesday about the headaches, blurred vision and weakness on his right side. The doctor ordered a Cat Scan and they found a large brain tumor." Don's throat constricted and his voice faded. After a moment he continued, "Dr. Spector, sent him to a specialist in cancerous brain lesions." Don eyes grew glassy as he fought for control. "He specifically told Dr. Spector not to tell anyone. He didn't want us to know! How could he do that? Why didn't he tell us? Why would he want to face this alone?"

That last question hung in the air, and as soon as he said it, Don knew exactly why Charlie had kept this from his family. Suddenly everything made sense. Charlie had told the cab driver that it was his turn. He had left his mother's side when she was facing her death and he felt unbearably guilty about that. Charlie's breakdown on the day of the service for their mother made perfect sense now. "He found out that he had brain cancer on the anniversary of Mom's death! Jack, she died of cancer." Don looked stricken and lost. "I can't go through this again. Dad can't go through this again."

The receptionist, who had left the room, stepped back in with a cup of cold water. She gave it to Don with a look of sincere sympathy on her face. "If there is anything that I can do Mr. Eppes..."

Don looked at her, wanting her to tell him that it had all been a terrible mistake; that she had gotten the charts mixed up and that it was someone else's little brother who was dying from this horrible disease that had nearly destroyed his life only a year ago.

Jack picked up the notebook that Don had dropped and handed it to her. "Could you please get us a phone number and address for whom ever this is." She looked at the pad and could see that it was the name of the specialist that Charlie had been referred to. She took the pad and left quietly. Jack stood up and placed a hand on Don's shoulder. "Don, I'm so sorry. Take a few minutes to get it together; then we'll go see this specialist." Don just nodded mutely and Jack left the office, closing the door quietly behind him.

All of the feelings that Don had forced under a tight control when his mother was dying started to bubble to the surface. He felt himself beginning to shake and tried in vain to stop the flood of fear and grief that was churning in his heart. He stood up to leave, but after only two steps his knees buckled and he dropped to the floor, kneeling. The image of his brother lying peacefully in a coffin pushed its way into his mind. It was more than he could bear as he rocked back on his heels and buried his face in his hands. Don sat there, on the floor of Dr. Spector's office, struggling for control over the torrent of emotions battering him. He began to shake violently as those emotions threatened to engulf him. Then a strong voice shouted in his mind, "STOP THIS! You still need to find Charlie!" Don looked up as if he had actually heard that voice. He felt lethargic and drained all of a sudden, but he stood up and looked around.

There was a door behind the doctor's desk, and when he opened it he was relieved to find a small bathroom. He washed his face and ran his hands through his disheveled hair straightening it a bit. He re-adjusted his tie and studied himself carefully for a moment. His eyes were betraying the torment he felt, so he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out his sun glasses. He took a deep breath and looked at his reflection in the mirror, concentrating on purposely shutting down all of his emotions and allowing his training to take over. It was time to let Special Agent Don Eppes take the place of Donnie. He would find his brother and he would not allow emotion to rule his actions. "I am in control! I am a trained FBI Agent and it is my job to close this case." he told his reflection.

When Don came out of Dr. Spector's office he looked very much the part of a highly trained composed FBI Agent. The receptionist touched the back of his hand gently and said, "I hope you find him, Mr. Eppes." Don nodded to her and thanked her for her assistance before stiffly leaving the office. Somewhat taken aback by his abrupt change in behavior, she stared after him, bewildered.

Jack could see the difference in Don and admired him for it, but knew that he was still dealing with devastating news about his little brother. "Would you like me to drive?"

Don turned his head and shook it. "Do you have an address for Dr. Heising?"

"He has an office at Cedars Sinai on the fourth floor." Don nodded his understanding and got in the car. Jack knew better than to try and engage him in a dialogue about this. He recognized that Don had carefully erected an airtight emotional barrier and was in full professional mode. Jack, himself, had done this on several occasions, and to some degree still did. Trying to get Don to open up and express his feelings would be counter-productive to their goal of finding Charlie. There would be time for that later.

Friday 3:30 PM - 32 Hours Missing
David walked up to Terry quickly, holding a long computer printout. "We got Charlie's credit activity. He purchased some medication at a Pasadena Walgreens on Wednesday afternoon, and paid for it with his credit card."

Terry looked up and grabbed her coat. "Let's go. We'll give Don a call once we find out what he purchased."

Alan saw their sudden movements and got up quickly. "What is it Terry? Did you find him?"

The hopeful look in the older man's eyes stopped her for a moment. "I'm sorry Mr. Eppes. We just have a lead to follow up. Charlie made a purchase at the Walgreens near your home Wednesday. We are just going to find out what he bought. It could tell us something about where he went."

Alan looked so disappointed that Terry stepped up to him, and kissed him gently on the cheek. "We'll find him, I promise." Her action startled him, but it also helped to ease the tightness in his chest. He knew that she meant every word, and would not rest until Charlie was found. He sat back down and picked up the journal that he had been reading.

He had never been told, by either of the boys, what all of the hullabaloo about him going downtown to work at the shelter was, nearly six weeks ago. As he read about the released outbreak of the Spanish flu, he felt himself pale a little. He privately vowed from then on that if his sons gave him any veiled reasons not to do something, he would simply listen to them. When he got to the passage about the victims reminding Charlie of his mother, Alan felt a deep sadness for the pain that his son was feeling. He was forcibly reminded of what Charlie had said Tuesday afternoon when his son cried in his arms.

'I'll be strong enough Mom, I promise.'

Friday 4:00 PM - 32 ½ Hours Missing
Terry and David got to the Pharmacy by 4:00 and asked to speak with the pharmacist. They showed him their badges and explained that they needed to see what Charlie had picked up on Wednesday. Fortunately, their badges had provided enough assurance for the beleaguered pharmacist not to give them any flack about privileged information, and he obligingly pulled up Charlie's name on the computer screen. "Mr. Eppes picked up two prescriptions, one for Dilantin and one for Prednisone." Terry looked stunned by this information while David didn't have any idea what the medications were for.

At David's questioning look Terry said, "Prednisone is a steroid that has several different applications, but as far as I know Dilantin is only used for one purpose: to control seizures."

The pharmacist said, "That is correct, young lady, and if it is being used with Prednisone, my guess is that the steroid is being used to decrease inflammation, probably in the brain."

Terry felt the skin crawl on the back of her neck. "Who prescribed this medication?"

The pharmacist clicked on each prescription and waited for a name to appear. "They were both prescribed by a Doctor Samuel Heising. I am unfamiliar with his name, so I couldn't tell you what his specialty is. Would you like a printout of this?"

As soon as Terry and David got back to the car Terry dialed Don's cell. "Don, Charlie picked up two prescriptions on Wednesday. One for a steroid, probably to reduce inflammation, and an anti-seizure medication called Dilantin. They were prescribed by..."

"Dr. Samuel Heising," Don finished for her. "Jack and I are on our way to see him right now. He has an office at Cedars."

"Don, what did you find out? How did you know about Dr. Heising?"

Don didn't answer right away. Terry heard him take a short breath as if trying to remain calm. When he did speak it was with an emotionally detached voice. "I spoke with, Dr. Spector, our family physician. Charlie was referred to Heising by him because of a brain tumor that he discovered."

Terry went white and whispered, "Oh God, Don. Have you called your father?" David looked sharply at Terry but didn't interrupt.

"Telling Dad anything until we have a more complete picture would just upset him. Once we speak with Dr. Heising, we'll meet back at the office."

Terry frowned at the phone. Don was speaking very coldly about this. "Don, are you all right?"

"I'll call once we have finished with Heising." Don closed the phone and pocketed it without looking at Jack. They were almost at Cedars Sinai.

Friday 4:30 PM - 33 Hours Missing
When the agents stepped into Dr. Heising's office and showed their badges, the receptionist looked slightly disconcerted. It certainly was not a normal thing to have two federal agents come into the office. Jack asked to speak with Dr. Heising, but much to the frustration of both agents he was in surgery.

"When do you expect him to be done?" Don asked in a level tone.

The receptionist felt even more uncomfortable now, and replied that she had no real way of knowing that. "Every surgery is different, sir. Sometimes it can take quite a while. You are welcome to wait, and I'll get a message to the doctor that you are here to speak with him, but it might be a long wait." Don thanked her and turned to take a seat in the waiting room.

Jack was starting to get a little concerned by Don's behavior. He sat down next to him and spoke quietly. "Don, perhaps we should have the doctor contact us when he is done with the surgery."

Don turned his face toward Jack who couldn't see his eyes because he still had sun glasses on. In a cold and expressionless voice Don said, "I will wait. You can go back to the office if you want to."

Jack understood how Don was feeling, but he had no intention of leaving him alone to wait for this doctor. As it turned out, they had sat there in silence for just over an hour before a weary-looking, middle-aged man dressed in scrubs came in. He spoke briefly with his receptionist, who pointed nervously at Don and Jack, before approaching the agents seated in his waiting room.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I have been told that you have an urgent matter that you need to discuss with me, concerning a patient of mine."

Don stood up and removed his glasses. He extended his hand and said, "Thank you for meeting with us, Doctor. I am Special Agent Don Eppes, with the FBI, and this is Special Agent Jack Malone. Is there someplace that we can speak privately?"

The doctor nodded, and led them into his office. He made sure that the door was closed before turning to the federal agents. "You said that your name was Eppes. Is this about Charles Eppes?"

Don said, "Charlie is my brother, Doctor, and he has been missing since yesterday morning. Through our investigation we have found out that he has been seen by you because he has a brain tumor." Don's voice was calm, but Jack could hear the tight control that the younger man was using to keep it steady.

Dr. Heising could also see the effort that this man was employing to keep a professional façade in place. He had given the worst kind of bad news to patients and their families for so many years that he had become an expert in detecting the characteristic stress response that Don was trying so desperately to hide.

"Your brother is, indeed, a patient of mine. I am very disturbed to hear that he is missing. Ordinarily I wouldn't be able to speak with you concerning his case, but his health and even his life may depend on you finding him quickly. You must know that Mr. Eppes was very explicit about not discussing his situation with his family. This is a position that I strongly disagreed with. I urged him strenuously to talk about this with his family, but he was adamant."

The doctor went to his files and pulled out the one labeled Charles Eppes. "Your brother is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday morning." He pulled a small disk from the folder and placed it in a machine that would display Charlie's diagnostic records on a large screen perched on the side of the desk. The doctor indicated that the men should take a seat while he searched the disk for the appropriate file. The screen flickered for a moment before an image of a CT displayed.

"This scan of your brother was taken on Tuesday morning." The doctor pointed to a large white area in the brain. "This area is the tumor that was discovered."

Don blanched at the image. The area that the doctor showed them was enormous to Don's eyes. It was easily a fifth of the size of Charlie's brain. It looked like an overly large and lopsided grapefruit.

Dr. Heising knew that, to an untrained eye, this tumor looked hopeless. "I believe that this is a Meningioma. It is a type of brain tumor that is typically benign. Meningiomas are one of the most common primary brain tumors, and in ninety-four percent of cases, these tumors are non-cancerous. Only two percent of these tumors show malignant characteristics and four percent reveal aggressive or atypical features."

Don followed most of what the doctor had said, but asked, "If this tumor is benign, then why does Charlie need to have surgery so quickly? For that matter how do you know that this thing…" Don said, pointing to the screen "…is a mengy… whatever kind of tumor?" Don didn't mean to sound brusque or to question this doctor's medical opinion, but the strain of the last couple of hours was mounting.

Doctor Heising did not take offense to Don's questioning, but rather spoke in a calming voice. "Brain tumors are typically named after the cells from which they develop. Your brother's tumor has arisen from the middle layer of the brain covering, called the meninges. Most benign brain tumors have clear borders, meaning they do not invade surrounding tissue. That is clearly seen on this scan."

The doctor took a small pointer and traced the borders of the tumor which were easy to see. The tumor just seemed to be pushing against Charlie's brain as if trying to squeeze it out of the confined space within his skull.

"These tumors can, however, cause symptoms similar to cancerous tumors because of their size and location. Charlie showed a sudden onset of symptoms, and this tumor has grown rapidly, giving it atypical attributes. Meningiomas normally grow very slowly and can exist for years before the patient is even aware of them. This is not the case with Charlie. Considering your family history, I felt that it was necessary to operate immediately. I will not know for sure whether this tumor is malignant or benign until I can perform a biopsy of the tissue."

Don was frowning and shaking his head "What symptoms is he having that lead you to believe that this is not one of those in the ninety-four percent range?"

"The recent onset of weakness in his right side is a serious indication. That, coupled with his blurred vision, headaches and vomiting, also recent occurrences, sent up enough warning flags for me to feel the need to attack this very aggressively. The fact that he had a parent die of cancer, only a year previously, is also another very strong indicator for a swift response."

Jack sat forward and said, "During our investigation we discovered that you prescribed two medications for Charlie, a steroid and an anti-seizure medication. When Charlie was seen by you, did he indicate that he was having seizures?"

Dr. Heising sat back in his chair. "The steroid is Prednisone. That's to help with the inflammation in his brain. The first symptoms of a brain tumor are usually due to increased pressure within the skull. This is typically caused by a blockage in the ventricles which leads to swelling around the tumor. This raised intracranial pressure is what is causing the headaches, nausea and the blurred vision. The Dilantin is a precautionary measure. Many times when a tumor reaches the size of this one, the patient can begin to experience seizure activity. The dose of Dilantin is an extremely mild one, and strictly as a preventative measure."

Don's head was spinning with all of this information, but he abruptly remembered what Charlie's student had said about Charlie spacing out. "Doctor, one of Charlie's students told us that he sort of spaced out while teaching a couple of weeks ago. Could that have something to do with this tumor?"

The doctor sat forward very interested, and asked Don to elaborate. Jack pulled out his notebook and flipped back a few pages until he found the right spot. Then he repeated almost word for word what Mark had told them in Charlie's office that morning. "What you have described sounds like an absence seizure, more commonly referred to as a petit mal seizure. This is serious, and unexpected. Petit mal seizures usually occur in children rather than adults and their appearance in association with this tumor is unanticipated. It means that his symptoms have progressed further than I was aware of."

Don was struggling to understand what he was being told about his brother and asked, "If Charlie is having seizures shouldn't someone have noticed? I mean how can you hide a seizure?"

"It is entirely possible that Charlie may not even be aware that he has been having absence seizures, if indeed, he is having them. In a typical petit mal seizure, a brief, sudden absence of consciousness occurs. There may not be any movement at all, only what appears to be staring. Absence seizures generally last only a few seconds, and full recovery is almost instant. Afterward, there is no confusion, but also no memory of the incident. These seizures may occur for weeks or months, before an adult even notices them because they're so brief."

Don tried to recall how many time he had seen Charlie staring off into space, seemingly oblivious to anything else. This was such a common occurrence with Charlie that Don began to wonder how long he had been having these seizures. "How long do one of these seizures last, Doctor?"

"Anywhere from five to thirty seconds, but there have been cases of them lasting up to a minute or two. Usually if an absence seizure lasts longer than one or two minutes they are often accompanied by automatisms or repetitive movements such as lip smacking, chewing, picking, fumbling or patting. These automatisms would be noticed because they are usually inappropriate activities during the onset of a seizure. If Charlie is having absence seizures, then Dilantin is not the choice of medication I would have used."

Jack spoke up then, and was quite surprised by the slight catch in his own voice. "Doctor, you mentioned that the tumor looked benign on the scan. How common is it for one of these things to become malignant? And if that is the case, with Charlie, how much time does he have?"

"It is very rare for a benign tumor to become malignant. The thing that concerns me is the fact that unlike benign tumors in most other parts of the body, benign brain tumors can be life-threatening. They do not infiltrate nearby tissue, but they can cause severe pain, permanent brain damage, and death. You need to find him as quickly as possible."

All the color drained from Don's face at this statement. When he and Jack made their way out to the car Don didn't even think about driving. He went to the passenger side of the car and got in without saying a word. At this point he simply didn't trust himself to speak. The flood of emotions that he was barely keeping contained under the surface were threatening to explode, but a rather strong voice in his mind told him that an emotional outburst at this point would do Charlie no good.