50:50 2/6

Chapter Two:

Alan stood in the stillness of his family home, staring at a piece of paper. He'd just been going through the mail and suddenly there it was, a reminder that he had almost lost his youngest son.

During Charlie's hospitalization, Alan had gotten used to seeing medical paperwork. Once Charlie came home though, Alan made sure to keep it all out of sight. It was already stressful enough for all of them to think of what almost happened. Alan had tried to put it behind him but every few days a reminder popped up and he was back in that operating room watching his son die.

"Dad? Are you home?" Don walked in the front door and looked around.

"I'm here, Donnie." Alan walked over and the two men embraced. "Tell me you have good news."

Charlie walked in saying, "No mail. Dad must have gotten it already... Hey Pop!"

Alan embraced Charlie as well. He'd been doing it far more often since Charlie's recovery but neither son seemed to mind the extra affection, in fact Alan had seen the two boys become more affectionate with each other as well.

"Yeah, I got a clean bill of health. Doc found no signs of HCM!" Don said, proudly.

"Donnie, that's great!" Alan said happily, putting his arm around Don and pulling him close.

"Now we just have to get you checked out," Charlie said.

"Actually I went this morning and passed with flying colors myself. No sign of HCM according to the doctor."

Both Don and Charlie were shocked.

"Dad, that's great! Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Don couldn't help but hug his father again.

"But I thought your appointment wasn't until tomorrow!" Charlie looked confused. "I said I'd go with you."

"Well they had a cancellation so they snuck me in early," Alan said, dismissing the protest with a wave of his hand. "I was fine on my own."

"I would have still gone with you," Charlie continued. "I could have easily gotten out of class if you'd just called me."

"Charlie! It was just a little test! I went, they did it, I'm fine! Let's just be happy, okay?"

Don looked and saw that mixed expression on Charlie's face again. "You all right, buddy?"

"Yeah, yeah... I just... yeah, I'm fine." Charlie stammered then fell quiet.

"Hey, we should go out for dinner tonight and celebrate the good news! How about Pietro's?" Alan asked.

"Dad, we don't have to pick restaurants just because they have good heart healthy menus. I can eat whatever I want in moderation." Charlie seemed a bit sullen, reminding Don of his odd behavior at the hospital earlier.

"But you like Pietro's!" Alan said.

"How about El Portal?" Don offered. "I'm up for some good Mexican! How about you, buddy?"

"Mexican sounds great," Charlie said, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Good, then it's settled. I have to call the office to follow up on a case but we can leave any time after that if you guys want to eat early and beat the rush," Don pulled out his cell phone and headed for the stairs. "Mind if I use the solarium?"

"No, go right ahead..." Alan said. "Unless Charlie, did you need it?"

"No, no... Go ahead," Charlie said, wandering off to go sit in the living room.

Don and Alan exchanged confused glances before Don headed upstairs.

Alan picked up the piece of paper he'd been looking at earlier and walked over to sit across from Charlie.

"Charlie, I have to ask you about something."

"What?" Charlie asked, obviously distracted.

"I opened this envelope from Exagen, the lab that's doing the genetic testing for the three of us."

"Yeah."

"Charlie, the invoice is for $11,000!"

"So?"

"The invoice says it's been paid in full! With a check!"

Charlie shrugged. "Insurance doesn't pay for genetic testing."

"Charlie!" Alan said, annoyed. "That doesn't matter. You shouldn't be paying my medical bills or Don's! I mean, I know Don doesn't make as much as you do..."

Charlie interrupted his father. "Dad, first of all $5,000 of that bill is for my test. Yours and Don's portions are only $3,000 each. I can make that much consulting on just one case for Don so why shouldn't I pay it? The money means nothing to me, or did you forget so quickly that I bought this house from you with cash?"

Alan was taken aback by Charlie's tone and replied coolly. "Well, I assumed that you had to empty your savings accounts to buy this house. It certainly wasn't cheap!"

Charlie got up slowly. "Well, I didn't. My retirement accounts are fully funded and my investment portfolio is still quite healthy." He headed for the stairs. "Tell Don I'm going to go lay down for a while before dinner."

"Charlie!"

Charlie ignored his father and simply continued up the stairs.