A/N: Go see Serenity! What does that movie and Numbers have in common? See and find out. Also, please refrain from mentioning spelling mistakes. I am aware some words may be misspelled. I am an impatient person and like to get the chapters out as soon as I can, so tend to miss words here and there. If there are a glaring number of misspelled words, okay. If it's only one, two or three, I don't care. They'll be fixed in due time. Also, some words, for some dumb reason, are neither in the spell check or dictionary. I'm still trying to locate Doppelganger.

Ch. 6

Just Talk

He didn't have to stay. Three exhausting nights spent searching, and the return of his brother, had been reason enough for Don's superiors to grant him two-days leave for R and R. He did not even have to come in to begin with. A single call to the bureau alerting them to Charlie's return was all Don had needed to do.

Don, however, hated paper work, and and getting it out of the way would get it off his mind. Besides, it was an excuse to come in. Not like he needed an excuse, but for some reason felt that he did. He did not want to sit around at home, watching the clock tick mindlessly away until it came to when he needed to pick up Charlie. Plus, Don wanted to talk to Megan before he saw Charlie again. He almost laughed out loud over needing help in talking to his own brother. But Megan was a profiler, and it was very probable that she now knew more about Charlie than Don did.

" Glad to hear Charlie's back."

Don looked up at the smiling countenance of Megan. She had her arms folded, and was tapping a pen against her elbow. Her eyes flicked from Don's face to the papers stacked neatly on two sides of the manila folder. She uncrossed her arms and tapped the papers with the pen.

" That anxious to see this over, huh?"

Don shoved the folder away from him and leaned back in his chair that groaned as though in protest. " I hate this part."

" Doesn't everyone?" Megan then pulled up the nearest chair to sit adjacent of Don. " But it's not like it has to be done in a day. You're not repressing something, are you?"

Don looked at her in alarm. Megan just grinned, then lightly slapped his arm. " I'm kidding. Still, you probably shouldn't stay here much longer or people will begin to think you're a workaholic."

" They don't already?"

Megan shrugged. Don envied the way she always appeared so relaxed, as though sleepless nights and constant worry weren't even in her vocabulary. " Probably too afraid to say it to your face. But they may start whispering about it. Then again, who cares what people think. David said you needed to talk to me about something?"

Don shifted uncomfortably, looking at the file without actually seeing it. " Um, yeah. It's about Charlie."

Megan's smile faded. " Is he all right?"

The question made Don furrow his brow in both thought and consternation. " I don't know." He looked up at Megan, knowing the worry to be plain on his face, something he was normally adept at hiding. " He won't go to a doctor."

At this, Megan slowly straightened. " Is he hurt?"

" Looks it to me. His face is bruised, he has these cuts on his back, and who knows what else." Don then leaned in toward Megan with his arms on his desk, lowering his voice. He did not want anyone else to hear what he had to say next. In all truth, it was no one else's business say for his and Megan's. " But that's only half of it. He won't let me or dad touch him."

Megan's own brow wrinkled at this. " You mean as in hug him? Huh. I kind of took Charlie for always being the anti touchy-feely type."

Don shook his head. " No, this is different. I'm talking about not even letting us put a hand on his shoulder or brush past him. I -" Don took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then ran his hand through his hair. " Crap, Megan, you should have seen it. You needed to see it. I know it probably isn't saying much but... I don't know. He acted scared. The night he came back home, he actually begged me not to touch him, then acted like I was going to hurt him. How the hell does a bike accident do that!" Don straightened. " He was afraid of me Megan. Of me. It was like he knew me but didn't know me, like he was only half there. I mean, I know I can make him a little nervous sometimes, but even he knows I would never hurt him. I've never hurt him. At least... not physically. I mean I know I've struck a few nerves at times..."

Megan held up both her hands, stopping Don before he entered into a tirade. " Wait, wait, wait... Okay, tell me exactly how Charlie was acting when he came back. Tell me everything, even what he said."

Don recounted that night to Megan, seeing it clearly as though it had just happened within the hour. It was a hard thing to look back on, seeing Charlie half in and half out of reality, pushing for normalcy and losing bitterly. He had looked so helpless and lost that talking about it made Don's throat tighten, altering his voice so that it cracked.

" It was too weird," He finished. " It still is."

When he looked up at Megan, he saw her to be wide-eyed but already processing everything Don had told her.

" And all he told you was that he fell off his bike and was unconscious for three days until he finally woke up?"

Don nodded. Megan leaned back in her own chair.

" Well, I can tell you this much, it's not unheard of. Lots of people have stayed missing for days because they were unconscious or too out of it to find their way back. But you're right, that can't be all there is to it. You said he was trying to act normal?"

" Trying and failing, yeah," Don replied. " This morning."

" Sounds like repression. Maybe something did happen, but he doesn't remember it, or remember it clearly. Maybe while he was out, someone came and tried to take his wallet. Charlie felt it, couldn't do anything, panicked, and now can't stand to be touched."

Don rubbed his face with both hands, then paused, slowly lowering them to the desk. He really needed a nap. " He did mention something about a dream."

Megan smiled, tossing her hand up then dropping it back on her lap. " There you go. Perhaps he did dream, and the dream mingled with reality. Dreams can seem very real, no matter how exaggerated they are. And with Charlie being out of it he probably couldn't tell the dream from what was really going on. A dog licking his face could have seemed like a person doing... who knows what! Same with someone trying to steal his wallet, or even someone trying to help him. and – no offense to your brother or anything – but he's a little emotionally sensitive."

Don snorted derisively. " A little?"

" Yes, but, he tends to hold it in. Simply being unconscious for three days alone might be something he's having difficulty dealing with. Knowing him, he probably calculated that he should be dead, and doesn't get why he's not. Coupled with vivid dreams that were probably nightmares..." Megan shook her head, pursing her lips. " He can't cope with it."

Don looked at Megan imploringly. " So what can we do?"

Megan sighed. " Well, try to get him to talk. You need to find out what happened, what he's holding back, even if it was just a dream. He needs to face it. But... knowing Charlie... you shouldn't force the issue. Let it come on its own, or he'll just keep pushing it back deeper and deeper."

Don sat back in his chair with his elbow on the padded arm" So... just talk to him?"

Megan smiled. " Yeah. Just talk. Let him know he can come to you, that you'll listen. Don't prod him, don't be skeptical. See if you can't get him to open up about this dream. just remember it might take a while."

Don shifted uncomfortably once again. " Can't you talk to him? I mean, you are better at this kind of stuff."

Megan narrowed her eyes. " Don, I'm a profiler, not a psychiatrist. Besides, your the one he should open up to, you and your dad. You're the ones that need to help him feel safe. And in doing that he should start to feel comfortable enough to give you bits and pieces of the whole story. The important thing is to give him time, and to watch him. I mean for all we know, something might have happened – not a dream or a hallucination – that his mind is purposefully shutting away but unsuccessfully. He might actually not remember what occurred, but knows that something has. If that's the case, then I'm sorry to say that things will only get worse. He might fall into depression, stop going to work, sleeping, eating. You need to watch for changes Don. You need to watch Charlie close."

Don's heart felt as though it had just nose-dived into the pit of his stomach.

I can't handle this, was his first thought. But like I have a choice.

It frightened Don, the thought of watching his brother deteriorate while he suppressed some memory that refused to show itself. It made him sick to think that something so terrible had happened that it would cause his brother to mentally shut down.

But what frightened him even more was having to be the one to pull him through it, save him before he fell even deeper. Don was not good with emotions. He tended to upset Charlie more often than help him feel better. Alan would be better at it, but like Megan said, Charlie needed both of them.

Don tilted his head back and let out a frustrated breath, passing his hands over his face. " Oh, this is gonna be fun."

" Just start by trying to get him to see a doctor. But like I said, don't push him or force him. And whatever you do, do not get frustrated with him."

Don kept his head tilted back. " Haven't yet."

" Really?" He could hear the surprise in Megan's voice, and he almost laughed out loud.

" Yeah. Shocked?"

" A little. But you're his brother, you're worried about him... it's only natural to give into that concern, even for you."

" Just talk to him?"

" Yep, simple as that."

Don lifted his head to look at Megan doubtfully. " Since when has talking to Charlie ever been simple?"

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A/N: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. But interesting things are about to occur, and I want to save it for the next chapter. And if there is some dissatisfaction with Megan's character, I apologize. She's new, so not much to know about her personality-wise as of yet.