AN: This is for the three people that reviewed tonight. I had a shitty night and it was nice to see there are still people out there who appreciate me. Thus, this chapter is for you guys.

There's some quality fluff at the beginning so I hope you enjoy. Oh, and if someone could write me a sugar sweet, give-you-diabetes-if-you-read-too-often DT story, I'd love you forever right now.

Kavi

Coming Home

Terry woke before Don the next morning and meandered into the shower. While there, she considered Don's fear and how important it had now become to find Charlie. It gave her new determination to find the eccentric mathematician, for Amita, for Alan and for Don.

Stepping out of the shower and getting dressed, she belatedly realized that her ribs were going to stop her from doing a few things. She'd ignored the pull when she washed her hair, sucking in a breath and hoping it would pass soon. It did and she moved on with her morning routine. However, her bra was going to cause a problem and yanking the tangles out of her wet hair was not going to be a happy thing. Not to mention the difficulty in taping her ribs again. Reluctantly, she walked into the bedroom where Don was awake, but not out of bed. She looked at him sheepishly.

"You wouldn't be able to give me a hand here, would you?"

"Taping your ribs?"

Terry felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks. "And a few other things…"

He didn't flinch or smirk, just nodded and pulled himself from the covers. "What's up?"

Her blush intensified.

"Um… I can't seem to…" She trailed off, motioning to her back. He was still confused. She sighed.

"My bra… behind my back…" His eyes lit up in understanding. He moved behind her, his hands creeping up the back of her shirt, unconsciously stroking her skin as he went. Her eyes closed unwittingly as his fingers deftly worked to hook the clasp together. He fixed the bottom hem of her blouse as he withdrew his hands, then faced her. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave him a weak smile.

"Thanks," she said softly. He nodded solemnly in acknowledgement.

"Unbutton your blouse." At her alarmed look he tried to placate her.

"I need to tape up your ribs," he explained. She nodded, her blush not leaving her face. She unbuttoned the shirt slowly and managed to get her one arm out of the sleeve. Her second arm caused problems. He saw them too and immediately moved to her side, guiding the cloth off of her arm. The bruises he saw made him suck in a breath of air.

"Terr…"

She flinched. She'd gotten a half decent look at them and knew they were beautifully purple. "That bad?"

His fingers trailed over the angry blue and black spots interspersed with yellow and green. Metal on muscle didn't work apparently. Terry resisted the urge to gasp as his fingers delicately wandered over the skin. She could feel the goose bumps rising on her flesh and closed her eyes at his touch. Her mind transported her back two months, when those same hands had stroked over that same area of her body with different results and for a different reason. Her eyes flew open when he pulled away.

"Be right back," he told her, moving towards the kitchen. They'd dropped everything in there the night before, Terry sore and Don worried, so much so they didn't really register much. He returned quickly and bandaged her ribs tightly before stepping away. Her blush didn't dissipate.

"Anything else?" He was being extremely accommodating and it set Terry's nerves on end. Sure, she expected him to be overprotective – regardless of the fact that he hadn't been there and in no way could have stopped it from happening – but this willingness to help, and her acquiescence, had her mind spinning. She shook her head after a moment and turned to head towards the kitchen. He rolled his eyes at her back and went to have his own shower.

When he entered the kitchen half an hour later, he'd brought her brush with him. He wasn't as thick as some liked to think. He'd seen – or understood – the knots in her hair and figured if she couldn't do up her bra, how on earth would she be able to brush her hair? Her back was to him anyway and from the way she was staring into her coffee he was sure she hadn't heard him. Delicately, he settled a hand on her head and pulled the brush through the tangled strands. Initially she stiffened out of shock but relaxed soon after.

"Thanks," she murmured and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm not so out of it," he answered, voice teasing. She tipped her head back and smiled when she met his eyes. He dropped a kiss on her forehead affectionately and, before he could register the stunned look on her face, or she the longing in his eyes, he tipped her head forward again and worked through more of the tangles. When he was finished, he moved around and grinned at her.

"Let's head out. I'll buy you breakfast."

"Buy?" she asked suspiciously. When she lived in LA there'd been times she'd been invited by Don over to the Eppes house for breakfast. He smiled

"Buy," he affirmed. "Grab your stuff."

The phone call came half way through breakfast, when Terry had a forkful of scrabbled eggs seconds from her mouth. She groaned.

"Lake," she answered less than pleasantly.

"We think we've got them."

"Think, Haynsworth? We've got to do better than think."

"We're ninety percent sure. The guy tried to find his little buddy today. Surveillance followed them back to a suburban home. Says it looks like any other house would, but someone got a glimpse into the back yard. Apparently there's enough wire there to power all of LA," Caleb explained. Terry nodded, setting her fork on her plate and resting her head on her hand.

"What do we know?"

"Not if Dr. Eppes is in there or not. Do you want to know before we go in?"

"They're not going anywhere?"

"Not that I know of."

"Wait. I'm just at breakfast, I'll be about fifteen minutes. Then let's go see if we can close this bugger."

Caleb chuckled at her harsh words. "Sounds good."

"No one makes a move on that place until we're there. I don't want this going downhill."

"We've got it, Lake. Finish breakfast with lover boy and get your ass in here. You're not the only one that wants this done."

"So help me God, Haynsworth…" she started, but he'd already hung up. Don looked at her quizzically as she set the phone down again.

"We're almost done our case," she explained vaguely.

"The counterfeit one? With the banks?" She nodded as she ate. He grinned.

"Congrats."

"I'll be glad once we've got the guys cuffed."

His face turned concerned. "You watch those ribs though?"

"Yeah," she said softly, her face a smile of indulgence. "I always am."

He raised an eyebrow, stating, "You obviously weren't all that careful when you injured them, were you?"

She all but growled. "Eat. Happy Terry is one that has closed her case."

They arrived at the Bureau fifteen minutes later to SUVs loading with equipment. Terry found Caleb at the front doors overseeing the entire loading process.

"Big guns?" she inquired. Caleb's gaze shifted from her to Don and back again.

"We just don't want to take any chances."

"Okay. Don? I'll see you later?" she asked, turning to the man she would always consider her partner.

"Sure. Don't get hurt," he said, emphasizing his last three words. He squeezed her hand, a movement not caught by any bystanders, and entered the building.

"I want Charlie at home ASAP. Today is ideal."

"Assuming he has no injuries," Caleb pointed out, eyes covered in sunglasses as he watched the proceedings.

"Ideas?"

"Storm the place and get the good doctor out of there."

She raised an eyebrow at him over her own sunglasses. "Violent much?"

He grinned at the teasing tone. "Always. Shall we?"

The house was exactly how Caleb had described it, such that there was no way anyone would think to suspect anything illegal could be going on behind the closed door.

"You remember to stay back. The last thing I need is the Eppes family on my back if you get hurt again."

They'd been arguing about it since he'd brought up the fact that they'd have to storm the place. He didn't want her going in there already injured, but Terry was adamant about being there if they found Charlie. Sure, the professor had worked in the agency, but he didn't necessarily know everyone there. She argued it would be better for him if she was there as an already known. Reluctantly, Caleb had agreed on the condition that she not be involved in the actual front. Rolling her eyes, Terry had reluctantly agreed.

"Anybody finds Dr. Eppes, they are to report it immediately. Let's go."

Silently they moved to the doorway, other teams moving around the back and the windows looking for the occupants of the house. On Caleb's fingers – 3, 2, 1 – they broke down the door, bursting into the house and fanning to find the suspects. It was a blur of jackets and Kevlar vests, but Terry's mind wasn't on the suspects but the hostage they were harbouring.

"Where is he?" Her feet carried her towards the sound of the shout. Caleb had Raymond Dannacher in cuffs and up against the wall, front against the hard surface.

"Don't know what you're talking about," the man ground out.

"Got him!" someone yelled from the bowls of the house. Terry rocketed out of the room following the voice. For a moment, her humour took over and she felt the urge to play Marco Polo, but the moment she found the room, her calm-- or calm exterior since her stomach was doing flips reserved for Olympic gymnasts -- had returned.

After all, Charlie Eppes was lying on the floor, alive and shaking.