Disclaimer: Sorry. Don't own the show. Don't own the characters. Oh well… that's life.

Hello again! Thank you to all reviewers for your support of this story. All the encouragement is very, very much appreciated.

"Good evening, Agent Eppes." Chambers began the conversation with all the cordiality that would be expected of a perfect gentleman, "I am very sorry to call you without informing you earlier, but I'm afraid that something quite unexpected has taken place."

"Please... we don't have the names yet, Chambers. I told you, we need more time. Just give us a few days." Don tried to play dumb; it was wiser to act as though he didn't know anything about Robert Lee's premature death. Charlie was looking increasingly anxious. The last twelve hours had been spent trying to pinpoint a location for the FBI to search for Terry and her kidnappers, but it proved to be a very difficult task. So far, all he had concluded was that wherever they were hiding was not within five miles of the FBI building. Needless to say, that information wasn't exactly very helpful.

"Fair enough, Agent Eppes," Chambers said, "But unfortunately having the names we asked for is not going to serve our purpose any longer… Anyhow, I am not going to waste your time with meaningless banter. We needed to claim passwords from four other people; however, one of them has died without warning and it is now not possible for us to access the mainframe even if you give us the other three names."

"So what is it that you're asking for now, Chambers?" Don was quite puzzled. For one thing, how did they find out so quickly that Robert Lee was dead? Secondly, he wasn't sure what they wanted from the FBI now that having the other three names would not further their cause any more. Charlie began pacing again. The three agents who were in the room with the Eppes brothers exchanged nervous looks. They hadn't done very much in the last few hours, and were now huddled together and watching the professor, wondering what on earth he was muttering about.

"Let me speak to your brother, Agent Eppes… immediately. I've heard a great deal about the brilliant Professor Charles Eppes and I'm hoping that he might be able to help us get what we want. In return you can get what you want. You can be assured that your partner will be safely returned to you once Professor Eppes gives us the help we require."

"Leave my brother out of this." Don whispered in a dangerous voice. The last thing he wanted was both Charlie and Terry having their lives at stake. Charlie suddenly stopped pacing when he heard what Don said. "Tell us what you want and we'll try…"

"We don't have time for games, Agent Eppes." Chambers said coldly, "Right now I need to speak with your brother. Please do not forget that I have Agent Lake right here and I can kill her whenever I choose. You would not want that to happen. Now, put the good Professor on the phone."

Don shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Charlie was standing just behind him, a hand on his shoulder. His eyes held so many emotions that Don couldn't look at him properly. "He wants to talk to you, Charlie." Don said, in almost a whisper.

Charlie nodded. He understood what his brother was going through, and if Terry's life was threatened, he would do anything to keep her safe. "Give me the phone, Don. I'll see what he wants."

Don paused for a second, and looked at his brother. In Charlie's face, he saw all the resolve and the determination that he himself felt to save his partner. Don knew that Charlie was always going to be his little brother to him, but maybe it was time he treated him like a man. He was almost thirty, after all. Charlie deserved his respect and it was high time that Don gave it to him. Of course, he had never doubted his abilities, but when it came to highly stressful situations, Don was never sure how Charlie would react.

With one hand clenched into a fist to stop himself from saying something unwise to Chambers, Don handed the phone to his brother swiftly. Charlie took the phone with a quick 'thank you' and answered, "Charles Eppes speaking."

"Hello Professor…" Just hearing Chambers' unpleasant voice made Charlie uneasy, but he couldn't waver. Not when so much was at stake. "I must say that I am quite excited to finally speak to you. I've heard a lot about you and your work for the FBI and the NSA. Now you must help us. We want you to determine the four passwords to enter the mainframe of this program using equations or whatever you need. That is all."

"You want me to determine the four passwords using equations?" Charlie repeated, his jaw hanging open in shock, "But passwords like the ones protecting classified information are just a random series of numbers, put together without any order or sequence… There will no equation that can establish four unrelated passwords. I don't think that it's possible…!"

Don had to admire how Charlie didn't give away his knowledge of Delta Blue in his answer. It was easy enough for an agent to have unknowingly said, in his state of surprise, something about a program, but Charlie had talked about 'classified information'. Classified information was a safe thing to say, and Don was glad that his brother still kept his head even in a nerve-racking situation.

"Professor," Chambers cut him off suddenly, and Charlie stopped. He started pacing again, and the three agents exchanged worried looks once more. Don swallowed nervously. He had never wanted his brother involved, but now it was unavoidable. "I never said that it was going to be an easy task. But nevertheless you are going to help me. I trust you would not want to be responsible for the death of an FBI agent, no? It's not a pleasant burden for someone so young…"

"Please don't hurt her!" Charlie spoke loudly all of a sudden, surprising everyone in the room. Don jumped up and put a hand on his arm, cautioning him. Chambers didn't need to know that Terry was more than just an FBI agent to his family. But his brother was shaking with fear. Don knew that Chambers had threatened Terry somehow, and Charlie could not bear it if he was responsible for anyone hurting her. "Please." He added, in a calmer voice, feeling his brother's weight on his arm.

"I think that you need a little more incentive, Professor…" Chambers said coldly, ignoring Charlie's requests. "You see, we are determined to have the passwords, and you must get them for us. There is simply no arguing about the matter…"

&&&&

Terry almost threw up when one of the men suddenly cut the ropes that tied her to the pole and threw her to the ground. Her head was spinning insanely, and she had to fight to stay conscious. Raspy Voice was on the phone with Charlie, that much she was certain, and he was asking for him to work out the pass numbers to access MINOTAUR. But why am I now lying on the ground? Terry looked around, trying to get up. But then she saw that the man kneeling beside her had a knife, and she stopped moving.

He cut the ropes around her wrists and threw them aside. Terry looked at him in surprise, wondering what he could possibly be up to. The ropes around her ankles were next, and soon she was completely free to move. Pushing herself painfully upwards into a sitting position, Terry took deep breaths to stop the nausea from getting out of control. Her heart began thudding at a ridiculous speed as Raspy Voice looked at her, and then said in the coldest tone imaginable "I think that you need a little more incentive, Professor…"

Terry could not longer hide her fear. She knew that something was going to happen, and the moment a hard boot slammed into her side Terry had already starting praying. Oh God, please don't let them kill me… She felt herself hit the wall with a dull thud, and her head was whirling so much that she couldn't focus her vision. All she saw were shapes of people hovering ahead of her, and when another crushing blow met her already sore ribs, Terry couldn't help but scream. She could still hear Charlie's voice, yelling so loudly from the other end for them to STOP that even without a speakerphone he was clearly audible more than five meters from the phone. Terry tried to roll over, feeling the hot tears stinging her eyes as she prayed for help.

Someone help me! I don't want to die here! Another blow, and then a scream. Her scream…

She could still hear Charlie… he was shouting through the speakers. STOP! PLEASE STOP!

It's alright, Charlie, She wanted to tell him. She wanted him to stop yelling, to stop worrying about her because soon she felt that it was all going to be over. You're safe and Don's safe and that's all that matters…

The pain in her side was amplified by two or three more strikes. Terry couldn't tell how many more there were. It was strange- she didn't know that it was her who was screaming until the sound ended and Terry found that she had no more voice left. Oh god, I'm going to die. I need to tell Don… I need to tell him so many things… but it's too late.

Suddenly the beating ended. Terry felt her back against the wall. Her hands were clutching her side, and her breathing was slow and erratic. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. "Thank you gentlemen… Now get back to work." Terry heard Raspy Voice give an order, then resume talking to Charlie. She closed her eyes and felt her fingers touching blood. My own blood…

Charlie didn't need to hear this. He's not supposed to hear it. He's not with the FBI and he's supposed to be protected from this kind of thing. And Don… Where is Don?

The last thing Terry remembered before she lost consciousness was Don's voice in her head.

"Just hang on, alright? I- I'll find you, I promise."

The last words he ever said to me… Find me, Don. Please find me. There was a click as the phone call was terminated, and then Terry's world went black.

&&&&

"Charlie… Charlie…" Don held his brother's shoulders tightly, his own hands shaking as he tried to coax the young man out of his current state. "Charlie, please look at me. Please..."

"What just happened?" Agents began pouring into the meeting room, all in state of organized nervousness. "I heard the shouting… and this room is supposed to be pretty soundproof. Who was it? Agent Eppes…"

"I need to get my brother out of here, now." Don said loudly, getting up. Charlie was seated on a chair, still clutching the cell phone as he struggled to steady his breathing. He felt himself being pulled upwards, Don's hands guiding him towards the door. "Please, make way. There's been a situation, and these three agents will brief all of you. I'll just be a moment."

"Don…" David was standing just outside the door, his eyes filled with fear, "Don, please you have to tell me. I heard Charlie… I heard him asking them to stop… hitting her. I-is she alright?"

"I don't know, David," Don answered wearily. "I wish I knew, but I don't."

The two brothers walked past David and several other agents, and crossed the corridor into another room. It was an interrogation room. Switching on the lights with one hand, Don led Charlie to a chair and made him sit down. The curly-haired young man was staring at the phone with an unreadable expression on his face. Don went to the door and shut it carefully, drowning out the voices of the people who were now crowding the meeting room and demanding to know what had just happened.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry that you heard that." D0n felt his throat get caught as he thought about Terry being beaten up by a gang of determined killers. Oh Terry… Please don't be angry with me that I couldn't protect you from them. I wish I could have taken those blows for you…I wish I could hold you now and tell that you that it's all going to be okay…

Charlie looked up suddenly, and their eyes met. "No, Don." He brushed some hair out of his eyes and put the phone down on the table in front of him. His voice was hollow, "I should be sorry. I made him angry when I said that I couldn't do it. And that's why he hit Terry- so that I could hear him do it, and so I would promise him that I would find out the passwords. But it's impossible, Don! It's impossible and I know it so well… but I promised that I would and if I don't he's going to kill her and it's-" Don stopped him quickly, knowing that when Charlie starting talking at such a rate he was going to work himself up into an impossible condition.

"It's not going to be your fault if anything happens, Charlie. Do you understand me?" Don took his brother's arms and gripped them tightly, "You did what you had to do, and I am very proud of the way you handled yourself. You didn't say anything about Delta Blue, or James Well, or that you knew anything about their plans. You did better than a lot of agents would in that situation, Charlie, and you should remember that."

Charlie took a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself down. "But I heard her screaming, Don. It was the most awful noise. Dear, cheerful, ever-brave Terry… screaming and begging for them to stop hitting her. It was the most… terrible thing I have ever heard. And suddenly I realized that I was screaming too. It was awful… hearing it and knowing that I was powerless to stop it."

Don knew exactly what his younger brother meant. He had been powerless to stop Terry's pain, and now he was struggling to cure his brother's guilt. "Charlie. You need to clear your head from this, okay? I'm taking you home now, and you're going to get some rest. You've been working for over thirteen hours straight…"

"But… what about the passwords?" Charlie interrupted suddenly, "What am I supposed to do about them? I can't stop working now! I need to get back in there, and…"

"No." Don steadied Charlie gently, pushing him back into the chair, "We both know that it's useless trying to work out the passwords. And we're not going to give it to them. Terry knows that our job is to protect this country and if those people have MINOTAUR they will be quite indestructible. What we're going to do is continue working on finding out their location. Tracing equipment is useless, so we will be relying on your maths skills. I'll make sure that consultants from state offices all over the country will fly in here as soon as possible to help you figure out where we can find these guys. But first, you need to sleep and refresh your mind. Eating would be next step, of course, but I'll handle that later. Come on, buddy. Let's take you home."

Charlie got up, feeling his legs were stronger now that he had finally kept his breathing steady. Don had a reassuring hand on his back, and led him out the door.

I promise I'll find you, Terry. Charlie thought to himself, as the walked through the corridor to gather some of Don's things from his desk. I'll find you… for Don.

&&&&

Alan Eppes welcomed his sons into the house gladly, wondering what had made them come back together. He had expected his younger son to return alone, and seeing the look in Charlie's eyes, Alan was certain that something terrible had happened to Terry Lake. Poor girl… She's such a sweet girl- she doesn't deserve all this. He didn't need to ask them what happened. All he wanted was to take care of his boys for the night, and try to keep their minds away from the case.

Charlie had downed a glass of milk before collapsing on his bed, and was now sleeping soundly with one arm curved around his pillow. Alan covered him with a thick blanket, patting Charlie's curly head fondly, hoping that no nightmares would plague him that night. He turned off the lights soundlessly and went off to check on his older son.

He found Don sitting in his old room, on his bed, and holding an old photograph. The case files that he had brought to the house to review were dumped on the bedside table, quite forgotten. Alan watched him in silence through the half-open doorway, not wanting to disturb his thoughts. The photograph was one that Don hadn't looked at in a long while; he had sent it to his parents along with a few other photographs and a long letter whilst he was at the Academy, telling them about all the people he had met. Terry Lake had been in every single one of the photos that they were sent. They knew Don thought that she was special.

This particular photograph had just the two of them. Alan had found at it one day when he was cleaning up his closet, and had put it in Don's room as a memento of his Academy days. Obviously his older son had stumbled across it and he was now staring at it closely, lost in his thoughts. Seeing that Don was clearly occupied, Alan decided not to intrude and turned away from the room to get some sleep himself.

&&&&

That's me and Terry… sitting on that swing in the park. Hey, she's wearing my baseball cap, and she has her hair longer in this picture. I remember this day so well… Some elderly couple took this photograph for us, and they told me that I was lucky to have a girl as beautiful as Terry. And I was lucky. My arm around her waist, her hair just tickling my chin… It's a moment I'll never forget, and a feeling that I can't possibly have with any other woman.

God, it was stupid… Just sitting there, staring at the photograph, wishing for the past to return. Don realised what a fool he had been. They had been so happy together, so why did he end it? Why did he think that after the Academy, being with the FBI would be enough to satisfy him? Everything in his life meant nothing without her. Apprehending a dangerous criminal wouldn't have the same satisfying feel if Terry wasn't there to smile with him. Staying at the office until all hours would be absolute hell if she wasn't sitting right opposite him, twirling her pen in between her fingers, with just a few strands of blonde hair covering her face. And he was so stupid. Why didn't he tell her when he had the chance? There was so much left to say that he had left unsaid. And now she was somewhere miles away, bruised and bleeding; and he couldn't protect her. Damn, if I could say it all now.

Life always has its ups and downs but being with you, everything just looks up. Just seeing you smile on a day where everything stinks makes it all seem alright. You probably don't know what you're doing to me. With just a simple touch, you make me a different person. And I've always loved you. I never stopped loving you, no matter what all the years have said. Every night before I fall asleep I see you there, in my mind's eye, beautiful and smiling. And every morning when I wake up I look forward to seeing you, and hoping that you'll smile to make it a good day. Terry… I wish you were mine. I wish you were mine. I wish you were mine!

Don closed his eyes and lay down on his bed, still holding the photograph in his hands. Before he fell asleep, there was the stabbing pain of regret that would be a constant reminder to him from now on thatif he had Terry in his arms ever again, that he would never let her go.

TBC

I'm sorry that was so depressing! But it's all part of the story, and we can't be happy unless there are sad bits in the middle, right? Anyways updates will come soon so please review because it keeps me happy, and thank you for reading!