A/N: Keep Chapter 6? All right. I'll see if I can carry on from that point.

Chapter 7:

Don Eppes sat on the back porch of his brother's Craftsman home, savoring the heady scent of gardenias and roses, both of which grew in the flowerbeds nearby. He was grateful for the darkness and comparative silence of the night, and for the solitude he now enjoyed. He and Charlie had returned a few hours ago from their sojourn through the park, and the young professor had long since gone to bed. Don doubted that he was sleeping, knowing that Charlie was just trying to give him some space. He had struggled against the impulse to spill the whole situation to his brother more than once that night…

"Thank you."

Don jumped and then turned as Alan opened the screen door and stepped outside. He had spoken while standing in the kitchen with the inside door open. The absence of advance warning from the screen door hinges had startled him. "For what?" he asked.

Alan sat in the Adirondack chair beside Don and gazed at him silently.

"Oh," Don said, realization dawning. "You're talking about Charlie."

Nodding, his father replied, "I was worried there for a little while." He leaned forward. "I shouldn't have been, I know, but…"

"Yeah." Don laid his head back and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he continued. "I almost told him." He heard his father's sharp intake of breath and hastened to add, "I didn't do it, though."

Alan hesitated. "Why not?"

Don lifted his shoulders in a weak shrug, not bothering to open his eyes. God I'm tired, he thought. To Alan he said, "I thought we agreed not to."

"Yes," Alan replied. "We did. I'm glad you decided to stay with it."

"Did you think I wouldn't?"

Alan chose his words carefully. "No. I did think, however, that you might have let something slip – something he might've picked up on." Don chuckled softly and Alan asked "What is it?"

"He has picked up on something," Don answered. "He just doesn't know what it is."

"Sometimes that kid is a little too quick for his own good," grumbled Alan.

Don opened his eyes and looked at his father. "He's no kid, Dad."

Alan flapped his hand at Don. "I know that. It's a figure of speech."

"Maybe you shouldn't use it anymore," Don said. "It bothers him, you know."

"Yeah, I know." He paused thoughtfully. "Sometimes I miss it."

"What?"

"You two – as little kids," came the reply. "It was easier then, I think."

Don closed his eyes a second time and laid back. "I think so too." Silence descended between them for several long minutes before he spoke again. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Dad," he murmured.

Alan felt his heart swell with pity for his older son. He wished he could ease some of the burden Don was fated to carry. Purposefully infusing his voice with conviction, Alan said, "You'll keep it up for as long as necessary, Donny. You can do this." At Don's exhausted sigh, he continued, "It's tough, I know, but it's going to be over soon. Isn't it?"

Don sat up and rubbed harshly at his eyes. "Yeah," he answered. "The day after tomorrow."

"Well then," Alan sat up straight in his chair. "You see? Everything will go back to normal after that. It's not as bad as it seems."

"Except that I'll be spending the next few weeks trying to fix the mess I've worked myself into."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Charlie crept softly away from the kitchen door and headed for his room, his mind whirling with the conversation between his father and brother. Once there, he shut the door and stretched out on his bed, lacing his fingers behind his head. He gazed blindly at the ceiling as he tried to sort out what he'd heard.

Don's up to something, he thought. Something he hasn't told many people about. He reviewed Don's comments. He's… working on something. A case? The more he considered this, the more Charlie became convinced it was true. That's it then. He's on a case. So that means none of the stuff about tampering was truth either. He tensed as he heard talking downstairs but due to his bedroom door being shut was unable to make out what they were saying. After a few moments the front door opened and then closed. Charlie listened as Don started up his truck and drove away. Almost five minutes passed before he heard Alan make his way up to his own room and close his door. His thoughts turned inward again. If Don's working on a case, then why don't Megan and David know about it? They didn't seem to – David seemed genuinely shocked at the idea of Don being under investigation, and Megan… she's not that good a liar. He thought some more. If Megan and David don't know about it, then chances are Colby doesn't either. Don was afraid… of what? His mind whirled as he sought desperately to make the connection. Don's afraid, Megan and Colby and David are out of the loop, and he wanted to tell me… what? What?

Frustration mounting, Charlie pulled his hands out from behind his head and flipped over onto his stomach. Despite – or perhaps because of – his frenzied brain activity, Professor Charles Eppes promptly fell asleep.