Chapter 14

Charlie stared up at Don. "Let me up," he finally said.

Katie used the control to raise the head of his bed, then began rearranging his pillows behind him. "Wait a minute," she whispered. "I don't work here."

"Where are your shoes?" Charlie was looking at their feet.

"Never mind. Come on. We're sort of on a schedule, here."

Katie headed toward the door. "I'll stand watch," she said, reaching into the bathroom on the way to turn on the light. "I'm the gun moll here."

Don snapped off the flashlight, muttering. "I didn't bring my gun." He looked at Charlie. "Should I have, or are you gonna talk?"

Charlie carefully scooted up in the bed. He was stalling for time. He knew he had to say this, that Don would never let him not say this, but he hadn't said it out loud yet. So maybe it wasn't true.

Don cracked first. "Was it the sperm?"

"What?" Even in the dim light from the bathroom, he could see Katie's eyes widen.

"I mean children. The issue of children. She was upset because I didn't say 'yes' right away?"

Charlie didn't even know where the anger came from. It left him almost breathless, but he did manage to grab Don's t-shirt in a death grip. "Not everything is about you, asshole." He wasn't even sure that had been his voice. He'd never heard that particular voice before. He had certainly never said anything like that to Don before. He let go and sank back against the pillows, the anger-fueled energy dissipating as quickly as it had appeared.

After a moment, he continued. "I left your apartment. When I got to Amita's, she was coming down the stairs. She was carrying a suitcase. She thought the cab that brought me was the one she had called."

"She was leaving for India?"

Charlie glanced sharply at his brother. "How much of this story do you know?"

"Not enough, Buddy. Keep going."

"If you want to hear this, you'll have to shut up," Charlie said tiredly. Resigned to his immediate fate, he went on. "Not for India, not at first. She was just going to the airport and getting on the first plane to anywhere." He looked up at his brother, and his voice almost disappeared. "She wasn't even going to tell me."

By now Don was sitting, and he was glad. "Are you kidding? She was just not going to show at her own wedding?"

"I told you to shut up. I rather enjoyed it. I'll say it as often as I have to."

"Sorry."

"So, I got her to go back upstairs with me, cancel the cab, talk to me. I thought it was the…the children issue…myself. But it wasn't…at least not the way I thought."

Don held up his hands, and refused to ask. Charlie sat up straighter in the bed. "She said she never thought I'd really ask you." He was looking at the bedspread. "When I did, the shock of thinking she might have to give up her career — even temporarily — made her start thinking about a lot of other stuff."

The silence went on so long, Don thought he would have to risk asking again. Then Charlie raised his head and looked at him, eyes confused, something in them beyond pain.

"She said she loved me…"

Katie's voice was soft. "…but she wasn't in love with you."

Charlie couldn't keep an eagerness from entering his voice. "Did you speak with her?"

"No. No. I'm sorry. I, just, I…I watch a lot of movies."

Now disappointment was added to the mix in his eyes. "She said I was the best friend she ever had."

"…the best friend she ever hoped to have." This time Katie was walking back across the room. She sat on the edge of Charlie's bed, cupped his face in one hand, spoke as if in a dream. "And because you are her best friend, she only wants the best for you. You deserve someone who isn't afraid to raise children with you. Someone who looks forward to that. Someone who would rather be with you than in a physics research lab. Someone as special as you are…something like that?"

Charlie simply nodded. He grasped her hand with one of his, lowered them both to the bed between them.

"Charlie…Charlie, do you like me?"

"Of course!", he said, shocked. "I think you're great, you know that. Funny and smart and unpredictable…that's why I asked Amita if you could be in the wedding, I wanted to find a way to jumpstart Don…"

Too mesmerized by the interaction between his brother and Katie, Don had to let that go. He had to keep quiet, see what happened next.

"You think enough of me that you would like to see me with your brother." Katie looked at Don. "The person who means more to you than anyone else in the world. The guy who saved your life. The guy who saves your life, all the time. You must think a great deal of me."

"Yes, I…"

"Shh, Charlie, listen. What you see here — the Katie you have known for the last year-and-a-half — this is the person I was able to put together with the pieces I had left. I think I did a pretty good job, and I didn't have as much to work with as you do! You're obviously more than intelligent, you're gentle, and tender, and funny, and loyal, and good looking…you inspire the kind of friends and family who will break into a hospital in the middle of the night for you. I could go on. Do you need me to go on?"

"No."

"What I'm trying to say is, you were all those things before you knew Amita. You will be all those things again. She didn't steal who you are, Charlie. Someday, the experience of having loved her, and having recovered from loving her…someday, that will enrich who you are."

They all heard it at the same time. "Ah, for the love of Pete!" Dr. Stevens stood in the doorway, door swinging shut behind him. "Don't tell me I'm not seeing this again."

"Doctor! It's almost 4 in the morning! What…"

"I'm a doctor, Katie. I keep strange hours." He looked at Don. "Although not as strange as an FBI agent, I'm sure." He crossed the room, stood and looked at Charlie for a while. Finally, "it's late. Or early. Either way, I need coffee. Charlie needs some rest." He motioned Katie and Don out of their seats. "Say goodnight. Then, come. Walk with me. Talk with me." When Katie looked hesitantly at Don, he added, "Look, between my stethoscope and his badge, we can get you out of here alive."

As the three walked toward the door again, Dr. Stevens leaned to speak quietly in Katie's ear. "I didn't hear any of that, either," he said. "But you might want to consider a career change. I hear there's less subterfuge involved in counseling."