The next morning found a grumpy Don lying flat on his back in bed and glaring at the tray next to him. He was still tired, bored, and a little hungry, but not for the vanilla nutritional supplement sitting on the tray. Don had tried a sip earlier at the nurse's insistence and promptly informed her that it tasted nothing like vanilla. She'd given him a patient smile, set it within reach on the tray, and told him she would be back for the empty container around lunchtime.

"Donny!" Alan called out as he and Charlie entered the room. "You're awake."

"Unfortunately," Don groused. He noticed that each of the two men was carrying a large paper grocery bag. "What's all that?"

"Stuff to keep you entertained," Alan smiled as he set his bag down by the small sofa in the room.

Don's eyes widened in shock. "How long am I going to be here?"

"At least a week," Charlie told him as he set his bag next to his father's. "Maybe more, depending on how you're doing."

"No way am I staying here longer than a week," Don informed them in no uncertain terms. "Not a chance in hell."

Alan took the seat by the bed and fixed his son with a no nonsense look. "Don Eppes, you will stay here however long the doctor deems appropriate. Do I make myself clear?"

"You can't tell me what to do," Don petulantly mumbled, though the argument was somewhat weakened by his supine position. Seeing his father's determined expression, Don opted to change the subject. "So, I don't suppose you have any food in those bags?"

"Can you even eat real food yet?" Charlie asked as he picked up the supplement and sniffed it, wrinkling his nose at the smell. "I guess not," he laughed.

Don shot him a glare. "You're hilarious, you know that, Chuck?"

Charlie smiled his best annoying little brother smile as he set the drink back down. "I try." He pulled up another chair and sat next to Alan, switching back into serious mode. "You look a lot better today."

"I feel better," Don assured them. "A little tired still, but much better overall."

"How's the pain?" Alan asked with concern.

"Not bad." He slightly raised his right hand to indicate his IV. "They've got me on the good stuff. But I suspect that I would be in some serious pain if I tried to move anytime soon."

"Well then, you just lie there," Alan emphasized. "Rest and sleep can be good things, Don."

"I know," he sighed. His face brightened as he added, "Sarah said that they're going to let me try sitting up in bed tonight."

Alan's face darkened with worry. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Isn't it too soon?"

"Dad," Don groaned. "I didn't bring it up, she did. They wouldn't let me try it if I wasn't ready."

"That's great!" Charlie cut in, trying to stop Alan from belaboring the issue. "And you'll even have stuff to read."

"What did you bring?"

"A little bit of everything," Charlie laughed. "I think the SI and SI: Special Baseball Edition will be your picks. Although there are quite a few Sudoku books as well."

"The number puzzle thing?" Don frowned. "Pass – those are all for you and Dad."

"It's not math, Don," Charlie spoke in his 'teaching' voice. "It's logic, and you have a very logical mind. I can show you how to do them."

"That's okay, Buddy," Don grinned. "I think I'll vote for Scrabble."

Charlie whipped his head to the side to see Alan brandishing the travel game in his direction. He rolled his eyes and buried his face in his hands. "Why me?" he groaned.

"Relax, Charlie. It'll be a while before I can sit up long enough for a game." Don tried to stifle a yawn and inwardly sighed as Alan saw it and opened his mouth to speak. "I know, I know," Don stopped him. "Rest is good for me. Yadda, yadda." He closed his eyes and yawned again. "Hey, Charlie."

"Yeah, bro?"

"Can you turn on the TV? The background noise helps mask all of these other sounds."

"Sure." Charlie stood and fiddled with the TV. He could get a good, clear picture, but the volume wasn't cooperating. "Sorry, Don, it's not working."

"Damn," Don swore softly, never opening his eyes. "Really helps too."

"I can read to you," Charlie suggested. "Would that work?"

Don opened his eyes and regarded Charlie with an enormous smile of gratitude plastered on his face. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Charlie promised. He rummaged through the bags until he came to the SI. He sat back down and noticed the loving expression his father was giving him as he started to read the first article. Within minutes Don was fast asleep.

--

"That wasn't too bad," Charlie whispered to his father. "I was expecting more of a fuss."

"Don't worry," Alan whispered back. "That'll start soon enough." He clasped Charlie's arm. "That was very sweet of you to read to your brother."

Charlie reddened at the compliment and looked at his lap. "Have to try to keep him happy, right?" He half-way jokingly added, "It's the only way we'll get any peace."

Alan chuckled and nodded. "You've got that right." He pulled one of the Sudoku books from the bag. "Want to join me?"

"No thanks. I'm going to stretch my legs and check in with Larry." He rose and looked at his father, flashing back to their conversation from last night. "Are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

Alan was touched by the concern in his youngest son's voice. "Yes, I will. Go on, Charlie."

"Okay. I'll be back in a little while. I've got my cell if you need me."

Charlie left the hospital room and made his way outside the building, taking a deep breath and savoring the fresh air of the green courtyard. He walked along the sidewalk and let his mind wander. Inevitably his thoughts returned to Don and he consciously pushed them aside. Charlie had been there for his brother, supported him, and knew he was going to make a full recovery – it was okay to allow himself to think about other things now.

Charlie began mentally mapping out his next lecture of his Mathematics for Non-mathematicians class. He had an idea of the topic he wanted to discuss and made a mental note to run it past his father, who regularly attended each one of those lectures. As he was finishing up the outline for the lecture, Charlie reached the end of the sidewalk and took a seat on a bench overlooking a small pond. Making sure that there was no one nearby that he might disturb, he pulled out his phone and called Larry.

"Hello," Larry answered, sounding uncharacteristically weary and the slightest bit frustrated.

"Hey, Larry," Charlie greeted. "Bad time?"

"No, just reading through some notes from the chemistry department. How is Don?"

"He's doing better," Charlie told him. "Chemistry department? So you're still working on the investigation into the explosion?"

"Unfortunately so. Based on the lab sign in sheets we have reviewed, we do have an idea of what might have caused it." He waited for Larry to continue, sighing when he remained silent.

"And?" Charlie prompted his unusually reticent friend.

"I can't tell you anything... officially."

"I understand, Larry." Charlie said. "But I would appreciate anything you can tell me."

"It appears that an undergraduate chemistry student was making up a lab assignment that she missed due to illness. She was to perform the Grignard reaction as laid out in her organic lab manual, but it seems she did not read the precaution section first."

"Grignard?" Charlie questioned. "It's been a long time since I was in organic chemistry class."

"It's a reaction used to reduce an aldehyde or a ketone to an alcohol – but those details aren't important as it pertains to the explosion. Our concern lies in the fact that this student went for a smoke break and left her reagents on the counter, namely a beaker of lithium aluminum hydride, which is extremely reactive to water."

"Reactive as in explosive," Charlie mumbled to himself.

"Precisely," Larry agreed. "LAH reacts to small amounts of atmospheric water, such as rain or even low level humidity. From reading the report issued by the fire department, we have learned that the lab room window was open at the time of the blast."

"So that's what caused it?" Charlie asked incredulously. "A student's careless lab experiment?"

"In part," Larry said, hesitating as if the worst was yet to come.

"Go on," Charlie demanded.

"LAH is very reactive to water, but unless it is present in extremely large quantities, it could never be responsible for a blast capable of blowing the doors off the lab." Charlie heard him take a deep breath. "There was an aggravating factor that we are still looking into, but it appears that there was a significant presence of ether fumes in the room."

"I know that's very explosive," Charlie thought aloud. "But why would it be in the room? Didn't the student keep it in the fume hood?"

"Yes, she did." Larry sighed. "Again, this is still under investigation and only speculation on my part, but I believe the fume hood was malfunctioning – basically, it had a leak. That's how the ether filled the room, and why the reaction between the LAH and water was so powerful."

Charlie slouched on the bench and stared up at the bright, blue sky. "So not only was this an accident," Charlie whispered disbelievingly, "But it was a freak accident."

"All the right variables came together at the worst possible time," Larry stated. "We will be continuing our investigation, of course, but I don't believe that we will arrive at a different conclusion." Larry waited for Charlie to respond and when he didn't, Larry added, "I'm so sorry, Charles."

Charlie nodded mutely before realizing Larry couldn't see him. "Thanks, Larry. For working on the investigation and letting me know." Charlie wearily rose from the bench and turned back to the hospital. "I've got to get back to Don and Dad. I'll tell Don you asked about him."

"Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks, I will." Charlie disconnected and maintained a leisurely pace as he tried to decide exactly how and if he should tell his father what he had just learned.

TBC