Far away from the searchers, the two Eppes brothers slept – one restlessly as fever wracked his body, the other twitching as he dreamed, remembering what had happened to them...

Charlie came to and immediately regretted it. His head was pounding so badly that he was certain he'd cracked his skull open. He raised a hand and cautiously probed the back of his head, hissing as he encountered a large goose egg. He was relieved when his fingers came away clean. Charlie blinked in an attempt to clear his vision and was finally able to make out the interior of the SUV. Don! Charlie shifted in his seat to face him but abruptly halted as his right knee protested the movement. He gritted his teeth and finished twisting his body until he could see his brother, immediately wishing that he hadn't.

Don was slumped in the passenger seat, his head resting against the window and his shoulder sagging in an unusual manner. Charlie's gaze moved lower and his breath caught in his throat as he saw blood staining Don's white dress shirt. He quickly reached out and felt for a pulse, holding his breath until he found it. Charlie knew that Don needed medical attention soon, so he took a deep breath and turned his focus on getting them out of the car.

Charlie unbuckled his seat belt and gasped as he discovered the bruise it had caused when they stopped. Better that the alternative, he thought to himself. Charlie opened the door and was moderately surprised at the ease with which it swung free. He climbed out and moaned as he put weight on his right leg. Okay, that knee is definitely screwed up. Biting his tongue against the pain, Charlie hobbled around the truck to the passenger side.

The passenger side had not fared as well as the driver's side. Something had hit it hard on the way down, and Charlie frowned at the way the door was bent inward. He hobbled closer and tried the handle. It took a lot more effort, but Charlie finally managed to coax the door open. His eyes were automatically drawn to the bloody gash in Don's side, compliments of the twisted metal. Leaning inside the truck, Charlie unbuckled his brother's seat belt and rested a hand on Don's cheek. "Hey, Don?" he called softly. "Don? Wake up for me, bro!"

Don's eyes slowly fluttered open and he groaned loudly. "What the hell..."

"Accident," Charlie told him. "We went for a little ride down the mountain."

Don's bleary gaze found his face. "Joking… right?"

"I wish." Charlie began plotting the best way to hold onto his brother to assist him in getting out of the SUV. "Where do you hurt?"

Don bit back a bitter laugh. "Everywhere?" he weakly suggested.

"God, Don. I'm so sor-"

"Stop," Don barked. "From what I do remember, it was a deer that caused this. Not your fault."

"Sure," he agreed half-heartedly. "Seriously, I need to know where I can grab you."

"Uh," Don thought aloud. "Left shoulder seems okay. Legs feel all right." He moved and quickly hissed in pain. "Um… just stay away from my right side. Feels like I lost a fight with something."

"You did," Charlie told him. "The car door."

"Right."

Charlie leaned in and gently grabbed his brother's left arm and hip. He slowly turned Don to face the door, trying to ignore his cries of pain so he could stay focused on his task. Eventually he had Don positioned correctly and together they slid him out of the truck. He swayed sharply and Charlie leaned him against the SUV. "Deep breaths, Don."

Charlie watched and held onto his brother's arm as Don took his advice. Suddenly his eyes widened and his face drained of color. Remembering his brother's earlier illness, Charlie quickly guided him to his knees and held his shoulders upright, patiently waiting as Don deposited the meager contents of his stomach onto the ground. Sensing that the moment had passed, he leaned his big brother against the crippled vehicle. "Hold on a sec," he said as he climbed back inside.

Charlie rummaged through the back seat until he found the bag that Alan had sent with them. He opened it up and pushed the food to the side until he found the small bottle of water he'd seen his father pack. The younger man climbed out of the truck and sat next to Don. Removing the cap, Charlie offered the bottle to his brother who gratefully took a couple of swallows. "Thanks," Don whispered.

"No problem," Charlie smiled. "Will you be okay here for a minute?" At Don's nod, he climbed back into the truck, this time to search for his cell phone, which seemed to have fallen out of his pocket. He searched for a few minutes and finally gave up, exiting the vehicle to sit next to Don. "You have your cell?"

"In my pocket," Don said. "Right side."

Charlie reached across his brother's body and carefully dug inside his pocket. His fingers closed around the phone and he quickly pulled it out, his triumphant grin fading as he saw its condition. Besides being coated in Don's blood, it looked like...

"It was on the losing end of the same fight I was," Don observed. "Yours?"

"I think I forgot it," Charlie confessed. "Dad is probably planning on hiding it for a few days to teach me a lesson."

"Don't know why he bothers," Don quietly teased. "It never works." Charlie smiled appreciatively at Don's attempt to ease his worry.

"Yeah, yeah." Charlie fiddled with the phone and sighed as his fears were confirmed – it was beyond dead. He peered upwards, hoping to see cars passing by, and shockingly realized that they had fallen too far to even see the road. He remembered going off the road around the guardrail, which meant that they hadn't left behind any visible signs of their passing. Unless there were some skid marks, he thought. But then there were always some skid marks dotting the mountain roads. No reason for any searchers to think ours were special.

"Charlie?"

He looked up and met Don's weary gaze. "Yeah?"

"What's the game plan?"

Charlie pondered his brother's question for a moment. "Well, we have no way to call for help, and we're not visible from the main road…"

"Not good," Don whispered as he leaned his head against the truck.

"No," Charlie agreed. "But we did fall more or less straight down the side of the mountain. So I think I could get us to the road where it runs down here."

"Think?"

"I'm sure," he stated firmly. "Besides, it's better than just sitting here waiting for help that may never come." And watching you die, he added silently.

"Your call," Don said as he reached up and squeezed Charlie's shoulder. "I trust you."

Never before had three words ever instilled such pride and confidence in Charlie's heart. He smiled widely and stood up. "Alright then," he said as he stretched out his hand. "Let's get going."

"Okay, Charlie."

He awoke to the sound of his name, drowsily opening his eyes to find Don staring at him. "Morning, sleepyhead."

Charlie bolted upright as he realized the sun was already up. "Shoot! I didn't mean to sleep so long." He studied Don in the light of day, noting that he was still pale and obviously in pain. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better," Don admitted. "But I'll live."

Charlie reached out and placed a hand on his brother's forehead. Don was still too warm, but his fever seemed to have dropped a little bit.

Licking his lips thirstily, Don asked, "Don't suppose a guy could order some water around here?"

Charlie uncapped the bottle and held it to Don's lips, watching as he took a deep swallow. "More," Charlie insisted. Don opened his mouth to protest, but he cut him off. "No arguments – we've got a long journey ahead of us today." Don grudgingly drank a few more swallows and then turned his head away. The bottle was almost empty and Charlie knew he needed fluids too, so he reluctantly finished it off. He decided to keep the bottle in case they ran across some sort of water supply on their journey.

He stood and after a few awkward, painful grunts he had Don on his feet and leaning against him. Charlie had a fleeting thought that if they didn't find help tonight, he wouldn't be able to get Don up again. He shoved it aside and settled Don's arm across his shoulders. As they started walking Charlie noticed the trees a little further down the slope were becoming thicker, forming a solid canopy. He knew that the sun would be hot and that they had no water for relief, so he decided to alter their route. Certain that the shelter would be to their benefit, he angled them toward the trees.

--

"Finally!" Megan shouted as she got off the radio. David looked at her expectantly. "We got the chopper."

"Yes," David smiled. "That ought to cut our workload in half."

She nodded. "I'm having them fly over this area first and see what they can find down there."

The two agents stood on the edge of the road at the point where the skid marks disappeared. Although they both knew it was of no use, they looked as far down as they could. "I really hope they're down there," David whispered.

"And that they're okay," Megan added. She looked up. "Where's Alan?"

"He said he couldn't sit around and wait any longer so I let him borrow my car. He's driving the road himself, looking for any other signs of an accident."

Megan smiled sadly. "He's going to either kill them both or smother them like a mother hen when we find them."

"Hey, I've been at the Eppes house with an injury before," David reminded her. "You can bet good money on the mother hen routine."

Megan chuckled softly before growing serious. "Why do I have a feeling that they're going to need it?"

--

Charlie worriedly looked at Don. His brother had been stumbling more and more as the day wore on, and Charlie was afraid he wasn't going to last much longer. "Don?"

"…'M here."

"You're okay," Charlie told him. "We've just got to go a little further."

"…Keep sayin' that," Don grouchily replied.

"I know, but you promised you wouldn't give up, remember?" Still studying Don's face, he asked, "You want to take a break?"

"Might not get… going again," Don warned him.

"Sure you will," Charlie promised him. "I'll make you."

Don weakly smiled at Charlie's positive attitude. "…'Kay. Break would be good."

Charlie found a large tree and, with the greatest of care, lowered Don to sit against it. He settled himself next to him and enjoyed the moment as he caught his breath. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, listening to the breeze as it rustled through the trees.

"Charlie."

He looked at Don. "Yes?"

"Need… to say something."

Charlie sensed what was coming and vehemently shook his head. "No. You don't."

Don sighed. "Humor… older brother."

"Nothing humorous about this."

"Dammit, Charlie." Don's voice was thick with emotion. "I need… to say this."

"Alright," Charlie relented as tears formed in his eyes.

"You've done good," Don started. "Today, but… everything else. It's been great working with you so closely." Don took a deep breath. "Dad's proud… and Mom would have been… but I'm the proudest. You're a hell of a brother, Charlie… Sorry I didn't say it enough."

"Don," Charlie warned, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"I... love you, Charlie." Don paused as he drew another breath. Charlie realized that it wasn't just the emotional confession taking its toll on Don, but that his injuries must have taken a turn for the worse. "Don't ever… forget that." Don's voice faded away with a sigh.

"Don?" He scrambled to his knees and pressed his face into Don's. "Don? Don!" His brother's eyes remained closed, not even twitching as Charlie's breath floated across them. Charlie pressed his fingers to Don's throat and cried in anguish as he failed to find a pulse. He laid his ear against Don's chest but heard and felt nothing. "No, Don! You promised!" Charlie felt hot tears flooding down his cheeks. "Don," he whispered brokenly. "Come back to me..."

TBC