A/N: Ahem…excuse me, purehalo…YOUR Don…?

Chapter 10

Megan pushed the button to disconnect her cell phone and pressed her lips together to contain a sigh. Sure enough, Don's information listed Alan Eppes, father, as next of kin and who to contact in case of an emergency.

It wasn't that she didn't want to notify Alan herself - well, maybe "want" was too strong a word, it wasn't a task anybody wanted, really - she felt the news should come from a familiar face. But notifying Alan meant that she would have to send someone else to notify Charlie, and she had worked closely with Charlie. It seemed wrong for him to get the news from a stranger.

Still, she had protocols to follow. The information indicated Alan, and following Don's wishes was paramount. Especially since it was pretty much all she could do for him right now. She felt moisture brim her eyes and dashed impatiently at them with the back of her hand.

None of that, Megan. It's not going to help Mr. Eppes if you show up at his door and bawl all over him. You're supposed to be strong and calm and professional so he can bawl all over you. It's too bad about Charlie because they could have supported each other, but Mr. Eppes will want to go straight to the hospital - should go straight to the hospital, because Don wasn't looking too…damn. And there I go again…

She yanked the car over to the side of the road and threw it into park, letting her head drop forward onto the steering wheel. She only meant to take a second to collect herself, but somehow that motion released the floodgates. She buried her face in her folded arms and let the tears come.

It was only a minute or two later that she straightened again, blotting at her eyes. All right - enough of that. That helps no one. You have a job to do. So do it. She hesitated, thinking. Who would I want notifying my family if anything happened to me,and none of the guys could…? The answer was easy once she thought about it. She picked up her cell phone and dialed.

By the time she pulled into the driveway of the Eppes family home she was back in professional mode, her face touched up with make up and smoothed into polite, neutral lines. Still, she took a deep breath before she started up the path to the front door and rang the bell.

Alan Eppes answered almost immediately, his reading glasses pulled down his nose and a newspaper in his hand. "Megan!" He smiled warmly and drew the door inward, gesturing her inside. "What a nice surprise! Charlie's not here, though - he's teaching today."

Megan stepped over the threshold. "Thank you, Mr. Eppes, but I'm not here to see Charlie."

Alan's eyebrows jumped. "No? Well, I would have assumed that Don was with you."

Megan tried to hold onto her smile. "Actually, Mr. Eppes, I'm here to see you."

"Me?" Alan looked bemused and a little amused. "Well, that's very flattering, but I can't imagine what - " It might have been her expression that gave it away, or maybe he had finally added up the pieces. The paper slid from his grasp, color bleeding from his skin. "Oh God," he whispered.

Megan schooled her face. "Don was injured in the line of duty today, Mr. Eppes. I'm here to inform you and to take you to him at the hospital."

"The hospital." A faint wash of color returned. "Injured." He reached up a shaking hand and removed his glasses. "Then he's not - "

"No, Mr. Eppes." Megan's tone was emphatic. Not as far as she knew anyway, and surely that was enough for now?

"Thank God." He kneaded his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. "How bad - ?"

"I had to leave the scene before the paramedics were done, so I don't know for sure." Except that he looked like hell. "I'm sure they'll be able to tell us at the hospital."

"Right. Let's - " He took an awkward step toward the door, dropped his glasses and kicked them aside before he could retrieve them. Impatient, he left them there. "Go. Let's go right now."

Megan nodded. Alan brushed past her and strode onto the porch. "Mr. Eppes."

He turned, antsy and questioning.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Eppes - " she held up a ring of keys she had found on a hook by the door. "But which is the house key?"

"Oh. Yes. We have to - " he stared at them blankly.

"Never mind," she corrected gently, trying each one in turn until one slid in unobstructed. "There. Locked. My car's right there?" She'd planned to open the door for him, he seemed so lost, but he was there before she could manage it, sliding into the seat and fumbling blindly with the seatbelt. Megan slid in on the driver's side.

"Was he shot?" The tone was abrupt, like someone mentally steeling for a blow.

Megan looked at him out of the corner of her eye, but he was staring straight ahead. "No," she answered, trying to read his profile. "He wasn't shot. He had an auto accident during pursuit."

"Oh." Alan dropped his eyes, a frown puckering his face. "Funny, I never - I mean, that's a new one. It never occurred to me to worry about that one. Guess I'll - add it to the list."

Megan turned her head to back out of the driveway.

"But he's alive." The tone was insistent.

"He was very much alive when I left." Talk about skirting the issue. Come on, Don - don't make a liar out of me.

Alan nodded again, eyes forward.

Megan pulled onto the main road. "A good friend of mine has gone to tell Charlie and bring him. So you don't have to worry about that."

"Charlie!" Alan turned to look at her for the first time. "Oh, God. I should - I should tell Charlie."

"Jill is a professional, Mr. Eppes - she's trained to do this and she's done it many times before - please don't worry about it. Charlie might even be there by the time we get there."

"No, no - it should come from me. He'll - he'll be upset. It will be better from me."

Megan privately thought that hearing it from Alan in his current state would only unnecessarily alarm Charlie, but she kept that to herself. "You want to try his cell?" she suggested.

"Oh. Right. Good idea." Alan fumbled in his jacket pocket, stared in dismay as his hand came away empty. "I - I think I left - "

Without a word, Megan held out her own cell phone. "Button 5."

000

"Professor Eppes?" Charlie looked up in surprise as a head poked in his classroom door. He recognized the face of one of the women who worked in the administration office and frowned. He had just been warming to his subject.

He put down his chalk, absently dusting his hands on his jacket, and addressed the class. "I'll only be a minute. Take that time to look over the formula on the board and have some comments for me by the time I get back." He slipped out of the door and pulled it almost closed behind him.

"Mrs. Travers. What is it?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Professor," she murmured apologetically. "But there's someone to see you. She said it was urgent." She gestured to a small woman standing a short distance behind her and took her leave in a faint tapping of heels on the linoleum corridor floor.

Charlie scrunched his brows together in a frown. The woman looked only vaguely familiar, but he was getting so he could put together the sober dark suit with a certain - air - on sight. Well, this was a new one. Don usually came himself, or at least sent someone he knew. And he never interrupted his teaching. "FBI, right?"

The woman nodded politely, extending a hand. "Special Agent Jill Ayckburn, Professor Eppes."

Charlie shook his head. "I'm not working on anything for the FBI right now."

Agent Ayckburn smiled a polite, professional smile. "I'm aware. And I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's important."

Charlie sighed. "Look, um, Agent Ayckburn - I appreciate that the FBI does important work, but I'm in the middle of a lecture here. If you want to take a seat until I'm done, I'll be happy to hear you out, but - " His cell phone chose that moment to ring, and he sighed in frustration. Damn. He was always forgetting to turn that off. He scrambled through his jacket for it, managed to extract it and get a glimpse of the screen. Megan. Well, looked like they were double-teaming him. Might as well find out what was going on. He pressed the phone to his ear and sighed again. "Megan?"

"No, Charlie. It's me."

Charlie blinked, momentarily disoriented. Something must be screwy with his cell phone. "Dad? What's up? You know, I'm trying to teach a class here - "

"Charlie - "

There was something unfamiliar - or maybe painfully familiar - in his voice and Charlie immediately fell quiet.

"Charlie, I'm on my way to Mercy Hospital and I need you to meet me there. Right away, Charlie."

"The hospital." Something fluttered in Charlie's chest. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

There was silence on the other end and Charlie could almost feel him struggling for the right words. Finally, he answered, "I'm not going for me, Charlie."

"Oh." Charlie felt a moment's relief, then his eyes fell on Agent Ayckburn and his heart dropped. He knew the next words before he heard them.

"Donnie's been hurt, Charlie."

Charlie swallowed, thoughts racing through his brain almost faster than he could catch them. "How - how - what…?"

"I don't know much. Just meet me there and we'll find out together. Megan's sent someone to give you a ride - "

Charlie kept his eyes on the trim agent. "Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, I think she's here."

TBC