Epilogue
Charlie leaned heavily on Don as Alan opened the door to the house.
Slowly, Don helped Charlie inside and to the couch, which was much closer than Charlie's own bed, which was up a flight of stairs Don didn't want to tackle at the moment.
Grunting slightly, Don helped Charlie onto the couch.
It had been one week since Charlie had woken up, and he had just been released that morning.
In two weeks he would have to return to the hospital for a check up and to schedule the surgury to take care of his heart murmur, but other than that, good ole' Charlie Eppes was back.
"Can I get you anything?" Alan asked as he joined his two sons in the living room.
Charlie cracked one eye open as he replied, "Yeah. Could ya get big brother to stop hoverin' over me."
"Big brother?" Don asked, imitating Charlie's annoyed tone as he placed both hands on his hips.
Charlie cracked a smile before he shut his eyes.
Don, however, shook his head and headed into the kitchen with Alan following close behind.
While the eldest Eppes man prepared a wonderful dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread, Don returned to the couch, a glass of four day old V8 in hand.
Sitting down across from Charlie, Don tapped him on the shoulder, startling the younger man awake.
"Sorry, but the doc insisted ya drink this stuff." Don said, handing him the glass.
Gingerly Charlie took the glass and sniffed at it's contents.
His face wrinkled in disgust as he tried to clear the smell from his nose.
"Smells awful! People really drink this stuff!" Charlie said, grimacing.
"Fraid so, buddy." Don replied.
With a grimace still on his face, Charlie timidly took a small sip, and the instant his taste buds went to work, the V8 came back up to end up all over Don's nice, clean shirt.
Don glanced down at the red tomato sauce that now decorated his shirt with small, red poka dots.
"Sorry Don, but this stuff is nasty." Charlie said, setting the glass down with his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Grabbing a kleenex, Don proceeded to clean himself up as best he could.
When Alan brought out three salads for them to enjoy, he had just crossed the threshold into the living area when he tripped over his shoe!
All three bowls of salad flew everywhere!
Some of the lettuce hit the floor, some the ceiling, some stuck on Don's jacket and some stuck to the top of Charlie's head! Smearing ranch dressing in his brownish hair.
Don took one look at his brother before he burst out laughing.
Charlie however, was not amused.
Slowly he took the ranch covered piece of lettuce out of his hair, hefted it and then threw it at Don.
The piece smacked the FBI agent right in the face, smearing dressing all over his face and shirt.
Don stopped laughing and glared at Charlie, who was wiping the tears of laughter from his face.
Looking around, Don found a big pile of lettuce on the floor. Reaching down he scooped it up and threw it at Charlie, and soon enough a major food fight had begun between the two brothers.
To say that Alan was dissipointed in his sons acting like three year olds was an understatement. He had to jerk Don to his feet to get the older man to listen to him.
"Donald Eppes, what do you think you are doing? You and your brother are making a mess of everything!" Alan said, gesturing to the food covered living area.
Don's eyes roved around the room, looking at the dressing covered walls, paintings and furniture.
"Now, I am going in there to fix the spaghetti, and when I come out, I expect to see nothing but you two as you both clean up this room! Remove all of the food and hand wash the furniture, paintings and walls." Alan said.
Don blushed and nodded his head.
After he had entered the kitchen, Don and Charlie looked at each other and said in unison, "You clean it!"
A smile broke out on Don and Charlie's face, and soon they were laughing merrily as they grabbed some paper towels and began to clean the room.
Finally, when they were done, Alan called them to dinner.
After a few minutes of munching on the spaghetti, Don cleared his throat and asked, "So Charlie, when do ya need to go back to the doctor's?"
"Two weeks for a check up and to plan the next surgury. Why do you ask?" Charlie asked.
"Just wondering." Don replied as he stuffed more spaghetti into his mouth.
Charlie was about to speak, but that was before he caught a glimpse of Don. Spaghetti hanging out of his mouth as he tried to bite off the ends.
Charlie couldn't contain himself and his laughter filled the entire house.
When Don figured out Charlie was laughing at him, he blushed, just as the excess spaghetti finally fell back onto his plate.
This earned him a weird glance from his father, and a small twinkle from Charlie.
Don looked from one to the other before he too, burst out laughing.
After dinner, the boys washed the dishes before settling down in front of the television.
Well, Charlie and Alan did.
Don was standing by the DVD shelf, which was crammed full of DVD's.
"What'cha want to watch Charlie? We have Mystery Science Theater 3000, MacGyver Seasons 1-4, The Day After Tomorrow.." Don said, listing the movie or television show choices.
While he was still listing them, Charlie inturrupted him by saying, "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Don turned around and looked at Charlie curiously.
"Never figured you for a Duke fan, Charlie." Don said as he focused his gaze on the seasons of the Dukes of Hazzard that they had.
"Which season? We have 1-3, and season 6." Don said.
Charlie thought about it before he said, "Season 6. Play the first episode."
Don nodded his head and grabbed the sixth season box set.
After loading the disc into the player, all three Eppes men settled down on the couch to watch the episode.
As the Balladeer began to speak, Don smiled and looked over at his father and Charlie, who were both staring at the t.v. screen, smiling as they watched the episode previews as seen through the eyes of the Balladeer, Waylon Jennings.
'It's so good to be home. Especially with Charlie here. Life just wouldn't be the same without him.' Don thought as he studied his brother.
Don watched as Charlie's smile grew bigger and a small chuckle escape his lips.
'Yep, Charlie and me, working together. That's the way it has been, and that's the way it should be. We're a team, and we look out for each other.' With that promise sealed, Don turned back to the televison screen as the theme song started.
"Just a Good Ole' Boys. Never meanin' no harm.
Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born."
After that, Don began to whistle the rest of the tune, which Charlie joining in.
Don was faintly suprised that Charlie even knew how to whistle!
"Straghtnin' the curves. Flattin' the hills.
Someday the mountain might get em' but the law never will.
"Makin' they're way the only way they know how.
That's just a little bit more than the law will allow.
Just a Good Ole' Boys, wouldn't change if they could.
Fighten the system like true modern day Robin Hoods."
As the theme song ended, Don and Charlie smiled at each other for a second.
They were both home, and the assassin who had tried to kill them was in jail.
Yep, things were right with the world, and Don Eppes wouldn't have it any other way.
THE END
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A/N:
This is for all of you who requested an epilogue.
Hope this is to your liking. I did my best to add a 'family moment' and I hope this works.
Catch you all on the flip side, and for those of you who are thinking about the heart murmur bit, don't worry, I plan on making a sequal, devoted to that subject.
Signed,
Numb3rsfan