Alan returned to the hospital bright and early the next morning and popped into Charlie's room first. He was overjoyed to see his youngest sitting up in bed and eating – okay, playing with – a bowl of plain oatmeal. "Charlie!" he exclaimed happily.

"Hey, Dad," the younger man answered, his tone flat and his eyes lifeless.

Alan frowned as he moved to his son's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I've got a headache and my back still hurts."

"I know." Alan soothingly rubbed his son's shoulder. "The bruising on your back is pretty severe. Have you asked for any pain medicine this morning?"

Charlie just shrugged and went back to pushing the oatmeal around the bowl with his spoon.

"Have you actually eaten any of that?" Alan asked with concern.

Charlie shrugged again and the worry Alan was feeling increased one hundred fold. Just as he thought he couldn't stand the silence anymore, Megan strode into the room.

"Morning, Charlie! Mr. Eppes!"

"Megan," Alan greeted her, his tension lessening a bit at her cheerful demeanor. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to see if Charlie was up for giving me his statement yet," she told him as she perched on the edge of the bed. "What do you say, Charlie? I could really use your help."

"Fine," he sighed, shoving the full bowl of oatmeal away from him with such force that it almost flew off the tray.

Alan's reflexes were still good even at his age and he managed to keep the bowl on the tray. "You go ahead, Charlie," he told him as he checked his watch. "It's visiting hours in the ICU. I'll be back after a while."

"Don?" Charlie asked with a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Right," Alan nodded.

"Is he... okay?"

"He's getting better every day," Alan answered. Just like I wish you would, he added silently.

"Will you tell him I said hi?" Charlie asked hopefully.

"Of course, Charlie," Alan agreed as he embraced his youngest son. "You can tell him yourself soon, alright?"

"Yeah," Charlie whispered brokenly.

Alan released him and smiled warmly, running a gentle hand through the dark, curly hair. "I'll be back in a bit." He smiled and pointedly nodded at Megan, breathing a sigh of relief when she winked back. He left the room confident that Megan could help Charlie make some progress in his emotional recovery.

In a few minutes Alan was in the ICU wing, walking past the nurses' station and waving at the woman on duty.

"Mr. Eppes!" she called, gesturing for him to stop.

His stomach plummeted as thoughts of what might have happened to Don raced through his mind. "Yes?" he replied, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Oh, no." She smiled brightly. "I didn't mean to worry you. I have good news."

"I could use some of that," he told her.

"Don's vitals improved considerably overnight. His respiration became much more efficient, so we've taken him off the ventilator and just have him on oxygen."

"That's wonderful!" Alan exclaimed.

"Yes," the young woman nodded. "The doctor has started easing off on the sedative as well. We're going to let him wake up today. I doubt it will be this morning, but it should be soon."

"Don's a stubborn man," Alan chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to wake up right now."

"Oh?" she asked in amusement. "Well, if he is, just be there for him and keep him calm. Call me and I'll have the doctor come in and talk with him about his condition."

"I will," Alan grinned happily as he walked to his oldest son's room. He pushed open the door and his grin widened as he saw Don was indeed freed from the horrible ventilator. The older man wearily sank into the chair by his son's bedside and sighed happily. "Good job, Donny. I knew you could do it."

"Mmm," the injured man mumbled at the sound of his father's voice.

"Donny? Are you awake, Son?"

"Dad," he whispered, the one word barely audible.

"I'm here," Alan assured him as he reached out and smoothed his son's hair. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

After a few moments of silence Don spoke again. "Too... heavy."

"Shh. That's okay, Donny. Hold on and let me get the nurse." Alan pressed the call button and informed the duty nurse that Don was awake.

"You weren't kidding about him being stubborn, were you?" she laughed.

"I should know – I have been his father for thirty-six years." Alan sat back down and slipped his hand into Don's. "Stay awake for me. The doctor wants to talk to you."

"Char... lie?"

"He's fine, Don. He says hi."

"Fine?"

"Well, he had a knock on the head and some bad bruising so they've kept him here for two nights just to be safe. I suspect he'll be released today."

"No," Don whispered, starting to shift as he became agitated. "Shooting."

"Calm down," Alan insisted. "We can talk about this later."

"First time... hard."

The older man shook his head as he tried to figure out what Don was talking about.

"Megan," Don breathed. "She... help."

"She's taking his statement right now," Alan said as he caressed Don's cheek. "But you don't worry about any of that, okay? Just stay calm for me and let's talk to the doctor." He didn't know if it was his words or the knowledge that Megan was with Charlie, but Don did settle down, relaxing under his father's gentle touch.

"Mr. Eppes?"

Alan looked up to see a medium build, middle aged man in a white lab coat strolling through the door. "I'm Don's father," he introduced himself, though the doctor clearly knew that already.

"Yes," he smiled. "I'm Doctor Jackson. I've been monitoring your son's care for the past couple of days." Seeing that Don's eyes were open and blearily looking at him, Jackson moved to the bedside and beamed at his patient. "Ah. Good to see you awake, Agent Eppes. Are you in any pain?"

"No," Don whispered. "Fuzzy."

"I know," Jackson said as he placed a hand on the injured man's knee. "That's the effects of the sedatives wearing off. You should be feeling much more alert by lunchtime." He looked at Alan before continuing. "In fact, we plan on moving him to a regular room around then."

"So he's out of the woods?" Alan asked eagerly.

"Yes," the other man nodded. "His vitals are looking excellent, so it's time for him to get out of here. I know you're both excited about that." He glanced at Don who nodded sleepily. "Now there is another doctor who'll be coming by once we get you settled into your new room. His name is Doctor Martinez and he'll be the surgeon who'll be working on your shoulder."

Don's eyes clouded as he turned his head to glance at the heavily bandaged joint. "How bad?"

"I couldn't tell you, Agent Eppes. That's not my specialty. But Doctor Martinez is the one of the best surgeons in his field. You'll definitely be in good hands."

Alan sensed that Jackson did have an opinion on the damage to his son's shoulder but didn't want to upset him any further while he was coming out of the sedative-induced slumber. "Thank you," Alan said, appreciating the doctor's thoughtfulness.

"Glad I could be of service. Oh, and the nurse wanted me to remind you that visiting time is over." He frowned apologetically. "But once he gets into his new room the visiting hours there are much more relaxed."

"Good." Alan turned to his son and cupped his cheek, smiling warmly at Don's drowsy expression. "You take it easy and get better. I'll see you as soon as they get you moved, okay?"

"'Kay," he mumbled sleepily. "Tell Charlie... said hi."

"I will, Donny. See you soon."

TBC