Alan's POV

I was almost out the door when I realized I didn't have a coat on. When I went back to get one, I figured I'd better come prepared. I grabbed on of Charlie's hooded sweatshirts of the coat hanger and his cell phone. I would have brought more, but I didn't know what else might be needed.

I rushed out into the cold rain. It was only a few feet from the house to my car, but I was still drenched when I got inside and the door closed. I hated that it was raining. It meant that I wouldn't be able to drive as fast as I wanted to to get to the hospital. I needed to get there and fast.

It still only took me twenty minutes to get there, but the minutes passed slowly, too slowly for my taste.

I ran inside the hospital and to the emergency room. I wasn't sure if Charlie was an emergency case, but that's where I assumed they would be. I tried to shield Charlie's sweatshirt under my jacket so that it would still be dry when I got it to him.

I found Don and Charlie in the waiting room. Charlie had his arms wrapped around his stomach and was leaning forward, his eyes downward. Don stood above him, watching him with a worried gaze. As I got closer, I could see Charlie shivering. He was drenched from head to toe with mud caked to his clothes. Don didn't look much drier, but his jacket must have been better prepared for the weather. I was glad my jacket was able to serve its purpose well with him.

"Don! Charlie!" I said as I came closer. They both looked up. Charlie didn't move, but Don walked over to me.

"Hey, Dad," Don said with a small smile as he came to me.

I looked around him and to Charlie. "What happened? Is he all right?"

"He'll be fine, Dad. It's all superficial, except maybe his ankle. I'm not sure if it's broken or twisted. He doesn't really count as an 'emergency' but they should get to him soon. He's got a few cuts here and there." I saw a shadow pass over his eyes at the word "cuts." "Other than that, I think he's okay. He's a little cold, though." He looked down at the sweatshirt in my hands.

"He'll need that," Don said pointedly.

I walked past him and to Charlie.

"Here's your sweatshirt, kiddo," I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder and placed the sweatshirt in his hands with the other.

He peeled off his other jacket. It was soaked through and his shirt had many damp areas. I saw how scraped his hands were. He must have taken quite a fall. He quickly put the sweatshirt on and wrapped his arms around himself once more.

I brushed some of his soaked curls back. They were stuck against his face. I smiled at him, though I hated seeing him like that.

"Look at you. You're a mess," I said with a slight chuckle.

"Charlie Eppes?" A nurse called. Charlie looked up and then over at Don.

"I'll help you, Buddy," Don said and came over to Charlie. He helped him stand and then they walked together through the doors.

"I'll back in a minute, Dad," Don said at the door. I nodded and went to sit down.

A few minutes later, Don was back like he said he'd be.

"Ready to tell me what happened?" I asked once he sat down beside me.

"It's quite the story, Dad."

Don continued to tell me what happened. I gasped when he told me he nearly ran Charlie over. I could see he was leaving something out by the slight pauses here and there. I was thankful that Charlie hadn't been hurt worse.

We sat back and waited for Charlie to be finished. When a nurse came out and said he was done, Don turned to me.

"Can you give me a few minutes with him? I need to talk to him about something."

"Sure," I agreed and sat back in my chair. I didn't know what they'd be talking about, but I had a feeling it had something to do with what Don left out of the story.

Don's POV

I took a few deep breaths outside the door to Charlie's room. He would be waiting on us to come get him. I had to go in there. I took another deep breath, turned the handle, and walked in.

Charlie looked up from the examining table. He was still wet, but I could tell he had been given a towel or something. His jeans were still soaked through and mud was still splattered all over his clothes. Hit hair was dry now, though.

There was a frightened shyness about him that worried me. He usually got that way when things became too real. Next he'd fall in P vs. NP. I couldn't let that happen.

"Protect me." Still rang in my ears. I would do anything to protect him. But what was I protecting him from?

"Hey, Buddy. How are you feeling?" I asked as I came closer to where he sat.

He shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't much of an answer.

I pulled up a chair and dragged it across the floor until it was in front of where Charlie sat. I sat down on the chair backwards, leaning my forearms on the back of the chair.

"Buddy, look. I'm not going to leave here until you tell me what's going on. Where were you going tonight? Who did that to your back? What or who am I supposed to protect you from? I need answers, Charlie."

He continued to stare at the tiles on the floor. When he wouldn't say anything, I leaned forward and lifted his chin with my hand, making him look up.

"Charlie, I need to know. You can tell me, I promise. I won't let you get hurt or in trouble. Please, Buddy."

Charlie still shifted his gaze away from me, but he began to talk. He licked his lips in a nervous motion and then he began to tell his story.

"His name's Jake. I don't know his last name. He... he's been threatening me. I was supposed to meet him tonight. He wanted me to do something for him. Jake wouldn't tell me what until I got there. I was supposed to meet him at midnight, but now, I know that's out of the question."

"Charlie, why didn't you tell me before? You know I can help you with something like that! I'm an FBI agent. It's my job." I felt anger rise in me.

"I-I thought I could handle it myself. I didn't want you or Dad to get involved in case he would hurt you, too. I couldn't let that happen, so I took care of it myself."

"He's the one who hurt you?"

Charlie nodded.

"Did he give you that black eye, too?"

Again, Charlie nodded.

I sighed. This wasn't going to be too difficult. I could just call Megan, David, and Colby; have them go to where Charlie was to meet Jake and then they can bring him in for questioning. I'm sure he's done more than just something to Charlie.

"Where were you supposed to meet him?"

"The LA City Park."

I had to ask him what had been weighing on my mind.

"Charlie... does Jake have anything to do with Carl Waits?"

Charlie tilted his face up, turning toward me. He looked me in the eyes and said, "No."

And so I had to believe him.

Charlie's POV

After I told Don about Jake, Don made a call to Megan. They were going to take care of it. I'd be safe. Jake would be caught and I wouldn't have to worry about Carl Waits anymore. I wished that was the case, but I had a nagging feeling that it wasn't it.

When Don hung up the phone, he turned back to me. He leaned down so he was face level with me.

"You're safe now, okay? They're taking care of everything. We'll catch this guy. He won't bother you anymore, all right?"

I nodded.

It was hard for me to believe that Don bought everything I told him. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't an out-and-out lie either. I had been threatened by Jake. I had been worried that he would hurt Don and Dad if they got involved. And I had tried to fix it on my own. But Jake had everything to do with Carl Waits. That was the biggest part I had left out, and the most important. I was afraid that if I told him about Carl, it'd be worse. I had to protect them, even if Jake was behind bars.

"You ready to go?" Don asked me, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah."

I reached for my crutches. My ankle was just sprained, not broken. I'd only have to wear the ACE wrap for a week or so. The cuts were all superficial, as expected, but the nurse cleaned them up for me anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Don held the door open for me while I hobbled out. I wasn't used to using crutches, having never used them before. It felt awkward to me, but soon I found a rhythm that worked.

I saw Dad sitting in the waiting room. He didn't look up until we were almost in there. When he saw us, he stood and met us halfway.

"Are you all right, Charlie?" Dad asked me.

"Yeah, Dad."

He sighed with relief.

"Are you free to go?"

"Yes."

"Who are you riding with?" Don asked once we got to the exit.

"You, I guess."

"Okay. See you at home, Dad."

Dad waved as he rushed out into the rain. It seemed to be slowing down, but it was still coming. I wasn't looking forward to going out there again. I had finally gotten warm.

"I'll bring the car around. You stay here," Don said, as though he was reading my mind.

I smiled to him before he left. I waited just inside the doors for him to drive over. I didn't have to wait long.

Don came over to my side of the car to help me with my crutches. After I was in, he took the crutches from me and put them in the back. Then he ran back to his side and got in.

For the first five minutes, neither of us spoke. Don kept his eyes glued on the road. Dad was only a few cars ahead of us, though we didn't leave until a few minutes after him. After a while, though, he finally turned to me.

"Charlie... I want you to know that you can always tell me if you're in trouble. I'm sorry that you didn't tell me about Jake before now. I don't know if I just don't seem to listen enough to you, or what made you decide not to tell me. But, Buddy, you could have gotten hurt. I wouldn't have known because you haven't told me anything. You could have gone to the park and who knows what he would have done to you? I couldn't live with that, Charlie. Please, don't make me."

I was surprised by the emotions in Don's voice. He usually wasn't so open to me. It felt good to hear, though. I had to reassure him that I was okay, though, and that he had nothing to do with my not telling him.

"Don, I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd get hurt, too. I didn't want you and Dad to get in trouble just because of me. I couldn't stand that. It made sense to me to work it out on my own. But, now, I know that I was wrong and that I should have come to you."

"Good."

We were silent again, until we pulled into the driveway. Dad was already inside, but before I could get out, Don spoke once more.

"Charlie? Did... did he hurt you besides the cuts and the black eye? I need to know. I don't want you to be hurt."

"I'm fine, Don. That was all he did."

Don sighed with relief, but there was more.

"What did he threaten you about?"

I had to think quickly. I hadn't thought of this.

"He knew I was a mathematician, and he needed me to help him. He threatened to hurt me if I didn't."

"Then why did he hurt you?" He was ever-efficient.

"It was a taste of what was to come."

I had done it. I had gotten Don to believe it! I just prayed that now Jake would be out of the picture that Carl wouldn't be able to contact me and this whole nightmare would end.

"Let's go inside, Buddy," Don said, coming around to help me out.

Yes. It had to be over now.

Megan's POV

I watched Colby approach Jake. It was weird not knowing the man's last name, but I knew we'd be able to get some sort of ID on him once we brought him in.

Though built differently, Colby was still believe able as Charlie. He had his hood up, since it was raining, and that helped since he didn't have the same curly hair. He even road a bike, well, my bike, and if I didn't know the two better, I'd buy it, too.

Jake was standing in the center of the park, waiting on Colby to come forward. When Colby got closer, David and I moved.

Jake was clearly surprised when Colby suddenly pulled out his badge and a gun. Before he could turn and run, David and I were right behind him.

"Jake? We're here to bring you in."

Jake smiled wickedly as he turned to me.

"So he turned me in, huh?" He gave an evil chuckle. "He shouldn't have done that."