Hey everyone, sorry about the long wait. I've had this chapter written but got stuck on one part of it. It just wouldn't go so I started writing the next chapter instead. Hopefully updates will start coming more frequently from now on. Thanks for your patience.

Happy reading.

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"Is Don having a bad day or what?" Colby asked, looking up from the file he was reading. "It's down that way." He indicated the road to the right.

"It can happen to the best of us." David shrugged as he maneuvered through the crowded streets.

Colby laughed. "I'm just glad I'm not the one that got turned into a slushy." He grimaced at the thought of it.

His partner shook his head as he studied the buildings they were passing. "Are you sure he works down this way?"

The younger man held up the papers in his hand. "That's what the file says." He was quiet for a minute as gathered up his nerve. "Hey do you think there's anything going on between him and Megan?"

"Don? Nah, no way." His partner scoffed.

"They seem to be having a lot of whispered conversations lately and today she went into the locker room while he was showering." Colby pointed out, his expression unhappy.

David laughed. "Did you see his face when he came out?" He shook his head again. "Besides he's in a pretty serious relationship, has been for a while now."

Colby looked over in surprise. "Where are you getting this?"

The other man looked over at him from the corner of his eye. "It's called being observant." He smiled to himself as Colby frowned thoughtfully. He knew the younger man would stew about that for a while.

"What kinds of things?" The younger man asked.

David shrugged. "Like the fact that he's cut back on his hours. You didn't know him then but he was the ultimate 24/7 guy. If he wasn't at work then he was at his family's house. Now he has a set day that he has dinner with them."

Colby nodded as some of the pieces fell into place. "Is that who he calls everyday before he leaves for work? And how sometimes when he comes to work in the morning he's all rumpled." He said grinning.

"Exactly. Like that thing this morning. What male thinks about buying the team breakfast unless a female reminds them to eat?" David said triumpetly.

"So you're saying they're living together?" The younger agent asked. "But we have no idea who she is?" He asked before noticing David wasn't paying attention to him anymore. He followed his partner's gaze to the building they had pulled up in front of.

"Ah hell, how did we miss that?"

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"Don, you know as well as I do that this is going to be a waste of time." Megan stated as she followed Don up the walkway to the front porch.

"Yeah well I agree that they probably don't know anything useful but we have to interview families. Standard procedure." He shrugged. "Sometimes you can get surprised." He looked over at her inquiringly. "You usually don't have a problem with interviewing the family. What's different with this one?"

"I don't know." She shrugged restless. "Something just doesn't feel right."

Before he could respond the door in front of them opened. Don looked up to see a small lady in an old tattered housecoat. Her hair was a dark blonde streaked liberal with gray. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Mrs. Sims?" Don asked as he held out his ID. "My name is Don Epps with the FBI."

"Oh dear." She gave him a scared look. "Why are you here? What have we done?"

Don looked at Megan from the corner of his eye, expecting her to answer the question in that way she had of comfortating people. Lips firm she did her best to avoid his gaze. Frowning he addressed the distraught woman in front him.

"As far as we know you've done nothing wrong. We just need to talk to you about your son." He explained.

"Oh well, come in I guess." She invited, confusion written plainly on her face. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thanks." He answered as he followed her into the house. In contrast to her appearance the house was immaculate and furnished in good taste. He stopped to look at the family pictures lining the wall.

"Is this your daughter?" He inquired pointing to the picture he had stopped in front of.

Their hostess smiled, softening her expression. "Yes, that's Isabella. This is a picture of her and her family now." She said walking to a picture further down the wall.

"I don't see any pictures of your son." Megan spook up for the first time.

"He wasn't very photogenic." She said simply as she continued into the living room.

"Are you saying you never took a picture of him?" The female FBI agent persisted.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Mrs. Sims asked again, ignoring the question as she turned to Don.

"No thank you." He smiled charmingly at her. "We really need to talk to your son. Do you know where we can reach him?"

"Oh, I haven't talked to Joseph in probably three weeks or more." She waved her hands around nervously. "He's so busy with his own life nowadays."

Megan pulled out the Driver's License photo of their subject. "Mrs. Sims is this your son?" She asked.

Their hostess pursed her lips as she studied the photo carefully. "No, no it's not. My Joseph is slimmer and his face is longer. Plus he had darker hair." She announced as she handed the photo back.

"Are you sure?" Don asked in surprise. He exchanged a startled glance with his partner.

"Young man I know my son and that isn't him." She replied hotly. "Are you sure you're with the FBI. I thought they dressed in suits with polished shoes." She asked as she stared critically at don.

He huffed out his breath as he ran his down his black flannel shirt. "Some assignments require more comfortable clothing." He tried to explain.

"Mrs. Sims, do you have a phone number for your son? We'd still like to talk to him." Megan resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her partner.

"I don't think I like where this is going. I want you people to leave my house now." The older lady announced with surprising firmness She walked determinedly to the front door and held it open, glaring at them as they passed by.

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Across town Alan bustled around the house gathering the items he would need for the consult he had scheduled. He was doing his best to ignore the faint aching in his left arm and resisting the urge to call his partner. Their business was still relatively new and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.

Walking into the living room he shook his head at the mess of books and papers spread out on every available surface. "Don't know how the boy finds anything." He said wheezing slightly as he extracted the map he needed.

One half hour later he was standing out in the hot sun as he explained the problem areas to his clients. He dabbed at the sweat on his forehead and blamed the dizziness on the heat. Bending over to point out a crack in the foundation he began seeing spots in front of his eyes at the same time a sharp pain hit him in the center of his chest. He was unable to catch himself as he fell forward hitting his head on the wall in front of him.

"Oh my gosh. Mr. Eppes are you all right? I'm calling 911." The voices of his clients washed over him, the last one catching his attention and causing him to get moving.

"No need for an ambulance. Just lost my balance is all." He pressed his handkerchief to the gash in his head. "I'm fine."

The man holding the phone looked uncertain as he looked at the blood that had already dripped onto the older man's shirt.

"No, no it's okay." Alan waved him off as he slowly rose to his feet. "We finish what we were doing then I'll go to the hospital."

"Well actually, I think we've seen everything we need." Phone man said as he shot looks at his partners. "If it's okay with you well contact your office on Monday to start drawing up the plans."

After making the arrangements Alan watched them drive off before stumbling to his own car.

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David looked up as he heard Megan's voice raised in anger. He turned to find Colby listening intently to the argument. "They don't sound like a couple in love." He teased.

Colby threw him a dirty look as he watched the senior agents walk into the war room.

"I just think we would have gotten more imformation out of her if you had been a little nicer, eased her into the converstation." Don protested as he glared at his partner.

"She didn't know anything." Megan argued, slapping the folder down on the desk.

"She was lieing the whole time she was talking to us." Don stated in an incrediulous voice. "You're the profiler, how did you not pick that up?"

She spun around to face him, her fists clenched at her sides. "I'm a profiler, not wonder women." She snapped before stalking off to get a cup of coffee.

Don stared after her in bafflement. "What the hell is her problem? She did a complete one eighty on the way out there." He looked to the other two agents for answers.

Colby shrugged as he stared thoughtfully after the angry female. David spoke up, gesturing as he answered Don's question. "She got a phone call right before the two of you went out. Must have really upset her."

"Must have." Don muttered as he settled down in his chair. He pretended to rifle through his paperwork when she walked back into the room.

"So Don, what makes you think she was lying to you?" Colby asked as David reached over to answer a ringing phone.

"The family pictures. Their were spaces on the wall where certain ones had been recently taken down."

"What would that matter? Don't we already have a photo of him?" The younger agent asked in confusion.

"Hey, Don. Your father's on line two." David called out, interrupting their conversation.

Don frowned as he stood up to pick up the phone. "Hey dad. What's wrong?" He asked immediately.

"I don't know Donnie. I'm not feeling too good." Came the slow reply.

Don could hear his father huffing over the phone line. "Yeah, well you're not breathing too good." He said, the worry in his voice causing the other three agents to crowd around him. "What hurts?"

"My chest is so tight it feels like I can't draw in any air." The older man wheezed.

"Okay, okay. Try to remain calm." Don instructed slumping into his chair as his own knees gave out. "Is Charlie there with you?"

"No, no Charlie's at that conference, the one in Vegas."

"Well, just hold on okay. We're calling an ambulance for you." He raised his eyebrows at Megan who immediately started dialing the phone. "They'll be there in a couple of minutes so just hold on."

"I don't need an ambulance." Alan protested, having to stop to catch his breath. His shirt was drenched in sweat and there was a faint ringing in his ears. "I'm perfectly capable of driving myself."

"Yeah well you sound capable." Don had to shake his head at his father's stubbornness. "Just do me a favor and slow your breathing down for me."

After what seemed like an extraordinary length of time during which he listened to his father struggle to breathe, he finally heard the paramedics at the door. Promising to meet his father at the hospital he quickly dialed the number to the emergency room.

"I need to talk to Melie." He demanded when the phone was picked up. "I think my dad's having a heart attack." He said as soon as she came to the phone. "Don't let him die on me."