Summery: Charlie must realize that mistakes are often heavily paid for…

"It's called consequences Charlie." Don snapped, slamming his hands down on the table making his younger brother jump at the sound. "If you can't deal with the consequences then you can't be here."

"You need me here Don." Charlie fired back.

"So that's why you think you can order the people under me around and expect them to do your every wish?" Don questioned, his voice sharp.

"I don't order…" Charlie began.

"I ordered David to keep you safe. Instead you sneak away to some unknown location to help some student with a math problem!" Don yelled.

"Derrick is a very talented young man…" Charlie defended the student.

"Who nearly got you killed!" Don interrupted.

"I was not nearly killed!" Charlie yelled. "I was perfectly fine where I was!"

"Which is why forensics dug a bullet not two feet from where you were standing." Don retorted.

Charlie paled. He hadn't pieced that particular piece of reality together yet with David tackling him.

"Charlie I need to know that you will do exactly as your told when you are told and how you are told." Don stated simply.

"Or else what?" Charlie dared.

"You won't be working for my team anymore." Don replied.

"Don you need me here. The cases you work on I can give me a better likelihood of being solved!" Charlie said desperately. He could see the relationship that he had formed with his older brother slipping somewhere he didn't want to go… And he had no idea how to reverse the process so Don would trust him again.

Don sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Don't come back here until you can understand you have to listen." He ordered quietly.

"But Don!" Charlie's protest was drowned by Don sliding the door shut behind him.

Charlie stared dismayed at the shut door, then with a sigh of his own, he gathered his backpack and walked out of the FBI building.

Several days passed. Don hadn't been to the house since the argument and hadn't called either.

Charlie continued with his life teaching during the day and working on various algorithms at night.

It was one night in particular that Megan stopped by to see him.

She had, she informed Alan, come to talk to Charlie about Don.

Reassuring the Eppes patriarch that his eldest son was fine, Megan slipped out the side door to the garage where the light stood out brightly against the dark night sky.

"Hey Charlie." Megan gently pushed open the door to reveal the genius sitting staring at the chalkboards filled with various scribbles and numbers.

"Hi Megan." Charlie greeted turning slightly to smile at the female FBI profiler. "Don didn't send you did he?"

"No." Megan shook her head. "Don doesn't know I'm here."

"I thought Don knew everything." Charlie replied a little bitterly.

"The reason I am here." Megan said ignoring Charlie's pout. "Is that I was thinking over a few things and I had the idea that you don't really know what you did."

"All I did was walk about twenty feet away from David to talk to Derrick." Charlie rolled his eyes. "And then Don got all upset."

Megan laughed lightly and sat down next to Charlie. "No Charlie it was a lot worse than you think. A lot worse."

Charlie remained silent.

"Don trusted David with the safety of your life Charlie." Megan began quietly. "And for you to disregard both Don and David wasn't anything light to deal with."

Charlie chewed his lip.

"There weren't five guys at the garage Charlie." Megan said. "There were fifteen. Each armed and ready to take out anyone who interfered with their business. There were four that had climbed out the back window of the garage and were running as fast as they could to get away."

Charlie paled.

"Charlie they were headed right for you." Megan said bluntly. "Don radioed David to get you out of there, but you weren't there. So David risked life and limb to ensure your safety. And as sure as I am that Derrick was happy to have an available teacher to talk to, I'm just as sure that Derrick would be a lot happier to know that his teacher was actually alive."

"So why didn't Don tell me this instead of just kicking me out?" Charlie asked, his defensive posture relaxing.

"Your father expects Don to look after you." Megan said. "To make sure you are safe. It's a big responsibility to have to look after other people's lives as well as your own. And another thing is this… Don is very selfish."

"Don's not selfish." Charlie blurted out shocked that Megan would say such a thing.

"Yes Don is." Megan contradicted. "Don is selfish enough not to want to be the one to go to a parent to tell them that their child died."

Charlie stilled.

"Can you imagine Charlie what it would do to Don if he had to go to your father… His father and tell him that you were dead?" Megan asked quietly. "Don has already had to comfort other parents… Don't make him do the same thing with your father."

"Now do you see what Don has to face every time you help us with a case?" Megan continued. "Don loves you dearly. No matter what he might say or do he would throw himself in front of a bullet or heaven knows what else to protect you."

Charlie nodded albeit miserably.

"You are a math teacher Charlie." Megan gently rubbed the youngest Eppes shoulder. "We all know that you don't know what you are stepping into anytime you help us out. You've lived a very sheltered life, a far cry from what Don knows."

"I'm not that sheltered." Charlie protested.

"Your mother went with you to Princeton." Megan replied. "You've never been without someone close to you." She gave a wry smile. "No one has ever held a gun to your head. You've never had to pay rent. You've never really had to buy your own groceries. You are very sheltered." Megan laughed lightly. "But it's refreshing to see the world from innocent eyes."

Charlie bowed his head. "Thank you Megan." He said quietly. "I think I understand a little bit more now."

"Good." Megan stood and affectionately tousled Charlie's curls as she would one of her own brothers. "Because we could use your help on a bank fraud case."

Charlie laughed.

-/--/-

Charlie timidly knocked alongside Don's desk. "Don?"

Don looked up, not really surprised at the sight of his brother. "What are you doing here?" Don asked tiredly.

"I just wanted to tell you that you had every right to send me home." Charlie said. "I was out of line and I wasn't really thinking." He gave a half smile. "You know me."

Don leaned back in his chair, nodding.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did and what I said. I didn't realize the entire picture was a lot bigger than from what I saw." Charlie explained.

"You're not just saying this to get back on the team right?" Don questioned sharply.

"Don you took me off the team because I was being selfish. Not only could I have been seriously hurt but David could have been too." Charlie's voice saddened. "And I know Dad expects you to watch over me all the time, but I need to take responsibility for my own actions. If I had been hurt it would have been my fault. Not yours or David's."

Don nodded. "I'm glad to see that my line of work is starting to make a little more sense." He smiled. "I hope you told Megan thank you."

"How did you know?" Charlie asked surprised.

"For as good a profiler Megan is, I can still read her like a book." Don laughed. "But thank you for your apology Charlie. I know you don't fully understand my life and I hope you never do… But I'm glad to see that there is some things that makes sense enough for you to listen and obey."

"Shake on it buddy?" Don queried, holding out his hand.

Charlie nodded, reaching out to clasp his brother's hand into his.

"But the next time you do anything so foolhardy I will tell Dad." Don threatened.

Charlie winced. He had no doubt that Don would do exactly that.

But it was good to get back under Don's good graces once more. And hopefully he wouldn't botch it up again.

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."-Benjamin Franklin.