Chapter 9

By the time the four of them had entered the lobby of the hospital, Colby knew he had created a monster. In the car, he had been concerned. Charlie hadn't said a word since he asked Megan to help him put his shoes on. In the back seat beside him, Colby had snuck in a few sideways glances, and his face — it confused him for a while. Colby had seen Charlie frightened. He had seen him focused on his work. He had seen his somewhat hard-to-digest excitement and love for theory and math as he tried to teach them all something. He had seen Charlie friendly. During the "math fight" he had conducted in his office with Marshall Penfield, and when the FBI forced him to work with a physic who was consulting on the same case he was, Colby had seen Charlie angry, and frustrated. Yet he couldn't name what he saw today until he realized that it looked familiar — it reminded him of the look Don would get, going into a long-anticipated bust. Charlie was determined, and hyper-alert.

He hadn't looked at Colby since he finally broke eye contact with him at the house, and Colby hoped that he hadn't gone too far. Well…of course he'd gone too far, that was the point. What he hoped was that Charlie would eventually understand.

At the hospital, Megan was still negotiating into the parking space when Charlie opened the door and got out. He was halfway across the parking lot before the rest of them got out of the car. The three agents finally caught up to him just before he entered the building. Charlie led the way to a bank of elevators, pushed the "up" button and turned to them. He looked at Megan. "You," he said, and his tone indicated an order. "Go see Larry and tell him I'll be there as soon as I can." He looked at David — but not Colby. "You two are with me. We'll check on Don first. My Dad will want to know."

He turned back to the elevator and the agents exchanged glances. Charlie was bossing them around, now? Megan shrugged as the elevator dinged and the door opened, and they followed him inside.

They let Megan off on the second floor and continued on in silence to the third. The elevator opened directly onto a nursing station, and Charlie crossed the hall in two steps. "I want information on Donald Eppes," he said loudly. Colby and David hung a little behind him, and let the kid work.

A woman looked up from her position behind the desk, where she was entering information on a computer. "I'm sorry," she said, in a tone that clearly indicated she really wasn't. "That information is only available to family members." She dismissed Charlie and looked back at the computer.

"I'm his brother," Charlie said, raising his voice even more. He reached behind him and grabbed a sleeve, pulled an agent up beside him without looking. It turned out to be David. "These are his cousins." He reached into his back pocket for his wallet, fumbled with it for a moment and finally thrust his driver's license at her.

She studied his identification too long for Charlie. "Would you like me to sign something?" he asked. "You can bring in a handwriting analyst and compare the signatures." Colby grinned. "Math fight" Charlie was back. He liked him — he was fun.

She finally stood and handed back the license. "Please lower your voice," she said coldly. "This is a hospital, in case you hadn't noticed." She walked to a stack of binders and searched through them perfunctorily. "His chart is not here," she stated flatly, and started to sit down again.

Colby opened his mouth to say something, but he thought he heard an actual growl come out of Charlie and he stopped, startled.

Charlie leaned over the counter. "Two things," he said, and this time his voice was lower — but definitely not any friendlier. "First, if you are a nurse, I don't want you anywhere near my brother. Second, my cousin here is an FBI agent — hell of a witness in court. Tell me about my brother now, or I will sue you, this hospital, and everyone in it so fast and for so much money you'll be living under a bridge by midnight."

Colby really hoped Charlie wasn't going to hold a grudge over that whole scene at the house. He was pretty sure he wanted this guy on his side.

The woman turned a shade of red not usually found in nature. "I'm a Ward Clerk," she spat, "and if the chart isn't here it's because the doctor has it and is probably in the room with him now."

"There, you see?" Charlie bared his teeth at her -- it couldn't really be described as a smile. "That wasn't all that difficult, was it?" He spun on his heel so fast he almost buried his face in Colby's chest. He looked up at him then — finally — and to Colby's utter surprise he winked at him. "Come on, cousins," Charlie said, and headed down the corridor.

They met the doctor just outside of Don's room. Charlie spied the blue binder and the lab coat and was on him immediately. "Have you been with my brother? Don Eppes?"

The doctor looked at the three of them. "Yes. Dr. Headson. I'm a neurologist."

Even Charlie was unprepared for that. "You're kidding."

"Afraid not. Although after 10 years of professional jokes, I'm convinced I should have gone ahead and changed my name when I chose this specialty back in med school."

Charlie tried to get his mojo back. "Um. Well…Don. How's Don?" The doctor looked at Colby and David. "It's okay," Charlie assured him. "They're family. Cousins."

Dr. Headson nodded. "Don's most recent CT scan doesn't indicate any swelling of the brain, or any bleeders. He regained consciousness early this morning, and had some expected problems. Disorientation, confusion, nausea, headache, double vision. I've given him an analgesic for pain. He's very weak, and he'll probably be with us for a couple of days. But for a man who took a baseball bat to the head, he's doing well."

Charlie looked at the floor and let out a long breath. "Can we see him?" he asked, and "math fight" Charlie was gone, replaced with something infinitely more vulnerable.

The doctor nodded. "Of course. He's been sleeping a few hours, but that's all right.. It's the best thing for him right now."

"I just want to see him. I won't wake him up."

Dr. Headson stepped away from the door. "You and…your cousins…should probably not stay too long, just the same. Give him the morning to rest."

Charlie pushed open the door and stepped in, David and Colby close behind. They quietly approached the bed and studied Don. There was a large bruise on his left temple, and a neat row of stitches near the hairline. The rest of his face was unnaturally pale. Charlie looked at his face for a moment, and then his eyes were drawn to his chest, rising and falling regularly in sleep. Charlie started to put his hand out and place it there, so he could feel that his brother was breathing as well as see it, but then he pulled back, afraid to wake him. After a while, Charlie's eyes moved to trace the IV lines that led into Don's limp hand on the bed, and he reached out again. This time he allowed himself contact. Just barely — his fingertips rested on Don's arm, and he felt that it was warm. Charlie closed his own eyes, and felt that Don was warm, felt that Don was alive.

Then he opened his eyes and pulled his hand back again, and looked at Colby and David. "I'm going to see my father," he whispered. "Stay as long as you want."