Alan arrived home well after eleven o'clock, weary and ready to tell his client to go find another consultant to pester. He'd half-jokingly made the comment to Stan, who had quickly reminded him that word of mouth could be the make-or-break factor in any new business. So Alan had smiled, laughed off his comment and told Stan he'd be at their early morning meeting the next day – even though it was a Saturday and he'd been looking forward to spending time with his family.

As he set his briefcase down, he noticed the TV was on in the living room. "Don?" he asked, wondering why he would be up so late.

"No, it's me, Dad."

"Charlie? What are you doing up so late? And why are you watching Sports Center?"

"It reminds me of Don," his youngest son answered. After a pause, he looked up at his father. "He's not doing so well."

"Oh no," Alan breathed as he sank into his armchair. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Charlie sighed. "I came home and he was cooking and I tried to make small talk with him, but he just gave me one word answers. I asked him what was wrong and he got angry. He said 'No more', went upstairs and locked himself in his room. I gave up knocking on his door after an hour."

"I think maybe he's feeling deserted," Alan stated regretfully.

"What?" Charlie demanded. "How could he possibly feel that way?"

"We've been leaving him alone for the past few days. You're back to work and so am I. Think about it – who's been here to help him? To talk to him and help him work on his words? The speech therapist is coming first thing Monday morning, but right now Don is relying on us."

"What? You said I was overworking him! It was your idea that I go back to work," Charlie snapped, instantly regretting his words. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm not mad at you."

"It's okay, son. This has been hard on all of us. Honestly, when I suggested you go back to work, I didn't realize that Stan and I would get so busy and that Don would be so... alone."

"So, what should we do?"

"I have one more meeting with this client tomorrow morning," Alan thought aloud. "I'm going to tell Stan that's it from me – either the client likes our idea, or Stan works with him alone from here on out. He'll understand that I need to be with Don."

"Okay," Charlie smiled. "I have to meet with Lieutenant Walker tomorrow to see how the drug bust went and see if he needs my help tying up any loose ends. That shouldn't take too long, and then I'm free for the rest of the weekend."

"That sounds like a plan," Alan smiled.

--

"Donny?"

Don remained silent, hoping that if he didn't answer his father would go away and leave him alone.

"Don?" his father called louder as he knocked on the door. "Son, I need to talk to you."

No you don't, Don thought. Just leave me alone and I'll be out of your hair come Monday morning.

"Don," his father said again, his voice growing stern. "I can stand out here all night if I have to."

Why can't you just leave me alone?

"Don't make me try to break this door down – these old bones won't fare too well."

Half-afraid that his father just might follow through on his threat, Don dragged himself from the bed and unlocked the door. Without bothering to open it, he returned to the mattress and lay back down, keeping his back to the doorway. There was a quiet creak as Alan pushed the door open and then Don felt the mattress shift as the older man settled his weight next to his hip.

"Charlie tells me you're upset."

Don shrugged and tensed as he felt his father's hand settle on his shoulder.

"I know we haven't been spending that much time at home with you and I'm sorry about that."

Don heard the guilt in his father's voice and felt his stomach knot. No, Dad, don't say it.

"I've got most of the weekend off, starting tomorrow afternoon," he told his son. "So does your brother. We were thinking that we should have some nice family time together. Relax, work on improving your speech – sound good?"

No! Don silently screamed. I've taken enough of your time. Just leave me alone.

"Don?" Alan asked, his voice full of concern. Don felt his father's hand on his cheek and his heart almost broke at how gentle the touch was.

"Sure," Don whispered, his voice barely audible. "Sound good."

"Okay," his father replied. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

Don nodded as he felt his father place a tender kiss on top of his head. Only after Alan had left the room and closed the door behind him did Don sigh and roll onto his back. He'd give his family the weekend, but after that he would go back to his apartment and deal with this on his own. I won't let them waste any more of their time on me, he vowed silently. I won't be a burden any more.

--

Charlie and Alan were both up and ready to leave the house at eight the next morning. Alan checked in on Don who was still sound asleep. Lightly running his hand through the dark hair, Alan smiled and whispered, "Don?" When his son didn't move, Alan decided it would be best to let him sleep and quietly left the room.

"Is he better this morning?" Charlie asked his father as he grabbed the two squares of toast that had just popped out of the toaster.

"Sleeping like a log," Alan told him. "That's probably the best thing for him now."

"Right," the professor nodded. "So, I'll see you back here around lunchtime?"

"Definitely."

"Good," Charlie smiled. "I'll call you if anything comes up." He turned to leave but stopped as his father cleared his throat.

"This is Don's time," he reminded his youngest son. "Nothing had better come up."

"It shouldn't," Charlie assured him. "Just loose ends. And as long as they have everyone in custody, that should even be able to wait until Monday morning."

"That's what I want to hear." Alan swiped a piece of toast and grinned.

"Like father, like son," Charlie mumbled as he trotted out the front door, his father right on his heels. There was an LAPD cruiser waiting for Charlie, who climbed in and waved good-bye to his father. Alan locked the front door, climbed into his car and headed for his morning appointment.

Only after both Alan and the cruiser were out of sight did Randy Wilcox step out of the shadows in the backyard and stealthily sneak toward the back door.

TBC