Don sat on the sofa and studied the gunman as he looked out the window by the front door. He knew he had to do something to stop him before he could hurt Charlie or his father. For the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, Don twisted his wrists behind him, trying to slip out of the handcuffs. He knew it was useless, but he had to try something.

"Well, well," he heard the gunman speak as a car pulled into the driveway. "Looks like Daddy's the first one home. Won't he be surprised."

Don's blood ran cold as he feared for his father's safety. He awkwardly stood up from the couch, drawing his captor's attention.

"Sit back down or I shoot you," he threatened.

Don – knowing the only thing that mattered was his family's safety – shook his head and yelled. "Danger, Dad!" as he charged the gunman.

The young man was so shocked that he didn't react as the heavier agent slammed into him, knocking the gun loose.

"Run, Dad!" Don yelled again, praying that his father could hear him through the heavy front door. He gasped as the gang banger punched him in the stomach, shoving him to the side as he scrambled to retrieve his gun.

Don let out a howl of anger and determination as he propelled himself forward, knocking the other man to the ground and driving a knee into his lower back. The gunman whipped around and slung a weak punch over his shoulder that just grazed Don's jaw. As he fought to regain his balance, Don saw that the young man was only a few feet from his gun. In one last desperate attempt, the agent threw himself forward and head butted the gang member so hard that they both dropped to the floor, unconscious.

--

Alan had been putting his key into the lock when he heard his son's voice call out. Danger?

"Donny!" he called through the front door.

"Run, Dad!"

Alan's mind pulled him in two different directions. Part of him knew he should obey his son's order, but the other part wanted to go help his son deal with whatever problem he was facing. Just as he'd decided to go inside, he heard sirens racing toward him and looked over his shoulder to find two LAPD cruisers and a government-issue SUV pulling into his driveway.

"Alan!" Megan yelled as she hopped out of the SUV. "Get away from the house!"

"Dad!" Charlie yelled as he leaped from the cruiser. "Don's in trouble!"

Alan stared in open mouthed shock as his brain tried to process the overwhelming amount of information all at once. He was so stunned that David's arm on his elbow nearly scared him to death.

"Step back," the agent whispered. "Let us check inside."

Alan nodded mutely as he was herded toward his youngest son to wait behind the SUV.

"Did you hear anything?" Charlie asked.

"Your brother was yelling for me to run," the older man said. "He said there was danger."

The two men fell silent, each one praying that Don would be emerging from the house any second now, safe and sound. Their hopes were dashed as David emerged from the house and gestured for them to approach.

Charlie was the first to reach the house, but only by a fraction of a second before his father. "Is he okay?" the young man pleaded.

"Calm down," David said with an easy smile. "He's a little banged up, but he's going to be fine. I've got an ambulance coming to check him out. Why don't you sit with him until it arrives?" He stepped aside and let the two men into the house, watching as they rushed to Don's side.

"Donny!" Alan called in relief as he sat on the step next to his son. "Are you okay?"

"Okay," Don gave him a weary but triumphant smile from where he leaned against the stair railing. "Good agent," he whispered.

"Best in the country," Alan replied as he pulled his son to lean against him. He laid his head on top of Don's where it rested on his shoulder.

"Super Agent," Don grinned at Charlie as his little brother sat on the step below him.

"Super is right," Charlie agreed as he rested his hand on his big brother's thigh.

"Good as new soon," Don stated with a confidence in his voice that had been absent for far too long.

"We all will be," Alan whispered thankfully as he placed his hand over Charlie's and relished the feel of his sons – alive and well – by his side.

--

The next afternoon found the three Eppes men sprawled out in the living room, a bowl of popcorn and a plate of nachos between them as they watched a Dodgers game on TV. They were all smiling and relaxed, Don even more so than the other men. Although he'd had to stay overnight in the hospital for observation, he hadn't suffered any more injuries and was released immediately following breakfast.

His smile grew even larger as a Dodger hit a grand slam to put them ahead by three runs. My team's winning, he thought happily. And I am, too. After defeating Wilcox – and saving his family's lives in the process – Don's spirits and confidence had soared and he finally felt like he would be able to beat the aphasia and get on with his life.

"Nacho?" his father asked him as held up the plate.

"Please," Don answered as he grabbed a couple of chips. "Dodgers finally winning."

"About time, too," Alan replied as he held out the nachos to Charlie.

"Thanks, Dad," the youngest Eppes said as he popped a chip in his mouth. "Not to be a pessimist, but there's still four innings left."

"Patience, Charlie," Don said.

"Patience?" Alan laughed. "You learn a new vocabulary word?"

"Yeah – something I heard old man say." Don winked at Charlie as their father rolled his eyes.

"I get no respect around here," Alan playfully groused.

A knock at the door brought their playful banter to an end. Charlie hopped up and answered the door. "Hey guys," he said cheerfully. "Come on in."

Don watched as Charlie led Megan, Colby, and David into the living room. "Hey," Don beamed at them as he gestured to the food. "Nachos? Popcorn?"

"Beer?" Colby asked.

"In the fridge," Charlie told him. "I'll grab one for you. You guys?"

"Sure," David nodded.

"Ice water, please," Megan smiled. "So, Don, how are you feeling?"

"Good," he responded. "Back at work soon."

"In a few of weeks," Alan quietly reminded him.

Don shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Soon. What bring here?"

"Brings you here," Charlie said as he returned and handed out drinks.

"Brings… you here," Don corrected.

"Lieutenant Walker let us have a shot at Wilcox and Williams," Megan informed him. "Wilcox clammed up, but Williams sang a beautiful chorus."

"Really?" Don asked. "You manage that?"

"Colby and David worked him pretty well," she answered.

"Yeah," Colby laughed. "Convinced Williams that our attempt to bust Wilcox was part of a setup to get him to accept the delivery. The guy actually believed Wilcox turned State's Evidence."

"He buy that?" Don asked in disbelief.

"Big time," David said as he took a seat in a spare chair. "He was more than willing to tell us his side of the story about what happened." He glanced questioningly at Charlie and Alan. "This is still case related. Don, you okay with them hearing this?"

Don heard the warning tone in his voice and opened his mouth to speak, but his father beat him to it. "He's fine with us hearing this." Alan looked at his oldest son and gave him a hard look. "Right?"

"Guess I am," Don shrugged.

"Okay," David said doubtfully. "If you're sure." When no one spoke, he continued. "Wilcox was the current leader of the YKs, and Williams was his second in command. Turns out they'd lost a couple of drug shipments to LAPD recently and they were getting dangerously close to going out of business." David watched Charlie very carefully as he spoke again. "They weren't sure why the police were all over their every move lately, until one of the members saw a news story on TV."

Don's chest tightened and he looked at his younger brother. He was surprised to see Charlie with a rather nonchalant look on his face.

As the silent pause began to grow uncomfortable, Colby quickly jumped in to end it. "That's when they decided the best way to stop the LAPD was to stop the man helping them. They followed you for the next few days, Charlie – to and from school, what you did on your spare time, who you spent the most time with…"

"They were after me?" Charlie finally spoke.

"They wanted you to stop, yes," Colby said. "But they were afraid that with your newfound celebrity and working so closely with the LAPD, attacking you was too risky." Colby gestured at Don. "They'd seen you two spending a lot of time together those few days and figured out you were Charlie's brother, so they decided to go after you to send a message."

"They chose go after agent?" Don asked in shock.

"They didn't know you were FBI," David clarified. "You were on vacation that week, remember? They just knew you were Charlie's brother. Once the decision was made, they followed you one evening and waited outside while you were at Steve's Gym. When the receptionist stepped away and they didn't see anyone else in the workout area with you, they made their move."

"Still no remember," Don said, his tone one of frustration.

"Williams said they threatened to kill the receptionist and anyone else that came in if you didn't cooperate. You – being who you are – went along with them." Colby gave his boss a look of admiration. "Sally at the gym says you have a free lifetime membership and her eternal gratitude."

"Okay," Don said distractedly as he wracked his brain trying to remember anything at all about the night of his attack.

"Williams said the plan was to knock you around – which they did in an alley on YK turf – and then take you to Charlie's house, tie you up on display and leave a warning note telling Charlie to back off or else." David paused. "He said they didn't intend to kill you, but things went wrong."

"I'll say," Alan whispered.

Colby shook his head. "They forgot to bring any rope or anything to leave a warning note on. Real class act, these morons." He looked at Don. "They were arguing about what to do when you got up and made a break for the door. I guess you were trying to break in and call for help, and that's when Williams hit you with the shovel to stop you."

Don absent-mindedly ran his hand over the healing wound. "No remember."

"That's normal," Megan assured him. "Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – you probably never will get those memories back."

"Right," Don nodded. "Keep going."

Colby nodded. "Williams said they were really panicking about what to do with you and then they heard a car pulling up."

"That was us getting home from the movie," Charlie stated.

"Right," David said. "So Williams said Wilcox told Don to tell his brother that this was a warning to stop working with the LAPD, or else someone would die next time. Only…"

"No remember," Don whispered. He shook his head and pushed the feelings of guilt to the side.

"Right," Megan spoke softly.

"They thought it had worked," Colby said as he snatched a nacho. "Charlie stopped consulting, they got a couple of shipments through – life was good for them."

"And then I went back to work," Charlie sighed as he covered his face with his hands.

"And helped the police bust the biggest shipment the YKs had in years," David added. "Wilcox decided to get revenge. He came over here intent on killing you, Charlie."

"He would have killed everyone he found here," Colby informed them. "But Don foiled that plan."

Seeing the weary looks on all three of the Eppes' faces, Megan stated in a firm voice, "You don't have to worry anymore. Those two creeps are going to prison for a long, long time. And the rest of the YKs are leaderless and financially broke." She put her best, brightest smile on her face. "It really is over, guys."

TBC