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Charlie looked like he was in a bad mood when he came into the bullpen. His face was sour and he walked roughly towards my desk.

"You okay buddy?"

"Natalie went to talk to Larry!" He seethed.

"What?"

"She's going behind my back!" he told me. This made me mad. Who did she think she was, going behind my little brother's back to talk to his friend.

"When did this happen?" I asked with concern

"Today! I went to Larry's office, and I overheard her whining" Charlie crossed his arms. It was one thing to go to me but using Larry was something different. He was an easygoing guy.

"I'll go talk to her" I thought. "When I've got time."

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As I read over a patient file a while later, I thought about things. My reason for talking to Larry was because well, Charlie wasnt' gonna listen to me. I sensed the respect he had for the physicist, who always acted friendly towards me.Suddenly Nina, one of the receptionists said.

"A Don Eppes would like to see you" she said.Charlie must have whined to his big brother

"Lead him to my office" I sighed. Then, I got Rick's attention.

"Have this patient go to room two" I handed him the file. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Soon, I went to my office, to see a very irritated Don. He was standing up, and had on his sunglasses. Plus, his face was hard.

"Why did you go behind Charlie's back and talk to Larry?" He demanded.

"Charlie seems to respect him. Why are you making a big deal? You didn't have a hissy fit when I called you!" I threw up my hands.

"That's different" He said as if it were understood. "Look, you encroached on my brother's space!"

"Larry is a sentient being for crying out loud! Not Charlie's property." I argued.

"I understand what you're going through but..."

"Have you ever dated someone with kids?"

"no..." he told me..

"Then you dono't understand" I said. "Look, I've got a pregnant patient waiting for me. We can talk when I'm done." I didn't like to keep patients waiting, especially over this argument.

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She's got some damn nerve! I decided to wait for her. No one was going to get away with doing what she did to my little brother. Since we were kids I've always felt protective of him.

To pass the time, I looked around. She had her Veterinary degree on a wallbehind her desk. Next to it, was a BS in Biology she had gotten from USC. On her desk were pictures of her family, and Dad. Her parents looked old enough to be her grandparents, while her siblings looked much older than her. That would explain alot. She was the youngest but was raised as an only child.

After a while,Natalie came back.

"Don't you have criminals to catch?" she asked me.

"My brother is top priority." I told her, then continued. "How do you think Dad would feel about you talking to Larry?" Dad, was a rather private person, and wouldn't want Larry to get involved in family desputes.

"Come on! You're talking as if I went on some talk show instead ofspeaking toa close, trusted, family friend!" she argued dramatically.

"You think you know so much about our family, yet you forget how private Dad is" I shook my head. "He wouldn't want you to talk to Larry about family issues!"

"I don't like to see him suffering!" she contended. "The poor man misses Charlie, and I wanted to do something! That's part of being in a relationship! "

"Respect is also an important part of relationships!" I countered.

"Respect? You storm into my office, interupting my work because of your brother's whining and you're telling me about respect?" she glared at me.

"Whining? You talked to his best friend behind his back!"

"I had no other choice!"

"How would you feel if during a fight with you, your mother went to talk to one of your best friends behind your back.?"

"I'd be annoyed" she admitted.

"Then why shouldn't Charlie be?"

"That's why I'm a vet and not a therapist" she shrugged sheepishly. "I'm just worried about Alan."

At least she was seeing it from Charlie's percpective.

"Promise me that you'll let me handle this?" I requested.

"Sure...tell Charlie that I'm sorry"

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"

"He's not gonna believe me." she said, but I dialed his number.

"Hello?" He said.

"Natalie has something to say to you"

"I don't wanna..."

I passed the phone to Natalie.

"I just wanted to apologize for going to Larry behind your back" she said quickly, worried that he'd hang up on her.

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"Really?"I was suspicious "Or are you worried about me telling Dad?" Why else would she give a damn?

"Look buddy, she really means it, trust me" Don assured me. Natalie must have, in hope, passed the phone to Don.

"Why did you talk to her?" I asked him.

"Because you're my brother, buddy"Don explained. "Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"Yeah..."I admitted.

"Listen to Natalie!"

"Don knows how to read people!" She told me the obvious. Why did Don have to give her back the phone?

I warned Natalie."It's going to take a lot more than an apology over the phone!"

"Charlie, I went to Larry out of concern for Alan!" she explained. "He really misses you"

If Dad misses me so much, why hasn't he come over to my place?

"Come on buddy!" Don's voice come on the line.

"Let me talk to Natalie" I rolled my eyes.

"So...uh..are we okay?" she asked.

"Why don't we talk over dinner? You can apologize to me then"

"Sure!"

TBC