Disclaimer: Don't anything related to the show

Author's Note: This was originally going to be a one-shot, but it ended up being longer.

Chapter One

The Craftsman

Morning

Charlie woke up, having fallen asleep on the couch after a busy night of both grading papers and helping Amita with little Donnie, who was having a restless night, which was rare for his young son.

He found himself chuckling at that as, like his namesake, Donnie was a quiet baby, though he still had his moments. Little Donnie was also stubborn, as he was also determined to crawl, to the delight of his family, though they made sure that little boy was taking his time in crawling and not hurt himself.

A dark cloud hit Charlie, as he was still dealing with his grief about Don and Walker's deaths almost a year ago. It had been difficult, as their family and friends were still navigating on living life without the two men. Robin and the kids were doing their best, as Daniel was getting ready to start an internship at a law firm, much to his mother's happiness.

Serena was also doing well, given the circumstances, as she was continuing well at the hospital and she recently started dating a fellow internist. The hospital had been dealing with a lot of changes due to a new director but it was going well, as the person in charge was understanding and the staff and her boyfriend have been supportive of her going through a difficult time.

Charlie was just glad that they had all managed to keep each other going, as he remembered the terrible time after Margaret died, as he and Don drifted apart after her death until they started working together on a case.

That thought made Charlie wonder if he should start consulting again, as Don and Walker's deaths was the most recent case he really worked on, aside from giving advice on a couple of embezzlement cases the FBI worked on a couple months ago.

He was still in touch with the FBI team, as they all still came over for meals that Alan cooks, as they were all supporting each other as much as they could while trying to move on with their lives.

There was also the issue of his teaching, or lack thereof, recently as he took leave to deal with his grief and to prepare for his son's birth and he had no idea when he was going to get back, and Millie had been pestering him about it for the last month.

Charlie eventually told her that he will meet with her and the Dean, so that they could make arrangements for when he will eventually come back, and possibly do only part-time so that he can focus on his family, same with Amita.

As he walked towards the kitchen, he noticed that Alan was making some breakfast, to Charlie's relief, as he didn't know what he was going to make anyway and he just improvised when Alan wasn't available. That was rare but still it gave Charlie a chance to work on his culinary skills.

"Morning, Dad, looks good." Charlie said as he greeted his father.

"Thank you, I thought that with your busy night, you wouldn't have the energy to make some breakfast before you went on with your day." The elderly patriarch said with a small smile, which made Charlie smile, as they were settling into a routine in these last few trying months.

"Is Millie still asleep?" Charlie asked

"No, she's in the shower, she'll be down in a few minutes, give or take." Alan said, with his smile getting a little bigger.

Before Charlie could say anything, his phone rang in his pocket, which he quickly answered, hoping it wasn't another call from the Dean, as the man seemed to think another call before the meeting would make any difference.

He sighed in relief when he saw Colby's ID when he answered

"Hey Colby, what's up?"

"Hey, Whiz kid, pretty good, you?' His friend greeted in return

"Good, so what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Charlie asked, curious as to

"I'm working on a case, are you willing to take a look at it?" Colby said, getting right to the point.

"What kind of case?" Charlie asked, his curiosity piqued, with Alan listening in, being filled with both dread and relief.

"It's a tax evasion case with a mix of two murders of possible witnesses, and I was hoping that you might be able to look at it and see if you could work out some kind of pattern, if you want to." Colby said, being careful of the professor's feelings at the moment.

"Sure, I'll come by after lunch and take a look at it." Charlie said

'Thanks, Whiz Kid, we have missed having you around." Colby said, relieved that his friend was willing to help

"I missed seeing you guys, see you soon." Charlie agreed as he turned to look at his father after hanging up.

"Are you okay with me doing this?" Charlie asked, worried about what his father was feeling about him consulting with the FBI again

"Yes and no, no that I'm worried about your safety in your work but at the same time, I know it's a great thing for you to do, as you help keep people safe." Alan said honestly, though he was hiding some reservations about him helping the FBI again.

"Don't worry, Dad." Charlie assured his father, "Colby and the team will take steps to protect me."