Chapter Four

Meanwhile…

The Craftsman…

Alan was doing some cleaning, thinking about Charlie starting to consult with the FBI again, and he couldn't help but worry. Sure, he worried from time to time back in the day when Don was alive and was protecting Charlie, but now…

That made Alan pause, as tears started to fill his eyes, and he took a deep breath, something he has been doing due to Bradford's advice and let the tears fall, until they stopped and to remember all the good times he had with his son and Walker.

He was grateful that he was able to somewhat talk to Millie about his feelings, though not completely as he was sorting it out himself still and he could tell that Millies was aware of that and he was grateful for her patience.

Still, he had wondered what he was going to do in the long run, as he never imagined he would outlive Donnie. Sure his eldest had a dangerous job when he was a field agent, so it would be a given that he could have died in the line of duty but it was never really that much of a concern when he left the field and eventually became director.

While a father can never stop worrying about his children, he wasn't as worried as he probably should have been, but what happened happened and he needed to accept that, though he wasn't there yet, as he still found himself hoping this was all a terrible dream, only to realize it was cold, hard reality and he was still learning to live with it.

Alan took a deep breath again after the tears stopped running and washed his face before resuming his tasks, feeling a little better, though he wasn't all the way there quite yet but he will get there eventually.

As he was returning to his chores, Millie came into the room, having returned from giving a guest lecture at CalSci, and she knew that Alan was still processing Don's death and she knew it was going to take some going but she would always be there for him.

"Hey, Alan, need any help?" She asked after a few moments

"Hm, oh hey, Millie," Alan said, with a blush, "Yes, do you mind helping with cleaning the windows."

"No, I don't mind, just let me get some gloves." She said with a smile, as it was a small thing for her to do but it was worth it to help not only Alan but herself as she missed Don and the conversations they had.

'Now, where are those gloves?' She thought to herself as she headed off to the supply room.