After Don had settled back into a deep sleep, Liz glanced at her watch. "I need to get back." She squeezed Don's hand before releasing it, then turned to Alan. "Thank you for letting me come with you."

"I knew Don would want you here. He doesn't talk about his feelings much, but I've gotten the impression that he really cares for you."

She stood, running her finger gently down Don's jawline. "And I really care for him."

"Come back when you have a chance, and feel free to call me, and I'll call you if there are any changes." They exchanged numbers, programming them into their cell phones. He stood and gave her a hug.

"Charlie," Liz said, "I'll see you later."

Charlie looked up from his work. He stood and gave Liz a quick hug. "See you later. You going back to the museum?"

"Probably. I'm going to find out where David wants me. Why?"

"David promised to give me more data. I'm following the Agincourt brothers' thread now, but I'll take anything he can come up with."

"I'll let him know. See you guys later." Liz gave a little wave and left the room.

A few minutes later, Amita said, "If you don't need me, Charlie, I could make it back for my next class."

"But you rode with me," Charlie said.

"I could give Amita a ride," Millie said. "I have a faculty meeting. I really should get back." She looked at Alan. "Unless you need me here."

"You can go ahead. Charlie and I will be fine, right Charlie?"

Charlie looked up from his work. "Right."

"Do you even know what I said?"

Charlie gave him a smug grin. "Of course, you told Millie she could go ahead. You and I will be fine. I am fully capable of multi-tasking." He turned to Amita. "And we will be fine. You go ahead to your class. There's really no point in all of us sitting around watching Don sleep."

"Okay, as long as you're sure," Amita said. "I'll be back later." She hugged Charlie and then hugged Alan. "You take care, Alan. Do you want me to bring anything when I come back?"

"Could you stop by the house and pick up my briefcase?" He pulled his keys from his pocket. "It should be in the dining room."

"How about you, Charlie?"

"I could really use my laptop," Charlie said, "If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Millie said, "Any idea where you left it?"

"Hah, very funny. It's on the couch in the garage."

"So you're not the absent minded professor after all," Millie said. "If you're lucky, I may even find a cup of your favorite coffee on the way back here."

Charlie grinned, "That would be wonderful." He checked his watch. "It feels a lot later than it is."

Alan crossed the room and massaged Charlie's shoulders. "It's been a long day. Listen, it looks like your brother will be sleeping for a while. I think I'll walk the ladies to their car. You want anything from the cafeteria?"

Charlie shrugged, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Whatever they've got that looks good. And caffeine. I think I'm going to lie down for a few minutes."

"Good idea, Son. I won't be long."

--

The floor wasn't as hard as he remembered. And someone had put a pillow under his head. His nose itched. He raised a hand to scratch it, but the hand seemed to be tangled in something. He opened his eyes but they didn't want to focus. It was brighter and whiter than he remembered. His back was stiff, and he shifted, trying to work out the kinks. The stiffness morphed into a dull ache in the lower part of his belly. He looked down and saw the lightweight blanket that covered him. There were IV tubes stuck in his right hand. He found his left hand and slid it down to where his belly ached. Bandages. It was coming back to him now. The museum. The woman taking the drawing off the wall. The little girl. The gun. The eyes. They were cold, dead. The eyes of a killer. He shuddered.

Suddenly he didn't want to be alone. He looked around the room, expecting to see his father or Charlie sitting next to him. The chairs alongside the bed were empty. Beyond them, he could see another bed. There was another patient, sleeping. Snoring. He chuckled. The guy looked like... "Charlie?" he croaked. The curly headed sleeping patient didn't stir. "Charlie!" Charlie hadn't been at the museum. How...? "Charlie!" He tried to sit up, but his muscles weren't cooperating. He fumbled for the bed controller. If he could raise the head of the bed, maybe he could get up.

"Don!" Charlie was suddenly on his feet. "Don't try to get up. What's wrong?" Charlie jumped from the bed and hurried to Don's side.

Don grabbed Charlie's arm. "Are you okay?"

"Me?" Charlie laughed. "I'm fine. You're the one... " he looked back at the bed. "You saw me... you thought... Oh, man, Don, I'm sorry. I was just taking a nap."

Don bit his lip and blinked at the stinging in his eyes. "You scared me, Buddy. I thought..."

"I know, I know. I am so sorry. Hey, can I get you anything? How are you feeling?"

Don let himself sink back into the bed. "I'm not sure. Whatever they've got me on is making me feel pretty foggy."

"Are you in pain? Should I call the nurse?"

"No. No. I was just remembering..." he shuddered again. "That little girl... she looked... I've seen hit men with the same look in their eyes. Cold. You know?" He searched Charlie's face for a sign that he understood.

Charlie met his gaze and nodded. "Yeah. They must have been counting on the element of surprise. It's natural to assume a child is innocent. We all assumed the adults were in charge and the kids were along just as ... as window dressing. But if these kids were trained from an early age, kind of like the terrorists do with their kids, they would have the same attitude toward killing that the adults have."

"The attitude that they need to stop anybody who tries to stop them." Don felt himself sinking back down into the bed. He knew he wasn't going to be awake much longer. "Hey, Buddy?"

"Yeah, Don?"

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep. You can lie back down if you want. I promise not to freak out again."

Charlie chuckled. "Oh no. I'm not going to take any chances. Besides, Dad should be back with my dinner soon."

Don's eyes were drifting shut. "So that's why he's not hovering."

"We figured you were going to be asleep for another couple of hours. Otherwise he never would have left. And I, for one, am not planning on telling him you were awake while he was gone."

"Don't blame you, Buddy." Don put his index finger to his lips "Shhh. I won't say a word."

"I know you won't." Charlie touched Don's cheek. "Get some rest, Bro."

Don took in a deep breath and released it in a long sigh. Charlie patted Don's hand and started to walk away, assuming Don had fallen back asleep. "Charlie?" Don said, his eyes fluttering open.

"Yeah?" Charlie turned back and took Don's hand. "What do you need?"

"Nothin'," Don murmured, eyes closed, "Just wanted to know, is everybody else okay?"

"They're all fine. Nobody else was hurt."

"That's good. I'm gonna sleep now. If you get up the nerve, tell Dad I said hi."

--

Alan returned to Don's room, carrying a paper bag full of sandwiches and chips in one hand, and a cardboard holder with two cups of coffee in the other. He nearly dropped both when he saw Charlie, holding Don's hand and smiling. Don was sound asleep. "Awww, don't tell me I missed him!" Alan rushed to Charlie's side.

Charlie released Don's hand and took the cupholder from his father. "He was in and out. I was hoping he'd stay awake long enough to see you, but he's pretty doped up right now. He did tell me to tell you he said 'hi,'" He grinned at Alan, "If I managed to get up the nerve to tell you he was awake while you were gone."

Alan set the bag on the bedside table and touched Don's face. "That's okay. I'm just glad he's coming back around. Did he seem all right?"

Charlie took a long sip of coffee and nodded. After he swallowed, he said, "Yeah. He was kind of out of it. I don't think he was in any pain. Just a little uncomfortable when he tried to get up."

"He what?!"

Charlie sighed. "He woke up when I was asleep in the other bed. He apparently thought there was something wrong with me, and he tried to get up out of bed. Luckily I woke up in time to stop him." He turned away from his father and rubbed his eyes. "He's always looking out for me."

"Charlie," Alan said gently, "that's what brothers do. It's not your fault. Come on and have a sandwich. The food in the cafeteria actually looked edible."

Charlie took another sip of coffee. "The coffee's good. Maybe it's a sign the food will be decent."

Alan and Charlie pulled chairs over to the table and began to eat their sandwiches. As they were eating, they heard Don moving and muttering. Alan stood and took his hand. "Donnie," he said.

"Dad?" Don opened his eyes and smiled groggily. He caught sight of the sandwiches on the table. "Did you bring me something to eat?"

Alan chuckled. "I think it's going to be a few days before you're eating sandwiches and drinking coffee. But I think you could probably have a sip of water."

"Sounds good," Don murmured.

Alan poured water from the pitcher the nurse had left and put the straw to Don's lips. Don swallowed a few sips and said, "Thanks." He craned his neck to look around the room. "Is Charlie here?"

Charlie stood and moved into his brother's line of sight. "Right here, Bro. How are you feeling?"

Don paused, assessing his condition. "Better than I expected. They must have me on the good stuff." He gingerly touched his belly. "It doesn't hurt at all."

"That's great, Donnie," Alan said. "Don't hesitate to tell us if it does."

"Okay. If I'm awake long enough. Hey, Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you doing? I mean, you heard it going down. Are you handling this okay?"

Charlie sighed and exchanged glances with his father. "Don't you worry about me. You concentrate on getting yourself better, okay?"

Don reached for Charlie's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Don't blame yourself."

Charlie couldn't meet Don's gaze. He looked down at his feet and murmured, "I'm fine."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. But if I find out you're blaming yourself, I'm going to kick your butt."

Charlie grinned, "Yeah? You and what army? They got you hooked up to so many tubes, you'd trip before you even got close."

Don smiled as his eyes drifted shut again. "You'd be surprised what I can do, Buddy. I can take you with one hand tied behind my back."

Charlie patted Don's head. "Sure you can. Why don't you catch a nap first?"

"Good idea," Don murmured.

Once Don settled back to sleep, Alan and Charlie returned to their sandwiches. They ate in silence, but when Charlie stood to toss their wrappers and napkins into the trash, Alan spoke. "Charlie?"

"Hmm?"

Before Alan could answer, Dr. Torre entered. "How's our patient?"

"I thought you were going to get some sleep, Doctor," Alan said.

"I did," Dr. Torre picked up Don's chart. "Looks good. Did he wake up yet?"

"He woke up a few times and he seemed to be feeling okay," Alan said, "He didn't stay awake very long."

"With all the meds we have him on, that's understandable." Dr. Torre lifted the blanket and peeled back the gauze covering Don's wound. He nodded. "Very good. No sign of infection."

"That's great," Charlie said.

"Did you gentlemen get any rest?"

"I did," Charlie said. "I slept for a while in the other bed. Dad hasn't slept yet, but he did go for a walk and we had some sandwiches."

"Good. I'd like to see you two getting more rest though. We're going to keep Don doped up for another day or two." He glanced from Charlie to Alan. "And if you don't get some sleep, I'm going to ban you from this room. I can do that, you know."

"You wouldn't!" Alan said, narrowing his eyes at Dr. Torre.

"Try me," Dr. Torre snarled. He glanced at his watch. "Don't due for another dose of morphine in a few minutes. He will be out of it for at least four hours. I want you two out of here after he receives the morphine, and I don't want you back here for four hours. Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal," Charlie murmured.

Dr. Torre chuckled. "You're a fan of 'A Few Good Men?'"

"Isn't everyone? 'You can't handle the truth!'"

"All right," Dr. Torre said, "the truth is you two are going to get some rest or Don goes into quarantine."

"Shouldn't one of us stay with him?" Alan asked.

"He'll be fine. I'm sure the nurses will take good care of him." He glanced at the door. "I hope none of them hears this, but I caught them arguing over who was going to check Don's vitals next time around. They all wanted to do it."

Alan shook his head, smiling. "My boys always seem to bring out the mother instinct in women."

Charlie bit back a laugh. "In Don's case, I'm not so sure it's mothering."

Dr. Torre finished checking Don. "All right, gentlemen. I'll see you later. Much later."

"See you, Doc," Charlie said. After Dr. Torre left, he turned to Alan. "Dad? You were going to say something to me. Before Dr. Torre came in."

Alan thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I forget. If it comes back to me, I'll let you know."