Charlie returned, absentmindedly wiping his hands on his jeans. He glanced around the room. Alan and Don were talking quietly, and Amita was still sound asleep. He sat on the edge of Don's bed. "Don? I just thought of something. You said this guy – this Avery? -- he was one of the skydivers, right? What was he doing at Cal Sci to see the lady who hired them? Is he a student?"

Don picked up his cell phone and dialed. "David? Me again. Sorry to bug you again. Listen, can you check on Avery Schaeffer? You know that woman who hired the skydivers? Schaeffer said he saw her at Cal Sci. I'll have Charlie check on the woman. See if she's faculty or student, or whatever. Can you follow up with Schaeffer and see what he was doing at Cal Sci?... Thanks." Don closed his phone and shook his head. "I don't know where my brain has been through this whole crazy mixed up case."

"I know how you feel. Say, is there any way you can get me access to the personnel files from your office? Maybe I could find someone who has a connection with the thieves."

Don pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not sure, Buddy. I know those files aren't on any part of the system that I can access. Of course, with your NSA clearance..."

Charlie nodded. "Who would I call?"

"Let me think... Probably Jill Weber in Human Resources. I don't know her extension. Just call the main number and ask for her. If she can't get you access, she can at least tell you who can."

"Mmkay," Charlie said, glancing at his watch. "I guess I'll have to wait a bit until the office opens."

"Yeah. Why don't you get some sleep? Remember last night, I told you you looked like crap?"

"How could I forget? Such a lovely moment of brotherly love."

"Well, you look ten times worse right now." When Charlie averted his gaze, Don gave him a playful punch on the arm. "And don't think I don't appreciate all you're doing, Buddy. You're going above and beyond on this one. Why don't you go home, get a couple of hours sleep, and then get in touch with Jill?"

"I can stay here. I'll just go out and sleep in the lounge." He stood, fatigue evident in every movement. "Dad, would you wake me up before nine?"

"Charlie," Alan said, "you don't have to do that. Why don't you wake Amita up, and give her a ride home? Then while you're at it, stop home, take a nap, grab a shower, change your clothes..."

"You sure? I don't want to..." he stopped, glaring at Alan. "Are you saying I stink, Father?"

Alan shrugged. "Take it however you wish, my son. Let's just say if you end up having to go into this Jill Weber's office, you might make a better impression if you don't look like a ... an overworked, over fatigued consultant."

Charlie smiled as he sat on the bed next to Amita. "Thank you for not saying I look like a bum." He brushed a curl away from Amita's face. "Amita? Sweetheart? Wake up. I'm going to take you home now."

She opened her eyes. "Hi, Charlie. What's going on?"

"You fell asleep. I finished up what I was working on, and my dear Father tells me I look like a.. what was it, Dad? ... an overworked, overfatigued consultant?"

"A bum?" Amita said as she sat up. She smiled as she saw the surprised look on Charlie's face. "I woke up when you sat on the bed." She touched the fading bruise on his cheek. "You do look like you're about to pass out. Why don't you let me drive to my place? You could take your nap at my place before you drive home to change. And if you're awake long enough, you can even tell me what you found out last night."

"Sounds good to me," Charlie said, standing and helping Amita to her feet. "I probably shouldn't be driving right now anyway." He picked up his laptop and stuffed it into its bag. "Did you want me to leave this here, Dad? Or Don? I even installed a Sudoku program on it. And, of course there's Freecell and Minesweeper."

"No, thanks," Don said. "I think I'm going to take a nap after breakfast."

"Take it with you, Charlie. I may go home while Don sleeps. I don't want to be responsible for all those national secrets you've got on that thing."

Charlie nodded and picked up his computer bag. He stood, looking at Don for a moment, then said, "I'll be back soon, okay? But if you want me here for any reason, at any time, just call me and I'll drop whatever I'm doing and get over here."

"No, Charlie. You're driving yourself crazy, Buddy. You don't need to babysit me."

"It's not babysitting. I know you would be here for me, and I want to be here for you." Charlie took Amita's hand and shouldered his bag.

"You are here for me, and I appreciate it. Now, go, get some sleep."

After they had left, Don said, "Dad? What's up with Charlie?"

Alan sighed. "Too many idiots laying guilt trips on him."

"Who? Besides you, that is," Don grinned as he reached for his water.

Alan filled the cup for him and held it steady while he drank. "I guess David was kind of hard on him earlier. He told him he almost lost you today, and he should spend more time with you."

"That's harsh. No wonder Charlie's hovering like he is. I need to have a talk with him, let him know he's doing good." He gave Alan a pointed glance, "And you need to back off."

Alan sighed and nodded. "You're right, of course. I'll take it easy on him from here on in. I keep forgetting he's gone through a lot too. He told me he was listening in when you got shot."

"He was. Did you know that he was bugging me to let him come along? I convinced him to stay in the office and listen instead."

"So he could have been there..."

"No, Dad. I never would have let him do that. Never."

The door opened, and Andrea entered. "Well, good morning, Sunshine! You're up early."

Don smiled. "Yeah. That morphine is throwing off my whaddaya call it – internal rhythms?"

"It'll do that. How are you feeling?" she asked as she put the blood pressure cuff on Don's arm.

"Better. Really tired, but better."

"Any pain?"

"A little. Not bad."

"Blood pressure looks good. Let me take your temp." She put the probe under his tongue. "Okay. You have a reprieve from questions until that beeps." She turned to Alan. "Did you get any sleep, Mr. Eppes?"

"A little, and it's Alan. I'm planning on going home for a while after Don gets his next dose of knockout drops."

"Good idea," Andrea said. The thermometer beeped. "A little high, but that's to be expected. "You feeling up to breakfast, Don?"

"Any chance of bacon and eggs with a side of pancakes and maple syrup and black coffee?"

"Sounds good, but I don't think your tummy could handle that right now. How about oatmeal and a softboiled egg and tea?"

"All right, but now I know why I'm sleeping all the time. You're keeping me doped up and not letting me have my coffee."

Andrea laughed. "If you're anything like the other law enforcement officers I've seen in here, you probably have enough coffee in your system to last a normal human six months."

Alan chuckled. "She's got you there, Don."

--

Charlie woke up, confused at first. He was wearing his clothes but not his shoes. He was in bed, but not in his room, and a blanket was pulled up to his neck. Outside of the blanket, a familiar body was pressed against his back. "Amita?" He croaked.

"Shhh," she said. "Go back to sleep."

Instead, he pulled his hand out from under the covers so he could see his watch. "I need to call the FBI."

Amita propped herself on one elbow and kissed his cheek. "Okay. I'll go start some coffee. You can shower here if you'd like. It might help you wake up."

He sat up and let the covers drop, then turned and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, that sounds great. You didn't have to carry me in here, did you?"

"No. You were mobile if not coherent. Did you sleep well?"

"Very well, thanks. You?" He ran his fingers down her cheek, and rubbed his thumb across her lips, then leaned forward and kissed her.

She returned the kiss and then pulled away, grinning. "Don't start what we don't have time to finish. I'll fix the coffee. There's clean towels in the bathroom. Just drop them on the floor when you're done."

"Darn," he muttered, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed the number he knew as well as his own. "Hello," he said when the FBI operator answered. "May I speak with Jill Weber in Human Resources?"

"Ms. Weber's office."

"Hi, this is Dr. Charles Eppes. May I please speak with Ms. Weber?"

"Certainly, Dr. Eppes. One moment."

"Weber," the next voice on the line said. "What can I do for you, Dr. Eppes?"

"Well, I'm consulting on the art theft case, and I need access to the personnel files from the LA office."

Jill Weber hesitated. "May I ask why?"

Charlie hadn't considered that she would ask this very natural question. "Uh, I'm afraid the fewer people who know this, the better."

"Well, Dr. Eppes, since I appear to the be lion at the gate of the information you're looking for, I suggest you add me to the list of those with a 'need to know.'"

Charlie sighed. "As part of the ongoing investigation, we need to eliminate the possibility that an employee of the LA office may have intentionally or inadvertantly leaked some information to the thieves or someone working with them."

"Whew, that is a pretty sensitive situation. In view of your security clearance, I'll expedite it for you. How and when do you want the data?'

"Can I access it via the internet?"

"No. Too much danger of hackers getting to it that way. Tell me what format you need, and I'll burn you a DVD myself. You can pick it up in an hour."

"Thank you, Ms. Weber."

"Call me Jill,... Charlie."

Charlie smiled. When he and Jill had finished working out the details, he stopped in Amita's kitchen. "I will take you up on that shower. I need to stop by the FBI office in an hour. That'll give me time to shower, have a cup of that delicious smelling coffee, and run home to change."

"Okay," she said. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take my classes today."

"That's fine. Hey," he said, taking her hand in his, "I do appreciate everything."

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything."

"You stayed with me through this whole ordeal. You knew I was at the end of my rope, and you let me crash here. You even drove because you knew I wouldn't be able to stay awake long enough." He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

A little over an hour later, a more presentable looking Charlie Eppes arrived at Jill Weber's office. Jill's secretary showed him into Jill's office the moment he arrived. He crossed the room, and shook hands with the tall, middle aged woman behind the desk. She smiled at him, "Well, it's nice to finally meet the legendary Professor Eppes."

Charlie returned the smile. "I don't know how legendary... but thank you."

She held onto his hand just a moment longer than necessary. "Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to get your data into my program."

A look of disappointment crossed Jill's face, but she pulled a DVD from her drawer and handed it to him. "I understand. I had hoped I could get to know you a little better. I find your work for us fascinating."

"Really? Are you into math?"

"Math? Oh, no. I just have heard so much about what you do with your math. Well," She stood abruptly, "I won't keep you any longer." She reached across and shook his hand. "It's been wonderful meeting you, Charlie. Don't be a stranger."

"Uh... I won't." He held up the disk. "Thanks for your help. And if I find anything you should know, I'll... uh.. let you know."

As he entered the outer office, and closed Jill's door behind him, he met the amused gaze of her secretary. She glanced behind him, making sure the door stayed closed, and then said, "Rawr."

"Rawr?" Charlie repeated, confused.

"Ever hear the term 'cougar,' Dr. Eppes?"

"Oh," he blushed. "She told me she was the lion at the gate..."

The secretary laughed. "Close. Same family."

"I am so going to get back at Don for this," he muttered as he walked toward the elevator, slipping the disk into his computer bag.

--

Don was sound asleep by the time Charlie arrived, and their father was nowhere to be seen. Charlie set up shop on the spare bed, plugging in his laptop and spreading his files across the bed. By the time Don's lunch arrived, Charlie had imported Jill's data and had started his program looking for connections. He jumped when Don said his name. "Oh, hey, Don. How long have you been awake?"

"About thirty seconds. You?" Don said as he raised the head of his bed.

Charlie grinned. A few hours. I actually got a few hours sleep at Amita's before I met your friend Jill."

"You slept?" Don said, grinning.

"Yeah. I slept." He set his laptop on the bed and turned to face Don. "We need to talk."

"I know, Buddy, I already talked to Dad."

"Dad? About what? I wanted to talk to you about Jill Weber. Why didn't you warn me?"

Don suppressed a grin as he lifted the lid on his lunch tray, not wanting to risk meeting Charlie's eyes. "Warn you? I have no idea what you're talking about. Hey, this looks pretty good."

Charlie shook his head. "Right. Enjoy it." His computer beeped and he turned it so he could see the screen. "Hey, Don. We've got something. A guy in dispatch graduated from the high school where Agincourt teaches."

"Great. Would you call David with the particulars? Lots of people graduated from that high school. But it's worth looking into."

"All right. But if it does turn out there's something there, YOU are going to take the information to Ms. Weber."

"Aw, no, Buddy, I can't. I'll be on medical leave for at least a month. I'm afraid it's all going to be up to you."

Charlie sighed and looked back at the screen. "Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll turn out to be nothing."