A/N: Revised. Thanks to Jels for catching my fairly glaring error with the fugitive's name from 'Manhunt'. They say the memory is the first thing to go…

"Well?"

"Can't you ever just say hello like a normal person?" Don asked Coop as he entered his hospital room that evening.

The other man raised an eyebrow but played along. "Hello, Don… Well?"

Don shook his head in frustration as he sat in the chair by his friend's bedside. "He said Grayson's a good student who lives within his means – no extra spending money – and he's convinced that the kid would never be involved in any wrongdoing."

"You think your brother's instincts are right?"

"He usually reads his students pretty well, but…" He sighed as he remembered his brother's defensive tone and shrugged. "Maybe not this one."

"You got someone keeping an eye on Charlie?" At Don's sharp look, Coop held up a hand. "To keep him safe, I mean."

"I had Megan enlist a couple of agents to rotate out at Charlie's building. They've been told to pay close attention to his classroom and office."

"Your team's not going to help us?"

Don cocked his head and gave Coop a look of disbelief. "First of all, they have three open cases that still have to be worked. Second of all… us? I'm more than happy to lend a hand but you are not going back out into the field with only one good arm."

"These say otherwise," Coop triumphantly announced as he held up his discharge papers.

"You haven't changed a bit," Don snorted. "You're just going to keep running until you drop dead one day."

"That's the only way to live, my friend." He eased himself off the bed and grabbed a plastic bag containing his belongings. "So should I book a motel or do I get some Eppes hospitality tonight?"

"Of course you can crash at my apartment. I just… are you sure you're good to go with one arm?"

"Yes, and I'll be more than happy to prove it to you by kicking your butt if you ask me that again," Coop informed him. "Let's grab some takeout or something – I'm starving. Then we can get a list of possible locations to scope out tomorrow." He brushed by Don and into the hallway – leaving the other man to stare after him in amazement. I can't believe I used to be like that, too, Don thought to himself.

"Time's a-wasting," Coop called back over his shoulder.

Don blew out a deep breath as he followed his friend. It's going to be a long night.

An hour later Don and Coop were sprawled out in his living room, maps of LA spread across the coffee table and floor of the apartment. They'd been eating and plotting out a list of areas to check out – places Coop knew Grayson frequented as well as places an escaped felon might visit for a helping hand. A solid plan had come together and now they were winding down to get a good night's sleep before the day of hunting was upon them.

Kind of feels like old times, Don thought as he remembered all the nights they had spent like this as partners – although they'd usually been holed up in sleazy motel rooms instead of a comfortable apartment.

"You've changed a lot," Coop said, breaking the companionable silence and shattering Don's reminiscent mood.

"How so?" Don inquired as he sipped his beer.

"The Don Eppes I worked with would never have handed off three open investigations to his team. You did it without even batting an eyelash." Coop flashed a cocky grin. "You miss working with me, don't you?"

The other man returned the smile. "We did have some good times but I wasn't kidding about settled life – I feel like everything is starting to come together for me. Like… well… kind of like I'm growing up."

"And I'll be a kid forever," Coop nodded with a wink. "No arguments there. Back to the original point – what gives with handing off your cases?"

"I'm not 'handing them off'," Don insisted. "I have three outstanding agents on my team and they're more than capable of handling the work without me babysitting them. Heck, Reeves is ready for her own team any day now."

"Still, the Don I knew-"

"Has grown up and developed into someone with more patience and maturity."

"Well, I suppose one of us had to grow up eventually." He held up his beer and tipped his head. "Better you than me, my friend."

Don clinked his bottle against Coop's. "To each his own."

--

"Might I ask why we're eating in absolute silence tonight?" Alan watched as his youngest son picked at his plate of food and sighed. "And I'm being generous when I say 'eating'."

Charlie set his fork down and slouched in his chair. "I just had a rough day. One of my students… never mind."

"Talk to me," his father prodded.

"One of my students has a brother who recently escaped from prison and Don seems to think he'll try to help him out."

"What do you think?"

Charlie shook his head and began moving his food around on his plate. "Grayson's a good kid, Dad. I don't see how he could ever be involved in something illegal."

"Your brother does have some pretty good instincts," Alan pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's never even met my student so how can he know what he would or wouldn't do?"

"Let me pose a question – what would you do if something happened to Don and he needed your help?"

"Don would never do anything illegal," Charlie countered.

"I didn't say he would. I'm saying if he was in trouble and needed your help – no matter what the situation – what would you do?" The professor studied his father and Alan saw realization dawn in his eyes. "So maybe Don is assuming that your student would also do anything he could to help his brother."

"I guess you're right. I probably owe him an apology then – I was pretty harsh with him this afternoon."

Alan chuckled. "Don has thick skin, Charlie. But it probably would be good for him to hear the resident genius admit he was wrong."

"Very funny, Dad." The younger man closed his eyes and sighed. "I just hope Don finds the guy before Grayson has the chance to do anything stupid – assuming he hasn't already."

"Already?"

"Billy Cooper was following Grayson and lost him in an alley right before someone shot him."

"Wait a minute," Alan said as he reached out and grabbed Charlie's arm. "Billy Cooper? Don's old fugitive recovery partner?"

"Yeah." Seeing his father's look of concern tinged with anger, the professor cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like it when your brother gets involved with him. Don's got a good head on his shoulders but every time he's around his old partner… I'm just not comfortable with the idea."

"You're not still afraid he'll discover how much he misses the thrill of the hunt and go back to it, are you?"

"Of course not," Alan said. "I know Donny's happy to be settled down here with us. But I remember how he was all those years ago when he worked with Cooper – like he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. I don't want to see him in any danger or doing something he might later regret."

"He'll be fine, Dad. He was three years ago when they went after McDowd to protect that witness."

"He came home injured."

"It was a scratch," Charlie reminded him. "Not even a bad one."

"Still… what if this time it's more than a scratch? No, Charlie – I won't feel better until I know for sure that Billy Cooper is back on the road, away from LA and Don."

--

Don lay in bed wide awake and knowing he should be getting some rest before the long day ahead, but it just wouldn't come. His mind was filled with random swirling thoughts of Coop and his old life in fugitive recovery versus his current life as a team leader in the same city as his family. He knew he'd made the right decision to come to LA but any time Coop popped back up in his life, Don always found himself reminiscing about the decisions he made throughout his career and family and wondering 'what if'.

No, this is where I'm meant to be, Don told himself. Fugitive Recovery was exciting – nothing like the thrill of the chase – but life with my family is better for me, no matter what Coop seems to think or what thoughts he manages to put in my head.

Dinner had been nice, a reminder of old times with them eating and planning out their search, but Don had been plagued by a strange feeling the entire time… perhaps guilt? Over what he wasn't sure but he was almost positive it had something to do with the disapproving looks his father had given him the last time Coop had been in town. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember his dad ever being happy to see Coop – just mildly civil when they met face to face.

He probably holds it against him that I was on the road so much all those years. No, Dad's not like that but there is something that seems to bother him. Maybe one day I'll ask him about it. Yeah right, and watch him keel over in shock that I wanted to start a meaningful conversation. Guess it'll have to remain a mystery.

A yellow glow crept under the bedroom door and Don softly smiled. He knew Coop well enough to know that his old friend wasn't sleeping either. It had been one of the traits they shared – not being able to sleep as they got closer to catching their bad guy – and it was one of the reasons that Don had suspected they'd been such good partners. They'd always seemed to have so much in common, including a deep understanding of how the other worked – something he'd rarely had with Charlie. Heck, if he was honest with himself he still understood Coop better than Charlie, only now that didn't seem as important. He was beginning to comprehend his brother and, truth be told, enjoyed trying to unravel the little mysteries that swirled around the genius' thoughts. It was like cracking a difficult case – it took a lot of hard work and led to a lot of frustration but in the end, the reward was greater than anything else on earth.

Good lord, Eppes, when did you turn all sentimental? He asked the question of himself but had to crack a smile as he distinctly heard it in Coop's voice. Speaking of… No reason to let his friend stay up alone. Don climbed out of bed and pushed open the door to his room, laughing at the sight of his friend sitting fully clothed on the couch, cleaning his weapon.

Coop grinned back and raised an eyebrow. "Old habits, huh?"

"I guess so," Don chuckled as he went into the kitchen. "Since sleep is a lost cause, how about coffee?"

"Load me up."

Don prepared the cups in silence before bringing them to the living room and sitting next to his friend. He watched as Coop sipped the hot liquid, ignoring his own cup for the moment. "You really thought Charlie would help a fugitive?"

The redhead set the mug on the table in front of him and looked at his old partner. "Not a fugitive, no. A student? Without question, which would have been the problem." He studied Don as the other agent chewed on his bottom lip. "You remember how you felt about your brother back then?"

"Yeah, I do. I guess I'm just having a hard time reconciling that with how I feel about him now. I was a little bitter back then."

"I know. You have to understand though, I haven't seen you since then except for the McDowd thing and while Charlie was helpful, things still seemed a little strained between you two. I didn't know if I could trust him or if you could and I didn't want to put that burden on you."

"Well, Charlie thinks I don't trust him now."

Coop sighed and shook his head. "Oh man, I didn't mean for that to happen. I really am sorry."

Don shrugged but Coop could see the hurt in his eyes. "Our relationship consists of a bunch of ups and downs. We'll get through this like we always do, it's just that this one seems a little more down than the rest."

The redhead remained silent, prompting Don to continue.

"I would have thought he knew I trusted him by now. I mean we've been working closely together for almost five years. It just hurt that he could jump to that conclusion." Don suddenly reddened as he realized he was pouring his heart out to Billy Cooper, as macho an agent as they came. "Apparently I get sappy when I don't sleep. Not like the old days," he tried to joke.

Coop didn't take the bait, instead choosing to remain serious as well. "You know when we said goodbye that last time I thought you were crazy for wanting to settle down, but the more I stay on the move the more I think I envy you."

"You're joking."

"No," he shook his head. "All the stuff we go through as agents, the crap we see, the innocent victims… Sometimes I wish I had someone to come home and talk to."

Don swallowed deeply as his friend touched on a particularly sore spot. "It's not that great either. You feel guilty for burdening them with what you go through. Then they get hurt that you seem so cold and closed up."

"I never thought about it like that."

"I guess we both have our problems," Don chuckled sadly.

Coop raised his coffee cup. "To the most screwed-up job on earth and all the perks that come with it. May the rest of the world be glad we're the ones who get to do it."

Don clinked his mug against his friend's. "I can certainly drink to that."

TBC