A/N: Thanks for all the kind words. Here's a little bit more. It will get a lot more exciting/dramatic soon. I promise!

Chapter 6

Don's phone was right beside his face when it began to beep. He pulled himself up off of the couch and trudged into the bathroom, disrobing on the way. He knew that he had taken a shower only a few hours earlier, but somehow he still felt dirty. He let the warm water flow over him as he considered his plan of action for the day. As he was getting dressed, he thought about calling Megan to let her know what was up but decided instead to beat her to the office to tell her himself. He downed one cup of coffee in the kitchen and poured most of the rest of the pot into a travel mug to take with him on the road.

By 6:45 he was on the road. This morning, however, instead of heading north to Burbank, he turned west toward the office and all that he had been missing for the past few weeks. He was the first one from his team in the office, probably because none of them was too anxious to begin a day of paperwork. He could completely understand. There was a mountain of paper on his desk, totally unrelated to the audits. He sifted through messages, notes and files for about an hour until he heard David and Megan come into the bullpen. When Megan saw him she ran across the room to hug him. She reddened as she pulled away.

"Sorry, that wasn't the most professional action in the world," she apologized. "We've missed you, though. Are you finished already? I thought you had the rest of the week at least."

Don scratched his head and tipped it slightly to one side as he answered her. "The filming isn't quite done yet. I was supposed to be in a scene today, but I called Colby last night to see if he wanted to do it instead. I figured he'd enjoy that since it was part of the reason he agreed to work on the film in the first place."

"Well, wasn't that nice of you! I'm sure he's having a great time." Megan gushed.

"Yeah, I'm sure. So, have you two been holding down the fort while I've been gone?" Don asked, this time turning toward David.

"Well, we've not really been in on anything more exciting than last quarter's arrest reports since you've been gone. Overall it's been pretty quiet around here, though. Oh, except Liz Warner's witness testified. They assigned her to us. I mean, not to us, but to the L.A. office. I think she's working on Keller's team." David quickly brought Don up to speed on the goings on in his absence.

Don nodded. "She's a good agent; at least I trained her to be. She should be an asset to the division."

Megan and David both nodded. Don offered to get them both some coffee and meet them in the conference room where all their materials were set up. He grabbed two cups and prepared the agents' coffee when he heard someone come up behind him. He turned to face Agent Liz Warner.

"Welcome back, stranger." She smiled.

"Thanks. I hear you're here to stay."

"I guess I have to get up a little earlier if I want to pull one over on Don Eppes."

"That's right and don't you forget it, Agent Warner," grinned Don. "My team's waiting on me. We should catch up, though. You have plans tonight?"

"I'm not sure. Can I get back to you later on that?"

"Sure. I'll be here all week," Don winked.

"I'd better get back to work, too. We've got a lot to do today."

"You getting along ok with Keller and his guys?"

"Yeah. They've been great."

"Good. We're glad to have you." He finished the coffees and started toward the door.

"Thanks. I'm glad to be here." she affirmed as she picked up the coffee pot.

Don made it back to the conference room and handed over the hot beverages to David and Megan. They thanked him and quickly set to showing him the work they had done and the system they set up. Don felt his eyes crossing as they were explaining the methods.

"I can't believe you guys have been doing this for weeks! I'd have jumped out of a window by now, I think."

"It's tempting, let me tell you." Megan joked. "But, hey, Charlie said you were working with Shayne Carrigan. Larry and I went to see that movie Charlie and Amita recommended. She was really good! What's she like in real life?"

Don shrugged and shook his head slightly. "She's just pretty much like any other person, I guess. But yeah, she's quite the actress."

"Is she as good looking in person as she is on TV?" David asked.

"Her hair is blonde now. I think she looks better with dark hair, like in the movie Meagan was talking about. But yeah, she's cute." Don conceded as he looked over the tables of paperwork. "I guess we should get started on this, though." The other two agents agreed and the three of them got down to business.

For the next few hours, Don tried to focus on the arrest reports he was attempting to read, but his mind was definitely somewhere else. Obviously Shayne would know why he wasn't there, butt he wasn't sure if it would really matter to her anyway. He mentally slapped himself. When had he become a 14-year-old girl? He was not letting this actress get to him. They had been co-workers. That was it. And how many times had he become involved with co-workers? Well, that was irrelevant. She wasn't an FBI Agent. She was an actor – playing an FBI Agent. Suddenly it all made sense to Don. As Shayne was playing her part, she was also playing the part of a woman Don usually found himself linked to romantically.

He pushed his chair back from the table and walked to get a drink of water from the cooler in the corner of the room. All of a sudden he was sweating and finding it hard to breathe. His heart raced in his chest as he reached up with a shaking hand and tried to unbutton the top two or three buttons of his shirt. He stumbled backward and placed his hand on the wall to steady himself. Megan looked up to see what was going on.

"Don! Are you ok?" She jumped up from her seat and rushed to her partner's side. He nodded but still looked pale and sweaty. "Here, sit down for a second. David, can you get him a drink of water?"

David jumped up and grabbed a cup of water for Don. "Here you go, man. Drink this." He handed the older man the cup. Don thanked him breathlessly and drank the water. After a minute, Don felt the pressure in his chest release. He was able to breathe easier and the sweating stopped.

"Thanks, guys. I'm ok now. I think I'm just going to go get some air."

"That's fine, Don, but I'm coming with you." Megan insisted. He started to protest but decided that it would do little good. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and headed toward the elevator. Megan followed. When they made it outside he moved quickly to the bridge but stopped so that Megan finally caught up with him.

"Are you ok?" She asked again. He didn't answer. "Don!" She tugged on his arm.

"What? Megan. Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"You just had an anxiety attack in the conference room. That's not what I'd call fine. Is something going on with you?"

"No. Yeah. I don't know."

"You want to talk about it?"

"No. Sorry. I'm fine. I just needed some air."

"Ok. If you're sure you're fine, I'm going back inside."

"Yeah." She turned around and he called out to her, "Megan, wait." She stopped. "Can I ask you something and you won't say anything to anybody about it?"

"Sure, Don. What is it?"

He paced back and forth in front of the bench where she took a seat. "Am I in a pattern?"

"You're going to need to give me a little more than that."

"I mean with women."

"Oh. I don't know if I'm the right person to ask about this."

"Right. Sorry. Totally inappropriate." She started to accept his apology but he kept talking, "It's just that you know me and you're a woman." Megan tried to stifle a grin. "Shit. Sorry. I'm stopping now."

"It's ok, Don. Is this about the actress?" Don was speechless. "I had dinner with your dad and Charlie last week. They mentioned that you were out with her."

"Damn it! I wasn't just with her. She's with someone. They live together."

"So you weren't attracted to her?"

"I guess that's my question. I mean, yes, I was, I am attracted to her. The thing is, I'm not sure if it's her or her character. She played an agent. So I started looking back over the past five, ten years. Every relationship I've been in has been with someone I've met through work, either an FBI or ATF agent or a prosecutor. Man, that sounds really bad. And now Shayne. And Liz is back."

"You and Liz Warner? Really?" Megan asked.

Don joined her on the bench. "I can't believe I'm sitting here talking about this with you. How indiscreet can I be?"

"It must have been your time in Hollywood. You're much more sensitive and demonstrative with your feelings and there's a screenplay running in your head. Is this where the plot thickens?"

"This isn't funny, Megan. I'm 36 years old. I haven't had a relationship that's lasted more than a couple of months in, what, five years? And just now, sitting up there, it came to me that I was in a pattern that I hadn't even noticed. Even Robin, we hooked up at the gun range."

"So you're attracted to strong, powerful women who can shoot guns. You respect qualities in women that most men find totally intimidating and that would make them run for cover. It's not a bad thing, Don."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. The problem comes when those strong women are unavailable or when you treat them like all your other buddies. They're still women and have to be treated accordingly."

"Right. I really tried with Robin, though. I didn't used to be so bad at this." He sighed again and dropped his head into his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

"It's hard, Don. It's hard to do what we do day in and day out and then go home to someone that you love. You don't want to tell that wonderful, special person about the horrible reality of what we do, about how evil people can really be. That could be part of the reason that you tend to end up with the women you do. They already understand your world. Unloading about your day wouldn't shock them. You don't have to protect them from that part of your life."

"Sure, it's partly that, but it's more."

"I know, Don, but I can't help you with those other things."

"Thanks, Megan; it's just that if I say something to my dad or Charlie, it could be used against me for the rest of my life. We should get back in there and help David."

"Sure, Don. Let's go." They walked back into the building and badged their access to the elevator. When the doors closed she offered one last piece of wisdom. "When it's the right person, you'll figure out what you need to do, and you'll be ready to do it. Trust me on that one."

When they got back upstairs, Don went immediately back to work. David barely looked up as his team members entered the room. He wasn't sure what that whole scene had been about, but he sure as hell knew not to ask. Megan took her seat and asked if anyone had plans for lunch. The consensus was Greek food. They kept working until 12:30 when Don's phone rang.

"Eppes," he barked into it.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me how much fun this was? I don't think I'm coming back."

"Whatever, Granger. You aren't pretty enough to quit your day job. Is everything going ok, though?"

"Yeah. The director thinks they'll wrap today. They told me to tell you you're invited to the wrap party. It's gonna be at some place called Tangier. They said you know where it is. They also said we should all come, so you'll let Megan and David know?"

"Sure, Colby. I'll tell them. We're about to head out for lunch, so why don't you give me a call when you know more?" Colby agreed to do so and Don said goodbye. He looked up and asked the others if they were ready to go.

Megan and David said that they were, and David wanted to know how Colby was getting along. Don let them in on Colby's side of the previous conversation.

"They invited us to their wrap party?" Megan commented. "Wasn't that nice!"

David and Don both looked at her skeptically. "I'm sure we'd stick out at a Hollywood cast party like a sore thumb." David stated. Don nodded.

"Don's been to a bunch of their parties. Besides, if Colby's going to be there, we should provide the necessary backup." Megan protested.

Don laughed. "I'm sure Colby's getting along just fine without us, but if you really want to go, I guess I'll stop by. It's right down the street from my place, anyway. Colby's supposed to call us back with the details."

"Can we please get some lunch now? I'm about to starve!" David interjected. They grabbed their jackets and headed out to lunch.

For the rest of the day, Megan tried to hide her excitement with little success. She knew it was completely unlike her nature to be excited about such a gathering, but she was, nonetheless, looking forward to attending. She hardly ever went out unless she was with the guys, and Larry had been gone for over almost two months. Getting dressed up and spending time with some new people sounded like a much better evening than a microwaved Lean Cuisine and reruns of "Match Game" and "Doctor Who." Plus, she wanted to check this girl out for herself. She must be something to have Don so out of sorts.

By the close of business, Colby had called to let them all know that the cast would be dining at 8:30. Cocktail hour was set to begin as soon as people began arriving. Megan nearly danced out of the office as she told Don and David she would meet them there. David offered to pick her up on his way, and she gratefully accepted. The two of them said goodbye to Don, who was clearing up some space in the conference room for new files, and they were off for the evening. When Don finished with the boxes he had transported from the file room he grabbed his jacket to leave. He first stopped at his desk to check his messages. Seeing that there weren't any that he had to deal with that day, he stood and found himself again staring into the face of Liz Warner.

"I know this is a little late notice, but I realized I hadn't gotten back to you on your offer. Turns out I am free tonight."

"You heard about the party, then?"

"What party?" Liz was perplexed.

"You didn't talk to Megan?"

"Not today. What are you talking about, Don?"

"My team is going to the party for the end of the film Colby and I were working on. It's tonight, and I don't know if you are at all interested, but I thought you might like to go with me."

"Sure. What time?"

"It's at Tangier at around 8. Dinner is at 8:30. I could pick you up at 7:30?"

"Actually, I think I'd better meet you there. I have some errands to run after work, and I don't want to make you late. Plus I have to be in early tomorrow."

"Ok. I'll see you there, I guess."

"Great. See you tonight." She nodded and left the bullpen. Don glanced at his own watch and found that he plenty of time to hit the gym before going home to change. After an hour there, he pulled into his apartment complex. He jogged up the stairs to his floor and unlocked the door. Once he got inside, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and flipped on the TV. He found Sportscenter as he walked into the bedroom. Unpacking his gym bag, he separated his laundry into piles. He pulled a pair of clean jeans, black button-up shirt and a pair of black dress shoes that he hardly ever got the chance to wear from his closet and spread them out on his unmade bed. He added a pair of black socks and a black belt to the clothing that lay across the bunched sheets and comforter.

He stepped back to looked over what he had chosen. He thought it would be acceptable. His concentration was broken by the chirping of his cell phone on the dresser. They caller was Shayne. He hit the ignore button and turned back to his wardrobe. He'd deal with that later, presumably when he showed up to her party with a date. He had debated in his head for most of the day whether or not Vince would attend with her. From what Shayne had told him about the star, he was leaning toward not. Still, he wouldn't be alone and she could read whatever she wanted into that. He'd figure out what sort of future he and Liz had at a later occasion.

Don was getting ready to step into the running shower when his phone rang again. He resisted the urge to turn off the faucet and see who was calling and stepped under the flowing water, letting it wet him completely. He grabbed the shampoo bottle off of the ledge and squirted a dollop into his hand. Rubbing it through his hair, he tried to make sense of his day. In retrospect, his mini-breakdown in the conference room would have been better avoided, so too the conversation with Megan, even though he knew that she understood what he was going through. Don couldn't believe how fallible he had allowed himself to be in front of his team members. He was there to lead them and keep them safe, not for his unchecked emotions to make him a liability. He chastised himself for the breach and swore not to let it happen again. Ever. Now, he just had to make it through the night and he could put the entire month behind him.