Alan watched Don from the window. He knew something was wrong, and it scared him. He briefly looked at his youngest son, who was sitting on the couch with his hands clasped tightly together. Charlie had quickly composed himself, but there was still a note of fear on his son's face. Alan smiled sadly when Charlie looked up at him, then turned back to the window.

Don looked furious. Alan could see his son scream at the man in the car. He was surprised when Don never raised his hand to the man. It made Alan wonder if there was something else going on.

When Don turned back to the house, Alan went to the couch. He put a gentle hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie gave his father a smile, hoping it would reassure him that he was okay.

Don wearily walked through the front door. He saw his brother look hopefully at him, and he could hardly bear the fact that he'd have to tell his brother that it was because of him that he went through such fear. How could he have let that happen?

"Did you get him?" Charlie quietly asked when Don remained silent.

"Um, I guess you could say that." Don rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Buddy, I... I have something to tell you."

"What is it, Donny?" Alan asked with concern.

Don sank into the chair across from his family. He looked in between them, unable to make eye contact with either one.

"That man, the man who followed you, he's... his name is Derek Lawson. He's an agent for the FBI."

He let that sink in in their minds, then saw the confusion on their faces.

"I hired him."

Don couldn't look away from his brother now. Charlie's eyes got wide and he looked like he could hardly breathe. His face went pale and he looked straight at his brother, with the gaze Don hated so much. It was the gaze that saw right through him. The one that knew who he really was.

"Why?" Charlie asked in a whisper.

"I was... afraid. I didn't want you to get hurt. So, I hired him to follow you at night, so you wouldn't get hurt. I'm so sorry this happened, Buddy."

Charlie stood and kept his back to Don and Alan. He put his hand over his mouth to stifle a cry that wanted to be released. He was okay. It wasn't someone after him, wasn't Jake. He was fine. It was an agent, someone who was supposed to protect him.

But why couldn't Don have just told him? It would have saved him a lot of trouble. He didn't want to have to be afraid every time he walked outside his home. And he wouldn't have if he knew that there was an agent following him. But thinking that it was someone who was trying to hurt him? That was too hard to handle.

Don stood when his brother wouldn't speak anymore. He walked slowly to where Charlie was standing and talked to his brother's back.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I-I thought you'd get mad and would make me fire him. I... I couldn't do that. I needed to know you'd be safe... since I can't seem to protect you very well."

Charlie turned when his brother spoke those words. "No... you've always been able to protect me. Always."

"Then how come..." Don couldn't bring himself to ask that question.

"How come I haven't been asking you for help?" At Don's nod, Charlie continued. "Because I can't call my big brother every time something happens, every time I get scared. When it turns out to be nothing, I don't want to feel stupid because I couldn't handle it myself. I don't want you to miss time at work because of me, because of a childish fear. It's nothing personal, Don."

Alan smiled as he quietly watched his boys' conversation. They cared too much about each other sometimes because it kept them from getting what they need. They sacrificed too much of themselves for each other. Alan was proud of them for it.

"Are you... mad at me?" Don asked.

Charlie gave his brother a smile at the worry in Don's tone. "No. I wish you would have told me. I wouldn't have made you stop."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Don smiled. Charlie hugged his brother, thankful that it had just been his brother looking out for him that refused to leave him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Can any of you tell me the significance of 381654729?" Charlie asked his class.

Silence filled the room. A few students wrote the number down on a piece of paper and you could see the wheels turning for others. Charlie waited patiently with a smile on his face for the students to answer. He knew none would know it this quickly, unless they'd done the problem before.

"Anyone?"

Most students shrugged or shook their heads.

"381654729 is the number divisible by the order it is in. Three is divisible by one, thirty-eight is divisible by two, three-hundred and eighty-one is divisible by three, and so on."

Charlie saw students take out their calculators to check him. He was glad that they wanted to make sure it was right.

"Yes, you will find it is correct."

Some of students who didn't have their calculators out chuckled.

"Your assignment for tonight is to try to find a problem like this one and solve it. I'll see you tomorrow."

Charlie was happy to leave his classroom. He was happy for some time off. He was thankful that tomorrow was Friday because the week so far had seemed endless.

Larry told him that the days are getting longer, but they won't be significantly so for billions of years. Some weeks Charlie could swear that each day was 48 hours. Either that or someone had pressed the slow-motion button.

Charlie rubbed his aching neck as he gathered his things into his book bag. Today he had driven to work, something he had started doing more often. Don agreed that it was a good idea.

He hadn't heard from Janet in almost a week. No one had followed him, that he knew of. His week became stress-free, except for the endless hours he put in at work for CalSci and the FBI.

It was time to go home now, and he was quite happy about it. If he wanted to be really nice to himself, he'd indulge in taking a nap.

When he got out of the CalSci parking lot, he basically had to park once more. There was a traffic jam caused by a car accident. Knowing he'd be stuck there for hours, Charlie pulled back into the CalSci parking lot and took the shortcut he usually used when he rode his bike.

However, he didn't make it very far when he stopped again.

His car was out of gas, which didn't make sense to him since he had just filled it up the day before.

Charlie had made it halfway through the alley when his car stopped. He hadn't even bothered to look at how much gas he had because he knew he had filled it up the day before. He decided this would be a good time to call his brother for help.

"Eppes," Don answered.

"Hey, Don, it's me."

"Hey, Buddy. What's up?"

"Um, I filled up my gas tank yesterday, but right now I'm out of gas. I think someone siphoned out my gas."

Don's jaw line tightened at that thought. "Get out and see if there is anything that would suggest that."

Charlie stepped out of his car and looked at the gas cap. It looked the same way it had before. "No. There's nothing different that I can see."

"What about inside your car? Is there anything missing?"

"There shouldn't be. I keep it locked and it still was before."

"Okay, where are you?"

"I'm in the alley between the laundromat and Georgio's Pizza. Why?"

"I'll come get you, okay?"

"I don't know if you'll be able to make it. There's a huge traffic jam. Someone had an accident."

Was it planned that way, or was Don just being paranoid?

"All right. Go back to CalSci, get some work done or something. I'll come get you as soon as I can, okay?"

Charlie turned his head at the sound of a car coming over. "Someone's coming. Maybe they can help?"

"Charlie, get back in your car and lock the doors. Now!"

Charlie couldn't respond. The car sped at him and he was hit straight on. He flew up in the air and came down hard on the top of the car. When the driver backed up, he fell off.

Crying out as pain attacked his ribs and left arm, Charlie looked up and saw the driver. He recognized him immediately. It was Jake Daniels.

Jake backed the car up and turned around. Charlie watched as he tossed a piece of paper out the window. He was only thankful that Jake hadn't run him over again.

"Charlie? Charlie!" Don was terrified. He had heard the car come, heard Charlie scream. What was happening?

"Charlie!"

Charlie heard his brother's voice calling him. He set his jaw hard, trying not to cry out in pain. He couldn't push himself up, so he crawled to his cell phone that had landed near the back of his car.

By the time he was there he was beginning to cry. His ribs protested his every move and every movement of his arm sent pain through him. He clutched the cell phone in his right hand and waited for his brother to stop screaming for him.

"Donny... help." It was all he could get out before he passed out from the pain.

Don's heart stopped beating when he heard his brother's voice. He was alive, but the pain was so loud in Charlie's voice. He couldn't imagine what pain his little brother was going through.

Wetting his dry mouth, Don spoke into the phone. "Buddy, I'm on my way. Just hold on for me, okay?"

He didn't get a response. "Charlie?"

He waited for Charlie to speak, but still went unanswered.

"Damn it," Don hissed as he ran down the steps to his car. He should have called for a team, told someone what he was doing. But all that mattered right now was getting to his brother.

He was thinking clearly enough to send an ambulance to the scene. He just prayed that he'd get there in time to see his brother first. He had to see for himself, had to know that his brother was still breathing.

Don used every shortcut he knew to get to his brother. It still took an agonizing thirty minutes to get there, but he did manage to beat the paramedics.

Charlie was crumpled on the ground. Don could see his brother's left arm was positioned in an unnatural angle that told him it had to be broken. Not knowing what other damage was done, he knelt beside his brother and wiped at the sweat on his little brother's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Buddy. You're... you're going to be okay. I-I promise."

Don stuttered because he didn't know. His brother had been run over. He was unconscious.

The paramedics arrived shortly after. Don decided he'd drive to the hospital by himself, knowing he should pick his father up and he should do something about Charlie's car. So he watched them take his brother away, and cried inside. He had failed to protect his brother again. What kind of brother was he?

He could hardly believe his brother had become such a target of violence. Don had always thought his job would prove more dangerous, his life would put him in harm's way. He had always felt comfortable with Charlie's choice because his brother would be safe. His life had only become dangerous when Don reentered his life and allowed Charlie to join his work. How could he have ever let that happen?

He could have found other ways to get along with his brother, find time to spend with him. It couldn't have been that hard, could it? He should have just made time for his brother. They would be as close as they are now if he had done that.

But somehow Don knew that wasn't true. His work was his life. Charlie had always tried to be a part of his life by doing things he liked. It was the same way now. Charlie wanted to be close to Don, so he consulted for the FBI. And Don paid attention to him then. When had Don tried to take an interest in his brother's work? When had he listened intently as his brother explained how he had solved a problem?

Don was torn. He couldn't keep putting his brother in danger by letting him continue to consult for the FBI. But what would happen to them if they stopped working together? Don couldn't let them drift apart again. He had gotten so used to have his brother in his life. He enjoyed it. He would miss spending time with Charlie if they didn't work together. And what would they do anyway? Their common ground was working for the FBI. It was what they had in common, what kept them linked together. So what would they have then?

Don shook his head. He didn't have an answer. For the time being, he would just have to protect his brother better than he had been. He'd come up with a solution later.

He walked over to Charlie's car and noticed a crumpled up piece of paper not far from it. He went to it, pulling out a glove in the mean time. He picked up the paper and read what was written inside. It made his stomach sick.

"Until next time."

Well, this is pretty short again, I know, but this past week was one of those weeks when I wonder why I add more work to my already busy schedule by writing fanfic. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop mid-story, but sometimes it'd be nice to have more free time. It was just a bad week, so don't worry.

Thanks to thebondgirl for the ending to this chapter! She had the cool idea of Jake running Charlie over. Adds some angst, doesn't it? I thought it was about time to get some action into the story. I hope you guys like it.

HELP WANTED: Someone who knows what injuries would be sustained due to this car accident. Anyone?