A/N Sorry for the string of short chapters. Hopefully this one will be decently longer. I will admit that it was hard trying to make this chapter flow, so I also apologize if it is choppy. (Much like the rest of my story.) I had this chapter written, but then decided to completely rewrite it this morning. Hopefully this version is satisfactory.

Disclaimer: I'm poor and own nothing. The end.

Summary: A case threatening to tear our beloved brothers apart may end up tearing the whole team apart.

Quantifiable Love

Chapter 5:

Don was hot. Very hot. As he groggily opened his eyes, he realized why: he was chained to a support beam in an attic. Attics were always unbearably hot in the summer. He remembered one time when he was 12, when he was at his friend Mark's house. His dad made him take Charlie along with him, and Mark had convinced Charlie that there were a lot of fun toys and games in the attic; he just had to find them. When Charlie went into the attic, Don and Mark had closed the door. A couple hours later when Don was ready to leave, he found one very hot and sweaty Charlie passed out on the floor of the attic. That night, after Charlie had been released from the hospital, Alan finally asked why Charlie was in the attic. Naturally, Charlie managed to tell the truth without incriminating anyone. Mark had merely told Charlie about toys and games in the attic, and Charlie had gone to look. The door must have closed by itself.

Of course Charlie never mentioned that Don never stopped him. Or that Don was right there with Mark, encouraging Charlie to go in the attic. To this day Don never understood why Charlie always defended Don to their parents. Perhaps he was just worried Don would somehow retaliate.

Right now, he knew how Charlie felt all those years ago…Slowly sweltering in the stifling heat of an attic. At least Charlie was lucky enough not to have been hit by a truck before getting locked away. Don's leg was pounding mercilessly in tune with his head. He wasn't sure if the wetness he could feel on the back of his neck was sweat, or if it was blood. But he was sure he at least had one hell of a knot on the back of his head. His leg was most definitely broken as well. He silently thanked his abductor for the head injury. He was very glad he wasn't conscious when he was moved here. Though, if he was conscious before, he probably would have passed out from the pain. As it was, he was damn close to doing that anyway.

Reflecting on his injuries brought the reality of his situation back. Megan was hurt too. And possibly even Charlie. And neither of them were here in the attic with him. He needed to find them and get all of them the hell out of here.

But as he tried to stand, heat finally overwhelmed him.

I'm sorry Charlie…I promise I won't lock you in the attic again…

Megan was angry. Not only was she chained to a pipe in some basement, she had one hell of a headache from getting hit by god-knows-what, and she was gagged. She now understood why kidnappers so loved gagging their abductees. It sucked. And to make the gag even worse, if that was possible, the blood from the gash in her skull had run down into the gag. As if smelling it wasn't bad enough, the metallic substance was now making her gag…Into her gag. She almost chuckled at that thought.

Almost.

She had awoken as her "kidnapper" was removing Don from the back of the van. Glancing around she noticed Charlie wasn't with her. Either he was already removed, or he had managed to avoid abduction. Megan hoped for the latter, but she knew that the house would have been searched for others. Hell, their kidnapper probably had followed her over to Charlie's. He probably had been watching them, waiting for a good opportunity. He had to of known Charlie was there. Don just happened to be show up at the wrong time, though she didn't actually remember him showing up at the house.

Belatedly she wondered what was so urgent that Don needed both Charlie and her. The case they had been working on was pretty much done. At least that's what she thought. Don had said something about getting new information. But what new information could there be?

It was a kidnapping case. A sex offender addicted to child pornography had taken a 13 year-old girl outside of a clothing store as she was getting a diaper bag for her mother and baby brother. With the frequency of sexual predators finding their victims on the internet, they confiscated the girl's computer. They managed to find a few potential suspects on various social networking sites, with only one being a registered sexual offender. After taking him into custody Don had Charlie look at his computer to see if he could find any files or e-mails to be used as evidence.

Charlie had found some e-mails; some mentioning another guy. Don had looked into him, but couldn't find a way to connect him to the case. There just wasn't anything there. Charlie thought differently. The argument ensued. Megan wasn't sure what was said after Don and Charlie went outside, but it couldn't have been good.

But Don needed Charlie. Apparently for the same case that Don had thrown him off of. Something big was happening. And hopefully things were okay enough with the team – with Don and Charlie – to get them out of this mess and figure out what the hell was going on.

Megan was very angry. And very worried.

Breathing was just as difficult as staying focused. Charlie wasn't sure if both problems were due to being shoved into some hot and stuffy…closet? He wasn't really sure where he was. And thinking about it got him nowhere. It was hot, dark, and cramped. That's all he cared to know.

It reminded him of the time when Don and Mark had locked him in Mark's attic. Mark had said there were toys and games up there. Charlie knew there wasn't. And, even if there was, he didn't care about toys and games. He wanted to have fun with Don. Do something with him. But he knew that their dad had made Don take him. And he knew that Don didn't want him there. So he did what they wanted…hoping that if he was less of a pest, then Don would play with him.

But Don locked him in the attic. Two hours in a hot attic was too much for him. Maybe if he had been able to last longer Don would have played with him. When their dad had asked what happened Charlie had blamed it on himself. If Don didn't get in trouble because of him, then maybe Don would want to spend more time with him. Maybe Don wouldn't hate him so much…

At least Don wasn't angry after the attic incident. Don was definitely angry with him now. And when Don's angry, he doesn't come over, or call, or even care where Charlie is.

Even if Charlie is in some black box, slowly suffocating…

Why did you lock me in the attic again, Don?

A/N Hopefully that was long enough and content filled enough for everyone. Originally it had been longer, but I think this flowed a little better. Also, I had thought of having Megan be –that time of monthing- because I hate how on TV no one ever has to deal with real problems. But I decided against it, mainly for the male readers (if I have any). Be prepared for some bladder needs though…Everyone's got to pee at some point. :P Also...I would have posted this earlier today, but I wasn't able to upload it for quite a while.