A/N: Thanks to Tammy for pointing out the Amitan/Amit thing. Previous chapter has been updated to reflect more current information.

I'm glad the rest of you are enjoying it. If you have requests for specific episodes to undergo the full re-write, let me know, and as long as we haven't passed it yet I'll include it. Otherwise there'll usually only be one or two key scenes redone. So far that's one request for Sniper Zero, one of my favourites.

And yes, EvilLittleOwl, Colby's reaction to female Charlie will definitely be interesting.

Chapter Two: A Tradition is Started. In which Charlie recruits Don for support, and Don finds out that not all maths functions are boring. Also, Don is very protective.

-BD-

Special Agent Don Eppes was bored. He'd just finished a case, just filed the last of the paperwork. There was still an hour before he could leave, and he was desperately trying to speed up the clock through sheer will-power. It didn't seem to be working.

His cell phone went off then, and he grabbed it in delight. Catching a case this late in the day was better than sitting around bored for the next hour.

"Eppes."

"Donnie," Charlie sounded on the verge of tears, and Don sat up straight.

"What's wrong?"

"Don, I need a huge favour."

"Anything," he answered without hesitation. He'd do anything to keep Charlie from crying.

"You might regret that in a moment." She already sounded a little better. "I'm meant to give a speech and present an award at a special dinner tonight. Larry was going to accompany me, but Dr Adler railroaded him into attending meetings all evening!" Dr Adler was the head of the physics department at CalSci – and didn't get along with Charlie at all. "And Dad's got his book club meeting here, I can't ask him to cancel it."

"Wait, let me get this straight," Don interrupted. "You want me to go with you to something math related?"

"Please, Donnie!" Charlie was sounding desperate again. "I can't go by myself, you don't know what it's like to be a female alone at one of these things!"

"What do you mean?" Don asked, confused.

"I mean, the men who aren't condescending asses will be trying to grope me. I can't face that by myself!" For a moment, Don saw red, and knew that Charlie heard him growl.

"Donnie?"

"I'm bringing my cuffs and gun," he stated firmly. "Anyone touches you, they get hauled off for assault."

Charlie laughed then, and Don smiled. That was more like it.

"Okay Don. Make sure you're out on time, I'll catch a cab to your office."

"Come on up to the bullpen, you can keep us company until we can leave."

"Will do. See you soon – and thanks."

"No problem, Baby-doll."

As he hung up, Don caught the interested looks from David and Terry. They'd heard his side of the conversation, but were still confused.

"Charlie," he explained. "She's giving a speech at a dinner thing tonight."

"And she called you because…" David still looked confused.

"I'm going with her. For… immoral support." He grinned at his subordinates, who both laughed.

"Shouldn't you change then?" Terry asked. "If it's a fancy thing, I doubt jeans and shirt are the acceptable attire."

"Got nothing else," Don shrugged. "If it's that bad I'll stop at home to change."

-BD-

Half an hour later, Charlie stepped into the bullpen. Don knew this, because he saw David's jaw drop. He turned, and had to admit that the sight wasn't in sync with Charlie's usual hap-hazard appearance.

She wore a floor-length black gown which hugged her figure and left her shoulders bare. At her neck was a simple silver chain with a tear-shaped pendant, and a delicate silver watch graced her wrist. Her hair was half pulled back into an elaborate knot, while the rest hung loose down her back. On her face was a bare amount of makeup.

In all, Don could see why she tended to get groped at these things. Hell, she was attracting a lot of stares here – though a death-glare from him was enough to send the staring agents scurrying back to work.

"Hey Don," Charlie smiled as she reached his desk. "Thanks again for doing this. I can't stand going to these functions by myself."

"No problem," Don waved a hand in dismissal. "I got nothing else to do tonight."

"Great. Oh, I brought this," Charlie held out the suit she'd been carrying. "It's a formal event."

"See?" Terry muttered. Don shot her a glare, then accepted the suit.

"Okay. I'll go change. You wait here. And Terry?"

"Yeah?"

"Anyone tries to hit on her while I'm gone, shoot them."

"Donnie…" Charlie rolled her eyes in exasperation, while Terry chuckled. David, on the other hand, quickly turned back to his computer screen. He was fairly certain that Don wasn't joking, and that Terry would follow her orders to the letter.

-BD-

Charlie was quiet on the drive to the hotel, which was unusual. She kept biting her lower lip, which told Don that she was nervous. He shook his head and grinned. It was a maths event – how bad could it be? Sure, he'd be bored, but Charlie would be in her element.

They pulled into the hotel's parking lot, and into the first available park. It was only a short walk to the hotel itself, but Charlie was already uncomfortable by the time they made it through the doors. She hated wearing high heels.

Once inside, Charlie headed straight for the main conference room. She'd been here before, and Don just shrugged and followed her lead. It was obvious that she was apprehensive, but he still couldn't figure out why. Surely she'd just been exaggerating on the phone earlier.

Upon entering the conference room, he suddenly had a little more understanding. Of maybe two hundred, two hundred and fifty people in the room, he could see about ten other women – and all of them looked bored out of their skulls. They were obviously not mathematicians. It gave Don pause for thought – not only was Charlie a genius, not only was she young, but she was also a woman in an extremely male-dominated field. No wonder she didn't want to come to this thing by herself.

Then Charlie broke into a genuine smile, and hurried up to a pair of men who were apparently in the middle of an argument.

"Max! Arnold! I didn't think you'd make it!"

"And miss your speech?" The older man smiled as he bent to kiss Charlie's cheek. "Never, m'dear. It's the highlight of my month."

"Flirt," Charlie grinned at him, then turned to Don.

"Don, this is Dr Arnold Myer, and Professor Max Jennings. Gentlemen, this is my big brother, Special Agent Don Eppes."

"Of course," the younger man, Max, spoke. "I remember you talking about your brother before. I see the family resemblance, especially around the eyes."

Charlie and Don shared a look. It wasn't often that someone could tell that they were related, though he was right about the eyes. Both siblings had inherited their father's dark, almost black eyes.

"As luck would have it," Arnold continued, "you two will be sharing our table. Perhaps you can even join in our little… discussion."

Don looked sceptical, but Charlie smiled.

"If it's the usual, I think Don will be more help than me." Don turned an incredulous gaze on his sister, who grinned at him. "They're baseball fanatics."

"Oh, thank God," Don said, relieved. "Sane people at one of these things!"

Max laughed and slung an arm across his shoulders as he guided them to their table. The two were already off and running, talking about the finer aspects of Don's favourite sport.

The first part of the evening went well. There were a couple of other men at the table, who both acted as though baseball was below them – so Charlie and the others ignored them. Don was happy sharing stories from his minor-league days, and Max and Arnold were keen listeners. Every now and then Charlie would chime in with statistics or her own observations. She'd gone to a few of his games in college, even if he hadn't always been aware of it.

At one point, Charlie got up and left the table. Don didn't take much notice – until he heard the previously ignored men talking about her.

"Don't know what Eppes thinks she's doing here," a portly, unkempt man spoke. "Mathematics is no woman's field. Honestly, she should be married and popping out kids."

"Exactly," the other agreed. He was taller, with a truly awful wig that didn't match the colour of his remaining hair. "I'd certainly tap that, if she wasn't such a damned know-it-all."

Don bit down hard on his cheek to clear the red haze threatening to take over. No one got away with calling Charlie a know-it-all except him. Max and Arnold were both glaring at the speakers, but Don had something better. He pulled his badge out of his pocket and laid it on the table, making sure the arrogant pigs could see it, then leaned forward and gave them his best 'pissed off Federal Agent' glare.

"One more word," he ground out through gritted teeth, "and I'll arrest you both for harassment."

The first speaker was gobsmacked that someone would be standing up for Dr Eppes' honour, but Don wasn't finished. He cast his eye over the one who said he would 'tap' Charlie, and snorted derisively.

"And you… you'd never have a chance with her. For one, she's got a little too much self-esteem to crawl into bed with someone who thinks that ridiculous wig's fooling anyone."

With that, he turned back to the sporting discussion, which had turned to the different types of football. Max and Arnold were both trying to contain their laughter, with only moderate success.

After a moment of shock, the nameless cretins stood and left. Not long after, Charlie returned, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What happened to Drs Caulfield and Reynolds?" She asked. Don shrugged, feigning ignorance.

"Guess they didn't like our topics of conversation."

Charlie narrowed her eyes, guessing that her big brother had something to do with the disappearance of two of her least-favourite peers. Don, however, was the very picture of innocence. She sighed, figuring that she'd just interrogate Max later.

-BD-

Eventually, the time came to present the awards. Don grew bored very quickly, and resorted to muttering his own commentary to Charlie. She was struggling to maintain her composure and pay attention, given the awards that Don was making up.

"And this not-so-prestigious award for the most waffle talked and waffles eaten..."

By the time Charlie had to give her speech, she was nearly in tears from keeping her laughter under control. She was glad to escape her brother's comments, but at the same time she was incredibly nervous. Sure, she spent most of her days speaking to large groups of people, but teaching was different to giving a speech to her peers. Charlie had always hated giving speeches.

Don could see that Charlie was nervous as she stood in front of the room, so he did what any normal big brother would do. As soon as her gaze came to him, he crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her. Immediately Charlie ducked her head, shoulders shaking, and looked at her notes. Don knew that she was fighting a total crack-up. When she looked up again, her mirth-filled smile was radiant.

"My esteemed colleagues…"

-BD-

"Hey Don?" Charlie asked as they went back to his car later.

"Yeah?"

"I really hate you."

"I know," Don flashed her his genuine, eye-crinkling smile, and she couldn't help but grin back. They settled into the car and Don started the engine, reflecting that the night really wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be.

"So," he asked as he manoeuvred the car out into the street again, "when's the next one?"