A/N: Sara and Tammy, thank you for your honest comments. You both have extremely valid points, and I'll try to keep it in mind for future chapters. That being said, hope you enjoy the little interlude.

And Tammy, one vote for Colby/Charlie registered. I have to admit that that pairing has been growing on me of late.

Interlude: Nightmares. Twenty-five years apart, the siblings have very similar conversations.

-BD-

Twenty-five Years Ago

"Donnie?"

"Charlie? Huh? Geez, what do you want? I was sleeping!"

"I… I had a nightmare."

"Oh. A nightmare, huh?"

"Yeah. My math book grew teeth and tried to eat me!"

"Wow. That's… some nightmare."

"Yeah."

Pause.

"So, uh… you wanna sleep here tonight?"

The only answer was a tiny girl climbing into his bed, and Don smiled. As Big Brother, he could banish any nightmare.

-BD-

Present Day

Charlie yawned as she made her way up to bed. She'd spent most of the night working out in the garage, and had gotten to a point where she was happy to leave off and go to bed.

As she passed the dining room, she smiled. Don was spending the night after closing a horror of a case. Charlie hadn't helped – Don wouldn't let her – and she'd worried about him. Especially when Terry let slip that he'd been threatened by a suspect. But it was all over now, and Don was here.

Suddenly wanting to see him, Charlie hurried quietly up the stairs and pushed open Don's bedroom door. She told herself that she was just going to see that he was still there, then leave.

Until she heard a whimper.

Pausing in the doorway, she watched as Don seemed to be caught in a nightmare. It looked as though he was trying to fight someone off. Without thinking, Charlie crossed to sit on the edge of his bed and gently took his hand.

"Donnie, shhh," she whispered. "You're safe. You're home. There's nothing to fight."

Soon the fight left him, and Charlie smiled as she replaced his hand inside the covers. As she stood again, however, Don groggily opened his eyes.

"Charlie?" He rasped, voice still thick with sleep. "What are you doing in here?"

She paused, knowing that Don wouldn't appreciate her seeing him when he had a bad dream. Then she shrugged and looked him in the eye.

"I had a nightmare."

Don blinked, then smiled. He might be tired, but he wasn't stupid. Charlie was still fully dressed, and had been happily working on one of her problems – he glanced at the clock – only an hour ago. No way did she fall asleep and have a nightmare in that time. Especially not when he'd been having one of his own. When it came to him, she really was a terrible liar.

"Oh. A nightmare, huh?"

"Yeah," Charlie said softly. "My big brother got so caught up in protecting me that he didn't take care of himself, and he got hurt when he wouldn't let me help him."

Don glanced down, unable to meet her eyes.

"That's… some nightmare."

"Yeah."

They sat for a moment, before Don smiled tiredly at Charlie.

"So, uh… you wanna sleep here tonight?"

Instead of answering, Charlie toed off her shoes, and climbed under the blanket. Sure, a 30-year-old professor sharing a bed with her older, federal agent brother was odd, but she figured that they both needed the comfort tonight. She waited until Don's breathing evened and she knew the nightmares wouldn't come back before she let herself close her eyes and follow him to sleep.

This time, it was Charlie's turn to be the guardian – and Don thought she wasn't doing too badly.