Disclaimer: Standard still applies.
A/N: Oh. Tonights episode is a repeat, but I had missed it the first time.

Charlie felt groggy. Something wasn't right. He was warm - not cold. He felt safe - no reason to be afraid. This wasn't right. He opened his eyes suddenly, hearing a beeping noise speed up. What was going on? Where was he? Where was Tirry? This wasn't right. It wasn't!

Don jumped up when he heard his brother's heart monitor speed up. He looked at Charlie who was somehow sitting up. Don rushed to his side, "Buddy?"

Charlie looked around, he heard Don's voice. He looked. Oh, God. Not more hallucinations. He tried to back up, but the bed he was in stopped him. A bed? What the hell?

"Charlie." He heard Don's voice, "Buddy, calm down. You're having a panic attack. Just breath. Come one buddy. Breath with me. In. Out. In. Out ..."

Charlie tried, but it wasn't working. He couldn't control his body. Why? What had happened? Something wasn't right!

He felt a hand push him down, so that he was laying on the bed. "No. No. No." Charlie pleaded to anyone, everyone, no one.

"Shh. Buddy. Calm down." Don stroked Charlie's hair, getting him to calm down. "You shouldn't even be up yet. You need to rest."

"I c-can't rest." Charlie told the voice. "I can't rest because I'm nothing. I am nobody, treat me as a solar myth, or an echo, or an irrational quantity, or ignore me altogether." (1)

"Charlie ..." Don said, worried. "Buddy ..." He looked down at his brother, afraid. "Stop that talk right now."

Charlie looked up, his eyes finally focusing, "Donnie." He frowned, "Have you come to tell me again? Then you leave. Then Tirry comes and something bad happens. Something bad happens all the time. I can't control it. It's like chaos theory. Why? Donnie. Make it stop. I know you hate me. You say so all the time - just like everyone. But, please. Make it stop." Charlie pleaded.

Don stared down at his brother, "Buddy, I don't hate you-"

"Yes you do. Everyone does." Charlie nodded, pausing, "Except Megan. I don't know why Megan won't accept that I'm worthless."

Don put a hand on Charlie's shoulder, "You are not worthless."

Charlie had flinched at the touch. It was real. Donnie was real. "You mean it?"

Don nodded, glad that Charlie was acting normal for the moment. "Of course, Buddy." He looked into his brother's eyes, "Are you feeling any pain?"

Charlie thought about it. He was so used to pain now. What did it feel like to not be in pain? "I-I don't know. I think I feel pain. But I don't know."

Don sighed, "Alright. I can tell the nurse to up your morphine if you want."

Charlie blinked, "Then I won't feel pain?"

Don shook his head, "Nope. No pain."

He blinked again. Thinking it through. The pain hurt. That was very true, but the pain also kept him grounded. He swallowed. "I-I don't know."

Don nodded, understanding some. "Alright, buddy."

Charlie jumped some when the door opened.

Alan saw his son was awake and he couldn't stop his smile, "Charlie!"

"D-Dad?" Charlie asked, slightly frightened. He turned to Don, putting a hand on Don's arm - to make sure that he was real, "Dad's here right? I'm not hallucinating him, am I?"

"Course I'm real." Alan said, walking up to his sons.

Charlie blinked up at his father, "I'm sorry dad, but I can't count on your word. Because I've been lied to by them."

Don patted Charlie on the arm, "Dad's real."

Charlie looked up at Alan, "Dad?"

Alan smiled and put a hand on the top of Charlie's head, "I'm here. You're safe now." He paused, "You should get some sleep. If the nurses or Dr. Flint finds out that you're awake they will probably make you sleep some more."

"Dr. Flint?" Charlie asked, "I have the same doctor as last time?"

"We thought it would be good if you did, son."

Charlie swallowed, "Yes. It would be."

Dr. Mina Flint walked into the room then, "And it would also be good if you sleep. I shall up your morphine."

Charlie had no complaints when the doctor put a syringe in one of the IV's. He could start to feel the effects right away. He smiled at Don and Alan. "Th' pain all gone! It's like 'm superman!"

Don chuckled to himself, knowing that it was only the morphine that was causing his brother to be so happy.

"I'm gonna take a nap-nap 'bout now." Charlie nodded, informing his family. "Ya bof can take nappies toooo. If ya wants." Charlie's eyes where at half-mast, he nodded sleepily. "S'eeps good n' all."

"Alright, buddy." Don told his drugged up brother, "You just get some sleep."

Charlie nodded, his eyes closed. "Don't care if ya'all 'ate me. 'Coz I 'ove ya'all."

Don and Alan watched Charlie sleep for a few moments before Alan spoke up, "He thinks we all hate him?"

Don nodded, "Yeah. But it seems as if he has hallucinated us telling him that we hate him." He paused, "Except Megan. He said that Megan never said that she hated him. I wonder why." Don ran his hand through his hair, "What did Tirry do to him?"

Dr. Harry Roland walked in, "That's the question isn't it." He sat down as Dr. Mina Flint walked out, "I'm glad that you all found Charlie."

Alan nodded, "It's wonderful that he's been found alive."

"As soon as he's well enough too, we've got to get him back on his medications." Harry turned to Don, "I heard you saying that he hallucinated."

Don nodded. "That is what seemed to happen. I don't know the full extent of what all happened though."

Dr. Roland nodded, "Yes. I understand. I will be clearing my calendar to work with Charlie and get him better again." He stood up to leave.

"Thank you, doctor." Alan said, "My son means so much, it means a lot that you would do so much for him."

Roland smiled, "It's not a problem, Alan." With that the doctor left.

Charlie woke up about 12 hours later. Frantic. "Megan!" He said, sitting up suddenly.

Alan put a hand on Charlie, "Son, it's alright. Calm down."

Charlie blinked, remembering it all. "Megan. I need to see her."

"Why?"

"Sh-she doesn't hate me. I need her." Charlie insisted, "I need to see her!"

"Shh. Charlie." Alan soothed.

"No! No! No!" Charlie protested.

Don stared at his brother. "Buddy. I'll go and get Megan right now if you promise to calm down for dad and me."

Charlie thought about this. Don would get Megan. Then she'd be there. He'd feel safe with her in the room. "Al-Alright." Charlie nodded, "I-I'll calm down, Donnie. Just get Megan."

Don knew that Charlie was calming down, the heart monitor was slowing down to a more normal pace. What really scared Don was how Charlie was talking. His tone of voice. It was as if he was a frightened five year old again. Don got up, going to call Megan at the pay phones.

"Reeves."

"Megan." Don said, "Can you uh. Can you come to the hospital?"

"Of course Don." Megan said, her tone a bit confused, "You need my help with something?"

Don sighed, "Yeah. I need with Charlie."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Just. Get here ASAP."

"Will do Don. I'm on my way." She went to hang up the phone when she heard Don's voice again.

"Just you, alright? Don't bring Colby and David. I don't know if he'd be able to handle that." He hung up the phone, not waiting for a reply.

He walked back to Charlie's room, confused at his brother's behavior. Of course Charlie is bipolar and he had been through one hell of a week. Don couldn't imagine how he would have handled it if he had been though what all Charlie had been. He sighed as he walked into the room. "Megan is on her way, Buddy."

Charlie nodded, his eyes wide, frightened. "Alright. Good. That's good. Real Good." He looked at Don, "She's not lying right? She is coming? Right now?"

"As we speak, Buddy." Don said, sitting down next to his brother. "You wanna get some more sleep?"

"No. Then Megan would come and she'd end up hating me too. Because I made her come, then when she came I wasn't here. I would be sleeping. She'd get mad at the trouble I put her though and then she'd hate me as well. I don't want her to hate me too."

"Charlie, buddy. We don't hate you." Don said, trying to make eye contact with his brother.

Charlie shook his head, his hands covering his ears, "Yes you do! Don't lie to me Donnie! Not now! You can lie to me when I say you can!"

"Son, it's not a lie. We don't hate you." Alan said, worried that his son would do something drastic, like trying to take his own life, again.

"Really?" Charlie's eyes wide in question.

"Really." Don paused, "Are you in pain? Because we can get something for that."

Charlie thought, "No. Not in pain at all. I don't think."
Don sighed, "You know you went through a surgery, right?"

Charlie's glazed eyes nodded, "I figured as much. I'm covered with bandages and stitches and a few casts. Doesn't surprise me that I went through a surgery or two." he blinked at the door, seeing something, or maybe seeing nothing. God only knew what was going on in Charlie's head.

The door opened when Charlie stared at it, Megan walked in cautiously. "Charlie?"

"Megan." He replied. Charlie felt so relieved that she was there. She always believed in him.

"Don said you wanted to talk to me."

Charlie nodded. He looked from Alan to Don, and back again. "Uh. Can you both. Uh ..."

Don raised his eyebrows, in surprise, "Leave you in here with Megan?" He looked at his father who nodded. "Alright, Buddy."

Charlie watched as his family left. "Thanks." He told them as Megan sat down next to him.

"Just you and me in the room now, Charlie. You want to talk? Why do do you want to talk to me?"

"D-Do you not want to talk to me?" Charlie asked, "Have you started hating me now, too?"

Megan's eyes shown with sadness, "No, Charlie. I don't hate you."

He smiled. "Good. I don't want you to hate me."

"Charlie, no one hates you." Megan said, worried for her friend.

Charlie knew the truth. Or, he thought he did. He wasn't so sure anymore. He wasn't sure about what happened, what was real, what was hallucination. "Please don't lie for them."

(1) -Sir James Augustus Henry Murray