Disclaimer: Standard still applies.
A/N: Thanks to SyberiaWinx for another idea.
And sorry to all Charlie/Amita fans. Just remember that in this story, Amita is at Harvard.

Charlie woke up when it was dark out. All the lights where off. He sat up slowly. His head hurt, a headache. Standing up on unsteady feet, he made his way to the bathroom when the light in the hallway snapped on. He looked up at it with his pain-filled eyes. "Don?"

"Hey, Charlie." Don said, coming down the stairs, "Good to see you join the living."

"What time is it?" Charlie asked, rather baffled.

"1:28 in the morning." Don stated simply. He noted Charlie's sway, "You alright, Buddy?"

"Headache." Charlie muttered, falling down into a seat.

"I'll get you some aspirin." Don said, the he paused, "Can we mix your medications with aspirin?"

Charlie shrugged.

Don sighed and went to get his brother some aspirin. He came back with a glass of water as well. "Here ya go."

Charlie gratefully took them and nodded his thanks. He swallowed them with expert ease.

"You alright, Buddy?" Don's voice was tinted with worry.

"Headache." Charlie repeated, tapping his temple with his index finger.

Don nodded, "Alright. I'm just glad that we got you back, Buddy."

"Back? From what?" His voice sounded exhausted.

"From Tirry, From you're child-like behavior." Don answered simple with a shrug.

"What are you doing up?" Charlie asked, eyeing Don.

"Couldn't sleep, I guess. And why are you up?"

"Same. And the headache." Charlie answered with a sigh.

"Maybe in a few we can both get some sleep?" Don suggested.

"Maybe."

Don bent down, so that he was eye level with his brother, "Buddy? What's the matter?"

"Dunno."

Don thought this through. A lot had happened to his brother, and Charlie had been traumatized by it. Not to mention Charlie had those mood swings due to him being bipolar. "Charlie?" Charlie looked up, his eyes brown eyes wide with a sense of pain, "How are you feeling?"

"Depressed."

Don sighed, "I bet. But it'll be better, I promise." He stood up, "Let's go to bed."

Don helped his brother up and got him put into bed. "I'll see you in the morning." Don said simply, "Because you're going to sleep in your room tonight? Right?"

"Sure." Charlie answered, turning over in his bed.

Don nodded, assured that Charlie would sleep in his bed tonight. Then he went to sleep in his bed.

Don woke up around six in the morning. He was glad that he had slept through-out the night without Charlie coming into his room. But he needed to check on his brother, just to make sure that everything was alright.

Don's thoughts were getting the best of him. Charlie didn't come into my room last night. I expected him to come in, scared. And he was acting depressed last night before I put him in his room to sleep. I had given him some aspirin! What if that had some strange effects with the other medication he's on? Oh, God. What if ...

Don hurried to his brother's room. It was quiet inside, but that didn't help his thoughts any. He threw the door open and saw an empty bed, "Charlie?!" He looked around the room frantically. "Charlie?! Answer me right now!" He listened as he saw no sign of his brother.

But then he heard a slight whimper, "Charlie?" Don followed the noise, like someone or something was moving. He opened the door to the closet and found Charlie laying among his clothes. He bent down to his brother, "Hey, Buddy? You alright?"

Charlie nodded shakily. "Think so."

Don waited, expecting Charlie to come out, but when he didn't, Don got more worried, "Why don't you come out here?"

"Don't really want to." Charlie's voice soft and quiet.

Don nodded and sighed, "Alright." So his brother felt safe in the closet, alright. That's fine. "Why are you in the closet?"

"Because he can't get Charlie in here." He replied, monotone.

Don swallowed, "Charlie?"

"Charlie's not here right now. Please go away."

"Buddy, I'm not going away." Don said, forcefully.

"Charlie is lost and can't be found." Tears filled his eyes, "Charlie wants his brother, Don, to find him, but Charlie doesn't know if he can be discovered."

Don took a quick intake of breath, "Charlie wants Don to find him?"

Charlie nodded.

"Well, Don wants to find Charlie. Can you help me find him?"

Charlie shook his head quickly, "Charlie's gone and he needs help. Charlie can't get help, please help him."

"I'm trying to help him. Can you get a message to him from me?"

"M-Maybe."

"Tell Charlie that I, Don - his brother, wants him to come back. And that I have faith that he will come back." Don was scared. What if he couldn't get across to his brother. He had acted sort of normal last night.

"Can't tell Charlie. Can't find Charlie. He's gone, Don. He's lost and afraid."

Don sighed, he needed to get Charlie back. "Listen, Buddy. You are Charlie ..."

"No. Charlie's not here right now." Charlie said, "Charlie is away."

Don cursed. "You are Charlie. You are my little brother, Charles Edward Eppes!"

"No. Charles Edward Eppes is not here!"

Don growled and grabbed Charlie, losing his temper, "You are Charlie!"

"Don, you're hurting Charlie!"

Don tightened his grip, getting an idea, "Yes. I am hurting Charlie. And you feel it too, right?"

"Y-Yes." Tears flowed from the young man's eyes.

"Yes. That's right, Buddy." Don calmed his voice down, "That's right. Because you are Charlie."

"B-But Charlie's not h-here!" He sobbed.

"But Charlie feels the pain right?" Charlie nodded and Don continued, "So, is he coming back? To tell me to stop the pain?"

"M-Maybe. Don't kn-know."

"He is coming. I know he is. He is coming because he doesn't want to be lost anymore." Don stated, "And soon you will realize that you are Charlie."

"B-But ..." Charlie protested.

"No, Buts." Don said forcefully, "You are Charlie!" He tightened his grip again.

Charlie squirmed under the hold, "... D-Don't kn-know!"

"What don't you know?"

"I. I don't know!" He sobbed. "Donnie, you're hurting me!"

Don let go. Charlie had stopped talking in third person. "Buddy? Charlie?"

A sharp intake of breath, "Don. I ... I don't know."

"What don't you know?" His voice was soft.

Charlie looked up, his eyes caught Don's. The look in his eyes sent chills down Don's back. "I don't know what had happened."

"It's alright, Buddy."

"No, Don." Charlie's anger flaring, "It's not alright! I couldn't control myself or what I said. I haven't been able to in a long time! I couldn't control myself in that basement - lack of medications and the pain. Oh, Don, the pain. I couldn't control it! Then in the hospital everyone is taking care of me, can't control that. Come home and what do I do? I freak out and start acting like a child! Why, Don? Why did I start acting like a child?" Don opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Charlie kept going, "Then I woke up from the session with Dr. Roland and it's like I'm not there! I was detached, unable to control myself! Go and hide in the closet, unable to help myself!"

"Charlie, calm down." Don said, "Just breath in and out. When you calm down we'll get you downstairs and we can give you something to help you."

Charlie nodded slightly, calming himself down. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's alright, Buddy. Not your fault."

"Yeah." Charlie sighed, "Another thing I can't control by myself - my mind."

Charlie raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"I am sorry to be the one to tell you this Charles. But she did ask me to tell you."

Charlie blinked, "So, you're saying that Amita doesn't even respect me enough to tell me herself?"

Larry opened his mouth, unsure on how to answer that, "I think it's just because of how close you two once were ... maybe she thought it would be uncomfortable to tell you?"

Charlie sighed, "But we didn't really do anything. It just kept blowing up in our face. She doesn't really have much of a reason for not telling me herself. Through email or phone even."

"She did tell me over the phone."

"I know. But she should have done the same for me." Charlie ran his hand through his hair.

"But she told me to tell you that you are invited to it." Larry said, quietly.

Charlie scoffed, "What? She thinks that it would be strange to tell me - over the phone, that she is getting married but I can come to their wedding?"

"Apparently so."

Charlie shook his head. "Yeah. My life just gets better by the second." Charlie said sarcastically.

Larry shot a glare at his friend, "You will not talk like that. You just need to be upbeat about it all."

In a fake happy voice, he replied, "Yeah. My life just gets better by the second."

"Charles. That is not amusing."

"Sorry." Charlie whispered.

"It's alright, Charles. I can understand the way you are feeling. It is only natural that you would be angry."

Charlie sighed and closed his eyes. His hand went up to his temple and he started to massage it.

"Charles?" Larry asked, worried.

"Just a headache, Larry." Charlie answered, opening his eyes with a quick smile, he added, "Nothing to get worried about."

"I shall go and fetch you some aspirin." Larry got up and started to make his way to the medicine cabinet.

"Larry?" Don asked as Larry wondered around the room, seemingly lost.

"Donald." Larry addressed him, "Where do you keep your aspirin?"

Don got up, "Over this way ..." He lead Larry to their medicine cabinet and handed Larry the bottle, "Why?"

"Charles has a headache." Larry answered simply.

Don's stomach fell. Does he still have a headache? Or is it a different one? Don followed Larry to were Charlie sat with his eyes closed. "Charlie?" Don asked as Larry got out some aspirin from the bottle.

Charlie opened his eyes and looked at the both of them, "What?" His tone on edge.

"How often have you been getting these headaches?" Don asked, worried.

Charlie shrugged, on the defense as he swallowed the aspirin that Larry had given him.

"Charlie." Don's tone hard, "How long have you been getting these headaches?"

Charlie sighed, giving into Don's question, "Since it returned."

Larry's eyebrows stitched together, "Since what returned?"

Charlie lifted hid hand to the back of his head, "This."

Don walked around and felt the back of his brother's head, just to pull his hand back right away. "That is some bump you have on your head, Buddy." Don tried to make his voice even.

"I believe you used the word 'returned'?" Larry asked, as he too, felt the bump.

Charlie nodded, then he closed his eyes tight. "God, I need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Moving."

"Why?"

"It makes me dizzy." Charlie said as he felt himself being pushed down deeper into the chair when he had tried to get up.

Don cursed to himself. "Tell me about the bump."

Charlie opened his eyes and sighed, "It's the reason why I was in the hospital so long."

"I'm sorry, Charles. But I don't understand." Larry said.

Charlie licked his lips before continuing, "I would have been released a few days earlier except that I still had the bump on my head. I-I kept having problems with it. Headaches, dizziness, nausea ..."

"But those are not any real reasons to keep you." Don said, "Heck, sounds like you just had a concussion. They've seen me home before with one of those."

"Yeah," Charlie sighed, "Except that it was still there, that I still had the symptoms of a concussion."

"I still don't ..."

"Donald." Larry said, facing the agent, "Those symptoms should have departed by the time he got to the hospital. Because ..." He turned to Charlie, "And I am only assuming here, so if I am wrong, feel free to correct me." He turned back to Don, "Because Charles had been hit on the head a while before he went to the hospital. Then when it kept showing the symptoms - they thought that maybe something was wrong." Back to Charlie, "Am I correct?"

"More or less."

Don sighed. Larry was right. He stood up, "Well, we've got to get to the hospital right away, then."

Charlie looked up at Don with eyes that seemed to say, What? Are you crazy?, "No. I will not go back there. There isn't any need for me to go to the hospital."

"But there is a need. They wouldn't have let you out as long as it was there and now that it came back ..."

"No. I will not go." Charlie said forcefully. "I've got enough things going wrong in my life that I don't need go back there!" He stood up to try and make his point better, but when he did ... he fell back into the chair unconscious.

"Charlie!" Don yelled, rushing over to his brother.

Larry ran up to the two brothers, "Shall I get my car started so that we can take him to the hospital?"

Don nodded, trying to wake Charlie.

Don ended up carrying him to Larry's car and putting him in the back seat while Larry drove to the hospital.

About half way there, Charlie sat up, breathing deeply, eyes wide. "What's going on?!"
"We are taking you to the hospital, buddy." Don said, trying to calm his brother down, pushing him back into a laying position.

"Turn around!" Charlie cried out, "Turn around now!"

"You need to get this checked out!"

"I do not! I'm fine!"

"Shit, Charlie! You are not fine!" Don yelled, "You stood up and passed out! That is not fine!"

"I'm sorry, Charles," Larry said as he made a left turn, "But I am inclined to side with Donald."

Charlie struggled against Don, "No! No! No! Turn around!"

"Keep driving, Larry." Don said, keeping Charlie down as best he could. "Charlie, I will drag you into the hospital kicking and screaming if I have too! Will I have too?"

Charlie strived to break his brother's grasp, "I don't want to or need to go to the hospital! What I need and want is to go home!"

"Charlie, you need to calm down and stop trying to get loose," Don advised Charlie, "Or you will pass out again."

And just as he said those words, Charlie suddenly went limp, eyes closed.
He had indeed, passed out again.