Another longer one. Be warned, there is some sappy male bonding in this chapter. A lot of it actually, if you include Don and Ian. It also shifts slightly into Don's POV for a paragraph or two. You'll see where. Don't let that confuse you; I just couldn't get the point I needed across any other way. If anyone has any suggestions to fix that, I'd be welcome to them.

Finally.

After days of coming up empty handed, Eppes and his team had found a solid lead on Crystal Hoyle's motives. Once Megan's interrogation of Lydia Campos had revealed Hoyle's apparent desire to locate ex-boyfriend and criminal Renaissance man Billy Rivers – and the background check into Pierce Brenner had identified him as another ex-boyfriend – the team had unanimously agreed that Hoyle was, as Reeves had put it, chasing an adolescent fantasy.

Finally, Ian had something that he could use to predict his targets' actions. Acting on that information, however, was going to be difficult at best with their current level of intel. So, once again throwing his standard procedure (and his pride) to the wind, Ian had pulled Don aside and asked him to take him to see his brother.

Don still seemed a bit uncomfortable after their confrontation earlier that day. Not that Ian could blame him. Though he still believed that his decision, with the information they'd had at the time, had been the more reasonable in regard to catching his killers, what was done was done. Ian rarely second-guessed his actions; it wasn't a healthy trait in this line of work. And he didn't think Eppes was the type to do so either. Now they were in the car together on their way to CalSci, and Ian felt the need to more permanently lay the issue to rest.

"Don, you know neither of us is really the type to talk about our feelings." That earned him a small smile and a soft chuckle of agreement. "But in case I've never made it clear, I want you to know that I respect you as an agent. And that's not something I would say about a lot of people."

Ian half expected to be taunted about getting soft, but the other agent wisely took the olive branch and ran with it. The subtle, unspoken understanding between them was, it seemed, still fully intact.

"Thanks, Ian. You're a hell of an agent too, ya know. And I don't just mean as a sniper. Or a tracker. Whatever you've seen, whatever you've... done. I think you've got a good head on your shoulders, and great instincts to match."

There were several implications in those few sentences that were left unspoken, but Ian didn't comment on them. He knew his reputation in the FBI wasn't all good; "infamous" was a rather accurate term, if he was honest. And he also knew that he had earned it.

"I meant what I said earlier," Don continued. "About the position you're in. I know I've been there. Had to deal with agents who just couldn't see past their own office. Hell, maybe I've been out of the game too long and I'm getting to be one of them."

"Nah. You're just used to looking out for your team. Nothin' wrong with that."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you're not only a part of that team. You're a friend. And that's not something I would say about a lot of people."

Ian looked at him, a mixture of surprise and understanding in his deep brown eyes. "I guess I can live with that, Eppes. As long as you don't start thinking you can give me orders."

Don laughed at that, and Ian smiled. "You still coming to dinner tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it, Eppes. Man's gotta eat, after all."

Don parked the car in the visitors lot, about a five minute walk from the building where Charlie's office was located. As they made the trip, Ian thought over their conversation in the car. Friend, huh? Not sure what to make of that one.

Even as far back as the L.A. Sniper case, Edgerton had recognized something rare in Special Agent Don Eppes that had fascinated him almost as much as his brother's voodoo. If he had to localize it, he would say it was Don's spirit. He was too closed off to admit it, but Ian could sense that Don shared at least some of his brother's idealism. Not in the same form; not in the naively innocent way that Charlie had of looking at the world. But it was there nonetheless.

Wonder how much longer that'll last... Ian chided his inner cynic for the thought. Both because he didn't want to think about Eppes being forced to compromise himself in that way, and because he didn't want to remember a certain time when he had. Nothing could have saved her. He shook his head, ever so slightly, to ward off those thoughts. Now was not the time for self-recrimination. They had killers to catch.

As the two agents approached the door to Charlie's office, Ian braced himself for what he might see this time. Wonder what kind of experiments they're doing today... Don reached for the handle, swinging the door open when he realized it was unlocked. And then, once again, the two of them stood in shock at what they found.

Thankfully, the Professor didn't appear to be in any immediate danger this time. Though Ian wasn't sure the mental image he was going to be stuck with was any better than the previous one. Charlie was sitting on the edge of his desk, arms wrapped around a young dark-haired woman, attempting what appeared to be a very awkward kiss. Ian smirked. Oh... that kind.

When he saw that Eppes was just standing there in horror-stricken fascination, Ian took it upon himself to clear his throat. The couple jumped apart, and Ian watched the Professor's eyes as they took in first his amused grin and then his brother's embarrassed gaze. He grinned a little more when Charlie's face turned the most lovely shade of crimson.

"Don!" Charlie yelped. "Uh, I didn't expect you to be stopping by so soon."

"Uh, don't worry about it, Chuck," Don replied, reverting to the nickname to hide his discomfort. "We got a break on the spree killer case. We were hoping you could..."

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Sure." He turned to the woman, who wisely took the hint and gave Charlie a brief goodbye and a squeeze on the hand before leaving the three of them alone. Definitely a recent development.

"Sorry," Charlie offered, still a bit flustered. "You said you had something?"

"We think Crystal's on some kind of payback kick," Don told his brother. "Living out a fantasy by erasing her mistakes."

"One of those mistakes," Ian continued, "is a guy she hooked up with. Billy Rivers."

"She already killed one ex-boyfriend, Pierce Brenner, and now she's looking for Rivers to finish the job."

"Okay," Charlie said slowly.

"Problem is," Ian said, "we can't find him."

"I mean, we've been through his known associates, his past hangouts. The guy's hiding. Ya know."

"And Hoyle and Winters are out there looking for him," Ian added quietly.

"So what do you think about, you know, like adjusting the pursuit curve for that?"

"Uh, for Hoyle chasing Rivers?"

"If we could find him fast, he'd be good bait," Ian explained.

The Professor considered that for a moment, consulting the equations he had scribbled on the board behind him. "You know, I've been running expressions assuming a dog chasing a cat. But it's actually more like a dog chasing a cat chasing a mouse."

Ian gave him an exasperated look. "I thought it was an airplane."

"Oh, dogs and cats work better now." Great, as if it's not enough of a pain in the ass to keep track of one analogy. "The cat has two sets of points affecting it now. The way she adjusts her angle of pursuit to overtake the mouse, and the strategy she employs to evade the dog. Obviously the dog's optimal strategy is to head for the mouse, and let the cat come to him."

"Then we don't have to know his location, right? Just where Hoyle's gonna be looking for him."

"Exactly," the Professor said excitedly as he turned to his chalkboard. "So if we adjust and weight values for Rivers's previous known locations - so old addresses and sites of arrest and such, eliminating places we know Hoyle has already searched, while using them to infer her decision patterns..." The Professor's explanation trailed off as he lost himself in his calculations.

Ian watched him with a sardonic smile. "Voodoo."

Don and Ian stepped aside to let the Professor work, conferring quietly to come up with a plan of attack for when Charlie got them a location. Another ten minutes passed, in absolute silence except for the slight clacking of chalk, before he informed the agents that these calculations were likely to take several hours and they shouldn't bother sticking around. Don't like an audience, eh, Professor?

As they prepared to leave, Ian couldn't resist sneaking up behind the enthralled mathematician with a rueful grin. The smaller man jumped as the sniper leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Word of advice, Professor. Next time, less tongue." Ian didn't wait for a reaction, just turned and strode out of the office with Charlie staring after him, face bright red and expression mortified.

The Eppes family's Craftsman home was almost exactly as Ian had pictured. From the outside, he could see that it was homey and well-kept. Even to Edgerton, who felt like he was about to step into the Twilight Zone, it had a certain appeal that made it very inviting.

"Guess Colby and David made it," Don said, noting the other car in the driveway. "I think Megan had plans with Larry."

"Fleinhardt?" Ian asked curiously. Don seemed surprised that his tone lacked any of the shock or instant condemnation he was sure that revelation normally elicited. Whatever floats your boat, Reeves. I'm not one to judge.

"Yeah. Weird, huh?"

"Unexpected maybe. But I assume they have their reasons." Ian paused for a moment, smiling. "Someone once told me that when love is real, it will find a way."

"You think that's true?"

"It was true for us," Ian said softly, almost wistfully, in a voice so full of raw emotion that Don wouldn't have believed it had come from Edgerton if he hadn't been looking at the man. Ian looked away, glancing around the exterior of the house, and tried to ignore the deep ache that had settled in his chest.

Don gave him a puzzled look, finding the idea of the quiet, stoic sniper falling in love to be even weirder than Larry and Megan. But since Ian didn't seem intent on elaborating, he let the subject drop.

Eppes led Ian into the front room of his family home, where they found Colby and David sitting on the couch watching a hockey game, beer bottles in hand, arguing over a play made by one of the teams. When they saw Don enter, followed by Edgerton, they stood to greet them.

"Hey, boss," Colby greeted Don. "Thanks again for inviting us. David was gonna make us get take out. Again."

David smiled as Don clapped Colby on the shoulder. "No problem. Been awhile since we had a guys' night, huh?" Ian stood a step behind Don, arms crossed over his chest to discourage anyone from physical attempts at male bonding. David had once pulled him in for a one-armed "bro hug" after a handshake, and Ian had avoided that particular gesture ever since.

Granger was either very oblivious or very determined, because he didn't even hesitate to come over and slap the sniper on the back. "Hey, Ian. Glad you could make it." And this is the same guy who was fidgeting just being in a room with me a few days ago. Now I know I've spent too much time with these people.

"Well, I heard the Eppes family had a somewhat negative image of me. Figured I'd show up and confirm how true it is." The three agents laughed heartily, not at all put off by Ian's dry and self-deprecating humor.

Eppes, still chuckling, beckoned for Ian to follow him into the kitchen. "Dad," he said to the older man chopping vegetables at the counter, "This is Agent Ian Edgerton." This time, as a sign of respect, Ian didn't hesitate to offer his hand immediately. The old man took it in a firm, friendly grip. His face was kind, but Ian noticed the tight smile and the slight wariness in his eyes as he greeted him.

"Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Eppes." Ian's soft voice was not only polite, but genuinely grateful. He may be rough around the edges, but he could also be a gentleman. And he had no wish to alienate Don and Charlie's father any more than his job and his reputation already had.

"My pleasure," he answered quickly. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name. The boys love to talk about you." Ian raised an eyebrow. He wasn't prone to embarrassment, but that particular revelation caught him so off guard that he was completely at a loss for what to say. He heard Don whisper a warning to his father, which the old man cheerfully ignored. "Besides, I'm told I owe you my thanks."

Ian looked at Don, but the other agent seemed just as confused as he was. "For what, Dad?"

"I'm not really sure. But I recall your old partner telling me something about Agent Edgerton being very helpful on that first case you worked together."

"Wait," Don said worriedly. "You mean Terry? The L.A. Sniper case?"

"Of course Terry. Who else would I mean?" The old man calmly returned to his cooking, unaware of the gravity of what he had just told them.

Ian and Don exchanged a long look. He knew that Don had always been deeply concerned not only for his brother's safety, but also about having his father worry over them. He'd heard him order his team and Charlie not to give their father details about something Don had allowed his brother to be involved in, and Ian guessed that nearly having their Sniper Zero blow Charlie's head off fell under "Things Not to Tell Dad."

"Well," Ian said. "Whatever help I've given your sons, Mr. Eppes, Don and his team have more than repaid me for on this case." Don gave him another surprised, but very appreciative, look. Yeah, Eppes. Believe it or not, I can be quite tactful when the situation calls for it.

"How long until dinner's ready, Dad?" As he asked, Don moved over to the fridge and pulled out two beers, handing one to Ian.

"Oh, should be another twenty minutes or so." Ian grimaced slightly. He may have played it off well, but Mr. Eppes made him uneasy. Despite his warm welcome and choice of company for the evening, Ian got the impression that the man was not completely comfortable with having armed federal agents hanging out in his peaceful family home. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing things because I expect to feel out of place.

They returned to the living room to find the other two agents still watching the hockey game. Eppes plopped down in the chair across from David, which left Edgerton with the choice of standing or taking the empty seat next to Granger on the couch. I wonder if he does that on purpose.

He chose to sit, taking large sips from his beer and hoping that the game would distract the others. For all appearances, he seemed pretty relaxed; he was leaned back against the cushions, legs spread, free hand resting on his thigh.

But a trained observer would be able to tell that Agent Ian Edgerton was never relaxed. He sat with his back straight, face blank, beer held in his left hand so his right was free to grab his gun if the need should arise. His eyes darted over to Granger, and he noticed the other former soldier's posture was pretty rigid despite his casual attitude. Old habits die hard. Especially when you've relied on them to keep you alive in combat.

When he looked at Eppes, Ian could see the evidence of his fatigue. He had slumped down further into his chair, putting his feet up on the table. The hand resting behind his head would occasionally comb through his short brown hair. His comments on the game, unlike David's and Colby's, were brief and seemed to take a lot of effort from him. Apparently Sinclair noticed this as well.

"Tough case, huh, Don?" David asked gently. Colby looked over as well.

"Tch, yeah. These spree killers, or whatever the hell you wanna call them... I don't know. Something about them just gets under your skin."

Ian snorted and raised his eyebrows in agreement. Nice to know it's not just me.

"We'll get em, Don," Colby reassured him. "As soon as Charlie finishes his hot zone, hot pocket algorithm thing." Don and David smiled and shook their heads at their friend's choice of words.

"Is that like the soap bubble tree algorithm thing?" Ian deadpanned. David and Colby grinned at him, while Don burst out laughing.

"You really liked that one, huh?" Eppes asked, amused.

Ian smirked. "We found McHugh, didn't we? Him and his damn voodoo."

"It's not 'voodoo,' Ian," Don lectured in mock seriousness, sounding eerily like his brother. "It's a graphing algorithm based on the seven bridges of Königsberg."

"Where the hell is Königsberg?" Colby asked.

"Pre-World War I Prussia."

"Yeah, Colby. Everyone knows that!" Colby shot his partner a look that made them all laugh even harder. Even Edgerton was smiling with them.

"I hope you boys aren't making fun of my son," Mr. Eppes said sternly, having made his way in from the kitchen and overheard the last bit of their conversation.

"Only because we all love him, Dad."

"Especially Ian," David joked.

Without missing a beat, the sniper quirked a brow and said, "He does make for a rather interesting dinner date."

Don and David, knowing he had taken Charlie out to dinner after catching McHugh, chortled at his joke while Colby choked on the healthy swig of beer he had just taken. He coughed lightly and his eyes watered. Ian, apparently in an unusually humorous mood tonight, reached over and patted him on the back.

"There, there, Granger," the sniper said. "No need to be jealous." Mr. Eppes rolled his eyes and smiled as the rest of them, Ian included, bellowed with laughter. Edgerton couldn't remember the last time he had truly laughed. He rarely allowed himself emotional outbursts of any kind, particularly in front of others. But sitting in Eppes's living room, sharing a beer and watching the game with the guys, he found that it didn't bother him one bit.

There must be something about this house. Some other kind of voodoo that makes everyone who comes in here feel like family.

Poor Colby. This must be how the jokes begin about him and Ian. I do reference a lot of later episodes in this fic, especially the season six episode Ultimatum. Because it's my favorite episode in the series. The fact that it's the only one that really focuses on Edgerton as a character probably has something to do with that.