Is this a new chapter? It is!

Charlie's return to teaching went a bit slowly. He did small classes rather than large lectures for a long while. Not that it really mattered seeing as Sheila and Maria moved out of their neighborhood and got to see him almost every day.

Charlie had remembered Larry and Millie without any problem. Ian had nearly died laughing at the situation. Millie and Larry had been prepared with name tags and sticky notes should Charlie not remember them but Charlie had just rambled off about hating tuxedoes and space travel and they gave up.

"You're just too memorable," Ian had chuckled.

Ian had stayed a while, his paranoia over Charlie forgetting his house and personal history. After the checkup, his paranoia had gotten a little worse once he'd seen the scars. Given, he had nothing on Don or Alan but, at least he could file for time off to hover for a few weeks. Alan had fussed – not that he ever stopped really – until Charlie managed to prove that he could take care of himself. It helped that Ian promised to hover for a little while. It also helped that Walker would drop in on occasion to check in too; though he was a little more subtle about his visits. He did have his own job to worry about after all.

Colby and David had nixed the name tags and just learned to reintroduce themselves if Charlie gave them a blank look. Colby managed to get Charlie to memorize the Tech's names first, pointing out that Charlie tended to hang around them when the agents were out. Nikki and Liz tried to do the same but ended up having to make jokes about how Charlie's head only had room for numbers. They were a little frustrated to be honest, not completely okay with the confessions backed up by the scars and doctor's records.

Amita had avoided talking to Charlie for a while, ducking behind corners to avoid being seen and always asking if Charlie was going to be somewhere. Don and the others all thought she was being a bit childish on the matter but they all agreed that, if they were in her position, they'd probably do the same thing. After all, it was her almost husband who'd disappeared on them. She'd take it harder than most of them.

Charlie wrote a letter of condolence to Reynolds' parents, vouching that he'd thought their daughter was a great agent and that it was a shame she'd been lost so soon. Ian had laughed at him for the flowery language but hadn't made him revise it.

Penfield helped Charlie ease back into teaching, the two of them starting up a whole new edge to their little rivalry. Charlie now thought Penfield was being too careful with him which left Penfield stammering about Charlie's disappearing act. Ian and Don found the entire situation hilarious, to say the least. Partly because Penfield's stammering was comical and Charlie would turn bright red when he yelled at Marshall for get over himself.

By the end though, Charlie had most of his memory back by the following spring and remained by his brother's side as a consultant. Given, No one let him just drive off alone in the middle of the night. Not even himself. No one talked about the scars hidden under his clothes. No one wanted to know because they all knew Charlie had tried to hold out on the information. Besides, if Charlie remembered any of what had happened to him while in Jed Cornel's hospitality, the only people who wanted to know were Don and Alan.

So, the family had a few more little secrets. Secrets that their friends were privy to but not always completely in on. Not that anyone minded.

Alan's cooking always tasted good. Don was still a good leader. Charlie was still one of them.

It was all they wanted.

Reviews welcome.