A/N: Thank you so much for your continued support. You are all awesome!

A huge thank you to starfishyeti for betaing my story.

The stalker

by elessar73

*** 25. chapter : Hospital story ***

'Losers never win!'

Mary slammed her hands against her head wanting her mother's voice deep inside her mind to stop. She needed silence, she had to think. 'Why has everything fallen apart again? Everything was just perfect and now it was all screwed up.'

Mary paced through her motel room. The young woman had found a cheap and decrepit spot in East L.A. where nobody asked any questions. Here she was safe; at least for a while. That was all the needed, a few hours to get her thoughts straight, before she could move on. 'I'll leave L.A. and find a new man. A man I can love and adore. Someone who'll love me just the way I am. I don't need Charles Eppes'. Mary squeezed her green eyes tight. 'Professor Eppes my greatest failure.' But she would correct that mistake. She would strike him out of her life, out of the world.

Mary twisted her hands nervously and finally dropped to the bed. The frame wobbled under her weight and the mattress was so worn out that she nearly sank into it. The shabby sheets felt damp and greasy under her touch and she shuddered by the thought of lying down on them. But when tiredness washed over her she fell onto her side no longer thinking about dirty laundry. She was fast asleep the moment she hit the pillow.

Mary's sleep was dreamless and relaxing. After a few hours she woke up, a clear idea of what to do in her mind. She stretched her arms high above her head and groaned loudly. The nap had cleared her mind and provided her with coherent thoughts. The young woman smiled coming up to a sitting position on the bed. 'Find out where Charlie has been taken and remove him from my life.' Suddenly everything was so easy, she knew what to do. Mary searched the room for a telephone. Her still weary eyes scanned the surroundings. The small room was painted in a light yellow color. On the floor she found dark marks, maybe footprints. The few items of furniture like the bed and chest of drawers were old and damaged. The small table standing under the only window of the room was covered with dust and the two chairs didn't look trustworthy. The room was a nasty mess. She shook her head and wondered how far she had dropped. She rotated her head to the opposite wall and saw the telephone standing on the chest of drawers.

Mary closed her eyes again. In her mind she went over her plan, just a few calls and she would know where to find Eppes, easy. With a sigh she climbed out of the bed rolling her shoulders to banish the stiffness. The woman found the telephone directory as expected placed under the phone. She pressed the book tight to her chest inhaling the scent of old and often used paper. 'I'm so close no-one will be able to stop me.' Slowly she slid down the wall. She crossed her legs and laid the book down on them. Her hands were shaking when she opened the book. Mary clenched them into fists to control the trembling. After a while she was back in control. She held her hands in front of her face, they were totally steady. Mary was ready. A satisfied grin formed on her face turning it into a mask of hate and insanity. She turned over the leaves of the phone book till she found she page listing all hospitals in the L.A. area. She sighed in frustration when she realized the mass of hospitals she had to work through. She had never expected so many. So she had no better idea, so she decided to call the hospitals by turn.

She dialed the first number and waited for someone to answer the phone, then she presented her studied sentence in a monotone voice. As time went by and the answer still was ' No, sorry, there's no Charles Eppes here.' Mary became impatient. Maybe the idea wasn't as good as she had thought. She checked her watch. She had been on the phone for over an hour. The telephone bill would be enormous, but that was the smallest of Mary's problems. When she had found Charlie she would leave without bothering to pay.

'Yeah, when I've found him.' The young woman sighed. Her neck was hurting, she couldn't feel her legs anymore and the numbers were beginning to dance in front of her eyes. She allowed herself a moment of rest. Mary closed her eyes and stretched the legs out in front of her. She moaned a little when the blood rushed back through her legs sending a tickle up and down the limbs. Sighing, she took up the phone again and pressed the receiver to her ear. Mary peered at the numbers and dialed.

"UCLA Medical Center," a young female voice answered the call.

Immediately Mary turned into a concerned sibling. She made her voice tremble in anguish when she asked. "H-hi, I'm Mary Eppes and I'm searching for my brother Charles Eppes. I had a message in my mail-box that he had collapsed." Mary took in a deep breath to underline her nervousness. "But nobody told me where he was taken. C-can you help me?"

The young woman on the line seemed to blindly believe her. Mary congratulated herself on her performance.

"One moment," the woman soothed her. "I'll check the data."

Mary heard her typing on a keyboard.

"Here it is." Mary closed her eyes and bit her lips for not laughing out loud by that announcement. "Mr. Eppes is here. But I have no further information concerning his condition. I'm sorry." The young woman sounded sorry.

Mary kept her good manners. She sighed. "Oh that's not a problem. I'm so happy that I found him. Maybe you can give me the station and his room number?"

"Yeah, yeah sure. He's on station 4, internal medicine, room number 476."

"Thank you so much." Mary couldn't believe her luck. After a short good bye the two women hung up.

'I've got you!'

...

Don and Alan quietly opened the door to Charlie's room. And even though Dr. Osbourne had prepared them the view of Charlie lying unconscious in a much too big hospital bed hit them hard. Charlie's skin was pale, almost transparent, despite a slight flush on his cheeks produced by fever. The thin face was covered with sweat and his dark curls stuck to his forehead. On the right beside Charlie's bed stood the IV-stand. A heart monitor recorded Charlie's heartbeat and sent a constant beep through the room.

Alan had an uneasy feeling. He was afraid to get closer to his son. How Charlie looked scared him; seeing his son totally motionless was the most disturbing image Alan could think of. Don held his breath when he stepped further into the room dragging his father with him. He felt Alan's dislike of the situation and hesitated a moment. He locked eyes with his father. Alan closed his eyes briefly but then gave in and let Don lead him to his younger son.

The moment Alan reached Charlie all his dislike fled, but his fear remained.

"Hey kiddo, please wake up. Don and I are here. Everything's fine now." Alan caressed Charlie's forehead.

Don stayed behind his father and listened to the soothing words hoping to find some comfort for himself. He hoped that Alan was right, that their presence alone would be enough to make Charlie wake up. Don went to the other side of Charlie's bed and took his brother's hand in his, carefully so that he avoided the needle.

"He really feels hot," Don pronounced. "I´ll go get a washcloth."

Alan nodded without letting Charlie out of his sight.

Don returned with a wet cloth and began to wet Charlie's hot face. The coldness brought unexpected effects. Charlie stirred and moaned softly. Frightened, Don dropped the cloth and stepped back. He shared an anxious look with Alan. Charlie wasn't supposed to be waking up. But the genius never did what was expected from him. Charlie opened his eyes to small slits.

"Hey Buddy," Don couldn't hold on any longer.

Charlie turned his head slowly toward the source of the sound. He tried to focus on the person standing beside him but his vision was blurry and he felt dizzy in his head. His stomach was burning like fire and his whole body seemed to be heavy and was pressed into the mattress. Charlie closed his eyes breathing through a wave of pain that surged through him.

"Charlie you still with me?" Don asked with concern.

"Yes," Charlie murmured softly.

Don relaxed a little but the pain in his brother's voice made him shiver. Alan stared with wide eyes at his son. He couldn't move and had no idea of what to say. He was happy just to see his little boy awake.

The silence became unbearable for Don, so he bent closer to his brother. "You're okay, can I get you anything ?" Don knew that this was a stupid question but he had to say something.

A faint smile appeared on Charlie's face. "I've been better."

Alan grinned a little. "I believe that son. You kind of scared us."

Charlie's face turned to concern, the smile was gone. "Sorry for that," he sighed. He felt tired. He just wanted to sleep but his family wouldn´t let him.

"No, that´s not what I meant, you have no reason to be sorry. You're the victim here." Alan couldn't believe it. Charlie was hurt and in a great amount of pain but he still felt responsible for what had happened. Alan caressed Charlie's face gently. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Charlie relaxed into his father´s soft touch. He couldn't stay awake any longer. Every part of his body screamed for sleep and he couldn't deny it any more.

Don realized Charlie's body was limp. "He's fallen back asleep."

"Yeah, maybe it's the best thing for him."

Don stepped away. "I'll go find the doctor. See what he says about Charlie waking up." He hesitated for a moment. "I need to inform the team and see what they´ve found out."

Alan nodded in agreement and reached over to grab the cloth to cool Charlie's face again.

Don hated to leave his brother right now. But he wanted to be a part of the investigation and as a matter-of-fact there wasn't much he could do for Charlie right now.

He would return as fast as possible. At the door he turned around once more, looking at his brother peacefully asleep.

'Hold tight, Buddy. I love you.'

TBC