A/N: Thanks again for sticking with me. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to review the story!

And, as always, thank you to the wonderful starfishyeti!

The stalker

by elessar73

*** 26. chapter : Watch out for your brother! ***

Mary got out of the cab in front of UCLA Medical Center. Since she´d had to give up her own car - it was to easy to trace now, that the police knew about her - she had to take a bus or cab to reach the hospital. She strolled towards the main entrance glancing around. But she saw nothing suspicious; no black cars at the curb or men in black suits controlling the entrance. Mary sighed in relief.

The glass doors slid open and she stepped into the hall. She dived into the mass of people there and became invisible. She was just another woman visiting a friend or family member. The young woman was dressed in a black sport-suit. A ball cap covered her blond hair that she´d pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her backpack that was stuffed with all her cash and at the bottom, underneath a change of clothes, her hunting knife and other items she could need, hung loosely over her shoulder. Nobody noticed her, nobody looked at her, nobody would even remember her.

Mary held her head slightly bent as she looked around searching for the elevators. She took a ride up to the third floor. Just to be safe she would use the stairs up to the fourth floor. She had no intention of running straight into an agent or an Eppes family member when she stepped out of the elevator.
She found the stairwell and climbed the few steps up to the next floor. Cautiously she opened the door and peered along the gait, but she saw nothing that caught her attention. A few nurses ran down the floor disappearing into the rooms with food trays in their hands, but nothing else. So she stepped out and looked around for room number 476. On her way she had to pass the waiting area. She stopped by the door and peered inside.

Mary noticed four people standing in a circle near the window. One of the men was Fleinhardt; her heart skipped a beat in anticipation. She was on the right track. Mary strained her ears to get some more information but she only caught some phrases. She heard Charlie's name a few times but nothing more. She didn't dare step closer, she needed to be cautious.
She took in a deep breath and walked past the door, nobody noticed her. Mary's steps became lighter the closer she came to her target. Her mind replayed the scene she had planned for Charlie.
Mary was preoccupied with her imagination and wasn´t paying attention to her surroundings so when she turned around a corner she slammed full speed into a man walking down the corridor with his head bent. Mary's body tensed. 'Oh my God,' She took a quick sidestep away from the man. She peered in his direction and recognized him as Don Eppes, Charlie's brother. She had seen the two brother´s so often together, had seen them interact, had felt all the love and trust they shared. She almost knew Don as well as Charlie. However her heart stopped and Mary held her breath, but to her great relief Don didn't notice her. He just lifted his head slightly, not even looking in her direction, and mumbled a short 'sorry' before he continued his way.

Mary watched stunned as the man turned around the corner. She let out the breath she was holding and thanked the god above. 'That was damned close.' She looked to the left and to the right searching for some kind of surveillance team but didn't see any. "Arrogant Eppes thinks he can keep his brother safe and doesn't even notice the threat when it runs into him.' Mary giggled a little shaking her head in disbelief. '470,472,474, 'she silently counted the doors as she went down the floor, the next door must be Charlie's. Slowly she crept towards the door. She pressed her ear on the door and to her distress she heard voices.

She swore when she thought that her luck had left her and turned around looking out for a hiding place. It could have been so perfect; she could have slipped into the room and removed Eppes from the world. But she had to wait till he was alone.
A smile spread across her face when she found a lumber-room right across from Charlie's room. The young woman was back in luck. Mary tried the doorknob and sighed in relief when it turned. She peered along the corridor; at the far end a nurse stepped out of a room but didn't look in her direction. Mary pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

After a while her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she took a look around. She was in a small room, maybe nine square meters. It didn't have a window and the air was sticky and hot. Mary felt sweat break out on her forehead and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. All around the walls several sets of shelves were fastened; piles of towels, bed linen and overalls stacked on them. Mary just hoped that nobody stepped in or even worse, locked the door. But since her luck had served her well up till now she was optimistic that it would hold on a little longer. She took position behind the door leaning her head against it and waited for the time to pass.

...

Don had left Charlie's room reluctantly. Charlie looked so fragile and Don just wanted to be near him. He'd sighed observing Alan holding Charlie's hand tight. Alan would take good care of his son while Don was on the hunt, determind to discover and eliminate the threat against his brother. Lost in his thoughts and his head bent Don had run down the hall. He hadn´t seen the woman approaching him until they'd crashed together. But even then, he didn't bother to look directly at her. He'd just glanced at her out of the corner of his eye - a woman with blond hair dressed in a black suit and ball cap. She seemed to be okay so he'd just apologized and hurried on.

Don was on his way to find Larry and then check with his agents. But before Don could face them he needed to comprehend for himself what had happened. He leaned against the wall and let his head drop to his chest.

'Charlie had been the victim of three assaults and each time he´d failed to protect him. Deep inside Don had known each time that Charlie had been in danger but he hadn't paid enough attention, hadn't seen the signs and Charlie had paid the price.'

Don slammed a fist into the wall in frustration. He howled in pain when flesh and cement collided. Tears sprung into his eyes and he pressed the hurting hand protectively against his chest.

"Shit, shit, shit," he muttered, shaking his head. The agent startled out of his misery when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Mr. Eppes are you okay?"

Don raised his head and looked into the eyes of Dr. Osbourne. The agent felt embarrassed for losing his temper and felt his cheeks flush.

"I'm okay," he declared in short words.

But the doctor wasn't convinced. "Show me your hand." The physician grabbed the hand and held it tight while Don tried to drag it away.

"I'm fine."

"Whatever," the doctor shrugged his shoulders and finally gave in. "Actually I'm on my way to see Charlie."

That was enough to set Don on high alert." What is it?" Don turned concerned eyes onto the doctor.

"We got the first results and it looks like Charlie wasn't poisoned."

Don's mouth dropped open. "B-but," he stammered.

Dr. Osbourne rubbed the agent's arm soothingly. " There was nothing in his blood despite traces of his painkillers and a laxative."

"What?" Don shook his head.

"Yeah, that was exactly my reaction, so we ran a second test to confirm it. We'll see clearer when the forensic results come in, but given the data we have, Charlie suffered from a cross-reaction from the medicatation."

"He's woken up," Don managed to throw in still taken aback.

The doctor smiled. "That's a good sign. We'll change his treatment and I guess your brother will be better soon."

A wave of relief swept through Don's body. He wouldn't lose his brother. He had a new chance to protect him and he would use it.

"Thanks so much, Doctor."

"You're welcome," Dr. Osbourne frowned. "But you should get your hand checked out."

"No, no," Don clenched his hand into a fist as a demonstration, "it's okay, just some bruises."

Though the doctor had realized that Don had made a wry face he let him go. "Your decision agent."

"Thanks." A wave of relief and joy swept through his body; Charlie would be fine.

Now he was ready to face his team and re-join the hunt.

TBC