See Chapter 1 for disclaimer

A/N: So here's the next chapter.

Chapter 6

It was almost an hour before Dr Weston came into the waiting room again. Don had moved with Amita to a move comfortable couch and she was now sleeping in his arms. David and Colby were still there also. As Dr Weston sat down next the Alan, Don gently woke Amita to hear what the doctor had to say.

Dr Weston smiled reassuringly. "Charlie is out of surgery and we're hoping for a full recovery. The shoulder injury was very serious and he lost a lot of blood, which we've been replacing. He also has some broken ribs caused by the tree branch. Luckily there were no other mayor injuries, just some bruises and cuts and a seatbelt burn on his neck."

They'd all been listening intently as Dr Weston spoke. Now there was relief on every face. Alan spoke for them all, "Thank you Dr Weston. That's good news. When can we see Charlie?"

Charlie will be moved from recovery into a room in a little while. I'll have a nurse come and get you when he's settled."

Suddenly looking more serious the doctor continued, "Larry Fleinhardt was not quite so lucky. While he wasn't hit by any of the branches, he does have a very severe head injury. If the bullet had been a little more to the right it would've entered his skull and he'd be dead. Hitting his head on the window has added to the trauma caused to his brain. We've released the pressure that was building up by drilling a burr hole. He's now in an induced coma to try and prevent any further damage. I can't say how long we'll keep him this way, as we need to monitor the swelling in his brain. If all goes well during the next 48 hours, we'll slowly start to wake him up. I have to warn you, we're not sure at this point whether he'll wake up at all."

The relief on everyone's faces had now turned to shock. "When he wakes up, and I believe he will. Do you think there'll be brain damage?" Alan asked, acting as spokesperson for the group again.

"We can't tell until he's conscious I'm afraid. He'll be in ICU for a while yet. You may see him, but only two at a time. With that Dr Weston got up to leave.

"Thank you Dr Weston." Alan said. He'd been so happy hearing the news about Charlie. Now he was stunned to learn the condition of his friend.

They all looked at each other. Finally Amita voiced what they were thinking. "There's no way Larry can have brain damage, or worse die. This can't be happening. Larry has to be okay. Charlie would never forgive himself." Tears were running down her face.

Don put his arms around Amita and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. "Amita, Larry is strong, he'll be fine you wait and see." He looked over Amita to his dad needing help to deal with this.

"Amita, come sit with me," Alan said coming over and turning Amita to him. He smiled at the relief on Don's face. Then he sat on the couch holding Amita and rubbing her back.

When the nurse came to take them to see Larry, Don allowed his dad to help Amita and hung back to talk to David and Colby. "Do we have the whole gang now, or do we need to place a guard outside Charlie's room?"

"We have the whole gang in custody," said David. "Charlie's safe now. One enforcer died at the scene, the other was taken to a different hospital in critical condition. I sent Nikki and Liz to look after things."

Don ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Good. I didn't want to ask you in front of my dad. I think he's been through enough tonight. If I can get Amita to leave after they bring Charlie up to the room, will you take her home for me? I don't think dad will be leaving any time soon and I don't want to leave either."

"Sure Don, we'll take her home." Colby replied. "Do you want us to stay with her, I'm not sure we should leave her alone."

"Let me call Robin and see if she'll meet you at Charlie's and stay with Amita." Don said taking out his cell phone.

By now they'd reached a waiting room not far from ICU. Don saw Alan and Amita go in to see Larry, so he and his agents stayed in the waiting room. David and Colby sat down but Don went over to the window to call Robin. He explained what'd happened and asked if she'd go over to Charlie's and look after Amita. Robin said she'd be waiting at Charlie's when the others arrived. With a sigh of relief, Don went back over to David and Colby and sat down.

It wasn't long before Alan and Amita came into the waiting room. They looked grim, and Amita had been crying again. After helping Amita to a seat, Alan said, "Larry looks awful. His head is wrapped in bandages and there's a tube coming out of it. The nurse said it's to help drain fluid off his brain. I think you guy's should pass on visiting him. There's nothing you can do anyway."

A few minutes later the nurse came and told them they could now see Charlie, but again, only two at a time. Charlie's room was in another wing on the same floor. They all moved to a closer waiting room, Don told Alan and Amita to go in first.

Alan was worried about seeing Charlie after seeing the state Larry was in. But Charlie looked okay, although Alan knew there were other injuries he couldn't see. There were a few visible cuts and bruises. The seatbelt burn looked nasty, but otherwise he could have just been sleeping. An IV was hooked up replacing the blood he'd lost. Monitors were attached to him, and a plastic tube supplied oxygen to his nose.

Going over to the side of the bed, Alan and Amita both stood looking at Charlie. "He looks so peaceful," Amita whispered.

Looking at his youngest son, Alan tentatively reached out and brushed a few errant curls back from his forehead where he could see a bandage covering a cut.

Noticing a couple of chairs in the corner Alan moved one behind Amita, she was looking a little unsteady on her feet. As she sat down Amita took hold of Charlie's hand.

Getting another chair, Alan sat on the other side of the bed and stroked Charlie's hand. They sat this way for a few minutes until Alan realised that Don would want to see his brother. Looking across at Amita, he saw she was almost asleep. Going around the bed, he gently put his hand on her shoulder, "Amita, I think you should go home and rest for a while. Then you can come back and sit with Charlie some more."

Slowly standing up, Amita leaned against Alan, who led her from the room. When they arrived in the waiting room, Don immediately jumped to his feet. "Amita, David and Colby will take you to Charlie's. Robin's there and will stay with you while you rest. She'll also bring you back when you're ready."

"Thanks Don. I'm so tired I hope I can stay awake 'til we get there."

David and Colby took up positions on either side of Amita and helped her from the room. Alan could hear Colby as they walked down the hallway. "Don't worry Amita. If you fall asleep I'll carry you in."

Turning, Don followed Alan back to Charlie's room. Alan immediately went to the chair he'd used before. Don stood for a moment looking at his brother. He'd been dreading see Charlie after the scare he'd had in the ambulance. Slowly he walked to the bed, and as he sat in the chair Amita had used, he took Charlie's hand in his. It would be okay. Charlie looked better than he'd expected, and the doctor talked about a full recovery.

They sat this way, each holding a hand until Charlie started to stir. When he finally woke, they both smiled and Don said, "Welcome back buddy."

"Yes, don't ever scare me like that again Charlie. My poor old heart can't take it." Alan said in a teasing tone.

"Dad? Don?" Charlie said confused. Then his breath caught as he remembered why he was in hospital. Looking around Charlie asked, "How's Amita? Oh! Larry? How's Larry?"

"It's okay son. Amita's fine, although she's a little banged up. We made her go home for some much needed rest, but she'll be back later to see you.

Larry's not so good. He has a severe head injury from a bullet graze. The doctor's have placed him in an induced coma for now."

"No!" Charlie whispered. "Larry has to be all right. It's my fault. I'm the one they're after, Larry is hurt because of me."

"No Charlie, that's not true." Don needed to convince Charlie that this wasn't his fault. "Larry's hurt because those men chose to shoot at you and run your car off the road. Not because of anything you did."

"If I hadn't worked on the case, or if I'd stayed in LA like you wanted, this wouldn't have happened. So it's my fault Don."

"Charlie, if the computer tech hadn't given them your name, none of this would've happened, so it's really his fault." Don said with a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know if I believe that Don, but I'm too tired to think about it right now." Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Charlie slipped into sleep.

Looking at his dad, Don said, "Larry had better wake up or Charlie's going to blame himself for this forever."

"I know Don."

TBC

A/N: Of course there's no way I could kill Charlie, he's way too cute. Making Don think he's dead is so much fun though.