A/N: Thank you to those that took the time to send me a review. I appreciate it.

This chapter took me a bit as it was being difficult. But I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Warning: A bit of language in this one. Having Billy Cooper show up was a last minute idea. He is such a great character that it was a shame he didn't show up more in the show. I needed a way for Don to start to piece together that something is going on. As always, see the disclaimer in the first paragraph. Hope you enjoy!

Charlie had come back to the hotel room later that evening and proceeded to take a shower and climb into his bed without so much as a glance in Don's direction. In the morning, Don was struggling to come up with the right words to smooth over what had transpired yesterday. "Knock 'em dead today Chuck."

Don cringed as the words came out, knowing how lame they sounded, and he didn't miss the fact that Charlie hadn't even bristled at being called "Chuck." The brothers headed out of their hotel room and to the main lobby. They then funneled through the lobby to the back of the hotel towards the freight elevator. Since none of the agencies were willing to meet on another agency's home turf, the one-day conference was being held in the hotel, for which Don was eternally grateful as he didn't want to step outside. The weather was supposed to be worse than yesterday. Don wasn't quite sure how he had survived the mugginess while he was in Quantico, or maybe it was just his age finally catching up with him.

Charlie and Don slowed down as they approached the beefy man standing in front of the elevator and dug out their ID's. The man let them on and hit the floor button. "Now, just try and listen a bit buddy, you may actually learn something. And maybe when it's your turn just get to the point quickly okay, these guys don't like being kept …"

"I think I know what I'm doing Don," snapped Charlie casting a sidelong glance at his brother. It was at that moment Don realized he had really fucked things up with Charlie. His brother was really sensitive and seemed to have internalized the comments that had been said yesterday. Before Don could say anything, the elevator doors opened and Charlie stepped purposefully off of the elevator and into the conference room leaving Don to trail behind.

Stepping into the room Don didn't miss the fact that it seemed to fall silent and all but a few heads had turned their way. 'Well that's odd' thought Don. It was just as likely that the alpha males in the room were sizing the newcomers up, but given Don's years of experience, something felt off. Being off of his home turf didn't help either. He was meant to be out chasing down perps, not sequestered in a hotel with looks like the next advertisement for men's wearhouse. The FBI and NSA were well represented, and it was likely that there were a few CIA guys in the mix as well. From the look of the boys in the corner, a few military contractors may be rounding out the group along with officers from the military intelligence divisions. "Should have brought Colby along" mused Don.

A roguish face suddenly caught Don's vision. "Billy" exclaimed Don as his old partner stood up to embrace him. "Last place I expected to find you."

"Yeah, well when I heard the Eppes brothers were in town how could I refuse?" quipped Billy with sly grin.

Both agents settled into chairs at the far end of the room, preferring to be at an angle where they could see everyone. "Director thought it wouldn't hurt to have a friendly face tag along, and I've been teaching a class at Quantico, didn't need to be told twice I could escape the students for a bit. Were we ever that dumb?"

"Yeah, I think we were." Suddenly shifting in his chair, Don turned toward the other agent and spoke in a lowered tone after picking up on something Billy had said. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why would we need another 'friendly' face.'"

"Oh come on Don, everyone had heard about Charlie's recent 'incident' shall we say. He hasn't made a lot of friends out here, burned a couple bridges too. A lot of people vouched for the boy wonder and they're a little pissed."

"Oh damn, I thought the Bureau was going to keep a tighter lid than this." Don ran his fingers through his hair. He suddenly wanted to sweep Charlie out of here. His concerns about Charlie's actions were starting to work their way into reality, and the people in here could eat Charlie alive.

"Really Don, you know better than that, it's worse that a sorority house around here. You really think people weren't going to find out?"

"Fuck" was all Don could manage. "Why would the director send us out here then huh?"

"He probably thought it was best to just get Charlie back out there, keep his credibility up, show the FBI is moving past it." Billy was trying to be helpful but could tell he was starting to loose Don. He could practically see the wheels turning in his former partners head.

"Listen man, if it helps, no one is saying anything about you that I've heard. But then again, I'd probably deck 'em and they know it. So not sure how reliable I can be. You need to be careful. You could always come back to Fugitive Recovery, get away from the younger brother a bit; nobody really gives a damn so long as you round up who you're sent after." Billy had a sly look on his face. It was no secret Billy would welcome Don back to Fugitive Recovery. They had made one hell of a team.

"I'm staying right put thank you very much. I couldn't do that to my family again."

"Hey, it's better than pulling an Edgerton and disappearing for months on end with no one having your back" Billy shot back.

"Yeah speaking of Edgerton, you heard anything from him? I've been trying to reach him. He stepped in a bit for Charlie and I probably owe him a beer for it. Nothing but static from the man."

It was Billy's turn to shift in his chair. "Not sure. I don't think he was sent off after anyone though."

"Why not?"

"There are rumors around campus. Apparently someone heard him tell the higher ups he needed time off for family reasons. Someone else said they caught sight of him at Walter Reed."

Don's jaw hit the floor. "Family, the man has family? Hell I'd always thought he just magically appeared out of nowhere one day. Colby will be so disappointed."

"Seriously though Don, something's not right. Everyone's a bit tense, just look around the room. I hate DC, can't wait to get out of here and just do my damn job."

Everyone started taking their seats. Charlie had found a spot on the other side of the room and Don could tell from his face that he hadn't missed out on the tension either. 'Shit this was going to be a long day' thought Don. But one final thought did put a smile to his face and he leaned into Billy before the conference started. "When the hell did you become such a gossip queen?"

Billy turned beet red. "Fuck off Don."