A/N: My longest chapter yet! We finally get a bit of action with Ian in the picture, and in the next chapter we will find out what's got everyone so riled up. Thank you for hanging in. I know the first couple of chapters were a bit drawn out. As always, reviews are appreciated!

Don returned to the hotel room to find Charlie pacing back and forth, twirling a pencil in his hand, lost in his own mind. Charlie didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that Don had even entered the room. "Hey buddy," said Don quietly, not wanting to startle him.

Charlie's head snapped up at the sound of his brother's voice. "Well, did you find out anything?"

"The deputy director didn't say much Charlie. I don't think he could. Or he didn't want to. This seems to have something to do with Pakistan."

At the mention of Pakistan, Charlie became unglued. "Pakistan, PAKISTAN? Why the hell would Pakistan still be an issue? I sent information on crop production, I didn't send the nuclear launch codes!" Charlie's pacing increased and he was running his fingers through his hair, much like Don would do when he was stressed.

"I checked that information myself. It has no application to a weapon. I swear they would find a way to label the Pope a terrorist if it suited them."

Don put his hands up in front of his chest, trying to get his brother to calm down. "Charlie I know, buddy, the FBI cleared this, but I guess the CIA…"

"What does the CIA have to do with anything?"

"The CIA thinks that the information poses some sort of risk. That it could be used for a weapon."

"Don, you know me, do you really think I would risk sending information that was dangerous to Pakistan? I sent much needed research to Professors at a university. They are trying to keep their people from starving for crying out loud. What right did I have to hold onto that information? How is progress ever going to be made if we hold onto to knowledge we have? The CIA, and everyone else for that matter, is seeing only what they want to see in that research. They would jump at their own shadow because it was following them."

Charlie's face said it all. He desperately wanted Don to validate his actions. Even though Don had said he understood why Charlie sent the info, Don never expressed any approval of it. Don sat on the edge of the bed determined to choose his next words carefully.

"Yeah but Charlie, you're not a chemist or a biologist now are you? How can you be sure there wasn't a risk? Did you run the research by anyone else? Someone at CalSci that could confirm the information was useless to a weapon?"

"I didn't need to Don. Chemistry is basically math. I could see it for myself."

"Charlie" said Don shaking his head. "Come on now, by your own statement, couldn't you have just been seeing what you wanted to in that information? I mean, you wanted your colleague to be innocent. You wanted that information to help people. You didn't run the information by anyone else that specializes in bioweapons, or even biology or chemistry. So isn't it possible you made the research fit with what you wanted?"

Charlie was near tears at this point and hadn't stopped pacing. "I checked it Don, I checked it. I did what I thought was right okay?"

"Come here, come on." Don tried to get Charlie to stop wearing a hole in the carpet, he could see Charlie's breathing was labored and he was working himself into a state. When Charlie wouldn't stop Don stood up and grabbed his hand, forcing him to sit down on the bed. Don knelt down in front of him, holding onto both his hands. When Charlie wouldn't look at him he grasped his younger brother's face and turned it so Charlie was looking right at him. "Hey, it's going to be fine."

"What if I screwed up Don? They're clearly pissed about something."

"They are always pissed about something alright? We'll figure it out, and I think I know where to start."

"Really?" Charlie's breathing had started to calm and he grabbed onto his brothers wrists. "I need to know what's going on Don."

"I know Buddy, that's why I think we need to find Ian."

"Ian?"

"Something tells me he knows what's going on. Don't ask me how. I just have a gut feeling on this."

"But how are you going to find him? He's not the kind of man that can just be found if he doesn't want to be," said Charlie.

"I've got an idea on where to look but Charlie, but I want you to head home. Go back to Calsci for a bit okay? Let me handle this."

Charlie stood straight up looking panicked. "No way Don. Please."

Despite his urge to send Charlie back to Dad's immediately, Don nodded. "Okay, but you follow my lead. I mean it Charlie.

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In the morning Don and Charlie grabbed their bags and checked out of the hotel. Don had called for a rental the night before, right after calling David to let him know he was going to be delayed a day or two. Getting into the rental car, Don set his sights on Walter Reed, it was his only lead in tracking down Ian.

Don was regretting allowing Charlie to tag along. He had no idea what would happen when … if…he managed to track down the sniper. Ian clearly wasn't in the mood for small talk, and though Don wanted to think Ian would never deliberately pose a risk to either him of Charlie, he had no idea what they were walking into. And Don didn't care who you were, it was never a good idea to go pissing off one of the world's best snipers.

Pulling up to Walter Reed, Don took a minute to pull himself together. "I want you to stay in the car Charlie."

"But..."

"No buts, you said yesterday you would follow my lead and I need you to do that now okay. We don't even know if he's here."

"Fine."

Don stared at Charlie a bit longer, just to make his point before opening the car door and heading toward the hospital entrance. Walking in, Don made his way to the woman behind the visitor's desk.

"Can I help you hun?"

"Yes ma'am I'm looking for Ian Edgerton. He would be visiting a patient here."

"Are you family?"

"No" said Don pulling out his FBI badge. "I work with him though and it's very important that I speak with him."

Eyeing his badge, the woman set her sights on the visitor's log scrolling her finger along the list. "Looks like he should be in room 19. Third floor."

Don let out a breath he had been holding. He was here. "Thank you."

Passing several rooms filled with visitors and army personnel, Don took a minute to think about where he was. He never served, but he knew plenty that had. Including Colby and Ian. Seeing these men and women injured and recovering at Walter Reid felt like a punch in the gut. He knew how lucky it was that both men had survived the war relatively unscathed, but he knew there were wounds he likely couldn't see. He hadn't thought about it before, but Don had no idea who Ian was here to see or who that person could be to Ian.

Coming up to room 19, Don saw the door was open. Peering inside he caught no sight of Agent Edgerton. Instead, a single person lay in the bed, the beeping and humming of medical machines filled the room. Even though he hadn't given it much thought, Don was surprised by what he saw. A young woman, who looked to be barely in her 30's lay still in the bed, the ventilator was breathing for her. Multiple tubes were coming out of the slim body, hooked up to various drips and machines. Angry red lines blotted the woman's skin, and bandages crisscrossed her body. Don stepped further into the room, transfixed by what he saw. If he had given it any thought, he would have likely imagined Ian was visiting his doppelganger. Someone whose presence filled up a room and tall frame covered most of the bed. Not this, not this young woman who had clearly seen too much for someone so young.

"Eppes"

Don nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning toward the sound of the voice Don saw Ian leaning against the doorframe, cup of coffee in one hand.

"Dammit Edgerton, you have a way of sneaking up on a person."

"What are you doing here Eppes?" The normally impeccably groomed Agent looked more haggard that Don had ever seen him. Ian wasn't even looking at Don, his eyes never left the woman in the bed. Don knew Ian barely slept as is; a hazard of his position, but the man looked tired. However, even in this condition, Don knew he was as lethal as ever.

"I'd been trying to get ahold of you; Charlie and I were here for a conference. I thought we could hang out a bit but then I heard you may be here. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"That's nice" said Ian, his voice razor thin. "You sure it's not because the professor out there in the parking lot got himself in a bit of a mess?"

Don knew better than to play coy with Ian, and it didn't surprise him that he knew Charlie was here. Ian had a knack of knowing such things. But Ian's words confirmed to Don that he had the right idea coming here. Ian knew something. "A bit of both maybe."

Ian moved away from the doorframe and took a seat next to the bedside of the mystery woman. "Who is she Ian," asked Don softly. He stayed silent, waiting for Ian to say something.

Hunching forward in the chair, Ian placed his free hand over one of the woman's, his face filed with a pain that Don never expected to see cross this agent's face. "She's my niece."

Don couldn't breathe for a moment. "I…I had no idea Ian."

"Well, I'm not exactly the sharing type now am I Eppes?" Don leaned against the door frame, completely unsure of how to proceed.

"Head back to LA Eppes, take the professor and consider keeping a tighter leash on him will you" said Ian as though he were having a run of the mill conversation. Don would have preferred anger, malice, something to indicate to him what was going on, so Don bristled.

"I'm getting real tired of people telling me to go home Ian, you need to fill me in here."

Ian was on his feet before Don could even blink and was in his face. "What was that Don? What do I need to do?"

"Fill me in here Ian, come on man, maybe I could help."

A calm Ian was enough to scare the most hardened of suspects, and Don was now face to face with a seriously pissed off Agent Edgerton. Edgerton's next words came flying out of his mouth like one of his bullets. "That brother of yours has done enough. Honestly Eppes, did you really think the professor could just keep trailing along and nobody was going to get hurt. He almost got shot himself a few times, you should have ended it then. Put him back in that ivory tower and left him there. He's fucking brilliant but for all that genius rattling around in his brain, he hasn't got a lick of common sense. I don't have the time or the energy to waste on educating you on how your brother fucked up." Ian's open hand came up and hit the wall behind Don's head.

This sent a nurse running into the room. "That is enough! I will not have this here on my floor. Do you hear me?" Turning to Don the nurse put a hand on his chest pushing him toward the door. "You need to go."

Don backed out of the room and watched as Ian turned back toward his niece and fell into the chair beside her. Turning toward the hallway Don ran smack dab into Charlie. Don grabbed onto Charlie's arm and tried to steer him out of Edgerton's line of sight. "What the hell Charlie I told you to wait in the car" hissed Don.

"You were taking forever, you found him though. What did he say? Who was he with?"

Don stopped and placed Charlie along the far wall, away from the door to where Ian was. "It's his niece and we made a mistake coming here buddy, Come on, we'll figure this out another way but this is not the time or place."

"His niece" whispered Charlie. "Don, why is she here, what does she have to do with this?"

"I don't know Charlie," whispered Don, "but it's bad. She's a mess. And Ian wasn't happy to see me so let's go."

Charlie realized how serious Don was about getting out of the building and stopped with the questioning. He turned to follow his brother out of the hospital only to find himself grabbed from behind and pulled into a side room. Charlie was whirled around, his back pushed up against a locker, one hand on his chest, and he suddenly found himself face to face with the FBI's favorite sniper.