My Beautiful Doll
Warning: None. Another safe chapter. Unless you think having 4.000 words in one chapter needs it's own special warning.
A/N: Hey...Sorry for the long wait. This entire chapter ran away from me. It was supposed to be the usual 1.000 or even 2.000 word trip to the victim's sister's house, but Ian insisted he wanted to call his boyfriend. Then the thing with the kids got a bit out of hand. But hey! We get to see Don being his sweet self with kids AND have him sing (what can I say? I am a simple woman). Anyways, that's why this chapter grew into this 4.000 word monstrosity. I also needed all of this to be in one chapter, so that's why I didn't divide this. So, enjoy having this extra long chapter (or not, it's really up to you). Have a nice day!
"I think we should see Marie Stewart, Annalise's sister first," Don announced once he walked into the war room. The other agent looked up, surprised.
"Annalise…Is that the name of the newest victim?"
Don nodded. He placed the file on the table, near Baker so that he could read it. "Says here that Annalise has an older sister who she's close to. The neighbours also vouch for that, saying that it wasn't odd to see Marie's car in the driveway every week. If there's something going on in her life, her sister would be one of the first to know."
"How about a friend or her parents?".
Don shook his head. "She has a few friends, but none that she's extremely close to. She has a good relationship with her parents, but sometimes there are things that you just don't share with them. No, my money is on the sister."
Baker nodded in understanding, closing the file. "Alright then". Then he paused, his face a bit red as if he was embarrassed about what he'll say next. "Can…can I ride with you? It's my first time in LA and I'm a bit unfamiliar with the area. Figured it'd be faster to go with you."
Don was a bit puzzled. The request was nothing strange, but the other agent looked a bit uncomfortable. He probably doesn't want to be a nuisance Don mused. "No problem, just pack your bags and meet me in the parking lot downstairs". Then he walked out, stopping by his desk to grab his suit jacket and keys first before going to the elevator.
Once inside, he opened his phone, checking to see if he had any new messages. To his surprise, he had a few. A lot of them are from the group chat he has with his team. There, Megan and Colby are having a friendly competition on who has the best holiday by sending in pictures. Currently, the winner is Megan with the last picture being her hang gliding on a beach. Don chuckled to himself as he read, even when they're far they still manage to find some sort of competition to have between them. The next few were from his dad, asking if he was okay and if he was bored since Don had no work and was alone. Don winced, Well you don't have to worry about that Dad, being stir crazy is the least of my problems right now. The last text was from Ian. It just said one thing:
Call me.
That caused Don to raise an eyebrow. While it's not strange for Ian to send him one sentence messages, the bastard enjoyed being mysterious after all, that message was on a new level of vagueness. I'll call him later.
The elevator doors opened and Don stepped out. Looking around, he noticed that Baker wasn't there yet. Shrugging, he decided to call Ian now, just to find out what he wanted.
After three rings, a familiar voice spoke. "You saw my message."
"With an opening line like that, how can I not?" Don retorted. "So, what's up?"
"I heard that there's a serial killer in town."
Don internally swore. How the hell did he know?. "You're kidding. I haven't heard anything about that."
"Maybe it's because you're on break. I'm sure the entire FBI office is probably scrambling to hide this from you until they find an agent to assign this to. But I managed to find out from one of my sources. This information isn't out in the public just yet, but I'm sure it will be soon."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"It's better to be prepared for a fight that might not come than getting caught off guard. I'm just giving you a warning, just in case".
"Ian, there are hundreds of people in LA. The chances of me running across a serial killer while I'm off duty is highly unlikely. You can even ask Charlie for the numbers."
"Unlikely doesn't mean it's not going to happen. Charlie will also vouch for that. People still get murdered after all". Ian let out a small huff of laughter "Knowing your luck, you could accidentally stumble across a major drug smuggling operation when you take out the trash."
"Gee, thanks for the compliment" Don replied sarcastically. "You really know how to make a guy feel special, ya know?"
Ian laughed. "Only for you, Eppes". Then he paused for a moment, as if he was waiting for something. "Where are you? Sounds like you're in a parking lot with all the echo around"
"Uh yeah, I just finished some shopping. I had to replace the old moldy bread with something edible" he joked. "So, is that all?"
"How you managed to survive this long alone is beyond me sometimes. But yeah, that's all for now. Be careful alright? You're off duty right now. So don't try to run off and play hero, especially if you have no clue what you're up against."
"You're acting as if I don't know that already," Don scoffed.
Ian let out a snort of amusement. "You and I both know that knowing something and actually doing it are two different things. Or do I need to remind you of the fact that you're considered a regular in the nearby hospitals?".
"Okay, that was a low blow"
Ian snickered. "Just be careful and keep your head down until one of us is back in town. You need at least one person to keep you out of trouble". Aaaaand there it is. Don was wondering when the 'don't get into trouble until I'm back' line was. As if Don could put the dangers he sees on a daily basis on hold.
"Fine, I'll try to keep my head down. At least until there's someone here who I can give a headache to".
"Good. Now I gotta go. This fugitive is smarter than I expected. I love you."
Don smiled softly, "Love you too". Then the line went dead.
"Whose that?" a voice popped up from behind him.
Flinching in shock, Don turned around and saw agent Baker standing there, a curious expression on his face. "When did you get here?"
"Just a few seconds ago, enough to catch that little line you said at the end. So…are you going to answer me?"
Don could see that the other man was bursting with curiosity. But, he didn't really want to share that private aspect of his life, especially to a stranger. So instead he answered, "That was my Dad."
"Ah, I see," the other man smiled. "Must be nice, being close to your father."
"Yeah," Don replied. Seeing his car, he pressed the button on the remote. The car doors unlocked with a loud click. "It is". He got inside, turned on the ignition and dumped his suit jacket in the backseat. Once the other agent was inside, he drove out of the parking lot.
There were a few minutes of silence between them, which Don didn't mind too much. That meant that he could focus on the GPS. But then the other agent spoke up.
"You seemed really confident that the sister might know something. Are you speaking from experience?"
Don glanced briefly at the other agent, "Something tells me that you're not asking about my cases."
"What can I say? I'm just curious."
Don let out a small huff of laughter. "Right…". Looking around at the streets for any cars, he continued. "I'm guessing you've heard that I have a younger brother."
"Ah, the math professor, right?"
Don nodded. "Yeah. We were a bit closer as kids but then grew apart as we got older. But, even then, he still came to me first whenever there was something big in his life or whenever he had his doubts or problems. Didn't matter how big or small it was, he always called me about them. Sometimes he forgets about time differences and calls at ungodly hours…" Don trailed off, smiling softly, "But it never bothered me. Not when I knew he needed me".
"And how about you? Do you share things with him?"
Don instantly remembered the day he was shot during the charm school boys case. His knee jerk reaction to play the whole thing down. How looking at his brother slowly spiraling down because of what happened further solidified his need to keep everything to himself. He wasn't lying when he said that there are things you don't tell your parents. But sometimes, there are things you never tell anyone, no matter how close you are to them.
"It depends…" he answered vaguely.
"Ah, a man of mystery eh?" Baker joked.
"You could say that". He didn't need to get into detail about his life.
Probably sensing that Don was uncomfortable with the line of questioning, Baker changed the subject. Soon, the rest of the ride was filled with chatter, mostly on Baker's side with Don putting in his two cents every once in a while. It wasn't long before they reached their destination.
Stepping out of the car, he looked around. Don could tell that the family was well off. The house was large and modern looking. The neighbourhood it was situated in had similarly sized houses, all looking just as sleek and pristine. It was all a bit too clinical to him.
Baker let out an amazed whistle. "Did it say what her job is? Because I might just think about changing my career."
"Unless you're thinking about re-starting college to get a degree in neuroscience, I don't think it's going to work," Don replied, putting on his sunglasses.
Baker winced, "Nevermind then" he muttered before walking towards the house. Don compared the address on the building to the one he wrote down. Once he confirmed it was the same, he knocked. It wasn't long before a man in a knitted sweater opened the door.
"Hello, is Marie Stewart here?" Baker asked.
The man looked at them both, a confused expression on his face. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"
Both of them pulled out their badges. "I'm Special Agent Rick Baker. This is my partner Special Agent Don Eppes. We're with the FBI". Baker looked around, "May we come in?"
"Of course," The man said, still looking confused. "My name is Kent Stewart. I am Marie's husband. She should be with the kids right now".
The man led them to the living room. The place was just as sleek as the outside, but surprisingly not as clinical. There were clear signs of life inside, judging by the mess of toys, paper, and crayons on the floor. That along with a few odd pieces of furniture that didn't match with the rest of the house gives it more warmth than he previously expected.
"Sorry for the mess Agents. As you can see, the kids had quite the day today" the man said. "I'll go get her". Then he disappeared into the backyard. It wasn't long before he came back with a woman and two children in tow.
"Hello" she greeted. "I'm Marie. Kent told me that you were searching for me? Is there something wrong?". While Marie looked composed, Don could tell there were undercurrents of worry and uncertainty in her behaviour.
Don took a deep breath. He never liked doing this to families, but unfortunately, it's the nature of the job. "Ma'am, I am Don Eppes with the FBI. I'm sorry to say this…but your sister was found dead this morning."
Mrs. Stewart instantly collapsed into her husband, tears running down her face. Her husband looked at them in shock, as if he wasn't believing what he was hearing. The two children looked terrified, clutching onto their father's pant leg. Don decided to take a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it over to the sobbing woman. She looked at him, a grateful expression on her face. "Do you need time to process?" he asked, his tone soft.
She shook his head. "No, it's fine" she sniffed, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief. "How…how did she die?"
Don looked at the both of them, and then their children. "With all due respect, I don't think your kids should be hearing this."
"Oh right" she said, as if she had just remembered that her kids were in the room. Taking a deep breath, she leaned down. "Joseph, can you play with your sister in the other room? Mommy and Daddy need to have a grown up conversation with these nice policemen."
The older of the two, a boy with blonde hair looked at her sadly. "Is…is Aunty Anna gone?"
Now it was Mr. Stewart's who spoke up. "Yes sweetie. I'm afraid she's gone."
Both of the children started to cry, the younger girl clutching onto her brother for dear life. It reminded Don of him and Charlie at that age. Charlie used to cling to him for comfort, no matter what. A habit that surprisingly hasn't stopped completely, even today. Although Charlie is much more subtler in his attempts to get reassurance nowadays.
The parents tried to console them, but it seemed like the kids couldn't be consoled. So, Don decided to speak up. "You know, even though you can't physically see your aunt, doesn't mean she's not here". The kids slowly stopped crying, looking at him with wide eyes.
"Really?" The young girl asked.
Don crouched down in front of them, smiling softly. "Really". Don then paused, contemplating what he should say next. Dropping his tone to a fake whisper, he asked "Want to hear a secret?". The kids both nodded. "I lost someone close to me too."
"Who?" The boy now had a curious expression on his face, although he was still sniffling a little bit.
"I lost my own mommy a long time ago," he said. Upon looking at both of their saddened faces, he quickly continued. "But, I don't get as sad as I used to be everytime I think about her."
"How?" The girl mumbled.
"Well, whenever I miss her, I do something that we used to do together. When I do, it feels like she's here with me. So, what was something you liked to do together?".
The kids contemplated for a moment. Then the boy looked up at his mother. "Well…Aunt Anna used to sing to us. I wanna do that too, but Mommy and Daddy are bad at it".
"Joseph!" Mrs. Stewart scolded, looking embarrassed. Both the parents looked more composed now that they've had a chance to collect themselves.
Don was about to reassure them, but suddenly the girl launched herself at him, clutching his arm. "I know! Maybe Mr. Eppes can!" She grinned, looking at him with hope in her eyes.
The boy looked just as excited, now latching onto his other arm. "Can you? Can you?".
"I'm sorry kids, but Mr. Eppes has to do his work" Mr. Stewart said apologetically.
The two of them visibly deflated. Seeing this, Don sighed to himself. I hope I don't regret doing this. There was a reason why no one knew he could at least hold a tune. It was too personal. But, looking at the children, he couldn't bear to see them disappointed.
"It's fine Sir," Don looked up and smiled reassuringly. He turned his gaze back towards the kids, "It's been a while since I've sang. I'm not sure if I'm good" he said sheepishly. Both the kids fixed him a pleading look. Damn me and my soft spot for children. It seems like his decision was written on his face because Ms. Stewart spoke up.
"Agent Eppes, you don't need to do this."
Don shook his head. "It's fine Ma'am. This wouldn't be the first time I've had to distract children when we're asking questions. It's no trouble at all". He never understood why, but kids seem to gravitate towards him. He sometimes used that to his advantage since kids do tend to be smarter than people think.
Both the parents looked unsure, but grateful. "Alright…". Mr. Stewart pointed to the direction of the backyard. "Anna used to sing to them outside". Crouching in front of his children, the man said "You two can show the nice Agent the swing chair in the backyard."
Both of the kids looked ecstatic. "Does this mean you'll sing for us?" the young girl, Clara, asked. Her eyes were shining even with the tear tracks still on her face.
"Yep. But, you have to promise you'll both be good and stay with me". Both of the children nodded vigorously. He nodded, satisfied. Don stood up and held both his hands out for the children to grasp. "Alright then, show me the way". Looking at the other agent, he asked "You are okay with handling this, right?"
The older agent nodded. "No problem. You go distract those kids."
Don smiled, "Okay". Suddenly he could feel a tug on both arms. Looking down, he could see that the kids were impatient. Letting out a small huff of laughter, he let himself get dragged away into the surprisingly large backyard.
The backyard was large with plenty of chairs, sofas, tables, and toys. Don could see small bikes and roller skates leaning on the walls. The place seemed to be more appropriate for comfortable family gatherings and fun activities rather than extravagant parties that one would associate with a high-class neighbourhood like this.
Near the end was a large tree, and underneath it was a white swing chair that looked like it would fit five people. On it were plenty of pillows, two small blankets, and a guitar. The children tugged on his arms again, making it clear that the chair was their destination. Once they reached it, Don helped the kids get on the chair. He was about to take the guitar to set it down before he sat, but then one of the kids spoke up.
"Can you play Mr. Eppes?" Joseph asked.
Don blinked surprised. That moment, he was taken back to the past. He remembered all the lonely nights when he was away from his family. He was frustrated about the fact that he had trouble communicating with another agent that was supposed to be his mentor. Usually, he would either be drinking or playing baseball to vent out his frustrations. But he wasn't in the mood to do it that night. He missed playing the piano secretly back at home, but there was no space for it in his apartment. So, he decided to learn a new instrument. Coming across said FBI agent in the small music shop and talking about music was unexpected, but it proved to be the bridge they needed to work effectively. When the agent died in an explosion, Don was handed the man's precious guitar and a letter addressed to him. He never stopped playing since.
"Yes," he said simply.
Both the kids looked excited. "Can you play for us too?"
Don nodded, smiling. "Of course". Then he sat down, settling the guitar in a familiar position. Both of the kids nestled on each side of him, blankets draped across their lap. Don gave the guitar a few experimental plucks, happy to find that it was in tune. "Do you have anything in mind?"
"There was this movie about three witches that we always watch on Halloween. Aunty Anna liked that song that one of the witches sang, so she always sang it to use when she takes care of us."
"I think I know which movie you're talking about". Making himself comfortable, he started playing, singing softly as he did. He also made sure to swing the chair gently with his foot. Despite the dangers looming and the nature of his visit, Don couldn't help but feel content. There was nothing here but the calm breeze and the warm sun peeking through the tree branches. Here, he wasn't Special Agent Don Eppes, leader of the Violent Crimes Squad. He was Don, just some guy who liked music.
He barely noticed that he was finished with the song. But once he stopped, one of the kids, Joseph, grasped his arm. Looking down, he could see that both of the kids were just as content as he was. In fact, they were both cuddling him, looking tired. "Don't…stop," the boy muttered sleepily.
"As you wish," Don replied. As he continued, he couldn't help but reminisce when Charlie was this small. When he was scared, he would always run to Don's room instead of their parents. There, he would cling onto Don, terrified of the monsters lurking in the dark. Don would always rock him, singing softly, hoping that Charlie would sleep. He always slept faster when Don did that. The same goes for when Charlie was sick. No matter how much Don complained about taking care of Charlie when he was sick, he always did. Through delirious fevers and nausea, Don always held him and sang to him. He was pretty sure Charlie had forgotten all about that since he never brought it up again. But Don never did. A part of Don missed that aspect of their childhood, one that was missing from the years coming after that when they grew apart. He looked at the children, now fast asleep and clutching onto his suit jacket. He smiled, happy that he was able to provide them a small amount of comfort.
"That was beautiful" a voice said, breaking him out of his reverie. Looking up, he saw the Stewarts and Baker, staring at him in awe. Don blushed, feeling significantly embarrassed at the praise.
"It's nothing," he replied.
Mrs. Stewart shook her head. "You gave them a way to remember Anna by. You went out of your way to give them this moment of peace".
Don could feel his face burn brighter. "I'm just doing my job Ma'am."
"Call me Marie. And somehow, I don't believe that". She gave him a grateful look, "You're a good man Agent Eppes."
"Ah, thank you," he replied awkwardly. Both the parents took the sleeping children from the chair.
As they did, Joseph mumbled "Aunty Anna was here…"
Everyone looked at each other with confused expressions. "Yes she is little man" Mr. Stewart said, carrying one of the kids inside.
They were led back to the front door. "Thank you for your time. Let us know if there's anything else you remember". Don handed them a card. "That has my phone number on it". Looking at the sleeping kids, he added "And if there's anything you need from me, don't hesitate to call."
Both of them nodded. "Please, bring my sister's killer to justice" Marie said, looking grim.
"I'll try my best."
Suddenly Clara stirred. Opening one eye, she looked at him and realized that he was leaving. Waving a tiny hand, she yawned "Bye bye Mr. Eppes". Don waved back and both he and Baker went back to the SUV.
"Never knew you were a musician," Baker said once they were inside the car.
"I'm not," Don replied.
"Sure didn't look like that back there" he teased. Baker leaned back, hand in his suit pocket. Then he started to rummage around, as if he was looking for something. "Damnit. Can you drop me off at my hotel? I think I left something."
"Sure". He looked over at the address on the other man's phone. "It's not too far from here."
"Alright…".
Don looked at the older agent. He was looking at Don with an unreadable expression. Don felt a bit uncomfortable, like he was being dissected. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing. It's just that, do you always do things like that to grieving families?"
"Yeah. I try to give them whatever they need to at least make things a bit easier."
"Whatever they need? What is that exactly?"
"Well, usually it's a shoulder to cry on. But sometimes, it was something a bit…different" he replied, gripping the wheel tightly.
Don could already anticipate the punch. They all did the same thing anyway. Hit him, blame him, scream at him, sometimes kick him, and then leave. Don never even blocked them, even if he had a clear shot in doing so. He could tell, these people needed someone to be angry at. He didn't mind being the target if it meant that others would be spared. It was his fault after all. It was always his fault.
He deserved it.
"I see…" the older man said slowly. Soon, they reached the hotel room. Pulling up in the parking lot, Baker started to grab his things. "I'll take my time and freshen up a bit, you can leave me here. I'll meet you back in the office."
"Sure".
Baker opened the door and stepped out. But before he closed the door, Baker turned to look at Don. "You're too nice, you know that?"
Don shrugged.
Baker shook his head, looking serious. "I mean it, you're too charming for your own good. You have to be careful or you might accidentally attract the wrong person".
Before Don could even ask what he meant by that, Baker closed the door and walked away. What the hell was that about? The older agent was a bit hard to read. Sometimes he was cheery and outgoing, but other times he was quiet and sometimes unnerving. You've only met him today, of course you barely understand him. Don didn't even know why he was analyzing the other agent to this point. There was just something in his instincts that told him to. I've been having too many gut instincts lately.
He was about to pull up the handbrake when the car suddenly shut down. Confused, he tried to unlock the door. To his shock, the car lock wouldn't budge. "What the hell?". Then, he heard a sudden hiss. He started frantically tugging at the handle but the door still wouldn't budge. Then he felt it, the familiar haze of dizziness, one that came from being drugged. He hacked and coughed, feeling the weight of the drug in his lungs. He tried the other door, but that too didn't budge. He placed his tie over his nose and mouth, to keep from inhaling more. But it seemed like whatever the vapour was, it was a potent one, as Don was already feeling himself getting pulled into the darkness. His hand fumbled for his gun, but it wasn't where it should've been. As a last ditch attempt, he weakly pounded on the window, hoping to attract attention as his vision started to swirl together into a blurry mess. The last thing he remembered was a figure standing outside, watching him.
"Who…" he barely managed to say before he slumped over the wheel, unconscious.
A/N: Sorry Don, you're not escaping the jaws of fate (which is being whumped to hell and back). There's also a few things I want to comment a bit, so I'll do it here (you can skip this if you want):
I know that Charlie and Don weren't that close. But, I feel like in moments where Charlie is the most vulnerable, he'll forget the awkwardness and just go straight to Don. We've seen it happen before. Also the reason as to why Charlie probably doesn't remember this is because he was really tired and really scared, so he doesn't really pay attention to anything else other than the fact that his brother is very comforting. But, I do have an upcoming one shot about this, when Charlie tries to investigate whose singing voice he kept hearing in his dreams and when he's stressed, so stay tuned for that one.
Don's singing voice in my head is a lot different than how Rob Morrow sings. I feel like Don's voice is much lower, softer, and less belty. Doesn't mean he can't belt out, he just chooses not to (he's shy like that). I also imagined him having some kind of rough or smoky quality to his voice (don't remember the actual term for it) since his regular voice sometimes has a rough edge. 5 points if you guys know what movie they're talking about and 5 more points if you know the song. Also, The fact that I have a whole ass headcanon about Don's singing voice while having like 0 clue on how Agent Rick Baker looks like says a lot about my priorities.
Smartphones aren't too advanced at the time, but just pretend they are. Mostly for the ridiculous shenanigans these people can get up to if they're given a group chat.
There is a lot of backstory about I have planned about Don's FBI carrier. *Gently pats Don on the head* this baby can fit so much trauma in him. They will probably be referenced in my upcoming stories. This is also before Running Man, so Alan and Charlie didn't know that Don still played. It is a small headcanon of mine that when Don felt lonely, he did things that his family did. Like he would cook when he missed Alan, he would play music when he missed Margret, he would even read math textbooks when he missed Charlie. When he went back to LA, he stopped doing those things. Well, except playing the piano, but he only does it when no one is around (again, he's shy like that).
Ian Edgerton is aggressively romantic and no, I don't take criticisms. This man is not above threatening Don to take good care of himself while he cooks chicken soup for dinner. If someone even alludes to the fact that he's a romantic, he will use them as target practice. Like he's genuinely really sweet, he just hides it under snark and intimidation.
Of course, Don "Everything is my fault" Eppes also strikes again.
Okay, this chapter has gone for too long. Hope you enjoy and I'm sorry for the rambling down here.