Unavoidable Truths

A/N: Thanks to Separatrix for beta reading this chapter.

Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 8

Charlie didn't remember much after that, for the next time he woke lucid, he was in the hospital. He looked around the room and was glad to see his dad, Megan and Larry, Amita, and David standing around another bed. Between them, he saw Don lying there awake and talking. Charlie cleared his throat to speak and he watched as the others turned to him with wide grins on their faces.

"Hey guys," Charlie spoke in a harsh, whispery voice -- his voice dry, which he would assume was from surgery.

"Charlie, nice to see you awake and stirring. How are you feeling, Son?" Alan asked his youngest child, as he stood just down from the head of the bed so Charlie could also look over and see Don clearly.

"Okay, I guess. At the moment, I'm feeling no pain. But could someone get me some water?" Charlie's throat felt like the dry Nevada desert sand.

David volunteered and the others stood for a moment in silence, as if unsure of what to say next. Before Charlie could ask any more questions, Don got one of his own in.

"What the hell were you thinking Charlie, when you got in the way?" Don's voice was filled with anger and hurt; but to Charlie's ears alone, he could hear the fear and concern.

"Don, leave your brother alone! Now is not the time and here is not the place to discuss this. Is that understood?" Alan looked fiercely at Don, putting his foot down with conviction towards his son.

Everyone watched as Don turned away and his jaw clenched with frustration, and in all likelihood pain. "Fine. I'll argue with Charlie when we're both feeling better."

At a touch on his wounded shoulder, Charlie looked up at David and was handed a plastic cup with a straw hanging over the edge. "Thanks, man. So what happened? Was anyone else hurt?" Charlie raised his head slowly and took a sip of cool water and sighed in relief as the parched feeling was washed away.

"Just to the men who had taken you and the others hostage. They've already been IDed," David paused and looked over towards Don to make sure his team leader was listeing before he continued. "The leader of the hostage takers was the brother to Colonel Wells, his name is Calvin Wells. You remember Colonel Wells, don't you Don?"

Don turned back towards the others and nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, one of the first cases I'd been assigned on arrival at the L.A. office. It was just before we'd brought you in Charlie, as a consultant. That man was a total nut case. Thought he was still in a military prison camp in Iraq and had finally found a way to escape, by killing his detainers. Instead, he was killing innocent people. He thought we were reinforcements come to restrain him and take him back to his prison cell and so he kept shooting at us. We tried to take him without harming him or the others, but he ended up taking a hit to the femoral artery. Bled to death before help could arrive. Part of me always felt bad that it went down so wrong, that for all his hallucinations and dementia, he was just as innocent as the others. He couldn't help what he was doing." Don sighed and rubbed a hand over his face in weariness.

"So, his brother wanted payback and I was the focus of his revenge, I take it?"

David moved to stand closer to Don's hospital bed. "We can only assume so. One of the other men who was hired was told it would very likely be a suicide mission, but that they were to be compensated very well for that fact. Before the man died, he said all of them who'd been retained for the job were already terminally ill and had little life or health insurance coverage. Their families were given twenty thousand a piece for the hostage job. They had nothing to lose, really."

Don shook his head when he heard the details of the case. "It just all sounds so convoluted in order to get back at me. Why not just take a shot at me directly? Why involve so many innocent lives?"

David shrugged and both agents looked at Megan, who was the team's profiler. "I can only speculate as to his reasons why. From the way the situation had been set up, Calvin Wells wanted you to have a personal stake in a hostage situation and what better way than for one brother to suffer while the other is left behind to grieve. Maybe once we investigate his residence, we'll find more evidence and answers," Megan said as she leaned back against the wall, rubbing her shoulder against Larry, as if drawing support from him.

Before anyone could speak further, the door to the room opened and a matronly looking nurse entered and spoke forcefully to usher everyone out, including Alan. She firmly stated visiting hours were over and that they could come back tomorrow at 9 am. Their father bade them to have a good night and left after briefly squeezing each of their shoulders in a show of support and love.

As Megan and David were about to leave, Don issued a directive, "Keep me up-to-date and tell me what you learn tomorrow." Larry followed the two of them out, also wishing both men and speedy recovery. Amita was the last one left.

Amita grasped Charlie's hand and leaned over the prone academic. "I'll come by tomorrow too. Want me to bring a complex math problem for you to solve during your enforced stay?"

Charlie nodded, "Actually, Megan and David dropped off some files for a cold case they wanted my help on. Plus, I still need to finish grading my last set of exams. If you could go by my office, if it's not sealed off as a crime scene, my bags should still be on my desk. If you could just bring them with you, I would be grateful."

Amita released Charlie's hand and pushed a strand of hair back away from her face and tucked it behind an ear. "Sure. Anything else?"

Behind Amita stood the nurse looking very impatient, so Charlie shook his head and told her to take care and to have a good night. Not expecting anything further from Amita, Charlie was surprised when she leaned over the bed rail and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay, Charlie. I think you and I need to have a long talk when I stop by tomorrow. Sleep well."

Through it all, Don had laid quietly in his bed and watched the exchange between his brother and the person of his brother's affections. When it was just the two of them left, the silence stretched, and they turned to look at each other. Each wondering how the hell they constantly ended up in such awkward situations.

Don broke the strain of silence first. "I think Amita might be willing to stay here and pursue a relationship with you, instead of going off to Harvard. Now's your chance, Chuck." Even though Don was still furious with Charlie for risking his life, he still cared for his brother's happiness. If Charlie was in a relationship, he would be spending less time with the family, therefore being less of a temptation in weakening Don's control.

Charlie quirked a small smile at Don. "Don't call me Chuck, And as to Amita..." Charlie sighed. He honestly wasn't sure what he wanted in regards with her anymore. Learning that Don, his own brother, desired him had totally thrown his whole view on relationships, love and lust off tangent.

"What Charlie?"

"I'll just have to wait and hear what she has to say. It could very well be that she can't be in a relationship with me because she'd always worry in fear that something might happen to me or even her by being associated with the FBI. It could go either way, Don." Charlie turned his head back to face forward. "How about, since I assume we're stuck here for a few more days, you turn on the television and find us a game to watch. I'll try and distract myself by calculating the percentages of who the winner will be."

"Okay. But Charlie, you and I will definitely be having a conversation about your recklessness soon as we're both out of here. However... Thanks."

Charlie turned and his eyes fell square into Don's own. He saw the love, friendship, the fear and the confusion lurking in the gaze cast his way. "Thanks for what?"

"For saving me. I hadn't expected this Wells guy to take aim for a kill shot so quickly, especially one right to the eyes."

"Well, he had to know that you'd be wearing a vest. That would be standard procedure. I can only assume that he'd been planning this almost from day one."

A softly spoken word of affirmation was heard, followed by a long sigh. Charlie worried that with everything that had happened over the last few months, especially with the members of the Eppes family being threatened repeatedly, that Don would start to question his career choices or at the very least living so near to his family while working in a dangerous line of work.

"Whatever is going through your head, Don, you should just forget it. Dad and I can and will cope with whatever happens."

Charlie watched as Don opened his mouth to speak and Charlie cut him off, "Don, please. You can't leave us again and you can't give up being an FBI agent. Just accept that Dad and I would put up one hell of a fight if you did try to do either.

"All right?" Charlie asked with force.

Don looked like he still wanted to argue, but the set expression in his younger brother's face seemed to dissuade him. "This will be something else we'll discuss again at a later time. So a game, let's see what sports channel the hospital gets."

He reached for the remote control on the table between the two beds and turned the set on. Once a game was settled on, both men fell into their usual habits when both were together. They joked and ribbed each other, and the natural camaraderie of the brothers was restored.

TBC