A/N: So...sorry this took so long. This whole college thing really takes away from my free-time :) Anyways, this is the final chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Don wasn't released from the hospital until evening. Even then it was only because of pulled strings that he was allowed to leave at all. He'd had several visitors throughout the day, including his brother, but it was his father who remained with him the whole time. Don had been silent other than when he had visitors, and his father hadn't pressed him.
Now he was being escorted out of the hospital in a wheelchair, something he utterly despised. "All right, Agent Eppes, you feel better now," the nurse said cheerfully as they made their way outside.
"Thank you," Don said as he rose.
He took a step and then gripped his father's shoulder for support as the world tilted to an odd angle. "Easy, Donnie," Alan said quietly as he steadied his son.
"Are you all right, Agent Eppes?" the nurse asked worriedly. "Do you need to sit down?"
"No, no, I'm all right," Don said. "Just a little dizzy. I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?" the nurse asked. "I could ask a doctor to come out."
"No, let's just go home," Don said.
"Maybe it's too soon, Donnie," his father said. "Are you sure you feel okay enough to leave?"
"Yeah I just-I need to go home, Dad," Don told him.
"All right," Alan said, "Let's go."
The drive to the Craftsman was very quiet. "You want to get something to eat?" Alan asked finally.
Don didn't answer.
"Donnie?"
"Hm?"
"You want something to eat?"
"Oh, no. I'm not hungry," Don said, becoming silent once more.
Alan let him stay that way until they pulled into the driveway. He turned off the car and looked at his son. "What's on your mind, Donnie?" he asked.
"It was just a long day," Don told him with a sigh.
"Donnie."
The agent finally looked his father in the eye.
"Be straight with me," Alan told him.
Don looked down at his hands. "I…had a dream about Mom."
Alan nodded. "There seems to be a lot of that going around."
"She said she…came to take care of me," Don told him.
"That sounds like your mother."
"She was gone, so fast," the agent said slowly, "I wasn't ready."
"None of us were, Donnie. It was incredibly unfair."
"I loved her, Dad," Don's voice broke, "I never really told her. Maybe if I had, none of this…"
"Donnie, nothing any of us did could have changed what happened. It just happened. That's the way life is," Alan said gently. "And Donnie, your mother knew you loved her and didn't want her to go. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. But, she already told you that, didn't she."
Don looked at him. "Yeah, she did."
Alan smiled. "She loved you boys more than anything else. She was so happy when you came back from New Mexico. We were all together, and that's what she wanted. You didn't have to say it Donnie. You showed her you loved her enough to come home when it mattered."
Don shook his head. "Why is it so hard to believe that?"
Alan took a deep breath. "Because life is full of regrets, Donnie. For things we did do and things we didn't. You have to make a choice. You can't change the past, but you can choose to relive the good moments, and let the bad ones fade away. And we certainly have a lot of good moments to remember."
Don finally nodded. "Yeah, we do."
"Come on. You need to rest."
They made it into the house and then Don collapsed on the couch, utterly spent. He groaned and settled deep into the cushions. He should call his team. He reached for his cell-phone and then realized it was missing. "Dad?" he called as his father went to the kitchen.
"Yeah?"
"Did the hospital happen to give you my cell?"
Alan stuck his head out. "No. Why?"
"I can't find it."
"Maybe your team has it."
Don nodded. More likely it had been left at the scene, probably in pieces, and would be kept as evidence. He'd have to get a new one tomorrow. He rubbed a hand across his face. His head was pounding and all he wanted to do was sleep. Instead he forced himself up and into the kitchen. His father was making a sandwich. "Change your mind?" he asked his son. "I can make you one."
"Nah," Don went into the fridge and grabbed a beer.
Then he went out to the dining room, ready to write his statement. He hadn't been working ten minutes when Charlie came in, rubbing his eyes and ready for a serious discussion.
Don felt strange as his brother talked to him about their childhood. Because, yeah, he had felt that way growing up. Alone, abandoned, a little unloved. But tonight, for some reason, he didn't feel that way anymore. His parents loved him, Charlie loved him, he knew that. He had always known that.
Charlie's emotional speech was reaching a place that Don felt slightly uncomfortable about so he changed the subject to his paperwork. Then his Dad joined the party and before he knew it the paperwork was out of his hands and in theirs. "Donnie, are you drinking?" his dad asked suddenly.
Don looked at the bottle in front of him and knew he was caught.
"Give me that, give me that!" Alan insisted, swiping the bottle from his eldest child.
"Dad-" Don started to protest.
"You do not need alcohol right now," Alan informed him. "You have been through a serious trauma and you need to go to bed."
"What am I, five?" Don grumbled.
"No, Dad's right," Charlie chimed in. "We can take care of this. Go get some sleep, you look exhausted."
"So, the two of you," Don looked at them both, "are going to fill out my report for the FBI?"
"Yep," Alan said. "The sheets are clean. Go on."
"You changed the sheets for me?" Don asked.
"Of course," Alan said, "now go to bed."
Don smiled slightly and rose to do as he was told. As he reached the stairs he paused to watch his father and brother. He wasn't alone. His mother had guaranteed that. There would always be someone to watch over him. To watch over all of them.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. Any final reviews would be appreciated. Happy New Year!