Gareth's first reaction upon seeing the Craftsman house the Eppes family called home was one of pleasure. The clean lines and graceful symmetry of the house brought a smile to his face. He had developed an appreciation of the Craftsman style house when building his family's house in Idaho. The appreciation had only grown over time.

"What a beauty." Gareth said, climbing from his car.

"Thank you." Alan said, beaming. "You can park in the driveway if you want."

"Thank you but no. I'm not going to be here for long anyway." Gareth replied.

Alan nodded, waiting for Gareth to take an overnight bag from the car before leading he way up the front steps. He ushered Gareth inside and shut the door. "Have a seat if you want. Just put your bag wherever, I'll get Charlie to take it upstairs." He looked around the room. "Just as soon as I find him."
The ringing phone delayed, momentarily, Alan's hunt for his son, giving Gareth a chance to get a good look at his temporary home. The interior of the house was just as beautiful as the exterior. The same graceful lines made the inside feel far roomier than what actual square footage was. More over, it wasn't just a house, it was a home. A pictorial history of the Eppes family were scattered about the living room. Gareth paused at the piano and looked at a fairly recent picture of the Eppes family, his ears picking up Alan's end of the phone conversation.

"No, Elise, there's nothing wrong, I promise…The car belongs to a family friend, he's in town on business…Yes, Elise, thank you for looking out for us…Yes, really…I have to go now, I have guests waiting on me…I will Elise, Goodbye."

Gareth looked toward the fireplace and caught sight of Alan coming from the other side of the living room. "Alan, if my being here is going to cause problems with your neighbors, I can go."

Alan waved Gareth's concerns away. "And I'm telling you, you're not. Elise Dupre is a lovely woman who is always willing to help out and blind as a bat without her glasses." He shook his head. "She saw the car, made out the lightbar and jumped to conclusions."

Gareth chuckled. He had more than a few Elise Dupres back in Cascade. "People like that can either be a patrolman's nightmare or a second or third pair of eyes. I was just looking at some of your pictures."

He pointed to a small picture with an adult Don and Charlie in the front and Alan and Margaret in the back. It was one of the ones taken before Margaret no longer had the strength to move. Alan followed Gareth's finger, a sad smile crossing his face. If Gareth noticed Alan's reaction, he made no mention of it.

"How did you manage to get both boys into the picture at the same time?" Gareth asked. "Cat, my wife, always has a devil of time getting all of our boys together long enough to take a picture. 'Course, it is harder with four than two but any suggestions you have…"

"It's parental guilt." A new, young voice said from the direction of the kitchen.

Gareth turned his head and saw the young man he had just seen in the picture on the piano. Just like the picture, he had dark eyes and dark, curly hair. Just one look and Gareth knew who it had to be. The young man crossed through the dining room before coming into the living room and stopping in front of him and Alan.

"Charlie! I was just about to go and look for you." Alan said to him. "Meet Colby's dad, Chief Gareth Granger. Gigi, this is my son, Dr. Charles Eppes."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Charlie said, shaking hands with Gareth. "Chief of what?"

"Police chief of Cascade, ID. And, please, call me Gigi. What's your doctorate in?"

"Which one?" Charlie asked.

With that response, Gareth decided that Colby had truly lucked out to have a boss who had such a down to earth family.

"Charlie…"Alan started to say.

"He asked, Dad." Charlie replied.

"Guilty as charged." Gareth said, holding up his hands in surrender. He cocked his head to side and studied Charlie for a moment. Yes, Charlie reminded him of Cody, Colby's older brother, also with the F.B.I. but as a cryptologist.

"Is Don up yet?" Alan asked his son.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know, I just came in."

"Take Gigi's bag upstairs to the guest room and see if he's stirring. If he's not, leave him be. If he is up, tell him we're out back."

Charlie saluted his father, snatched up Gareth's bag and bounded up the stairs.

"Smart aleck." Alan said, after him. To Gareth, he said "Come on outside. I've got the grill ready to go. Would you like something to drink?"

Several hours later, with the sky awash in pinks and crimsons and the scent of BBQ perfuming the air, Gareth reflected on the events of the past twelve hours. His son had been lucky not once, but twice. It would ease Cat's mind some to know that Colby had a 'family' in the wilds of L.A. It did his heart good too. Without Don, Colby would have died. It was a fact that Gareth would not forget.

"Another beer, Gigi?" Charlie asked, sitting down next to him.

"No, thank you. But it's nice to know that there are some young people out there that were raised properly." Gareth said.

Standing at the grill, Alan snorted. "Glad the effort hasn't gone completely to waste."

"What's this about Charlie not being raised properly?" Don came outside, beer in hand, looking far better than he had the last time Gareth had seen him. It's amazing what eight hours of sleep and a hot shower would do for a person. "He was raised by wolves until he was three, you know. Mom and Dad found him under a leaf near the koi pond." He grinned and dropped into a chair opposite Gareth.

Charlie made a face at his brother, then a sneaky smile crossed his face. "Gigi, do you like jokes?"

Don's eyes popped open. "Dirty pool, Charlie."

"Of course, I do. My job can be depressing enough as it is." Gareth replied. "Nothing like a good laugh. What'cha got?"

"What do you call a cow with two legs?"

Gareth quirked an eyebrow. "I have no idea."

"Lean beef." Charlie said with a grin.

Alan simply shook his head and Don was looking for somewhere to hide.

Gareth chuckled and said. "That's good. Try this one. How can you tell which potato standing on the sidewalk is a hooker?"

Charlie's brow wrinkled in thought but a few moments shook his head.

"It's the one saying 'I da ho…I da ho'." Gareth said.

Alan and Don groaned but Charlie laughed. "I'll have to remember that one and tell Larry. What's green and hops in bed?" He asked Gareth.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Gareth said.

"You should be." Don muttered.

"Prostitoad." Charlie said.

Gareth roared with laughter.

"Charlie!" Alan admonished him, taking his eyes off the steaks to glare at his son. "What exactly are you teaching your students?"
"He gets the jokes from the students, Dad. Not the other way around. Trust me, what you've heard so far, is tame."

"They're not that bad." Charlie protested.

"Yes, they are." Don looked at Gareth. "I got treated to all kinds of bad jokes when I landed in the hospital with heat stroke."

"You laughed." Charlie said.

Don rolled his eyes. "I'm lucky he had to leave before he could go through all of them." He grinned at Charlie.

"See if I try to cheer you up next time." Charlie huffed.

Don got up from his chair and went over to Charlie, reaching down to tickle him. "Is that so?"
Charlie leaped out of his chair and backed away from Don. "You stay away from me."

"What's a matter, Chuck? Afraid I'll catch ya'?"

"Don't call me Chuck."

Gareth watched the two brothers dance around each other and smiled. Boys are boys no matter where they are or how old they are. It was exactly the same with his sons.

"You need some help, Alan?" Gareth asked, craning his neck to see Alan behind the grill.

"Nope. You just stay where you are. I've got plenty of help." He cast a look around for his sons.

A yelp came from the other side of the yard.

"Don, put your brother down." Alan said, without looking up.

Gareth stood and joined Alan at the grill. "I've never been good sitting still. Give me something to do. Besides, I think your help is otherwise occupied."

There was another yelp.

Alan shook his head. "You can put the plates on the table if you wouldn't mind." He pointed at a stack of plates.

"No problem." Gareth said, picking up the plates.

Oh, yes, Colby was damn lucky in more ways than one.