Title: It Only Hurts When I Laugh

Author: FraidyCat

Genre: Drama, Angst. Seasoned with Humor.

Time line: Any Time is Good For Me

Summary: Archie is back from the Buddy Series. That is your only hint. OK, one more. I like to hurt people. Especially Charlie.

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em – but wanna cuddle 'em.

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A/N: Some time has elapsed. Maybe someday there will be a "prequel".

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Chapter 1

Alan stood, looking down.

"Explain to me."

He waited. As if it would make a difference.

"Your brother is an FBI agent. Your wife is an FBI agent. So explain to me why, in the last few years, I have been in the hospital watching you so often."

His eyes lifted to a monitor, and noticed no change, so he looked down again.

"You are a teacher. The most strenuous physical thing you should do is stand for a two-hour lecture."

He crossed his arms.

"But no. No, you have to fall down the stairs and break your wrist. Hurt your back. A consulting job you did as a 25-year-old leads to your permanent spinal cord injury, kidnapping and wilderness adventure. As if that weren't enough, you regularly break your own heart. Or mine. Same thing."

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you understand that, yet? Your heart — my heart. They're the same thing. I know you don't have children, yet. Trust me, I know that. But I thought when you fell headlong for Archie and married her three months after you met, you would begin to get a clue. You would start to understand what it means to give another person permanent custody of your heart."

He heard the harshness of his own voice and stopped. Took a breath. He uncrossed his arms and let the fingers of one hand play in the wild mass of curls.

"I'm sorry. This isn't your fault. You're a teacher. All you did was go to school. It's just difficult, to stand here, and wait. Wait for you. Wait to hear from your brother, or your wife."

He suddenly smiled.

"Hell, son, it's still difficult to even say 'your wife' to you."

He crossed his arms again and sighed.

"Not that I think you made a mistake, or anything. A rash decision, quite unlike you … but Archimedes is a stunning and loving woman. And determined. I saw that the first time I met her. Saw the look in her eye when she watched you."

He smiled again.

"And she did watch you a lot. Still does. I'm hoping she always will. I'm hoping she'll always have that look in her eye when she does. You deserve to be loved like that. So does your brother. Maybe Archie has a friend for Don?"

He stood silently for a while, watching the monitors. He walked slowly to the head of the bed, sat in the chair there.

"Do you know where they are? I thought when Archie transferred to another team, after you were married, that she and Don wouldn't be assigned to another case together. I thought that was the entire point. This must be big enough to take two teams out of the office."

He felt himself growing angry.

"It's not fair. Nothing about this is fair. I know you've always worried about your brother as much as I have. Then you have to fall in love with another agent, so now you worry about your wife, as well. And I'm sure you don't understand why neither of them is here, right now. I don't either. They should be on different assignments so that at least one of them is here. There should be a way for me to contact them. There should be newspapers, wherever they are, televisions. How could they not know what happened at Cal Sci?"

Just as quickly, he deflated. He ran a hand over his son's brow.

"Never mind. I'm just cranky. An old, cranky man. Never mind. Don't listen to me. I'm sure they would both be here, if they at all could. They're probably on their way now. Remember, I said that little Archie has determination. And your brother … well, I'm proud of you boys. You've grown so close. It's what I always wanted to see. Your mother, too. I know she's happy about it. So just rest. Don't worry. They love you. They both love you. Just like I do, Little One. I don't mean to frighten you, upset you."

Alan heard his voice crack.

"It's just that I'm all alone, here. I'm lonely."

He touched the part of his son's face not covered by the respirator.

"Do you think you could come back to me?"

He leaned back in the chair, rubbed his face. He sat there until he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He looked up, surprised. He hadn't even heard the nurse come in.

She was gentle. "I'm sorry, Mr. Eppes. It's been half an hour."

"Already?" Standing up, he felt his bones ache.

She let her hand linger on his shoulder. "I'm afraid so. No change while you were here?"

He knew that they kept track of all that out at the nurse's station, and he appreciated her willingness to let him believe he could see signs, every now and then, that his son was coming back. Today, though … today, he was just too weary to play the game.

He shook his head. "I can come back, this evening?"

She smiled. "Another half hour. You should go home and get some rest before then, Mr. Eppes."

He nodded vaguely, took one last look, and wandered slowly toward the door.