Chapter 8

Alan gave Charlie a few minutes alone upstairs, but finally couldn't stop himself and went up to check on him. When he came back to the kitchen a few minutes later, Don had the coffee ready and sat at the table drinking slowly.

Alan poured a cup and joined him. He sighed, but he was grinning. "He's already called the guy back, on his home phone. We're getting a new heat pump tomorrow afternoon."

Don finished swallowing and smiled. "Good. That means a warm spell is on the way."

Alan chuckled, making bubbles on the surface of the coffee. He sipped, looking at Don over the rim of the cup. He swallowed, and put it down. "What were you two doing in the SUV so long? It looked like you were – talking?"

Don set his own mug carefully on the table. "All the way home. Through the traffic jam and everything."

"What about, if I may ask?"

"Mom. P vs. NP. There were some things neither of us realized about the other, you know?"

Alan nodded. "Well, it was easier to be angry. If focused the overwhelming emotion of the time."

Don tilted his head. "So you were angry, too?"

Alan confessed. "A little. Confused, mostly. But your mother saw that, and she asked me to give it up. She said that I had to be free to love Charlie without resentment, that he would need that, when she was gone."

Don stirred his coffee absently. There was no need to stir it, since it was black. "I wonder why she didn't say anything to me." He sounded a little wounded.

Alan looked across at his oldest. "She said things about you. All the time. Things about the two of you, too."

Don met his gaze, and was silent.

Alan smiled. "She said no set of brothers ever had less in common, but more in their hearts for each other. She said that neither of you would let this come between you for long, and you'd work it out together." He shook his head and lifted the mug of coffee, again. "I confess, I was beginning to wonder about that opinion." He enjoyed another sip of the warm liquid, lowered the mug and watched Don stare at the table. "Did he tell you that he saw her?"

Don's head jerked up. "What?"

Alan grimaced a little. "Apparently not. Friday night, when he was unconscious, he was with her. In a dream, or something. He didn't tell me many details…just that she looks happy." His own voice threatened to break at the end and he buried his face in the coffee again.

Don looked toward the ceiling. "And she sent him back to live with us?"

Alan shrugged. "Well, I don't know if it was really that…that supernatural, Don. His heart never stopped. Maybe it was really only a dream."

Don lowered his gaze and met his father's eyes again. "Well, she was right about one thing. Charlie and I have worked it out between ourselves, finally. We're both ready to move ahead, now."

Alan smiled. "She was right about another, as well. No two brothers have more for each other in their hearts."

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Charlie's division chair arranged to cover him for the remainder of the week, and after two successful doctor's visits, Alan finally agreed to attend his book club on Wednesday evening. He was reluctant, but Charlie was an adult. He had been following doctor's orders, and getting better every day. He had taken the week off, and was actually resting. Alan had retrieved his cell phone from the homeless shelter and recharged it, and had it safely tucked in his pocket. He would be gone two hours, tops. Still, he stood hesitantly over Charlie's sleeping form on the couch for quite some time before he could force himself out the door.

After he did, Charlie waited a few minutes after he heard the car leave the driveway. Then, before he could change his mind, he bolted for his own car.

Twenty-five minutes later – thank God there had not been a traffic jam like there had been Monday evening – Charlie stood uncertainly in the trauma bay of the ER, nervously shifting the cold cup from the "Sonic" drive thru from one hand to the other, waiting. He waited uncertainly for her to answer her page. Of course when she came, he was facing the wrong direction.

"Chuck." She sounded concerned, behind him. "Have you had more problems? Would you like to see a doctor?"

He turned around and unceremoniously thrust the cup out to her. "N-No," he stammered. "I'd like to see you."

Amanda accepted the cup and peered at it. "What is this?"

Charlie was starting to wish the furnace had driven him vertically through the floor. "S-Strawberry milkshake. Did I remember that right?"

She smiled, and tilted her head a little. "Um….yes….Thanks?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. This was stupid. I mean, I don't even know if you're married, or anything."

The milkshake was thick, and she had to draw hard on the straw to get the courage off the bottom, where they kept it. She swallowed. "No, I'm not, Chuck. I was with someone for several years, and we broke it off about 8 months ago. He's married to someone else, now…and I'm currently unattached."

Charlie risked a small smile. "The woman I was sort-of thinking about maybe seeing moved to Boston last summer."

She laughed. "Sort-of thinking about maybe?"

He reddened a little. "It was complicated. We worked together for a while, and I was her superior…anyway, my name is really Charlie."

Amanda worked a while on the milkshake again. She closed her eyes, savoring it, and when she opened them again, they were twinkling. "I know. I heard your brother talking to you enough to know that. I thought maybe you preferred Chuck, since that's how you introduced yourself."

Charlie shrugged. "Demoral," he explained. "I hate Chuck. Don't call me Chuck."

She grinned over the milkshake cup. "Well, Charlie-not-Chuck, I actually have my dinner break in half an hour. Maybe you'd like to stay and go to the cafeteria with me? We can talk more about pandas."

Charlie's smile lit up the trauma bay.

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FINIS

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A/N: This was always intended to be a brief story, so please don't think I am abbreviating it because of my earlier meltdown. I believe this resolves a largely unexplored issue between the brothers, and also leaves me a lot of room for those sequels I like so much. I am facing some RL issues that may slow me down for a time, but I assure you that several stories are already started, and to quote my pal Arnie, "I'll be back". (You can regard that as a promise, or a threat. Whichever.) Thanks again to my readers!