"SNAKE!" howled Liz, drowning out Don's cry of pain. He staggered backwards, then swung around. His arm caught the edge of the door and it slammed shut with a click.

He heard Liz's gun boom.

"Liz!" he called.

Liz swore. "It's around here somewhere, David, look out!"

"What's going on?" Megan demanded.

"There's a snake in here. I think it's a cobra," Liz called. "It's disappeared into all these damn rugs."

"Don, are you okay?" Charlie called anxiously.

"No, I've got something... my eyes..." Don called.

"Did it bite you?" Liz called.

"No," Don said. "It's my eyes," he repeated. The burning was horrific. "I can't see." Automatically, Don reached up.

"DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES!" Larry bellowed.

With fierce determination, Don kept his hands away from his face. He remembered the scratches around Early's eyes and wondered if this was what had happened to her.

"Donnie?" Charlie sounded very young.

"Don, rinse your eyes out, quickly," Larry said urgently. "But you must take care not to allow the venom to get into any open cuts or sores."

Don couldn't remember any cuts on his hands, but he had latex gloves in his pocket. A few minutes ago, the act of pulling the gloves on would have taken seconds. Even without his sight, the process took less than a minute, although it seemed to take forever.

What were the symptoms of cobra poisoning? Was he going to die like this?

There was a choked noise from Charlie.

"Don?" Liz said.

Don heard her try the door knob, but the rattling noise informed him that the click that he had heard was the door locking itself.

"Don't panic," Larry added, possibly as much to Liz and Charlie as it was to Don.

"What?" David demanded.

"What happened?"

"Don got spat on by a cobra," Liz said. "I can't get to him."

"Where did that damn snake go?" David said, sounding just a trifle panicky himself.

"The spitting cobra's venom is generally thought to be a deterrent," Larry insisted. "As long as the venom does not get into Don's blood stream, he has a very good chance of pulling through this."

The pain was increasing, but the panic receded. Larry, who so often played the role of comic relief, was sounding like the polymath that he truly was. If he said that Don could pull through this, Don believed him.

Which meant he'd better rinse his eyes out, stat. He felt his way to the splashing water and slipped on the damp floor. He found the edge of the tub and cold water quickly soaked his sleeves. Apparently the tub was overflowing.

He couldn't worry about that yet. He leaned over and cupped his hand to direct the water over his eyes.

The burning subsided a small, but noticeable, amount. What were the signs of cobra poisoning, Don wondered again. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to ask, though.

He splashed more water over his face.

"Don, are you all right?" Liz called anxiously.

"Hell, no," Don replied. "Where's the snake?"

"I don't know," Liz stopped trying to force the door and her voice faded as if she had turned away from the door.

"The cobra has probably shot its wad, so to speak," Larry informed them.

"Probably?" Charlie and David both picked up on that one. Charlie a trifle more shrilly than David.

"It will seek shelter," Larry said.

"Looks like he found it," David muttered. "I don't see him anywhere."

Don's hand encountered cloth and he used that to wipe his face. The cloth felt like silk. "I've found a towel," he reported.

"Don't rub at your eyes," Larry ordered. "Blot, but keep rinsing."

Don obeyed. His leg began to cramp. A sign of the poison? Or was it just his awkward position?

"There!" David exclaimed. "Is that it?"

"Maybe you can capture the cobra alive?" Larry suggested.

Liz swore and the deep boom of a Glock indicated that she had opened fire.

"Or not," Larry said in resignation.

"Sorry, Larry," Liz said.

"I take it the cobra is now to be referred to in past tense?" Larry said.

Charlie said a few words that Don wouldn't have thought his baby brother would even know.

"Don't swear at me," Larry said in hurt tones.

"Don't be so flippant," was the gist of Charlie's answer.

Don was beginning to feel cold, possibly because he was kneeling in ice cold water. At least, that was what he hoped was causing the chill.

"Sorry, Charles," Larry murmured. "I was not... Don? How are you?"

"Still here," Don reported.

"Good," Larry said. "How do you feel?"

"My eyes feel like hell," Don said.

"He's not...?" Charlie couldn't bring himself to finish.

"The fact that he can answer is the answer to that," Larry said. "Cobra venom is frighteningly efficient."

"Thanks," Don muttered.

"Don? Are you away from the door?" David asked.

"I think so," Don reported.

The splintering of the door heralded David's arrival into the bathroom.

"Man, that's one dead snake," Colby reported as he and the other two women arrived.

"We'll call an ambulance," Nikki said reassuringly.

Megan vetoed that plan. "We'll take him. Don, can you walk?"

"Help me up," Don said, he held out his hand and David pulled him to his feet. The movement made him dizzy and he staggered.

Liz moved up beside him to steady him.

"Keep wiping the venom from his face," Larry instructed.

"I'm on it," Liz promised.

The trip to the hospital took on a nightmarish aspect. The pain, which the cold water had alleviated, returned with a vengeance.

Don had to fight to keep himself from pawing at his eyes. He sprawled in the back of an SUV, with his head on a stack of towels that were piled on Liz's lap.

His ex alternated pouring water over his eyes and gently wiping the venom from his face.

The emergency room personnel were taken aback at the nature of Don's injury, but they rallied. They poked and prodded as gently as they could, but it still caused the pain to escalate.

Finally, the doctors were convinced that no venom had entered Don's system and they deposited him into a private room. There wasn't much they could do aside from making sure that the venom was completely removed from Don's face and to give him something for the pain. Then they let nature take its course.

By then, Charlie, Robin and his father had arrived in the hospital and were more than willing to give Mother Nature a hand with this.

Don spent a restless night, the painkillers not helping much. He managed to doze between gentle ministrations to his eyes.

Around 1 AM, Don's vision began coming back. He pulled the cold compress off his eyes and managed to focus, somewhat fuzzily, on Robin's face.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Robin said. She took his hand and patted it.

"You okay?" Charlie blurted from behind her. His brother came around Robin and sat next to Don's other side.

"Been better," Don rasped. "My head hurts. My eyes hurt. I can barely see."

"But at least you can see," Alan Eppes moved into sight. At least, Don assumed the shadowy bulk behind Robin was his father, judging by the voice.

"Yeah," he said.

"You look like crap," Charlie said.

Don tried to glare, but his head hurt too much for that. He probably did look as bad as he felt.

"Charlie!" Alan reproved.

"Well, his eyes are so bloodshot that he looks like he's been on a bender!" Charlie protested.

Don felt like he had the world's worst hangover, but he didn't want to admit that to Charlie. "So, what happened back at the house?" he asked.

"The woman is dead and so is the snake," Robin confirmed. "The ME should have a full report for us later today, but we're liking the snake for her death. The other animals, including the so sensitive birds, seem to be in good health. Whatever her failings, she was good at taking care of animals."

"David brought in zoologists from the LA zoo," Charlie added. "They checked the room with the snakes in it and one of the cages was empty."

"I hope there was only one escapee," Don muttered.

"Well, the herpetologist said that putting more than one cobra in a cage isn't usually a good idea," Charlie reported. "Besides, Early kept detailed records and every animal is accounted for."

"Including the snake that Liz shot?" Don asked. He settled back in his bed.

He could see Charlie nod. "Um, yeah," Charlie added, apparently thinking that Don might not be able to see him.

"There will be an investigation into the shooting," Robin said. "But I'm pretty sure that it will be judged a righteous shooting."

"I'd hope so," Alan said.

"Yeah," Don agreed. "Especially since it looks like the cobra killed Early in cold blood."