Don Eppes

Donald 'Don' Eppes.
Donald Eppes was born on July 15, 1967 to Alan and Margaret Eppes. He was born at St. Vincent Hospital, a long and difficult delivery; Alan did not know any lullabies, so he sang the Sgt. Pepper album six times through. Alan related this when Don was stabbed and taken to St. Vincent's in "The Fifth Man" (season 5 episode 20)

Five years later he would receive a younger brother his parents named Charles Eppes. During the Vietnam War his parents would take him to sit-ins and he watched his father be arrested twice as mentioned in the episode "Protest". His parents were considered radicals in their day and have files with the FBI because of their actions though Don stated he never read his father's file.

As a child Don became attached to a toy gun which worried his parents. Because of this his parents put him in little league in the hopes of getting him away from the toy gun. He quickly fell in love with the sport and forgot all about that toy gun until his father reminded him of it many years later. In high school Don was on the school baseball team. It was stated that Charlie could predict the number of walks he would get just from his stance at the plate.

Don and Charlie graduated from high school on the same day though there was a five years age difference between them. This put a strain on the relationship between the brothers.

After high school Don went away to college though no specific college was stated on a baseball scholarship. Then he went and played with the Stockton Rangers as a Utility Player for this minor league team. Don stated that one of his team members used steroids to help their game though he never did. That same team member went on to play in the majors while he remained in the minors. Realizing he'd never get out of the minor leagues Don quit the the rangers. He also stated he signed up for the FBI test the very next day.

During his academy days Don dated agent Terry Lake who was also training in the academy during that time. One of the best dates he ever went on was with her and it happened to be when they had pizza in a laundromat. Terry stated, in the first season, that she does not share that opinion.

After the academy Don and Terry broke up. Don then worked in Fugitive Recovery with Billy Cooper ("Man Hunt") and a former Navy SEAL named Petey Fox ("Friendly Fire"). He was, admittedly good at it. However, during this time he seemed to have lost contact with his family and nobody knew anything about his life. To return to civilization Don worked for a short period teaching at the FBI Academy though they never stated what it was he taught, exactly. His next stop was the field office in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was there that he dated Kim Hall and even got engaged to her. They split up two years prior to the pilot when he returned home after his mom got sick. Charlie was unaware of Don's engagement until she came down to the Los Angeles field office on a job.

Throughout the Series
Back in Albuquerque Don had been the Special Agent in Charge so to transfer to the L.A. Field Office meant he had to take a demotion to become a special agent. He did take that demotion so that he could be closer to his mother when she was diagnosed with cancer. Margaret Eppes died approximately a year after being diagnosed which was a year before the start of the series.

Between the death of their mother and the first episode of season one it is stated that Don had been assisted by Charlie on two cases, both of which involved IRS extortion and Stock fraud.

In the beginning Don was wary of his brother's involvement with his cases. He was skeptical that his brother could be of any true help but he reluctantly gave Charlie a chance to assist with the first case. He was surprised when Charlie's math lead to the suspect's apprehension though it wasn't perfect as there were a few fumbles on the way due to Charlie's lack of true insight into the world of human behavior.

During the episode "Uncertainty Principle" Charlie predicted the location of the next bank the 'Charm School Boys' would attack. What nobody predicted would they would be both armed and have back up waiting for them outside. In the cross-fire Don was grazed by a bullet and had his gun taken away from him. Charlie seems to break down after seeing what his math has done, and seeing Don hurt. He reverts to working on P vs. NP which we learn is how Charlie spent the last three months of their mother's life. Don eventually loses his temper at his brother. He tells his brother he needs to stop living in a bubble and hiding in his math.

In the very next episode ("Vector") he is surprised to find his brother has higher clearance than he does. His security clearance is high enough he is able to work with both the CDC and the NSA as well as call the director of the FBI by his first name. He is also surprised to find Charlie does not realize he can walk into the L.A. Office whenever he wants without needing to get a visitor's pass every time. The fact Don didn't know any of this shows that the relationship was strained long before their mother became sick.

Personality
Don is very devoted to his job, which leaves very little time for a social life. Don has a self-sacrificing tendency which leaves him letting things he wants get away from.

Those who work for him have stated that he is a harsh taskmaster and likes being the boss. Some have even gone as far as to say he's not very forgiving when people make mistakes. Liz Warner, both an ex-girlfriend and one of his former tactical trainees from Quantico, has proclaimed to this and comforted Colby Granger when he confided in her that he made a mistake. She informed him that if he's still on Don's team that means he's done something right to make up for it in the past.

His personal life, before Charlie worked for him, was extremely private as he never use to speak of it. Liz even states at one point that he has mellowed with age. She even goes so far as to says he can now hold a commitment with a woman for longer periods of time. This is proven true when he becomes engaged to Robin Brooks.

The relationship between Don and his brother is strained. In the episode "One Hour" Don comments about how he doesn't like living in the shadow of a genius brother. He then states that he does respect him and his abilities very much and is thankful that they have become closer. He sometimes worries that Charlie isn't doing all the great things he was meant to be doing.

It is shown, especially in the beginning, that Don is a jock type character. He enjoys catching the occasional game of baseball and hockey on TV. Both were mentioned he played in his youth. He even went to college on a baseball scholarship.

Don once thought that baseball had been his first love though his father corrected him by reminding him of the toy gun he use to play with, alwways pretending to be the good guy rather than the bad guy. He is told that playing a cop was actually his first love. Charlie then made a comment about Don being a 'Born Cop'. Though giving up on the game still seems to be a sore subject for him.