Don Eppes

FBI Special Agent
Played by: Rob Morrow


Full Name: Don Eppes

Address
:
8111 Aguacate
Los Angeles, CA  91021*

Birth Date
: July 15, 1967*

*Information is from a prop. Spoken dialog will take precedence in canon.

 

Early Life:

Don was born at St Loren’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Alan and Margaret attend sit-ins to protest the Vietnam war when Don is a toddler.  Don is with his parents at a march when Alan is arrested.

Alan states Don has been self-reliant from a young age because of the attention Charlie received when they were children. One of Don’s responsibilities is to walk Charlie home from school when the younger Eppes is in the third grade to protect Charlie from a bully. Don is also responsible for Charlie during a camping trip on Don’s thirteenth birthday.  Charlie disappears and Don feels it is his fault.

Don took piano lessons as a child from a Mrs. Petri. He is surprised as an adult to find his interest in law enforcement dates back to his childhood when he is given a toy gun by his Uncle Tommy.  He also plays a lot of G.I. Joe with Kenny Caldwell. Don’s parents enroll him in Little League as a way to get him to give up toy guns.  By age eleven, Don needs someone other than Alan to throw batting practice for him. Don also plays hockey.  According to Charlie, Don spends time burning dead insects with a magnifying glass.

He and Charlie attend the same high school and graduate the same day even though Don is five years Charlie’s senior. Don does OK in classes, receiving average grades, though he finds it very hard to be Charlie’s “idiot older brother”. Don tried to read a math paper on friendship matrixes written by Charlie in order to learn new ways to pick up girls. He drives a VW through high school and plays baseball. He goes to college on a baseball scholarship.  During his junior year, though not speicifed if it is high school or college, Don’s batting average for that season is .293.

 

Don is a pro baseball player after college, playing for the Class A Stockton Rangers. He’s a utility player batting right handed and he has trouble laying off low, outside pitches. In his last season with the team he bats .228 with 36 RBI’s. When he realizes he will only be a mediocre baseball player, he signs up for the FBI entrance exam.

FBI Career:

Don finds Alan has a file with the FBI for his protest activities while going through a background check for acceptance to Quantico.  As of early 2006, Don has not read much of the file.

His current service weapon is a Glock 19; he has had this weapon for six years as of early 2010 and it is his second assigned weapon.

Don has been an FBI agent since 1995, graduating from the FBI Academy at Quantico. He’s never really thought out his career path, instead straddling the line between field agent and management. His first assignment is in Detroit, Michigan. At some point Don has the wrong man arrested and convicted of a crime; that mistake still haunts him. He is mentored by Peter Fox when Don is twenty-five years old. During this time Don and Fox arrest two men on the Most Wanted List in the same day; a feat that has not been repeated before or since.

 

Some time after the Detroit assignment,  Don works in Fugitive Recovery; his partner is named Billy Cooper. Don does not have good days while working in Fugitive Recovery and doesn’t really miss it, though Billy swears Don is very good at it.

 

After leaving FR, Don teaches a tactical training course at Quantico, he needs to “reconnect with civilization” though he doesn’t talk much about himself or his family. One of his students is Liz Warner.  Don leaves his teaching position to run the Albuquerque, New Mexico FBI office. Don returns to California in 2002 and is a special agent in charge for the Los Angeles FBI Violent Crimes squad. As of late 2006 he has lived in a two bedroom apartment for about two years and has yet to unpack most of the boxes in the spare room.

He asks Charlie for help with a few of his cases starting in 2004, and now seeks his help often, and has had to defend Charlie’s theories to the FBI brass; an 85% clearance rate for his cases helps in these meetings.  He takes Charlie’s safety seriously and has agents watching Charlie during various cases.  Don knows the help Charlie provides is important, however he feels he is taking advantage of his younger brother and worries he is holding him back from becoming great. He does not like Alan participating in FBI cases, feeling it’s too dangerous.

Beginning late in 2006, Don starts showing indications he is letting cases and his job get to him more.  He acts more cynical and negative and in early 2007 he is ordered to see a psychiatrist in response to the Crystal Hoyle shooting in Two Daughters.  Don is initially belligerant with Dr Bradford but after talking to Alan and Charlie he decides to give the therapist a second chance.

Through one session, Don describes various members of his team: he sees Megan as smart, tough, and fast on her feet.  David is a good agent and Don can trust him with anything.  Colby saw a lot that Don can’t even imagine while overseas.  Dr Bradford tells Don he doesn’t really trust his team, and that Don needs to learn how to enjoy life.  Don also admits in therapy sessions he is a workaholic with commitment issues. By late 2008 Don has stopped going to therapy.  On meeting Dr Bradford again in conjunction with a case, Bradford tells him the things he needs aren’t going to be found on a therapy couch.  Don starts investigating the Jewish faith as a way to find something to hold onto.

In late 2008 Charlie has lost his clearance after sending information to a group of scientists in Pakistan.  Agent Carl McGowan is in charge of the decision regarding reinstatement of Charlie’s credentials.  It is clear McGowan is more focused on Don’s investigative methods than what Charlie did, and Don gives McGowan an ultimatum: either Charlie’s clearance is reinstated of Don will leave the FBI. The ultimatum is not tested however as the ADIC goes against McGowan’s recommendations of disciplinary action against Don and no clearance reinstatement for Charlie.

In early 2010, Don is offered the position of Special Agent in Charge at the LA office.

 

Personal Life:
While in Virginia, Don meets and dates Terry Lake. He tells his father one of the best dates he ever has is pepperoni pizza in a laundromat which is also his first date with Terry. They do not pursue a relationship after graduation as they are assigned to different places.

 

While living in New Mexico, Don meets Nikki Davis.  They date for awhile, but Don leaves her.  He also meets and falls in love with Kim Hall. They live together and are engaged to be married when Don receives news his mother has been diagnosed with cancer. As a result, Don leaves New Mexico and returns to California. Kim sends him a letter with her engagement ring enclosed ending the relationship; she continues her career and now works for the Secret Service.

Also in New Mexico, in roughly 2002, Don has an affair with Leah Wexford, a witness in an organized crime case he is assigned to.  Don has a sealed file with the FBI as a result of the relationship “full of reprimands” and he is not allowed to see her again once she is put into Witness Security.

 

Once back in California, Don dates Nadine Hodges a few times, but the relationship hasn’t gone farther. Don also meets Terry Lake again as she is also working out of the LA office, however they do not rekindle their previous relationship as they feel their working relationship might suffer.

 

As of early 2006, Don is not in a serious relationship as he does not want to put someone at risk simply for knowing him. He does have at least one date with Robin Brooks an AUSA he talks to at a firing range, and by late 2006 is still seeing her.  However the two breakup after about six months (Robin leaves Don).  A week after this breakup Don has a date with Agent Liz Warner. In early 2007, Liz is transferred to the LA office; she and Don decide to try a relationship but want to keep things low key to avoid gossip. However once people start asking questions, Don and Liz tell the rest of Don’s team in early 2007 they are dating; Liz also has a key to Don’s apartment.

Don’s relationship with Liz is in jeopardy after she finds out Don has several dates with Leah Wexford, now living in LA and still in the witness security program, as well as her hunch Don passed information to a gang member in a case. They soon separate as Don wonders why they are even together and fears it may be nothing more than a habit.

In early 2008 Robin Brooks returns to Los Angeles after successfully prosecuting a case in Miami.  While under FBI protection, she and Don reconnect and start dating and sleeping together again. In late 2008 Don admits to Robin he wants her to have every opportunity, however he would prefer it if she looked for those opportunities in California where she could stay with him. By early 2010, Don and Robin are splitting tie between each others apartments.  Don proposes marriage to Robin as a way to uncomplicate their lives somewhat; however Robin says no, for now.  She will marry him when Don is really ready. In early 2010, at a family gathering for Charlie and Amita to say goodbye before leaving for England, Don again proposes to Robin and this time she accepts.

 

Don’s reaction to his mother dying is consistent with his personality as self-reliant. He shows little emotion regarding her death, but is very angry with Charlie for not spending more time with their mother while he has the chance.

Don realizes the family is never very religious and wonders why.  He’s only been in a Jewish temple twice, once at age thirteen and again for his mother’s funeral. After a case involving art stolen by the Nazis he asks his father for the names of family members who are in Germany at the time of the war and makes an effort to find out more about them.  In late 2008, Don begins to attend services at a Jewish temple.  He’s tells his father and Larry about his religious journey but is hesitant to mention it to Charlie as he doesn’t want to get in a debate with his brother who Don admits can be rather intimidating.

 

Don and Charlie are working on their relationship and get along much better as adults than they did as children, though there are still issues that have not been completely worked out; one of the significant ones being their mother’s death. He does know Charlie bought the family home, and still enjoys coming over to the house on a regualr basis. Charlie discovers through a dream involving his mother that Don is most like Margaret in that they both are less sure about themselves compared to Charlie and Alan. By late 2007 Don and Charlie seem much more comfortable together and even double date a few times.

He and Alan talk regularly about sports, and Alan is aware of his engagement to Kim Hall.  Alan refers to him as Donny quite often; a nickname Don doesn’t seem to mind.  Don is also beating Alan at gin as a result of learning to count cards from Charlie.

Don does some volunteer work, most notably with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

 

Hobbies, Likes/Dislikes:
Don still enjoys watching baseball and is considering playing for the FBI’s recreational team. He also likes watching hockey and plays tennis, golf and Frisbee golf and poker.

He enjoys a good rib-eye steak, and drinks both coffee and hot tea. According to Margaret (in one of Charlie’s dreams) Don also likes pancakes.

He does not read tabloids. He’s seen with cigars, but apparently doesn’t light them. His favorite movie is the Preston Sturges comedy Sullivan’s Travels.

He is handy enough with tools to help Alan put a new roof on the Craftsman house soon after Margaret dies.

In late 2009, Don buys a motorcycle, a Moto Guzzi Griso 1100.  He thinks it’s a way to get out on the open road more, Alan thinks it’s Don’s mid-life crisis mobile. Professor Lazlo tries to get Don to join a riding club for the socialization and to learn how to maintain the bike, so far Don has declined Lazlo’s offer.

 

Trivia:
  • Drives a Chevy Suburban California plates: 6Q49932 (Chevy is equipped with lights and sirens) In season three the plate changes to: 4PCI086.
  • Rob Morrow plays the piano at the end of The Running Man*
  • Don’s radio call number is 3695
  • First use of Don Vision 324 The Janus List
  • Don and Charlie have an Aunt Doris who sends family members pears every year.

*According to show creator Cheryl Heuton


The Quotable Don Eppes:
  • From the brothers Eppes I thank you. (Structural Corruption)
  • You know I got like a ‘C’ in Physics. (Uncertainty Principle)
  • Low-key and memorable aren’t mutually exclusive. (Structural Corruption)
  • What, you didn’t think I’d have a back-up plan? (Dirty Bomb)
  • So no one gets left behind, they just don’t get started to begin with. (Sacrifice)
  • To Charlie: That’s what I love about you, you never give up. (Noisy Edge)
  • On finding out an aircraft was made on Earth: That’s good, cuz I really like my job, you know? (Noisy Edge)
  • To Charlie: And by the way, anomaly only has one ‘O’. (Man Hunt)
  • Charlie: Boy, I coulda just taken the bus back to CalSci and went home.
    Don: Well, you were about fifteen seconds too late with that thought. (Judgment Call)
  • Don: I’m not dating anyone.
    Alan: So I noticed. (Judgment Call)
  • Alan: 3.5 is a ridiculous spread. I took the Jags and made $100.
    Don: What? You have a bookie?
    Alan: Should I have my lawyer present? (Bettor or Worse)
  • Younger brothers can definitely be a trigger. (Bettor or Worse)
  • Until we find dead bodies, this is still a search and rescue. (Bettor or Worse)
  • He’s a famous mathematician! Go ahead, Charlie, get your vogue on. (Obsession)
  • Fame for privacy? Are you kidding? Not me, no thank you. (Obsession)
  • I’m assuming you all have permits for those bulges in your jackets? (Calculated Risk)
  • You’ll forgive me if all my years in high school detention say I’m right. (Assassin)
  • Oh, see, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the FBI takes orders from Homeland Security. (Soft Target)
  • I want to stop something terrible from happening, I don’t wanna have to clean up afterwards. (Soft Target)
  • Megan: You don’t think a bomb is enough of a good motivator?
    Don: What part of his personality says he can take a suggestion? (Soft Target)
  • He [Alan] would be happy if I married someone with a pulse. (Soft Target)
  • Colby: Your brother is starting to freak me out a little bit.
    Don: What? Just a little? (Convergence)
  • What’s the deal? There are more people here in the middle of the night than at ten in the morning. It’s like the FBI. (In Plain Sight)
  • She could also kick his ass, but he doesn’t know that. (Toxin)
  • Don: It’s more a geographic thing; apparently race isn’t really a factor.
    David: They need to circulate that memo. (Bones of Contention)
  • Charlie: Were we really gonna talk?
    Don: I brought a six-pack.  If things go south we can just watch the game (Bones of Contention)
  • Don: No offense, Charlie; it sounds to me like two math geeks that don’t date much.
    Charlie: I do take offense. (The OG)
  • Trust me, if Charlie’s math says they are connected, the odds are they are connected. (The OG)
  • Yeah, Chuck, we got your back … and your spleen. (Harvest)
  • Don: Commie
    Alan: G-Man (Protest)
  • By ‘we’ I mean Charlie. (Dark Matter)
  • What do you want from me; I like to see how they spin it. (Dark Matter)
  • I’m cool until everything quiets down.  Then it’s like my head is a bad neighborhood to be in. (Rampage)
  • To Alan: Don’t underestimate how great it is to have somebody to come home to talk to. (Two Daughters)
  • That’s right, Big Brother is always watchin’. (The Mole)
  • Never been in combat, but I’ve been in my share of fire fights and you know what scares the hell out of me?  It’s not dyin’; it’s letting my guys down. (The Mole)
  • Welcome to my world. [to Liz Warner when Charlie asks for race data from the last year.] (Longshot)
  • Don: Is it cheating if everyone does it?
    Alan:
    Yes. (Hardball)
  • You’re what’s wrong with this game. (Hardball)
  • As far as file sharing goes we’re off to a bad start. (Brutus)
  • Don: Who ya gonna call?
    David: Charlie. (Killer Chat)
  • Don: Do you think I need help?
    Megan: I don’t think they’ve made the person yet who doesn’t. (Take Out)
  • David: The dude has always made me crazy.  Ever know anyone like that?
    Don: Well, you know Charlie, right? (Contenders)
  • I’m the boss. I don’t have to trust them, it’s their job to trust me. (One Hour)
  • Alan: So now I’ve got two jaded, world weary sons?
    Don: Yeah, and this one’s got a shrink to prove it. (Democracy)
  • Don: Great another one [genius].
    Alan: Well, we can always use one more.
    Don: Are you kidding? They’re taking over here.
    Alan: You’re right. (Democracy)
  • Don: How soon?
    Charlie: A day … more or less.
    Don: How about less? (Burn Rate)
  • Don: Tea?
    Liz Warner: Yeah, I saw Granger make that coffee. (Burn Rate)
  • Charlie: [watching the barbeque grill smoke] Barbeque ribs …
    Don: Not any more. (The Art of Reckoning)
  • The new attitude is gratitude (Under Pressure)
  • Describing Charlie: A curly-headed blackhole that could suck the air out of the universe. (Money for Nothing)
  • So you guys got anything to say, you know you can say it to her [Liz]. (Money for Nothing)
  • Charlie: So, you know I’m always happy to help you, right?
    Don: What, face to face with this guy crosses the line?
    Charlie: Frankly, yeah. (The Janus List)
  • Charlie: What do you think it means?
    Don: I don’t know.  You can’t expect me to know everything. (The Janus List)
  • Charlie: Don, you have a big ego.
    Don: Thanks.
    Charlie: No, you have a ginormous ego.
    Don: Thanks. (Trust Metric)
  • Megan: [about David and Colby] Remember when The Who got back together and decided to go out on tour?  Took ’em a little while to get their groove back.
    Don; Well, I better start hearin’ some music soon. (Robin Hood)
  • Don: I told you they got me seeing a therapist?
    Walker: Who isn’t these days? (Robin Hood)
  • Don: Let me ask you something, not about this.
    David: About Liz?
    Don: Yeah, how did you know?
    David: You asked permission to ask. (Tabu)
  • Don: Megan’s on a little bit of a time out.
    David: Again? (Tabu)
  • Don: We haven’t done anything outside of work for awhile.
    David: There’s a life outside of work?
    Colby: That’d be news to me. (Graphic)
  • That’s the whole meal? That’s it? Just waffles? (Black Swan)
  • Alan: This does not mean he gets to carry a gun after this, right?
    Don: I don’t know, maybe some handcuffs.
    Amita: Hmmm, really? (Checkmate)
  • [to Charlie]: What can we do for you, Rambo? (Checkmate)
  • Colby: Maybe Charlie can slap it in one of those algorithmic, geo-profiling, hot zone, hot pocket deals.
    Don: Put it just like that when you ask him. (End Game)
  • I don’t like not being trusted.  And yes I do get the irony. (End Game)
  • Alan: Professor Sanjrani?  He’s involved in an FBI case?
    Don: I thought you were reading the paper.
    Alan: Yeah well I was but it’s too depressing. (When Worlds Collide)
  • Alan: This is not the first time this house has been divided by fundamental disagreements. That year Charlie spent at MIT, remember when he came home? Now that was a shocker.
    Charlie: Yeah, so, I’m a Celtics fan.  It happens even in good families.
    Don: Not really. Not in LA. (When Worlds Collide)
  • Charlie’s back or I’m gone. (Blowback)
  • Carl McGowan: I’m trying to figure out which side of the line you stand on.
    Don: Well, maybe if the line stopped moving, Carl, I could tell you. (Jack fo All Trades)
  • Larry: My own quest for god has been inextricably intertwined with my work.
    Don: Does that help you sleep?
    Larry: No, it keeps me awake. (Magic Show)
  • They pay me to keep secrets. (Conspiracy Theory)
  • David: I can understand stealing gold, stealing art.  But who pulls a heist for shoes?
    Don: Who keeps them in a vault!? (Sneakerhead)
  • Don: Is this going to get us anywhere or are we just digressing?
    Larry: When do I digress? (Sneakerhead)
  • Air Geeks!(Sneakerhead)
  • Don: Any time you have an idea like this, you know my door is wide open, right?
    Charlie: Technically you don’t have a door, you have a cubicle. I have a door. (Cover Me)
  • Robin: That was cheap!
    Don: What are you talking about? Twelve percent is fine, that food was terrible!
    Robin: OK well you don’t blame the waiter, you get mad a the chef.
    Don: Yeah, but he’s got all the knives back there and my gun’s in the car. (12:01AM)
  • Nikki: I think I saw this movie.
    Don: Yeah? How did it end?
    Nikki: This guy gets off death row, right, and goes on this killing spree … Right.  I’ll go look for tire tracks. (12:01AM)
  • Don: Is that legal?
    Charlie: It’s not illegal; technology is ahead of the law. (Animal Rights)
  • [to Charlie] I never wanted this life for you. (The Fifth Man)
  • [to Charlie]: I don’t know about the whole destiny thing.  You’ve had it pounded into your head since you were a kid.  Why don’t you just do what you want on any given day. (Greatest Hits)
  • You see all sides from the middle. (HYDRA)
  • Nikki: Nellis has to deal with these kinds of people all the time.
    Don: Nellis?
    David: Air base; Area 51.
    Don: Oho so these are really reliable people. (Dreamland)
  • Don: What the hell happened?
  • Liz: Don’t ask me. When Charlie started talking about 4-D mapping I just did the smile and nod thing. (Arm in Arms)

On the ‘Net:
  • IMDb — internet movie database entry for Rob Morrow
  • RobMorrow.net — Rob’s official site
  • DRMF — Dedicated Rob Morrow Fans