"Honey, we're home," he shouted as he walked in the door with Hannah perched on his shoulders. Neal was merely being flippant, but his careless dialogue struck hard. Elizabeth walked from the living room into the entry way.
"Hannah, did you and Neal have fun at the park?" Elizabeth asked, her voice somewhat strained. She didn't look directly at Neal.
"Yes, Mommy," Hannah replied as Neal set her down on the floor, "He and Uncle Mozzie taught me a card trick." Usually, this kind of information led to Elizabeth giving Neal a reproachful look, but she merely nodded.
"Hannah, why don't you go up to your room and put on your PJs, and I'll be up in a few minutes to read you a bedtime story," Neal suggested, while looking studiously at Elizabeth. Hannah took his advice, running up the stairs, babbling about which book she wanted read.
Neal approached Elizabeth slowly; although they had slowly become more than good friends after Peter's death, neither of them felt quite right about it. Initially, they had been there for one another because neither of them had been coping well. Although Elizabeth had originally protested, he hadn't felt comfortable with leaving her home alone with a six month old baby, especially since the circumstances of Peter's death had been somewhat mysterious. Then as time had gone on, Neal stayed, ostensibly because Hannah had become attached to him. But really it was because Neal and Elizabeth didn't think they could live without one another anymore.
"Neal, I'm sorry; I know you didn't mean anything by it," Elizabeth started, a few tears running down her cheek.
"Elizabeth, don't be sorry" Neal said pulling her into a hug with one arm and wiping at her tears with his free hand. "I wasn't thinking... obviously."
"I just always think that one day I'm going to be okay; I won't get emotional over little things, like the word honey," she let out a little sob as she said the word, "For god's sake, it's been four years."
"We're always going to miss him. And I for one, am not going to judge you if you get emotional over little things. And although you are sworn to secrecy on this one, I've gotten a little teary eyed looking at old case files we worked on together"
"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Elizabeth replied, but she knew from the pained look in Neal's eyes that he wasn't.
"Now, what tricks were you and Mozzie teaching my little girl?"
A/N: I have never written character death before; it was not easy and I have no idea what possessed me.
