Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Loose Teeth and Cannonballs

Author's note: This story takes place in the Let Your Heart Hold Fast universe where Neal is six years old and has been adopted by Peter and Elizabeth Burke. It might not make much sense if you haven't read that one first. Or, at least keep in mind that Neal is only six, lol. Enjoy!


Elizabeth spent several minutes trying to get Peter's attention, but the man was steadfastly shoveling his breakfast into his mouth. Neal, on the other hand, had barely touched his waffles, instead choosing to just eat the whipped cream that was piled on top. Finally, after a swift kick under the table from Elizabeth, Peter looked up at his wife, wondering what was going on.

Without saying a word, Elizabeth nodded her head towards Neal, who appeared to be sucking all the whipped cream and syrup off of a strawberry before putting it back on his plate. Peter had no idea why the boy was doing what he was doing, so he looked back at his wife and shrugged his shoulders.

Elizabeth's face showed her frustration with her husband, but she still kept her mouth shut. Eventually, though, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Neal? Are you feeling okay? You've barely touched your waffles….."

Neal looked up at Elizabeth with a frown planted on his face. "I don't like waffles," he said with a pout.

"Of course you like waffles," Elizabeth answered. "Just last week you asked for them three mornings in a row."

"Well, I don't like them anymore," Neal answered. "They're yucky!"

Elizabeth passed a concerned look to her husband. "Would you like something else to eat then? I hardly think that whipped cream is an adequate breakfast for a six year old."

"I'm not hungry, Mommy," Neal said sadly.

Elizabeth reached over and placed her palm against Neal's forehead. "Well, you don't feel warm. Are you feeling okay? Does your tummy hurt?"

"I'm okay, Mommy. I'm just not hungry." The look on Neal's face wasn't very convincing and neither was the loud growl that came from his stomach.

"Neal, sweetie… you need to eat something. How about some cereal? Or eggs?"

Neal's face lit up, but then quickly darkened again. After a few seconds, it lit up again. "Can I have a breakfast shake, Mommy? Like the one you made last week?"

"Of course, sweetie. Just give me a few minutes to make it."

Elizabeth stood up and went into the kitchen, pulling out everything she needed to make Neal a healthy fruit shake. Peter continued to look at Neal, who was now staring longingly at the waffles on his plate. What in the world was going through that little head of his, Peter wondered.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay, little man?" Peter asked.

"Yes, Daddy," Neal answered quickly. He looked up at Peter for a second and Peter thought he was going to ask him something. The moment passed, though, and Neal returned to staring at his waffles.

Minutes later, Elizabeth came back to the table with a strawberry-banana protein shake and placed it in front of Neal.

"Can I have some whipped cream on it, Mommy?" he asked.

"I think you've had enough of that, don't you?" Elizabeth asked, not wanting Neal to fill up on the pointless calories.

"Please?" Neal pleaded, his blue eyes wide and shining brightly. When Elizabeth hesitated, he opened his eyes even wider. "Pretty please?"

With a laugh, Elizabeth gave in. "Okay, okay…..but just a little," she said as she passed him the bottle.

It was obvious that her idea of "just a little" was vastly different from Neal's.


As Peter and Neal were getting ready to leave the house, Neal turned back to Elizabeth. "Mommy? What did you give me for lunch?"

"A ham sandwich, apple, and peanut butter, sweetie. And a cookie, of course."

"Can I have some pudding instead?" Neal asked.

"Instead of a cookie?" Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Instead of everything," Neal answered.

"Neal, you cannot just eat pudding for lunch. You know that."

"But that's all I want," Neal said. "I don't want a stupid sandwich. Or an apple. Or peanut butter."

Elizabeth noticed that he didn't say that he didn't want the cookie. Typical Neal.

By this time, Peter was getting frustrated. "Neal, let's go. You can just eat the lunch that Mommy already packed for you."

"I don't want that lunch. I want pudding."

Peter had reached his limit, but before he could say anything, Elizabeth spoke.

"This isn't up for debate, sweetie. You're not having pudding for lunch and that's final. Now, grab your backpack and your lunchbox and go to school before you're late."

"That's not fair and you're being mean," Neal cried as he stomped his foot.

Unfortunately, he stomped his foot down on Peter's foot, causing the man to say a bad word. Neal knew he had gone too far and he quickly threw himself at Peter, wrapping his arms around his leg.

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" he cried. "I don't know what's gotten into me this morning."

Elizabeth laughed at Neal's words, knowing that she had a habit of saying that phrase quite frequently. Peter wasn't laughing, though. Instead, he was eyeing Neal sternly.

"If we weren't pressed for time, little man, you'd be spending some time in the corner. Now, unless you want to do that as soon as you get home, I suggest you grab your stuff and get into the car."

Neal sadly grabbed his things, gave Elizabeth and Satchmo a kiss goodbye, and walked out the door.


Neal sat sadly at the lunch table, watching all of his friends happily eating their lunches. He wished that there were hot lunches being served, thinking that they almost always had pudding, applesauce, or ice cream to eat. Unfortunately, the summer playschool program didn't provide lunches like the regular school session, which meant that he was stuck with the lunch his mommy had packed for him.

He tried, unsuccessfully, to trade his lunch for some of the other kids' lunches, but no one wanted to trade. Eventually, Miss Powell, the summer program teacher, realized that Neal wasn't eating.

"Neal? Why aren't you eating?" she asked him as she knelt down in front of him. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really, Miss Powell. I had a really, really big breakfast."

Neal hated lying to her, but he really didn't want her to know the truth. He hadn't told anyone else, but he really, really liked Miss Powell. She was always so nice to him and she always smiled really big whenever she saw him. He thought that he might like to marry her someday.

Because of how much he liked her, he didn't want her to know the real reason why he wasn't eating. How could he explain to her that he was losing his teeth?! How could he ever marry her if he was toothless?!

Neal had been upset and scared ever since he had realized that his two front teeth were wiggly and loose. He didn't want to tell Elizabeth or Peter because he thought they might not let him eat cookies or candy ever again. He remembered that when Elizabeth took him to the dentist, the lady that checked his teeth told him how important it was to brush your teeth twice a day and not eat too much candy. She told him that he had to take care of his teeth so they wouldn't fall out.

And he tried. He brushed his teeth every morning and every night. He even brushed them twice at bedtime, if Elizabeth didn't think he did a good enough job the first time. But, no matter how good he brushed his teeth, they were still going to fall out.

Once lunch was over, Neal closed up his lunchbox, leaving the food inside. The rest of the afternoon was miserable for Neal, mostly because his stomach kept growling and he felt like he might throw up. He was happy when it was finally time to go home and he hoped that Elizabeth would let him have pudding.

Once they got home, Neal ran into the kitchen, putting his backpack and lunchbox on the counter.

"Neal, why don't you take your backpack up to your room while I fix you a snack, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. Can I have pudding?"

"Since when do you like pudding so much, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked.

"I've always liked pudding, Mommy. Ever since I can remember."

Elizabeth laughed as Neal grabbed his bag and ran up the stairs. Pulling out the bowl of pudding she had made the day before, she scooped some out into a bowl for Neal. She also cut up a plate of fruit, wanting to give the boy at least somewhat of a healthy snack. While she was waiting for Neal to return, she opened up his lunchbox to clean it out. She was surprised to see that it looked like Neal hadn't eaten a single thing out of it. What was going on with him?

Minutes later, Neal came running back down the stairs, eager to dive into the pudding and soothe his hungry tummy. Elizabeth made him wash his hands before he climbed up on the barstool and gulped down his pudding. She couldn't help but notice that he steered clear of most of the fruit on the plate, eating only the banana slices.

Once he was done, she washed off his face and hands, before letting him up to go play with Satchmo. She wanted to ask him about not eating his lunch, but wanted to talk to Peter first. Something was going on and she had absolutely no idea what it could be.


Peter walked through the door just as Elizabeth was putting the last dish on the table. Neal was helping his mother set the table and Peter couldn't help but smile as he noticed that the napkins had all been folded into fans. They had gone to a restaurant a few weeks before where the napkins were folded into fans and Neal had asked the waiter if he could teach him how to do it. He had been a fast learner and by the time they were done eating, he had been able to fold them just as well as the restaurant staff. They, of course, all thought that Neal was adorable and the kid had gladly soaked up all of the attention.

"What's for dinner, El?" Peter asked as he washed his hands.

"Your favorite, hon," she answered. "Steak and potatoes."

A huge grin spread across Peter's face. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked as he pulled her to him and gave her a kiss.

A few minutes later they were all seated at the table. Elizabeth placed a steak on Neal's plate and quickly cut it up into small pieces. "Make sure you chew the steak up really well, sweetie."

"I don't want any steak, Mommy," Neal said.

Elizabeth could feel a familiar frustration creep into her. "Neal, you love steak," she answered.

"Not anymore. I'm a vege….um, a vegeterranium."

Peter let his fork drop to his plate as he stared at his son. "It's vegetarian, Neal. And since when are you one?"

"Since just now," Neal replied matter-of-factly. "I decided I don't want to be a cannonball anymore."

Peter and Elizabeth both laughed at that, making Neal angry.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked grumpily. "You shouldn't be cannonballs, either. You should be vege….vegeterrariums like me."

"Vegetarian," Peter corrected again. He had no idea how to explain the whole cannibal idea, so he decided to just let it go. "Neal, if you're a vegetarian that means you can't have hamburgers anymore. Or pepperoni pizza. Or fried chicken."

Neal looked decidedly unhappy at Peter's words. "Well," he said. "I'm not going to be a vegeteren forever, Daddy. Just for tonight."

Elizabeth and Peter both decided that it wasn't worth pushing, so they watched as Neal ate his mashed potatoes. Elizabeth insisted that he eat some vegetables, too. She watched as Neal picked through the vegetable medley, picking out the small pieces of corn and peas. She noticed that he steered completely clear of the broccoli and cauliflower, as well as the zucchini. Deciding to pick her battles wisely, she told herself to be satisfied that he was at least eating some of the vegetables.

After dinner was over, she sent Neal up to take a bath and Peter up to supervise. Peter made sure the water temperature was just how Neal liked it and he filled the tub with bubbles. As Neal played in the tub, Peter sat on the toilet, reading a sports magazine. He half listened as Neal played happily with his toys, so it took him several minutes before he realized that Neal had grown quiet.

"What's up, bud?" Peter asked. "Why aren't you playing?"

Neal looked adorable as he sat in the tub with bubbles hanging from his chin and ears. "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure you can, kiddo. What's on your mind?"

"Do you think Mommy still loves you now that your hair is falling out?"

Peter looked indignantly at his son. "My hair isn't falling out! What makes you think that?"

"I heard you tell Jones that if you didn't catch that bad guy soon you were going to lose all your hair. Will Mommy stop loving you now?"

"First of all, Neal, my hair isn't falling out. That's just a figure of speech, buddy. Second, even if I did lose my hair, Mommy would still love me."

"What if you got really, really fat and got stuck in your chair? Or what if your face gets all wrinkly like Dr. Dan's?"

"Neal, Mommy won't stop loving me if any of those things happen. I wouldn't stop loving her, either, if she got all fat and wrinkly or lost her hair."

"Mommy won't ever get wrinkly, Daddy. She'll always be beautiful."

"Yes, she will."

Neal started playing again, but minutes later, he had stopped again. "What if you lost all your teeth? Would she still love you then?"

"Yes, Neal. She would still love me if I was toothless."

"Would she love me if I was toothless?" Peter didn't miss the fact that Neal asked that question in a much quieter, much more uncertain voice.

"What is this all about, Neal?" Peter asked.

"I'm just wondering, that's all," Neal answered as he stared at his wrinkly fingertips.

"Neal, Mommy and I would love you even if all your teeth fell out and your skin was as wrinkly as a raisin and you were as bald as Mozzie. We would love you even if your skin turned green and you grew hair on your nose and toes. No matter what you look like, we will always love you. Now, why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Peter was surprised to see tears fill Neal's eyes. He hated it when the kid cried and he suddenly wished that Elizabeth was there. He was just about to call for her when Neal started talking.

"My teeth are going to fall out, Daddy! I didn't mean to eat so much candy and I promise I tried really hard to take care of them, but they're all wiggly and loose and they're going to fall out!"

Peter felt relief surge through him and tried his best to contain his laughter. The last thing Neal needed was for him to laugh at him. "Listen, bud, why don't we get you out of the tub and into your pajamas. Then we can talk about this, okay. I need to explain a few things to you."

Peter made sure that Neal washed himself thoroughly and then quickly washed his hair. After drying him off and helping him get dressed, he watched as Neal sadly brushed his teeth. Once Neal was done, Peter picked him and swung him around to his back for a piggyback ride. Taking him downstairs, they found Elizabeth curled up on the couch, reading a book.

"Hey, sweetie," she said when she saw Neal. "Why don't you come and sit with me for a little while?"

Peter swung Neal back around and plopped him gently on the couch next to Elizabeth. "I think we need to have a talk," he said as he sat down next to Neal.

Elizabeth thought that something must have happened while Neal was taking a bath. Did he get into some sort of trouble? Was Peter upset with him? She could tell by the look on Neal's face that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

Peter gave her a quick rundown on the questions Neal had asked him upstairs. By the time he was done explaining everything to her, she wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. Her poor baby!

"Neal, sweetie, why didn't you tell us what was going on?"

Neal shrugged his small shoulders and snuggled closer into Elizabeth's side. Elizabeth turned her body so she was facing him better and put her fingers under his chin, lifting his face up.

"Sweetie, there isn't anything wrong with your teeth and I'm sorry that you were so scared."

"But, there is, Mommy! Look!" Neal opened his mouth and wiggled his front teeth with his tongue. "See? They're all wiggly and they're going to fall out!"

"Honey, they are going to fall out, but that's perfectly normal. It happens to everyone."

"But, I don't want them to fall out. I don't want to not have any teeth, because then Miss Powell won't want to marry me when I'm older and I'll have to eat pudding forever and be a vegeterrarium forever."

By this time, tears were falling down Neal's face and he had started to hiccup. Peter picked Neal up and slid underneath him, seating the boy on his lap.

"Listen, bud, what mommy is trying to say is that everyone loses their teeth when they're little. Right now, you have a mouth full of baby teeth, but you also have big people teeth hiding behind those, waiting to come out."

"But, I don't Daddy! I only have these teeth."

"You can't see the other ones yet, sweetie," Elizabeth explained. "But when they're ready to come out, they push your baby teeth down, making them loosen up until they fall out. Then your big people teeth will move into place."

"Why does it have to happen that way?" Neal asked seriously. "That's weird."

"Well, imagine how weird it would be if babies had big adult teeth in their mouth. Or if adults had tiny little baby teeth. It would look funny, wouldn't it?" Peter asked.

Neal giggled at the thought of his daddy having little tiny teeth. "Are you sure about all of this?" he asked. "Are you sure I won't have to be a vegeterrrarium forever?"

"We're sure, sweetie," Elizabeth reassured him. "In fact, I can prove it to you."

Elizabeth got up and went over to the bookshelf. After a few minutes of searching, she pulled out a photo album and brought it over to the couch. Flipping through the pages, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Look at this, Neal. This is Daddy when he was just about your age."

Neal stared at the picture and then laughed. "You look funny, Daddy. You don't have your front teeth and you look like you have a bowl for hair."

Elizabeth laughed at the look of indignation on her husband's face. Before Peter could say anything, Neal got a funny look on his face.

"Am I going to look funny when I lose my teeth?" he asked. "Because if I do I'm not going back to school."

Elizabeth pulled Neal to her and smothered him with kisses. "Trust me, Neal. You are going to be the most adorable toothless six year old this world has ever seen. Now, let's talk about the tooth fairy…."


Author's note: I was really missing writing in this universe, so I hope you enjoy this. It's just a little piece of fluff for all of you that love little Neal. I might possibly write another chapter, detailing Neal's experience with the tooth fairy. Anybody want to see Peter wearing tights? Lol.

Thanks so much for reading. Please review, if you're so inclined.