Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Haircuts and Mischief

Chapter 1

Neal woke up to a strange pulling sensation on his head. He tried to roll over, but his head seemed like it was stuck to his pillow. Reaching his hand up to his head, he gently felt around to figure out what was going on. His fingers quickly found a clump of hair sticking to the pillow and he tried to work it loose. By the time he was done, there were several hairs still sticking to the pillow and his eyes burned with tears.

Jumping out of bed, he made his way quietly to the bathroom, grabbed the step-stool from under the sink, and climbed up on it to look in the mirror. He could just barely make out what looked like a giant fur ball stuck to the back of his head. Pulling on it did nothing but make his head hurt and his eyes burn with more tears. Grabbing Elizabeth's brush, he tried to brush through the clump without success. Next, he turned on the faucet and bent over to put his head under the water. He nearly fell off the stool when the cold water ran down his neck, but he regained his balance just in time. Unfortunately, though, the water didn't help, either.

For a few seconds, Neal contemplated waking up Elizabeth and letting her help him, but he quickly decided that that was a bad idea. He knew his mommy would be upset that he had gone to bed with gum in his mouth. She didn't like him chewing gum at all and if she found out that he had snuck a piece from her purse, he would be in big trouble. And if there was one thing Neal truly hated, it was being in trouble.

Not knowing what else to do, Neal did the only thing he could. He opened up all the drawers in the bathroom vanity, but couldn't find what he was looking for. Leaving the bathroom, he quietly made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. The last thing he wanted was to wake his mommy and daddy up, so he was extra careful to skip the third stair from the top that always creaked.

Once he was in the kitchen, he pulled a bar stool over to the counter by the sink and climbed up on it. He had no trouble getting the scissors out of the kitchen knife block that Elizabeth always kept pushed far back on the counter. Holding them by the blades and pointing them down to the floor like he had been taught in kindergarten, Neal carefully made his way back up to the bathroom. Positioning himself in front of the mirror again, he raised the scissors up to his head and quickly cut off the chunk of hair that was clumped together with gum.

Putting the scissors down on the counter next to him, Neal tried to examine the back of his head. He nearly fell off the stool again when he saw what looked like a big bald spot where his curly locks used to be. Maybe no one will notice, he thought to himself.

Neal quickly cleaned up the chunk of hair he had cut off, throwing it in the toilet and flushing it. After that, he grabbed the scissors to take back downstairs. He was almost to the top of the stairs when he heard the sound of one of his parents getting out of bed. Instead of going downstairs, he quickly made his way back into his room and jumped into bed. He just barely had time to flip his pillow over and tuck the scissors underneath the blankets when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. A few seconds later, the door opened and Peter's head poked in. He seemed surprised to see Neal looking back at him.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing up? It's three o'clock in the morning."

"I had to go to the bathroom, Daddy," Neal said with a yawn. "I think I drank too much juice last night."

"You think so?" Peter asked with a smile. "I guess we'll have to cut it down to just one glass from now on."

"I was thinking that I could just have one and half glasses, Daddy. Sometimes a man needs more than just one glass, you know."

"Of course," Peter laughed. "Us men do get thirsty sometimes. Okay, buddy, do you think you can go back to sleep?"

"I think so, Daddy."

Peter walked into the room and over to Neal's bed. He reached down to tuck the blankets around Neal, but was surprised when Neal moved away from him, pulling the blanket up around his neck.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Neal said loudly. "I better go to sleep. Mommy says I'm supposed to get at least ten hours of sleep a night."

"Okay, little man. Goodnight." Peter bent down to kiss Neal on the forehead, but he moved away again. Peter straightened up and walked out the door. He wouldn't admit it, but his feelings were hurt just a little bit by Neal's seeming rejection.

A few hours later, Elizabeth walked into Neal's room to wake him up. She loved to watch Neal when he was asleep, using the time when Neal was uncharacteristically still to take in the sweetness of his face. She knew she was a little biased, but she thought that he was an extraordinarily beautiful little boy. His skin was so soft and fair, his eyelashes were so long that they brushed his cheeks, and his curly brown hair was adorable.

Elizabeth took a deep breath before leaning down to wake Neal up. Once he was awake, the house would be filled with endless energy and Elizabeth and Peter would need to be on their toes to keep up with the six year old. She was exhausted just thinking about it.

"Good morning, sweetie," she said as she sat down on the bed next to Neal. "Time to get up."

Neal groaned and tried to curl up under the blankets, but Elizabeth stopped him.

"Nope, you have to get up, Neal. We have things to do today."

"I'm tired, Mommy," Neal whined. "I'll just stay here today and sleep, okay?"

"You can't, sweetie. Mommy and Daddy have to go to work."

Elizabeth moved her hand up to Neal's head, but he moved away. "Okay, Mommy," Neal said loudly. "I'm getting up, but you need to leave."

Elizabeth was surprised and a little annoyed by his words. "Excuse me? Why do I need to leave, young man?"

"I have to get dressed, Mommy. I need some privacy."

"Since when do you need privacy, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked with a laugh.

"Mommy, I'm six years old now, remember?"

"You were six years old yesterday, too, Neal, and I helped you get dressed then, remember?"

"I know, Mommy, but I'm older today than I was yesterday. And smarter."

"Okay, then. I guess I'll just go downstairs and start on breakfast. Don't forget to brush your teeth and comb your hair, okay?"

"Mommy," Neal groaned. "I won't forget."

Elizabeth laughed as she left Neal to get ready for the day.

Peter stepped into the kitchen to find Elizabeth busily making breakfast. He took a second to admire the beauty that was his wife before interrupting her.

"Hey, good lookin'. Whatcha got cookin'?" he said in a sing-song voice as he stepped up behind her and kissed her neck.

Elizabeth let out a small laugh. "The usual….. eggs, bacon, toast. Peter, did you use my kitchen scissors and forget to put them back?"

"What kitchen scissors?"

"The ones that are in the knife block. They were here yesterday, but now they're missing."

"I haven't seen them, El. Are you sure you didn't take them up to your craft room?"

"Of course I'm sure. They're not craft scissors, Peter," Elizabeth grumbled. "They're kitchen scissors."

"I didn't know there was a difference," Peter laughed. "In my world, scissors are scissors, hon. The FBI only has one kind."

Peter poured himself a cup of coffee and stepped over to the dining table. He was surprised to see Neal sitting at the table already, looking like he was up to something. Peter couldn't help but frown at the fact that Neal was wearing his favorite fedora.

"Good morning, Neal."

"Good morning, Daddy," Neal answered.

"Are you forgetting something, bud?"

Neal looked around him in contemplation. "I don't think so, Daddy."

Peter pointed at Neal's head. "We don't wear hats at the table, little man. Take it off."

Neal grabbed his orange juice and took a sip, obviously ignoring Peter.

"Did you hear me, Neal? I told you to take off your hat."

Neal looked at Peter nervously before reaching up and taking off his hat. A second later, he grabbed the hood of the sweatshirt he was wearing and pulled it up over his head.

"Neal," Peter started.

"My ears are cold, Daddy," Neal blurted out.

Peter's eyes narrowed at his son's antics, instinctively knowing that he was up to something. Without saying another word, he stepped forward and pulled the hood back down. At the angle he was standing to Neal, he instantly saw the rather large chunk of hair that was missing from the boy's head.

"What happened to your hair?!" Peter yelled, causing Neal to abruptly lean back in his chair.

Peter's yelling brought Elizabeth into the dining room. "What's going on?" she asked breathlessly. "Why are you yelling, Peter?"

"Step over here, El, and you'll see why I'm yelling."

Elizabeth stepped over to where Peter was and looked down at the very contrite six year old sitting in front of her.

"Neal George Caffrey Burke, what did you do to your hair?!"

Author's note: Well, it's been an awfully long time since I've written anything, so forgive me for being a little rusty. I hope there is still a little bit of interest out there for my version of little Neal and the Let Your Heart Hold Fast universe. If so, I'll keep on writing. Thanks for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts.