Summary: He just wanted to take a walk to clear his mind of things. He didn't expect to find a dead body lying at his feet.
Warnings: Language, spoilers for Out of the Box, takes places before Point Blank.
Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar. I am not associated with White Collar in any way.
Author's note: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy.
Neal Caffrey slid out of his bed, a shaky hand rubbing over his face. He took a deep breathe and looked at the clock. It was 12:04 in the morning. Neal sighed wearily and turned on the lights and looked in the mirror. He was in his silk pajamas and there were heavy bags under his eyes.
He hadn't gotten much sleep in the past week. He was finally getting his sleeping schedule back on track since Kate's death. The first week of her death, he barely got any sleep at all. The second week, he was getting maybe thirty minutes more. The nightmares are what kept him up most of the time. Now, he was almost getting a full night sleep, but then the events from this month startled him again; ever since Peter had almost died. Elizabeth had flipped when she found out about the poison, and how Peter's heart had almost stopped. It was a few weeks ago, and now everything was back to normal except the nightmares again.
Neal sighed and wondered if maybe a warm bath would help him, but he decided against it. June had suggested a few weeks ago that if he was ever getting nightmares or something was bothering him, then he should go on a walk around the block to get things off his mind.
Of course, walking the streets of Manhattan at this time of night could be dangerous, but he didn't care at the moment. It wasn't really running through his mind at the time, so he grabbed a pair of sweats and a white t-shirt, something he would never be caught dead in going to the office or somewhere else, but for this occasion, he thought it was acceptable.
He walked down the stairs and found that June was still up, reading a book in the dining room. Neal smiled at her, "Hi June." He sighed and sat down at the table with her.
"What are you doing still up? Don't you have work tomorrow?" She asked and put down her book.
Neal shrugged, "I was asleep. I had a nightmare. I'm just going to go take a walk." He said simply and got up. "Will you be asleep when I get back? I'm just walking around the block." He said and grabbed a light jacket off the coat rack.
"Yes, unless you need me to let you back in. Do you have your key? I can stay up for you, if you need me, darling." said June, smiling at him.
Neal shook his head, "I'm fine. Yes, I have a key. Thank you so much though." He said and hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight." He said and walked out the door, sighing.
He closed the door and locked it and then started on his walk. He rubbed his temples as he walked and sighed. He wondered if Peter was still up, checking his tracker information, and wondering if he thinking to himself, 'Where the heck is he going?'
Neal heard screams in the distance and he jumped. He wondered if it was just teenagers having fun, maybe just throwing toilet paper rolls at their teacher house. These were startled and terrifying screams though.
Just to be sure, he ducked back behind a tree and by some bushes and made a peephole so he could watch from behind.
He saw a girl being chased by a man. He had something in his hand that was shiny and long. A knife. Neal checked his pockets and realized he didn't have his phone. "Shit." He said quietly and did the only thing he could do. He stepped out of the bushes as the man started passing and he tackled him to the ground, trying to get the knife out of his hand. The man kicked Neal in the stomach and took the knife and slit Neal's face. Neal gasped and rolled off of him, but he couldn't give up.
The man that slashed him got up and sprinted after the lady. He was fast, and Neal didn't think he was fast enough to catch up to him, but he tried. The man got the lady and then there was a startled cry, and the man dropped the lady and sprinted off. Neal stopped dead on his feet and ran towards the woman, picking her up and taking his jacket off. He put it on the wound where the knife ripped through her stomach, and looked at her in the face. She was really beautiful and he picked her up.
He had to get to a phone to call an EMS ambulance, so he sped walked to June's house. He would have used a pay phone if he would have had money with him, but he didn't. He was only a street away anyway. He walked quickly and then kicked the door with his foot loudly, trying not to knock the door down completely, but he was anxious and needed to get this young lady help.
June answered the door, groggily, saying, "I thought you had your ke-." She stopped midsentence when she saw that he was carrying a lady. She moved out of the way quickly and grabbed her phone off the stand by her dining room table.
"Please call an ambulance…a man took a knife and stabbed her in the stomach. I don't think she's breathing." He put his hand on her chest and felt a light heartbeat. He listened to June talking anxiously on the phone while he kept his jacket on the wound. Neal closed his eyes and prayed to God that this woman would be alright. He didn't even know who she was, but she didn't deserve to die this young…just like Kate.
He shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head and put all his attention to her again and he saw June was off the phone and coming with a some water and a rag. She took Neal's jacket and replaced it with the rag. She handed him the now opened water, and he wet the rag and put it back on her stomach.
June looked at Neal with widened eyes and put her finger to his face and traced the long, bloody scratch across his cheekbone. Neal jumped at the touch. He looked at her and sighed, "I'm okay, really. He kicked me in the stomach and just scratched my face with a knife. I've had worse. The only thing that hurts is my stomach. You know me, I'm not good with blood." he said and then heard sirens in the distance. He sighed of relief and kept the pressure on it.
The door was open and the EMS team rushed inside and found the girl that Neal was sitting over, putting pressure on her wound. Neal got up and the EMS picked her up and put her on a stretcher. "No pulse, let's move!" They yelled and rushed out of the house.
Neal's stomach lurched and his eyes widened. "I don't feel well at all." He said and got up and went to the dining room table and pulled a chair out and sat in it. His forehead was covered in beads of sweat.
June grabbed a large bowl out of the kitchen and set it next to him. She went back into the kitchen and grabbed a wet rag to wipe his face so he could cool down.
Neal gagged and started to vomit what was in his stomach until it was completely empty. June rubbed his back as he gagged and vomited until he was done.
Neal kept his head over the bowl just to make sure and a few minutes later, he shakily got up and went into the bathroom to empty the bowl. He wiped his mouth off and rinsed his mouth out. He looked at himself in the mirror, realizing he had blood splatters on his sweats and t-shirt. He stripped down and threw his clothes to the side. He shut the door and got a wash clothe and wet it and rubbed at the cut on his face, trying to get the blood off of it.
The knock at the door made him jump and he set the wash clothe on the counter, he cracked the door slightly and peeked his head out, "I'm going to wash up. I'm fine now. My stomach feels fine now." He told June, and she nodded.
"I just thought I'd be sure. Take as much time as you need." She said and walked off.
Neal shut the door, feeling awkward, and then continued washing his face till the dirt and scrape was cleaned up a little. He turned the shower water on and hopped in, washing his arms and legs, his hair, and he stayed in for a good twenty minutes until he coaxed himself out. He looked around and found a towel and draped it over his shoulders. He grabbed another one towel and wrapped it around his hips.
He sighed and exited the bathroom, seeing that June was no longer in the dining room and the lights were off. He trudged up the steps, tired, and into his room when he found June in there, placing a new pair of pajamas in his room and a glass of water. He found the bowl and another rag. She jumped when she saw him at the door and put a hand on her chest. "Oh, dear, that scared me." She said and pointed at the clothes. "There are some new pajamas there and a glass of water by on your nightstand. I also got a bowl and a rag just in case you feel queasy. Get some rest. I'll make sure that I go into the hospital tomorrow to find out about the lady, I promise you." She said and kissed Neal on the cheek, despite his awkwardness, just standing there in a towel, and she exited.
Neal dropped the towel, changed back into pajamas, and crawled into bed. He hoped that he could at least get some sleep in the night.
Morning
Peter tapped his shoe as he waited for Neal to come out of June's house, but he never did. He got up, groaning, and knocked on the door, angrily. June answered and smiled.
"Hi Peter." She said. "Didn't Neal call you?" She asked, her eyebrow rising up.
Peter's brow furrowed, "No, why would he?" He asked. He looked at his watch. "I'm on time. I mean, he should be down here. Is there something wrong with him?" He asked, worried now.
June sighed and said, "He had a very long night. Come in, I'll explain everything. I don't think he should come into work today, though. He needs to sleep." She said and allowed Peter to enter. She got him her Italian Roast coffee and sat at the dining room table.
Peter drank and saw a pile of clothing by the bathroom door covered in blood. His eyes widened and he looked at June, needing answers.
"Last night, Neal decided to take a walk to clear his mind of things. I told him it sometimes helps. He was having nightmares again, about what happened a few weeks ago. You know the poison and your heart stopping? Anyway, he went on a walk and he saw a young woman being chased by a man. Neal stepped in and got slashed by the knife. Being the person he is, he tried to save the woman but she got stabbed in the stomach. I don't think she made it, but I'm not entirely sure. He brought her back here, we called 9-11, and the ambulance came. They said she had no pulse and then they left with her. Neal started vomiting. He didn't get to bed till around 2:30 A.M. He took a shower and I assume he didn't get much sleep anyway. That's all I know about what happened." June said without stopping.
Peter took in a deep breath and looked at June. "Did the knife hurt him really bad?" he asked and watched June's expression.
"He got away with only a scratch and a kick in the stomach. Well, then he threw-up, but I don't believe he got sick again." She said. "You might go check up on him, see if he is up. Maybe talk to him or something. He's probably still very startled." She said and rubbed at her eyes. "A few more hours of sleep wouldn't bother me either. I think I'm going back to my room. Just shut the door when you leave, Cindy will lock it." She smiled and patted Peter on the arm and exited.
The FBI agent sucked in his cheeks, got up, and walked up the stairs to Neal's room. He knocked on the door lightly, just in case he might be still sleeping. He heard a lot of noise in Neal's room and then a voice.
"Coming!" yelled Neal. He heard footsteps and then a string of cuss words. "Argh! Dammit!" He shouted and opened the door.
Peter laughed at his appearance. His hair wasn't even combed. His collared, button-up shirt was half tucked out of his pants. His pants weren't zipped up and his belt was in his hands. The scratch on his face was terrible though. It was long and looked painful. Neal frowned, "Shut up. I'm having a late start." He started walking out of the room but Peter stopped him.
"Oh, no you don't. You, bed, now." He pointed back at the bed and grabbed the pajamas that Neal had lying on the ground sloppily, which wasn't him at all.
Neal whined, "Why? I'm fine. The only thing that is bothering is my stomach and that's because I hit the cabinet on my way to the door." He said.
Peter sighed and threw the pajamas at Neal. "See you later, Neal." He said and closed the door.
Neal sighed as he watched Peter leave. He rubbed his face and changed out of his clothes into the pajamas. He wondered how the young lady was doing, if she even survived through the night. He prayed that she had and he climbed back into bed, thinking of all the blood and reliving the previous night's events all over again.
His stomach lurched and he lied down on his bed, trying to calm his stomach down. His hands were shaking and he was cold. He pulled the covers over him and he gagged again. He reached for the bowl and vomited again.
He finished up and wiped his mouth and put the wet rag on his face. He was wondering if he was really getting sick, but he ignored it, and drifted off to sleep…
Author's note: I hope you are enjoying the first chapter of this story! Thank you for reading! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated! I really love knowing what you thought of this story. Thanks for reading. I'll have another chapter posted up in a while..