Hi! This is my Christmas gift. Basically this is Neal!whump and a little fluffy at the end. But, seriously, if you are squeamish you shouldn't read this.

English is not my mother tongue so I apologize for the mistakes. If you see any, please let me know. And if you like it, leave me reviews. They would make me so happy :-) Enjoy the fic!

"Could you slow down a little?"

Ten minutes. Neal had lasted ten minutes without telling Peter anything, but he couldn't stand it any longer. Peter just huffed and said:

"I'm respecting the speed limits".

"Now I understand why Diana and Jones didn't want to come with you".

It was a case on the outskirts of the city. A painting had been stolen from a gallery. The gallery was a new one, built inside a cave to give more sense of isolation and calmness, something the galleries of the cities lacked, at least according to the creators. Neal had to laugh when the news had been published. Yes, it was great news...for thieves of course. A gallery in the middle of nothing with valuable paintings (moderately valuable, at least) and with practically non-existent security measures. If it had happened a couple of years ago, Neal's first thought would have been: where do I have to sign?

But now he was working with the FBI and had to help Peter solve the case. The FBI had extended his radius so he could get out of town and Neal couldn't have been happier... Until he set a foot in Peter's Taurus. Neal already knew the agent's driving abilities were bad in the city traffic (he had been close to having a heart attack many times because of it) but they were even worse on the freeway! Neal had almost puked while they were going to the gallery, and now that they were coming back to New York he was definitely sure that his lunch wasn't going to stay in his stomach much longer. The worst thing was that the road was wet and slippery because of the snow and that just made the knot in Neal's stomach tighten.

"It's my car, not yours Caffrey" Peter said.

Neal resisted the urge to wince. It hurt him when Peter called him Caffrey (not that he was going to tell him, of course), but the agent always did it when he was in a bad mood. And this day he was in a really bad mood. It was Christmas Eve and Neal knew Peter wanted to be at home with his wife having dinner and watching the TV and not on the outskirts solving a crime. Unfortunately, thieves didn't take vacation. No one knew it better than Neal. And no one knew better than Neal that he should shut up and be quiet for the rest of the ride, but he just couldn't help himself

"I know you want to get home, but that's going to be difficult if you get us killed".

"Don't test me Neal! I'm not in the mood".

"I know, and you are behaving like a jerk!"

Peter turned his head to look at him, disbelievingly. If he had been calmer, he would have realized Neal never lost his temper so easily and his unusual behavior was a sign that something was wrong. At that moment, however, Peter just said:

"You're unbelievable! Do you have any consideration for what people feel or do you only care about yourself?"

"Look who's talking. You have been cranky the whole day because you couldn't be at your home. And you know what? There are much worse ways of spending Christmas".

"You have no right...

But Neal cut him off:

"Peter, watch out!"

It wasn't Peter's fault. It was the drunk driver swerving back and forth that slammed into the side of the Taurus. Peter tried to twist the steering wheel desperately but it was too late and the car went over the embankment. It rolled a couple of times and stopped when it crashed against a tree.

Peter woke up disoriented. His head was throbbing painfully and his body was completely numb. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and realized he was inside the Taurus. The accident he thought. He remembered the crash, and that he was going back to the city with...

"Neal" he said hoarsely.

He didn't receive any answer so he looked around, though moving his head wasn't a very good idea. Neal was slumped on his seat unconscious. He had a gash on his forehead that was bleeding profusely, covering the right side of his face with blood as if he was a vampire from a horror movie. He certainly looked as pale as one.

"Neal, come on. You have to wake up".

Neal groaned and his eyes, just two blue slits, opened.

"Peter?" Neal asked, confused. "What happened?"

Neal was slurring his words and Peter liked that even less. The CI probably had a concussion, and Peter wanted to know how badly he was hurt.

"We had a car accident".

"Told you".

"It wasn't my fault. The driver of the other car must have been drunk".

"Mmm" Was all Neal said as he closed his eyes again.

"Hey! Neal, don't fall asleep. Keep talking to me!"

"M' tired".

"I know but you can't fall asleep, just hold on a few minutes more".

Probably it would be more than a few minutes until someone found them. The place had no reception (and his cell phone had been smashed during the accident) and it would be hours before someone realized something had happened to them. To make it worse, it was a really cold night and it looked like it was going to start snowing soon.

"I'm sorry".

"What?" Peter said because Neal's comment had caught him off guard.

"I lost my nerves earlier".

"Nah, you were right. I was being a jerk".

"I'm sorry you can't spend Christmas Eve with El".

"Stop apologizing, Neal. It's not your fault".

"Maybe you could search for help".

"Where would I go? This place is completely isolated". And I don't want to leave you alone, but he didn't say that.

He didn't have to. Neal knew exactly why Peter didn't want to go so he tried to move. Maybe if he sees I'm fine, he'll leave he thought. The idea of being alone and injured in the middle of nowhere didn't make him happy, but they had to get help. Neal tried to get up, but stopped immediately. He felt as if someone had run him through with a sword. He must have lost consciousness briefly because the next thing he remembered was Peter calling his name anxiously. Neal opened his eyes (though he didn't know when he had closed them) and looked at Peter.

"Stop shouting, my head hurts enough without you trying to make my eardrums explode".

"Are you out of your mind?" Peter yelled ignoring what Neal had just said. "You could have hurt yourself!"

"Sorry, I just thought I could move".

"You're an idiot, Neal".

Neal gave him a tired smile, not nearly enough convincing to make Peter feel reassured.

"What are you going to do?" Neal asked. "For Christmas, I mean".

"I intend to be at home with El. She will make a great food and then we will watch a movie, probably".

"Sounds good".

"And you?"

"I don't know. I will stay at home too. June is in Paris so I guess I'll have the house to myself".

"And Mozzie?"

"He doesn't believe in these kinds of festivities. He says they are an invention of the government".

"How could the government invent...? You know what? Never mind. I'm not even gonna ask".

"Great. Because it's a complicated conspiracy and I'm not in the mood to tell you about it".

Peter looked at Neal and realized he was shivering. Although the conman was making a great effort to hide it, he wasn't fooling him and that was another sign that things were really wrong. Even though Peter liked to pretend he could see past Neal's lies, he knew the CI could con him whenever he wanted to.

"I'm going to get out for a moment, Neal".

"What? Why?" Neal asked alarmed.

"Because I have blankets in the trunk".

Neal chuckled.

"I thought I was hiding it better".

"Yeah, well, I understand that your conning skills are not perfect right now".

Peter got out of the car and Neal sighed. If his only problem was that he was cold... His head was throbbing, his chest hurt like hell and he had trouble breathing, which worried him a lot. But complaining wasn't going to solve anything. He just hoped someone would find them soon.

Peter came back a few moments later, slightly out of breath, and put the blanket over Neal.

"Thanks" Neal said.

They both stayed quiet after that. Peter could hear how Neal's breathing was getting worse and how he still shivered which didn't fit with the sheen of sweat that covered his face. Peter wanted to make Neal feel better but he didn't know how. He felt so frustrated...

Suddenly, Neal started to cough. He doubled over as he let out a cry of pain. The movement caused his chest to burn but the worst thing was that he couldn't breathe. He started to hyperventilate, desperate to get some air into his lungs. Then, he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders and Peter's voice saying:

"Neal, you have to calm down and breathe, ok?"

"I...can't".

"Yes, you can. Trust me, try to picture yourself in another place, somewhere where you are in peace".

And Neal, as always, trusted Peter. He imagined himself in his own room at June's, enjoying the views of the city with a glass of wine in his hand. After a while, he realized he could breathe again…and that he tasted blood in his mouth. He looked down, and saw that his shirt was stained with blood...blood that hadn't been there before. His hands were also bloodied after his coughing fit and he couldn't stop staring at them, it was as if nothing else mattered except his shaking hands.

Then, Peter held his hands and said:

"Neal, look at me".

Neal lifted his gaze towards him. Peter saw the fear in his eyes and, goddamn, he was scared too. The only thing that had prevented him from freaking out when he had seen how Neal coughed blood was that he needed to be strong for Neal. He would have time to freak out later.

"You're going to be fine, ok? I'm sure we will be rescued soon".

Actually, he didn't know but if no one came, he would go look for someone even if that meant leaving Neal alone. Because the other alternative was watching him die and he wasn't going to allow that. He just couldn't.

"This is such a ridiculous way of dying" Neal said with a chuckle that ended in another coughing fit and more blood.

"You're not going to die! Don't you dare say that, Neal".

"I don't think I can make it out of this one".

And the resignation with which he said those words scared Peter more than anything.

"You can't give up. If you don't do it for yourself, just do it for Mozzie or June. Think about all the people who will suffer if you're gone" and then he added, almost in a whisper. "Think about me".

Neal wanted to say so many things to Peter. That he would always be grateful to him because he was the only one who had given him a chance to become a better person, the only one who had forgiven him no matter how much he screwed up (and god knows he did it a lot of times). But he felt really tired and his eyes were closing. The last thing he heard was Peter calling his name, and his last thought, I'm so sorry.

They had been found just a few minutes after Neal lost consciousness. The EMTs had taken Neal to the hospital and Peter had insisted on riding with them. At first, the EMTs had refused but they had changed their minds when they saw Peter's look of determination. The agent almost wished they hadn't done it. Neal had flat-lined twice on the ride and Peter had felt how his own heart could have stopped at that moment. Finally, they had arrived at the hospital and the EMTs had wheeled Neal out.

Peter had been sitting on the chair of the waiting room for hours...or minutes, he couldn't really tell. His whole body was numb from pain and exhaustion and he couldn't stop thinking about Neal. He didn't even know how it happened, but the conman had turned into his best friend, like the little brother he had never had. And it only took a car accident to realize this he thought, laughing self-deprecating.

"Peter?"

He looked up and saw El who hugged him immediately.

"Oh, God, I was so worried. I knew something bad had occurred when you didn't show up for dinner. I didn't know where you were, then I received a call and they told me you were in the hospital but not what had happened".

Peter looked at her face. It was red and puffy, as if she had been crying (which was exactly what had happened, probably), and her eyes were full of anxiety.

"What's wrong, Peter?"

He shouldn't have been surprised. He always had been like an open book for his wife. The words just came out like a waterfall, as if the gates of a dam had been opened.

"I had a car accident and Neal was with me. I don't know how he..."

"Oh, Peter".

El just hugged him again and that was the last straw for Peter. He started to cry, all the repressed feelings coming out at that moment.

"He's going to be fine, Peter" El said.

"You don't know that".

"Yes, I know. Neal is a fighter, a survivor and he's not going to give up. Besides, it's Christmas. Miracles happen and Neal has always had a gift for those".

Peter nodded. It was better to believe in that than the alternative. At that moment a doctor came into the room and said:

"Family of Neal Caffrey?"

Peter and El stood up. If the doctor thought it was weird he didn't say anything nor did they correct him. Neal was their family.

"How is he?" El asked, her voice full of worry.

"Mr. Caffrey has suffered a concussion, and four broken ribs. One of them nicked his right lung causing an internal bleeding so we had to perform surgery. But he has been pretty lucky. He should be fine and walking in a few weeks".

"Thank God" Peter said.

"Can we see him?" El asked.

"Yes, of course. He's in room 304. I must warn you though, people find hard to watch their loved ones in such a state, but it's better than what it looks like".

Peter and El took the elevator up to the third floor and walked towards the room. They opened the door and gasped at what they saw. Neal was lying on the bed, hooked to a lot of machines. A nasal cannula was helping him breathe and, even though he looked better than at the accident, he was still very pale.

"It's so strange, seeing him so quiet" Peter said. "He is always full of energy, this is not natural".

"He will be fine, hon. I will give you a moment alone".

El got out of the room and closed the door. Once he was alone, Peter got close to Neal and stroked his hair (Neal was unconscious so luckily, he would never find out).

"Only you can give me these scares…God, Neal, if something had happened to you, I don't know what I would have done. I'm your handler, I must keep you safe. What's more, I'm your friend. Who is going to break into my house while I'm having breakfast or annoy me while I'm doing paperwork?"

Peter sat on a chair, physically and emotionally exhausted. But he wasn't going to leave Neal's side until he woke up and make sure he was really fine.

Beep...beep...beep

What is that damned noise? Neal thought. He just wanted to sleep but the noise wouldn't let him so he decided to open his eyes. He immediately closed them again because of the bright light. He opened them again more slowly and stared at the white ceiling. He recognized the smell, the beeping and the hard bed. He had woken up too many times in these kinds of places. He was in a hospital. But he also heard something else: a noise that didn't belong to a hospital room. He turned his head to the right and saw Peter slumped on a chair, sneezing quietly.

"Peter?" he said and coughed. And that hurt a lot.

"Neal?" Peter was already standing by his bed side. That's fast. "Do you need water?"

"I'm fine" Neal said giving him a smile. "Just remind me not to do that again. What happened?"

"Car accident".

"Oh, yeah, right" He was sure the accident would haunt his nightmares for a long time. "Are you ok?"

Surprisingly, Peter laughed.

"Yes Neal, I'm all right. And I know it's a little late, but Merry Christmas".

"Is it Christmas? Really?"

"Yeah, 25th of December".

"Then, go home Peter. I'm fine, and El must be worried about you".

"It's you who I'm worried about" El said coming into the room. "And don't even think I'm going to let you spend Christmas alone in a hospital".

"You don't have to..."

"Don't argue with her, Neal. It will get you nowhere. Just go to sleep, we will be right here when you wake up".

Neal felt his chest tighten. Christmas had always put him on edge because he had never had a good family. But, maybe, he had finally found one.

"Ok" He said, feeling his eyes closing. "And guys, Merry Christmas".

"Merry Christmas, Neal".