Chapter 1

"Neal, who's at the door," Kramer called as he walked out of the kitchen and saw Peter standing outside. Walking over to his CI he stood behind him and put his hand on Neal's shoulder and squeezed it hard. "Why don't you get us a couple beers," he said leading Peter into the house and shutting the door. Nodding his head Neal walked into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of beer and brought them back to the agents. Peter took the beer and looked at his fiancée as he looked away. "So Petey, what do you think of my new place? I moved in just last month… I was just lucky that this place allows pets," Kramer said with a smirk as Neal walked by and took a seat on the footstool on the other side of the room. Peter ignored the comment and opened his beer and drank it slowly. "I think it's a decent place, not much else to say about it…" Peter commented in hopes that Neal would look at him again.

Kramer looked over and smirked "Neal go upstairs and don't come down until I call you," he said as Neal quietly stood up and walked out of the room and walked up the first flight of stairs and sat down to listen. "Peter… what are you doing here anyway and on a work day no less?" Kramer asked with a smirk. "Doesn't matter if it's a work day or not I walked out of the office so I basically quit after I found out you had Neal and that Hughes signed him away. Now I can't tell you to give Neal back but I want to hear it from you that everything that happened was because of you," Peter said hoping Neal was still within earshot.

"Fine I'll admit it, I stole your cell number and texted Caffrey to trick him into coming back to America…it's not my fault he was too stupid to realize that it wasn't you," Kramer said as he finished his beer. Peter restrained himself from assaulting another agent and stood up. "Neal is not stupid and he never would have had to run if you didn't back him into a corner with the necklace," Peter said putting his half-drunk beer down on the coffee table. Neal silently cursed as he sat there. Getting up from the stairs he walked back into the living room and stood there. "You lied to me, you told me Peter gave me up to save his own skin," Neal said as he looked at the older agent. "I want to go home… right now," Neal demanded.

Shaking his head Kramer stood up. "That's not going to happen, for one Peter isn't an agent any longer and he can't take custody of you and two it's too much paperwork to send you back right now besides you're only mine for a year. Apparently you've done so much good it's outweighing your bad deeds you seem to keep doing which is beyond me," Kramer said as he grabbed the beer bottles and brought them to the kitchen. Peter followed his former mentor into the kitchen.

"This is stupid; you treat Neal like he's a criminal constantly, and like he's your personal slave. You know the only reason he ran was because you backed him into a corner, I could have warned you he would do that," Peter said standing across the island counter. "If he had just told me the truth about who stole it we could have made him a deal but of course he kept that information to himself to protect himself and I'm guessing you as well. You know you two have broken a lot of rules. I saw the ring… its nice…it's too bad you two can't get married until either he or you don't work for the FBI anymore and I have no intention of letting him go back for a while," Kramer said with a smirk.

Neal walked into the kitchen and kept his head down and walked over to Peter and stood beside him. Peter put a protective arm around Neal and held him close so Neal was flush against his side. Unhappy with the two getting so close again Kramer cleared his throat. "Well since we have nothing else to talk about I'm going to have to ask you to leave Peter, I'll walk you to the door," Phillip said as he watched Neal's face fall. Peter slowly pulled away from his lover and held his hand as they walked toward the door. "I'm going back to New York but I promise to get all of this fixed," Peter promised as he felt Neal's hand slip into his coat pocket. Moving away Neal sat down on the stairs and watched Peter leave and Kramer shut the door.

Turning around Kramer walked over and stood over Neal to show he was still the alpha male in the house. "Did that get your hopes up at all?" Kramer asked with a smirk. "Nope… because I know that Peter will be able to get me out of here," Neal said as he stood up on the stairs so he was standing over the older agent with a defiant smirk on his face as he walked past the agent and dropped onto the couch where he wasn't allowed to sit. "Get off of there you know the rules of the house," Kramer said instantly hating the new defiant streak in Neal. "I don't think so and I'm going to be doing what I want around here because I'm not wallowing in self-pity anymore and you don't scare me," Neal said as put his feet up on the coffee table and draped his arms over the back of the couch like he owned the place. Pushed to the edge Kramer walked over and grabbed Neal by the hair and pulled him to his feet with such a force that Neal's eyes widened in fear.

"That's the look I like to see… if you're not going to show me respect by your own free will then I'm going to put you in constant fear of me," he growled as he pulled Neal upstairs and into his room. "Stop… you're hurting me…"Neal cried out as he was dropped on the floor hard. "You made your point…I'll listen" Neal pleaded as he pushed himself away so his back was against the side of the bed he knew he had to make quick work of the damage he caused "Too late to talk your way out of this one Caffrey you might think just because your good looking and have a quick tongue you can talk your way free but not this time you're going to get the punishment you should have gotten all your life," Kramer said as he grabbed the front of Neal's button-up shirt and ripped it open pulled it off his arms before discarding it behind him.

Grabbing his belt Kramer started to pull it off and let it hang down. Panicking Neal struggled to get to his feet only to lose his footing and fall against his bed; but before he could right himself he cried out in pain as something stuck his back. Stunned by the initial blow Neal looked over his shoulder just as the metal buckle of Kramer's cheap twenty dollar belt struck him again with the metal roller catching on his skin and cutting him. Feeling his mind snap Neal moved just as another swing came, causing Kramer's blow to miss and giving himself time to get to his feet while he backed up as far as he could into the corner of the room. Backing out of the room Kramer stood there with a smirk and pulled his phone out of his pocket as he kept the belt in his dominant hand to use when needed. Chatting on the phone for a few minutes Kramer left the room and locked the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later he returned flanked by another agent. Neal looked up and pushed himself back against the wall when he saw who the agent was "Josh…" Neal said in a breathless tone as he pressed himself further into the corner. Josh smirked and cracked his knuckles as he entered the small room and grabbed the ex-con by the neck and threw him onto the floor using his full weight to hold him down. Neal thrashed around out of fear as he tried to get free; his fear increased as he felt his legs pushed down and tied together with plastic cable ties before his wrists were tied together as well using the leg of the bed to keep him from pulling his arms free. Whimpering in fear Neal struggled to get off the floor but before he was able to get to his knees the belt came down on his back again and again.

When it was over Neal kept his head down out of fear that moving would cause more of a beating. Kramer put his belt down and left the room for a few minutes before retuning. "Now this will only pinch for a moment, this is only a precaution in case you get that bracelet off…" the older agent said as he crouched down and grabbed the nape of Neal's neck and squeezed to get a hold of the muscles before slowly piercing the skin with a needle and pushing down on the plunger. "This is an animal tracking microchip, just making sure you stay out of trouble so much better," he said with a chuckle as he put the needle down and picked up a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "I don't want you to catch an infection Caffrey or you won't be able to do your job," he said as he crouched down and opened the bottle and soaked a cotton ball with alcohol and began dabbing at the open wounds before roughly slapping bandages on the cuts.

Josh sat and watched as Neal squirmed and hiss with pain as his wounds were taken care of. When Kramer was done the cable ties were cut and Neal was finally allowed to sit up. Josh smirked as he watched Neal as he climbed up onto his bed to lie on his stomach until his back and neck stopped hurting. Kramer and Josh left the room and locked the bedroom door. Neal held himself together only until he heard the door lock then he allowed the first tears to fall as he gave in to his pain and hopelessness and cried himself to sleep.

Sleeping uncomfortably Neal woke in the early morning hours. Getting out of bed slowly Neal moved carefully as he tried not to jar his healing wounds. Moving in the dark room aided only by the street light outside Neal found his way to his bedroom door only to find it still locked. Sighing in annoyance he moved carefully back to his bed and lay on his stomach again. Wishing he still had his cell phone Neal moved his hand to the back of his neck and rubbed his neck where Kramer had injected the microchip. I'm nothing more than a pet to him… I miss Peter I should have just left with him… Neal thought as he waited for Kramer to let him out of the room. When the door finally opened Neal felt his eyelids were too heavy to keep open.

"Wake up we're going to work in twenty minutes," Kramer said as he walked over and noticed that the younger man was actually asleep. Deciding it would be too much trouble to wake the ex con he grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed and put it over Neal's sleeping form before he left and decided to work from home so he could make sure Neal didn't try anything. Going downstairs he made himself a cup of coffee as he set up his laptop and began to open his files on his work computer.

After lunch Neal woke up and found that his bedroom door had been unlocked. Neal headed downstairs to get something to eat and found his handler sitting at the table typing on his computer. As he walked towards the refrigerator Kramer looked up at the computer. "Before you even think of touching my food you have to earn it. You are to clean the house, wash my car and get started on those reports you owe me still before you eat anything today...so get going," he ordered with a smirk. Neal looked around and saw the stacks of dishes and the thin layer of dust. Neal sighed before walking to the sink where he first removed his engagement ring off before he started to wash the dishes. By the time he was done he felt his neck was stiff. Grabbing a dish cloth he began to dry the dishes while his stomach began to growl When Kramer heard the growling he reminded Neal with the order, "You do not get to eat until you finish, now get back to work!" Kramer watched Neal as he put his ring back on before going to clean up the rest of the house.

When the living room was dusted and the rug vacuumed Neal winced as he pulled the healing skin and ripping the wounds open; stopping to take a break to rest Kramer walked into the room and showing no mercy ordered, "Keep cleaning unless you want me to take my belt to you again," which motivated Neal to grab the duster and slowly reached up to dust the bookshelves above his head. By quarter passed three Neal finished the first floor and dropped back onto the couch pain shooting up his back. Ignoring the shot of pain he lay there to regain his energy. Kramer walked out of the kitchen and looked at the ex con on his couch. "Get off my couch…unless you want another beating," he warned as Neal rolled off the couch and made his way upstairs to clean.

Once the second floor was finished Neal dragged himself downstairs and began to dig through the fridge looking for something to eat. Grabbing a few things he sat at the table. "Do you have enough money to pay me for this?" Kramer asked as he looked at the small stack of food on the table. Neal looked up and shook his head no. "Oh well then… you don't get any food until you can pay me," he said pulling the food away. "I worked hard you said I could eat if I cleaned your house," Neal said as he pushed himself to his feet. "No I said you had to clean my house, wash my car and do the reports now get to work on my car before it gets dark," he ordered as he pushed Neal toward the back door that led out to the parking lot and shoved a war hoodie into his arms. Groaning at the clenching his stomach did he took the cleaning supplies and made his way over to the agent's car.

Washing the car carefully to avoid hurting himself again Neal looked up from the tire and found Kramer watching him like a hawk. As he watched Kramer watch him he saw the older man go inside when the phone rang. Taking that as his cue he dropped the sponge in his hand he left the parking lot as quickly as possible and crossed the street and picked up the pace down the sidewalk. Jogging down the block he came to the Safeway grocery store and cutting across the parking lot he slipped into the store and relished in the warmth coming the heater as he entered the store. Moving down the aisle he looked at the selves of food and wished he had some money. Walking down another aisle Neal walked into a small crowd of people and resisted the urge to pick their pockets.

Sticking his hands in the hoodie pockets Neal walked through the group and made his way out of the store and walked over to the bare wall and gingerly sat on the cold concrete as a cold January breeze swept through the under hang. Neal groaned put his arms over his chest to keep himself warm. Lost in his own thoughts he didn't hear the older woman walk up to him. "Oh you poor thing, you look hungry… no money?" she asked as Neal looked up and shook his head no. Smiling she put her bag down and pulled a bag of mini potatoes dinner rolls out of her bag and handed them to the ex con. "Here you go… I just bought these for just in case but you need them more than I do," she said with a smile. "Don't eat too quickly or you'll make yourself sick," she said still smiling.

Looking up from the bag in his hands he nearly dropped it when he saw Kramer walking up the parking lot and stopping in front of him. Swallowing hard he felt his throat go dry. "Neal… did you pay for those?" he asked not hiding the tone in his voice. "No… and I didn't steal them either this lady gave them to me," he said softly his voice dropping along with his eyes. "Give them back and get off the ground your embarrassing me," he said as he grabbed Neal by the arm and pulled him to his feet roughly. Neal held onto the rolls like a life raft for a moment before handing them back. "Thanks anyway…" he said softly as he was pulled away and back toward Kramer's house. "You're lucky I'm tired… or you would be getting another beating now get upstairs and go to bed…oh and we have to be at the office by seven tomorrow you can do your reports tomorrow and for the rest of the week, we're going to be on a stake out for a while," he said as he pulled Neal inside and watched him go upstairs.

The week long stake out had turned into two weeks, in those two weeks Neal had managed to finish all his paperwork perfectly in two days the rest of the time he kept himself quiet by studying a large manual on how to get one's GED. Kramer watched Neal perched on his chair in the back corner of the van. As the other agents got really to slip out to get lunch again, Neal bit his bottom lip to keep quiet as they ask if he wanted anything. When the lead agent wasn't around he always accepted. "No I'm good… I had a big breakfast," he lied as he buried his nose back in the book as the agents left leaving the ex con alone with his handler.

"I thought you had money still?" Kramer asked not taking his eyes off the monitors. "I did but you took what I had left to pay for gas for your car," Neal said a hint of venom in his voice. Before the agent could respond his phone rang, talking for a few minutes he hung up. "Apparently the man we've been watching for boarded a plane an hour and a half ago…and he got off in New York. Neal looked up and beamed at the news he knew that they would be going to New York as well to make the arrest. Kramer looked at Neal and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the van just as the other agents returned. "We're going, go home pack a bag quickly we're headed to New York," he ordered as the team. Heading home Neal rushed up to his room and packed everything he owned into his bag and left with his handler. They quickly made their way to the airport and met up with the other agents and boarded the FBI jet just before it took off.

The flight seemed to be over in the blink of eye, as they were landing Neal held onto his bag tightly as he disembarked the plane and saw Diana waiting for the team of four. She kept her shock hidden at the sight of how thin the ex con was. Heading to the office the ride was quiet until they pulled up to the building. "Peter is going to be excited to see you again," Diana said as she put the car in park. Looking up she saw Neal was gone from the back seat. Neal ran into the building and into the first elevator that opened in the lobby and fidgeted as it rose up the building. When the door opened Neal saw Peter standing there. Breaking into a huge smile he stepped out of the elevator and threw himself into Peter's arms and buried his face against his shoulder.

Peter stood frozen for a moment when he felt how thin his fiancée was, keeping Neal close he rubbed his back and felt Neal flinch. Before he could even ask the elevator dinged again and Neal jumped like a startled rabbit and stood three feet from Peter and lowered his eyes. "Petey it's good to see you again even if it has been only a couple weeks. Neal you should have waited…we'll talk about this later," Kramer said as Neal nodded and kept his head down. Peter waited until the other agent went to his temporary office before walking over to the ex con. "Come on let's talk in my office," he said leading Neal through the bullpen and into his office. Right away the smell of deviled ham hit Neal like a ton of bricks. His mouth watered as he took his usual seat.

Sitting on the edge of his desk Peter saw Neal eyeing the bag on his desk that he had pulled out before Neal got there. "Hey Peter…do you have anything I could eat maybe?" Neal asked looking around as if someone was going to jump out and catch him asking for something. "Yeah… but's just a couple deviled ham sandwiches and you have always told me that you hated them," Peter said pulling the bag over and opening it. "Right now I could eat a million of them," Neal remarked as he took the sandwich held out to him and unwrapped it in a flash and shoved most of it into his mouth. After three bites he forced it down and looked at the other one in Peter's hand.

="Neal… when's the last time you ate?" Peter asked handing Neal the other sandwich. Pulling the wax paper off Neal attacked the second sandwich like a wild animal. "Do you meem a full meal?" Neal asked with a full mouth before finishing the rest of the food in a couple more bites. "I don't know… maybe a week ago… or two," he said lowering his eyes. "Neal what happened? You're thinner than you were when you got out of prison," the agent remarked taking Neal's hand in his and holding it between his showing him he was safe. "Kramer… he… treated me like a dog… he had so many rules and when I wouldn't listen he would punish me… he also put a tracking chip in my neck like a house pet," Neal said keeping his head down. Peter leaned over Neal and lifted up his hair from the back of his neck revealing a small red area that looked infected. Looking up into the bullpen he saw Kramer looking at him.

Moving towards the door Peter felt Neal grab his arm. "Please… don't confront him, it will be worse for me later when we go back to D.C.," he said softly as he looked up with eyes that made him look like a kicked puppy. Right away Peter helped Neal to his feet and out of the office. "I'm taking you to the doctor to get that chip taken out," Peter said as he walked into the elevator with the ex con and brought him down to his car with his duffle bag. Helping Neal in to the car he drove him to his doctor's office where he had taken Neal to a few times near their home having called ahead before they made the trip.

Walking into the quaint little office Neal held onto Peter's arm tightly as the nurse pulled him away and walked him into the exam room. She came back out a few minutes later. "Agent Burke could you come in please the doctor having some trouble with Neal," she said leading Peter into the exam room. "We can't get him to remove his shirt to check this obvious rapid weight loss," she said opening the door. Peter walked in and sat down behind Neal. "Hey… come on Neal, we'll get out of here faster if you cooperate," he said putting a hand on Neal's lower back making him flinch.

Reaching up Neal slowly unbuttoned his shirt and let it slide off his shoulders and arms revealing at least three dozen wounds in various stages of healing. Many looked like they could be infected, Peter moved over so the doctor could get a better look and take pictures for his report. "We're going to clean and patch these up… but Peter told me on the phone about the chip, we can remove it easily we'll just take an x-ray first to find it if you'll just follow the nurse," the doctor said letting Neal slip his shirt back on to cover his back. After a quick x-ray Neal sat on the exam table and rested his head on Peter's lap. When the doctor returned Peter moved and held onto Neal's hand as the ex con was given local anesthetic before the small chip was removed.

"There, you're going to feel a little tired for the rest of the day I suggest you go home and sleep for a while and if you're in any pain later take some pain killers," he said as he carefully closed up the small cut he made and the rest of the wounds on Neal's back. "As for the weight loss and to keep your body from losing any more weight you need to start eating three square meals and not just large portions either," he said as he and Peter helped Neal to his feet.