Of Death and Phone Calls
Characters: Peter Burke, Elizabeth Burke, Sara Ellis
~Pairings: Peter/Elizabeth
Word Count: 1,070
Note: Post Season 6
It's been days since Neal died, but to Peter it still feels like mere hours, minutes, seconds… the pain is still fresh inside him, tearing and ripping at his soul using guilt sharpened knifes and what if carved bullets.
It's been days since Neal died and he still sees him, he still turns to talk to him, to laugh with him, to tease him and he's not there, he's never there.
"Peter?" Elizabeth's voice is soft and he feels a hand fall onto his shoulder, he doesn't move. "Peter hon there was nothing you could have done."
He hears the words, he's been hearing those words for days, but he's never been able to accept them. He should've been faster, he never should've agreed to let Neal work with Keller, he knew the man was a killer and yet he'd let his best friend work with him anyways.
"Peter, please say something," A weight next to him on the couch and he turns to find Elizabeth sitting next to him. She's so much stronger than he is, grieving for Neal and worrying about him all at once and yet she still manages to put a soft small smile on her face.
He tries to do the same, but it feels fake and probably looks fake as well, "I'm fine."
He's lying, has been lying for days, people tell him it isn't healthy, he doesn't care.
He watches as Elizabeth licks her lips nervously, before taking his hand in hers whispers softly, "I know that you won't like what I'm going to say next, I know that you won't want to do it, but I've been waiting and hoping you'd realize it on your own, but you haven't and—"
"Please don't tell me to move on," Peter cuts her off. "Everyone keeps telling me to move on and I'm trying."
Elizabeth is silent for a few moments and then she whispers again, "It isn't that, it isn't anything like that, what I wanted to say was that you need to—"There are tears in her eyes and she's trying desperately to speak the words that she needs to say, "You need to call Sara Peter, she needs to know that Neal, that Neal—" Elizabeth sobs and her whole body begins to shake and somewhere in the back of his mind Peter knows that he should be comforting his wife, but he's frozen his mind replaying Elizabeth's last words.
Sara, no one had even though to call Sara. Had Neal even been in contact with her after she'd left? He thought that Neal had mentioned writing to her once or twice, but his brain was refusing to remember if that was true or not.
What was he even going to say to her? How was he going to tell her? Would she even be able to make it to funeral? Would she want to attend? Would she blame him for what happened?
That last thought stuck in his brain like glue and Peter felt himself pale.
He stood.
"Peter?" Elizabeth worried, grieving, so much stronger than him as she collected herself to touch his hand. "Do you want me to—?"
"No, no I'll do it," he had to, Neal was his responsibility and so was this. "I-I'm just going to go get my phone, the uh numbers inside." He gulped, "Said to call her if Neal was ever causing too much trouble." The sentence hung heavy in the air as he left the room.
Collecting his phone he scrolled through the contacts numbly, watching as her name fell into place. His finger hovered above the call button as fear curled up inside his stomach, he had to call her, she had a right to know.
In a moment of courage and determination Peter hit call and put the phone to his ear, it rang.
Once, twice, and then on the third ring a female voice rang into his ear.
"Hello? Sara Ellis speaking."
He couldn't speak, his tongue had gone numb and his body was shaking, he couldn't do this.
"Hello? Peter?"
She knew it was him, she knew and if he hung up now she'd just call back, there was no way out, there was no way out.
"Sara?" He croaked out, his throat and mouth had suddenly gone dry.
"Peter?" Concerned laced her words and he could practically see her furrowing her brow. "Is everything okay? You sound terrible."
"Sara Neal he—"A sobbed pushed past his lips against his will and he couldn't find a way to finish, he couldn't do this.
"Peter? What happened? Is Neal alright?"
"No," Peter managed, the word sounding pathetic in his eyes. "No it's not alright, Neal he, he—"
"Peter?" Her voice had grown panicky. "Peter tell me that he's okay."
Peter didn't answer, his mouth wouldn't work.
"Peter please tell me that Neal's okay."
He couldn't and his silence rang out like a gong, an answer in of itself.
"But he's alive right?"
"He, he died before he made it to the hospital," the words were like sandpaper on his tongue, coarse and rough. "The, the funeral is going to be next week if you can make it." This felt wrong. He should've found a better way to tell her.
A thump and concern pushed passed Peter's grief, "Sara?"
Shuffling and then a voice thick with tears and pain, "Please tell me he's faking it, please tell me that this is just some elaborate con of his so that he can escape the police and that everything is actually okay and that you just need me to start crying so that I'll convince people," It was a desperate plea, a final grasp at hope.
"Sara," Peter didn't know what to say, what to do.
"Please Peter. Please he can't actually be gone."
"I'm so sorry," Peter could feel his own tears, fresh and new streaming down his face. Which he thought was funny, because he'd long ago thought that he'd run out of tears to cry. "I'm so sorry, I tried to get to him, but I didn't know, I didn't realize, I never should have left him alone."
Sara didn't respond and the only sound that Peter could hear was sobbing, loud and coarse and anguished, he wasn't sure if it was coming from Sara or him and in the end he supposed it didn't really matter.
So I've had this idea ever since I saw the last episode of Season 6 because someone had to called Sara right? Like they couldn't just not let her know, so thus this story was born
Please Review :)