I don't own White Collar but one can dream...
Neal Caffery was sick, plain and simple. He had a cough he couldn't hide, his voice was getting hoarser by the second, he had a hard time staying awake, movement both hurt and sent a wave of nausea through him, and he was sweating like a pig. Peter felt his friend's feverish forehead, noticing his friend didn't smack his hand away, and took him directly home to Elizabeth.
"I'm fine." Came Neal's broken record reply but before Peter could retort Neal started coughing so hard Peter thought he might choke. "Okay. Maybe I am a little sick." Neal said once he stopped. Peter's heart sank. It definitely wasn't like Neal to admit he was sick. Neal had way too strong a bravado for that.
"How sick is a little sick?" Peter asked. Neal shrugged and winced. He didn't talk again the entire ride home. Peter practically dragged Neal into his and Elizabeth's house and sat him down on their couch. "Neal would you like something to eat or something?" Peter asked but his fiend was already asleep.
Peter put on a pot of water to boil. His friend would eat soup today if it was the last thing Peter did. Peter smiled at his little joke. Neal being sick is the thing that would kill him. Not trying to catch a crook, or old age, or maybe even a terminal disease. It was Neal being sick. He knew it. He called June to tell her to A) not expect Neal tonight, and B) not to be worried when Neal didn't come home tonight. June promised to tell Mozzie and he ended the call just to call Elizabeth. She promised to be there as soon as she could, she just a couple of clients to finish up. Next was Hughes to make sure he could take the rest of the day off. Hughes said they could stay home as long as they liked, just as long as Neal got better and Peter didn't get sick himself. Peter finished the calls, which was enough time for the soup to cook. He carefully ladled some into a bowl and brought it into the living room.
Neal was still sound asleep and he didn't want to wake his friend so he just set he soup on the table. He brought his book, The Night Is Calling, over to the couch and he opened it. Neal was so deep in sleep he didn't notice Peter lifting his head and laying it back down on his lap. Peter didn't really know how long he sat there, reading with Neal silently snoring into his lap. If Neal's skin hadn't been so hot, Peter would have thought Neal was cute, in an adorable five-year-old way. Neal could pull off innocence when he wanted to, that was for sure. El slipped in a little past two o'clock. She did the whole nurse thing, taking his temperature, and giving him a blanket when his temperature was decided to be 102.4 degrees. He finally woke up at about two thirty. Neal was quiet, which the main reason Peter knew he was sick. Neal was never quiet, ever. He ate the soup without question and fell back asleep in Peter's lap about half an hour later.
"Man I'm worried. I've never seen him lay still for this long." Peter voiced.
"He'll be all right. Neal is always all right." El said, giving Peter a kiss. His phone rang and El answered it. It turned out to be Mozzie, checking on Neal and asking if he could come over. Of course El invited him over and he walked in about five seconds later.
"I figured it would be polite to call first." Mozzie explained.
"It's all right Mozzie. How's June?" El asked.
"She's alright. She wants to know how your lovely patient is as do I." Mozzie said.
"He's all right." El said just as Peter said, "I'm a little worried." Mozzie looked at the both of them.
"Well, which is it?" Mozzie asked.
"Mozzie, have you ever known Neal to stay in one place for more than five minutes?" Peter asked.
Mozzie shook his head. "Nope. Even when he's asleep he's always moving. He's rather restless." He answered.
"He hasn't moved the entire time. I think he's really sick. Did he do anything where he could've been exposed to something?" Peter asked. Mozzie thought. He shook his head and stopped mid-shake and thought harder. If Neal's health was in jeopardy, Suit and Mrs. Suit had to know.
"Yeah, maybe. He went on a new job a few days ago. He was supposed to go into a small little coffee shop and buy a certain cup of coffee and then not touch it until after a certain signal." Mozzie said, while thinking about the operation. Neal had particularly enjoyed that cup of coffee except for a certain aftertaste. He explained this and his eyes widened in shock. "Neal's been poisoned, hasn't he?" Mozzie gasped.
"We don't know that for sure. It could've been a bad coffee, maybe bad milk or even sugar. Who sent him on this new job?" Peter asked.
"That INTERPOL lady. She asked him to do this so he could get something on Kate's kidnapper. I don't know her name." Mozzie said.
"I'll have a little talk with her later, she needs to respect who she's dealing with. She wouldn't poison him, Mozzie. She's not that stupid." Peter said, knowing his logic would calm the con artist.
"Yeah. I'm not letting him go back to that coffee shop until it comes under health department inspection." Mozzie said and Peter saw El smile.
The rest of the night was pretty boring. Neal slept through most of it, waking up about every two hours, much to everyone's delight. Mozzie taught El how to play dominoes and she taught him how to play poker, which might have been a mistake. He was really good at bluffing and reading other peoples hands. El gave up after about ten hands without her winning a single one. Peter was stuck there the entire night because he didn't want to wake Neal. He drifted off with El's laughter ringing through his ears, Mozzie's chuckles and Neal's constant breathing soothing him under the sea of sleep. Before he knew it, he was pulled beneath its waves with nary a sign of a struggle. He was so deep he didn't notice El kissing him good night and saying Mozzie could take the guest bedroom if he wanted to stay near Neal.
Hope you liked it. Second chapter be posted soon. Review!