Let Your Heart Hold Fast
Graduations and Fedoras
Peter and Elizabeth woke up to find a very excited six year old jumping on their bed. Peter felt like his heart had stopped at the sudden shrieking that erupted right next to his ear, followed by the bed bouncing. For a single second he thought that an earthquake had hit.
"Neal! What are you doing?!" Peter yelled.
"Wake up, Daddy! We're gonna be late!" an overly excited Neal yelled back just as he jumped on Peter's stomach.
"Oomph! Ow, Neal!" Peter cried.
"Come on, Daddy! It's time to get up! Today's a big day, remember?"
Elizabeth couldn't stop laughing at the look on her husband's face. "Hey, sweetie…We have several hours before we need to be there, okay? Why don't you help me with breakfast and Daddy can get some more rest."
Neal grabbed Peter's face with both hands and looked him straight in the eye. "We can't be late, Daddy, so I'll wake you up again soon, okay?"
Peter groaned as he pulled his pillow over his head.
Once breakfast was ready, Neal ran back upstairs to wake Peter up again. He was just about to jump on the bed again when Peter suddenly sat up.
"Don't even think about jumping on my bed again, little man," Peter growled.
"Daddy," Neal whined. "You're still grumpy."
"I wouldn't be grumpy if someone didn't think it was okay to wake me up by screaming in my ear and jumping on my stomach," Peter answered.
"You can't be grumpy today," Neal continued to whine. "Today is a special day."
Peter started to argue, but noticed the pathetic look on Neal's face. Today was a very special day and he wanted to make sure that it stayed that way.
"You're right, Neal. This is a very special day, so let's get downstairs and start it off with a good breakfast, okay?" Kneeling down next to the boy, he motioned for him to climb up on his back. "Climb on, kiddo."
Neal rushed to climb up on Peter's back, laughing when the man's knees popped when he stood up.
Once breakfast was over, Elizabeth sent Peter and Neal upstairs to get ready while she cleaned up the kitchen. Once she was done, she headed upstairs to get ready, too, but was surprised to find a nearly naked Neal being chased by Peter. Unbelievably, Neal made it into the bathroom just in time to slam the door in Peter's face and lock it.
"Open this door right now, Neal," Peter shouted.
"No!" Neal yelled back. "Go away, Daddy!"
"I'm not going away, Neal. Open the door!"
"Peter, what in the world is going on?" Elizabeth asked.
Peter turned to look incredulously at his wife. "He locked himself in the bathroom, El," he sputtered angrily.
"I can see that, hon," she answered. "Why did he lock himself in the bathroom?"
"I sent him into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face and when I went to check on him, I found him trying to use my razor. I took it from him and told him he couldn't use it, but he grabbed it and ran out of the bathroom. I chased him, but he managed to get away from me and now he's locked himself in the bathroom."
Elizabeth's face had paled at Peter's words. She knew that Neal couldn't really hurt himself too badly with Peter's razor, but she didn't want him to get hurt at all. Pushing past her husband, she knocked firmly on the bathroom door. "Neal, open this door right now, young man," she said determinedly.
"Is Daddy still out there?" Neal asked through the door.
"Yes, I'm still out here!" Peter growled.
"I don't wanna come out, Mommy. Daddy's mad at me."
"Mommy is going to be mad at you, too, if you don't open this door this instant, Neal George Caffrey-Burke!" Elizabeth said loudly.
Peter had never heard his wife talk so firmly to Neal and he couldn't help but feel rather proud of her. Neal, on the other hand, couldn't believe that his mommy would talk to him in such a way and he didn't like it one bit. The thought of her being mad at him was more than he could take, though, and he slowly opened the door, peeking up at Elizabeth.
"Don't be mad at me, Mommy. Please!" he whispered.
"What were you thinking, young man?! You know you're not supposed to touch Daddy's razor. You are being very, very naughty."
Neal couldn't stop the tears that welled up in his eyes. "But, Mommy….I'm six years old now. I'm old enough to shave and today's a special day. Daddy always shaves on special days."
"You are definitely not old enough to shave, Neal, and you could have cut yourself with that razor."
"But, I'm six! And Daddy told me I had a mustache, remember?"
"Neal!" Peter groaned. "I meant you had a milk mustache, buddy. Not a real one."
"Well, how was I supposed to know that's what you meant, Daddy?! I'm only six, remember?"
Once Neal was out of the bathroom and his parents were able to make him understand that he was too young to use a razor and that locking himself in the bathroom was a very disobedient thing to do, the Burkes continued to get themselves ready for the day.
Neal was so excited that he was finally graduating from Kindergarten. He had had a very busy year at school and he was looking forward to summer vacation. He was also looking forward to not being the youngest kid in school anymore.
Once he was dressed in his favorite shirt and tie, he grabbed his favorite fedora and went downstairs. Minutes later, Elizabeth and Peter came out of the kitchen to find Neal all ready to go.
"Neal, sweetie, you can't wear your hat today." Elizabeth said, knowing that Neal wasn't going to be happy.
"But, I want to, Mommy," Neal answered.
"Sweetie, no one else is going to be wearing a hat. You'll stick out like a sore thumb," she explained.
"But it's a special day! I always wear my hat on special days."
"Not today, kiddo, so take it off and let's go." Peter knew that Neal could argue all day, so he tried to nip it in the bud. "We don't want to be late, do we?"
"Can I just take it with me? Please? I'll leave it in the car," Neal pleaded.
"Okay, but it stays in the car, bud."
Once they arrived at the school, Neal reluctantly left his beloved fedora in the car. Peter and Elizabeth both noticed the look of longing on his face as he closed his door. Elizabeth thought it was cute, but Peter thought it was a little strange. What was it with that boy and hats?!
Entering the school, Elizabeth took Neal to his classroom while Peter went to find them seats in the gym. Minutes later, Elizabeth joined him with a strange look on her face.
"That boy is something else," she sighed. "The whole way to the classroom he begged me to let him wear his hat. He looked at me with those big blue eyes and I almost found myself giving in. How in the world are we going to survive his teenage years?!"
"I think by then we'll be impervious to his charms, El," Peter answered.
"I'm not sure if that's possible," Elizabeth laughed.
Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Corbin walked up to the podium in the center of the room and asked everyone to take their seats. After introducing herself, she welcomed them all to the Kindergarten graduation ceremony. Just as she finished, the gym doors opened and the students, wearing the traditional graduation caps and gowns, started filing in, two by two. Peter and Elizabeth anxiously looked for Neal's mop of dark hair, hoping that the kid would be able to stay out of trouble long enough for the ceremony to take place. When they finally saw Neal, who had luckily been paired up with Leah, they let out a breath of relief, but unfortunately, that relief only lasted a few seconds.
"What in the world is he hiding under his gown?" Elizabeth asked. Neal looked adorable in his gown and tasseled cap, but there was a strange shape underneath his gown.
"Do we really want to know?" Peter asked with a groan.
They both watched as Neal tried his best to hide the strange object, but it wasn't working. At one point, he seemed to drop it, but by this time he was walking down the row of seats the students were sitting in and no one could tell what it was. Not having any other option, Peter and Elizabeth just sat back at tried to enjoy the ceremony. Whatever Neal had planned, there wasn't anything they could do about it at the moment.
The ceremony included several short songs that the classes had learned and a few awards. Peter and Elizabeth were pleased when it was announced that Neal had won several different awards, including an art award and a math medal. He also was voted "Mr. Personality" by the Kindergarten staff.
Everything had gone smoothly and it was finally time for the students to receive their diplomas. Just as the first person was called from Neal's row, Peter and Elizabeth watched as Neal suddenly bent forward in his seat. The children sitting around him were watching him and they all started laughing as Neal finally sat up with a fedora perched proudly on his head, just in time for his name to be called. Neal was so preoccupied with making sure the hat was sitting on his head right that he didn't even realize his name had been called.
"Neal George Caffrey-Burke," Mrs. Corbin called out a second time.
The whole auditorium broke out in laughter as Neal stood up and ran forward. Just a few steps away from Mrs. Corbin, he stepped on the hem of his graduation gown and stumbled forward, causing his hat to fly off his head. Luckily, he didn't completely lose his balance, but everyone laughed again when he kicked the podium, knocking over several stacks of diplomas, as he tried to grab his hat.
Seconds later, he stood back up with his hat in hand, turned toward the parents in the stand and bowed dramatically, before putting the fedora back on his head. By this time, the whole gym was nearly in an uproar, parents and students alike laughing at his antics. Peter and Elizabeth couldn't do anything but wonder, not for the first time, how they were going to survive the next few years.
After the ceremony, the parents were instructed to pick up their students in their classroom and were invited to a graduation party in the cafeteria. Peter and Elizabeth made their way to Neal's classroom, anxious to talk to him about what had happened.
Upon entering the classroom, they found Neal surrounded by many of his classmates and their parents. Everyone was talking about how he had nearly knocked over the podium and how flustered Mrs. Corbin had looked when all of the diplomas fell over.
Eventually, Neal saw Peter and Elizabeth and ran over to them.
"Mommy! Daddy! Look at this! It has my name on it and it says that I've been um….. uh…..p-promoted to first grade!"
"That's wonderful, sweetie. Daddy and I are so proud of you!"
After a few more congratulations for his various accolades, Peter finally asked the question he and Elizabeth had been wondering for some time. "Neal, where did the fedora come from? I thought we told you that you couldn't wear a hat today."
"No, you didn't, Daddy. You said I couldn't wear my hat today. This isn't my hat. I borrowed it from Mr. Lincoln."
"Who is Mr. Lincoln, Neal?" Elizabeth asked.
"He's our music teacher, Mommy. And guess what?! He loves hats almost as much as I do."
"Sweetie, you really shouldn't have worn the hat. Do you realize how much trouble you caused? Poor Mrs. Corbin was so flustered when all of the diplomas fell. I think you owe her an apology."
"I already told her I was sorry, Mommy. And guess what?! She hugged me and told me that she was really happy that it was summer vacation."
"I bet she is," Peter said. "Listen, bud. The next time we say you can't do something, you had better listen okay. It's not up for interpretation."
"Okay, Daddy, but, I didn't terpretate anything. You said I couldn't wear my hat and I didn't. That's not terpretating, is it?"
Peter rolled his eyes and Elizabeth laughed out loud. Yes, they were definitely in for a few tough years. Keeping up with Neal was turning out to be a full time job.
Author's note: Just a little one-shot for you all. I hope you enjoyed a little more of Neal and his antics. Would you like some more in this universe?
Thanks for reading.