Chap. 1

Peter Burke stood in the doorway of his son's bedroom, watching as the kids head bobbed in time with the music blaring from the iPod ear buds. Neal was eclectic in his interests even his musical tastes varied. One day he would be listening to the soft sounds of sultry jazz music the next he was listening to the classical music that El found so relaxing. And today, it seemed that alternative rock was on the menu. How could the kid listen to something so loud? Peter could hear it out in the hallway, so he knew Neal's eardrums must be ready to blow.

Turning yet another page of notes, Neal moved his lips as he read. He didn't notice his dad coming into the room or the man sitting onto the bed. His concentration was on the notes and the music playing in his ears. Hearing a small pop, Neal jerked his head up to find his dad sitting there smirking. The music was gone.

"Did you turn off my music?"

"Why yes I did."

"Why? I always listen to music when I study."

"Son, I could hear that out in the hallway."

"Dad, some music is supposed to be played loud. Besides, why were stalking me out in the hallway?"

Peter closed the criminal justice book and sat it aside. Criminal Justice, huh? They would revisit that later, now he had other things to clear up.

"I noticed that you didn't come home last night until almost three a.m. I was just wondering if that is going to become a habit or if it was just a one time thing?"

Neal thought over his response and replied carefully.

"Last night just kind of flew by. I didn't realize it was so late until…"

"Until what, kid?"

"Promise you won't get angry until I've finished?"

"Well, this can't be good. Sure, I promise."

"We went out last night."

"We? Who is we Neal?"

"Me… a… and some friends. We went to a club."

"A club?"

"Yeah, then we went to another club and then we finally closed down the new club downtown. I didn't realize how late it was until they said they were closing. I should have called. Well, I should have been home, but since I wasn't I should have called."

"Neal, were you drinking last night?"

"Am I grounded if I say yes?"

"Probably."

Neal thought about lying, but he knew the consequences for that. He didn't want to be grounded and spanked.

"Yes. But I only had two drinks the entire night! I swear."

Peter considered what the boy had said. He had yet to lie to him, so there was no reason not to believe him.

"O.K."

"That's it? You're not grounding me?"

"No. You really didn't get into any trouble and you told me the truth. Now if something more troublesome happens because of something like this you'll be grounded until you're thirty. Understand?

"Yes."

"Good. I don't mind you going out, son; I don't even mind you coming home a little late, just let us know and stay away from the clubs. You're still under age. Drinking a glass of wine with dinner with your mother and me is one thing, going out and doing it illegally is another. Besides, haven't we already had a little talk about drinking?"

Neal nodded his head yes and closed his eyes. He remembered that little chat well. It was the first time Peter had ever spanked him and if had been left up to Neal, that would have been the last, but no, Peter had to go all parental.

"Technically that little incident was because I tried to buy some wine using one of my aliases."

"Neal, look at me son."

Neal looked up, finding the eyes that held so much love and affection for him. In that moment he realized that he really didn't mind Peter and El going parental sometimes. It was nice to know someone cared that much about him.

"Neal, I don't want to put a damper on your fun, I just want you to be careful."

"I know and I will be. Besides, I really didn't have such a great time. I felt like someone was watching me. I guess it was because the clubs were so crowded."

"Or maybe you felt guilty because you knew you weren't supposed to be there?"

"Yeah, Dad I'm sure that was it."

The eye roll didn't escape Peter, and neither did the sarcasm in his son's voice.

"Listen your mother wanted to go out for dinner later, we would like for you to come along. With our schedules we hardly get to see each other."

"That would be great. I just have to finish studying for a test, but I already know most of it, so it's no big deal. Just need to review."

"I'll help you; show me what you're going to be tested on."

Peter scooted up beside his son as Neal grabbed the criminal justice textbook and his notes and began to lay out all the study materiel.

"I didn't realize you were taking criminal justice classes."

"Yeah, um Hughes thought it might be helpful."

"So how does this work, with your art courses I mean?"

"I'm double majoring."

Peter knew his son was smart enough the courses, but he didn't want the kid to burn out.

"If anything starts to fell like too much, you'll tell me right? You're working with the FBI and double majoring now. That's a lot for anyone to take on."

Neal smiled as he leaned into his dad. He was in trouble for drinking, yet Peters first thought was his well-being. That felt nice, as did the arm around his shoulder. It felt like safety and security. And apparently, the dogs thought so as well, as they curled into the two pair of legs intertwined on the bed.