Hope you enjoy the sequel to Twisted Game of love and in this story, from time to time I may ask you guys to help with the number of reviews if I get stuck. I do not own... slash, do not like do not read... and now on with the chapter

Chapter 1

Peter struggled to breathe as the paramedic worked hard to stabilize him. Letting his eyes slide shut he felt himself slipping away as he felt the blood pool in his lung forcing him to cough. "Agent Burke…you have to open your eyes," the paramedic said as she put an oxygen mask on Peter. Grabbing the radio she called the hospital's emergency room. "We have a federal agent with two gunshot wounds to the chest. He is on oxygen and bleeding into his lung, please be advised that emergency blood transfusion is eminent," she said dropping the radio. Peter let his head fall to the side as the heart monitor began to blare. "We're losing him," she yelled as she grabbed the paddles from the defibrillator and charged them up. "Clear" she yelled as she shocked Peter back into sinus rhythm before losing him a second time and shocking his heart again this time having it catch in a more stable sinus rhythm. When they arrived at the hospital Peter was quickly rolled through the doors and into emergency as nurses swarmed on the gurney and moved it into trauma to stabilize him before moving him up to the operating room for surgery. Once Peter was stable enough they moved him to the operating room and began the long grueling surgery to save his life.

Diana struggled to keep Neal calm as Jones drove them to the hospital when they arrived at the hospital she dragged Neal to the front desk of the emergency room and cleared her throat. "You need to sign in and take a seat; we'll get to you when we can," the nurse said not looking up from her paperwork. "I'm looking for information on a patient that came in no more than twenty minutes ago," Diana said trying to keep her cool. The nurse looked up and then at Neal. "Are you family of the patient you are looking for?" she asked being professional. "Well no but-" "I'm sorry if you're not family I can't give out information," she said. Neal looked at Diana his body still shaking in fear. "Please… we just want to know if he's still alive…" the female agent said her last nerve being stepped on. "I said I can't say anything you're not family," the nurse said.

"And I'm telling you that is my boss and his partner and we just want to know if he's alive," Diana said as the nurse looked at Neal and saw the pain on his face. Sighing she looked around before pulling up Peter's record. "He's in surgery right now and won't be out for hours, the operating room is on the fifth floor," the nurse said pointing toward the elevators. Walking Neal away from the desk Diana put an arm around him to keep him standing. "Come on Neal… we're going to go wait for Peter to get out of surgery."

When they got upstairs Neal made his way to the closest couch and sat down and hugged the arm as he gazed out the large window at the city lights. As time dragged on more agents came to the waiting area and sat around. By the time the last agent arrived Elizabeth showed up in a green cocktail dress. "What happened? I just got a call from Reese that Peter's been shot," she said as she walked over to Diana who was trying to get Neal to drink something. "I don't know the whole story all I know is he was trying to help Neal with a meeting with Vincent Adler and he was shot and then Neal-" Elizabeth threw her hand up to stop Diana. "So what you're saying is the reason my husband is on the verge of dying is because he risked his life to save him?" she asked pointing at Neal who looked up with a lost puppy look on his face. "Elizabeth… I….didn't mean for…" Neal said as he got up and walked toward his partner's wife.

"Of course you didn't mean for it Neal but it did happen and it's your fault. When Peter is out of surgery I want you to stay away from him you're nothing but trouble Neal… he could die tonight because he had to follow you and be some big protector of you," she said as she walked away and sat on a bench facing away from Neal. Feeling sick with guilt Neal returned to his couch and curled around the corner and held onto it like it was an anchor. Not long after a doctor came out of the operating room and told the group of agents and friends sitting around, "Agent Burke is pulling through surgery but we need help, he has the blood type B negative; we're looking for anyone who is O negative or B negative; we need at least two pints," he said as he looked at the agents who started to shake their heads. Elizabeth shook her head when the doctor looked at her. "I'm O negative," Neal said as he stood up and lowered his head when he saw Elizabeth look at him with a flash of annoyance and a small flicker of anger. "Well then son… come with me we need to get you set up," he said as he led Neal out of the waiting area and to where the phlebotomist was waiting to draw his blood.

Neal sat in the chair and resisted the urge to shake as the blonde had him roll up his sleeve before cleaning the area. Turning his head away he winced as the rubber tie was wrapped around his bicep and the needle was inserted before the band was removed and the blood began to flow into the bag. When the first bag was done it was whisked out of the room as another was hooked up. Neal put his head back against the headrest of the chair and closed his eyes as he started to feel light headed. Once the second bag was filled the nurse left Neal to rest. Getting up from the chair Neal staggered from the room and made his way down the hall until he was too tired to walk and slid down the wall and sat in the corner and slowly fell asleep mumbling about vampires taking his blood.

A minute later Neal woke to sharp jab in his hip; looking up he saw Agent Carr standing over him with two other agents he didn't recognize. "You were supposed to help us arrest him not kill him," she said as one of the agents pulled Neal to his feet. "Since you killed Vincent Adler your contract is terminated and our agreement is null and void. Furthermore you are here by sentenced to three more years of service to the FBI along with another hearing as to pass judgment on the fact you and Agent Burke broke the rules, you'll be lucky if you ever get to be a free man," she said putting her hands on her hips.

"Shut up… I'm tired of being pushed around… I don't care what you say because I love Peter… and he loves me too…so threaten all you want because I'm tired of caring and worrying. Nothing will change that…" Neal said his head still feeling heavy as he was held up like a limp fish. "Watch it Caffrey… I could put you back in jail in the blink of an eye and not in cushy solitary either… general population at the super max," she said glaring at Neal. "Fine… fine… you know what… go suck the soul out of someone else you uptight harpie; I'm going to bed now…" Neal mumbled as he let his head fall to his chest as he passed out.

Motioning for the men to leave him Agent Carr walked away as the men dragged Neal back to the waiting area and dumped him on a couch to rest. Diana got up from her seat and walked up to the OPR agent and looked at her. "What happened to Neal?" she asked looking at the ex con as he lay there not moving though his chest was rising and falling. The men didn't answer as they left the waiting area. Elizabeth looked over for a moment and saw how pale the ex con looked and turned to Diana. "He's going to need something with iron in it to perk him back up…try meat, if the cafeteria doesn't have Salisbury steaks try a hamburger," she said as she got up to refill her coffee. Diana looked over at Jones and relayed the message and waited as he left and came back ten minutes later with a burger and a few other things. After waking Neal up they sat him up and watched as he nibbled on the wheat bread and took a couple bites of the hamburger. After half the burger was gone and some more bread the color was starting to come back to Neal's face.

Time ticked by slowly a few agents decided they had stayed enough and departed to return home to their families. By ten-thirty the number of waiting agents had dwindled to Jones, Diana, Reese and Elizabeth. Sitting away from the group Neal felt alone, getting up from the couch he slipped out of the waiting area to find something to drink he barely reached the elevators when a familiar man walked up to him. "Neal…can we talk?" Josh asked as he stood before the ex con looking tired. "No…nothing good comes from you," Neal said as he pushed passed Josh only to have the DC agent grab his arm and hold it in a vice like grip.

"That was more of a command than a question actually," he remarked as he walked Neal down the hall until they came to a dead end by the bathrooms. Neal allowed himself to be forced onto the bench by the bathroom and looked at the agent as he sat beside him. "You know it's your fault Peter was shot right, if he didn't have to save your ass, you insignificant little piece of shit, then he wouldn't be on that operating table near death… it should be you on that table dying not him. You're nothing but a curse to those around you and those good looks and your false smile can't keep hiding the fact that death follows you everywhere Caffrey. First that girlfriend of yours then your mentor who you gunned down and now my best friend…just end it already and save us the trouble of having to deal with you," Josh said as he pulled a pocket knife from his from his jacket and opened it before he put it in Neal's hand.

Looking down at the knife Neal's gaze moved up the handle to the razor sharp blade. "I'm not a curse…" Neal said softly as he kept his eyes glued to the knife. "Of course you are… let's see you nearly destroyed Peter's marriage and almost got him fired and now you've pretty much killed him no one survives two gunshot wounds where he was hit, do us all a favor and just end it now," he remarked. Grabbing the knife Neal moved it and rested the tip against his left wrist and controlled his shaking hand and started to push down on his flesh. "You're right I'm just a curse…" Neal said softly as the felt the knife tip pinch his skin.

"Neal… what are you doing?" Elizabeth asked as she walked over and pulled the knife out of Neal's hand and tossed it into the trash by the bench. Neal looked up and recoiled back away from his partner's wife. "I'm a curse…you shouldn't be near me, you'll die…" Neal mumbled as he lowered his gaze. Grabbing the knife Elizabeth threw it into the trash bin beside the bench.

"Neal look at me… look… look at me… do you realize how upset Peter would be when he wakes up and finds out that you took you own life. It would shatter him into nothing, he loves you Neal you know that, he's risked his career and his life for you, so don't you dare think about taking a knife to your wrists or I will put you over my knee and spank you until the moon comes up. Do you understand?" Elizabeth asked as she put both her hands on the sides of Neal's face and forced him to look at her. Swallowing hard Neal nodded and forced his tears back and failed. "I'm scared, if I lose Peter what else is there to live for… I couldn't work for the FBI. I'd rather sit in prison then be reminded every day that I got him killed," Neal said as his bottom lip began to quiver. "Well sweetie that's why I came to find you, the doctor came back and Peter is out of surgery but he's not out of the woods yet. But you can go sit with him now; I have to take care of something first, Clinton and Diana will take you to Peter," Elizabeth said as she watched Neal get up and make his way back down the hall.

Josh stood up and started to slip around Elizabeth. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Elizabeth asked as she grabbed Josh's collar and yanked him back hard enough to send him sitting on the bench again. "What do you think you were doing, Peter already punched you once was that not enough…let me tell you this if you ever come near Neal again with the intension to harm him you will regret it," she said with an angered mother bear look on her face. "Is that a threat? Did you just threaten a federal agent?" Josh asked as he stood back up trying to throw his weight as an agent around. "No it is not a threat it is a promise that if something happens to Neal even a paper cut and you're standing next to him you're going to wish you were a million miles away because Peter and I will come after you," she said as she walked away and made her way to the post op room where Peter was.

When she got there she found Neal with his head against the railing of an empty bed. "The doctor said Peter should have woken up three minutes ago…they went to run a few tests to find out why; but they are leaning towards a coma from brain swelling when he hit the cement walkway after being shot," Neal said as he watched the tear hanging off the end of his nose finally fall and hit the floor. "They won't tell me anymore because I'm not family," he said ignoring the dull pain of the metal bar against his forehead. "Don't worry they'll tell us something soon, Peter's a fighter he'll come back to us soon," Elizabeth said as she put a comforting hand on Neal's shoulder. "I'm sorry about before Neal, I was scared too about Peter too," Elizabeth said as she sat beside Neal.

"Good evening Mr. Burke, it was a nice sunny day today... it's a shame you missed it," the young coma ward nurse said as she pulled the curtains closed and turned the lights on as she cleaned up a bit setting the magazines in a neat stack and taking out the few dead flowers from the multiple vases on the window ledge. "You sure have a lot of friends who miss you," she added as she walked over to Peter and picked up his chart and started to take down the information from the machines to see if there was any change in Peter's EEG to see if he would be waking soon.

Peter felt extremely tired as if his body had gotten no sleep but his mind was fully rested. Opening his eyes he looked around and saw the nurse by his bedside. "Welcome back Mr. Burke… Neal's going to be so happy, he comes in every night around this time and stays all night… in fact he should be here any minute," Beth said. Peter smirked "Don't tell him I'm awake just yet then… I want to surprise him," Peter said as he put his head back down on the pillow just a moment before Neal walked in.

Exchanging their usual greetings Neal walked over to the edge of the hospital bed and sat down as Beth stood by the doorway. "Hey Peter… well, I'll get right to the daily update, we've cleared fifteen cases since Diana took over and she can't wait for you to come back she can't handle the stress any longer but she does like having the power of bossing us around… Josh is still around he's not allowed to leave until the hearing, and of course he still hates me," Neal said as he took Peter's hand in his and held it. "I miss you so much; and I love you," he added as he looked at Peter's hand and sighed sadly.

Unable to keep up the charade Peter cracked his eyes open and saw the dark circles under Neal's eyes like he hadn't been sleeping well for some time. "You look like hell…" he said his voice cracking a bit from not using it. Neal looked up fast and saw that Peter was awake and threw his arms around him. Peter chuckled and put his arms around Neal and held him. "Don't let go, that's when the dream ends…" Neal mumbled as he shifted so he was lying on his side fitting perfectly against Peter's body. "I won't, but get some rest you look tired," he said as he rubbed Neal's back and felt the tension start to loosen up. Neal didn't respond as he began to nod off despite the fact he wasn't able to stretch out very much.

When Elizabeth arrived after being called by the nurse she smiled at the sight before her of Neal sleeping peacefully and holding onto Peter like he was a stuffed animal. "He needs this sleep so badly, he's been burning the candle at both ends," Elizabeth whispered as she took a seat next to the bed. "He mentioned a hearing, what did I miss?" Peter asked as he rubbed Neal's shoulder as he slept. "I don't know the details; all I know is Neal is being brought before another panel alone tomorrow morning. Every time I asked him about it he wouldn't talk about it so all I know is that it's tomorrow at eight and that it's serious from what Diana has been able to tell me. She says not only were all your files on Neal pulled but everyone has been questioned," Elizabeth whispered as she watched Neal sleep.

Looking away from the ex con Peter sighed. "When I was in my coma I guess I was having a dream… I…I was walking with Neal and we were holding hands talking about things and we seemed so happy; and we were walking our son to school…Neal looked so happy he deserves to be happy after everything I and the FBI have put him through," Peter said clearing his throat a bit. "He does deserve to be happy but what does this mean for us?" Elizabeth asked as she took Peter's free hand. "I'm not sure… but I'll let you decide where we should go from here," Peter said softly.

"Let's talk about this more once you get out of the hospital, now take it easy and I'll be back in the morning to pick you up if the doctors will release you," she said as he gave Peter a quick kiss. "Later hon, I'd hug you but I'm sort of pinned down at the moment," Peter remarked as Neal shifted again. Elizabeth smiled. "It's okay, and just so you know Neal does deserve you," she said as she walked around the bed and grabbed the blanket and put it more around Neal and kissed his forehead before she left.

Neal woke the next morning and saw Peter still sleeping. Slipping out of bed he straightened his clothes and brushed his hair out of his eyes and like a cat he snuck out of the room and left the hospital. Hailing a cab Neal made his way to the FBI office and went to the twenty-eighth floor and shivered as the panel watched him enter the room. "Mr. Caffrey please sit down we have quite a bit to discuss," Agent Carr said as she opened a large folder. "Can I say something?" Neal asked hoping to give his side of the story. "No you may not, you are going to only speak when we tell you to…" she said determined to spin anything Neal said in her favor.

"Mr. Caffrey did you or did you not continue to see Agent Burke after you were told not to?" another agent asked as Neal looked at him. "Yes sir... but…" the agent raised his hand to stop the ex con from going any farther. Neal groaned softly he knew that he was in trouble. "Isn't it also true that on your last case you intentionally sabotaged your return to the city to spend an evening with Agent Burke?" Agent Carr asked her eyes locked on Neal's daring him to even think about lying. "No, we had car trouble; the fuel wasn't getting to the tank, as for spending the night I slept in a separate bed in a room I shared with Diana," Neal said keeping an element of truth to the story.

Pulling together the panel began to talk about Neal. As they pulled away to lay down their judgment the door opened and Peter walked into the room and made his way to the table that had been set up and stood behind Neal's chair. "Agent Burke this is a private hearing you don't need to be here," Agent Carr said a flicker of worry on her face. Peter shook his head. "I'm staying, and I would also like to bring up the contract you had Neal sign," Peter said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled a folded paper out. Jumping to her feet Agent Carr looked livid. "Where did you get that I destroyed all copies of that contract last night," she said pointing at the paper in Peter's hand.

Peter smirked as he looked at the paper in his hand. "Oh this isn't your contract; we have a copy of your contract in the office downstairs this is just a menu to Neal's favorite restaurant," Peter remarked as took a seat next to Neal. "But since we're talking about it…Neal what did that contract state anyway?" Peter asked as he looked over at Neal acting as if Agent Carson seething at the table was invisible. "It said that if I worked for Agent Carr that the three years she pinned on my sentence would be removed… then the day of the incident she informed me that if I did not help her arrest Vincent Adler in two weeks from that date I would be sent back to prison to finish out my sentence with extra years attached," Neal said as he looked at the other agents at the table in front of him feeling renewed confidence that Peter was there to help him.

Hughes looked at the younger female agent at the table before looking at Neal and Peter. "Could you two please leave for a few minutes we have a few things to discuss before we can pass any reasonable judgment," he said as they got up from the table and left. Walking out to room Neal stayed close to Peter. "Pulling out an old trick, did you really plan on it working so well?" he asked giving a weak smile as he stood close to Peter. "I hope so, and you did save my life so that could help you in the long run," Peter said as took Neal's hand and held it as they waited. After what seemed like an eternity the doors opened and two agents came out of the room with Agent Carr between them. Being waved back into the room Neal slid his hand from Peter's and walked into the room and stood beside him and waited for them to pass judgment.