A/N: So, here's the next chapter :) I'm posting the third one right after because this one is really short and my least favorite one...
By the way, I picked Neal to be emetophobic, because he's shown some signs I know all to well in the show and it made my mind go crazy :D
Enjoy!
I.
The next few days were pretty uneventful for both Neal and Peter.
The case was boring, at least Neal thought so, there was nothing to forge and the panic attacks happened when Peter wasn't around.
Everything went as well as one could expect things to run when working with/for the FBI and Neal started to relax. Maybe the little talk between him and Peter had been everything, the topic never needed to be spoken about again. On the other side, he knew that Peter wanted to help and deep down Neal longed for that. Mozzie helped him deal with the panic attacks but he wasn't exactly phobia-free himself , so Mozz only treated the symptom and not the cause. But with Peter, Neal actually thought that he could get better with him at his side. How, he didn't know, but he trusted the man.
That trust proved to be true when Diana excused herself a little early from work, saying that she felt sick. As there was no hot case, just old ones to sort through, Peter let her go, told her to feel better and stay home until she was a hundred percent again.
Neal smiled at her when she stepped into the elevator and then took a deep breath. Thoughts were running through his head; did he touch something that Diana had touched? Had be been in close contact with her? Did he somehow exchange body fluids with her, like saliva?
The only thing going through his mind was if he could have caught whatever she got and that was enough to make him nervous.
Peter had said that he was there when Neal needed him, right? But going to his office, whining like a little boy about something so irrational? No, that would not happen, he was Neal Caffrey, con man extraordinaire, damn it.
While Neal still debated with himself, the decision was taken out of his hands when Peter walked up to his desk.
"Hey, Neal. Diana's already home, Jones's about to leave and I thought the two of us could use an early weekend as well, what do you say?" Peter asked and Neal finally pulled himself from his thoughts.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Is everything alright?" Peter questioned and Neal knew that he must not look good when Peter mustered him like that.
"Uh, yeah, fine," Neal answered and then shook his head. "No, no, I'm not that fine."
It took a few seconds for Peter to catch up with what was going on.
"It's because of Diana, isn't it?" After a slight nod from Neal, Peter kept on talking, "Okay, get your stuff, we're having an early weekend and El'd love you over for dinner, I'm sure. Wanna wash your hands before we go?"
"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great," Neal replied and headed to the bathroom while Peter locked his office, then gathered his stuff and waited at the elevator.
"I'm sure that she just ate something that didn't agree with her," Peter said and stepped through the open doors of the elevator.
When Neal didn't make a move to push the number of the garage, but instead buried his hands in his pockets, Peter reached across him and pushed the button.
When they reached Peter's car, the two of them got in and Neal cursed his hands for shaking slightly. Peter surely had noticed.
"Hang on a second," Peter said and reached for his phone. After some ringing, Diana answered his call.
"Hi, Diana. I just wanted to know of you got home okay…. That's good. You feeling better? Oh, I see, okay. Get some rest. Yeah, see you on Monday, bye."
Neal looked at Peter expectantly and tried to decide whether he was feeling more anxious or curious to hear what Diana had said.
"She got home okay and is having a nice bubble bath, helps with the cramps, she says. Monthly routine for her," Peter said, looking Neal in the eyes. "You're fine, Neal, she isn't sick. Okay?"
Neal breathed out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and nodded. "Thanks, Peter."
"Nothing to thank me for, I just checked up on an Agent that wasn't feeling well. So, you wanna call El and tell her to get dinner ready for three?"
Don't forget to read the next one :))
