(Here are few ideas I had originally intended to put in, but they just never made it for some reason or other)

(Also, yes, this is an excuse to write more of this because I loved it. And probably due to me and Cali being left home alone again... Hence me writing these...)

1. Sing Along

(I found myself doing this yesterday so...)

Neal hummed along to the song that was playing as he walked back upstairs. He'd left the radio on when he went to change into some fresh clothes.

He gave Cali a gentle pet as he passed the chair she was curled up on, and a new song began to play. This one he knew, so he began to sing the words, quietly at first.

"Lately I've been, I've been losin' sleep, dreamin' about the things that we could be."

By the time the next song began to play, he was singing much louder and this continued while he made himself some breakfast and coffee.

"Nah, nah, honey I'm good. I could have another but I probably should not."

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm hooked on a feelin'!"

"Baby you're all that I want, when you're lyin' here in my arms. I'm finding it hard to believe... we're in heaven."

He lost track of time, ended up burning his eggs, and when he finally stopped, he felt a little embarrassed and turned off the music.

"Don't look at me like that," he muttered as he spotted Cali perched on the couch, staring in what looked to him like deep concern.

He finished his breakfast in silence.

-)()(-

2. The Hat

It was either really late or really early, but Neal found himself unable to sleep again, so he sighed and rolled out of bed, padding softly out into the living room. The only thing missing around here was a clock.

For a while, he sat on the couch, looking out the window through half-lidded eyes. They snapped open fully when he heard a noise from the garage and in a flash, he'd bolted to the door. By the time he opened it, though, the noise had stopped and he stood there, frozen, listening for it to come again. It didn't.

Oh. They must have just left. The week's supplies had been placed in their usual spot and Neal sighed again in frustration.

He was about to head back inside, leaving that for the morning, but then something caught his eye and he walked over to the stack of boxes, head tilted.

Sitting on top was a hat. His hat, it looked like. The one he used to wear everywhere with Peter...

Almost hesitantly, Neal reached down to pluck it from its place, bringing it up slowly to stare at the thing in bewilderment.

...Why...? Why had they given this to him? To taunt him? To comfort him? He didn't understand.

Slowly, he sank to his knees, still holding the hat as a wave of despair washed over him. They were taunting him, he was sure of it. His hands shook and he felt the sudden urge to smush the thing into a tight ball and throw it away. Something stopped him from doing that, though, and he simply held it, unable to tear his gaze away for what felt like a very long time.

-)()(-

3. Peter

(What if Peter could see everything that whole time?)

It was like those video cameras that kidnappers used, Peter couldn't help but think as he brought up the live feed once again.

He didn't know why he bothered to look. Neal was always okay when he checked on him, but maybe he just wanted to make sure of that.

Today, Neal was curled up on the armchair, napping in the sun with the cat in his lap, also asleep. Peter sighed. "I'm working on it, Neal, I promise," he murmured.

He checked again before bed, this time finding his friend up, standing over by the large sliding door in the basement. It was difficult to see much in the darkness, but a bit of moonlight showed Neal's face, looking just as dejected and dull as usual. It made Peter angry just to see it, so he shut the laptop and tried not to think about it.

-)()(-

4. Tiny Source Of Amusement

(This happened just today with me and Cali.)

The noise came to Neal's attention slowly, and he blinked, making a face as he looked around. What was that?

It wasn't very loud, in fact it was nearly inaudible, but it was there. He wasn't hearing things. At least, he didn't think so.

He walked around, determined to find whatever it was, and it didn't take long to do that. He looked up and there it was. Just a bee. A wasp, actually.

Neal raised an eyebrow, his eyes following it as it flew around up there. Every time it hit the ceiling, it would make a quiet 'bzt' noise. It was oddly fun to watch, and Neal wondered briefly how it had gotten in. He wondered if maybe he could find out.

Silly. He'd probably never be able to escape the way it had come in. Probably just a tiny hole somewhere.

The wasp continued flying around, going in circles that made Neal dizzy. Occasionally, it would dip down almost to the floor and it was one of those times that Cali decided she wanted in on this game.

She pounced, batting the tiny creature with a paw. It skittered across the floor, making a decidedly angry buzzing noise, and Neal walked away from that. He didn't want to get stung.

Cali didn't seem concerned about that at all and she continued to play with the thing, keeping it on the floor.

"You're pissing him off," Neal warned. "Don't come crying to me when you get stung."

He didn't have to worry. A couple hours later, Cali had had her fun and the wasp had stopped moving.

-)()(-

5. Panic Attack

(This is just my experience with panic attacks. Yeah, not fun...)

Neal woke up drenched in sweat, panting, and feeling sick. He laid there in denial for a minute or two, then sat up, rubbing his temples. Everything inside his chest seemed to tremble off and on, his heartbeat too fast for his liking. His mouth was dry and he licked his lips, eyes still closed as he hauled himself out of bed.

He stumbled, having to place a hand against the wall in order to regain his balance. He blinked rapidly, trying to slow his breathing, but to no avail.

He made it to the bathroom and slid down the wall, leaning his forehead against the edge of the tub. It felt deliciously cool and he stayed there, still panting as his stomach twisted painfully and his whole body trembled. His heart was doing funny things and he didn't like it.

For what seemed like hours, he remained that way, knees curled up to his chest in misery.

After a while, things seemed to settle down but he felt too weak to move, so instead, he slipped to the floor, curling up on his side and not caring that there was nothing beneath him but cool tile.

In the morning, he was a little sore, but whatever that was had passed and he stood up, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

God, he looked like shit...

-)()(-

6. Making Conversation

"Hey, Cali," Neal mumbled, walking out of his room soon after waking up.

She purred, twisting through his legs. Neal smiled, stopping to pet her gently. However, he startled when another voice spoke from the living room couch and he glanced over to see that no one was there.

Cali had run off when he jumped, so he straightened up, glancing around suspiciously. No, he was pretty sure someone had spoken.

"Come on, let's go," Peter called, and Neal didn't look at him as he replied half-heartedly "Yeah, be there in a sec." So that was what he'd heard. Oh well. At least it wasn't anything new.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked. "Come on, we're already late."

Neal didn't bother to ask what they were supposedly late for. He knew it didn't matter. "Go by yourself," he said.

That shut him up, and when Neal glanced over, he didn't see anything, so he continued about his business as usual.