Thanks to everyone who reviewed or put this story on their alerts and favorites list! I like knowing that you enjoyed it and will allow me to write more because it is too adorable and too much fun write to just not do anything with no matter how awkward and far fetched it is. hah!
Peter and Elizabeth stared at Mozzie with a 'you have got to be kidding me look'.
"But you know that's what he gets for not listening to me. Had he believed me in the first place he wouldn't be like he is now!" The short, bald man ranted while gesturing towards the little boy standing beside him.
"Had he not listened to you at all he wouldn't be like he is now!" Peter countered, annoyance creeping into his voice.
"Oh, typical Suit. Blame the quirky friend."
"Ok, I will, because it's your fault!" Peter retorted, his voice getting louder with each word.
The yelling was starting to intimidate Neal and that frustrated him. He could remember being an adult, but he couldn't remember how to control his emotions which were now all over the place. The main emotion that he felt rolling around in his stomach was fear, fear of being three years old again, and what was going to happen to him.
Peter's frustration and anger wasn't helping. The older man obviously didn't want to deal with him and this only upset him further. He was growing more frustrated and wanted nothing more than to be in his apartment alone and be thirty years old again.
His two friends kept bickering back and forth about Neal's current situation, while Elizabeth tried to calm them and get them to see reason. No one was paying him any mind and he found the perfect time to leave.
"Stop it! Right now! Both of you!" Elizabeth yelled, gaining Peter and Mozzie's attentions instantly. Both fell silent. "Arguing about this is not going to help matters okay? Now let's just be rational about this."
"There's nothing rational about a thirty year old man turning into a three year old boy!" Peter replied exasperated.
"No, there isn't, but we need to get to the bottom of it, alright? Now Mozzie, what do you know about this...curse or whatever it is?"
Mozzie eyed the Suit before, clearing his throat. "Not much. Just stories of people turning into children, but they've always turned back! Or so the stories say."
Peter rolled his eyes.
"How long will Neal stay like this?" El asked.
"A week...or two..." Mozzie replied and Peter groaned. "A month tops."
"A month?" Peter yelled. "What in the world are we supposed to do with him for a month?"
"First, it may not even be that long and second, absolutely nothing Suit. I'll deal with Neal. You just smooth everything over at the Bureau until he changes back."
"Oh no." Peter countered. "You've done enough. He's staying with us. You're lucky I don't arrest you right now."
Mozzie looked between Suit and Mrs. Suit a minute. "Very well, then. He can stay with you, but don't expect me to just abandon him."
"Of course not." Peter replied a bit sarcastically before seriously adding, "You need to find out whatever you can about...whatever it is that is happening to him."
Peter pointed to where he had last seen the little kid standing only to be greeted with an empty space. "Where'd he go?"
All three adults started looking around the living room in search of Neal.
"Neal?"
"Neal, where are you?"
"Come here, sweetheart." El tried to coax, while trying to stop the panic that was rising in her throat.
Peter ran up the stairs taking two at time yelling for the little boy, while Mozzie and Elizabeth searched downstairs. El noticed the back door had been left open for Satchmo and yelled for Peter.
"Peter, he isn't here. The back door was opened for Satchmo, he must have gone outside!" Elizabeth was starting to panic. She walked out onto the back patio desperately hoping to see Neal playing with the dog or just standing there completely unharmed, but he wasn't anywhere.
Peter ran outside behind her, followed by Mozzie. All three noticed the side gate was open and Satchmo standing just outside of it barking at the street. The dog then took off running. Following Satchmo to the front of the house, Peter, Elizabeth and Mozzie saw a sight that made their hearts stop.
Neal noticed the back door slightly ajar that allowed Satchmo to come and go from the house to the backyard as he pleased. Fortunately, it allowed him the same luxury. Walking outside, he looked to see if the gate was open. It wasn't and he soon realized being as small as he was he couldn't reach the latch to open it. However, luck was on his side as he spotted a small gardening seat by the gate. Carefully stepping on top of it, he stood on his tiptoes and stretched for the latch. After a few minutes of struggling, jumping and wiggling he got it open. He climbed down from the gardening seat, but jumped when something licked his face.
Turning quickly he spotted a big, golden dog standing beside him. He knew it was Satchmo, but from his three year old perspective the dog looked like a monster wanting to eat him. Feeling frightened, he turned to the now open gate and ran.
Peter came to a dead halt, as did Elizabeth and Mozzie. Satchmo stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and barked at the little boy standing in the middle of the street.
Elizabeth couldn't move or find her voice. She stood and watched in horror as Neal slowly ran across the street as fast as his tiny legs would carry him then just stopped. Mozzie made a move to go get him but Peter was faster.
Peter felt his heart drop in the pit of the stomach. For a split second, his mind went back to memories of Neal jumping from the judge's chambers, passing out due to lack of oxygen, getting kidnapped and shot at. All the dangerous things that Neal had ever done or been a part of couldn't be compared to this.
"Neal!" He yelled as he ran as hard as he could. He barely turned his head to check for traffic, but caught a glimpse of a yellow taxi speeding their way out of his peripheral vision. However, the agent didn't stop. All he cared about was getting the little boy out of the street and away from danger.
Neal was terrified. The golden monster was chasing him and he was easily catching up to him. He couldn't see where he was going because the tears that had welled up in his eyes blurred his vision, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get away from him. He suddenly found himself desperately wanting Peter despite how angry the man was at him. He just wanted to be safe.
Neal didn't think he could be more terrified than he was right then, but he soon found that to be untrue. He blinked and rubbed the water from his eyes to clear his vision as he ran frustratingly slow and realized he was in the middle of the street that the Burke's lived on. The shock caused him to stop running. He turned his head to see a yellow taxi cab heading straight for him. He heard something that sounded like a yell, but he couldn't be sure as he tried to figure out how to move his legs. He found that he could do nothing but stand there in the way of the taxi.
Peter felt like he was running in slow motion, like he would never be able to reach Neal in time. He could hear the taxi getting closer, too close. In a split second, before he had any time to process what he was doing, he grabbed the boy around the waist and tried to keep running.
Neal saw a big blur coming towards him from the side, but he couldn't take his eyes off the taxi. He braced himself for the impact, but suddenly felt something slam into him and carry him out of the way of the taxi. He shut his eyes, unable to keep them open out of pure fear. He felt himself and whatever had him start going down.
In what felt like minutes but actually took place in seconds, Peter grabbed the boy and stumbled to the other side of the street. He felt himself falling and instantly turned his shoulders so he would land on his back and shield the little kid from the hard ground.
With a thud Peter felt his back connect with the concrete and a small weight land on top of him. He took several deep breaths trying to regain his senses. After a few seconds he sat up quickly, still holding the small weight in his arms firmly.
"Neal?" He asked, breathlessly. "Are you alright?"
The little boy only gave a whimper in response as he buried his face in Peter's chest. The older man took the boy by the shoulders and held him back at arms length to check him over. Neal kept his head down, but Peter could still see that tears were running down his face and he kept his eyes squeezed shut. The small frame trembled underneath his hands.
"Neal?" Peter asked again, growing more worried. "Answer me."
The little boy rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands and nodded, but when he heard a dog bark close to him he jumped and flung his small arms around Peter's neck, burying his face in the side of it. He whimpered and shook, desperately wanting the older man to protect him from the golden haired beast.
Peter realized that he was scared of the dog and held the boy firmly while he stood from the ground before Satchmo came to them. The dog barked again causing the boy to jerk and press his face further into Peter's neck. Satchmo wagged his tail, panting happily, while trying to jump up and smell the younger boy.
"No, Satch. Down boy. Sit down." Peter ordered, then complimented the dog for doing as he was told.
Peter looked up to see Elizabeth and Mozzie running across the street towards them.
"Oh my God! Is he alright? Are you both ok?" She was frantic and her husband could easily see the tears in her eyes.
"Yeah, El. He's alright. We're both fine. He's just a little shaken up. That's all."
"Oh thank God!" She exclaimed holding a hand against her chest, her heart flying rapidly underneath. She patted the little boy's back for a second before instructing everyone back inside.
Peter sat down on the couch with Neal still firmly latched onto him, while Elizabeth put Satchmo securely on the back porch away from Neal. Mozzie stood near the front door, but wouldn't leave until he knew for sure Neal was okay.
El came back into the living room and sat down beside Peter.
"Neal, honey, what were you thinking?" She asked, trying to keep calm. She heard the boy sniffle and wiggle further in Peter's grasp. She eyed her husband, who then detached the child from him, with some effort, and sat him on his knee facing the two of them.
His face was pale with shinning tears streaming down his face. The red around his eyes, seemed to make the blue irises bolder. Elizabeth brushed a brown curl from his forehead and asked again.
"Why did you run into the street Neal? Why did you even go outside?" She was still worked up over the incident, but she tried to keep the fear and worry from her voice. "You could have been hurt or worse! What were you thinking?"
Neal tried to stop crying. He bit his bottom lip in effort but nothing seemed to work. He used to be so skilled at hiding his emotions but now he put them on display for everyone to see. He rubbed at his eyes again and felt a rough hand under his chin. His head was tilted up and when he opened his eyes he stared into Peter's face. A face filled with concern and worry, not the anger he tried to run away from.
"Neal, answer her." His voice was gruff, but gentle.
"I...I...I was ...scared." Neal ashamedly admitted. And just like releasing the dam of a river, Neal babbled. "I don't know what's happening to me. I just want to be normal. I didn't mean to make everyone so angry. I just wanted to go home, back to June's so everything would be normal, so you wouldn't have to deal with me."
Everyone just stared at the little boy, unable to reply. No one could even begin to understand what he was going through but they all felt a pang of guilt for making him feel worse.
Elizabeth gently took Neal from Peter's lap and placed him in hers. "Oh, sweetheart, I know that this hard for you and you have every right to be scared, but it's all going to be okay. Mozzie said that whatever this is will wear off in no time and you'll be back to normal. Everything is going to be fine, Neal. But until you are back to your actual age, we're going to take care of you. No one is angry with you, honey." She stopped to make sure the little boy understood what she was trying to tell him, before continuing. "This is a lot for all of us to get use to, but no one is angry with you. We are just worried about you. We don't want anything to happen to you, like what just happened a few minutes ago, alright?"
Neal nodded his head that he understood, then rubbed his eyes trying to get them to stay open but he felt so exhausted.
Elizabeth noticed and motioned for Peter and Mozzie to do something else. Her husband understood and removed himself from the couch.
"Alright, Mozzie. See what you can find out about...this. We will keep in touch." Peter stated while ushering Mozzie out the door.
"I'll be in touch with you, Suit." Mozzie said walking out the door. He turned around before Peter shut the door. He waited a moment trying to find what he wanted to say, Finally he settled with a simple, "Take care of him, Suit" before leaving.
Peter watched him walk down the street a ways before closing the door and returning to the living room. There he saw his wife slowly rocking the sleeping form of a three year old Neal Caffrey.
The agent felt relieved that Neal was asleep, safe and at least not crying. He hated to admit it but when he saw the small boy in tears he felt like it was his fault, which part of it was, and that it was his job to make him stop, to make him happy, to make him feel safe and to protect him. Of course, he always felt like Neal was his responsibility, but the kid had been able to take care of himself then, he was an adult.
Now Peter felt scared. He had never taken care of a child before. He wasn't good with children. He didn't know anything about them except they usually end up crying when they are around him or make fun of him. But he thought back to outside, when Neal was scared of Satchmo and the little boy refused to let him go. He had protected him then, he could do it again. Or could he?
Peter was going over all the horrible things that could possibly happen to a three year old in his head when his wife's voice broke him out of his trance.
"Peter? Are you okay?"
He shook his head to clear it and blinked at her before giving her what he hoped was a convincing smile. "Yeah."
She saw right through it.
"Peter, we can do this."
For a moment he believed her and felt a little better, but only time would tell. For now, he could only thank God that Neal was safe in Elizabeth's arms and pray that nothing like the previous incident would happen again.
Elizabeth was making dinner, trying to find something to fix for Neal until she could go to the store tomorrow and get...all the things Neal would need. She was going over the list in her head when she heard Neal give a small cry from the living room. She quickly made her way into the next room to find Peter sitting on the floor with Neal standing in front of him with his face hidden in Peter's chest and Satchmo sitting behind Neal waiting patiently for the boy to pet him. She smiled knowing that Neal was alright, just frightened. She stood next to the bookshelf so Peter couldn't see her from where he was sitting and waited to see how Peter would interact with the small boy.
Peter chuckled as he patted Neal's back, then pushed him back enough to see his face.
"It's alright, Neal. He's still the nice dog you know. He's not going to hurt you."
Neal turned his head warily to look at the dog. Satchmo got excited and stood up wagging his tail. Neal yet again turned around to Peter, but this time climbed in his lap to get away from the dog. Peter laughed and wrapped an arm around the kid.
"Neal, what scares you so much about Satch?" Peter asked, motioning for the dog to sit down again.
"H-he's...so big." Neal stammered. Peter could tell Neal was embarrassed, and didn't wish to make him more uncomfortable by mocking him.
"Oh. Well that's not a bad thing, buddy."
"It isn't?" Neal asked looking up at Peter.
"No. Since he's bigger than you now, he'll be protective of you. He won't hurt you, Neal. He just wants to play."
"Y-you promise?" Neal asked, as if just by Peter promising him it would be true. Peter smiled down at him. "I promise."
Neal was still a bit wary but slowly eased himself off Peter's lap and walked over to the dog and rubbed the golden hair. Satchmo wagged his tail and stood quickly, licking the boy's face. Neal was startled and stumbled backwards, landing on his rear with a thump. He sat there a second, and Peter was afraid that Neal would start crying or think that he had lied to him, but when the dog brought the boy one of his chew toys, Neal happily accepted the toy and tossed it across the room. Peter watched him happily run after the dog as he stood from the floor. Little giggles could be heard over Satchmo's playful growl and it made Peter smile. However, it quickly faded when he turned to see his wife standing there.
"How long have you been standing there?"
She smiled at him and walked over to wrap her arms around his waist.
"Long enough to know that you're going to be great at this so there's no need for you to worry."
Peter laughed a little. "I don't know, El. I-" But he was interrupted by a frantic tugging on his pant leg. He glanced down to see Neal standing there with wide eyes.
"Yeah, buddy?"
Neal smiled eagerly at him as he grabbed the man's finger with his tiny hand and tried to pull him.
"Come pway!" He yelled happily.
Elizabeth chuckled and playfully shoved Peter towards the boy, before turning to go back to the kitchen to finish dinner.
Peter shot his wife a look before turning his attention to the impatient boy pulling him.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming kiddo!"
This is really fun to write! I only hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am! Let me know if you are or if you aren't! I have a few snippets rolling around in my head, but if there's something you really want to read, tell me and I'll see about incorporating it in a chapter for you! Thanks for reading! :)