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Chapter 3

Day 10-9

After eating the small dinner Neal abandoned his room after Peter had gone upstairs to shower and gather his things to move downstairs. Making his way upstairs Neal found the living room empty. Walking over to a group of paintings he had given Elizabeth for her birthday he sighed softly and began to take them down and lay them out on the dining room table. "You gave everyone a real scare," Robert said coming out of the kitchen making Neal jump and drop the painting but using his cat like reflexes he caught it before it hit the floor. He put it back on the table. "I know… I'm sorry, I should have let Peter know about the pregnancy but I was scared of how he would react, I just didn't want him to abandon me," Neal said as he twisted the end of his shirt in his hand. "So care to explain your act of theft right now?" Robert asked taking a swig of his beer.

Neal looked at the four paintings and shook his head. "I can't say any-" Neal stopped at the look Peter's father gave him; it was the same one Peter would give him when he was caught in a lie. Sighing loudly Neal sat at the dining room table and traced his finger over the edge of the simple frame around the closest painting. "Peter and I are working on a case dealing with these paintings. When they join together they make a map to a treasure…when I was living with my old pack our alpha Vincent trained me in art, thievery and conning. We looked for these paintings for eight years and I told him I couldn't find the last four. I lied to him when I told him that and I hid them in a storage locker, but I knew they weren't safe there so I gave them to Elizabeth as a birthday present but now I need them," Neal said keeping his head down in shame.

"So instead of telling my son that the last four paintings you need for the case are here you're going to steal them for the money?" Robert asked taking a seat across from Neal. "I'm not doing it for the money…at least not for myself… it's for Peter and the kids. I love my family and I want them to have money when something happens to me… I mean if it happens, knowing my luck I could get hit by another car," Neal said trying to cover up his slip of the tongue. "No you meant what you said… what's going on Neal are you in trouble?" Robert asked his fatherly intuition kicking in.

Looking up Neal was at a loss for words and shook his head lying again. "Peter and I have a risky job, white collar criminals are usually not dangerous but some can be when backed into a corner… if our secret got out about werewolf nature then we're fair game to silver bullets and knives, that's why I want my children to have something if something happens to one or both of us," Neal said softly hoping Robert bought the lie. "Alright I can see this isn't going anywhere but let me give you some advice, Peter doesn't like to be lied to and eventually he will find out what you're doing I just hope you're willing to risk everything you have here for any amount of money," Robert said as he got up and made his way upstairs where his wife was reading to their grandkids.

Neal lowered his head again and sniffed lightly and rubbed at his nose, feeling something wet he pulled his hand back and saw blood smeared over the side of his hand. Getting up quickly from the table Neal rushed into the kitchen and washed his hand off before he grabbed some paper towels to stop the bleeding. I guess this is how it starts… a bloody nose and it will probably end with total organ failure in nine days…Nine days to find the treasure, spend time with my children and show Peter how much he means to me, Neal thought as he pulled the towel away and folded it to a fresh side as he put it back against his nose.

Moving to the couch Neal sat down and thought back to years earlier when Vincent had taught him about the paintings. Putting his head back as he tried to remember everything Neal heard Peter's distinct footsteps coming from the second floor. Quickly stuffing the bloody paper towel out of sight Neal checked his reflection in the lamp base next to him and wiped the last of the dried blood away and hoped the scent was out of the air since all he could smell at the moment was his own blood.

Peter looked over at the couch when he noticed Neal sitting alone. "Hey, you're looking better… I take it you're going to stay up for a while after all those naps you took?" Peter asked removing the towel from around his neck and dropping onto the couch beside the younger man. Neal forced a smile and nodded. "Just for a while I've got a few things I want to do…but you should get some rest you look really tired," Neal said as he hoped to keep Peter from getting too nosy. "I'll go down when you do, I want to spend some time with you," Peter remarked not bringing up the paintings on the table.

Getting up from the couch Peter held his hand out until Neal took it. Standing up Neal stood in front of Peter and looked into his eyes. "Come on, that king size bed is just calling our name for a good sleep, we could go get the kids first and put them to bed together," Peter said softly trying to judge Neal's mental status. "I'd like that… a lot…" Neal said as he went upstairs with Peter and found their children curled up asleep against one another. Picking up Willow and Christian with ease Peter scooped up Gabriel and Michael. Bidding good night Neal made his way downstairs and put their children in their cribs lined up against the wall and tucked them in to keep away the cold.

Peter followed suite and put the other two to bed as well and tucked them in before moving to the king size bed against the other wall with Neal at his side. "Are you going to tell me why I smelled blood on you upstairs…"Peter said as he started to get ready for bed.

"I got a bloody nose; the air was too dry it's nothing serious I swear Peter…" Neal lied as he crawled to the head of the bed to watch as Peter looked at him. Nodding Peter got up from the bed. "I forgot something upstairs, get into bed I'll be back in a minute," Peter said dashing back upstairs and grabbing his cell phone off the counter. "John its Peter… sorry for calling so late but Neal just had a nose bleed is that something to worry about?" he asked not sure anymore. "I just started the blood tests today I won't get the results in for a couple days Peter. If he starts to cough up blood get him to the ER immediately, but a bloody nose is nothing to worry about for now so go to bed and call me if he's worse in the morning," John said calmly taking Peter down from his worries.

"Thanks John… sorry again, I hope I don't have to call you in the morning," Peter said before hanging up and head back downstairs where he found Neal sitting on the middle of the bed waiting for him. Getting into bed Peter put an arm around Neal instantly feeling the raised body temperature coming from the other man. Wrapping himself around the younger man to try and sweat the heat out of him Peter reached behind himself and turned the lamp off before nuzzling into Neal's shoulder taking in every scent that clung to him searching for the one he wouldn't recognize so he could categorize it as the man who kidnapped his Neal.

Peter fell asleep wrapped around Neal making sure Neal knew that he was aware he was safe at home. Neal laid awake for most of the night listening to everyone around him sleep until five when Neal finally dropped into the dream world and slept for all of sixty minutes before Peter's alarm clock went off to get him up in time for work. Groaning Neal tried to sit up but found his body was too tired to even hold itself up. Managing to roll over Neal forced his eyes open to see Peter looking down at him. It took his mind a few seconds to realize that Peter was saying something to him but he was too tired to listen. Drifting again towards sleep Neal jumped when Peter pinched him earning the other man a strong slap to the face. Stunned to say the least Peter opened his mouth to say something until he realized Neal was sound asleep.

Closing his mouth Peter gathered their children with a little bit of a juggle and got them all upstairs in one trip without dropping any of them. Putting them by their toys and grabbing the few noisy ones he went to the kitchen to make coffee. Turning the corner Peter found Elizabeth dressed and ready for work. "Hey, how's Neal doing this morning?" Elizabeth asked handing a cup of coffee over to Peter. "He's sleeping; I have a feeling he didn't sleep well or at all last night since he's kind of in a grumpy mood to say the least. I will admit he slaps pretty hard when he wants to," Peter said rubbing his already healing cheek.

"Just let him sleep and when you get home from work tonight I'm sure he'll be fine and back to normal…and if he doesn't remember what he did don't harp on it you'll make him feel horrible about it," Elizabeth said giving Peter some advice. "Yeah, I should get going I don't want to be stuck in traffic. Would you mind asking my parents to watch the kids today and make sure Neal eats something I have to go," Peter said putting the coffee mug down and saying goodbye to each of the children before leaving quietly.

As he drove to work in silence Peter never really realized how boring everything was without Neal's constant chatter in the car or the elevator. Walking out of the elevator Peter walked past Neal's desk and into his office, glancing over at the photos of him with the children and Elizabeth; he smirked at the couple hidden meaning ones of him and Neal at the Christmas party where Neal was sitting on Peter's lap with a Santa hat on and the one from Christmas morning where they sat with the children opening gifts of course from the angle of the shot it wasn't seen that Neal was holding Peter's hand.

Hughes walked in looking for Peter's shadow as Neal had been nicknamed. "He's not here if that's what you came to ask me," Peter said answering the unasked question. "As long as you can still work without him, that Markus case needs to be solved quickly Peter, while I know it would be easier with Neal in solving it. However you will have to do it now that he isn't here," Hughes said calmly as he left the room. Peter wanted to groan and throw himself out the window. He missed Neal with a passion, by this time in the day Neal would have brought him coffee and shamelessly flirted with him left and right and a quite a few comments that would force Peter to resist making out with him in an empty office.

Closing his eyes and rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes Peter stopped after a moment and jumped from his chair and rushed to Diana and Jones's desks and looked at them. "I need photos of all twenty paintings in ten minutes," Peter said as he started to gather the team in the conference room looking for any information on all twenty paintings to see if there was a photo somewhere of all of them somewhere. "You're in charge I'll be back in an hour," he said looking at Diana as he took off in flash, keys in hand.

Heading to the park near the office Peter looked around for a familiar face after ten minutes he spotted the short bald man he was looking for by the chess tables. Sitting across from him Peter looked right at Mozzie. "What do you know about those four paintings Neal gave Elizabeth for her birthday?" he asked skipping the pleasantries. "Hello to you too Suit… they are original J.J. Markus's also known as the four corners Neal found them and had them hidden eight years ago and he felt that it would be better to hide them in plain sight," Mozzie said as he moved a pawn.

Peter reached over and moved a pawn knowing the only way to get more information was to play Mozzie in chess. "Neal told me he stole the paintings when Adler forced him to look for them, of course he lied and told him that they weren't where they thought they were. Neal did it for the money; he wanted the money to get away that life," Mozzie said stating what Peter was thinking. "So when he gave the painting to Elizabeth it was because he has given up or was it more for safe keeping?" Peter asked. "He gave up after he met you he's been trying really hard to turn his life around… you have to realize Suit that conning and stealing are like a drug and Neal's been an addict for years, " Mozzie remarked.

Thinking as Mozzie made his move Peter looked at the other man as he moved his piece. "Tell me everything you know about J.J. Markus and those paintings," Peter replied as he moved his knight "Interesting subject, according to history J.J. Markus struck it big and found a lot of treasure but during the depression nothing really had a lot of value or a market to buy it so he hid it in the city somewhere. So he wouldn't forget where he put it he painted a detailed map and cut the map into twenty pieces that only makes sense when put together in a specific arrangement. There is a way of doing it and Neal figured it out years ago… it's by the dates, but not the normal date it's some formula, of course not seeing as many of the paintings as Neal has I don't know what that formula is. If you have four of the paintings that are the four corners of the map and your files say eleven are now missing that just leaves five left somewhere… it also means that sooner or later J.J. Markus' grandson, Jake, will figure out Neal has four of them. Make no mistake he'll try to steal them from you by any means," Mozzie said as he moved his queen diagonally down the board.

"How dangerous is this man?" Peter asked feeling his gut clench in worry at the answer as he moved his knight into place. "Dangerous enough to take the queen down to distract the king," Mozzie said as he took Peter's queen and put him in checkmate. Looking down at the board Peter felt sick. "I take it that the queen is Neal and I'm the king," Peter remarked as he helped to gather the pieces. "In your eyes you're the king and queen but in his eyes you're just pawns…" Mozzie said dumping the last of the pieces into the box and getting up from the table.

After leaving the park Peter walked back to the office stopping along the way for coffee. When there was no message concerning the blood samples Peter returned to the office and began working on a few other small cases until it was the middle of the afternoon. Looking at the clock Peter found it was quarter after three and grabbing his phone he called home to find out how Neal was doing. After a couple rings Peter was greeted by his mother. "Hey Mom, how's Neal doing?" Peter asked as he glanced at the pictures on his desk again.

"I would assume he's fine; he's been downstairs all morning sleeping or at least I assume he's still sleeping; by the way the kids are doing fine. Most of the things I ordered for them came today so they have been keeping busy with all their new toys," Karen said as she stepped over a large pile of toys.

"Mom, could you do me a favor? Please go and check on Neal?" Peter asked worried about how long Neal has been asleep. He heard his mother as she put the receiver down and hurry away. When he heard the faint footsteps returning before the phone was picked up. "Peter… he's still asleep. But there is blood all over his face and neck. It looks like he had a bloody nose but there's so much blood and he's burning up," Karen said controlling the worry she was feeling. "I need you to go downstairs and wake Neal up. Be careful because he lashes out a bit. Just get him cleaned up and dressed I'm coming home right now and I'm taking him to the hospital," Peter said as he hung up and began to dial Dr. Evert's number.

Gathering his things as he waited for the other line to pick up Peter jotted a note down for his team to keep working and that there was an emergency at home he had to take care of. "Peter, I was just about to call you, Neal's blood work came in, and he's negative for all usually tested poisons. Is there anything you can think of that he could have been exposed to something that's poisonous to just your kind?" John asked. "I don't know I'm calling because I just called home to check on Neal and my mother said he's been asleep all day he's had an even worse bloody nose and he's burning up… I'm bringing him to the hospital before it gets worse I need you to meet us there," Peter said as he grabbed his coat and keys and rushed out of the office.

"I'm going to call ahead and get him into a room right away. I'm going to need to run more lab work. I'll see you in half an hour," John said hanging up. Jamming his phone into his coat pocket Peter moved into the elevator and pressed the down button and tapped his foot like a jackrabbit as he rode the elevator down to the parking garage to get into his car in record time. Starting his car up and driving smartly Peter made it home by catching every traffic light at the right moment. Turning the car off Peter went inside and found his mother waiting for him. "I can't get him out of bed, when Elizabeth came down to help he started yelling he wasn't going back to some man named Vincent and then he somehow managed to squeeze under the bed and now we can't get him to come out," Karen said as she walked her son to the top of the basement stairs.

Peter held a hand up and went down the basement stairs himself and looked around the room for a moment, the tangy smell of blood and sweat were in the air as he moved closer to the bed and got down on his hands and knees. Looking under the bed he found his mate breathing heavy and a glazed look in his eyes. "Hey…why don't you come on out Neal?" Peter asked in a calm voice as he held his hand out and waited for Neal to take it. When he felt the other man grab his hand Peter carefully pulled him out from under the bed and put his arms around him and held him close. "It's okay…I promise he's not going to get you, I'm going to take you to the hospital now you need to get some medical help," Peter said still speaking in a calm voice knowing that Neal would be lulled into a state of calmness.

Neal shook his head and began to pull away only to find Peter's arm tighten around him. "Neal… you're sick you have to go to the hospital, please…I don't want you to get sicker," Peter said as he wrestled Neal against the bed and pinned him there and used his strength to hold him there as he continued to struggle and whine like a trapped animal. "Let me go…Peter… let…go…"Neal whined louder as he began to weaken in his struggle to get free. Peter kept his hold on Neal making sure that it wasn't a trick. "No, I'm not letting go, Neal you're very sick I need to get you help I know you hate doctors and hospitals but you have to go. I'm sorry but I don't want to lose you," he said placing a couple kisses on Neal's forehead and feeling the intense fever boiling beneath.

"He'll kill you if I don't give him what he wants," Neal mumbled as he put his head against Peter's shoulder. It took Peter a moment to register what his mate had said and closes his eyes slowly. "It's okay babe, if he comes after me I'll take care of him, but you need to get better… if you're worried about the kids nothing will happen to them I promise," Peter said as he stroked Neal's sweat soaked hair until was docile and drifting between being awake and asleep. Taking advantage of the moment Peter got Neal unsteadily to his feet and helped him change into some dry clothes before going to the bathroom and cleaning the blood off his face and neck.

Once Neal was cleaned and finally dressed in some clean comfortable clothing Peter struggled to get the younger man upstairs and out to his car. After ten minutes Peter forcibly seat belted Neal into the back seat and immediately engaged the child safety locks on both doors before getting behind the wheel and driving to the hospital. When they arrived Peter opened the door for Neal and helped him out of the car. Walking into the brick building Peter hated hospitals but he didn't mind the one he was currently standing in front of since it was a private hospital that usually catered to the wealthier. It was also the only place where he and Neal didn't have to worry about their secret since it was a smaller setting than the larger more crowded hospitals.

Getting inside Peter grabbed Neal's hand tighter and brought him to the front desk. "Dr. Evert to the front desk, and can I have a wheelchair to the front desk as well," a young nurse paged over the PA system at the sight of Neal. After a couple moments an orderly arrived with a wheel chair. Sitting Neal down Peter held Neal's hand as the orderly moved Neal out of the admitting area as Dr. Evert arrived. "I've got a room ready for you; it's on the top floor and it's private as I promised," Dr. Evert said as he walked to the elevator with Peter and Neal.

After arriving at Neal's room and getting Neal into bed the exam began. Two minutes into the exam Neal toppled off the bed and clawed at the orderlies and Peter as they held him down for another set of blood samples. When the four small vials were filled finally the orderlies pulled away with majority of them rubbing their arm or chest where Neal had punched, kicked or clawed with all his might to get away. Peter sat on the floor with Neal's head in his lap as the drugs the younger man had been slipped after the blood drawing started to take effect. Neal whimpered lightly in his sleep as the orderlies put him to bed and strapped his arms down with soft restraints. Peter glared at the restraints but he knew they were more for safety when Neal woke up.

Taking the seat by the bed Peter took Neal's hand and held it, he could feel the fever all the way down to Neal's fingertips. Waiting quietly Peter looked up when he felt a twitch in Neal's hand as he slept. Peter watched the red headed nurse string up a bag and put the I.V. needle in the back of Neal's hand carefully. Opening his mouth to ask what she was giving Neal she turned and smiled at Peter. "It's just something to help him get his fever down and I was going to hang a bag for fluids since he has lost so much but it would be better if you can get him to drink something," the nurse remarked as she looked at Peter. "I can try when he wakes up, he's partial to the fruit punch ones I'll pick some up after he's awake," Peter said not looking up from Neal's face.

"Does he prefer one brand over the other?" the nurse asked.

Shaking his head Peter didn't dare pull his eyes away from the younger man. "I'm going on my break in a few minutes. I'll get some from the shop down the street," she said before leaving the room. Peter finally sat up and cracked his neck. Neal had been asleep for just about an hour when he started to stir and opened his eyes. "Hey there…" Peter said as he felt Neal pull his hand away. Feeling the restraints against his wrists Neal tried to get out of bed with little success. "They had to strap you down; you attacked us when we tried to take a blood sample," Peter remarked as he lowered his eyes.

"Neal if you know what's wrong with you please tell the doctors. I don't want you to get worse… even if you don't tell them they will find out eventually what you were poisoned with babe. I want you to watch the kids grow up and I want to grow old with you," Peter said softly. "I can't be here Peter, I have to get those paintings to Jake or else…or else he'll hurt the children…" Neal said softly. "No he's not, because if he even thinks about hurting them I'll kill him myself," Peter remarked thinking back to the conversation they had back home that Neal had been too lost in his fever to remember as he stroked Neal's hair the fever under his hands still feeling just as hot.

After another hour the red-headed nurse returned with a small shopping bag and handed it to Peter. "I got a couple, maybe you can try and get him to drink at least a couple ounces; I'm sure doctor Evert would appreciate it," she said before leaving Peter and Neal alone. "She's right babe you need to drink something you've been asleep all day," Peter said as he undid the soft restraints and helped Neal sit up. Uncapping one of the sports drinks and held it out to Neal. Taking the bottle and sniffing it lightly Neal sipped it and realized how thirsty he was. Tipping his head back he gulped the drink like it was the last one on earth until he choked and started to have a coughing fit that started to get out of control. Peter put his arms around Neal and rubbed his back until the coughing subsided. "Go easy there, we want you to drink it now drown in it," Peter said with a weak smile as Neal nodded and handed the empty bottle to the nurse who was standing by the bed still.

When the nurse left Neal played with the sheet on his bed and gave a small left over cough just as Dr. Evert walked into the room and closed the door behind him. "I was finally able to narrow down the poison in your system by looking into none traditional poisons… and I found that your system is filled with Aconitum better known as wolf's bane…but I think you know that already Neal… you're a smart man you would never eat it or go near it which explains the needle mark on your neck. If you know something I should know tell me now," Dr. Evert said looking at the younger man on the bed. Giving both men a look Neal lowered his eyes and gave a tiny nod that had known the whole time.

"Peter could I speak to you out in the hall for a moment?" John asked motioning for Peter to follow him out of the room. When they were alone Peter motioned to walk down the hall out of Neal's earshot. "The levels of Aconitum in his system are lethal in fact he should be dead but I believe it was diluted to last longer and make him suffer, Peter… treatment usually is activated charcoal but that's for ingestion, but because Neal was injected it's a shady area of treatment even as a werewolf it makes it more lethal even. I think you should prepare yourself for him not surviving this. I'm going to do the best I can to flush his system and if we have to we'll resort to hemprofusion then we must to save his life. Think of it like a fish filter cleaning the toxins from his blood, I just hope we caught this in time because the symptoms after this are not pleasant," John said putting a hand on Peter's shoulder.

Waiting to make sure the room was going to stay clear Neal yanked the needle out of his hand and pulled himself out of bed. Standing unsteadily on his feet Neal walked over to the window and looked out at the small garden on the roof of the wing two floors below. Grabbing the sheets from his bed Neal struggled to tie the ends together and to the arm of the chair before tossing the makeshift rope out the window. Using the chair Neal climbed out the window and slid down the rope until it came loose. Falling the last four feet into a pile of dirt behind the few bushes lining the old brick wall Neal groaned and rolled onto his side biting his cheek to keep the coughing fit bubbling in his chest from coming out.

Keeping his breaths shallow until the cough dissipated Neal got up and dusted his pants off before he moved slowly toward the door back into the hospital. Going into the building Neal walked around like he was going back toward his room as he kept an eye out for something to change into. Seeing the laundry room was empty Neal ducked into the room and found a pair of scrubs in his size. Changing into the scrubs with great difficulty Neal left the laundry room and ripped the band off his wrist and tossed it aside as he fixed his hair and kept his head down while he made his way back to the front doors and out of the hospital. Getting out with a couple nurses Neal made his way down the street to the closest hideout of Mozzie's.

Knowing that Mozzie hung to the city more Neal broke into the hideout and dropped onto the couch in the corner of the room. Shivering at the sweat soaked scrubs Neal stripped the top off and tossed it aside and fell back onto the couch the cracked leather surface sticking to his sweat covered skin. Shivering at the cool leather Neal rolled so his face was buried in the back of the couch and drifted into an uneasy sleep as he waited knowing that Mozzie had all his hideouts wired to alert him when someone came in.

Practically dragging himself back to Neal's room Peter thought about what the doctor had said about preparing himself for Neal not surviving the poisoning. Opening the door it took Peter's mind all of ten seconds to realize that Neal was gone and the sheets were stripped off the bed and hanging out the window. Rushing out of the room Peter stopped the closest nurse and informed her of Neal's escape. After leaving the room Peter began to search for Neal's scent until he caught it and followed it to the pile of hospital issued sleepwear and the wrist band.

Grabbing the wristband off the floor Peter left the hospital and immediately began to sort out the millions of scents in the air trying to find Neal's before it vanished. Just as he made it to the closest intersection the scent vanished with the multiple car exhausts. Waiting for the cars to clear Peter felt a cold breeze that cleared the air with no scent belonging to Neal. Not willing to give up Peter picked a direction and started to head down the sidewalk hoping to catch his mate's scent somewhere.

"He has to be indoors somewhere by now…that's why I can't smell him…damn it Neal why are you being so selfish," Peter thought as he continued down the sidewalk trying to think of how far Neal could get on his own. After walking four blocks Peter knew Neal couldn't make it that far and turned around and headed back to where he began to go the other way hoping he would find Neal soon and get him the medical treatment he needed. Finally reaching the intersection he started at Peter looked down the way he was going and gave another quick sniff in the hopes that Neal's scent was stronger that way. Unfortunately by the time he got to the end of the block Peter Neal's scent was nowhere to be found.

Returning to the hospital Peter paced outside before punching the brick wall breaking three of his knuckles in his right hand. Slowly unclenching his fist he looked at his hand as it began to heal due to his lycanthrope abilities, angry at the fact he couldn't stay hurt Peter punched the wall until his hand was covered in blood with no sign of injury. Waiting as the blood dried Peter thought about anywhere Neal would go, He would go somewhere safe…he was complaining about a headache on the way here so it would be away from light or very little light… Peter thought as he got into his car and drove home. Barely finishing parking Peter was out of the car in a hurry and went inside looking for any sign of Neal just to be sure and found nothing except for a note from his mother saying she and his father took the kids to the park for a while. Looking at the clock Peter realized it was only twenty minutes after two. It felt later to the agent, dropping onto the couch Peter put his head down and tried to think about where his mate would go to hide.