In Plain Sight

Author: Cheryl W.

Disclaimer: I do not own Neal, or Peter or any rights to White Collar, nor am I making any profit from this story.

WCWCWCWCWCWCWCWCWC

Chapter 4

WCWCWCWCWCWWWCWCWC

Neal had beaten all the odds, that was what the doctor had said. Peter had smiled, shook the doctor's hand and gloated, "That's just Neal for you."

But beating the odds didn't look like much of a victory from Peter's vantage point beside Neal's hospital bed. Stealing his hand across the mattress, he captured the younger man's limp hand in his. "I'm here, Neal. I'm not going anywhere," he tenderly vowed, wondered how the younger man would react to those words if he wasn't unconscious. Wondered if he would have the courage to say everything he wanted to say to the younger man if Neal was awake. He doubted he would.

"You know this is just more evidence that I shouldn't ever let you off your anklet monitor," he joked, wished to God Neal had had it on the night before, that it hadn't taken him all night to find him. As it was, he had found him just in time and yet, clearly too late in so many respects.

But Neal didn't give his patent scowl at Peter's dark humor, didn't blink an eye, didn't do anything but breathe. And right now, that was enough for Peter, more than enough.

Releasing Neal's hand, Peter laid his hand gently on top of Neal's dark locks of hair before withdrawing it back to coil around the hospital bed rail. "Neal, I thought I lost you for good," he tremulously confessed to the unaware young man. "And I…I can't do that. I told Ellen that if anything happened to you because I gave you the signal to run, that I couldn't live with it. But that wasn't just about my capability in your running, or guilt talking, wasn't just about you getting hurt by Collins. There's never going to be a time or reason that I'm going to be OK with something happening to you."

And Peter wished Neal would know that, would trust that, could believe that. "I know..I know your family broke your trust, lied to you and hurt you. And you think I did the same thing. I guess we all did it for the same reasons: to protect you. But I can see where it feels to you more like betrayal. I never meant to betray your trust, to hinder your search for your father…I just…" Peter broke off, bowed his head, hoarsely revealed, "didn't want you hurt, didn't want us to lose what we have."

'And my selfishness had Neal running right to Sam, almost got Neal killed,' he angrily surmised as he stood up, paced the room, ran his hand through his hair. "And that was exactly what Sam was counting on! Wanted you and I at odds, wanted to get you alone and off your ankle monitor. And I played into it like a world class chump, never saw it coming. I didn't like the guy, yeah, but I had no idea he would …" Peter stumbled to a halt, faced his CI who was lying so pale in the bed, bandages around his torso, knew another set circled Neal's leg, "…do this to you, Neal. You have to believe that," he heartbrokenly implored.

He startled when the hospital room door opened, had to turn away, compose himself before he faced whoever was coming to see Neal. June's despairing "Good Lord, no," had him spinning around, ready to offer the older woman moral support she seemed to need after getting her first sight of Neal. Though she did lean into the arm he put around her waist, she didn't tear her welling eyes from the wounded younger man she was so very fond of. "Why?" she gasped, anguish and anger coiled together in the one worded question.

Peter shook his head slightly. "Not exactly sure why Sam did it. He's refusing to give a statement. But Neal said Sam wanted to lure his father out."

That caused June's eyes to snap to Peter's as she sharply asked. "Neal's father?"

Peter chose to simply give a nod. He knew that Neal trusted June as a confidante, hoped his silence would prod the woman into telling him something Neal might have shared with her.

But June wasn't so unlike Neal, kept her secrets and other people's truths close to her heart. So instead of falling for Peter's ploy, she stepped out of his supporting hold and crossed the room to Neal.

Peter knew she deserved her time with Neal but that didn't make it any easier on him to walk away, to leave Neal's side. He saw the kiss June bestowed on Neal's forehead before he slipped out of the room. And it totally mystified him how Neal's parents could have been foolish enough to let him slip away from them, to lose him and never get to know the incredible man that their son had become.

'Their loss is my gain,' he thought and it sounded so childish that he nearly chuckled. Neal would like that, him being territorial over him. Would have spent the rest of the day, maybe week, gloating over it, slipping that fact into their conversation any chance he got. How he loved working with the kid, couldn't imagine his life without him.

El's voice jarred him out of his reverie. "Is Neal awake?" her tone hopeful.

"No," Peter replied, his disappointment and worry again reclaiming their hold on him.

El slipped her hand in her husband's and met his eyes. "But you looked…I don't know, almost like you were smiling."

"Just looking forward to Neal being awake, eating up all this attention," Peter affectionately spoke about his ward.

El smiled. "You're right. He will love it."

Slipping his arm around El's shoulders, he steered them for the elevators. "June's in with Neal so let's go get something to eat."

"There's a restaurant a few blocks…" El began but could already see the protest in Peter's features. "You don't want to be that far away from Neal, do you?'

"He might wake up, El, and I want to be there. I need to be there," Peter insisted, couldn't bear the thought of Neal waking up alone, being in pain, maybe fearing that he wasn't safe.

Suddenly, Elizabeth could see it so clearly, the father Peter would have been, the father Peter was.

And hours later, when Neal opened his eyes to see Peter hovering worriedly by his bedside, hand wrapped in his, Elizabeth prayed Neal recognized that side of Peter too.

WCWCWCWCWCWCWC

TBC

WCWCWCWWCWCWCWC

Thanks for reading and for those wonderful reviews from last chapter!

Have a great day!

Cheryl W.