Chapter 4: Hero

Peter was driving down one of the four streets casually he was looking at the town houses on the street on both sides. As he reached the middle of the street the blaring sounds of fire trucks came up behind his car. Moving over as far as he could he watched the fire truck pull up to one town house. It was very nice looking place. Peter looked at it and for a moment he almost missed it in the window.

"Jones call the rest of the teams it's the one on fire, Neal left us a clue the paper butterflies in his initials" Peter said getting out of the car and running down the street till he was trapped in the crowd on the street that were watching. He fought his way to the front of the crowd; Peter pulled out his badge and made his way over to the fire chief.

"Sir, Peter Burke FBI, a consultant of ours is thought to be in there. He was kidnapped the other day. I have a feeling he's in that room right there, where the origami is on the windows." He said pointing to the only barred windows in the entire townhouse.

The fire chief looked at Peter "Look the fire has spread to most of the house my men are spread as thin as it is at this moment. We're trying to contain this before it gets to any of the other buildings. Besides I'm not going to let my men risk their lives to go on a wild goose chase if this consultant of yours is already dead." The chief said as grabbed the radio and started to bark commands.

After three minutes the fire had finally been put out and without a warning Peter ran into the gutted house and moved with ease he found the door at the end of the hall and saw it was pretty charred. Peter placed a well good kick that split the warped door in half. The inside of the room was in almost perfect condition except for the small amount of smoke damage.

It was at that moment the firemen came in after him and were all yelling at him for being so reckless. Peter ignored them all and followed the sound of running water, he walked over to the bathroom door and opened it and was met with the sight of Neal curled up in the shower looking like a drowned rat. Peter noticed that something wasn't right the conman wasn't moving.

Peter pulled the door open and turned the ice water off, after a moment he saw the blood start to soak through the wet clothes again. The FBI agent grabbed the younger man under the armpit and pulled him to his feet and dragged him into the other room and laid him on the floor.

"Neal… wake up… come on Neal" Peter said shaking the conman, when he didn't get a response he checked for a pulse and found a very weak one it was then he realized that Neal had stopped breathing. "No Neal… someone get a paramedic here" he yelled as the firemen that only fireman in the room called for assistance. Peter knew that he had to do something and before something happened to Neal because of lack of air.

Tilting Neal's head back a bit Peter didn't even think as he pushed his hands on his chest to get any smoke out of his lungs before breathing new air into Neal's lungs. Peter pinched Neal's nose and blew a fresh breath, which was all it took soon Neal was starting to move again. Peter moved back as fast as lightning as Neal opened his eyes and tried to sit up.

"Hey stay down, and wait for the paramedics before you hurt yourself even more than you already are." Peter said removing his jacket and putting it over the younger man like a blanket.

After a few passing seconds the paramedics were in the room checking Neal over and helped him walk out of the town house since the halls were too narrow for a stretcher. When they got the young conman in the back of the ambulance they gave him some oxygen and removed his shirt carefully to check his injuries.

Neal sat on the gurney in the back of the medical vehicle and watched as the fire chief was chewing Peter out for going into an unsafe structure. It made Neal smirk that he got to watch the good boy Peter Burke getting in trouble for once. When Peter was free from his reprimanding he walked over to Neal.

"Looks like you figured out my clues just in time, or I could have been one cooked con" Neal said with a small chuckle which caused him to wince. "Broken ribs" he said to answer the look on Peter's face. "I'm being taken to the hospital to get my shoulder taken care of. Maybe you should come and take a statement" Neal suggested, in a subtle way he was telling Peter that he didn't want to be alone.

Peter looked over his shoulder " Jones, I'm going to the hospital with Neal to get a statement from him get the team back to the office I'll call when I have information" Peter said as he climbed into the back of the ambulance as the doors were shut and they drove off.

The ride was pretty quiet other than the general questions the paramedic asked Neal for their records. Peter sat out of the way as Neal was pushed back to have him lay down so they could transport him easier when they got to the hospital.

When the ride finally ended Neal was lowered on the gurney to the ambulance bay and wheeled into the emergency room. Peter was hot on the heels of the nurses, when he explained that Neal was a convict under his watch he was allowed to stand with Neal instead of wait for him in the waiting room. Before the doctor arrived Neal had to remove the remains of his shirt and pants for the surgery. Neal didn't even have a chance to be nervous about anything.

The doctor walked up to them and gave a small smile "you were very lucky Mr. Caffrey; the bullet didn't hit your lung we're going to bring you into surgery to remove the bullet and fix any damage. We shouldn't waste any time, Agent Burke he'll be under for the surgery so security won't be an issue." The doctor said as Neal was wheeled away and brought up to the operating room.

As soon as he got in there he was put under anesthetic and the surgeons began to remove the bullet and fixed the damage in the veins in his shoulder. The doctors found and removed the bullet and put it aside for the FBI's evidence.

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It had only been twenty minutes since Peter got to the hospital but he was ready for the call from Hughes to be chewed out for his actions. It wasn't long before his phone began to ring, the seasoned FBI agent gave a deep sigh before picking up, and he held the phone at least a foot from his ear as Hughes was yelling.

Peter knew at the office everyone must have been staring at Hughes's office. The wisest move was to keep quiet for the time being and just listen to the angered rants. When his boss finally calmed down Peter let out the breath he was holding

"Sir, in my defense if I hadn't gone in when I did then Neal could have been brain dead he wasn't breathing when I found him" Peter said, at that moment he realized he sounded just like Neal when he got in trouble. It was true Neal was rubbing off on him. By the time the phone call ended Peter had a new respect for Neal Caffrey; he had been yelled at the same way he had yelled at Neal just a few days before for slacking.

When Peter was sure he wasn't going to get another call he began to pace the room he knew that he would have to eventually call his wife and tell her that he found Neal.

El is going to kill me when she hears he's in the hospital. Maybe I can tell her that he's just getting check out… but when she figures out I lied to her I'm really going to be in the dog house. Peter thought as he looked at the cell phone in his hand taking in a deep breath he called his wife's phone he let out a sigh of relief when it went to voice mail.

"Hey El, I just called to tell you that we found Neal… and your right here" Peter said as he realized that Elizabeth was walking right up to him. He quickly hung up the phone and gave a smile when he saw the look on his wife's face.

Elizabeth walked up to her husband "You must be the craziest man I ever knew, imagine my shock when I got a call from Lauren saying that you ran into fire gutted town house that could have collapsed around you. She also said Hughes chewed you out for it… so, how much trouble are you in honey?" Elizabeth asked smiling softly and putting her arms around Peter's neck.

"Not too much trouble, I do have to admit I know how Neal feels when I yell at him." He said chuckling a bit. "I'm glad you're here El, I'm sure when Neal gets out of surgery he'll want to see you as well. Don't worry it's nothing to serious; he was just hit in the shoulder." Peter said softly.

Just then Neal's surgeon walked up to the couple with a smile "Agent Burke, we have the bullet out and it's being sent to your agency, right now Neal is having the veins sown up and he should be out in about an hour or two then he has to be taken for x-rays for his broken ribs. If you wait here I'll have a nurse come get you when he's out of surgery so you can follow us to x-ray." The man said with another smile before walking off.

Peter closed his eyes he knew he was in hot water for not telling Elizabeth about the broken ribs. He didn't want to raise his eyes to meet Elizabeth's eyes until she spoke. "Poor Neal, he went through so much in just such a short amount time. Peter you can't let him go undercover like this anymore he was lucky this time, but next time he might not have you there to save him."She said softly.

"I can't promise anything like that El it's all up to Hughes who goes undercover." Peter said giving a soft sigh. He finally released his wife and took a seat on one of the chairs against the wall. "El I think you need to know something that also happened but you have to promise that you won't say anything to Neal until I've had a chance to talk to him about everything." Peter said as Elizabeth came over and held his hand softly. "Of course, I won't say a thing to him"

Taking in another deep breath Peter glanced around and lowered his voice. "You remember the first tape we got where we got our first clue, well while I was home for the evening we got a second tape at the office and the team watched it and that was how we narrowed the hundred block radius to four streets. The only thing is… the tape is… I haven't seen it for myself but…" Peter just couldn't finish his sentence.

"Peter just say it already… it's not like Neal was raped or anything." When she heard the words escape her lips she saw Peter look away from her and nod his head "Jones and Cruz think Neal was drugged." He said leaning forward a bit and resting his forehead against his hands.

Before she could comfort her husband a young nurse walked over "Agent Burke? We're moving Mr. Caffrey to post op so he can wake before he's taken for x-rays you both can sit with him for a while." She said leading the couple down the hall to a mostly room save for the bed beside the window. Peter walked over and took a seat and watched his partner and friend rest.

After a couple of silent minutes Neal began to stir and his eyes opened slowly as he gained his bearings he looked to his side and smiled a bit. "I see you're still wearing that same suit Peter" the young con man said hoarsely. "Hi Elizabeth, you look nice today" he complemented with his charming smile.

Elizabeth smiled and felt a couple tears well up "I'm just so glad you're all right Neal, and I insist you stay with us until you go back to work." She offered knowing that Peter wouldn't want Neal out of his sight for quite a while.

With a smile the conman looked over at his partner "Sounds like fun, hey Peter I'm glad you were able to figure those clues out" he said giving a small yawn which made him wince a bit.

At that point the same pretty nurse from before walked over and smiled at Neal. "Mr. Caffrey your doctor wants you have a few x-rays to see the extent of your broken ribs and then you'll be brought to your private room where you'll stay overnight and be discharged in the morning" she said as the other nurse started to wheel Neal out of the room.

"Peter, do you mind… waiting up for me and maybe staying for a little while?" Neal asked giving his best puppy dog look. Peter nodded his head "Yeah I'll be waiting for you in your room." He replied.

Once again Peter and Elizabeth were alone again "I should get back to work honey, I have a party for two-hundred people to plan for by the end of the week so I'll call you later. You just make sure that Neal gets a lot of rest and give him my love" she said giving Peter a quick kiss before leaving.

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An hour later Neal found himself in a private room once again he was in a room that was below his standards but he knew that someone was footing the bill and by the standards of the room he guessed the FBI.

Neal looked out the window; the view of the city was one that he would never take lightly ever again. He smiled as he saw the few clouds in the distance float in the sky.

Peter had been sitting quietly for a long time to let Neal decompress a bit before asking him anything. "Neal I think it's time you tell me everything that happened so we can have more information on what the Reaper wanted from you." Peter said leaning back in his seat.

"All right then, as you know he made me at the gallery and that's when I got this one my head, I don't remember too much other than I woke up in a car trunk then I had something put over my head as I brought into that town house. Then I was put in a small room then when I tried to look out the window he hit me in the jaw then had me paint a perfect copy of a Van Gogh just to test my skills. After working for a while I took a shower and we had dinner from Angelo's and house wine from the restaurant. Then everything kind of got fuzzy, I can't remember anything after dinner. The next thing I remember is waking up in bigger bed…with… no clothes on and one wrist handcuffed to the headboard" Neal said looking away from Peter his cheeks pretty red at that point.

Peter sat there not saying a word, he knew that he had to tell Neal about the tape at some point but he needed to get the statement first. "Go on, then what happened?" he asked.

Neal pushed himself up a bit to get more comfortable. "After I got free from the headboard I found some clothes in the dresser and I actually tried to get out of the room but it was locked so I was looking for something to get the door open and that's when I found a phone and called you. After three hours of pacing that room he finally let me out and said he had slipped me something probably to keep me in control that's when I found the cordless phone and called you again so you could track me. That was when he dragged me to the room you found me in to make passports. After I finished the first one I left another clue on the window and worked on the other five he wanted me to do. That's when he came back and took the passports he shot me and when he was standing over me to shoot me the gun jammed so he kicked me in the ribs and he threw the gun aside and left the room and locked the door behind him that's all I know" Neal said finally letting out a huge breathe.

There were a few moments of silence before Peter cleared his throat. "Neal, you were in a locked room with a gun even if it was jammed why didn't you just un-jam it and shoot the lock?" Peter asked looking at the young conman.

"Well I had just been shot and kicked in the ribs so I didn't feel like jumping around the room to grab a gun" Neal said his voice filled with some venom. Peter looked at his partner "You want me to believe that you don't know how to un-jam a gun?" Peter asked giving Neal a stare that just dared him to lie again.

Neal rose his good arm up and ran his fingers through his hair for a moment "Fine, I didn't grab the gun because I was afraid all right. I was afraid that he was just waiting for me to try that, after a couple seconds there were gun shots going through the whole place by the time I got to my feet the smoke detectors were going off so I did what I did to keep myself safe as much as possible, and then I blacked out and when I woke up you were leaning over me telling me to lie back down." He replied after folding to Peter's gaze in a matter of seconds.

Peter just nodded his head "I'm going to make a quick call, why don't you get some rest you look like you could use it." He said getting up from his chair and going out into the hall. He quickly dialed the office and heard the line pick up.

"Yeah, he's resting right now, Jones I need you to have a new tracker brought to my house tomorrow around two and you were right… he doesn't remember. All right, any word on the Reaper yet? Damn he must have had at least a ten minute head start. I'll call you later... I'll tell him." Peter said as he finished his call and hung up the phone. When he walked back into the hospital room he saw Neal had his head to the side his eyes were closed and his breathing was soft.

With a small smile he walked to where he had been sitting and takes his jacket off and draped it over the back before he pulled the blankets up a bit more on Neal. "Why is it you look your planning something even when you're asleep?" Peter asked in a whisper as he took his seat once again. He knew Neal was in such a deep sleep that he wouldn't answer but still he had to ask. It only took a few minutes but soon Peter had become so bored that as soon as he put his head back against the chair he was asleep.

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Neal woke up a few hours later he looked around for any indication of what time it was. It was then he saw Peter was sleeping on the chair beside his bed. It seemed late at night to Neal after everything he had been through he had no idea what day it was anymore or what the time was. That was when a nurse came in with a tray of food. "Mr. Caffrey it's time for dinner" she said placing the tray on the small table and wheeled it over to the bed.

"Excuse me, but what time it is?" he asked with a charming smile. "It's quarter after eight, normally we don't serve food this late but your friend pulled some strings I guess, he said you had been through a very long day." she said with another smile "Oh, this was left for you at the nurse's station." The brunette nurse said handing Neal a small envelope. He nodded and waited for her to leave when the door clicked shut Neal made sure his partner was sound asleep before opening the letter.

The con man recognized the hand writing right away, Neal quickly opened the envelope and unfolded the cotton rag stationary paper and read the letter. When he finished reading the letter he hid it under his pillow. He rubbed his hand over his mouth for a moment in deep thought. He was shaken out his train of thought when Peter stirred.

"You look really well rested for having slept in a chair" Neal commented with a smirk. Peter gave a small smirk and nodded. "I've slept in worse places so this wasn't so bad" he mumbled as he stood up and stretched. His back popped a couple times as he twisted a bit.

Neal mulled over his question for a few moments "Peter… I wasn't entirely truthful before, after I woke up and he came in the room he said something about a tape that he sent and he was making comments about things. I can't remember anything after I ate Peter, now what happened?" Neal asked seriously as he sat up and ignoring the pain in his ribs.

Peter looked at the younger man "There was a second tape sent to the office probably during the three hours you were locked in that room." He answered not meeting Neal's eyes.

"Peter… what was on that tape? Damn it Peter tell me what was on that tape" Neal demanded. There was also a part of him that didn't want to know the truth. The agent bit his lip for a moment before speaking. "The tape was of you and him… doing things." He answered.

Neal sat there and found his hands very interesting; he didn't know what to say or what to think at that moment. The food in front of him made him feel sick; looking at the tray Neal swept his hand and knocked the food to the floor. The sound echoed in Neal's ears and barely made him blink. Peter reached over as soon as his fingers touch Neal's hand the younger man pulled away.

When the nurse came in for the tray she saw the mess on the floor and called for someone to clean up the mess quickly. When the food was cleaned up the two partners were alone again Peter's cell phone started to ring again. When he picked up he listened to the updates. "Yeah, I'll be ready tomorrow to sign for it, just make sure that its set two miles from my front door." Peter said looking over at Neal who was still sitting like a statue.

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The night went by slowly, by eleven a night shift nurse came in and saw that Neal was still awake. "Would you like something to help you sleep?" she asked softly. Neal shook his head and leaned back against the pillow. He looked at Peter who was nursing a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Peter… go home, Elizabeth probably wants you home. I'll be fine… you can come pick me up in the morning" Neal said in a somewhat monotone voice. Peter looked at the younger man and put his coffee down on the night stand. "You asked me to stay with you for the night and besides you are under my supervision so I need to make sure you aren't going to run." He replied making himself comfortable.

Neal just nodded his head in understanding before lying back against the pillows. After a few minutes he fell asleep on his own.

Peter smirked as Neal slept the rest of the night away; he had at least ten cups of coffee over the course of the night. By six the noises of the city started to grow louder and Peter sat up he realized he had dozed off. The bed beside him was empty, it was then that Peter noticed Neal standing at the end of the bed straightening his hair in the mirror a bit.

"Where did you get those clothes Neal?" Peter asked getting to his feet and grabbing his coat. Neal looked at Peter in the mirror "Jones dropped them off he said he would be waiting downstairs and he said the tracker would be at your place when we got there." he said waiting for the FBI agent.

When Peter had left the room to check Neal out Neal went back over to the bed and grabbed the letter from under his pillow and put it in his pocket.

"Neal, are you coming?" Peter called into the room as he walked into Neal's room. Neal just nodded and followed Peter out of the room and toward the elevator. After a couple minutes they were in the main lobby meeting up with Jones.

Neal gave the slightest smirk as he was led out of the hospital and into the back seat of the car. Peter looked at the conman "Don't even think of trying to open the door to get out the child locks are on." He said climbing into the front seat. Jones started up the car and headed toward Peter's house.

When they got there Neal was helped out of the backseat and when he saw Elizabeth he smiled, as he walked into the house the smell of fresh cook food made him stop for a moment. They really care about me a lot, they treat me like a son…even if I do give Peter a lot of grief Neal thought as he walked over to the couch and sat down to rest. He sat still as the U.S. Marshal attached the anklet back on.

"You're enjoying this too much aren't you?" he asked smirking at Peter who was watching from his chair across the room. Peter just chuckled "Just a little bit, you realize that right now you're on a two mile tether from our front step. You'll be happy to hear this, you're on sick leave until you're healed up but that doesn't mean I won't bring home old cases for you to look over so you don't get bored." He said smirking.

"Oh that sounds like loads of fun" Neal said sitting back on the couch as the marshal left and Elizabeth started to fuss over him.