(Chapter 4)

Peter sat by Neal's bedside in the hospital, holding the young man's hand in his own. Luckily Neal had responded to the warming methods in the ambulance and in the ER so he was immediately placed in his own private room and not ICU. Peter phoned El and talked to her and Mozzie once Neal had been stabilized. He got them up to date on the rescue and sting before returning to the room and sitting there, head leaning forward against the mattress. Neal's hand was still very cool to the touch but had been slowly warming, the young man's color returning to a more pale pink, lips no longer a bluish gray.

Peter continued to sit there, leaning forward against the bedside and holding his friend's hand as he fell into a light sleep. He was remembering the first time he saw Neal in the metal tub and how limp and lifeless his partner had looked. He felt his eyes grow wet with tears, blinking them back as he sat up and rubbed at them. It had only been a couple of days since Neal's abduction yet it felt like weeks if not months, Peter having slept little in anticipation of rescuing his friend. He turned and looked at the young man lying unconscious there. Neal's face appeared calm, peaceful as if he were just sleeping. Peter sighed, stood up and stretched. He turned at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey El. Mozzie?" Peter glanced between the two, surprised the little guy was there. He knew Mozz hated hospitals but for Neal I guess he had made an exception. Peter smiled, walking over to hug his wife as she came to greet him. Mozz just nodded nervously, moving towards Neal, his face somewhat pale.

"You look tired, Peter. Want to get some coffee?" El kissed her husband and he nodded sleepily back.

"Mozz... did you want anything?" El spoke to him but he didn't respond as he stared down quietly at Neal's sleeping form. Peter hugged her and motioned quietly for them to leave them alone. El looked concerned but nodded as they left the room.

Thomas, looked down at the young man he had been friends with for the past 15 years. He still saw the precocious boy he had rescued so many years ago. He pulled his glasses off and wiped at his eyes, his emotions getting the better of him.

"I'm sorry Neal. Sorry I wasn't a more gung-ho hero type. You would have been safe if it had been Peter there in your past. Don't hate me." His voice cracked slightly as he continued to wipe at his eyes, trying to hide the tears.

()()()

Neal felt his mother's presence fade away to a calm, peaceful darkness. Soon a grayish blur replaced the darkness and he heard voices. The voices sounded far away yet familiar but one stuck out among the rest.

"I'm sorry Neal. Sorry I wasn't a more gung-ho hero type. You would have been safe if it had been Peter there in your past. Don't hate me." The voice cracked slightly as the person spoke softly and with emotion. Neal opened his eyes, focusing the gray blur to something more substantial.

A short, balding man with just enough hair to say he had it, sat beside the bed wiping at his eyes tiredly. Neal blinked to clear his sight even more and reached out to touch the man's hand. He saw the figure start slightly, pushing something onto their face... glasses. They were wearing glasses.

"Mo...zz... ie?" Neal's voice was raspy but audible. He saw the little guy smile back at him.

"Neal, you're awake! I'll go get The Suit..." Mozzie started to stand when he felt Neal's hand grab his tightly. The little man gave a side-ways glance at his friend but didn't turn around.

"Don't leave... Please." Neal's voice sounded so forlorn, his expression like that first time he saw him as Nick Halden in the hospital bound and gagged. Mozzie felt his emotions getting away with him again, reluctantly sitting down again. Neal smiled at him sleepily.

"So... El is here with Peter and June says Hi." Mozzie had fallen into his usual pretense of paranoia unable to go back to the Thomas he had been so many years ago. He had too much practice being Mozzie now to change or want to remind Neal or himself of the past. Neal shifted slightly in the bed, never letting go of his hand.

"I had some weird dreams. The nightmares you used to tell me weren't real... Mozz, I saw you in them. You were never there before." Neal's voice was still groggy as he shifted again, his hand loosening its grip as he yawned and started to fall asleep again. Mozz shook the young man gently.

"Neal, Peter and El will be back soon. Stay awake." He nudged the young man but Neal had already started to doze off again, his voice fading as he slumped back to unconsciousness. Mozz felt a slight relief that he could avoid confrontation a while longer but it was mixed with guilt for having hidden the past for so long. El was right, Neal would have to know eventually when his memories decided to return. He owed him the truth if he asked.

Mozz turned at the sound of the door opening quietly, taking off his glasses to wipe them.

"About time you guys returned. Neal woke... up."

()()()

Leonard Green sat in a holding cell of the FBI offices. He asked for his phone call to call his lawyer, something they couldn't refuse him. He dialed a number and heard a familiar voice answer.

"Hello." The voice spoke quietly without much emotion. Green smiled.

"Terry, it's Leo. Been a long time." He heard the man speak to someone in the background, movement evident and the sound of a door closing.

"I'm alone now. What's up? How did it go?" Terry sounded cautious. Leo smiled at his ex-employee's terse expressions in case the line was tapped.

"It didn't but there's a sick friend you may want to visit. I need to go." Leo heard the man grunt in response, the line going dead. He stood and allowed himself to be led back to the cell, a wide smile on his face.

()()()

Peter and El sat in the hospital commissary chatting quietly. He was nursing his third cup of coffee, his eyes looking a little less tired than before as he took a bite of the sandwich in front of him. El picked at a garden salad, sipping from a hot cup of tea.

"Poor Mozzie. He really does care for Neal but he's afraid of what will happen when the truth comes out. I told him Neal has to know." She took another bite of her salad and frowned ever so slightly. Peter reach across and touched her hand with a gentle squeeze.

"I think Neal will understand once he knows why." He paused briefly, shaking his head as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Thomas... I still find it interesting to know that is Mozzie's real name. Makes sense now. Mas... Mozzie... Never would have guessed. A man of many hidden talents as Neal often said." Peter glanced up at his wife who was looking down at her salad a lot more thoughtfully than she normally would. He continued to squeeze her hand gently. El looked up, eyes shiny.

"It's hard to believe that Neal went through so much pain. I understand now why it's so hard for him to trust." She wiped at her eyes and sighed. Peter nodded starting slightly when his cell started to buzz.

"Burke. What's up Jones?" Peter gave a little yawn, the coffee only doing so much to wake him up.

"Peter, are you with Caffrey?" Jones sounded a bit off, Peter perking up as he listened.

"No. What's up?" Peter listened as the agent sighed.

"Green. He made a call to someone. We just found out it might be a hit on Neal if not Mozzie." Jones sounded like he was in a car as he spoke, Peter waking up as he realized what was said.

"I'm headed up now. Thanks Jones." Peter stood up, picking up the food but El grabbed his hand.

"Honey?" She saw his look and took the food from him.

"Go. I'll take care of this and meet you upstairs." She smiled as he reached across to kiss her quickly before practically running out of the commissary.

()()()

Mozzie felt himself thrown down against the floor, wrists cuffed behind him, tape pulled over his lips. He gave a muffled complaint, eyes squinting to see without his glasses. He could just make out someone in a white uniform twirling them before his face enticingly.

"You were never much of anything, Thomas. Such a weakling! Couldn't even protect that boy you stole away. I hear he died." The man's voice was cold and emotionless. Terry was always the bully, terrorizing those weaker than he or at least intimidating those that couldn't fight back. Mozz just sat there, curled up against the cold metal of the morgue wall. He watched Terry's blurry form standing there with his glasses but also holding onto the back of a wheelchair that held Neal. The young man was slumped over in the chair, arms taped securely to the sides.

"And now you get to watch someone else you obviously care about... die." Terry's voice was about as menacing as possible, Mozzie feeling a cold chill wash over him. He made to get up but Terry walked over and socked him across the chin, securing the cuffs to a ring on the wall. Mozz was stunned but struggled to move forward as he felt the man push something onto his face.

"Thought you might like to watch this. Leo sends his greetings." Terry smiled, cutting Neal loose and pulling him up and over his shoulder. He carried the young man over to an examination table and strapped the young man down. Neal didn't move, head slumped to one side. Mozz watched fearfully, his cuffs rattling as he pulled against them, a muffled sound of protest from his lips. Terry ignored the little man, walking to a nearby outlet. He found a drill, pulled the plug from it and split the wires with a scalpel. He plugged the wire into the outlet and turned to Mozzie.

"This is only a mock up of what they did to your friend before but he won't live through this treatment; neither will you when it's your turn." Terry's voice lowered enough that it drew a shiver out of Mozz, his eyes wide and pleading. He was hoping for a miracle, praying to whomever it took to save Neal if nothing else.

()()()

Peter and Jones were talking to hospital staff and waiting for the surveillance camera footage to see where Mozz and Neal had disappeared to. There had been signs of a struggle if only on Mozz' part, the bed sheets strewn aside, chair flipped over. Forensics was on it while Peter talked with Jones and finally had the tapes to watch.

"There... That's Neal in a wheelchair being pushed by our mystery man Green called. Mozzie looks a little too calm so he must have had a gun on him." Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"Where are they headed?" Jones had piped in now, pointing at the corridor they were disappearing into. The hospital admin peered and answered back.

"That's the way to the basement and morgue." The admin looked at the agents who's expressions had become rather animated suddenly. Peter had his weapon ready, Jones too as they assembled their crew.

"Ok Jones, we'll have to split up... half the team goes with me and the other half with you around the outside entrance. Keep the panic at a minimal." Peter turned to the admin.

"We're going to need everyone not involved with this operation to stay out of the area as much as possible. Just keep everyone in their rooms and we should be able to keep this situation sealed to the morgue. Thanks again for your cooperation." Peter shook hands with the admin who nodded soberly.

"Anything to get this situation handled without too much publicity." The admin started talking to her staff preparing them for what needed to be done as Peter and Jones began to split up into their groups to take their positions.

()()()

Neal had been talking to Mozzie if only briefly before he had passed out again. His dreams began in earnest again, remembering something he had forgotten about.

"Hey... wake up... Nick? Wake up. Oh geesh..." He could hear the orderly who had hid him talking but he couldn't respond, his body seizing and twitching on it's own. He had no control, only vaguely aware of his surroundings. The voice sounded like Mozzie's but it was different. It wasn't the Mozz he knew at least not yet. Neal was starting to identify with the dreams more. Feeling what Nick was feeling.

The sound of a door opening up drew his eyes as they started to focus up and away from the gray of the floor. Thomas/Mozzie was still shaking him, stopping as someone stepped through the door.

"Thomas, Terry told me you were hiding back here but I didn't think... oh... that's where our patient went. Terry... take him back to his room." Dr. Leonard's voice was coldly clinical. Nick/Neal was only vaguely aware of Thomas holding him tightly.

"Leave him alone! He doesn't belong here! He's just a kid... an innocent kid!" Thomas' voice was sounding a bit more like the Mozzie he knew, afraid and slightly cracking with emotion as it grew tenser. He felt his body begin to settle and relax as the seizure ended and he came back to himself. He felt something cold and plastic gripped tightly still in his hand. He could just make out the blurry form of Terry reaching for him, a fist ready to hit Thomas when Nick/Neal pushed the item up against Terry's bare neck.

It was almost instantaneous as Terry jerked back and fell to the ground with a strangled cry. He wasn't out but he was temporarily confused by what just happened. Nick/Neal smiled slightly, sitting up with some effort as he held the device in front of him like a weapon. Thomas helped him up after a moment, finally finding his own strength again.

"Leave us alone..." Nick/Neal's voice was raspy but his tone was filled with anger and passion as he leaned slightly against Thomas and they managed to exit the room, Dr. Leonard keeping his hands up and staying far enough way from the taser. Once they were out of the room, Thomas jammed a mop handle under the handle to keep them occupied for their escape. Nick/Neal watched with interest as Thomas supported him and helped him down a back corridor and into what appeared to be the staff area.

"Sit here a moment. We can't have you going outside with that on." Thomas gently sat the boy down against a bench between several lockers. Nick/Neal nodded sleepily, his body slumping down into a prone position, lying on his back and looking at the ceiling. His vision was blurring in and out of focus as he lay there till he saw someone standing over him looking at him in a concerned manner. It was Thomas.

"Mas..." His voice was failing him as he tried to say the man's name but could only say the last part. He was feeling sleepy again, his eyes starting to close but the man slapped him awake.

"Stay with me. You need to change into these." Thomas' voice was anxious, bringing Nick/Neal out of his catatonic state long enough to ease out of the robe and shrug into a slightly baggy pair of jeans and a loose white tee. Thomas helped him throw a blue button up shirt over the tee and pull on some socks and white sneakers.

"Lucky for you I found some extra stuff for you to wear. Michael's always bringing extra clothes just in case. I don't think he'll miss these." Thomas' voice cracked ever so slightly as he finished dressing Nick/Neal and helped him to his feet. Nick/Neal could only follow in a daze, his mind hazy. He knew he could trust this person for now. He had to trust someone. Mozz helped him walk along till they left the corridor and entered the main area. Nick/Neal felt the man sit him in the lobby area outside the office briefly as he dashed in.

"Anne... do you have the file for Jared Ashley? Dr. Leo is on a rampage asking for it." She perked up looking somewhat afraid and nodded, moving to the back of the room. Everyone was afraid of the doctor which helped when Thomas jumped the desk quickly and pulled out Nick's file along with another and then quickly exited.

Nick/Neal looked up as Mozz returned and lifted him up.

"Come on, kid. We're leaving this dump."