A/N: So, it's been a while since I've updated this story. Believe me, I love this story, but my muse decided to take a long vacation. I'm now back and right back into action! It's a bit of a short chapter, but there's more to come! As always, review and leave me some feedback. I love to hear from you!

"Oh Neal, you look so handsome!"

The brown-haired teenager blushed at his mother's compliment and then turned his face away so that she couldn't seen the welling tears. He looked back up a moment later as a cool, soft hand cupped his chin and gently raised it. He stared into the deep blue eyes of Anna and then reached up to wiped the falling tears away so that she couldn't see them, even though he knew that she had already.

"Neal, sweetie, why are you crying?"

Neal avoided her eyes for a moment before glancing back at them, lowly speaking, "Things are going to be so much different now, aren't they, Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie, they are," Anna beamed happily, but with a touch of a frown lingering, "Are you alright with all of this? I know you had your reservations about Marcus at first…he was someone that we didn't know, but I thought he'd become family by now-"

"Mom," Neal cut her off and Anna fell silent, chewing at her bottom lip, "I like Marcus a lot, he's more like a father than I have ever known. I'm happy for you, honestly. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Anna hesitated before smiling broadly once more, "Thank you, Neal. I'm glad that you're happy and happy for me too."

"No problem, Mom," Neal felt his throat tighten up at those words, "No problem at all. Now let's go get you married, okay?"

"Alright, Neal," Anna smiled once more, softly, the kind of smile that was reserved for a mother and child.

"Shall we?" Neal offered her his arm with a gallant sweep of the arm. Anna took his arm and Neal nudged open the door to the sanctuary of the church where Anna was about to be married to Marcus Caffrey.

There was a faint, yet irritating buzzing sound in his ear. Neal reached up to swipe at what he thought was a bug at his ear, but this arm felt like fifty pounds as he tried to lift it up. He set it back down with what felt like a thunk on the ground. Wait, why was he on the ground? Realization flooded back to Neal as his eyes snapped open and he lurched to a sitting position. Bad decision on his part. Lights and colors exploded before his eyes and the world tilted around him. Neal groaned and lowered his head back down to the floor, closing his eyes again briefly before opening them to reach up for the table he had been sitting at to lift himself up. Once he was at a standing position, he lifted a hand to his head and then rested one against the table he was leaning on. He then lowered his hand from his head to his pocket to retrieve his cellphone. Head swimming, he dialled the first emergency number on his phone.

After four rings, the phone was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Peter…"

Peter Burke's heart skipped a few beats when he heard the raw pain and the grogginess in his partner's voice. Immediately, he knew something was wrong.

"Neal!" Peter said, "What's wrong?"

"I was attacked…"

"Attacked? Who attacked you?" Peter demanded, his eyebrows narrowing. He got up from the bed he was sitting on, Elizabeth's eyes following him with concern at his tone. Peter went over to his suitcase and started packing up the clothes scattered around. He knew that he wasn't going to stay in Albany much longer.

"It was my dad…we had a meeting and when I refused his offer…he got his goon to hit me with a wine bottle…I lost consciousness, but…" Neal's voice was cut off by a rugged gasp.

"Neal?" Peter's voice was infused with concern and sheer worry, "Neal, talk to me."

"…I don't think I have just a concussion. I've had one of those before…it doesn't feel like one of those…I think I was drugged…"

Peter's heart raced. He remembered the last time that Neal had been drugged. It was not a pretty sight and the younger man had been through withdrawal pain from the heavy dosage. Not to mention all of the nightmares and terror the kid had had from the hallucinogenic affects.

"Hold tight, Neal," Peter forced the fear from his voice to keep his partner calm, not to mention Elizabeth who was right beside him trying to listen to the conversation, "I'm coming to get you, kid. Don't worry about a thing. Where are you? Have you called 9-1-1 yet?"

"No," Neal's voice was coming out in short gasps over the phone now, "I can't really see…" his voice wavered in and out and Peter was concerned that Neal would lose consciousness while on the phone.

"Listen to me, do you know where you are? I can call the office to get paramedics to you if I know your location, alright?" Peter pulled on his coat as he spoke, "Where are you, Neal?"

"Uhh….oh, I don't even remember," Neal said sleepily, his words getting slower and coming out more slurred, "Some Italian restaurant…can't remember the name…it's on the border of my tracker range…"

"Okay, kid," the older man said into the phone, "Hold on and I'll be there as soon as possible. Neal?" He heard no more labored breathing, only silence on the other side, "Neal!"

Peter Burke made record time getting from Albany to New York. He raced through two airports, over landing strips, and then to a cab that would take him to his partner. He had been on the phone with Hughes and the office ever since he landed fifteen minutes ago. Cruz had been on patrol when Peter had called in the emergency to Headquarters and had been the first one to respond to the call. She had taken Jones and scoured the border of Neal's tracker range for an Italian restaurant that had been disturbed or looked suspicious. Finally, after a lead and over two hours of frantic searching, they had found Neal. He had been unconscious upon retrieval and barely breathing. From the restaurant, a BUS was called and took Neal to the closest hospital.

Now Peter Burke was rushing into the ER, wildly scanning the wing for anyone from the office that he knew. Eventually, he spotted Jones talking to the nurse at the desk.

"Jones!" Peter shouted, not aware that he was shouting, "What happened?!"

The junior agent recounted the information they had collected, basically that Neal had been hit with the wine bottle and how they had found him, and then added, "The doctors found traces of a poison drug in Caffrey's blood. He's unresponsive at the moment. They're testing him right now to see if he can be revived."

Peter's mind reeled. He turned away and rubbed his jaw hard with his hand. This just had to happen the moment he left Neal out of his sight. He was such an idiot for leaving Neal in New York without his supervision. Forget that Neal was a fully-grown man, he still needed to be watched at all times! Especially with his criminal father on the loose in New York City.

God, Burke, how could you be so stupid?