Start Over, Try Again: Chapter 7

This happens when I have a week with nothing but tests. I take my frustrations out in writing! Good for you, not necessarily fun circumstances for me. :)

Please READ THE WARNINGS this week and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar no matter how much I might wish it.

Warnings: **One instance of swearing in this chapter! Mainly some angst. Some violence. Some child abuse in later chapters.

"Hospitality"

El came back in after what she deemed 'sufficient time' had passed and was pleased to find Neal in pants and her husband looking relatively unruffled. She set her coffee down by he chair and sat on the edge of the hospital bed with Neal.

"You know, Sweetie, there is also a change of clothes in there for you." Peter took the not-so-subtle hint and grabbed the bag and left the room. El looked at Neal, and her heart clenched. The poor boy looked wiped out just from trying to get clothes on, with help. She ran her fingers gently through his hair, careful of the stitches at the back.

"When we get you home, you can settle right on the couch and not move for the rest of the day. Just sleep. I'll try and keep Satchmo from jumping on you as best as I can." Neal flashed her a tired smile.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry about being such a bother-" He was interrupted by El's sigh.

"Sweetie, you aren't a bother; I swear. We've been friends for a good while now, and I would be doing the same thing whether you remembered me or not." That seemed to be the end of that discussion, and El got Neal engaged in talk about his origami. A few minutes later, Peter returned, and they dragged him into the conversation too.

After another twenty minutes had passed, they were all getting impatient. Neal wasn't saying anything, but he had started plucking the hospital blanket a bit more viciously. At one point Peter leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly.

"Where in the hell is that-" He was interrupted by the door opening.

"Nurse!" The young woman was taken aback at the loud greeting and gave them a confused smile.

"Yes? I'm here to unhook Mr. Caffrey from everything. This is the discharge paperwork, along with all of the instructions and prescriptions for Mr. Caffrey." As she spoke, she handed the papers to Peter and walked over to the side of Neal's bed with the machines. One by one she turned them off and pulled whatever she needed to off of Neal's body. Neal didn't look when she pulled out the IV, but he did wince.

The nurse applied a Band-Aid to the IV site and was all finished up. As she passed by, Peter handed her the first few sheets that consisted of the discharge papers and kept the rest. The young woman smiled at Neal.

"Alright, Mr. Caffrey, you are officially free to go. Do you have a shirt to change in to? I'm going to have to wheel you out, when you are ready. Hospital policy." Neal looked to Peter, and the agent passed him a shirt. The young con man pulled the knot at the back of the hospital gown, but before it fell, Neal grabbed it. For what seemed like the fifth time, his cheeks started to heat up.

"Uh…do you think you could…" he trailed off, and it took them a couple moments to figure out what he was asking. All three were surprised at the young man's self-consciousness. For all the time Peter and El knew Neal, he had never been uncomfortable showing off his body. He used his good looks all the time to charm marks and suspects. Heck, Peter had just helped him get into his pants! The nurse was just surprised that such a good looking man didn't want anyone seeing his body. However, if it made the patient uncomfortable she wasn't going to stare. In the end, they all turned away without complaint, despite the confusion.

Neal sighed in relief and quickly changed into the soft green t-shirt El had packed for him.

"Okay. I'm ready." Peter and El stood, and the nurse grabbed a wheelchair. Neal didn't seem too thrilled with the wheelchair, but he was happy enough to be leaving that he didn't argue. Peter grabbed the door for them and was the last to file out, duffle bag in hand. They nodded to the uniform that had been guarding the door and met Diana down the hall in the waiting room. She gave them a strained smile as she stood.

"Hey, Boss, El. Neal, how are you doing?" Neal could tell she wasn't happy about something and could only hope it wasn't him.

"Okay. Tired, bit of a headache. Still can't remember anything." Diana nodded, unsurprised.

"Well, at least you're getting out of here. Peter, could we talk for a second." The senior agent furrowed his brows but nodded. Peter could see that the request for private audience set Neal and El on edge. El probably thought someone had gotten hurt, and Neal probably thought he was in trouble. Either way, Diana didn't seem happy.

He let his junior agent pull him off around the corner and waited for her to enlighten him on the situation. She put her hands on her hips and sighed an angry sigh.

"Peter, the Marshals are involved now." The other agent's eyebrows flew up.

"What?! Why?" Peter couldn't imagine it was a cordial invitation that brought the Marshals, from the way Diana was acting.

"They are claiming that the person we're after is part of an ongoing investigation for them. They say that he's an escaped convict, and they want to be the one's to bring him in. Peter, they've also offered their services for Neal." Now Peter was pissed.

"What services? Neal's got his anklet on. He's staying with me." Diana scowled.

"The two agents seemed sympathetic that one of our own had been seriously hurt, until they found out that Neal was a criminal consultant. I think they've got it into their thick heads that Neal's faking his amnesia and is protecting the shooter. Criminals sticking together, kind of thing. They've offered to help you keep an eye on him and try and get him talking."

"Like Hell," Peter growled. Diana smirked at Peter's reaction; she knew he would feel the same as she and Jones had when the Marshals stated their intent.

"Jones and I can keep them busy and away from Neal for as long as we can. Right now they think I'm following an anonymous tip. So, let's get you all back to your house, and then I'll head back." Peter nodded, and both agents covered any emotions from their faces so as not to worry El and Neal.

The two just mentioned looked at them with concern when the agents returned, but Peter and Diana smiled reassuringly.

"Alright, Bud. Let's go." Neal snorted at the nickname and sat back as the nurse started pushing the wheelchair again. His hand went up to his right temple and tried to rub away the growing headache.

"Headaches are to be expected, Mr. Caffrey. They should go away with time and plenty of rest." Neal barely nodded to acknowledge that he had heard the nurse. He winced when they finally reached the hospital doors, and his eyes met with bright sunlight. Suddenly, Neal felt something being pushed into his hands.

"Here, Neal. Put these on." The young man opened his eyes a crack to notice Peter had given him a pair of sunglasses. Neal quickly, but gently, slid them onto his face and sighed in relief.

"Thanks a lot, Peter." The agent smiled and squeezed Neal's shoulder. As soon as they were outside, Neal was grateful for the fresh air despite the sun. Though he had technically only been inside for about a day, being out made him feel free, relatively speaking.

The young man was startled when El bent down to peck him on the cheek.

"I'll see you guys at home." She repeated the gesture with Peter and walked through the parking lot to her car. Diana smirked at the blush creeping up Neal's face and pulled her keys out.

"I'll bring the car around." Neal turned as another wheelchair moved past them. A woman holding a baby, smiled up at her husband pushing her through the exit doors. The man looked happy but frazzled and practically tripped over his own feet to get the car. Neal snorted softly at the sight but didn't comment.

Just then, Diana pulled up and parked the car. The nurse took that as her signal to leave and wished Neal a speedy recovery before going back inside the hospital. Peter patted Neal on the shoulder.

"Okay, Bud. C'mon." The young man stood on shaky legs and let Peter wrap an arm around his torso to support him. Diana came around the side to open the car door for him, and together the two agents got him into the vehicle. They both looked rather pleased with themselves. Neal on the other hand was busy fighting a blush.

He hurt his head, not his legs! He should be able to walk just fine. Instead of saying anything, Neal took a deep breath and tried to let it go. When Peter and Diana got into the car, both of them peeked in the rearview mirror and bit their lips to stop from laughing. Neal was full on pouting.

The drive to the Burkes' home was uneventful, which was nice. The traffic was typical and the sun was as bright as ever. Peter could resist looking back at Neal every so often and smiled at the look of wonder on his face. It was like Neal had never seen New York City before and was awestruck.

One small miracle almost made Diana and Peter start singing church music: there was an open spot right in front of the house. They stopped and Peter jumped out of the car and opened Neal's door for him before the young man could say 'Please'. Neal rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses but couldn't help smiling at the agent. Though he didn't 'know' the man at that moment, he could see how much the agent cared.

Diana got out of the car too, which surprised Peter.

"Diana?" The younger agent had that pinched anger look on her face again and she pointed at the nondescript car a few spaces up.

"Boss, I think I'll just come inside. Make sure Neal gets settled and all, before I head back to the office." Neal could easily read the tension in the two FBI agents and was on high alert. His bright blue eyes darted every which way as they crossed the sidewalk and climbed the stairs to the front door.

Peter had seen El's car, so he knew she was there, but he would have thought El would have been watching out the window for them. That's just the way his wife was. He cautiously opened the front door: unlocked.

Satchmo came running up to them, excited but whining all at the same time. Peter felt Neal tense beside him and followed his line of sight.

Two men were sitting on his couch in his living room…and were being served water by HIS wife! Said men turned and smiled 'pleasantly' at Peter, flicking their eyes over Neal like he was a stray the agent had brought home. Before one of them could open their mouths, El walked into the room, an equally pinched angry look on her face to Diana's.

"Peter! Neal! I'm so glad you're home. Marshals Roberts and Smith invited themselves over." Peter had the strong urge to punch the two men, grab his wife and run and hold Neal's hand to stop him from running, simultaneously. Then the Marshals stood, one holding out a hand.

"Marshal Roberts. Agent Burke, it's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry it had to be when you are so," his cold eyes flicked to Neal again, a small sneer playing on his lips, "indisposed." Peter looked like he would rather spit in the man's hand than shake it, which made Neal's heart rate calm just a little bit. However, the Marshal forced his pleasantries, so Peter took the opportunity to give the man a nice, firm handshake.

"Can't say the same, Marshal. Now, want to tell me what you are doing in my home?" The Marshals shrugged casually.

"We heard you were going to be working the case from home, and thought we'd stop by while Agent Berrigan was…following an anonymous tip." The second Marshal, Smith by default, had spent the time scowling at Neal and narrowing his eyes at Diana. Neal got a creepy feeling off of the man, and then the Marshal made it worse by opening his mouth.

"My partner and I came to offer our assistance when we heard that you'd been forced to split your attentions between working the case and guarding your little pet." Neal's fear was pushed aside for a moment by his anger. His knuckles ached to meet the other man's face, and with the way Diana twitched behind him, it seemed she felt the same way. El opened her mouth to give them both a piece of her mind, but Peter beat them all to the punch, the metaphorical punch unfortunately.

He stepped closer to the closer man until their noses were almost brushing. They had similar height and build, but Peter was older and angrier.

"You listen to me, Marshal Roberts. You have come into my home uninvited, imposed on my wife, insulted my ability to do my job and insulted my grievously injured partner. Now, I could tell you where to put your offer of assistance, but that would be unprofessional. So, instead, I will offer you the door. I don't want to see your faces here again." The Marshals scowled but nodded. The trio in front of the door moved aside, Satchmo attached at Neal's hip, as the Marshals moved to leave.

"Thanks for your hospitality, Mrs. Burke," Marshal Roberts threw over his shoulder. Just before he left, Marshal Smith made sure to knock into Neal's shoulder enough to unbalance him into Diana. The man snorted at him, before he was finally gone. When they were finally gone, El let her growl loose.

"They are such assholes."


I don't usually use swearing in my writing, but when I do...it is really not that bad. :/ Fall break coming up, hope to get some writing done then. See you in 2 weeks!

Tell me what you think!...Please. ;)