Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but I wish I did!

Summary: Neal's got the shakes. Peter's more than a little concerned. Tag to the season two premiere.

"I can handle it."

June could feel the slight tremors coursing through Neal's hand when she took it back into her own and she smiled sadly at him. "I don't doubt it, baby, but you shouldn't have to. Don't you think you're suffering enough already?"

When Neal's only response was to drop his eyes to the sheets again, June sighed. "You don't have to admit it out loud. I've seen the look of crippling guilt on a man's face before and it's written all over yours now. I know you don't want to hear this, but Kate was a grown woman who was fully capable of making her own decisions. Whatever deals she made, it's not on you."

"You don't understand, June. I… Oww!" Neal jerked backward instinctively when June decided that pouring alcohol on the open wounds would be the best way to shut him up.

"Easy now. Just give it a second." June blew lightly on the frothing liquid to ease the sting a bit, keeping a tight grasp on his wrist.

They had only known each other for a few years, but the boy felt like a son to her. She wished she could find a way to protect him from all the pain and the dangers of the criminal life but, just like Byron, he would have to learn on his own that there were no answers down this path of illegal activity.

The secret to happiness was getting out and living an honest life with the ones you love, however many may be left. Neal was young though. He still enjoyed the thrill of a good heist and the complexity of a well-executed con. So just like she did for her husband during his bad boy days, the best she could do was patch up his injuries and lend a strong shoulder when needed.

After the pain eased to a manageable degree, Neal forced himself to relax and allowed June to continue tending to him. When the bubbling had slowed down, June used one of the towels Mozzie had brought in to dab lightly at the jaggedly torn skin.

Neal gritted his teeth and swallowed hard when June put down the towel in favor of grabbing the tweezers. She glanced up into his beautiful blue eyes, noting the barely concealed trepidation within them.

"You ready for this, hunny?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." He turned his face away from his hand and tried to prepare himself for what was to come.

Just as June was about to go for the first piece of protruding glass, Mozzie made his reappearance.

"Is it safe to come in yet or… Oh, sweet Elvis Costello! I can't just stand here and watch you butcher the guy!"

"Too bad, Mozzie. Cause if you're a true friend of Neal's you'll put your own discomfort aside and distract him while I work."

"Distract him? With what? A life-sized Trojan Horse that dances and sings?"

"It's okay, June," Neal jumped in. He turned to his friend. "You don't have to stick around for this, buddy. I know I'd leave if I could."

Mozzie sighed in resignation. "No you wouldn't. You're too nice for your own good. Fine. I'll stay. But I have to warn you, I have a very delicate gag reflex so try to keep the bleeding to a minimum."

"I will do my best," Neal deadpanned.

Mozzie shuffled into the room like he was walking the plank and sat down tentatively next to Neal on the bed. "Do… Do you want to hold my hand?" He timidly held his arm out for his partner in crime to accept or reject.

Neal snorted. "I appreciate the offer, Moz, but it's not gonna be that bad. It's just a few…"

June yanked out the first piece of glass while Neal's attention was focused elsewhere, making his sentence end with a pained gasp. On reflex, Neal reached out for something to ground himself to and latched onto Mozzie's hand with a bone-crushing grip.

Mozzie brought his other hand up to pat Neal comfortingly on the shoulder as the younger man tried his best to breathe through the pain while June worked as quickly as she could to rid his hand of the shards.

"Some of these cuts are really deep, Neal. You might need stitches if the bleeding doesn't stop on its own." She wasn't sure which of the boys paled faster, Neal or Mozzie.

"Have you considered alternative medicine?" Moz offered. "White vinegar could do the trick, or if the place wasn't always so immaculate, I'd recommend spider webs. They work wonders, or so I've heard…"

Neal stared at his friend, looking completely dumbfounded. "Spider webs? Seriously, Moz?"

"What? You've never tried that before?"

"Can't say I've had the pleasure."

"Well now you know if you're ever in a pinch and in need of a Band-Aid. Cayenne would also do the trick by the way."

Neal shook his head with a chuckle. "You're a fountain of information, Mozzie."

"Lucky for you since you seem to attract violent situations lately."

"Speakin' of violence…" June piped in, "Mind me askin' what my lamp did to deserve such harsh treatment?" She was doing her best to keep the young man distracted as well.

"Wrong place, wrong time is all. I really am sorry about that, June."

"You want to make it up to me, hun, take me dancing again soon and we'll call it even."

Neal smiled warmly at her. "Deal. Ah!" He winced as June maneuvered another sliver of glass from in between two of his knuckles.

"Sorry, dear. That was a deep one."

He breathed a sigh of relief when the last shard was pulled from his skin and June finally put the tweezers down.

"Let me just clean and wrap it and you'll be good as new! Brace yourself now…" Once again, she poured alcohol over his bloodied hand and Neal fought the sudden urge to throw up with everything he had. He was embarrassed enough already.

The blood-tainted liquid ran over his torn skin and dripped down into a collecting bowl June had strategically placed to protect the mattress from getting soaked.

"Almost done," she encouraged. The obvious pain written all over his face damn near broke her heart but she kept pouring until the majority of the blood had been rinsed away. "Sorry, baby, but it had to be done."

Neal took a second to unclench his teeth before responding. "I know."

Dabbing gently at his hand to check that the bleeding had at least been minimized, June then quickly and carefully wrapped gauze around the deeper wounds and secured the bandage in place. "There we go! All set."

Neal cradled his throbbing hand in his lap, slowly flexing his fingers to assure himself that he hadn't done any permanent damage. "Thanks, June. You're a lifesaver."

"My pleasure, Neal. I'll check it again in the morning just to be sure the bleeding has fully stopped and there's no infection. Let me get some fresh sheets on the bed and then you get some more rest."

"I'll take care of the sheets, June. You should…"

"Nonsense. Here." She took hold of Neal's elbow and eased him to his feet, then, noticing he was only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants for bed, she wrapped one of the clean blankets around his bare shoulders for modesty and warmth. "It'll only take me a moment."

With Mozzie's help, they had the bloody sheets balled up by the door and fresh sheets tucked in tightly to keep his flailing to a minimum this time around. Neal blushed slightly and hung his head when June moved the rest of the furniture a few feet away from his bed just in case he had another episode.

"There now. Go back to sleep and I'll be right downstairs if you need anything else." She kissed Neal's cheek as she passed and gave his good arm a gentle squeeze. "Good night, boys."

"Night, June," Neal and Mozzie said simultaneously.

Neal stared at the bed as if it had double-crossed him and was now pointing a gun at his chest. He knew it was silly to loath and fear a bed, but he was too tired to care. If he fell back asleep in it tonight, there would be no telling what he might do.

When the silence stretched on a little too long, Mozzie cleared his throat.

"So this latest nightmare… Was it about Kate?"

Neal instinctively jumped on the defensive, though his exhaustion prevented his argument from being convincing. "What makes you say it was a nightmare? Maybe I'm just clumsy." He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders, feeling uncomfortable and emotionally exposed.

Mozzie scoffed. "Please. Give me some credit, Neal. I've known you long enough to know you're like the most graceful person on the planet. You probably haven't tripped since you were three."

Neal chuckled but the humor didn't quite reach his haunted eyes. "We have known each other for a long time, huh?"

"I should say so. Look, buddy, I may be a conman by trade, but you know you can trust me as a friend, right? If you ever wanted to talk… about anything."

"Yeah. I know, buddy. And I appreciate it."

An awkward silence fell over the room once again. Mozzie shifted uncomfortably a few times, then slowly made his way towards the door. "Alright then. I guess I'll just leave you to your…"

"She was right there, Moz," Neal blurted out. At his friend's confused look, he elaborated. "I knew it was a dream but I couldn't wake up. Kate was right there in front of me and there was nothing I could do."

"So you reached out for her and hasta la vista, lamp."

Neal nodded. "I've been having the same dream practically every night since it happened. No matter what I do, I can't change the outcome. It's like it's taunting me for failing her."

Neal was looking so broken that Mozzie's brain went into overdrive to try and find his friend some peace. "Do you want me to get your pills?"

"No!" Neal shouted without meaning to. "I mean, no thanks. They're obviously not keeping the nightmares away and if anything, they just make it harder to wake up from them."

"Good point. How about some warm milk instead? Or perhaps a glass of wine?"

"I don't think wine's gonna cut it tonight, Moz."

"Alright, milk it is then." Mozzie held up a hand when Neal opened his mouth to protest. "Trust me, you'll thank me in the morning."

Twenty minutes and half a cup of warm milk later, Neal was dosing off underneath the fresh smelling sheets, though he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Surrender to the darkness, my friend," Mozzie encouraged, easing the glass out of Neal's lax grip. "You're exhausted. That alone should get you into a deep enough sleep where nightmares can't torment you. At the very least, you won't remember dreaming when you wake."

"I'm scared, Mozzie," Neal stated so softly his friend barely heard him. "I can't watch her die again. I just can't."

Mozzie sat down on the edge of the bed. "You know why our cons always work out, Neal?"

"Cause you're an evil mastermind?"

"Well, yes… But also because of our flawless teamwork. I've got your back, Neal. Now and always. So get some rest and if I see any evidence you've slipped back into the dark place, I'll bring you out of it. You just have to trust me."

"I do trust you, Moz."

"Good. Then sleep. I'll wake you when the Suit comes to collect you."

Neal blinked up at his friend one last time before his eyelids became too heavy to open again. Mozzie waited until the younger man's breathing evened out, then slipped out of the room long enough to collect his chess board.

When he returned, he pulled a chair over to Neal's bedside and set up his board for the first of many games he'd be playing that night. He smiled over at Neal who was sleeping peacefully for a change.

Mozzie never had any real family, but if he had to guess, this is what it felt like to have a little brother to protect. One thing was for sure; he wasn't about to let the kid down. He moved his white knight forward- the symbolism not lost on him- then glared at his invisible opponent, confronting the darkness.

"Your move," he challenged softly.

TBC

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