(Chapter 9)

Sunday was almost half done when Peter came to. He had vague memories of being in the hospital, Neal being lost then found and being at his wife's side at home. He still felt himself smiling at the last part, reaching over to hug his wife and finding her gone. He blinked, wiping the sleep from his eyes as the agent sat up and looked around. Their bed room was empty, blankets pushed aside beside him, a throw tossed over him and a pillow under his head but no Elizabeth. He slipped out of bed and moved out into the hallway, the door already partially open when he saw Elise there.

"She's in there."

He realized the RN was waiting her turn to the bathroom, Peter nodding back at her with a relieved expression he thought as she smiled back. He felt pretty groggy still despite the sleep, moving over to the guest room to see how his partner was doing. Another RN was just coming out of there as he nodded to them, the young man leaving the door open for him but holding up a finger for quiet as he left. Peter nodded back, entering the room as quietly as he could. Neal was still resting, IV stuck in his arm as the con lay there curled up on his side and looking very boyish. He moved a bit closer and suddenly found himself staring at two sleepy looking blue eyes, the color still a bit pale but looking more like the usual bright hue he had become used to.

"Why are you tip toeing in here, Peter?"

Neal's voice was raspy, a hint of grogginess in it but he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the agent curiously, a yawn stretching his mouth as he reached up to cover it. Peter sat down at the chair the RN had been occupying and shrugged.

"They said you were sleeping. Just woke up myself. How are you feeling?"

He reached over and felt his partner's forehead. It was cooler with only a hint of fever still evident. The younger man's features were less pale than they had been if nothing else. Neal blinked back at him with a sleepy nod.

"Better... for once no dreams. How about you?"

There was that hint of knowledge, something the younger man wanted to tell him evident. He had been trying to avoid this but soon it wouldn't be.

"Nothing to remark on. You hungry?"

Neal nodded back at his comment, Peter smiling.

"I was just going to check on El and then go down for something, maybe some coffee although I think you might do better with juice or water."

Neal stuck his tongue out at him but they both chuckled slightly. It was good to be relaxed for once with all the past excitement now gone they hoped.

"Sounds like a plan, Peter. Maybe some eggs Benedict or a Spanish omelet."

Neal was being precocious now, smirking up at him as he reached over and mussed the con's hair and stood.

"Probably more likely oatmeal. El has plenty of it in the house and the doctor wouldn't want us to get sick again. I'll sneak something good up if I can."

Peter winked at his friend, Neal smiling tiredly back as he left the room. He had barely closed the door when he felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Elizabeth there.

"Hey hun... is Neal ok?"

He was surprised to see her, hugging her gently, the IV pole by her side as was Elise. He nodded back, a smile brightening her face. She still looked tired but the illness was leaving them all, the curse lifting he thought if such a thing existed.

"Good. I was going to see about food. Elise said she would bring us something up."

Elizabeth smiled, the nurse nodding as she motioned for them to get comfortable in their room and she would return shortly. Peter led his wife back to their bedroom, helping her get comfy before excusing himself briefly to use the bathroom. He returned, sitting next to her on the bed as they chatted and talked about everything.

"Is he going to be in trouble, hun?"

It was obvious she knew Neal was involved, what little they knew of the artifact he had hinted the con might know something. Peter could only shrug.

"I haven't discussed it with him yet and so far it seems he's not directly a suspect. Nobody knows anything but me, El. I won't bring it up if I don't have to."

She nodded at his comment, smiling but still looking a bit wan and tired. They had all been lucky to get over the worse of this and Peter was happy to have his wife healthy and well again.

"Don't let it go too long, hun. These things have a way of coming back to haunt people. I don't want anything bad to happen."

()()()

A month later:

Peter told Reese what he needed with regards to the case, nobody suspecting Neal had anything to do with the original theft. Angelos' testimony while he had been alive had been admitted into evidence but without the curator to give actual witness accounting, it was hard to bring a case to jury. At the most they were able to placate Agent Tanner and OPR who were now bringing filings against the Greek Embassy who reluctantly decided to talk to the FBI. Gravan had vanished like a ghost, nothing to indicate where he went or was. The man had just disappeared and maybe that was for the best now. At the very least there was nothing to indict Neal in any of the evidence and Peter was glad for it. He had never gotten back with Neal on the story the young man had wanted to tell him so badly. It seemed he was almost clueless on the idea of it but he figured Neal would talk to him when he had the chance. Right now everyone was happy, healthy and home. That's what counted.

Neal was back at work finally but he looked tired more often than not. It wasn't nightmares keeping him awake at night but after effects of the toxins. While everyone else seemed to heal up, Neal had continued to be plagued with weakness and an almost narcoleptic reaction to stress. He was stuck at the desk until Hughes and Peter himself thought he would be healthy enough to go back to work in the field.

"Neal..."

Peter moved a bit closer, nudging his partner but Neal didn't react right away. Finally the young man snapped out of his semi-catatonic state and glanced up at him. He had been reading a file but his eyes looked to be staring blankly ahead, the agent worried.

"Peter... did you need something?"

Neal seemed unaware he had passed out or was hiding it well as the agent nodded, pointing at his office.

"My office... now."

()()()

Neal felt the last month had been a blur. Much as he had healed, the fever finally leaving him, he had been anything but himself as he practically slept through the first week after everything at June's then slowly started to come back to the world of the living. It was two weeks before they took off the guards on everyone although there was still a sense of alertness even with Gravan being out of the picture and gone, there was that idea the man could return. Life went on though, Mozzie following Neal around and being the bearer of bad news when, three weeks after the incident had more or less been settled, he found he was having blackouts. Neal really didn't know what was going on, losing time, but Mozzie had come to play chess with him one afternoon and suddenly the game was over and he didn't remember even playing. After some discussion, they had sworn not to tell Peter right away to figure things out. It would have stayed quiet except that Elizabeth had come over for a visit and he had a fit while she was there, his partner's wife more than worried why he had fallen into some kind of "catatonic" state while they lunched on the terrace. He couldn't hide it from Peter anymore. It wasn't a great discussion but in the end it was decided Neal would be kept behind the desk with no undercover or field work for him until they figured out what was wrong. It had taken a bit of convincing for Peter to just let him back to the office in general, but Neal needed this. They didn't tell Diana or Jones but it was obvious they figured things out quickly once he started to have a spell at work during meetings or just sitting at his desk. It was out in the public now.

He nodded up at Peter, not remembering how 2 hours had passed so quickly when he had just sat down it seemed to read this case file. It wasn't boredom although in the past he could have joked of such things. His mind had worked on the case, he had written notes but his conscious mind remembered little of what he had done as he glanced down at the evidence. Most times he just stared into space when he didn't work in his sleep. Peter looked worried at best and he wasn't looking forward to this chat. Dr. Manus and Argas were both working on why these fits of his were happening at all, his blood work coming up clean of anything obvious. Nothing they'd given him had worked yet and no physical reason was found. It was a mystery but at the moment all Neal could think of was that he really wanted some coffee.

Neal made his way up after his partner, grabbing his jacket and following Peter to the second level. Peter motioned for him to enter the office first, closing and locking the door as he closed the shades and sighed. This wasn't easy for either one to talk about and harder for Peter.

"How is that Atkins-Howell case coming along, Neal?"

Peter was asking as a professional but he sensed another more personal query within. The agent wanted to know how he was but was masking it with a business question. Neal sat down and did what he could to play along.

"Good. You saw my notes..."

He had no idea what he had written. Mozzie had noted he was working the chess board but had obviously been asleep and playing, eyes open but unaware of his actions. His friend had been creeped out a bit but also fascinated that Neal was operating without being conscious (and still beating him), looking for an answer of his own making as they tried to solve the why of it. He watched Peter nod, rubbing at his chin before sitting down himself and giving another sigh. This was going to be awkward at best, Neal already wishing he'd pass out so he could avoid it.

"Yes but do you know what you wrote, Neal. Are you conscious at all of the fact you're working in your sleep, literally."

Peter didn't pull any punches, going for the jugular. Not like him after everything that happened. His friend had been rather quiet, letting him be but lately there was that big brother / fatherly vibe coming from him that popped out every now and again. Neal appreciated the effort but it made him slightly uncomfortable getting that personal. Mozzie must have been talking with Elizabeth and she told Peter. He gave his own sigh without grumbling.

"I'm fine, Peter. Dr. Manus and Argas are working on it. I'm just a little tired..."

He had barely said that when Peter shook his head and held up a hand.

"I know what they said. Everyone's worried about you, Neal. I just... want to be sure you know you can talk to me if you need to."

Peter was definitely being more proactive than usual, a worried sound to his friend's voice. Neal didn't want to bother anyone so he just nodded back with his usual smile, standing up.

"I will if it comes up. Thanks, Peter. Can I go back to work now?"

Neal was getting ready to go back to his desk but Peter was suddenly up, grabbing his own jacket and shaking his head.

"Yes but we're going to take the files to June's and work on them there. Get your stuff."

()()()

It was a long walk to the bureau garage, Neal dreading having Peter watching him like some kind of specimen. He had given up arguing maybe because he knew the agent had a point but he just hated admitting there was a problem, one he didn't want to deal with. He was just tired, his mind seeing that cavern suddenly, the tunnel he had run away from Kios in. The darkness that had almost become his tomb. She had been there and then...

There was a click of a gun being cocked, Neal glancing up tiredly to see Peter looking at him worriedly, two large men behind them. Neal knew who they were, something about them familiar but for now he saw that look on Peter's face: Don't do anything stupid. He was too tired to think straight so he just let the men lead them along, everyone casual to avoid further casualties as they were taken behind a large pillar and cuffed, a waiting van already there. The files were abandoned on the ground, both pushed into the rear of the vehicle at gunpoint, Peter looking calm but for the hint of worry in his eyes. Once they had been secured and the men left them alone, Neal felt a nudge, looking over at his friend curiously. His mind felt tired as he started to fade into the mental fog again.

"Neal... snap out of it! Come on buddy..."

He wasn't sure what the agent meant, a tired feeling falling over him as he curled up on the van floor. Someone hovered nearby, nudging him but he was too tired to respond.

"Neal... Neal!"

It seemed as if the voice had just suddenly been cut off, Neal waking up to silence. He didn't understand what had happened, something odd about the transition. Had he blacked out again? Neal sat up, rubbing his head and looking around to find he was alone, the room he was in unfamiliar at best as he tried to remember what happened. His arms were free, a few scrapes and bruises evident that he hadn't had before but he was alone in what looked to be an old warehouse shed. He shook his head, trying to recall what was going on when he heard voices.

"He couldn't have gone far in his state."

Neal held his breath, the men passing close to his location but not opening it up as they rushed past. Once it was silent again he stood, legs a bit shaky. Whatever was still bothering him was keeping his mind and body under enough duress he was doing things in his sleep. Could he be poisoned again? Nobody else was being affected though. He tried to think as he quietly pulled the door open and peered around. The coast was clear as he shuffled over towards another building nearby and slipped inside. It was a huge empty warehouse, the roof full of holes and the walls barely held up from the looks of it.

"You shouldn't be here."

He turned, that voice making him freeze as he saw her there. She wasn't wearing the usual black dress but it was the woman he had seen so many times in his nightmares and feverish delirium. She was sitting but something was wrong with the image. She looked less cold or conniving as his past experience remembered, dressed in black jeans and a tan button up shirt. In fact, she looked like the woman from his dreams when he had been sick in Greece only older.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

She blinked back at him confused, her arms behind her as she sat which made the scene more curious to him. That's when he heard the quiet clink of metal and realized she was cuffed to the chair. Why was she bound when she was behind this curse? Neal was still waking from his stupor but his mind was slow to react to what it was seeing. He moved a bit closer but she stopped him with her eyes.

"There are traps everywhere. Don't worry about me. I'm sorry it had to be this way. My son... he always took after my first husband. His real father was head of a cartel. I ran off to change our lives but he would always find us so I had him placed in the care of friends, disappeared. It changed nothing..."

She sounded less than bitter but there was definite hurt there as she smiled at him and he realized she had been that woman who helped him. She had been watching over her son without him knowing her yet she had helped him. Why? Neal moved a little closer despite her warning, eyes glancing around for guards and traps until he saw the trip wire and nodded. He could easily disarm the device but would his body let him? He had to be conscious and steady of hand.

"You helped me. Why?"

Neal gave the device a look over for a moment before finally doing what he could to keep it active and still free her. He found a hair pin in her dark wavy tresses and borrowed it with her permission.

"I could see, unlike Kios, you had some sense. I had watched how you two worked together. While he would easily toss you aside and never look back, you actually cared about your partnership. I couldn't let you be another of his victims. He knew me as a friend but not his mother. She was dead, or so he had been told..."

Neal listened, the woman's voice gentle despite the memory of the phantom he had created from her image. It only took a few minutes and she was free, the cuffs removed from her thin wrists as he helped her from the chair. She looked grateful but wary, her eyes scanning his a moment.

"He's still poisoning you. I can see it in your eyes. I have the antidote if you come with me. I know where your friend is but he is well guarded."

She seemed honest but he wasn't sure how much to trust her with what he had seen over the past month or so. Maybe it was a trap...

"I have no allegiance to my son, Mr. Caffrey. We were dead to each other long ago. That is why he never found the statues and never will. They are well hidden even more so than you meant them to be. Trust me."

That made him stop, looking at her more curiously.

"You know where they are?"

His mind started to go back to that day, memory flashing before him as he dropped the item to swim and save his life. He had washed up on the broken stone floor of another part of the same tunnel, cold and shivering. Someone was there but they left before he woke, only a hint of a feminine shape in the dimly lit space before he woke up alone. He had made it to the exit and that's when Kios' men found him again. She had been there. He saw her dark eyes, an almost midnight blue flash back at him knowingly.

"I was there but you were still heavily drugged. I figured the time was not right to help you. I thought you might still get away."

Her voice was soft, low and quiet as she helped him as he swayed on his feet. The memory had overpowered him more than he thought it would.

"Thank you... Ms. Katsivales."

She smiled back at him as she helped him across the room to what looked like a temporary camp. She sat him in a chair and dug around until a small messenger bag was pulled from a drawer and she sighed in relief. She dug around before something shiny appeared in her hands and she turned to give it to him.

"Drink this. You'll feel better. And you can call me Mina."

He nodded, glancing at the bottle now in his hand. It was a small glass vial, fancy in its own manner and filled with a light amber fluid. He pulled the stopper out and sniffed at it but there was no obvious scent to be had.

"Drink it... It will help, Anatole."

Neal heard her call him that old alias and the memory of how she had helped him came back vividly as he nodded and pushed the vial to his lips and drank. The liquid was cool and nearly tasteless like water but for a hint of something he could only describe as citrus in flavor. He wiped his lips when he was done, leaning back in the chair sleepily as she took the vial back and patted him on the shoulder.

"Give it a moment to work. He's used this same cocktail in the past. Have you a local watering hole?"

Neal wasn't sure what she meant until she shrugged, looking to find the right words.

"Do you go to the same place for a drink everyday?"

His brain was still a bit fuzzy but the liquid seemed to make him feel lighter than he had been, cognition finally catching up to her query.

"Yeah, coffee shop during lunch. Why?"

She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"I would send your friends to look into the baristas. Someone is in the pay of my son more than likely to poison you. He can be very... persuasive when he wants to be."

They sat there a moment, his mind trying to grasp everything as he felt a bit more awake than he had. Her hand remained on his shoulder like a gentle reminder, something that made him think of his own mother when he felt her squeeze a bit more tightly and that's when he heard it.

"She's gone! They can't have walked too far. Check the perimeter."

They were both quiet, unmoving as the footsteps moved past noisily but luckily did not enter the office. Gravan had been speaking, other voices his goons as they talked on their radios and went in search of them. Neal gazed around for an escape and saw a hole in the wall. He reached up slowly, gently grasping Mina's wrist in his hand and pointed at it. She nodded, both waiting for a moment they could get up without making noise.

"Such an easy mark and they let him and that woman escape under their noses. Morons!"

His voice was getting closer, her eyes gazing at him curiously as he motioned for her to move. She nodded, stepping over debris and leaving her bag behind as they quietly made for the gap in the wall.

"Is the agent still conscious? Good. I want to be there when he realizes it's his last moments. Caffrey may have gotten away but I can still make good on my threats."

Neal hesitated, Mina turning back to glance at him with a shake of her head but he wanted to help Peter. This was his fight. He helped her through, writing something quickly on paper and passing it through before blocking the only exit out. She could call Jones, the number he had passed the agent's cell. He had to stay and help Peter no matter what it meant could happen to him. He wouldn't leave him behind.

"Yes. I want him alive just a bit longer. Stave the bleeding while you can until I can finish him off."

Kios laughed, Neal feeling anger beyond anything he had felt before as he crept over to the office door and peeked out. The man didn't see him yet, cell pushed to his ear with one gloved hand. Neal glanced around and saw Mina's purse and something he could use as he grabbed it up and moved back to the door.

"I won't be made a fool of. Angelos is dead and soon will be those that could give any accounting to what I did. Caffrey won't have a soul to depend on after I'm through with him."

He watched the man he had been betrayed by walk past the office as he pulled out the item and clicked it loudly. Kios stopped, no longer the cool snotty diplomat he had been for so long but his old unsavory self. Green eyes glared at him with a hint of smile.

"Anatole... I see you got free. Not a mistake I meant to make but you know how hard it is to find good help these days."

Neal felt a growl erupt from him but he held the gun steady, something else in his free hand. He tossed it at the man's feet and watched those green eyes turn downward to see what it was. The small glass vial tinkled softly as it rolled towards Kios' feet.

"She told me what you did. Don't think you won't get away once the FBI comes looking for us."

Neal narrowed his eyes at the man, anger filling him as he thought about what was being done to Peter. Kios must have read his mind.

"Your friend is suffering for your sins, Neal. I can call you that can't I? We are on a first name basis despite our past differences... Can you really let him take responsibility for your crimes?"

Kios was playing at his sympathies but he held back despite wanting to punch the man in the face. He continued to smile as if he held all the cards and in a way he did but Neal had a gun.

"Take me to Peter, Gravan."

He held the gun steady but the man didn't budge, that smirk staring back at him coldly as he crossed his arms over his chest in a relaxed manner.

"Or what, you'll shoot me? Really, Neal... Then your friend is dead regardless. If I don't show up they will just do what they want with the agent. He's nothing to my men but an enemy."

Kios started to step back a bit but Neal moved forward and he stopped.

"If you were to give yourself up, I might send the agent back to his wife with some life left in him. He'd be worse for wear but she would still have her husband. You don't want your friends to suffer more... do you?"

The man kept smiling at him, green eyes glittering coldly back. The man had no qualms killing Peter and the fact that Elizabeth was mentioned made him hesitate. Kios had him where he wanted him.

"Fine... but I won't give this up until I know Peter is safe."

He kept the gun steady on his former captor and partner, Gravan nodding.

"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less. Shall we?"

()()()

Peter didn't know how Neal did it. The young man had been out of it, in that state of near unconsciousness, blue eyes staring blankly ahead when they were taken inside. It just proved that his friend's boast was correct: he could escape from nearly anything at any time. They had attempted to drag the young man out of the van once it had been driven inside the warehouse but he was so limp they left him there. Peter was more than alert but worried for the con as they reached for the agent and pulled him away. Neal was mumbling something, Peter trying to hear when he saw that his friend was free, cuffs removed but no expression from the younger man as he continued to lay there as if he were still bound. Peter didn't say anything but to call his friend's name quietly.

"Neal?"

His friend didn't respond to his words, the men pushing a rag into his mouth as he was taken away.

It was hours later he was glad when he heard Neal was gone when they went back for him. Peter was beaten, bleeding and hurting but Neal was free or so he hoped. How far would his friend get in his current state. They had disabled his anklet, something he had suspected when they'd taken him the first time. Kios aka Gravan stood before him at some point, those green eyes glittering down at him.

"Your friend is quite the Houdini. It's a shame you weren't as clever, Agent Burke."

Someone hit him hard across the chin, his hair pulled back as a knife pressed against his jugular from behind.

"All it takes is one little cut and your life is over, Agent. Your death will be revenge enough for now against your hired thief. That is... all he's good at."

Kios face was close to his, nose to nose but he just glared up at his captor without fear until the former Ambassador moved aside and sighed.

"Keep him alive a bit longer. I feel we may find our thief somewhere nearby. He's loyal if nothing else."

He watched Gravan leave, the hand holding his hair back letting go enough to let his head slump forward onto his chest. Peter was beat, literally. Blood dripped down his face from his nose and possibly two split lips from what it felt like. He breathed hard, rags stuffed in his mouth and a bandana tied around gagging him effectively. He swallowed as much as he could but the rags were in the way making him cough more, the goons talking around him in a low murmur. Blood rushed through his ears masking most of their words as he caught a phrase here and there and maybe them laughing about something. He was too out of it to get much more than a gist of their words as he lay in a semi-conscious state.

"Boss found him. This might get to be more fun."

How much time had passed? Peter was coming too again, a hand grasping the back of his neck tightly as he heard footsteps approach. His eyes opened and he saw two blue ones staring back at him more alert than they had been.

Neal?

He thought he might be dreaming, Gravan in front of the con and then he saw why, eyes blinking in surprise. Neal had a gun.

"Free him."

Gravan spoke cooly, Peter uncertain what was going on as he felt himself freed of the cuffs around his wrists and lifted up with a muffled groan from his gagged lips. He felt one of the man holding him place a large hand against the back of his neck. It wasn't a pleasant feeling and something told him it wasn't meant to be.

"I want to be sure he's free before I agree to anything, Gravan."

The diplomat sighed, nodding slightly as he made a motion to the two goons holding him.

"As you wish."

He felt the grip on his neck grow tighter and thought he felt a crack of his spine. The man was going to break his neck and Neal none the wiser. He struggled despite his weakness, making as much noise as he could but the man held him firm. Neal wouldn't know what had happened if he didn't bring his attention to the situation.

"mmmph!"

Neal glanced at him then those blue eyes seemed to understand as he turned to moved towards the two men and the agent. It was too late as Gravan reached down for something and hit the con across the back of the head, stunning him. The man stopped trying to break his neck for a moment, Gravan getting the gun and holding on Neal.

"Get rid of... him, then come back here."

Neal felt his arms held tightly between the two men as they carried him away, his eyes watching as Neal moved slightly but remained prone on the ground. Gravan held the gun and he thought he heard it cocked as he was pulled from the room and out of sight.

oOoOoOo

Author's Note: AAAAAH! I thought I had this finished and stupid evil muse throws this crap in. Yes... maybe one more chapter. We can only hope Ms. Katsivales is as nice as she seemed to be and called the cavalry. Another chapter soon to come!