Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar, Neal, or any of the other characters (sadly).
Chapter 9
Peter stood immediately, recognizing the doctor he'd met before. It was the same one that had taken care of Alex a few days ago. When Doctor Verret realized that it was the same FBI agent as the one he'd talked with the other day, he didn't look all together surprised. The paramedics had said something about this having to do with the FBI, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to think it had something to due with Alex Hunter as well. "Agent Burke, I wondered if I would be hearing from you again." He said, shaking Peter's hand.
"How's Neal?" He asked, going straight to business.
"Are you sure this isn't a conversation you'd rather have in private?" He asked with a slight glance at Elizabeth.
"She's fine." Peter said quickly. The doctor seemed a bit uneasy to begin the conversation, and he suspected it had little to do with El being there.
"Let me start by saying he's very fortunate he's survived as long as he has with injuries as bad as his. Left without medical attention much longer they certainly would've killed him. Even now, there is a chance that he may never fully recover. He's suffered massive blood loss, internal bleeding and injury, several broken ribs, third degree burns, severe trauma to the left shoulder, broken back which opens the possibility of spinal damage. Right now, he's in a medically induced coma. It's the best thing for him so that his body can begin to heal itself. We won't know much till he wakes. We'll begin weening him off the drugs tomorrow morning. After that, it's up to him to wake up when he's ready. But, with patients who's injuries are this severe, there's always a chance that they might not wake up." He said gently.
Peter and El were left in a stunned silence by the explanation given by the doctor. Peter had known the kid was bad off, but hearing the full explanation of Neal injuries had terrified him even more. It was El who finally spoke. "Can we see him?" She asked in a quiet voice.
"Yes, but be warned, Mr. Caffrey is on a ventilator and several other machines. To some people, it's overwhelming to see a friend like that, but the thing to remember is that they're all there to help him." He warned her. El merely nodded. "I'll have Melinda show you to his room. Melinda." He called the last bit to the nurse, who was at the desk a little ways away. She immediately came over. "Please show Mrs. Burke to Mr. Caffrey's room." Melinda nodded and signaled for El to follow her. Peter was about to follow as well when Dr. Verret stopped him. "I'd like to have a private word with you, Agent Burke. It won't take long." He said pointedly.
Peter thought he knew what it was about, and figured now was as good a time as any to get it out of the way. "Of course, I'll be there in a bit El." He said with an encouraging nod. El hesitated slightly then followed Melinda to Neal's room. Dr. Verret waited till he was sure the two women were out of ear shot before speaking.
"Agent Burke, if I didn't know better I would say that Mr. Caffrey's injuries look a hell of a lot like torture." He said in a low voice, even though they were completely alone.
"Doctor, you know I can't elaborate on the circumstances. But off the record, yes, he was tortured." There was no point in him refusing the doctor the truth. It was no more than he could have (and had) guessed from his injuries already. Besides, the more he knew the more he would be able to help Neal, right? The doctor nodded.
"And I suppose you'll be posting a guard outside his room as well?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." He said simply, to which the doctor nodded again.
"If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask. Here's my card. I'll take you to his room and leave you and your wife in peace. I'll be by to check on him later." He said, returning to his business like manner again.
The trip to Neal's room was spent in amiable silence. When they reached the door, the men shook hands and the doctor walked away, leaving Peter alone. He was afraid to open the door, as he had been hours before. He wasn't sure he could handle seeing him in that state again. He took a deep breath, knowing that El was going to be in there this time so he wouldn't be facing this alone. He put his hand on the door knob and turned. He peeked his head in tentatively to see El sitting by the bed where Neal was, as the doctor had said, unconscious.
He wasn't sure if Neal was better or worse than the last time he'd seen him. He wasn't covered in blood and grime, which was a definite improvement, and many of his injuries were covered by the blanket that was tucked in around his waist. The doctor had been right though, the number of tubes and IV's sticking out of Neal made Peter want to go and rip every one of them out. The tubes looked like they sucking the life out of him not putting it back in him. They only made the con man seem more vulnerable and small, things he normally never was.
He was deathly pale, just as he had been at the house, despite the blood transfusions they'd undoubtedly given him. The gash on his face had been cleaned and gauze had been put over it. His shoulder was very heavily bandaged and wrapped. Between the bullet wound and having all of his weight hanging on the already weakened shoulder, it must've been in terrible condition. His wrists were totally raw from where the ropes had dug into them. Deep purple bruising scarred his normally handsome face. He was barely recognizable as the charming young man he remembered.
El turned abruptly when she heard he door open, and sighed in relief when she saw it was Peter. Her face quickly returned to a mask of worry as she caught his expression. She looked like she was trying to offer him some words of comfort but couldn't find any. Peter moved silently over to her and sat in the accompanying chair. He put an arm around her and she leaned her head onto his shoulder.
She hadn't even seen the worst of his injuries, the bruising and the burns and the horrible flatness of his chest, which were thankfully covered up by the blanket and the thin dressing gown he was wearing. He would hate wearing that thing. With his usual impeccable choice in clothes he would probably throw a fit about being dressed in something so unbecoming. They both stayed silent for a long time. When he next looked down at her she had tears in her eyes.
"What did they do to him?" She asked in a tiny whisper. It was a rhetorical question, but it pulled at something in the back of Peter's mind. He had a way of finding out exactly what they'd done to him. He was just absolutely terrified of what he'd find. After seeing what the aftermath looked like, he wasn't sure he could handle seeing it done. A part of him, the Agent part, wanted to see it just so he knew, and so he'd have more to put this bastard away with. But another part of him wanted to throw it off a cliff so that no one could see it. That was what Rayllin had wanted to do with it, the only reason he'd taped it at all. Give it to the FBI. To shove it in their face, to show that he'd one upped them and settled an old score in one blow. It made him sick to think what he'd find on the tape.
"I know, sweetie." He whispered quietly. They didn't seem comforting but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He couldn't tell her it would be all right, because he didn't know that he would be. He couldn't tell her it wasn't as bad as it looked, because in reality it was a hell of a lot worse than it looked. He couldn't tell her anything even remotely optimistic about their situation. "I know."
None of Neal's long lost family stopped by, to no one's surprise, but he still had several visitors. Peter and El were there almost twenty-four seven. Jones and Dianna had stopped by a few times as well. Even Mozzie had come to see Neal, much to Peter's surprise, especially after the conspiracy rant he'd heard the last time Peter had asked him if he was going to come to visit Alex. Peter had underestimated how good friends the two were though. Seeing and being there for Neal was apparently worth the risk of mind controlling x-rays and tracking chips. He still wore a phony disguise, and nearly got booted out by security for it, but Peter intervened before there was too much of an incident.
Three days later Alex was released from the hospital. She had visited Neal several times after he'd been admitted, but his condition hadn't changed the entire time he'd been there. She had been understandably upset to see him like that. El had ended up going in and comforting her. The two had become close over the past week, much to Peter's surprise. But his wife had that way with people. He doubted Alex would be gossiping about things she'd fenced and heists she'd pulled with El, but they had a mutual respect for each other. She pulled Peter aside when she was checking out of the hospital. She was wearing the clothes that Mozzie had given her via El. He didn't know where Moz had gotten any of Alex's things, he wouldn't be surprised if he knew where her hide outs were. She wasn't wearing high heals, and she was dressed in jeans, much more casual than he'd ever seen her before. Even so, she still managed to emit that easy elegance that Neal always managed to put forth. Other than walking a bit more gently instead of strutting, you wouldn't be able to guess she'd been shot less than a week before.
"We could put you in a safe house. A lot of Rayllin's crew is out there still, as well as Larson." He said, though he already knew she'd turn it down.
"Hm, add it to the list of people after me already. I know how to take care of myself Agent Burke. Besides, a lot happens in a week. I've got plenty of things to catch up on. But." She said, pulling a little note pad and pen out of her purse. "If anything at all happens with Neal, call me. I'll answer it." She said, giving him the slip of paper with a phone number on it.
He couldn't pretend he wasn't a bit surprised, but people did things they normally never would for people they cared about. "Where are you going?"
"Oh, I'll be around. There are plenty of business opportunities in New York, so I'll be near by if anything happens." She said with a little smile.
"Look out for yourself, Alex." He said, shaking her hand.
"Always do. Look out for Neal, Peter." She said. She moved over to where El was looking a little worriedly at the pair. The two hugged, and Peter could see that El had that worried mother look in her eyes.
"You know you can still stay with us. You should still be resting."
"No, I wouldn't want to intrude. Besides, I've got some business to catch up on. Just make sure you call me if anything happens, okay? I'll be around." She said cryptically. El sighed, but it seemed like she was expecting that answer anyway.
"Be careful." She begged.
"I will. Thank you for everything, Elizabeth." She said genuinely.
"Don't mention it." With one final smile to El, Alex walked out of the hospital. Peter walked over to his wife.
"You offered to let her stay with us?" He asked more than a bit shocked.
"You should've seen how upset she was. I don't know if she should be alone right now." She said worriedly.
"She'll be fine, El." He said. He didn't doubt his words either. He didn't she'd be getting into too much trouble, at least for a little while, and he had confidence the girl would be able to take care of herself till this blew over. "I've got to go into the office for a bit. I won't be long. I'll see you later, okay?" He said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Okay. Love you." She said with a sad little smile, before heading back up to Neal's room.
Peter hadn't been back in to work since they'd recovered Neal. Hughes had given him and his team a few days off, but there were still things to be done there. One thing was for sure, Rayllin was definitely going away a very long time for this. None of his high powered friends could help him now. There was plenty of paper work left for him to fill out, but he wasn't thinking about any of that, he was thinking about only one thing: the tape. He didn't want to watch it, but he felt like he owed it to Neal. If he could handle living through it, couldn't Peter handle watching it? Or at least, that's what he kept telling himself...
AN: I always thought it would be adorable if El and Alex became friends, the way she and Mozzie do. Btw, I'm horrible at writing medical stuff (even though I love reading it), so if it sucks or I get something wrong I apologize now. Huge thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. Questions, comments, concerns, cries of outrage, you know where to put them. Please review. :)
