When El was told Peter and Neal were at the hospital, she and Mozzie couldn't get out the door fast enough. The agents there insisted on driving her, but she was certain she couldn't wait long enough for someone who was driving the speed limit to get them there. There may have been a few illegal turns, and a few red lights may have been run; by the time they arrived, Mozzie was clinging to the side of his seat just to keep from being tossed around. Nevertheless, they both made it to the hospital alive—and in record time, too. She practically jumped out of the car, not bothering to check and see if Mozzie was still behind her. Her heart was pounding, her hands shaking. She just needed to see him. To know he was alright… Peter. His face was bloody, and he looked utterly exhausted. But he was alright. Physically, he seemed just fine.
El attempted to say his name, but instead only a shaky breath of relief came out, and she could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Seconds after he spotted her, she was being scooped up into his arms. "El. Oh, god. El, you're alright." Peter sounded like he might start crying, too.
"Me? I wasn't the one in danger, Peter. You—"
"Keller. Keller said he—El, that's not what matters. You're not hurt, are you?"
El couldn't make herself do much more than shake her head. She couldn't find anymore words right now. Not that it mattered. Peter was *here, and he was safe.
"Glad to see Mister and Misses Suit reunited."
El turned to glance back at Mozzie, allowing herself a weak laugh. "Mozzie, would you like to see Neal?" Where was Neal? Turning to glance back at Peter, she was surprised to see he wasn't meeting her eyes. "Peter? Where is he?"
"He's, uh. In the back. They're examining him, I think."
"Can we go see him?" El asked. She knew Mozzie was waiting to ask the same thing, but probably wasn't going to care whether he was told yes or no. He'd go find Neal with or without their help, she was certain.
"I think so." Neal had said he wanted Peter to come back there later on, hadn't he? He could just keep his distance. If he needed to, he could leave. He just wanted to show him it was alright. That he could be in the room and not hurt him. He could hear El and Mozzie talking as they walked down the hallway, peeking into each room to see if it was Neal's. He didn't hear much of what they were saying. All he really noticed was that El's hands still clung to his arm. He'd noticed if she let go. Why hadn't they asked a nurse where Neal was? Had they?
Then Mozzie opened a door, and there was Diana. There was Neal. Peter didn't say anything as they walked in. He was afraid to. He looked away as Mozzie went to embrace Neal, who leaned against the examination table. He noticed that El looked up at him, and Diana decided to check her phone at the same moment. Somehow, it seemed appropriate in that moment to allow the two a little privacy. Peter didn't miss how Neal's hands went back into his pockets as soon as Mozzie stepped back, however. By the look on Mozzie's face, neither had he, but he seemed know he should leave it alone for now.
"Peter?" Neal's voice broke the silence.
Peter stared at him, noticing how Neal's eyes met his, and then darted away, again and again. What could he say? I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, I didn't mean to. Don't be afraid of me, please. You're my partner. You're my friend; my best friend. I hate myself for what I did to you, please don't hate me, too. It took Elizabeth tugging on his arm for him to realize that he hadn't actually responded at all.
"Yea, Neal?" He cleared his throat afterwards. That hadn't come out quite as clear as he'd hoped.
"Peter, do you think I could talk to you? Alone?"
Well, that hadn't been what he was expecting. Maybe just the opposite—he'd half expected Neal to ask him to leave.
"Well—I'm not leaving until I know Neal is safe." Mozzie announced, folding his arms. "I don't know what you two were put through, but its quite possible that either one of you—or both of you are not in your right mind now. So I'll be staying, thank you very much."
"Mozzie…" Peter saw Neal start to smile. Oh, he smiled! That had to be a good sign!
"Mozzie, come on." El went to take his hand, though she herself was quite reluctant to leave Peter, even just to go in the hall. "Lets go see if we can get some snacks from the vending machine for Peter and Neal."
Diana stood, going to follow the two. "I'm gonna go catch up with Jones." She winked at Neal as she headed out, giving him a smile. She was sure the two of them needed this. It would be good for them, surely. They needed some time—at least a little—alone. They needed to talk through—well, whatever had happened.
When the door closed behind them, Peter distanced himself a bit more, doing his best to show Neal he wasn't a threat. That aching feeling in his chest had returned, and he was starting to find it difficult to come up with something appropriate to say. What he wanted, more than anything, was to show Neal how he wasn't going to hurt him. Not ever—ever again. But what was the best way to do that? Thankfully, Neal spoke first. Peter did his best to hide the surprise on his face.
"I didn't tell Diana. I didn't tell her about what happened, and… and the nurse doesn't know either. I didn't lie, though. I don't want you to think—"
"No, stop." Peter took a step towards him and Neal glanced up, but made no move to distance himself. "I'm not going to—Neal, that was all a show. Every last bit of it. Keller—he was going to hurt El. That's the only—the only reason—"
Neal was picking at one of his fingernails, his head down again. "You didn't get any relief out of it? Not at all?" He was pushing Peter. He was pushing him, and he knew he was. It was a bad idea, after what they'd just been through. If Peter was going to lash out from stress, it would be now. Logic told him that, but he had to know. He had to. Peter wasn't a bad man, but back there… that had been a side of Peter Neal had never seen. If it had been anyone else, he wasn't sure he'd be so shaken over it. But Peter—no. Peter was gentle, Peter was rational, Peter was—well, he was Peter. There wasn't a single part of Neal that hated Peter for what he'd done, but that didn't mean it didn't startle him.
What Peter had done had been to protect Elizabeth. You know that! But the other part of his brain—the part that also reminded him from time to time that he should still be in prison—that he belonged there—also told him that Peter wanted to beat some obedience into him, and Keller had given him the perfect opportunity to do just that. It told him that he deserved it, too.
And why—what was it with the belt? Something about it made Neal feel like—like crying, like begging not to be hit. Like a little boy. No, that was nonsense. That was his brain playing tricks on him, wasn't it?
"Not at all." Peter answered him, and when Neal looked up, Peter was waiting to meet his gaze. "I hated every single minute of it, Neal. I can honestly tell you that. And I hate—I hate myself for what I did. I do. But you have to understand, I had to protect El. There was absolutely no question about that."
"I know you did. I would've done the same thing, Peter. Honest."
Peter let out a small breath of relief at that. He didn't dare push his luck, however. He leaned back against the wall, putting his hands in his pockets. "You can sit down." He'd tried not to notice the way Neal had avoided the table and the chairs since they'd been there, but he was starting to realize how exhausted Neal must be. He felt like falling asleep standing up, he could only imagine how Neal friend felt.
This isn't a test. Stop it. Stop thinking like that. Just because Neal was testing Peter and pushing his limits didn't mean Peter was testing him. If Peter said he could sit down, he could. Right? He just wanted things to go back to how they were before all of this happened. He didn't want to question everything about Peter. Peter was always, always so good to him. He had to admit though, he did push his limits, he did try his patience. Had he finally pushed him over the edge? That was something he'd have to wait and find out…
Omg okay, so I finally got to Mozzie and El and I'm quite happy about it because I adore them. I do hope you all are enjoying this, please continue with the feedback! You guys are the reason I keep on writing!