Peter dropped a file onto Hughes' desk, grinning at him like a kid on Christmas day. "Finished this. You can thank Caffrey for that." He glanced out into the bullpen where Neal was sitting at his desk, fiddling with a pencil while looking at something on the computer screen. "He pretty much solved this one on his own. I was just supervising."

Hughes gave Peter a look of amusement. "Let me guess: you want him to become an official agent?"

Shrugging, Peter chuckled. "He's pretty good in the field and I'm not saying that because he's my boyfriend. He handles a gun perfectly and he graduated at the top of his class. You saw his records and the recommendations—even the awards."

"I'll see what I can do, Peter, but it's a long-shot considering he's still early in on his probationary period. I need to get a badge made for him. I'll have his picture taken—"

Peter interjected, "I want this to be a surprise for him. He seems to think he isn't qualified to be in the field at times, so I want him to be shocked when the badge is dropped onto his desk. I'll get a headshot for you to put on it."

Hughes was looking at him strangely and Peter felt misplaced all of a sudden. "You really do love him, don't you?" He actually smiled at Peter. He had a feeling that Peter never really wanted to be with Elizabeth—sweet woman that she is—and was warmed by the fact that Peter and Neal could be so happy together. His own wife was in the hospital right now. He would go see her after he got out. The only person who knew about her condition was Peter.

"More than life itself," Peter admitted, his face heating up. "I know we haven't been together very long, but we were friends for a while. It was like dating him without all of the intimacy. He'd hold my hand occasionally, we'd share looks. He cooked for me on several occasions." Peter shook his head, chuckling. "I love El, but Neal… I can't even describe to you how much I love him."

"You two look good together." Peter looked through the glass windows and found himself staring at Neal with a sweet smile on his face. Almost as if on cue, Neal looked up. When he caught Peter's eye and smile, he returned it. "It's your lunch break, Peter. Go take him out. I'll see what I can do about the badge for the moment."

Peter nodded. "Thank you, Reese." He slipped out of Hughes' office and made his way down into the bullpen. Neal was already getting up and grabbing his jacket. "Hey, you."

Neal circled around the desk and rested his hand on Peter's hip, leaning up to kiss him. "Hey yourself."

Peter felt like something was off when Neal kissed him, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. He'd wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and Neal wouldn't be in bed with him, so he'd get up and find Neal sleeping in Nicky's bed. It was disconcerting and made him wonder if he was doing something wrong, something to make Neal uneasy or uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted to do was lose Neal.

Neal took Peter's hand, intertwining their fingers tightly, giving Peter that charming smile he adored. It was strange. He was just thinking about how Neal might not want to be around him, yet that brilliant smile seemed to say otherwise. Deciding to enjoy the moment, he grinned at his young lover, leading him over to the elevator. "We haven't talked much since we got to work," Peter said once the elevator doors slid to a close and they were alone. "How are you doing? Anything new?"

Neal shrugged. "I'm happy." He gave Peter a pointed glance, followed by a teasing smile. "Shoulder started bugging me a bit this morning. I took some painkillers for it though."

Peter's brows furrowed. "You didn't tell me you were hurting." The elevator doors opened and Peter reluctantly led Neal out of them. "Let's go home for lunch, all right?" Neal nodded at that, not willing to argue with Peter on it. They'd walked out of the building silently and were silent for half of the drive home. "Are you keeping things from me?" Peter asked quietly. He didn't want Neal to think he was needlessly angry or upset.

"Why do you ask?" It was a deflection and that bothered Peter. Neal was closing up again and he wanted to know why before Neal lost himself in whatever was on his mind.

"Because we don't talk about you much anymore." He pulled over once they were home, put the car into park, and turned to look at Neal. "When I ask you how your day was, whether you're working on files while I'm in the field or at home because you had the day off, you avoid answering. It's been like that for the last few days."

Neal was staring down at his hands, feeling guiltier than he had before. "When…When I'm ready to talk about it, I promise I will." That wasn't very reassuring on his part, but it was the best he could offer. He would be meeting with Adler again in a few days and he had a feeling he knew how the evening would end. He'd come home late after being fucked by someone he hated with every fiber of his being. He tried to tell himself that it was to protect Nicky, but he was afraid to fight back. Adler intimidated him even after all of this time. It would've been the same if Keller confronted him now. He couldn't handle those situations properly.

They went up into the apartment and Neal suddenly felt as though he was being suffocated. Something was wrong. He could feel it. "Neal?" Peter rested a hand on his shoulder, concerned. Without saying a word, he darted across the room, heading into Nicky's. He felt tears sliding down his cheeks, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. This was a threat and Neal took it seriously. There were pictures of Nicky littering the floor, pictures that Neal hadn't taken or seen before. Some of them were cut up; others were left intact with what looked like red marker drawn through them. Peter was right behind him and he'd seen what was on the floor. "What the hell is this?" Neal turned to face him and Peter was taken aback by how fearful Neal looked. He looked like he was on the verge of having a breakdown and Peter was never good with anyone who cried in his presence, but he would try to help fix…whatever this was. "Neal, what's going on?"

Peter rested his hands on Neal's chest, staring into his eyes. "It-It's… Peter, I need your help. I need you." Peter's eyes widened at how desperate and hoarse Neal sounded. He urged Neal to tell him what this meant because he was confused. "I-I lied t-to you," Neal stammered.

"Shh," Peter whispered, his right hand moving to stroke Neal's hair while his left pried Neal's hand away from his mouth. "It's all right. I'm not mad at you. Just tell me what this is."

Neal closed his eyes, unwilling to see the fury in Peter's eyes. "A-Adler. He's—"

"Adler is threatening you?" he asked angrily.

Nodding, Neal tried to find his voice again. "I-I went to see him. I told you—"

Peter knew exactly when this meeting went down. "You told me you were going to the thrift shop, but you went to meet with him." The sudden quietness of Peter's voice terrified Neal. He opened his eyes, silently pleading with Peter to forgive him. "Damn it, Neal!" he cried out, completely moving away from Neal to hit the door. Neal jumped, his heart racing. He could see Keller in Peter. The older man was seething, unable to form words to tell Neal how angry he was. Instead of turning this into a full blown explosion, Peter went with, "Why in the name of God would you keep this from me? Are you trying to get raped again, Neal?" Neal tried to speak, but Peter wasn't giving him the chance. "You told me what he did to you, how he made you feel. How the hell could you go see him? Alone?"

Neal backed away from Peter, stuttering, "I'm sorry," repeatedly.

When his back hit the wall, he closed his eyes again, turning his face away from Peter. He couldn't get the image of Peter's fury out of his mind, nor could he stop Peter's voice from echoing. His chest was heaving, his breaths coming and going in a frantic rush. In that moment, he thought Peter was going to hit him. Things got quiet. He knew Peter didn't leave because he could hear his breathing. "Neal," he whispered brokenly. The warmth of his hands pressed against Neal's tear-stained cheeks and gently turned Neal's face towards him. Neal reluctantly opened his eyes. "I'm sorry for saying that to you. I should have shut up and listened to you." He wiped away the trails of tears on Neal's face with his thumbs, trying to calm the younger man down. "I won't yell at you anymore. I promise. Will you tell me everything?"

"He sent a messenger," Neal began quietly, sniffling. He lifted his hands to rub his eyes, but Peter did it for him. "I thought it was Moz sending me cryptic messages, but it was one of Adler's friends. He…was also interested in me." Neal paused, waiting for Peter to explode again. When all Peter did was look at him in understanding, he continued. "He set up a meeting for that night. I went to Stonewall and met Adler. At first, I thought all he'd do was use my mother against me, but…but then he brought Nicky into this. He's going to do to Nicky what he did to me if I don't let him fuck me, Peter, and I'm horrified to even consider it, but I can't let him—"

Peter shushed him, kissing the corner of his mouth. "When does he think you're going to let him do this to you?"

"Friday at the Stonewall. Peter, I—"

"I'm not letting you go alone. I'll be there and so will Diana and Jones." At the absolutely incredulous and panicked look on Neal's face, he reassured him with, "They won't know all the details. I'll tell them that he's threatening to hurt your son, that he's someone who's hurt you before, but I won't tell them how badly he hurt you." Peter kissed Neal's cheek. "That's too personal to let others into and I'm grateful to know," he whispered. He pulled Neal close, hugging him tightly. "I'm going to protect you and Nicky. We're going to lock him up for good."

Neal buried his face in Peter's neck, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry that I lied to you, Peter. I didn't want to, but I was afraid that you'd—" He cut himself off. "I was afraid."

"What were you afraid I'd do to you if you told me?" Neal kept quiet. He didn't want to tell Peter that he thought Peter would want to beat the hell out of him for keeping secrets. Peter gasped quietly. "You thought I'd hurt you, didn't you?"

Neal pulled away quickly. "Peter—"

"I would never do anything to hurt you," Peter said sincerely, staring into Neal's blue eyes. "I'll never hit you or take advantage of you. You're my love, Neal. I'm not trying to scare you."

"It isn't that," Neal said exasperatedly.

Peter nodded, knowing what it was. "Your ex-boyfriend used to hurt you, I take it." It wasn't a question, but Neal didn't bother denying it. "That was him and he lost something so precious, Neal. I've got you now and I'm Peter, not him. All I want is for you to be happy. When you're happy, so am I."

Neal sighed shakily. "You're amazing, Peter. I don't say it enough, but thank you for everything—for being with me, dealing with me, et cetera."

Peter chuckled, kissing Neal gently. "I'm with you, loving and caring for you. I can't say I'm 'dealing' with you because that's not what this is." He gestured between the two of them. "This, this is love. I can't think of anyone I want to be with more than you."

•◊•

"Here." Neal sat in front of Peter's desk after dropping a file down onto it. Peter gave him a sideways glance before opening the file. It was filled with information on Vincent Adler, Matthew Keller, and Garrett Fowler.

He looked up from it and directly at Neal. "What's this for?"

Neal shrugged. "It's about time I gave you everything. There's no need for anymore surprises."

Peter scanned over anything involving Adler in particular. He paused for a moment, realizing that this wasn't something printed off of a computer. This was handwritten. It was Neal's handwriting. Looking at the corner of the page, he saw that this was written several years ago. Neal tracked Adler's movements, how many times he actually moved or was accused of molesting a child. Each and every time, Adler got off clean. Peter recognized the name of the judge and Neal had it written underneath every dated trial Adler went through. "He got close a few times," Peter whispered. Adler had actually been in Manhattan for a couple of days when Neal was eighteen and again when he was twenty-six. "Neal, this had to be painful for you to do."

He didn't close the file, but he did set it down, reaching out across the desk. Neal took his hand and nodded slowly. "I was scared. I always felt like he was going to find me and I'd have nothing to do, no one to help me. I had Nicky the second time he was here and I was a mess."

Peter briefly looked over the files on Keller and Fowler. Keller was clinically depressed and in anger management. He'd been reported for domestics far too many times and had actually gone to prison for a couple of years. Neal never pressed charges against Keller, but he'd written a description of what Keller did to him. It hurt to read these things and Peter could remember seeing some of the scars Keller left. Neal's chest and back had a couple here and there, but he'd found one along Neal's jaw and two on his right thigh. "I can't believe I didn't find you sooner," Peter said miserably. "Reading this… All that you went through, Neal…"

"It's in the past, Peter. I'm with you now and I'm safe. I don't have to sleep next to you and wonder if you'll hit me or tell me to sleep on the floor or the couch." Peter's eyes widened slightly at that. "I fought back a couple times," he said defensively, avoiding eye contact now. "I fought as much as I could, but he was stronger. He was always stronger."

"I never accused you of not standing up for yourself. I just don't think you—no, I know you didn't deserve that. You didn't deserve having your first sexual experience with a sick son of a bitch or having your first real boyfriend beat you senseless because he had a bad day." Neal cringed inwardly, sinking into the chair. "Whenever we get to the point in our relationship where we're making love—and there will never be any pressure on that—at least you know I'll do my damnedest to make it good for you."

Neal's face flushed a bright red and he forced a smile. He hadn't meant to avoid sex with Peter. He really wanted to at times, but he was afraid that it would ruin their relationship. Things with Keller were fine until they started having sex, and then everything went to hell. He trusted Peter more than he trusted any of his ex-lovers. Hell, he trusted Peter more than Mozzie, and that was saying something. "I know you will," he whispered, meeting Peter's loving gaze. "I'd expect nothing less," he added, chuckling.

"You must have really high expectations for a man who's never been with another man," Peter teased. Neal laughed, shaking his head. He told Peter that everything would be fine, that he'd have nothing to worry about. "Oh, so you think that just because you're the bottom-guy, I don't have to worry about anything?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "It might be the same as it was with El, to a certain extent, but you've told me about your sexual past and I don't want our first time to be like any of that."

"I don't worry about things like that," Neal admitted. "I trust you and I know you're nothing like them. That's why I said we'll be fine—you'll be fine. You're nothing if not careful, Peter Burke."

Peter grinned at him. "Nothing but the best for you," he whispered sweetly.

"Boss." Peter looked up at Diana and Neal turned around, their conversation stored away for a later time. "OPR is here. They're scrutinizing the bureau and things aren't looking good so far."

"What's going on?" She looked pointedly at Neal, looking like she wanted nothing to do with him. "Diana, tell me."

She crossed the office and pressed a file down onto the desk. "Caffrey's been charged with statutory rape."

"What?" both men exclaimed at once. Neal rose quickly. "I haven't done anything like that, I swear. Peter—"

"I know, Neal. I know," Peter whispered. "Diana, this is a bunch of bullshit. Neal would never do something like that." He opened the file and read it over. "This is the kid who hit Nicky—who insulted you."

Neal's brows furrowed and he moved closer to look at the file. He didn't know the kid's full name, but as soon as he saw it he snarled in disgust. "Trenton Keller. Son of a fucking bitch."

"You think he's Matthew's?"

Neal laughed bitterly. "Think? No, I know. I wondered why that damn kid looked familiar and now I know why. He's probably in league with Adler in some fashion, for all I know."

Peter was confused by that. Neal never mentioned that there was a connection between Adler and Keller, his step-father and ex-boyfriend respectively. "Keller told me in the last few moments of our relationship that he's Adler's biological son," Neal growled. "So, in essence, my step-brother was fucking me for a little over two years."

He completely forgot that Diana was still in the office. She was extremely quiet and it dawned on him that he probably said too much. He turned to look at her and Peter gripped his shoulder gently. "We're going to figure this out, Neal. I'll personally investigate this."

"Boss." Both men glanced at her as she pointed down into the bullpen. Peter internally sighed. An OPR agent and a couple of police officers came out of the elevator and were headed straight for them.

Peter turned to Neal quickly. "You didn't do anything wrong, so don't give them reason to think you have. Be calm, don't say anything that'll implicate you in any way."

"Peter, I love you," Neal said in a rush.

He didn't get the chance to tell Neal the same thing, but Neal saw it in his eyes as the officers and agent—who just happened to be Fowler, much to Neal's dismay—came for him. "Neal Caffrey, you're under arrest." He was cuffed as he was read his rights. He knew all of this already, but it was protocol to recite it while making an arrest.

Fowler was frowning as Neal was escorted out by the police officers. "Never thought he'd do something like this," he muttered.

Peter was furious. He'd just watched them take his boyfriend away on charges that were obviously false, and now Neal's ex-boyfriend was criticizing him. "Do your damn job and leave your personal shit out of it," he hissed. He'd need to read Neal's notes on him next to figure out what went wrong in that relationship.

"Easy, tiger," Fowler said, raising an eyebrow. "I could say the same for you." Diana darted between Peter and Fowler, pushing Peter back. "Have a nice day, Agent Burke."

He left without another word and Peter was left, seething, with Diana's hands on his chest. "Peter, I know you're set to believe he didn't do this, but—"

"No, there are no buts about it, Diana. Neal would never do something like that." There was no flicker of a doubt about it. After Neal told him he'd been raped and how broken he was when he opened up, Peter just knew Neal wasn't capable of this. Peter could see him saving another child from that particular situation, but he couldn't see Neal participating in that. "I'm going to pull every last resource I can to prove that he's innocent." He moved away from Diana and immediately sat at his desk, jumping onto the computer to do all the research he'd need to do to bring these sinister bastards down. He'd bring them all down, but he sure as hell wouldn't let Neal be dragged down with them.