The doorbell rang and Peter stood up, grimacing when he put full weight on his bad knee. Limping slightly he walked towards the door, wondering who the heck would be bothering him this early in the morning.

"It's you."

"Good morning suit. Mind if I come in?" Mozzie didn't bother waiting for an answer as he walked by the agent.

"Sure, no problem" Peter said to the empty doorway. He turned to see Mozzie scrutinizing him.

"What?"

"You look…" Mozzie struggled to find the right words. "You look like yourself" he finished as he eyed the project Peter was working on.

"Thank you…I think" Peter said as he lowered himself to the floor. "Elizabeth has been asking me for ages to touch up this cabinet and fix the door." He eyed the hanging door. "Can't quite get the hinge to work" he muttered as he grabbed a screw driver.

"Neal could fix that in no time."

"Mozzie, don't" Peter said sternly. "Neal is fine. I talked to him last night."

"And when's the last time you saw him?"

Rolling his eyes, Peter mentally did the math.

"It will be four weeks tomorrow…but I have it on good authority he's fine."

"And how long is your Neal furlough going to last?"

"Mozzie!" Peter slammed the screw driver to the floor, scaring the dog in the process. "Sorry Satch." Peter scratched the dog's head, calming himself in the process.

"Mozzie let me tell you a story."

"If you must" the smaller man interjected.

"I must" Peter remarked as he handed the extra paint brush to the strange man kneeling next to him. "After I got shot I took it upon myself to teach Neal a lesson. To show him that actions have consequences and innocent people get caught in the crossfire."

"So that's why you made him a slave?"

"He wasn't a slave and we really did need the help. I just wanted Neal to see up close the pain others go through when a con goes wrong."

"It was your con" Mozzie remarked.

"Yeah it was." Peter admitted. "But the sniper was someone who wanted Neal dead, someone who Neal brought in to our little game. Without the third party, nothing would have gone wrong."

"You assume" Mozzie said.

"I know." Peter countered.

"Suit, is there a point to this story?"

"Yeah there is" Peter quietly said. "I screwed up and now I'm trying to fix it."

"And I'm lost" Mozzie retorted as he grabbed the tool from Peter's hand. "Hold the door like this" he ordered and in a matter of minutes the hinge was tight.

"How is keeping Neal away helping him?"

"Because I'm a daily reminder of what he did and we both know the guilt was eating away at him."

"Not buying that." Mozzie said as he started pacing around a nervous dog. "I think you're keeping Neal away because you feel guilty at how guilty he feels."

"Probably" Peter admitted, amazed that he actually understood the little man's logic. "How do I fix it?"

Mozzie laughed as he looked upward. "The suit is asking me for help" he muttered, as he silently waited for the lightning bolt to strike.

"I'll let you in on a little secret" Mozzie said after a few minutes of silence. "Neal was devastated when he thought you had Kate, that you were the ring man. Neal trusts you and for someone like Neal, trust trumps love."

"So?" Peter clearly looked confused.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Mozzie stopped pacing long enough to waves his arms frantically. "And you're the brains of the FBI? No wonder this country is going to pieces."

"Mozzie, that's enough." Peter barked. "Just tell me what you're trying to say."

"Neal was devastated when Kate died but he wasn't questioning his existence and his future. He knew life would go on and one day he'd find love again. All that changed when you almost died. Peter, I don't know how it happened or why but Neal found something in you…something to anchor him in reality and make him think about a life in the real world on the right side of the law." Mozzie shrugged. "Don't ask me why or what he sees but he does."

"So, what do I do?" Peter quietly asked, as he let Mozzie's words sink in.

"Simple" Mozzie answered. "Don't betray him. Be the friend he wants to believe you are."

"I am his friend" Peter stated firmly.

"Good." Mozzie smirked. "Problem solved." Mozzie headed towards the door. "Suit, have you thought about our other discussion?"

"I have" Peter smiled. "Papers are filled out, signed by the right people and ready to be mailed. All I need is Neal's signature."

"Suit, you can't get that without seeing Neal, can you?" Mozzie was out the door before Peter could open his mouth.

"Smart ass" he said, chuckling. "Satch, I think it's about time we invite Neal over. What do you think?" Peter took the wagging tail as an affirmative and reached for his phone.