Chapter 10:

"How's Sara?" Elizabeth had joined Neal and Peter who were sitting at the dining room table, playing distractedly with their coffee mugs.

"Confused," Neal answered.

"I can imagine, poor Sara," Elizabeth sympathized, "What's your next move?"

Before any of the boys could answer, Mozzie walked into the kitchen, "All done," he announced and then poured the contents of his hand on the table infront of Peter, "one in your phone and the other stuck between the back and the foot of the picture frame on Elizabeth's nightstand."

Elizabeth's nose instantly wrinkled in disgust as she eyed the bugs in the same taste. She emptied the contents of her mug and smashed it on the two, small, black circles on the table, causing everyone to jump in surprise.

"Honey..?" Peter asked with a shocked worry.

"They bugged me." Elizabeth explained simply as she shrugged her shoulders, giving Mozzie a quick smile when he snorted at her pun.

Peter eyes his wife carefully to make sure she was alright – and was reassured by her smile – before turning to Neal, "Did you convince her to lawyer up?"

"There wasn't enough time."

"Damn it," Peter mumbled, "we need to get her some legal protection."

Mozzie coughed.

"Someone who can at least get her out on bail," Neal agreed.

Mozzie coughed louder.

"Someone who she trusts," Peter added.

Mozzie fell quiet and bowed his head after which Elizabeth gave him a comforting smile and a pat on his shoulder.

"What about that guy she works with?" Elizabeth suggested, "I think his name was.. Josh-something.. or, wait, Joshua Hemming. He works at Sterling Bosch' legal department. She's worked with him a couple of times. I'm surehe'll be more than willing to help." Elizabeth emphasized the double meaning of her sentence.

"Oh right, Josh!" Peter's mood instantly brightened as he got up from his chair at the table and set course to his wife, "Briljant, thanks honey." He said before planting a quick kiss on her lips and turning towards Neal who was still sitting in his chair, his eyebrows raised questioningly.

"You coming?" Peter asked impatiently when he saw Neal remained seated.

"Who's Josh?" Though he tried to sound casually, he failed to fool any of the three people in the room. They knew he was dying with curiousity and was particularly suspicious because of the fact that both Peter and Elizabeth knew about Josh' existence while he didn't.

"Didn't you hear? He's a lawyer working at Sterling Bosch, now let's go, come on." Peter urged with equally urgent arm gestures.

After holding Peter's gaze for a moment, Neal finally got up and followed Peter to the door, mumbling something about not appreciating being treated like a child on his way out.

In the car, both Peter and Neal were so preoccupied with their own train of thoughts that they hadn't noticed how tension was charging the air till it was nearly tangible. Peter was thinking about if and how to tell him about the Sara he'd come to know eleven years ago. Neal on the other hand, was thinking about how and when to confront Peter about the rather strange exchange he saw happening between Peter and Sara back at the prescinct.

It wasn't until Peter had parked the car in the Sterling Bosch underground parking garage that they realized they had gone the entire car ride without saying a word.

"Look, if you're worried about Josh-"

"What was that between you and Sara earlier?" This was not his plan. Neal had spent the last 20 minute ride contemplating possibilities and finally concluding that he should wait untill they were back home before asking Peter. But as soon as the ice had broken, the words just blurted out.

"What are you talking about?" Peter avoided eye contact.

"Oh, come on Peter," Neal sounded insulted, "at least try and be a little convincing."

Under Neal's accuzing gaze, Peter found he could do nothing but take a deep breath and give in. Neal took Peter's silence as green light to push forward: "At the prescint, just before we left, you and Sara… What are you not telling me?"

"Has Sara ever told you how long we've known eachother?"

"No," Neal answered, a little confused as to why Peter would ask him and where he was going with that question, "but you're making me very curious."

"Eleven. I've known Sara Eleven years. I will never forget the day I met her."

"Don't let Elizabeth hear you," Neal replied dryly, "What was so special about that day?"

"It was the day I found her."

"Wha-" This was not what he had expected to hear. Ever. "What do you mean you found her?"

Peter took a moment and held Neal's gaze. Though he believed it was time Neal knew about this story, he still felt as if though he was violating Sara's trust somehow. "Naahh..." Peter pulled his shoulders up in hesitation and shook his head, "I don't think I should be telling you this. She should. She will, when she's ready."

Peter had already turned his back towards Neal and was about to open his cardoor, when Neals hand on his shoulder pulled him back.

"No, Peter, you can't! You can't just drop a bomb on me and leave me stranded. Besides, she gave you the 'okay-nod', she was obviously fine with it."

"You think?"

"Peter, trust me, that was an 'okay-nod' alright?"

Though less hesitant than before, Peter still wasn't convinced he should be telling this story. Neal popped his eyes in urgent encouragement and Peter finally sighed.

"It was sunday december 9th, 2001-"

"Your first year anniversary," Neal realized.

Peter nodded confirmingly, "El and I had dinner plans, but I was working late that day; we had just made an arrest and needed a confesion out of the guy. It was a little over eight when I finally left the office. I was walking over to my car with a buddy of mine when all of a sudden we hear a voice coming from an alley. It was.." if Neal didn't know any better, he'd say Peter shuddered at the memories. It scared him and Neal knew he had to brace himself for whatever was coming.

"At first we thought it was some homeless guy too drunk to find his way to the homeless centre, but the closer we came…" Peter got stuck on his own train of thought, "We found a girl, lying halfdead in the snow. She was covered in blood and wearing nothing but a nightgown. Freezing cold."

Neal could almost swear his heart had sunk at those words. He didn't understand how he could still feel it beat audibly in his chest.

"Sara?"

"Yes." Peter replied and watched Neals reaction carefully, making sure he was up to hearing the rest of it. Neal's eyes had widened with shock, anger and many more emotions Peter could only understand. His breathing had sped up, probably a result of the adrenaline his heart was busy pumping through his veins. Again, something Peter could only understand. His fists were clenched and his jaw tight, he was bracing himself for the rest.

"Though she was nearly frozen stiff, she kept repeating the words 'she needs to know, she needs to know'. She was in psychological shock." Peter explained and closed his eyes at the memories, "When the ambulance arrived we took her to the hospital where they found burnmarks all over her body. The blood was hers."

"Peter, I.." Neal stopped him. He didn't know why, he just knew he had to stop him. He felt sick to his stumach and the rush of emotions left his head spinning. He couldn't put the girl in this story together with the woman he knows now. The strong, independant Sara he knows. The funny, smart, sexy and damn good at her job-Sara. The only Sara he knows. The Sara he's come to fall for. He couldn't imagine her ever being in any state of traumatic shock or weakness, let alone pain. Hearing this about her made him feel more powerless than he's felt in a very long time. "I don't wanna hear this. I can't-"

Peter heart swelled with sympathy and compassion. He wished he could take Neal's pain away. Make him see that it was okay now; this happenede leven years ago. It's okay now.

But he understood that, for Neal, it wasn't okay and it didn't happen eleven years ago. For him; this is happening now.

"Neal, I'm sorry, but you have to hear the rest of it."

"What does any of this have to do with Sara's arrest?"

"Just hear me out," Peter waited for Neal to give him a signal to continue and when Neal finally took a breath and gave a short nod, Peter went on: "I'll spare you the details, but when Sara had recovered from her shock, we found out that she was looking for her sister, Emily, to tell her-," Peter swallowed hard, "to tell her that their parents had died in a fire. Their house had burned down, Neal."

Now, Neal was sure his heart had dropped. He could feel it beat everywhere in his body; in his legs, in his feet, his hands, his head… His head ached from the beating and it stung behind his eyes.

He closed his eyes and took a breath. It took a moment, but Neal felt how his heart had fell into it's place and it's beating had familiarly centralized in his chest. It surprised Neal that his emotions were dominated by anger. Who was he angry at? Or what? Shouldn't he be feeling… sadness? Condolances and sympathy? Why was he so mad?

"Neal…?" Peter's voice sounded soft and layered with concern as he laid his hand comforting on his friends' shoulder and squeezed it gently, "I'm sorry, buddy, I know it's a lot to take."

Neal took a breath and turned his head to face his friend. He had to do something; smile, joke, shake it off, change the subject - but he couldn't. It was like he couldn't find himself or his next move. All he could do was focus his attention towards Sara.

"I'm fine," he finally breathed out, "I still don't understand what this has anything to do with her arrest?"

"After… you know, Sara was so deadest on finding her sister, refusing to accept she was 'alone'. She never allowed herself time to process her grief. She had all her hopes set on finding Emily and being a family again. She kept following leads that turned into dead ends," Peter squinted his eyes at something in the distance as his memories played out inside his head, "it was almost as if someone was playing tricks with her mind. Every false lead let to feeling another loss and eventually she started using painmeds to deal with her pain. We didn't even notice until she came into the building one day, asking for my help with a lead, and collapsed. Nothing big!" Peter reassured instantly as he realized what his words must have sounded like, "Low bloodsugar, we gave her a coke and she was fine. But it was obvious she wasn't taking care of herself. But she wouldn't listen to us. It took witnessing another fire killing another family for her to snap out of it. For her to finally realize what she was doing wasn't helping anyone, and certainly not herself. She cleaned up, re-enrolled in college and made something from her life. Became the Sara we know today."

Peter's words echoed endlessly in Neal's mind and eventhough he wasn't there at the time, or maybe because he wasn't there at the time, but he could see the pattern that seemed to haunt Sara's life.

"Three fires killing three families in a decade, all one way or another tied to Sara… It can't be a coincidence, Peter."

"No, it can't…" Peter agreed.

"But?"

"But, and I'm not saying that's the case, but if Sara is being set up-"

"She is."

"If she is… Who would do this to her? And why? We don't know where to start."

"We start by getting her out of jail."

Peter took one final moment to assess Neal and when he saw the determination on his face grow, he nodded and the men got out of the car.

So sorry for taking so long, but, I'm afraid this won't be an exception. :(

Please do leave your thoughts!

Soph