The scariest thing for a control freak is to have no control at all. Well, for a conman it was the same.

Neal Caffrey lost his mind.

And it didn't care how you putted it, it all was the same. The former conman had no control. Neal flipped. And was taken away from his apartment for further observation. That was what everybody told.

And worst of all: the word had spread fast. First an agent overheard a conversation with the big bosses from the white collar unit. And naturally he had to share it with Clara, the gossipy receptionist, during a coffee break. Soon this news spread on the streets. And no one seemed to realize how much damage it could cause to the conman's imago; and safety. Think about this one: Neal Caffrey has gotten quite famous among thieves. Sure he made some friends during his stay in New York. Sure he did some illegal things before Peter Burke got him behind bars. And sure, after he made a deal with the FBI it was very understandable that he made some enemies as well.

And now, this news about Neal Caffrey being crazy, lured some bad attention on him. How disrespectful this already was from his colleagues, to talk about Neal behind his back and all, the real damage had yet to come…

After the doctor came to Neal's apartment and brought him over to the metal hospital, Mozzie got restless. So he decided to take a long walk down town. Something that he shouldn't have done alone within this late hour.

He was grabbed by two mean looking fellows. It got Mozzie by surprise, and he knew that fighting against two men looking like 'that'. It will kill him. So he obeyed when they told them to follow nicely. They were most likely armed and dragged him over to an abandoned garage of a burned down liquor store.

Once the garage door was closed the mean looking fellows lead him towards a chair.

"Hiya, Baldy. Heard 'bout your pretty friend. Too bad, man." The big American man grinned at his little Mexican friend. While they pushed him down on the wooden chair Mozzie eyed them one by one and for a second he was almost sure he was going to die. Even though he couldn't quite recognize them right away, they sure sounded familiar. Then they flashed the guns they were carrying. But no one was using them. At least: not right away. Either way, Mozzie hated guns. Even more since he got shot two years ago; and nearly died.

"Hello… ah… Pardon my obliviousness. But I don't recall our relationship from one and each other as in friends or colleagues? But I am pretty sure you don't like me very much, is it?" Mozzie tried hard to not be afraid. But some sweat was already forming on his bald crest. The Mexican rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Oh, would you relax, Mozzie? We are submerging a lot of paintings together, remember? Me, Willie, you and that boy." The guns disappeared back into their pockets when Willie finished frisking him. "Yeah, Mozz, relax. We were just wanted to talk to you about our agreement we made years ago."

Mozzie relaxed only one inch, figuring they were up to no good, but also weren't capable to kill someone. If they were submerging some stolen art with them, by sharing the same storage container, they were gun haters as well. Mozzie wasn't stupid.

"You want your half back, right? You needed me to tell you where the location is?" Mozzie tried to understand their relationship. Lucky for him, he was right. "Yeah, man. We just got ourselves another fortune, me and my partner. And now with all that commotion on your end we want to move our stuff to a different container while we still can."

It was reasonable. Mozzie thought. He would do the same.

"Well, I can give you the address, if you give me a pen," he offered calmly. The Mexican chuckled.

"Even better. I was actually kinda worried that Caffrey was the only one who knew where it was."

"Yeah well. Next time, just call. You two gave me a heart attack."

…

Mozzie did his part and they let him go free, but only if he promised to forget about them for the rest of his life. And well… Mozzie agreed. Because he was kind of hoping he won't see those guys ever again.

This little event wasn't something to write your kids home about, if he had one (besides his Swish fake baby Marty). But the real bad thing was that the underground knew about Caffrey's breakdown. And even if these rumors where a little exaggerated, this wasn't good for business.

Now Mozzie knew why he had erased all of Neal's medical past from his files. He had forgotten how bad it was when these things got viral. It would make his friend a target. And somehow, Mozz would be a target too.

…

Neal didn't have some sort of a breakdown. He was just a little confused. The worst thing of it all was the lack of sleep he got at night. And when he started to feel tired during the day, the hallucinations kicked in. He drank too much coffee in order to feel awake during the day and the caffeine overdose gave him headaches and leaded to his dehydration.

But that was not all. His blood pressure was a little too low because he didn't feel hunger or the urge to feed himself. And the scary part that had gotten Peter and Elisabeth worry, his bladder was developing some sort of infection because the urge to go to the bathroom wasn't there anymore as well. Neal needed proper care for this and since he was a bit confused about being an adult instead of a five year old, they would have to start with a training schedule about when he needs to go eat or drink or go to the bathroom.

His organs were tired as well and his stomach was easily disturbed by this lack of sleep. Even though it seemed that Neal was sleeping a lot. He never got to the deep sleep, motion that usually happened after three hours of sleep. This state was necessary to keep the body healthy and flexible.

So the best treatment for Neal was to help him to get through the night, with sleeping pills first and keep him calm for a while. Rest was the best medicine for his health problems right now. And Peter and El understood that. The doctor gave Neal one room with a soft bed and a TV, sadly with no control.

Peter forgot to pack him his pajamas, for some reason, so the nurse had dressed him in a white hospital suit, like every other patient on this wing wears.

He had to stay here for the night like they already have told. But because of his health problems he needed stay a little longer.

Since Neal had talked about his deceased mother wanted to have him dead, and it all happened after Ellen got shot and died, the doctor was sure this was the main problem of this Narcolepsy. So that's why he stayed over in the psych unit, instead of the ICU, for a couple of days to help him get some rest. And maybe, during this period of time, the doctors could help him with his mental state by learn about his behavior at the same time. In any case, if Peter hadn't forced his partner to the appointment with Dr. Klimt, Neal needed to go to the doctor, with his bladder infection, eventually.

It was already late when the Burkes said their goodbye's to Neal. Neal was already hooked on an IV and dozed with some antibiotics for his infection. A little dazed about his new place, Neal watched the nurse giving him another shot. He didn't make a sound nor let the woman know that the pinch hurt a little. That earned him a fondly smile. "This is to help you sleep. It is a little different that the ordinary over the counter pills. You will feel the effects right away. So, lay down and sleep tight, mister Caffrey," the nurse said. Neal did what he was told and saw the room already tilt to one side. "G'Night. But… n-name is Bennett. With two N's and two… T's…"

"Rest Neal…" Ellen's sweet voice whispered. "I will protect you."

…

AN: I was working on this for a day and kinda hoping my grammar mistakes are lessened during my fifth overlookings. Tell me what you think. Next chapter will be all about one drugged poor guy and a caring friend.

X

Josie