As expected, the night found a way to pass by far too quickly. The charcoal colored sky insensitively replacing the calming pink and purple shades Neal had found so captivating not a few hours earlier. His first dinner with the Burkes had been as enjoyable as he expected. Feeling considerably more at ease with the couple, Neal found himself speaking up far more than he had previously. He regaled the two fascinated adults with intriguing anecdotes of his life growing up, hardly seeming to wonder whether or not a particular story involved exclusively legal activities. After a while, it became too easy not to care.

All in all, dinner had went just fine. There were those brief, stomach-lurching minutes when Peter had received an urgent call from work that he insisted upon taking privately in the other room. But no. Otherwise, it had went just fine.

It was no secret that Neal had questioned the agent incessantly since he received the phone call. He felt he had no other choice. Earlier, Neal had been able to forget about this lingering court drama quite easily. He could simply block it out, push it as far away as possible before replacing the thoughts with new ones. Better ones. Of cooking, sweet dough and mesmerizing sunsets. But now, with the looming threat of unshared details about his father - about his life. Neal had no ability to do that.

With his father escaping from prison two days before his trial, Neal had held out hope for unexpected news. He hoped that with this newfound evidence of his father's blatant disregard for the law, a proper trial might not take place, after all. The possibility of the case being dismissed or postponed was certainly among the few unlikely outcomes Neal had been praying for.

He had a hard time admitting it to himself at first, but whether he had expected it or not, there was no doubt that he had truly come to enjoy staying with the Burkes. After all, the consistently safe atmosphere and comfortable home environment wasn't remotely similar to anything he'd experienced before. And frankly, he wasn't the scarcest bit eager to leave too soon.

WCWCWCWC

With the table cleared off and not much else to do, Peter found himself taking his usual place on the couch. Yet, this time, an unusually clingy Neal followed mere footsteps behind him. It was understandable, of course. He wanted to know about the unexpected work call. Why wouldn't he? What he couldn't understand, however, was Peter's severe reluctance to tell him.

Peter reached for the remote, leaning back against the cushions, unaware of the kid in question's stealthy hand a mere centimeters from his own. One slight maneuver later and the remote was in Neal's hand now, leaving a befuddled and irritated agent to wonder what exactly just happened.

"Neal, give it back."

"Fine. But first, tell me about the call."

"It's really not a big deal." There was a slight whine to Peter's voice but he didn't seem to care."Can't we just have one peaceful night?"

"Yes. After you tell me."

"Come on, Neal-."

"At least tell me who called. Was it Bancroft? The DA's office?" Neal held the remote behind his back now, staring at the agent determinedly.

"You know, I can just get up and turn it on manually."

"Peter," Neal paused, eyes wide and voice earnest. "Please."

The agent sighed, irritated that his perfectly calm night was going to be tarnished with unpleasant thoughts and unnecessary reminders about the impending trial. But more importantly, he was upset that Neal couldn't just let this go. He wasn't entirely sure what any of their lives were going to be like after tomorrow. Why should they ruin the peace of right now with the inevitable chaos of the future?

But the rational part of him knew, as much as he didn't want to admit it, that he would be acting in a very similar manner if the tables were turned. This was Neal's life they were talking about and he did have a right to know.

"Fine." Peter conceded and Neal's eyes shone with an almost tangible relief. "I just- I don't have any good news for you. And, I really hoped, after everything that happened, that there would be better news, Neal."

"Oh." Neal only stared for a moment and the brief, yet evident, distress that crinkled his eyes was not lost on the agent. "Well, is it bad news?"

Peter didn't respond at first and Neal visibly tensed. "Listen, Neal." Peter sighed, voice clearly frustrated. "Your father's trying to pull the insanity defense in court."

There was brief pause and Neal blinked slightly. "Wait, what?"

"We still have to look into it." Peter spoke warily, unsure of what to expect from the kid. "But he's claiming to have chronic schizophrenia.. If this is the case, it could fall under recognized mental illnesses by the court."

Neal didn't speak so Peter reluctantly continued. "The illness can severely affect a person's perception of reality, Neal. And sometimes, it can affect their ability to rationally control their behavior."

Neal paused, his gaze fixed on the agent. His voice was slow and shaky when he eventually spoke. "So, um..what could happen now?"

"Well," Peter began, searching for the right words. "If the judge finds the insanity claim to be true, it will result in a not guilty verdict-"

"-you're joking."

Peter shook his head. "But there's still hope, Neal." The agent's reassurance was sincere and Neal had nothing better to do but listen. "If he actually does have this disorder, he won't just be set free. He might dodge jail time but he could still be sent to a mental facility given his state. It's really the judge's call."

Neal sat for a moment, his mind a blur of thoughts and possibly unanswerable questions. What would this mean for him now? How badly could this affect Monday's judgment? Given all of the evidence against his father, he had predicted the proceedings to be relatively simple. He never imagined his father would fabricate a lie of such magnitude just to take advantage of such a defense. Unless, it wasn't a lie.

Quite a few silent minutes passed before Neal blinked suddenly, pulled from his slew of harassing thoughts.

"Here." He suddenly passed the remote to Peter. "I think um- I think I'm gonna go up upstairs for a little." His words were hurried and his stare was averted to the ground as he spoke.

"Wait, Neal-"

"I'm fine, Peter." The answer was sharp and to the point and Peter had no choice but to watch him move hurriedly to the stairs and out of sight.

Well, so much for a peaceful night.

WCWCWCWC

"Hun, at least try to cheer up. He probably just needs a little time for himself." El's voice was quiet as she spoke, gaze focused on her untouched tea. "Don't take it so personally."

"I am not taking it personally, I just - I didn't mean to upset him."

"Hun, you did no such thing. He wanted to know what happened and you told him."

Peter sighed, not entirely convinced. "You think I should go up there?"

"It's your call, hun. But I'd wait a little while. Just let him be."

"Fine, your right. Maybe he just needs some space. He'll come down eventually." Peter's hesitant voice contradicted his optimistic words, but El let it slide.

"Now that's a much better attitude." El sipped her tea gradually, hoping the silence would give way to the soft sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. But so far, it hadn't.

"So, what do you think is going on here, hun? Does he actually have a case with this insanity plea?"

"I'm really not sure." The agent's voice remained wary and El's heart warmed at his apparent concern. "El, there is a very good chance he does have this disease. I mean, why else-" His voice trailed off at the end but El understood, regardless.

"God, imagine how Neal must be feeling right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Peter, picture having a horribly abusive father who was diagnosed with schizophrenia all of these years?" She paused, lost in thought. "And you didn't even know it."

Peter sighed, dropping his face into his cupped hands. "This is bad."

"I know it seems that way, hun. But Neal is a very strong, resilient young man. He can get through this."

Peter only snorted. "He's fifteen, hun. My biggest worry at that age was not winning my little league playoff game. I don't care how strong he might be. This is insane."

"Yes, that may be true." El inched closer on the couch, putting a hand on her husband's arm. "But now he has people to help him through it, Peter. Don't you think that makes all the difference?"

"I honestly don't know, El." Peter sighed, still looking down into his hands. "He doesn't even want to be in the same room with me right now."

"Peter, don't think like that. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah. Doesn't look that way."

"Peter, he's a big boy. He just got some- unexpected news. It's okay for him to want to be on his own for a while."

"I guess." Peter moved to look up at her now, frown lines rightly in place. "He just- he looked so sad again. I thought we were done with sad."

"Peter," El said, shaking her head. "Llife is always going to bring ups and downs. You can't simply avoid unpleasantness. It's always going to be there. What matters most, is how you go about handling it." She paused, not expecting a response. "That is the bravest little boy I know" she said, pointing to the stair case. "And I have confidence that he can get through this."

Peter turned then, his lips curving slightly. "You really care about him, don't you?"

El nodded immediately. Her answer made known. "Of course I do."

Peter returned her nod, knowing he felt similarly. Yet, he truly hoped El would have the courtesy not to ask.

"Peter?" El questioned suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Remember what we were talking about a couple of weeks ago-?"

"El.. " Peter sighed. "I knew this was coming."

"Hun, you can't just avoid this."

The agent ran a hand down his face. "Do not start this with me. Not now."

"But hun, we never finished talking about this. Neal came along and then-"

"El, that's the only reason you're bringing it up again."

"We've been discussing this for a long time now. You can't just push it away."

"I can and I will. I don't want to worry about that right now. There is too much going on." He paused, closing his eyes briefly. "Can we please just discuss this another time?"

She hesitated, contemplating if she should let him off the hook for right now. "Fine, mister. But you are not getting out of this."

El huffed then, standing up from the couch. "I'm gonna go get some snacks for when Neal comes down." Her tone was matter-of-fact and Peter could help but envy her unwavering optimism. "Now, you stop sitting here throwing yourself a pity party. I won't stand for it."

Her heels clicked away and Peter kept his eyes closed, head leaned far back against the couch. He simply couldn't deal with anything outside of the present chaos as of right now. He just couldn't handle it. He sat for a few moments longer before deciding he had enough of just idly sitting. This wasn't productive at all. He should go upstairs, see how Neal was doing.

He opened his eyes then, ready to move. When suddenly his plan was stopped in its tracks by the sound of quiet footsteps next to him.

"Peter," The once frenetic voice sounded soft and collected now and Peter turned to meet its teenaged source before him. " Can we talk?"