Neal closed his eyes and took a deep breath as soon as he reached the bridge. Peter's life was on the line regardless of what was going to transpire here and the last thing he wanted to do was allow his husband to die. He promised their son that they would both come home and he wasn't going to let fate make a liar out of him. He was going to challenge fate and make damn sure he and Peter survive this encounter. Nicky didn't know about any of this because he didn't want his son to worry. All he told Nicky was that he was finally making progress. Once again, he'd promised his son that everything would be all right in the end.

Opening his car door, he climbed out and patted his midsection just to be sure that he hadn't lost the gun at any point. He was imagining all of the worst case scenarios as he approached another parked car nearby. It was empty, but Rachel and Peter had to be nearby. He couldn't make Peter speak to him right now because Rachel is too close. If Peter were to say anything, Rachel would hear him and know that Neal lied. There was no reason for her to keep Peter alive then.

He neared the water he could hear crashing against the land and that was when he saw them. Rachel was standing over Peter with a gun against the back of his head. "Rachel," Neal called out quietly. She glanced at him and gave him a devious smile. He came closer and began acting again, sneering in Peter's general direction. He made it as believable as he could. "Fucker," Neal growled.

Everything Neal was going to say was directed towards Rachel, but it had to be said in Peter's direction. Neal was pissed off because his husband was naked, dirty, and on his knees. He never wanted to see anyone force his husband into submission ever again. "I'm glad you've finally seen the truth." She glanced at Peter and said, "Do you have any last remarks to make to this monster before I step aside and let you handle him?"

Neal swallowed hard, but he knew Peter was sanctioning this role he needed to play to convince her. He'd make his apologies to Peter later—in any way he could. Rushing forward, Neal gripped Peter's hair roughly and forced Peter to look up at him. Peter stared up at him with tears in his eyes and he could see just how much Peter loves him. "You are a monster," he spat in Peter's direction. "After everything, I can't believe you did all of this to me. I can't believe you would allow others to take the fall for you." He roughly pulled Peter's hair, jerking Peter's head a bit as though he really were angry at him. "I thought I loved you once. Now I realize I never loved you at all."

Rachel looked positively thrilled by Neal's words. This was what she'd wanted since the very first time she kissed Neal—in the apartment he'd shared with only Peter and Nicky at the time. "N-Neal…" Peter stammered. Neal's heart fluttered and sank as he watched his husband cry right in front of him. "I-I… I didn't hurt you. Please believe me. Please—"

A very brief look of apology crossed Neal's features before he released Peter's hair and backhanded him. Rachel practically squealed happily as she watched the two men put on a show before her. "Don't lie to me," Neal growled. "I know who you are. I know what you are. I know how many lies you've told me, how many lies you've wanted me to believe." Peter was looking up at Neal as though he really believed Neal was speaking to him. "You never loved me. You can't tell me you loved me and mean it after everything you've done to me."

Peter closed his eyes and Neal watched his lips tremble. His heart was already broken as he stared at his husband, but it felt like the shattered pieces of his heart were becoming smaller and smaller as they continued breaking apart. "He has used you for so long," Rachel said to Neal. "He began to believe his own lies, but they've finally caught up to him." Neal had to force himself to look away from Peter and at the bitch. "How desperately do you want him dead?"

Neal pulled the gun out of his waistband rather quickly and pressed it against Peter's head. "So desperately," he whispered. Peter's breathing became erratic and Neal knew he was terrifying his husband even though Peter knew he hadn't sided with Rachel. The fact that Neal had a loaded gun against his head unnerved the hell out of the older man. "I hate everything you did to me. I hate everything you said to me. I hate you."

Tears slid down the sides of Peter's face as he opened his eyes and stared up at his husband. Neal's piercing blue eyes were on him and he could see no cruelty in Neal's eyes. He knows Neal loves him, but hearing every word Neal was saying did hurt. Even though he knew Neal was making his last remarks to Rachel, he took this a little to heart. He wouldn't admit that to Neal, but he imagined that this is exactly what would happen if he ever hurt Neal so badly that Neal could never trust him again or believe a word he's said in the past. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you, Neal."

"Pull the trigger, baby," Rachel encouraged him. "Unless you have more that you need to say."

"I wish I'd never met you," Neal growled. "I wish we'd never fucked, that we never uttered those three words to each other. Telling you I loved you was a lie. And now I know just how much of a liar you were whenever you told me you loved me." Neal set his jaw firmly and Rachel grinned as she watched Neal struggle. She knew he was going to kill Peter—and then he would be all hers.

Rachel put her gun in its holster and crossed her arms over her chest as she focused on the face of the man she loves. "I wish I'd saved you all this trouble," Rachel admitted to Neal. Neal didn't look away from Peter's gaze, but something inside of him snapped when she said, "I tried to kill him. I was the one who nearly shot him in the heart. I was afraid to hit you, so I didn't kill him." Peter's eyes widened in surprise and Neal had to refrain from showing that same surprise. "I watched you react and I didn't want to hurt you, Neal, but I wish I'd killed him to spare you of all this pain."

Neal forced himself to smile a little sadistically and it felt so wrong, like he wasn't himself. "I appreciate that you missed," he admitted. The second half of his statement was a lie and Peter knew it. "You saved his torture for me. Now he gets to look into my eyes as I take his life from him." Peter's heart stopped when he saw Neal's finger twitch on the trigger.

"Neal," he whispered. He felt like something shifted within his husband and perhaps Neal was here to kill him now. Maybe Neal was beginning to believe Rachel and was actually turning against him now.

"You're going to hell," Neal said fiercely. "I should have killed you a very long time ago, but I'm glad I have this opportunity now." Peter tried to keep himself calm even though he was panicking. "Good fucking riddance." Even then, Peter couldn't close his eyes. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the man he loves more than anything else in the world and the man who could potentially end his life at this very moment. As Neal's finger twitched on the trigger again, Neal quickly shifted his aim and shot Rachel in the shoulder once, proceeded to shoot her twice in the stomach, and then he watched her drop. She wasn't dead, but Neal was going to make her suffer. Neal laughed and snarled, "Like I would ever completely trust you! Peter is everything to me, you bitch!" Peter wanted to wrap his arms around Neal, but he was still bound for the moment.

Rachel was gasping and crying out as Neal quickly moved to disarm her, tossing her gun back towards Peter. He didn't lower his own gun as she screamed in agony. "You played me?" she asked incredulously. "You should have believed he did those things to you! You were supposed to believe he did everything!"

Neal stood over her and aimed his gun between her eyes. "Peter would never do any of that to me. He loves me so much, Rachel, and it's a damn shame you'll never know how true love actually feels." She glared up at him and Peter didn't want to turn around, but he did anyway. He could see the hatred in Neal's eyes as he stared at her. "You shot my husband several years ago and I nearly lost him," he whispered fiercely as tears began to well up in his own eyes—angry tears. He could remember the moment Peter had been shot every single time he touched the scar, but he now knew who shot Peter in the first place.

After going years without answers, they finally knew who'd attempted to murder Peter. "He doesn't deserve you," she told him. "He doesn't know how to love you. He doesn't treat you like a real man."

Peter didn't look at her. He focused on his husband because he didn't know what Neal was going to do. "Don't you dare assume you know how he feels about me," Neal snapped at her. She began to taunt him, questioning his own masculinity if he allowed Peter to oppress him like he has all this time. She made comments about how Neal submits himself willingly to his master and laughed at him. Before Peter could attempt to dissuade Neal from doing something he may regret, Neal went through with it by his own choice.

A single gunshot boomed and echoed in the air. Neal's aim was absolutely perfect and the silence that followed moments later was a clear sign that he'd accomplished exactly what he'd wanted to accomplish.

Since she'd attempted to take Peter's life by nearly shooting him through the heart, Neal took her life using the same method. The only difference was that he didn't miss.

Peter stared at Neal with wide eyes. He didn't think Neal was going to kill her, but he wasn't going to complain about her death. "Neal," he whispered as he watched his husband breathe heavily while looming over Rachel's dead body. He felt like Neal was going to have a panic attack and he didn't want Neal to go through it alone. "Neal, please."

Neal put the safety on the gun and dropped it before running to Peter. The first thing he did was drop to his knees, embrace his husband, and kiss him fiercely. "I love you, Peter… God, do I love you…" Peter wished Neal had taken care of his bindings beforehand because he wanted to hold Neal just as much, but he couldn't exactly do that—or move at all. "She can never hurt you again," Neal murmured as he peppered kisses all over Peter's face a few moments later. "She'll never take you away. Never again." Neal was gasping against him and Peter could feel his husband's tears on his skin.

Gently, the older man hushed his husband. He desperately wanted to ask Neal to remove his bindings, but he didn't want to ruin the moment. Neal was relieved because she was dead and they were still alive. "I love you," he whispered to the younger man. "I love you very much, baby boy. I can't tell you just how much I love you…" Neal managed to calm himself down several moments later and then he sat back so he could look at Peter.

In Peter's eyes, he could see an ocean of love, of trust, and of gratitude. Peter's smile was genuine, but he looked so tired. Half of his face was bruised and a little bloody as a result of the torture they inflicted upon him. Glancing down Peter's body, he saw the scar near Peter's heart and he reached out to touch it immediately. His eyes drifted lower and he could see that Peter's midsection was covered in bruises. "When the hell did all of this happen?" he asked brokenly.

"Before the transceiver was given to you," Peter whispered. "I kept myself from facing the camera because I didn't want them to know I was talking to you, but I didn't want you to see this…" He could see the agony in Neal's eyes and he wanted nothing more than to hug his husband. "Honey, I'm really sorry for asking… Can you please untie me?" Neal sat up straighter as that finally clicked in his brain.

"I left the pocketknife in the car. Shit." They could hear the FBI agents finally arriving and Neal wanted to take care of his husband now that there wasn't an immediate threat. As Neal attempted to lift Peter into a standing position, Peter cried out in agony. "What?" Neal asked frantically. "What did I hurt?"

"Nothing," Peter said through his teeth. "Nothing."

Neal stopped trying to lift his husband and he asked, "How badly did they hurt you?"

Peter sighed and leaned forward, resting his head on Neal's shoulder. "At least two of my ribs are broken. I'm fairly certain my cheekbone is broken. My right shoulder is dislocated." Neal's eyes widened as he listened to his husband give him an inventory of injuries. "I may have a few broken fingers, too. They were merciless at first…"

"Jesus Christ," Neal said miserably. "I need to call an ambulance. I can't move you."

"No," Peter pleaded. "I need you. I need to be with you."

Neal smiled sadly as he whispered, "I can ride in the ambulance with you, sweetheart."

Peter nipped at Neal's neck and Neal yelped quietly because he hadn't expected that at all. He didn't think his husband would really feel up to messing around just yet considering all of his injuries. "I'll wait here. Go get the car." Neal protested and Peter bit his neck. If Peter weren't so hurt already, Neal would've smacked his husband's bare ass. "Go, Neal. I want you to take me. I don't want to be in an ambulance." Neal sighed and rubbed Peter's neck before kissing his forehead. He darted off towards the car like Peter wanted him to and he quickly jumped in and drove closer to Peter, parking as closely as he could so he didn't have to cause Peter more pain than was necessary.

Within moments, Neal was out of the car and on his knees behind Peter, cutting through the bindings on Peter's wrists, knees, and ankles. Peter gasped in pain when he moved his arms and he would've fallen forward if Neal hadn't wrapped his arm around his upper torso. "I've got you," Neal promised him. He kissed Peter's temple and, despite knowing it would be difficult, he gathered Peter into his arms. He did struggle with Peter's weight, but his determination and the fact that Peter held onto him made things slightly easier.

Neal helped his husband lie down in the back of the car before throwing a blanket over him. He tucked it in around Peter's chilled skin and Peter lifted his left hand so he could grip Neal's jaw. Neal paused and looked at his husband concernedly. "I love you, Neal. I could never love anyone more than I love you."

"I'll never, ever love anyone other than you," Neal whispered as he smiled lovingly at his husband. "Well, aside from our babies." Peter chuckled and made a pained sound moments later. "Okay. It's time for me to get you out of here." He made sure Peter was situated as comfortably as he could manage and then he closed the door.

Peter listened to his husband speak outside of the car and he didn't have it in him to sit up and make sure Neal was okay. He wanted to downplay his injuries as much as he could, but he didn't want to hide things from Neal because he knows how sensitive Neal can be.

In a matter of moments, Neal slid into the car and tossed the gun he'd retrieved into the passenger seat. "Was that my gun?" Peter asked, sounding amused. Neal glanced back at him and gave him a small smile. "Nice, baby."

"My prints are on it. Jones told me not to worry about it though. He took pictures quickly and told me I could take the gun." He started up the car and began to take his husband to the nearest hospital. "If either of us get into trouble for killing her, I will immediately take responsibility for my actions and claim it was self-defense since she was, technically, armed and potentially dangerous." Peter closed his eyes and listened to his husband ramble about a few things before he faded out of consciousness, hearing his husband's beautiful voice even as it lulled him to sleep.

•◊•

The next time Peter woke up, it was dark and he could hear quiet singing beside him—Neal was singing. He was singing their song: I Wanna Kiss You All Over. He moaned quietly and Neal paused. "Don't stop," he whispered.

"Welcome back, lover." Neal leaned over him and kissed his forehead. Peter looked at his husband and saw how exhausted he looked. "Everything went well. I was told that your ribs will heal on their own, that your knee needs surgery, and your cheekbone will require a little bit of surgery." Peter groaned and closed his eyes. "Hey," Neal whispered. "You're still alive and I'm grateful for that." He kissed Peter's nose this time before sitting back down. "Your wrists and ankles are bruised, but they'll be fine. Your arm's in a sling and they taped your fingers together since the breaks weren't too severe."

"Did I die and go to hell?"

Neal rolled his eyes. "If you took me to hell with you, then yes."

Peter shook his head slowly. "Beautiful angels like you don't belong in hell."

The younger man smiled when Peter opened his eyes and looked at him. "Nicky knows you're okay, but I probably won't be able to bring him in for a little while considering all of the surgery you need." Peter slid his left hand across the bed and Neal gently curled his fingers around Peter's. "You're going to have to take quite a bit of time off from work, love, and then we're going to focus on making damn sure you don't overexert yourself. You need to heal."

"Baby." Neal made a quiet sound of question. "Get up here and make love with me." Neal chuckled. "I'm not kidding. I love you so much and I want you so badly."

"Peter, come on. You know we can't do that right now." Peter gave him a pleading, pouty look and Neal shook his head. "Oh, I'm not falling for that, my love. You can give me puppy dog eyes and the pouty lip all you want." Peter huffed and Neal lifted Peter's left hand so he could kiss Peter's wedding ring. "When you're healed, you know I'll be more than happy to make love with you again. For the next several weeks, you need to take it easy and I'm going to kick your ass if you hurt yourself enough to wind up in here again. I'm sorry that you're a little horny, but there's nothing we can do about it right now that won't hurt you in some way."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "So I guess that rules out making love to you while you're asleep?"

Rolling his eyes again, Neal muttered, "You're impossible…"

"I don't know if my body can take this," Peter admitted. "I'm not trying to be insensitive, but my traumas are all physical—not emotional or sexual. I can have sex with you, honey, and nothing bad will happen."

Neal let out a sigh of frustration. "Sex is not an option until I'm sure you won't hurt yourself." Peter frowned at him and Neal knew how badly Peter was craving him because he was feeling those same cravings for Peter. "When Doctor Lindley clears you, we'll start having sex again—carefully. Until then, you need to rest and relax. Don't stress yourself out and don't overexert your body." Peter looked away from his husband and Neal sighed—sadly. "I want you, too. I want you really, really bad, Peter." Peter made a sound and Neal closed his eyes. "If you weren't hurt so badly in certain places of your body, I'd still be reluctant to do anything. Your shoulder's dislocated, your ribs are broken, your knee is—"

"Stop talking," Peter snapped as he pulled his hand away from Neal's. Neal instantly silenced himself and wished he could do or say something to make Peter feel better. He opened his mouth to speak and Peter said, "You say another word and I'm going to ask you to leave." Neal closed his mouth and frowned. He understands Peter's frustration and he didn't know how to compensate for Peter's injuries and sexual needs right now. It would be at least six weeks before Neal would even consider making love with Peter out of sheer fear that Peter would wind up in the hospital again. Peter couldn't be on his knees over him or behind him. Peter's ribs and dislocated shoulder posed problems that he knew would frustrate Peter. He wasn't purposely trying to torture his husband by denying him sex. His first duty as Peter's husband was to take care of him.

They were silent for quite some time before Neal pushed his chair back and stood up. As soon as he did that, Peter looked at him concernedly. "I'll be back," Neal said miserably as he turned to leave.

"No," Peter pleaded. "I'm sorry, Neal. Don't leave." Neal sighed. All he wanted to do was take a walk around the floor and maybe get himself something to eat. He's been in the hospital with Peter for three days already and he only ate one small meal in that length of time because Hannah forced him into the cafeteria and Jon didn't let him back into Peter's hospital room until he ate everything. "I'm sorry for upsetting you."

"I'm fine," Neal whispered. He was honestly anything but fine. Nicky kept texting him for updates, Elizabeth frequently let him know that the twins were doing all right, and Peter's parents were trying to give him as much affection as they could since Peter had been unconscious until a little while ago. He hadn't slept at all since he brought Peter into the hospital. He was high on adrenaline and extremely worried about his husband, so he didn't think it was possible for him to rest until he knew Peter was going to wake up.

Peter reached out with his left hand, hoping Neal would come back to him. When Neal didn't move, Peter whispered, "Don't lie to me. I know you're not fine, Neal." Neal closed his eyes and Peter felt awful when Neal broke down. Neal felt so embarrassed because his exhaustion led him to this emotional state, so he covered his face and tried to at least make it to the bathroom. "Neal!" Peter pleaded quietly. Neal froze in front of the bathroom door as he continued sobbing into his hands. "Baby, come back. Don't run away." Neal lowered his hands and rubbed his tears away in frustration before returning to Peter's side, plopping down into the chair beside Peter's hospital bed. "Holy shit. You look terrible."

As if Neal hadn't felt awful already, he said, "You know, I could really do without the criticism right now, damn it. I'm so fucking tired and out of it because I was so fucking afraid that you were going to be comatose if I fell asleep. I haven't eaten in two fucking days. I haven't seen my children in three fucking days. You just woke up about forty-five minutes ago and I just want to go home so you don't have to put up with me anymore."

The older man bit his lip because he knew how much Neal overexerted his emotional and physical wellbeing. "I love you, Neal. I'm sorry. You don't deserve my shitty attitude." He tried to get Neal to smile by giving him a small smile, but Neal wasn't interested in returning it considering how shitty he felt now. "Honey, thank you for being at my side. I'm really sorry for being ungrateful, lover. If you want to go home and rest, you can. I don't want to make you feel worse." Peter didn't realize they'd been here for more than a day already, so he felt awful for hurting his husband's feelings considering Neal's remained at his side faithfully since rescuing him. "Do you want to go home? I can ask dad to come pick you up." Neal gave him a look of confusion. "Honey, I don't want you to drive like this. You're upset—with me. You're not feeling well, you're tired, and I don't feel comfortable letting you leave unless I'm sure you won't unintentionally get yourself killed."

"It's not like you want me here," Neal whispered miserably. "All I've done since you woke up is fail you repeatedly and piss you off because I—"

"Don't do that to yourself," Peter pleaded. "I'm sorry. You're absolutely right about everything you told me and I should've listened to you." Neal shrugged. "Baby, you haven't failed me or pissed me off. I frustrated myself because there's nothing I can do for our sex life. I promised you I'd make love to you as soon as we were together again and I didn't stay true to that…"

"I don't give a damn about the sex," Neal snapped. "I want to have sex with you, but your physical wellbeing means so much more to me." Peter nodded and lifted his left hand when Neal leaned forward while sighing. He stroked Neal's hair gently and hoped that was helping Neal a little. "I just want you to get better. I don't want to do something that will set back any progress your body makes while healing." He rubbed his thumb over Neal's soft, warm lips and Neal gently kissed Peter's thumb.

Peter smiled sadly even though Neal wasn't looking at him. "I won't pressure you into anything," Peter reassured his husband, "and I'll stop begging until, like you said, the doctor clears me." Neal lifted his head so he could meet Peter's gaze and Peter realized how much that little statement meant to his husband. "You've done so much for me, Neal. The least I can do is honor your request and acknowledge that you want me to get better before we can get dirty together." Neal actually laughed a little and that made Peter's heart flutter. "There's the sun," he whispered when he saw Neal crack a little smile. "I'll take it easy, lover. I'm so sorry for stressing you out. If you want to go home, you can. You need to rest and eat, Neal." Peter watched his husband start to lean forward and his brows furrowed. "Hon, you okay?" Peter realized Neal was tired enough to fall asleep while they were talking. "Neal, climb up here with me," he said softly, nudging his husband. "Sleeping in a chair is uncomfortable. Trust me—I know."

"Can't," Neal whispered. "I'll hurt you."

"Oh, get up here, angel. Lie down on my left side and we'll be—" Neal moved abruptly and did exactly that. He climbed onto the bed and, despite being as tired as he is, made sure they were both comfortable and covered up. "There we go," Peter whispered, kissing Neal's hair. Neal's head was on his chest and his hand was over Peter's heart, touching the scar tentatively. "Rest, beautiful. You deserve it after everything you've done for me. I'm safe and we're together again."

Neal whispered, "I'll sleep better…with you…" He was dozing off again and Peter couldn't blame him. Neal was physically and emotionally tired, plus Peter frustrated him enough to make him cry and that didn't make it any better. Peter was determined to make sure Neal took care of himself first because he didn't want Neal harming himself while he was trying to help his husband.

He fell asleep with his husband, relaxing because he knew they'd both sleep better together.

.The following morning, Peter woke up again and he glanced at his husband. Neal was still sound asleep and it looked as if he hadn't moved or woken up at all during the night. He wanted to shift a little because Neal was laying on his arm, but he really didn't want to wake the younger man. He absolutely understood losing sleep over not having his husband beside him. Neal hadn't allowed himself to relax for several weeks and he hadn't allowed himself to rest in the last several days either.

When Neal's leg shifted and hit Peter's knee, Peter tried not to make a sound, but he still did. Unfortunately, Neal instantly woke up and Peter could see the panicked look on Neal's face. "It's okay," Peter reassured him. "Go back to sleep, honey."

"I hurt you," Neal whispered, pushing himself up carefully. He moved his legs away from Peter and was beginning to slide off of the bed, but Peter wrapped his arm around Neal's waist and tried to pull him closer. "Peter, I don't want to hurt you again."

"You'll hurt me more if you don't get back over here." Neal sighed and did as Peter asked, lying down beside him again. "I want you to go back to sleep, lover. You still look exhausted." Neal nodded silently and Peter slowly ran his fingers through Neal's hair. "Go to sleep, hon." He could see a little bit of fear in Neal's eyes even though they both knew how exhausted he was. "I promise I'll be right here and more than likely awake the next time you wake up, sweetheart. Just rest."

Neal pushed himself up enough so he could kiss Peter without hurting Peter's cheekbone. "I love you and I'm glad you're safe…"

Peter smiled at his husband's sleepy face and nodded. "I'm always safe when I'm with you, my sweet angel." He kept stroking Neal's hair and repeatedly whispered, "I love you," to him. Neal rested his head on Peter's chest again and his hand was over the scar once more. Peter spoke so softly and made Neal feel so loved and comfortable that Neal was able to go back to sleep very quickly.

A little while later, Diana came in. "Oh, good. You're awake—and he finally isn't." Peter gave her a small smile as she came closer. "How's he doing? Poor guy was practically on death's doorstep."

"He'll be all right once he's rested. Can I ask for a favor?"

"Anything, boss."

"Will you take Neal out for lunch? He hasn't eaten much since we got here and I can only imagine he struggled to eat while I wasn't with him." Diana nodded. "He needs to get out of here for a little while—maybe go home to the kids for a bit, too."

She smiled at the older man and was glad the two men in front of her loved each other as much as they do. "Of course," she said softly. "The only problem will be convincing him that it's okay to leave you here."

Peter sighed quietly and nodded. "He's amazing and I don't know what I'd do without him in my life. As much as I love having him around, he's exhausted and I really didn't help that when I woke up last night." She furrowed her brows at him. "I think the medications and painkillers fucked me up—or I did it to myself. I was really horny last night and I kept asking him for sex. He was upset with me."

"His past is beginning to hurt him again?"

Peter shook his head. "No, it's not that. He was upset with me because I know I'm going to need time to recover before I can participate. He told me that I'm going to need to wait for clearance before I can have sex with him again and I do understand exactly why he wants that, but my body really wants to be against and inside of his."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad one of you is responsible. Someone is going to have to keep a close eye on you, boss." Peter rolled his eyes. "Even if Neal were to position himself so you didn't harm yourself, your orgasm would probably cause you a great deal of pain."

"You're probably right…" He glanced at Neal's left hand that was resting over the scar on his chest. "Rachel hurt him very deeply before he killed her…" Diana took a seat in the chair beside Peter's hospital bed so she could listen to the older man intently. "Rachel admitted to taking a shot at me once. The scar I have is from that shot." Diana's eyes widened. "Because she thought Neal was on her side, she finally revealed that she'd attempted to murder me once. Neal, apparently, got in the way and she missed because of him." Peter remembered how much emotional pain Neal had been in as he'd lost consciousness and left Neal to take care of him. Neal did take care of him as long as he could prior to getting into the ambulance and then into the hospital. "He remembers the pain and fear he felt because he thought he was going to lose me then. That bitch almost killed me and I don't know what my death would have done to him."

"Wow," was all Diana could whisper. "It's a good thing Neal killed her. It was probably the most merciful way she could go at this point. Besides, she could have broken out of prison and there's that chance that she'd take a shot at you—or both of you—again."

Peter nodded. "I didn't know he was going to kill her, but I'm glad he did. He's so much stronger than he ever was before, but he definitely doesn't need her presence setting him back." Sighing quietly, Peter whispered, "I just hope no one else decides to harm him. The man who raped him as a teenager and as an adult is dead. The man who raped him as an adult is dead. Now the woman who raped him and watched him be raped is dead."

Diana gave him a small smile. "You both fought very hard to get to where you are now. As far as I'm concerned, you two don't have anyone else targeting you. No one's made death threats directed at you in quite some time." She grinned and said, "The battle is over."

Peter stared at his husband's sleeping form lovingly while stroking Neal's soft hair and whispered, "This war is finally over."