Chapter 17
The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Neal came to. A quick look around confirmed that they were on the fast food strip located about twenty minutes from home. He turned in his seat, getting his first glimpse at a haggard looking Sara.
'Hey! Why didn't you wake me?' he asked as he blinked away the bright morning sun.
'You looked so comfy, I didn't have the heart to.'
He rubbed his forehead, noticing his head was a lot clearer than it had been before his impromptu nap.
'You did good Repo' he said, glancing at the clock on the dash. Despite the rainy weather, they'd made the trip in less than five and a half hours.
'The rain stopped about an hour ago' she replied. 'That helped.'
He removed the blanket he'd been clutching and checked himself out. The edge of a piece of paper stuck out of his jeans pocket and he pulled it out.
'I totally forgot… this was on the windshield when I packed up the car.'
She frowned. 'What is it?'
'It's a note from Beth.'
Sara's eyes grew in surprise. Maybe she would finally gain some insight into what had happened the night before. 'What does it say?'
He gave her the old eyebrow wag. 'How should I know? It's addressed to you.'
'Right… as if that's ever stopped you.'
He dropped the piece of paper in her open purse and took a deep cleansing breath. He couldn't wait to finally lay eyes on his son but he was still feeling the need to get some answers from Peter. The two men had argued frequently over the years… about a lot of things. Mostly they disagreed about Peter's apparent need to keep things from Neal, ostensibly to protect him. It got Neal riled up every time.
Back when he'd been Peter's CI, the special agent had kept him in the dark on many occasions, sharing things strictly on a need to know basis. Sometimes his intentions were pure, trying to keep Neal from worrying about things that might upset him or have a negative impact on his so called rehabilitation. Other times, he kept Neal out of the loop for one simple reason: because he didn't trust him. Working in the White Collar offices gave Neal access to a lot of privileged information, information that could be used in less than honourable ways. To top it off, Neal's relationship with Mozzie was a constant worry for Peter. He knew that whatever Neal knew would make its way to Mozzie's ears and in those cases, neither one of them could be trusted.
Of course since Neal had left the Bureau, their relationship had evolved into a mutually satisfying and respectful friendship but Peter seemed to be stuck in big brother mode and still tended to shelter Neal from certain things. Perhaps it was their age difference or the fact that Peter still felt a certain responsibility for Neal, either way it irked the younger man to be kept out of the loop.
'Are you calm enough to talk to Peter?' Sara asked, reading his mind.
'Right now, all I want to think about is Liam. I can't wait to see him, make sure he's all right.'
'That's not what I asked you' she said.
Neal looked out the window and exhaled.
'Neal…' she said, reaching for his hand. He kept staring out at the street.
'Honey, look at me' she insisted.
He turned his head in her direction, his face expressionless.
'You know I'm upset too. I wish he'd called us the minute it happened. We could have left right away and maybe we could have done something sooner to get him back.'
Neal just kept staring at her, lines deepening on his forehead.
'But blowing up at Peter isn't going to change any of that.'
Neal shook his head. 'You don't get it. He always thinks he knows best. It drives me nuts.'
'What? You're not insinuating he avoided calling us on purpose.'
'Maybe… I mean he could have tried harder to get in touch.'
'Come on Neal. Can't we just be thankful Liam was returned in one piece.'
'You're kidding right?' he said, a hard edge to his voice. 'Don't you remember how long it took Hope to recover after the Keller thing. She's not even over it now. She still worries someone's going to come after me.'
Sara couldn't deny there was some truth to what he'd just said.
'All I know is that Peter loves you and he worries about you. And you're going to hate yourself if you blow up at him.'
Neal's lips grew tight and he nodded but she wasn't convinced he was really listening.
'How does your ankle feel?' he asked, out of the blue.
'Fine, just a little tight' she replied playing along. Changing the subject was a lame yet tried and true Neal Caffrey technique to avoid touchy subjects.
They arrived in their neighbourhood noticing the streets glistening from the earlier rainfall, making everything look fresh and clean. As Sara turned the corner onto their street, she saw that, despite the rising sun, the porch light by their front door was still on. She pulled into the driveway, cutting the corner a little too tight and driving right over the patch of grass Neal had just re-sodded a few weeks before. He sighed and bit his tongue to keep from commenting - he'd have to do it all over again. No lights on upstairs they noticed. Was everyone still asleep? Neal grabbed their suitcases from the trunk of the car and followed Sara who was busy searching her purse for her house key. They'd just stepped onto the front porch when the door opened wide revealing Elizabeth Burke standing there in a chenille robe.
WCWCWC
The warm glow of the rising sun enveloped the kitchen as Elizabeth made her way downstairs shortly after 5:00 on Thursday morning. She turned on a few lights and proceeded to brew herself a badly needed first cup of coffee. She'd just left a snoozing Peter and Liam up in the Caffreys' bedroom. Peter had asked her to wake him up first thing but she hadn't had the heart to follow orders. His phone had been silent since he'd come home which meant there was still no news on Cornyn's whereabouts.
When he'd finally climbed into bed, Peter had tossed and turned for almost an hour, mindful of Liam occupying the middle of the bed. He'd finally nodded off at around three while Liam slept straight through, unmolested by dreams or trips to the bathroom. Poor little guy. El recalled how a couple of years earlier, Sara had confided in her about his persistent habit of wetting the bed. No matter what they tried - cutting down on liquids, taking him to the bathroom before they turned in for the night - Liam continued to pee the bed almost nightly and she and Neal had just about given up on him growing out of it. Then, miraculously, one weekend the little guy had slept through the night and woken with dry sheets. One night had turned into two, then a week, a month and to his parents' delight, he hadn't had another bed wetting episode since. Nobody knew how or why and frankly, it didn't matter.
His reverting back to the old behaviour was not surprising. She only hoped it was a one time thing. Liam was at the age now where it mattered very much what his friends thought of him and she hated to think he would go back to feeling ashamed about something he had very little control over.
El poured a dollop of milk into her coffee as she glanced around the room, her mind wandering. Neal and Sara might be hungry when they finally got home. Without much thought, she set the oven to 350 degrees and began poking around the cupboards on the hunt for baking ingredients. As she worked, she mentally replayed the strange events of the previous day, beginning with Hope's little misfire as a hair colourist.
Her goddaughter was naturally curious and more importantly, headstrong. Even if El had known ahead of time what Hope and Olivia were plotting, it was silly to think she could have kept her from experimenting. After prodding, Hope had confessed that she'd been envious of a group of girls in her class who were known as the sunshine girls, their name reflective of their blond locks. She'd wanted to belong. Before bed, they'd managed to make some headway in getting Hope's hair colour back to its original shade but they still had a ways to go. El could only imagine Sara's reaction; perhaps a heads up was in order before her best friend laid eyes on her daughter. On the plus side, she'd managed to keep Hope in the dark about the fact her brother was missing and Hope had fallen asleep with Satchmo at her feet none the wiser.
The thought of Neal and Sara returning home to such chaos saddened her. She refilled the coffee maker with fresh water, preparing to brew a full pot to greet the homeowners upon their return. Their first order of business would be to check in on their son. Hopefully, Neal's anger towards Peter would have abated by now; she hated it when the two of them argued - which was frequent. These days though, their arguments were usually short lived. Thankfully, they both had a good sense of humour and short memories.
Peter had confided that although he'd tried to reach Neal the previous day, he'd been somewhat relieved not to have been able to. He felt partly responsible for what had happened to Liam and he'd been eager to fix the problem before Neal found out or had to worry about it. Conversely, it was understandable that Neal would be upset about being kept in the dark, regardless of the fact there was little he could have done from a distance.
She returned to her coffee, letting the warmth of the cup provide comfort. That's when she heard what sounded like a car driving up the quiet street. She pressed the start button on the coffee maker and headed for the front door.
WCWCWC
The large warehouse was empty except for heavy tarps covering the ground. Hundreds and hundreds of them lying every which way all over the cold cement floor. Except for the hum of fluorescent lights above his head, the only sound he could hear was soft whimpering coming from somewhere underneath the tarps. Peter stopped and listened, trying to locate where the moaning was coming from.
'Liam!' he cried out. 'Liam, where are you?'
The soft whining continued, coming from somewhere to his left. He resumed his search, frantically pulling up the coverings one by one as he went, his feet moving with care to avoid stepping on the little boy hidden underneath.
'Liam! Where are you? Liam!'
The crying resumed but this time emanating from his right, a helpless, despondent cry echoing in the empty warehouse. He stepped gingerly over the tarps towards the sound, terrified he might actually crush the child with his heavy feet.
'I'm here Liam!' he cried out. 'Don't worry, I'll find you.'
As he spoke, the room suddenly grew to twice its size, more tarps covering every single inch of the never ending floor. His eyes grew in horror and the crying intensified, this time coming from the other end of the room.
WCWCWC
'You're home!' Elizabeth called out as the Caffreys stepped into the house. There were quick hugs and an expectant look on both Neal and Sara's faces. Elizabeth noticed the bruise on her best friend's cheek and was about to ask about it when she stopped, thinking better of it.
'He's asleep in your bed' she said without bothering to wait for the question. 'Peter is with him.'
Neal and Sara exchanged glances and without hesitation, they started up the stairs with Neal leading the way. It was quiet up there, Hope's bedroom door was closed, Liam's room sat empty and the door to their room was wide open. They slowed their steps, entering the room without making a sound, their eyes riveted on the bed with the two very different looking occupants. They took a few more tentative steps, making their way to the far side of the bed, Neal's side, where Liam lay on his back, sleeping the sleep of the innocent. He looked angelic with his fists closed tightly like a newborn and his sandy coloured hair hanging on his forehead. His face was relaxed, his long eyelashes fanned out on his pink cheeks, his lips parted as he calmly breathed in and out. Neal exhaled slowly and felt Sara's hand on his arm as they both stared down at their son. Peter lay beside him, turned onto his side away from Liam. He snored loudly with a regular rhythm that was somehow reassuring. They made quite the pair.
It was tempting to reach out and scoop Liam up in their arms, hear his voice, be reassured that he was all right. But waking their son just so they could hug him suddenly seemed selfish. He'd been through a terrible ordeal and there would be plenty of time later for cuddling and explanations. Neal gave Sara a head nod towards the door and Sara led the way out, closing the door behind them as they exited. They both glanced down the hall towards Hope's room and Neal nodded. They opened the door and that pesky creak Neal had been meaning to fix let out a plaintive moan. They cringed but neither Satchmo nor Hope stirred, both of them out cold. The sight of the dog occupying the whole length of the bed made them smile. Hope's head peeked out from above the blankets and Sara did a double take. Even with the blinds closed and despite the semi darkness of the room, something didn't look right. She made a move to get closer but Neal held her back.
'Let her sleep' he murmured softly.
They exited, pulling the door closed behind them as they stood facing each other in the hallway outside the bedrooms. Their eyes met and they were drawn into an embrace, their bodies clinging to one another in sheer relief.
'It's okay' Neal murmured into her hair as he held her. 'They're okay, we're okay.'
Sara trembled in his arms, the tension from the past twenty-four hours finally catching up to her. She'd been dragged away by a violent man, left to deal with his brutal outburst and just as she was recovering from his attack, had learned their precious son had been abducted.
They stood for a long moment in the darkened hall, just holding each other and breathing quietly. They were finally home and their children were safe, sound asleep right within their reach. Their tense bodies began to relax in each other's embrace.
When they made it back to the kitchen, Elizabeth was busy placing fresh baked muffins on a plate.
'Here, sit down' she said, pulling back a couple of chairs. 'I'll get you two some coffee.'
Like guests in their own home, Sara and Neal took a seat, taking stock of each other for the first time since the sun had gone down the night before. Sara's face was looking worse than before, the bruise darkening under her eye, her hair disheveled. Neal looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, his eyes still small with sleep, his hair plastered up one side of his head. Sara reached out and flattened it as he stared down at his coffee.
'Peter wanted me to wake him before you got here but he got to sleep around three' she explained. 'He was at the office most of the night.'
Neal ignored her comment. 'Have they located Cornyn yet?'
She shook her head and he sighed loudly.
El took the seat across from her best friend and examined her face. 'What happened to you?'
Sara shook her head. 'It's a long story. I'll tell you later.'
'How's Liam?' Neal asked, his voice raw. 'I mean, how is he really?'
He was looking at her with his probing eyes and Elizabeth knew she wasn't going to get away with half-truths and generalities.
'He was sound asleep in Peter's arms when they finally got home around eleven thirty. Physically, he's fine.'
Sara cringed at the specificity of El's remark. 'Physically?' she repeated.
El sidestepped the question. 'We put him to bed and he slept for a while. But when Peter went back to the office, he woke up crying. Said he'd had a bad dream and… well, he'd wet the bed.'
Sara let out a choking sound.
'I changed his sheets and… well, then he seemed… spooked so I brought him to bed with me. It took a while but I managed to get him back to sleep.'
Neal ran his hand through his hair, heartache written all over his face.
'Peter took him to the hospital and had him checked out. Not a scratch on him' El continued. 'There's stuff there on the counter from the social worker about… emotional support.'
Neal scoffed. Sadly, they'd been through this kind of thing with Hope just a couple of years ago.
'Peter… Peter feels awful about the way you found out' Elizabeth began. Now that she was face to face with Neal, she was feeling the need to defend her husband's actions.
Neal raised his hand to keep her from speaking. 'I don't want to hear it right now Elizabeth' he declared curtly.
In a gesture of conciliation, she pushed the plate of warm muffins closer to them but neither one acknowledged it.
'Do you want some ice for your cheek?' El asked, getting to her feet. Sara looked up with confusion on her face; for a moment there, it was as if she didn't even remember getting hurt.
'You should' Neal said, placing his hand on his wife's. 'It's still really swollen.'
Elizabeth opened the freezer door and located an ice pack which she brought to the table. Sara ignored it until Neal picked it up and forcibly placed it on her cheek. 'You're gonna scare the kids with that if you don't get the swelling down.'
Sara sighed and took the ice pack from his hand. She was suddenly too exhausted to fight. The long drive, the lack of sleep, the fear for the safety of her son, her own long misadventure at the hands of a man named Brett… it all came back to hit her and she let out a soft whimper. El's arm was instantly around her shoulder, comforting her.
Sara let out a choked laugh. 'Believe it or not, we had a great time.'
'Oh yeah?' El replied with a chuckle. 'You could have fooled me.'
Neal returned to sipping his coffee in silence, his mind in overdrive. He needed to talk to Peter, needed to get some answers to the many questions that were buzzing around his brain. He wanted details, explanations… maybe even an apology.
There was the sound of footsteps coming down the staircase and the three of them looked up to find Peter standing there.
TBC
