Author's Note: Sorry for another long wait, I'm still struggling with my mental health at the same time a lot of things are going on in my life but I will try to update sooner next time.
As always thanks for all the reviews/follows/favourites it always makes me very happy.
All mistakes are still mine.

CHAPTER 13

Neal continued to cry while Elizabeth rocked him, and whispered comforting words to him until the sobs turned into sniffles.

"I wanna go home."

Neal sniffled and Peter knew that Neal didn't just want to go home, he wanted to go back to normal, go back to the safety he felt before all of this happened but Peter also knew that things would never be the same after this, it was the kind of incident that stayed with you for the entire life.
They would always remember that she had been kidnapped by Scarface, and they would never feel as safe again.
The thoughts of Scarface made Peter realize that none of the men in the house matched the leader's description.
The men in the house had been simple pawns, and Scarface was still out there.
He couldn't let Elizabeth and Neal go back home, even if he would order an agent to watch over them, Peter would be worried about Scarface would go after Elizabeth again or even try to kidnap the kid.
He also wasn't particularly fond of the idea of them going back to that crappy apartment, it wouldn't surprise him if the ceiling fell in on them or if there was mold somewhere that would make them sick.

"I don't think you should return home just yet"

He said and Elizabeth lifted her head and gave him a questioning look.

"The man behind all of this was not in that house, he's still out there and who's to say he won't go after you again."

Elizabeth didn't look convinced and he could see her getting ready to argue.

"Who's to say he won't go after Neal."

At least that convinced her, judging by the way his words made her tighten the grip of the boy even more and how she placed a kiss on top of Neal's head.

"Where are we supposed to go then?"
"You could stay here!"

Peter winced at how eager he sounded and he cleared his throat before trying to sound more professional.

"I mean, you are welcome to stay here. I can have an agent posted outside the house 24/7 and personally I would feel much better knowing that I can protect you and Neal"

Elizabeth thought about it for a couple of seconds before nodding, she seemed to have realize that staying in an FBI agent's house was safer than staying in her apartment.

"Is that okay with you Neal?"

Even if the boy nodded, Peter could see that he was hesitating and that both confused and hurt Peter.
He thought that he had gotten closer to the kid during the time he had been staying here, and he thought that Neal felt the same, so why was he opposed to staying in his house for a while longer?

"Great, we'll stay here then!"

Elizabeth said before standing up again while Neal got back on the chair.

"I need to take a shower."

She then announced, she hadn't had a shower or change of clothes since she was kidnapped so she was understandably not feeling that fresh.

"Of course, come on I'll show you where the towels are."

He followed her upstairs and showed her the towels and grabbed an old hoodie and a couple of sweatpants that she could wear while her dirty, smelly clothes could be washed.
Peter then returned downstairs where Diana and Neal had just finished up their game, and by Diana's complaining it was obvious who the winner was.

"I would have won if you didn't cheat."

She accused him and the boy placed a hand on his chest, acting completely shocked by the accusation.

"Diana, I would never do such a thing."

Neal promised but there was something about Neal's innocent smile that made Peter believed that the kid had cheated, even if he wasn't completely sure how you could cheat in a game built on chance.

"Diana, I was wondering if you could swing by Elizabeth's apartment and pick up some clothes and other thing she and Neal might need."
"On it, boss."

She answered and got up before pointing her finger at Neal.

"I want a rematch, kid and the next time I will kick your butt."

Neal just giggled as an answer, making it clear that he didn't for one second believe that Diana would beat him.
As Diana left the house, Peter sat down on the chair previously occupied by her and looked at the boy.
Peter sat quiet for a while, mentally debating on how he should talk to the kid, if he should ease in to his question or if he should just ask him point blank.
In the end he decided upon the latter, simply because he just wanted to know.

"Neal, I know there was some problems in the beginning but I want to ask you now, if you're okay with me and your mother dating."

The kid released a deep sigh, as if he had been dreading to get this question.

"Peter, I like you but only as a friend."

Peter had to restrain himself from laughing at Neal's words, because it sounded like he was being dumped a six-year-old.

"I don't want you dating my mom."

Neal said and Peter couldn't help but feel disappointed, and still very confused as to why the boy didn't want them to be in a relationship.
Was he just simply being possessive over his mother, not wanting to share her attention with anyone else?

"Why not?"

Peter asked but received no answer, instead the boy just looked away and refused to meet the agent's eyes.
They spent a couple of minutes in silence before he realized that he wouldn't be getting an answer on his question, so instead he got up from his chair.

"Why don't you bring Satchmo out in the backyard while I check on your mother?"

Neal jumped off the chair excitedly and brought the golden retriever outside, both of them happy to go out in the fresh air and play.
Just to be sure, Peter scanned the backyard for any potential threats and when he didn't find any, he walked up the stairs and over to the bathroom.
There was no water running, but there was another sound coming from the room.
At first, he had a hard time identifying it but as soon as he did, he felt the worry surge up.

"Elizabeth, is everything okay?"

He asked as he knocked on the door, but she didn't answer instead she just continued to sob.

"I'm coming in."

He waited a few seconds, giving her the time to protest but when no protests came he opened the door and walked inside.
Elizabeth's hair was wet and she was dressed in the clothes he gave him, so she had managed to take a shower but at some point after that she had ended up crying on the floor.
He didn't need to ask her why she was crying because he already knew, he simply couldn't imagine how anyone could get kidnapped and be fully okay afterwards.
It must be a horrible experience, especially when you were taken away from your child like that and then spend several days locked in a room, not knowing if you would see said child again or if you would even make it out alive.
Peter sat down next to her and she immediately leaned her head against his shoulder, while he put his arm around her and just held her as she cried.

"I'm sorry."

She said once the sobbing had turned into sniffles.

"You have nothing to apologize for."
"I'm trying to not be affected by it, I'm trying to be strong, for Neal, but it's really hard to be stronger than you feel."
"It's okay to be affected by it, you've been through hell."

Elizabeth smiled as Peter placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.

"You're a good man, Peter Burke."

She said before standing up, and looking at her face in the mirror.
He could understand why she didn't want to show her weakness in front of Neal, few parents wanted that.
"Can you go and check on Neal? I'll be down in a minute."
Peter placed another kiss on her head before leaving the bathroom to go and check on the boy and the dog.

Elizabeth managed to pull herself together, and if he hadn't witnessed it he could never have guessed that she had broken down at all.
She even managed to cook a simple but delicious meal and Peter was amazed by her cooking skills, he honestly didn't think he'd ever had such a delicious homecooked meal before since both him and his parents were terrible cooks.
After the meal they had all ended up on the couch and watched some kid friendly movie until it was time for the boy to go to bed.
Neal didn't want to go to bed because he didn't want to leave his mom at all and she spent over an hour upstairs before she returned downstairs, looking completely exhausted.
Elizabeth then sat down on the couch next to him and yet again leaned her head on his shoulder and Peter pulled a blanket over them as his body was filled with a warm feeling.
It just felt so natural, it felt as if they were a family and Peter could easily see himself sitting on the couch snuggled up to Elizabeth and watching TV for the rest of his life.
He didn't even shy away from the thought of dealing with a stubborn kid who didn't want to go to bed, no quite the opposite it just felt natural too.
Despite these feelings he knew that they were far from a family, even if Neal liked him he didn't want him to date Elizabeth and he didn't even know how he should view his relationship with Elizabeth, if they even had a relationship.
Peter tried to focus on the TV but his thoughts kept going back to the same place, so when there was a commercial he muted the TV to finally address the elephant in the room.

"Elizabeth, I need to ask you something."

She looked up at him, urging him to go on.

"I just need to know if there's still a relationship between us or not."

Elizabeth sat up straighter and she stayed silent for a couple of seconds, making Peter feel slightly anxious over what her answer would be.

"Peter, you know that I love you and that I never wanted to end our relationship. It's just that Neal-"
"Doesn't want us to date, I know. I asked him before and he said that he only likes me as a friend."

He interrupted and Elizabeth cracked a small smile at her son's choice of words before it disappeared again.

"You can't take it personal, Peter, it's just that he-"

She interrupted herself, seemingly struggling with the best way to explain it before she finally just ended it by saying that it was a long story.
Peter answered that he was willing to listen to that long story, but also made it clear that there was no pressure.
Even if he desperately wanted to know why Neal was so opposed to their relationship, he didn't want to pressure her into talking about it either.
Elizabeth suddenly excused herself, saying that she needed to get some fresh air and walked out the backdoor with the dog following eagerly, Satchmo would never miss an opportunity to go outside.

Author's Note 2:I was thinking about telling some of Elizabeth and Neal's backstory, mostly about why Neal don't want them dating.

If I do that, it would most likely be told in dialogue, is that something you want or would that be too tedious to read. Let me know :)