Note: Hugs! Thank you all for the wonderful support during these 'rescue' chapters!
Chapter Sixty-four
Sleeping fitfully Neal fought against what was quickly becoming a reoccurring theme every time he closed his eyes. Trapped under the stone in the black icy water Neal swam as best he could with his injured left shoulder that didn't want to cooperate with his commands. During his actual swim he'd had a faint glow to fixate on and although his lungs had been burning like acid by the time he reached the surface at least he'd had a goal and direction. In the murky world of his subconscious he had no such guide. Spending more time looking for an exit than he would have survived in the real world Neal's panic escalated.
Lost in the darkness Neal struggled to move like he was submerged in syrup instead of water. Not actually starving for air and with the distortion of time in his dream he felt like it had been an hour since his last breath. The impossible situation didn't help Neal recognize that he was in a nightmare, it just made his search for the surface more frenetic. Suddenly breaking through an unseen barrier into a dimly lit natural cavern Neal clawed at the edge of the stone shore only to have it break under his weight like an ice shelf.
Eventually hauling himself half way out of the midnight water Neal cried out when something clamped down on his ankle. Kicking wildly did nothing to deter his unseen assailant that was pulling him back. Digging his nails into the stone as best he could Neal momentarily slowed his decent only to then have his attacker lunge up out of the pool and wrap his arms around his waist. The unseen man beared his full weight down on Neal's back pinning him to the wet floor with a crushing force.
"Help me!" Neal cried desperately. "Someone, please! Help!"
"No one can hear you." Jake breathed in Neal's ear. "You didn't really think I'd ever let you go, did you?"
Filling his lungs Neal screamed as loud as he was capable in an animalistic wail. When he'd found himself trapped just below the abandoned subway tunnel he had spent hours baying for help until his voice was in tatters. Now before he could draw another breath to repeat his cry even once Jake tangled his hand into Neal's hair and yanked him back into the depths.
The shock of splashing back into the pool was enough to jolt Neal awake. Sitting bolt upright in the hospital bed drenched in a cold sweat Neal looked wildly around the unfamiliar dark room with his heart in his throat. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye Neal jerked away from it and tried to scramble off the far side of the bed only to be stopped by the rail. Unable to flee and too weak to fight Neal froze in hopes of just being left alone.
"Neal, its okay," Mozzie said gently "it's just me, it's Mozzie. You're safe."
Turning to look at Mozzie Neal's memory started to catch up with him. Mentally accepting he was safe didn't stop his treasonous body from still being in full fight or flight mode as adrenaline continued to course through his blood. Hiding his face in his hands for a moment he took a few calming breaths before focusing on his visitor. Neal did his best to show Mozzie that he was okay but the concerned look on his friend's face told him that he was failing miserably.
"Maybe I should go get the doctor."
"No!" Neal squawked in a hoarse whisper. "No, no strangers right now…please."
"Okay." Mozzie agreed as he carefully stepped up to the edge of the bed. "It's good to hear your voice."
"Peter?" Neal whispered anxiously.
"He's okay. They found him." Mozzie assured. "He got out of surgery about ten minutes ago, we were told that it went well. Elizabeth is down with him in recovery. They will bring him up here soon."
"Surgery?"
"Two of Peter's ribs broke off and needed to be plated back into place to keep them from cutting up his lungs. Elizabeth got to see him briefly in the ER, apparently he had a SWAT guy sitting on his stomach keeping him breathing with a vent bag. They assured us that he'd make it through surgery but we knew they'd never tell a frantic wife the truth. It was a long three hour wait that at first they told us would only be one or two at the most. I don't think he had a minute left to spare on that rescue."
Hearing how close he had come to being the sole survivor didn't make Neal feel any better as his nervous stomach soured further. His distress must have been outwardly obvious because Mozzie suddenly looked apologetic. Neal hated Mozzie looking at him with such pity but he didn't have the strength to hide any of his emotions at the moment.
"The important thing is that you and Peter are both safe." Mozzie said quickly.
"Jake?" Neal asked simply.
"Jake? I'm sorry, I don't know who that is."
Neal pointed over to the piles of his drawings that Mozzie had organized. Walking over to the four different stacks Mozzie picked up the set that held drawings of faces. Neal took the papers with a shaky hand and leafed through them until he found the one he'd done of Jake. Looking at the drawing Neal noticed how he drawn Jake's expression far more aggressive than he'd meant to. Neal had wanted the FBI to know about him in hopes that he was still standing guard over Peter, but it had been hard to answer when Hughes asked if he was a friend or foe. When Hughes had pressed him again Neal had scrawled 'ally' under Jake's portrait along with a hasty sketch of his brand mark. Neal gave the drawing to Mozzie.
"I don't recognize him." Mozzie said. "But there has been a lot of confusion around here. Between staying here with Elizabeth and you I haven't exactly been 'in the loop' with the Suits outside."
Despite Mozzie's explanation being a perfectly valid one Neal furrowed his brow in concern at there being no news about Jake. As unstable as he was there was a hundred things that could have gone wrong including him attacking the SWAT team. Jake had been underground for so long that despite his desire to see the sky he might have panicked at the thought of rescue. Not only did he have an odd brand of institutionalization he had killed men in the past and the FBI would represent a threat to his freedom once out. As much as he hated to think it of himself Neal wasn't sure how upset he'd be if he found that Jake had been killed, particularly if he learned that he had abandoned Peter.
"…I really didn't think I was ever going to see you again, Neal."
Pulled out of his dark thoughts about Jake by the stress in Mozzie voice Neal suddenly realized how hard all of this must have been on Mozzie. Mozzie had a lot of connection and acquaintances but when it came to actual friends that he trusted and depended on that number took a sharp dive. Ashamed he hadn't thought of it before Neal reached out and pulled Mozzie into a warm embraced. Although not usually into physical signs of affection Mozzie gratefully accepted the contact. When Neal released him Mozzie looked around as if to make sure no one had seen the moment of weakness.
"I'm glad you're safe." Mozzie smiled. "…and the Suit too, for Elizabeth's sake of course."
Neal chuckled however he ended up triggering his gag reflex and started dry heaving. Not wanting to alert the medical staff outside he did his best to keep quiet. Looking alarmed Mozzie went to go get help but Neal reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Neal, please, let me go get the doctor."
"No." Neal panted. "Peter first, then I'll deal with doctors."
"Neal..." Mozzie hesitated to continue.
Neal looked to Mozzie anxiously when he didn't finish his thought.
"Neal, you can't let Peter see you like this."
Sighing heavily Neal released his hold on Mozzie's arm. He knew he was right. Peter had barely survived physically and Neal didn't want to stress him further by showing how poorly he was doing emotionally. He had hoped that once Peter was found that he'd feel better, but now he decided that he would need to see Peter again before any of his fears were eased. Trying to quell his rebelling stomach Neal pulled his shoulders back to try and help look like he was more together than he felt. After taking a deep breath Neal painted on a brave smile before looking to Mozzie for approval of his conning skills.
"Oh…I…uh…" Mozzie shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I meant you can't let him see you covered in blood."
Furrowing his brow at the misunderstanding Neal looked down at the dried stain running down the front of his scrubs and the cracking streaks of blood and grime staining his arms. He vaguely recalled someone trying to wash some of it off with a wet cloth and he was horrified to have a choppy memory of lashing out at the man physically. Hoping he hadn't hurt anyone Neal's blood turned to ice at the thought of actually getting into a shower. Mozzie had a point though and it had to be done for his own hygiene and to keep Peter from stressing about his continued hydrophobia.
Telling himself it would be different in an actual shower Neal nodded. He grabbed the bed rail that kept him from easily getting up and shook it slightly. He couldn't reach the mechanism that would lower it, but luckily Mozzie took the hint and lowered the rail. Neal knew he should have just asked but despite having his voice at least functionally back he found he was a little hesitant to use it. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed Neal had to pause for a moment to let his dizziness to clear.
For the first time Neal noticed the IV in the back of his hand dripping fluids into his blood. He reasoned that the staff wouldn't be happy about him getting up in the first place so there was no harm in adding his list of crimes by ripping it out so that he could walk to the bathroom. Mozzie gave him a disapproving look but didn't say anything. Waiting to feel like he would be safe on his feet Neal looked at the tray table next to the bed and spotted a bottle of vanilla flavored protein drink sitting on it.
"The doctor wanted you to drink that when you woke up." Mozzie said. "Maybe you should do that first."
Neal shook his head and forced himself to his feet. Mozzie stayed close clearly doubtful that Neal was going to remain standing. He was still lightheaded, but he had gone into the ring and fought feeling worse than this so he ignored the slight pitching feeling of the floor. Worried that Mozzie was going to want to follow him into the bathroom to make sure he didn't fall Neal tugged on his blood stained shirt in a silent request that Mozzie go find him a clean set of scrubs.
"Fine, I'll go," Mozzie said once again understanding "but the nurses are going to be so pissed if you fall."
Neal just shrugged. He had no interest in an audience at the moment and if he fell he would deal with it then. After surviving two months of being tortured in the Labyrinth he doubted that anything life threatening could happen to him on his journey to the shower and back. Mozzie still hesitated to leave. Neal gave him a pleading look needing to get this shower over with before he had too much time to think about it.
"If I give you some privacy will you at least drink this?" Mozzie picked up the bottle. "Seriously, Neal, it's bad enough that you won't let the doctors treat you, you at least have to eat something."
Neal nodded and took the bottle with a forced smile. Giving in for now Mozzie left to sneak some scrubs without alerting the staff to the clandestine shower in progress. Once Mozzie was gone Neal walked over to the counter against the wall that had a small sink for staff to wash their hands in. Cracking open the bottle of protein shake Neal wrinkled his nose in revulsion as he dumped it down the sink. Running the water to cover his tracks and wash the residual down the drain Neal returned the empty bottle to the tray table to make it look like he'd kept his promise.
Trying not to think about the fact that he'd been rescued for less than twenty-four hours and he was already back to conning Neal made his way into the small bathroom. Without even thinking about it Neal automatically reached over and flicked on the light switch. Yelping in pain he shut his eyes and quickly shut the light back off. He had thought they had been going a little overboard with how dark they were keeping his room but the harsh light had resulted in a searing pain. The Labyrinth hadn't been devoid of light but apparently in comparison to modern lighting it had been dark enough to weaken the muscles that controlled his irises considerably. The light blue color of his eyes didn't help the situation any leaving him with one less layer of protection from the high energy light.
Opening his eyes Neal found himself completely blinded. It took a few minutes for his bleached visual purple to begin restoring his sensitive night vision. Finding himself facing a mirror that only showed him a shadowy figure at first Neal jerked back thinking that someone else was in the room with him. Neal swore at himself for still being so easily frightened as his heart hammered against his ribs. Looking at himself in the mirror more closely Neal didn't have the difficulty recognizing himself that he felt he should have. He had been living with the thinner features and battered appearance for so long that he was having more trouble remembering what he'd looked like before this all started. His hair was matted and unruly but due to the poor nutrition it really hadn't grown all that much.
Rubbing the back of his hand against his bruised jawline Neal managed a slight smile at the fact that he only had about two days worth of stubble marking his skin. Peter had insisted from the very start that they do everything in their power to stay clean in an effort to preserve their health for as long as possible. As a result even near the end when Neal had started having trouble showering he had still used the electric razor they had been provided to try and keep up appearances. Neal doubted he would have bothered with such details if he had been on his own, but Peter's by the book attitude had helped them survive.
Running his tongue over his teeth and finding them fuzzy Neal hunted out the hospital supplied toothbrush and paste. He really did need to clean his teeth, but he also knew that he was stalling to avoid the real issue of his filthy skin. Finishing with his teeth he didn't have any excuses left and he turned the small stall shower on. The sound of the running water striking the shower floor was enough to chill his blood and send his stomach back into a fit of dry heaves. Forcing himself back under control Neal stared at the running water defiantly. Angry at himself for finding this more difficult that jumping into the pool Neal took a deep shuddering breath. Completely forgetting to bother with taking his clothes off Neal weld his eyes shut and steeled up the courage to step under the spray. Instantly heaving for breath and shivering despite the hot water Neal opened his eyes and stared down at the blood that was swirling down the drain. Even though his new instincts were telling him to leave he was determined to stand under the spray until the water ran clear.
"You can't let Peter see you like this…"
