Chapter Sixty-five
Coming up out of anesthesia Peter fluttered his eyes open and stared up at the white title ceiling that had a plastic panel set in it with the light behind it switched off. Taking an experimental breath he could feel a rush of cold antiseptic smelling air from the nasal cannula that was pumping pure oxygen into his nose. Although not completely sure what was going on not seeing stained concrete was all he cared about right now. With morphine blocking his pain and clouding his thoughts Peter closed his eyes and enjoyed the relatively soft mattress he was laying on. He'd been sleeping on stone for so long he'd almost forgotten what it was like to be comfortable. When he felt someone squeezing his hand he opened his eyes again and turned to look to his side. Seeing Elizabeth sitting at his bedside he smiled brightly.
"Elizabeth." Peter purred. "I missed you."
"I…I missed you too, Hon." Elizabeth replied with voice oscillating between laughter and tears. "I keep worrying this is just a beautiful dream."
Having that exact same fear in the back of his mind Peter reached out to touch her face to cement the idea for them both that this was all real. The drugs in his system made him clumsy but Elizabeth took his hand and pressed it against her cheek for him. Joyful tears slipped down Peter's face at the feel of her warm soft skin. For as many dreams as Peter had had about Elizabeth over the past two months the one aspect in them that was always missing was her warmth.
Unable to keep from tears herself Elizabeth got to her feet so that she could carefully lean over Peter. Carding his hand into her hair Peter pulled her in the last few inches into a passionate kiss. Being able to touch her again was almost more than his heart could take as it brought along with it not only a reminder of how much he loved her but also a sharp reminder of how painful it had been to be separated. However in the end the exhilaration of the present won out over the darkness of the past. He didn't want to release her from the amorous kiss but it didn't take much to render them both breathless. Not wanting to stand over him Elizabeth sat back down to bring them both back to eye level. Panting heavily but never having felt more content Peter stared at Elizabeth, enjoying the way she made his heart race.
"Marry me." Peter said suddenly.
"Peter," Elizabeth chuckled with a warm blush "I've already married you…twice."
"Third times the charm."
"I did promise to marry you as many times as you asked." Elizabeth smiled as tears brightened her eyes again.
"Is that a yes?"
"Yes."
Peter's already bright smile widened at her answer as if it was the first time she'd accepted his proposal. Elizabeth's expression lit up as well as she suddenly remembered something. Bringing her hand up she revealed that she was wearing his wedding band on her thumb after the staff had given it to her for safe keeping while Peter was in surgery. Peter lifted up his shaky left hand and offered it to her. Holding his hand steady Elizabeth slipped the ring back on his finger before stealing another kiss.
Looking at the well worn band Peter spun the ring around a few times finding peace in the golden symbol of their love. The fact that York hadn't taken the ring away from him had told Peter a lot about his captor. York had stripped him of his gun and badge thinking that those were the items that defined him, but he had completely missed the object that meant the most to him because he wasn't capable of understanding a deep connection to another person. It was classic psychopath thinking. There was a good chance that in the real world York was someone considered respectable, possibly even a CEO of some sort since researched showed that approximately one in five CEOs were diagnosable psychopaths. In any case he was certainly wealthy and as much as he hated to admit that always complicated a court case.
"Peter?" Elizabeth asked concerned.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"No, you just looked so pensive."
"I'm okay." Peter assured. "How is Neal?"
"He passed out as soon as he heard you over the radio." Elizabeth smiled sadly. "He pushed himself so hard. He's refused to let any of the doctors so much as look at him until he knows your safe. He was still sleeping when I came down here, Mozzie is watching over him."
"I need to see him." Peter leaned forward as if he was going to get up but a jab of pain in his ribs broke through his morphine haze. "Where is he?"
"He's in the CCU, they were going to bring you up there as soon as you recovered from the anesthesia."
"I'm recovered." Peter insisted as he raised the head of the bed up with the buttons on the rail to help him up.
"Knock, knock." Came a deep voice from the other side of the curtain that Peter hadn't even noticed was boxing him in.
The man attached to the voice let himself in through the curtain. The white coated doctor had clearly been standing on the far side of the curtain for a at least the past few minutes waiting for a good time to interrupt the reunited couple. Even seeing that the man was a medical profession Peter still tensed at the sight of the stranger and without even realizing he was doing it he put his hand out protectively in front of Elizabeth.
"It's okay, Peter." Elizabeth assured. "This is the surgeon."
"Sorry, it's hard to knock on sheets." The surgeon joked. "I'm Dr. Halberg. How are you feeling, Agent Burke?"
"I'm fine." Peter said dismissively. "Please, I need to see Neal."
"Understandable." The doctor nodded. "I need to listen to your lungs real quick before we take you anywhere. May I?"
Peter nodded appreciating the doctor asking permission rather than just touching him unannounced. Despite having agreed to the exam Peter still tensed further in discomfort when he pressed his stethoscope against his chest. Even through the hospital gown he was wearing the device was icy cold and Peter had had more than enough of being cold for one lifetime. Hoping to get the experience over with quickly Peter took several deep breaths, ignoring the pain it caused.
"Just breath normally, Agent." Dr. Halberg said gently.
Finding it nearly impossible to follow the order now that he was fixated on it Peter settled for just slowing down and not exaggerating every breath. The doctor didn't waste any time and worked quickly to listen in a few different spots to make sure there weren't any immediate threats. Satisfied that Peter was stable the doctor retreated to the end of the bed to give Peter back his space.
"Okay, there is still some congestion but that's to be expected." The surgeon reported. "How's your pain level?"
"Tolerable."
"Good enough for now." Dr. Halberg nodded. "Let's get you up to CCU. We can't turn all the lights off between here and there. Would you like a blindfold or do you just want to keep your eyes closed?"
"I'll just keep my eyes closed." Peter replied being just as skeptical about being that sensitive to light as Neal had been.
"Fair enough. I'll call transport, it will take them ten to fifteen minutes to come get you. In the meantime would you be open to a visitor? Agent Hughes is outside."
"Please, I'd like to see him."
"I'll go get him."
Peter didn't even realize how on guard he was until the surgeon was out of sight and he was able to relax. Elizabeth noticed his reaction to the doctor and put her hand on his shoulder in support. Having been fixated on the doctor Peter jolted slightly at her touch. Horrified that he'd reacted negatively to her Peter brought his hand up and put it over hers to keep her from taking it away. Her turned to look at her with a guilty expression.
"I'm sorry." Peter apologized.
"Don't apologize." Elizabeth said softly. "I can't even imagine what you've been through."
"I don't even want you trying." Peter said seriously. "I made it back to you, that's all that matters."
Elizabeth nodded in agreement and smiled bravely. It broke Peter's heart to see the stress of the past two months reflecting in her eyes. Now that the initial rush of their reunion was over she looked ready to drop with exhaustion and he was starting to worry about when the last time she got any sleep was. Peter didn't have any concept of the amount of time that had passed since Neal had been found and now. He was about to ask her if she needed to lay down when Hughes announced himself outside the curtain. Peter had been anxious to talk to Hughes before, but he was regretting accepting him as a visitor now.
"Elizabeth…" Peter started.
"It's okay." Elizabeth interrupted.
"Thank you." Peter said before addressing Hughes. "Come in, Sir."
"Peter." Hughes greeted warmly as he stepped just inside the curtain. "I won't bother you with anything, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Thank you."
"Actually...I do have one time sensitive matter." Hughes admitted. "Do you know who abducted you? Caffrey has been drawing like madness but so far he hasn't identified any of his drawings as your kidnapper."
"Neal never saw him." Peter explained. "But I did. Twice. He gave the name 'York' but I doubt that's true. If you can get me a sketch artist I can describe him, legally we shouldn't have Neal do it."
"A sketch artist may not be necessary."
"You have someone in custody?" Peter asked surprised.
"Sort of." Hughes said vaguely.
"Do you not have any evidence against him?" Peter asked. "How do you have someone in custody without any evidence?"
"It's complicated." Hughes replied. "If you are up to it I will have Violent Crime set up a photo line up."
"I'm up for it." Peter said quickly.
"I'll have it soon." Hughes nodded before turning to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, it is very important that you not talk to Peter about anything that happened while he was gone. Nothing. Understood?"
"Why…" Elizabeth stopped with a sharp horrified gasp. "No, Reese…no, please…it can't be…he…he was in our house…I…"
"Elizabeth, please." Hughes said sympathetically.
"What's going on?" Peter asked anxiously.
"She can't talk to you about it, Peter, and neither can I. We could be called to the stand and I want everything above board. We are on very shaky ground right now as it is."
"If you have him I can identify him." Peter said firmly. "I will never forget his face."
"Can anyone back you up? You know how weak eye witness testimony is particularly when there are complications."
"Jake, Jake can back me up." Peter furrowed his brow as a memory tugged at him. "Wait…Jake, what happened to him?"
"Unfortunately he bolted from the rescuers and in the chaos we lost him."
"No, no." Peter said becoming increasingly agitated. "He can't...he's a...he tort..." Peter stopped unable to finish his sentence as his stomach twisted painfully.
"I'm sorry. No one was expecting him to run like that. He was branded unlike the men who resisted the SWAT, and it was generally understood that he was another kidnap victim."
"You have to find him, he is incredibly unstable and dangerous."
"Agent McKenzie reported that he saved your life."
"Agent McKenzie?" Peter asked confused.
"Liam." Hughes clarified. "Neal hesitated when I asked if he was friend or foe but eventually he identified him as an ally."
"It's complicated…"
