Hello again! :) Thanks again for your comments! This chapter was kind of emotional for me. Please enjoy and thank you for reading it! :)


After visiting Neal, Peter drove back to the office, still deep in thoughts. He sat down behind his desk, on which the files piled high and tried to focus on his most recent case, a well-planned bank fraud, but couldn't concentrate. Peter opened a thick file and leafed through it, when he finally looked at some real good bonds.

He couldn't help but smile. Definitely Neal's work. Even though another proof for his criminal career wouldn't help, Peter had to admire the fine artwork in front of him. How could a teenage boy create something like this? How could that be possible? The bank had only recognized the deception because they got a hint from an unknown person. They couldn't even tell how many of the bonds were in circulation and would therefore also be keen on the boy's testimony.

Peter sighed. He leaned back in his chair and looked contemplatively out of his windows. The boy was right. Juvie wasn't a place to recover, not even in solitary confinement. But what could he do to help him? He rubbed his temples and finally made a decision. He stood up and went to see his boss, Agent Reese Hughes, in his office.


Peter cleared his throat when he entered.

"Sir, may I interrupt you for a minute?"

Hughes looked up from his desk. "Peter, of course you can, what's the matter?"

Peter sat down in front of his boss. "Sir… I wondered… I visited Caffrey today and…".

Hughes interrupted him. "Right, Peter, I wanted to discuss the whole case anyway. When do you think can we continue with the questioning? There's a lot to catch up and I don't want to risk the kid disappearing again. Is he able to talk to you? And more important, is he willing to talk? We have to appease a lot of victims.".

"Um, no boss, unfortunately he's not well enough to continue." He summarized briefly what happened and what he got to know about the boy's condition.

Hughes looked at him, obviously stunned. "I see, poor boy… Nevertheless, I hope you stay professional, Peter? His information is valuable. I still can't believe he did everything we accuse him of. But if he did, you have to do whatever it takes to get him to talk, Peter. Regardless of his past."

Peter took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "I know, boss. That's why I wanted to talk to you. He will be released tomorrow and I know, I'm supposed to take him to juvenile prison after that. The doctor told me that he will need some time to recover before we can go on. And boss… I figured… juvie isn't really the right place to recover and it's definitely not a cosy place to open up…".

Peter paused for a moment and Hughes looked at him questioningly. "I agree. But I'm afraid it's the only option, don't you think so? I told you, pity is not appropriate. We have to treat him like any other criminal and make him talk."

Peter sighed. "Yes sir, you're right. But I think juvie won't make him talk. He's a young felon, but also a traumatized and sick kid. He needs a warm and secure environment to open up."

"You may be right Peter, but like I said, there's no other option, unless you want to take him home.", his boss chuckled.

Peter remained quiet and just raised his eyebrows. Hughes laughed in disbelieve. "You want to bring him home? Neal Caffrey? The one you were hunting for all these years? Your wife will be delighted."

"In fact, she mentioned it first. And yes, she will be delighted, she's very good with kids and will take good care of him… . Boss, I know that's not the usual procedure. And I know he's a criminal and has to be treated like one. But I'm pretty certain that this could be the key to penetrate to him. To make him talk, like you said, I will have to earn his trust and that won't happen in juvie." Actually, he had to hide his own uncertainty, but he had to try.

Hughes looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and then replied, a little hesitantly. "All right, Peter. If that's what you want. Under one condition. Find a way to make sure that he won't run. Under no circumstances, you understand?".

Peter nodded. "Absolutely, sir. And I've been thinking this through. What do you think of a tracking anklet? The new models are very secure, you can't just cut them. And he would always be under my surveillance."

Hughes sighed. "Good enough, let's give it a try. I really hope you know what you're doing, for your own sake. He's your responsibility and your risk."

After that, Peter went back to his office, the thoughts and doubts swirling in his head. Oh my, what did you just do Peter Burke, are you insane?, he thought and shook his head in disbelief.


When the sun went down, Neal pretended to be asleep when the nurse came in to see if he was all right. His stomach rumbled, but he wasn't able to eat anything when they served him dinner. He felt sick, frightened and nervous again and had to fight against his sleepiness. He started coughing again and felt hot and dizzy. But the thought of Mozzie gave him the strength he needed. This had to be done and he would do it, no matter what.

Neal knew that the officer in front of his room regularly checked on him to make sure he was asleep and then left his own chair for a couple of minutes to use the toilet. After that, he would take a look inside of his room again and would find his bed empty, but Neal couldn't change that. He had to be quick.

When finally the door opened, Neal remained perfectly silent and breathed calmly and slowly, to create a credible illusion. Satisfied, he heard the door close again and after that removed the handcuffs in under five seconds. When he slipped out of bed, he felt dizzy and very weak again and the pain in his knee and chest almost made him fall, but he managed to stand upright. He got rid of his hospital gown and went silently out of his room.

He felt his heart pounding in his chest. As expected, the officer was nowhere to be seen. Neal walked deliberately slow down the hall and greeted a nurse casually on his way to the stairs. She looked a little suspiciously but didn't say anything and just nodded when he came by. When Neal reached the stairwell, he felt his tension decrease, but he knew that he wasn't safe yet.

He hurried down the stairs, as fast as his knee allowed him to. When he reached the ground floor, he headed towards the rear exit. He knew the hospital had one, because his father once used it to get away with him after a pretty nasty cut in his arm that didn't stop bleeding. His father dropped him in front of the hospital and incensed him not to give away his real name and told him to disappear as soon as the work had been done.

Neal remembered the situation very well. He was about ten years old and felt dizzy because of the blood loss and just wanted to sleep. Moreover he felt very alone and desperate, but didn't know what else to do but to obey his father. He owed him the cut, like so many before. His father used to wave around with an inherited knife when he was drunk and pissed, until Neal manged to steal it a few month later.

When it happed, he was just starting his career and created his first professional forgeries. His father saw his high potential immediately and knew how to use it to make money. But he was never satisfied and always found new ways to torture him. So, after his father left him alone to get his treatment, Neal knew very well that this was an opportunity to escape. But he would never ever go into foster care and didn't know where else to go. He had the experience of a foster family once and wasn't keen on another try. Moreover, his father found him back then and promised to find him wherever he would go. And Neal believed him! His son meant nothing to him but was his only source of income. And he really needed the money to maintain his lifestyle, which meant as much drugs, fast food and weapons as possible.

So, Neal told the nurses and the doctor that his name was Nick Halden, one of his favourite aliases, and pretended that he had forgotten his parent's phone number. He behaved like a little boy, vulnerable and innocent and enjoyed the fuss they made of him. But after his treatment, unfortunately before he had another painkiller, he heard the nurses talking about social service and knew it was time to escape.

He sneaked out exactly like he would do almost four years later and met his father on the ground floor. Neal saw his hands trembling as soon as he left the stairwell and immediately knew he wasn't in a good mood. His father grabbed his arm and drew him towards the rear exit. He still had his voice in his ear. "What took you so long, you little bastard?", he squeezed his injured arm and Neal flinched, but remained quiet and just followed his father out of the hospital. His life wasn't worth living until he met Mozzie one year after that.

He could still feel the pain as if it was yesterday and stroke his scar, lost in thoughts, while walking. When he could already see the slightly illuminated exit, he heard footsteps behind him. "Neal!", someone shouted and immediately stopped horrified.


Peter decided to visit Neal again in the evening, to tell him what he was planning to do. He called Elizabeth right after his decision and, as he expected, his wife was enthusiastic and started preparing the guest room right away. Although some doubts remained, he felt a lot lighter than the last time when he entered the main entrance again.

He headed towards the elevator, but suddenly stopped. He could see a familiar looking small and narrow person coming out of the stairwell and instantly recognized the limping. Oh man, he couldn't believe it. Peter followed the boy and was very close to him when the kid reached the rear entrance.

"Neal!", he shouted, his hand on his weapon and the kid didn't move anymore. Neal slowly turned around and looked at Peter, horrified and absolutely desperate.

Neal raised his hands a little in front of him and looked at the door beside him, frightened like a trapped animal.

"Don't. Please don't.", Peter said calmly and decide to leave his gun where it was. He raised his hands, too, to soothe the kid and slowly approached him. Neal backed away and pressed his back against the wall. Peter could see tears running down his cheeks. When he came closer, Neal desperately shook his head.

"No…please, just let me go. Please. I really have to!", he begged through his tears.

I can't, buddy. You know that I can't.", Peter said regretfully.

The boy slowly slid down the wall and sobbed uncontrollably. Peter looked at him for a moment and then sat down next to the kid and without hesitation pulled him into his arms. Neal flinched and struggled at first to get away from him, but this time Peter didn't let him go. He just held him tight and the kid slowly started to accept his closeness and relaxed.

They sat there together for half an eternity and didn't move at all. Peter looked down at the kid's brown, wavy hair and could feel his warm body in his arms and a flood of affection was running through his body.