Hi Guys, thank you again for your comments, the sweeten my life! :) This is not the whole chapter, but I'm somehow not satisfied with the second half and so I decided to publish at least the first part. Enjoy :)!


Neal felt like an intruder when he was sitting on the Burke's sofa while Elizabeth prepared dinner and Peter went out to talk to Agent Jones in private. About him, he assumed. He couldn't believe the Agent was willing to let him stay, after chasing him for almost three years. He pulled up his pants and looked at the tracking anklet. It felt kind of weird, cold and uncomfortable.

One more thing to worry about, he sighed, but felt far too tired to think straight. His surrounding seemed to be covered in fog and he felt the urge to close his eyes. But he had to work something out. He refused to think about it, but honestly, he wasn't even sure if his friend was still alive. Mozzie wasn't as used to pain and hunger as Neal was and Keller certainly wasn't pleased considering his little progress.

When Peter mentioned his plan to let him stay in his home, Neal realized that this meant that he probably had a much better chance to get back to the headquarter, but he knew it would take some time. So, he had to contact Keller as soon as possible, to tell him that he was still on the right track. And he would require getting in touch with Mozzie, to prove he still was all right, otherwise he wouldn't go on.

He leaned forward and put his head in his hands, just to rest for a minute and strongly felt the heaviness of his tired body and the desire to sleep. Then suddenly he was startled when someone sat down right beside him. Neal backed away with a gasp and accidently slapped Peters arm.

"It's all right, kid, it's just me!", Peter said soothingly.

Neal slowly relaxed and looked down embarrased. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I… just dropped off for a moment I guess."

Peter chuckled. "It's all right kid, I won't arrest you for a little slap. Try to relax, we both won't bite you!"

Neal nodded and leaned back. He had to admit that it felt kind of strange to sit next to Peter in such a private environment. Neal looked around and admired the cosy and inviting furnishing. He had never been in a proper home before, he had never even known someone who owned a place like this, so it was like foreign territory to him. This, together with his exhaustion, let his usual confidence vanish. Neal felt Peter's eyes on him and quickly lowered his gaze again, he didn't want to be outrageous by observing the Burke's possessions.

"Are you looking for something valuable that you could monetize?", Peter said, still chuckling.

Neal threw him a terrified sideway glance. "You know I would never…". Peter quickly interrupted him.

"Calm down, buddy. I was just joking. Moreover, I'm afraid you wouldn't find anything valuable." Neal smiled a little.

Peter stood up and went to a cupboard on the opposite wall. He opened a small Box inside, took out a plastic bag and handed it over to Neal. "Do you know what that is?", he asked.

Neal immediatly recognized his own postcard from Paris on top of all the others he had send to Peter.

"You kept them?", he said in surprise.

"Of course I did, they were evidences.", the Agent said matter-of-factly.

"Oh… right!", Neal said, a little disappointed.

"Why did you do that? The postcards, gifts, the phone calls…? What for?", Peter asked thoughtfully.

Neal hesitated and then shrugged. "I…don't really know."

"Aww, I bet you do. And … why did you stop doing it lately?", Peter added.

Neal shrugged again. "Like I told you, several times by the way, I had a lot to do recently and writing postcards wasn't on top of my agenda."

Peter paused for a second. "But what you haven't told me is: Busy with what?", his tone suddenly became serious.

Neal looked at him dismissively. "Is this an interrogation again, Agent Burke? If it is, please let's postpone it until tomorrow. Please!" He felt uneasy, started coughing again and struggled to sit upright.

Before Peter had the chance to reply, his wife entered the living-room. She obviously felt the tension in the room.

"All right, boys. Dinner's ready! Come on.", she said.

They both looked at each other and then stood up and followed her in the kitchen. Neal waited uncertainly at the end of the table until both of the Burke's sat down. Elizabeth pointed on the chair next to her.

"No need to be shy, just sit down, love!", she said gently. He reluctantly walked over and took a seat. Neal looked at the food in front of him. Fresh bread and herb butter, a delicious looking salad, olives and pasta with tomato sauce, meatballs and vegetables. He felt a little overwhelmed again. He couldn't remember his last proper meal and maybe never had something even approximately similar. He raised his gaze and found El and Peter observing him again. It was all too much. He just wanted a quiet place, just for himself, without an FBI-Agent and his wife staring at him in front of mountains of food.

"That looks fantastic, Elizabeth. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!", he said and managed a hopefully convincing smile.

She smiled back. "You're more than welcome, Neal. I hope you like pasta. Otherwise I could…".

"Pasta is perfect, don't worry!", he interrupted her. They started eating. Neal didn't feel hungry at all, even though it tasted delicious, he felt too exhausted and nervous. He took small bites, couldn't stop himself from coughing again and struggled to cope with the worried glances from across the table.

"So Neal, what's your favourite food?", El tried to make conversation.

He shrugged. "I'm not a picky eater. Whatever is available is fine.", he replied indeterminate but as polite as possible. All he wanted was to stand up and run and he didn't know how to act and he certainly didn't belong here.

"All right… and what about school? What's your favourite subject?", Neal appreciated her kindness, but he wasn't in the mood to do Smalltalk and definitely not willing to tell them that he had to quit school after fourth grade to get to work full-time. Even though he knew that Elizabeth didn't mean to, he felt as if he was being interrogated again. And he knew that Peter was listening very carefully to get to know more about his background, and Neal felt far too tired to choose his words wisely.

"I…don't really like school!", it wasn't a lie, he actually didn't like it. Too many rules, too much boring subjects without any progress or challenge and too many kids who teased him for his worn-out clothes. He concentrated on his plate again, not able to be polite anymore. When he started coughing again, even harder this time, and lay down his fork, he felt his hands trembling again. Clearly Elizabeth noticed it, too. She reached out to touch his forehead. Neal backed away.

"Please, don't!", he said a little repellent again.

El looked a bit taken aback. "I'm sorry honey, I really am. I just wanted to feel your temperate, I suppose you've got a fever." Neal looked at her with glassy eyes and then lowered his gaze on his plate again.

"I am sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't mean to… I… I just don't really like being touched."

"It's absolutely fine, Neal. I'll respect that in the future. All right, even though you should have eaten a lot more than you did, I think that's enough for tonight. You can go back and relax on the couch, while Peter and I take care of the dishes and after that I'll show you your room."

Neal stood up slowly. "But… I can help!", he weakly protested.

"Definitely not. It's all right. And I know someone who, for sure, would like to keep you company.", she turned around and opened the door to the backyard. A light beige whirlwind swept through the kitchen and headed straight for Neal. The lab wagged his tail in excitement and tried to reach his face to lick it. Neal couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Hey Satchmo, I've already wondered where you are!", he greeted the friendly dog.

Elizabeth shook his head. "You really know a lot about us, don't you kid?", she said grinning.

Neal shrugged, feeling a little uneasy again. You better watch your words, Neal! He stroked the dogs head gently and enjoyed the feeling of the soft fur under his hands, when Satchmo started licking them.

"See, he likes you!", Peter said with a smile. "So, you two. Do as my beloved wife told you, it's time to recover!" Neal nodded reluctantly, stood up stiffly and went back to the couch, followed by Satchmo.


After Neal had left the room, the couple began to wash the dishes together.

"I understand why you're feeling so attached to him, Peter.", El began quietly. "He's a lost soul, full of desperation. I can tell that he went through hell just by looking at him, it's his whole appearance. I'm not sure whether it's even possible to help him out of his shell. But I really want to try!".

Peter nodded. "I hope he does, too. I don't know what's going on in his mind. As long as he doesn't open up, I'm won't be able to help him, and I guess no one will. He built up solid walls around him and is not willing to let anyone in right now. Nevertheless, he was very withdrawn tonight, even by his standards. I guess it was all a bit too much. Let's give him some time to rest and recover." He sighed and shook his head. "At some point he will have to talk to me, whether he likes it or not, otherwise juvie will be the only option. Hughes' patience is not infinite, and we've got enough evidence without his testimony to lock him in until he will be 18, at least."

El looked at him. "I suppose after that he would be lost forever.", she said, a sad expression on her face. Peter simply nodded.

After they had finished, they went back into the living-room and found Neal sleeping peacefully on the sofa, his head resting on Satchmo's back. They looked at each other and smiled.

"He looks so very young, Peter, like the child that he is. And incredibly innocent.", El whispered.

Peter chuckled quietly. "I promise you he isn't, hon. But in moments like this I tend to believe he's not lost at all."

Neal started coughing again and El noticed his red cheeks and the sweat on his forehead. "Hey, Neal?", she said softly, but avoided touching him again. The boy just shifted a little but didn't wake up.

"Neal, buddy, time to go to bed", Peter tried a little louder. The kid slowly opened his eyes and then hastily sat up, looking around him bewildered, as if it took him some time to remember where he was.

Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. "It's all right, love, I'm sorry we had to wake you. But there's a cosy and warm bed upstairs waiting for you.".

"I can stay on the couch… it's absolutely fine", the boy said reluctantly.

"You must be kidding, of course you won't sleep on the sofa! Come on, follow me!", El said gently.

Neal nodded, his glassy eyes looked incredible tired and he had difficulties to climb up the stairs. El opened the door of the guest room and Peter could see the overwhelmed expression on Neal's face when he looked around.

"It's fantastic, Elizabeth. I… I don't know what to say… thank you so much!".

She smiled. "There's no need to thank us or apologize all the time, Neal. Try to relax! It's a pleasure for us. I'll go get some of Peter's old pyjamas."

Neal nodded again and irresolutly sat down on his bed. Peter did so, too, careful to leave a little space between them.

"Are you all right, kid? It was all a bit too much today, wasn't it?", he said softly.

Neal nodded, but didn't look up.

"You're save here, it's your opportunity to recover.", Peter added. Now the kid threw him a sideway glance.

"Do you do all these things just to make me talk?", he said wearily. Peter paused for a moment and then chose his words carefully.

"No, Neal. Of course I want you to talk to me, you know that, and I'm sure that you're fully aware that you will have to one day. But I also want you to be fine. You matter to me, you really do buddy."

"Could be just an ingenious strategy.", Neal replied quietly.

"Do you really believe that?"

Neal stayed quiet for a moment. "No.", he then simply admitted.

"Good. Because it isn't." Peter stood up slowly. "I'll go get your medicine, buddy."

"I'm fine Peter, I don't need anything.", Neal replied, sounding a little annoyed.

"You're not fine, kid, not … inside, and not physically either. Please stop telling me that, I'm not a fool. You'll take your medicine and you'll stop pretending that you're all right. Understand?", Peter spoke in a firm voice. The boy didn't look up but nodded again and Peter left the room for a few minutes.

When he came back, Neal was standing in the middle of the room with his way too big pyjama pants and a t-shirt on. The Agent couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it. Neal raised his brows.

"What's so funny, Peter?"

"Did you take a look at your shirt?", Peter chuckled. The kid looked down and now noticed the huge FBI label on his chest. "Now you're literally marked as our property!", Peter said in huge amusement.

Neal grinned awkwardly. "In your dreams!", he replied, his well-known cockiness coming through again.

Peter, still chuckling, handed him some pain killers and the medicine against his cold and fever and Neal swallowed it without any resistance.

"We need to change the bandages around your chest.", Peter said. "Is it okay if I help you?".

Neal shook his head. "Thanks, but no, I'll do that on my own." Peter nodded and handed him all he needed. "So…I expect you to be here tomorrow when I wake up, is that clear?"

Neal looked him straight in the eyes now. "I won't run Peter, I promise. I know I did it before, but I owe you one. Moreover you have this great electronic leash, I don't think I could get rid of it as fast as you were close by.", he lifted the pants again and looked at the device around his ankle with disgust.

Peter followed his gaze and nodded. He somehow feared that a tracking anklet wouldn't prevent a talented con from running, but he had to believe him right now. "You're right. I told you that I'll always find you and I'm someone who keeps his promises. So, better don't try it at all. Now… do you need anything else for the night?"

"No, I'm fine Peter. Thank you! I just need some sleep."

"Right, good night then, kid. See you tomorrow!", he said, feeling a little awkwardly again and left the room. After that, El was standing in the doorframe. "Sleep well, honey! Please try to feel at home.", she said with a smile.

"You too, and thanks again, El!", she could see that he tried his best to set on a happy expression, but he knew he failed. "See you tomorrow!", she added and then turned of the light and slowly closed the door.