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When they finally got around to going through his baby album and book, Neal made sure to sit on the couch next to Peter. His father had lost him for years and he sensed that it had always hurt to see these pictures, so they hadn't been revisited often. He wanted to be there for his dad, to remind him that he wasn't lost anymore.

Passing him the baby book and photo album once they'd settled, Peter explained that his grandmother, Peter's mother, had insisted on him keeping his own records of his son.

"She thought it would be something for you to understand how much you mean to me."

Curious to see what it contained, Neal focused on his baby book, but he set the photo album next to it so that he could see his early life progress in writing and images at the same time.

They were both plain, just white. There were no frills which was probably why Peter had chosen them.

Flipping the cover of the baby book, there was an introductory page stating his name, parentage, and family information on his father's side.

Fingering the neat cursive, Neal was interested to see his heritage written down. "Mom told me that I didn't have an extended family. I have no memory of grandparents and I've never seen my own family tree before."

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Peter reassured him that they'd work out a way for him to meet his extended family. "My parents are working on plans to come to visit as soon as they can."

Nodding, Neal wasn't surprised, but that would be something for another day.

Turning the pages and reading, he saw Peter's notes about learning that he was a father and how surprised he was initially. Then his acceptance of his coming child was noted in the early stages of the pregnancy.

Looking at the baby book showed several shots of Neal's mother smiling for the camera at different phases of the pregnancy as the same shirt got tighter on her frame showing the progress of his early development's effects on her body. Some of the photos had his parents together, some were of them separately, but they all showed their lives as they waited for him to develop.

It was strange for Neal to see his mother in those pictures. She was young, happy, and alert to life.

"She shut down after she divorced James and we went into Wit-Sec… I've never seen her look like this before." Neal couldn't help but comment as he wondered how things could have gone differently.

What if his parents had truly been together, or what if she'd sought Peter out and returned him to his father when her world had fallen apart? Shaking his head, Neal would never know, but at least he'd found his father in the long run, and he could share something of who he really was with the man so he wouldn't have to lie anymore.

Feeling an arm across his shoulders from Peter's side and hands gripping his arm from El's side, Neal knew that his parents wanted to comfort him, that they'd also missed out on being there for him through his younger years.

Continuing through the baby book, Neal read as Peter slowly adjusted to the fact that a kid was coming so he started making plans for how to handle the coming changes in his life.

Finally, he got excited and began to look forward to a future with the kid.

"I was a big change to your life plans, wasn't I?" Neal couldn't help but note. He knew from conversations with the man that Peter had gone to college and played baseball before ultimately going into the FBI. Those plans had occurred because Neal had been taken away, how would they have been different if his father had had him to raise?

"Huge," Peter emphasized the word before ruffling his hair, "but one of the best changes in my life." He was just as certain of him being a good thing as he was of him being an unexpected one.

Continuing, Neal read the part of the book where his ultrasound was stuck in with big words, "It's a boy" scrawled in more excited handwriting. Then there were two pages of notes about Peter looking forward to sharing his fondest memories with his father with his son. Mostly, Peter looked forward to playing catch with his son while talking about what mattered.

Thinking as he glanced at the corresponding pages in his baby album, Neal could see the sheer excitement on Peter's face as he stood with the ultrasound image in his hand while he smiled for the camera. His father was so excited that he was going to be a boy, someone he could pass those memories and traditions on to as his father had to him.

"I think we should play catch sometimes…" Neal trailed off thinking how much he wanted to fulfill that wish, how much he wanted to spend that quality time with Peter sharing in a tradition that his father had grown up with.

"You don't have to…" Peter started to release him from feeling any pressure to fulfill a decades-old dream.

"No, but I want to." Neal conveyed all of the reasons that he wanted to between his eyes and his smile as he looked steadily at his dad until he smiled back.

"I look forward to it," it was a promise of time spent improving their bond.

Picking the book up again, Neal continued to read through up to his birth and what it had been like for Peter to be there as his son arrived.

Although there was a picture of Peter proudly holding his son in the baby book, there were two pages of photos in the album showing Peter's nerves the first time he was passed him as he tried to remember how to hold him, his pride once he managed to get him settled in his arms as he smiled at the camera, and then his anxious expression returning as Neal started screaming.

This time it was Peter who was feeling more sentimental as he touched the picture from where he sat.

"I can still remember your screaming cries, you have a set of lungs on you, kid."

When he settled back, Neal proceeded through the pages dictating his first year. It started with the first weeks as Peter learned to handle him and understand his cries, but then it turned into noticing things about him from his looks through his personality to his intelligence.

Growing up, they got to him rolling over, crawling, walking, and eventually talking.

The photo album had pages of pictures showing Neal sleeping in his crib, Peter holding him and smiling for the camera, his mother playing with him, various pictures of him going about his days, and the usual pictures that people probably saw in their baby albums.

It was different for Neal though as he didn't grow up with this information available to him, he was seeing it with fresh eyes.

Turning the page at one point, Neal laughed when he saw the naked image of himself lying with baseball equipment; it was obvious where his father's mind had gone there!

Bouncing back to the baby book, Neal read about how Peter had been so proud that his first word was dada and there had been a whole page dedicated to the feeling of hearing it for the first time.

Unfortunately, that was followed by the entry when Peter discovered Neal and his mom gone. There were notes about his search efforts and ultimately his realization that they were gone for good. He'd lost his son and a piece of himself with him.

As sad as it made Neal to read that, it was far worse for Peter to remember that feeling of loss.

Peter's attention was caught on the last photo that the album contained, a photo of little Neal cuddled to his chest with his arms around him. He'd been beaming at the camera in pride since Neal had just called him dada.

Having finished both books, Neal knew what he needed to say, and he was ready to do so.

Getting Peter's attention, Neal looked him in the eyes. "I won't be calling you dada, but I think I have something better for you to hear."

He paused a moment, "I love you, dad, and I'm grateful that mom chose you to be my father."

Crying despite himself, Peter pulled him in towards a hug but kissed his temple before burying his face into his shoulder. "That's one of the best things I've ever heard! I love you too, son, and I'm glad she chose me too because I got you."

Smiling into his father's shoulder despite his own tears, Neal could hear a sniffing Elizabeth and the click of her camera.

Turning to wave her over, Neal invited his mom to join them in the hug.

Wiping her eyes as she nodded and smiled, Elizabeth moved to lean over her men and hugged them both.

There would be more bonding, more memories, and more pictures of their little family, and Neal looked forward to every one of them!


Thank you, everyone, for reading, leaving kudos, commenting/reviewing, voting, following, and choosing to favorite :D

Here is the vote tally for my next post. Per your requests, I'll be posting Triple Trouble. This is my oldest story/collection at this point so we'll be going back a few years in my writing for most of the content, but I think you'll like some of the concepts that were explored through this series. Most of these will be short stories with some one-shots later so for those of you who pop in periodically, the stories will be changing fairly often. I hope you all enjoy the adventures and I look forward to seeing what you think :D

Tripple Trouble: III

Twins Versus Twins: II

Cute Creative Concepts: I