Day 20! Almost there! Today's chapter summary: Neal accidentally breaks into Peter's house.


Peter woke up, all too quickly for it to have been natural. He glanced at the clock. Basically midnight. Never a good time to be awake. There wasn't a feeling that something was wrong, no signals from the famed Burke gut, but something was certainly afoot. Elizabeth woke up far more reasonably, probably more from Peter's motion rather than any sort of ESP. She laid a cautious hand on Peter's arm.

"Hon?" she asked, voice still coated in sleep.

"Shh," Peter whispered back. "There's someone downstairs." He wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew.

He slipped out of bed. Somewhere, for this unlikely occasion... Peter searched under the bed for something. And...there it is. He pulled out a pistol safe and typed in the combination as quickly as possible. El caught sight and unconsciously tensed. She knew it was there, knew there was a weapon for self-defense. But it was one of those things you hoped you'd never need and were vaguely uneasy whenever you did need it. In all honesty, Peter was hoping he wouldn't have to use it. Shooting someone was...not fine, but an understood risk of being an FBI agent. It was basically part of the job description. But still, if that didn't make someone at least slightly nauseous, there was something wrong with them.

"Stay here," he warned unnecessarily before creeping downstairs.

And downstairs was something entirely unexpected. Unexpected, but relieving. Technically, there was an intruder. But it was one of the most unexpected intruders possible. Instead of anyone with malicious intent (probably), Neal was in their living room. He didn't seem to realize where he was or what was happening around him if his frequent collisions with furniture were any indication. His eyes were open, but seemed glazed over and distant. Strange. Peter stared at Neal before going back upstairs and putting his handgun away.

El propped herself up on one arm, slightly more awake than she was. "Honey?"

"It's Neal," Peter answered with a shake of his head. He sat down on the side of the bed.

"What?" She was more awake, yes, but that didn't mean her brain was at 100% yet. And that was a very confusing statement that Peter just gave.

"Apparently, Neal sleepwalks." Peter's tone was incredulous, like those were the three most ridiculous words to put in sequence.

"He wasn't here last night," El pointed out. If Peter had to guess, she was more thinking out loud than having a conversation, but either way, she raised a good point. "How did he get here? While asleep?"

Peter could only shrug. "I don't know."

Neal wasn't committing any criminal act (again, probably). And he was permitted to be at Peter's. And hadn't committed a crime yet, as shown by the fact that Peter hadn't gotten an irritated call from the Marshals. No actual crime was being committed. But, Peter didn't entirely want Neal in his home, especially at midnight. He made his mind up on the spot: he was going to get Neal out of his house. Except...

"Are you supposed to wake a sleepwalker?"

"I don't think so," El answered with a noncommittal gesture. "I think you're supposed to, y'know, lead them back to bed?"

"I'm waking him up."

El nodded before burying her head back in her pillow with something similar to "Go for it."

Peter went back downstairs. Neal was still standing there, locked in conversation with people who weren't there. Peter vaguely heard 'Kate,' 'Alex,' 'painting,' 'expensive,' and 'reward.' Not good words to hear a conscious Neal say. Better words for a technically-asleep Neal to mumble incoherently. Peter put a firm hand on Neal's shoulder, holding the younger man in place.

"Neal." His voice was firm. Neal didn't respond, not even to try to struggle out of Peter's grip. "Neal!" Neal mumbled incoherently, something that only made sense to him. "Neal Caffrey!" Peter shook him slightly.

Neal's eyes snapped back to life, wide, blue, and frantic. His eyes darted around, still not entirely focusing on Peter's presence. Based on the sleeptalk Peter had heard, he guessed he was trying to figure out who woke him up and why.

"What's happening, Moz?" Neal asked, panicked and commanding at the same time.

Then his eyes focused on the situation actually in front of him. Peter watched the emotions flick over his face in order. Panic from being in a situation he didn't remember getting into. Fear upon realizing where he was. Worry about what was going on. Embarrassment that someone else saw him sleepwalking. And then something akin to acceptance. He knew where he was and who was with him. His muscles relaxed, but he tensed slightly when he felt Peter's hand on his shoulder.

"I...what happened?" Neal sounded vulnerable and younger than Peter had ever heard.

Unfortunately, Peter was exhausted. It was early and he'd been woken up. "You broke into my house." He took his hand off Neal's shoulder.

"I...huh?"

"You broke into my house," Peter repeated, a little bit firmer.

Neal looked around and fully took in his surroundings. "How did I get here?"

"I don't know. Get out of my house. It's too early to deal with you."

Neal smiled awkwardly. "Sorry." He started towards the door. "Didn't mean to break in."

Peter crossed his arms over his chest. It would have been more imposing if he were in proper clothes and not a stretched-out sweatshirt and flannel pants. "You didn't mean to?"

Neal shook his head. "Didn't mean to," he echoed, in a voice both unspeakably tired and infallibly chipper.

"Get out."

"Going." And Neal left.


The next day, upon arriving into the office, Neal was summoned to Peter's office. Neal was acting perfectly normal, smiling at everyone and carrying normal conversation. But Peter saw the fatigued slump of his shoulders, the weary slow reactions to friendly gestures, and the bruises blooming beneath his eyes. Eventually, Neal managed to get up to Peter's office and sunk into his normal chair. He waited for Peter to start the conversation.

"Okay, Neal," Peter started. "What happened last night?"

"I...What do you mean?" Neal knew what Peter meant. But he wanted the specification. Lots of things had happened.

"What happened last night?" Peter repeated. "You know, you broke into my house? Freaked out my wife?"

Neal's cheeks pinked. He hadn't meant to make El worried. To be fair, he hadn't meant to break into Peter's home either, but it still happened. "Right. Um...I sleepwalk sometimes."

That wasn't an answer and Peter said as much. "Not an explanation."

"It is an explanation," Neal insisted. "When I'm stressed and really tired, I sleepwalk." That made sense. There had been a long case that was still in progress and Neal looked like he hadn't slept properly in a week. "And I was going through things that I do all the time."

That was worrying. From what Peter had managed to hear, Neal was talking about robbing either a museum or someone's art gallery. Although that was Neal's everyday life for years before now, it was weird to hear how candidly Neal referred to it as everyday activities. Peter didn't think he'd ever get used to how candid Neal was about some important things and completely walled off about the unimportant ones.

"You're expecting me to believe that you woke up-"

"I didn't," Neal interrupted.

Peter continued talking over him. "Were conscious enough to leave your apartment, hail a cab, get to my house, break in without setting off the alarm, and start to rob my house. And you were sleepwalking."

"Yes," Neal said with an affirmative nod. He didn't think it was worth acknowledging that Peter's security system was woefully inadequate and the alarm was really easy to subvert.

Peter waited for a few seconds. "Are you going to say anything else?"

"No. What else do you want me to say?" Neal sounded...almost irritated? But that didn't make sense. "I'm not going to apologize." That explained it. "It wasn't my fault."

"You were breaking and entering. I could have you arrested."

It was an empty threat. Peter wasn't even sure if there would be a legal basis for an attempted larceny charge. Neal hadn't had any intent behind it. And he was unconscious at the time. Neal knew this too. And then Peter had a thought.

"Did you ever commit a crime while sleepwalking?" Peter wasn't entirely certain that he wanted the answer. But he asked anyway.

"Not that I'm aware of," Neal answered cautiously.

Peter sighed. "I was right, I didn't want the answer."

Neal took a deep breath and focused on the desk in front of him. "I'll try to stop it happening again."

"Is that the best I'll get?"

Neal nodded. "That's the best you'll get."

"Then I guess I'll take it."


And, to Neal's credit, it never happened again.


I hope you enjoyed; leave a review if you particularly liked it! To NaNoWriMo writers: It's Day 20! Officially 2/3 of the way through. I'm certain all your novels are incredibly climactic with the potential to become a bestseller/incredibly popular!