Author's Note: I've really been struggling with this chapter and I'm not completely happy with it, but my friend convinced me that it was good enough to post so here we go. That being said, if you don't like it blame my friend and not me.
All mistakes are still mine :)

CHAPTER 13

Peter couldn't believe his ears when Neal called his wife mommy and he couldn't believe the look on his wife's face.
It was the same look she had the first time she met Satchmo, she had picked up that puppy and refused to let go until Peter caved and agreed on getting the puppy.
This situation wasn't as easy though, this was not a puppy this was a child and they couldn't just take him home. He knew that Elizabeth knew this as well but that didn't stop her from giving him that look that he just couldn't resist.
Peter also knew that even if he tried to argue El would win in the end.
The boy's slip up with the name was all it took for Elizabeth's heart to break and she would protect the child with her life.
"Peter"
She pleaded and he knew what he had to do, there was just no way Elizabeth was going the let the child go.
The agent turned around to the social worker but before he even got the chance to ask the question she smiled at him, understanding exactly what had happened.
"I'll pull some strings, see what I can do"
With those words the social worker left to make some calls.

Peter sat down in one of the chairs while he watched his wife calming the child down, Neal's sobs slowly quieting down to sniffles.
Peter knew what the social worker was going to investigate, if they could become foster parents and take care of Neal.
Of course he wanted the boy to have a good home but he wasn't sure if his home was the best for the kid.
Peter didn't know how to take care of a child, he could barely have a conversation with one without feeling awkward. It didn't help that this particular child wasn't a normal child, no he was a child with a tragic past and many issues to work through.
Peter felt the urge to back out of this before it was too late but then he glanced over at his wife.
He definitely didn't know how to take care for children but Elizabeth sure had a natural talent for it.
She had always understood kids and always felt a connection to them, she had always wanted her own but it just had never happened for them.
Looking at them now they looked like they belonged together, if he was an outsider he wouldn't doubt for a second that they were mother and son.
The thought caused Peter to smile, even though he had his own insecurities he couldn't possibly deny the love of his life the happiness that child would bring.

By the time the social worker returned Elizabeth had moved to a chair, Neal in her lap still clinging onto her.
"I have pulled all the strings I possibly can"
He could hear Elizabeth shushing Neal as he started to fuss, most likely still being scared of going back and leaving Elizabeth's embrace.
"Your chances are good. We will have to do both a personal evaluation as well as an evaluation of your home. If you pass then you might be able to take care of him, but there will be a lot of paperwork and information before you can officially become his foster parents. You will both need to know how to best take care of a child who-"
The social worker interrupted herself before adding
"Needs a foster home"
She was about to say a child who has been abused but thought better of it, not wanting to remind the child of his past.
"We'll do whatever it takes"
Elizabeth said while Neal looked over at the social worker, his eyes red from all the crying. Peter thought he saw something in the child's face, something like gratitude.

Neal eagerly grabbed the badge Jones offered him, he had never seen one up close before, like most kids Neal was fascinated with cops and similar law enforcement agencies.
Peter and Elizabeth was talking to the social worker in the conference room and he hadn't been allowed to go with them.
Neal had refused to let go of Elizabeth and when Peter finally managed to pry the child of his wife, he had started to scream and kick, simply acting like a wild animal.
It wasn't until Jones swooped in, offering to show him around the office and let him look at his desk and some cases, that Neal finally calmed down and agreed to follow the agent.
Once in awhile the boy did glance up at the room, just to make sure that they were still there.
Jones handed him one of the case files and even though Neal couldn't understand what it was saying, he still spent minutes staring at them in total fascination.
After peering through some of the casefiles Diana showed up and handed him a juice box, which he enjoyed while Jones told him stories about some of their cases.

As soon as Peter opened the door he could hear Neal's giggling, and he couldn't help but smile when he looked down in the bullpen. Jones was telling some clearly exaggerated stories of their cases while making both voices and funny faces.
Seeing the boy's happy face, and hearing that light, childish giggle was enough to convince him that he had made the right choice.
He felt Elizabeth grab his hand and squeeze it, knowing that she was feeling the same.
Even Diana started to join in on the voices, apparently the boy had managed to worm his way into their hearts as well, and Peter predicted that the child would grow up to be quite the charmer.
They waited until Jones had finished his story before they walked down the stairs together with the social worker, who had also seemed amused by the scene in the bullpen.
"We're going to inspect the house now, you ready to go?"
Neal's smile disappeared when the social worker addressed him, even if she had done her best for Neal to be able to stay with the Burkes, he still didn't seem to trust her.
He gave a slight nod before he jumped off his chair, waved goodbye to the agents and then grabbed Elizabeth's hand.

The social worker was asking a million questions at once, about everything from the neighbourhood to the condition of the house.
She checked what kind of food they had at home, checked the guest room and made sure Peter had a good safe to lock away his gun in.
Peter couldn't answer half of the questions but luckily Elizabeth seemed to be able to answer every single one of them. Peter stayed back, now and then checking on the boy currently playing with Satchmo in the living room.
It felt like an eternity later but finally the social worker seemed happy and they ended up at the kitchen table drinking coffee.
The social worker spent minutes talking about different trainings, the finances and even mentioned a couple of good child psychologists but eventually Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm sorry for interrupting but I just have to know. Did we pass the evaluations?"
The wild play between the dog and the boy ceased and a couple of blue curious, but also fearful eyes looked at the adults.
Even Satchmo seemed to understand the situation and regarded the humans with begging brown eyes.
The social worker smiled and nodded.
"In my opinion you are perfect as foster parents"
Elizabeth yet again squeezed Peter's hand, waiting for the final verdict.
"I'm going to allow Neal to stay for the night and tomorrow we'll start the process of making you official foster parents"

Neal couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was allowed to stay. He had been hoping for it but he hadn't really expecting it. It was almost too good to be true and without even thinking he got up and ran to the social worker, throwing his arms around her while thanking her.
Then he let go of her and ran over to Elizabeth, practically throwing himself up in her lap, hugging her tight.
He felt Peter's hand rubbing his back. Everything felt perfect until out of nowhere the memories hit him. This felt like déjà vu.
He remembered clearly how happy the Smiths had been when they first met him. Mrs Smith had hugged him and Mr Smith had given him a piggyback ride.
They had been so happy and kind even though he was bruised and shy.
They were his dream parents until they realized how demanding a 5 year old could be and the dream started to fade. It had started with the yelling but soon it escalated to Mrs Smith slapping him across the face. After that both of them started to hit him and eventually Mr Smith went too far and pushed him down the stairs. Neal had miraculously not been hurt more than a couple of bruises but his trust in the adults was dead.
After that he ran away and never looked back. Now when he closed his eyes the Smiths were replaced with Peter and Elizabeth. It took all of Neal's willpower to fake a smile and keep the tears at bay.
Elizabeth looked so much like his mother, but he had to realize that it didn't mean she would be as kind as her in the end. He realized that he had to run away again after all, he couldn't trust the Burkes because in his world there were no kind foster parents.

The kid had gone awfully quiet and withdrawn when the social worker left, he didn't even want to play with Satchmo or eat ice cream.
Elizabeth was worried, Peter could tell by the way she was washing the same plate for the third time.
"I'm worried about him Peter. He was so happy and then he suddenly went quiet. What if he don't want to be here or what if he's sick or-?"
"Hey"
Peter interrupted her worried rant and put his arms around her in an embrace from behind.
"He's been living alone on the street for a long time, it's a big change for him. He probably feel a lot of insecurities regarding us and we just have to make him understand that we're not gonna hurt him, okay?"
When Elizabeth nodded he placed a kiss on top of her head.
Peter left Elizabeth in the kitchen to check up on the boy and found him sitting on the floor, whispering to Satchmo, but as soon as he heard Peter he stopped and looked away as if he'd been caught doing something wrong. Oh how Peter wished Satchmo could talk so he could tell him what Neal had been saying.
"Hey Neal you want to come with me and Satch for a walk?"
Neal shook his head
"I wanna go to bed"
Peter looked at the clock in confusion, he thought children was supposed to argue about going to bed late, not wanting to go to sleep when it wasn't even dark outside yet.
"Already? It's still pretty early"
"I want to go to bed Peter"
Neal said with such a determined tone that Peter couldn't possibly turn him down.

When Peter returned from his walk Elizabeth was propped up on the couch watching a movie.
He sat down next to her, putting her arm around her shoulders.
"Neal must've been exhausted, he's already fast asleep"
She told him and there was something about the whole thing that didn't sit right with Peter. Something was wrong here but he didn't know what.
What if Neal planned on running away again? Peter was not up for another search for the child and now he had a greater responsibility to keep the child safe.
That was why he decided to sleep on the couch tonight with Satchmo next to him, that way the child couldn't leave the house without him knowing.

Author's Note 2: I did some research about becoming foster parents in New York but the process seemed too long so I simplified it a little :)