Author's Note: I said it before but I'm gonna say it again, thank you for all the comments, I love reading them and re-reading them and they get me inspired to continue. Thank you all for reading and liking my story, it makes me so happy.
Okay that's it from me. All mistakes are still mine

CHAPTER 16

Before they left the mall they stopped to buy a car seat, something Neal wasn't too happy about.
The adults calmly but firmly explained that it was the law and that it was for his safety.
Neal's annoyance was replaced by a sadness over the fact that he couldn't remember ever being in a car seat before. None of his previous foster parents, or even his real parents, had ever cared about that law or his safety in a car.
Suddenly the chocolate bar felt heavy in his pocket and he started to feel bad about taking it. The Burkes had been really nice and he didn't want to ruin the day by making them angry at him.
While Neal debated with himself what to do, they reached the car and Peter put the car seat in the back before gesturing for him to get in.
Neal got in, and once seated he decided that it was now or never. He opened his mouth to confess his crime but before any words came out Peter spoke
"What's this?"
Neal looked down to see that Peter had moved the oversized shirt out of the way, while getting him secured in the seat, and the square shape of the candy in his pocket was now clearly visible for the agent. Peter reached out and pulled out the chocolate bar from his pocket.
"Did you take this?"
He asked and Neal looked away from him, not wanting to face his anger.
Neal knew that he had done something wrong, his mommy had always told him that stealing was only okay if you were in need or if mommy told you to do it.
No one told him to do it and he didn't need it, he had just wanted it and that, according to his mommy, made his stealing wrong.
"Neal, look at me"
Surprisingly Peter didn't sound angry and when he finally looked back at the agent, the man didn't even look angry at all, he just looked disappointed.
"Did you take this?"
He repeated and it was something about the way Peter looked at him that made it impossible for him to lie ,so instead he nodded.
"I took it. I'm sorry"
The boy confessed while tears began to fall.
Peter nodded before turning away, showing the chocolate bar to Elizabeth.
She instantly knew what had happened and the adults started to quietly whisper to each other before Elizabeth turned to him.
"Get out of the car, honey"
She said and Neal obeyed. She grabbed his hand and started to walk back to the mall.
Neal was confused, he had expected them to go right back home and then punish him. He knew from experience that he wouldn't get hurt in public.
Maybe they were going to leave him here?
"Where are we going?"
He asked, trying to not sound scared.
"We're going to return the chocolate bar to the store"
Neal frowned, he had never ever returned anything that he had stolen before.

Once in the store Elizabeth walked up to an employee, Neal sniffling by her side. She had given him the chocolate bar and he was clutching it tight in his hands.
"Hi, Mrs Burke"
The employee greeted, she had been sure to go to an employee she knew just to make sure that the employee would be nice to the child.
"Hello, Sally. This is Neal and he has something to tell you"
When the boy didn't speak, she gave him a gentle nudge. The boy sniffled before looking up at the employee.
"I took this candy, I'm sorry"
He said and gave the chocolate bar to the young woman.
"Thank you for returning it Neal, but please don't do it again, okay?"
Sally waited until Neal nodded before continuing.
"Because we get very sad when people take our things without paying"
The boy nodded and then hung his head and Elizabeth felt satisfied, she had wanted the boy to feel guilty about his action and realize that it affected the people he stole from. Hopefully the boy would learn his lesson and not repeat the stealing.
Elizabeth thanked Sally before returning to their car where Peter waited.

Neal spent the ride home thinking. He had never wanted to make anyone sad, and he wondered how many people he had stolen from and how sad they had gotten.
Neal also wondered if that was it or if they would punish him when they returned to the house.
Once they returned home, Peter told him to sit down on the couch while Elizabeth unpacked all the bags.
The agent sat down on the coffee table and made sure the kid looked at him before he began his lecturing.
Peter told him that it was not okay to steal, and he even talked about some criminals at his work and what consequences you could get if you stole things when you were an adult.
It didn't fit with his mother's words about stealing, and he felt confused.
Should he trust an FBI agent, that he had know for just a couple of days or should he trust his own mother?
Despite his confusion, he nodded when Peter asked if he understood.
The man stood up and automatically the boy flinched, expecting that the man would hit him now that the lecture was over.
The seconds passed and the agent didn't even move, slowly he lifted his head and looked up at the agent, whose eyes looked sad.
"I'm not going to hurt you"
Peter said, his voice soft and Neal wanted to believe him.
"I always get hit when I do something wrong"
Neal said in a low voice. Of course he got hit a lot even when he didn't do anything wrong, but he left that part out. He had been taught not reveal too much details to adults.
Peter sat down again and put a hand on his knee.
"And that is wrong, okay? No one should ever hurt you, no matter what you do"
Neal didn't know what got into him but suddenly he stood up and threw his arms around Peter, much like the first time they met.
Peter hugged him back and he waited until the boy backed away before giving him his punishment.
"El and I decided that a time-out would be enough as a punishment this time, but if you do it again the punishment will be bigger"
"A time-out?"
Neal asked, not familiar with any other punishments then being locked inside his room or being hit.
Elizabeth grabbed one of the chairs and put it in the corner.
"You will sit here for five minutes"
Even if sitting still and doing nothing for five minutes didn't sound that attractive to Neal, it still was so much better than what he had expected, so he sat down on the chair without hesitating.

As soon as Neal sat down, Peter walked over to his wife.
He could see that she was upset by the fact that Neal was used to being abused. She had tried to hide it from the boy but now when he wasn't looking at them, a few tears escaped from her eyes.
He put his arms around her and Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulder.
He understood how she felt, he felt just the same.
No child should ever be abused and no child should ever get used to it.

Soon five minutes had passed and Neal was allowed to get up. He changed his clothes, for the first time in who knows how long. The boy chose a couple of jeans and a grey t-shirt with the cookie monster on it.
The boy was quiet after his punishment. He just obediently helped Elizabeth sort the clothes and toys, the boy did frown at the books though and refused to touch them.
Both of the adults wondered why Neal was so against books.
After about an hour of Neal being quiet, Satchmo finally managed to get the boy to play with him and soon the house was filled with Neal's laughter and Satchmo's playful barking.
Peter and Elizabeth got some coffee and sat down at the table, not feeling the need to speak to each other, they were both perfectly happy with just watching the boy and dog.
Peter couldn't stop himself from smiling like an idiot, it no longer felt awkward to have the boy around, it was quite the opposite actually, it felt kind of natural.
He could definitely get used to having the boy around and he really hoped that the boy didn't want to run in a week.
The doorbell rang and Peter got up to answer it. It was the social worker and she was carrying a stack of papers.
She was let in and he saw her smile widely as she saw the boy playing wildly with the dog.
"Looks like things are going good"
She commented before sitting down at the table where Elizabeth gave her a cup of coffee.

Neal had tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but there were too many complicated words for him, but he did understand enough to know that it was papers related to them becoming his foster parents.
It felt like the adults were talking for hours but finally the social worker left.
"Are you my foster parents now?"
Neal asked and Elizabeth got up and walked over to him.
"Not yet, sweetie. It's a process but soon."
She gently pulled her fingers through his hair.
"Do you want to help me make some dinner?"
Neal nodded eagerly and followed her into the kitchen.

After dinner they ended up on the couch, eating ice cream and watching The Lion King.
Neal was placed between the two adults and once in awhile he glanced up at them.
He wanted to believe so bad that he was safe here and that they actually wanted to be his parents. His first whole day with them had, despite his shoplifting incident, been good.
Of course, there was still that voice inside his head chanting not to trust them and get ready to run.
Neal really hoped that the voice was wrong and that he could finally find a safe, loving home, the one he'd always dreamed about.
He yawned, and without even thinking about it he leaned his head against Peter who responded by placing his arm around him.
He could feel Elizabeth's hand gently caressing his back and he was so comfortable that he instantly fell asleep.

Author's Note 2: I just wanted to say that apart from my own childhood and my 4 year old brother, I have no experience with children. So I googled and this was how most parents said they would deal with a shoplifting situation. So I do hope that it seems like a good and realistic way to deal with it