Author's Note: First of all, thank you for all the reviews, I can honestly never thank you enough.
Secondly I do have a lot of ideas for this fic but I'm not sure if I should use all of them. I love writing this fic, but at the same time I can't really tell if the quality of my chapter are decreasing or not. So my question here is; should I try to wrap this fic up soon or should I continue writing it, making it around 30 chapters or more?
Please let me know what you think :)
CHAPTER 17
When Neal woke up, he quickly sat up as he for a second didn't recognize his surroundings, but after a few seconds he realized that he was in the Burkes' guestroom.
He frowned, the last thing he remembered was sitting in the couch and watching a movie with Peter and Elizabeth.
Neal couldn't remember going upstairs and when he looked down at himself, he saw that he was dressed in light blue pajamas with a dog on the shirt. He definitely didn't remember putting that on.
Unless he was sleepwalking, Peter must have carried him upstairs and he guessed that the adults had worked together to get his limp body into a pajama.
Neal was actually touched by this, when he lived at home and fell asleep he was never carried to his room, instead his father just roughly shook him awake and telling him to 'get off the goddamn couch before I kick your ass'.
Neal couldn't help but smile as he got out of bed and walked over to the closet.
Sometime yesterday Elizabeth had found the time to place all his clothes in it.
Neal picked a couple of black pants and a green t-shirt with a dinosaur on it before getting ready to leave the room.
As he reached the doorframe, some invisible force pulled him back to the bed where his Satchmo look-alike soft toy was.
He grabbed it and clutched it tight in his hands before feeling ready to leave the room.
Neal could smell coffee from downstairs so he wasn't the only one awake.
He walked quietly down the stairs and as he walked into the living room he could hear voices from the kitchen.
He couldn't make out all of the words but he could hear them mention June and something about trusting her, he was planning on sneaking closer so that he could hear better but Satchmo had other plans.
The dog emitted a bark before running towards the boy, almost knocking him over in his attempt to lick the boy's face.
Seconds after Satchmo's greeting, Elizabeth and Peter emerged from the kitchen, smiling and greeting him as well.
Elizabeth grabbed some bowls while Peter got the cereals and glasses.
Yet again Neal was confused, they waited for him before eating breakfast? He was used to breakfast being served at a specific time and if he wasn't at the table in time he had to go without food.
Neal had to stop himself from tearing up, just so the adults wouldn't think that he was upset or that there was something wrong with him.
There was nothing wrong with Neal, no it was the complete opposite.
He was filled with an unfamiliar, warm feeling that he couldn't really explain, but he liked it.
The boy climbed on the chair, placing his toy on the empty chair next to him, before grabbing the cereal box and started to pour.
Neal was surprised when an unfamiliar sound was heard, caused by something other than cereal hitting the bowl.
He put the box down before he looked in his bowl, gasping when he saw the golden star on top of the cereals. He grabbed it and held it up before looking at the adults.
"It's a sheriff star!"
When Neal saw the sheriff star he lit up like a christmas tree.
It was like he had never gotten a toy from a cereal box before, and based on how Neal's father had deprived him of toys Peter guessed that was the case.
Neal held it up in the air, while his blue eyes looked at it in total admiration.
Both Peter and Elizabeth played along and looked at the star as if it was a piece of gold.
"Wow. You're really lucky, buddy"
Peter said and Neal looked at him, the smile on his face wider than ever before.
"Can I keep it?"
"Of course, sweetie"
El answered and Neal thanked them a thousand times before putting it on his t-shirt, looking at the adults proudly as if he just became a real sheriff.
"Peter, Peter, Peter"
Neal chanted, practically bouncing from excitement.
It was a foreign but very welcome sight to see the boy so happy and careless, just like a child should be.
"Now we're both lawmen. We can solve crimes together!"
Peter chuckled and nodded.
"I'd love to have you as a partner"
He answered and Neal squealed from excitement before being reminded to eat his cereals.
After breakfast Neal started to play with Satchmo,having a tug of war with one of Satchmo's toys.
The dog was a lot stronger than the boy and it was obvious that Satchmo was holding back.
Neal giggled as Satchmo pretended to lose his grip so that Neal could win, they started the game again when Neal suddenly saw Elizabeth putting a stack of papers and a binder in her bag.
Neal let go of the toy as he looked at the adults.
He realized that Peter was wearing that boring, old suit he had worn the days that he was at the office.
They were both obviously getting ready for work but Neal didn't have anywhere to go, would they leave him here alone?
Neal walked over to the table and grabbed his toy Satchmo and watched the adults.
"Are you going to work?"
He asked, despite already knowing the answer. Like expected they both answered yes and Neal clutched his toy close to his chest.
He had been home alone many times before and he had lived on the streets alone after all, but still he felt scared of them leaving him all alone.
"Can I come with you?"
"I'm sorry, honey. I have a big event coming up and Peter has a big case right now"
Neal nodded, pushing away the fear in order to sound confident.
"It's okay. I can be home and play with Sacchmo"
"You're too young to be alone, bud"
Peter said and Neal frowned at him, he may be young but he knew how to take care of himself.
Neal wasn't an ordinary six year old, he didn't need a babysitter and he opened his mouth to point this out but didn't get his chance since Peter continued.
"El called June this morning, she's willing to look after you for today"
So that's why they had talked about June and trusting her. Neal closed his mouth again, the only reason he was going to protest was because he was even more scared of being left with a stranger than being left alone. He liked June and he really wanted to see her again.
Peter hadn't been too comfortable leaving the child at June's house for the day, he had a hard time trusting her.
The woman hid the kid from the FBI and Peter didn't doubt that if Neal asked, June would help him run. He just hoped that Neal remembered the Neal and wouldn't get any ideas.
The door opened, just seconds after they knocked, and they were met by June who immediately embraced the boy.
Peter didn't know how the two knew each other, but it was clear that June cared about the kid. She was like a proud, protective grandmother around him.
"Look what I got"
Neal said and showed the sheriff star that was still attached to his t-shirt.
"Oh dear, I better watch myself so you won't arrest me"
Neal giggled at her words before pushing past her.
"I'm gonna show Bugsy"
He said before disappearing and June looked at Peter.
"Don't worry, agent, the boy will be fine"
"You better hand him back in one piece or you will actually be arrested"
Peter threatened before turning around and walking back to his car, hoping that the boy was indeed going to be fine.
When Peter returned later that afternoon he was afraid that the boy and June had both escaped, but instead he was shown inside where Neal and June was playing a simplified version of poker.
Neal turned around when he heard footsteps and smiled when he saw that it was Peter.
"Peter! June's teaching me how to win poker"
He said before clearly cheating, so apparently June wasn't teaching him how to win honestly. He didn't point it out though.
"That's great, bud"
He said before ruffling the boy's hair.
Peter patiently waited for the game to finish before telling Neal that it was time to go home, something that made the boy very sad.
"Don't be upset, Neal. You can come visit me anytime"
Neal's frown was replaced with a smile and he looked up at Peter, giving him the puppy eyes.
"Can I come back?"
Even if Peter still didn't trust June, he couldn't possibly say no to the boy.
"Sure"
Neal gave him a quick hug before saying goodbye to June.
Neal was talking non-stop from the backseat, about everything he had done today. June had given him cookies, which would explain his energy, and told him stories about someone named Byron.
Even if Neal's babbling was giving him a headache, it was nice to see Neal act like a normal child, for once not believing that the adults around him was going to hurt him or feeling the need to hold back on his personality.
Although Peter would've preferred if Neal would act like a normal child without a sugar rush.
Neal was still talking as they walked through the front door and Peter couldn't help but sigh of relief when the kid decided to go and talk Satchmo's ears off instead.
Elizabeth came down the stairs and grinned at him.
"What?"
"You look like an exhausted father"
She said while putting her arms around him and Peter smiled at her words.
Even if he felt more tired than usual with the energetic child around, he wouldn't have it any other way.
After eating dinner Neal was told to sit by the table and Elizabeth placed some papers in front of him.
Neal looked at them and felt anxious over all the text, was he supposed to read this? He looked at the few pictures but he still couldn't understand what it was.
"What's this?"
He asked, frowning at the papers. Elizabeth placed a pen and an eraser next to the papers before answering.
"It's a test from school, so they will know where to place you"
"School?"
Neal had never been to school before, his foster parents left him home alone instead of sending him to kindergarten and by the time he was supposed to start first grade he was living on the streets.
"Yes, we have to enroll you at school, sweetie"
Neal shook his head. He did not like the idea of going to school at all.
"I don't wanna go to school"
"I'm sorry, but it's the law. You might feel nervous now but I promise you will love it, you will meet new friends and you will learn lots of new things"
Elizabeth tried to make it sound fun but Neal wasn't easily convinced.
"Just answer the questions you can okay?"
She said before disappearing into the kitchen to do the dishes.
Neal sighed and looked down at the paper.
He recognized the word 'name' and he could write his name in squiggly letters but after that he was stuck.
He recognized some of the words from his lessons with Mozzie but not enough to understand.
When Elizabeth returned to the table, Neal was staring at the papers and as she got closer she saw that he hadn't written anything, just his own name.
She was surprised, Neal appeared to be a clever boy and she had expected him to at least answer some of the questions.
"Do you need help?"
She asked and the boy answered with a shrug. She read the first assignment, it was a pretty simple one.
"You're just supposed to write a short presentation of yourself like what your name is, how old you are, what's your favourite animal and so on"
The boy didn't even try to write, he didn't even pick up his pen. Elizabeth sighed.
"Okay how about number 2, can you read that to me?"
Number two was a short text containing five easy, misspelled words that Neal was supposed to find and spell correctly.
Yet again, the boy didn't even move.
Elizabeth sighed again and sat down next to him.
"I know you don't want to go to school Neal but you have to, so don't you think it would be a good idea to just get this test done so that you could go play?"
She said, assuming that the boy was still sulking over having to go to school, but as he lifted his head, his lip was wobbling. Elizabeth barely had the time to react before the tears started to fall.
"I'm sorry"
Neal said, looking down at the test and then at Elizabeth again.
"I don't understand it. I can't read"
Neal said in between his sobs and Elizabeth immediately grabbed him and put him on her lap, stroking the top of his head.
She felt horrible for forcing the boy to do the test and mistaken his struggles for him being grumpy.
The boy had been living with terrible foster parents and alone on the street, she should have considered the possibility that the boy never received any education at all.
She rocked the sobbing child, trying to calm him down.
The boy seemed ashamed over the fact and she realized why he despised books, he had been too ashamed to tell them he couldn't read.
"It's okay, baby. It's okay"
When Peter returned from his walk with Satchmo he found his wife cradling Neal as the boy hiccupped and sniffled.
It seemed like the child had been crying and he gave his wife a questioning look, receving a shake of her head meaning she would tell him later.
The dog walked over to the table, whimpering and placing his head next to Neal on Elizabeth's lap. The boy reached out and petted the dog, who whimpered again, clearly upset over the fact that the child was upset.
When Neal finally calmed down, he was placed on the sofa, wrapped around a blanket and Satchmo by his feet.
Once Elizabeth was sure Neal was watching the cartoons, she gave Peter some papers.
"I talked to the school today and I got this test for Neal, to check where we should place him"
Peter looked at the empty papers and nodded, not sure where this was leading.
"Turns out, Neal can't read"
Oh. That explained a lot and just like Elizabeth, Peter felt stupid for not considering that possibility before.
"So what does this mean?"
He asked and Elizabeth shrugged.
"I don't know, I'm going to talk to the school and find the best solution"
Peter nodded. It would've been good for Neal to be placed with children his own age, but they knew more than him so there was a chance that Neal would end up in kindergarten with the younger kids.
Before Peter could answer Elizabeth, his phone started to ring. The name Diana showed up on the display.
"I have to take this"
Elizabeth nodded and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Neal and watching the TV.
Peter walked outside, to get some privacy.
"Diana, what's going on?"
"Hey boss. I have some bad news"
"What happened?"
He could hear Diana take a deep breath, meaning whatever it was, it was bad.
If Diana needed to prepare herself to deliver the news, it was bad, real bad.
"Keller escaped"
Author's Note 2: I'm not sure if these kind of tests exist in real life, I just thought it would be a good way to bring up both school and the reading issue.
Also since the American school system is different from the Swedish, I don't really know how advanced kindergarten and first grade are but hopefully the assigments were suited for a first grader.