Author's Note: Surprise! I got really inspired all of the sudden and managed to get another chapter together and I hope you will like.
Most people thought that I should continue which made me really happy since I love writing this.
So, I will write for a while longer and we'll see where it goes.

I would like to thanks for all the reviews/follows/favorites and then I would also like to wish you all a happy new year and hope that 2018 will be a great year for all of us :D

CHAPTER 28

The following week was miserable for every single member of the Burke household.
Every time Neal managed to fall asleep; a nightmare woke him up within a short amount of time and he hadn't spent more than three consecutive hours asleep.
When the kid was awake he was tired, grumpy and still experiencing some symptoms from his concussion.
The nausea, headaches, trouble to focus and oversensitivity to loud noises and bright lights kept coming and going, making it hard for the boy to get even a single minute where he didn't feel like absolute crap.
The doctor had told them that it would take some time for the symptoms to go away but despite knowing that it was normal, the adults kept worrying about him.
Peter and Elizabeth were completely exhausted as well, Neal's constant nightmares made it hard for them to get any sleep themselves and they spent every waking hour fussing over him, doing their very best to make him feel better.
Every single task became a huge challenge since a sick, exhausted Neal became a very difficult child who couldn't seem to stop crying and screaming.
Elizabeth had taken some time off work to take care of Neal but Peter was still going to work, despite the fact that he felt like he was about to collapse any second.
Even Satchmo suffered from constantly sensing the boy's pain without being able to comfort his tiny human friend.
It was really hard for all of them to see Neal suffer without being able to take his pain away, but the absolute worst part of it all was that Neal kept apologizing to them.
Neal didn't understand that he didn't have to apologize for being sick, and they quickly came to understand that it was another sign of how much James had messed the poor boy up.

After that first, terrible week the symptoms started to go away and even if Neal still had horrible nightmares, they had decreased in number and he could finally rest for a longer period of time.
As he got more sleep and suffered less pain, the kid stopped being constantly difficult and the adults could finally get some sleep as well and stop feeling like zombies.
They even decided that the kid was ready to hear about Mozzie, after he had started to ask questions about how Peter had managed to find him.

"Neal, we need to talk to you."

Peter said to the boy who was sitting by the table drawing and he immediately dropped his crayon before looking at the adults with an alarmed look in his eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?"

He asked, he had picked up on Peter's serious tone and immediately jumped to the conclusion that they conversation would be about him.
They sat down opposite Neal before Elizabeth answered his question.

"No sweetie, we need to talk to you about your friend Mozzie."

Peter frowned as Neal suddenly paled and the alarm in his eyes were replaced with guilt.
He made a mental note to question the kid about that later, but for now he had to stay focused on the bad news he had to bring.

"How do you know about Mozzie?"

Neal mumbled, and Peter's gut feeling said that there was definitely something about his connection to Mozzie that he didn't want them to know about.

"Mozzie came to us asking for the FBI's help after Keller called him."
"Mozzie actually came back?!"

Neal shouted happily, and it sounded as if he had just won the lottery.

"Inside voice, please."
"Sorry. Where is he?"

Neal looked around the room as if his friend would pop out of nowhere while Peter exchanged a sad look with his wife.

"Buddy, Mozzie was in the warehouse and Keller shot him."

Once again Neal's expression changed and his eyes filled up with tears, this conversation was truly an emotional rollercoaster for the child.

"Is Mozzie dead?"
"No, but he's in the hospital."

Neal swiftly jumped off his chair, accidently sending some crayons crashing to the floor in the process.
The boy grabbed Peter's hand and pulled in it.

"Come on, I have to go see him right now!"
"No Neal, we can't-"

Peter didn't even get to finish his sentence before Neal gave him a light push.

"I want to visit Mozzie! If you won't let me, I'll go by myself!"

Neal gave them an angry, defiant look before he turned towards the door but he didn't even get the chance to walk away before peter reached out and grabbed him.

"I was going to say that we can't go because the visiting hours are over for today, but we can go tomorrow."

Neal turned back them and gave them a sheepish smile before apologizing for jumping to conclusions.
The adults let his behavior slide, knowing he was just worried about his friend.

The next day Peter and Neal drove to the hospital, while Elizabeth had to reluctantly go to her job after one of her coworkers had called in sick.
Neal had brought the white t-shirt that Mozzie gave him, and was clutching it tightly to his chest as they entered the sterile room.
Mozzie was lying in a bed with several machines hooked up to him and Peter had a hard time believing that this was the same man that had showed up on his doorstep just a week ago.
He felt something press up against him and as he looked down he saw that it was Neal who was seeking comfort.
If it was hard for Peter to see the man in this state, he didn't even want to imagine how scary it must look for a six-year-old.
He crouched down and carefully turned Neal around so that the kid was looking at him instead of Mozzie.

"I know it looks really scary but it's nothing to worry about, all the machines are helping him."
"Are you sure he's not dead?"
"Yes, he's just sleeping."
"Mommy looked like she was sleeping too."

Peter was taken aback by Neal's words, he had never been aware of the fact that the kid had seen his mother's dead body.
He stood up again before grabbing Neal's hand and leading him over to the bed before trying to explain to him how the machines were keeping his friend alive.
It took a while but finally the boy started to calm down and he understood that Mozzie was very much alive, and that he was indeed just sleeping.
Neal put the t-shirt on the small bedside table, next to a get well card that Peter discovered was from none other than June Ellington.

"Hi Mozzie, it's me Neal."

The boy said as he slowly reached out and carefully touched the man's arm.

"I wanna say thank you for helping Peter find me."

Neal looked up at Mozzie's face as if his presence would be enough to wake Mozzie up, but the man remained unconscious.

"You have to wake up soon Mozzie 'cause you have lots of things you promised to teach me."

Peter immediately noticed that Neal started to get upset and walked over to the boy, just to be next to him in case he needed him.

"I really miss you Mozzie, please don't die."

As soon as he said those words, Neal turned around and looked up at Peter with tears escaping his eyes and slowly making their way down his cheeks.
Peter lifted the boy up and hugged him tightly as he told him that Mozzie was a fighter and he wouldn't give up anytime soon, at least that's what he hoped.