Author's Note: I planned to get this update written much earlier but then Sweden was given the hottest summer in over 200 years and my brain practically melted.
That being said any mistakes made is the weather's fault :)

Also I was accepted into a writing course at the university and it's thanks to my fanfiction writing, and all the motivating words from readers, that I had the motivation to apply to it so I just want to say a big thank you for giving me confidence in my writing :)

CHAPTER 35

Elizabeth and Peter made the decision to not tell Neal anything about wanting to adopt him.
They decided to wait until the process were through, partly because they wanted it to be a surprise and partly because they didn't want to get his hopes up in case there was some problems along the way.
They did feel a little bad about having their little secret conversations behind Neal's back, especially since they knew very well that the kid had trust issues.
Luckily Neal didn't seem to take notice to their secret conversations because he seemed too busy just being a kid.
The change had happened all of the sudden, one second, he was coming home from school upset, pushing other students and running away and then the next he came home from school wearing a big smile on his face and talking nonstop about what he and his friend Sara had done at school.
Even if the change was very sudden and unexpected, it was more than welcome.
Neal acted more like a normal child and apart from his constant nightmares, his troubles seemed to have been pushed away to the back of his mind.
He even had a playdate with Sara, the little girl that the Burkes had only met once or twice but who, according to Neal's stories, was a wonderful little girl.

This positive change in Neal was the reason Elizabeth didn't at all expect to get a call from Mrs. Fisher.
She was silently praying that it wasn't another call about Neal running away while picking up and trying not to sound too worried.
The call was not at all about Neal running off, instead it was about the kid being in the nurse's office with a possible broken wrist that should be checked out at the hospital.
Elizabeth promised the teacher to be there as fast as possible before telling Yvonne to handle their upcoming meeting.
She jumped into the car and sped to the school while trying to get a hold of her husband.

"Come on, Peter."

She begged as all of her calls went unanswered.
She was worried out of her mind and she wanted her husband there to share the worry.
Elizabeth soon arrived at the school where Mrs. Fisher showed her the way to the nurse's office where she saw the boy sitting on a bed, cradling his injured wrist.
Neal looked so pale and so small and Elizabeth had to stop herself from crying.
When he spotted her, he immediately burst into tears and Elizabeth hurried over to carefully throw her arms around him in a comforting embrace.
She had a quick chat with the nurse before they left the school and drove to the hospital.
Neal kept crying the whole way, which did absolutely nothing to calm her down, no it did quite the opposite.
Elizabeth kept trying to reach Peter but all the calls kept going to voicemail.
Of all the times he could have been unavailable, it had to be now?

Luckily there weren't too many people in the ER and they were quickly sent to the radiology unit.
Elizabeth stopped outside the door and looked at the big sign clearly telling people to turn off their cellphones.
She was planning on getting her phone and leave a voicemail for Peter but before she had the chance, Peter finally called her back and she let out a big sigh of relief.

"What's wrong?"

Her husband asked before she even had the chance to say hello.
He sounded really worried which was very understandable, after all she wouldn't call so many times if it wasn't something important.

"I'm at the hospital with Neal."
"What happened? Is he okay?"

She could hear him shuffling in the background, most likely putting his suit jacket on.

"He fell from the jungle gym and they think he's got a broken wrist. We're just about to head into x-ray."
"I'm on my way."

Elizabeth hung up, feeling slightly calmer now that she knew that her husband was on his way.
She turned off her phone before walking inside with Neal, who was still quietly crying.

"Do you want to go and play?"

She asked him and gestured towards the corner of the waiting room that was meant for children.
Elizabeth had hoped that the toys would cheer him up but the child shook his head and insisted on sitting in her lap.
Elizabeth mumbled quiet, comforting words and stroked his hair while her heart was breaking from knowing that the sweet little boy was hurt and was in pain.

"Neal."

They looked up as a kind looking nurse called his name and told them to come with her.
They followed her into a room where Neal got to sit down while the nurse placed his injured wrist in the right position.

"Mom, you can come with me."

The nurse said and Neal, who had stayed relatively calm for the past minutes, suddenly whimpered and grabbed Elizabeth's shirt.

"I'm just leaving while they take the pictures, honey. I'm going to be right there in that room."

She told him and pointed towards the little room where another nurse was waiting to take the picture.

"Can you sit here and be brave for just a little while?"

Neal was quiet for a couple of seconds before he finally nodded and Elizabeth placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head before she followed the nurse into the little room.
One of the nurses left the room a couple of times to place the wrist in different positions before they were finally done and were told to go back to the waiting room and wait for the results.

The first thing Elizabeth saw when they walked out of the room was her husband pacing over by one of the couches, much to the annoyance of the other waiting patients.
"Peter."

She called out and the agent rushed over to them, carefully picking up the six-year-old, who was holding a bright red lollipop in his hand.

"Hey buddy."

Peter greeted in an affectionate voice while burrowing his nose in the child's brown locks and inhaling the coconut smell of his shampoo.

"Were you brave in there?"

He then asked when he saw the lollipop and the boy nodded proudly.
Elizabeth smiled at her boys and thought, for the 100th time, that Peter was a really good father.

"Hey hon, what did they say?"

Peter asked while gently caressing her arm, a move that calmed her down significantly.

"We have to wait a little while longer."

She answered and they walked over to one of the couches where they sat down, Peter with his arm wrapped around Elizabeth's shoulders and Neal snuggled up in his lap.
It felt like they waited for an eternity before the kind looking nurse returned and told them to follow her to a room where a doctor showed them the x-rays.
The boy's wrist was indeed broken just like the school nurse had thought, but at least it was a clean break that would heal just fine with the help of a cast.
Elizabeth looked over at Neal, who was still in Peter's arms, and expected him to be fascinated by the x-ray but instead he was hiding his face in Peter's neck and refused to look even once.
She, of course, wondered why the kid seemed almost afraid to look at it but she didn't have to wonder long.
On their way home, with a cast on Neal's wrist and pain medication that had finally eased his pain, the boy revealed the reason.

"I broke my arm once when daddy pushed me down the stairs."

Neal told them casually while the adults shared a sad look.
No wonder he hadn't wanted to even look at the x-rays when it was yet another reminder of the horrible things James had done to the poor child.

When they arrived home, they went upstairs and put Neal down for a nap since the kid was completely exhausted after today's events.
Peter read a story to him while Elizabeth was stroking his hair until he seemed to have fallen asleep. They were just getting ready to leave when Neal opened his eyes again.

"I'm not bad."

He mumbled sleepily and the adults shared a questioning look.

"We know that sweetie, did someone say that you were?"
"Please don't send me away."

It was always heartbreaking every time Neal's fear of abandonment manifested and Elizabeth really couldn't wait for them to adopt the kid so that he would finally understand that they wanted him now and forever.

"Peter called social worker."

Neal mumbled and she saw how Peter looked guilty, her husband had called the social worker that morning to talk about details regarding their adoption plans but he had thought that the kid hadn't heard the call.

"It was not about sending you away, bud. It was about..."

Peter trailed off and met Elizabeth's eyes, were they going to tell the boy now and spoil the surprise?
Luckily Neal fell asleep, his worried mind now at ease, while they were still silently debating on what to do and for now they didn't have to spoil the surprise.
Each of them placed a loving kiss on the top of Neal's head before they left the room and walked down the stairs.

Just a couple of minutes after they had returned downstairs, the doorbell rang.
Elizabeth opened it to reveal Sara, holding a big teddy in her arms, and her mother standing behind her.

"Hello Mrs. Burke, I have a teddy for Neal."

Sara greeted politely and Elizabeth was touched by the fact that the little girl obviously cared a lot about Neal.

"That's very kind of you, Sara. Unfortunately, Neal is sleeping right now."

Elizabeth informed her and the girl's face fell but it quickly lightened up again when Elizabeth invited both her and her mother inside.
They got some coffee for the adults and a glass of juice for Sara before they sat down at the kitchen table.
Both Peter and Elizabeth saw this as a great opportunity to get to know both their foster child's friend better but also her mother.
All of the sudden Sara's mother turned to her daughter with a questioning look and Sara nodded as if her mother had telepathically asked her a question.
Her mother then turned to the adults again.

"Sara actually had something to tell you."

She informed them before prompting her daughter to talk.

"Neal saved me so I have to save him back."

Elizabeth felt confused by the child's sweet and noble words and a look at Peter told her that he was equally confused about what Sara meant.

"Neal didn't fall of the jungle gym, he was pushed."
"Who pushed him?"

Peter asked and Elizabeth would have laughed about how quickly her husband went into FBI mode if she hadn't gotten such a bad feeling in her stomach.

"There's a boy that's been really mean to Neal."

They tried to get a name out of Sara but the girl clammed up and her mother explained that Sara wouldn't even tell her what the boy's name was.
Her daughter was obviously afraid to tell them which made Elizabeth wonder if Neal was just as scared as her.
It would explain why the boy hadn't told them what was going on in school even if it was clearly upsetting him.
The time flew by and Sara refused to say another word about school until it was time for them to leave.
Just before she walked out the door, she grabbed Elizabeth's hand to get her attention.

"Please tell Neal that if he tells the truth, I will talk too."

Sara then let go of her hand and followed her mother outside without another word, leaving the Burkes alone to wonder what on earth could be going on in that school.