Author's Note: I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all the kind reviews, even if I'm not always responding (because I'm too socially awkward)
I do apologize for any mistakes or if any of the writing seems rushed.
I did rush to get this together since it's my birthday the 13th and I have decided to gift myself a week off from the stress of writing, social media and internet in general and just spend some time with my family, my friends and my beloved cat.

As always thank you so much for reading :)

CHAPTER 38

Almost two weeks had gone by since Curtis Hagen had switched schools and the change was crystal clear.
Neal had started to love school and every morning he was bouncing up and down from excitement, begging the adults to get ready a little faster so that they could get to school as soon as possible, and every afternoon he wore a huge smile on his face and had several stories to tell them.
The change was evident in the other kids as well, they all seemed a lot happier and without Curtis there to boss them around, they felt free to play whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted.
Neal, of course, managed to befriend every single kid in his class and he started to have playdates almost every single day.
Peter and Elizabeth happily listened to the millions of stories and happily drover Neal to playdates or had kids over at their own house.
They didn't even once complain, they were just happy that Neal was happy, after everything the kid had been through, he really deserved to be happy.

It was a Friday afternoon when Peter walked through the door, wearing a big smile on his face.
His wife was sitting by the table, helping Neal with his homework, when she saw him come into the room and the smile on his face caused her to immediately tear up.

"It's over?"

She asked, needing the confirmation.

"It's over."

He confirmed and Elizabeth smiled as tears of happiness started to roll down her cheeks.
She forgot everything that she was doing and instead she just enveloped the boy in a tight hug.

"What's over?"

Neal asked while giving Peter a confused look.

"They can't hurt you anymore, sweetie."

Elizabeth promised him as she hugged him even tighter, to the point where he could almost not breathe.
His wife was right, they couldn't hurt him anymore.
He had just attended both James and Keller's trials, appearing as a witness in James' trial.
They had decided to schedule the men's trials on the same day, Keller's in the morning and James' in the afternoon, so Peter had practically spent his entire day at the courthouse.
The worst one had definitely been James' trial where the man had his lawyer describe him as a loving father, something that made the agent's blood boil.
It had been difficult to contain his anger as he took the witness stand and was forced to look at the horrible man that had been capable of hurting an innocent child, his own child, so incredibly much.
Peter had somehow managed to stay calm and professional as he told them about the kidnapping of Neal but also about how Neal had been treated and how the boy had been affected by the abuse.
Once he was done, he could see how every single member of the jury had lost any empathy they had felt for the man.
In the end they both got the sentence guilty and all of their crimes made sure that it would be a very long time before any of them would see the world outside the prison ever again.

The fact that they no longer had to worry about Keller or James was definitely something that was worth celebrating, especially since they could almost see the huge weight that dropped from Neal's shoulders.
The boy had gone through so incredibly much and he was really worthy of a fun afternoon so they decided to celebrate by going to a little fancier restaurant.
Neal's face lit up as he was told that he could order whatever he wanted, including whatever dessert he wanted.
After eating their food and a delicious chocolate cake that Neal chose, they went to a nearby toy store where Neal was allowed to pick any toy he wanted.
Peter and Elizabeth smiled at each other as Neal ran around the store, trying to find the perfect toy.
Perhaps they were spoiling him but the kid really deserved it.
Neal eventually ended up choosing a pack with toys looking like the characters from The Lion King, a movie that had become Neal's favourite.
They ended their celebration with a visit to the cinema where they watched the movie Coco.
Once they exited the movie theater, the kid was absolutely exhausted and he fell asleep on the way home, clutching his new toy pack tightly to his chest while he wore a big smile on his face.

Once Neal was tucked safely into his bed and Satchmo had been given a walk, the Burkes sat down on the couch with a glass of wine and a bottle of beer.
"I have something that will make this good day even better."
Elizabeth told him and Peter raised his eyebrow, thinking that there was nothing that could top this.
His wife got up from the couch and walked over to her purse and got out an envelope.
Peter was still skeptical, how could an envelope in any way be better than having two criminals put behind bars?
He opened the envelope and once he saw what was inside, he realized that Elizabeth was right, this made the good day even better.
Inside the envelope was an adoption petition, meaning that they would just need an attorney to file it and then when the family court judge approved it, they could sign the final adoption papers.
They still had a long way to go but at the same time this meant this meant that they were one step closer to making Neal their son.
Peter couldn't find any words so instead he just put the document on the coffee table before pulling his wife close to him and giving her a big, loving kiss.

Peter was awoken by a wet nose pushing against his arm, telling him that the dog needed to go for his morning walk.
The agent groaned before instinctively reaching out for Neal to make sure that he was okay but all he felt was the sheet.
He sat up straight, looking beside him but all he saw was Elizabeth sleeping soundly while the space in between them was empty.
Peter was immediately filled with worry before he thought back and realized that he hadn't been woken up in the middle of the night like he used to.
As far as he could remember the boy hadn't come to them after having a nightmare, which was more than a little surprising since Neal had been plagued with constant nightmares for so long.
The agent got out of his bed and walked out in the hallway, stopping outside of Neal's room.
He peered inside and saw the six-year-old sleeping in his own bed and except for the fact that the kid had kicked off his blanket, there was not a single sign of any distress.
Peter quietly walked into the room and pulled the blanket over the kid again before gently pulling his fingers through the boy's soft hair.
He smiled as he remembered Elizabeth's previous words, Keller and James couldn't hurt Neal anymore, not even in his dreams.

Author's Note 2:
I just want to point out that I know nothing about how it works in court, I only know what I have seen in tv-shows.
I also don't know adoption works, I've just googled a little and tried to make it as realistic as possible except the process will be much quicker in the story than in real life.
Also, I don't know what year this story is set in so I just picked Coco as the movie because I recently watched it and it was a really sweet movie :)

Author's Note 3:
I have been thinking long and hard about this fic and I've sadly decided that I will end this fic on Chapter 40 (which is like 30 more chapters than I had thought in the beginning. Wow)
I don't want to stop writing it but at the same time I feel like my mind is drained for ideas, especially since I'm writing other fics as well.
Although I do remember that someone a while back suggested writing oneshots, something that I would find really fun to write, especially since you don't have to be focused on the big picture.
But I won't write any oneshots for life after this fic if there is no interest for it, so please let me know if I should follow up on that idea or if I should let chapter 40 become the definite end to their story.