(Chapter 3)
Elizabeth Burke sat in the chair by her husband's bedside and held his hand, speaking softly. He hadn't moved in over three days, two of which she had spent since showing up from her sister's. Peter looked pale, skin cooler than normal, brow covered in sweat. She dabbed at his forehead with a washcloth, talking to him in hopes he would wake up.
"Peter? I know you can hear me. Neal says hi. He can't visit but the Police have him under custody with Jones and Hughes." She paused her voice choking slightly.
"He's going undercover to catch the men who did this to you. I'm worried about him. He's still not well himself but Neal's doing this for you." She sniffed slightly, hugging his hand in hers. Peter's hand was limp and cool against her skin and she cried slightly, wishing her husband was there with her. El buried her head in his chest and kept crying till she felt someone gently brushing her hair. She looked up and saw Peter's lips moving ever so slightly.
"El?" His voice was quiet, just audible as he coughed and smiled ever so slightly at her. She smiled and hugged him gently, staring into his brown eyes with relief.
"Hey honey. How are you feeling?" She reached over and poured a glass of water from a pitcher on the nightstand and helped him drink it. Peter smiled weakly but the fact he was awake was making her feel better. She replaced the glass on the nightstand and hugged him.
"Neal... did they find him?" Peter tried to sit up but groaned, El pushing him back gently against the bed. She squeezed his hand.
"Neal's doing better. The men who shot you tried to blame it on him but he's helping the Police along with Hughes and Jones to catch them." El shushed him quietly but he kept trying to talk, his face worried.
"Neal's going undercover? I have to be there..." Peter tried to get up again but she held him down as gently as possible.
"Calm down, Peter. Please... Neal's ok. Jones and Hughes are with him." El watched her husband frown, shaking his head adamantly.
"I have to be there with him. El... tell them to wait for me. He needs backup..." She felt his forehead and he was warm with fever. El reached over and pushed the nurse call button, shushing him gently.
"He has backup. Neal will be ok. You need to rest, Peter." She turned as the door opened and a nurse walked inside. El pointed at her husband and the nurse came over and felt his forehead. Her eyes widened slightly as she moved to the phone and called someone. The nurse hung up the phone and walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aspirin and El poured out another glass of water to help.
"Take these, Peter. It will help you get better." El helped him take the pills and drink water. Peter grasped his wife's hand and looked at her, brown eyes pleading.
"Neal can't do this alone, El. Promise me?" She looked at the nurse who was checking his temperature and pulse trying to figure out what to tell him.
"I promise Peter. Now rest... please." She held his hand and he nodded sleepily, closing his eyes and falling to sleep.
()()()
(Three days earlier...)
Neal woke up in the ER. June stood off to the side talking to someone in blue scrubs. He wanted to call to her but there was a tube in his throat and nose. A nurse walked by and saw him awake, stopping to check on him.
"Just nod, don't try to talk, Mr. Caffrey." The nurse took his wrist in her hands and counted smiling.
"Looks like your pulse is better and you're breathing..." She pulled out a stethoscope and listened to his chest as he breathed in and out.
"... is much better too. We'll be able to pull the tubing out soon. Just be patient." She smiled at him, patting him gently on the arm as he looked around. He wanted to call to June but the tubes were in the way. He waited till he saw her finally walk towards him. She looked worried but she smiled at him warmly.
"Neal, you're finally awake! Everyone was so worried about you." She sat beside him in the small partition and hugged him gently. Neal tried to think how to ask about Peter when she nodded knowingly.
"Peter? He's stable and in a room already. They called El and she's on her way. I'm just glad I was home when they called about you." She held his hand as he smiled in relief at hearing about Peter. He pointed at himself, looking at her curiously. She blinked and then figured out what he meant.
"They said you had a bad reaction to the chloroform. Some people do. It was a good thing one of the detectives was also working forensics in the past. She tipped them off and they were able to get you breathing again. Now that you're awake you should have those tubes pulled out soon." She saw him nod his head and continued to worry over him till a doctor appeared.
"I'm Doctor Lucas. I'm going to assist with removing the tubing." Another nurse appeared behind her and they stood on either side, hands gloved and ready. Neal looked a little scared but June stayed and held his hand.
"It shouldn't hurt, Mr. Caffrey but you may feel a bit of discomfort." Neal closed his eyes, squeezing June's hand in his as the doctor and nurse remove the tape holding the tubes in place then slowly, carefully pulled the tubing from his throat and then after wards from his nostrils. Neal made a coughing noise, something that sounded wet and soggy but soon he had cleared it out and his breathing sounded a bit more normal. The doctor listened to his chest and smiled once the tests were over.
"Sounds like you're doing better than you were earlier today. We just need to monitor you till the morning and then you're free to go if no other complications arise." She smiled at them both and left, the nurse fluffing his pillows before following. Neal opened his mouth to say thank you but nothing came out. June walked over to a nearby water dispenser and filled cone with water. She sat back down and held it to his lips.
"Drink slowly. Slowly, Neal." He choked slightly on the cool water then sipped at the water till he nodded to her.
"Tha... nks." His voice was weak but audible. He smiled slightly.
"Don't try to talk yet. Let your breathing go back to normal. They said the injuries to your abdomen were minor so you should be ok. Nothing was broken. I'm just glad you were there to help Peter." Her face paled as she spoke of him. He figured she must have seen him already and he thought about how pale and cold his friend had been when he found him.
"Mob... sters. Hi... t... hi... m. Kn... ow... wh... o." He coughed a bit more and she got him some more water, slapping him on the back gently till he stopped.
"Just rest for now. Jones said they'll come talk to you in the morning when the Police come back. I'm sorry you have to go through this, Neal. I know you weren't the one who hurt Peter." She kissed him on the forehead and he looked up at her with sad, tear-filled eyes. He was worried about Peter more than he was about himself but he was unable to do much about either of them right now. He lay back against the pillows and tried to relax.
"I'll stay with you as long as they'll let me, Neal. Just rest, ok?" He nodded, holding her hand in his, eyes slowly closing as he slumped back into a weary sleep.
()()()
When Neal woke up the next day, he could hear people talking loudly outside. There was definitely some animated conversations going on and he thought he could hear Hughes at the forefront. He fought hard to listen to what was being said.
"Caffrey is our jurisdiction and under our mentor ship. He's has not been found guilty of this crime yet and I won't let you sacrifice one of our best consultants just because you think you can get a star on your badge!" Neal blinked in surprise that Hughes would stand up for him like that. He could hear the cop he guessed talking back to Hughes in quieter tones and then the familiar voice of Detective Maxwell trying to act as mediator.
"We can be reasonable and work together on this. I don't believe your consultant is guilty of this crime. His injuries and the fact he had chloroform in his system prove that. The evidence is circumstantial at best, I agree but we need to have his help on catching the people who did do this for both of our departments, agreed?" Neal listened as he heard Hughes and the other officer obviously agree speaking in quieter tones suddenly. He stopped trying to listen and stared up at the ceiling. He still felt pretty groggy from everything unless they had given him something to sleep in the IV. Regardless, his thoughts kept going back to Peter. He needed to see Peter and know he was ok. He trusted June so he knew Peter was well but he had to see him just for his own sake.
The door to the room opened and El peered in, a soft smile on her face. She looked sleepy but she tried to hide it with a nonchalant wave of her hand.
"Hey, you're awake. They said you can go home today." El walked over and sat by his side, taking his hand in hers. Neal nodded, looking over at the door.
"I heard them talking about me like some kind of commodity. Am I really all that popular?" He smirked and she patted his hand gently.
"They want to use you to wire tap the people who hurt Peter. You know who did it?" She gazed at him hopefully and Neal gave a reluctant nod of his head.
"I didn't know it at the time but the men who broke in are associates of someone I met once. I was just a stupid kid and..." He paused looking around and then whispered...
"... pick-pocketed the wrong person. It was Antonio Gambosa, the big mobster himself. He was furious but I managed to impress him with some of my other less reputable skills." He frowned at the memory and shrugged slightly.
"He liked me and let me into his circle. I didn't like the life though once I realized he was a mobster. I couldn't hurt people like that and promote violence so I disappeared. He never knew where I went because I gave him one of my many aliases... Nick Halden. He used to call me Nicki as did the man who helped hurt Peter, Roberto Romani. He remembered me which is why I was able to convince him NOT to finish the job." He turned his face guiltily away from her as if he felt responsible for what happened.
Neal turned when he felt a soft kiss on his cheek and a warm wet tear. He looked back to see Elizabeth smiling at him although she had tears running down her face.
"Thank you Neal. See what good you can do when you try? Peter trusts you for a reason." She hugged him and he pulled his arms around her.
"I don't know how long the truce lasts. His partner knows I'm not who Roberto thinks I am. He's the one who set me up. I don't think he told Roberto but, I'm going to try going in with a tap. That will keep Peter safe if we put them all away." She blinked at him as she pulled away. Her expression had turned to concern.
"Go in undercover with those men? Neal, you can't. Peter wouldn't want you to do that. He's safe. Just forget about it. Let the police deal with it." El's expression seemed angry at the thought of Neal going in as bait but he just squeezed her hand again.
"I have to. They will just send more people if they find out he's still alive and it's bound to happen. Gambosa is not someone you want after you. I was lucky he took me under his wing. Besides, once they see both of us arrested, they will assume I was duped too and not send any more people." He smiled his best grin at her and she frowned slightly.
"If you think you have to, Neal but please, come back safely. I don't want Peter to hear you've been hurt or killed trying to help. He was nothing but nerves when you worked with Rice on that one case." She hugged him one more time and stood.
"I have to go but I'll be back later when June comes to pick you up. Rest." She squeezed his hand one last time and walked out of the room.
