Chapter 6

The house was quiet, Neal thought from his spot on his new bed. It had a few creaks here and there but overall, it was much quieter than many of the places he'd stayed. He rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow, trying to get some sleep.

4 years ago…

It was cold. Neal's light jacket was no match for a New York January. He puffed out a breath and shivered. He should have realized that lifting a bus ticket and coming to New York wouldn't be that easy, of course Neal had to arrive in the middle of a snow storm. Numb fingers reached into the front pocket of his worn jeans, feeling for the twenty dollar bill. He knew it was still there but it was reassuring to touch it. Neal had planned on using the last of that some food but now he realized he'd have to spend it on a true winter coat. Then hopefully his fingers would be warm enough to pickpocket some more cash.

Neal continued to walk down the street, finally finding the store he was looking for, a thrift store. The eleven year old sighed as he walked into the heated store, finally feeling his body warming up. He walked in and out of racks, most of the clothes were hideous, something the prideful boy would never get caught wearing. Eventually he had to settle for a long, tan colored coat, it wasn't the best but he would have to make do. He checked the price tag, resigned to the fact it would require the full twenty dollars.

Ten minutes later the eleven year old walked out clad in the lightly-used coat. Quickly stuffing his hands into the coat, Neal planned his next move. He needed to get some more money, preferably cash as most people would notice a young boy using a credit card. Neal glanced around the few people walking down the street. The best place to pickpocket someone would be in a more crowded place but Neal didn't really have that option, unless he wanted to wait until tomorrow.

Neal continued to walk down the snow covered sidewalk, eyeing possible marks. He caught sight of one walking toward him. He looked to be about middle aged and he was talking very animatedly on a cell phone. The boy started flexing his fingers, trying to increase blood flow to the digits; the last thing he needed was to fumble when stealing a wallet and get caught. Once the man was close enough Neal pretended to slip in the snow, grabbing onto the man as he 'fell'. "Hey kid! Watch where the hell you're goin'!" The man yelled as Neal straightened and mumbled an apology. Walking away he opened the wallet and started counting the bills. It looked to be about thirty or forty bucks, enough for him to get by for a few days. "What the-?! Hey, that kid stole my wallet!" Neal glanced back to see the man running toward him, he didn't wait and just ran. He ran across the street, weaving through the few cars on the road, but the man followed. Neal ducked into an alleyway, looking for somewhere to hide.

"Kid. Hey, kid!" Neal jumped at the new voice, his heart pounding. He flipped his head around, there, in the doorway he hadn't noticed before stood a bald teenager. He was gesturing for Neal to come in. At first Neal was suspicious but a quick look back at the street and the man chasing him fueled his decision. Ducking in the doorway, the heavy door shut with a loud click.

As Neal leaned against the inside wall, panting, the teen looked him up and down. "So what did you steal from him?"

Neal was startled, how did he know? "I didn't steal anything." He lied, the guy may have saved his butt, but that didn't make him exactly trustworthy.

A brow arched over the teen's glasses-covered eyes. "Come on. I'm a thief too; I know what a mark looks like." Neal gave a small sigh before holding up the wallet. The bald boy laughed. "See? Can't fool me, kid. So what's your name?"

Neal continued to watch him. He seemed like an alright guy. "Neal."

The teen smiled and reached out, quickly ruffling Neal's hair. "Name's Mozzie. I take it you're new around here?" Neal nodded. "Well, welcome to New York kid."

Neal blinked open his eyes. Why did he dream about the time he first met Moz? It seemed really odd as he hadn't thought about that memory in years. Mozzie had been such a constant in his life that he never had to think about the past. That had been the first time anyone had welcomed Neal like that. He had come to New York just after his drunkard of a mother died. She was in a fatal car accident one night after leaving the bar. Killed on impact is what the police said. Neal had packed up and left before social services arrived. He never looked back.

Peter blew a quick breath of air on the coffee mug. Not that it really cooled it down, but it was a habit. He took a quick sip as he read the morning paper. It was just the same old headlines, but one article in particular caught his eye, it was one of the cases the White Collar Unit was currently looking into. A few forged Degas had been appearing. They were good ones too, so whoever was behind it was very skilled and needed to be caught soon, before they moved up from painting to other types of reproductions. Unfortunately, they hadn't found any new leads; no one seemed to know who this guy was.

He set down the paper, deciding not to dwell on work today. Both he and Elizabeth were hoping to settle Neal and Mozzie in today, help make them feel more at home. Peter knew his wife wanted to take the kids shopping, but he wasn't sure if that was the best way to get to know them. Not that Peter had any other ideas though.

"Good morning Peter." Just then Elizabeth made her way down the stairs, clad in the robe Peter had given her for Christmas last year. Her hair was still slightly tousled; obviously she had just woken up.

"Morning El. You're up early."

"I know. I was just so excited to start the day getting to know our new kids that I couldn't sleep anymore." Peter smiled at the excitement he could feel coming off his wife. In truth, he was eager too and overwhelmingly nervous.

"So am I. And really nervous." He added, looking down into his coffee.

"Oh that too, we just have to take in one day at a time." Elizabeth told him, for probably the twentieth time since they met the teenagers. Peter was about to reply when the creak of the stairs drew his attention. There on the lower steps stood a rather awkward Neal.

"Good morning Neal." Peter smiled. "We were just about to make some breakfast, is there anything you would like?"

Neal gave him a confused glance. "Uh, no. Anything is fine." He said staying in his spot.

Peter's smile fell a little at the edges. "You sure? We'd be willing to make you just about anything. We just want you to feel at home here." If anything that just made Neal look more confused.

"Can I have some coffee?" He asked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his sweats. Peter blinked, surprised.

"You drink coffee?" Neal merely shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Well, of course you can have some. Come on." Peter said standing up, gesturing for Neal to follow. Once the teen was in arms reach, Peter wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Elizabeth makes a great cup of coffee, some special beans, from some special place." He said waving off the name. "But it really is worth it."

"Oh, good morning Neal." Elizabeth said as the two walked into the kitchen. "How did you sleep?"

"Good, thank you Mrs. Burke." Neal answered a bit stiffly.

"Please, call me Elizabeth or El, Mrs. Burke sounds so stuffy." She told him, keeping strong eye contact to get her message across.

"Alright Elizabeth." She nodded in approval before turning back to the coffee maker.

"Just sit down on the stool and I'll get you a cup." Peter told him, giving him a gentle push to the kitchen island. Peter quickly poured a cup and set out the regular amenities for Neal to doctor the cup himself.

"I have to say I'm surprised you're up this early, Neal." Peter began when Neal finished stirring in some sugar.

"I've always been more of a morning person. Mozzie on the other hand, I'll be surprised if he's up before noon." Neal joked with a small smile as he took a sip of coffee. This made Peter smile, Neal seemed to be getting more comfortable with them, at least a little bit. He looked over to see Elizabeth smiling behind her coffee mug as well.

"So, Neal, what would you like for breakfast today?" El asked this time.

"I don't-" Neal started before Peter cut it.

"You better just tell her Neal. She doesn't take no for an answer." Peter said jokingly, pretending to be in pain as Elizabeth smacked him on the arm.

"Oh shush you. So, Neal?" She reiterated again. Neal fidgeted with the cup, running his fingers along the rim. They just waited for his answer.

"I haven't had waffles in quite a while." He told them, keeping his eyes down on the coffee. Peter's smile grew.

"Waffles huh? I think we can manage that." He waited until Neal looked up before giving him a wink. Neal started to smile. "On one condition." The smile immediately dropped at Peter's words. "You chip in too." Peter gave a light pat on the back as that small smile came back.

"We're going to have to get a bigger coffee maker, Peter." Elizabeth told him as she refilled each of their cups, using the last of the pot. "I assume Mozzie drinks coffee too?" Neal nodded as he added more sugar to his.

"Oh yeah, he's a self-proclaimed connoisseur of it." Just then the same teen they were talking about stumbled in, clearly still half asleep.

"Is there coffee?" He mumbled making his way over to the counter. This caused the three people already there to start laughing. A bleary-eyed Mozzie watched them, not understanding the joke. "Did I miss something?"

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