Hey, Guys!! This is totally unrelated, but for anyone who hasn't seen it, I recommend New Moon. Me and my friends went to see it and it was excellent.

Thanks for the reviews; they make me feel like a fat kid who just got cake. So, a lot of people have been going, how did Elizabeth know that Neal was her son. Well, here's your answer. Remember, Mozzie said Neal Bomer.

Anywho, Hope you like this chapter just as much, if not more than the previous ones, Love Brownie

I think I deserve extra cookies for writing this in one go; it took me 5 hours to get it just right.

Finding Neal

Chapter 3: Fourteen Years Ago

Elizabeth Burke woke up amidst the hospital chaos feeling more at peace than she had in seventeen years, since the wretched day when she had decided to give her 3-day-old baby up for adoption in order for him to have a more complete life. She pushed herself up, moving her face from the hospital bed and stared at its, now, sole occupant: her son, and slipped her hand into his, letting its warmth and the beeping of the heart monitor comfort her.

She was working on imprinting his every feature into memory, when she felt his hand squeeze hers. She waited a minute for him to repeat the action, but, when he didn't, she convinced herself that it had just been a figment of her imagination. As she gazed at his mop of curly, brown hair and angelic face, she found her thoughts drifting back to a day, some fourteen years ago, that had lead her to make the decision to let go of her son a second time.

Fourteen Years Ago: Central Park, NYC, New York

Elizabeth's body was vibrating with restrained energy as she practically skipped along the sidewalk followed by a professional-looking woman walking at a more sedate pace. The woman was dressed in a formal, black skirt with a lacy, beige top, and brown-rimmed glasses, which contrasted neatly with her blonde hair, which she'd pulled up into a formal bun. Her companion's appearance was the exact opposite of hers, it was more casual: consisting of a pair of flaring jeans, a gray, printed, vee top, and black Chucks.

As they neared their destination, Elizabeth's face took on a worried expression and she slowed her pace to match her companion's, then asked, "Isabella, they're still going to meet us at the Safari Playground, aren't they?"

Isabella Lake turned to face her client and answered the question the same way that she had answered it the five times other times she'd been asked it, "Yes, Elizabeth, they are. They called to say they were already here and to call them when we arrive."

"All right, just making sure," a pause, then, "Can I see the file?"

"I…Sure," answered Mrs. Lake, transferring the red file from her hand to Elizabeth's. The younger of the two opened the file and her breath caught in her throat when she saw the picture of a bright-blue eyed boy, with curly brown hair wearing a Cheshire cat grin, which revealed two missing front teeth (he hadn't gotten all his teeth yet), and a brown, vintage-style, knickers outfit with matching suspenders, bowtie, and newsboy cap. He was the epitome of the word adorable and Elizabeth had to confirm what she already knew, "Is that…?"

Isabella responded with a smile as she too peered at the picture, "Yes, Elizabeth, that's him: Neal Bomer, your son and they…" she paused to flip the page to reveal a picture of a handsome looking couple: a lithe, blonde-haired man and a tan woman, who resembled a model, who were interlocked in an embrace, "are his adopted parents: the Bomers, Nate and Eve."

Elizabeth flipped another page and spotted another picture this time of the two Bomer men. They were wearing matching, blue, OP Hawaiian swim trunks with a floral print and the younger of the two was in the process of burying his father in the sand and had a gleeful smile covering his face, while the elder looked on with an indulgent smile covering his own face. Looking at the picture that had obviously managed to capture a fleeting, but great moment in her son's life, Elizabeth began to have doubts about her decision of reclaiming her son, but ruthlessly suppressed them with the thought, It's just a picture, and like Peter always says, "things aren't always as they seem, you have to look deeper."

Elizabeth flipped back to the first page and, when Isabella turned away, took that moment to pull out the picture of her son, then quickly stuffing it in her Coach purse, shut the folder and returned it to the Social Services' worker. They continued walking and were about to round the renowned Central Park Carousel when Elizabeth heard it, "Neal! Baby, smile," and stopped.

Her heart was racing when she turned her head, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw him, her baby, his tiny hands gripping onto the textured pole connected to the top of one the beautiful, hand-carved stallions - the brown one, to be exact - with all his might as he tried to smile bravely at the woman who had asked him to smile. The woman who he, with no doubt, considered his mother and, who, for all intents and purposes, was his mother was crouching with a pink camera and had probably captured another great picture for the album. This one with the apple of their eyes, as she'd now realized he was, wearing brown, plaid shorts with aqua blue and cream stripes and a complementing aqua blue polo.

Before she knew it, her feet were carrying her towards the carousel and, when it was finally within her hand's reach, it came to a stop. She walked with purpose toward Neal, but was beat to it by two people, whom she quickly identified as Nate and Eve Bomer. She forced herself to stay back and watched as Nate Bomer picked Neal up and swung him up into his arms.

She didn't even notice when Isabella, who'd finally manage to find her, came and stood behind her. She was too caught up in watching her son as he burrowed into, who he considered, his dad, when said Dad asked, "So, Buddy, did you like it?"

The blonde chuckled and answered his own question, "I guess that's a no."

His wife playfully slapped his arm and reprimanded him, "Don't make fun of my baby, he just wanted to do something else. Isn't that right, Baby?"

Baby, who had previously had his face buried in his Dad's shoulder, peered over Nate's shoulder at his mom with his ethereal eyes, "Uh huh."

"K, Champ," started Nate as he shifted Neal so that he, too, could look into his eyes and asked, "What do you wanna do?"

Neal's eyes sparkled brighter, if that was possible, "I wanna go see the weopards, Daddy!"

"All righty, Champ. To the weopards we go," replied the Daddy, fighting valiantly to stifle his smile and succeeding.

"Hun," interrupted Eve, before they could start heading for the Central Park Zoo, "It's 1:20 and we have…um…an appointment for 1:35."

"Oh, yeah," responded Nate, his mood turning somber and his grip on his son tightening, "I forgot."

Eve rubbed her husband's arm, the one that was holding their progeny and comforted, "It'll be okay, Honey, you'll see. If they actually care about their son, they'll see how happy he is. They'll let him go. They have to."

Nate turned to kiss the top of his wife's head and wrap his free arm around her, "He's ours, Evie, and I'm not giving him up without a fight. He's my son." He brought his hands up to wipe the tears that were escaping his wife's eyes, and soothed, "Don't cry, Love, we're not giving him up.

Neal's head, which had quirked up when he'd heard the work cry, flitted between his parents before stopping at his mom. "Mommy?" he called, his hands reaching for her. She easily wrapped her arms around him, when her husband reluctantly transferred him and, in response, he wrapped one arm behind her neck for stability and placed the other on her cheek.

"What's wong, Mommy?" he asked, peering into her brown eyes.

The aforementioned eyes watered with emotion as she, in a voice thick with emotion, answered, "Nothing, Sweetheart," and then started peppering his little face with kisses.

The tiny face reflected his enjoyment for a while, then took on a grimace when it did not stop until Nate interrupted, "Honey, we still have to go."

The not-so-little shower of kissed stopped and the tight-knit family started walking, but Neal did not stop in his interrogation, he wasn't anything if not persistent. "Daddy," he asked turning to face the man, "Daddy, what's wong and why is Mommy crwing?"

Nate's eyes began to tear a little as he answered, "Nothing's wrong, Buddy, your Mommy just loves you a lot."

Neal trusted his Daddy and, after turning back toward his mom, he declared, "I wove you too, Mommy," and then kissed her on the tip of her nose as if to prove it.

Eve pulled her son toward herself and as they walked kept murmuring, "I know, Baby. I know."

When her baby peered at her over his mom's shoulder and his eyes showed no recognition before flipping back to his parents, Elizabeth came to a decision and turned to face Isabella.

"I'm sorry," started Elizabeth, and cut the social worker off when she started to ask, "Why?"

"I'm sorry for wasting your time. Neal...he…" she paused to brace herself, "He's better off where he is, and I see that now."

"Are you sure?" asked Isabella, imploring her to answer truthfully.

Elizabeth remembered what Eve had said and answered, "Yeah. He's happy here. He has parents who love him and I can't take away the only family he's ever known or take him away from them. They're a family now, they belong together." A pause, "Cancel the meeting, I've seen all I needed to see."

With that, looking more lost than she had ever before, Elizabeth made her way back home.

Stroking his hand with her thumb, Elizabeth repeated what Nate Bomer had told the same kid fourteen years ago, "Baby, your Mommy loves you a lot."

…TBC…

Please R&R. Constructive Crit is always appreciated.