Disclaimer- nope.

AN- This chapter (aside from the ending) is not my best work. However, what happened to Neal is revealed so it's worth reading in my opinion. The reviews I got were stellar, you guys are beautiful people.

Neal stirred in his warm cocoon. Familiar voices drifted up above him, but none that he could work up the energy to place their identities. Besides he was busy. He had to…

What did he have to do?

It was important. Really important.

A brunette woman and man stirred through his mind. It had something to do with them…

He had save…

A rush of warmth burned through his mind. It was nice, the warmth.

Neal slipped away into darkness again.

Elizabeth bit her lip as she ran her fingers over the painting on the easel. The paint was smooth in appearance, but rough to the touch from blending and layers and brushstrokes. But the texture wasn't what had stunned her into speechlessness. It was the actual work. It was her and Peter sitting on a bench, his arm draped over her shoulders and her head tilted into the crook of his neck. The sun was setting in a multitude of shimmering shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple over a crystal blue and turquoise lake. Sandy beaches sprawled along the shores, and surrounding the bench was thick green grass that was speckled with white flowers. Tucked in the corner was a cursive 'N.C.' and right below it were the words, 'thank you.'

"Neal's been working on that for weeks." Mozzie said, breaking from his search of the bookcase. The con had already checked their usual places for hiding things and was breaking off into searching the entire place. June had told them the FBI had already searched the entire place, but she wasn't going to clean it out yet. She had agreed with El that Neal was still alive.

"There's a fine line between denial and hope." The dark woman said simply as she unlocked the room and placed the key into El's hand. Her dark eyes had the simple truth of a mother's love for her son. "I find it's much nicer on hope's side."

"It's the longest I've ever seen him work on something and so dedicatedly other than the portrait of Kate. He was leaving it for you and the Suit." Moz grimaced and turned away. He hated having to look at what basically was the equivilant of Neal's will. The blue eyed man was far too young to have been ready to die or have to leave everyone he cared about behind. Although, he supposed that after the loss of Kate, Sara, and then the Suit and the wife, he must have believed he had nothing left.

The same way he thought he had nothing left when he went after Fowler about the whole Kate thing…

Kate.

The portrait of Kate.

"Oh they love the classics, those two." Moz gasped, turning and grabbing the painting of Kate Moreau off the wall. Flipping it to the backside, the con man pried up the back of the frame, revealing a brown envelope addressed, 'to whom it may concern.'

"That's it!" Elizabeth cried, her hands reaching to grab the envelope. In trembling fingers, she ripped open the sealing and removed 3 tan folders, each labeled in Neal's perfect script, plans, people, and Serenity. She quickly opened the Serenity folder, letting her blue eyes take in the print. Mozzie turned and flipped open the file labeled People. Pictures were stapled to biographies. The first one was a pretty blonde perched on a bench.

"That's Juliet." El whispered, her voice hollow. "That's the woman who… she's the one who…"

The previously expressively happy blue eyes now reflected only horror and the deadness of a PTSD soldier. She snatched the photo, glaring into the woman.

"She's the one who shot Neal."

Elizabeth turned, seeing Neal run towards her with the pocket computer he'd plugged into Keller's computer earlier. The front of his trademark suit was drenched in blood, where from she didn't know. The actual jacket he'd wrapped around her after the explosion.

"Guards are taken care of." He whispered breathlessly as he approached. "They're chasing the decoy. We should get moving"

The female Burke nodded and grabbed his shaking hand. The blue-eyed man smiled, the shadows lifting all too briefly from his features.

"You have to know I never wanted this to happen, Elizabeth." He whispered, shifting his gaze down to the handheld electronic. "I promise, once you're safe I'll vanish and you'll never hear from me again. I'll use the data on this to track Keller down and make sure he never hurts you again."

"Neal-"

A gunshot rang out, interrupting Elizabeth. It was then she realized that the con had staggered and hadn't drawn his gun.

"No!" Elizabeth gasped, dropping to her knees. Blood was already pooling on his drenched shirt, his fingers were losing their sweet warmth. "Neal, hey sweetie look at me! LOOK AT ME!" The last three words left the normally calm women's mouth in a panicked shriek. Caffrey's blue eyes rolled towards her, more expressive than she'd ever seen. Hopelessness, joy, sadness, disappointment, and guilt tumbled through the glassy orbs and tore at her heart.

"El." Neal gasped, sliding a cold metal device into her hands.

The computer.

"Don't you dare let them have this. Get it to Moz, then forget all about it." A single ruby drop of blood dripped out of his mouth, sliding down his chin. "I'm so sorry. I shoulda… I-"

The con broke off in a coughing fit, and Elizabeth didn't bother hiding her tears.

"It's not your fault, honey." She whispered, leaning down over his face. "Don't you ever think it's your fault. You saved my life. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten caught. It's my fault. I…"

The blue eyed con placed a trembling finger on her lips, letting the rest of the words fade away.

"In every shadow there is a light. In every tear, a smile. In death I know there still is life that lingers for a while." He shuddered, tightening his grip on her hand. "You're safe. Safe… Safe… Tell Peter…" Caffrey gasped again, "Tell Peter 'm sorry."

His grip went slack, and his gaze burned into hers, saying so much more than his words.

"Neal. Neal, don't you dare give up on me. NEAL!" Elizabeth screamed, slapping his face desperately. "Don't leave me!"

Okay. The only part of this chapter I actually like is the ending.

Review please?