Peter couldn't have been more relieved to get home that night. He had dropped Neal at home, to make sure he got there without taking any detours. They hadn't talked much during the day. In fact, Peter was pretty sure the only words he had spoken to his partner had been to ask about lunch and to offer him a ride. Both had received simple one word answers. Kathryn didn't come to the office, as they had expected, and she wasn't at the boutique when they went to resurvey the scene. Peter had made sure that Neal stayed on task all day. He kept telling himself over and over again that it was for the younger man's best interest, but the more he thought about it, the more he doubted it. Elizabeth wasn't much help, either. She had immediately taken Neal's side when he told her about what had happened over dinner. They were in the middle of their argument when the phone rang. Grateful for the distraction, Peter rushed to answer it.

"Hello," Peter answered, while Elizabeth made a face which ensured him that their conversation was not over.

"Hi," a nervous voice on the other line greeted. "Agent Burke?"

"Yes. Can I help you?" Peter asked with confusion. It was strange being addressed this way on his land line.

"This is Kathryn Paterson," she said slowly. "Nick…er…Neal's mom." Peter sighed. Could he get a break from Neal Caffrey just for one night?

"Oh. Hi," he said, maybe sounding a little too surprised. Elizabeth frowned from her seat at the dinner table. He shrugged. "You didn't come by the office today. Was everything okay?" Did she know about Neal's encounter with Kristen? Was that really why she hadn't come? Or had she let her curiosity get the best of her and done a simple search for Neal Caffrey online?

"Well, I—um—I talked to Kristen." That explained it. "It's all true?" she wasn't really asking, though. She knew.

"Yeah. It's all true," Peter couldn't help but smile. The more impressed people were with Neal, the prouder he was of himself. After all, he was the one that caught him. Wasn't he?

"And you're his…" she trailed off, searching for the word.

"Technically speaking, I'm his handler," Peter winced at the word. Even he didn't like to hold that against Neal when they got into arguments. "But I think of him as my partner."

"Then you trust him?"

"Absolutely," Peter was still shocked when he admitted this. After all the lies, the traps, the cons, he still trusted his partner. More than any of the other agents working for him.

"Was he—" she sighed. "Was he upset, when I didn't show up?"

"Hard to tell," Peter shrugged. "You know how he is."

The other end went silent for a moment. Peter was mentally kicking himself. Of course she didn't know how it was with Neal. She hadn't seen him in ten years. Mother or not, this woman knew nothing about his partner.

"Right," Kathryn finally said quietly. "I guess I do. He was a good kid, you know. It's probably hard for you to believe, but…"

"It's not hard for me to believe," Peter interrupted quickly. "He still is."

"I wanted to see him, today," Kathryn said, her voice dropping. "I really did, but when Kristen told me what had happened, I didn't really think he would want to see me. And then I did a background check. Kristen told me to. It's just hard to believe it's the same person."

"You should talk to him," Peter said decisively. As much as he wanted his partner's head back in the game, he needed his friend to get through this even more. Although he would never admit it, Neal was really struggling with this. "I think you'd be surprised."

"Maybe that's not such a good idea," Kathryn's voice wavered slightly. "After today, he probably doesn't want to see me. Especially after what a Kristen did."

"He'd be more than happy to talk to you. Trust me," Peter assured. Kathryn agreed without anymore protest. They set a date for lunch the following day and then hung up.

Peter arrived at June's early the following morning. Not wanting to wait for the consultant in his car, he let himself into the house and up to the apartment. He knocked on the door a couple times, but after receiving no answer, he went in himself. The apartment seemed completely empty. "Neal? You home?" he called out. He was fairly certain the younger man hadn't left for work already. It was too early. He had half expected to find him still fast asleep on his bed at this hour. However, his consultant's bed was empty. The only reply Peter received was a coughing noise coming from the bathroom. He rushed towards the sound and stopped at once when he reached the open door. Neal was sitting on the floor, his torso draped over the toilet.

"Whoa!" Peter said, taking a step back. "You okay?"

"No," Neal groaned. He made no motion to get up at the sight of Peter.

"Have you been like this all night?" Neal nodded. "You should have called. You need to go to the hospital," Peter's worried tone earned him a smirk from his consultant.

"I'm not sick," the younger man protested.

"You look pretty sick to me."

"Yeah. Family tends to have that effect on me," Neal said. He propped himself up and leaned back against the bathroom wall, closing his eyes.

"Alright. Enough with the brave face. This is killing you," Peter said calmly. "You need to talk to me."

With a sigh, Neal opened his eyes and faced his partner. "You know, there's not much I regret in my life. Even after you arrested me, I never regretted forging those bonds. I don't regret loving Kate. But to this day, I still hate myself for leaving that night."

"Neal…"

"No, Peter. Nothing you say can change what I did," Neal protested. "I left them. All of them. I left my two best friends…"

"There was nothing you could have done to save them."

"It doesn't matter. I could have still gotten them out. I just…left," he gave a disgusted look. "I left my family. Peter, I was supposed to take care of them. I had been for years, but that night…god…I was so selfish. All I could think of was myself. What people would think of me. I didn't stop to think about what would happen to them. I was a stupid kid. It killed me to see my sister look at me the way she did yesterday, but it was so much worse seeing my mother. She forgives me. I abandoned them, and she somehow forgives me. Coming back into their lives like this, it's not fair to them."

"Maybe you should let them make that decision," Peter said, sitting beside his partner. "I talked to your mom last night," Neal turned to him in surprise. "She wants to talk to you. She knows about everything. Well, as much as your record has to say about you…"

Neal laughed. "Believe me, Peter. That is far from everything," Peter shot him a look, but then couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I told her we could meet her for lunch today. If you're up for that," he said, looking at Neal's far from usual state. The idea of seeing his mother, however, seemed to perk him up slightly.

"Yeah. Let me just get changed," Neal stood up slowly and disappeared to his closet.

The morning went by even more slowly than usual. Neal tried to stay as focused as one possible could be while doing paper work, but had eventually given up and gone to talk to Jones until lunch. Peter had tried to distract him on their way to the restaurant, which Neal was entirely grateful for, but found equally useless. It wasn't much help when they finally arrived for lunch and Kathryn had yet to show up.

"You're sure she's coming?" Neal asked, looking anxiously outside the restaurant's window.

"Positive."

"And you're sure you told her the right place?"

"One hundred percent."

"And—" Neal started, but Peter cut him off before he could finish.

"And the right time. Yes. She's coming. Trust me," it was funny how Peter could simply say those two words, and any doubt in Neal's mind was lost. Luckily for the potted plant Neal had nervously been picking at since they arrived, Kathryn appeared in the doorway just a few moments later. She politely shook Peter's hand and then turned to Neal. She stood staring at him, unsure of what to do. With a weak smile, he pulled her into a one armed hug.

"How's Kristen doing?" Neal asked nervously, jumping at the chance to divert attention from himself. "She seemed…upset," that was the understatement of the year.

"She wasn't exactly thrilled about me coming," Kathryn frowned. "She'll come around though," she wanted so desperately to believe that her son was somewhere inside this charming, well-dressed, stranger, but so far she wasn't seeing him.

The waiter directed them to their table. Neal cursed him under his breath when they were brought to a booth. Kathryn slipped into one side, and Peter slipped into the other, leaving Neal to choose for himself. Feeling like a complete coward, he sat down beside his partner.

I don't know…I think reviews are pretty cool.