Warning don't own, slashy fun, humor and other things. This is the final chapter of Storm I hope you all enjoy. I would like to thank Peppe for betaing this story and for my fans who enjoy what I write.
Chapter 3: Warming Up
Peter looked at his partner for a moment before looking at the guard "Thank you for your help if we need any more assistance with the case we'll call you," Peter said trying to reign in his anger that Neal had robbed a museum. Once the guard was gone Peter looked at Diana "Can you please excuse us… and tell the team to take a two hour long lunch break," he added turning his eyes on Neal as he sat down across from him and folded his hands in front of his mouth while he watched the bullpen empty.
When the department was empty Peter stood up and looked at the consultant "What the hell were you thinking! The power goes out for two days and you decided to go on a crime spree with Alex. Was it just a coincidence that she showed up last night?" he yelled as he rubbed his forehead trying to fight the oncoming headache. Neal shook as he stood up before and Peter could stop him he ran out of the conference room and the office. Once he was in the lobby he went down the hall and into the first men's room he came to and finding it empty he locked the door and sat against it using his body as a barrier to keep the door from being opened. Growling loudly Peter followed behind Neal and found the bathroom door locked "Neal you open this door right now!" Peter yelled as he felt his headache hitting him right between the eyes.
"I want to talk with Elizabeth, I know she won't yell at me," Neal called through the door hoping that he could buy himself some time 'til Peter calmed down and forgot about the theft. Peter stood outside the door " If you think I'm going to forget about this Neal you are sadly mistaken I can wait you out, there is no food in there Neal," Peter said hoping for some type of reaction. When he didn't get one he pulled out his cell phone and called Elizabeth. "Hey honey could you swing by the office…Neal needs to speak to you, he locked himself in the bathroom and he isn't planning on coming out till he's spoken to you," Peter explained as he paced the small area by the door.
"Neal, Elizabeth is on her way she's going to be here in a little while. So would you like to unlock the door and let me in to talk?" Peter asked as he tried to worm his way in to the bathroom. When I get in there I'm going to drag him out kicking and screaming and force him to tell me what's going on, Peter thought as he paced the lobby waiting for his wife to arrive.
Elizabeth arrived outside the bathroom and found her husband pacing like an old junkyard dog. After greeting him she smiled ready to take over the challenge of getting Neal to talk about the problem at hand. "Why don't you get something to eat for Neal and don't get anything like deviled ham you know he doesn't like that," she said as she walked over to the door and knocked on it softly.
"Neal it's me, can I come in?" Elizabeth asked as she waved Peter off and watched him enter the elevator. Neal stood up and unlocked the door, peeking out first to make sure that Peter had indeed gone, after a quick search he opened door and let Elizabeth in.
"Okay, I'm here now why don't you tell me what's wrong Neal, all Peter told me was that you wanted to speak to me and that you locked yourself in the bathroom," Elizabeth said noticing the young man had begun to fidget under her gaze while at the same time holding his chest with his left arm.
Neal chewed on his lip a bit trying to think of how to explain his problem. He knew starting at the beginning was best "Alex came to June's yesterday and found out that Peter had stayed over the night before and that we shared a bed. When Peter went to go dig his car out of the snow she told me that if I didn't help her steal some swords from a museum she would let it slip that Peter is having an affair with me. I just harmlessly flirt with him from time to time… I couldn't let her do it, I knew it would ruin his reputation at the FBI and ultimately his life; she blackmailed me into stealing the swords. But now Peter hates me because of what I did and I don't know how to tell him that I didn't have a choice… that it was the only way I could keep Alex quiet," Neal said as he began to cry.
Elizabeth walked over and hugged Neal, but when she felt him wince she pulled away "What happened?" she asked looking the young man over carefully. Neal moved back a step and slowly un-tucked his shirt and unbuttoned it; and with some discomfort Neal pushed the right side of his shirt off revealing the bruises on his chest and back.
"The guard at the museum shot me with two bean bag rounds," Neal said softly as he lowered his gaze. Gasping softly Elizabeth walked over and looked at the bruises closer "Oh Neal," Elizabeth said lightly touching the deep purple and black bruises causing the consultant to pull away. "Peter will be back with lunch soon, after we have eaten then you can tell him what you told me and he won't be mad I promise," she said softly. Neal nodded and slowly put his shirt back on; and after he was dressed he looked at himself in the mirror to make sure his eyes weren't red.
Peter walked out of the elevator and found Elizabeth waiting for him. "Did you get Neal to talk?" he asked looking at his wife. "Yes and I think you two should talk in private and when he tells you the truth please don't get mad at him," she said taking the bag from Peter. The agent nodded and walked through the still empty bullpen to where Neal was hiding in the conference room.
"Hey… I got your favorite from the deli as an apology for yelling at you; I shouldn't have done that when I haven't heard your side of the story yet," Peter remarked as he took a seat at the table and watched Neal move over to the table like a skittish cat. Once he was seated Peter un-wrapped his sandwich before speaking. "Now I'm all ears I want to hear your side of the story," he said as he opened his soda.
Neal opened the plastic around his sandwich and picked at the bread with his uninjured arm nibbling on the bits of bread before speaking. "Last night after you went out to dig your car out Alex started talking about the exhibit at the museum and I knew that was the main reason for her coming over; she wanted my help to get inside. She said that if I didn't help her she would spread a rumor that you and I were having a secret affair," Neal paused as he snuck a look at Peter to see how he was taking it. "So under extreme protest I helped her but only to protect you from having your life ruined and possibly losing your job," Neal said as his eyes started to water up again. "Peter, am I going to go back to jail?" Neal asked as the tears began spilling down his cheeks.
Watching someone cry was always hard for Peter and when Neal did it he felt even more awkward than when Elizabeth cried. Looking around for help Peter noticed Elizabeth was gone leaving him to deal with Neal. "Neal… I didn't know, I'm sorry that I yelled at you before and that I accused you for planning the theft," Peter apologized before picking up his deviled ham sandwich. As he picked at his sandwich Neal looked at the other man, already knowing the next question Neal beat Peter to the punch. "I have no idea where Alex is or the swords. I gave her the ones I was carrying before walking all the way back to June's alone," Neal said softly as he cleaned his fingers off and put his head down on the table.
"Neal without those swords there's not much I can do, the guard identified you as one of the robbers; plus you told me you willingly went out of your radius to commit a crime...there is nothing more I can do other than arrest you," Peter said solemnly. Neal sat up and took in a deep breath "Then I want my lawyer," he said wiping away the remnants of the tear streaks. Peter swallowed the last bit of his sandwich before picking up his cell phone and handing it over to Neal.
"Peter…I hope you got the part that I did this for you because I care about you," Neal said as he dialed Mozzie's number. "Moz, I need you to come down to the FBI office…as my lawyer," Neal said as he listened to the other man rambled about the government conspiracies. After talking Mozzie into coming Neal hung the phone up and slid it back across the table at Peter.
After twenty minutes Mozzie walked into the conference room dressed in a suit "I hope you're not talking to my client without me, anything you might have heard is privileged and can't be used in court since I was not present at the time of any questioning," Mozzie said walking around the table and put his briefcase down on the table beside Neal.
The agent looked at the con man and sighed "I wasn't interrogating him, we were just talking about what happened and he asked if he was going to jail, when I explained what would happened he asked for you," Peter said recounting what had happened so far. Mozzie nodded his head, "Give me a couple minutes with my client and don't leave anything behind, who knows what you could have bugged," Mozzie said as Peter got up and walked out of the conference room shutting the door behind him.
"Mozzie other than a weak identification they really don't have any evidence against me… other than a few bruises from the bean bags I was shot with," Neal said lightly as he pulled his right arm closer to his body. The older man sighed "I will try and find Alex and try to get her to return the swords for a lighter sentence but with the identification and your bruises will be enough to put you in jail for a while; you don't actually have a legal alibi," Mozzie said sitting back and putting his hands behind his head. Neal sighed and shook his head in agreement "Find her soon Moz, I don't do well in prison at all," Neal remarked as Peter walked back into the room.
Neal slowly got to his feet and looked at Peter "I'm ready to go now; we should go before everyone comes back. I really don't want to be walked out of here in cuffs in front of everyone again," Neal said as he walked around the table and held out his wrists to be cuffed even though it put him through a lot of pain. "Put your hands down, you don't have to put yourself through the pain, we're just going to casually walk out," Peter said as he took a step back so Neal could walk past him.
"Neal…I promise you won't have to stay in prison that long, I'll help Mozzie track Alex down before she sells the swords," he added as he led Neal to his car and drove him to the prison. Watching the prison get closer Neal looked over at Peter "If you don't come to visit I'll call you at different hours to bother you," Neal said trying to lighten his worry about prison.
The agent sighed "Before you go in is there anything you could think of that could help me find Alex?"Peter asked as he pulled up to the gate. Neal began to shake a bit as he looked at the prison gate. "Peter…do I have to go in there?" Neal asked not hearing Peter's question at all he had been lost in his own world. Peter reached over and put his hand on Neal's shoulder. "I'm going to find her and get those swords back," Peter promised as he moved his hand from Neal's shoulder.
Neal gave a weak smile "I'll hold you to that then…and I'm sorry for flirting with you and making it easy for Alex to blackmail me with. This all my fault I guess I do belong here," Neal said as Peter got out of the car and walked around the car and opened the door. Peter looked at his partner "I'll walk you in as far as I can," Peter said as he watched Neal get out of the car, and after shutting the car door Peter walked beside Neal into the prison. Peter filled out the paperwork as Neal was taken away. When he was finished Peter walked back to his car and drove back to the office. El is going to kill me for arresting him again, Peter thought as he drove back to the city.
Peter followed the guards down the familiar hallway to the visitor's room and when he arrived he saw Neal standing by the window looking out at the sunshine, Peter was able to see right away why he had gotten the call from the prison doctor; Neal looked like he hadn't eaten a full meal in over two weeks. "Hey Neal…" Peter said as he walked around the table and over to where Neal was standing.
"Any luck with Alex?" he asked hopeful that she had been found. Peter smiled as he took a seat. "It took a few days but we finally caught her… well actually she called at four in the morning the other day. It turns out the buy went south and she needed protection so she's being held at a safe house, that was almost three days ago," Peter said noting right away the look on Neal's face. "Does that mean I get to go home?" Neal asked with a pleading puppy dog look.
With a loud sigh Peter looked away for a moment "At first you were going to serve six years and some change for breaking and entering and leaving your court appointed radius," Peter said as he watched Neal's face drop. "But I put my ass on the line again and convinced a federal judge that having you around is a good thing. Now your current probation has been extended to such a degree that we're working together for quite a while before you're a free man again, and if you do something this stupid again we're both in trouble." Peter said warningly as he stood up.
Neal smiled as the guard came in with his effects, and with a new spring in his step Neal went into the other room and changed into his suit which showed his weight loss. Walking back out the main gate Neal found Peter waiting for him, with a very heavy sense of déjà Neal got into the car and smiled "Prison food is terrible I can't wait to get back," Neal said as he began to mess with the radio dials, "I'm starving and tired," he added as he reached to turn the music up only to flinch in pain. Peter saw the reaction "You're still in pain aren't you? And since medical care is pretty limited in prison I'm taking you to be checked out at the nearest clinic before taking you to my place so you can eat and sleep," Peter said as he dove off toward his home.
When they were ten blocks away from the Burke's home Peter turned down a road and parked in front of a small medical complex. Neal gave an uncharacteristic whimper; they aren't going to give me a shot are they?" Neal asked as he got out of the car. Peter rolled his eyes " You're a grown man; you can deal with a shot," Peter remarked as they walked into the clinic, and after filling out the paper work with the right information Peter walked back to the counter and handed the nurse behind the counter the clipboard.
Neal looked around and started to nervously tap his foot on the floor, when the nurse came through the door and called Neal's name. Neal looked up before looking away hoping that Peter hadn't heard the nurse. Peter stood up and grabbed Neal by his good wrist and dragged him through the door and down the hall to the examination room where the doctor was waiting.
After having Neal take his shirt off the doctor was able to start his examination. "So Mr. Caffrey I hear your shoulder was injured. I'm going to have to examine it and this might hurt a bit but just hold your arm to the side," The doctor said before standing behind Neal he placed his hand on Neal's back as he started to rotate Neal's arm until there was a loud crunching pop.
Peter cringed at the sound and watched as the doctor took out a needle "Now I'm going to inject you with a muscle relaxant and some pain killers plus a mild sedative to keep you from moving around too much. I also want you to wear a sling for a week and limit all movement in your arm," The doctor said.
"You know I don't think I need a shot… if I just use the sling I will rest as long as I need," Neal said with an uneasy chuckle. Peter nodded to the doctor, Neal squealed as the needle was roughly jabbed into his shoulder and the drugs were injected as he closed his eyes when the needle was pulled out of his shoulder. "You're a regular Kevorkian you know that" Neal mumbled as he put his shirt back on. Peter bit his lip to keep from laughing as the doctor helped Neal into the sling before excusing himself.
The two men left the clinic and got back into the car and by the time they pulled out of the parking lot the sedative had started to kick in and Neal began to sing; Peter laughed as he tried to understand sedatives always treated Neal in this manner. Peter continued to chuckle as he drove down the street and parked in front of his home.
"You know I just want to thank you Peter, you are just so sweet to me even though I'm a total screw up," Neal mumbled as he put his head against the head rest since the sedatives were making him a little loopy. Peter pulled the keys from the ignition and looked at Neal.
"You're not a total screw up…just a mild screw up with redeeming qualities. Now let's get inside before you start singing again," Peter remarked with a smile as he got out of the car and walked around the front to help Neal out. After a few seconds of maneuvering Peter managed to pull Neal across the sidewalk and up the stairs. Neal kept his left arm around Peter's shoulder. "You're so strong; I wonder how you look without a shirt," Neal said flirtatiously as he was pulled into the house.
Peter rolled his eyes and kept walking until they were in the house, right away he saw Elizabeth waiting in the dining room with Jones and Diana. "We may have to wait on the welcome home party Neal's a bit out of it; we had to get his arm checked out at the clinic since the prison dropped the ball in seeing to his medical treatment," he said trying his best to keep Neal on his feet.
Neal smiled and turned to Peter, and without any warning he grabbed Peter and pulled him into a deep kiss before letting him go. "Yes… I win" Elizabeth cried out as she turned to the others with her hand out. "Pay up you two; you both lost," she added as Diana and Jones pulled five hundred dollars out of their pockets and handed it over to Peter's wife.
Elizabeth counted up the money and put it in her pocket. Peter flushed a deep red as he left Neal on the couch to rest. "I'm going upstairs for a while, you three can enjoy the winning," he said before adding "El I would like a word with you when you get a chance" He said before going up the stairs to their bedroom to wait for his wife. He looked over at Satchmo and rubbed his head as he sat on the bed wonder what just happened and why his wife and team were exchanging money.
Elizabeth smiled "Well it looks like I have two people to take care of now; I'll see you both later and just give Peter the pool when he's at work tomorrow. I wouldn't tell him that it's another bet… it might upset him." Elizabeth said as she walked Diana and Jones out of the house before turning to back to Neal on the couch. "How you feeling Neal; do you need anything?" she asked with a smile.
"I can see why you love Peter; he's such a big teddy bear," Neal said before breaking out into a song again before finally falling asleep his hair falling over his eyes making him look younger and more innocent. With a smile Elizabeth walked upstairs and entered the master bedroom.
Peter looked up at his wife "So what was with the money?" he asked sitting back against the pillows Elizabeth looked around the room for a moment before speaking. "We made a bet that Neal would make a move on you and since he made a move today I won the bet" she said as she sat on the bed beside Peter. "So…what's it like…kissing Neal?"Elizabeth asked with a smile.
The agent sighed and looked at his wife "It was brief but I would have to say it was quick and with a hint of vanilla" Peter said noticing that Elizabeth was biting back a smile. They sat together for an hour talking until Peter felt it was too quiet on the first floor. "I'm going to make sure Neal hasn't run off," Peter remarked as he left the room and went downstairs. Once there he saw that Neal had stopped singing and was fast asleep on the couch where he left him.
"At least you're getting some sleep," Peter remarked as he sat on the edge of the couch and when he was sure no one was around he watched Neal sleep. If he didn't get so loopy on sedatives I would suggest he always take them… Peter thought as he pushed some bangs out of Neal's eyes.
Mumbling lightly in his sleep Neal shifted and nuzzled against Peter's hand in his sleep. Peter shook his head a bit in amusement at the sight "You can be such a pain sometimes Neal but I guess I can't say I wish you stayed in jail," Peter remarked as he kept playing with Neal's hair, when he was sure that Neal was sound asleep he took in a deep breath.
"This has been the craziest day in my life…but I guess I wouldn't have it any other way. I guess I should let you get your sleep," Peter said as he started to stand up, but stopped when he felt himself being held back. "Are you going already? " Neal asked groggily as he opened his eyes,
Peter sighed and sat back down. "How are you feeling? Have the sedatives worn off already?" he asked as Neal nodded a bit. "I feel a little light headed and tired but not as bad as before," Neal said as he tried to sit up only to have Peter push him back down.
"El thinks it would be better if you sleep down here since you're already comfortable right here; I'll get you a blanket I'll be right back," Peter said as he went to the chest in the dining room and pulled out a warm blanket and brought it back to Neal and making sure he was completely covered with it. "Now you stay warm and in the morning we'll start you off with a little food to see if you can hold it down. I'll see you in the morning partner." Peter said before turning the dining room lights off and made his way to the stairs. "Hey Peter…thanks for getting me out of there and not killing me for about the kiss…I'll see you in the morning," Neal said before getting comfortable on the couch and going back to sleep.
Peter paused and smiled "Good night Neal…seeing you in the morning" Peter said as he went up the stairs for the night. Elizabeth smiled "So he's still down there I take it…you should know that Neal isn't as bad as you think, you should put some more trust in him," she said as she pulled the blankets up.
With a smirk Peter changed his clothes and got into bed "I do trust him, that is till he steals my wallet for practice," he said as he shut the light off.
Neal woke the next morning to smell of toast and bacon, after battling the blanket that had tangled around him he got up from the couch and ended up walking right into Peter. "Morning Peter, did I make us late for work?" Neal asked with a small smile.
"We're not late we're going later, I wanted you to get your sleep and oh I think this belongs to you" Peter said holding up Neal's wallet. Neal felt his back pocket and realized that it was his wallet. "How… how did you manage that?" Neal asked flabbergasted that someone had managed to pick his pocket.
Peter smirked "A good con never reveals how he pulls a con" Peter remarked as he handed the wallet back to Neal. With a smirk Neal slipped his wallet back into his pocket and looked at the agent. "You know this is a real turn on…you stealing and acting like a con artist" Neal remarked as he walked past the other man and took the empty seat at the table.