Peter drove like a man possessed. Ironically, while Neal had fallen into all this by being stopped for a tail light, no one had noticed Peter running amber lights, cutting into lanes or swerving dangerously close to pedestrians as he sped to the hospital. He abandoned the car at the Emergency entrance and took off for the ICU. It was all very irresponsible and highly uncharacteristic behavior on Peter's part, but Neal seemed to bring out the worst (and best) behavior in him. He barely even noticed as he barreled past another man exiting the ICU and had to hold onto him to prevent him falling over. "I'm so sorry," Peter said, moving on before he could hear the man's response clearly.
He presented his badge at the desk and tried to calm his breathing so he could sound more authoritative; less desperate. "My name is Peter Burke. I am with the FBI. You have one of my agent's here I believe, Neal Caffrey?" "Are you a family member?" the nurse asked him with a sympathetic tone. "No, but I do have a medial Power of Attorney for him. He has no relatives as far as I know, he's a convicted felon and is he's in my custody while he is serving out his sentence under FBI supervision. I am as nearest thing he has to family." "Oh, well Mr. Burke, please take a seat will you and I will be right back." She motioned to the row of comfortable seats opposite the nursing station. Peter sank into one of them, grateful for a moment of stillness, although somewhat unsettled by the confused expression the nurse had as she looked over her shoulder at him before disappearing though the door.
"Mr. Burke ... ?" Startled from his sleep, Peter looked up at the nurse and another woman beside her in a white medical coat. Her name badge read, Dr. Mansfield. He had no idea how long he'd been out, the drama of the day had exhausted him past anything he had experienced before. "Please, let this all be ok," he thought. "I can't take much more of this."
Dr. Mansfield sat down next to him, placing her hand on his arm and looking him straight in the eyes. A chill started to slowly wind its way through his veins. "No, no, no … don't say anything. Please, as long as you don't speak it can't be true." He intoned to himself. As if she were reading his mind, Dr. Mansfield's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Mr. Burke. You're friend didn't make it. He was in pretty poor shape when he came in and he held on for a while, but his brain was starved of oxygen for too long. He went peacefully, about thirty minutes ago."
TBC
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