A/n This is it.
"Sir Caffery is…." The doctor trailed off and Peter's throat went dry.
"He's dead isn't he?" Peter choked on sobs, falling back into the chairs, burying his fcae in his arms.
"No! No, he's fine. He just has a long time ahead of him where he's gonna be in the hospital." The doctor quickly corrected.
Peter went from devastated to angry real damn fast. How could he trail off like that? Let Peter think that Neal was gone? He wanted to get the man fired, he wanted to drag him to court, throw him in jail. He wanted so much more than saying a measly thanks and zipping down the hallway to Neal's room.
But he forgot all that when he took a look at the conman. He was sitting up, eyes on the vent. Hell-bent on finding a way out. Peter burst out laughing at the sight because it was just so darn Caffery. Injured and needing medical care but couldn't help but search for a way out.
"Move a finger beyond that sheet and I swear to God you will be handcuffed to that bed and monitored every minute of every day." Peter said, a smile breaking out after he finished laughing.
Neal's eyes darted quickly over, a blush spreading on his cheeks. He was caught and he knew it. He smiled sheepishly and Peter couldn't help but think that this was the most he'd ever seen of the plain Neal. Not the conman but the person who had once been Danny Brooks.
"Morning Peter." Neal winced at the roughness of his voice.
He wanted to put on a show, pretend that this didn't hurt him. but he was too tired to. Neal didn't care anymore, especially because this was Peter. It was Peter and their friendship was strong enough for him to just be himself. To be the man without all the cons, without all the charm. But the one so damn insecure it was hard to function sometimes. The one who grew up in a broken home.
"Morning Neal. " Peter replied, music to say that. To say that and to get a reply to actually see and hear that Neal was living breathing, intact. Neal.
"I'm sorry." Neal whispered and Peter was taken aback. Surprised that Neal felt like he had to say that.
"Why?" It was said with more bite than Peter liked and he felt a pang of guilt as Neal flinched. He wasn't acting, he was bare.
"I shouldn't have run away, I shouldn't have gone with Kate." Neal said.
Peter sunk down into the chair beside the bed. Eyes darting around the white, white room.
"It's not your fault. You love her." Peter stated slowly. It wasn't a reassurance, it was just a fact and they both knew it.
"Loved her." Neal corrected, teeth breaking out, a full blown smile.
"Loved." Peter agreed, laughing.
Neal was safe, intact and knew that Peter would always be there. His friend, his partner, his family. And he was okay with that. He was done running away, into a fantasy with Kate. He was okay with the here and now, with the future. He was free.
A/n I'm so sad it's over but it was a great thing to write. Thank you all for reading it and thank you Jommy26 for giving this prompt to me. I know I took a lot of creative lisense on it but I hope that you did enjoy it.