Elizabeth Burke watched as Neal's eyes fluttered open.

She stood up, not letting go of Neal's slender hand that had been clasped in hers. She let her left hand slowly work its way through Neal's hair as she spoke softly to him.

"Neal, honey, Its Elizabeth. I'm right here, sweetie. Come on, open your eyes for me." She coaxed gently. She waited impatiently for astounding blue eyes to meet hers, which after a couple of minutes it happened. She first saw confusion swim in deep pools of blue, which was quickly covered with pain. Neal's eyes hid behind clenched eyelids as his heart monitor sped up slightly. Elizabeth smoothed Neal's hair back once more as she felt his hand tighten around her own.

"Its okay, Neal. Just breathe. In and out."

"H-hurts." Neal weakly mumbled.

"I know, honey. I know." Elizabeth replied sympathetically as she played with Neal's hair until his heart rate was back to normal.

Once Neal felt the pain lessen in his chest and was able to breathe more regularly with the help from a nasal oxygen tube, he opened his eyes once more to meet Elizabeth's concerned ones.

"H-hey." His voice came out raspy and was grateful when Elizabeth lifted a small cup of water to his lips.

"Drink slowly." She instructed as she tilted the cup. Neal drank greedily, ignoring Elizabeth's command. Once every drop of water was downed he leaned his head back onto the pillow and looked up at El who was giving him a slight scolding look for not following directions.

"I don't know what I was thinking, telling Neal Caffrey to do something, the king of not doing as he is told." She stated in a motherly tone with a hint of humor as she smiled down at her favorite conman. Neal gave her a weary smile as he fought against the sleep that threatened to take over his body.

"Get some rest Neal. We will be here when you wake up." She reassured as she patted his leg.

Neal let his eyes close but as he comprehended Elizabeth's words he reopened them and twisted his face in confusion. "We?" He questioned glancing around the room to find someone else, but when he found none he turned his attention back to Elizabeth.

"Yes,we. Peter and I." She replied carefully, knowing full well the tension between her husband and Neal. She watched as Neal's eyes flashed with relief but then took on more of a resentful look.

"Neal, You know that Peter-" Elizabeth began but Neal cut her off.

"Don't." Neal replied and slipped his hand out of Elizabeth's grasp. He closed his eyes and let sleep consume him.

El watched Neal succumb to sleep. Sighing, she walked out of the room and went to sit with Peter in the waiting room.

Peter sat with his elbows resting on his knees and his chin resting on his folded hands. He stared blankly ahead as Neal's words replayed over and over again in his head like a broken record. He knew he was deserving of Neal's reaction. He had given him the cold shoulder ever since Neal's incident with Fowler. He was angry at Neal for a lot of things, but he was more disappointed than anything. It ate away at the agent which caused his toleration for Neal to be almost at nonexistent. He just couldn't handle being around the younger man, who over the past couple of years had become more like a little brother or son to him rather than a consultant. However, when he found Neal lying on the ground a few hours ago, all of his bitterness and disappointment washed away and was replaced with concern. But now the tables had turned. Instead of Peter pushing Neal away, it was the other way around and Peter realized how much more hell he had put Neal through. It was one thing for Neal to lose Kate and be desperate enough for revenge to resort to almost committing murder, but to have the one person he trusted more than anyone else turn their back on him at his breaking point was probably killing him.

Obviously since he is in the hospital. Peter thought to himself. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and saw his wife approaching him. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him, he did likewise.

"You need to go see him, Peter." She said looking up at her husband.

"He doesn't want to see me, you know that. I don't blame him, though. I pushed the kid away when he needed guidance the most. But I was so angry at him for playing me and conning me. I was disappointed in him for going back to the Neal Caffrey I chased for all those years instead of the Neal Caffrey who is my partner. I just couldn't deal with him." Peter replied hanging his head a little.

He felt his wife tighten her grip around his waist and looked into her eyes.

"Then tell him that. Neal is a lot of things….alleged things as he would say, but I'm pretty sure he isn't a mind reader." She smiled up at him.

Peter gave a small laugh. "I wouldn't put it past him. Give him a few more years….. that kid can do almost anything."

The couple shared a laugh until Peter changed the subject to a more serious matter.

"Does he know?"

"No, he woke up for a few minutes but he was pretty tired so I didn't want to start such a serious conversation with him. He needs to rest and I didn't want to worry him. Besides, I think it will be best if we are both there to tell him." She replied quietly.

Silence fell over them for a few minutes then Elizabeth untangled herself from her husband.

"Honey, go see him." She coaxed. Peter looked at her and sighed.

"Alright."

Peter walked into Neal's room quietly, hoping the younger man wouldn't be woken up by the sound of the door opening and closing. He treaded softly across the floor and sat down in the chair next to Neal's bed. Finally, taking in Neal's appearance, Peter felt his concern grow. The younger man was pale and his breathing was slightly irregular despite the help from a nasal oxygen tube. He watched the rise and fall of Neal's chest which supplied some relief for the agent. It meant that Neal was still alive and there with him. He wanted to touch the younger man for reassurance, but once his hand was mere inches from Neal's he quickly put it back down in his own lap. He just sat there unsure of what to do. He hated situations like this, he wasn't good at it.

"Are you just going to stare at me?" Neal's raspy voice cut through the air. Peter jumped and turned his head quickly to see Neal's eyes slightly open.

"I thought you were asleep." Peter replied. Silence fell over the duo, both unsure of what to say. Peter deciding that now was the best time to have a heart to heart with Neal broke it.

"You really disappointed me, Neal. I trusted you to let justice win over revenge, but you had no impulse control. You played me, you conned me. We had a lot trust built and you tore it down." Peter said sternly, eyeing Neal.

Neal's eyes widened as Peter's words reached his ears. He couldn't look the agent in the eyes. Instead he kept his head down and stared at the blanket covering him. "I'm sorry." He said in a barely audible voice. Peter knew Neal really meant it. A Neal who couldn't look at him was a guilty Neal, an ashamed Neal.

"Look at me." Peter ordered, but in a gentle way. It took a few seconds, but soon blue eyes met brown ones.

"I don't hate you, Neal. A little angry? Yes. Disappointed? Very. But, I don't hate you. I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. I should've just had this discussion with you when it happened, but I just couldn't deal with it. But still, that is no excuse for you not to tell me or anybody that something is wrong with you. Disappointed or not, I still care about you, Neal. Don't you ever keep your health a secret again, understood?"

Neal could only nod his head in confirmation as he processed Peter's words. He felt relief wash over him as he realized Peter would forgive him in time. He closed his eyes but as he thought about the last thing Peter said a question that he should've asked a long time ago struck him. He opened his eyes as best he could against the sleep that threatened to claim him again and looked at the agent.

"Peter, when I can I leave here?"

He watched as Peter bit his bottom lip and sighed. The agent laid a hand on Neal's thigh.

"I don't know, Buddy. But it'll be soon." Peter tried to sound reassuring but based on Neal's facial expression he knew Neal wasn't convinced. Neal began to feel worried but his eyes were drooping and he knew he was about to succumb to sleep.

"P`ter…what's wrong with me?" Neal asked sleepily. Peter gave a small smile, one that Neal saw as being sympathetic. He stood and patted Neal's leg again and laid a hand on the top of Neal's head. Unable to bear the thought of telling Neal the truth just yet, he lied.

"Nothing kiddo. Just get some rest, okay?"

Peter saw Neal's eyes close but quickly opened and search for the agent.

"It's okay Neal. I'm not going anywhere."

Thankful the agent understood what he wanted, Neal finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep, unaware of the danger that was resting inside his chest.

AN: Let me know what you think, please! Sorry you had to wait so long for an update!