White Collar: The Nightingale

Chapter Twenty-four

Neal paced the ER waiting room anxiously. He had reopened the wounds in his side but he had made it more than clear that he wasn't about to let anyone touch him. Paramedics had taken Peter into OR less than ten minutes ago. They had been unable to stabilize Peter on the ride to the hospital and his condition had continued to spiral downward.

Riding in the ambulance Neal had retold the story to the medics to help them determine what was wrong. Beyond coughing up an alarming quantity of blood Peter's heart was arrhythmic and his blood pressure dropped to the point where he could not longer sustain consciousness.

"Neal?"

"Elizabeth..."

Neal turned as Peter's frantic wife arrived at the empty ER waiting room. Tears streaked down her face and she was out of breath from running inside from the parking lot. Despite the pain it caused his irritated wound Neal reached out and drew Elizabeth into a comforting embrace. She buried her face in his shirt and cried bitterly. Neal rocked her gently and allowed her to release her emotions.

"I am so sorry." Neal whispered. "Elizabeth, it's going to be okay."

"I can't lose him, Neal." Elizabeth whimpered. "I...I just can't."

"I know. He's in the best hands here. Peter is going to be fine."

"You really are the world's greatest con-man." Elizabeth said with a half hearted smile.

"What?"

"You're actually making me believe you."

Neal tried to look confident and hugged her closer. Elizabeth pulled away and managed to stop crying. Neal lead her over to the waiting room chairs. The pair sat down and waited in silence. It was a full hour before a doctor came out to talk to them. Neal and Elizabeth jumped to their feet in nervous anticipation of news.

"Mrs. Burke?" The doctor asked.

"Yes...my husband..."

"He is still in surgery in critical condition. The initial shot through the kevlar fractured his sternum. The pericardial sac around his heart began to fill with fluid from the blunt force trauma, causing the shortness of breath as his heart was being squeezed."

"Damn it, Peter." Neal sighed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"When he fired his gun the recoil impact went up his arm and snapped his sternum. He punctured his left lung and the swollen pericardial sac. Actually without that release of pressure he would have had a heart attack within another fifteen minutes. Strange as it seems the heart attack would have been more immediately life threatening."

"Is he going to be okay?" Elizabeth asked desperately.

"I honestly do not have an answer for you yet. We have set up an ICU room, you can wait for him there."

Elizabeth nodded and tried to remain strong, however she broke down into tears once more. Neal instinctively wrapped his arms around her again and gently stroked her hair. Eventually she pulled away again and forced herself to regain her composure. A nurse led them up to the top floor where the ICU rooms were.

Remembering his own recent stay in ICU Neal tried to keep calm for Elizabeth's sake. There was a small couch built into the wall where Neal and Elizabeth settled in together. Needing the support Elizabeth leaned her head on Neal's shoulder. They spent a long time in silence, unsure of what to say. The rest of the team was coping with the scene down at the Port, but Diana had given Neal direct orders to contact her with any news. Suddenly having trouble breathing Neal reached up and loosened his tie.

"He tried to protect me to the last." Neal said quietly.

"What?"

"Peter was struggling for every breath and he still tried to put himself between myself and Liao's gun. I don't have half his courage."

"Of course you do. You stayed by his side when you could have run to save yourself."

"I was the one who shot him in the first place. I should have known better."

"You both should have known better."

They shared a sad smile before falling silent again. It was nearing four am when several techs came into the room with a large piece of equipment that they set up wordlessly before leaving. Elizabeth and Neal got to their feet as Peter was brought in on a wheeled hospital bed. Elizabeth gasped in horror at the sight of her deathly pale husband. He was breathing on his own but there was a disturbing laboured quality to each breath. Elizabeth looked to the doctor to see if it was okay to step closer and he nodded. She stood by the bed side and gently put her hand over Peter's.

"You can't leave me." Elizabeth whispered. "I love you."

Neal dragged his hands through his hair in anxious frustration. Peter looked like he could die at any moment. Locked in an unnatural sleep he was perfectly motionless except for the erratic rise and fall of his chest. The doctor checked everything once again and offered them some privacy.

After standing at Peter's side for nearly and hour Elizabeth was exhausted. Neal helped her over to the couch. He sat down and offered his lap as a pillow. She hesitated, but eventually curled up next to him and rested her head on his lap. She was asleep in moments. Neal had every intention of remaining awake and on guard, but he quickly fell asleep. It was mid morning when Neal was jerked awake by a rough voice.

"Neal Caffrey, get up." The man growled.

Neal fluttered his eyes open and his blood ran cold. A pair of US Marshals were standing in the door way with irritated expressions on their faces. Elizabeth woke and sat up slowly. She looked up at the Marshals in confusion. The larger Marshal walked over and physically hauled Neal to his feet.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked.

"Wait..." Neal protested as the Marshal slapped a cuff on his right wrist before forcing him to turn around so that he could secure his hands behind his back with the tight metal hand cuffs.

"Stop." Elizabeth said as she got to her feet. "What are you doing?"

"We are taking Caffrey back into custody, he is a ward of the state and his handler is currently incapacitated. Not to mention that he has recently been suspected of taking flight."

"He saved my husband's life and stopped two well known gang leaders who were trafficking women."

"I'm not going to go anywhere, I didn't run before, and I won't run now." Neal insisted. "Please let me stay, at least long enough to make sure that Peter is going to be okay."

"Don't take him, Marshal, as a personal favor to my husband." Elizabeth added.

"Please."

Neal flashed the Marshal his most charming smile. Neal wasn't sure how far he was going to get with this particular Marshal, he had lead him on a serious goose chase long ago and nearly ended the Federal Marshal's career. In the end it was Elizabeth that softened the officer's heart.

"Fine." The Marshal sighed. "But I swear you take even a single step out of this room without a law escort..."

"I won't. I promise."

"You're a real pain in my ass, Caffery." The Marshal growled. "Half my career has been taken up by the sheer amount of paper work you cause me. I will be back later to place you on house arrest."

"Tightening my leash, eh?"

"I have a nice cell you could stay in instead."

"My place has a better view."

"I bet." The Marshal huffed as he uncuffed Neal.

"Thanks."

The Marshals went to the two F.B.I agents who were standing guard outside Peter's room and informed them not to let Caffrey out of their sight. Neal breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't want to be dragged away while Peter was still hovering between life and death.

Elizabeth pulled a chair up to Peter's bedside and took his hand in hers. Peter's breathing seemed to be less labored and the heart monitor was steady. Neal suddenly felt a little awkward standing in the room with the husband and wife pair.

"Elizabeth, do you want me to leave?"

"No. You can stay. You know you're like family at this point."

Neal smiled and walked over to the other side of the bed. Under his eyelids Peter's eyes were tracking back and forth in the mist of a dream. Neal hoped that it was a good sign. Unsure of what else to do he went back over to the couch and sat down. He jolted when his cell phone rang.

"Caffrey." Neal answered.

"Neal," Diana greeted "how's Peter?"

"Out of surgery, breathing on his own, but still sleeping. He's on the stable side of critical if that makes any sense."

"Sort of. There is one of the Port Authority Agents in the hospital as well, but it looks like he'll be fine. We had a serious mess to clean up last night. A lot of the women in the containers were in desperate need of medical attention, plus only a handful speak English."

"How is Hsing doing?"

"That's part of why I called. Hsing is gone."

"Gone?"

"Disappeared sometime last night in the confusion. There's more..."

"What is it?"

"It looks like she took the Nightingale with her."