A/N: Thank you everyone who reviewed! Thanks again to my wonderful beta fierce queen for finding time in her busy college life to do this! Also, kudos to Eve for figuring out who the attending in chapter 5 was! Anyone else has any guesses?

When June had told Mozzie Neal was in the hospital, he felt an overwhelming feeling of dread settle into his bones. He had to go back to New York— that much was obvious. But Mozzie now knew there was no way he would ever leave Neal alone again. There was no way he could. So, he booked a ticket back to his favourite city and made arrangements for the large chunk of treasure to be moved to a location more accessible from New York. Moz had also taken care of his beach house; he was never coming back here again unless for a very short vacation. Finally, he paid off all the necessary people, ensuring that he had never been here.

The flight back to New York was the longest of his life, guilt eating at him as the clock ticked away every second. If he hadn't left Neal this would not have happened. Moz could not sleep because every time he closed his eyes he could see Neal's face as he had left him, the look of understanding the younger man had given him made Mozzie feel even guiltier.

Mozzie landed in New York two days after receiving June's page. The taxi ride to the hospital was even worse, if that was possible. Mozzie's heart was pounding in his chest as if it would break his chest any second and leave his body. It would be rather fitting, Mozzie mused darkly. He would then be as heartless as he had acted towards his friend. The unfairness of his words and actions made him fidget uncomfortably in his seat as he prayed to a God he didn't believe in and begged for Neal to be okay so he could apologize for being such a thick-skulled idiot.

Mozzie, in typical Mozzie fashion, disguised himself as a doctor as he snuck around in the hospital. There were no charges against him for any crime, so it wasn't like he could be arrested. But Mozzie was paranoid. So he had donned a small pair of scrubs. He had then "borrowed" a stethoscope from the locker room along with a lab-coat with an ID card attached. His name was apparently "Dr. Sarah Walker". Ah, well, he mused. As long as he acted as if he belonged in the germ infested establishment, no one had any reason to check his identity.

He peered inside Neal's room. It had taken his entire con mans skills to get inside the ICU without bolting. Though seeing his friend with machines and tubes everywhere had scared him. Though, according to Neal's charts, he was improving. It was rather hard to believe when he looked at is friend's prone form. He shuddered at the thought of what he looked like when he was brought in and if this was supposed to be an improvement. But despite his reservations, Mozzie frequently visited Neal's room without anyone the wiser.

When Neal was moved into a private room, Mozzie had nearly jumped with joy. He had very much wanted to actually sit by his friend's side for some time, but El had been there so he satisfied himself by peeking inside the room at frequent intervals, though he was certain she had noticed him at least once. He wasn't hiding from Mrs. Suit, oh no. She was not a threat. But he knew that wherever El was the Suit was sure to be nearby, and Mozzie really doubted that he should be in the Suits presence before he talked to Neal.

And sure enough, the Suit came. Though, based on the limited period he had stayed, Mozzie gathered that things were not right between the Fed and his friend. Checking to see whether the coast was clear, Mozzie found Neal was the lone occupant in his room, so he entered. He wasn't a touchy feely guy. Mozzie strongly believed that touching would lead to germs being transferred and then to inevitable death. But on seeing Neal with his eyes downcast and looking so miserable, an unnatural urge to hug his friend came over him.

Neal looked up to see someone he was sure he would never see again.

"Moz?" he asked, surprise lacing his voice.

"Mon-frère," the short man nodded and stepped closer to the young man's bed.

"I thought you left." Confusion was evident in his voice.

"Well, I came back." Mozzie had reached Neal's side and sat on the chair next to his bed.

"But, why?" asked the wide eyed con-man, still rather confused at the sudden turn in events.

"June called. Neal, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you choose… I shouldn't have left," the vertically challenged man lamented, surprising both of them as he grasped Neal's hand in his own and turning sincere eyes towards shocked blue ones.

"It's okay Moz, I got why you left. I shouldn't have lied about the manifest, but I just wanted to stay, and I didn't know how to say it. I'm sorry." Blue eyes were downcast once again.

"No, I shouldn't have forced you to choose between me and the Suit."

"I should've been straight with you from the start. You're my oldest friend—I shouldn't have lied to you."

"Okay fine, so we both did some idiotic things. Can we please stop with the apologizing?" Mozzie said as Neal gave him a soft smile, his eyes bright.

"Fine by me Moz, but if you think that this means that you can steal all my wine, you have another thing coming." Neal said, a spark of his usual mischief in his eyes as both men chuckled.

"I do not steal your wine. Think of me as merely your food taster."

Neal smiled but failed to hide a yawn. It had barely been half an hour since he had woken up and his eyelids were feeling unnaturally heavy.

Mozzie patted Neal's shoulder and then helped him lie down, taking his seat by his side till El returned with two cups of coffee with a nearby coffee bistro's logo printed on it.

"Moz," she greeted, unsurprised by the man's presence as she smiled at him.

"Mrs. Suit," he nodded, giving her a small smile of his own.

"Well, Peter left and you're here so you can have his coffee," she said, extending a Styrofoam cup of good smelling Italian Roast.

"Thank you, my lady," the short man said in his strangely endearing way as he accepted the cup, and both of them sat in companionable silence keeping vigil over their mutual friend as they sipped the delicious caffeinated liquid.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Reviews feed the author : )