A/N Nothing new up here except I watched Thursday's episode. Adorable! On to the story!
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After Neal's tantrum things settled down. Elizabeth called to check in and to them that her event was running late so she would not be home until around 6:30. After the call Peter decided to work on his chores for the weekend and left Mozzie and Neal at the kitchen table while he started washing the inside of the windows around the first floor. He was sure to make sure he stayed within shouting distance of the boys. Peter was happy to see that Neal joined Mozzie in playing with play dough.
Once Peter had finished the last window of the first floor, he returned to the dining room to see that the boys were on the floor playing with the blocks and building what appeared to be a model of New York City. Satchmo sat in the corner chewing on a raw hide and Peter stood at the door watching the young boys argue good naturedly about where each block should go. He stood there watching them work before walking to them and ruffling Neal's hair.
"Hey!" Neal said in mock anger, patting his hair down trying to tame it. Neal had wanted to style it like usual this morning, but Peter vetoed it telling him that no normal four year old boy styled their hair. Peter would never admit that he found the four year olds untamed hair to be rather adorable.
"It looks good boys!" Peter said, ignoring Neal. "I just wanted to tell you guys I will be outside washing the windows. If you need anything, come get me." He continued, giving each boy a stern look before making sure they did not need anything else before he headed outside. Peter started working on the windows where he could not see the boys and finished those as quickly as possible. Once he finished those, he checked in on the boys and they were still playing nicely with the blocks. Reassuring himself that the kids were fine, Peter went outside to finish up the others. Through the window he could see that Satchmo had left his rawhide and became interested in the blocks and knocked a few "buildings" over. Mozzie just shrugged it off thinking it was kind of funny and started to build things specifically so Satch would knock them over. Neal on the other hand did not find anything funny about the situation. He had spent half an hour working on the buildings just to have the dog knock them over.
"Satchymo! G'way!" Neal shouted at the dog to no avail. If anything it got him excited and he walked towards Neal, knocking even more blocks over. "Satchymo, watch what you're doin'!" Neal said angrily, shoving the dog to the side. Once again the Neal's actions were not very effective, and now Satchmo had thought it was a game. "Satch! Stop it!" Neal yelled and hit the dog with his small fist. Thankfully the four year old did not have much momentum and did not hurt the dog, instead Satch ignored the boy.
"Neal, stop it. He's just a dog and doesn't know what he's doing." Mozzie said, standing up for the dog. Mozzie's words served only to anger Neal. He already had to put up with listening to Peter and Elizabeth, but he would stop at taking orders from Mozzie. Besides, Satchmo was annoying him while he was trying to play with his blocks.
"Then don't encourage 'im and make 'im stop knocking my things over!" Neal complained. Mozzie tried to call the dog over, but Mozzie did not have much of a relationship with the dog yet so Satch stayed near Neal. After Satchmo knocked the building Neal was rebuilding over, Neal became upset and he did not even realize what he was doing when he hit the dog with a block. This got a reaction from Satchmo who let out a whimper and walked towards his bed with his tail between his legs, confused as to why his friend had hit him. Unfortunately for Neal, Peter walked into the house just as Neal him Satchmo with the block.
"Neal!" Peter yelled with a mixture of anger, confusion and disappointment. Peter had never seen Neal act with such aggression towards anyone or anything. At Peter's shout, Neal looked up with wide eyes, surprised by what he had done. "Strike three." Peter said before walking towards Neal and picking the boy up and then walking to the kitchen to grab a stool from the island before placing it and the boy in the corner. Neal's surprise was quickly replaced with anger at being put in timeout.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Neal screamed at Peter, hopping off the stool and trying to run away. He barely got two steps before Peter picked him up again, as the older man had realized the minute he set the boy in the corner that this was not something Neal would agree to easily.
"What do I think I am doing?" Peter asked incredulously, setting the boy on the stool again. "I think you know exactly what I am doing. You have more than earned yourself a timeout. Four minutes Neal." Peter explained while crossing his arms and glaring at his young charge. Peter had no idea how he knew that you should give a child a timeout for a minute for each year they were, but he was glad he did. Not that it would be helpful if said child was going to fight him head and foot about it.
"You must be crazy if you think I am going to just sit here!" Neal said angrily with a touch of embarrassment before once again sliding of the stool. This time he did it with a little more stealth and was able to get to the front door before Peter grabbed him. Prepared for this, Neal started wriggling around and flinging his limbs in Peter's arms. Peter did his best to hold the boy, but with a well-placed kick to his stomach, it was all Peter could do to set the boy down gently before clutching his side in pain. Neal felt guilty, but not yet guilty enough to follow Peter's orders. Instead, while Peter was down, Neal ran upstairs and hid in what was for the moment Neal and Mozzie's room.
Peter was grabbing his side and let Neal run up the stairs as the pain from his side faded away. Had Neal tried to leave the house he would have intervened. As it was, Peter knew he could find the boy somewhere upstairs after he had a moment to calm down. Before Peter was just annoyed, now he was downright angry. He knew that Neal was not going to like the idea of a timeout, but he was not supposed fight it so much. Peter also knew on some level that Neal did not intend to hurt him and that was the only thing keep his temper in check. Taking some calming breathes Peter headed up the stair to find the little miscreant.
"Neal, come here!" Peter yelled once he reached the top.
Peter heard some ruffling noise coming from the guest room, so he made his way over there.
"Neal. I am not kidding. You need to come out now." Peter said loudly as he walked around the room, looking in every nook and cranny. "One!" He shouted, looking in the closet.
"Two!" This time the drawers of the dresser. "Neal, right now you only have a 5 minutes time out. If I have to count to three and find you, your punishment gets worse."
"You said four minutes!" Neal shouted in outrage from underneath the bed.
"That was before you decided to kick me in the stomach. Now come out from there."
"No."
"Neal, I swear to God. Come. Here."
"No" Neal whined. "Not until you tell me I don't have to do timeout." He said, not relenting.
Peter's patience was gone now. Instead of dignifying what Neal said with a comment, Peter got on the floor and pulled the boy out by his ankles. Neal also was not relenting and started screaming and pounding on the floor in an all-out fit. While Peter was by no way pleased with the behavior, he was glad he was not hiding any more. Knowing that in this state he would not be able to rationalize with Neal, Peter sat on the bed and waited it out. Barely a minute later Neal stopped and laid on the floor on his back breathing heavily with a red face.
"You done?" Peter asked. The only response he got from Neal was an angry look, so Peter decided to take that as a yes. He stood up from the bed and picked Neal up from the floor and held Neal tucked under his armpit so that if Neal decided to kick him again he could not. Peter was happy though that Neal did not try anything.
Once downstairs, Peter saw Mozzie in the corner petting Satchmo, who was lapping up the attention. Peter walked Neal over to the stool in the corner and placed him on it. This time the boy remained there with his arms crossed and angrily looking at the floor. Peter decided eye contact was not a battle worth fighting for at the moment while he told Neal,
"We could have been done by now if you would have done this the first time Neal. As it is, your time starts once you face the corner and sit quietly. There is no talking or moving in the corner. I will come get you once five minutes have passed. Now turn around please." Thankfully Neal did as he was told, just as eager to get this over with as Peter was. Peter walked to the couch and sat down gratefully and made sure to note the time and was still able to keep an eye on Neal. Surprisingly there was no noise, but he was swinging his legs back and forth kicking the wall.
"Neal." Peter said and the boy immediately stopped swinging but let out an irritated sigh. Once five minutes passed, Peter walked to Neal and turned the boy around.
"Thank you Neal, for sitting there nicely." It was clear that Neal was no less wound up than he was earlier. "But now you need to get me the colored pencils El bought for you." Peter told Neal cautiously, wanting to prevent another tantrum, but needing to give the additional punishment as Neal had not minded him earlier in the guest room.
"But El got those for me!" Neal wailed. He was not upset that he had to give up the pencils because he was especially fond of them, Neal was upset that he had to give them up at all. "They were a present and you can't take them!"
"Neal, I am the pencils will be mine until dinner time because you didn't listen to me earlier and because you threw a fit instead of talking to me. This is the last time I am going to ask or the pencils will be mine until tomorrow."
"I am not getting them for you. In fact," Neal said hopping off the stool and heading for the kitchen table and grabbing the offending pencils, "I am going to hide them so you can't have them!" Peter again proved to be too quick for Neal as he grabbed the small wrist and pulled the pencils free.
"You can ask for them tomorrow." Peter said calmly.
"Give them back!" Neal screeched, trying to grab for them. He was obviously too short and Peter held them above his own shoulder. "I hate you! Give them back!" When that tactic did not work, he said something else mean. "I wish I never asked for the CI deal, so we never would have met! I hate you! I don't want to be here anymore and I wish we never met! I HATE YOU!" He yelled before stomping up the stairs louder than any four year old should be and slamming the door.
Peter looked at Mozzie who was still with the dog and they both gave him unhelpful looks. Peter groaned before sitting on the couch again. He knew that Neal did not mean what he said, and only said it in a fit of anger, but the words still hurt. His and Neal's relationship had always been precarious and a few off words between them had caused problems before. He knew that if that happened while Neal was in this state, their relationship might not recover, which is why Peter was worried now.
Peter looked at the clock and was glad to see that there was only an hour before Elizabeth was supposed to get home. Leaning back into the couch, Peter turned the game on, and Mozzie came over to join him on the sofa.
Mozzie could tell that the suit was upset, and one of the few things Mozzie knew of him was his passion for baseball. Mozzie knew a little about the sport, so he began to ask Peter questions about it. As Mozzie thought it would, the discussion of sports began to calm Peter down drastically. Things were still awkward between himself and Peter, but at least they were making progress.
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Peter and Mozzie were on the couch and Neal in his room when Elizabeth came home 45 minutes later. Even though Peter was in a calmer state of mind he still let out a relieved sigh. She walked in and gave Peter a kiss and Mozzie and peck on the cheek before there was a thundering noise coming down the stairs.
"Liz'beth you're home!" Neal practically threw himself at El.
"Hey baby, what's up?" She asked, surprised by Neal's actions. Instead of saying anything, Neal burrowed further into Elizabeth. From the look Peter had given her, she knew it had been a rough afternoon. "Sweetie, you have to tell me what's wrong before I can help" she said softly. With his head still buried in her side, El could only discern a few words like "Peter" "mean" and "trouble". While she trusted her husband completely with the two boys, she also realized how important it was to get Neal's side so she could get to the heart of the issue.
"Hon, why don't you go get the stuff from the car?" She told more than asked Peter. She might as well use this time to get the stuff in the house without Neal noticing. Peter gave El an offended look, not wanting her to think he had mistreated Neal. "Hon, I just want to hear about his day" she said with a smile and wink. Peter understood her message and asked Mozzie if he would help him. The older boy was glad to have an excuse to stop watching the game.
After the two other went outside, Elizabeth led Neal to the couch. Her feet were sore after the event and thought that this conversation would be better suited for sitting down anyways. They sat side by side and Elizabeth asked how the day went.
"Awful. I never want to stay with Peter again." Neal pouted.
Elizabeth was slightly stunned to realize things had gotten this bad, but she did not let it show. Instead she said, "It couldn't have been that bad. Everyone has all their limbs and the house is still standing," trying to get a smile out of the boy. Instead she got a long ramble of the atrocities Peter had put him through.
"Well first off he wouldn't let me have anything to drink and then he left hot liquids out where I could get hurt, and they burned my arms!" Neal said miserably with crocodile tears. Elizabeth saw through his act as Peter had told her about the incident when she called earlier, but she still had to see for herself that he was alright. She took the arms in her hands gently and flipped them over to look for any lasting damage. There was barely any pink tinge, but she knew kids often exaggerated for attention, so she offered to put some more cream on his arms. She lifted Neal into her arms and headed up the stairs to the bathroom while she spoke to Neal.
"He wouldn't let you drink anything, huh? Well that is something I take very seriously and I think needs to be reported to the police or CPS. It is torture to withhold proper care for a child and you deserve to be able to drink something." Elizabeth said with mock horror at what Peter had done, but Neal did not recognize it as the childish mind was taking over.
"No!" Neal burst out before saying more calmly "I mean, I had water and juice I guess, but I wanted coffee an' he wouldn't let me!" he said explaining the injustice.
"What happened when he didn't give you the coffee?" She asked, ignoring his mention of wanting coffee. At this point she had Neal sitting on the bathroom sink counter and was applying the lotion. She stopped what she was doing and looked Neal in the eye and asked again. "Neal?"
"I tried to get it myself." Neal said quietly, rather woebegone that Elizabeth had figured out that his story might not have been all truth.
"What happened when you tried to get it yourself?" Nothing. "Neal?" El prompted sternly.
"I spilled it on myself and got burned." He grumbled out.
"So Peter told you that you couldn't have any coffee, you went for it anyways and got burned?" A nod from Neal was all she got. "And then he held you and put burn cream on your arms." She said, earning another nod. "Not exactly the story you first told me is it sweetie?"
"That wasn't all he did though! There's more!" Neal said, not ready to give into the idea that Neal was the one who was in the wrong the most that night. "Peter spent all his time with Mozzie and wouldnint even play with me!" This was new to Elizabeth, and she could actually see Peter unintentionally favoring one of the boys as two were hard to deal with. She would have thought it would be the other way around though. "He told me Mozzie wanted to bring Satchymo on a walk and that I had to come with." Neal said with a frown.
Elizabeth picked the boy up and moved into the guest bedroom and sat on the chair that was in the corner. She sat Neal so he was angled on her lap so she could see his face. Things were starting to make more sense now. Peter brought Satchmo on a walk every day and Elizabeth was sure he would not have made an exception today.
"Did Peter tell you that you had to come with because he couldn't leave you home alone?" She asked Neal, knowing the answer.
"Yeah, but like I keep tellin' you guys, I would be fine by myself! I can take care of myself!" Neal said, working himself up.
"Just like you were okay when you knocked the coffee on yourself?" She questioned him with a look that spoke to the contrary. Now Neal's glare was starting to fade. He started to acknowledge that maybe they had a point that even if he had his adult mind, physically he should not be left alone. Knowing this though did not make it any easier and now it was time to pull out the big guns.
"After the walk though, he left us home alone in the house, and Mozzie was bein' mean and then Peter put me in time out and took the pencils you gave to me away!" Neal cried out, giving Elizabeth a sad look with watery eyes. Once again, Elizabeth was not fooled, and got to the point. She realized that there would be a lot of those sad looks in the future from Neal.
"What did you do to earn a timeout Neal?"
"Nothing! Peter was over reacting and got all power hungry and put me in the corner. I think he forgets that I am not a hardened criminal anymore. El he never trusts me anymore." Neal managed to let out a few tears.
"Well Neal, I know for a fact that Peter hates having to be strict with you, and when you were an adult he hated those times he had to accuse you and bring you to jail. With the cute little face you have now," El said, tapping his nose gently, "I am hard pressed to believe he would punish you now willy-nilly. So either you can tell me your side of the story, or we can go ask Peter" she said, giving Neal the option. Either way she would get Peter's side of it, but this way she was hoping to get Neal's. And Neal took the bait.
Whether it was because Neal was unable to lie to Peter and Elizabeth when he was an adult, or the fact that he knew she would check in with Peter later, or because he wanted to do right thing by being honest, Neal told Elizabeth the truth. He told her how he had hit Satchmo and then fought Peter about the corner time and ultimately how he kicked Peter and hid upstairs. He ended the story with how he had screamed at Peter and spent the rest of the evening upstairs. Having to explain his behavior out loud took its toll on Neal. Admitting it out loud made Neal realize how naughty and troublesome he had been. He became more glum as the story went on, feeling the guilt.
"What I am hearing is that you were being pretty naughty and Peter had to punish you, and did so rather appropriately?" Neal blushed crimson at that word as it made him feel especially childish, but he could not really refute what she had said. It took an outsiders view point for him to realize he had acted like an idiot. "I think that you owe some apologies don't you?" It took Neal a moment to respond in the affirmative, because while he knew he acted inappropriately, he was too embarrassed to admit it to Peter. Neal had a feeling Peter would not let it go with a simple "sorry."
"Okay then" El said after getting a nod. She lifted Neal with her and he buried his face in her shoulder as El made her way down the stairs. Once at the bottom she called for Peter, who walked out from the kitchen. "Someone has something to say to you." She said, setting Neal on the floor. The young boy stood there awkwardly looking at the floor until Peter questioned with a soft "Neal?"
When he heard his name called out he looked up and instantly burst into real remorseful tears. Peter's face did not show any anger, and in fact looked slightly sad and nervous. Peter was always there for him through the thick and thin. Neal knew he was awkward with children, but here Peter was, outside his comfort zone and trying to help Neal and Mozzie through this situation. Peter had done nothing to deserve his angry words from earlier, and Neal felt terrible for saying them.
"I'm sorry" Neal said incoherently through his sobs. "I am so, so sorry!" he barely managed to say. Elizabeth quietly picked up some bags and went upstairs to unpack them with Mozzie, and left the adult and child to work it out.
"Neal, shh, I know, I know you are sorry" Peter said picking the distraught boy up. Realizing he would not get anything from Neal in this state, Peter continued to hold him close and sway slightly from side to side.
"I am sorry! I didn' mean it. I am sorry I was so much trouble. I am sorry I was so bad! Please don't leave me!" Neal sobbed out.
Peter was struck breathless. He realized that Neal's distress went simply beyond a naughty child feeling remorseful. These feelings were likely deeply rooted to that fact that Neal's father had left him at such a young age. Peter cursed the man for leaving what had to be such an amazing child behind, if Neal then was anything like he was now. Peter was beginning to acknowledge how hurt Neal had to have been his father's actions and that he had to be more affected by it then he let on.
"Neal kiddo, I'm here. I will always be here. I don't know what that damned man who calls himself you father did-"Peter cut himself off realizing this thought process would not get him anywhere and he was not helping Neal calm down. "I know you are sorry. You weren't bad, just kind of badly behaved. I know you know better. Calm down now." And finally he did. After what felt like forever, Neal stopped crying and just laid limp in Peter's arms. Peter was grateful that he had finally calmed down. In the last two days he had seen Neal cry more times than he had in the four years he had worked with the man.
"I am sorry for what I said earlier" Neal said with his head resting sideways on Peter's shoulders, one hand still clutching the back and the other the front of Peter's shirt. "I didn' mean it. I don't hate you and I am glad I took the deal." Neal said looking Peter intensely in the eye, wanting to portray his sincerity. Peter felt a heavy weight lift off his shoulders at Neal's words. He could not help that small part of himself that thought Neal's words might have been sincere.
"I know." Peter said, the I love you to kid did not need to be said out loud.
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Precious ending, right? Right? Haha. Thanks for reading!