A/N A million thanks to Peppe1951 for being my beta for this chapter. As promised, here is 1 of the 2 chapters. SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS for season 4 and 5! Also, this story will be somewhat season 4/5 compliant, but the scenes might be rearranged to better fit this story. I will also selectively choose which things from the show I want to incorporate. As always, I own nothing from White Collar.
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Once downstairs Peter sat heavily on the couch with a big sigh of relief while Elizabeth got her glass of wine. She brought Peter a beer before joining him on the couch. Peter was finally able to breathe easily now that the two boys were asleep. He told Elizabeth about the entire day and how he had felt so lost and frustrated. Elizabeth continued to reassure him that he did everything right.
"What are we going to do El? We don't even know what happened to them or how long they will be like this." Peter asked, working himself up.
"Hon, calm down. I know you and you won't rest until you figure this out. For now, let's sit here and drink our drinks and enjoy each other's company. We will take this day by day." El told him while snuggling closer to her husband. Peter responded by wrapping his arm around her tenderly.
They spent the next hour on the couch chatting and watching TV before heading off to bed. They made sure to check in on the boys and found them both breathing deeply and sound asleep. Elizabeth left the door open a crack and left the hallway light on before heading to bed.
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Peter woke up the next morning to clanging coming from downstairs. Peter groaned before checking the clock and seeing that it was only 6 am. He groaned once more before climbing out of his warm bed to allow El a sleep in.
Once downstairs, he headed to the kitchen to find Mozzie on the chair once more reaching in the cabinet looking through the spices. When he was firmly planted on the chair Peter scolded the boy for once again risking injury because he did not ask for his help. Mozzie shrugged before telling Peter,
"I didn't want to wake you."
Peter sighed before telling the boy again to come get someone if he needed anything that was up high. Peter also reminded himself he would need to grab that stool quickly.
"What did you even need from there?" Peter asked him, staring at the spice jar Mozzie held in his hand.
"Nutmeg. I was hungry, so I was going to make French toast." He said proudly before asking, "Do you want some?"
Peter looked at the clock again and decided he might as well get up for the day, giving up on the idea of sleeping in on his Sunday off.
"Why don't we wait a bit for everyone else to get up and then we can eat. Sound okay?" Mozzie agreed and Peter headed over to make coffee. He made sure to push the coffee maker to the back of the counter before telling Mozzie he was going to go get dressed and that the boy should entertain himself "within reason." When he headed upstairs, Mozzie sat at the table reading the morning paper.
Peter headed towards the bathroom at the end of the hall to shower, so he wouldn't wake El, and in the process passed the guest room and he heard muffled sobs. Concerned, he walked into the room and saw Neal with his head in the pillow and Neal clinging to it.
"Neal?" Peter asked softly before walking towards the bed.
"G'way" Neal replied.
"Kiddo, I am not going to leave you when you are this upset." Peter said even though there was nothing he would rather do more than leave and have Elizabeth handle the situation. Instead he asked the crying boy "What's wrong?" with deep concern.
"Nothin'" Neal said and turned his head away from Peter who now stood on Neal's side of the bed.
"Are you upset because you are still in a child's body?" Peter tried as it would be a legitimate reason to be upset. The idea kind of made Peter want to cry. Neal only shook his head.
"Are you hurt?" Another shake of the head. "Are you hungry?" This time Neal turned his head and gave Peter an are you serious look before shaking his head again. The tears kept falling and Peter had no idea what they were for, so, like the day before, Peter thought that a hug might help. He reached to pick the bawling boy up but when he did, Neal yelled loudly at him to "Stop!"
"Don' touch me!" Neal cried. Now Peter was really concerned because yesterday the boy had practically craved physical comfort. Peter was about to go get El, before Neal mumbled barely audibly and with a bright red face that he was wet.
"You're wet?" He asked before immediately recognizing what Neal was talking about. "Oh." Peter said with acknowledgement. Peter was not exactly sure what to do with this information. Luckily for him, El chose that moment to walk into the guest room. When she saw how distraught Neal was, she instantly knew what was wrong.
"Neal, Sweetie, it's okay." She said as she sat on the bed and ran a hand down Neal's back. "We thought this might happen, there is no reason to be embarrassed." But having El know what happened only made the situation that much worse and Neal crawled away from that comforting hand. He felt sad though without that comforting touch, but he also could not bring himself to crawl back to it.
El gave a sad smile as she watched the young boy's face as he moved away from her touch. She knew most of it was because he was embarrassed, but it made her sad that she could not offer any comfort.
"How about you two get dressed and then meet me downstairs for breakfast?" She asked, while looking at Peter. He gave her a nod and then El left him alone with the still upset Neal. At least he stopped crying, but was now looking at Peter with sad eyes. Peter decided he had to get over his own discomfort and deal with this.
"Alright. Up and at 'em Neal. Time to get dressed." He said while scooping Neal up. While Neal had evaded El's touch earlier, he buried himself into Peter. On some level, Neal was still uncomfortable around Elizabeth after everything had happened with Peter and jail and her reactions towards him afterwards. They had made up, but some of the things she had said still haunted him.
Peter grabbed a pile of clothes for Neal and then headed towards the bathroom. Once there, he set Neal on the floor and let him choose what clothes he wanted to wear for the day. If there was one good thing about Neal needing the pull ups, it was that the boy chose his clothes quickly and without complaint, eager to get out of the pull up. When he had made his choice, Peter helped Neal get undressed quickly and he left the boy to put his underwear on while he threw the soiled pull up in the bathroom trash. When Peter turned back, Neal had his pants pulled up but was struggling with the button. The boy's tongue was poking out of his teeth in deep concentration.
"Want some help?"
"No!" Neal said resolutely. Peter let he struggle for another minute before finally jumping in and doing it himself.
"I could have done it myself." Neal pouted.
"Put your shirt on Neal" Peter said handing the boy his shirt and ignoring Neal's comment. Once he was dressed Peter grabbed his hand and headed down the stairs with a still pouting Neal.
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"Where's Neal?" Mozzie asked Elizabeth as she got down a bowl for him to crack the eggs into. He was sitting on one of the island chairs, helping Elizabeth make breakfast.
"He's upstairs with Peter getting dressed" She told him while she opened the bread.
"He needed the pull up, didn't he?" he asked while whisking the eggs.
"He did and he's embarrassed about it, so no comments about it, understand?" She said firmly, looking away from the pan that had several pieces of bread heating up to look Mozzie in the eyes. She didn't think he would say anything about it, but she had to make certain
"I won't" he said as he added in the nutmeg and cinnamon. "What are we going to do today?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Well, I think we might have to do some more shopping today." At this Mozzie looked at El with a look of horror. "Don't worry, Peter and I both have the day off, I won't leave you guys alone this time." With a nod Mozzie hopped of the stool and went to the fridge to get the syrup and he placed it on dining room table. When he came back, El handed him plates and silverware and he once again ran them to the table. When he came back to the kitchen, he sat at the island.
"Well aren't you a good little helper" El told Mozzie, who flushed pink.
"Do you remember how I told you how I was almost adopted?" El nodded, surprised that he would bring that back up. Sure, she and Mozzie talked, and she knew more about his past than anyone except Neal, but he still wasn't completely open with her. "Well, one of my favorite memories about that house was when JoAnne and I would make breakfast together." He finished with a sad, distant look on his face.
"She must have taught you well, because you do a great job." She told him, which earned a bright beam from the boy. "Did I ever tell you how for mother's day my dad and I tried to make her breakfast in bed, but instead the firemen had to come?" Mozzie shook his head, so Elizabeth told him the story while she finished making the French toast and bacon.
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Elizabeth and Mozzie's laughter could be heard from upstairs as Neal and Peter descended the stairs. Once at the bottom, Neal pulled his hand from Peter's and he went and sat at the table without a word to anyone, still wearing a put upon look on his face. Peter sniffed the air and told Moz and El that something smelled delicious as he poured himself and El a cup of coffee. Peter got out the orange juice and poured two cups and brought them to the table.
Once everything was set on the table, Elizabeth started serving up the plates. She started with Mozzie and ended with Peter. She saw Neal struggling to cut up the French toast and offered to help.
With pink tinged cheeks at being found out, he told Elizabeth with attitude "I got it Liz'beth. I don't need your help with everything!"
"Neal!" Peter scolded. "There was no need for that tone. Elizabeth was just trying to help."
"M'sorry" Neal said, well admonished. "I'll take some coffee though" He said with a bright smile.
"Neal."
No other words were needed and Neal let the matter drop. He knew it was wishful thinking anyways. He continued to struggle through cutting up his food, before Peter grabbed his plate to cut up the toast before handing it back to him.
French toast proved to be an easier affair to eat than pancakes and no one needed a bath afterwards. Elizabeth sent Peter up for his shower and told him she had things handled down here. She recruited Mozzie and Neal's help with putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Once in the kitchen she grabbed a wet rag and Neal's chin, before scrubbing the excess syrup off. Neal tried to wriggle out of her hold as the cloth felt uncomfortable on his face. It was useless, and Elizabeth repeated the process with his hands. She then rinsed the rag of and handed it to Moz, who wiped himself off while giving Neal a superior look that Elizabeth could not see. Neal reacted by sticking his tongue out at him behind her back, which El did see.
"Neal, that's not very nice" she chided lightly. While her back was turned, Mozzie gave him an even more smug look than before. "How about you go wipe off the table" she told Neal while handing him the rag. Neal grabbed it forcefully from her before stomping off to the dining room. Elizabeth was slightly concerned and wondered if she had over reacted, but then she remembered that there was never a reason for someone to stick their tongue at someone. She let it be and returned to cleaning up the kitchen.
It probably would have been better though if Elizabeth called Neal out on his behavior because now all he was doing was brooding while washing the table. At least if she talked to him, she would have realized Mozzie was not being nice either.
She didn't even ask why I did that Neal thought angrily. She is always taking someone else's side. Oh I forgot, he thought bitterly, Mozzie can do no wrong. She is taking his side because she can't forgive me for putting Peter in prison. No one ever listens to me! Neal finished quickly and returned the rag to the kitchen sink and saw Mozzie and Elizabeth laughing at something, probably me, he thought.
"Alright boys, we are going to go clothes shopping later today, but we have some time to kill. Who wants to help me take Satch on his morning walk?" She asked with enthusiasm. Mozzie quickly agreed, but Neal remembered how Moz behaved around him earlier, so he declined.
"Okay, well I am going to go tell Peter then, I will be right back down." She said, leaving to two in the kitchen alone. That was her second mistake that morning because once she was out of hearing range, Mozzie started in on Neal.
"I heard you wet the bed. How big of a baby are you?"
Neal's face was red with both embarrassment at what Mozzie was saying and anger that Mozzie was being this cruel.
"And you can't even cut up your own food?" Mozzie continued "How long do you think it will be before they give up on you? I might be little, but at least I am not a baby!"
Neal saw red at this comment as is struck deep. If they had been normal, Mozzie never would have used Neal's insecurities against him. That comment though pushed Neal beyond his limit and he shoved Mozzie, who was not expecting it, and fell back on his butt. It did not hurt the older boy much, but he saw the perfect opportunity to play it up. He shouted out in pain, and Elizabeth who was already at the bottom of the stairs rushed to the kitchen and saw a panting Neal standing above Mozzie, who had tears in his eyes.
"He pushed me!" Mozzie said sadly while pointing a finger at Neal. In just a second Elizabeth was there and picked the small seven year old up.
"Neal George, you need to go to your room right now."
"But he-"
"Now Neal. I will be up in just a minute."
Now it was Neal who had tears in his eyes, but his were real. This was the second time in twenty minutes that Elizabeth had taken Mozzie's side. Neal went upstairs though, figuring he did not want to push her and that she would hopefully get his side of the story later.
Elizabeth watch the boy run up the stairs and could not believe that this was the second time in twenty minutes that Neal had been mean to Mozzie. She figured the shoving was an escalation of the tongue sticking incident earlier. After a minute of cuddling with Mozzie, she told him to go get his jacket off and that she would be just a minute. She headed up the stairs to talk about this with Peter. She told him about what had happened and he told her to go on the walk and that he would take care of it. Peter finished shaving and headed into the guest room a minute later to talk with Neal.
Neal was sitting on the window sill looking out the window. He looked to the door when he heard it open and saw Peter walk in. Elizabeth doesn't even want to see me now he thought sadly. He watch Peter sit on the bed before he called Neal over. The boy stood in between Peter's legs, staring at the man's knee.
"Neal, look at me." Peter waited until he had eye contact. "You let me down, Neal." Tears instantly filled Neal's eyes. "I told you yesterday that if you used physical violence against anyone you would face a lot more than a timeout." Neal's eyes widened at that, there was not much worse than a timeout. "But that is exactly what you did when you shoved Mozzie today. So tonight, you can go to bed early"
"Noo, P'ter!" Neal whined. Apparently there was something worse than a timeout. "I don't want an early bedtime!"
"Good." Peter said unconcerned. "Then maybe you will think the next time you want to push someone." Neal was still looking at him with miserable eyes, but Peter went on. "You still have a timeout to do" Peter said while standing up and grabbing Neal's hand and pulling him the master bedroom. Peter still had to finish getting dressed, so he was going to place Neal in the corner of his bedroom.
"P'ter you already gave me a punishment though!" Neal cried as Peter turned the chair in the corner around so it was facing the wall.
"And I told you your punishment would be worse than a timeout." Peter said, remaining firm.
"It's not fair! Timeouts are stupid. You can't make me." Neal said with a stamp of his foot.
"Neal, if you choose to argue with me, I will add time." Neal still stood there with his arms crossed. "I'm waiting." He told the boy.
Neal really didn't want a timeout, but he really didn't want an even longer timeout so he sat on the large chair and sulked. This was incredibly unfair, and no one had even thought to ask for his side of the story!
"Four minutes, Neal." Peter said before heading to the closet to pick out a shirt. Once he had put his shirt and socks on, there was still two minutes. He spent the last two staring at the back of the chair Neal was sitting on. Peter thought back on the morning and thought it was weird that Neal had shoved Mozzie. Sure, the younger boy had been upset, but he was upset with Peter. Usually if Neal was upset with him, he would take it out on Peter, not someone else. Checking his watch, he saw four minutes had passed.
"Neal, you can come out now." But instead of hopping out of there quickly like he did last time, Neal took a moment before getting out.
"Can I go downstairs?" He asked Peter monotonously.
"Just a sec" He said, and Neal turned around, half way to the door. "What's up, kiddo?" The concern in the older man's voice was Neal's undoing. Tears started rolling down his cheeks, and he didn't protest when Peter picked him up. "Neal, talk to me" Peter whispered. "What's up buddy?"
"Moz was bein' mean to me and no one cares!" He murmured into Peter's shoulder.
"Being mean how?" Peter asked. Neal managed to explain to explain that Elizabeth scolded him, but not Mozzie, and how she didn't even ask for his side of the story after she saw he had pushed Moz. He explained that he was hurt when Peter punished him without listening to him and how Mozzie was getting away with being mean scot free.
As Peter was listening to Neal's story, guilt was starting to eat at him. He realized what a big mistake they had made, and was going to do his best to fix it.
"I'm so sorry Neal" Peter soothed and started heading down the stairs with Neal still in his arms. They were all going to have to sit down and have a family meeting.
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Thanks for reading!