A/N Sorry! I did not actually fall off the face of the planet I promise! Also, I seem to have dug myself into a pit. I did not say at the beginning of this story that it would contain spanking so I am very wary of incorporating it now as I fear it might turn off my readers. On the other hand I have received comments from others that they would like to see it and if you have read my other stories you probably realize I write those stories as well. So I guess I am looking for some feedback as to what you all would like to see? Thanks! FYI This chapter does not contain corporal punishment!
^^^Troublesome Children^^^
When Peter and Neal got home Neal's good mood had dissolved once more. He didn't greet either Mozzie or El and elected instead to run up the stairs not even stopping long enough to allow for Peter to take off his coat.
"Did it not go well?" Elizabeth asked to Peter in greeting.
"Better than expected actually" he told here as he hung up his coat. "What are you baking? It smells amazing!" he told her. Just then Mozzie walked out carrying a spoon covered in cookie dough and had a face covered in chocolate.
"We made chocolate chips cookies!" Moz exclaimed happily. "Want some?" he asked as he held the spoon out towards the older man.
"No thanks bud, it is all yours." He said with a smile. "Do you have any finished products? I'll take one of those!" He said as he craned his neck around to look into the kitchen.
"Hey!" El shouted to get her husband's attention. "Those are for after dinner!"
"That's not fair." Peter pouted playfully. "Mozzie gets some now."
"That's because he helped make them. Taste testing is an important step of baking." El explained with a wink to Mozzie. This time the pout was not so much playful as it was sincere.
"Alright, we will let Mozzie decide." El compromised. "Sweetie?"
Mozzie made a scrutinizing face and hummed. Then Peter surprised them by slowly walking towards Mozzie. He had no idea what Peter was going to do so when Peter grabbed his sides he was entirely helpless to stop the tickle attack. Mozzie let out a high pitched squeal of laughter as Peter's hands continued to assault his sides. It was then the Elizabeth realized she had never hear Mozzie laugh before. It was a sad recognition.
"Alright! Alright!" Moz cried out in between laughs "You can have some!" he said. Instantly Peter's hands left his sides and one patted his head.
"Thanks kiddo, I thought you would see it my way" Peter told him as he walked towards the kitchen ready to snag a cookie or two.
When he got to the kitchen he noticed that it was quite obvious that a child had been in there. There was flour everywhere and chocolate smudges on the fridge and counter tops. Peter could not help but smile as he helped himself to a cookie.
"I was looking at the weather report and it is supposed to be really cold tomorrow so maybe we should go to the park today." Peter took this into consideration and realized he really did not have a say in the matter.
"Okay" Peter agreed. "But you are asking Neal."
^^^Troublesome Children^^^
It took some prompting to get Neal to join them on their little adventure but as it turns out Elizabeth can be very convincing. It was a warm mid-October day with a lot of sunshine but it was still cool enough that no one else was at the park. Elizabeth had packed a few toys for both the humans and the dog alike. When they got there Mozzie immediately headed to the swings and Elizabeth joined him.
"Want to play catch?" Peter asked Neal who still had not said a word to him since they had returned from the store. Neal just gave him a look and headed to the swings as well.
"Looks like it is me and you bud" Peter said to his dog. He was playing fetch with Satchmo when he heard a shrill scream come from the play equipment area. Peter and Satchmo both turned their heads at the noise and ran over to where Elizabeth had scooped Neal up. Mozzie was ready to go down the slide but was frozen in his spot when he heard Neal scream.
"What happened?" Peter asked with concern when he reached El and Neal. After a quick look over the only thing Peter could see was a skinned knee.
"We were playing tag and Neal fell on the concrete and scrapped his knee" Elizabeth told him as she bounced Neal up and down to try and calm him. It was not working though as Neal continued to sob.
"Sshh baby, I know it hurts" El said as she ran a hand up and down his back. "We should probably head home now" She said to Peter who agreed quickly.
"Dad! Daddy!" Neal chocked out as he squirmed in El's arm.
"I'm sorry kiddo, your dad isn't here." Peter whispered softly. Neal continued his chant though and continued to push away from El.
"I think he means you" Elizabeth said with recognition. Once she said it she knew how true it was.
Peter looked at Elizabeth with a disbelieving look mixed with fear. While he was honored that Neal thought of him in that way it frightened him to no end. He never thought he would hear someone call him that and now that someone had he felt it pull at his heart strings.
"Neal?" Peter asked hesitantly. Neal responded by yelling out again. Peter easily picked the crying boy out of El's arms and his reaction was immediate. He stopped with his deep sobs as he buried his warm face into Peter's shoulders. Small hands grasped Peter's shirt in a death grip unwilling to let go and Neal repeated one last, pain filled,
"Daddy"
By this time Mozzie had gotten over his shock and had reached the adults and Neal. Mozzie grabbed one of Neal's ankles and squeezed it gently before asking the younger boy if he was okay.
"Neal?" Mozzie asked. Neal turned his face from Peter's shoulder to look down at his friend. Tears were still trickling down his face but that was the only trace that he was hurting. "Are you okay?" Neal nodded sadly. "We can have cookies at home once you get bandaged up" Mozzie told him.
"Before supper?" Elizabeth asked. "Just this once I suppose" She smiled. Any way to make her little one happy.
"How about you two go ahead and Mozzie and I will stay here. No need to cut our trip short." Elizabeth suggested.
"No!" Mozzie shouted. "It's okay, we can come back tomorrow." He declared. He wanted to be near his friend just to make sure he was actually okay. Elizabeth was kind of glad as well. She knew Peter would do his best but he was not very good at first aid.
"Alright then, do you want to hold Satchmo's leash or should I?" El asked of Mozzie. With the agreement of El holding the leash the make shift family made their way home with Neal still in Peter's arms.
^^^Troublesome Children^^^
When they arrived at home Peter set Neal on the kitchen counter as El went to go grab the first aid kit and Mozzie got Satchmo all situated.
"How are you doing kiddo?" Peter asked him with concern. Neal just shrugged. He knew what he had called Peter earlier and was kind of embarrassed by it and not entirely sure how Peter would handle it. He had not run away so Neal took that as a good sign.
"I need to take your pants off so we can take a better look at those knees, is that okay?" Peter asked before he did anything. Despite his embarrassment of being left in his superman underwear he knew it was the most logical solution and allowed Peter to help him take his jeans off. He let out a soft whimper when the stiff fabric stuck a little bit to his wounds despite Peter's careful ministrations.
Elizabeth returned quickly and wet a wash cloth with warm water before gently beginning to wipe away the dirt that was in his wounds. Neal immediately cried out and started to squirm.
"I know, baby. I know it hurts" Elizabeth said as she continued. "We have to wash it out so it does not get infected though" She continued in the same soft voice. Neal knew logically what she said was true but he could not stop himself from kicking out to try and stop the pain.
"Neal, buddy, you have to stay still" Peter said softly. Neal shook his head and continued to try and crawl off the counter. Peter quickly scooped him up before he could hurt himself anymore. He then took them and sat on the dining room chair. Elizabeth followed and turned the chair so she was facing the two.
Peter held Neal with his back against his own chest and grabbed his arms firmly so he could not escape. Elizabeth moved as quickly as possible while still being gentle and it almost brought tears to her eyes with how upset Neal was and they had not even got to painful part with the antiseptic.
"Alright sweetie" El said once she finished cleaning his wounds. "This is going to sting a little bit" She said as she grabbed the antibacterial cream.
"No!" Neal screamed and threw himself about. "Daddy, don't! It hurts!" He cried out.
Peter's breathe caught at the use of that word once more. The more it was said the more he liked it. His heart went out to his little boy who was very clearly hurting but knew this had to be done.
"I know kiddo, I know it hurts, but we are almost done" Peter whispered and took a firmer hold of the boy before nodding to El to get it over with.
You would have thought someone was being murdered with how much yelling there was. It took El about thirty seconds to put to antibiotic and band aid on but Neal continued to cry long afterwards. Once El had finished she snatched the boy from her husband's lap no longer being able to refrain from holding him.
"Look what a good boy you are!" She cooed. "We are all done now and you did so good!" She praised. "We are done, it's okay" She repeated as Peter went to grab the cookies from the counter and some glasses of milk. By the time he got back Neal was down to the occasional sniffle.
"There you go. You're all better now! Especially with some cookies!" Peter declared as he set the plate in front of El and Neal. Mozzie had come into the room once the screaming had stopped and sat next to the pair before digging into his own plate of cookies.
"You okay Neal?" Mozzie asked with a mouthful of cookies. Peter shook his head at the older boy and Moz gave him a shrug and a sheepish smile before closing his mouth.
"I'm okay." Neal whispered. He twisted in Elizabeth's lap so that he was facing the table and grabbed the cookie that El had offered him.
"Milk?" He asked as he looked up at El and she appeared upside down. He let out a giggle when Elizabeth leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Of course." She said as she reached for the glass of milk. "You can't have cookies without milk!"
^^^White Collar^^^
A/N Cute? Too soon to say "Dad"? Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!