Peter tightened his grip around Elizabeth fearing the news they were about to hear.

"Well Mr. Caffrey is a very lucky man. Being exposed to that amount of poison should have killed him." Dr. Lorenz stated. Peter felt a chill go down his spine at the doctor's last statement.

"But it didn't. He flat lined in the operating room but after two minutes we were able to revive him. We pumped his stomach and are administering an antidote. The poison weakened his organs to a great extent but with time they will begin to get stronger and he should recover nicely. However, as I said earlier, he flat lined and we had to shock his heart to bring him back. In some cases, that can cause damage to the heart. There's a chance that Neal's heart will not regain all of its strength which would prohibit him from doing strenuous activities such as running. I know this is a lot to take in and it must be very difficult but there is one more thing I want you to be aware of. Neal's heart stopped for two minutes. A lot can happen in that amount of time. There is a chance that Neal might have lost part or all of his memory and his motor skills might also be affected. We will not know until he wakes up which will be awhile. We placed him into a drug induced coma to help his recovery. This will allow his body to regain its strength more quickly and it will be more comfortable for Neal as well. He is hooked up to a lot of machines that are all there to help him. Perhaps the most difficult to take in is the ventilator. It is helping him breath and assisting his heart, lessening the strain it is under."

"C-Can we see him?" Peter asked as his voice faltered with emotion.

"Of course. He is in the Intensive Care Unit room number 3. Only one person can go in at a time though. Hospital policy for the ICU. Neal is in critical condition which can be very difficult to see, but talk to him and let him know you are there. Sometimes patients can hear or feel you even if they can't respond. It might make it easier on him to know his friends are here with him." Dr. Lorenz shook Peter's hand and walked away.

Peter and Elizabeth stood at the entrance to the ICU wing.

"I-I can't….." Peter muttered as he began to step back but Elizabeth caught his arm and stopped him.

"Peter. No. Neal needs you. You need….have to go see him. I'll go first if you like." Elizabeth responded. She only offered to go first because she knew Peter was not holding up very well, but neither was she. Neal had become like a son to her and she was not willing to accept that Neal might not be okay. She didn't want to go first and she was thankful Peter could read between the lines.

"No….No… I'll go." He said and with that began walking towards Neal's room.

Peter Burke is not a man to cry, but the moment he stepped into the intensive care unit room number three to find Neal Caffrey fighting for his life with the help of what seemed like a million machines, tears threatened to fall down his face. He slowly walked over to the side of the bed and sat down in a chair. The agent sat there and stared at the conman. He was so afraid to touch him. He had never seen Neal look so vulnerable and childlike. But the doctor's words rang in his ears and he gently grasped Neal's slender, cold hand in his. It took a few more minutes for the agent to find his voice.

"Neal…..I… I don't know if you can hear me….. I'm sure you can but you will ignore me anyway. You never listened to me before so why start now?" Peter gave a slight chuckle before swallowing hard against the sob that was rising in his throat.

"Neal… I'm so sorry. All of this… it is my fault. I never meant for this to happen. I'm supposed to protect you….you trusted me…..I let you down Neal and I'm sorry." With that Peter broke down. He let his head fall against the bed and quietly cried into the sheets, but his hand never let go of Neal's. Peter would have remained in that state for awhile longer but the slight tightening around his hand caused him to quickly sit up.

"Neal?" But as soon as the word left Peter's mouth the hand in his went completely limp.

Peter wiped the tears from his face and stood up. He still held Neal's hand in his but since he stood they now looked like they were about to arm wrestle. Peter placed his other hand on Neal's head and leaned over the bed railing to say one last thing to the conman before leaving.

"Neal, I promise you, you are going to be okay. I know I haven't done the best job of protecting you so far, but I swear to you I will not let another thing happen to you so long as I live. You are going to be okay. I'm going to be right here, Elizabeth too. We are going to take good care of you, kiddo. And mark my words, I will find the son of a bitch that did this to you and make him pay. But right now, I need you to fight. I need you to wake up. I need you, Buddy." Peter ruffled the younger man's hair slightly and gently placed Neal's hand back down on the bed. He walked to the door, took one last look at his best friend and went to the waiting room so his wife could go visit Neal.

AN: I know this short but I wanted to give you guys something! It is been so long and I apologize but College is taking up most of my time! But I promise I'm going to update a lot tomorrow. Another chapter for this story maybe two and possibly a random one shot. But definetly check for some update from me tomorrow! Again sorry for the delay and thanks for sticking with me :)