Thanks to every one for reading, reviewing or adding this to your lists! Hope you enjoy this next snippet.

"Neal?" Peter called as he stepped into the boy's room. The toddler in question wasn't anywhere to be found, but the rustling under the bed had the agent's detective skills on high. He stepped towards the small piece of furniture. "Well, either we have really big rats or somebody is doing a lousy job of hiding." He jerked the bed sheet up quickly to catch the little kid by surprise, but the whole thing backfired. Neal wasn't there. Thankfully, in Peter's mind, neither were the rats. Instead, a motorized turtle spun in circles around a clutter of toys gathered underneath there. The agent reached under the bed and grabbed the turtle to switch it off before standing up.

"Well played, kiddo. Well played. But the longer you stay hidden, the longer your time out is going to be once I find you and you know I will eventually find you!" He yelled through the house, his tone just frustrated not angry, yet. He checked the closet which was indeed empty of any kids, before heading to the last room he hadn't checked. He walked into his and El's bedroom.

"Alright, bud. I'll make a deal with you. You come out right now and I'll lessen your time out." Peter was greeted with silence. He sighed. "One. Two. Thr-"

Neal's head popped out from under the bed with a quivering lip. "I don't wanna go!" Like a turtle retreating into it's shell, Neal slid back underneath the bed. Peter ran a hand down his face and silently cursed the fact that Elizabeth got called in last minute to plan an event on the day of Neal's dentist appointment. After calling everybody they trusted with their little boy, even Mozzie though they knew it was a long shot, the very thing Peter didn't want to happen did. He had to call in sick to work to take a very protesting Neal to the dentist.

"Neal. Get out here. Now." Peter's voice might have as well shook the walls of the house. Though it was nothing more than a frustrated mumble, it had Neal shooting out from under the bed and running into Peter. The man bit back a curse as tiny fingers pinched his legs while Neal buried his face into them.

"P'ease don't make me go! I don't like the dentist! I don't like it!"

"Yes. You've made that quiet clear this morning...and the last time you were there according to Elizabeth." Peter pried his son off of him before picking him up and carrying him into the bathroom doing his best to still the squirming toddler.

Peter walked into the bathroom and closed the door making sure to lock it though it would do nothing but slow the toddler down if he did try to escape yet again. He put Neal down in front of the tub and squatted down with a warning eye. "We're only going to try this one more time, Neal. You don't cooperate this time, and I'll let Mommy determine your punishment."

The agent began to unzip the boy's pajamas, trying not to smile while Neal's blue eyes widened as he determined the value of the conditions. Even though Peter was a federal agent and punished people for wrong doings for a living, including the little boy in front of him a few years ago when he had been an adult, Peter found it difficult to punish Neal severely no matter the circumstances and Neal knew that. It was quiet the reversal. Before, El had been the one to give Neal the benefit of the doubt when he did something wrong as an adult, but now it seemed that roles had switched.

Neal put his hands on Peter's shoulders to steady himself while stepping out of his pajamas. "Okay. Baths awe good." The agent nodded before helping Neal out of his nighttime diaper without so much as a look at the small boy. Though the kid was potty trained, they still had a hard time at night when Neal would get nightmares. More often now Neal woke up with a dry one, but on this particular morning it was soaked. Peter turned to throw it in the trash bin and heard a mumbled " 'M sorry" from Neal who hung his head down so low his chin touched his chest. The father turned back around with a kind smile and ruffled Neal's curls. "Nothing to worry about kiddo. Now into the water you go." He held onto the boy's arm as Neal stepped up onto the small stool and threw his leg over the tub followed by the other one. Peter watched him sit down with an intended splash before going to the cabinet and pulling out the baby shampoo and soap. His hand hovered over the bubbles bottle, but this was one of El's suggestions of small punishments so he left it on the shelf and closed the door. He sat down on the closed toilet lid and watched Neal stick his face under the water and blow bubbles. The boy's head came up quickly slinging droplets of water from the ends of his wet hair around the bathroom. Peter rolled his eyes with a chuckle when Neal turned to him with a toothy grin and hair sticking up every which way.

"No bubbles?"

"Do you think you deserve to have bubbles after this morning?"

Peter's only reply was Neal sticking his face back down in the water while splashing his hands down in it beside his face to feel the tiny water bubbles tickle his face. He giggled at the sensation, but the fact that his face was still underwater had not fully registered. He came up spluttering and coughing.

Peter had been expecting it to happen, but he still felt his chest seize up every time it did. He held the soap and shampoo in one hand while the other slapped Neal's back gently, but firmly until the boy could breathe properly again.

"You'd think by now you'd remember to laugh after you raise up instead of the other way around." He jabbed playfully, receiving the sheepish grin he was going for. Peter leaned down and grabbed a washcloth from the bottom cabinet. When he raised back up he was greeted with water to the face from the splash of Neal's rubber shark diving rather harshly into the bathtub. He glared at the boy without any real menace as he wiped the water off with his shirt. "I'm going to have to start wearing one of those ridiculous yellow raincoats in here. This is worse than Sea World."

Neal turned quickly to him with the tail of his toy shark in his mouth as he gnawed on it. Peter quickly stopped him from doing so. "Sea Wowld! Shawky wants to go back!"

"Oh? He does, does he?" Peter inquired, while opening the shampoo bottle. Neal nodded his head. "I guess we will have to try and take him real soon, but only sharks that behave get to go to Sea World. Do you think he behaves well enough to go?"

Neal put Sharky's tail in mouth again and started gnawing while nodding at Peter. Peter eyed him warningly and pulled the toy from Neal's mouth again. "You do? Well, I might need a little more convincing, but I think Sharky is on his way to getting there. Does he need to go to the dentist? He's got a lot of teeth to take care of."

Neal shook his head. "He c'eans them in hewe. Doesn't need to go."

Peter smirked and filled the plastic cup they kept in the tub up with water while guiding Neal's head back. He placed his hand on the boy's forehead to keep the water from running into his eyes and poured it over his dark curls. He placed the cup down on the edge of the tub and picked up the shampoo. "Well he should consider himself unlucky. He won't get a cool prize for going to the dentist."

"Pwize?" Neal perked up as he held out his hands for the shampoo. Peter squirted a small amount in them knowing Neal liked to be able to feel like he was still a little independent.

"Yep. You'll get one when you go. Maybe if you're really good you can bring one back for Sharky, too." Peter replied watching Neal squish his wet, foamy hair for a few minutes before leaning forward to do the actual scrubbing using his traditional explanation that Neal missed a spot. "One day you'll get all of it though." Peter said, though he felt a small pang of sadness for that day but chose to ignore it.

"Alright, kid. Almost done. Now you just gotta wash off." He handed him the wash cloth and squirted some soap out on it. Neal washed his body quickly and grumbled when Peter just as quickly washed him a little bit better.

The agent replaced the shampoo and soap in the cabinet and hung the washcloth on the hook on the wall of the shower while Neal splashed around a little more and played with Sharky. Once he was done cleaning up, he pulled the plug in the tub and let Neal splash until the water was gone.

He watched Neal wobbly stand up in the slick shower out of the corner of his eye while getting Neal's hooded Batman towel out of the closet. He threw the hood over Neal's head and wrapped the rest around his small body before picking him up and carrying him back into his bedroom. He sat Neal down on his bed and ruffled his hair under the hood to get it to dry quicker.

The agent picked up the underwear El had already laid out before she left, along with Neal's outfit for the day, and held them out to the boy. Neal hopped off the bed, keeping his hooded towel on until after he had his underwear pulled up. He grabbed Peter's shoulders once more when the man bent down holding out khaki pants for him to step into. Once they were pulled up, he pulled his hunter green long sleeve shirt over his head and poked his arms through the sleeves.

"Alright, kiddo. Shoes and socks."

Neal fell back on his butt and pulled his socks on and then stuck his feet into his shoes. He fumbled with the laces with a concentrated determination and Peter let him for a few minutes. However, before Neal could feel helpless, let alone embarrassed, Peter aided him in the process, moving slowly so the boy could watch. "You're getting there, buddy. A little more practice. And now, last but not least, brush your teeth and hair."

Neal stood on the step stool in front of the sink scrubbing his little teeth while Peter stood next to him brushing his own. The agent purposefully took his time knowing that when he spit out his toothpaste, Neal would too. Peter filled up their small paper cups and both of them swished and gargled to rinse their mouth. With one last spit, they were done.

Peter quickly ran a comb through Neal's already dry curls and combed his own hair, before they left the bathroom.

"Alright, Neal. Ready to go?"

Neal was standing next to him in the living room while he grabbed his keys, but at the sound of the question Neal bolted upstairs. Peter groaned. "Neal!" He quickly cursed being a parent for the two seconds that frustration overtook him and moved to go upstairs, but stopped short when Neal came trotting down the steps holding Mario, the polar bear that Peter had gotten him a while back when this whole thing had started and Neal had to go get stitches. "Oh. You went to get Mario, then?"

Neal hugged the stuffed animal protectively to his chest while walking over to Peter's legs and leaning against them until the man picked him up. Peter lifted him and chucked him under the chin. "Cheer up, kid. It'll be over before you know it and you'll realize you worried for nothing."

Peter pulled Neal, and Mario, from his car seat and placed him on the ground next to the car while shutting the door and locking the car. The agent went to grab Neal's hand but, the kid latched onto his leg instead so he picked him back up and carried him into the dentist.

Waiting was more of a relief than Peter had anticipated. Neal just sat in the chair next to him with his knees drawn up and arms wrapped around his polar bear while staring at a runny-nosed kid playing with some of the toys in the office. Peter tried not to let his amusement show upon seeing the disgusted look on Neal's face when the other kid wiped his nose with his hand and then touched the toys. He felt Neal lean a little closer to him, and was just about to go get some hand sanitizer for Neal and himself from the bottle on the check-in counter, when a young woman called them back.

When they got to the dentist chair, Neal immediately shrank back into Peter's legs and hid behind them. The agent smiled knowingly at the woman preparing to clean Neal's teeth while picking him up and setting him in the chair. "It's alright, bud. Just relax."

When Peter began to lean away from him, Neal's small hand grabbed two of his fingers to keep him from leaving. Peter pulled the chair in the corner of the room over and sat down, thankful that this dentist's office thought ahead and prepared for fearful kids.

"Okay, sweetie. I'm going to clean your teeth now and I promise to be as quick as possible, but your Dad is going to be right here with you the whole time okay? And if you need me to stop at anytime just squeeze his hand and he'll let me know. Alright? Now, what flavor of toothpaste do you want? Mint or bubblegum?"

"Mint. P'ease."

Fifteen minutes and two moments of Neal panicking later, the dentist placed a dinosaur sticker on his shirt. "You did such a good job today, Neal." She turned to Peter. "Significantly better than his first visit. Now, Neal. Do any of your teeth hurt?"

"Huwt? Like when Daddy's teeth huwt when he eats ice cweam?"

"Uhh..." Peter awkwardly laughed. "I don't think that's what she meant, kiddo."

The dentist raised an eyebrow at him before turning her attention back to Neal. "That's exactly what I mean." Neal shook his head. "Great. Why don't you pick out a prize from that treasure chest over there and since you were so brave today, pick out two while I talk to your Dad."

Neal beamed and hopped off the chair to make his way over to the box of prizes.

The dentist turned to Peter who smiled uncomfortably. "Mr. Burke, I believe Neal isn't the only one who needed a check-up today."

Elizabeth quickly walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to greet her two favorite boys as they came through the front door.

"There's my brave little boy!" She greeted holding her arms out and squatting down to pick up the boy who barreled into her. "How was the dentist?"

"Scawy." He stated hugging her neck before leaning back and looking at her with a sheepish grin. He fingered a lock of her hair laying on her shoulder. "But not as scawy as last time. Guess what!"

"What?" She chuckled at his excitement as she noticed for the first time Peter's long expression.

"Daddy has to go to the dentist!"

She tried to school her confusion as she glanced between her boy and her husband. "He does?"

"Yes," Peter answered sourly, "because someone told the dentist my tooth hurts when I eat ice cream."

"Well, thank goodness our little boy is looking out for you, Peter." She replied with a smile before kissing Neal's temple and setting him down. "Dinner will be ready soon, but I think Satchmo could use a playmate for a few minutes. Why don't you go see if you can find him?"

Peter went over and hugged his wife while they watched their boy run through the house hollering for the dog. They shared a kiss. "So, when do you go to the dentist?"

"Next week." He grumbled.

"Does Neal know?"

"When I'm going?"

"That you hate the dentist."

"No and you're not going to tell him."

"Time for bed, kiddo." Peter stated as he walked into Neal's bedroom to find the boy laying in the middle of his floor playing sleepily with his toys. Peter gathered some of them up and placed them in the toy box before going over to the closet and pulling out some pajamas and a nighttime diaper.

Neal stood up from the floor and sluggishly walked over to Peter who sat down on the bed and helped him out of his clothes mainly because Neal was too tired to do so by himself. When it came to putting on the diaper, Neal scrunched his face up, but didn't protest like normal. Instead, he looked up at Peter while the man zipped up his fleece onesie and with a tired voice he asked, "Daddy?".

"Yeah, bud?" Peter picked him up and laid him down in bed before pulling the covers up over him.

"Awe you mad?"

Peter furrowed his brow. "Mad? Why would you think that?"

"Because I told the dentist about youw tooth."

Peter chuckled and patted the covers over Neal's belly. "No, I'm not mad."

"But you don't want to go?"

"Let's just say Daddy doesn't like going. Not because he's afraid, because he knows there's nothing to be scared of just...he doesn't like it."

"Oh. I...I could go with you."

Peter smiled down at him, clearly amused yet touched. "You'd do that for me?"

Neal nodded. "You went with me."

"Of course, I did. And as much as I appreciate the offer, taking my little boy to a place he doesn't like wouldn't make me very comfortable."

Neal blinked up at him before wiggling down under the covers for a minute and popping back up. He sat up and held his hand out to Peter. The agent took whatever it was Neal was offering him in his own hand before he realized it was the bouncy ball Neal had picked as his prize from the dentist earlier.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Fow when you'we at the dentist." Neal replied behind a yawn as if that explained everything. Peter smiled down at him and guided him back to lay down once more. He pulled the covers up to his shoulders and ruffled the dark curls, before letting Neal take his hand in both of his. For some reason that Peter and Elizabeth had yet to figure out, Neal liked tracing the lines on Peter's palm while he was tucked in.

"I'm proud of you for being so brave today at the dentist." The agent softly boasted while he felt Neal's tiny finger trace his palm. He waited until Neal grabbed his fingers and curled them down into a fist indicating that he was done doing whatever it was the boy did before brushing the hair off Neal's forehead and kissing him there. "Goodnight, Buddy. I love you. Mommy will be up here to say goodnight in a minute."

Neal nodded in response before curling up on his side already half asleep. "Night, Daddy. Love you."

Peter stood from the bed and went to turn the light off. After flipping the switch he accidentally dropped the bouncy ball Neal had given him and silently cursed as he heard it consistently bounce against the hardwood floor. By the light of the nightlight, he crawled around the floor until he found the ball by Neal's bed. Grabbing it and putting it in his pocket, he raised up on his knees and peered over in the bed to find a sight that had his throat tightening.

He watched over Neal's back as the boy's finger traced the same pattern that Peter had felt on his palm for countless nights on his own tiny palm. Peter swallowed the lump in his throat and fought to find his voice.

"Neal?" He whispered, half so he wouldn't startle the kid and half because that's all he could manage. The boy turned over to face him with half lidded eyes as he fisted them. "Hmm?"

"Wh-what were you doing? On your palm?"

Neal blinked sluggishly at him before grabbing his hand and turning it so that the palm faced upwards. The boy laid his hand out next to Peter's to show him his palm and in the luminance of the nightlight, for the first time, Peter realized the lines on Neal's palm, though on a much smaller scale, made the same pattern that his did.

Even though it was nothing special, three simple lines on the palms of their hands, Peter found that lump in his throat rising once more, because now he understood why every night when he tucked Neal into bed, or every time he held Neal after a nightmare or he had gotten hurt, Neal traced the lines on Peter's hand. Because even though Neal knew Peter wasn't his biological father, the boy had found something that they both shared. For ever how small and insignificant it was, it had apparently meant the world to Neal.

Peter was brought out of his thoughts by a small cough from Neal. He looked up at the boy and could only smile while his brain searched for words. Coming up empty, he took Neal's small hand in his and traced the lines before curling the boy's fingers inward and kissing the small fist. He laid Neal's hand on the bed and upon seeing the smile creeping onto the toddler's face he knew his actions had spoken so much louder than words.

One Week Later...

Peter found himself sitting in the dentist's chair while the dentist cleaned his teeth. The tools were taken from his mouth as the assistant sucked his saliva from the corners of his mouth with the little vacuum tube.

"Are you doing alright?" The dentist asked him once more while preparing to begin to finish the filling for the cavity he had.

Peter tensed, but stuck his hand in the front pocket of his pants and fingered the bouncy ball Neal had given him. He looked at the dentist and nodded. He was perfectly fine.

AN: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! :)