Let Your Heart Hold Fast

Chapter 16

Peter was beginning to get worried when it seemed to be taking Elizabeth longer than he thought necessary. Richard reassured his son that they probably just got side-tracked by something, as they often did, but Peter instinctually knew that something was wrong.

The moment the phone rang, he knew that his whole world was about to change.

Elizabeth woke up to the sound of someone calling her name. It took her several seconds to realize that she was hanging upside down in her car, held in place only by her seat belt. It also took her several seconds to wrap her mind around what had happened. Looking frantically around, she saw her mother-in-law in the same predicament she was in. Nancy was frantically trying to undo her seat belt, as she called out to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth tried to speak, but couldn't seem to form the words she wanted. Frantically, she tried to turn her head around to search for Neal, terrified to realize that she hadn't heard a single sound from the backseat yet. "Neal! Neal, are you okay? NEAL!"

Nancy was crying as she listened to Elizabeth calling for the little boy. "Elizabeth, he's gone! I woke up and there was a man taking him out of the car. I tried to stop him, Elizabeth! I tried, but I couldn't get out of the seat belt! He just took him!"

Elizabeth could tell Nancy was going into shock, but whether it was from her physical injury or just from the shock of watching Neal be taken out of the car by someone, she didn't know. Still looking around, she was dismayed to find that they were upside down in a ravine. She couldn't tell if there were any other cars on the road above them, but she didn't hear anyone coming to help, so she had to assume that no one knew they were down there.

"Nancy….are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, Elizabeth. Just a little shaken up and I think I dislocated my shoulder. How about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Elizabeth reassured her. "Can you see my purse? I need to get to my phone." Elizabeth could tell that she was just seconds away from panicking, so she tried to calm herself down. The two of them looked around for her purse, but before they found it, they heard voices calling down from above.

Thank God! Someone had found them.

Fortunately for Elizabeth and Nancy, the young man and woman that found them were paramedics in training. They quickly assessed them, determining that Nancy more than likely did have a dislocated shoulder and that, other than a few scrapes and bruises, and a rather nasty bump on the head, Elizabeth was fine, notwithstanding the obvious bruises to come from the airbags and seat belts, of course.

The whole time they were being assessed by the two young people, Elizabeth was asking to be cut out of the seat belt, so she could go after the man that had taken Neal. At first, they thought that she was just in shock and rambling nonsensical things, but once Nancy started saying the same thing, they realized that there might be some truth to what Elizabeth was saying. However much Elizabeth begged them, they wouldn't do it, though, citing the fact that she might have spinal or internal injuries that could be exacerbated by movement.

Eventually, the police and ambulance showed up, and somehow in the controlled chaos of the rescue, Elizabeth was able to get them to understand what had happened. She also finally got one of them to call Peter.

An hour after the collision occurred, Nancy and Elizabeth were finally free of the car and on their way to the hospital. Elizabeth couldn't stop thinking that it had already been an hour since someone had taken Neal. Sixty minutes…..3,600 seconds…..at least 6,000 heartbeats since he had been gone.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Neal's chest and head hurt so much that he wanted to cry. He also felt like he was going to throw up. Adding to that was the scariness of finding himself hanging upside down in the car. All in all, he was terrified. Looking around, he could see Elizabeth and Nancy hanging upside down in the front of the car, and he immediately started calling out to them. When neither one of them answered him, he couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face.

Neal tried to undo his seat belt, but he couldn't reach around to the latch. As he tried to figure out what to do next, he kept calling out to Elizabeth, his dread increasing when she wouldn't wake up. After several minutes that seemed like hours to him, he heard something outside the car. He felt relief shoot through him when the door next to him creaked open. Finally, someone was there to help them.

Through the tears streaming down his face and the panic consuming him, Neal didn't recognize the man that was working to pull him from the car. "Hey, Neal….are you hurt? I'm going to get you out of there, okay? Just hold on for a minute."

Neal yelled for the man to check Elizabeth and Nana Nan, but the man was solely focused on him. After several more minutes, the man was able to get the seat belt released, and he firmly held on to Neal and lowered him to the floor. Neal thought it funny for a second that the floor was actually the roof of the car.

Once Neal was free of everything, he tried to get to Elizabeth, but the man held on to him tightly. "Come on, kid. I need to get you out of here," the man said.

"NO! We have to help Lizbef!" Neal cried. "She won't wake up!"

"It's okay, Neal. I'm going to get you out of here and then I'll get help for her."

Neal continued to struggle, but the man had no problem handling him. Once they were free of the car, Neal tried to get down, but the man held on to him and started walking back up the embankment. Before Neal realized what was happening, he was strapped into another car and they were heading away from the site of the accident.

Peter and Richard arrived at the hospital within minutes of the ambulance's arrival. They immediately went into the emergency room, identifying themselves to the lady at the front desk. The lady informed them that someone would be out to talk to them soon, so they both reluctantly sat down.

Eventually, the ER door opened and a young man dressed in blue scrubs came out. Looking around the waiting room, he finally called for the family of Elizabeth and Nancy Burke. Peter and Richard jumped up and nearly ran forward, causing the doctor to take a few steps back.

"I'm Peter Burke and this is my father, Richard. How are they?"

"Sir, if you'll both come with me, I can give you an update on their condition." The doctor led them through the double doors and into a consultation room. "I'm Dr. Lincoln and I was here to triage your family when they came in. Let me start by saying that they are stable and are currently undergoing treatment."

Peter and Richard both sank back into their chairs in relief.

"Nancy Burke has a dislocated right shoulder and a rather large bruise from the seat belt. We've put it back in place and she'll have to wear a sling for a while, but it should heal nicely. Elizabeth has several bruises and abrasions, with the most concerning one being the one on her left temple. They both lost consciousness for a few minutes, so they are currently getting head CTs to make sure there are no underlying head injuries. They are both awake now and neurologically intact, which is a good sign. They'll both be fairly sore for a while, but we anticipate a full recovery for both of them."

As Peter listened, he felt relief flood him that they were okay, but he also felt dread fill him at the realization that Dr. Lincoln hadn't mentioned Neal at all. "What about Neal? Is he okay?"

Dr. Lincoln stared at Peter in confusion. "I'm sorry, Mr. Burke. Who is Neal?"

Now it was Peter's turn to be confused. "Neal. He's our five year old and he would have been in the car with my wife."

"Mr. Burke, your wife and mother were the only ones brought in from the accident."

Peter looked frantically at his father, before turning back to the doctor. "That's not possible! She took him with her, I helped her fasten him in the booster seat. How could he not be in the car? Did he get thrown out?"

By this time, panic had fully set into Peter, causing his heart to race as he imagined Neal left in the ravine while the ambulance whisked away its passengers. Richard Burke looked just as panicked as his son. "Mr. Burke, let me find the policemen that came in with the ambulance. Maybe they know something about that."

Dr. Lincoln left and less than a minute later, returned with an older police officer. "Mr. Burke, I'm Officer Forman. My partner and I were the First Responders on the scene. I've been trying to call your cell phone, sir, but I never got an answer."

Peter searched his pockets, but didn't find his cell phone. "I must have left it at home. "What's going on? Where's Neal?"

"Sir, when we arrived on scene, the two civilians that were there told us that Elizabeth Burke kept insisting that someone had taken Neal out of the car and left with him. Your wife confirmed that immediately."

Peter felt his legs give out, but luckily Dr. Lincoln quickly pushed a chair under him before he fell. "Someone took him? Is she sure? Maybe he got himself out of his seat and wandered off. He does that sometimes."

"Mr. Burke, your mother saw the man taking Neal. She tried to stop him, but couldn't. We've issued an Amber Alert and have every available person working on this, but we don't have much to go on. It was dark and Nancy Burke was only able to give us a generic description."

Peter felt as if his whole world was crumbling around him. Looking up at Dr. Lincoln, he said the only thing he could. "I need to see my wife."

Elizabeth felt as if she was living her worst nightmare. She didn't feel any of her physical injuries, at all, as they were all overshadowed by the agonizing, empty ache in her heart. She would give anything to hear Neal's little voice or to feel him playing with her hair as she lay on the gurney. She couldn't bear the thought of him somewhere all alone, hurt and scared, and her fear and desperation nearly consumed her, nearly shattered her completely.

After the Cat Scan was done, Elizabeth had been wheeled back into the triage room. She could hear a nurse or doctor talking to Nancy in the room next to her, and she was relieved to hear that Nancy would be okay. Just as she was about to ask if anyone had heard from her husband, the curtain opened and Peter walked in.

"Peter! Peter, someone took Neal! I'm so sorry…..I'm so sorry!" Elizabeth cried.

"Hey, hon….it's not your fault. It was an accident and we'll find him." Peter tried to reassure his wife, but he knew it wouldn't work.

"It wasn't an accident, Peter. Someone drove us off the road. Someone deliberately made us crash."

Although Peter had already suspected that, her words shocked him. "Are you sure, El?"

"Yes! Someone rear-ended us and I thought that it was just an accident, but right after I regained control of the car, they side-swiped us. I lost control of the car and we rolled several times, I think, before we went into the ravine. I must have passed out, Peter, because all I remember after that is hearing your mom call my name. And then she told me that someone had taken Neal. I'm so sorry!"

"El, it's not your fault." Peter squeezed his wife's hand, hoping to infuse some strength into her, even though he couldn't spare any. "The police are doing everything they can, hon. And Diana is getting the team together to help. The FBI Missing Persons has been notified and Reece is making sure that they're hurrying. We'll find him, El."

"I can't lose him, Peter…."

Once he knew his mother and wife were okay, Peter left the hospital to join his team at the accident site. The area was swarming with activity and Peter quickly honed in on his team. He was surprised to see the young man that had helped Neal find his way back to the White Collar division talking with Jones. "Agent Davidson, isn't it?" he asked as he walked up to them. "You're ERT, right?"

"Yes, sir….I've been with Evidence Recovery for a few years now."

"Have you guys found anything yet? I'm sure my team explained to you what happened here."

"Yes, sir. They informed us that there was an intentional collision and that a small child was taken from the accident site by an unknown subject."

"That small child was my foster son, Agent Davidson. It was Neal."

The young agent looked shocked to hear that. "It was Neal? Oh my God!"

"Have you uncovered any evidence yet?"

Agent Davidson looked relieved to be able to answer Peter's question. "Yes, sir. We retrieved several full and partial prints from the seat belt. We'll have to run it against your prints, of course, and your wife's. Is there anyone else that might have strapped Neal into his seat?"

"No, that should be it. How about the door handle? It looks like whoever took Neal was able to open the door from the outside."

"I don't think we'll recover any prints from the door, Agent Burke. There was a cloud burst that lasted several minutes right before we got here. I think any print that was there probably got washed away, but we're definitely trying."

Peter gave the young agent a quick nod and then turned to find Diana. Looking around the accident scene, which was now deemed an active crime scene, Peter felt a chill shoot through him. Who would take Neal? And was the boy okay?

Neal had eventually fallen asleep in the car, his head aching too much to stay awake. He had no idea how long they had been driving; all he knew was that he really needed to go to the bathroom. Looking at the man in the driver's seat, he suddenly recognized him from the museum and the school.

He must have made some small noise, because the man suddenly turned around and looked at him. "Hey, Neal….How are you feeling?"

Neal felt like crying, but he used up every bit of self-control he had to keep the tears at bay. "My head hurts really bad, and I really, really need to use the bathroom." He couldn't help the small whine that escaped him, though, and he hurt too much to care.

"Hang in there, buddy. We're almost there."

Neal wondered where "there" was and he wondered what was going to happen to him once he got there. He felt the tears stinging his eyes again, as he wished with all of his heart that he could go home to Peter and Elizabeth. He was so scared and he knew that if Peter was here, he would save him from this bad man."

Just when Neal began to feel like he might actually pee his pants, the man turned the car into a long driveway, and a minute later, they pulled up to a small, worn down house. The man got out of the car and opened up Neal's door. He watched as the boy struggled with the seat belt, not offering to help. Eventually, Neal got the seat belt undone and scrambled out of the car, his need for the bathroom nearly overwhelming. The man must have sensed his frantic need, so he quickly led Neal into the house and pointed at a closed door off to the right. Neal ran as fast as his little legs would carry him into the bathroom.

Once he was done and he had washed his hands like Elizabeth always made him, he slowly opened the door and peered out. The house wasn't very clean and it smelled funny. Neal scrunched his nose up as he slowly walked out into the living room. The man was standing over by the window and when he heard Neal come out of the bathroom, he watched the boy closely.

"Sit down, Neal," he said, pointing to a threadbare sofa.

Neal obediently sat down, looking at everything around him. The man returned to looking at the window, seemingly forgetting that Neal was even there, until the boy spoke.

"Where are we? Is this your house?"

"Shut-up, kid. No questions."

"I wanna go home," Neal whispered. "I don't like it here."

"I said shut-up, kid!" the man yelled, causing Neal to push back into the sofa. "I don't want to hear another word out of you. Just sit there and be quiet."

Neal drew his knees up to his chest, and sat there, watching his tears hit the top of his knee and slide down his leg. His head hurt, his chest was really sore and his heart ached. He was more scared than he had ever been in his young life and all he wanted was to go home.

After spending an hour at the crime scene, Peter returned to the hospital. Fortunately, both Elizabeth and Nancy were released from the hospital with strict instructions to go home and take it easy. Elizabeth wanted to go back to the accident site, but Peter refused.

"Elizabeth, there's nothing there for you to see. NYPD and the FBI are both working the scene and I promise that they're doing everything they can. They're running prints right now that they found on Neal's seat belt and booster seat. Now, I'm going to take you and mom home, so you can rest like the doctor told you to."

Elizabeth started to argue, but Nancy interrupted. "Peter's right, dear. We need to go home and rest, so that when Neal gets home we're not too tired to enjoy him. You know how he is….. he's going to want to play a board game, I'm sure."

Elizabeth knew better than to argue, but she felt like her heart would shatter into a million pieces if she went home without Neal. She didn't think she could handle seeing evidence of him everywhere when she had absolutely no idea where he was or if he was safe. Her arms ached to hold the little boy again. Peter could read all of this in her eyes and pulled her into his arms.

"Everything will be okay, El. We'll find him and we'll find who took him, I promise. We just have to stay strong for him, okay? We can't fall apart yet."

Elizabeth buried her face in Peter's chest. She knew she had to pull it together, but she also knew that Peter's words were prophetic. She definitely would fall apart eventually. It was just a matter of time.

Neal was curled up on the sofa, shivering slightly from the fear that enveloped him. The man had spent quite a bit of time on the phone before finally realizing that Neal was shivering. He grabbed a blanket out of the closet, but it smelled so musty that Neal pushed it away from his chest. He felt like he was going to be sick and the musty smell only made it worse.

Neal's head was pounding and his chest hurt with every breath he took. When he was in the bathroom, he had looked at his chest and noticed a large purple bruise covering part of it. He also noticed that he had blood on his lip, probably from where he bit it during the accident.

Despite the fact that he felt sick to his stomach, Neal was really thirsty. He wanted to ask the man for a drink, but he was afraid that the man would yell at him again. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and as soon as the man hung up his phone again, Neal asked him for some water.

At first, the man looked like he might yell at him, but then he turned and walked into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned carrying a bottle of water and a soda. He handed the bottle of water to Neal and set the soda down on the table.

"You can have the soda if you want it, kid," he said.

"No thank you. Lizbef doesn't let me drink soda. She says it's bad for my teeth."

"Oh, Lizbef won't let you drink soda, huh? She sounds like a real witch."

"She is not! Don't talk about Lizbef that way!"

The man laughed at the angry look on Neal's face. "Okay, kid….calm down. I'm just joking. I don't care if you drink the soda or not. It's your choice."

Neal settled back down on the sofa, tears filling his eyes. "I wanna go home," he said quietly.

The man laughed again. "You're not going home, kid. This is your new home for now."

Author's note: Who is this man and what does he want with poor Neal?! Any ideas?

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more…..