Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA Network and Jeff Eastin.


Chapter 3

Peter slowly swung open the door to Neal's apartment and softly called out to him, "Neal? You in here, Bud?"

Silence. He stood in the doorway surveying the scene in front of him. June was right; there were dozens of pictures all over the apartment. Many were of the woman from the bank surveillance video but most were of a young girl, aged somewhere between six and twelve depending on the picture. There was a strong resemblance between them all and Peter had no doubt that they were of the same person. A person Neal had known as a child by the looks of things.

Talking of Neal, where was he? Peter called out again and walked through the papers to the alcove where Neal's slept, expecting to find him crashed out on his bed. But Neal was nowhere in sight. He checked out on the balcony and then the bathroom before sitting down on the sofa, puzzled. By this time June had ventured upstairs and was standing tentatively by the dining table looking at Peter.

"Any luck?" she asked.

Peter shook his head, "Are you sure he didn't leave?"

"No, I would have noticed." June replied. "I was sitting downstairs the whole time. He never left the apartment."

Peter got up and went over to join her, righting a chair that lay on the floor beside the table. He sifted through some of the pictures picking up one of a younger girl.

"Has Neal ever mentioned a sister to you?" he asked June. "Whoever this is he seems very protective of her. I know next to nothing about Neal's childhood. I wouldn't be surprised if he had siblings but had never let on about them."

"No, he's never talked about his early life with me, Peter. I get the impression it wasn't great. Whenever I've brought the subject up he has closed down immediately. She doesn't look much like Neal though, she has a completely different face shape don't you think? Oh Peter, I don't get a good feeling about this, at all."

"Me neither. Neal can be an enigma at the best of times but I am feeling well out of my depth with this. My gut is sending me all sorts of warning signals."

Just then they heard a movement from the bedroom and a whimpering sound. Peter spun around and headed back over to the bed and looked behind it but Neal wasn't there either. Again, the sound came from the direction of the bed and Peter squatted down to look underneath. Neal was curled up in a ball, his back against the wall beneath the headboard.

"Good grief!" Peter exclaimed. "How on earth did he get under there? Neal, Neal wake up!"

They heard a low groan, then a raspy, "P … Peter?"

Peter lay down on his stomach beside the bed and stretched his arm under it to try and touch Neal. He could just reach his left leg and felt the hard tracking anklet above Neal's foot. He tapped Neal's shoe and saw him instinctively draw his leg closer to his body. It was amazing he could move at all, he seemed completely wedged under the bed.

"Neal, if I raise the bed, do you think you could slide out?"

"I dunno, I don' feel so good, Peter." Neal replied feebly.

Peter looked around the room for something that he could raise the bed up on. There were plenty of big books, but the bed was made of heavy wood and Peter doubted they could take its weight. He noticed the fireplace and the scuttle beside it full of thick logs. Perfect. He hurried over and piled four of the logs into his arms and returned to the bedroom. Setting them on the floor beside the bed he turned to June for help.

"If I lift this could you slide a log under the leg of the bed?"

"Certainly," June replied and picking up one of the logs she knelt beside the end of the bed.

"Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three."

Peter strained under the weight of the bed for a moment and June quickly set the log underneath. They repeated the process on the other side of the bed. There was a heavy mirror on the table next to the top of the bed and June held it steady while Peter carefully slid the table away from the bed. Then they put the final two logs under the top legs of the bed. It was a little precarious but it provided sufficient clearance for Neal to move more freely.

Peter squatted down at the head of the bed so he could see Neal's face clearly.

"Okay, Bud. We've got you all set up here. Give me your hand and I'll pull you out."

He reached out to clasp Neal's wrist, but Neal let out a yelp and pulled away from him, skittering back toward the other side of the bed.

"Whoa there cowboy!" Peter called out, alarmed.

Neal was very close to knocking the log on the other side out of place and Peter was worried that if it came out the bed would crash down on Neal. He could still see Neal's face and he tried to make eye contact with him but Neal had his eyes tightly shut and his chin tucked into his chest. His fists were clenched and pulled up to his forehead protectively. Neal's whole body was trembling.

Peter got up and turned to June.

"What are we going to do?" He asked askance. "He seemed to recognize me at first, but now he's off in his own world. Do you want to see if you can get through to him?"

June nodded and bent down so her head was level with Neal's.

"Neal, darling. It's June, can you hear me?" She called out in a comforting tone of voice. "Neal, everything's all right. Open your eyes, dear and look at me."

To her relief Neal moved his head and looked up at her.

"That's it Neal. I'm over here, dear. Would you come over so I can see you more clearly, please?"

Slowly Neal seemed to surface from his dream state and he slid carefully over the floor until his face was almost next to June's. June smiled gently and reached out to stroke his cheek.

"That's better." She said encouragingly. "Now, how about sliding out so I can get up, my knees are hurting a bit. Won't you come out now, dear?"

June moved back to allow Neal to slide out completely. Peter bent down and gently put his hands under Neal's arms, lifting him up off the floor. Neal's shirt was down around his shoulders and Peter pulled it up and gathered it together. He put his hands on Neal's cheeks and turned his face so he was looking directly at him.

"Welcome back, Bud. What you doing down there?" He asked gently.

Neal looked at him with a dazed expression. He seemed uncertain of what was happening. Peter took him by the hand and led him over to the sofa and sat him down.

"How about, you stay here with June while I get the bed back to normal and then we'll get you into something cleaner, okay?" He asked, looking over Neal's disheveled clothing. His shirt was torn and covered in charcoal stains, his pants were the same and he only had one shoe on.

June went to the bathroom to get a wet wash cloth and wiped Neal's face clean. He watched her carefully as she folded it over and then used it on his hands. Peter moved around the bed, picking up each corner in turn and kicking the logs out before lowering it down again. When he was finished he pulled the covers back and collected Neal's t-shirt and silk pajama bottoms and brought them over to June.

"Do you think you could get him into these while I straighten things out a bit?"

"Surely," June replied and turned to Neal with a calming smile.

"Here now, let's take that old shirt off and get you more comfortable." She said as she started to undo what buttons still remained on the shirt.

Peter could hear her in the background while he quickly moved through the apartment gathering up all the drawings and stacking them on the table. He kept glancing over at the sofa to make sure Neal was still compliant, but the young man seemed completely calm and was following June's every request without question. Peter went over to the sink and filled a glass with cold water, taking it over to Neal.

"Neal, do you think you could drink a little?" He asked, bringing the glass up to Neal's lips while cradling the back of his head.

It was a little unnerving how quiet Neal was. Something was definitely off about him. Peter had seen him shaken up before or even in shock after a particularly scary take down. But this was different. Neal's behavior seemed child like in some way. He looked from Peter to June and back as though he were trying to figure out what they wanted. He didn't appear to know who they were yet he obeyed them without comment. They got him to stand up and move back to the bed where they tucked him in, before sitting down on either side of the bed.

June brushed Neal's hair back off his forehead and asked, "Neal, do you know where you are?"

He slowly shook his head, all the time watching her.

"Do you think you could close your eyes and rest for a bit, Bud?" Peter added.

Neal turned to look at him and nodded slowly. In less than a minute Neal was sound asleep, gently snoring. Peter looked across the bed to June.

"It's time to call Mozzie." He said with a deep sigh.


TBC

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