The next few weeks were a blur to Peter. The private waiting room had become a second home to Peter, who stayed there almost constantly. It had reached a point that the nurses had brought a cot in for him to sleep so he didn't have to keep sleeping upright in the chairs. Mozz visited often, even though he hated hospitals. El had stayed the first few days but had to go back to work. She'd visit for a few hours each night making sure Peter was eating.
Hughes had given him time off knowing he would be too distracted to focus on any new cases. Peter spent his time reading, which was one of the few things that would take his mind off of Neal. Other times he would just sit at Neal's side and wonder when he would wake up.
A lot of the bruising had healed as well as many of the cuts and scrapes. Many times the doctor came in giving medical information which made no sense to Peter, but at this point he knew that Neal could be permanently paralyzed, but it could be temporary, they wouldn't know until he wakes up and they try physical therapy and possibly another surgery. He might also have frostbite from the freezer he was locked in; they also won't know that until he wakes up. They also are unsure of how he will be mentally after he wakes up. The trauma could have permanently affected his personality.
Peter talked to his friend, unsure if he could hear or not. Peter told him about Collins case, about baseball games, about Satchmo's adventure escaping the house. It was a way to pass the time, and it helped Peter cope.
"Sir?" The nurse asked shaking Peters arm. He had gotten tired and went to take a nap in the waiting room.
"Hmm?" He rolled over and sat up.
"His heart rate is increasing, which could mean he's going to wake up soon," the nurse informed him.
Peter nodded and went into Neal's room. "Neal?" he asked quietly to see if it would rouse the unconscious man.
The heart monitor beeped a bit faster so Peter kept talking to see if Neal would fully wake up, "Neal, it's me, Peter. You are okay now, alright? You can wake up. You are in the hospital. Everyone has been here to visit, even Hughes. We all want you to wake up and come back. I miss you," he admitted.
He looked at the man in the bed, he looked so young. Finally, he saw an eyelid twitch.
"Neal?" he asked again, hoping for a response.
Neal slowly opened his eyes and focused on Peter.
"Peter?" he quietly choked out.
"Yeah Neal, let's get you some water," Peter put a glass to Neal's lips and helped him take a few sips of water.
"I knew you'd find me," Neal whispered to Peter giving a weak smile.
"We almost didn't find you in time," Peter admitted.
Neal looked at his wrists, red scars wrapped around; a reminder of his kidnapping.
He rubbed his fingers against his thumb, "my fingertips are numb," Neal observed, with a questioning voice behind it.
"Your fingertips might always be numb, you got frostbite from a freezer," Peter replied answering his friend.
Neal shivered and nodded, "How long was I out?"
"Over a month," Peter confessed.
"And how long was I…?" Neal trailed off.
Peter knew what his friend was asking, "It was 3-4 days. Do you remember what happened?"
Neal nodded, "there are some gaps, but some things are there," he closed his eyes trying to focus.
"The doctor said that you had been given laxatives and had lost about 10 pounds while you were there. You had bruises, cuts, and scrapes all over your body. We weren't sure about the damage from the frostbite, but we saw the freezer they had you in. When I got there, you were duct taped to the seat of the car with the car headed off a cliff. I shot the tire out, hoping it would put you in the bushes, but the car flipped. I pulled you out of the car and your heart stopped, and I performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. You coded 3 more times that day," Peter updated his friend. He felt a bit guilty about the car flipping, but he knew it was better than the car flying off a 50 ft. drop.
Neal thought for a moment, unsure if he was ready to ask, but Peter seemed to read his mind, "They aren't sure about your back yet. The doctor is hopeful that they can bring your feeling back and have you back to walking but it will take time, and maybe another surgery or two. It all depends on how your body reacts to the treatments."
Neal gave a small smile at the news of hope and replied, "Guess you don't have to worry about me running now," he quietly joked.
"You might be stuck doing mortgage fraud cases for a while," Peter half joked back.
"Hey Peter," Neal said after a few moments, "I feel like I saw Kate, like she was there calling for me," He admitted to his friend.
"You told me you'd be ok, you'd be with Kate," Peter said quietly looking down. Kate had always been a touchy subject even more so since the explosion.
"You won't get rid of me that easy," Neal smiled at Peter to cheer him up.
"I just thought I'd lost you, you died in my arms," Peter looked away.
"Hey, look at me." Neal told Peter, "you can't get rid of me that easily."
"Says the man who keeps running from me," Peter said sarcastically, starting to cheer up. He knew Neal needed him to stay positive right now.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this," Neal told Peter.
"Neal, this was a mad man after your life for nothing you did. You have nothing to be sorry about, just focus on healing," Peter urged.
"As I sat in that room, I wondered if there was more I could have done to protect Isabelle in the car. Or if maybe this was karma for the things I had done in the past," Neal admitted.
"You did not deserve this. Sure you stole things, and made forgeries, but you never killed anyone, you never hurt others. You don't deserve this, Neal. I don't care how long it takes, I will convince you of that and I will be here to help you walk again."
"Thank you," Neal gave a small smile. He had a long way to go to be able to walk again, and to be able to get past what happened with Collins, but he knew he had a great friend beside him to help him through it.