A/N: Oneshot 5 is a White Collar family comfort oneshot. I haven't done a White Collar fic in ages!
Oneshot 5 title: A real family (White Collar)
Oneshot 5 summary: Neal gets sick so El and Peter take care of him.
White Collar Division FBI Agent Peter Burke looks over at his CI who is looking out of the window. His friend came into the office looking like death had warmed over. Diana had been the one to come up to Peter's office and demand that Caffery be taken home. "I know he's been used to handling his sicknesses on his own, but he's not alone anymore, Boss. take him home and get him better, show him that you and El care for him, just like me and Jones do." So after Diana had left his office, Peter walked out to the catwalk steps where he saw Jones making Neal a cup of honey and lemon tea and Diana was rubbing his back as the young reforming conman coughed harshly. The conman looked miserable.
A cough from Neal brings the agent out of his memories. Neal whimpers.
"Peter, I'm fine, I don't need a babysitter." Neal protests weakly. Peter sighs deeply Stubborn kid. Peter thinks to himself as he ignores Neals protests. Thankfully he doesn't have to hear his sick CI's protests about taking care of himself because he pulls up in his driveway where his beautiful wife is waiting for them. Peter kills the Tarus engine and gets out of the car and walks to the passenger side, extracting Neal as gently as he can. Neal's arm is slung around Peter's shoulder as Peter practically drags the sick man to a worrying El who ushers them into the house, shooing Satchmo into the kitchen when he starts jumping over Neal. Peter lays Neal down on the couch covering him up the blanket El has insisted that they keep on the couch for when Neal falls asleep on it when he comes over to work on the cases or to watch the games with them. The agent and his adoring wife watch as their sick conman curls into the couch, pulling the blanket up his chin and sighing in his sleep.
Neal is awoken by something licking him, and the stern "Satchmo'' that follows the licking. His blue eyes open and he feels himself lying on a familiar couch. A heavy panting is coming from beside him. Satchmo. His blue eyes widen in realization.
He's at Peter's and El's house.
"Damn it, Peter." Neal thinks to himself, sitting up and scratching the Yellow Labrador Retriever behind his ears. He shouldn't be here. He's taken care of himself for years, he doesn't need to be coddled like a toddler. He had 4 years in prison and when he got sick, he took care of himself there because no one else was going to take care of a conman were they? He's an adult and reforming conman, he's not been taken care of for a very long time and he shouldn't start getting used to it now. He sits up, feeling dizzy as hell but he shakes it off, throwing the blanket off him and standing up on wobbly legs. He uses the arm of the couch to steady himself before he realizes two things: El and Peter have taken his shoes and that his handler and his wife are nowhere in sight which isn't a bad thing considering if they saw him up and trying to escape, they'll drag his ass back to the couch. But he has no shoes on his feet which doesn't bother him.
"Come on, Caffery, you escaped a maximum security prison, how hard can it be to escape an FBI's agent's house?" He mutters to himself.
"Quite hard I'd imagine." A voice says from behind him, Neal, surprised by Peter's voice, lets out a yelp and turns around and sees Peter standing there with his arms folded across his chest, a stern look on his face. "What are you doing, Neal? You're sick." Peter says, putting a hand on his shoulder and steering him up the stairs to the guest room, the room he stays in.
Neal doesn't say anything as he's dragged around like a damn lawn mower. He's laid down on the bed that have blue sheets and pillows on, the tv sitting on the dresser is switched on before Peter joins him in the bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Neal leans against his boss, his eyes closing but before he has the chance to fall asleep again, he hears El enter the house, walking up the stairs, the smell of food wafting into the room with every step she takes. Neal's mouth practically waters at the smell of the food.
Elizabeth Burke enters the room that she and her husband have begun to call 'Neals room' behind his back and smiles at the sight of her two boys in the bed with Neals head resting on Peter's shoulder with her husband's arm around the boy's shoulder.
"Guys, I've brought food." El says, holding up a bag of food. She watches as her boys look up at the bag of food. El walks over to the desk and sorts the food into three piles. "Soup for Neal, Sweet and sour for Peter and Chow Mein for me." El says, placing their food on a tray and carrying it to the bed. She sits on the other side of Neal and hands him his soup.
"Thanks, El." Neal says before eating the soup.
El and Peter both smile as they watch Neal fall asleep beside them.
"Thanks for being my real family." their boy says softly before his head drops onto Peter's shoulder, his blue eyes dropping closed with a smile on his face.
A\N: My first White Collar oneshot, hope you enjoy this one and all the others I have posted and having coming out. Enjoy, Angels.