Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and encouragement I've received. This chapter is so bittersweet and unfortunately the next one is going to be too... The new Burke family has a tough time ahead of them.

The child's brows furrowed. He drew on their walls and they wanted to adopt him? 'No no no no no' he thought. Good things like that don't happen to bad boys like him; and that was what he was: just a bad boy. That's what his aunt told him he was, that's what his uncle told him he was, that's all he was. And now as he sat there on the kind woman's lap, he didn't even deserve anything they had given him. He didn't deserve the food, the bed, the presents, or the clothes. But despite all these complex thoughts the little boy was thinking, all he could say was, "I'm too much trouble. I'm not worth it," he managed with a downcast sigh. The Burke's were a good family; Neal wanted to save them before they bought in to his mischief.

Both El and Peter's hopeful faces fell; El's fell into a pitiful look while Peter's fell into confusion. "What do you mean sweetie? Just because you drew on the walls doesn't mean you're a bad boy! You're just a little kid, of course you will make mistakes, but you're not too much trouble and you're definitely worth it!" The woman said kindly. When the look on the child's face showed he was not convinced, she continued, "Neal, listen to me. You are a polite, clever, and very lovable young boy and we would be happy to adopt you if you'll only give us a chance."

The child's face glowed dimly with the slightest hope before he turned to Peter and a look of remembrance came over his big blue eyes. His prospective father was a federal agent and he was a tiny criminal.

"But, but I've done worse things than color on the wall… so bad that Peter could put me in jail!" Neal squeaked guiltily. Even as a small child he understood that the things he did: swindling his way into luxurious hotel rooms, picking pockets, and impersonating a boy scout to steal money from families, were very bad crimes. A few of his dark bangs hung over his eyes as if to hide his shame and he peered at Peter from underneath them. The worst part, however, was that he didn't feel guilty for committing the crimes, but rather that Peter might find out about them and be disappointed. It was fun to lie and stay in the giant, richly decorated rooms or steal from unsuspecting victims, although he would never admit that to the adults now hovering over him.

"Neal, no matter what you have done, you can't go to jail; you're only five. And besides I'm sure nothing is too bad and as long as you tell Elizabeth and me what you did and apologize for it, we will always forgive you," he gave a reassuring smile towards the timid child and then added, "I promise."

Elizabeth, who had been comforting the child by gently rubbing his back, now pulled Neal into a little squeeze of a hug. "I agree with my husband one hundred percent cutie. With your adorable face, nothing you do could be so bad that Peter and I couldn't forgive you," she said light heartedly.

The little boy looked up to the adults with tears sparkling in his vibrant blue eyes. "You really mean it?" When Neal received their nodding consent he decided to take advantage of his opportunity. "Well I lied and snuck into multiple expensive hotel suites, stole from a lot of people by picking their pockets, broke into that boy's house and stole his boy scout uniform, and then conned people into buying Cracker Jacks even though they weren't gonna get any!" he puffed out in one small, quick breath. Neal put his fist up to his mouth and chewed on his knuckles along with giving the most adorable puppy dog eyes he could muster. He figured if the Burkes were going to revoke their decision, now might be the time.

At first both Peter and his wife could do nothing but stare in shock at the tiny tyke who sat in El's lap. How could such a young child manage all of this? Why was he left on his own in the streets to fend for himself? These answers would only come with time, and that was something the Burkes were still willing to give in order to mend the boy's crooked life. "Neal, why would you do all of this?" Peter asked although he was sure he knew the answer. Elizabeth shot her husband a look signifying that she knew the answer as well and didn't want to hear it from the boy's mouth. Surely it would just end up breaking both of their hearts even more.

"I'm sorwy but I had too!" Neal cried with a little tear escaping down his rosy cheek. "I had to weave and run away and then I was on my own! I knew that if adult people found me then they would bring me back but I can't go back! So all I could do was steal so I wouldn't starve and con my way into hotels!" He took his little fists and rubbed at his eyes trying to make the tears go away. Peter and Elizabeth were gonna throw him away now that they knew, and then he was going to have to go back to where he came from. "Pwease don't make me go back! Pwease!" he wailed not able to hold back his tears anymore.

With a thoroughly broken heart Elizabeth pulled the small boy so that she was holding him with his face buried into her neck and her arms wrapped around him. She shushed him as she rocked gently back and forth, and for the life of him, Peter could not figure out how she naturally knew how to calm the child. The awkward man was so thankful for his wonderful, beautiful wife because if she weren't there he would be totally lost. In his defense, it was only children that gave him this discomfort; if this were a hard boiled case then he could crack it in an instant.

"It's okay Baby, we won't make you go back. We already said we would adopt you and we haven't changed our minds," El said soothingly as Neal's cries diminished a little.

Then of course Agent Burke had to press on further with more questions, "Neal, I promise we will still try to adopt you, but you have to tell us where you came from. Who did you live with before? Did you run away from them? Why did you run away?" Once again, Peter was not adequately equipped to deal with children and these rapidly fired questions only caused to make the child's wails return just as strong as ever. His interrogation even earned him a glare from El which he returned with a sheepish look meaning he was sorry. Elizabeth just continued rocking the boy while hushing him and telling him everything would be alright.

After more than a few minutes, Neal's cries finally subsided into tiny sniffles. He had gotten tears and spit and all kinds of gross stuff on Elizabeth's shirt and he was very sorry and ashamed although he couldn't bring himself to say so. It felt so nice in Elizabeth's loving arms and the small child couldn't remember the last time he had been held like that. He thought back as far as he could and figured that the last time he had been held like that was before his dad died. Memories of his younger childhood flooded back to him and he wanted to cry again, but the combination of El's hand running through his hair, Peter steadily rubbing his back, and his pure exhaustion and depletion of tears persuaded him to keep his cool. Instead he stayed quiet and clung around the motherly figures neck.

"Come on Neal, let's go lay down for a nap. You're tired aren't you buddy?" Elizabeth asked gently.

The normal headstrong Neal would've shouted 'No! Naps are for babies and I'm a big boy!' but this time he submitted without any protest and simply nodded his tiny head into El's chest.

Elizabeth stood from their place on the couch and made her way upstairs to put Neal to bed. Peter still sat on the couch and placed his heavy head in his hands. His thoughts fretted over everything that had happened today and all that little Neal had said. How could such a young child have experienced a painful enough past that he would choose to run away to the streets? From bits and pieces of Neal's outbursts, the resourceful agent could piece together that the boy had suffered some form of abuse and had not been cared for properly. Obviously his guardians hadn't even cared when their charge had run away! It made him furious to think of such heartless people, but yet it saddened him to think of traumatized Neal. Peter Burke longed to get to the bottom of this mystery and mend the child's broken soul.

Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review! Constructive criticism, suggestions, and thoughts about the chapter are all welcome and very much appreciated!