Fic Alphabet Challenge: Letter D: Drowning (Gen)
Alphabet Challenge: Letter D
Prompt: Drowning (WC: 608)
Fandom: White Collar
Timeline: Anytime Neal's on anklet and working with Peter
Pairing: Gen
Summary: Neal tried to stay out of the way, but that didn't stop a bullet for hitting him and causing him to fall into the river. He can't seem to find his way to the surface though.
Notes: I've been doing a little self-invented challenge on my Tumblr to write at least two drabble/ficlets a day using alphabetical prompts culled mostly from H/C Bingo on LJ and Gen Prompt Bingo on DW. Each day is brought to you by a different letter. I'm going to start cross-posting the WC ficlets :) Also, many, many thanks to pooh_collector for inspiring this one and finding the West 79th Street Boat Basin for me.
Neal couldn't believe that this case was ending on a boat in the Hudson River. The White Collar team had been chasing down an embezzler named Jerry Holland, who had decided to flee the city using his boat. Peter, Neal, and Jones had all jumped on the boat before the suspect could get out of his slip at the West 79th Street Boat Basin.
Jones and Peter immediately tried to overpower Holland, but he pulled a gun and started waving it around as he simultaneously tried to steer out to open water. Neal had expected this takedown to be quick and firearm-less, but he was along for the ride now, so he tried to stay back and out of the way for the moment.
"Put the gun down!" Peter shouted, which only made Holland angrier.
"Get the hell off my boat!"
"Put the gun down!" Peter repeated. "You don't want to hurt anyone, especially not a federal agent. Drop the gun, and step away from the wheel."
Holland cursed when he saw the Coast Guard moving into position down river to cut off his exit point. He let go of the wheel, spun around and fired twice before Jones got a shot off that hit Holland in the shoulder and caused him to finally drop his gun.
Holland's first shot had gone wide but the second had hit Neal in the thigh. It knocked him off balance, sending him crashing into the cold water, and the pain had stolen his breath so quickly that he didn't even have a chance to scream.
He inhaled a mouthful of water as he sank in the river, and instinct caused him to kick for the surface. Pain lanced through his leg, but he had to get to the top so that he could breathe. When his head broke the surface, he coughed and sputtered. He managed to take in some air before slipping back under.
It was awful. He struggled to make it back to the surface, but his leg was refusing to cooperate, and the cold water had sucked the strength from his muscles. His arms went down to his sides as he tried to push against the water, but there was no leverage to use to get back to the top. His lungs burned as his vision started to dim.
Suddenly, there was an arm around his chest and he was being pulled up. As soon as he felt air on his face, he weakly sucked in a breath and then coughed explosively. It took several long moments for his body to calm enough for him to hear Peter's steady string of encouragements.
"That's it, Neal. Cough it out. Breathe. Slowly. In, and then out. You're okay. Everything's going to be okay."
He couldn't respond until the Coast Guard had pulled them both onto one of their boats and medics had tended to his wound and wrapped blankets around Neal's shivering body. "Peter?" he said, when he saw his handler sit down beside him, wrapped in his own layer of blankets.
"You okay?" Peter asked.
Neal nodded jerkily, still trembling.
Peter nodded back and patted Neal on the chest. "Just relax. We're docking in a minute, and then we'll get you to the hospital. The medics said the leg wound didn't look bad, but it's hard to tell much after you took that swim."
Neal wanted to protest that it wasn't his fault, but he was too tired and cold to do much more than chatter his teeth. With Peter's hand securely on his shoulder, Neal knew he was in good hands and tried his best to relax.
~End
Prompt: Drowning (WC: 608)
Fandom: White Collar
Timeline: Anytime Neal's on anklet and working with Peter
Pairing: Gen
Summary: Neal tried to stay out of the way, but that didn't stop a bullet for hitting him and causing him to fall into the river. He can't seem to find his way to the surface though.
Notes: I've been doing a little self-invented challenge on my Tumblr to write at least two drabble/ficlets a day using alphabetical prompts culled mostly from H/C Bingo on LJ and Gen Prompt Bingo on DW. Each day is brought to you by a different letter. I'm going to start cross-posting the WC ficlets :) Also, many, many thanks to pooh_collector for inspiring this one and finding the West 79th Street Boat Basin for me.
Neal couldn't believe that this case was ending on a boat in the Hudson River. The White Collar team had been chasing down an embezzler named Jerry Holland, who had decided to flee the city using his boat. Peter, Neal, and Jones had all jumped on the boat before the suspect could get out of his slip at the West 79th Street Boat Basin.
Jones and Peter immediately tried to overpower Holland, but he pulled a gun and started waving it around as he simultaneously tried to steer out to open water. Neal had expected this takedown to be quick and firearm-less, but he was along for the ride now, so he tried to stay back and out of the way for the moment.
"Put the gun down!" Peter shouted, which only made Holland angrier.
"Get the hell off my boat!"
"Put the gun down!" Peter repeated. "You don't want to hurt anyone, especially not a federal agent. Drop the gun, and step away from the wheel."
Holland cursed when he saw the Coast Guard moving into position down river to cut off his exit point. He let go of the wheel, spun around and fired twice before Jones got a shot off that hit Holland in the shoulder and caused him to finally drop his gun.
Holland's first shot had gone wide but the second had hit Neal in the thigh. It knocked him off balance, sending him crashing into the cold water, and the pain had stolen his breath so quickly that he didn't even have a chance to scream.
He inhaled a mouthful of water as he sank in the river, and instinct caused him to kick for the surface. Pain lanced through his leg, but he had to get to the top so that he could breathe. When his head broke the surface, he coughed and sputtered. He managed to take in some air before slipping back under.
It was awful. He struggled to make it back to the surface, but his leg was refusing to cooperate, and the cold water had sucked the strength from his muscles. His arms went down to his sides as he tried to push against the water, but there was no leverage to use to get back to the top. His lungs burned as his vision started to dim.
Suddenly, there was an arm around his chest and he was being pulled up. As soon as he felt air on his face, he weakly sucked in a breath and then coughed explosively. It took several long moments for his body to calm enough for him to hear Peter's steady string of encouragements.
"That's it, Neal. Cough it out. Breathe. Slowly. In, and then out. You're okay. Everything's going to be okay."
He couldn't respond until the Coast Guard had pulled them both onto one of their boats and medics had tended to his wound and wrapped blankets around Neal's shivering body. "Peter?" he said, when he saw his handler sit down beside him, wrapped in his own layer of blankets.
"You okay?" Peter asked.
Neal nodded jerkily, still trembling.
Peter nodded back and patted Neal on the chest. "Just relax. We're docking in a minute, and then we'll get you to the hospital. The medics said the leg wound didn't look bad, but it's hard to tell much after you took that swim."
Neal wanted to protest that it wasn't his fault, but he was too tired and cold to do much more than chatter his teeth. With Peter's hand securely on his shoulder, Neal knew he was in good hands and tried his best to relax.
~End