White Collar fic "By your side", Chapter 4
Please read the introductory guide at Chapter 1!
It's time for a new (short) chapter. I hope you like it. As always I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
New York, 2020
One year anniversary
Time flies, Peter thought while he watched Elizabeth and Neal Jr standing in front of the grave. They had just put down some flowers and now stood silently there, each of them lost in thoughts. Today was the first anniversary of Neal and Linda's day of their death. More or less. As a matter of fact, Neal had died one day after Linda, but right now that wasn't important. Peter shook his head and sighed. It still hurts like hell, though. So much had happened but still he had a hard time realizing that Neal and Linda were really gone. Looking at Elizabeth's face told him that she felt the same. Thinking back to the day after that horrible accident created goose bumps on Peter's arms.
Maggie and Richard had come to the Burkes, trying to figure out how to tell Junior what had happened to his parents. Dr. Wesley had called around 9 am telling Peter that the results of Neal's tests had been back but unfortunately there had been no improvement. They all had been utterly devastated by then, but they had agreed to come to the hospital to say their goodbyes. After Peter had ended the call, he had needed some time to think and had gone to the patio. He had had to inform June and Mozzie as well as his boss and his colleagues. Each call had been worse than the previous one and it was after talking to June that he finally broke down in Elizabeth's arms, crying together with her for the loss of his late best friend. Junior had been in shock and crying badly too. Luckily Maggie and Richard had been there to soothe the pain. In the end, they all had agreed to not tell him all the details and so Neal had believed that his parents were on a long journey. In due course they would explain the truth. When they had arrived at the hospital, Peter hadn't been able to believe his eyes at first, seeing Reese, Diana, Jones, June and Moz waiting together in front of Neal's room. One after another had spent some time with Neal, to say their fare-wells to the former con man that had become part of the big family over the years. Later that afternoon, the life support machine had stopped and Neal's heart soon after that.
The next days had been in a blur for Peter, between arranging the funerals and the legal measures concerning Neal's bakery. Besides that, Neal had been the owner of a security engineering company he had founded after his four years at the FBI had ended. With Mozzie as Neal's associate on both companies, the bald man was willing to run the businesses also because of Neal Jr. With all that stuff on his hands, Peter also had tried to catch up with the police about the ongoing investigation. Reading the medical reports from the hospital had Peter shocked because he had figured out the reason why Neal had been so excited the days before the accident. Linda had been pregnant again and apparently the couple had been taking advantage of that special occasion to celebrate the wedding anniversary and the pregnancy on that evening.
And then, after everything had been back to normal (as normal as things could get after such a tragedy), Peter had asked for some vacation days and had taken the time with Elizabeth to visit his and her parents. Between nightfall and day break Peter had had to learn painfully how important family was and how fast everything could be destroyed. Maggie and Richard had taken care of Neal Jr who had moved in with his grandparents. But that had also meant relocation for the young child and almost a one hour drive for Peter and Elizabeth in case they wanted to visit him.
After four months Peter had received another disturbing call. This time from Richard, who had informed him that Junior had been taken to the hospital after the kid had been injured. The consequence of Neal's fall down from a tree had been a broken arm and the decision that Peter and Elizabeth wanted to become Junior's legal guardians. The meeting with Maggie and Richard to discuss their idea had been very much appreciated by the grandparents due to the fact that both of them were too old to handle a young child on a 24/7 basis.
That agreement had caused another relocation for Neal after the arrangement had been official, but this time it was supposed to be the last movement for a very long time. Even though the boy had been happy to be with the Burkes most of the time, of course the first few weeks had been troubled as well because the child had been home sick after all. The grief of having lost both parents not so long ago was still noticeable. All the more with the first Christmas without his beloved Mommy and Daddy coming up. Those days had been very hard for the boy who had spent most of the holidays crying in his room. Over the course of the next months, it became more and more obvious that Neal longed for "his" family, calling Elizabeth accidentally "Mommy" from time to time. Being a smart child, Neal had surprised them with his answer after they had asked him about his wish for his upcoming birthday. He hadn't wanted much expensive gifts at all. All he was asking for was if the Burkes would want to adopt him. That option had never been a topic for Peter and Elizabeth before and so they had needed time to reconsider, since it had never occurred to them how important this theme seemed to be for young Neal.
Trying to oblige that wish, Peter had asked Mozzie for help. Mozzie, an orphan himself and attorney with an internet diploma had immediately stepped into action. As confusing the man was to him most of the time, Mozzie had showed his great heart and affection towards the child on more than one occasion. The bureaucracy demands had been huge, with several interviews with child service and a judge. Above all, June had been a tremendous help, stepping in whenever the Burkes had been in need of a babysitter, a helping hand or simply a shoulder to lean on. Because the judge had wanted to talk to Neal as well, the boy knew what was going on, but didn't quite understand why everything was taking so long. Therefore Neal had repeatedly asked about the adoption, but so far, the judicial decision hadn't come in yet.
Peter was brought back to reality when he felt a small hand clutching his left and he looked down at two blue eyes. "Hey buddy," he smiled.
"The flowers," Neal said.
"Huh?" Peter was confused.
"The flowers," Neal repeated. "You still have the flowers. Don't you want to put them down?"
"Oh," Peter grinned slightly embarrassed and looked at his right hand. "You're right. I was...distracted," he said after clearing his throat.
Elizabeth winked at him as he stepped beside her. "You seemed to be zoned out," she said as she grabbed his left arm for a moment.
"How long have you two been looking at me?" he asked and knelt down to arrange the flowers.
"Just a few minutes. Are you okay?"
Standing up again and looking at his wife and godson, Peter nodded. "I am now."
To be continued...
It's time for a new (short) chapter. I hope you like it. As always I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
New York, 2020
One year anniversary
Time flies, Peter thought while he watched Elizabeth and Neal Jr standing in front of the grave. They had just put down some flowers and now stood silently there, each of them lost in thoughts. Today was the first anniversary of Neal and Linda's day of their death. More or less. As a matter of fact, Neal had died one day after Linda, but right now that wasn't important. Peter shook his head and sighed. It still hurts like hell, though. So much had happened but still he had a hard time realizing that Neal and Linda were really gone. Looking at Elizabeth's face told him that she felt the same. Thinking back to the day after that horrible accident created goose bumps on Peter's arms.
Maggie and Richard had come to the Burkes, trying to figure out how to tell Junior what had happened to his parents. Dr. Wesley had called around 9 am telling Peter that the results of Neal's tests had been back but unfortunately there had been no improvement. They all had been utterly devastated by then, but they had agreed to come to the hospital to say their goodbyes. After Peter had ended the call, he had needed some time to think and had gone to the patio. He had had to inform June and Mozzie as well as his boss and his colleagues. Each call had been worse than the previous one and it was after talking to June that he finally broke down in Elizabeth's arms, crying together with her for the loss of his late best friend. Junior had been in shock and crying badly too. Luckily Maggie and Richard had been there to soothe the pain. In the end, they all had agreed to not tell him all the details and so Neal had believed that his parents were on a long journey. In due course they would explain the truth. When they had arrived at the hospital, Peter hadn't been able to believe his eyes at first, seeing Reese, Diana, Jones, June and Moz waiting together in front of Neal's room. One after another had spent some time with Neal, to say their fare-wells to the former con man that had become part of the big family over the years. Later that afternoon, the life support machine had stopped and Neal's heart soon after that.
The next days had been in a blur for Peter, between arranging the funerals and the legal measures concerning Neal's bakery. Besides that, Neal had been the owner of a security engineering company he had founded after his four years at the FBI had ended. With Mozzie as Neal's associate on both companies, the bald man was willing to run the businesses also because of Neal Jr. With all that stuff on his hands, Peter also had tried to catch up with the police about the ongoing investigation. Reading the medical reports from the hospital had Peter shocked because he had figured out the reason why Neal had been so excited the days before the accident. Linda had been pregnant again and apparently the couple had been taking advantage of that special occasion to celebrate the wedding anniversary and the pregnancy on that evening.
And then, after everything had been back to normal (as normal as things could get after such a tragedy), Peter had asked for some vacation days and had taken the time with Elizabeth to visit his and her parents. Between nightfall and day break Peter had had to learn painfully how important family was and how fast everything could be destroyed. Maggie and Richard had taken care of Neal Jr who had moved in with his grandparents. But that had also meant relocation for the young child and almost a one hour drive for Peter and Elizabeth in case they wanted to visit him.
After four months Peter had received another disturbing call. This time from Richard, who had informed him that Junior had been taken to the hospital after the kid had been injured. The consequence of Neal's fall down from a tree had been a broken arm and the decision that Peter and Elizabeth wanted to become Junior's legal guardians. The meeting with Maggie and Richard to discuss their idea had been very much appreciated by the grandparents due to the fact that both of them were too old to handle a young child on a 24/7 basis.
That agreement had caused another relocation for Neal after the arrangement had been official, but this time it was supposed to be the last movement for a very long time. Even though the boy had been happy to be with the Burkes most of the time, of course the first few weeks had been troubled as well because the child had been home sick after all. The grief of having lost both parents not so long ago was still noticeable. All the more with the first Christmas without his beloved Mommy and Daddy coming up. Those days had been very hard for the boy who had spent most of the holidays crying in his room. Over the course of the next months, it became more and more obvious that Neal longed for "his" family, calling Elizabeth accidentally "Mommy" from time to time. Being a smart child, Neal had surprised them with his answer after they had asked him about his wish for his upcoming birthday. He hadn't wanted much expensive gifts at all. All he was asking for was if the Burkes would want to adopt him. That option had never been a topic for Peter and Elizabeth before and so they had needed time to reconsider, since it had never occurred to them how important this theme seemed to be for young Neal.
Trying to oblige that wish, Peter had asked Mozzie for help. Mozzie, an orphan himself and attorney with an internet diploma had immediately stepped into action. As confusing the man was to him most of the time, Mozzie had showed his great heart and affection towards the child on more than one occasion. The bureaucracy demands had been huge, with several interviews with child service and a judge. Above all, June had been a tremendous help, stepping in whenever the Burkes had been in need of a babysitter, a helping hand or simply a shoulder to lean on. Because the judge had wanted to talk to Neal as well, the boy knew what was going on, but didn't quite understand why everything was taking so long. Therefore Neal had repeatedly asked about the adoption, but so far, the judicial decision hadn't come in yet.
Peter was brought back to reality when he felt a small hand clutching his left and he looked down at two blue eyes. "Hey buddy," he smiled.
"The flowers," Neal said.
"Huh?" Peter was confused.
"The flowers," Neal repeated. "You still have the flowers. Don't you want to put them down?"
"Oh," Peter grinned slightly embarrassed and looked at his right hand. "You're right. I was...distracted," he said after clearing his throat.
Elizabeth winked at him as he stepped beside her. "You seemed to be zoned out," she said as she grabbed his left arm for a moment.
"How long have you two been looking at me?" he asked and knelt down to arrange the flowers.
"Just a few minutes. Are you okay?"
Standing up again and looking at his wife and godson, Peter nodded. "I am now."
To be continued...