Take over control
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: None
Characters: Neal, Peter, El
Warning/genre: (emotional)hurt/comfort, eating disorder, coma, de-age, slavery, family, implied non-con, trust issues
Spoilers: none
Rating: NC-13
Author's Notes: This story is written for the February Challenge in H/C bingo. My squares were hurt/comfort, eating disorder, coma, de-age, wild card (slavery). This story is a sequel to Easier to begin than to quit. I guess the story will make more sense if you read that story first.
Word Count: ~4050
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Neal is in an accident, something happens during his recovery that makes him rethink the way he thinks about his Masters.
Story can also be found on AO3
Neal was with his new owners for three weeks now. He hadn´t made much progress in gaining weight. He treally tries, but old habits die hard. And although it makes his heart warm when he sees the little notes his mistress leaves him, he still finds it hard to trust his new masters. His gut feeling tells him they are good people, but his brain takes his thoughts to dark places. It tells him he is looking gorgeous, it tells him his masters wat him healthy so hey can use and abuse him better.
Neal startles out of his thoughts when Peter enters the house.
“Hi Neal, how was your day?”
“Fine master.”
Peter studies him for a second before nodding. It makes Neal uncomfortable. Maybe his master is getting fed up with his useless slave.
“How was your day, master?”
“Good, we cracked that case I have been telling you about, so it was a very productive day.”
Peter walks into the kitchen and prepares a plate with snack food and a smoothie. He walks back to Neal and puts the plate in front of him; while taking a piece of salami and popping it in his mouth.
“So what did you do today?”
“I sketched Satchmo.”
“Can I see it?”
“Of course, Master.” Neal hand sover his sketchbook.
“These are amazing Neal, you have so much talent. El is going to love them.”
Peter picks up a grape and holds it before Neal´s mouth, who opens up and slowly chews on the fruit.
“Did you take your vitamins?”
Neal nods.
“Care to go out to walk Satchmo?”
Neal thinks about it and agrees. Peter gets his warm wintercoat, hat, scarf, mitts and winterboots. It isn´t that it is this cold, but with Neal´s low body weight, he is always cold. Peter makes a mental note to buy Neal his own stuff; all his clothes are too big on Neal´s thin frame.
Peter helps Neal downstairs and into the wheelchair and they walk Sacthmo to the park. While Peter lets the dog free in the dog play pen, he asks Neal to watch the dog. He walks over to the vendor who is selling hot beverages and order a cup of coffee and tea. He dumps five lumps of sugar in the tea before closing the lid.
He sits down next to Neal and hands him the tea.
“It´s your favourite, Maroccan Mint. They didn´t have honey, but I added sugar.”
“Thank you Master.”
They watch Satchmo play with the other dogs while they sip their drinks. Peter is pleased to see Neal finishes his tea. At least he has some sugar in him.
“Let´s go back jome before you get cold.”
Neal nods and calls Satchmo. They are good to go home.
Home…
* * *
Neal is reading on his bed, Elizabeth and Peter have left for work. They made him eat some yoghurt and fruits and a cup of tea with sugar. He feels good and when Satchmo starts whining, he tells the dog he will take him for a walk. He liked the park where Peter took him yesterday.
He takes Satchmo`s leash and Peter´s winter coat and slowly starts for the park. It isn´t far but he is completely spend when they arrive. Just as he want to let Satchmo of the leash, the dog sees a squirrel and chases after it. Neal is not expecting the movement and is dragged with Satchmo, trying to follow, he doesn´t notice the car that approaches.
* * *
Peter sighs annoyed, he called the house several times and Neal isn´t answering the phone. The first time he assumed Neal was sleeping, but now he is getting worried. Maybe something happened. He is just about to check on Neal, when his cell phone rings.
“Burke.”
“Am I speaking to Peter Burke, owner of Neal Cafrrey?”
“Yes you are.”
“My name is Francine Thomas and I work at as a nurse at Brooklyn Hospital Center. Your slave was hit by a car and brought into our ER.”
“I`m on my way.”
“Sir…”
Peter hangs up and hurries to his car. On his way over, he calls El to tell her to meet him at the hospital. When he arrives at the hospital, he rushes in.
“My slave was brought in. My name is Peter Burke.”
The nurse checks her computer, “Yes, he was brought in, he is in surgery. Please proceed to the surgical ward, where they will be able to tell you more.”
“Thank you.”
Before Peter can go to the elevators, he is called by El. She comes running towards him and he hugs her.
“What happened? Where is he?”
“I don´t know, I was told to head over to the surgical ward.”
“Let´s go then.”
They are met by an OR nurse who guides them to the surgical waiting area.
“Owners of Neal Caffrey?”
“That´s us. Do you know what happened?”
“I was told that your slave ran with your dog in front of a car.”
El gasps, “Satchmo was there to? Do you know where he is?”
“The EMT that took care of Neal told me that your dog was taken to a local vet. He gave me this telephone number.” she hands Elizabeth a piece of paper with a telephone number.
“You go call El, I will stay here.” Peter tells El.
“What are his injuries?”
“As far as I know, he has a broken arm, a deeply bruised leg and some cracked ribs. But the most severe injury is his head injury. He hit the road pretty hard. The doctor will be out when they are able to tell you more.”
“Thank you.”
“You can wait here, there is a coffee machine around the corner.”
Peter nods his appreciation and walks towards Elizabeth.
“How is Satchmo?”
“He is fine, he wasn´t hurt. They suggested that they take care of him until we are able to pick him up. How is Neal?”
“They are operating, but he has a broken arm and cracked ribs, they are concerned about his head injury, but they will tell us when they have news.”
“Want some coffee?”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
Peter gets them both coffee and sits down next to El.
“Do you think he will be alright? He has been through so much, how will this affect him?”
“I don´t know El, I really don´t. Let´s wait until we know more.”
They sit and wait until a woman in scrubs walks up to them.
“Owners of Neal Caffrey?”
“That is us.” El and Peter stand up.
“Neal was brought to us after he was hit by a car. We set his arm and the cuts and bruises are taken care off. There isn´t much we can do about the cracked ribs. However the head injury he sustained is cause for concern. He hasn´t woken up since the accident, pressure was building under his skull and I relieved the pressure.”
“So he will be OK?”
“I placed him in a medical induced coma to allow his brain and body to rest and heal.”
Elizabeth gasps and clasps her hand over her mouth.
“However, out social worker would like to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“When we examined your slave, we noticed that he is severely malnourished.”
“That is correct, we rescued him from being euthanized at the local slave center. He was brought in as a sever abuse case. I am an FBI agent who was involved in the case. We want Neal to get better.”
“I suppose you don´t mind if we check this.”
“No, no problem, please do. We only want Neal to get better. Can we see him.”
“He is in recovery for the moment, we will be monitoring him there for at least another hour. Once we move him to the ICU, you will be allowed to see him. I suggest you go home and call us to check if he has been moved.”
“We will stay.” Peter states.
“Remember you will need to take care of yourself if you want to take care of Neal. This is not something that will be fixed overnight. You will have to take care of yourself and trust us to take care of Neal.”
Peter nods.
“Any more question?”
“No thank you.”
“You are welcome. The nurse will give you the number of the ICU.”
That said, the doctor turns and walks back into the recovery unit.
* * *
Neal startles awake. He checks his surroundings and notices he is laying in his cage at the slave center. He hasn´t been here since he was eight. He checks himself and to his horror he is a child. What happened? He… the last thing he remembers is Satchmo pulling him with him.
He must have had an accident, but why is he a child. He swallows, he remembers this cage, it was his home in the center just before he was sold. He starts to hyperventilate, this can´t be happening.
Two employees of the center enter with a woman. He already knows what is going to happen. The boy in the cage next to him is sold. He will be next. Master Adler will buy him and … there is a positive side to this, since he knows what is going to happen, he can make sure it is not going to happen again. He won´t allow himself to be used and abused again.
The boy is taken away and Neal knows he will be next. When the door opens, he turns his back to the door, maybe Master Adler will pick someone else.
“How about that one?” he hears, but it is not master Adler´s voice, it is…
“Oh yes Peter, he looks adorable.”
Mistress Elizabeth… Neal slowly turns. This is not what happened before.
The woman in front of him gasps. “Oh sweetie, aren´t you a handsome young man.”
“Can you take him out?”
“Of course, sir.”
The door of the cage is opened and Neal is told to come out.
“My name is Peter and this is my wife Elizabeth. Can you tell us your name?”
“Yes sir, my name is Neal Caffrey sir.”
At that moment, Adler enters the room. He glances over the cages and locks eyes with Neal.
“That one, I want that one.” he points at Neal.
Neal starts trembling, he has to fight the urge to crawl back into the cage, so he steps closer to Peter.
“Hold on mister, my wife and I are buying this boy.” Peter steps protectively before Neal.
“Whatever you pay for him, I will double it.”
“I´m sorry, no deal.”
Peter can see the sales person shift nervously.
“My name is Special agent Peter Burke and I am buying this slave. Let´s go.” He takes Neal´s hand and walks towards the office to take care of the paperwork, followed my Elizabeth.
While Peter takes care of the paperwork, Elizabeth waits with Neal in the waiting room. She brought a soft blue blanket that she throws around his shoulders before pulling him on her lap. She smells so good and she is warm and Neal leans into her. She lets him and cradles him.
Peter comes out and smiles at them, “Let’s go home.”
He picks Neal up from El and carries him to the car. Neal is grateful that he doesn´t have to walk since he does not own shoes.
In the car, Neal is excited and looking outside while they drive towards Brooklyn.
“We have a dog, do you like dogs, Neal?”
“Yes master.”
“Peter, drop me of at the corner, so I can get some fresh bread.”
“Sure, hon, do you want me to come?”
“No, take Neal home.”
Once the car pulls up to a house, Neal checks out the place. Peter again carries him towards the house and once they are inside, it is pleasantly warm. The moment they enter the living room, Satchmo barrels towards Peter, who pets him and then he welcomes the newcomer. Neal giggles when he Satchmo pushes his wet nose tin his face while he pushes the dog away.
“Just tell him down.”
“Down boy.”
Satchmo immediately sits down and looks expectantly.
“You can give him a treat, they are in under the sink in a tin. But only one, OK?”
“Yes Master.”
Neal happily walks towards the kitchen, gets the dog biscuit and quickly snags one for himself. He quickly puts it in his mouth but before he can chew it, Peter stands behind him.
“NEAL! Spit it out.”
Neal quickly does as he is told and tears form in his eyes. He is so hungry and the dog biscuit looked so good, but he knew he would be in trouble if they found out.
“I’m sorry master.”
“I didn´t mean to startle you Neal, but you can´t eat Satchmo´s cookies.”
“Of course not master. I´m sorry.”
“Why did you eat the dog biscuit?”
Neal cringes, he knows he is going to be punished.
“The truth Neal.”
“I was hungry, Master.”
He can see Peter´s face chance, what is it, anger, pity?
“I am sorry, I yelled at you because I don´t want you to get sick. They are not good for you, you need to eat human food.”
Neal nods, he doesn´t understand what Peter means, since he was always fed kibble in a bowl like Satchmo.
“No worries; Don´t let it happen again. Now give Satchmo his biscuit and then wait at the table.”
Neal can hear Peter bustling in the kitchen while he waits kneeling next to the table.
Something is placed on the table and then there is a hand under his arm, pulling him up.
“Neal, we don´t want you to kneel on the floor, when I ask you to wait at the table I mean , sit on the chair and wait.”
Neal sits down and can see three plates on the table. Maybe they are expecting a visitor. He sits on the chair that doesn´t have a plate. There are all sorts of foods, Neal has never seen and his stomach growls when he sees it.
Peter smiles, “You will have to wait a bit longer son, El is getting fresh bread.”
Neal nods.
When Satchmo runs to the door, Neal looks up at the door. It is El and she is carrying a big bag. Neal scrabbles towards her to take over the bag.
“It´s OK, Neal, the bag is heavy.”
“I am strong mistress, I can carry it for you.”
“OK, put the bag in the kitchen please.”
Neal carries the bag to the kitchen and this wonderful smell comes out of the bag, and again his stomach growls.
El chuckles, “That hungry, hm? Go sit down.”
Neal quickly hurries back to the table and El follows him with fresh buns, bagels and Danish. She puts the basket on the table and Peter immediately reaches over for a bun.
Neal just stares at the food.
“Well, hurry or Peter will eat everything.” El encourages the boy, putting the third plate in front of him.
“Can I?”
“Of course silly, what do you like?
Neal thinks about it. He has never had any of these things, but they all look good. But the round thing looks especially yummy.
“Can I have one of those?” he points at a donut.
“Of course you can, but maybe you should eat that one as dessert and first start with something savory. Maybe a bun with cheese or chicken salad?”
Neal nods, he really would like the donut, but his mistress knows best. She must have seen that he really wants it, because she takes a small plate and puts the donut on it. Why don´t you hold on to it, so you know it is yours.
Neal smiles, he likes that. The pulls the plate a bit closer to himself before picking a bun.
“Do you want me to put some meat or cheese on it?”
Neal pounders on the question, he never had something on his bread. Most of the time he got slave chow, and once in a while a piece of bread. But never like this.
“Maybe some cheese?”
“Sure honey, tell you what, I will put cheese on one side and on the other side I will put chicken salad. I think you will like it, I made it myself.”
“Yes, please.”
The first bite causes Neal to moan.
“I guess he likes it.” El smiles at Peter.
“Do you like strawberry milk?”
“I don´t know what that is Mistress. I always drank water.”
“Try it.”
The sweet taste pulls a big smile on Neal´s face. He takes a small sip.
“It is yummy.”
“It is, isn´t. Now eat up, so you can eat your donut.” Peter smiles.
After breakfast, Neal is sort of exhausted. The amount of carbs makes him sluggish.
“Why don´t you take a nap, Neal?”
“I don´t want to, master.”
“Why wouldn´t you want to take a nap.”
“I know why you bought me master, but…I …”
Neal starts to cry.
Peter pulls him closer and rocks him.
“Hey little one, you do know, I would never hurt you. I didn´t buy you because you could serve us. We bought you because El’s friend saw you at the center and told us about you. We want you to grow up safely.”
Neal studies Peter´s face. He looks so sincere. Maybe he can trust him.
“Can I sleep on the couch?”
“Of course you can, I will ask Satchmo to guard you OK, so nothing bad can happen. Neal, you need to remember, I will not allow anyone to hurt you.”
Neal still looks unsure, but allows himself be tucked in.
“I trust you.” He mumbles already half asleep.
The blanket is so soft and warm, it doesn´t take long before he falls asleep.
* * *
Neal has a floating feeling. It is uncomfortable, he…he has had this feeling before and it was not good. Master Adler would drug him up if he wanted to play extra rough. Neal tries to open his eyes, but they feel like they are weighted down. He tries to struggle although he knows it will only gain him a severe punishment. He startles in his thoughts when a warm hand is put on top of his hand. It sounds like someone is talking to him. Neal strains to hear what they are saying, but he falls back asleep.
He wakes again what seems like ages later with someone carting their fingers through his short hair. Their fingers are soft and he tries to lean in the touch, this time he can hear that someone is talking to him. He hears his name. The voice is comforting, so are the words. And then it hits him, it is El, it is her voice he heard when he was small.
Wait, he didn´t now Peter and El when he was small. He tries to make sense of the thoughts but he is just so tired and his head starts to hurt again.
* * *
Ever since Neal has been admitted, El or Peter have been keeping vigil. They take turns to go home to freshen up and eat something more substantial than the cafeteria food. Even personnel stopped trying to get them to go home.
The first three days there is no change as they are keeping Neal sedated. Along with the sedation they are feeding him through a feeding tube. They hope to be able to give his body a bit of a head start that way in being able to heal itself.
The fourth day, Neal´s doctor enters for his daily round. He checks Neal and turns towards Peter.
“I think we can start weening him of the sedation and see how he is coping.”
“You think or are you sure?”
“Nothing is a hundred percent sure in the medical profession, agent Burke. But in my professional opinion, I think we should try and wake up Neal.”
“OK, how will it work?”
“I will inform staff that we are weening Neal off the sedation and that they can expect him to wake up so they can be extra vigilant.”
“I´m not leaving him.”
“I realize that.” The doctor smiles.
The doctor calls in the duty nurse and explains his plan. They fiddle with the IV and then they leave the room, leaving Peter alone with Neal.
Just before noon, Elizabeth enters and Peter updates her about Neal´s condition. He tells her to call him as soon as something changes and then quickly drives to the office.
It is already eight o´clock at night when he decides to drive back to the hospital. He quickly grabs some Chinese takeout and drives to the hospital. He makes sure the plastic bag is closed when he walks past the nurses.
Elizabeth looks up from the book she is reading out loud to Neal.
“Dinner!” Peter announces.
She gives him a smile and peeks in the bag.
“Oh, that smells yummy. How was your day?”
“Good, productive. Here?”
“No change. But Jeannie told me that these things take time.”
They eat in silence.
When she is ready, Elizabeth kisses Peter and leaves the room. Peter walks over to Neal and starts telling him about his day, just like he did when Neal was with them. He pulls out the cot that the nurses brought in after it was clear that Peter wasn´t leaving.
Somewhere during the night, Peter wakes when he hears the monitors make a different noise, A nurse come in and smiles when she sees Peter is wide awake.
“This is good news, Peter. It means that Neal is trying to wake up. I will just give him a quick check up and then I will leave you two to it.”
Peter nods and studies Neal´s face. He doesn´t seem to be in any pain, so he rubs his hand over Neal´s.
“Hey Neal, you are safe, we are taking care of you, but we would be happy if you would just wake up, OK? Do your best to come back to us.”
* * *
Neal slowly wakes and this time, he doesn´t feel drugged. He slowly opens his eyes, but they stick together.
“Wait sweetie, I will wash your face with some warm water.”
It is El´s voice and next he feels a warm washcloth carefully being wiped over his face and especially his eyes. He slowly blinks them open, to look in El´s smiling face.
“Hey Neal, welcome back.”
“Hi.” He croaks.
Suddenly there is a bendy straw in front of his face and he slowly sips up some water.
“Thanks. What happened?”
“You were hit by a car.”
Neal thinks and remembers, he was walking with Satchmo.
“Satchmo? Is he alright?”
“He is, he wasn´t hit by the car. You were. You have a broken arm and some cracked ribs. We were worried Neal. You gave us quite a scare.”
“I´m sorry Mistress.”
“It´s not your fault. You are still too weak for Satchmo. But we will get there that you can take Satchmo for a walk. Now rest. Peter will be here soon.”
* * *
A week later, Neal is discharged and back with the Burkes in their home. His arm is now in a bright blue cast. He asked Elizabeth to shave his hair off, because there was a shaved patch where they relieved the intracranial pressure. But Elizabeth asked her hairdresser to come for a home visit to cut Neal´s hair in a way that it will grow back in a more natural way.
They made Neal appointments with a therapist and a dietitian when they found out that Neal wants to get better. He is almost the opposite of how he was before the accident. Elizabeth asked what changed, but Neal just smiles. He is not ready to tell them, yet.
They find him sketching most of the time, snacking on something, some fruit, a cracker. Neal is not cured but he is really making an effort to make this work.
He trusts his masters. They will take care of him.
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: None
Characters: Neal, Peter, El
Warning/genre: (emotional)hurt/comfort, eating disorder, coma, de-age, slavery, family, implied non-con, trust issues
Spoilers: none
Rating: NC-13
Author's Notes: This story is written for the February Challenge in H/C bingo. My squares were hurt/comfort, eating disorder, coma, de-age, wild card (slavery). This story is a sequel to Easier to begin than to quit. I guess the story will make more sense if you read that story first.
Word Count: ~4050
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Neal is in an accident, something happens during his recovery that makes him rethink the way he thinks about his Masters.
Story can also be found on AO3
Neal was with his new owners for three weeks now. He hadn´t made much progress in gaining weight. He treally tries, but old habits die hard. And although it makes his heart warm when he sees the little notes his mistress leaves him, he still finds it hard to trust his new masters. His gut feeling tells him they are good people, but his brain takes his thoughts to dark places. It tells him he is looking gorgeous, it tells him his masters wat him healthy so hey can use and abuse him better.
Neal startles out of his thoughts when Peter enters the house.
“Hi Neal, how was your day?”
“Fine master.”
Peter studies him for a second before nodding. It makes Neal uncomfortable. Maybe his master is getting fed up with his useless slave.
“How was your day, master?”
“Good, we cracked that case I have been telling you about, so it was a very productive day.”
Peter walks into the kitchen and prepares a plate with snack food and a smoothie. He walks back to Neal and puts the plate in front of him; while taking a piece of salami and popping it in his mouth.
“So what did you do today?”
“I sketched Satchmo.”
“Can I see it?”
“Of course, Master.” Neal hand sover his sketchbook.
“These are amazing Neal, you have so much talent. El is going to love them.”
Peter picks up a grape and holds it before Neal´s mouth, who opens up and slowly chews on the fruit.
“Did you take your vitamins?”
Neal nods.
“Care to go out to walk Satchmo?”
Neal thinks about it and agrees. Peter gets his warm wintercoat, hat, scarf, mitts and winterboots. It isn´t that it is this cold, but with Neal´s low body weight, he is always cold. Peter makes a mental note to buy Neal his own stuff; all his clothes are too big on Neal´s thin frame.
Peter helps Neal downstairs and into the wheelchair and they walk Sacthmo to the park. While Peter lets the dog free in the dog play pen, he asks Neal to watch the dog. He walks over to the vendor who is selling hot beverages and order a cup of coffee and tea. He dumps five lumps of sugar in the tea before closing the lid.
He sits down next to Neal and hands him the tea.
“It´s your favourite, Maroccan Mint. They didn´t have honey, but I added sugar.”
“Thank you Master.”
They watch Satchmo play with the other dogs while they sip their drinks. Peter is pleased to see Neal finishes his tea. At least he has some sugar in him.
“Let´s go back jome before you get cold.”
Neal nods and calls Satchmo. They are good to go home.
Home…
* * *
Neal is reading on his bed, Elizabeth and Peter have left for work. They made him eat some yoghurt and fruits and a cup of tea with sugar. He feels good and when Satchmo starts whining, he tells the dog he will take him for a walk. He liked the park where Peter took him yesterday.
He takes Satchmo`s leash and Peter´s winter coat and slowly starts for the park. It isn´t far but he is completely spend when they arrive. Just as he want to let Satchmo of the leash, the dog sees a squirrel and chases after it. Neal is not expecting the movement and is dragged with Satchmo, trying to follow, he doesn´t notice the car that approaches.
* * *
Peter sighs annoyed, he called the house several times and Neal isn´t answering the phone. The first time he assumed Neal was sleeping, but now he is getting worried. Maybe something happened. He is just about to check on Neal, when his cell phone rings.
“Burke.”
“Am I speaking to Peter Burke, owner of Neal Cafrrey?”
“Yes you are.”
“My name is Francine Thomas and I work at as a nurse at Brooklyn Hospital Center. Your slave was hit by a car and brought into our ER.”
“I`m on my way.”
“Sir…”
Peter hangs up and hurries to his car. On his way over, he calls El to tell her to meet him at the hospital. When he arrives at the hospital, he rushes in.
“My slave was brought in. My name is Peter Burke.”
The nurse checks her computer, “Yes, he was brought in, he is in surgery. Please proceed to the surgical ward, where they will be able to tell you more.”
“Thank you.”
Before Peter can go to the elevators, he is called by El. She comes running towards him and he hugs her.
“What happened? Where is he?”
“I don´t know, I was told to head over to the surgical ward.”
“Let´s go then.”
They are met by an OR nurse who guides them to the surgical waiting area.
“Owners of Neal Caffrey?”
“That´s us. Do you know what happened?”
“I was told that your slave ran with your dog in front of a car.”
El gasps, “Satchmo was there to? Do you know where he is?”
“The EMT that took care of Neal told me that your dog was taken to a local vet. He gave me this telephone number.” she hands Elizabeth a piece of paper with a telephone number.
“You go call El, I will stay here.” Peter tells El.
“What are his injuries?”
“As far as I know, he has a broken arm, a deeply bruised leg and some cracked ribs. But the most severe injury is his head injury. He hit the road pretty hard. The doctor will be out when they are able to tell you more.”
“Thank you.”
“You can wait here, there is a coffee machine around the corner.”
Peter nods his appreciation and walks towards Elizabeth.
“How is Satchmo?”
“He is fine, he wasn´t hurt. They suggested that they take care of him until we are able to pick him up. How is Neal?”
“They are operating, but he has a broken arm and cracked ribs, they are concerned about his head injury, but they will tell us when they have news.”
“Want some coffee?”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
Peter gets them both coffee and sits down next to El.
“Do you think he will be alright? He has been through so much, how will this affect him?”
“I don´t know El, I really don´t. Let´s wait until we know more.”
They sit and wait until a woman in scrubs walks up to them.
“Owners of Neal Caffrey?”
“That is us.” El and Peter stand up.
“Neal was brought to us after he was hit by a car. We set his arm and the cuts and bruises are taken care off. There isn´t much we can do about the cracked ribs. However the head injury he sustained is cause for concern. He hasn´t woken up since the accident, pressure was building under his skull and I relieved the pressure.”
“So he will be OK?”
“I placed him in a medical induced coma to allow his brain and body to rest and heal.”
Elizabeth gasps and clasps her hand over her mouth.
“However, out social worker would like to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“When we examined your slave, we noticed that he is severely malnourished.”
“That is correct, we rescued him from being euthanized at the local slave center. He was brought in as a sever abuse case. I am an FBI agent who was involved in the case. We want Neal to get better.”
“I suppose you don´t mind if we check this.”
“No, no problem, please do. We only want Neal to get better. Can we see him.”
“He is in recovery for the moment, we will be monitoring him there for at least another hour. Once we move him to the ICU, you will be allowed to see him. I suggest you go home and call us to check if he has been moved.”
“We will stay.” Peter states.
“Remember you will need to take care of yourself if you want to take care of Neal. This is not something that will be fixed overnight. You will have to take care of yourself and trust us to take care of Neal.”
Peter nods.
“Any more question?”
“No thank you.”
“You are welcome. The nurse will give you the number of the ICU.”
That said, the doctor turns and walks back into the recovery unit.
* * *
Neal startles awake. He checks his surroundings and notices he is laying in his cage at the slave center. He hasn´t been here since he was eight. He checks himself and to his horror he is a child. What happened? He… the last thing he remembers is Satchmo pulling him with him.
He must have had an accident, but why is he a child. He swallows, he remembers this cage, it was his home in the center just before he was sold. He starts to hyperventilate, this can´t be happening.
Two employees of the center enter with a woman. He already knows what is going to happen. The boy in the cage next to him is sold. He will be next. Master Adler will buy him and … there is a positive side to this, since he knows what is going to happen, he can make sure it is not going to happen again. He won´t allow himself to be used and abused again.
The boy is taken away and Neal knows he will be next. When the door opens, he turns his back to the door, maybe Master Adler will pick someone else.
“How about that one?” he hears, but it is not master Adler´s voice, it is…
“Oh yes Peter, he looks adorable.”
Mistress Elizabeth… Neal slowly turns. This is not what happened before.
The woman in front of him gasps. “Oh sweetie, aren´t you a handsome young man.”
“Can you take him out?”
“Of course, sir.”
The door of the cage is opened and Neal is told to come out.
“My name is Peter and this is my wife Elizabeth. Can you tell us your name?”
“Yes sir, my name is Neal Caffrey sir.”
At that moment, Adler enters the room. He glances over the cages and locks eyes with Neal.
“That one, I want that one.” he points at Neal.
Neal starts trembling, he has to fight the urge to crawl back into the cage, so he steps closer to Peter.
“Hold on mister, my wife and I are buying this boy.” Peter steps protectively before Neal.
“Whatever you pay for him, I will double it.”
“I´m sorry, no deal.”
Peter can see the sales person shift nervously.
“My name is Special agent Peter Burke and I am buying this slave. Let´s go.” He takes Neal´s hand and walks towards the office to take care of the paperwork, followed my Elizabeth.
While Peter takes care of the paperwork, Elizabeth waits with Neal in the waiting room. She brought a soft blue blanket that she throws around his shoulders before pulling him on her lap. She smells so good and she is warm and Neal leans into her. She lets him and cradles him.
Peter comes out and smiles at them, “Let’s go home.”
He picks Neal up from El and carries him to the car. Neal is grateful that he doesn´t have to walk since he does not own shoes.
In the car, Neal is excited and looking outside while they drive towards Brooklyn.
“We have a dog, do you like dogs, Neal?”
“Yes master.”
“Peter, drop me of at the corner, so I can get some fresh bread.”
“Sure, hon, do you want me to come?”
“No, take Neal home.”
Once the car pulls up to a house, Neal checks out the place. Peter again carries him towards the house and once they are inside, it is pleasantly warm. The moment they enter the living room, Satchmo barrels towards Peter, who pets him and then he welcomes the newcomer. Neal giggles when he Satchmo pushes his wet nose tin his face while he pushes the dog away.
“Just tell him down.”
“Down boy.”
Satchmo immediately sits down and looks expectantly.
“You can give him a treat, they are in under the sink in a tin. But only one, OK?”
“Yes Master.”
Neal happily walks towards the kitchen, gets the dog biscuit and quickly snags one for himself. He quickly puts it in his mouth but before he can chew it, Peter stands behind him.
“NEAL! Spit it out.”
Neal quickly does as he is told and tears form in his eyes. He is so hungry and the dog biscuit looked so good, but he knew he would be in trouble if they found out.
“I’m sorry master.”
“I didn´t mean to startle you Neal, but you can´t eat Satchmo´s cookies.”
“Of course not master. I´m sorry.”
“Why did you eat the dog biscuit?”
Neal cringes, he knows he is going to be punished.
“The truth Neal.”
“I was hungry, Master.”
He can see Peter´s face chance, what is it, anger, pity?
“I am sorry, I yelled at you because I don´t want you to get sick. They are not good for you, you need to eat human food.”
Neal nods, he doesn´t understand what Peter means, since he was always fed kibble in a bowl like Satchmo.
“No worries; Don´t let it happen again. Now give Satchmo his biscuit and then wait at the table.”
Neal can hear Peter bustling in the kitchen while he waits kneeling next to the table.
Something is placed on the table and then there is a hand under his arm, pulling him up.
“Neal, we don´t want you to kneel on the floor, when I ask you to wait at the table I mean , sit on the chair and wait.”
Neal sits down and can see three plates on the table. Maybe they are expecting a visitor. He sits on the chair that doesn´t have a plate. There are all sorts of foods, Neal has never seen and his stomach growls when he sees it.
Peter smiles, “You will have to wait a bit longer son, El is getting fresh bread.”
Neal nods.
When Satchmo runs to the door, Neal looks up at the door. It is El and she is carrying a big bag. Neal scrabbles towards her to take over the bag.
“It´s OK, Neal, the bag is heavy.”
“I am strong mistress, I can carry it for you.”
“OK, put the bag in the kitchen please.”
Neal carries the bag to the kitchen and this wonderful smell comes out of the bag, and again his stomach growls.
El chuckles, “That hungry, hm? Go sit down.”
Neal quickly hurries back to the table and El follows him with fresh buns, bagels and Danish. She puts the basket on the table and Peter immediately reaches over for a bun.
Neal just stares at the food.
“Well, hurry or Peter will eat everything.” El encourages the boy, putting the third plate in front of him.
“Can I?”
“Of course silly, what do you like?
Neal thinks about it. He has never had any of these things, but they all look good. But the round thing looks especially yummy.
“Can I have one of those?” he points at a donut.
“Of course you can, but maybe you should eat that one as dessert and first start with something savory. Maybe a bun with cheese or chicken salad?”
Neal nods, he really would like the donut, but his mistress knows best. She must have seen that he really wants it, because she takes a small plate and puts the donut on it. Why don´t you hold on to it, so you know it is yours.
Neal smiles, he likes that. The pulls the plate a bit closer to himself before picking a bun.
“Do you want me to put some meat or cheese on it?”
Neal pounders on the question, he never had something on his bread. Most of the time he got slave chow, and once in a while a piece of bread. But never like this.
“Maybe some cheese?”
“Sure honey, tell you what, I will put cheese on one side and on the other side I will put chicken salad. I think you will like it, I made it myself.”
“Yes, please.”
The first bite causes Neal to moan.
“I guess he likes it.” El smiles at Peter.
“Do you like strawberry milk?”
“I don´t know what that is Mistress. I always drank water.”
“Try it.”
The sweet taste pulls a big smile on Neal´s face. He takes a small sip.
“It is yummy.”
“It is, isn´t. Now eat up, so you can eat your donut.” Peter smiles.
After breakfast, Neal is sort of exhausted. The amount of carbs makes him sluggish.
“Why don´t you take a nap, Neal?”
“I don´t want to, master.”
“Why wouldn´t you want to take a nap.”
“I know why you bought me master, but…I …”
Neal starts to cry.
Peter pulls him closer and rocks him.
“Hey little one, you do know, I would never hurt you. I didn´t buy you because you could serve us. We bought you because El’s friend saw you at the center and told us about you. We want you to grow up safely.”
Neal studies Peter´s face. He looks so sincere. Maybe he can trust him.
“Can I sleep on the couch?”
“Of course you can, I will ask Satchmo to guard you OK, so nothing bad can happen. Neal, you need to remember, I will not allow anyone to hurt you.”
Neal still looks unsure, but allows himself be tucked in.
“I trust you.” He mumbles already half asleep.
The blanket is so soft and warm, it doesn´t take long before he falls asleep.
* * *
Neal has a floating feeling. It is uncomfortable, he…he has had this feeling before and it was not good. Master Adler would drug him up if he wanted to play extra rough. Neal tries to open his eyes, but they feel like they are weighted down. He tries to struggle although he knows it will only gain him a severe punishment. He startles in his thoughts when a warm hand is put on top of his hand. It sounds like someone is talking to him. Neal strains to hear what they are saying, but he falls back asleep.
He wakes again what seems like ages later with someone carting their fingers through his short hair. Their fingers are soft and he tries to lean in the touch, this time he can hear that someone is talking to him. He hears his name. The voice is comforting, so are the words. And then it hits him, it is El, it is her voice he heard when he was small.
Wait, he didn´t now Peter and El when he was small. He tries to make sense of the thoughts but he is just so tired and his head starts to hurt again.
* * *
Ever since Neal has been admitted, El or Peter have been keeping vigil. They take turns to go home to freshen up and eat something more substantial than the cafeteria food. Even personnel stopped trying to get them to go home.
The first three days there is no change as they are keeping Neal sedated. Along with the sedation they are feeding him through a feeding tube. They hope to be able to give his body a bit of a head start that way in being able to heal itself.
The fourth day, Neal´s doctor enters for his daily round. He checks Neal and turns towards Peter.
“I think we can start weening him of the sedation and see how he is coping.”
“You think or are you sure?”
“Nothing is a hundred percent sure in the medical profession, agent Burke. But in my professional opinion, I think we should try and wake up Neal.”
“OK, how will it work?”
“I will inform staff that we are weening Neal off the sedation and that they can expect him to wake up so they can be extra vigilant.”
“I´m not leaving him.”
“I realize that.” The doctor smiles.
The doctor calls in the duty nurse and explains his plan. They fiddle with the IV and then they leave the room, leaving Peter alone with Neal.
Just before noon, Elizabeth enters and Peter updates her about Neal´s condition. He tells her to call him as soon as something changes and then quickly drives to the office.
It is already eight o´clock at night when he decides to drive back to the hospital. He quickly grabs some Chinese takeout and drives to the hospital. He makes sure the plastic bag is closed when he walks past the nurses.
Elizabeth looks up from the book she is reading out loud to Neal.
“Dinner!” Peter announces.
She gives him a smile and peeks in the bag.
“Oh, that smells yummy. How was your day?”
“Good, productive. Here?”
“No change. But Jeannie told me that these things take time.”
They eat in silence.
When she is ready, Elizabeth kisses Peter and leaves the room. Peter walks over to Neal and starts telling him about his day, just like he did when Neal was with them. He pulls out the cot that the nurses brought in after it was clear that Peter wasn´t leaving.
Somewhere during the night, Peter wakes when he hears the monitors make a different noise, A nurse come in and smiles when she sees Peter is wide awake.
“This is good news, Peter. It means that Neal is trying to wake up. I will just give him a quick check up and then I will leave you two to it.”
Peter nods and studies Neal´s face. He doesn´t seem to be in any pain, so he rubs his hand over Neal´s.
“Hey Neal, you are safe, we are taking care of you, but we would be happy if you would just wake up, OK? Do your best to come back to us.”
* * *
Neal slowly wakes and this time, he doesn´t feel drugged. He slowly opens his eyes, but they stick together.
“Wait sweetie, I will wash your face with some warm water.”
It is El´s voice and next he feels a warm washcloth carefully being wiped over his face and especially his eyes. He slowly blinks them open, to look in El´s smiling face.
“Hey Neal, welcome back.”
“Hi.” He croaks.
Suddenly there is a bendy straw in front of his face and he slowly sips up some water.
“Thanks. What happened?”
“You were hit by a car.”
Neal thinks and remembers, he was walking with Satchmo.
“Satchmo? Is he alright?”
“He is, he wasn´t hit by the car. You were. You have a broken arm and some cracked ribs. We were worried Neal. You gave us quite a scare.”
“I´m sorry Mistress.”
“It´s not your fault. You are still too weak for Satchmo. But we will get there that you can take Satchmo for a walk. Now rest. Peter will be here soon.”
* * *
A week later, Neal is discharged and back with the Burkes in their home. His arm is now in a bright blue cast. He asked Elizabeth to shave his hair off, because there was a shaved patch where they relieved the intracranial pressure. But Elizabeth asked her hairdresser to come for a home visit to cut Neal´s hair in a way that it will grow back in a more natural way.
They made Neal appointments with a therapist and a dietitian when they found out that Neal wants to get better. He is almost the opposite of how he was before the accident. Elizabeth asked what changed, but Neal just smiles. He is not ready to tell them, yet.
They find him sketching most of the time, snacking on something, some fruit, a cracker. Neal is not cured but he is really making an effort to make this work.
He trusts his masters. They will take care of him.