Against Medical Advice
Title: Against Medical Advice
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: None
Characters: Neal, Peter, Mozzie, El, Satchmo
Warning: none
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: hurt/comfort, concussions
Author's Notes: this story fills a prompt from Icecreammilktea at collar corner:
Prompt/Request: So we all know how much Neal dislikes hospitals, and usually when he signs out of them AMA things go great. What happens if he really shouldn't have left the hospital? E.g. concussion and waking up disorientated; hurt - spikes a fever / has trouble breathing etc. How does Peter respond, and what is the aftermath?
Word Count: ~ 4600
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Well, the prompt says it all.
Story can also be found on AO3.
Peter glanced around the crime scene. Diana and Jones were leading their suspects to the police van to be transported into custody. ERT was recovering evidence. Officers and agents were scattered around the premises.
Wait. Where was Neal? He hadn´t seen Neal since the arrest.
When Neal had said the take down phrase, Peter and the team had entered the building. Neal had gotten out of the way and they had arrested the bad guys. Peter had lost track of Neal during the chaotic arrest.
Now that everything settled down, he noticed Neal missing. He scanned the space he was standing in, again. The door was open, so was the gate in the same side of the building. Peter called out to Jones and asked him about Neal´s whereabouts.
“I saw him leave through the gate. I guess to get some fresh air. He looked a bit pale.”
“Thanks Jones.”
Peter walked out through the mentioned gate, but there was no Neal on the outside, he asked the uniformed cops that were standing in front of it. One of them had seen Neal walk away, around the corner of the building. Peter walked in the direction the cop had pointed. When he rounded the corner, he saw Neal sitting on the curb, between two cars.
“Hey buddy, are you alright?”
Neal didn´t immediately answered but turned towards Peter. Like Jones had mentioned, Neal was pale, but not alarmingly so.
“Yeah, I´m fine. I needed some fresh air.”
“No problem, next time let me know, OK?” Peter patted Neal on the back and helped him up. When Neal wavered a moment, Peter got suspicious.
“Are you sure you are alright?”
“Yeah, just the adrenaline rush that is fading. Maybe we can get a cup of coffee?”
“Sure, but I want you checked out first, then we can have coffee.”
Peter escorted Neal back to the crime scene and placed him in his car while he called for an ambulance.
Within minutes the EMT´s were on the scene and started assessing Neal. It turned out he had a lump on his head, so he must have been hit or he must have hit something, but since Neal didn´t recall being hit, they decided to take him with them to hospital for further examination.
The EMT´s strapped Neal on the gurney and told Peter they would take him to the closed hospital. Peter wanted to go with Neal, but Neal insisted that he finish the arrest. He was fine. So reluctantly, Peter agreed.
By the time Peter could leave the scene, some time had passed, so he quickly got in his car and drove to hospital.
When he entered the ER and asked the desk nurse for mister Caffrey, he was informed that Neal had left the hospital AMA.
Peter was furious, he demanded to speak to the attending doctor to explain how it was possible that they let a patient sign out AMA while he had a head injury.
The nurse asked Peter to wait in an office and she promised to page the doctor in question.
* * *
Neal opened his eyes and quickly closed them again. His head throbbed. What had happened?
“It´s OK, Neal, you just dozed off during the ride. You have a bump on your head, but we will have it checked out in hospital.”
Neal slowly opened his eyes again.
“What happened?”
“You don´t remember? Don´t worry. This isn´t uncommon. Just rest, we´re almost there.” The EMT gently patted his shoulder.
“OK.” Neal let his eyes fall shut again.
He started a bit when the ambulance stopped and the doors opened.
“It´s OK. We arrived at the hospital.” The EMT reassured him.
Neal was wheeled into the ER. The headache was still there. The noise and the lights in the ER didn´t help. When he was placed in a cubicle and the privacy curtain closed, Neal did his best to get up. Nobody was paying attention to him, so he took a moment to get the rolling of his stomach under control. Once he was sitting up on the bed, he opened his eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning.
“Mister Caffrey?”
Neal flinched and opened his eyes, blinking against the bright fluorescent lights. It took a moment to get the man in front of him into focus.
“I was informed that you were hit on the head during a police raid.”
“Yeah, but I´m fine, just a headache.”
“Well, we will do a quick examination and see what he got.”
“I told you, I´m fine. What do I need to do to get out of here?”
“Like I said, I will check you out and then we can discuss….”
“No, I want to sign out AMA.” Neal interrupted.
“Mister Caffrey, I strongly advice against leaving AMA. It will only take a couple of minutes.”
“No, I´m leaving now. Where do I sign?”
Neal let his feet hit the ground and wavered, but he stubbornly walked out of the cubicle. The doctor followed him towards the front desk. He told the nurse to get him papers so he could leave the hospital.
“Mister Caffrey, please let us examine you.”
“I´m fine, I just want o go home and get some rest.”
“No problem, let me check you out. I guess by the way you are squinting your eyes, you have a concussion.”
Neal looked up from the papers he was trying to sign.
“Yes, I saw you trying to focus on the papers. You have almost certainly a concussion.”
“I will rest, no TV, no tablet or smart phone, I know the drill.”
“Wait a moment.” The doctor left, and came back with an orange pill bottle in his hand.
“Here, if you are so decisive on leaving us AMA, take these, they will help with the headaches. Eat some dry toast and tea against the nausea.”
“Thanks.” Neal gave the doctor a small smile.
“Can you call me a cab, please?”
“Sure, the desk nurse will arrange one. But please be careful and if you don´t feel well, call an ambulance or come back, promise me.”
“I promise.” Neal said slowly.
“Someone called a cab?” A voice called out.
Neal waved and thanked the doctor and nurse before leaving.
* * *
Doctor Fernandez responded to the ER page. Nurse Ann came walking up to him.
“There is a special agent Burke waiting to talk to you. He has questions about Mister Caffrey.”
“Thank you.”
He entered the room and greeted the man inside. The agent looked worried, which wasn´t what he had expected after the talk he had with nurse Ann.
“Special agent Peter Burke. I understand you treated Neal Caffrey.”
“Doctor Jan Fernandez. I didn´t treat mister Caffrey, he signed out AMA, I tried to keep him here, but he was very strong willed when I told him I didn´t agree, but he still signed out against my advice.”
“So you just let a wounded man leave without checking him out?” Peter sounded offended.
“Again, I advised mister Caffrey to allow me to treat him, but he didn´t want me to, and he took a cab. There is only so much I can do, I have other patients who actually want my help.”
“I´m sorry, I didn´t want to imply that I know how to do your job, I am just worried. I know Neal can do irrational things.”
“He sounded quite educated on the concussion symptoms, I guess it wasn´t his first. But like I told mister Caffrey, if his symptoms get worse, come back.”
“Do I need to wake him every two hours?”
“No, we used to do that, but we don´t anymore. But just make sure mister Caffrey stays lucid, if he doesn´t, come back, I can´t stress it enough.”
“Thanks, we will.”
Peter shook hands with the doctor and left the hospital. He drove to June´s, and was led in by the maid. She told Peter that Neal hadn´t come home today. Now Peter´s worry intensified. He tried Neal´s cell again, but it went straight to voicemail. He left a message.
Then he called El asking her to contact Mozzie and to ask him to call back. When he disconnected the line he stopped to think for a minute. Where would Neal go for security, if not his own appartemnet. He was still contemplating what he was going to do, when his cell rang.
“Burke.”
“What is so important that you would interrupt my beauty sleep, suit. Some of us have to work at night, you know.”
“I´ll pretend I didn´t hear that. Neal was hurt today and he signed himself out AMA.”
“You lost Neal?”
“I didn´t lose him. I wasn´t allowed to ride with him in the ambulance and he was lucid and awake; By the time I arrived at the hospital, he already left.”
“Well, he didn´t appear at any of my safe houses, if that is what you were wondering. I haven´t heard from him either. Have you checked out your place?”
“My place?”
“Yeah, for some misguided reason, Neal associates you with safety, remember when he was drugged?”
“Thanks Mozz, I will keep in contact.”
“Find him, Peter.”
Peter sprinted back to his car and in record time made it to Brooklyn. OK, it had helped when he turned on the siren and lights, but he had turned them off, as soon as he exited the Bridge.
When he couldn´t find a spot, he double parked his car and through his FBI sign in front of the windshield and dashed up the stairs to his front door. Mozzie was right, the door was unlocked, so Neal was definitely lucid enough to pick the lock.
“Neal?”
Satchmo came walking up to him whining.
“Where is he, boy?” Peter patted the dog on his head and entered the living room. No sign of Neal. He climbed the stairs, where he found Neal in the master bedroom. He seemed to be sleeping. He had taken off his shoes, jacket and belt and lay on top of the blankets.
Peter texted El so she could let Mozzie know that Neal was at their place. She texted back she would back home as soon as the event was done, but Peter let her know that she didn´t have to rush, he had things under control.
He gently shook Neal, but when he didn´t react, his worry was back.
“Neal?”
Peter didn´t want to shake him rougher in case Neal was seriously hurt.
“Come on, Neal, wake up.”
Neal´s eyes suddenly blinked open and he flinched away from Peter.
“Sorry, I…”
“You startled me.” Neal mumbled, he sounded a bit shook up. He let himself plop back on the bed and closed his eyes.
“Sorry Neal, I didn´t want to startle you, but you scared me when you didn´t react the first time I called you.”
“I´m fine, just a bit of a headache.”
“I will let you rest then, do you need anything?”
“Maybe a pill and some water? They are in my jacket.”
“Sure.” Peter walked to the bathroom to fill a glass of water and fished the pill bottle out of Neal´s jacket. He read the label and shook out two pills and placed them in Neal´s hand. Neal threw them back and swallowed them with some water. He then lay back down.
“You sure you are OK?”
“I´m lucid, aren´t I? I guess the doctor told you, you needed to check if I was coherent.”
“Yes, but still. I would have preferred it of you had let the doctors examine you.”
“It is just a concussion. I will live.” Neal´s words got a slurring quality and Peter eyed Neal suspiciously, but it was probably the pills working their magic. Within minutes, Neal´s breathing evened out and Peter knew he was sleeping, He threw a blanket over Neal and went back downstairs to park his car.
* * *
Peter had taken out some files to work on. He was sitting at the dining room table, with Satchmo at his feet. He put lasagna in the oven. El had prepared it yesterday and had told him he just needed to pop it in the oven. The room was already filling with wonderful aromas and Peter was reading some files.
He heard Neal wake up and moving towards the bathroom, so that was OK. When he heard the toilet flush, he listened to hear whether Neal was going back to bed, but he heard him come down the stairs.
Peter looked up when he heard Neal mumbling, it sounded like he was talking to a phone or to himself.
“Neal?”
Neal suddenly stopped talking and looked like a deer caught in headlights.
“What?”
Peter frowned, there was a slurring quality to Neal´s voice.
“How are you feeling Neal? Is there anything you need?”
“No.” it sounded hesitant.
“You want to lie on the couch and listen to some music, you can´t watch television, but I guess music would be OK.”
Satchmo trotted towards Neal and sat down whining and bumped his head against Neal´s hand.
“Why would I want to sit on your couch, Peter?”
“You can also join me here at the table, but I guess you would be more comfortable on the couch, but whatever suits you.”
Neal was still staring at him, not acknowledging Satchmo, who kept whining. It was clear the dog was unsure why Neal didn´t pet him.
“Neal?”
“I…”
Peter realized Neal was unusually pale, sweat started to form in his hair line.
“Neal? You are starting to worry me. Please sit down before you fall down.” Peter started to get up, but that only resulted in Neal backing away towards the front door.
“Neal? Come on, you were lucid a couple of hours ago. Come on, stay with me. I think you need a doctor.”
Neal grabbed his head.
“No, I ... I´m fine.”
“If you are fine, would you have a headache? Come on Neal, please let me help you, you look like you are about to pass out.”
But the moment Peter took a step towards Neal, he bolted for the door. Peter hadn´t expected Neal to be so quick, not in this state. It was clear that Neal wasn´t lucid anymore and that they needed to go back to the ER, urgently.
“NEAL!”
But Neal was already outside the second door and the moment Peter crossed it, he could see a human pile down the stairs. He quickly made his way down and saw Neal laying, eyes closed on top of Mozzie, who was still trying to catch his breath.
“Are you OK?”
“What the hell happened?” Mozzie gawked, rubbing his head where he had hit the pavement.
Peter knelt down next to Neal, and together with Mozzie he slowly turned Neal on his back. In the streetlights, Neal even appeared gaunter than in the livingroom. Neal was breathing and had a pulse, although a bit fast. Peter tried to get Neal to wake, but he didn´t react.
“Mozzie, please get my cell on the dining room table and call 911.”
“Sure.”
Mozzie quickly made his way up the stairs, while Peter stayed with Neal.
“Damn it, Neal, I knew I should have taken you back to the ER.”
Mozzie came back with a pillow and a blanket while talking to the 911 operator. While Peter tried to make Neal more comfortable, he started seizing.
“My friend is having a seizure, please hurry up.” Peter heard Mozzie say.
“No, he can´t hurt himself, there are no objects and we are keeping him save. Oh, he stopped convulsing.”
To Peter he said “Check his pulse and breathing.”
“They are as expected. What is the ETA on that ambulance?”
But at the moment, Peter could hear the siren and see the lights entering the street. Mozzie stood up and waved and the ambulance stopped next to them.
“Good evening, we were called that a man was found unconscious and was having a seizure.”
“Yes, his name is Neal, he was hit over the head earlier today but decided to sign out AMA. He was resting here, but about fifteen minutes ago, he woke up and was no longer coherent.”
“Until then he was intelligible?”
“Yes, I guess, the last time I talked to him, he was. He took two of the pain pills the doctor had given him and he was resting.”
While they talked, the other paramedic examined Neal and he walked back to get the gurney. The quickly transferred Neal onto it and asked if someone would accompany them.
Peter looked at Mozzie, who shook his head. I will stay here and wait for Mrs. Suit, you go.” Mozzie handed peter his cell and stood to the side.
“OK”, Peter jumped in the ambulance and they left.
* * *
Neal woke up disoriented. His head was hurting worse than before. He looked around and realized he was lying in a strange bed. The bed was not in a hospital, it appeared to be a bedroom. Neal let out a low groan. His head was killing him. He got out of the bed when he felt he was going to be sick, so he stumbled into the hallway in search of a bathroom. The moment he reached the toilet, he retched, but as he hadn´t eaten anything, there wasn´t much in his stomach. He felt marginally better afterwards and flushed the toilet.
When he came back out of the bathroom, he was confused. He still hadn´t figured out where he was. That was strange wasn´t it? He should know where he woke up, shouldn´t he?
Neal heard someone downstairs so he slowly made his way to the stairs. He got a bit of an unbalanced feeling when he started down, so he slowly descended the stairs, clutching the banister.
“You can do this Neal, one step at a time.” He muttered to himself. But his headache only increased with the movement. So he kept giving himself a pep talk.
Once he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he stopped. His brain felt like it was sloshing in his skull. He needed to wait a moment.
“Give yourself a break. Think, Neal.” He whispered.
“Neal?”
Neal tensed up. Wait, relax, it was Peter´s voice.
“What?” Was that his voice?
“How are you feeling Neal? Is there anything you need?”
“No.” Did he need something? He was not sure, now that the question was asked.
“You want to lie on the couch and listen to some music, you can´t watch television, but I guess music would be OK.”
Suddenly there was something bumping his hand, but Neal was fighting to stay upright, so he didn´t dare looking down. A couch sounded good, but he was not here to lie on the couch, was he? Why was he here?
“Why would I want to sit on your couch, Peter?”
“You can also join me here at the table, but I guess you would be more comfortable on the couch, but whatever suits you.”
Neal felt lost, why was he at Peter´s?
“Neal?”
Neal felt the nausea building and his headache was taking on a whole new level. He felt like his head was being pushed open from the inside.
“I…”
He wanted to let Peter know that he was lost and he needed help. Peter would know what to do, wouldn´t he?
“Neal? You are starting to worry me. Please sit down before you fall down.”
Wait who was talking to him? When the man approached him, he felt the need to back away.
“Neal? Come on, you were lucid a couple of hours ago. Come on, stay with me. I think you need a doctor.”
Neal grabbed his head.
“No, I ... I´m fine.”
“If you are fine, would you have a headache? Come on Neal, please let me help you, you look like you are about to pass out.”
He needed to get out of here. This wasn´t his place. With a spike in adrenaline, he bolted for the door and was through only to be met with an obstacle. He hit whatever it was hard and there was a falling sensation.
“NEAL!” was the last thing he heard before everything went black.
* * *
“Family of Neal Caffrey?”
Peter got up from the hard plastic chair and walked up to the doctor.
“Peter Burke, how is he?”
“He is doing well, all things considered. Please follow me, so we can talk in private.”
Peter followed the doctor to a small waiting area where they were alone. The doctor sat down and gestured to Peter to do the same. The doctor checked the paperwork in his hand.
“I see you are mister Caffrey´s medical proxy. Before you ask, he is still unconscious. I understood from the info you provided to the nurse that mister Caffrey was brought to hospital earlier today with suspected head trauma, but that he signed out AMA.”
“Yes, he had gone to my home, When I found him there, he was lucid. I gave him two of the pain pills the doctor in the ER had given him and he rested. Somewhere during the evening he stumbled down and was not really coherent anymore. He recognized me, but bolted as soon as I approached him. That is when he bumped into a friend and the tumbled down the stairs.”
“Well, maybe it is a good thing that he woke up and came down, because mister Caffrey had a small bleed in his brain. It could have been much worse if the bleeding wasn´t stopped. That is also almost certainly what caused the seizure. We are closely monitoring him.”
“Can I see him?”
“I can´t see why not. He is being admitted at the moment. Once he is settled in his room I will ask the nurse to come and get you, but for now, you can proceed to the waiting area of the neurological ward. It is on the fifth floor.”
“Thank you.”
Peter proceeded towards the fifth floor and walked up to the desk nurse, she smiled at him.
“Agent Burke? Doctor Simon informed me. Neal is already in his room, so you can proceed, he is in room 523. I will be over in a minute.”
“Thank you.”
Peter hesitated a moment before entering room 523, but then cowboyed up and walked in. Neal looked better than he had expected. Not as pale and his face looked relaxed. He stooped next to the bed and placed his hand on Neal´s, it was a bit cold. But then he noticed the room was chilly.
The nurse entered behind him and Peter turned around.
“He feels cold.”
“Yes, we want his brain to be able to recover from the bleed. When Neal was brought into the ER, a MRI and arteriography were done and since the bleed is small, the doctors decided to treat it with medication. Neal responded well to the medications, he was given a mild sedation, to help him relax so his brain has time to heal. He will probably not wake up for a couple of hours at least.”
“Can I stay with him?”
“Well, normally we don´t allow visitors to spend the night, but I´ll make an exception. Just make sure he gets his rest, recovery from a stroke, even although it was very small and the seizure he had, will take some time.”
Peter took of his coat and sat down on the chair, luckily it was a bit more comfortable than the ones in the waiting area. While he was waiting, his stomach growled. The lasagna! He hadn´t turned down the oven. He glanced around the room and took out his phone and sent a quick message to El to tell Mozzie to turn down the oven.
At that moment Mozzie entered the room.
“Of course I turned the oven down; the lasagna was delicious, by the way.”
Peter looked a bit mournful, his hunger more pronounced now that food was mentioned. Mozzie just gave him a small smile and handed him a brown paper bag. Peter peered inside and gave a grateful smile back.
“Thanks Mozzie.”
Peter pulled the little table towards him and placed the Tupperware box on top of it. There was also a can of coke. He started eating with gusto.
“How is he doing?”
“He had a small bleed in his brain, but they treated him with anti-seizure medication and blood pressure medicine. They think he will be fine as it was only a small bleed. We will have to wait until he wakes up.”
Silence fell when Mozzie stood there next to Neal, it reminded Peter of Neal keeping his vigil while Mozzie was in the hospital. Peter finished his dinner and told Mozzie that he would get him a coffee.
“Make mine a Pike Place Roast with medium sugar.”
“I´ll see what I can do.” Peter muttered.
* * *
Neal poked at his consciousness. It felt like he just couldn´t get through that last layer. He could hear people talk, felt people touch him, sometimes in a clinical matter, sometimes in a caring gesture.
He kept on fighting and couldn´t withhold a moan escaping.
“Neal?” a male voice asked. The voice was familiar.
He did his best to open his eyes and all at once, they opened against the harsh light so he quickly closed them again.
“Sorry, wait, let me turn that off.”
Neal noticed through his closed eyelids that the light was dimmed and he tried again.
“Welcome back.”
Neal just gave a small smile.
“How are you feeling?”
“OK.” He whispered.
“That is good. You gave us quite a scare.”
“Sorry.” Even though he had just woken up, he felt so tired, he just wanted to sleep some more.
“It´s OK, we will discuss this when you are feeling better. Rest now, that brain of yours needs to become it´s brilliant self again.” Peter patted Neal´s leg.
* * *
Several weeks later.
Neal walked into the office and tossed his hat on his desk while walking over to Peter´s office when he saw Peter give him the two finger point.
“How was your session?”
“Good, my gait training is paying off. They filmed me today, so I can see what areas I need to pay attention to, but it is going well.”
“Good to hear. Are you going to finish the report of the Bernard case?”
“Yes, it will be on your desk by closing of business.”
“Great. Thanks Neal, Oh, and El asked if you come over for dinner, she is trying one of Mozzie´s recipes. He will be there to.”
“As long as it isn´t Hongeo, I´m game.”
Neal left the office and descended back to his desk.
Hongeo? He needed to google what that was.
He studied Neal while he started working behind his desk. He was proud. Neal had done well in rehabilitating. After Neal woke up, his speech and memory turned out to be unimpaired, which was a huge relief to everybody, but when Neal was tested physically, it turned out he had some weakness in his left side, nothing major. First they had worked on rebuilding his strength, which went fairly well, but then it was obvious that Neal was not happy with the way he walked, so gait training was suggested. And he was convinced Mozzie had Neal train on other activities, if Byron´s training jacket was any indication.
Peter was happy that everything turned out OK, it could have been so much worse.
He turned back to his computer and opened google.
HONGEO, enter.
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: None
Characters: Neal, Peter, Mozzie, El, Satchmo
Warning: none
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: hurt/comfort, concussions
Author's Notes: this story fills a prompt from Icecreammilktea at collar corner:
Prompt/Request: So we all know how much Neal dislikes hospitals, and usually when he signs out of them AMA things go great. What happens if he really shouldn't have left the hospital? E.g. concussion and waking up disorientated; hurt - spikes a fever / has trouble breathing etc. How does Peter respond, and what is the aftermath?
Word Count: ~ 4600
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Well, the prompt says it all.
Story can also be found on AO3.
Peter glanced around the crime scene. Diana and Jones were leading their suspects to the police van to be transported into custody. ERT was recovering evidence. Officers and agents were scattered around the premises.
Wait. Where was Neal? He hadn´t seen Neal since the arrest.
When Neal had said the take down phrase, Peter and the team had entered the building. Neal had gotten out of the way and they had arrested the bad guys. Peter had lost track of Neal during the chaotic arrest.
Now that everything settled down, he noticed Neal missing. He scanned the space he was standing in, again. The door was open, so was the gate in the same side of the building. Peter called out to Jones and asked him about Neal´s whereabouts.
“I saw him leave through the gate. I guess to get some fresh air. He looked a bit pale.”
“Thanks Jones.”
Peter walked out through the mentioned gate, but there was no Neal on the outside, he asked the uniformed cops that were standing in front of it. One of them had seen Neal walk away, around the corner of the building. Peter walked in the direction the cop had pointed. When he rounded the corner, he saw Neal sitting on the curb, between two cars.
“Hey buddy, are you alright?”
Neal didn´t immediately answered but turned towards Peter. Like Jones had mentioned, Neal was pale, but not alarmingly so.
“Yeah, I´m fine. I needed some fresh air.”
“No problem, next time let me know, OK?” Peter patted Neal on the back and helped him up. When Neal wavered a moment, Peter got suspicious.
“Are you sure you are alright?”
“Yeah, just the adrenaline rush that is fading. Maybe we can get a cup of coffee?”
“Sure, but I want you checked out first, then we can have coffee.”
Peter escorted Neal back to the crime scene and placed him in his car while he called for an ambulance.
Within minutes the EMT´s were on the scene and started assessing Neal. It turned out he had a lump on his head, so he must have been hit or he must have hit something, but since Neal didn´t recall being hit, they decided to take him with them to hospital for further examination.
The EMT´s strapped Neal on the gurney and told Peter they would take him to the closed hospital. Peter wanted to go with Neal, but Neal insisted that he finish the arrest. He was fine. So reluctantly, Peter agreed.
By the time Peter could leave the scene, some time had passed, so he quickly got in his car and drove to hospital.
When he entered the ER and asked the desk nurse for mister Caffrey, he was informed that Neal had left the hospital AMA.
Peter was furious, he demanded to speak to the attending doctor to explain how it was possible that they let a patient sign out AMA while he had a head injury.
The nurse asked Peter to wait in an office and she promised to page the doctor in question.
* * *
Neal opened his eyes and quickly closed them again. His head throbbed. What had happened?
“It´s OK, Neal, you just dozed off during the ride. You have a bump on your head, but we will have it checked out in hospital.”
Neal slowly opened his eyes again.
“What happened?”
“You don´t remember? Don´t worry. This isn´t uncommon. Just rest, we´re almost there.” The EMT gently patted his shoulder.
“OK.” Neal let his eyes fall shut again.
He started a bit when the ambulance stopped and the doors opened.
“It´s OK. We arrived at the hospital.” The EMT reassured him.
Neal was wheeled into the ER. The headache was still there. The noise and the lights in the ER didn´t help. When he was placed in a cubicle and the privacy curtain closed, Neal did his best to get up. Nobody was paying attention to him, so he took a moment to get the rolling of his stomach under control. Once he was sitting up on the bed, he opened his eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning.
“Mister Caffrey?”
Neal flinched and opened his eyes, blinking against the bright fluorescent lights. It took a moment to get the man in front of him into focus.
“I was informed that you were hit on the head during a police raid.”
“Yeah, but I´m fine, just a headache.”
“Well, we will do a quick examination and see what he got.”
“I told you, I´m fine. What do I need to do to get out of here?”
“Like I said, I will check you out and then we can discuss….”
“No, I want to sign out AMA.” Neal interrupted.
“Mister Caffrey, I strongly advice against leaving AMA. It will only take a couple of minutes.”
“No, I´m leaving now. Where do I sign?”
Neal let his feet hit the ground and wavered, but he stubbornly walked out of the cubicle. The doctor followed him towards the front desk. He told the nurse to get him papers so he could leave the hospital.
“Mister Caffrey, please let us examine you.”
“I´m fine, I just want o go home and get some rest.”
“No problem, let me check you out. I guess by the way you are squinting your eyes, you have a concussion.”
Neal looked up from the papers he was trying to sign.
“Yes, I saw you trying to focus on the papers. You have almost certainly a concussion.”
“I will rest, no TV, no tablet or smart phone, I know the drill.”
“Wait a moment.” The doctor left, and came back with an orange pill bottle in his hand.
“Here, if you are so decisive on leaving us AMA, take these, they will help with the headaches. Eat some dry toast and tea against the nausea.”
“Thanks.” Neal gave the doctor a small smile.
“Can you call me a cab, please?”
“Sure, the desk nurse will arrange one. But please be careful and if you don´t feel well, call an ambulance or come back, promise me.”
“I promise.” Neal said slowly.
“Someone called a cab?” A voice called out.
Neal waved and thanked the doctor and nurse before leaving.
* * *
Doctor Fernandez responded to the ER page. Nurse Ann came walking up to him.
“There is a special agent Burke waiting to talk to you. He has questions about Mister Caffrey.”
“Thank you.”
He entered the room and greeted the man inside. The agent looked worried, which wasn´t what he had expected after the talk he had with nurse Ann.
“Special agent Peter Burke. I understand you treated Neal Caffrey.”
“Doctor Jan Fernandez. I didn´t treat mister Caffrey, he signed out AMA, I tried to keep him here, but he was very strong willed when I told him I didn´t agree, but he still signed out against my advice.”
“So you just let a wounded man leave without checking him out?” Peter sounded offended.
“Again, I advised mister Caffrey to allow me to treat him, but he didn´t want me to, and he took a cab. There is only so much I can do, I have other patients who actually want my help.”
“I´m sorry, I didn´t want to imply that I know how to do your job, I am just worried. I know Neal can do irrational things.”
“He sounded quite educated on the concussion symptoms, I guess it wasn´t his first. But like I told mister Caffrey, if his symptoms get worse, come back.”
“Do I need to wake him every two hours?”
“No, we used to do that, but we don´t anymore. But just make sure mister Caffrey stays lucid, if he doesn´t, come back, I can´t stress it enough.”
“Thanks, we will.”
Peter shook hands with the doctor and left the hospital. He drove to June´s, and was led in by the maid. She told Peter that Neal hadn´t come home today. Now Peter´s worry intensified. He tried Neal´s cell again, but it went straight to voicemail. He left a message.
Then he called El asking her to contact Mozzie and to ask him to call back. When he disconnected the line he stopped to think for a minute. Where would Neal go for security, if not his own appartemnet. He was still contemplating what he was going to do, when his cell rang.
“Burke.”
“What is so important that you would interrupt my beauty sleep, suit. Some of us have to work at night, you know.”
“I´ll pretend I didn´t hear that. Neal was hurt today and he signed himself out AMA.”
“You lost Neal?”
“I didn´t lose him. I wasn´t allowed to ride with him in the ambulance and he was lucid and awake; By the time I arrived at the hospital, he already left.”
“Well, he didn´t appear at any of my safe houses, if that is what you were wondering. I haven´t heard from him either. Have you checked out your place?”
“My place?”
“Yeah, for some misguided reason, Neal associates you with safety, remember when he was drugged?”
“Thanks Mozz, I will keep in contact.”
“Find him, Peter.”
Peter sprinted back to his car and in record time made it to Brooklyn. OK, it had helped when he turned on the siren and lights, but he had turned them off, as soon as he exited the Bridge.
When he couldn´t find a spot, he double parked his car and through his FBI sign in front of the windshield and dashed up the stairs to his front door. Mozzie was right, the door was unlocked, so Neal was definitely lucid enough to pick the lock.
“Neal?”
Satchmo came walking up to him whining.
“Where is he, boy?” Peter patted the dog on his head and entered the living room. No sign of Neal. He climbed the stairs, where he found Neal in the master bedroom. He seemed to be sleeping. He had taken off his shoes, jacket and belt and lay on top of the blankets.
Peter texted El so she could let Mozzie know that Neal was at their place. She texted back she would back home as soon as the event was done, but Peter let her know that she didn´t have to rush, he had things under control.
He gently shook Neal, but when he didn´t react, his worry was back.
“Neal?”
Peter didn´t want to shake him rougher in case Neal was seriously hurt.
“Come on, Neal, wake up.”
Neal´s eyes suddenly blinked open and he flinched away from Peter.
“Sorry, I…”
“You startled me.” Neal mumbled, he sounded a bit shook up. He let himself plop back on the bed and closed his eyes.
“Sorry Neal, I didn´t want to startle you, but you scared me when you didn´t react the first time I called you.”
“I´m fine, just a bit of a headache.”
“I will let you rest then, do you need anything?”
“Maybe a pill and some water? They are in my jacket.”
“Sure.” Peter walked to the bathroom to fill a glass of water and fished the pill bottle out of Neal´s jacket. He read the label and shook out two pills and placed them in Neal´s hand. Neal threw them back and swallowed them with some water. He then lay back down.
“You sure you are OK?”
“I´m lucid, aren´t I? I guess the doctor told you, you needed to check if I was coherent.”
“Yes, but still. I would have preferred it of you had let the doctors examine you.”
“It is just a concussion. I will live.” Neal´s words got a slurring quality and Peter eyed Neal suspiciously, but it was probably the pills working their magic. Within minutes, Neal´s breathing evened out and Peter knew he was sleeping, He threw a blanket over Neal and went back downstairs to park his car.
* * *
Peter had taken out some files to work on. He was sitting at the dining room table, with Satchmo at his feet. He put lasagna in the oven. El had prepared it yesterday and had told him he just needed to pop it in the oven. The room was already filling with wonderful aromas and Peter was reading some files.
He heard Neal wake up and moving towards the bathroom, so that was OK. When he heard the toilet flush, he listened to hear whether Neal was going back to bed, but he heard him come down the stairs.
Peter looked up when he heard Neal mumbling, it sounded like he was talking to a phone or to himself.
“Neal?”
Neal suddenly stopped talking and looked like a deer caught in headlights.
“What?”
Peter frowned, there was a slurring quality to Neal´s voice.
“How are you feeling Neal? Is there anything you need?”
“No.” it sounded hesitant.
“You want to lie on the couch and listen to some music, you can´t watch television, but I guess music would be OK.”
Satchmo trotted towards Neal and sat down whining and bumped his head against Neal´s hand.
“Why would I want to sit on your couch, Peter?”
“You can also join me here at the table, but I guess you would be more comfortable on the couch, but whatever suits you.”
Neal was still staring at him, not acknowledging Satchmo, who kept whining. It was clear the dog was unsure why Neal didn´t pet him.
“Neal?”
“I…”
Peter realized Neal was unusually pale, sweat started to form in his hair line.
“Neal? You are starting to worry me. Please sit down before you fall down.” Peter started to get up, but that only resulted in Neal backing away towards the front door.
“Neal? Come on, you were lucid a couple of hours ago. Come on, stay with me. I think you need a doctor.”
Neal grabbed his head.
“No, I ... I´m fine.”
“If you are fine, would you have a headache? Come on Neal, please let me help you, you look like you are about to pass out.”
But the moment Peter took a step towards Neal, he bolted for the door. Peter hadn´t expected Neal to be so quick, not in this state. It was clear that Neal wasn´t lucid anymore and that they needed to go back to the ER, urgently.
“NEAL!”
But Neal was already outside the second door and the moment Peter crossed it, he could see a human pile down the stairs. He quickly made his way down and saw Neal laying, eyes closed on top of Mozzie, who was still trying to catch his breath.
“Are you OK?”
“What the hell happened?” Mozzie gawked, rubbing his head where he had hit the pavement.
Peter knelt down next to Neal, and together with Mozzie he slowly turned Neal on his back. In the streetlights, Neal even appeared gaunter than in the livingroom. Neal was breathing and had a pulse, although a bit fast. Peter tried to get Neal to wake, but he didn´t react.
“Mozzie, please get my cell on the dining room table and call 911.”
“Sure.”
Mozzie quickly made his way up the stairs, while Peter stayed with Neal.
“Damn it, Neal, I knew I should have taken you back to the ER.”
Mozzie came back with a pillow and a blanket while talking to the 911 operator. While Peter tried to make Neal more comfortable, he started seizing.
“My friend is having a seizure, please hurry up.” Peter heard Mozzie say.
“No, he can´t hurt himself, there are no objects and we are keeping him save. Oh, he stopped convulsing.”
To Peter he said “Check his pulse and breathing.”
“They are as expected. What is the ETA on that ambulance?”
But at the moment, Peter could hear the siren and see the lights entering the street. Mozzie stood up and waved and the ambulance stopped next to them.
“Good evening, we were called that a man was found unconscious and was having a seizure.”
“Yes, his name is Neal, he was hit over the head earlier today but decided to sign out AMA. He was resting here, but about fifteen minutes ago, he woke up and was no longer coherent.”
“Until then he was intelligible?”
“Yes, I guess, the last time I talked to him, he was. He took two of the pain pills the doctor had given him and he was resting.”
While they talked, the other paramedic examined Neal and he walked back to get the gurney. The quickly transferred Neal onto it and asked if someone would accompany them.
Peter looked at Mozzie, who shook his head. I will stay here and wait for Mrs. Suit, you go.” Mozzie handed peter his cell and stood to the side.
“OK”, Peter jumped in the ambulance and they left.
* * *
Neal woke up disoriented. His head was hurting worse than before. He looked around and realized he was lying in a strange bed. The bed was not in a hospital, it appeared to be a bedroom. Neal let out a low groan. His head was killing him. He got out of the bed when he felt he was going to be sick, so he stumbled into the hallway in search of a bathroom. The moment he reached the toilet, he retched, but as he hadn´t eaten anything, there wasn´t much in his stomach. He felt marginally better afterwards and flushed the toilet.
When he came back out of the bathroom, he was confused. He still hadn´t figured out where he was. That was strange wasn´t it? He should know where he woke up, shouldn´t he?
Neal heard someone downstairs so he slowly made his way to the stairs. He got a bit of an unbalanced feeling when he started down, so he slowly descended the stairs, clutching the banister.
“You can do this Neal, one step at a time.” He muttered to himself. But his headache only increased with the movement. So he kept giving himself a pep talk.
Once he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he stopped. His brain felt like it was sloshing in his skull. He needed to wait a moment.
“Give yourself a break. Think, Neal.” He whispered.
“Neal?”
Neal tensed up. Wait, relax, it was Peter´s voice.
“What?” Was that his voice?
“How are you feeling Neal? Is there anything you need?”
“No.” Did he need something? He was not sure, now that the question was asked.
“You want to lie on the couch and listen to some music, you can´t watch television, but I guess music would be OK.”
Suddenly there was something bumping his hand, but Neal was fighting to stay upright, so he didn´t dare looking down. A couch sounded good, but he was not here to lie on the couch, was he? Why was he here?
“Why would I want to sit on your couch, Peter?”
“You can also join me here at the table, but I guess you would be more comfortable on the couch, but whatever suits you.”
Neal felt lost, why was he at Peter´s?
“Neal?”
Neal felt the nausea building and his headache was taking on a whole new level. He felt like his head was being pushed open from the inside.
“I…”
He wanted to let Peter know that he was lost and he needed help. Peter would know what to do, wouldn´t he?
“Neal? You are starting to worry me. Please sit down before you fall down.”
Wait who was talking to him? When the man approached him, he felt the need to back away.
“Neal? Come on, you were lucid a couple of hours ago. Come on, stay with me. I think you need a doctor.”
Neal grabbed his head.
“No, I ... I´m fine.”
“If you are fine, would you have a headache? Come on Neal, please let me help you, you look like you are about to pass out.”
He needed to get out of here. This wasn´t his place. With a spike in adrenaline, he bolted for the door and was through only to be met with an obstacle. He hit whatever it was hard and there was a falling sensation.
“NEAL!” was the last thing he heard before everything went black.
* * *
“Family of Neal Caffrey?”
Peter got up from the hard plastic chair and walked up to the doctor.
“Peter Burke, how is he?”
“He is doing well, all things considered. Please follow me, so we can talk in private.”
Peter followed the doctor to a small waiting area where they were alone. The doctor sat down and gestured to Peter to do the same. The doctor checked the paperwork in his hand.
“I see you are mister Caffrey´s medical proxy. Before you ask, he is still unconscious. I understood from the info you provided to the nurse that mister Caffrey was brought to hospital earlier today with suspected head trauma, but that he signed out AMA.”
“Yes, he had gone to my home, When I found him there, he was lucid. I gave him two of the pain pills the doctor in the ER had given him and he rested. Somewhere during the evening he stumbled down and was not really coherent anymore. He recognized me, but bolted as soon as I approached him. That is when he bumped into a friend and the tumbled down the stairs.”
“Well, maybe it is a good thing that he woke up and came down, because mister Caffrey had a small bleed in his brain. It could have been much worse if the bleeding wasn´t stopped. That is also almost certainly what caused the seizure. We are closely monitoring him.”
“Can I see him?”
“I can´t see why not. He is being admitted at the moment. Once he is settled in his room I will ask the nurse to come and get you, but for now, you can proceed to the waiting area of the neurological ward. It is on the fifth floor.”
“Thank you.”
Peter proceeded towards the fifth floor and walked up to the desk nurse, she smiled at him.
“Agent Burke? Doctor Simon informed me. Neal is already in his room, so you can proceed, he is in room 523. I will be over in a minute.”
“Thank you.”
Peter hesitated a moment before entering room 523, but then cowboyed up and walked in. Neal looked better than he had expected. Not as pale and his face looked relaxed. He stooped next to the bed and placed his hand on Neal´s, it was a bit cold. But then he noticed the room was chilly.
The nurse entered behind him and Peter turned around.
“He feels cold.”
“Yes, we want his brain to be able to recover from the bleed. When Neal was brought into the ER, a MRI and arteriography were done and since the bleed is small, the doctors decided to treat it with medication. Neal responded well to the medications, he was given a mild sedation, to help him relax so his brain has time to heal. He will probably not wake up for a couple of hours at least.”
“Can I stay with him?”
“Well, normally we don´t allow visitors to spend the night, but I´ll make an exception. Just make sure he gets his rest, recovery from a stroke, even although it was very small and the seizure he had, will take some time.”
Peter took of his coat and sat down on the chair, luckily it was a bit more comfortable than the ones in the waiting area. While he was waiting, his stomach growled. The lasagna! He hadn´t turned down the oven. He glanced around the room and took out his phone and sent a quick message to El to tell Mozzie to turn down the oven.
At that moment Mozzie entered the room.
“Of course I turned the oven down; the lasagna was delicious, by the way.”
Peter looked a bit mournful, his hunger more pronounced now that food was mentioned. Mozzie just gave him a small smile and handed him a brown paper bag. Peter peered inside and gave a grateful smile back.
“Thanks Mozzie.”
Peter pulled the little table towards him and placed the Tupperware box on top of it. There was also a can of coke. He started eating with gusto.
“How is he doing?”
“He had a small bleed in his brain, but they treated him with anti-seizure medication and blood pressure medicine. They think he will be fine as it was only a small bleed. We will have to wait until he wakes up.”
Silence fell when Mozzie stood there next to Neal, it reminded Peter of Neal keeping his vigil while Mozzie was in the hospital. Peter finished his dinner and told Mozzie that he would get him a coffee.
“Make mine a Pike Place Roast with medium sugar.”
“I´ll see what I can do.” Peter muttered.
* * *
Neal poked at his consciousness. It felt like he just couldn´t get through that last layer. He could hear people talk, felt people touch him, sometimes in a clinical matter, sometimes in a caring gesture.
He kept on fighting and couldn´t withhold a moan escaping.
“Neal?” a male voice asked. The voice was familiar.
He did his best to open his eyes and all at once, they opened against the harsh light so he quickly closed them again.
“Sorry, wait, let me turn that off.”
Neal noticed through his closed eyelids that the light was dimmed and he tried again.
“Welcome back.”
Neal just gave a small smile.
“How are you feeling?”
“OK.” He whispered.
“That is good. You gave us quite a scare.”
“Sorry.” Even though he had just woken up, he felt so tired, he just wanted to sleep some more.
“It´s OK, we will discuss this when you are feeling better. Rest now, that brain of yours needs to become it´s brilliant self again.” Peter patted Neal´s leg.
* * *
Several weeks later.
Neal walked into the office and tossed his hat on his desk while walking over to Peter´s office when he saw Peter give him the two finger point.
“How was your session?”
“Good, my gait training is paying off. They filmed me today, so I can see what areas I need to pay attention to, but it is going well.”
“Good to hear. Are you going to finish the report of the Bernard case?”
“Yes, it will be on your desk by closing of business.”
“Great. Thanks Neal, Oh, and El asked if you come over for dinner, she is trying one of Mozzie´s recipes. He will be there to.”
“As long as it isn´t Hongeo, I´m game.”
Neal left the office and descended back to his desk.
Hongeo? He needed to google what that was.
He studied Neal while he started working behind his desk. He was proud. Neal had done well in rehabilitating. After Neal woke up, his speech and memory turned out to be unimpaired, which was a huge relief to everybody, but when Neal was tested physically, it turned out he had some weakness in his left side, nothing major. First they had worked on rebuilding his strength, which went fairly well, but then it was obvious that Neal was not happy with the way he walked, so gait training was suggested. And he was convinced Mozzie had Neal train on other activities, if Byron´s training jacket was any indication.
Peter was happy that everything turned out OK, it could have been so much worse.
He turned back to his computer and opened google.
HONGEO, enter.