EOD
Title: Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: none
Characters: Neal, Peter, OMC
Warning: hurt/comfort, kidnapping, bombs, angst
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: hurt/comfort,
Author's Notes: This story was written for the Whitecollarhc Advent calender and fills a prompt from leesa_perrie on collar corner.
Prompt/Request: New York is cold in the winter, and in fact, it's snowing... and yet, somehow, Neal ends up hyperthermic.
Characters: Neal, others as you wish
I Would Like: Hyperthermic Neal. One of the causes is adverse reactions to drugs, but I'm happy if you prefer to go down the heatstroke route. Maybe he gets dumped in a pile of snow by a well-meaning person, though not sure if that would be a good thing or not, medically speaking! Artwork of over-hot Neal, or Neal dumped in a snowdrift, more than welcome!
Word Count: ~2900
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Peter is abducted by the baddie of the day. A bomb is strapped to him and he is left for Neal to find. Neal and the bomb squad try to save Peter. When Peter figures out what is happening to Neal, it is almost too late.
Story can also be found on AO3.
“Peter?”
“Peter? Come on, wake up.”
Neal continued to gently shake Peter. He was lying unconscious on some newspapers on a bench at Rockefeller Plaza. He was wearing some rather filthy overcoat and a wool hat, at first glance; Peter appeared to be a homeless person.
Neal had gotten a call earlier that night, a male voice telling him where he could find Peter. Neal, together with the rest of Peter´s team was still in the office searching for clues to where Peter had been taken.
The moment Neal disconnected the call, he wanted to sprint out of the building, but Hughes had demanded, no … ordered, that he wear a bullet proof vest and an ear piece before being let into one of the FBI vehicles that would take him to Peter.
When they arrived at Rockefeller plaza, Neal made it out of the car way before the other agents. He sprinted in a beeline to where the prone figure of Peter was lying.
Now that he was kneeling next to Peter, he started checking for head injuries. When he couldn´t find any wounds, he assumed that Peter was probably drugged. Peter´s breathing was steady and regular, so he didn´t need to worry about that. Neal started patting Peter down to check for other injuries. He froze when he came to Peter´s mid section; something was underneath his winter coat, something hard. When Neal carefully opened his coat and lifted it, he could see the bomb strapped to Peter.
“Guys?” Neal said in his wire.
“Caffrey, what is going on?”
“Sir, there is a bomb strapped to Peter´s waist.”
“OK, leave Peter and come back to the car. THAT IS AN ORDER, CAFFREY!”
“With all due respect sir, I´m not leaving Peter, he is unconscious. Please get a bomb squad over here as I don´t have any experience with defusing bombs.”
“Neal, stand down and come back.”
“No can do, sir.”
Neal heard Hughes grumbling something under his breath that was better not repeated. He checked Peter again, but he was still breathing OK. He kept telling Peter everything was going to be OK, until he startled because someone touched his shoulder. It was one of the bomb squad guys in a blast suit.
“Neal? My name is Enrique.”
“Nice to meet you, this is Peter.” Neal pointed at Peter.
“I was informed by your boss, who, by the way is mighty pissed off that you are still here. I need to tell you that you are going back if you don´t go back immediately. He didn´t specify where you are going back to, he said you would know.”
Neal nodded.
“Well, I am not leaving him alone; we do not have to discuss it further.”
At that moment, Peter started stirring.
“See, Peter is waking up, I am not going anywhere.”
The man studied him a moment and then said in his microphone: “Frank, I need an extra blast suit.”
“You can help me keep him calm while I diffuse the bomb. But I need you to go back to my colleague and get a blast suit on. I will keep Peter company until you are back.”
Neal got up and jogged towards the van of the bomb squad. A man, Neal assumed Frank, waved at him and Neal walked up to him. He was holding up a suit and helped Neal into it.
“You need to keep the helmet on, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? This is non-negotiable. The gloves and helmet stay on to, whatever happens, are we clear on that?” Frank finished strapping Neal in.
“Yes, yes, let me go back, please.”
When Neal wanted to jog back, he felt the weight of the suit, slowing him down, so he walked instead. Finally kneeling next to Enrique, Neal was already sweating.
“Wow, this suit is heavy.”
“Yeah, it weighs more than eighty pounds. Peter here is slowly waking up. You try to keep him calm and unmoving and I will do my job.”
Neal knelt next to Peter´s head when Peter started moving again. A low moan escaped him.
Neal placed his hand on top of his cheek, so if Peter would startle, he couldn´t get up.
“Peter? Hey Peter, it is me, Neal. Stay still, can you do that for me?”
“Hmm?”
“You need to keep still, can you do that?”
“Neal?” Peter slurred.
“Yes.”
“I don´t feel too good.”
“Try to breathe through it.” Neal cast a nervous glance at Enrique.
“Peter, my name is Enrique. If you can try not to vomit.”
“Kay.”
…
“Neal?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you wearing a space suit?”
Neal gave a nervous laugh. Space suit?
“It is not a space suit, Peter.”
Neal could see Peter chewing it over in his brain.
“I´m wired, aren´t I?” he finally concluded.
“Yes, Enrique here is diffusing the bomb as we speak. What do you remember?”
“I … I was on my way home… I walked up to the car and … and then nothing.”
“It´s OK. I guess you were drugged. I was told where I could find you, and here I am.”
“I´m cold.”
“OK, well we should switch places, since I´m not, but as that is not an option, I will get you a blanket or something.”
Neal studied Enrique who nodded and contacted his colleague. Neal got up and walked as quickly as the suit let him over to Frank. They handed him a couple of blankets. While walking back, Neal took in the surreal scenery, behind Peter and Enrique stood the big Christmas tree with all the lights. The snow was still falling, not as bad as earlier, but still a bit, covering everything in a white thin layer. People were watching behind the police tape and camera crews had found their way to the scene. Thankfully El was at her sister, so she would not be able to see local news.
By the time he arrived back at the two men, he was sweating profusely. He started very carefully to cover Peter´s legs and shoulders.
Peter appeared to have fallen asleep again.
“And?” Neal asked Enrique.
“Well, it is a fairly big explosive device; it has a single blast cap. As far as I can see there is a remote detonator which means that there is probably a vibration sensor or tilt switch. So it is critical that we keep Peter immobilized.”
“OK, but as you can see he is cold, he is shivering. We need to keep him warm.”
“Frank told me to send you back, they made some hot water bottles, we can´t risk space heaters, so can you get them?
“Sure.”
Neal slowly got up again and walked back. He was hot, seriously, how did these guys work in these suits, especially the specialists in Afghanistan or countries like that.
When Neal arrived at the van, the team had placed the hot water bottles in a box.
“Are you OK, Neal?
Frank studied him. He had noticed that his breathing seemed a bit rapid.
“I´m fine, but Peter is cold. Got to go back to him.”
He picked the box up and started walking back. His head started pounding a bit. The distance seemed to be twice as long. Neal shook his head. What was he complaining about, Peter was freezing on a snowy bench and he needed to take care of him.
Neal placed his hand on Peter´s head again.
“Peter? Wake up please.”
Peter stirred awake.
“I´m going to placed some hot water bottles to keep you warm, I just didn´t want to startle you. He placed the hot water bottles near Peter´s feet, behind his back and shoulders. He also put a pair of mittens they had given him on Peter´s hands.
“Thanks.” Peter sighed.
“How are you doing?”
“Better, the warmth is nice. Did anyone tell El?”
“I don´t know. I guess Hughes has contacted her. I came here as soon as possible.”
“That ´s OK. Diana or Hughes will probably contact her. What is the verdict?” Peter looked up at Enrique.
"I´m trying to stop the blasting cap from going off. The difficulty is doing it without tripping the tilt switch. By the looks of it, this is a reasonably sophisticated bomb, so I guess there is the obvious blasting cap as well as a hidden one.”
“Maybe I didn´t want to know.” Peter mumbled.
“I can diffuse it, no problem, but it will take some time.”
Enrique reassured them.
“How did you come to do this for a living?” Neal asked.
“The obvious, signed up for the army, was stress resilient and I like to puzzle. After a couple of tours abroad, I thought I would take it easier and came back home and here I am.”
“Talk about taking it easier.”
“How are you holding up, Peter?”
“I´m fine, the hot water bottles make it more comfortable.”
“How would you normally diffuse these bombs?”
“You really want to know?”
“I guess” Neal looked unsure.
“We would shoot at them, they would detonate, everybody safe.”
“Glad you decided to do it like in the movies.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn´t always goes like in the Hurt Locker.”
Enrique chuckled. “Neal, are you OK?”
“Yeah, I´m fine.” Neal lied easily; It was not that they could see him. Peter was lying down and Enrique was kneeling next to the bomb and working on it. But Neal had to admit he was hot and anxious. His head hurt and he was feeling a bit nauseous, but he needed to keep it together, it was just the stress and the weight of the suit. He was fine.
“Peter, how is the nausea?”
“Ok, I guess. I won´t retch, if you are wondering.”
“That´s good.”
“Neal? Are you sure you are OK?” Enrique asked.
“Sure.”
“Tell me if you are not feeling well, OK?”
“Yeah, I will.”
Peter had let his eyes fell shut again.
“Wake up Peter, you need to stay awake.” Neal said in an annoyed voice.
“It´s OK, Neal, let him sleep; that way time will go faster for him.”
“Yeah it will for him, what about us?” Neal stated agitated.
“Neal, are you sure you are OK?”
“Sorry, just tired, it has been a long day and we are still here, it is already past midnight.”
“Go back to the team, I am almost done.”
“No, no, I´m staying. If Peter needs something, I want to be here. Maybe the water bottles are cooling down.”
“Well, leave them, I am almost done.”
Enrique informed his colleagues that he was almost done and they could send in the robot with the container in which he could store the bomb.
Neal could see something coming towards them.
“Enrique, how far are you?”
“I am almost finished, why?”
“There is something coming towards us, I guess they are sending another bomb towards us.” Neal exclaimed anxious.
Enrique turned towards the movement.
“Neal, that is just the robot I asked for. It is OK, stay with me OK, Neal? Keep it together. Peter?”
Peter slowly opened his eyes.
“Peter, I need you to talk to Neal, I guess he is having a heat stroke, can you please have him go back to the team?”
That got Peter´s attention.
“What do you mean heat stroke, it is, what fourteen degrees?”
“Yes, but the bomb suit is a microclimate. Neal, what are you wearing underneath the suit?”
“Just my underwear, why would I wear anything else under my suit?” Neal slurred.
The answer worried Peter. It was clear that Neal was not OK, Enrique was right, something was wrong.
“Over your underwear, what are you wearing?”
“Byron´s suit, winter coat, I guess. “
“OK, that is good, Neal, I want you to go back to the team, you are not OK Neal, you need to cool down and have something to drink.”
“No, I need to stay, Peter needs me.”
“I am here Neal, I´m fine but you are not. Please, go back to the team?”
“I can´t, Peter needs me, what don´t you understand?” Neal sounded annoyed, well more pissed off.
“It´s OK, Peter, if you can stay still a couple of minutes, I have this and you can take your partner to the ambulance yourself. I already informed them about Neal´s condition, they are on standby.”
“Neal, can you sit down here with me?” Peter asked.
“Of course, I can.”
Neal more fell to his knees instead of sitting down. When Peter looked into the helmet he was shocked. Neal was pale and he even had a blueish tint to his skin.
“Neal, just keep still, you are going to be OK.” Peter tried to reassure him.
“Yeah Peter, you are going to be …” Neal slurred before his eyes rolled in his head, and he slumped down.
“NEAL?” Peter jumped up towards Neal to catch him, only to realize what he had done…
But the bomb hadn´t gone off…
He looked back at Enrique who was still kneeling with the pliers in one gloved hand and the now detached bomb in his other.
“You couldn´t just wait another minute, could you?” Enrique asked before he started laughing. It was a relieved laugh.
Enrique gathered all the parts of the bomb and dropped them in the container. After closing the lid, he knelt next to Neal. He took off the helmet and gasped.
“I knew something was up when he started slurring his words, the disorientation is never good. He is hyperthermic.”
When Peter looked in confusion, he explained. “He is having a severe heat stroke.”
Enrique started to open the bomb suit, but there were multiple layers and it was slow going. Meanwhile two paramedics had arrived and they helped getting Neal out of the protective clothing. When they stripped him, it turned out that Neal was also wearing a bullet proof vest underneath it all. No wonder that Neal had overheated in the blast suit.
The paramedics quickly assessed Neal´s condition as critical and wheeled him away. Enrique helped Peter towards the ambulance. Having lied down for such prolonged time in the cold hadn´t done Peter any good, so he also needed to be checked out.
* * *
Peter had been admitted to make sure the sedatives they gave him would pass his system without any side effects and he was diagnosed with mild hypothermia.
Neal however… Peter had spoken with his doctor; they were cooling his body down. He had been brought in with a body temperature of a hundred and four degrees. The doctor had explained that they had given him a gastric lavage with iced saline, but the doctor was not completely satisfied with the results, Neal was still unconscious and his body temperature was not coming down as they expected, so he had ordered a hemodialysis to cool Neal´s blood. The doctor was afraid for brain damage if Neal´s temperatures stayed elevated too long.
“Can I see him?”
“We can make an exception, but remember agent Burke, Neal is in critical condition. It can look a bit overwhelming in the room. And you can´t stay in the room too long as we cool it and you are hypothermic yourself.” The doctor warned.
“Thanks.”
A couple of minutes later an orderly came in with a wheelchair and helped Peter in it. They walked slowly to the ICU where Peter was wheeled inside Neal´s room.
Neal looked…. Well there was only one way to say it, bad.
They had him on oxygen, lines and tubes where running in and out of him. Peter didn´t even want to imagine why they were there. A machine was standing next to Neal´s bed, Peter guessed the dialysis machine.
Neal looked flushed which was a strange sight, as he had been so pale he almost looked blue earlier. The doctor had explained to Peter that Neal appeared blue because Neal´s blood pressure had been so low, his blood vessels had contracted in reflex.
When Peter took Neal´s hand, his skin felt cool.
“I know he feels cool on the outside, but his core temperature is still too high.” The doctor explained.
“Neal? You´re going to be OK. I´m here and El is also coming. Come to think of it, Mozzie is probably lurking around somewhere.” Peter glanced around the room, but they were alone.
Neal stirred while Peter was talking.
“Neal?”
“Mom?” Peter felt his heard contract when he heard Neal´s croaking voice.
Neal´s hand crept up to the oxygen mask.
“Leave the mask, Neal, it helps you breath.”
“Dad?”
“No buddy, it´s Peter.”
It took Neal a moment to process the meaning of the words.
“Oh,… I´m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. How are you feeling?”
“Bad. I´m cold.”
“I know buddy, but your body is overheated and the doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to cool you down so they protect that brilliant brain of yours.”
“Brilliant, hey?”
“Well, not really, when Enrique asked you if you were OK, you should have told him you were hot. It is a common problem with the bomb suits. People inside tend to overheat.”
The doctor entered the room.
“Mister Caffrey, I guess your body temperature is low enough so that we can further cool you externally, we will stop the dialysis and continue with cold packs.”
Neal started shivering, just by hearing the doctor explain everything.
“You will be OK, but you will feel off for some time, your body will have trouble adjusting to atmospheric conditions, let´s say your internal thermostat is of kilter.”
“When can I leave?”
“Well, you rest first and we want to observe you at least twenty four hours, so at the earliest the day after tomorrow.”
“Are you OK?” Neal asked Peter.
“Yeah, just some hypothermia, look at me, I´m wearing flannel pajamas, thick socks, a robe, and a blanket, and here you are having your blood cooled.” Peter laughed.
“Just rest Neal, when the doctors let you go, you are staying with El and me for Christmas. I was informed June will spend the holidays with her family, so you will as well.”
Happy Holidays!
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: none
Characters: Neal, Peter, OMC
Warning: hurt/comfort, kidnapping, bombs, angst
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: hurt/comfort,
Author's Notes: This story was written for the Whitecollarhc Advent calender and fills a prompt from leesa_perrie on collar corner.
Prompt/Request: New York is cold in the winter, and in fact, it's snowing... and yet, somehow, Neal ends up hyperthermic.
Characters: Neal, others as you wish
I Would Like: Hyperthermic Neal. One of the causes is adverse reactions to drugs, but I'm happy if you prefer to go down the heatstroke route. Maybe he gets dumped in a pile of snow by a well-meaning person, though not sure if that would be a good thing or not, medically speaking! Artwork of over-hot Neal, or Neal dumped in a snowdrift, more than welcome!
Word Count: ~2900
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: Peter is abducted by the baddie of the day. A bomb is strapped to him and he is left for Neal to find. Neal and the bomb squad try to save Peter. When Peter figures out what is happening to Neal, it is almost too late.
Story can also be found on AO3.
“Peter?”
“Peter? Come on, wake up.”
Neal continued to gently shake Peter. He was lying unconscious on some newspapers on a bench at Rockefeller Plaza. He was wearing some rather filthy overcoat and a wool hat, at first glance; Peter appeared to be a homeless person.
Neal had gotten a call earlier that night, a male voice telling him where he could find Peter. Neal, together with the rest of Peter´s team was still in the office searching for clues to where Peter had been taken.
The moment Neal disconnected the call, he wanted to sprint out of the building, but Hughes had demanded, no … ordered, that he wear a bullet proof vest and an ear piece before being let into one of the FBI vehicles that would take him to Peter.
When they arrived at Rockefeller plaza, Neal made it out of the car way before the other agents. He sprinted in a beeline to where the prone figure of Peter was lying.
Now that he was kneeling next to Peter, he started checking for head injuries. When he couldn´t find any wounds, he assumed that Peter was probably drugged. Peter´s breathing was steady and regular, so he didn´t need to worry about that. Neal started patting Peter down to check for other injuries. He froze when he came to Peter´s mid section; something was underneath his winter coat, something hard. When Neal carefully opened his coat and lifted it, he could see the bomb strapped to Peter.
“Guys?” Neal said in his wire.
“Caffrey, what is going on?”
“Sir, there is a bomb strapped to Peter´s waist.”
“OK, leave Peter and come back to the car. THAT IS AN ORDER, CAFFREY!”
“With all due respect sir, I´m not leaving Peter, he is unconscious. Please get a bomb squad over here as I don´t have any experience with defusing bombs.”
“Neal, stand down and come back.”
“No can do, sir.”
Neal heard Hughes grumbling something under his breath that was better not repeated. He checked Peter again, but he was still breathing OK. He kept telling Peter everything was going to be OK, until he startled because someone touched his shoulder. It was one of the bomb squad guys in a blast suit.
“Neal? My name is Enrique.”
“Nice to meet you, this is Peter.” Neal pointed at Peter.
“I was informed by your boss, who, by the way is mighty pissed off that you are still here. I need to tell you that you are going back if you don´t go back immediately. He didn´t specify where you are going back to, he said you would know.”
Neal nodded.
“Well, I am not leaving him alone; we do not have to discuss it further.”
At that moment, Peter started stirring.
“See, Peter is waking up, I am not going anywhere.”
The man studied him a moment and then said in his microphone: “Frank, I need an extra blast suit.”
“You can help me keep him calm while I diffuse the bomb. But I need you to go back to my colleague and get a blast suit on. I will keep Peter company until you are back.”
Neal got up and jogged towards the van of the bomb squad. A man, Neal assumed Frank, waved at him and Neal walked up to him. He was holding up a suit and helped Neal into it.
“You need to keep the helmet on, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? This is non-negotiable. The gloves and helmet stay on to, whatever happens, are we clear on that?” Frank finished strapping Neal in.
“Yes, yes, let me go back, please.”
When Neal wanted to jog back, he felt the weight of the suit, slowing him down, so he walked instead. Finally kneeling next to Enrique, Neal was already sweating.
“Wow, this suit is heavy.”
“Yeah, it weighs more than eighty pounds. Peter here is slowly waking up. You try to keep him calm and unmoving and I will do my job.”
Neal knelt next to Peter´s head when Peter started moving again. A low moan escaped him.
Neal placed his hand on top of his cheek, so if Peter would startle, he couldn´t get up.
“Peter? Hey Peter, it is me, Neal. Stay still, can you do that for me?”
“Hmm?”
“You need to keep still, can you do that?”
“Neal?” Peter slurred.
“Yes.”
“I don´t feel too good.”
“Try to breathe through it.” Neal cast a nervous glance at Enrique.
“Peter, my name is Enrique. If you can try not to vomit.”
“Kay.”
…
“Neal?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you wearing a space suit?”
Neal gave a nervous laugh. Space suit?
“It is not a space suit, Peter.”
Neal could see Peter chewing it over in his brain.
“I´m wired, aren´t I?” he finally concluded.
“Yes, Enrique here is diffusing the bomb as we speak. What do you remember?”
“I … I was on my way home… I walked up to the car and … and then nothing.”
“It´s OK. I guess you were drugged. I was told where I could find you, and here I am.”
“I´m cold.”
“OK, well we should switch places, since I´m not, but as that is not an option, I will get you a blanket or something.”
Neal studied Enrique who nodded and contacted his colleague. Neal got up and walked as quickly as the suit let him over to Frank. They handed him a couple of blankets. While walking back, Neal took in the surreal scenery, behind Peter and Enrique stood the big Christmas tree with all the lights. The snow was still falling, not as bad as earlier, but still a bit, covering everything in a white thin layer. People were watching behind the police tape and camera crews had found their way to the scene. Thankfully El was at her sister, so she would not be able to see local news.
By the time he arrived back at the two men, he was sweating profusely. He started very carefully to cover Peter´s legs and shoulders.
Peter appeared to have fallen asleep again.
“And?” Neal asked Enrique.
“Well, it is a fairly big explosive device; it has a single blast cap. As far as I can see there is a remote detonator which means that there is probably a vibration sensor or tilt switch. So it is critical that we keep Peter immobilized.”
“OK, but as you can see he is cold, he is shivering. We need to keep him warm.”
“Frank told me to send you back, they made some hot water bottles, we can´t risk space heaters, so can you get them?
“Sure.”
Neal slowly got up again and walked back. He was hot, seriously, how did these guys work in these suits, especially the specialists in Afghanistan or countries like that.
When Neal arrived at the van, the team had placed the hot water bottles in a box.
“Are you OK, Neal?
Frank studied him. He had noticed that his breathing seemed a bit rapid.
“I´m fine, but Peter is cold. Got to go back to him.”
He picked the box up and started walking back. His head started pounding a bit. The distance seemed to be twice as long. Neal shook his head. What was he complaining about, Peter was freezing on a snowy bench and he needed to take care of him.
Neal placed his hand on Peter´s head again.
“Peter? Wake up please.”
Peter stirred awake.
“I´m going to placed some hot water bottles to keep you warm, I just didn´t want to startle you. He placed the hot water bottles near Peter´s feet, behind his back and shoulders. He also put a pair of mittens they had given him on Peter´s hands.
“Thanks.” Peter sighed.
“How are you doing?”
“Better, the warmth is nice. Did anyone tell El?”
“I don´t know. I guess Hughes has contacted her. I came here as soon as possible.”
“That ´s OK. Diana or Hughes will probably contact her. What is the verdict?” Peter looked up at Enrique.
"I´m trying to stop the blasting cap from going off. The difficulty is doing it without tripping the tilt switch. By the looks of it, this is a reasonably sophisticated bomb, so I guess there is the obvious blasting cap as well as a hidden one.”
“Maybe I didn´t want to know.” Peter mumbled.
“I can diffuse it, no problem, but it will take some time.”
Enrique reassured them.
“How did you come to do this for a living?” Neal asked.
“The obvious, signed up for the army, was stress resilient and I like to puzzle. After a couple of tours abroad, I thought I would take it easier and came back home and here I am.”
“Talk about taking it easier.”
“How are you holding up, Peter?”
“I´m fine, the hot water bottles make it more comfortable.”
“How would you normally diffuse these bombs?”
“You really want to know?”
“I guess” Neal looked unsure.
“We would shoot at them, they would detonate, everybody safe.”
“Glad you decided to do it like in the movies.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn´t always goes like in the Hurt Locker.”
Enrique chuckled. “Neal, are you OK?”
“Yeah, I´m fine.” Neal lied easily; It was not that they could see him. Peter was lying down and Enrique was kneeling next to the bomb and working on it. But Neal had to admit he was hot and anxious. His head hurt and he was feeling a bit nauseous, but he needed to keep it together, it was just the stress and the weight of the suit. He was fine.
“Peter, how is the nausea?”
“Ok, I guess. I won´t retch, if you are wondering.”
“That´s good.”
“Neal? Are you sure you are OK?” Enrique asked.
“Sure.”
“Tell me if you are not feeling well, OK?”
“Yeah, I will.”
Peter had let his eyes fell shut again.
“Wake up Peter, you need to stay awake.” Neal said in an annoyed voice.
“It´s OK, Neal, let him sleep; that way time will go faster for him.”
“Yeah it will for him, what about us?” Neal stated agitated.
“Neal, are you sure you are OK?”
“Sorry, just tired, it has been a long day and we are still here, it is already past midnight.”
“Go back to the team, I am almost done.”
“No, no, I´m staying. If Peter needs something, I want to be here. Maybe the water bottles are cooling down.”
“Well, leave them, I am almost done.”
Enrique informed his colleagues that he was almost done and they could send in the robot with the container in which he could store the bomb.
Neal could see something coming towards them.
“Enrique, how far are you?”
“I am almost finished, why?”
“There is something coming towards us, I guess they are sending another bomb towards us.” Neal exclaimed anxious.
Enrique turned towards the movement.
“Neal, that is just the robot I asked for. It is OK, stay with me OK, Neal? Keep it together. Peter?”
Peter slowly opened his eyes.
“Peter, I need you to talk to Neal, I guess he is having a heat stroke, can you please have him go back to the team?”
That got Peter´s attention.
“What do you mean heat stroke, it is, what fourteen degrees?”
“Yes, but the bomb suit is a microclimate. Neal, what are you wearing underneath the suit?”
“Just my underwear, why would I wear anything else under my suit?” Neal slurred.
The answer worried Peter. It was clear that Neal was not OK, Enrique was right, something was wrong.
“Over your underwear, what are you wearing?”
“Byron´s suit, winter coat, I guess. “
“OK, that is good, Neal, I want you to go back to the team, you are not OK Neal, you need to cool down and have something to drink.”
“No, I need to stay, Peter needs me.”
“I am here Neal, I´m fine but you are not. Please, go back to the team?”
“I can´t, Peter needs me, what don´t you understand?” Neal sounded annoyed, well more pissed off.
“It´s OK, Peter, if you can stay still a couple of minutes, I have this and you can take your partner to the ambulance yourself. I already informed them about Neal´s condition, they are on standby.”
“Neal, can you sit down here with me?” Peter asked.
“Of course, I can.”
Neal more fell to his knees instead of sitting down. When Peter looked into the helmet he was shocked. Neal was pale and he even had a blueish tint to his skin.
“Neal, just keep still, you are going to be OK.” Peter tried to reassure him.
“Yeah Peter, you are going to be …” Neal slurred before his eyes rolled in his head, and he slumped down.
“NEAL?” Peter jumped up towards Neal to catch him, only to realize what he had done…
But the bomb hadn´t gone off…
He looked back at Enrique who was still kneeling with the pliers in one gloved hand and the now detached bomb in his other.
“You couldn´t just wait another minute, could you?” Enrique asked before he started laughing. It was a relieved laugh.
Enrique gathered all the parts of the bomb and dropped them in the container. After closing the lid, he knelt next to Neal. He took off the helmet and gasped.
“I knew something was up when he started slurring his words, the disorientation is never good. He is hyperthermic.”
When Peter looked in confusion, he explained. “He is having a severe heat stroke.”
Enrique started to open the bomb suit, but there were multiple layers and it was slow going. Meanwhile two paramedics had arrived and they helped getting Neal out of the protective clothing. When they stripped him, it turned out that Neal was also wearing a bullet proof vest underneath it all. No wonder that Neal had overheated in the blast suit.
The paramedics quickly assessed Neal´s condition as critical and wheeled him away. Enrique helped Peter towards the ambulance. Having lied down for such prolonged time in the cold hadn´t done Peter any good, so he also needed to be checked out.
* * *
Peter had been admitted to make sure the sedatives they gave him would pass his system without any side effects and he was diagnosed with mild hypothermia.
Neal however… Peter had spoken with his doctor; they were cooling his body down. He had been brought in with a body temperature of a hundred and four degrees. The doctor had explained that they had given him a gastric lavage with iced saline, but the doctor was not completely satisfied with the results, Neal was still unconscious and his body temperature was not coming down as they expected, so he had ordered a hemodialysis to cool Neal´s blood. The doctor was afraid for brain damage if Neal´s temperatures stayed elevated too long.
“Can I see him?”
“We can make an exception, but remember agent Burke, Neal is in critical condition. It can look a bit overwhelming in the room. And you can´t stay in the room too long as we cool it and you are hypothermic yourself.” The doctor warned.
“Thanks.”
A couple of minutes later an orderly came in with a wheelchair and helped Peter in it. They walked slowly to the ICU where Peter was wheeled inside Neal´s room.
Neal looked…. Well there was only one way to say it, bad.
They had him on oxygen, lines and tubes where running in and out of him. Peter didn´t even want to imagine why they were there. A machine was standing next to Neal´s bed, Peter guessed the dialysis machine.
Neal looked flushed which was a strange sight, as he had been so pale he almost looked blue earlier. The doctor had explained to Peter that Neal appeared blue because Neal´s blood pressure had been so low, his blood vessels had contracted in reflex.
When Peter took Neal´s hand, his skin felt cool.
“I know he feels cool on the outside, but his core temperature is still too high.” The doctor explained.
“Neal? You´re going to be OK. I´m here and El is also coming. Come to think of it, Mozzie is probably lurking around somewhere.” Peter glanced around the room, but they were alone.
Neal stirred while Peter was talking.
“Neal?”
“Mom?” Peter felt his heard contract when he heard Neal´s croaking voice.
Neal´s hand crept up to the oxygen mask.
“Leave the mask, Neal, it helps you breath.”
“Dad?”
“No buddy, it´s Peter.”
It took Neal a moment to process the meaning of the words.
“Oh,… I´m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. How are you feeling?”
“Bad. I´m cold.”
“I know buddy, but your body is overheated and the doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to cool you down so they protect that brilliant brain of yours.”
“Brilliant, hey?”
“Well, not really, when Enrique asked you if you were OK, you should have told him you were hot. It is a common problem with the bomb suits. People inside tend to overheat.”
The doctor entered the room.
“Mister Caffrey, I guess your body temperature is low enough so that we can further cool you externally, we will stop the dialysis and continue with cold packs.”
Neal started shivering, just by hearing the doctor explain everything.
“You will be OK, but you will feel off for some time, your body will have trouble adjusting to atmospheric conditions, let´s say your internal thermostat is of kilter.”
“When can I leave?”
“Well, you rest first and we want to observe you at least twenty four hours, so at the earliest the day after tomorrow.”
“Are you OK?” Neal asked Peter.
“Yeah, just some hypothermia, look at me, I´m wearing flannel pajamas, thick socks, a robe, and a blanket, and here you are having your blood cooled.” Peter laughed.
“Just rest Neal, when the doctors let you go, you are staying with El and me for Christmas. I was informed June will spend the holidays with her family, so you will as well.”
Happy Holidays!