Fever Fest 3 "You're Allergic to What Now?"
Title: You’re allergic to what now?
Author: Solstice1394
Fandom: White Collar
Community/fest: WhiteCollarhc/Fever Fest III
Warnings: Fever of allergies from bees and acetaminophen
Spoilers: Episode 5x05 Master Plan
Characters: Neal, Mozzie, Peter, El,(gen)
Prompt/Summary: Tag 5x05. After Peter And El, Neal is the next one to catch the flu. Mozzie gives him his drug but we all know Neal doesn't react well to the drugs. Could be a disaster (Neal is getting more and more sick or has an allergic reaction) or a funny story with Neal getting loopy/silly because of the drugs. Of course, Peter gets to the rescue (Gen preferred). Awesome prompt by azertynin
@#@#
AN I loved this the second I saw it and I commented a while back that I didn’t have time to do a bee fic. Come on there on his terrace it’s perfect! This is my first Fever Fest I am participating in hooray!
-WC-
“Neal you home I just found this lovely reading material,” Mozzie stopped speaking when he entered his friends abode. He had wanted to check on his bees and drink some wine with the good book he found.
“Neal you here,” Mozzie asked as he moved more into the apartment, he spotted a lump in the bed.
“hmm,” was all Mozzie heard from the lump so he went to the bed to investigate further.
“Are you sick?” Mozzie hesitantly asked because he really hoped not he knew how Neal felt about being sick.
“Hrmm,” Neal only said and buried himself further under the covers because Mozzie had pulled them back.
“Can we buy a vowel I’m not a mind reader and the government hasn’t made the psychics available for public use,” Mozzie stated in all seriousness.
“Peter was sick now I’m sick,” Neal croaked from the covers and wiped his sweat stained face. It was just so weird he was cold and yet he was sweating.
“That nasty bug that El had yesterday,” Mozzie asked wondering if the flu was going around.
Mozzie was happy for a second because now maybe he had a 3rd person to try his serum on, El had given it a try after 4 days of tea and honey had done nothing and she was loosing business. He then squashed that happiness because he knew it would be insensitive, he was glad that he had started taking his own serum on a regular basis. He looked to the terrace and saw the bees homes and smiled at them, they each had a name and were part of his family.
“El had this too,” Neal got most of what Mozzie had said he pushed some of the covers aside and stood from the bed now he was hot.
“Yeah now are you sick or are you something else,” Mozzie asked near his friend he had survived exposure 3 times now. He was pretty sure the serum was what was keeping him healthy. Normally he would be a germaphobe and had gone from the apartment all the way to the other side of the new Wednesday.
“Probab-“ and like that Neal was no longer lethargic but was up and to the bathroom down the hall.
“That answers that,” Mozzie announced to the room at large and went to get the thermometer and Advil to bring down Neal's fever that had radiated off his friend as Neal ran past.
Mozzie took things for a cold out of the cupboard that he had stored there for when he had stayed over with Neal. He took the thermometer, Advil, cold pack and then went to the kitchenette for a soda and some crackers. Now if only he could remember where he had put those tissues; thought Mozzie as he looked around the room he spotted them and saw they were already at Neal’s bedside.
-WC-
When Neal finally had the strength to get off the bathroom floor a few minutes after tossing everything he had eaten last night, he went back down the hall with one hand on the wall for support. He wanted to try and find away to stop the all night jazz band going on his head, that had only increased with its performance since a moment ago.
When Neal came to the kitchen and Mozzie stopped him from wanting to get a glass of water, Mozzie put a thermometer in his mouth without warning. Neal eyes shot up and pulled himself back to the present.
“No speaking,” Mozzie held up his hand and looked at his watch noting 15 seconds passing by.
Neal gave Mozzie a look as he pulled his eyebrows from the top of his forehead back to a normal level. Mozzie didn’t seem to feel his eyes boring a hole into him, and clearly he was no Peter Burke, not the way he felt. Mozzie looked up at Neal after a minute had passed and blinked at the ‘suit’ like stare he got.
“Stop that, you’re weird when you,” Mozzie pulled the thermometer from Neal’s mouth with gloved hands, “have a tempature of 103.” Mozzie pulled the glove off his hand and got rid of the disposable cover slip on the thermometer.
“Here take this,” Mozzie handed over the Advil and a glass of ginger ale.
“Don’t think it will stay down,” Neal brushed off and walked past Mozzie but he did take the ginger ale as he walked past on his way to his bed.
“Take it and I will stop bothering you,” Mozzie bargained with Neal trying to get him to take the aspirin.
“Fine,” Neal swallowed the pills and then went back to walking to the bed slowly.
“How about my serum then, the orphan bees your guardian to, are more than happy to help you,” Mozzie explained to his fever addled friend.
“You mean the thing you gave Peter,” Neal asked between slipping between the sheets and taking a sip of the soda. Thinking to himself that Mozzie had just told he would stop bothering him and yet.
“Yeah, come on it’s all natural and good for you,” Mozzie pointed out.
“Fine let me just sleep while you do your thing,” Neal blinked slowly and then lay down and Mozzie set to work.
“It is not a thing it is the art of organic chemistry,” Mozzie claimed as he left to get his equipment from the new Thursday and make more of the miracle cure.
-WC-
2 hours later and Mozzie was almost done with his organic chemistry miracle cure. He had already distilled the raw honey and honey comb from the hive. The newest hive couldn’t give honey but, his friends hives could, they had all been producing honey for a few years now.
Mozzie looked at the three small vials in front of him he labeled them 1, 2, and 3. He smiled at his concoction and then went to go wake his guinea pig. He smiled when he looked at his mon frère, Neal looked way to innocent in his sleep to be a criminal, it’s always the quiet and docile looking ones; he thought.
“Neal wake up,” Mozzie patted Neal on the shoulder to rouse him. He felt the fever beneath his friends skin, and was very grateful it was Saturday and that Neal didn’t have to go to work for at least two days without alerting the suit.
“Fly me to the moon,” Neal sung as he opened his eyes and looked at very weird man in front of him he had been enjoying singing in a karoke bar with that nice looking red head Rebecca.
“Neal it’s me Mozz,” Mozzie tried to assume this was the fever and the flu talking, “Neal you know it’s me.”
Mozzie first thought when he saw his friend singing was; did I give Neal the wrong medicine? Mozzie second thought was; how do I get a belligerent Neal to take the concoction?
“Let me play among the stars”, Neal continued to sing on with the Frank Sinatra song.
“Neal I want you to listen to me,” Mozzie wondered if his friend was still asleep. Neal looked a little more alert and smiled at his friends and nodded his head, then looked like he regretted it for a second.
“Good I want you to drink this,” Mozzie held up the little vial and popped off the cap so Neal could drink it.
“Mozzie do you think it’s fun to say the word lip balm,” Neal emphasized the word with his lips.
“That’s two words Neal,” Mozzie tried to hide a chuckle and just get Neal to drink the serum.
“No it’s not,” Neal argued for a second, and then decided to give it up and scratch his side instead. It made the shirt come up and there in that moment if Mozzie had been paying attention he would have seen evidence of what was about to become infinitely worse.
“Just drink and I promise I will explain the origins of lip balm,” Mozzie placated not noticing that his friend had moved on from the subject.
“Okay,” Neal complied like it was fine to just drink something someone hands over to you.
Neal downed the small vial and then when he swallowed there was an aftertaste that was comparable to the truly bizarre. It defiantly tasted sweet like honey, but then it just tasted different and not in a, oh that is the difference between salty and sweet way. No this was a difference between a differences, Neal fever addled mind explained to itself.
“Well,” Mozzie asked his friend wondering if the affects would be immediate like with Elizabeth.
“Is it supposed to be honey and then,” Neal broke off his sentence trying to understand why his heart rate had shot up. “I don’t think this has a jolt in it does it, it tasted like there was electricity in it though,” Neal asked as he looked at his bespectacled friend.
“No it’s more like honey and honey.” Mozzie tried to explain because that was all it had in it pretty much his brain tried to argue.
Neal reached down to scratch his stomach again revealing what Mozzie had not noticed earlier a bee sting that was now producing hives all over his friends stomach. Mozzie’s eyes shot up in fear for his friend and one not for being calm, he pulled the burner phone from his pocket and cursed Kazou Hashimoto for inventing caller ID.
-WC-
“911 how may I help you?” the operator asked.
“My friend is having an allergic reaction to honey he is allergic to acetaminophen, but I think he might be allergic to bees as well,” Mozzie answered in the phone.
“Okay sir I want you to calm down and tell me what is you and your friends names,” the operator followed the prompt drilled into her, though years of service as she clacked along on her keys.
“I’m Haversham and my friends name is Neal,” Mozzie answered as he took Neal wrist into his own and felt the rapid pulse.
“Okay Haversham I want you to tell me your address so I can send an ambulance, can you do that,” the operator typed in the information and then proceeded to her next question. “You mentioned that your friend is allergic to acetaminophen does he have an epipen or twinjet injector?”
“I think so hold on,” Mozzie told the operator as he tried to talk to Neal in front of him who’s breath had taking on a wheezing quality. “Neal where is your epipen?”
“…drawer…” Neal tapped the drawer next to his bedside for emphasis in between wheezing. “…call…Peter.”
“I will as soon as you get this into your system and the hospital checks you out.” Mozzie told Neal after telling the operator that Neal had an epipen and in which the operator told him to use the epipen on Neal, now the ambulance was 5 minutes out.
“Now,” Neal’s voice took on a stronger quality as he latched onto Mozzie’s own wrist, from where it had been currently being held in Mozzie's hand.
“Neal,” Mozzie bellowed, only to receive a stare of defiance, “fine but I’m using your phone though.”
Mozzie pulled off the safety cap and ready the injection after hanging up with 911. He pressed the speed dial and was greeted with a customary “Burke” from Peter.
“I’m getting Neal to a hospital after a give him an injection for anaphylaxis from bees,” Mozzie shouted at the phone on speaker at the bedside. He pushed the plunger on the auto injecter and heard Neal bite down on a scream from the needle piercing his thigh.
“What?” Peter asked from the other line not sure he heard right from his spot on the couch with El and Satchmo watching a Saturday movie.
“You heard right,” Mozzie said in a more calm voice as he saw that some breath was returning to his friend.
“Since when does Neal need a hospital for anaphylaxis, I thought he was just coming down with what El and I had?” Peter asked and felt El stiffen at the mention of Neal being sick.
“Since as it turns out that he had whatever you two had, and an allergic reaction,” Mozzie spoke with more calmness to his voice as he noticed his friend looked exhausted.
“Neal, hey look at me,” Mozzie warned as he made Neal focus on his voice knowing that Neal sometimes got dizzy after the shot or had an irregular heartbeat.
“What Moz?” Neal asked with a sleepy edge to his voice, he had been up half the night fighting nausea and now he knew why. He hadn't known it was an allergy that made some of the symptoms worse for him, most anaphylaxis symptoms are like hay fever.
“Why don’t you talk to Peter, and I'll go get wait to let the paramedics in. I don’t want them to disturb June,” Mozzie intoned as he stood from where he had been kneeling in front of Neal, he still never got used to how Neal would get so pale.
“Yeah I can do that,” Neal answered as he felt some of the anxiety he had been feeling after the epipen injection start to go away.
“Neal?” Peter asked from the phone waiting for an answer from his partner as he got up from the couch as El paused the movie they had been watching. Satchmo seemed to sense something was wrong by the way his master's voice had changed.
“Yeah Peter,” Neal answered with some of the strength he had, even though most of it was being sapped from him, as his body tried to fight off infection and mislabeled do gooders like honey it seemed.
“Did you know you were allergic to bees?” Peter asked and felt El place a hand on his shoulder stopping his pacing in the living room floor.
“No otherwise I never would have agreed to be a beekeeper,” Neal answered quickly without having to think about it.
“Then why do you have an epipen,” Peter asked cautiously, he felt El slightly tighten around his shoulder.
“I’m allergic to something else I’ll tell you when I see you at the hospital okay?” Neal asked at the last minute as he saw Mozzie ushering paramedics in. He then saw that two minutes later his friend had gone with June and her driver to follow him to the hospital.
-WC-
Peter was not happy, after an hour and a half he was finally let back only because, now the circus that he had not, bought tickets to by the way. Peter had been on the phone, with the Marshalls because, Neal had been ignored when he told the paramedics about his anklet, and that had in turn alerted the Marshalls. Then when that was taken care of and the Marshalls had been assured that Neal was not running. And that he was in control of the situation. And no, he did not need backup at the hospital, there had been forms.
Oh yes forms, one clipboard full from the hospital, and a stack from the FBI. Oh he had never been kidding about how many form there would be when, and if, Neal would be admitted to a hospital. Luckily for Peter though, Neal had not been injured on the job so there where less forms then if he would have been. Something that Peter had been grateful for in other reasons as well.
“How you feeling,” Peter asked once he had been lead back to a curtained off area of the ER and had decided that question was a good place to start.
“Other than my headache and the rest of the flu that I now have to let my immune system fight off naturally, I feel like a champ,” Neal shrugged his shoulders. Okay truthfully his thigh hurt from being punched with a needle, he felt a double heartbeat from the epi and to top it all off his fears had been confirmed since being diagnosed with an allergy. His fear being that his body was slowly going to become allergic to everything, irrational he knew, but still irrational aside it scared him.
“Alright Ali, I’ll bite what about the rest of that conversation we where having,” Peter asked because he was a dog with a bone, he wanted to know what was going on. He could let Neal have his 'I'm Fine' flag and wave it if wanted to for now at least.
“Fine,” Neal gave in when Peter started using that stare that he reserved solely for him it wasn't much of a fight though in all honesty.
“Well I’m waiting, why do you have an epipen Neal?” Peter asked, he knew Neal had no Allergies, or at least he was pretty sure.
“They normally give you a prescription for an epipen when you have an allergy, I have one or maybe now multiple,” Neal brushed it off like it was no big deal. If only in the hopes that Peter would accept it as such because his headache was killing him.
Peter reached for Neal chart and heard Neal protest this further invasion of privacy into his already on display life.
“What I want to see if it’s noted, how do you say that?” Peter questioned as he tried to read the word, “Never mind how do you spell that?” Peter wondered aloud as he read the chart noting that ‘bee allergy as of yet confirmed’ was added to the chart.
“A-c-toe-men-o-fen,” Neal pronounced phonetically for Peter and then proceeded to spell it, “A-c-e-t-a-m-i-n-o-p-h-e-n and that concludes are spelling lesson for the day try learning that at 8.” Neal announced to a Peter who looked like he had been sucking on a lemon. “What you asked,” Neal defended his behavior.
“Those where rhetorical questions, something that just seems to fly over your head,” Peter explained and jibed as he put the chart back where it had been sitting. “Are they going to let you go anytime soon?” Peter asked once silence had fallen in the little curtain area or the relative silence.
The heart moniter showing an irregular heart beat from the epinephrine beeped in question every so often and the ER was full of other noises adding to the background. There was a ventilator in the bed next to the curtain being heard. Nurses shoes squeaking or protesting being used on the floor as the owners walked past off to help the sick. Doctors’ pens scratching and phones going off every so often in the middle of the ER, being answered by nameless people in white coats as they answered questions of parents or soon to be patients.
“As soon as my fever breaks and I can be confirmed with an allergist,” Neal answered as he rubbed the pounding in his head.
“What’s wrong,” Peter asked a little worried for his friend.
“Headache from either the flu or epi,” Neal answered shortly then just continue to rub at his head.
“I’ll see if they can give you something,” Peter stood and went to the nurses station without a backward glance towards Neal.
He informed the nurse who informed the overworked resident. While Peter stepped back out to the parking lot to make a phone call he reassured El that everything was fine. That there was no need to come down here, and that yes, she should go on her walk with Satchmo, and set the table for 3 for later.
He walked back to June saying something along the lines that he would take Neal home with him and she agreed only because Peter assured her it would make him and El feel better. June didn’t look insulted she understood that the bees would have to be taken away before Neal could be taken back to her house anyway. Mozzie had left after hearing that Neal was fine and on the mend over an hour ago. He was working on a plan for his family of bees and June was helpling him with it.
He then walked back to the curtained off area where Neal was now sleeping, with a more calm face. He heard a little snore and thought it was funny so he laughed a little to himself. He would remembe this for when there was an opportunity to tell a Neal story.
-WC-
“Come on wake up,” Peter tapped Neal’s face in a hushed tone as it was night in the ER.
“I’m up,” Neal answered half groggily to Peter's request.
“Yeah and your fevers finally down so we can get out of here,” Peter retorted to the bloodshot eyes of Neal.
“We can,” Neal hoped because right now, he just wanted to sleep and the hospital was not that great for it.
“Yes let’s go I have clothes from June, and a prescription to fill before we go,” Peter informed the groggy Neal.
That seemed to brake the spell, he held out his hand for his clothes, “Clothes please,” he shortly asked and then proceeded to pull the loose ties from the hospital gown.
Neal was not shy anymore, he never really had been but, modesty is not something you get much of in prison or in his business. He pulled on the plain white shirt and loose fitting jeans before Peter’s eyes not caring for a second. Careful to avoid the band-aid over the first sting of 7 he had recieved since getting the bees a week ago.
“Ready to go Quickdraw Magraw,” Peter half chuckled when he saw how eager Neal was to leave.
“Yeah I’m just glad they took out the IV a few hours ago,” Neal stated as he started walking with Peter to the hospitals pharmacy to get a new epipen.
“Yeah the band-aid look is good on you,” Peter joked because he had during his downtime, and an allergist informing Neal that he was indeed allergic to bees, had done some research on anaphylaxis and learned just how close he had been to loosing Neal.
“Don’t start Peter,” Neal complained because, he really just wanted to sleep off everything including the flu he was still in the middle of fighting.
“What,” Peter asked though he knew he had been caught, he wanted to know it had all been okay now. Peter wanted to see the invincible Neal not Neal who was vulnerable, who got colds, who had allergies and was…human.
Neal smirked a little turned around in the pharmacy line and looked at his friend. “Peter don’t worry I already have Mozzie on getting rid of the bees. I think he is taking them to another of Junes houses she offered to take them on,” Neal informed the worry wart of a man though personally he was worried too.
“I was just thinking that it seems odd that the Bureau has no record of your allergy, no make that allergies, what else aren’t you telling me,” Peter asked.
“Nothing I just don’t like broadcasting that, in prison I was vulnerable for attack if anyone knew that I could be killed with Tylenol,” Neal explained but in the back of his mind he knew what Peter was really getting at. The codex, Hagan, he still didn’t know about Seagul but it still brought Hagan into question.
“I understand that but I’m not going to kill you with this information so why not tell me Peter Burke, handler and friend to you,” Peter questioned as they reached the front of the line.
“Your right but, I still have to live a life after this and enemies don’t die after I end my sentence. I was brought up with that,” Neal turned around and gave the pharmacist the prescription then went to go wait in one of the chairs as Peter followed him. “Do you have my wallet?”
“Yeah,” Peter handed over Neal’s personal affects and sweat stained clothes that had been taken off him while in the ER, as they tried to stop the anaphylaxis totally, because epipens weren't a cure.
“Peter I’m not saying that I wont tell you if something is medical or harmful to me, but promise me something,” Neal pleaded because Peter had to promise him this.
“What Neal,” Peter knew better than to promise before hearing all of the promise out.
“That you will not put this information into my file, you can tell Diana and Jones because they might need to know but you will not put this into the file that the FBI has on me,” Neal asked Peter as his friend, not the FBI agent.
“Okay I promise, as long as you promise to keep an epipen in my house and one on you at all times as well as one at the bureau it can be with me or in your desk,” Peter warned he was this close to threatening a medical alert bracelet or better yet a tattoo because those couldn’t be slipped.
“I’ll talk to my allergist, who by the way seems to have the hots for you,” Neal joked once he wanted the tension to ease in their conversation. The irrational fear of being allergic to everything seemed to be ebbing a little as he went to go stand in line for a new epipen.
Once he got there Peter was by his side, listening to the spiel he heard a hundred times before but Peter heard for the first time. About epipens how, when and where to use them. He listened to remind himself and to let Peter ask questions, when the lecture was over. Peter seemed to drink in the information like a sponge, the college man inside drinking it all in. He would repeat the entire speech to El and Neal would then end up showing them how it worked, before he passed out on the couch of the Burkes home feeling safe and secure. The irrational fear of being allergic to everything abating more as he slept on the couch with Satchmo keeping him company. Knowing that people like Peter and Mozzie were there if he needing rescuing.
The End!
AN I hope this is close to what you wanted. I feel a little nervious as this is my second fic in the whitecollarhc community I hope you all enjoy it for fever fest III.
Author: Solstice1394
Fandom: White Collar
Community/fest: WhiteCollarhc/Fever Fest III
Warnings: Fever of allergies from bees and acetaminophen
Spoilers: Episode 5x05 Master Plan
Characters: Neal, Mozzie, Peter, El,(gen)
Prompt/Summary: Tag 5x05. After Peter And El, Neal is the next one to catch the flu. Mozzie gives him his drug but we all know Neal doesn't react well to the drugs. Could be a disaster (Neal is getting more and more sick or has an allergic reaction) or a funny story with Neal getting loopy/silly because of the drugs. Of course, Peter gets to the rescue (Gen preferred). Awesome prompt by azertynin
@#@#
AN I loved this the second I saw it and I commented a while back that I didn’t have time to do a bee fic. Come on there on his terrace it’s perfect! This is my first Fever Fest I am participating in hooray!
-WC-
“Neal you home I just found this lovely reading material,” Mozzie stopped speaking when he entered his friends abode. He had wanted to check on his bees and drink some wine with the good book he found.
“Neal you here,” Mozzie asked as he moved more into the apartment, he spotted a lump in the bed.
“hmm,” was all Mozzie heard from the lump so he went to the bed to investigate further.
“Are you sick?” Mozzie hesitantly asked because he really hoped not he knew how Neal felt about being sick.
“Hrmm,” Neal only said and buried himself further under the covers because Mozzie had pulled them back.
“Can we buy a vowel I’m not a mind reader and the government hasn’t made the psychics available for public use,” Mozzie stated in all seriousness.
“Peter was sick now I’m sick,” Neal croaked from the covers and wiped his sweat stained face. It was just so weird he was cold and yet he was sweating.
“That nasty bug that El had yesterday,” Mozzie asked wondering if the flu was going around.
Mozzie was happy for a second because now maybe he had a 3rd person to try his serum on, El had given it a try after 4 days of tea and honey had done nothing and she was loosing business. He then squashed that happiness because he knew it would be insensitive, he was glad that he had started taking his own serum on a regular basis. He looked to the terrace and saw the bees homes and smiled at them, they each had a name and were part of his family.
“El had this too,” Neal got most of what Mozzie had said he pushed some of the covers aside and stood from the bed now he was hot.
“Yeah now are you sick or are you something else,” Mozzie asked near his friend he had survived exposure 3 times now. He was pretty sure the serum was what was keeping him healthy. Normally he would be a germaphobe and had gone from the apartment all the way to the other side of the new Wednesday.
“Probab-“ and like that Neal was no longer lethargic but was up and to the bathroom down the hall.
“That answers that,” Mozzie announced to the room at large and went to get the thermometer and Advil to bring down Neal's fever that had radiated off his friend as Neal ran past.
Mozzie took things for a cold out of the cupboard that he had stored there for when he had stayed over with Neal. He took the thermometer, Advil, cold pack and then went to the kitchenette for a soda and some crackers. Now if only he could remember where he had put those tissues; thought Mozzie as he looked around the room he spotted them and saw they were already at Neal’s bedside.
-WC-
When Neal finally had the strength to get off the bathroom floor a few minutes after tossing everything he had eaten last night, he went back down the hall with one hand on the wall for support. He wanted to try and find away to stop the all night jazz band going on his head, that had only increased with its performance since a moment ago.
When Neal came to the kitchen and Mozzie stopped him from wanting to get a glass of water, Mozzie put a thermometer in his mouth without warning. Neal eyes shot up and pulled himself back to the present.
“No speaking,” Mozzie held up his hand and looked at his watch noting 15 seconds passing by.
Neal gave Mozzie a look as he pulled his eyebrows from the top of his forehead back to a normal level. Mozzie didn’t seem to feel his eyes boring a hole into him, and clearly he was no Peter Burke, not the way he felt. Mozzie looked up at Neal after a minute had passed and blinked at the ‘suit’ like stare he got.
“Stop that, you’re weird when you,” Mozzie pulled the thermometer from Neal’s mouth with gloved hands, “have a tempature of 103.” Mozzie pulled the glove off his hand and got rid of the disposable cover slip on the thermometer.
“Here take this,” Mozzie handed over the Advil and a glass of ginger ale.
“Don’t think it will stay down,” Neal brushed off and walked past Mozzie but he did take the ginger ale as he walked past on his way to his bed.
“Take it and I will stop bothering you,” Mozzie bargained with Neal trying to get him to take the aspirin.
“Fine,” Neal swallowed the pills and then went back to walking to the bed slowly.
“How about my serum then, the orphan bees your guardian to, are more than happy to help you,” Mozzie explained to his fever addled friend.
“You mean the thing you gave Peter,” Neal asked between slipping between the sheets and taking a sip of the soda. Thinking to himself that Mozzie had just told he would stop bothering him and yet.
“Yeah, come on it’s all natural and good for you,” Mozzie pointed out.
“Fine let me just sleep while you do your thing,” Neal blinked slowly and then lay down and Mozzie set to work.
“It is not a thing it is the art of organic chemistry,” Mozzie claimed as he left to get his equipment from the new Thursday and make more of the miracle cure.
-WC-
2 hours later and Mozzie was almost done with his organic chemistry miracle cure. He had already distilled the raw honey and honey comb from the hive. The newest hive couldn’t give honey but, his friends hives could, they had all been producing honey for a few years now.
Mozzie looked at the three small vials in front of him he labeled them 1, 2, and 3. He smiled at his concoction and then went to go wake his guinea pig. He smiled when he looked at his mon frère, Neal looked way to innocent in his sleep to be a criminal, it’s always the quiet and docile looking ones; he thought.
“Neal wake up,” Mozzie patted Neal on the shoulder to rouse him. He felt the fever beneath his friends skin, and was very grateful it was Saturday and that Neal didn’t have to go to work for at least two days without alerting the suit.
“Fly me to the moon,” Neal sung as he opened his eyes and looked at very weird man in front of him he had been enjoying singing in a karoke bar with that nice looking red head Rebecca.
“Neal it’s me Mozz,” Mozzie tried to assume this was the fever and the flu talking, “Neal you know it’s me.”
Mozzie first thought when he saw his friend singing was; did I give Neal the wrong medicine? Mozzie second thought was; how do I get a belligerent Neal to take the concoction?
“Let me play among the stars”, Neal continued to sing on with the Frank Sinatra song.
“Neal I want you to listen to me,” Mozzie wondered if his friend was still asleep. Neal looked a little more alert and smiled at his friends and nodded his head, then looked like he regretted it for a second.
“Good I want you to drink this,” Mozzie held up the little vial and popped off the cap so Neal could drink it.
“Mozzie do you think it’s fun to say the word lip balm,” Neal emphasized the word with his lips.
“That’s two words Neal,” Mozzie tried to hide a chuckle and just get Neal to drink the serum.
“No it’s not,” Neal argued for a second, and then decided to give it up and scratch his side instead. It made the shirt come up and there in that moment if Mozzie had been paying attention he would have seen evidence of what was about to become infinitely worse.
“Just drink and I promise I will explain the origins of lip balm,” Mozzie placated not noticing that his friend had moved on from the subject.
“Okay,” Neal complied like it was fine to just drink something someone hands over to you.
Neal downed the small vial and then when he swallowed there was an aftertaste that was comparable to the truly bizarre. It defiantly tasted sweet like honey, but then it just tasted different and not in a, oh that is the difference between salty and sweet way. No this was a difference between a differences, Neal fever addled mind explained to itself.
“Well,” Mozzie asked his friend wondering if the affects would be immediate like with Elizabeth.
“Is it supposed to be honey and then,” Neal broke off his sentence trying to understand why his heart rate had shot up. “I don’t think this has a jolt in it does it, it tasted like there was electricity in it though,” Neal asked as he looked at his bespectacled friend.
“No it’s more like honey and honey.” Mozzie tried to explain because that was all it had in it pretty much his brain tried to argue.
Neal reached down to scratch his stomach again revealing what Mozzie had not noticed earlier a bee sting that was now producing hives all over his friends stomach. Mozzie’s eyes shot up in fear for his friend and one not for being calm, he pulled the burner phone from his pocket and cursed Kazou Hashimoto for inventing caller ID.
-WC-
“911 how may I help you?” the operator asked.
“My friend is having an allergic reaction to honey he is allergic to acetaminophen, but I think he might be allergic to bees as well,” Mozzie answered in the phone.
“Okay sir I want you to calm down and tell me what is you and your friends names,” the operator followed the prompt drilled into her, though years of service as she clacked along on her keys.
“I’m Haversham and my friends name is Neal,” Mozzie answered as he took Neal wrist into his own and felt the rapid pulse.
“Okay Haversham I want you to tell me your address so I can send an ambulance, can you do that,” the operator typed in the information and then proceeded to her next question. “You mentioned that your friend is allergic to acetaminophen does he have an epipen or twinjet injector?”
“I think so hold on,” Mozzie told the operator as he tried to talk to Neal in front of him who’s breath had taking on a wheezing quality. “Neal where is your epipen?”
“…drawer…” Neal tapped the drawer next to his bedside for emphasis in between wheezing. “…call…Peter.”
“I will as soon as you get this into your system and the hospital checks you out.” Mozzie told Neal after telling the operator that Neal had an epipen and in which the operator told him to use the epipen on Neal, now the ambulance was 5 minutes out.
“Now,” Neal’s voice took on a stronger quality as he latched onto Mozzie’s own wrist, from where it had been currently being held in Mozzie's hand.
“Neal,” Mozzie bellowed, only to receive a stare of defiance, “fine but I’m using your phone though.”
Mozzie pulled off the safety cap and ready the injection after hanging up with 911. He pressed the speed dial and was greeted with a customary “Burke” from Peter.
“I’m getting Neal to a hospital after a give him an injection for anaphylaxis from bees,” Mozzie shouted at the phone on speaker at the bedside. He pushed the plunger on the auto injecter and heard Neal bite down on a scream from the needle piercing his thigh.
“What?” Peter asked from the other line not sure he heard right from his spot on the couch with El and Satchmo watching a Saturday movie.
“You heard right,” Mozzie said in a more calm voice as he saw that some breath was returning to his friend.
“Since when does Neal need a hospital for anaphylaxis, I thought he was just coming down with what El and I had?” Peter asked and felt El stiffen at the mention of Neal being sick.
“Since as it turns out that he had whatever you two had, and an allergic reaction,” Mozzie spoke with more calmness to his voice as he noticed his friend looked exhausted.
“Neal, hey look at me,” Mozzie warned as he made Neal focus on his voice knowing that Neal sometimes got dizzy after the shot or had an irregular heartbeat.
“What Moz?” Neal asked with a sleepy edge to his voice, he had been up half the night fighting nausea and now he knew why. He hadn't known it was an allergy that made some of the symptoms worse for him, most anaphylaxis symptoms are like hay fever.
“Why don’t you talk to Peter, and I'll go get wait to let the paramedics in. I don’t want them to disturb June,” Mozzie intoned as he stood from where he had been kneeling in front of Neal, he still never got used to how Neal would get so pale.
“Yeah I can do that,” Neal answered as he felt some of the anxiety he had been feeling after the epipen injection start to go away.
“Neal?” Peter asked from the phone waiting for an answer from his partner as he got up from the couch as El paused the movie they had been watching. Satchmo seemed to sense something was wrong by the way his master's voice had changed.
“Yeah Peter,” Neal answered with some of the strength he had, even though most of it was being sapped from him, as his body tried to fight off infection and mislabeled do gooders like honey it seemed.
“Did you know you were allergic to bees?” Peter asked and felt El place a hand on his shoulder stopping his pacing in the living room floor.
“No otherwise I never would have agreed to be a beekeeper,” Neal answered quickly without having to think about it.
“Then why do you have an epipen,” Peter asked cautiously, he felt El slightly tighten around his shoulder.
“I’m allergic to something else I’ll tell you when I see you at the hospital okay?” Neal asked at the last minute as he saw Mozzie ushering paramedics in. He then saw that two minutes later his friend had gone with June and her driver to follow him to the hospital.
-WC-
Peter was not happy, after an hour and a half he was finally let back only because, now the circus that he had not, bought tickets to by the way. Peter had been on the phone, with the Marshalls because, Neal had been ignored when he told the paramedics about his anklet, and that had in turn alerted the Marshalls. Then when that was taken care of and the Marshalls had been assured that Neal was not running. And that he was in control of the situation. And no, he did not need backup at the hospital, there had been forms.
Oh yes forms, one clipboard full from the hospital, and a stack from the FBI. Oh he had never been kidding about how many form there would be when, and if, Neal would be admitted to a hospital. Luckily for Peter though, Neal had not been injured on the job so there where less forms then if he would have been. Something that Peter had been grateful for in other reasons as well.
“How you feeling,” Peter asked once he had been lead back to a curtained off area of the ER and had decided that question was a good place to start.
“Other than my headache and the rest of the flu that I now have to let my immune system fight off naturally, I feel like a champ,” Neal shrugged his shoulders. Okay truthfully his thigh hurt from being punched with a needle, he felt a double heartbeat from the epi and to top it all off his fears had been confirmed since being diagnosed with an allergy. His fear being that his body was slowly going to become allergic to everything, irrational he knew, but still irrational aside it scared him.
“Alright Ali, I’ll bite what about the rest of that conversation we where having,” Peter asked because he was a dog with a bone, he wanted to know what was going on. He could let Neal have his 'I'm Fine' flag and wave it if wanted to for now at least.
“Fine,” Neal gave in when Peter started using that stare that he reserved solely for him it wasn't much of a fight though in all honesty.
“Well I’m waiting, why do you have an epipen Neal?” Peter asked, he knew Neal had no Allergies, or at least he was pretty sure.
“They normally give you a prescription for an epipen when you have an allergy, I have one or maybe now multiple,” Neal brushed it off like it was no big deal. If only in the hopes that Peter would accept it as such because his headache was killing him.
Peter reached for Neal chart and heard Neal protest this further invasion of privacy into his already on display life.
“What I want to see if it’s noted, how do you say that?” Peter questioned as he tried to read the word, “Never mind how do you spell that?” Peter wondered aloud as he read the chart noting that ‘bee allergy as of yet confirmed’ was added to the chart.
“A-c-toe-men-o-fen,” Neal pronounced phonetically for Peter and then proceeded to spell it, “A-c-e-t-a-m-i-n-o-p-h-e-n and that concludes are spelling lesson for the day try learning that at 8.” Neal announced to a Peter who looked like he had been sucking on a lemon. “What you asked,” Neal defended his behavior.
“Those where rhetorical questions, something that just seems to fly over your head,” Peter explained and jibed as he put the chart back where it had been sitting. “Are they going to let you go anytime soon?” Peter asked once silence had fallen in the little curtain area or the relative silence.
The heart moniter showing an irregular heart beat from the epinephrine beeped in question every so often and the ER was full of other noises adding to the background. There was a ventilator in the bed next to the curtain being heard. Nurses shoes squeaking or protesting being used on the floor as the owners walked past off to help the sick. Doctors’ pens scratching and phones going off every so often in the middle of the ER, being answered by nameless people in white coats as they answered questions of parents or soon to be patients.
“As soon as my fever breaks and I can be confirmed with an allergist,” Neal answered as he rubbed the pounding in his head.
“What’s wrong,” Peter asked a little worried for his friend.
“Headache from either the flu or epi,” Neal answered shortly then just continue to rub at his head.
“I’ll see if they can give you something,” Peter stood and went to the nurses station without a backward glance towards Neal.
He informed the nurse who informed the overworked resident. While Peter stepped back out to the parking lot to make a phone call he reassured El that everything was fine. That there was no need to come down here, and that yes, she should go on her walk with Satchmo, and set the table for 3 for later.
He walked back to June saying something along the lines that he would take Neal home with him and she agreed only because Peter assured her it would make him and El feel better. June didn’t look insulted she understood that the bees would have to be taken away before Neal could be taken back to her house anyway. Mozzie had left after hearing that Neal was fine and on the mend over an hour ago. He was working on a plan for his family of bees and June was helpling him with it.
He then walked back to the curtained off area where Neal was now sleeping, with a more calm face. He heard a little snore and thought it was funny so he laughed a little to himself. He would remembe this for when there was an opportunity to tell a Neal story.
-WC-
“Come on wake up,” Peter tapped Neal’s face in a hushed tone as it was night in the ER.
“I’m up,” Neal answered half groggily to Peter's request.
“Yeah and your fevers finally down so we can get out of here,” Peter retorted to the bloodshot eyes of Neal.
“We can,” Neal hoped because right now, he just wanted to sleep and the hospital was not that great for it.
“Yes let’s go I have clothes from June, and a prescription to fill before we go,” Peter informed the groggy Neal.
That seemed to brake the spell, he held out his hand for his clothes, “Clothes please,” he shortly asked and then proceeded to pull the loose ties from the hospital gown.
Neal was not shy anymore, he never really had been but, modesty is not something you get much of in prison or in his business. He pulled on the plain white shirt and loose fitting jeans before Peter’s eyes not caring for a second. Careful to avoid the band-aid over the first sting of 7 he had recieved since getting the bees a week ago.
“Ready to go Quickdraw Magraw,” Peter half chuckled when he saw how eager Neal was to leave.
“Yeah I’m just glad they took out the IV a few hours ago,” Neal stated as he started walking with Peter to the hospitals pharmacy to get a new epipen.
“Yeah the band-aid look is good on you,” Peter joked because he had during his downtime, and an allergist informing Neal that he was indeed allergic to bees, had done some research on anaphylaxis and learned just how close he had been to loosing Neal.
“Don’t start Peter,” Neal complained because, he really just wanted to sleep off everything including the flu he was still in the middle of fighting.
“What,” Peter asked though he knew he had been caught, he wanted to know it had all been okay now. Peter wanted to see the invincible Neal not Neal who was vulnerable, who got colds, who had allergies and was…human.
Neal smirked a little turned around in the pharmacy line and looked at his friend. “Peter don’t worry I already have Mozzie on getting rid of the bees. I think he is taking them to another of Junes houses she offered to take them on,” Neal informed the worry wart of a man though personally he was worried too.
“I was just thinking that it seems odd that the Bureau has no record of your allergy, no make that allergies, what else aren’t you telling me,” Peter asked.
“Nothing I just don’t like broadcasting that, in prison I was vulnerable for attack if anyone knew that I could be killed with Tylenol,” Neal explained but in the back of his mind he knew what Peter was really getting at. The codex, Hagan, he still didn’t know about Seagul but it still brought Hagan into question.
“I understand that but I’m not going to kill you with this information so why not tell me Peter Burke, handler and friend to you,” Peter questioned as they reached the front of the line.
“Your right but, I still have to live a life after this and enemies don’t die after I end my sentence. I was brought up with that,” Neal turned around and gave the pharmacist the prescription then went to go wait in one of the chairs as Peter followed him. “Do you have my wallet?”
“Yeah,” Peter handed over Neal’s personal affects and sweat stained clothes that had been taken off him while in the ER, as they tried to stop the anaphylaxis totally, because epipens weren't a cure.
“Peter I’m not saying that I wont tell you if something is medical or harmful to me, but promise me something,” Neal pleaded because Peter had to promise him this.
“What Neal,” Peter knew better than to promise before hearing all of the promise out.
“That you will not put this information into my file, you can tell Diana and Jones because they might need to know but you will not put this into the file that the FBI has on me,” Neal asked Peter as his friend, not the FBI agent.
“Okay I promise, as long as you promise to keep an epipen in my house and one on you at all times as well as one at the bureau it can be with me or in your desk,” Peter warned he was this close to threatening a medical alert bracelet or better yet a tattoo because those couldn’t be slipped.
“I’ll talk to my allergist, who by the way seems to have the hots for you,” Neal joked once he wanted the tension to ease in their conversation. The irrational fear of being allergic to everything seemed to be ebbing a little as he went to go stand in line for a new epipen.
Once he got there Peter was by his side, listening to the spiel he heard a hundred times before but Peter heard for the first time. About epipens how, when and where to use them. He listened to remind himself and to let Peter ask questions, when the lecture was over. Peter seemed to drink in the information like a sponge, the college man inside drinking it all in. He would repeat the entire speech to El and Neal would then end up showing them how it worked, before he passed out on the couch of the Burkes home feeling safe and secure. The irrational fear of being allergic to everything abating more as he slept on the couch with Satchmo keeping him company. Knowing that people like Peter and Mozzie were there if he needing rescuing.
The End!
AN I hope this is close to what you wanted. I feel a little nervious as this is my second fic in the whitecollarhc community I hope you all enjoy it for fever fest III.