Shaggy C.I. - Part 6
Neal could see himself walking towards them, the back of El and her captor in front of him. Wait a second... why was he seeing himself? The con didn’t understand what was going on but he saw the opportunity and with a low growl rushed forward and bit the man in the leg. The goon screamed, yelling for him to let go as he freed El. He saw what looked like himself move forward to help Elizabeth as she finally grabbed up a gun and held it on their captor. The man gave in while Neal continued to hold onto his leg with his teeth and El kept the gun steady on their captor. His body loomed overhead and he realized it was Satchmo there. They had traded bodies if only for a moment, Neal seeing a confused look on his own face. He had spoken but it had been Satchmo saying “Let her go,”not himself. The dog had figured out how to literally speak. The idea of this whole dream fascinated him as he continued to hope to wake up from it. Regardless, the idea of his being Satchmo and biting their captor appealed to something in him, a kind of wildness he never let out. This dream was strange but he was having fun with it now that the worse was over.
Things quieted down as Robbie was cuffed and taken by two agents, Eric dragged bound and gagged from the closet by two more. Elizabeth had done a good job of tying him up with the duct tape as the Feds laughed about his predicament a bit and took him away. Someone petted Neal gently on the head, everyone saying “Good Dog” to him but now he was ready to go back to his own body and wake up. This dream felt far too real to him and he was certain Mozzie would think him nuts once he told him about it... IF he told him about it.
Neal padded around the room confused in a manner by all the scents from the now open but broken window, the agents who had come and gone and Diana’s perfume. She was helping clean up the mess once they’d taken pictures of the crime scene. Everything was so much sharper in this form his ears perking up at a sound. He watched Elizabeth leaving quickly with the other Neal following curiously after her. Even as a person, Satchmo came across quite the obedient type, Neal watching as they left the room. He peered from the guestroom door down the hall hearing El be sick before she spoke to what she thought was Neal Caffrey.
Neal watched, moving closer when he heard an obvious gasp from El. She didn’t notice him, her eyes shiny with tears as the other Neal Caffrey lay unconscious on the floor beside her. He didn’t know what to do, a low howl coming from his lips as she called out for Diana. He turned to see the agent approaching as another presence made itself known.
Satchmo?
The dog whined in the background of his mind, Neal picking him up as he found himself in some other place. The lab looked at him with a worried yet expectant glance.
I don’t understand...
Satchmo gave him a doggy smile, tongue lolling as if he should understand but that’s all he did. Neal suddenly had an image of himself lying in a familiar bed, Peter and El at his bedside. He felt the dog nudge him forward, Neal uncertain what he meant till the scene faded and he felt himself pulled back into the darkness. Muffled voices spoke around him, his mind trying to decipher the words before he felt pain overwhelm his senses. A choked cry came from his lips as he found himself suddenly staring up at the ceiling above. It was white but there was trim along the sides that he recognized. A breeze whistled nearby, eyes turning slowly to see from where it came from as he saw a boarded up window to his right. He was laying on a nice set of cotton sheets, a warm comforter over him that Neal recognized right away. He was in the Burkes’guest room. His eyes moved around the dimly lit space till they came across a pair of eerily lit eyes watching him. It was Satchmo.
“H... ey... b... b... bo... boy.”
The dog sat up and looked at him, a low snuffling noise coming from the lab as he stood with a stretch and yawn then limped over. Neal held out one hand over the bed’s side and felt Satchmo nuzzle it with his cold nose before he gave it a lick with his warm tongue. Neal smiled, uncertain if this was real or a dream when the door to the room opened and both of them turned to see who was there.
“Satchmo... let him rest.”
El hadn’t seen him awake, moving forward to lead the dog away when she gave a surprise intake of breath.
“Neal? How are you feeling?”
She moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed as Satchmo moved aside. Elizabeth held his hand in hers before smiling softly back. Confusion kept him wondering why he was in their home and not back in the hospital. Maybe he was dreaming again? He suddenly realized he hadn’t answered her question, opening his mouth to speak.
“Con... fusss... sed. Wha... What am... am I... doing... here?”
Elizabeth smiled at him with a hint of worry as she gently brushed at his hair. He saw stress there that he knew had to do with something other than himself.
“You crashed through our bedroom window last night. I was worried about moving you.”
He blinked uncertain what to make of her words. The room was dark enough that he could see her face but it was gloomy enough she was mostly a silhouette. He shifted slightly, painfully till his hand reached up for the light. Elizabeth seemed reluctant, keeping his hand in hers till finally she let go and turned the light on for him.
Neal squinted at the sudden light, eyes focusing to the change. Now he could El better, there was some bruising on her arms, a small mark on her face that had a reddish tinge to it as he gasped and realized maybe his dream wasn’t that much of a fantasy after all.
“El?”
She shrugged, giving him a look that said everything was ok now as she continued to hold his hand.
“All that matters is you’re ok. Doctors still don’t understand how you got here. You should have been unconscious, Neal. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt any more by what happened.”
She was hugging him gently now, pulling away after a moment to wipe at her eyes.
“You passed out in the hallway and scared me. Peter...”
Her voice caught as she tried not to say what bothered her. He hadn’t seen the agent but briefly or so he thought. He wasn’t sure anymore what was real and what wasn’t. Satchmo gave a sniffling noise that made them turn and then a low whine. El patted him with her free hand.
“Satch is a hero. Diana wants to give him a badge for his collar for helping out. Good boy, Satchmo.”
The dog cocked his head at them both before smiling that doggie smile, tongue lolling out. Neal gave a weak chuckle, coughing some before he could reply.
“He’s a bright boy. He can speak too.”
Neal was thinking about how he watched himself trying to help El and the words that left his mouth. They had been Satchmo’s words, not his. Maybe he had dreamed it but it felt right, the dog continuing to act his usual coy self as he sat beside them. It took a moment before he asked what he wanted to ask.
“El, Where... is Peter?”
The last he remembered was sensing the agent at the hospital. In his dream he’d seen him under duress in the kitchen downstairs. El flushed some but finally spoke.
“They were afraid to move him so the doctor came to care for him here. He’s downstairs on the sofa resting. Diana’s there right now and Jones is talking to Hughes outside on the steps. I told them to leave you here for now once we cleaned the debris off the bed. Dr. Marrin said he’d be back later today to check on you and Peter.”
He nodded uncertain how badly hurt Peter was. He had been tuned into El’s situation for once but it must have been bad from the way she didn’t want to talk about it. He sandwiched her hand in his.
“He’ll be ok. Can I go see him?”
Neal started to try and sit up but she gently pressed him back.
“Not now. They have him on an IV and some blood. I’ll get you something to eat and drink. You can go later if I think you’re up to it.”
She was in mother mode now, Neal nodding obediently.
“Thanks El.”
He sat up enough to hug her, glad she was ok whatever had happened. He had helped from what he could gather but he wasn’t sure what had really occurred. Didn’t matter now, all was well and his friends were safe. El stood up, patting his hand a bit before she let go and walked back out of the room. Once she was gone, Satchmo disappeared under the bed, Neal was curious what the dog was up to till he felt something dropped at his side. The con turned stiffly to see it was that same blue folder from earlier. The one... he had dreamed about. Neal blinked uncertain what to think of the look on Satchmo’s face before a frown crossed his own and he sighed.
“Put it back, Satchmo.”
The dog cocked his head at him as if he didn’t believe him before finally taking the folder back in his mouth and crawling under the bed again. Neal hated being so moral but under the circumstances, it wasn’t worth seeing what might be in that folder. He was tempted no doubt but having his friends safe meant more than seeing the manifest. Mozzie was going to be pissed at him so he vowed never to tell him about this as he saw the lab scoot back out.
“Good boy, Satch. Thanks.”
The dog panted happily at him before padding quietly from the room. Neal was alone, his head aching some as he laid one arm across his face to keep the light from the lamp away. He didn’t want to turn it off though as he closed his eyes and tried to think about the past few days. He’d been in a coma dreaming he was Satchmo and had somehow escaped from the hospital in a daze and helped El escape from someone. He was still confused on the facts when he heard footsteps and turned to see who it was.
“Peter?”
The agent was pale, looked worse for wear. He had an obviously split lower lip, swollen chin and his left shoulder wrapped up securely with his left arm in a sling. He had on a clean t-shirt as he limped over to the young man carrying an IV pole with a bag attached to it. He sat on the edge of the bed with a tired look. Neal pulled himself up to sit, both men eye to eye.
“I heard you and Satchmo made quite a team. Thanks, Neal.”
They gave each other an awkward hug before backing off and sitting in silence for a while. There were footsteps and voices when Elizabeth paused outside the door and glanced with wide eyes into the room.
“Jones went to the bathroom for five minutes and you disappear...”
El was slightly chiding her husband but mostly she was just expressing her concern. Jones nodded as they all entered the room, El hugging Peter gently before taking a seat beside him. Jones held out a hand to Neal, an incredulous look on his face.
“How are you feeling, Caffrey?”
Neal shrugged as he gave the agent a smile.
“Better... just a bit confused. I don’t remember how I got here.”
Elizabeth coughed as she volunteered an answer.
“You flew in through the window, hence the board Jones helped put up with another agent. Should have a new window in the morning hopefully.”
Peter coughed, looking a bit like the father finding out his kid hit a baseball through the window.
“I still can’t figure out how you got up the drain pipe but I’m glad you did. We’ll save the details for later. You need to rest, buddy. Ok? I think I might go to my room and do the same.”
Peter patted him on the arm gently, pushing himself up to his feet with Jones’help and then limping out of the room with Elizabeth. He could hear their voices talking softly as they left, Jones remaining.
“We found the car that hit you. It was Andre Pavetti’s. He had it parked outside with DNA evidence still intact.”
The agent was smiling as he sat on the edge of the bed and talked to him a bit. Neal tried to ask about the incident with Peter but Jones looked tight-lipped on it.
“Wait till you feel better, Caffrey.”
Neal nodded reluctantly as the agent stood and left the room. He could hear him talking to Elizabeth just outside when his voice and footsteps faded towards downstairs and El peeked back in.
“I’ll bring you up some food. Doctor said you can eat light foods. I’ll bring up some chicken soup and juice.”
He smiled as she disappeared again and Neal leaned tiredly back against the pillows. His mind went back to his dreams. What part had been real and what part had been fantasy? No way he had been Satchmo, it was too weird to think about as he pushed the thoughts away and slowly slumped back into sleep. Neal floated in the darkness a slight feeling of weight around his neck feeling familiar as he heard panting and then sensed light.
Satchmo... we’ll have to take you to the vet tomorrow after your daddy’s appointment. The EMT said you were ok but we need to check your leg again.
He felt a hand gently touch and pet the top of his head, eyes looking up at a muted form of Elizabeth Burke. She was smiling, his own mouth apparently open and smiling but again, it felt strange and odd.
Good boy. I’ll bring you a treat once I finish making Neal’s soup, ok?
He felt himself thinking happy thoughts about the word treat. Something that would normally turn his stomach made his mouth salivate as he imagined a rawhide bone. Neal wondered where the heck his mind was as he went along with the dream and followed El to the kitchen. There were so many scents and aromas filling his nose, among them her perfume. It overwhelmed him a bit as he sat beside her and watched her cook from below. Satchmo didn’t understand what was going on other than he smelled something good. Neal was having fun trying to watch El cook from this angle. She had made him chicken soup before but never revealed her recipe. Dream or not this was fun fantasizing about what it was she added to her soup. After a bit, Satchmo wandered away and into the living room again as he flopped down on his pillow, yawned and dozed off. As his puppy eyes closed, Neal felt himself grow sleepier and finally doze off as well.
“Neal... hey.”
He opened his eyes to find El sitting beside him with a small tray. She looked exhausted but happy, hair pulled back in a loose bun.
“Must have dozed off. How is Peter?”
Once he had seen his friend and his injuries with the IV, worry had set in but Peter had seemed fine. El sighed but smiled.
“Sleeping. I’ll bringing up another tray for him in a few. Jones is downstairs for security should any more unexpected visitors show up.”
She made a motion for the food and he nodded as she placed the tray on his lap.
“The soup is hot so be careful... and no I won’t tell you my secret.”
He saw her wink and grin at him as she tried to change the mood. He shrugged as he took a small spoonful and sipped at the hot liquid.
“Tastes like you added oregano to this.”
He’d had it several times before but never noticed the spice. He thought back to that dream with Satchmo watching El pick up the oregano bottle as he saw the expression on her face.
“You guessed right. Guess it’s not a secret any more.”
She gave a dramatic sigh as he blinked at her and she chuckled. Soon they were both laughing.
“I’ll be back soon as I check on Peter and get him some soup.”
El stood to leave when Neal decided to speak.
“Just don’t forget you promised that raw hide bone for Satchmo.”
He wasn’t sure why he said it but the incredulous look on El’s face was words enough.
“Uhm... ok.”
She looked a bit surprised as she left the room, closing the door. He heard her footsteps move over to the other bedroom, muted voices joining in before her steps passed by again and faded downstairs. Not too long after he heard heavier steps shuffling along and the turn of his knob with a quick knock before hand.
“Neal?”
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 /
Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9