How To Take Care Of A Sick Ex-Con Man | White Collar [COMPLETED]

You're Sick, step 1

"Uhh boss? Shouldn't you be worried?" Diana suddenly asked as she glanced at the infamous Neal Caffrey's desk. "About what Diana?" he asked taking a glance at her. "About that." she pointed at the man himself.

Neal Caffrey was sitting, or in other words, half lying on his desk doing his usual paperwork with much difficulty than normal. He was barely able to keep his head up and his vision was a bit blurry. His runny nose and pounding head didn't help it at all. The young man would occasionally cough or have a fit of it then continue on trying to write the same sentence that he has been trying to for over ten minutes.

"I see what you mean..." Peter sighed going down the few stairs. He noticed the visible gap between Neal's desk and others' who probably moved there's further away so that they wouldn't get sick because that's what Neal was. Sick.

The man also noticed the extreme lack of people in that particular area. He glanced around as he saw some people staring at Neal in discomfort and some whispering to each other while covering their mouths with the papers in hand. This very much bothered the agent because he knew that they were talking about Neal behind his back. Although Neal wasn't a real FBI agent, he wanted the same rules to apply to him, no more, no less and that sometimes worked in Neal's favor. Sometimes...

Peter took the few steps left to the ex-con man's desk. He put both his hands on the desk leaning a little closer to him. "Neal-" he almost whispered. "Don't worry I'm almost done Peter." the said man's voice was hoarse and it even surprised himself as he cleared his throat a little. "That's not what I wanted to talk about..." he trailed off, slightly examining him. "Is it the fact that everyone's starring at me and gossiping from a far?" he asked, more said, as he leaned to the side a bit to better see the people and Peter turned as well.

The feds, when realized that they were still staring, tried to act casual - some whistling, some beginning a new conversation with their co-workers, some actually filing the papers and some pretending to drink the terrible coffee.

The duo turned back to face each other, Neal raising his eyebrows at him with a shrug. "Do you know why they are doing that?" Peter returned the <<pointing out the obvious>>, with a look of his own. The boy sighed. "Peter I am not-" "It's okay Neal. Everyone gets sick from time to-" "I am not sick, okay?" he paused for a second. "I'm just... not feeling my best, that's all..." he crossed his arms leaning back in the office chair. "Neal that's literally the definition of being sick..." "No it's not!" "Get a dictionary then." Peter ended the conversation.

"Now come on. You can't work like this." "Peter, I'm telling you that I am not-" "Neal, that was an order." the man said sternly. Neal looked at him a little surprised. "You're not my boss." he replied getting up from the chair, arms still crossed. "Neal..." he warned. Peter gave him a look meaning: 'Are you trying to start a fight here?' and the ex-con didn't like that, but he stood his ground. "Either you go willingly..." "Or what?" There was a moment of silence. "Don't make a scene Neal." the agent whispered through gritted teeth. "I won't if you don't." he replied tilting his head to the side slightly. "You're definitely sick if you think you'll win this fight." the older man shook his head. "Now. Either let me take care of you..." he paused for an effect. "...or suffer the consequences..."

Neal wondered what that was supposed to mean, but he could imagine a few scenarios in his head so with one last look around, to see the agents staring again, he sighed irritated, shoving his hands in his pockets. He strode past Peter, staring ahead with an angry expression and waiting for the elevator. The FBI agent smiled. "That's what I thought." he said to himself as he joined his C.I. in the elevator.

The doors pinged closed and the elevator started moving. "I won't forget this you know..." the blue-eyed male muttered. "I'm sure of it." he gave him a 'not so interested' reply. The rest of the ride was silent, both in the elevator and in Peter's car. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional sniffs and coughs from the young ex-con man. Soon, they arrived at Peter's home and exited the vehicle. The fed was a tad surprised that he hadn't heard anymore complaints during the ride, but he didn't give it much thought or meaning.

Peter rummaged his pockets for the house keys, well knowing that he could just take the spare ones from the «secret» hiding spot. Neal just waited on him to open the door wondering if he should make a run for it while he still can and has the opportunity to, but the words 'If you run, I'll catch you.' played like a broken record in his mind so he decided best not to. The man finally opened the house door and let himself in then Neal. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Where's El?" the boy asked looking around, his hands still tucked in his pockets. "El is out of town, I thought I told you?" he looked at him confused. "Sorry, I forgot..." Neal shook his head trying to remember the conversation in which Peter mentioned that information, but just couldn't seem to find it. 'Damn, he's more sick than I thought...' the fed said in his mind. "Well" he put his own coat on one of the dining chairs "Nonetheless, you can stay here for the rest of your sick days."

"Wow hold up. I never said that I agreed to this..." the young man motioned with his hand. "Yet here you are..." Peter smirked. "Funny, isn't it?" Neal rolled his eyes. "Yeah, a real nut cracker..." The fed chuckled, playfully nudging his shoulder. "Come on! Things aren't so bad..." he tried to lighten the mood. "Yeah, I've only been basically dragged out of work by my boss, how can things get any worse..." the boy frowned. "That's the spirit!" Peter chuckled again, punching Neal's shoulder gently as he presumably, went to go make «dinner». Neal rubbed the spot where Peter had punched him playfully as it did hurt him a little...

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Author's note: Here is chapter 1! I'll do my best to try and update as much as I can. Vote and comment, if you'd like and don't forget to archive the story so that you get notified about the next chapter! Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more <3