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

Regrets & Mistakes, step 5

In the previous chapter...

(...) They took a moment to gaze into each other's eyes. "It's gonna take some time Neal" he sat next to him and squeezed his hand gently. "but you'll get better." the boy smiled and squeezed back. "I know." "But you gotta promise to take proper medication." "I will." "And I will have to leave you alone a few times so you better behave." "I will..." "Oh and-" "Peter... I got the message." the older man smiled back. "Good."...

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It was now a little later in the morning (about ten o' clock). Neal Caffrey was still in the same spot as before, lying on the couch. He was bored out of his mind, but Peter wouldn't even let him stand up. The books and magazines that the man gave him didn't interest him ever so slightly and he didn't feel like «watching TV». The agent just wanted him to rest which Caffrey hated. He could never rest, at least not for this long. The ex-con man thought that the man was making a too big of a deal out of this and that he, himself, was just a little worn out, that's all. Sure, he couldn't quite explain the other «symptoms» without admitting sickness, but he still believed that it was all nothing, yet he listened to Peter for both of their sake.

The young man didn't want to argue with him again. He didn't like arguing with him and he regretted doing so at the office. The male himself didn't really know why he did what he did. Usually, he would bite his tongue when Peter was being serious and determined to something, but for some reason, Neal decided to give him a piece of his own mind this time. He regretted ever saying anything in the first place, but he blamed it on his tiredness that evening.

The C.I. was definitely not feeling well that day at all. Since morning, he had been showing signs of «having a cold», but nonetheless to his condition, he didn't want to go home, rather continuing to work because 'I never get sick' he thought. Peter did notice a slight shift in Neal's behavior that day, but didn't think too much about it until more people pointed it out then he finally took some measures. The fed knew that Neal, just like every human, had his bad days - when he didn't feel his best «mentally», yet this time he wasn't feeling his best physically nor mentally.

"If you're planning your escape, don't." Neal shook his head lightly to clear his head from the loose thoughts as he turned his attention to a smirking Peter who was sitting next to him taking the warm towel and replacing it with a fresh cold one. The blue-eyed male chuckled. "I'm not...promise... I'm just..." he trailed off. His handler gave him a expectant look to finish his sentence. "You're just..." curiosity got the best of him. The boy sighed. "I'm sorry..." "For what?" "Everything...? Mostly about the argument at the office..." he trailed off again looking away in shame.

"It's okay." the FBI agent smiled softly at him. "I know you didn't mean it..." "Still, I shouldn't have-" his voice cracked. The older man put a hand on his shoulder. "But you did and you regret it. You apologized. I forgive you. There's no need to stick with it anymore." Peter concluded. Neal smiled looking back at him again. "Thanks." the man smiled back. " 'Welcome. Now." he stood up. "I have to go to the pharmacy to get you some meds." "But Peter-" "No. No buts. No Peter. I have to. Believe me I'm as unhappy as you are about this. If I could, I wouldn't leave you here alone, but if you want to get better then..."

The ex-con nodded his head in response. "Good. I'm just going there and back. No stops. Don't move. Don't get up. Don't do anything illegal-" "What can I do then?" Neal asked growing impatient. "Stay where you are and try not to do anything stupid." Peter replied reaching for the doorknob. "Can I breath?" "Neal..." he heard an irritated reply. "Yeah yeah. Nothing stupid... I get it." "I'm glad you do." the fed opened the door. "Call me if it's urgent." and with that last sentence he closed the door.

The ex-con man could hear the man drive off and realized that he was all alone now. Not even Satchmo was there since Peter had left him to go out. The moment the boy figured out that he couldn't do anything, he huffed in annoyance. He was already bored when he wasn't alone, but now? He was bored out of his mind and the complete silence wasn't helping. Whistling, fidgeting, looking around nor trying to sleep didn't satisfy his need for doing something stupid and maybe illegal. 'Don't do anything stupid or illegal!' the FBI agent's voice rang in his head. "Yeah" He sighed. "I know..." he said to no one.

Suddenly, he heard scratching on the back door. His head practically shot up in alarm. Was it a burglar, a mouse, Peter?! He didn't know, but he knew he was going crazy. He needed some excitement so he disobeyed Peter's words, like he normally would, and slowly got up to check the back door. There, through the small window, he saw Satchmo, making cute puppy noises, begging Neal to open the door for him and let him inside the house. The young man chuckled. "Alright buddy." he tried to open the door, but it was locked.

They both frowned as the dog continued to make sad noises. "Hold up." he said to him as he rummaged the drawers next to the door for the key, but couldn't find it. The C.I. thought for a while. "This is definitely an emergency. Satchmo could seriously get hurt or cold or depressed staying outside." he concluded and grabbed his phone dialing Peter's number. The phone rang once, twice then the agent picked up. "NEAL?! What is it? Are you hurt? Have you fallen off the couch? Can you get up?! Hold on I'm turning back!" he heard the man's panicked voice.

"Whoa, whoa, Peter! Satchmo just wants to come inside, but you locked the door and I can't find the key." he explained trying to calm him down. "Oh. Did you check on the table?" he asked. "Oh, found them! Thanks!" the blue-eyed male smiled, about to end the call. "Yo- WAIT! No! Neal! I told you to-" "Oops." the ex-con «accidentally» ended the call not wanting to listen to the older man's lectures because he knew he would get a mouth-full when he gets back. Meanwhile, Peter on the other side growled in annoyance. "He never listens to me..." he mutters to himself. "Why am I even surprised?" he facepalms.

Back at the Burke's residence, Neal turned the key and opened the door being greeted by a happy and grateful Satchmo jumping onto him. "Oof-" resulting to both of them falling down to the floor with a «thud». "Hey *groan* Satchmo." the boy scratched the dog then rubbed his back that were now in pain. The dog wagged it's tail and barked in response, licking his face. Neal laughed as he scratched the pup once more...

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Author's note: Chapter 5. Neal and Satchmo scenes are wholesome, change my mind. 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