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

It Gets Worse, step 7

In the previous chapter...

(...) There was silence again, but neither of them moved. They stayed like that for a while until Neal was itching to move again so he moved forward to pet Satchmo again, just to move a little. Peter stood up wordlessly and organized the medicines that he'd bought. Neither spoke for a while searching for the moment again, both a little uncomfortable after they had «confessed their feelings», but soon enough they would return to their usual selves and everything would be back to normal...or as normal as things were right now...

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The rest of the day passed rather quickly as nothing special really happened. The duo ate lunch - pizza, which Peter decided to order after the results of yesterday's dinner (ch 2, Peter failed in making dinner so Neal had to cook). He had learned from his mistakes and decided to order food from now on. Although it wasn't the healthiest option, it was the only thing the agent could think off. He couldn't make Neal cook again. Peter was the one taking care of him, not the other way around!

After lunch, the two spent the rest of the evening in the living room together. Neal seemed to be better again. His fever was at bay and he didn't complain on being bored. They watched TV in silence with Neal falling asleep about half way then Peter read a couple of case files that Diana had sent him. When the boy awoke again, they talked for a while and the older man treated him some more; giving him medicine, etc. Night came and the day passed. Nothing special happened the other day either. The only thing different was that Diana had actually called for some advice and their expertise which made Neal happy to oblige.

It was now day 3 of Neal's sickness. Peter started to notice that his C.I. wasn't coping so well anymore. In fact, that was the day it all changed for the worse. The two men were just chilling on the Burke's couch watching a movie when the younger suddenly started to feel nauseous like he had the other day (ch 4, I believe?). The room started spinning and he was getting dizzy. A nasty headache accompanied this. "P'ter." he wasn't sure if he had said it in his mind or out loud. He couldn't hear the TV anymore, just buzzing sounds. Feeling his stomach quizzing, he put a hand in front of his mouth, making the sound that people make before they puke out their breakfast.

Neal abruptly stood up, or at least tried, but he got up too fast and the room spun harder. Although in his current condition, he felt a strong hand on his back guide him to the bathroom in a matter of seconds and before he knew it, he was releasing the contents of his stomach in the toilette. It took him a while to get it all out of his system, about 5 minutes in intervals. The hand was still there, resting on his back and rubbing circles on it. The blue-eyed male didn't even realize that he was down on his knees, resting his head against the cold tiled wall that soothed him in a way. His vision was starting to clear and the world wasn't spinning as much anymore...

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The duo was huddled on the couch. Neither seemed to mind, especially not Peter who wanted to make anything to make the boy feel better and comfortable. The FBI agent took a slight interest in the movie, so much that he hadn't immediately noticed Neal shifting in his arms, but it took him less then a minute to look back to him. He saw the ex-con's face a bit flushed again and his unfocused eyes drifting around the room, tilting back and forth slightly. "Neal?" he asked nervously. Something was wrong, he knew it. "P'ter." he heard the young one just barely say his name as the man's hand suddenly reached to his own mouth.

A sound was heard and Peter knew exactly what that meant. Neal was about to vomit. Both of them stood up immediately as the younger man almost fell backwards, but the agent's steady hand reached his back at just the right moment. He swiftly guided his C.I. to his bathroom while helping him walk and just as they had reached it, the ex-con man almost collapsed on the floor. His handler saw it coming and managed to bend him down over the toilette just as his breakfast escaped through the wrong hole. He cringed, the poor boy, and knelled them both down,  not daring to take his hand away.

Unconsciously, he started rubbing circles on Neal's back. It took a while before the blue-eyed male got it all out of him. Peter observed him for the entirety  if he would need help at all. The boy leaned himself against the wall above the toilette (to the side) and released some deep breaths. His eyes seem to concentrate better and he didn't look so dizzy. He pressed his face to the tiles and closed his eyes. It seemed to sooth him, was Peter's thought. The older man was still watching him, wondering what to do next. Neal's eyes opened, looking back like their usual selves, and flew around the room until they settled on the agent then to the toilette.

"Did I-"  "Yeah... a lot..."  "Did you-"  "Yes. The whole way." The blue-eyed male nodded. It was like they read each other's mind. His head hanged down sadly. "Better?"  "Yeah."  "Can you walk?" He stood up carefully, with Peter ready to help. "Yeah... I think I ca-" but his legs gave out. The man caught him. He was weakened. "Easy." The fed basically dragged him down the stairs to the living room again and onto the couch. A worried Satchmo appeared next to them and whimpered softly. "Not now Satch." it was Peter who had said it, but Neal extended his arm to fall to the floor. The dog wiggled beneath it and lied down on the spot.

The C.I. didn't remove his hand, neither did the dog move away. It was the pups way of showing comfort to his human friend. Peter smiled finding it very cute, but frowned noticing the condition the young male was in again. "Rest." was the only thing he said before pulling a blanket over him. He nodded softly and closed his tired eyes, not objecting. The agent was glad he didn't. He grew more worried though as he made himself lost in the kitchen. "It happened again, El." he said in his phone. "worse this time..." his worry showing. "Honey, I think you should get him to the hospital now." her voice was also laced with worry.

"The doctor will do him good Peter." she reassured her husband. "Yeah, you're right. I don't think there's anything more that I can do for him..." he glanced back up at the young man. "Honey, I'm always right." she smiled. "Take care of him and yourself."  "Bye honey." he smiled, she really was brilliant. "Goodbye honey." her cheery voice was cut off with the call being ended. Peter sighed. Neal wouldn't like this, but there was nothing he could do anymore... He put his phone in his pocket and decided that they would go as soon as he wakes up.

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A little over an hour past and Neal waked. He felt his surroundings, reminding himself of where he was. At Peter's and Elizabeth's house. He tried to stand up and did, successfully. With a first glance, he couldn't see Peter. 'Maybe he went out...' he thought. He heard a bark underneath him. He was startled a bit, but smiled at the dog who wagged his tail in happiness, seeing his friend better. Neal took a few steps, trying to get to the kitchen for a glass of water (his head was still killing him), but he suddenly felt lightheaded again and couldn't walk in a straight line.

Thankfully, Peter had somehow heard him as a "Neal?" rang through the house and a head popped out of the kitchen just in time to see a not so good looking Neal Caffrey about to fall down. The boy didn't even have enough time to call out the man's name as he felt himself drifting into darkness. He closed his eyes slowly as he heard his name being yelled. "NEAL!" but his fall was softened. Two hands had caught him before he made impact with the floor and that was the last thing he heard and felt before he blacked out...

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Author's note: Damn this is turning out longer then expected, but I'm loving it uwu! Hope you are as well. Don't worry, Neal won't die. BTW we're on chapter 7. 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