Title: Unbreakable
Part: 5/?
Author: angelita26
Rating: PG-13
Characters and/or Pairing: Gen – Neal, Diana, Peter, Elizabeth, June
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: Unbetaed.
Word Count: ~1100
Summary: Neal and Diana are released from the hospital and head for Riverside Drive.

Notes: Written for a prompt at collarkink that can be found at the end of this chapter. There are five parts to this fic so far, but there will be between eight and ten parts total.

Part 1: Day 0/ Month 3
Part 2: Month 7
Part 3: Week 1
Part 4: Week 2 or so



Timestamp #5: Month 1


It was raining, barely more than a drizzle, the day that Neal and Diana were released from the hospital. As Peter pushed Neal's wheelchair toward the Taurus, Neal turned his face up toward the water and smiled one of the first genuine smiles that Peter had seen since the day his two team members had gone missing.

He gave both Neal and Diana, being wheeled out by an orderly just behind them, a few moments to savor being outside, even it they were in the elements. Then, he clapped his hands gently and pointed to the open car doors. “C'mon, you two. You're going to catch colds if we're out here too long.”

“Oh, Peter.” Elizabeth shot him an exasperated look at his tone. She closed the trunk as quietly as possible and rounded the car with two blankets in her hands. “You can sit up front, Diana. If you want.”

“No, thanks,” Diana responded, as she stood and slid into the backseat. She was securing her seatbelt when Neal got in beside her and did the same. They exchanged smiles, pleased to finally be out of the godforsaken hospital.

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Neal said, politely, when she handed him the blankets, knowing that he would pass one over to Diana.

It had been almost a month since they'd been found, and they had been on the mend from their physical injuries for a while. Although they had completed the mandatory physical therapy program, they were still required to attend outpatient sessions with their psychiatrists.

Diana's apartment, the one she'd moved into after separating from Christie, was out of Neal's radius, which the DOJ wasn't interested in extending. They felt that they were giving him enough leeway by allowing him to recuperate first in the hospital and now at home on his anklet on the medical leave that was recommended by his doctors. So, Diana had made the executive decision that she would move in with Neal for a while, and June had done nothing but smile, nod, and ask if she needed to have a second bed set up in the apartment.

They were able to spend time away from each other now, but overnight was a struggle. With the stress of leaving the hospital and returning to society, no one had felt the need, yet, to push them on staying in separate homes.

Without warning, Neal's hand slipped out from under his blanket to rest against Diana's hip. She tore her eyes from the familiar outside scenery to look over at him. “Okay?”

He nodded once and ducked his head, clearly feeling abashed by his actions.

She squeezed his hand and pulled his cold fingers under her blanket to get warm. Though the temperature outside was average for spring in New York, the wet conditions made it downright chilly.

It was mid-day on a Wednesday, so traffic wasn't bad and they made good time to Riverside Drive. It had even stopped raining by the time Peter found a parking spot, which was a little less than a block from June's. Neal and Diana both assured the Burkes that the exercise would be good for them and set out a few steps ahead of their keepers.

“Are they driving you as crazy as they're driving me?” Neal asked in a low voice. The Burkes had been stealing glances at them the whole car ride, even though neither Diana nor Neal had been doing anything but sitting and staring out the windows.

Diana pressed her shoulder to his and shook her head. “They mean well.”

“They do,” he agreed. “I just can't...” he trailed off and shrugged. Diana was really the only person that he could talk to lately. Mozzie had visited several times in the hospital – always in the middle of the night and always at a different hour. Neal had mostly pretended to be asleep, and Mozzie had let him do so. He didn't think that Moz hadn't given up on him, though Neal hadn't heard from or seen him in a couple of days.

And then there was the matter of Peter and Elizabeth. He could tell that they wanted to smother him in hugs and whatever else they could get away with, but he wasn't ready to let them in yet. He and Diana had spent months in their hellhole. Every day, in the beginning, they'd both expected Peter to burst through the door, faux-annoyed that he'd had to take time off a case to track them down. Then, many days or weeks later – time was hard to track without windows – Diana had given up hope. He'd talked himself hoarse describing how the FBI would find them, how his tracking data would lead to something like tire tracks that would leave to some sort of thing like a car's GPS unit that would lead the Peter and the others right to them. Wherever they were. But then he'd worn himself down and surrendered to the misery that they were both struggling to endure.

Intellectually, Neal knew that Peter had done everything he could to find them, had in fact found them as quickly as possible. However, he needed time to work through his own thoughts and feelings about the kidnapping and captivity before he could start to forgive the FBI, to forgive Peter, and even to forgive himself for not being able to escape and get Diana out, among other things.

Diana gently grabbed his arm and tugged him to a stop. “Hey. Stop thinking so hard. You're going to give me a headache.”

“Sorry,” he murmured as she led him up the stairs to June's front stoop, where the lady of the house herself was standing in the open doorway.

“Diana,” June greeted with a warm smile. When she turned to Neal though, her eyes lit up. “Hello, Neal.”

He couldn't help the grin that graced his own face. June was looking at him with such happiness and acceptance and love, and he had missed her so much. “June,” he said softly, stepping around Diana to embrace his landlady.

Diana's eyes widened, and she could hear Peter's and Elizabeth's sharp intakes of breath. Neal rarely initiated contact with anyone else, and he certainly hadn't openly hugged anyone since his return.

June was speechless for one of the first times in her life. She held Neal close when she realized that he was trembling. It was a big day for him and Diana both, and she was so glad they'd decided to move into the apartment. The house hadn't been the same without Neal. “Welcome home,” she whispered.

(End Scene – TBC)

Part 6: Year 1

Thank you for reading!

Original prompt at collarkink here: For some reason, Diana and Neal are kidnapped. For many weeks or months, they remain in captivity, isolated from the rest of the world. They go through a very deep trauma – brutal physical or mental torture, possibly both. The captivity creates a very strong bond between them. After they escape or are rescued, they still need each other. They often hug and touch; sometimes they hold hands, sometimes they lean together on a bench outside, maybe one strokes each other’s hair. They’re also very protective of each other; however, there is absolutely nothing sexual about their relationship.
I would really love to see even a small piece of this.


Also posted at AO3