Title: Unbearable
Part 2: Day 0
Author: angelita26
Rating: PG-13
Characters and/or Pairing: Peter, Elizabeth
Warnings: Lots of angst ahead.
Word Count: ~1600
Summary: Companion piece to Unbreakable. Peter struggles to deal with finding Neal and Diana.



If he were honest with himself, Peter had started to give up hope that this day would ever come. After seven months of diligently following up on every scrap of a lead about van tire treads and paint transfer, he was sitting outside a seemingly abandoned factory warehouse in the woods on the outskirts of Hackensack, New Jersey. Satellite imagery showed that the area was pretty desolate – the perfect place to keep two federal employees that you didn't want anyone to find.

Peter and Jones donned their bulletproof vests and led the charge inside the building when SWAT gave the signal. The first suspect came at them with gun blazing, but Jones put him down with a single shot of his own.

Methodically, they checked each room until they found a door in the northeast corner that was made of heavy iron and padlocked. Peter's hands shook so hard that it took him three tries to get it open, but it made a satisfying clack when the lock released.

Jones helped pull the door open far enough for them to get into the dark, dank room. Two figures were huddled on a cot against the far wall, and it took their eyes a minute to adjust so that they could actually see Neal and Diana. Both of them had longer hair, which was matted and sticking up at odd angles, and their clothes were ripped, dirty, and too large for their thin bodies.

SWAT and other FBI agents were right behind Peter and Jones, but this was a scene that they didn't want anyone else to witness. Jones called for EMTs while Peter doled out assignments that would take the others far from this room. There was still at least one suspect to find and evidence to gather.

Without even looking at each other, Peter and Jones both shucked their FBI windbreakers and moved inside to tend to their friends and partners.

~~!!~~

Peter rode in the ambulance with Neal and Diana, who were curled together on a single gurney with Diana's back pressed into Neal's chest and his arms protectively embracing her. They were quiet, and they flinched away from every touch or sudden movement of the EMTs.

Neal whimpered once when Diana startled badly enough to elbow him in the side. Peter was seated toward the front of the ambulance, closest to their heads, so he slid forward and tentatively reached out to cradle the base of Neal's head and gently rub the back of his neck. He ignored Neal's cringe at the touch and spoke to him. "Neal, relax. Let the EMTs have a look at you. Okay?"

Neal wearily tilted his head so that he could see the source of the voice. "Peter?"

"I'm here. You're going to be okay. Try to relax."

"Is this real?" Neal whispered, keeping his eyes on Peter's face, as if he expected him to disappear at any moment.

Peter's breath stuttered, and he had to swallow hard against the lump in his throat. "Yes, it's real. I'm real. I promise."

Neal didn't look away, but he moved his head closer to Diana's and whispered something unintelligible in her ear.

She slowly tilted her head back and looked up at Peter. "I see him too," she murmured to Neal. Then, to him, she said, "Hi, Boss."

"You're going to be okay," he assured her as tears gathered in his eyes.

~~!!~~

When he wasn't allowed to follow them through the Emergency Room doors, Peter retreated to the other side of the waiting room and pulled out his phone. It took him two tries to speed dial Elizabeth but hearing her voice made him feel much better, steadier.

"Hey, hon," she answered. "I'm running late to a meeting. Can I call-"

"We found them, El. Neal and Diana. They're alive."

She was silent for a long moment and then a sob broke through the connection. "What? Say it again."

"We found them."

"How are they? Are they okay? Where are you?"

"We're at Mount Sinai, in the ER." He practically fell into a chair as his adrenaline receded and his entire body started to shake. "They're alive. I don't know anything else. The doctors are with them now."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you, hon."

~~!!~~

It was over an hour before two doctors came out with news. Neal and Diana were both being taken into surgery for internal injuries – Diana's spleen and Neal's kidney – from a recent beating. They had other, minor injuries as well, but, barring complications, the doctors expected them to make physical recoveries. However, due to the nature of their situation, they had ordered psychiatric consults as well.

Peter had expected that and nodded his assent. His only request was that Neal and Diana be placed in a room together, and the hospital staff was willing to accommodate that after they were moved from the recovery room.

Once the doctors were gone, Elizabeth tugged Peter to a pair of chairs in the corner and sat him down with a bottle of water and a sandwich. "I know it's pointless to ask you to leave the hospital, but you need to eat something."

Peter nodded and bit into the turkey and cheddar on whole wheat. It was the first meal he'd truly tasted in a long while, and it was amazing despite the blandness. He smiled over at his wife. "Thanks, hon."

"I can't believe we're here. They're here. What did they look like? Do you think they'll be okay?" Elizabeth blurted out the questions that had been on her mind since she'd gotten the call.

Peter swallowed and put his dinner aside. "They've been through a lot, El. That place…" He shivered and looked away, his eyes coming to rest on Jones, who was sitting quietly across the room, flipping idly through a magazine, after also refusing to leave.

Her hand flew to her mouth but wasn't fast enough to contain her sob.

Peter wrapped her in his arms and stroked her back. It felt so good to hold her and smell her floral shampoo and not be worried about another day passing without a lead on Neal and Diana. Now, he had completely different reasons to worry, which were mostly eclipsed by a fear of the unknown – what had happened to them and how their recovery would go.

Clinging to each other, husband and wife both broke down and buried their faces in each others' shoulders to hide the tears. So much stress and disappointment and worry had built up over the last few months that the release was exhausting.

It didn't take long for them to fall asleep – Elizabeth in Peter's lap with her head on his shoulder and his head resting against hers. It was the first dreamless sleep they'd had in months.

~~!!~~

In the early morning, Peter was finally allowed into Neal and Diana's hospital room. They were in separate beds with monitors and tubes and wires surrounding their supine bodies. Both had been cleaned up, but there were clear bruises, in varying stages of healing, on their faces and arms.

Peter took the seat next to Neal's bed and tentatively started rubbing circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. It was a gesture that Peter had always found soothing when he was the one laying in the hospital bed.

Neal twitched and muttered something that sounded, terrifyingly, like "Die, die, die, die."

Peter took a deep breath before he leaned over the semi-conscious younger man. He stroked the soft hair at Neal's temple, also hoping it would soothe him. "Shhhh. Neal, you're okay. You're home now. Everything's going to be okay."

Neal's breathing hitched, and his mumblings became something more like, "Wanna die. Please. Wanna die."

"No, no," Peter frantically responded. "Neal, you're going to be okay. Calm down. It's going to be okay."

Neal tossed his head away from Peter's hand and struggled to open his eyes. "Diana," he called in a strangled voice, louder but raspy and still much too quiet to reach the other bed where she was still in a drugged sleep. "Diana!"

Relief washed over Peter with such strength that his legs almost buckled when he realized Neal had only been trying to ask for Diana. He leaned a hip against Neal's bed and smiled down at him. "Diana's right beside you. She's going to be okay too."

Neal turned his head in the direction that Peter was pointing and saw the familiar silhouette of Diana through his hazy vision. He blinked once and then started pushing at his blankets, at Peter's restraining hands, at anything standing between him and her. "Please. Let me. Diana! Need Diana!"

Peter pressed the call button and then put his hands firmly but not painfully on Neal's shoulders. "Calm down, Neal. Relax. You're hurt and you can't get up. Neal, relax."

When the nurse came through the door, Peter explained the situation and offered the suggestion of pushing the beds together as an alternative to sedating Neal, who already had plenty of drugs coursing through his system. The nurse was understandably reluctant, but Peter dredged up everything Neal had ever taught him and convinced her that it was for the good of the patients.

Neal settled down once he was holding Diana's hand and fell back to sleep with his face turned toward her. Peter sank into his chair and watched over them. He was so damn glad that he'd found them, but he couldn't help but wonder what the future held and how they would all heal from this.

~Finis

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