Author's Note: This is something that just randomely popped into my at around four in the morning this morning. Please keep in mind that it has been a long time since I watched the season finale so if anything is inaccurate (at least before I intercede with my plot line) do not take it to heart. Enjoy!

Neal Caffrey looked up hopefully when he heard the knock on the door that led to his apartment. The young man had been pacing anxiously as he waited to hear if there was any news on the case. "Peter?" He called his friend's name as he opened the door with a relieved expression on his face. Maybe the agent had cooled off a little bit and was ready to hear his apology. Neal scoffed since the notion was highly unlikely before looking up. The first thing he noticed was that the shoes the person in front of him was wearing weren't Peter's. He didn't know anyone that wore those shoes. Raising his eyes with a feeling of trepidation Neal looked into the man's face.

A cold and expressionless glare greeted the ex-con artist's eyes and Neal gulped softly. Stepping back, Neal attempted to slam the door shut but his heart stopped when the man laughed and simply kicked the door down. Shit, was the only thing that Neal could think of as he raced for the roof. He realized with a sinking feeling in his gut that since he was under house arrest he didn't have anywhere to go. If he left the property Peter would kill him but if he stayed on the property then this guy would kill him.

It was a lose-lose situation but Neal decided that he would like to have someone he at least knew kill him. Peter really did deserve the honors. After all, Neal had been an annoying pain in the ass the entire time during their partnership. Well, maybe not the entire time but Neal knew that he had been for a good majority of the time. So, from the information that was whirling through his brain at the moment, Neal knew that he couldn't count on Peter to save his butt in the nick of time. He peered down to the ground, trying to judge if he should just jump or attempt to find another alternative to get down to the ground.

A small smirk twitched at the corners of his mouth as he thought, no curtains, balconies or windows to use and smash through here. It was a shame that it was this way. He really could have used a drape of some kind. With a sigh of resignation Neal quickly looped his leg over the side of the roof and grasped at the hand-holds. Thank the Lord he had taken mountain climbing up for a hobby while he wasn't busy pulling scams on people.

For a while he had been in a 'mountain climbing frenzy' and had succeeded in driving Kate crazy with his hankering for climbing up mountains. The trip up and down were often difficult but the trips were always rewarding. He had loved watching the sun rise from the top of a majestic peak. Neal had loved to watch as the sun painted its golden glow over the valley and landscape all around him. The most cherished memory that he had from those trips dealt with a certain young lady. Kate had always looked more radiant than usual, her skin looked like it was made of gold and her dark hair had reflected some of the light in interesting patterns. For all intents and purposes she had looked like an ancient goddess from the old pagan religions.

Shaking his head to snap himself out of his memories, Neal continued to edge his way around the rook and almost lost his hold when he heard the roof door slam open. Whoever this guy was, he certainly wasn't worried about causing a commotion. Swallowing thickly Neal continued to edge his way around. Looking down Neal saw that June had left one of her windows open and he blessed the older woman as he lowered himself down carefully. Stifling a gasp of surprise, Neal scrabbled to keep his purchase on the smooth surface of the house as his hands slipped. Shaking from the adrenaline rush that the would-be-fall had caused, Neal swung his body down and managed to get through the window without a noise. Well, the noise didn't happen until he was actually through the window and in the room. He had forgotten about the desk that June kept near that particular window.

With a muffled curse Neal got to his feet with a low groan. The ex-con artist bolted out the front door and looked around wildly for an escape route. Something seared through his right shoulder and the ex-felon gasped before pushing his body to keep going. Neal knew that he had to get away from this freak before something worse happened to him.

Then again, if he was shot and killed then he would be with Kate again. He wouldn't have to imagine the sound of her voice, the feel of her hair or her radiant smile anymore. Neal wouldn't have to be reminded by waking up in an empty bed every morning that the love of his life had been murdered. That he should have been on that plane with her.

The young man didn't pay attention to the scenery that flashed past him as he sprinted down the sidewalk, didn't care that people were gawking at him and scrambling to get out of his way. The only thought that flashed through his mind was that he needed to get to Peter.

Peter would help him, keep him safe and ward off the big bad wolf that was chasing him. Wait, he mused absentmindedly as he bolted down a side street that makes me a little girl. The notion was absolutely ridiculous! I am not a little girl in a dress and a cape. No way! Capes and dresses just didn't mix well with Neal Caffrey's sense of style.

But he did still need Peter and he could only hope that the older man would still be willing to protect him. Neal wouldn't blame him if he didn't. Even if Peter ended up not helping Neal could at least say that he had tried.

"Umm, Peter?" Diana called her bosses name as she stared down at the screen in her hand. She had failed to notice the big screen in the middle of the back room that was paused on Neal's image.

"What?" Peter snapped back irritably. Today had to have been one of the crappiest days of his life and he just wanted to go home to El. El would be able to say or do something to make his day better. She always did.

"Neal's not at his house anymore…" Diana replied nervously as she flickered her gaze between her boss and the floor.

"Damn it! Where is he?" Peter spat as the overwhelming feeling of fury began to well up inside of him. He couldn't even trust the kid to stay at his own frickin' apartment for more than five minutes! Peter's eyes narrowed sternly as he searched Diana's face for answers and deducted that none of the answers would be something that he wanted to hear.

"His signal is erratic. I can't seem to get a good read on his exact location." The agent looked down at the notepad in her hands as an excuse to avoid making eye contact with Peter.

Peter slammed a fist into the countertop in front of him in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. He frowned when he realized that his hairline had begun to recede even more. At this rate Caffrey was going to make him lose all of his hair by the end of the month. The man who had killed the store's (owner?) was after Neal and Peter was afraid for his friend's health.

"Upp, got him!" Diana exclaimed as she stared at the device in her hands. A puzzled frown creased her forehead. "He's headed directly at us…" Her confusion was easy to hear in her voice.

Peter nodded to her gratefully at his teammate before striding out of the store's front door. Only to be bowled over by a speeding blur. "Ooof!" The wind was knocked out of the agent and he heard an answering groan from in front of him. Peter was just getting to his feet when the same blur that had run into him launched itself from the ground directly into the agent. "What the…" Peter growled in annoyance. He was just about to get up again when a hand shot of nowhere and yanked him back to the ground forcefully.

"Stay down!" A familiar voice hissed into Peter's ear as the agent was forcibly held down by a familiar con artist.

"What the hell Neal?" Peter rasped as soon as he got his breath back.

For a good minute or so Neal didn't answer his handler, instead he simply lay in front of him vigilantly. The younger man's body was stiff and Peter could tell that he was straining all of his senses in an effort to detect something that Peter didn't have a clue was. Finally Neal sat up slowly with a small hiss of pain that went undetected by his partner.

Peter got to his feet livid as he remembered that Neal was out of his territory. "What the hell are you doing out of the house?"

"Nice to see you too." Neal grumbled as he climbed stiffly to his feet. He casually put a hand in his suit pocket and winced when it put pressure against the injury.

"Answer the question Caffrey." Peter barked as he turned to go inside. Through the reflection in the window he saw Neal's eyes widen and then the younger man rammed into him again. Luckily Peter had already opened the door so they didn't end up going through it. Well, not in the sense of breaking anything. This time when Peter looked back to give his partner another "are you out of your mind?" glare he saw a flash from across the street. The stuffed squirrel by the counter in the back of the store rocketed off of its shelf.

Peter raised an eyebrow in a silent question and inched forward slowly when he saw Neal nod back to him. There was a pained grunt from behind him and Peter glanced back again. Neal flashed him his pearly whites and motioned for the agent to keep going. Peter rolled his eyes before complying with an audible sigh.

Neal sighed in relief as he saw Peter turn back around. He dropped the fake smile as soon as he was sure that Peter wasn't watching him. His mid-section was on fire and every move hurt as he forced his body to inch forward. Neal felt like stopping but he knew that if he did Peter would more than likely get even more mad at him.

He could feel sweat trickling down his face and bit his tongue in an effort to hold back the groan that threatened to sound from deep in his throat. By the time Neal reached the area of space in between the counters he was panting. The young ex-con artist saw Peter shoot a look of concern his way but Neal simply rolled his eyes and motioned for his partner to continue.

This time Peter shook his head no, reached out and dragged the younger man behind the counter. A startled Neal was unable to hold back a cry of pain and the consultant doubled over. "I thought you said you were fine!" Peter hissed in a teasing tone.

Neal raised an eyebrow. "Did I? I thought I said that I 'might' be fine."

Peter rolled his eyes in exasperation before mussing the younger man's hair gently as he uncurled the consultant in order to get a better look at the injury. Neal protested the movement with a whimper before relaxing enough to let Peter move him into a straighter position.

"Do you h-have a cell phone?" Neal asked, his eyes glinting with an unknown desperation.

"Why?"

"I wasn't the only o-one th-a-t was h-h-ere."

Peter's widened as he grasped the concept that Neal was trying to tell him. "We'll find him Neal before that creep can."

"M-mozz still n-needs to be warned!" Neal gasped as he shifted his position so that he could see Peter's face better.

"I'm on it Neal." Peter answered soothingly, holding up his cell phone to show Neal that it was ringing. He was simply waiting for Mozz to pick up. Neal reached up and grabbed the phone with a 'shushing' motion to Peter.

"Mozz?"

"Neal? You really do need to get some more wine. Different varieties if you know what I mean…"

"Mozz!"

There was a shocked silence on the other end of the line and Neal knew that he had Mozzie's attention.

"You need to get somewhere safe, now. It's an… emergency. Someone is go-ing to try to kill y-ou."

"What on earth have you been drinking?"

"I'm not, I haven't even, I wouldn't…" Neal sputtered indignantly before Peter snatched the phone back.

"He's not intoxicated if that's what you're thinking." Peter informed Mozzie dryly before continuing in a more serious tone. "Where are you now? I need to know so that we can protect you. Someone killed your friend that owns the shop and the same person tried to kill Neal a few minutes ago."

There was silence and then a nervous reply that Peter had trouble understanding. Once he had gotten Mozzie's location written down he motioned to Diana.

"The Little Guy's in trouble. I want you to take some agents with you and then pick him up from here…" Peter instructed as he handed her the paper with the location written on it. He would have to remember to ask Neal later as to why the ex-con had been carrying a sheet of paper and a pen with him…

Author's Notes: Like it? Hate it? Please leave me a review! I reeeaaalllyyy like reviews!