Holding on slightly tighter to the now vigorously squirming Neal, the final flurry of hard and deliberate swats fell from his hand atop the gleaming red backside. The squirming died down, as the already well seen to sit spots caught another dose of the hard, rhythmic hand. His charges hollering fizzled out into a sad weeping, and his job, that he loathed, was done.

Resting a hand on the kid's back with a depressing familiarity, he rubbed careful circles on the smooth skin, waiting for the young man to regain his composure.

His heart panged in sympathy for the tousled haired boy, and his gentle murmurings kicked up a notch.

It seemed like a lifetime ago since El had kissed both of them on the cheek, and went back up to bed, leaving Peter to deal with their wards escapades.

At his choice.

It had really only been about ten minutes.

"You learned your lesson buddy?" he asked gently, continued to rub a careful hand on his back.

A dramatic sniffle was his first answer, and he rolled his eyes fondly.

So very Neal.

The quiet "yes Peter" however, was sincere and his eyes closed in relief.

"…and you're going to have Mozzie over here first thing in the morning so we can all see that the jammer he uses is broken?"

There was a slight pause.

Sighing, Peter laid down a relatively gentle swat on the still well presented backside and the kid hissed in protest.

"Yes…yes I will" he quickly answered, already lamenting the loss of his wonderful get out of anklet free card.

Nodding encouragingly, even though Neal couldn't see, he patted his back reassuringly.

"Good lad."

With a final melodramatic sniffle and a hiss, the kid suddenly rose himself up off of Peter's knee, quickly pulling his jeans up as he went.

Standing up also, and ruffling his hair, Peter pulled into a hug which was heartily returned, before sidestepping him. Making his way into the kitchen, he had been left dire instructions by his wife to make sure the boy ate something before he went to bed for the second time that night.

He had experience in these matters, and had quickly learned that El was quite a terrifying mother bear when it came to Neal.

He hurried a bit more, quickly popping milk in the microwave to warm and hunting for those damn fancy pastries he liked.

Finding a cinnamon token that would probably pass inspection, he finished heating the milk and headed back into the living room where Neal had taken up ginger residence on the couch.

"Here you go kid, get that into you" he instructed quietly, handing out the snack.

The blue eyes lit up and Peter chuckled.

From tears to grins in five seconds.

Throwing himself down beside the younger man, he leant back in the sofa and ran a hand over his face.

Tiredness lapped him, and as he glanced at the clock, he saw it was teetering on the three am mark.

He was getting too old for this.

Way too old.

His tiredness slipped away however as he spied the truly restful look in Neal's eyes, the relaxed poise as he sat, and the happy gulping of the milk in his hands.

It was rare to catch the famous Caffrey in complete relaxation, no façade, no outward image being carefully adhered to.

Just Neal…being Neal.

His tiredness slipped another jot when he realised that these moments were becoming more and more common as time meandered on. Well, maybe not in the office, but at home…at home the kid dropped the front, and just…was himself.

Not that he would admit it, but Peter loved happening into a room with his wife and Neal holed up in a corner over art books that he didn't pretend to understand, chatting animatedly about some… stick figure or other.

They complemented each other well, and he was acutely aware about how much El had grown attached to him.

Nostalgia engulfed him, as he sat in companionable silence with the kid, who winced every now and again as he shifted position. He felt a small smile play on his face as he remembered the day a much thinner, paler and closed off Neal had walked out of those prison gates.

If someone had told him then…how much he would grow to care for the boy, he would have laughed in their faces.

He, like everyone else, had been taken in by the con.

That Neal Caffrey didn't need anything, anyone at any time.

Ever.

The small smile grew wider, as he expertly ignored the whining next to him that the cinnamon tasted off.

Neal often said thank you to him, to El…for everything they did for him. They always brushed it off as being their pleausre.

Neal probably thought it was because he was uncomfortable with emotional displays of affection.

But the real reason…the real reason, was much simpler.

It was because he was the grateful one.

Over time, Neal had begun filling a void in him, that he frankly never knew existed.

He and El had tried for a child for years, his wife knowing how much he wanted a son or daughter. She also yearned for an addition to the Burke household…but, it just had never happened.

As much as Peter would have loved a daughter, he'd always wanted a son.

To be a father like his own father… to his own Burke offspring.

As he shot another side long glance at the now pretty sleepy looking Neal, who let out a small yelp as he turned in his seat, his smile grew larger still.

Who said…who said it had to be a child? Who said it had to be biologically his child? His and El's flesh and blood?

As he instinctively reached out and gently pulled the now nearly asleep kid to him, he felt a ridiculous surge of contentment engulf him, as Neal willingly lolled against his chest, his eyelids drooping down.

Rubbing a gentle hand through the wild mop of hair, he knew that he couldn't care about this kid anymore than if he and El had raised him from an infant.

Everyone had their own opinion, but as he felt Neal drift off to sleep in his arms, he finally decided on his own. One that he knew El shared without a second's equivocation.

Blood…it wasn't thicker than water.

Not even a little bit.

Not at all.

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A/N: That's that guys! I've decided to leave this one here as I feel the quality's gone downhill in the last few chapters a bit. Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing and following etc. It's been a really fun write! This last chapter is shameless fluff!

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