Neal hated guns, but he hated having guns pointed at him even more. He would much rather be up against a man with a knife, he could talk the man down or keep his distance. But a man with a gun was hard to run from. So he froze. As soon as he saw the gun, he froze. His feet refused to move and his eyes stayed locked on the gun. Neal swallowed nervously and knew that the man had every intent on killing him. The gun was steady and the man's face was a stone mask. His mind kept telling him to run, but his body was frozen. Peter's voice flooded through the hidden ear piece.

"What's happening Neal?" Neal was too frozen to answer, so he just continued to stare at the man with the gun.

"Tell me who you really are?" The man stepped closer to Neal, there were only about 5 feet between them now. Neal took a deep breath and answered.

"I told you, my name is Nick Halden."

"Wrong answer." Neal heard Peter order everyone to move in and Neal relaxed a tiny bit, he fully trusted that Peter would get him out of there. He kept his eye on the gun and hoped the man wouldn't get trigger happy. "I know who you really are Mr. Caffrey." Neal glanced at the man and then back to the gun.

"I'm not here to rob you, I'm hear to do business.."

"Shut up! I know you're working with the F.B.I." Neal swallowed nervously. Suddenly the door burst open and F.B.I. agents started swarming in. They ordered the man to drop the gun. He looked and Neal and smiled. Neal watched as his finger tightened on the trigger. His mind knew that the end was coming and his life flashed before his eyes. He caught little shots from random times in his life.

Two shots echoed throughout the warehouse. One was a second before the other. Two men feel, one dead and one barely clinging to life.

He saw his mother smiling at him, then he saw his favorite art teacher smiling at a piece of his work. Kate popped into his mind and her eyes sparkled as she looked lovingly in Neal's eyes, she blew him a kiss. Mozzie flashed through his mind, and then Elizabeth. Finally, his mind stopped on Peter. The only man he true trusted in his life. He smiled at the thought of his best friend. The smile faded as something collided with his chest and he was set to the ground. His memories faded and Neal was staring up at the dirty warehouse ceiling.

Agents swarmed the building and removed the man's gun. But Agent Peter Burke, ran straight to Neal's side, ignoring the puddle of blood that was soaking through his grey pants..

"Neal!" Neal lay on his back, with blood pooling from his chest. He was taking short breaths and a steady line on blood pooled from his mouth. His eyes slowly focused on Peter. He tried to smile, but in was weak. "Hang in there buddy."

"Peter."

"Shh. Save your strength."

"Peter." Burke met Neal's eyes and felt a wave of sadness wash over him. The normal lively eyes with a hint off mischief, we dead and dull. "Peter. I want to t-thank y-you, for the s-second chance a-at life y-you gave m-me."

"There's no need to thank me, because you're going to be fine. The ambulance is on it's way and you'll be patched up and ready to work come Monday." Tears were clouding Peter's eyes and he blinked them away. His hands were coated in blood from putting pressure on the wound. He knew that Neal was in bad shape, but he couldn't bring himself to think that his partner, no his best friend, was going to die.

"It doesn't hurt." Neal was staring off into nowhere. Peter realized Neal was no longer stuttering and he knew that was a bad thing. "I thought it would hurt more." His eyes were unfocused and his words came slower and slower. "You are the only person I truly trust." Neal took a shaky breath. "Peter, you're...like the...brother...I never...had. Thank...you." His last word was breathy and Peter waited for his next breath. He grew panicked when no more breaths came. He felt Neal's neck for a pulse and his heart dropped when he didn't find one. His field training kicked in and he began CPR. He choose to ignore the fact that every time he compressed Neal's chest, even more blood pooled out. He was pushed aside when the paramedics arrived. Peter watched as they tried to revive him.

"We got a pulse." Peter smiled and followed the paramedics to the waiting ambulance. He climbed in and grabbed Neal's hand. The ride was a blur as Peter watched the paramedic, try to keep Neal alive. When they reached the hospital Neal was whisked away and Peter was left by himself in the waiting room. A nurse approached him.

"Sir?" He turned to her. "I brought you some scrubs. I figured you would like to change out of those bloody clothes." For the first time, Peter looked down at his clothes. His normally grey suit was stained a dark crimson red. He gratefully accepted the scrubs and headed to the bath room. He froze when he saw himself in the mirror. He was soaked in blood. His best friends blood. Peter put the scrubs on and through his clothes away. It made him sick to look at all the blood. When he was back in the waiting room, he decided to call El.

"Hey hon, what's up?" El seemed to be in a good mood and he hated that he was about to ruin it. For a moment he couldn't speak. "Peter?"

"El..."

"Peter what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Tears sprung to Peter's eyes.

"El..." Tears rolled down Peter's face and El could hear her husband crying.

"Peter what happened?"

"Neal...he's...been shot." El gasped. "It's bad."

"I'm coming."

Peter stared off into space and thought about how close he had come to Neal. He thought back and couldn't remember how Neal the criminal, became Neal his best friend. Someone sat down next to him, Peter knew it was his wife, by her smell. He didn't look up, but he started talking.

"El...I can't lose him." He kept his eyes on the floor. "He's...he's more than just a criminal or a partner, he's my best friend." El looked into her husband's eyes.

"He will make it, Neal is young and healthy. He will pull through." She pulled Peter in for a hug and held him as he cried softly. She struggled to keep the tears from flowing. The hours passed and slowly the waiting room filled with people, waiting on news for Neal's condition. Everyone sat in silence. Peter glanced around and realized that Neal had made an impact on all these people. They wouldn't be here if they didn't care about him. Peter smiled at the thought that Neal had made a family for himself here.

"For Neal Caffrey?" Everyone stood. The doctor seemed surprised that so many people were there for him. Peter stepped to the front and nodded for the doctor to continue. "I'll spare you the details. The bullet caused a great deal of damage, but we managed to remove it and repair all the internal bleeding that we could find. He isn't doing very well. He lost a lot of blood and many machines are keeping him alive. I would start preparing for the worst. Chances are, he won't make it through the night. Only two people in the room at a time and for no longer than five minutes each. I'll have a nurse show you back." Peter nodded slowly and turned to his wife. She gave him a hug and everyone motioned for Peter to visit Caffrey first.

When Peter walked into the room, he gasped at the sight before him.

To Be Continued