A/N: Hey my first White Collar Fanfiction! I've been dying to write one since the beginning of time and I finally found some… Time. Tell me what you think.

Summary: An arsonist is on the loose and the place he strikes next is June's house. With June in the hospital and more mansions burning, it's a race against time to catch the elusive criminal. Not to mention, the fires are ruining more that just Neal Caffrey's living quarters. No Slash.

"I don't know why I can't just see her!" A desperate Neal tried reasoning with the tall nurse in blue scrubs who had a large hand pressed firmly against Caffrey's chest. However suave and sophisticated the conman had looked in the past life, he certainly looked worse for wear at that moment.

His hair was a mess, matted with sweat and dust from what looked to be some natural disaster. Striking blue eyes were bloodshot yet still wide with fright from the ordeal that had taken place just minutes ago. Hard as it was to believe, Neal's clothes were the least of his concerns at that moment, made obvious by their rumpled, dirty, and torn condition.

No, the only thing Neal would think about was the woman he had ridden over in the ambulance with. The elderly lady that had taken him in and trusted him when no one else would. Dear old June.

The sight of the lady in the fire had made Neal's blood run cold. The con artist could barely recall lifting her up with inhuman strength his lithe form would barely be able to muster, but he did remember the feeling of having her weight extricated from his arms as he emerged coughing from the burning building.

Firefighters had surrounded him, trying to wrestle oxygen masks over his head and insisting he sit down. Neal just kept on pleading with June to wake up, to show any signs of life, but nothing happened. He couldn't even remember asking if he could ride along in the ambulance, his mind too shell-shocked to process anything else, not even the roar of the sirens as they raced across the city to the hospital. The only thing Neal could do was watch the scene with bated breath as the paramedics tried countless times to bring the poor woman back to the land of the living.

There was still no pulse, and June looked as if she had turned a tinge of purple. "Pulmonary aspiration. We gotta start suction!" one of the medics yelled and they immediately set to work to wrench a tube connected to the suction unit down June's throat. Neal wanted badly to close his eyes at the horrific sight but it was impossible to turn away. Over and over, harder and harder, they tried to remove what was causing the blockage of her airway, making the stress in that small cramped space too much for the young man closed in the corner of the ambulance.

"June, please, wake up…" Neal whispered, more like begged, his eyebrows knit together with worry.

"We got a pulse!" The medic affirmed as if to answer all of Neal's prayers. "She's breathing! We got to get her hooked up though!" The doors to the ambulance opened and the EMTs hurriedly pushed the gurney onto the floor with Neal following suit into the lobby of the ER.

Which was where Neal was left behind to wait, yelling like a crazy person to help the only person in his life who had even shown him a shred of kindness since his "release."

"Sir, you need to be seen. You've just been through a stressful night and you need to take it easy." The bigger nurse insisted, trying to manhandle Caffrey into a chair.

Neal's blue eyes narrowed and his jaw set in place. "Get your hands off me! I need to see June."

"Sir, if you don't calm down and come with me, we will take drastic measures." The nurse replied, placing his hand in the pocket of his scrubs and pulling out a thin syringe filled with an ominous clear liquid. Neal eyed it with uncertainty but still look determined.

"Look, you either let me in there or I'll find another way," he said with such force that the nurse thought for a moment Neal was serious. Instead the man merely approached closer with the needle, intending to sedate the odd character refusing treatment.

"Neal!" A gruff voice cried out, causing Neal to tear his fierce gaze away from the nurse and turn in the direction of the agents walking quickly over to him, Elizabeth hot on his heels.

"Oh my God, sweetie, are you okay?" Elle said, putting two brisk hands on his cheeks to examine the damage.

Somehow, Neal found comfort in seeing the two of them there, but his mind still raced with anticipation to check up on June. He gently grasped Elle's hands in his own and gave her a sincere look. "I'm good. June… She-" His voice became thick with emotion when he saw the look of concern on Elle's face.

"Sir," the nurse said gruffly, causing Neal to flinch and Peter to look up. "Do you know this man?" The question was directed toward Peter who nodded.

"Yeah, he's my partner." Agent Burke answered, glancing at Neal with a hint of worry in his eyes. "He's just been through a lot. There's no need to drug him." Like Neal, he was put on edge by the syringe in the nurse's hand.

The nurse nodded, pocketing the meds. Then he looked at the clipboard in his other hand. "According to the report, he was just in a fire. We have to check him out for his medical well-being. He might have to stay for a 24-hour observation." The nurse told them and Neal turned to Peter with large, pleading eyes.

"Peter, I need to see if June's okay. I'll do anything else as long as I can just see her." Although Peter would have a tough time ignoring Neal's puppy-dog face, he knew such a negotiation was out of the question if June was only recently admitted.

"How about this? You get your tests done and then we'll see June afterwards." Peter tried to reason. Neal didn't like the idea, and if he were more level-headed, he might have noticed some flaws in the plan. However, in the end, he agreed and soon found himself sitting atop the examining table in nothing but his boxers.

His hair was damp from the shower the orderlies persisted he take from the dust, grime, and sweat imbedded in him from the fire, causing him to shiver rather uncontrollably. The door to the exam room opened, and Neal tensed in his vulnerable and tired state, yet refused to look up at person. When an unnaturally warm blanket, most likely a heated one, was thrown across his shoulder, Neal's eyes couldn't help searching out the bearer of such comfort.

Peter gave a half-hearted smile to the younger man, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose skin was now a deathly pale now that it was clean of the soot. God, Caffrey needed some rest.

After giving a muttered thanks, Neal had gone back to looking straight ahead with a look of tragic brooding playing across his features.

"How are you holding up?" the agent, who was never very good at small talk and things of that nature, asked.

Neal remained silent, not caring if Peter got mad, or uncomfortable. The conartist felt justified in giving the silent treatment for having to sit in the chilling exam room while June could have been dead in the next room over. Neal closed his eyes too the thought. That was way too much to think about

"They gave me an update on June," Peter offered hopefully.

At that, Neal's eyes lit up considerably. He sat up, a look of incredulity on his face. "You were trying to start small talk when you had that to talk about?"

Peter grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I wasn't sure if you wanted to be floated into the news."

"Just toss me in, Peter. What did they say?"

"Well, she'll be just fine. They've got her hooked up on 100% oxygen for the next few days so we won't be able to see her until then. Other than that, she's okay." Neal felt an immense weight being lifted from his shoulders and he realized right then he could let the tiredness overtake him and let the adrenaline rush out of his veins.

He slumped his head heavily into his hands. "That's really good news." He mumbled, truly meaning it besides his overall lack of enthusiasm. If there was ever a time Neal needed a chance to pass out, he would pick now after a harrowing night of fire rescues, ambulance rides, and hospital waits.

No dice. The doctor chose that time to finally make an appearance when Neal could barely keep his eyes open enough to see what he looked like.

The doctor was middle-aged and of average height. He had an older look to him though, probably from working the stressful nightshift at the hospital, but overall, he had a nice demeanor. He clicked his pen and then checked off a few things on his clipboard.

"Hello, you must be Neal. And you are-?" He stared expectantly at the tall agent beside his patient.

"Agent Peter Burke, FBI." Peter introduced himself.

"I'm sorry, sir, but if you're not a family member, I'm going to have to ask you to leave until the exam is over." The doctor said to Peter's dismay. Neal, who was dozing off as they spoke, barely noticed that Peter was about to be kicked out of the room.

"Okay," Peter nodded and leant down to the bleary Neal's ear level. "Hey, Neal, hey, wake up. Okay, I'm just going to be right outside the room. Just right outside, so if you need anything, call me."

"Right, see you, Peter."

Reluctantly, Peter left the room. At that moment, Peter wished he were family if only to keep Neal awake during the examination. Stepping out of the room, he was met with a cup of coffee being nudged into his hands. He looked up and met his wife Elizabeth's worried expression.

"How's he doing?" She asked with all the concern of a mother.

"Fine, though he hasn't started the exam yet so nothing's set in stone." Peter replied as they walked over to the waiting room and set down.

Elle sipped her coffee tentatively, lost in her thoughts. "We should bring him home with us."

Peter, lost in his own thoughts, seemed to snap back in reality at the statement. "What? Elle…"

"I'm serious, Peter. Where else is he going to go?" Peter opened his mouth to reply, but Elizabeth cut him off again. "And do not say some crummy motel in the ghetto because I swear to God-"

"It wouldn't be so bad. He didn't mind it too much." Elle gave him the iciest of glares with her chilling blue eyes that made Peter noticeably shiver. "All right. I'm just sayin', I don't think he'll appreciate the sentiment as much as you'd think."

A/N: There you are that's the first chapter. Please review. They're all I have left! Just kidding, hehehe, I just conned you. Just kidding, that was lame. But you know what's NOT lame? Mah forum. Fa sho, check it out here:

Okay, I can't post urls on fanfiction. Just search "White Collar Files" in your nearest Google search engine and it'll be the first thing that pops up.