A/N: I rearranged the layout of Jacobi Hospital to fit the needs of this story.

Jacobi Hospital. Thursday afternoon. February 26, 2004.

Looking around him, Peter recalled one of his classes at Quantico. The instructor had said that a mediocre team can handle a well-planned op, but a great team can handle the emergencies. Here in the Jacobi Hospital ER, Peter knew he had pulled together a great team for the Enscombe op.

George Knightley was conferring with a doctor about the drug Neal had been given while undercover, when it had been administered, and what his reactions had been before passing out in the helicopter.

Tricia Wiese was handling the people who wanted Neal's insurance and medical history. As part of their contingency planning, Tricia had that info for everyone participating in the op.

Henry Winslow was making it known that he was Neal's next of kin, and demanding to see him.

Peter stood with Graham Winslow, trying to think of something he could do to help. Absolutely nothing came to mind. "Damn it."

Graham patted him on the back. "I know how you feel. It's hard for a man of action when your people have everything handled. But at the same time you know you shouldn't complain about having a competent team."

Finished with the paperwork, Tricia walked over to her boss. "They should have what they need. Jones had to get the helicopter out of the way in case the helipad is needed for other patients. He's on his way back to Enscombe. I assume you'll want to take charge here?"

Peter nodded.

"Then I'll go back to the Bureau. Hughes needs to be brought up to date, and Churchill and Fairfax will be there soon for questioning."

"Thanks, Tricia."

She glanced back toward the organized chaos of the emergency room and then said, "He's young and healthy and stubborn, Peter. That counts for a lot. And they'll take good care of him here." She gave him a half hug, and then said to Graham, "Make sure he calls his wife and doesn't try to subsist on coffee," before leaving.

"Good advice. And I see someone else who needs some advice." Graham strode toward his grandson, and Peter followed.

Peter was able to get a glimpse into Neal's room. The kid's dark hair was a stark contrast to the white sheets and his pale face. A machine Peter couldn't name seemed to be doing the breathing for Neal. It shouldn't have been a surprise. Henry had warned in yesterday's planning session that an overdose could put Neal on life support, but it was still shocking to see.

"Enough, Henry," said Graham. "The nurse said she's told you all she can. Let her do her job. Come out to the waiting room now and give your mother a call. She needs to know what happened."

###

Noelle Winslow had rented a less excessive suite than her father-in-law's, but at the same hotel. Hers had a central living area, and two bedrooms. She thought it best to have a place for Neal to sleep if he needed to rest. Going through his repressed memories would probably be exhausting.

According to Peter's timeline they should arrive soon, but she had learned at Win-Win that cases moved at their own pace. She had brought along students' papers to grade to pass the time, and she was reviewing them now, wearing the reading glasses she still refused to wear in public.

Her cell phone rang and she saw it was Henry. "Are you on your way?" she asked.

"No." There was a pause. "We're at Jacobi Hospital. It's in the Bronx. Can you come here?"

"Of course." She was already slipping her shoes on. "What happened?"

"They gave Neal a massive overdose of Flashback. He's in the emergency room and he's... it's..." She could picture Henry running a hand through his dark hair in frustration. "Mom." He sounded like a lost, frightened child. "They give him a fifty-fifty chance of making it till dawn."

"I'll be right there," she promised, proud of how cool and collected she had managed to sound for her son. Then she dialed a number from memory as she picked up her room key and coat.

"Hey, honeybunch," answered Irene Caffrey in Washington, D.C.

"How fast can you and Dad get to New York?"

"Noelle, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Mom," said Noelle, aware that she sounded as forlorn as Henry had.

###

The hospital staff had said they were going to move Neal to the intensive care unit and directed Peter, Henry, Graham and George to that area's waiting room. A nurse promised to let them know as soon as they had Neal settled. But enough time had passed that even George was checking his watch and saying, "It doesn't normally take this long."

Henry stood and announced, "I'm going back in there."

"Wait," Peter said as he also stood up. "I'm going with you."

Inside the ER again, they encountered a flurry of activity around the victims of a car crash, and a nurse who explained that moving Neal had been postponed temporarily as the new patients were triaged. "They're stabilized now, and we're ready to move Mr. Caffrey. In fact he's..." She paused as a beeping caught her attention. She ran into Neal's room and called for help. A doctor pushed Henry and Peter aside, shouting orders as he followed the nurse.

Peter wasn't a medical expert, but the piercing sounds coming from one of the machines in the room sounded dire, and the line that he assumed represented Neal's heartbeat was almost flat. The doctor looked up and ordered Henry out of the way.

Henry stepped aside as someone rushed in, but then he moved forward, clearly intent on standing at Neal's bedside throughout the ordeal.

"I need space. Get him out!" the doctor ordered.

"Come on, Henry," Peter said. They took several steps away and Peter was grateful the young man was going to be reasonable.

"Hurry up," they heard the doctor say. "I'm losing him."

Henry spun around and Peter barely kept up with him, but he got an arm around Henry's waist and strained to keep him from running forward. Henry seemed to give up, but the second Peter loosened his grip, Henry surged forward again. This time Peter got both arms around him, pulling Henry backward a step. "Henry, stop it!"

"Let me go! He's dying!"

"And they're working to keep him alive," Peter insisted. It was taking all of his strength to hold back the desperate young man. "We have to stay out of their way. You running in there is going to distract them when they need to stay focused on Neal."

"What is going on here?" Noelle Winslow's heels tapped decisively against the tile floor as she approached.

Henry finally stopped struggling and dropped to his knees, panting. "I could have stopped him. I could have talked him out of it, but I let him go undercover and be drugged and now he's dying."

Peter crouched to Henry's right, patting his back but not knowing what to say. Henry's words echoed his own worries and sense of guilt.

Noelle kneeled at her son's left side. "Quiet, Henry. Listen to what they're saying in Neal's room. They think they have it under control."

As Henry's breath slowed to normal, the nurse they had been talking to earlier returned. "We're getting him stable enough to move to ICU. Please go back to the waiting room. I promise we'll let you know as soon as we have him moved."

When they entered the waiting area, Graham rose and asked, "What happened in there? You all look pale as ghosts."

In a shaky voice, Henry said, "I think his heart stopped for a minute."

Graham enveloped Noelle and Henry in a bear hug. Compared to his steadiness, it was easier to pick up on the fine trembling in Henry and Noelle. Henry started to slip away, and Graham grabbed his sleeve. He loosened his hold on Noelle to pull his grandson closer, and said, "Your father always used to pull away. He'd say, 'Not here, Dad. We work with these people.' It's always business with him, even with family. I'm not letting you turn into him." Keeping one arm around Henry's shoulders, Graham introduced George Knightley to Noelle, explaining that the former Navy commander had helped save Neal's life.

"You have the gratitude of his entire family," Noelle said, with the slightest tremor in her voice. Then she sank into a chair beside her son, took his hand, and simply said, "Tell me." She listened as Henry described what had happened at Enscombe and Neal's current status. He seemed to gather himself, gaining control and coherence as he went. When Henry stopped, Noelle ruffled his hair and then turned to Peter. "Thank you. He needed your help."

Peter shrugged. "He wasn't doing anything I didn't want to do myself. If I hadn't been busy holding him back, I might have been the one running into Neal's room and getting in the way." Despite Noelle's outward composure, Peter saw a brightness that indicated tears in her eyes. Wishing Elizabeth were here to help navigate the emotions, he said, "You know, I should really call El. She'll want to be here."

A phone call and cup of coffee later, they were finally told that Neal had been moved to a room in the ICU, and Peter, Noelle and Henry were shown the way. They took turns going in to see him. Henry went first.

While they waited outside for their turns, Noelle said, "I'm glad Neal has you as a father figure, Peter. I can tell you've been a stabilizing influence. You mean a great deal to him."

"Yeah, um, he's a great kid. He deserves to have a family. I suppose once he reconnects with his real relatives he won't need me anymore."

"Oh, I doubt that," Noelle said. "I don't believe he would casually drop a connection with someone he loves. It's that depth of feeling that makes him cautious about getting to know us. He's made it clear he isn't ready for a big family reunion yet. Henry hopes the surprise party your wife is helping to plan will give Neal the chance to meet and get used to everyone in a small enough dose that he can handle. Just a few hours with the family at a neutral location and then he can escape."

Henry walked out and held the curtain open as Noelle walked in the room. Peter heard her gasp. "You did the same thing. What's that about?" Peter asked.

"They've got him hooked up to about every machine they could fit in the room. All of those wires and tubes, it makes him look... fragile." Henry looked more composed than he had been in the ER, but he took a deep breath that sounded almost like a sob. "Pops said he'd found a coffee machine on this level. If you're okay here, I'm going to ask him where it was."

"Go ahead." Peter pulled out his phone as soon as Henry started walking away, scrolling down his contacts until he found Graham – another precaution they had taken for this op, making sure they all had each other's numbers programmed into their phones. He texted: "Henry looking for coffee. Make sure he eats something."

Then Noelle returned from Neal's room. She looked around and then smiled sadly. "Elizabeth."

Peter turned to see El walking toward them and he instinctively moved forward to close the gap. "Hey, hon," he said as she hugged him. He closed his eyes a moment and held her close, gathering strength from her. Then he looked up to tell Noelle, "Henry went to get coffee. I texted Graham to get him some food, too."

Noelle checked her watch. "Good idea. We should all get something for dinner when you're ready to join us back in the waiting room. I'm sure there's a cafeteria nearby."

Peter nodded and told El, "It's my turn to see Neal, and then we'll eat. Do you want to head back with Noelle?"

"No, I'll wait for you," Elizabeth said.

Peter told himself that he wouldn't gasp like the others when he entered Neal's room for the first time, but he did take a sharp breath. El peeked through before the curtain closed, and she gasped. It was hard to be optimistic about Neal's chances when the hospital staff had determined he needed so many medical devices and what appeared to be bags of medications delivered by IV drips.

They'd shared a hotel room in St. Louis in December. Peter had seen Neal deeply asleep after taking nighttime cold medicine and he tried to tell himself this was the same. But it wasn't. Neal was in grave danger and there was frustratingly little that Peter could do about it. He placed a hand gently on the kid's chest and repeated the words he'd said Sunday. "Neal. Son, come back to me."

Peter watched carefully for any change, any sign Neal had heard him. But it seemed that the third time wasn't the charm. Peter shook his head at the ridiculous notion that calling Neal "son" would somehow work magic. "I know I said I didn't expect obedience from you, but just this once I'd really like to order you to open your eyes."

A/N: There's a song called The Waiting by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with the lyric "the waiting is the hardest part" and I'm sure that's how Peter would feel hanging out in hospital waiting rooms.

The scene of Peter holding Henry back is inspired by the ending of season 1, where Peter keeps Neal from running toward the airplane.