Chapter Text
“Hello?” Peter answers his phone with a sigh, of course Neal would be interrupting his date with El, it’s Neal.
“Peter.”
“Neal? What’s wrong?” Peter is immediately on full alert, he has never heard Neal’s voice sounds quite like this.
“Peter.” Neal makes it sounds as if merely saying Peter’s name will fix all his problems and Peter can’t help but feel touched by his faith in him.
Peter is already standing up and heading towards the door after an apologetic kiss goodbye to his wife.
“Are you hurt? Do I need to call backup?”
“No, no. I just. I think I’m in shock? Is this what shock feels like?”
Peter makes it to Neal’s apartment in record time and opens the door to see Neal standing in front of it, holding a piece of paper, with a look of shock on his face.
Peter quickly sweeps the apartment for any danger, and then goes to Neal. “What’s going on?”
Neal shoves the paper into Peter’s face, and a plastic bag with a few strands of hair falls onto the floor.
Peter quickly reads the paper, and then reads it again. “What is this?” He asks in shock.
Neal shrugs helplessly. “I think it is what it says it is. But…”
“But what?”
As Neal struggles to find words, Peter steers the both of them to the couch and they sit down.
“I’m not ready to be a dad!” Neal bursts out.
Peter awkwardly pats his shoulder. “I’m sure you will be a good dad.”
Neal suddenly laughs. “I always feared that I would be a bad example to my kids, if I ever had any, or that they would be ashamed of me with my criminal record, but I don’t have to worry about that now, do I? You saw that name on the paper, right?”
“Yes, Alvin Draper.” Peter frowns. “The name sounds familiar, but I just can’t place it.”
Neal runs a hand down his face and speaks, his voice weak. “Alvin Draped is a known associate of the Malone family. My son is involved with the single most feared crime family in the country, possibly the world.”
“Maybe he isn’t your son?” Peter tries.
Neal sighs. “I don’t think he was lying, you know I’m good at reading people. The story he told about how me and his mom met sounds true, that DNA test is from a reputable company, and he gave me a sample of his hair in case I want to redo the DNA. Of course it’s possible that he was lying, but why on earth would he do that? What would Alvin Draper have to gain by pretending to be my son?”
“I don’t know.” Peter replies. “Was it actually Alvin Draper himself who gave you that?”
“I think so. I’d like to look at any pictures you FBI have in order to double check, but he fit the general description.”
“What did he say to you?”
Neal takes a moment to think back. “He told me that he discovered our relation, didn’t say how, and said he thought I deserved to know. He showed me the DNA test paper. When I was skeptical, he told me about an even his mom attended about 16 or 17 years ago, and he showed me a picture of her, and… it’s possible. I’m not certain how, I’m sure we used protection, but I guess accidents happen.”
“What happened next?”
“He told me he understood that I was skeptical, then pulled out a few of his own hairs and gave them to me with a plastic bag, and told me to run my own tests. Then he wrote a phone number on that paper and told me to call when I’m ready, if I want, no pressure.”
“What will you do?”
Neal throws his hands up in the air. “I don’t know! That’s why I called you.”
Peter takes a moment to let all the information sink in. “I appreciate that you called me first, but I have no idea what to do either, I’m not a dad. What if we called Diana? She’s got a son.”
Neal hums thoughtfully. “That could work. I mean, her son isn’t involved with the Malones and suspected of every crime between manslaughter and tax evasion, but she would probably have good advice.”
Twenty minutes later finds Diana sitting down with Neal and Peter. “Ok, let me see if I’ve got this all straight. Neal may or may not have a son, we gotta wait for the DNA test to come back to be sure, and this son may or may be involved with the Malone family. Am I missing anything?”
Neal and Peter shake their heads.
“Ok.” Diana nods to herself. “Well then, there is only one question Neal has to answer then.”
“Just one?” Neal asks.
“Just one.” Diana takes a deep breath and looks at Neal seriously. “If this is your son, do you want to have a relationship with him?”
Neal takes a moment to think. “Yes. I think that if I didn’t try, I would regret it forever. I’ve already missed out on the first… I don’t even know exactly how old he is.” Neal puts his head in his hands. “I’m a terrible father.”
“Hey, you had no idea that Alvin existed, right? So don’t blame yourself. Not yet at least, you’ll have plenty of time to make mistakes you can blame yourself for, alright?” Diana says.
“Alright.” Neal agrees weakly.
“Good, now that that’s settled, there’s a few things you need to know about being a parent. Number, you gotta love your kid unconditionally. That means that you don’t judge him for the crimes he has committed, or is suspected of committing.”
“So just ignore the whole crime family’s associate thing?” Peter asks.
“Don’t ignore it completely. Part of loving your child unconditionally is wanting the best for them, wanting them to learn from their mistakes, and helping them get out of bad situations.” Diana explains patiently. As she does so, she can’t help but silently wonder what Neal’s parents were like. “If Alvin chose a life of crime, you have to help him understand that it was the wrong choice. And if he didn’t choose it, if people or circumstances pressured him into it, you did say he is pretty young, then you have to show him there are other options, and make yourself a safe person to escape to if he needs it.”
“I didn’t even consider that, what if he was forced into a life of crime because he doesn’t have a father?” Neal moans in despair.
Peter squeezes Neal’s shoulder and speaks seriously. “He has a father now. You. And I believe that you will be able to make a difference in his life. And you aren’t alone, we will support you, and we will support Alvin.”
“Peter is right.” Diana says firmly. “You got all of us, me, Peter, El, June, Jones, Mozzie.”
“Thank you.” Neal says, his voice thick with emotion. He then lets out a watery chuckle. “But I’m not sure how much help Mozzie will be, he is terrified of the Malones.”
Peter and Diana chuckle at that as well.
“So I guess the next step is to call Alvin, right?” Neal asks. “But what do I say?”
“You don’t have to call him immediately.” Diana says. “You can sleep on it if you want, give yourself some time to process the news and to think of what to say. And then when you do call him, keep it casual at first, you don’t want to scare him away. Show you are interested in his life, but don’t pry to much.”
“That’s good advice, thank you.”
“Maybe you could ask him if he wants to meet up.” Peter suggests. “Talking to him in person is a much better way to get to know him than through the phone.”
Neal nods. “I’ll do that. Think he would like that restaurant I recommended you take El to?”
“You mean the one that I left in the middle of the meal because you called?”
Neal grins sheepishly. “Was it good food?”
“The appetizers and main course are good, but I can’t say anything about the dessert.”