A/N: So yeah, I thought of this one day while waiting for some photos to develop from CVS. It's so weird that I actually went to get photos developed, but that's not the point. I thought it was so cool when in a few of the third season's episodes we saw Peter and Elizabeth had several pictures of Neal around the house and I was kind of curious as to how that happened. So this is my take on it. I am so freaking excited for tomorrow! I am like counting down the hours!
No, unfortunately I don't own White Collar.
A Thousand Words
Elizabeth wasn't sure Neal could be explained in one picture, even if it was worth a thousand words. She decided that it was a good thing she and her husband had lots of pictures of Neal, because it would take a few thousand words to describe that man. Elizabeth remembers when her husband first began the hunt for Neal Caffrey. She was attempting to move them into their new home and he was distracted by his new case. She had abandoned moving boxes in favor of asking him what was wrong. He began to tell the story of a high profile case, involving a brilliant con artist. There was no picture yet, but there would soon be one.
She remembers the exact date that first picture of Neal Caffrey came floating into her house. A few weeks after the start of the case was when they finally found out what the man James Bonds looked like. Neal Caffrey. She understood why he normally got what he wanted. That picture and several others of con artist Caffrey floated in and out of the Burke household for the next few years. After a long chase, Peter had finally caught Neal Caffrey. Pictures of him continued to come into the house, this time of the convict Neal Caffrey. Elizabeth acknowledged that pictures of the infamous Neal Caffrey had been in the household for years, what she didn't know was when they became such a necessary constant.
The first official picture had been one taken of the whole White Collar division, very casual, very spontaneous. Elizabeth had put it in a frame for Peter. A picture of the criminal informant Neal Caffrey. One of the next photos to come into the Burke household was one that had been taken at one of Elizabeth's events. Elizabeth had roped Peter into going and Peter had roped in Neal. Of course Neal didn't mind half as much as Peter did. The photographer had snapped a photo of the three of them; Peter and Elizabeth, and their friend Neal.
After that the pictures of Neal were almost constant additions to the household. Their "prom picture" in their tuxes before their sting, had promptly been put in a frame, which now adorned the coffee table. Elizabeth had even, very unofficially, raided the FBI database while waiting for Peter to be released from a meeting. She also very unofficially and probably illegally, took a few of the casual pictures of Neal and Peter. She just couldn't resist them. One of her favorites being the two of them sitting on a desk with Neal smoking a cigar, after they solved their first case.
Pictures of Peter and Elizabeth's friend Neal were in most rooms of the house and scattered across the staircase wall. Guests were constantly inquiring over who the man in the pictures was. Elizabeth had always kindly told them that he was a family friend, until a picture of their family member Neal had been brought into the house. It had been taken by Mozzie after Peter and El had been married for a second time, just the way she wanted. Small, intimate, and comprised of family. As she placed the photo of the three of them on the living room shelf, she realized they looked like a family and they were family. After that whenever anyone asked who the mystery man was, she would simply reply, "Family."
Elizabeth acknowledged that the Burke's probably had more pictures of Neal than anyone did. They even had a photo of Neal and Satchmo sitting around the house. Taken, much to Neal's dismay, in the back yard one Sunday afternoon right after Satchmo had wrestled him to the ground and decided that he was perfectly comfortable resting on Neal's chest. Peter didn't let Neal forget that one. Elizabeth knew those pictures kept Peter sane after Neal had run. He had told him to run, but that made him no less nervous. As Elizabeth saw how worried Peter was about Neal, and realized how worried she was, it simply solidified the fact that he was family. But she wasn't too concerned, Neal would be back. After all, they were overdue for another picture.