MY MOST IMPORTANT FIRSTS

By Peppe1951

Summary: Neal's rememberings when Peter first became a part of his life. Warning: The story contains non-consent punishing of an adult; if you don't like, don't read. Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA; I only write about it.

Chapter 1

Neal was remembering. He was remembering all of his most important firsts. He remembered the first time he met Agent Peter Burke. He had been younger then and very cocky. He had just partnered up with Mozzie and they were planning a long con. A con that took that long to complete meant that they needed money; money that could be contained with the cashing of some of Neal's expertly forged bonds. He had just cashed one in and handed the money over to Mozzie when his friend had very alertly recognized the federal agent talking outside with a bank patron.

Mozzie had recommend that they leave slowly as not to alert attention and had done so expecting his young friend to do the same but Neal had done just the opposite and had walked up to the agent and joined into the conversation playing the part of a concerned bank patron and allowed the agent to assure him that his money was safe and they would soon have the forger in hand. Neal had thanked him leaving him a lime lollipop and his patent smile.

"I just bet that Peter was mad when he realized that I was the forger he had been searching for at the time," Neal had thought to himself. "It had probably had only taken the agent the time to review the security tapes to make that assumption," Neal continued to think as he returned to his remembering.

The cat and mouse game we played started with that first meeting and it continued up until he snapped the cuffs on my wrists when he caught me by using Kate as bait. It was during that time that a sort of friendship had sprung up between the young con and the older agent.

The next big first was the first time I escaped from the supermax prison I had been incarcerated in after Agent Burke had caught me. I know that I was foolish to do so especially when I only had a few months left on my four year sentence; but I had to find Kate before she disappeared completely out of my life. If I had only managed my escape a couple of days earlier I would have succeeded but as it happened I only missed her by a day or so and walked into her empty apartment just a few hours before Agent Burke who had been requested to find me. He found me on the floor leaning against a wall holding an empty bottle of wine…Kate and my empty bottle of wine and once again took me back into custody.

"They are going to give you an additional four years for the escape," he had mentioned sympathetically and I had responded with,

"I don't care," but I really did as I quickly thought of a plan to get me out of prison and this time legally and asked the agent to visit me in a couple of days that I had something I wanted to ask but first had to research it. He had assured me that he would.

Peter had kept his word as I knew he would and I had approached him with the plan to become his Criminal Informer and had even given him a way to keep me from running away…with a tracking anklet. At first he had turned me down but after thinking about it he had eventually came around to my way of thinking and I had been released into his custody for the remainder of my prison sentence…and that was my next big first.

Peter came to pick me up after being fitted with the tracking anklet, the first for me. If I had realized just how much it chaffed my ankle or the impossibility of it being tampered with I might have reconsidered my plan at freedom. I admit it now the only reason I came up with it in the first place was I knew that Mozzie would be able to pick it and we would be gone and free to track Kate down.

Since I need a place to stay Peter had searched the city and found a rundown hotel who charged the same as what it would have cost the state to house me in prison and dumped me there with only the clothes on my back and a stack of files that he called "my homework" and when I complained about it I heard another first…his favorite saying, "cowboy up" but he did tell me that if I found a better place for the money that I could change locations as long as it was within my radius and then he directed me to the nearest thrift shop so I could shop for clothes.

It was at that thrift shop that I met my first landlady since being released into Peter's custody, June who was there donating clothes of her late husband, Byron. It was love at first sight when I saw the clothing and especially his fedora. June must have recognized the conman in me like that of her late husband and by the time Peter arrived the next day to pick me up for work he was directed to June's place and up to a room at the top of the stairs with a terrace that looked out upon the city that was to die for. After Peter had gotten over his initial shock and they had left to solve the case that would either guarantee my status as CI or send him back to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

The first case was a success and due to my persistence the thieves and forgers were caught and the partnership of con artist and FBI agent began. There were many firsts after that as their friendship grew stronger and they progressed from that of CI to that of partner and then that of close friend. I met and fell in love, on a purely platonic form, with Peter's wife Elizabeth. El proved to be the perfect friend to have whenever I inadvertently made her husband mad; she often stood between me and Peter when I was sure that Peter wanted nothing more than to ring my neck.

I remembered the first case that led to Peter's unusual form of discipline. I had been summoned by Peter to accompany him on a stolen painting case. The painting had been stolen from a residence and I was the expert that Peter had brought along to talk with the homeowner.

They had learned that the homeowner, a young college student had walked in as the painting was being taken and had even fought with the thief. It hadn't taken the FBI long to identify the thief or his employer and they set a trap to catch them but at the last moment it had failed and it left Peter and his team searching throughout New York City for the thief's girlfriend and as luck would have it I found them and stole the painting back putting my freedom in jeopardy and a black mark against Peter's reputation. Eventually everything worked out and I confessed to stealing the painting and although it had been done so the girl could reclaim her painting it had been done in an illegal way and Peter felt it time for me to face the consequences of my actions.

I remembered accompanying Peter back to his house where I was told that since I was under Peter's supervision that also meant that I had to submit to his form of discipline which had been spelled out when I agreed to the terms of my release from prison. I had just glanced at the form before adding my signature at the bottom but I did remember that it included a clause that ultimately said that Peter had total control of me and that also meant in what manner of discipline he decided to use. I realized too late that I should have done as Peter recommended at the time and read it completely but I had been in a hurry to leave the prison and had only glanced at it before signing.

"Neal after the last time you decided to ignore and disobey me I warned you that the next time I would take harsher means to enforce my will upon you. This time you will pay for your disobedience; turn and face the table and bend over. I intend on impressing on you the full consequences of your actions and give you the spanking you have been asking for since your release!" I recalled the words that my partner and handler had told me that first time.

I remembered looking in shock at him and not reacting to the point that Peter literally led me to the table and forcibly bending me in place before swatting my backside a number of times until the heat buildup enough to wake me from my stupor and I cried out with pain. The assault on my backside didn't end until he had me a sobbing mess and promising I would never do anything like this again.

Of course, I should have known that the promise wouldn't last that long and I would find myself back in that same position time and time again…although the times were getting further apart with each spanking so maybe what Peter was doing was working.

Chapter 2

I also remembered the first time Peter dropped his being my partner on the table. It came during the case that took place in China Town when I went undercover as Nick Halden in search of a lost agent and ended with yet another spanking for listening to an Interpol Agent who used Kate's whereabouts as a reason for not following Peter's directions. It was before the spanking that Peter had told me that if I wanted to be his partner I would have to start following his directions. That had brought a lump to my throat knowing that Peter had seen something in my character to want me as his partner. The spanking was added as a means to focus once more on the case and we were able to take the gangster down for the agent's death.

It was several cases later that I got the feeling that their relationship had progressed once again to one of friend and that was when I got sick and Peter brought me home with him to nurse me back to health…it wasn't until later that I learned that it was El who suggested that Peter bring me home. It had felt so good to be cared for by such a loving person as Elizabeth Burke almost like being part of a family. It was then that Peter referred to me as "buddy" and the radius of my tracking anklet was increased to include his and El's home…now I wouldn't have to call for it to be done so I could come to visit. I could actually drop in whenever I liked and I was always welcomed with open arms by El and most of the times by Peer unless he was mad at something I might have done.

Then came the most important first of all…when they accepted me as a member of their family. I remember it as if it happened yesterday…wait it did happen yesterday. The day has started wonderfully, I was dressed in another one of Bryon's suits with a button down vest and of course my signature fedora on my head. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that we got a lead on the case and rushed out to try and apprehend the suspect, Thomas Dawkins, for the theft. Our information was that he was hiding in one of the abandoned warehouses at the harbor. I was told to stay with the car, since I had no means of protecting myself. I waited until after they had left to go exploring on my own. I had intended on just looking around in the nearby area when I walked out in the middle of a standoff between FBI and the suspect. I was able to dodge as the bullets from the suspect peppered around me. It was his focusing on me that allowed Jones and Diana to sneak around and catch him before he could do me any damage.

Peter was livid…and after he instructed Diana and Jones to take the suspect in grabbed me and took me home with him. I knew I was in trouble now…Peter had made a habit of spanking me at his home, which I should be thankful that he didn't do it at work and it was as we were walking in to his home and arguing that I became a member of his family.

"But Peter I was only walking around…it was just a block away from where you parked. I was I supposed to know that it was where Dawkins was holding up?" I had argued when El walked out of the kitchen. I guess she was in the process of fixing supper and our loud voices had brought her out to investigate. She was holding some sort of kitchen utensil at the time.

"If you had stayed where I told you to then you wouldn't have gotten into any trouble," Peter had argued back.

"What did Neal do this time?" El asked quietly.

"I'll let him answer your question," replied Peter as he turned to me to answer.

"Well?"

"We were after a suspect El and I was wandering around trying to help," I began when I could feel Peter's eyes bore right into me and revised my earlier statement. "I might have been told to stay by the car…but I got bored and decided to stretch my legs and walked into a confrontation between Peter and his team and the suspect."

"NEAL!" growled Peter.

"Okay…okay… I was told to stay next to the car and not move…satisfied," I amended my statement yet again.

I caught El shaking her head at me as she indicated for me to continue. "I guess my appearance was just what was needed for the battle to start and Dawkins began to fire at me…good thing he is a lousy shot because his shots missed me and during that exchange Jones and Diana were able to capture him before one of his shots hit me. I don't see what all of the fuss is about…it's my life to do with as I like; it's not like I have any family to worry," I muttered I thought to myself.

I had just finished my rant when I felt my ear being snatched and being pulled towards the dining room table where I was forced to bend over before I felt a solid forced hitting my rear over and over again. I looked up into the satisfied face of Peter realizing only then that my chastiser must have been El, his wife.

"EL!" I was horrified to be spanked by my protector. "Why…owwww….owwwww…are…you…

owwww…owwww…doing…owwww…this…owwww…owwww…owwww," I asked in between

voicing my anguish at being punished like this?

El didn't reply for some time as she continued to punish my backside but eventually she brought this impromptu paddling to an end and released me. "How dare you stand there and try and defend yourself for thinking so stupidly that you have no one who cares about you…

what about Mozzie or June," and then with her voice breaking a bit added, "and what about Peter and me. You go to your room at once and think about your actions today and how much your father and I would have been hurt if anything might have happened to you."

I fled…I didn't want another encounter with the spatula that I now recognized as the instrument she used to set my backside to burning. I fled to the guest room that I had used in the past, not even registering that El called it "my room" and I stayed there resting on my stomach until Peter came up to get me for supper.

He came into the bedroom carrying a pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt. "I thought you might be more comfortable dressed in these than what you are currently wearing," Peter said as he passed me the clothes.

I winced as I carefully climbed from the bed and quickly put the pants and t-shirt on. There were a bit big but at the moment I didn't care. "I had no idea that El would get so angry," I remarked to Peter.

"She got mad more at your attitude that you weren't worthy of being loved…that no one would grieve if anything was to happen to you. I on the other hand was mad that you put yourself in danger needlessly and we will be addressing that later once "your mother's" paddling cools off."

"My mother?" I had asked.

"You didn't hear what she said after releasing you?"

I shook my head no, "I was only interested in distancing myself from her and that spatula," I admitted as I thought back and replied. "She told me to go to the guest room…didn't she?"

"Nope; she told you to go to your room and think over your actions of the afternoon. And she referred to me and her as your father and mother…welcome to the family, son," Peter said with a smile.

I looked up into the smiling face of "dad" and asked, "Does this mean that she is going to take an active interest in what I do from now on?"

"Oh, yeah…and as you have discovered Mom packs a mighty wallop when she is angry!"

I groaned as I could envisioned myself being correctly on a daily or weekly basis for my misbehavior but then it felt pretty good having parents again and these would be so different from the ones I was born with…these cared enough to make sure I behaved.

"Neal?"

I looked up into the face of my new Mom, Elizabeth Burke.

"What are you doing, son?"

"Just remembering all of the important firsts in my life starting with my first meeting Peter and ending as I became a member of the family," I replied with a smile.

The End.

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