Disclaimer: I (sadly!) do not own White Collar or any of its character…I am simply borrowing them all for a while.
Author's Note: I've had this idea in my head for a while and I've finally found the time to work on it! Hurray! Well, I hope you all enjoy it!
Special Agent Peter Burke and his CI Neal Caffrey sat across from each other. They held each other's gaze, neither flinching nor blinking. Neither spoke. Seconds ticked by. A full minute.
It was Peter who broke the silence first. "A new watch."
"No." said Neal. "Not even close."
"A new mug?"
"No."
"An expresso machine?"
"You wish."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Neal," said Peter calmly, but slightly threateningly. "I'm ordering you to tell me."
"Peter," said Neal, matching his tone, "you know I can't do that."
Peter narrowed his eyes, but before he could say or do anything, Diana threw open his office door and walked into the room. She stopped mid-step. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked.
"Yes," said Peter.
"No," said Neal at the same time. The two gave each other playful glares. Neal turned to face Diana. "Peter's birthday is next week. He was trying to guess what I got him."
"Yes, and Neal here is being very stubborn and won't tell me." He glared at Neal again who only smiled back. "The only thing he will tell me is that I'll love it."
"I see," said Diana, smiling now. She turned to Neal. "Will you tell me what it is?"
Neal stood and whispered something in her ear. Peter leaned forward to try and hear what he was saying, but he couldn't make anything out. Disappointed, he sat back down in his chair. Diana smiled. "You're right. He will love it."
Neal smiled once at Peter before leaving the room. Diana made sure that he was out of earshot before she turned back to Peter. The smile on her face was completely gone. "What's wrong?" Peter asked.
Diana didn't answer. Instead, she just opened up the file she was holding and placed a picture on Peter's desk. "This was taken yesterday while we were staking the park for our hand off."
Peter took the picture up and studied it for a moment or two. "So?" he asked, finding nothing unusual with the picture.
"Look closer," Diana told him. She stepped forward and pointed to a certain part of the picture. Peter looked where she was pointing. He held the picture closer, studied it for a moment. Then his eyes grew wide.
"Is that…?"
Diana placed another picture on his desk. "This is a close up of the same part of that picture." Peter took it, his hands shaking. He looked at it for a few moments. Then he put it down.
"And these pictures aren't fake?"
Diana shook her head. "They were taken by our own agents."
Peter sighed. This was impossible. His eyes shifted to the outer room. He could see Neal sitting as his desk joking around with Jones. Neal caught his eye and smiled and waved. Peter quickly looked away. He couldn't bear it.
"You think he knows?" Diana asked.
"Neal?" Peter glanced backed at Neal and studied his CI for a moment. "No, I don't think he does. If he did…he wouldn't be here right now."
"Okay," said Diana. "Are you going to tell him then?"
"I…" Peter looked back down at the pictures than back up at Diana and then back at Neal. "I can't. Not yet."
"Boss," said Diana gently, "you have to tell him. He deserves to know the truth…and it would be better if he heard it from you rather than somebody else."
"Tomorrow." Peter promised. "I'll tell him tomorrow. Let's let him live in ignorance for one more day. This will most likely destroy him."
Diana nodded. "Okay. Tomorrow then."
"You alright?"
"What?" Peter looked up as the elevator doors closed on him and Neal. He had been so distracted he hadn't noticed the younger man's presence.
"I asked if you were alright."
"Oh, I'm fine." Peter quickly looked away, afraid that Neal would see the truth on his face.
"Peter…" Neal's voice clearly showed that he didn't believe him. Neal sighed and looked down as if afraid that he was about to be rebuked. "What did I do this time?"
"Nothing," Peter said passionately, turning to face him. "I promise. You did nothing. It isn't you…it's something else." He placed his hand on Neal's shoulder and Neal nodded to show that he believed him.
"Alright. What is it?" Neal asked. Peter shook his head, lowered his hand and looked away. "Peter…"
"Neal," Peter pleaded, looking at him, tears starting to form in his eyes, "don't ask. Just…don't."
"Peter, if I can help let me." It was Neal's turn to place a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter shook his head again. "Peter, I'm more than your CI. I'm your friend. I want to help you."
"You can't." Peter said hoarsely. "Not this time." Neal lowered his hand, and out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw that Neal looked hurt.
The elevator landed at the lobby and when the doors opened, Neal hurried off without another glance at Peter, while the latter was left to cry for the wound that would soon be reopened and for the pain that it would cause his closest friend…pain Peter could do nothing to prevent or alleviate.
"What's so urgent?" Mozzie asked, as he joined Neal. The latter had called him as he was coming out of the FBI.
"Something's wrong with Peter." Neal told him as the two fell into step walking down the sidewalk toward June's.
"How so?" asked Mozzie, his curiosity peaked.
"He was fine and then Diana told him something. After that he just wasn't himself. He looked pretty upset…and shaken." Neal frowned, remembering how pale Peter had looked when he had come out of his office. At first Neal had thought he was going to faint.
"What did we…and by 'we' I mean you, do to make him upset?"
"Nothing." Mozzie gave him a look. "I mean it, Moz. I asked him and he said I hadn't done anything."
"Well, that's good." Mozzie said. "Unless of course the suit is lying."
"He wasn't, Moz," said Neal. "I'm sure of it."
"So did he tell you what the problem was?" Mozzie asked. This was sounding even more intriguing.
"No," said Neal. "And to make it worse, he wouldn't let me help."
"That is strange." Mozzie said, musing.
"Whatever's wrong," said Neal, "it's gotta be pretty bad. Peter looked like he was about to break down and cry."
"The suit? Cry?" Mozzie sounded incredulous. "Now that I would pay to see!"
"Mozzie!" Neal chided. "This isn't funny."
"I suppose not," Mozzie said, "but you have to admit that seeing Peter cry would be a first."
"Not really," Neal said, "not for me anyway. He almost cried when Keller took Elizabeth." He looked at Mozzie. "And it's not something I ever want to see again."
"So, there's something going on with Peter, but he won't tell you what it is and he won't let you help…I'm guessing you called me because you want me to do some snooping and find out what it is."
"That's right," Neal said. "Can you do it?"
"Consider it done."
"Thanks, Moz." Neal parted with his friend and headed to June's alone, his mind still on Peter. What could have upset his friend so much? Neal couldn't get the image of Peter's pale face and teary eyes out of his mind.
Seeing Peter like that scared him. Peter was usually so strong and confident. He was a leader. Neal hated to see him so weak and broken. Neal hoped whatever Mozzie uncovered would tell him how exactly he could help his friend. Even though Peter had insisted that Neal couldn't help him, Neal was determined to prove him wrong. Peter was his friend and if there was one thing Neal had learned from him, it was that friends were there for each other. And Neal was determined to be there for Peter no matter what.
As he opened the door to June's house, Neal wondered what could possible make Peter lose it like that. Whatever it was it was big…and for some reason Peter was keeping from Neal. As he mounted the stairs, he wondered briefly if something had happened to Elizabeth, but he quickly dismissed that thought. If that had been the case, Peter would have rushed out of the FBI the moment he got the news…and he wouldn't have tried to keep it secret.
Neal suddenly froze. The door to his room was slightly ajar, as if someone had tried to close it, but hadn't quite succeeded and it had bounced back open. A second look told Neal that whoever had tried to close the door had also picked the lock. Someone had broken in.
Neal used to leave it unlocked when he went out, but lately he had gotten into the habit of locking it. He didn't like the idea of people sneaking into his room when he wasn't there…but apparently someone had done just that.
Neal knew that it couldn't have been Peter or Mozzie or any of his other friends. Peter would never pick a lock and Mozzie would simply have waited for him either outside the door or outside the building. He had no idea who would want to break into his place or why.
Neal took one careful step forward and stopped. He heard the distinct sound of someone pacing back and forth. Whoever had broken in was still there. He slowly opened the door the rest of the way and entered his room, ready to confront the intruder…but the words died in his throat.
The intruder was a woman. Her back was to Neal, but he recognized her instantly. He couldn't move…he could barely even breathe. He felt his legs go numb as if they might fall out from under him at any moment. The room felt as if it were spinning.
After what seemed and eternity, she turned and spotted him. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him and her mouth formed into the most beautiful smile Neal had ever seen. "Hello, Neal."
Neal opened his mouth, but no words came out. All he could do was stare. He tried again and again no words came. "It's been a long time," she said, not seeming at all surprised by his behavior.
Finally, Neal felt capable of speech. All he said was one word, but he felt it shoot out of him. "Kate?"
Author's Note: 1. Oooh! Cliffhanger! Get used to it! 2. I'm well aware that the show's creator Jeff Eastin has stated that he has no intention of bring Kate back and that she is in fact dead. Still, I thought it would be interesting to explore what would happen if it turned out she was actually alive! 3. Like all my fellow writers on this site, I love reviews! Reviews make the world go round and makes me update faster! Want another chapter? Then, review!