Hey! I got a second White Collar fic out! I hope everyone enjoys this one. I loved the idea once it popped into my head.
References: "Power Play", the Pilot, and general Season 4 spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not-in any way, shape or form-own White Collar. I just play with the characters :D
Surprise Visit
Neal groaned as the sunlight hit his eyes. He and Mozzie had just arrived to their undisclosed location in the Pacific late the night prior, and the ex-con wasn't able to sleep on the way to their island for a number of reasons. Now, he was suffering from jet lag after crossing at least five time zones. Neal turned over onto his side and brought the blankets over his head in attempt to gain some much needed sleep.
"You really should get up, Neal. Sleep any longer and you'll have trouble sleeping tonight."
Neal's eyes shot right open, and he sat up rapidly to see where the young sounding voice came from. His eyes connected with those of someone who looked like a ten-year-old version of himself sitting in a chair across from his bed. The ex-con's heart beat rapidly while he struggled to keep a neutral face.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," the stranger said. "Had to wake you up somehow."
Neal looked his unwelcomed guest up and down. It made him uneasy as to how the mini-Neal got into his room. "Who are you?" he asked once he found his voice.
The stranger gave Neal a wide smile. "Greer."
The ex-con glanced down at his covers as he processed the name. "Greer," he said quietly to himself. Neal looked back up at his visitor. "That's Scottish for 'guardian'."
"Yep! And my name goes with my job."
Neal narrowed his eyes in confusion towards his mini-self. "And what would that be?" he asked as he rose from beneath his blankets.
"I'm your Guardian Angel," Greer replied.
Neal stumbled when he heard his visitor's answer. The ex-con was heading for a face-plant when paradoxically small strong hands caught and steadied him. Within the blink on an eye, Greer had left and returned with a mug of coffee for his charge. Neal accepted the offered beverage from his Guardian Angel. The ex-con smiled when he caught a whiff of the coffee—it was Italian Roast.
Neal and Greer sat at a table looking out on the beach. Just as he was about to take a sip of his coffee, the ex-con hesitated. "How did you—"
"I've been around you your whole life, Neal. I know everything there is to know about you. Even your coffee preference," the Angel explained with a grin.
A soft smile spread across Neal's features before he took a long drink of Italian Roast. "So, you're my Guardian Angel, right?" the ex-con asked after he swallowed and had taken another good look at his guest.
Greer smiled and nodded like a young child.
"Then why don't you have any wings?"
The Angel put his hand up against his cheek, placed his elbow on the table, and sighed as if he had had to answer the same question over and over again. "Clarence is only a Hollywood representation of a Guardian Angel, you know."
Neal frowned as he thought back to the character in the Christmas movie. "So the saying, 'every time a bell rings, an Angel gets its wings' is hardly true?"
"Right. I do have wings, though. You'd only be able to see them if you were a more solid being."
"I'm not solid?"
"Compared to air, yes you are. Compared to me in my natural form, no you're not. When I'm in my natural form, your eyes are not fine tuned enough to see me. I am also more solid than you and anything on this earth in my natural form. Therefore, I can pass through what is solid to you."
"That's confusing."
Greer tilted his head in thought. "Yes, I guess it is. Makes sense to me though, but not everything makes sense to everyone. For instance, I never understood your reasoning behind telling Brooke that you were Peter."
The ex-con grinned at the memory. That had been fun case—getting to be Peter for a while, Peter getting to be him, and he got to give Peter grief. "He said to do anything I needed to," Neal answered after pulling his thoughts back to the present.
The Angel gave him an incredulous look. "He didn't mean impersonate an FBI agent."
Neal rolled his eyes. "I've done worse."
Greer raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Oh, I know. Does Senator Gray Dingle ring a bell?"
A thoughtful expression crossed Neal's features. Only, Greer knew he was putting on. "It may. What exactly did he do?"
Instead of calling his charge on the fraudulent remark, he decided to play along. "He stole a few paintings and jewels from the governor's mansion. Interestingly, his plans went out the window once he got there because of things he didn't foresee, and yet he still managed to pull off the con and get away with the loot on seemingly dumb luck."
Neal glanced curiously over at his visitor. "You were there?"
Greer sighed in exasperation. "Hello! Guardian Angel! I've been by your side since before you were born, and I haven't left your side ever. Though, I have to say, trying to keep you in line is a very demanding. You're too intelligent for your own good."
Neal tilted his head to the side. "So you were the one who always tried to hinder my cons?"
"Yep. And when that didn't work, I did what I needed to do so that you would get out alive."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"You know that stumble the men chasing you had during that con at the governor's mansion?"
Neal paused in thought and took another sip of his coffee before he nodded. "I was close to escaping, and they were close on my tail."
"And then the big burly men fell over what looked to be their own feet," Greer finished.
"But it was you they tripped over," Neal stated.
The small Angel nodded. "A sudden log appeared in their way—giving you enough time to get away."
A soft smile graced Neal's face. "I appreciate it."
Greer nodded, and the two enjoyed a relaxed silence. Neal and Greer looked out on the former's view of the ocean. The afternoon sunlight made the white sand glow and the deep blue water sparkle. There were few wispy clouds floating about the sky along with some seagulls. It was only a couple of minutes before a question popped into Neal's head.
"So if your job is to look out for me, did you let me escape prison after Kate left?" he asked.
Greer nodded. "I knew Peter would be assigned to find you, and if the CI deal panned out—I knew Peter would be a good influence on you."
The ex-con nodded in understanding. "How hard was it to get Peter to agree to the deal?"
The Angel's eyes went wide. "It took the working of me, and Peter and Elizabeth's Guardian Angels. But we obviously pulled it off."
Neal nodded in affirmation. "Took you long enough though!" he teased. "Had me waiting three months."
Greer made a face at his charge. "You know Peter—he's not quick to trust. He thought you were playing an angle, and he couldn't comprehend immediately that you would actually escape for Kate."
Again, Neal nodded. "Sounds like Peter. How was Peter finally convinced I really did escape for Kate? Elizabeth?"
"You know your partner well," the Angel answered.
The ex-con smiled. He really did know Peter well—he probably knew Peter better than he knew Moz.
"How'd Elizabeth pull that off?" Neal asked.
"She put her husband in your shoes."
"Good way to do it. Though I don't think Peter would like prison-issued shoes," the ex-con joked.
Greer giggled like the child he appeared to be. The unease Neal had felt when he first saw Greer had eventually fallen to the wayside as the two conversed. The ex-con and Guardian Angel fell back into a comfortable silence as they watched nature work the magic God gave it. They were rewarded with the sight of a dolphin or whale breaching out in the distance.
Neal took the final sip of his Italian Roast. "Greer?"
The Angel turned his head towards his charge. "Yes, Neal?"
The ex-con hesitated before he spoke. "Why are you even here?" he asked softly.
Greer smiled warmly. "So that you would know that I'm always around if you need anything—especially if you need help."
Neal's expression turned to one of gratitude. "Thank you, Greer."
The Angel nodded.
". . . Even if it sounds like you're stalking me."
Greer gave his charge a sly grin as he caught mischievous glint in Neal's eyes. "Oh, I am! Only it's a good kind of stalking."
A knock on Neal's front door startled both of them—Neal more than Greer. "That's my cue," the Angel said.
The ex-con offered his hand to the Guardian Angel. "It was a pleasure getting to know you, Greer."
He took Neal's hand and shook it firmly. "It was wonderful to actually talk to you after spending over thirty years protecting you."
The two released hands when another knock came. "I'm gonna get my lock picks, James, if you don't open up soon."
Mozzie's voice prompted Neal to turn towards the door. "Coming!" he called. When he turned back around, Greer had disappeared.
Of course, Neal knew exactly where his Guardian Angel was.
Like it? Hate it? Let me know please!
I got the last name "Dingle" from Hogan's Heroes. Did anybody recognize it?
I will endeavour to write more White Collar. The right idea just has to work its way into my head. I am working on a White Collar/Chuck cross-over with my friend WingedFlight. We're nearly done and will soon be editing and posting.
Blessings,
~Fierce