Neal and Elizabeth sat on the couch, a scrabble game in progress on the coffee table in front of them, and the TV tuned to ABC's pre-Oscar coverage.
"How many of the Best Picture nominees have you seen?" asked El.
"Not as many as I'd like but more than I've been able to in the recent past," Neal said with a small smile. "Usually Kate and I would try to have a movie marathon a few days before the Oscars. We'd try to see one or two movies from each category. It makes it more interesting if you've seen the movies that are up for nomination."
"I bet. I try to get Peter out to the theatres, but it usually doesn't work. Most of the movies he's interested in seeing remind him of work. So then he sits in the theatre and thinks about the cases he's working. And the movies that I want to see aren't something that he's interested in. He'll come with me, but then he'll just think about work instead of watching the movie. Sometimes we can agree on one or two. This year we saw Inception and Toy Story 3 – both were fabulous."
Neal looked at El with a sly grin. "Toy Story 3, huh? I didn't see it, but Moz said it was quite the tearjerker. Did the big bad Fed shed a few tears in memories of lost childhood toys?"
El tried, and failed, to suppress a grin. She put a finger on her nose and said, "I'll never tell!"
She and Neal began to laugh. Peter looked up from his seat at the dining room table. Although it shouldn't have, he was still sometimes amazed at the relationship between his wife and the conman. He smiled and returned to his crossword.
"Oh look," said El. "There's Jennifer Hudson – I just love her. Look what she's wearing! And TIM GUNN! I adore him. I'm so glad they have him as a commentator on the Red Carpet this year!"
"You know, the Red Carpet isn't really red," said Neal absently. "It's more of a pink than a true red. But it looks red on TV."
El looked at him. "Wait, how exactly do you know that?" Neal kept his gaze on the TV. "Neal?" she whispered. "Were you there? Did you go to the Oscars?"
Neal darted a look at Peter, who was still engrossed in the Sunday crossword.
"I may or may not have been there a few years ago."
"Neal, knock it off. It's me. Peter can't hear you from where he's sitting. Tell me! Were you there?"
Neal grinned. "Yeah, and it was fabulous. A year or so after I first met Kate we were in Hollywood to…um…well, let's just say we were in the area on the day of the show. We had watched the Oscars the year before and Kate made the comment that she'd like to be there in person one day. So we just decided to go. We rented a limo, got new clothes, the whole nine yards. She was so happy from the moment the door was opened and she stepped out onto the red carpet. We both were grinning like idiots and I was praying that none of the photographs taken of us would find their way into a paper or anything. But I wasn't too worried. I figured we'd be long gone by the time anyone knew we were there."
"'Anyone' meaning my husband?" El asked with a smile. "Relax, I don't think he ever knew you were in Hollywood."
Neal smiled with a little relief. The job they had pulled in Hollywood wasn't his biggest, but it hadn't been reported and Neal wanted to keep it that way.
"Anyway, continue," prompted El. She was facing him now, a look of anticipation on her face.
"Right, so we're on the red carpet and Kate turns to me and says, 'We don't have tickets for seats.' She was right, we didn't. But I had another idea."
"Of course you did. How'd you get in?"
"We snuck in, naturally. There were so many people there that it was easy. If you look and act like you're supposed to be there, most people just assume you are supposed to be there. The Kodak Theatre is really amazing. I stood on the stage and got chills just looking out over all the empty seats. That's when I knew that we had to get on stage somehow."
El squeaked. "You were on stage? During the Oscars? How did you manage that?"
Neal lowered his voice conspiratorially and moved closer to El. "You know those extras you see in the background holding the Oscar before it's presented? The same people who usher the winners off the stage?"
El nodded.
"I bribed two of them," Neal said proudly. "We took their places for one of the early awards, I think it was sound editing or something like that. We slipped in, did their job, and then hung around backstage for the rest of the night. And that's not even the best part!" Neal paused, enjoying the drama of the moment. "We crashed the Governor's Ball! Ate, drank, and danced with the stars; Kate spent the whole night flirting with some of the younger stars and I, well, I got a few very interesting offers and one standing invitation for a visit to a very exclusive island in the Caribbean."
El was openly giggling now. "So, if I said that I wanted to go to the Oscars someday, what would you say?"
Neal winked. "Save the date. The anklet is off in two years. You'll be a hit. Peter can come too…with his bad suits he'll make a perfect bodyguard!"
Peter looked up again and smiled. His wife and partner had collapsed in laughter on the couch. Peter chuckled to himself; he had heard every word Neal had said. Neal in Hollywood, huh? He thought. I bet he made quite an impression. Peter spent the rest of the night trying to figure out how to get a fake Oscar on Neal's desk by the next morning.
A/N: This popped into my head last night while I was watching the Academy Awards. I thought it sounded like something Neal would do. Thanks for reading. Reviews are welcome!