This is for sheenianni and the first chapter was written for the White Collar H/C Advent.

Alone. Why is it that I always end up alone at the end? Sara wandered onto her balcony and when she looked out onto the London skyline, she was tossed back into one of her old memories. Her memories of New York.

Come on," Neal urged. "It's not like you're going to spend Christmas alone."

"I really don't want to impose," Sara said, "but then at the same time, I don't want to be alone either."

Neal just shook his head. "You know that El won't mind. Stop making excuses, just come with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Sara, all we're doing is going skating at Rockefeller then having dessert, wine and exchanging gifts after."

"Alright," she conceded. "I'll come. And, thanks for inviting me."

She wanted to go back. Well, maybe she didn't want to go back to her job but she desperately wanted to belong to something.

Sara was always an outcast in New York. Sure, she always had a lot of friends and a pretty interesting social life but it never felt right. Being with Neal and the rest of the White Collar team during Christmas last year somehow felt right.

"I'm so glad that you could make it Sara," El said, handing her a glass of red wine. "I wasn't expecting you to come but I'm really happy you did."

Sara smiled. "I wasn't going to come in the beginning," she admitted softly, "but I'm glad I'm here instead of being alone."

"How do you usually celebrate Christmas?" the brunette asked curiously. "Do you celebrate with your family?"

Sara shook her head. "No, I really don't celebrate with anyone. When I was engaged to Brian, we would celebrate with his family but usually, I would just be alone."

Elizabeth just nodded but stoped prying, knowing that this would be a sensitive subject.

"Hi," Sara said into the phone, "sorry for calling so late. I didn't wake you up, right?"

"No, I was still awake," her boss replied. "What can I do for you?"

"I know this is short notice, but can I have a few days off from work starting tomorrow? I'd like to go back to New York."

"Well, I suppose you can," her boss said, sounding unsure. "You haven't used your vacation, so you can go. Next time, give me more notice though."

Sara breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, sir. Next time I promise I'll give you more of a heads-up. Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas to you too. And Sara, have fun," he said, "relax a bit."

"I'll try my best," she acknowledged as she hung up the phone, feeling victorious. She was going to New York!

Neal Caffrey popped open the bottle of champagne and handed one glass to the other person.

"To us," he said happily, lifting his drink into the air.

"To us," agreed Rebecca, tossing back her hair and settling into her chair, "and our relationship."

Then, the romantic aura was broken when Neal's phone started ringing.

"Are you going to get that?"

"Yeah," Neal muttered. Why is Sara calling me now?

"Sara," he said as he slid his finger across the screen to answer the call. "What's up?"

"Are you busy?"

"Not really, why?"

"I'm in New York and I wanted to see you," Sara replied. "Are you free?"

"I guess," Neal said hesitantly. "Want to come over in about 20 minutes?"

"Sounds good," Sara said. "See you then."

When Neal heard the rap on the door, he cringed. This is going to be such a mess, he thought. His new girlfriend was meeting his ex. Wonderful.

"Coming," he called, going towards the door. When he opened it, his mood worsened. "Hey, come in," he said, trying to act as pleasant as possible.

Rebecca stood up when she saw the pretty woman walk in. "Hi," she greeted Sara. "I'm Rebecca, Neal's girlfriend."

No, this could not be happening. Neal had moved on. How long did you think he was going to hang around for you? she thought angrily. Until you moved back to New York?

Neal was an attractive man and she shoud've known better than to expect him to wait for her.

"Nice to meet you," Sara finally said. "And, it looks like I'm intruding on something. I didn't realize that your girlfriend was here, Neal." She turned and walked towards the door. "It was great seeing you."

"You don't have to go," Neal said before he could stop himself. "Have some champagne. It's Bollinger."

"No, but thanks anyway" she replied, pulling open the door. "I better go. Maybe we can meet up some other time."

Neal took a deep breath as he watched Sara run away yet again. "So damn close," he muttered, "and she's gone again."

Next chapter is coming soon! Reviews are love...