Neal Caffrey has become one of my favourite television characters in such a short while. He's witty, intelligent and most of all I love the subtle nuances that make Neal the person that he is. I wanted to explore Neal's mind post Season One, in this short one-shot. Un-betaed, all mistakes are mine. Please read and review!
And Then There Were None
There's nothing wrong with falling in love. Nothing wrong with running after a mirage of someone you once loved. Nothing wrong with ignoring people who want you back in their world.
There's nothing wrong in Neal Caffrey's life. Really there isn't.
This is what he tells himself as he holds on to the bottle.
Moz thinks he smashed it to pieces the day Kate died. He let him believe that, let him think he was on his way to some sort of magical recovery. Peter thinks he is successful in distracting him with big and small cases alike, that if he doesn't think he won't remember. Elizabeth adds extra cream in his coffee out of pity and concern. As Jones hands him a file, he makes sure to give him an extra pat on the shoulder.
Neal sees it all. He doesn't want to, but he sees what they are trying to do.
But what they don't know is that Neal is slowly spiralling towards the dark hole they always feared him to be.
He lets Peter and Elizabeth play house. It hasn't dawned on them as yet, but Neal is sharper than most and he sees where this is leading. Peter and Elizabeth like having him around, they have started relying on him – and at times Neal believes he is their little experiment: "How to Raise a Kid 101".
He can't blame them. He doesn't want to. But he doesn't want to build this palace of dreams and expectations just to watch it all fall down sooner or later.
They forget. He's Neal Caffrey. He's Nick Halden. He's Benjamin Cooper. He's George Donnelly. He's Steve Tabernacle. He is the man who gets away.
He looks at the bottle, tracing the veined outline of Grand Central Station. A short bark of laughter escapes him as he traces the veins of a history gone wrong. He'd always thought their story was the one destined for a happy end.
He couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams that theirs would be without even a last goodbye.
They say idealists fall down the hardest.
He lets Peter and Mozzie bond over his grief – the FBI agent and the free man. Theirs is a funny story, both men reluctant to trust each other on anything except what brought them together: Neal.
The Bureau keeps him busy with fresh cases that don't seem to be ending anytime soon. Kate starts to become a memory of another time - of simpler times. He remembers holding her close, smelling her in – the only time he smiled and actually meant it. These days, his smiles seem to be doled out in abundance, countless but meaningless. He laughs at their funny and not-so-funny jokes because if he doesn't, he feels guilty. And hell, that isn't what he needs any more.
It's sad. For an intelligent con, he sure is clueless on how to con himself in to forgetting Kate.
