Fic: My Not So Dark Day
Title: My Not So Dark Day
Author : Pechika
Characters/Pairing: Neal, El.
Rating: PG
Word count:500-1000
Warnings: None
Spoiler : Mild spoiler from Into the Wind
Notes: Written for WC h/c prompt
Summary: EL giving Peter some TLC.
Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA Network. This is for fun, no copyright infringement is intended.
It's been a little over 5 years since my dad James Burke died. His death has left a huge void in my life and I still miss him dreadfully. We were extremely close.
Dad raised my younger brother Paul and me when my mom died when I was 12. We were a close knit family. He was a large man, with brown eyes and a ready smile. He worked in construction and worked very hard to provide for his two sons. He was a huge baseball fan. I inherited the love of the game from him. Watching games with him on our back porch, Paul and I bickering who would get the next round of drinks and pop corn refills from the kitchen.
He was there for every important event in my life – my graduation, my many games, graduation from Quantico. He gave me his quiet support when doctors said my shoulder would always play up if I continued playing ball. He backed my decision to join the FBI. He positively beamed when I married El. He died of cancer - years of smoking finally catching up with him.
I still feel melancholic on his death anniversary. I usually visit him in St. James cemetery. Dad loved taking Paul my younger brother and me camping to Cedar Point state Park near my home town. I like camping there for a day or two before I head home. It's where I feel closest to dad, he and I have had our best conversation under the star lit sky, identifying constellations and slowly drifting of to sleep. El would come with me when she could but I usually went alone. With Paul overseas I have never felt the absence of my family more.
This year for the first time I will not be able to visit him I still under house arrest with tracking anklet after the Pratt fiasco.
I woke up to the smell of waffles. Waffles were a staple treat breakfast in the Burke household when I was growing up. Dad took the "Burke men" for waffles and maple syrup to Marsha's cafe when there was something to celebrate. Elizabeth makes the great waffles she swears it's the hint of cinnamon that makes all the difference. Waffles with maple syrup and coffee El and I shared a great breakfast in compatible silence.
She had sent flowers to dad at the cemetery, even managed to get a live feed set up to view his grave for sometime on my laptop. Apparently it's a service offered by one of these new flanged web companies.
We watched some ancient home movies I sat on the floor with El on the sofa, gently massaging my scalp. We pored over some old pictures. I remembered things about dad I had started to forget, his guffaw, the tongue lashing he could give Paul and me. I think I inherited his sarcasm. Paul and I had a long conversation frequented with "Do you remember when", we spoke about the past, the present and the promise to talk to each other more often.
We had many of dad's favorite through the day – mashed potatoes, steaks, apple pie and lots of inhibited El and I drifted of to sleep staring at the stars above.