"Confessions of a Con Artist's Daughter"

Based on "White Collar"

Charlotte's Diary: Entry 1

Where should I start?

As my good friend Mozzie would say: The best place to start is at the beginning.

So, that is what I shall do. I shall start at the beginning.

I was born when my parents were extremely young. According to the story I was finally able to get out of my mother – she always gave me a fairy tale version of the events leading to my birth, but I eventually figured out that they weren't true – I am the result of both her and my father's "first time" that they had when they were both at a party during their freshman year of high school. Crazy, I know. But, look at the show "Secret Life of the American Teenager" on ABC Family or even "16 and Pregnant" on MTV. It happens. I should know. I'm living proof of it.

Upon realizing that she was pregnant, my mother transferred schools. She didn't want any of her classmates to find out her secret. She didn't actually tell my father about the pregnancy until she was absolutely sure that I was going to be born and that she wasn't going to miscarry. Apparently, my father was very supportive. He went to visit my mother whenever he got the chance and he was even able to be there when I was born. I have pictures as proof.

It was after my birth that everything went downhill.

For a reason that both my mother and I are unsure of, my father dropped out of school. He refuses to tell us why. I swear I will get it out of him one of these days. Either that or Peter will. One or the other.

Anyways, getting back on track, my father dropped out of school and that didn't go over well with my mother. They stayed "together" (AKA: they hung out with one another because of me) for a few more years until my mother found out that he had changed. Drastically. The guy that she knew from high school had turned into an extremely good con-artist.

Not only that, but Daddy Dearest fell madly and hopelessly in love with another woman.

It was after the con-artist revelation that my mother told my father that they were "done" (not that they were ever really together, but you get my point) and they went their separate ways. My mother raised me by herself, though my father did still manage to send money once in a while and he would appear randomly at my school to see me. Once in a while, he would even bring the girlfriend and sometimes his little friend Mozzie who I found and still find completely hilarious. The girlfriend was pretty, but I still liked thinking that my parents would get back together.

My freshman year of high school was when things started to get interesting.

My best friend since pre-school, Declan, is the son of FBI agent Peter Burke and his wife, Elizabeth. I used to spend so much time over at the Burke Household, since my mother had to work, that I became an honorary member of the Burke family. I have a key to their house and I even know how to deactivate the alarm system if I get there and they aren't home.

Anyways, getting off track again, it was during freshman year of high school that Peter started asking all kinds of weird questions about my father. Apparently, though I did not know this at the time, my father's file showed up on Peter's desk and he had been searching for him. Peter had actually been searching for him since I was in 6th or 7th grade, but never wanted to ask me questions because he never wanted to let me know what my father did for a "living". Freshman year was when he was getting close and decided to casually ask me questions that might inadvertently lead him to his goal. And, he only started asking questions, I found out later, because my mother decided to tell him that Dad would come and visit me at school once in a while.

Not through any fault of mine, since I had not seen Daddy in quite some time, Peter ended up arresting him during that year. And, as icing on the cake, my mother ended up testifying against him at his trial.

Peter then sat me and Declan down along with Elizabeth and my mother to tell us what had happened. He apologized to me more times than I could count for having to try to pump me for information. But, Peter, Elizabeth, and my mother wanted me and Declan to know what happened in case anyone said anything to us about it.

Years passed. Not once did I go see my father while he was in prison. It wasn't because I didn't want to. It was because my mother didn't want me to. And, following my mother's wishes, neither Peter nor Elizabeth would take me to see him. It was only after my father got out of prison that my mother agreed to let me see him again.

See, my father started working for the FBI as the White Collar Unit's criminal consultant under Peter's custody.

My name is Charlotte Grace Caffrey. The daughter of world-renowned con-man, Neal Caffrey and, contrary to popular belief, Sara Ellis, insurance recovery agent and (as she likes to be called) "White Collar Bounty Hunter".

"Do you think that things will be weird when we get back?"

Charlotte Caffrey turned and looked at her best friend. "What do you mean?" she asked "We've only been away for a month"

"Yeah, I know" Declan Burke replied "But, your parents are supposedly back together, right?"

"And, how is that weird?"

"I don't know" Declan replied "I mean I just know how much your father loved Kate. She hasn't been dead for that long and he's back in a relationship with your Mom? It almost seems too soon"

"You're just trying to ruin my happiness, as usual" Charlotte teased "I think that Kate has been dead long enough for my Dad to start a new relationship. Besides, if you think about it, they haven't even really been together since he got arrested. Sure, she visited him weekly, but how does he know whether or not she was going behind his back with another man? I view their relationship as being over when your father arrested him"

"Sure, blame it on my Dad" Declan teased back

"I'm not blaming it on Peter!" Charlotte said, playfully hitting Declan in the shoulder

"No, you just never liked Kate"

"It wasn't that I didn't like her" Charlotte said "I liked her very much."

"You just didn't want her with Neal"

"Precisely"

Declan laughed. "Do our fathers even know that we are coming back today?"

A sly smile formed on Charlotte's face as she shook her head. "Not at all" she said "Our mothers wanted to keep it as a surprise"

"I'm just surprised that our parents let us go on a vacation together for as long as we did" Declan said

"Why are you surprised, Dec? We've been friends since we were in diapers"

It was now Declan's turn to smile slyly. "You know…"

It took Charlotte a moment to realize what Declan was trying to get at. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed as Declan burst into laughter. "You are so nasty!"

"Hey, we're 20-years-old and we're going on a road trip completely by ourselves which would require sleeping in hotels together" he replied "If I were a parent, I'd be concerned"

"If you were a parent, I'd be concerned for your child"

"Ooh, that hurts, CC" Declan said, as Charlotte laughed "It really does"

"Too bad" Charlotte said "You grossed me out. We're even"

"Being even would require you to…"

"Shut up, Declan" Charlotte said, with a smile "Just shut up and drive"

"This was such a great idea that you had, Elizabeth" Sara Ellis said, as she and Elizabeth prepared for the return of their children. "I love the idea of keeping this from Neal and Peter"

"It's fun to surprise them once in a while" Elizabeth Burke replied "Plus, it's a good reason to have a party"

"Agreed" Sara replied, with a smile "God, it's so hard to believe that Declan and Charlotte are old enough to go on vacation without us. It seems like just yesterday I was chasing Charlotte around the park"

"I know what you mean" Elizabeth said "I feel the same with Declan"

Sara smiled as the door of the Burke household opened and two men walked inside. "Great! You're just in time!" she exclaimed, turning to face the door

"In time for what exactly?" Peter Burke asked, as he and Neal walked towards the dining room "You gave us no information over the phone"

"Dinner, of course" Elizabeth replied

"Then why was it so imperative that I bring him home with me?" Peter asked, pointing at Neal

"Couldn't it just be that Elizabeth would like to have dinner with friends?" Sara asked

Neal and Peter looked at the two women. "What's going on?" Neal Caffrey asked

Sara and Elizabeth smiled as they heard the door open again. "You're about to find out"

Peter and Neal turned when they also heard the door open. Smiles broke out onto their faces when they saw the two people now coming into the house.

"Daddy!"

Neal laughed as Charlotte ran into his arms, almost as if she was a young child once more. "I've missed you so much!" Neal said, hugging Charlotte tight

"Why didn't you tell us that you two were going to be back?" Peter asked, as he also hugged Declan

"The Moms wanted to keep it a surprise" Charlotte replied, as she pulled away from Neal and they turned towards Sara and Elizabeth "We were planning on telling you guys"

"This was just such a fun way to do it" Elizabeth said "How often do we get the chance to surprise you two?"

"I like this surprise" Peter said, as he put his arm around his son "Great thing to come home to"

Declan and Charlotte looked at each other. "How did we get such weird parents?" Declan asked

Charlotte sighed dramatically. "Fate"

"Ooh, that hurts" Neal teased, as Charlotte smiled at him

"Alright!" Sara said "It's our turn now"

Declan and Charlotte almost rolled their eyes as they moved to hug their mothers. "I'm starving, you know" Declan said, after he had hugged and pulled away from Elizabeth "What's to eat?"

"Well, I'm sure that you two are tired of hot dogs, French fries, and hamburgers…" Elizabeth said

"I wouldn't be too sure about that" Neal said "I know for a fact that my daughter can continuously eat French fries and not get tired of them"

"And, my son could eat burgers daily" Peter added

Neal winked at Charlotte as she stuck her tongue out at him. Declan crossed his arms as Peter patted him on the shoulder.

"Nevertheless" Sara said "Tonight, we are all having steak and potatoes"

"That actually sounds really good right now" Charlotte said, as the group started sitting down at the table

"After dinner, we get to hear all about your trip, right?" Peter asked, as Sara and Elizabeth started bringing out the food

"I don't know" Declan said, faking a yawn "I'm really tired"

"We're not letting you off the hook that easily" Neal said, with a smile

"Fine!" Charlotte said "We already have a slideshow prepared anyways. But, in return, you have to promise to tell us what's been going on since we've been gone. We were told virtually nothing over the phone, you know"

"Fine" Peter said "It's a deal"

Believe it or not, Declan Burke and Charlotte Caffrey had been best friends since pre- school. Charlotte had spent a lot of time in the Burke Household and had become close with Peter and Elizabeth, calling them her "second parents". At the time, Peter and Elizabeth had no idea that Charlotte was the daughter of world-renowned con-man, Neal Caffrey. Sara was never willing to tell Peter or Elizabeth his name. They assumed it was because things didn't work out and didn't want to push for information. But, Peter and Elizabeth were soon able to figure it out.

The reason why two and two were put together: the case bringing Neal Caffrey into Peter's life had been put on Peter's desk.

Prior to Peter getting Neal's case, he and Elizabeth had believed what Charlotte had told them her mother told her: that her father did business all over the world with what Charlotte had called "pretty objects". After Peter got Neal's case, Peter started to wonder whether or not Charlotte actually knew what the "pretty objects" were and what her father actually did. He knew that Sara would never tell Charlotte the truth at such a young age, which is why she had just told Charlotte a PG version of Neal's "job". Peter and Elizabeth tended to believe that Charlotte didn't know the full truth up until a year before Neal was arrested.

The way she found out: Peter kept asking her questions. Things like: "Where is your father now?" or "When was the last time you saw him?" or "Did your father say anything about what he were working with?" He wouldn't have even bothered to ask Charlotte those questions if Sara hadn't told him that Neal had shown up at Charlotte's school and that he and Charlotte had, apparently, concocted a plan where they could see each other on a somewhat daily basis. Of course, Peter never made it completely obvious that he was trying to track down Neal when he asked Charlotte the questions. He would ask the questions casually whenever Charlotte was over and her father came up in conversation.

The day Neal was arrested, however, was the day that everything had changed.

Charlotte had been over the Burke Household at the time that Peter made the arrest. Elizabeth had told him of what had happened when Charlotte had found out about Neal. At first, Charlotte was completely silent, as if she was in shock. Then, she burst into tears. And finally, she started taking her anger out on the Burke family couch and cried some more. According to Elizabeth and Declan, it was not a pretty sight.

Sara had told Peter and Elizabeth that it was even worse when Charlotte got home. She had gone up to her room and clutched the picture of her and Neal that had been framed and sat on her bedside table to her chest as if it were a doll. She had told them that Charlotte never took the locket that Neal had given her off, except when she had to take a shower but only because she didn't want the picture inside to get ruined.

Charlotte apparently did not speak for three days. And, when she did speak, it was only to ask Sara why Peter had arrested Neal. Needless to say, Peter felt horrible and sat both her and Declan down to explain to them what had happened and why he had to do what he did.

Surprisingly, Charlotte understood completely.

The years passed. None of Charlotte and Declan's classmates ever mentioned Neal to Charlotte. Peter, Sara, and Elizabeth assumed it was because they didn't know who Charlotte's father was and they were happy about it. Soon enough, it was time for Charlotte and Declan to graduate high school. Charlotte was the salutatorian and Declan managed to become the valedictorian after a four year competition that the two of them had started during their freshman year. The competition, coincidentally, continued into college.

It was also the year that Neal escaped from prison and became a consultant for the FBI.

Charlotte was ecstatic to have Neal back in her life again and got no arguments from Sara about seeing him. Since Neal was working with Peter and Charlotte spent most of her time at the Burke household, Sara knew that Charlotte and Neal's reunion could not be avoided. She just refused to reunite with him herself.

Until a case of hers connected with a case of his and Peter's.

To celebrate the end of their sophomore year of college – as well as an early birthday present for Charlotte and a semi-belated birthday present for Declan – the two 20-year-olds (or soon to be 20-years-old in Charlotte's case) were given permission to go on a road trip. The destination: to Walt Disney World in Florida and also Disneyland in California. Declan and Charlotte soon named the trip "Disney Destinations".

The two had been in love with Disney World since they were little and had been a few times with Elizabeth and Peter. Sara was able to go on one of the trips with them, but mainly had to stay home because of work. Now that Neal was out of prison, Declan and Charlotte had already started planning yet another trip to Disney World in which everyone could attend.

Despite having gone to Disney World on multiple occasions, Declan and Charlotte had never been to the one in California. So, when the idea of the trip came up, Peter, Elizabeth, Neal, and Sara suggested that they also go to California. Needless to say, the two jumped on the opportunity. The trip took a long time, but the travel was worth it.

Charlotte and Declan were amazed by what their parents told them they had missed in the White Collar criminal world while they were away. In a way, they wished that they were around while everything was happening. Now, with Kate's killer dead himself, they wondered what could possibly be next.

This is a complete and utter re-vamping of my previous White Collar story "Confessions of a Teenage Con-Artist". I just did not like where that story was going and decided to change it completely.

As you have probably noticed, this is going to be an AU story. I know that some people might not like AU stories or the addition of children for the main characters, and that is completely fine. Everyone is entitled to their preferences. All I ask is that you be kind in your reviews. Constructive Criticism is always helpful.

Before anyone mentions it, I am going to address the ages of Declan and Charlotte. I know that they are "too old" for the ages of our characters, especially Neal and Sara. But, I wanted their characters to not be in their mid-teens doing all the things that I have planned for the story. Now, I have no idea how old our characters are in the show. So, for the purposes of this story, Neal is in his mid-thirties as is Sara. Peter and Elizabeth are both in their forties. I know that the show said that they were married for over 10 years, but I am changing it so that they have been married since they were in their mid-twenties.

I did say that this was an AU story.

I am trying as hard as I can to keep the characters all in character, to the point where I have started watching the series over from the very beginning. If there is going to be a situation where a character is going to be extremely OOC, I will warn you.

Also, I have absolutely no intention on making Charlotte and Declan Mary-Sue and Gary-Stu (I believe that is the male version) characters. I hope that you don't view them as being like that. They are, by far, not practically perfect in every way.

I'm sorry for the long Author's Note. I just wanted to try and cover my bases. Hopefully, you guys will like this story.

Please be kind in your reviews!

Thanks!