Author's note from D:

I wanted to write some white collar fiction but didn't know what to write, so M was helpful and gave me this wonderful idea.. Pairings: Peter/Neal, Peter/Elizabeth, OT3, past!Neal/Kate.

I hope someone's going to enjoy this – I know it was a lot of fun to write. I love dream-sequences..^^

Neal sighed, and took a step back from the painting in front of him. The brush lingered in his hand, and his trained eye went from the canvas and to Kate. The impossibly blue eyes of his lover looked back – quizzically. "Is anything the matter?" she seemed to be asking, even if being with Neal had made her too trained a model to say anything out loud.

Neal let his eyes follow the curves of her slim body, starting at the feet and ending at her perfect collarbones. He took in her face, swallowing hard. He wasn't sure why, but there was something in that trustful way she smiled at him, that made his heart clench.

"There's something missing," he finally said, out loud. Kate sat up in a smooth motion, her long dark hair falling from her shoulders in cascades over her naked body.

He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, but he was sitting in the sofa with her across from him. Blue eyes met.

"Who is missing?" She asks, and Neal hadn't even realized it was a "who" before she asked the question. He keeps looking at her – The answer seems to be at the tip of his tongue.

But she's so beautiful, and he reaches out a hand to touch her smooth hair. It slips through his fingers, and before he knows it he's shouting her name and Peter's holding him back and there's smoke in the air and his ears hurt but that doesn't matter at all because that was KATE on that plane and someone's missing and this time he knows exactly who it is..-

"Hey – sssch – wake up. It's a dream. Just a dream." Her voice is soothing, and Neal eases into her soft embrace. For a moment he's not sure who she is. Mom - Ellen – Elizabeth – Sara – Elizabeth -

Kate.

He knows it's a dream, but at this point he hardly cares anymore. He opens his eyes and looks at her. She's just as naked as she'd been for the drawing. He looks behind her, seeing bars. As his heart-rate picks up, the realization that this is all just a dream seems to slip from his mind – And he's scared.

She's not supposed to be here, like a caged bird. Kate needs to be free. He sits up, and looks around the small cell. He hasn't been this bothered since his first week in here. He looks back to Kate, panic and worry visible in his eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" he asks, and looks through the bars out unto the hallway. No one's there.

"You're the one who keeps me here," she says, and he looks back at her. The sadness seems to be dripping from her words, and her eyes are part accusing and part pitying.

"I don't – I would never – "

He stops, and stares through the bars at his girlfriend. His own tracking anklet seems to be weighing him down as he stares into the cell. It is more like a hotel-room – And it seems vaguely familiar.

"We had some good times.." Kate muses, and gets up from the bed. She walks to the door with the bars, and looks directly at Neal on the other side.

"But I can't stay here forever. Do you understand?" Neal doesn't say anything – Doesn't know what to say – And suddenly he's not so sure who's missing anymore.

"You have to let me go."

And suddenly there are no bars, and Neal is looking at the door to the hotel room. He opens it cautiously; the sound of it still seems like too much in the eerie silence of the hallway. Footsteps.

He holds the door as she passes through it, and walks down the hallway. He doesn't expect her to look back, but suddenly she stops and looks back anyway.

"Time to wake up, hon." Hon..?

Neal opened his eyes, and for a moment he wasn't sure where he was. Then he felt the familiar weight of a man's arm on top of him, and he sighed in relief.

"Hon – I'm serious. We have visitors." Elizabeth's voice sounded as if she'd been awake for some time. Peter stirred, and turned away from his wife, grabbing Neal closer in the process.

Neal let out a chuckle at that, and he could hear the smile in Elizabeth's voice when she continued:

"Boys – I'm serious. I heard the door go a moment ago, and someone's approaching. Neal, I know you're awake."

"It's probably just-" The door to the bedroom was opened, and into the room strode Mozzie.

"Mozzie!" Elizabeth acknowledged, and sat up in bed.

"Mrs. Suit," Mozzie nodded in return. There was a moment of silence, then Mozzie carefully said:

"Mr. Suit – If you would untangle yourself from Neal – We have some business to take care of." Suddenly Peter was fully awake, sitting up beside his wife and staring daggers at the man.

"Haversham, this is my bedroom – And besides, what business could you possibly have with Neal that would require me to untangle myself from him!?"

Neal couldn't help but laugh at that, and the suspicion that came off more as jealousy in the circumstances. And as he laughed, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart – As if he could laugh more freely than he'd been able to in a long time.

It wasn't until he stopped laughing, that he realized he was being looked at. There was surprise and fondness to be read in Elizabeth's eyes, a quiet understanding in Mozzie's and pure love mixed with confusion in Peter's.

Had it always been that way?

Neal smiled back at his family. Nothing was missing, not anymore.

-D

Note: Dunno… Comments always appreciated? - :D