With what has been happening with trying to figure out who killed Kate, and trying to find Fowler, Elizabeth and I haven't had much time to spend together as a couple. So we decided to go to The Metropolitan Museum. Of course we didn't tell Neal, because he would have insisted on going with us, and I just wanted to be alone with my wife.
We were looking at one of Michelangelo's First Paintings. At first glance it looked like a bunch of demons were trying to rip apart a man. I know that Neal would have enjoyed this, and now I feel kind of bad for not bringing him, especially for what he has been through. It's only been a few months since he heard about Bryce, and he seems to being doing fine…at least at first glance.
I start to go to the next painting when I see Neal start to leave the museum. Shit, how did he get here, this museum isn't in his radius. I tell El that I will be right back, and follow him out. I catch up to him when he makes it down the steps.
"Neal, how the hell did you get past your radius without sending up an alert" I see him tense and turn around and look at me confused, like he doesn't know who I am. What he's wearing catches me off guard, because he's not dressed in his usual suit type attire. He's wearing dark blue jeans with a gray tee-shirt and a bland black jacket. The shock of him not in high class clothes wears off when I remember where we are, and I get angry
"You found a way out of your anklet didn't you, dammit Neal, I'm going to have to bring you in now" I see a smirk come across his face, like he's tempting me to try, but thinks better of it
"I'm not Neal" out of all the explanations I thought he was going to throw at me, that wasn't it
"Don't play stupid with me, unless there is someone else out there with your face…" I flinch when I realized what I just started to say, I close my eyes and hope that I didn't just re-open up the wounds that are barley starting to heal.
"I take it from the look of sadness on you face, he told you about me…but probably not until after he found out that I…died" he looks off to the right with a small smile on his face
At this point I'm starting to get really confused, is he really trying to pretend that he's Bryce, just to get out of this. I was about to yell at him to knock it off when I felt my phone go off. I look at the display and it says Neal. How can Neal call me when he's right in front of me. Then it comes to me, it's probably Mozzie, although I don't know why he would call me especially from Neal's phone.
"Burke" I answer "Hey Peter, I just heard from someone that you went to the Met, how can you go and not bring me, let alone not tell me about it" my eyes widen in surprise, it sounded like Neal…it was Neal, but how…no, that can't be, Bryce died, he's dead, but then how…
"I'm sorry Neal, I'll take you this weekend ok, I promise, but I have to go" I didn't even give him time to reply before I hang up, and I look at the guy that has Neal's face
"How is this possible, I went to your grave, you're buried" I see his face fall, but only for a split second before he covers it up
"It's a long story, and one I know you don't have high enough clearance for" he says with a smirk on his face…since it was the least of my issues right now, I chose to ignore what he said and move on to more pressing matters, like Neal
"So I take it that you're here to see Neal" he nods his head a fraction of an inch, the action was so small I barely caught it
"I just came to see if Neal was ok" he added as he turned his head to look off to the side
"Oh so you saw him already" his body tensed back up. He hesitated a little before answering
"Ya, I saw him with Mozzie. He seems to be doing just fine. I was just on my way out of town, but I thought I should stop by The Met before I go. Neal once told me it was one of his favorite places to go, so I thought I would try to see what he see's in it"
The way his body language is and how he phrased how he saw him with Mozzie, makes me think that's just what he did, saw, so I decided to push it to see if what I thought was correct
"So you talked to him" he turned to stare back at me
"Well no, but…" I cut him off before he could continue
"So you were just coming to see him from a distance. Does he even know you're alive" his face hardened
"No and he's not going to" he retorts
"What do you mean he's not going to, you're his brother, it's eating him up inside that you're dead" we'll at least that he thinks you're dead, I shake my head, I can't believe this guy
"He'll get over it" he growled out,
"How can you say that, why would you want to keep something like this from him in the first place" I cant help but let some of my anger show in my voice
"Dammit, he's my brother, so don't you think I want to see him, don't you think that I want him to know I'm alive so he wont hurt anymore" his voice rises in anger
"From where I'm standing and how you're acting No, I don't" I throw back at him
"Well I do, you may know Neal, but just because I have his face doesn't mean you know me to" who the hell does this guy think he is, trying to keep this from the one person who deserves to know
"Don't you think he needs to know, don't you care about him at all" I cross my arms and concentrate on not decking him, because it was getting really hard not to
"Of course I care, but that's not the problem" he waves his arms around in anger
"Then what the hell is" I yell
"Because I might die, and for good this time" he yells back, and takes a deep breathe to calm himself down, and then he looks around at all the people that had stopped to look at our confrontation, his shoulders slump slightly and he brings his attention back to me and calmly continues
"It could happen tomorrow or maybe even next week. I'm still an agent, which means that my life is in constant danger, and if I let Neal know I'm alive and end up dying again…he wont be able to get through it a second time" I see fear and worry etched in his eyes, but not at the fact that he might die, but how it will hurt Neal if that did happen
"I love Neal, he's all I've got left, and it kills me that I can't see him, and I know he's hurting because of me, and I really want to take away his suffering, but its still my job to keep him safe, and if I can save him from more pain in the future on my part, than that's what I'm going to do, and I really hope that you will respect that" I calmed down after thinking about what he just said, before I spoke up
"I know you think that what you are doing is the right thing, and that you think it will make him hurt less in the long run, but your wrong" apparently he didn't like what I said because anger was back in his voice when he replied
"And how do you know that…huh" I sighed, and paused slightly to think of how to put this so he would understand that what he was doing was a bad idea
"You're right, I don't know…You said there is a chance that you may die, and what if that's true, let's say you do die, what if that gets back to him somehow, that you were alive and died again and he didn't even know…he would feel SO betrayed by you, and not only would he not get over it, but he wont forgive you for it either" I can see in his eyes as he considered what I had just said
"He's my brother…I just want to do what's best for him, is that so wrong" he cant stop his voice from cracking at the end
"I know you do, but just because you think you are doing what's right, doesn't mean that you are" he nods his head in understanding, I think I'm finally getting through to him
"Don't tell Neal you saw me, ok" my anger starts to flare back up and I'm about to replay when he cuts me off "I'm not saying that I'm not going to tell him the truth, I just…I don't know what I'm going to do right now, I need to think about it, but just don't tell him"
"Neal's my friend, I cant keep this from him" it's true, we have had our ups and downs, but he is my friend
"And I get that, I do. It's just that if I decide I want him to know, I want to be the one to tell him, and I know that you don't know me, but this is my secret to tell, not yours" I get what he's trying to say, I don't like it, but…
"I wont tell him…for now, but I cant promise that one day it might not come up" he nods his head, says thank you and walks off. What have I gotten myself into, how am I not supposed to tell Neal this. I was torn out of my thoughts by hands coming around my waist, I turn around to face El.
PLEASE DON'T REPORT ME
I KNOW IM GOING TO GET GRIEF FOR NOT PUTTING IT IN THE RIGHT CATEGORY, BUT NOT TO MANY PEOPLE WRITE CHUCK/WHITE COLLAR CROSSOVERS SO BARELY ANYONE GOES THERE TO READ THEM, AND IM NOT THE ONLY ONE TO DO IT, I SEE IT ALL THE TIME…I JUST WANT MY STORY TO BE READ, AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE CROSSOVER IT SAYS WHAT IT IS IN MY SUMMARY, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ, I JUST WANT TO WRITE THINGS THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO READ…SO PLEASE GIVE ME A BREAK
AUTHURS NOTE-NEXT CHAPTERS MOST LIKELY WONT BE SO LONG, JUST SO YOU KNOW, HOPE YOU LIKED
