A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed/alerted one of my stories!
Disclaimer: All characters are property of USA network, Jeff Eastin, ect. I just borrow them for some fun.
Special thanks to my dear friend Sarah (1983Sarah) for all her help and encouragement and the great beta. Any mistakes that are still in there are mine.
"Let me give you some advice. In this life, somebody always takes the fall. Don't let it be you."
The former conman could only stare at James' retreating back after those parting words from the man who called himself Neal's father. The person that Caffrey had just started to trust and welcomed back into his life. And he had even looked forward to the quality time they could have spent together, just like a real family.
It wasn't even so much the fact that Bennett had conned him. But he had not only betrayed his own flesh and blood. He had done the same to Peter who had been supportive of him from the start, even had encouraged Neal to get to know his father, to get closer to him.
It was bad enough that James had used his son, as well as Peter, Mozzie and FBI resources, to find Ellen's evidence box in order to get his hands on documents that incriminated instead of exonerated him of the murder of his and Ellen's supervisor all those years ago. The murder that had torn apart their family when Neal was just a little kid and that, in a way, later had sent the 18-year-old on his way to a career as a professional liar, thief and forger; like father, like son. And, more importantly, a murder that he had sworn to Neal he hadn't committed.
But James' actions today had far dire consequences for Peter.
Caffrey couldn't believe that his father would consciously let the agent take the fall for the crime he had committed, especially if it had been self-defense as the older man claimed. He had been a cop once, for god's sake, sworn to uphold the law. And while Neal understood, maybe better than anyone else, how easy and therefore tempting this way out was, until now he had believed that his father had a conscience, that he was a good person who, given the chance, would do the right thing; like son, like father, he had thought.
But yet again he was proven wrong. And Peter had to pay the price for it, going down for the murder of Pratt.
It was almost ironic really, El had tried to keep Peter out of the search for the evidence box, had even convinced Neal into lying to Peter regarding its progress, and now that the agent had been more or less officially a part of it per Calloway's orders, the pretty much worst had happened.
Sure, Neal could try to hold his father back, even though the older man had made it clear that this was a goodbye and that everything had been said. He could call Diana to have Bennett brought in. But he knew that even then James wouldn't tell the truth and clear Peter, no matter how much Neal would beg. The man had proven as much just moments ago when he had practically yelled at his son and with one swift move had dislodged the younger man's hand from his arm that was meant to hold him back, showing a side of him that was totally unfamiliar to Caffrey. And he had said, in not so many words, that he had only come back for the evidence, and not for his son.
Seeing James leave involuntarily brought back memories from the day he, as a young kid, had last seen his father, standing at the front door and waving him goodbye without knowing that on this day his father would be gone for decades and that his life would be turned completely upside down because of the events causing it.
And it made him remember another farewell, a more recent one that was just a year ago, when he had parted with another important person in his life. The only difference to now was that at that time, apart from the fact that it was Neal who had been leaving, this other person had the ex-con's best interests at heart with no regard to his own.
Neal had meant it when he had told James that Peter was more of a father to him than his dad had ever been. And the agent preventing him from getting arrested by Agent Kramer, followed by risking his career to find him and get him back before the Internal Affair's Agent Collins could do so, was just one in a long list of proofs for that.
So as he was standing there, his eyes still watery as he watched the door closing with an air of finality, he knew that he would do anything in his power to get Peter out of prison and clear his name from a crime he hadn't committed.
He had no idea how he could achieve it yet, but he had to try; like father, like son. He owed it to Peter.
A/N2: Thanks for reading! If you have some time please leave a review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.