Written after watching Countdown. Crossposted to AO3.
Caffrey took a deep breathe. "Put me back in jail."
Hughes raised an eyebrow and gestured to the chair in front of him. "Have a seat, Caffrey."
Peter looked around. "Where's Caffrey?"
"Caffrey's in jail," Diana told him brusquely.
There were a few muttered whispers of "back where he belongs," before Peter's glare shut them up. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this? He's in my charge, why wasn't I told?"
"Because he came to me." Hughes stood in the doorway. "Peter, with me."
"Why should I be putting you back in prison? You two have the best closure rate in the Bureau." Hughes leaned back in his chair, curious to see where this was going.
Caffrey sat down on the other side of the desk, expression uncharacteristically serious. "With respect sir, we don't. Not anymore."
That was true. Ever since Elizabeth had been rescued the two of them had been off their game, barely above average. Peter was angry with Caffrey, and the whole office had picked up on it. Still, there had to be more to it than that. "Alright, Caffrey, what's this really about?"
They were no sooner in the office that Peter turned on Hughes. "Why was Neal sent to prison without me knowing? I'm his partner, I should have been alerted he was arrested. What did he do?"
Hughes held up a hand. He took a moment to settle behind his desk, leaving Peter still standing on the other side. "You weren't alerted, Agent, because Neal wasn't arrested."
"What?" Peter's tone was pure confusion. Maybe all hope wasn't lost yet.
"Peter," he looked Peter straight in the eyes. "Would you like to tell me why your CI walked in to my office last night and asked me to send him back to prison?"
Caffrey flashed a charming smile. "That's all there is to it. I'm not the best anymore, I've had enough."
"So this is nothing to do with Agent Burke? Or how your desk seems to be piled with three times as much paperwork as you've been assigned?"
"No, sir." The smile never wavered. Hughes hadn't really expected it to.
Peter sank into the other chair, looking like he'd been socked in the stomach. "Neal did that?"
"Yes, he did. Is there something I need to know, Agent Burke?"
Peter rubbed his hand over his face. "Neal's made some stupid mistakes, sir, but so have I. Neal doesn't deserve to go to prison for his."
"Why don't you go tell him that?" He turned the screen around, showing it to Peter. "You've got the rest of the day off. Now go."
Hughes made his decision. "Go home, Caffrey. You're on house arrest for the rest of the week until I decide. And Caffrey?"
Neal looked back, already out of his chair and at the door.
"I'll have your tracking data up on my screen all day, so don't try anything."
The next morning, Peter and Neal walked into the White Collar division together, laughing over a shared joke. Hughes leant back in his chair, satisfied. He wouldn't be needing that prisoner return form after all.