Rare though true love may be, it is less rare than true friendship.

~F Rochefoucauld

(Chapter 2)

Neal didn't remember what happened next. He woke up in June's on the small sofa in the foyer by the stairs. His eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, a faint light wafting in from the dining room as he slowly sat up and tried to think why he was here. He was forgetting something. Something very important.

"Neal?"

June's voice was soft but there was a hint of vulnerability there he hadn't heard before. He blinked at her uncertain of why she would look so sad.

"June? What's wrong? Why am I on the sofa. I..." He was trying to remember what he had been doing before his memory went blank. He had come home early. He had talked to Mozzie about that watch then he had spent about half an hour cleaning it only to find out it didn't work. His mind went hazy after that. June came and sat beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders and leaning his head on hers.

"It's ok, Neal. They said you had a great shock. We all did." She was sniffling now and he looked up to see tears rolling down her cheeks. He moved away enough to really look at her and then at a figure that approached the door to his right and knocked on it. June excused herself a moment, wiping at her eyes as she rose and walked over to answer the door. Neal just stayed where he was although he did stand up when he heard his name mentioned in whatever quiet conversation they were having. June looked back at him sadly if not worriedly before nodding and the figure stepped inside as his landlady locked the door again and they walked towards him. Neal squinted in the dim light to see who was approaching when they came close enough he could see. It was Reese Hughes.

"Sir?" Neal felt a kind of cold chill wash over him thinking he had done something wrong. Why would Reese be here unless he was in trouble or something had happened. Panic made his heart race and a cold sweat break out on his forehead. June seemed to sense his distress and had him sit but he refused as Hughes held up a hand to calm him.

"I'm not here to take you in or anything, Caffrey. Neal..." He had never used his first name before. Something was wrong. Maybe he should call Peter?

"We need to take your statement about what happened. I understand you were the last person to see him... alive." Hughes' voice shook, something that rarely happened and he could see a strained attempt at keeping his gruff exterior. Someone died? Who...

Neal suddenly had a flash of himself up in his apartment angry at Peter. The agent had tried to apologize and he had thrown his pity back at him and his apology. The agent had gone away looking anything but happy. Neal had been mad, his anger taking over a normally sensible person but he wasn't going to let the agent take advantage of him. Then he had heard the screech from below and the loud thud. He had run to the edge of the terrace to see what had happened and...

"Peter's dead." He said it slowly and deliberately, his voice barely a whisper. June still at his side helped him as he wavered where he stood and felt the world starting to fade out again. She made him sit and Hughes looked at him worriedly.

"Neal, I'm sorry. You can come in a few days. Give your statement. I... I'll talk to you then." Hughes hesitated a moment before nodding to June and showing himself out. Neal was shaking now, leaning on June but looking at her finally as he tried to realize what he had remembered. He could see Peter's body covered with a sheet and then he had blacked out.

"June..." He was looking at her with a desperate look and she nodded understanding.

"Elizabeth has already been informed. It's been a couple of hours since the incident. Her sister is with her. The paramedics brought you inside when you fainted. Oh, Neal!" She was hugging him tightly now as he lay his head on her shoulder and felt warm tears falling down his cheeks.

()()()

Neal was exhausted and empty. He had finally cried on June's shoulder but he didn't want to believe it. He had to be dreaming. This was some terrible nightmare he was having during a terrible night of sleeping on the anniversary of his girlfriend's death. No. This couldn't be real. He didn't want it to be real as he thought back to what happened. He didn't... why today? Why Peter? What happened?

He didn't bother closing the door as he entered his rooms on the top floor and shuffled listlessly across to close the terrace doors. It was chilly outside and he was already so cold inside from the day's events. He had barely closed the doors when he heard it. Neal turned to find the source of the sound, looking around tiredly without really trying but something about the sound made him curious. His first instinct made him look up at the wall but that clock didn't make any sound.

Neal blinked as his eyes stopped on the wardrobe near his bed. He walked towards the wooden structure, the sound getting louder although still muted from being inside something. He opened up a drawer and pulled out the tackle box of jeweler's tools till he pulled out the noisy item. It was the watch he'd found. It seemed to glitter in an odd manner the face almost shiny with sunlight he thought although the room was bathed in the dull glow of a nearby lamp. The light caught his eye and he thought he could see something glittering just beneath its surface. He drew it closer to his face to look seeing one of the pyrite gems seemingly glowing.

He must be tired he thought, walking from the wardrobe watch still in hand as he fiddled with the band. He opened and closed the stretchy band with his fingers as he paced the apartment like a man obsessed. It had to be a dream. Peter couldn't be dead! He was trying to wrap his mind around the idea when he heard his cell phone ring. He walked towards his jacket to pick it up, fumbling in the pocket till he found his cell and answered.

"Hel... lo?" He hadn't looked at the caller ID but from the sound of sniffling on the other end he knew who it was.

"El?" He could hear her breathing but she sounded so very upset and he gave her time to find her voice. Neal wasn't sure what to say in this situation, his own shock still so fresh.

"Ne... al?" Her voice cut off and he heard the call drop. He pulled it from his ear to see why but there was nothing there to say why. He started to dial it again when he felt a sudden pressure around his temples, his head throbbing with pain. Neal felt nauseated as he dropped the phone and ran for the bathroom. He knelt before the toilet and started to throw up, his chest and stomach hurting him. The shock had finally hit him hard and he let go until he couldn't throw up anymore and he collapsed back against the wall and slumped there. His ears were ringing as he sat there, voices talking to him one over the other as he tried to listen but couldn't when they all spoke at once.

I can't... I don't understand.

One at at time... can't hear you.

He closed his eyes and covered his ears to escape the noise when he heard a distinct voice call out to him. Neal concentrated on it and soon the headache and the rest of it started to fade till only that one voice was talking to him.

"Neal... Hey! I need to use the bathroom too. Neal?"

He stood up and looked around finding himself in a totally different place and in the shower naked. He tried to think how he had gotten here as he turned off the water and reached up a towel. It was in a familiar place and then it hit him.

"NEAL! I have to get ready. Open this door!"

The voice was feminine and very annoyed. He blinked, barely wrapping the towel around himself as he stepped out and walked to the forgotten but not so unfamiliar bathroom door to unlock it. He saw the knob turn and open to find a very angry Kate there. She glared up at him with mock irritation as she looked at his dripping form and the towel wrapped loosely around him. He suddenly got shy and tightened his cover grabbing a robe from behind the door as she stepped inside and grinned.

"Good morning, handsome. Why didn't you answer me?" She seemed more concerned than angry but just seeing her made him speechless as he gazed at her and tried to think what he should say. She sighed and moved to the sink to quickly spread out her makeup and other essentials. Kate had been fairly straight forward and neat like himself. He just watched her as he continued to drip a bit. She finally turned, hands on hips and gazed at him curiously.

"Neal... you're making a mess! Why are you looking at me? I thought you had somewhere to be. Mozzie called." She started to go on and on about something and suddenly he realized this had happened all before only...

"Neal are you listening to me? You need to call Mozzie. He said something about that bond thing you're doing. Don't give me any details till we're done and out of here. I need to start packing and get our passports." She was suddenly rushing out of the bathroom past him with a brief kiss. He just stared at her flustered and unable to move. This had to be some kind of dream if not weird hallucination. Wasn't he just at June's.

Who was June?

A part of him felt confused as he finally made a step out of the bathroom and quickly dried off. His mind was coming back into focus. Bonds. He was meeting the buyer today. Mozzie was checking out he details for him and he had to call back but...

"Neal, stop gawking and get ready." Kate was rushing past him again as she entered the bathroom and closed the door and he heard the water start to run. He shook his head as he dried it with the towel and finished drying the rest of him, quickly rushing across the loft to get his clothes. Mozz had promised him info about the buyer but he had to get there soon as he looked at the clock so he had no time to call.

Call... he had to call Mozzie. Neal finished putting on boxers, socks and was barely pulling his jeans when he grabbed up his cell and dialed the number. This felt different. He heard the ring tone as he pulled on a tee and pushed the phone back to his ear and started to button up his shirt around him. Finally he heard the click and someone answered.

"Bout time you called. I was about to give up on you. Don't go." Mozzie's tone was straight forward, crotchety and somewhat paranoid. Neal blinked, slipping on his shoes as he tucked in his tee and shirt one handed.

"What do you mean 'don't go?' Mozz... this is a big opportunity for me and Kate. We're running off the radar after this. Getting married." He was smiling at that last remark but he heard the sigh on the other end. Mozzie had never understood.

"Don't... do... this. Just don't. Trust me. I checked out the buyer. Something fishy and you know me and fish. Not good!" Mozzie was firm in his warning as Neal nodded at the cell and smiled as he saw Kate come out of the bathroom fresh and lovely looking her hair wrapped up in the towel.

"Ok Mozzie. I'll listen this once but you need to tell me where I can get this money. Ok? I need it." Neal heard his friend give a grunt and they hung up. Kate was looking at him curiously as he walked over and lifted her up into a hug.

"Neal! What are you doing? Why are you so happy? Who was that?" She was looking at his cell on the bed and then at him. He shook his head.

"Nothing at all. Let's just go. You wanted to do that so let's just do it! I don't need this job. We'll just go!" He suddenly felt excited and free. She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"But you said you needed to do this. Your last big job. Are you sure?" She was looking at him for something and he just nodded, smiling. Kate seemed relieved by that fact her lips curving into a smile of her own as she reached up and kissed him.

"Well, I guess I should get ready then. I had expected to have a little more time but if we're going..." She winked at him as she started towards her own small wardrobe and started to pull out clothes. Neal moved towards a small bag on the floor, a brown messenger bag and slung it across his chest. Kate turned to look at him curiously.

"I just need to get rid of these items and then I'll be right back." He was smiling at her but she shook her head as she quickly threw on clothes and started to slip on her socks and shoes.

"I'll go with you. We can have some coffee or something and then come back for our things now that we have time." She was smiling broadly as Neal nodded and waited for her. Kate was finished in no time, grabbing up her handbag as they headed out of the loft.

()()()

They had a great afternoon, walking through the park flirting when Neal turned to run away from Kate teasingly. He barely moved three feet when he knocked into someone, the messenger bag around his chest falling to the ground with him and the person he had run into. He was confused at first then he saw Kate's look, her face ashen and pale. She held a hand to her mouth just gazing down at Neal initially then at the person he had run into.

"Neal..." She whispered in a frightened tone. He turned to see who he had crashed into and found himself face to face with a scary yet familiar figure.

"Can't even walk in the park without bumping into some... Caffrey? Neal Caffrey?" The man looked at him with a look of surprise that soon turned to bemusement. It was Agent Peter Burke, the man who had been chasing him. Neal was frozen where he had fallen looking at the man who sat beside him on the ground. The agent was grinning.

"Just the person I was looking for and... hmmm looks like you dropped something. What is this?" Agent Burke's hand picked up a paper that had fallen from the now open messenger bag. Neal's eyes widened as he realized what it was. No... they were going to be free. He was going to be with Kate. This couldn't be happening.

"Neal Caffrey, you have the right to remain silent..." The agent was reading him his Miranda Rights as he started to stand and brush himself off, hand reaching behind him under his beige coat. The agent drew out a pair of handcuffs as he reached a hand down to help Neal up. The con shook his head.

No... this wasn't way it was supposed to be. He had stopped the deal. He wasn't selling them. He was destroying the bonds!

He turned to look at Kate who looked absolutely terrified as she just stood there shaking and trembling. He saw another plain clothed agent come up behind her but couldn't say anything before he saw Kate's hands pulled behind her and she was being read her rights. Neal couldn't move as he listened to the litany of rights read to them both.

It never happened like this. He... Kate hadn't been arrested. She had been somewhere else. It wasn't like this! Neal kept shaking his head as the voices of the agents grew in volume although he could hear Peter's most of all.

"...if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you..."

Neal covered his ears and cried out just before everything went black.

()()()

"Neal? Neal?"

Someone was talking to him but he was too far gone to know who until the pounding in his head stopped and he felt hands holding him as he sat on the floor. Floor?

Neal looked around and found himself back in the bathroom at June's with his landlady kneeling beside him. She looked worried. He looked up at her and sighed. It had been a dream.

"June?" He just looked at her confused till she helped him up and he followed her to the sink where she helped him clean up and then back out into the main room.

"Just rest. Change and I'll be back with something warm to drink." She didn't look so good herself as he watched leave him, the door still partially open. He did as she asked, slowly undressing and seeing his pajamas already on the bed. June had probably been there a while then. He sighed trying to make sense of things as he pulled off his shirt and the right sleeve snagged on something. He looked to see that the gold watch was on his wrist. He glanced at it curiously, slipping out of his pants and pulling on his pajama bottoms. The time piece glittered oddly at him but not as it had before his hallucination. He looked at the face to find that something had changed.

"Neal, you decent?" June's voice came from the door and he quickly pulled a tee over his head and nodded as he answered.

"Yes, come in June." He was still in shock as he tried to think of what had happened and felt the tears begin to well up in eyes again. Peter was really gone. He sniffed loudly as he felt arms surround him and June was sitting with him on the edge of the bed.

"It's ok, Neal. Just let it out."

()()()

He woke up some hours later in bed. Neal could only just recall June talking to him, soothing him, her own tears and sadness evident before he lay back in bed and she tucked him in as if he were her own child. It felt good, reminding him of an earlier time in his life. If things had been different maybe... maybe he would have taken a different route. He would have never met Kate or Mozzie and definitely not Wilkes or Keller.

Wilkes...

The man had been a brute to say the least, coming from the mean streets of Detroit and New York. He was a mean person with little capacity for mercy. If you did him wrong, you were pretty much a dead man. Neal remembered meeting up with him at a bad time in his life when he had been desperate for cash.

Neal sat up, pulling aside the blankets and turning on the bedside lamp. He rose quietly and padded across the cold wooden floor boards of his apartment to the bathroom. When he was done he came back into the main room to the kitchenette and poured himself a glass of water.

There was frost on the windows when he looked at the terrace doors, opening up the curtains when he walked over to stare out through the icy panes. It was cold for this time of year but it was cooler yet in his heart knowing his friend and partner was gone. He gave a deep heart sick sigh that seemed to take everything from him as he hobbled back over to the bed and sat down. He opened the drawer on the nightstand and pulled out the glittering object within.

The timepiece actually seemed to glow from within, another pyrite crystal shimmering. He stared at the small animated sun and night as it moved to night suddenly. Neal blinked thinking he must be dreaming when he felt the urge to place the watch around his wrist. There was a kind of tingling feeling, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end in response to whatever was happening. He felt sick again as he had earlier but this time it was less intense with his head hurting more than anything. Still, he couldn't stay upright, slipping from the bed down to the floor as he felt a sudden weakness. Neal didn't understand why but he closed his eyes as he was once again assaulted by pain and voices.

We could have been good together...

It was Wilkes' voice he heard, Neal trying to open his eyes but unable to. The man sounded pissed off and he knew why. Neal didn't want to fight anymore so he let the pain take over and passed out.

()()()

Neal was barely twenty-one but he was a smart twenty-one year old. He was good at what he did even without a high school diploma. He was excellent at one of the oldest professions in the world: thieving. It was while doing this he came across Ryan Wilkes. They worked a few times together but Neal wasn't happy with what Wilkes was doing. He intended to fix that.

He found a small club mid-town he wanted to enter, using his verbal gifts to extract enough info off a regular to get in with her without her knowledge. The bouncer let him in, a big fellow with a not so nice attitude and Neal found himself in Club Excelsior mingling with the big dogs. This was a place to be if you wanted to pick pockets of other thieves, the rich or wanted to duck into the back and find out what was underground. It was basically a nightclub that fronted for an illegal gambling house among other things. Neal had researched it thoroughly and knew they had to have some big money in here hidden away. He was determined to get to it.

Neal ducked into the men's room, waited for the place to clear then quickly climbed up on a toilet, unscrewed the vent over the stall and was inside in a heartbeat, grate pulled up behind him. He had studied the plans and it had given him enough info on the place to get in and out quickly. He just had to go down a few dusty ducts to get to the room he wanted and he was light and skinny enough to make it through the ventilation system to get there.

He paused before a vent when he heard voices, listening to get a gist of the conversation.

"I told you before what would happen if you conned me, Parks. I appreciate the work you've done for me but our partnership ends here."

The voice was smooth but unrelenting in it's tone, Neal recognizing Wilkes voice. Then he jumped, the sound of a gun going off scaring him as he covered his mouth. The figures outside and below the vent moved around quickly, two of them picking up a limp form and carrying them away. The man who spoke remained, putting the gun back in his desk.

"So glad I had that soundproofing put in here."

Neal wanted as far away from here as he wanted but the man kept speaking to himself and the young con was still too scared to move.

"Now if I could find another good shooter for this job. Parks will be hard to replace."

He listened to the man taking in all the information out of habit before his mind came back to him and he realized he needed to get out of there. He shuffled quietly but quickly towards the destination. He was going to have to do this fast.

Neal dropped into the room through the now open grate, putting it back as if it had never been opened. He knew the owners weren't too worried about thieves so there were no cameras, only an alarm on the door to the room itself which meant the vent was free of detection. Shame on them for leaving him such a nice opening. He smiled, pulling out his kit as he started on the safe before him. It was a small one but hefty none the less. This was simple snatch and grab once he had the safe open and had filled his pockets with the cash. Wilkes would never know what hit him much less the people who owned this place. He hoped this would prevent the plans of said people since the money was for such an event and he couldn't let anyone get hurt.

He was done. Closing up the vault and moving back over to the vent to get back in when the door to the room beeped, opened and the sound of clapping could be heard. Neal turned to see Wilkes standing there and along with him the dead Parks.

"Bravo, Caffrey. I honestly loved watching you crawling through the ducts. You're a regular snake slithering through those dusty pipes. I never though you had it in you but I guess you did. Thank you for telling me about this Parks. You're my number one again and since we're going to need a new safe cracker soon, call that brother-in-law of yours. I think we have an opening."

Wilkes voice was cold, but not as cold as the metal suddenly in his hands. Neal froze wondering how he had been trapped. Parks had known about the heist but how? Neal had told nobody about this and the man with the plans wasn't a player. His jacket was taken as two men emptied out his pockets and held him firm. Wilkes grinned evilly.

"You're wondering how I caught you, Caffrey? Park's brother-in-law knew the architect who made his place. Johnson. Ring a bell?"

Neal cursed realizing he'd been set up from the start. Wilkes must have known about him wanting to stop the job he planned. This felt wrong. It felt like something had gone wrong and he shouldn't be here. He should have escaped. He had...

"It was nice knowing you Caffrey but this is where our partnership ends. No hard feelings?"

He waited for the bullet to hit him when there was an ruckus from the main area outside the door. Neal watched Wilkes turn with an annoyed glance sending his men to check it out.

"FBI! THIS IS A RAID!"

The voices carried across the hall and into the small room. Wilkes glared at the younger man.

"I wouldn't doubt this was part of your doing. Watch him!" He left the gun with Parks who held it steadily on Neal as Wilkes ran out to see what was up. Several minutes passed and Wilkes hadn't returned, Neal looking for an opportunity to escape.

"Figures. Leaving you to get caught while he runs away. You know he has a back door nobody knows about." Neal said it casually as he saw Parks perk up but look at him suspiciously. When he didn't say anything else the shooter looked at him again and spoke.

"Back door? What back door?"

They could still hear voices in the background but coming closer now. Parks looked nervous as he listened, Neal taking the chance and moving a bit closer as if being confidential.

"He showed me once. It's in that small storage room where he keeps the extra supplies for the club. Behind the left shelf." Neal was lying through his teeth but he could see the gears behind Parks eyes starting to roll through as if he believed him.

"Show me!"

Parks waved the gun at him so Neal was stuck with his lie and when Wilkes got back, if he got back... they were both dead men for good even in Parks didn't know anything. Neal nodded and led the way although a bit reluctantly, gun shoved in his back.

"FREEZE!"

Neal stopped turning ever so slightly when he felt Parks pull the gun from his back and turn. There was an agent there, someone he felt was familiar but shouldn't... didn't know. But they were familiar even under the protective gear.

"Drop the gun! Slowly turn around and put your hands on your head."

The agent although older than him was obviously giving Parks an out but the man didn't want it, raising the gun and pointing it at Neal.

"You lied about that exit. This is YOUR fault! Wilkes was right about you..." Parks started to pull the trigger back when there was a report. He felt something hot hit his shoulder as he fell back against the wall. There was a second report and he watched Parks falter then drop the gun and collapsed to the floor. Neal slid to the floor as the pain hit him, his shoulder aching. He started to pass out but someone was shaking him, gently working to keep him alert.

"Hey... Buddy. You ok? We need a medic here stat! Geesh, you're just a kid. Hey... stay with me. Wake up. Someone help me with him."

The man was helping him, putting pressure on the wound with his hand to stop the bleeding. Neal felt spacey from the pain but those brown eyes kept staring into his. Something familiar there but this wasn't how he remembered it. Different...

"My name is Peter. What's yours? Where's that medic?"

The man sounded worried, continuing to comfort him as he tried to stay awake.

"Ne..." He couldn't keep his eyes open, body relaxing as the pain and blood loss overcame him. His last thoughts were of those brown eyes.

"He's crashing! Over here! Hurry!"

He heard the man's voice as he passed out into darkness. The voice comforted him despite the fact he was an agent. There was something oddly familiar about it.

oOoOoOo

Author's Note: I wasn't going to use quotes but while writing the first chapter I found that quote in the chocolates I bought. So this one has another fitting quote from same said chocolates. Hoping for a 3rd significant quote in the same box. :D Thanks for reading!