Chapter 2
'Sach! Sach!' Hope shrieked as she frolicked around the Burke living room, chasing after Satchmo's tail, by all appearances, one of her favorite activities as of late.
'Woah, woah there, sweet pea' Neal said as he intercepted her mid flight, lifting her up over his head and tickling her as she roared with laughter.
'Poppa!' she screamed, unable to hold back the giggles.
'Not his tail, baby, that hurts Satchmo' Neal explained as he set her down on his hip, Hope squirming in the hopes of returning to torturing the poor, helpless dog.
'It's time to eat, let's go see what's for dinner' he added as he carried her over to the waiting guests.
Elizabeth Burke couldn't pass up an occasion to host a dinner party and she'd invited a small group of close friends to share in celebrating the Caffreys' first wedding anniversary; the fact that their actual anniversary date had been the previous weekend didn't faze her in the least - a party was a party, after all.
Neal watched as Peter surreptitiously moved Hope's highchair from where it sat next to Sara over to the other side of the table next to his own chair; he was about as subtle as a train wreck in his efforts to have her sitting next to him at mealtimes. Neal gave Peter an exasperated look as he handed his daughter over to her godfather who gladly placed the child in her seat.
'You're not going to get much eating done with her sitting next to you' Neal warned as he took his place between Sara and Diana.
'That's okay, isn't it Hope?' Peter sang, his voice childlike as he strapped her into the highchair, cooing at the grinning child.
Diana and Christie exchanged amused looks; watching Peter Burke morph into a bowl of mush in the presence of his goddaughter was definitely an entertaining sight. Mozzie, on the other hand, had already tucked into the delicious meal Elizabeth had served her guests.
'You've really outdone yourself, Mrs. Suit' he said as he took a bite of the lactose free lasagna Elizabeth had prepared just for him.
'I'm glad you like it Moz' she smiled in satisfaction, her hand on his.
Elizabeth glanced over in Hope's direction; she was already making a mess of the plate of food Peter had placed in front of her. 'What a difference a year makes, huh?'
'Tell me about it!' Sara said, watching in horror as her daughter plunged her tiny hand into her lasagna and proceeded to reach over and place a fistful of food into her uncle Peter's willing mouth.
'Hope!' Neal called out as she looked up, surprised at the sound of her dad's voice. 'You need to use your spoon.'
'It's fine!' Peter said as he licked her tiny fingers, Hope's face alight at all the attention she was getting.
'Ohs! Ohs!' the dark haired child cried out as she pointed towards the kitchen.
'You want some Cheerios?' Peter asked, pleased as punch that he was part of the exclusive club of adults who could decode Hope's shorthand.
He pushed his chair back, preparing to get up and retrieve what his little princess had requested. 'Peter! Please don't!' Sara said firmly. 'She needs to eat what's in front of her... like the rest of us.'
'Peter, you've got to stop spoiling her like that. You're making us look like the bad guys' Neal complained as Elizabeth and Sara exchanged knowing glances.
'I hate to state the obvious, Neal' Peter said smugly, his eyes glued to his goddaughter. '...but you've always been the bad guy.'
'Cute Peter, real cute' Neal added as he shook his head, giving up on making his best friend see sense.
'So, how are things over at White Collar?' asked Mozzie, changing the subject.
Peter eyed him suspiciously. 'Wouldn't you like to know.'
Although Mozzie had been of assistance to the Bureau on occasion, Peter still treated him with a healthy dose of skepticism, always unsure as to the bespectacled man's true motivations.
'Just trying to make conversation, Suit' said Mozzie with mock hurt.
'Well, we've just started work on a new case' Neal volunteered, between bites. 'We're looking into a pharmaceutical company that might be holding back on some cancer drugs so they can drive up the price.'
'What kind of scumbag does something like that?' asked Mozzie, incensed.
Mozzie had no trouble working in gray areas when it came to fencing art or running confidence schemes but even he drew the line at crimes that impacted directly on innocent people's lives – especially when it came to children. Truth be told, those gray areas in which Mozzie operated were more of an nuisance than anything else for Peter and the White Collar team.
'The kind that are trying to make money off of poor, innocent, vulnerable people' Peter answered curtly.
'Don't worry Mozzie' Diana interjected. 'We'll get to the bottom of it.'
Dessert was served – chocolate cheesecake adorned with the cake topping from Neal and Sara's wedding cake: a bride holding a baton arm in arm with a groom in a tracking anklet. Everybody broke out into applause as Elizabeth placed the cake on the table, recalling the wedding they'd all attended a year before in June's beautiful home.
A lot had changed since then, not the least of which was apparent when they looked at Hope. Just a year ago, she'd been a three month old infant, sleeping through the wedding dinner, blissfully oblivious as she snoozed in her baby carrier between her happy parents. Since then, she had turned into hell on wheels as she continued to develop into a happy and well adjusted toddler.
Moving to suburbia had been another major change for the urban newlyweds who had so loved the stimulating arts and culture scene of Manhattan. If you had told Neal when he was released from prison that this was the life he would be living, he would never have believed it and yet he loved his life, his wife, his daughter, their home.
He glanced around at his extended family - he knew that, in a pinch, he could count on every single person sitting around the table to have his back and he wondered how he'd ever gotten so lucky. He watched as Peter fed his daughter a bite of cheesecake, Hope grinning from ear to ear and he shook his head, glancing at Sara who was arguing with Mozzie about something or other, the chatter growing louder as everyone got in on the act.
Organized chaos; he wouldn't want things any other way.
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'Doesn't Mommy look pretty?' Neal asked as Hope teetered on his hip, reaching out for her mom's arms.
'Come here, sweetheart' Sara said as she took her from Neal, giving her a kiss and a hug. 'You have a good day with Daddy and I'll see you at dinner.'
Hope whined momentarily as Sara set her down, instantly grabbing on to Neal's pant leg as the couple wished each other a good day.
'Chicken okay for dinner?' Neal asked as he kissed his wife.
'Yeah, sure. Oh, and don't forget to pick up the dry cleaning' she added.
'Got it' Neal answered as he waved her off.
Staying home with Hope definitely had its perks. It meant he could be with his daughter most days, spending countless hours reading to her, taking her to the park, enjoying some of her favorite activities and just plain sharing her stimulating company.
But there were days when he envied Sara as he watched her leave the house wearing her high end business suits and four inch heels. A part of him missed putting on a suit and tie every day and heading off to the office to talk to grownups about things that didn't revolve around Franklin the turtle or Bert and Ernie.
His reputation as an art connoisseur had made the rounds and he was called in sporadically by insurance companies to weigh in on recovered pieces, something that was both stimulating and lucrative but hadn't materialized into anything permanent – which was just fine with him, at least for the time being.
Most days, he was just thankful for the time to regroup and properly plan for his future. Having a baby hadn't even been on his radar two years before but fate had intervened and Neal was thankful that Sara's job could afford them a decent lifestyle – at least until Hope was old enough and he could resume working full-time at... what, he didn't know. Almost a year off anklet, he was still coming to terms with being a free man in every sense of the world. The people he interacted with on a daily basis – the moms and dads at the park, the butcher, the dry cleaner, the neighbors – no one had any idea of his sordid past and that suited him just fine.
'Poppa!' Hope called out insistently as Neal looked down at his beautiful daughter, her arms reaching up for him.
'Hey sweet pea! You want to go sit on your potty?' he asked excitedly as he swept her up.
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Sara Ellis arrived at the medical clinic at the appointed time for her follow-up visit with Dr. Cooper. To be honest, she thought the whole thing was a royal pain in the ass; she had a meeting scheduled back at the office at 2:00 and she still had mountains of paperwork to do on her last recovery. Her appointment was scheduled for 11:45 but Dr. Cooper's receptionist had announced to the overflowing waiting room that the good doctor was running late; she'd been called in to deliver a baby and she was slowly making her way back the clinic.
Sara cooled her heels in the waiting room, taking in the many women in various stages of pregnancy, her mind on work and the upcoming conference she'd be attending in Boston in July. This was definitely the last place she wanted to be and she glanced at her watch impatiently once again, trying hard to play the role of 'patient' patient which she most definitely was not. By the time Sara's name was called, it was nearly 1:15 and she was starting to get pissed off; she'd been just about to call it quits and head back to her office when she'd heard her name.
'Sorry about the wait' said Dr. Cooper as she joined Sara in her office 'A little boy, well not so little – over nine pounds.'
'Oh my!' said Sara thinking back momentarily to Hope's birth.
'Sara, I haven't been able to see what I need to see with this ultra sound. That mass on your left ovary isn't unusual or worrisome per se but...I do want to explore further and make sure it's benign. The best way to do that is to have a pelvic CT scan' she explained, shuffling papers in front of her on her desk.
'You're kidding' Sara said, deadpan. This whole thing was turning into such a nuisance.
'I'm afraid it's a necessary evil especially with you trying to get pregnant. This could be a factor in whether you're successful or not' added Dr. Cooper as she took her glasses off to look at Sara.
'We can get you in this Friday first thing in the morning at White Plains Hospital, near your home. With any luck, you could be in and out of there within an hour' she explained.
'Great!' said Sara sarcastically, her usual acerbic wit firmly in place. 'Alright' she added reluctantly, shaking her head.
She left the doctor's office, teetering on her stiletto heels as she ran for a cab to get back to the office; there was lots to do back at Sterling Bosch.
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'Well, what does that mean?' Neal asked as they sat across from each other at the kitchen table, Hope nestled in between them, exploring her mashed potatoes with her tiny hands.
'I don't know. It's just... standard procedure, apparently' Sara answered between bites of the delicious chicken Neal had just served her.
'But what did she say, exactly?' Neal pressed. A pelvic CT scan sounded more than just 'standard procedure' to him.
'Neal, really!' Sara answered, cutting him off. 'She said it was nothing to worry about. I shouldn't even have told you...' she continued, a twinge of impatience to her voice.
'Oh, 'cause now we're keeping secrets from each other?' Neal said, irate, not yet ready to let go of the subject.
Sara raised her eyebrows and let out an impatient sigh. 'Really Neal? You want to go there?' she asked rhetorically, thinking back to the hushed conversation she'd walked in on between Mozzie and Neal just the day before.
'That's different' Neal stuttered. 'That's just... me helping Moz out. It's got nothing to do with us.'
'Neal, it's fine' she said, bringing a definitive end to the discussion by quickly changing the subject. 'Did you book us a room for the weekend?'
Neal picked up his fork and resumed eating; Sara had decided the subject was closed and he knew better than to keep pushing.
'I did!' he said, turning towards Hope and feeding her a bite of broccoli, watching as she immediately spit it back out. 'We are going on a little getaway' he said, capturing her attention with his animated voice. '...and you can play at the theme park and we can do some shopping' he said as he tried again with another bite, this time getting it past her stubborn lips.
Hope looked over at her mom – now there was a word she'd heard before - shopping. She equated it with Sara and the child looked up to see the inevitable smile on her mommy's face at the mention of hitting the stores.
'Lake George, here we come!' Sara said, her voice excited.
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Now, there was a time when hitting outlet stores and wandering around a children's theme park wouldn't have even registered on Sara Ellis' top two hundred things to do but that had all changed. She sat in the waiting room at White Plains Hospital on Friday morning thinking ahead to the wonderful weekend they had planned. They were calling for perfect weather and Neal had suggested they go away for a couple of nights just to get out of New York City and give Hope a chance to explore something new and exciting.
Somehow, imagining Hope shrieking with joy as she sat on a carousel with Neal by her side had replaced eating out at a five star restaurant as one of Sara's favorite things. It was unclear when the change had taken place but the metamorphosis was now complete and watching their daughter have a good time had now become a favorite pastime for both Sara and Neal.
By nine thirty, she was back at her desk at Sterling Bosh, a cup of coffee in hand and the painless CT scan all but forgotten. She glanced out her office window at the beautiful early summer day – sunny and warm without any of the humidity that plagued New York in late July and August. Work had been her only passion for so many years, occupying every single moment of every single day but now, her mind wandered to Neal and Hope and the time they would be spending together away from the big city. Sara was no longer the single-minded, driven career woman she had once been. She was still dedicated to her job and she remained an invaluable asset to Sterling Bosch but her life was about more than work and after years of putting in 14 hour days, she looked forward to making it home to one of Neal's home cooked meals every night.
By 4:30, she'd changed out of her work clothes and she was standing on the sidewalk in front of the Sterling Bosch offices when she spotted Neal drive up in their suburban SUV.
'Hey!' she called out as she opened the car door. 'Right on time.'
The three hour drive stretched into over four and a half hours as they fought the traffic out of Manhattan but thankfully, Hope sat in her car seat, patiently watching the world go by between cat naps and munching on the healthy snacks Neal had packed in the cooler by Sara's feet.
'So, how did it go at the hospital this morning?' Neal asked as they finally hit the interstate.
'Fine. Took about ten minutes and I was out of there' Sara responded, hoping this would be the last conversation they'd have on the topic. Truth be told, she didn't have time to waste on doctors' appointments and medical tests; she was too busy living her life.
'Are they going to call you with the results?' Neal asked, looking over his shoulder to make a lane change.
'I suppose...' Sara answered as Hope cried out from the back seat.
'More!' she said asking for another cube of cheddar cheese Sara was doling out, one by one.
'More... please' Sara corrected as she turned to face her daughter.
Hope giggled as she made some attempt at the word 'please' which sounded an awful lot like 'cheese' and Neal and Sara exchanged amused glances as they continued down the open road.
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By Monday morning, their wonderful weekend escape was a mere memory as Sara found herself once again back at her desk, preparing for her weekly staff meeting. The getaway had done them all a world of good; Hope had enjoyed discovering the kiddie rides at the theme park and Sara and Neal had had a blast chomping down on forbidden junk food as they'd strolled around the amusement park with Hope sound asleep in her stroller. She smiled as she thought back to the three of them in the hotel's king size bed, Hope snuggled between them as they'd watched her sleep the sleep of the innocents, Neal gazing longingly at his wife, resigned to the fact that he would not be putting any moves on her until they got back home.
Life didn't get much better than this, she thought as she gathered up her papers for her meeting.
The phone rang and Sara hesitated for a brief instant before picking up to answer the call from a number she didn't recognize.
'Hi, Mrs Caffrey' said the woman on the other end. 'It's Dr. Cooper's office. Dr. Cooper was wondering if you could come by later today. She's gotten the results of your latest test. She could see you at 5:00.'
'At 5:00?' Sara whined. She had lots to do and making an unscheduled trip to the doctor's office had not been on the agenda. 'What about later this week?' she asked, bringing up her weekly schedule on her computer screen.
'Dr. Cooper would really like it to be today' insisted the receptionist.
'Fine. I'll be there' Sara answered with an audible sigh.
She hung up the phone, staring at it for a few seconds; this couldn't be good news and yet...
'Sara...' her assistant said, poking her head in her office. 'They're waiting for you in the conference room.'
Grabbing her things, Sara shook off the uneasy feeling and headed out to meet her team.
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Neal watched as Hope sat in the sandbox next to a cute little blond girl who looked to be about her age. He'd noticed the child on a couple of occasions when they'd visited the park and whenever she saw her, Hope always ran towards the little girl, greeting her with a shriek of joy.
'Is that your daughter?' Neal asked the slim woman who sat next to him on the park bench.
'Yes' said the woman, smiling fondly at the two toddlers. 'It looks like our girls have really hit it off.'
Neal glanced at the giggling toddlers as they filled their pails with sand and patted them down with their shovels.
'I'm Neal... Neal Caffrey' he said, putting out his hand. 'We live over on Meadowbrook.'
'Donna Mason' the woman said with a smile. 'So do we. We're at 4802.'
'Really?' Neal said. 'We're just a few doors down at 4788.'
'Oh, the old Morrison place' Donna said knowingly. 'You've got a lovely garden in the back yard.'
'I'm discovering that...' Neal admitted. 'My wife and I are both big city people but we're enjoying having a backyard for our daughter to play in.'
'I hear you' said the woman. 'Jeff and I - that's my husband - we lived in downtown Denver before he was transferred here for his job two years ago. But, it grows on you...'
Neal smiled at the woman, instantly liking her easygoing nature.
'I think I might have seen your wife around at the grocery store' she continued. 'Tall, redhead... really pretty?'
'That would be Sara' Neal said with pride. Having a beautiful woman as his wife never hurt a vain guy like Neal Caffrey.
His phone vibrated in his shirt pocket and he took it out, glancing at Sara's face and showing it to Donna. 'Speak of the devil' he said as he read her text.
'Be home a little later. Dr. Cooper wants to see me at five' she wrote.
Neal frowned as he read; this latest wrinkle wasn't sitting well with him and he typed in his response. 'I can meet you there.'
'I'm good' she answered curtly not leaving him much leeway to contradict her.
He let out a sigh, unsure what to do. Sara was stubborn and she wouldn't react well to him just showing up at the medical clinic uninvited and yet...
'Love you' he wrote back.
She responded with a smiley face emoticon putting an end to the exchange as Neal turned his attention back to Donna Mason.
'So, what's your daughter's name?' he asked, shaking off his uneasiness at the exchange of texts he'd just had with his wife.
'Olivia, you?'
'Hope' Neal responded as the girls giggled. 'I think this could be the beginning of a great friendship.'
TBC
