Chapter 3

Mozzie took his job very seriously when it came to being a loving uncle to Neal and Sara's children. He had been the first to be surprised when Neal asked him to be Liam's godfather almost two years ago but he had been thrilled to be trusted with that all important responsibility and he truly enjoyed spending time with the toddler whenever he could. It had been Sara's idea originally and she had insisted that Mozzie was just the right person to watch over their newborn son – their miracle baby.

Over the years, the trust factor between Sara and Mozzie had continued to grow and they had finally arrived at an understanding: Mozzie knowing that Sara would never stand between him and Neal and Sara certain that Mozzie would never ask Neal to do anything that would endanger his family. This arrangement suited them both just fine and Neal was thankful that two of the most important people in his life had learned to live in harmony.

It hadn't always been that way. In the early years, Sara and Mozzie had argued constantly as the older man tried everything to keep the couple apart and disrupt their intimacy. If he was honest with himself, he would have to admit it was purely a case of jealousy; Neal's attention was turned towards Sara and her feminine wiles and this did not sit well with Mozzie in the least. The truth was that Mozzie didn't want to share Neal with anyone and he was convinced that neither one of them could ever be happy living a conventional life.

When Sara got pregnant with Hope and started living at June's, Mozzie had begun to see the transformation in Neal as his excitement grew in direct proportion to Sara's belly at the prospect of becoming a dad. After that, he and Sara had had a serious heart to heart, at Neal's urging, and had found a way to co-exist in Neal's world for the greater good.

Now, the conman was an integral member of the Caffrey family and was welcome into their home whenever he felt the urge to visit, which was frequently.

The front door opened and Mozzie waltzed in going straight to the back of the house where he could hear Hope and her little friend giggling as they played.

'Uncle Mozzie!' Hope called out as she spotted him, running to give him a big hug

'Hope!' he responded, hugging her back

Sara looked up briefly from her computer screen at the kitchen table and gave him a fleeting hand wave as Mozzie proceeded to follow Hope into the family room where she and Olivia had set up to play.

'Oh, wow vintage Barbie!' Mozzie exclaimed as he picked up the doll and began examining her. 'And Midge! And Skipper! Where did you get these?'

'Mommy bought them at a garage sale' said Hope, seemingly unaware that these dolls were anything other than just... dolls

'These are worth a fortune!' Mozzie continued excitedly as he scrutinized each one, realizing they were circa 1955 originals – but then again, nothing of value escaped Mozzie's eagle eye.

'Forget it Mozzie, I know what you're thinking' said Sara as she began to tune in to their discussion

'I'm just saying...' he began

'I know what you're just saying' she responded, cutting him off 'Do you want a glass of wine?'

'Yeah, sure. Actually, I came over to see if I could take Liam out for a while. It's cold but gorgeous out there and I thought I could take him for a walk and pull him on that sleigh Neal bought for him'

'That sounds nice, Mozzie. He'll probably be up from his nap in the next half hour or so' said Sara, standing to get her guest the promised glass of wine

'So where's Boy Wonder?' asked Mozzie

'He's out having lunch with Peter. He should be home any minute' Sara answered

She looked up at Mozzie and realized he was waiting for something...

'What?' she asked, staring at him 'Moz, do you want to stay for dinner?' she finally asked to which Mozzie nodded enthusiastically with a huge smile on his face

WCWCWC

The building at West 48th and Pearl that housed the offices of Finch and Johns was virtually empty on this Sunday afternoon as Matthew Keller made his way to the fortieth floor. He had been casing the joint for about a week and knew exactly where his old friend's office was located and he made his way quietly and without incident.

What was Caffrey trying to prove anyway; he was still a two bit criminal just like him - even if he was masquerading as a family man and law abiding citizen. He didn't deserve all this – a beautiful wife and kids, a great job, a house in suburbia. He had grown up just like Keller had; with no one to watch over him and left to his own devices. Why should he have this terrific life when Keller had to go begging from job to job just to get by? Neal owed him and Keller had just the way to get Neal to make amends for leaving him high and dry all those years ago.

He made his way to Neal's desk and sat behind it looking around at the plush offices. Turning on his computer, he glanced at the picture on Neal's desktop: there she was, the beautiful Miss Ellis and two carbon copies of the two of them all smiling at the camera like they all deserved to be happy. He easily made his way into Neal's e-mail account and within minutes he had cracked his password and was finishing up what he had come to do.

He smirked as he walked away – who's smug now, he thought.

WCWCWC

Meanwhile, back on Meadowbrook Street in White Plains, scenes of sweet domesticity were playing out. Neal sat at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee and keeping an eye on his daughter who was busy finishing up her homework. Sara had taken Liam over to June's for a visit and the house was unusually quiet as the child sat with her backpack on the table, various books and papers spread out around her.

'Daddy, it's not fair. Liam gets to go out and visit Grandma June and I have to sit here and finish my stupid homework' she complained as she put the tip of her pencil between her teeth – as she had seen her dad do so many times before.

'Well, that's how life is when you're almost seven years old. You have certain responsibilities' said Neal, holding back a grin at his own response

'You can choose to get your homework done now and we can all watch a movie tonight as a family or you can go out and play now and then sit here and work while the rest of us eat popcorn and watch TV after dinner' Neal continued watching his daughter compute the options.

Spending time with Hope was always a hoot for Neal. She was smart, too smart and most times having a discussion with her was more work than talking to an adult. She had a thirst for knowledge, for life and she always surprised him with her many questions. As a child, Neal had had all the same questions but no one to guide him through and help him figure out the answers and he had come to some pretty shaky conclusions leading to a life of crime. Ever since he had found out he was going to become a father, he had resolved to be there every minute of every day for his children, guiding them down the path of life while letting them develop their own personalities and draw their own conclusions about the world around them.

Hope sighed deeply and returned to the paper in front of her.

'Alright, I've finished math' she finally said, turning the paper for Neal to inspect.

She hated math and saw absolutely no use for it in her life, present or future. Hope loved reading, loved words, the sound of them, the look of them on paper. It seemed like a natural extension of her love of writing, drawing and painting. Anytime she had a pencil or paintbrush in her hand, she was happy – free to create, doodle, draw, paint... and this, made Hope Ellis-Caffrey very happy.

'So, you ready for your spelling?' Neal asked as he went through the stack of papers on the table to locate the list of the words of the week

Hope nodded as she grabbed a fresh piece of paper.

'Oh, we've got words in 'ck' I see' said Neal, perusing the list

'If you're going to make the 'ca' sound, why would you need both a 'c' and and 'k'?' asked Hope, seemingly mystified. 'It seems like overkill' she added, as if she couldn't understand why the powers that be hadn't thought of that before.

Neal stifled a smile once again at Hope's use of the word overkill (where had she heard that one, he wondered). 'Well, if you had just a 'c' it might sound like an 's' in certain words like 'celery' he explained, always so patient

Hope shrugged at this. 'Alright, Dad, hit me' she added

Neal did a mental eye roll; sometimes his daughter was just a baby and other times, she sounded like a teenager.

'Alright, here we go: luck' he said

Hope pulled out her tongue and bit down gently as she began to write on the lined piece of paper in front of her.

'Pocket' continued Neal

Hope stared ahead for a moment while she recalled the words she had studied on the blackboard at school. Finally, she began to write as little lines formed on her forehead, indicating she was concentrating. Neal smiled as he watched her struggle.

'Tracker' he said, finally 'That's one we were just talking about yesterday' he added

Hope nodded and wrote, once again.

'Two more' said Neal 'and here's a hard one: locket'

'That's easy Daddy, it's like pocket but with an 'l' Hope said, rolling her eyes

'And bucket' he said finally

As she finished, he could see her continuing to write on her piece of paper. Hope had quite of bit of Neal in her and she loved to sign anything she wrote using her hyphenated name for more drama.

She finally added a little flourish at the end of her name and passed the paper over to her dad for correction.

'Hope, why do you keep doing that?' asked Neal, pointing to the 'E' in Ellis-Caffrey. Hope always wrote a backwards E as she wrote her name, a habit she had gotten into back when she had started printing at age three.

'It was cute when you were little but you're going into Grade 2 next year and your teachers are going to think you don't know how to print a simple 'E' he added, exasperated

'It my trainmark, Daddy' she said, with confidence

Neal frowned, obviously not understanding what she meant.

'My trainmark!' she said louder 'you know, my individual way of doing it' she explained, her voice growing a little more impatient.

'Oh, your trademark' Neal corrected

'Whatever, it's my way of signing my name and nobody can stop me' she said, defiantly as Neal laughed softly.

Oh yeah, she was a doodle alright - and she sure was a free spirit.

TBC