CHAPTER FOUR
NEW CALVARY CEMETERY...
It was Saturday, the day of Luther Morgan's funeral. The service was almost done when Mozzie and Neal got there. Neal had insisted earlier that Mozzie waited for him. He had come up with a plan to be able to go to the funeral without tripping off the alarm on his tracking anklet.
"I can't believe you brought a G-Man to the funeral for Hale's son! That's just wrong!" Mozzie told Neal.
"You specifically said NOT to bring Peter to the funeral! Do you see Peter anywhere?" Neal argued.
"No, but his Boy Wonder's presence has the same effect!" Mozzie snapped back.
"You two DO know that I can hear you, right?" said Agent Clinton Jones. He looked at them sternly and continued to talk. "Look, I'm doing this as a favour to Caffrey and to honour a fallen hero. I'm not here to cause any trouble! So just please, be quiet, the two of you!" Agent Jones warned them.
Since they were late, there were no more seats available to them. They settled on standing in a spot that was yards away from the grave site. Agent Jones chose to stay a few feet behind to give them some privacy, while Neal and Mozzie moved a bit closer. They remained silent as they listened to the final part of the funeral rites. Neal strained to see the people in attendance. Some of them he recognized from the past. Some were complete strangers. In the front row, he saw Hale looking very somber, along with Iola sitting to his right side. Luther's wife, Aisha, was sitting to his left, with little Caleb beside her. Lance sat beside Iola, and Lenore sat next to him. He continued to look around for that one person he really wanted to see.
"Stop fidgeting!" Mozzie told him.
"Do you see Alex?" Neal asked him.
Mozzie strained his to find her. "Yes. She's right there, next to the 'Towering Inferno'." he answered.
"That would be 'Mr. Armstrong'." Neal informed him, as he moved to get a better view.
"Wow! He's a beast!" Mozzie commented on Alex's friend.
"I told you he looked spooky!" Neal said, as he struggled to see where Alex was. His view was obstructed once again, this time by the military honor guards.
The military honors ceremony began in honour of the fallen Marine Corp pilot. In the crowd, Neal caught a glimpse of the little boy he met back at MoMA. Nicholas! he remembered. He smiled sadly when he saw Nicholas and Caleb saluted Luther's casket.
He then saw Nicholas jumped when the three volley rifle fire started. Startled by the sound of gun shots, the little boy ran, much to Neal's surprise, into Alex's arms. Neal watched as the teary-eyed Alex wrapped the scared child in a tight hug and carried him in her arms. His eyes widened in shock as he realized then what he had been too blind to see before. He froze from where he was standing, the color draining from his face.
"Neal? Are you okay?" Mozzie asked when he saw Neal's reaction.
Neal remained silent, his eyes started to well up with tears. It all made sense now. Why the boy seemed all too familiar to him. Why his heart jumped whenever he saw the boy smiled. That French phrase Nicholas said to Neal back at MoMA...that was one of Alex's favourite things to say to him back in the days when they worked together. Then, he remembered the kid's initials, NH. Nicholas Hunter! he realized.
"Moz...that kid!" he said once he finally found his voice. "That little boy...he's my son!" he whispered.
Mozzie followed Neal's gaze and saw Alex carrying a little boy in her arms, her fingers gently wiping away the tears from his eyes. He saw the child with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. Very much indeed like a younger version of Neal Caffrey. He turned his gaze back to Neal, who was ready to rush forward to where the mother and child were. Mozzie stopped him just in time.
"Not now, Neal! Not here! Remember...we're not alone!" Mozzie warned him, reminding him of Agent Jones.
"But Moz..." Neal's said, his voice filled with emotion and pleading for some understanding.
"I know...I know!" Mozzie said as he tried to calm him down. "We'll figure this out. We just need to wait." he assured Neal.
They both stood there and watched while the ceremony continued, as the honor guards folded the flag that was on top Luther's casket and presented it to his widow. Mozzie continued to gauge Neal's emotions, afraid of what his friend might do. Neal just stood there, silent, almost motionless. Ragged breaths escaped his lungs every now and then, as he continued to watch Alex and his son.
His heart broke when he saw both mother and child crying, as the lone bugler played "Taps". He didn't take his eyes off of them...he couldn't. He paid no attention to everything else that was going on around him. Not to any noise, not even during the missing man formation fly-by. Neal just stood there and kept his eyes fixed on Alex and Nicholas.
After the ceremonies, Hale and his family were flocked by people who wished to offer them their condolences. Neal and Mozzie couldn't get closer to them however hard they tried. And with Jones there with them, they couldn't really make any moves without garnering suspicion. Heartbroken, Neal reluctantly agreed that it was time to go.
After a very silent trip from the cemetery, Jones dropped Neal and Mozzie off to June's mansion. Back at Neal's apartment, Mozzie waited patiently until Neal was ready to talk. He didn't have to wait too long, as Neal sat down and began to tell him everything.
"His name is Nicholas." Neal told him.
"And you're sure that he's yours?" Mozzie asked.
"Moz, you saw the kid!" Neal said.
"We don't even know if that kid was Alex's!" Mozzie reasoned.
"He's Alex's son! And I'm his father!" Neal assured Mozzie. "He practically told me! I was just too stupid to see it!" he said frustratedly.
"When?" Mozzie asked.
"A few days ago, back in the Museum of Modern Art." Neal answered. Mozzie listened as he then recounted what happened back at MoMA.
The two sat there in silence after Neal was done with his story. Finally, Mozzie spoke. "What are you going to do now?" he asked Neal.
Neal looked at his friend. "I need to talk to Alex, Moz!" he replied.
"Well, she's obviously avoiding that...judging from the way she tried to dodge you back when you saw her a few days ago!" Mozzie stated.
"I know..." Neal whispered, his voice trailed off as if lost in thought.
"You planning something?" Mozzie asked.
"I'm trying to! My brain is just too numb right now!" Neal answered. He sighed. "I think I need to be alone." he told Mozzie.
Mozzie took the hint and nodded. He stood up and started to leave. "Neal...listen. I'm here for you for whatever it is you decide to do next. I just want you to take it easy on Alex. We have no idea what kind of life she's had...what she's been through the whole time she was away from us! She must have her reasons why she didn't tell you about Nicholas." he said before he left.
After Mozzie left, Neal struggled to take in everything that just unfolded. He sat down on his bed and clutched his head, which hurt as he thought of the events that occurred the past few days. I'm a father! he thought to himself. How did that happen? Well, he knew how it happened. He wanted to know how he got blind-sided like that. He wanted to know how come Alex never told him. He wanted to know how she could do that to him. Most of all, he wanted to know how he can make up for the time he lost with his son.
He reached for the drawer by the bedside and opened it. He took out a small wooden box. A box full of memories. From it was a photo, something special he treasured from his past. Something he kept after all this years. No wonder Nicholas looked so familiar! he thought, as tears filled his eyes as he stared at the photo.
~END OF CHAPTER FOUR~
Footnotes :
*Thought I'd include a little bit of Clinton Jones in this chapter.
*Luther Morgan was a US Marine Corp pilot. [New York]
*"Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar!" [Yes, but not if we're headed towards a nightmare!] - what Nicholas said to Neal in MoMa...something he learned from Mama Alex, obviously.
*A missing man formation fly-by is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a military funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot.
*I'd like to think that Neal listens to Mozzie the same way he listens to Peter.
*Now that Neal knows...what happens next? Will Alex even talk to him? Or will she continue to run away? Stay tuned!
*Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter! If you like it, please feel free to leave a comment.