Chapter 7

"Hey, Mellie." Peter twisted in his seat to smile at his passengers, Elizabeth mirrored his actions from the passenger seat, grinning, too.

"You're driving us?"
"Hey, it's cheaper than cabs from Brooklyn." Peter told them, checking his blind spot and pulling out into the traffic coming up Riverside.
"That is true." Neal observed, dropping his hat onto his knee. "So, everything's under control?" he asked Elizabeth.
"Neal, think about who you're talking to."
"I withdraw the question."
"Can I ask you where we're going?" Amelia ventured.
"No." Peter told her, leaving no room for argument. They were heading north up Riverside and a comfortable silence fell in the car as they turned right onto West 110th st, heading across the island towards Central Park.

"You know, it's pretty roomy back here." Neal commented. "I've never noticed before."
"Keep your seatbelt on, Casanova." Peter commented dryly. Neal grinned at Amelia and reached over nonchalantly, placing his right hand on her knee and giving it a squeeze.
"Has Peter ever invited you back here, Elle? There's plenty of space." He allowed his hand to drift slightly higher on Amelia's knee, just outside of Peter's peripheral vision while he was concentrating on the road.
"I never really noticed how much space there was in the back seat." Elizabeth commented, stifling a giggle. "But I suppose since we're not teenagers we never really had cause to consider it."
"Oh, never underestimate the romantic undertones that a spontaneous back-seat tangle can portray." Neal told her. "I bet that Peter picked this car just because this back seat is wide enough for him to fit-"
"Caffrey, one more word and I'm sending you back to prison." Peter interrupted, making Neal smile.
"You know, that's starting to get a little old, Peter."
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of it." Peter assured him, shooting a smile at Elizabeth while they were paused at a stop-light. Amelia saw his gaze drop to where Neal's hand was planted about an inch below the hem of her dress, and saw the corner of his mouth tighten a little before he returned his attention to the road, and Neal changed the subject.
"Central Park? At this time of year?" Neal asked, looking out his window at the landmarks they were passing.
"Ask any more questions and you'll be left at the edge of your radius to walk home, without dinner." Elizabeth told him, glancing over her shoulder at the pair of them with a half-smile. "But in the meantime, you can help me with something. Take off that tie."
"Elle?" Neal's eyebrows were drawn together in confusion, after all, he'd been joking about the whole 'romp in the back-seat' thing. Well, mostly joking.
"We're blindfolding Amelia and Peter's driving, so we can't use his tie."
Neal groaned in protest, but after a stern look from Elizabeth he did as he was told, tugging his tie loose and handing it to Mellie while he undid the top two buttons on his shirt and rearranged his collar so that it was comfortable.

"Make sure she can't see anything- I want this to be a surprise." Elle told Neal, and he took her at her word, unbuckling his seat belt and scooting over to her. He took the tie back, wrapping it around her head twice, tying it neatly just above her left ear before waving a hand in front of her face to check her vision.

"No, Neal, I can't see anything." Amelia muttered, making Neal smile.
"Caffrey, get your seatbelt back on, now."
"Aren't we nearly at our destination?"
"Yes, we are, but that doesn't matter. Seatbelt. Now."

The Taurus came to a stop outside a tall residential looking building and Neal's phone buzzed.

"Mozzie sends his apologies." Neal announced, reading the text message he'd received while Peter was paying the valet.

"Did you really expect him to come to an FBI party?" Elizabeth asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Not really." Neal conceded, looking down at Amelia.

It was odd, Neal thought, how naked he felt with the top buttons of his pale blue shirt open, no tie around his collar. But it was extremely amusing to watch people's reactions to a grown woman standing on a Manhattan sidewalk with a silk tie wrapped around her face.

"Elle, why do I have to be blindfolded? I haven't been in Manhattan in six years; do you seriously think I'd recognise any place you took me to?" Amelia asked. She knew it was pointless to object, but felt that she should make a token effort if for nothing but appearances.

Truth be told, it wasn't so bad, standing with Neal right behind her, one hand on the small of her back, she could smell his aftershave, from both his tie and his proximity. He'd practically lifted her out of the car, and she'd heard Peter stifle a laugh as he'd brushed her down once she was upright on the sidewalk.

"Come on, we're upstairs." Elle caught Peter by the hand and led the way, Neal following with one arm around Amelia's waist, guiding her past the doorman and over towards the bank of elevators on the far side of the lobby.

Neal had recognised the building and it was only with great restraint that he stopped himself from congratulating Elizabeth out loud- how Mrs Burke had pulled this off with less than 8 hours notice he had no idea, but if Neal was right, the space they were dining in was an exclusive modern art gallery on the building's rooftop that could be hired for private functions- and was usually booked eight to twelve months in advance. Admittedly, as an ex-gallery manager and a highly respected events planner with an FBI agent for a husband there were strings that Elle could pull that not many other people would even be able to reach, but Neal was still impressed.

"There's a step into the elevator, here." Neal kept one hand on Amelia's waist as they rode the forty floors to the space and Neal had to physically bite his tongue to stop himself from commenting on the space they stepped into and thus ruining the surprise.

Peter smiled to himself as he surveyed the rooftop- half of the White Collar department had shown up, in the week she had been in the New York office Amelia had made quite a few friends. Everyone was quiet, after all, it was a surprise party, and Elle motioned to Neal to take Mellie's blindfold off once he'd led her into the centre of the crowd.

"Surprise!" Neal slipped his tie away from her eyes in a smooth motion, and the gathered group raised their glasses in her direction. Chatter erupted as everyone greeted the guest of honour, and Amelia lost track of where Peter, Elle and Neal were in the commotion.

After she'd said hello and thank-you to pretty much everyone, Neal sidled up to her armed with a glass of champagne, his tie back in place as if it had never left his collar, giving her his trademark thousand-watt-charm-and-disarm-them smile.

"How do you like your party, Miss Pearce?" he asked as she took a mouthful of her champagne.
"I'd thank you for it, but I know that this is all Elizabeth's doing."

He smiled at that, mimicking her actions and draining his own glass before offering her his elbow and leading her through the crowd to where Peter and Elizabeth were sitting at a table set for four, overlooking the park at the edge of the rooftop.

Amelia rounded the table to give Elle a hug and thank her profusely while Neal took the seat opposite Peter, snagging another glass of champagne from a passing waiter as Amelia took her seat and the four of them fell into a comfortable conversation about the space they were in while waiting for their dinner to arrive.