A/n: Sorry about the delay, I just didn't want this story to end, but alas, it's over and Eleanor is taking her final bow. Thank you so much for the reviews/alerts/favorites and most especially everyone who has read this from the beginning and stuck with Eleanor for so long. Thank you so very much! I don't know when I'll be writing again but in the words of Mozzie, "It's goodbye, but we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." I hope you enjoy the last chapter!

"Cut the pleasantries, I want to make this quick." Neal snapped as he walked further into the warehouse. Eleanor watched him with weary eyes; he wasn't making eye contact with her, his face was a mask of business.

"As you wish." Carmichael bowed. "We have the girl here." he said pointing to Eleanor. "Hand over the money and you can have her."

"I thought I told you not to harm her." Neal said his eyes flashing with fire when he finally saw her face.

"Our little friend here took quite a fall…before your call I assure you." he added before Neal could make a retort. "Do you have the money?"

"I do." Neal said holding up a briefcase. "All thirty million of it."

"Excellent!" Carmichael said bouncing on his heels. "Let me see it."

"What you don't trust that I have it?"

"Trust you? Hell no, why would I trust you?" said icily. "You see me and Ms. O'Reily or should I say Agent Roberts, had a nice little chat before you arrived."

"Did you now?"

"We did, and she told me about your little plan to rip me off."

"I always thought she was too mouthy for her own good." Neal said throwing her a hard glare. The hateful look in his eyes was so convincing that she recoiled a little.

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that." He laughed throwing Eleanor a look that made her skin crawl.

"It's true, I was going to rip you off, but I hope that you can consider this a peace offering as well as a trade off." Neal said holding up the briefcase once more. Carmichael looked him over for a moment before a wide smile broke out across his face.

"I think I accept that." He said politely.

"So how do you want to do this?"

"Hand me the case, then I'll give you the girl."

"Afraid I might take the girl and run with the money?" Neal asked with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"The thought had crossed my mind. The case if you please." He said holding out his hands. Eleanor saw Neal sigh before walking forward and holding the case out. Carmichael took the case with greedy hands. He opened it his eyes growing wide with the amount of money in front of him.

"Is that enough?"

"Oh yes, yes, yes, yes." Carmichael said happier than a kid on Christmas. "Ricky, hand over the agent." Ricky did as he was told, roughly dragging Eleanor along before shoving her at Neal. Neal barely caught her as she stumbled into his arms. Gently, Neal stood her up and wrapped his hand around her now bruised arm.

To Carmichael and Ricky, his grip looked hard and firm but to Eleanor it was soft and comforting. Standing next to him now, after coming so close to death, made her feel unbelievably emotional. She wanted to break down crying right then and there, but she couldn't, not yet at least. "Our business here is done Mr. Devore, feel free to leave. Oh and have fun with her, she's a feisty one, she'll put up a fight."

Neal's grip on her arm tightened and she let out a hiss of pain. Taking a chance, she looked up at his face, to find it contorted with hate and anger. She tapped him gently on the foot with hers getting his attention. He looked down at her his blue eyes icy and cold. Eleanor shook her head slightly; they weren't out of this mess yet. Neal took a deep breath and smoothed over his expression.

"Our business isn't done just yet." Neal said making Carmichael and Ricky's head snap up from the briefcase.

"Oh no? And why is that?"

"Because, Ms. Roberts isn't an FBI agent." Neal stated calmly.

"Really, and who told you that?"

"No one told me, I know."

"And how would you know Mr. Devore? I have her phone, I've seen her contacts. Ricky here has even seen the little Bistro where he grabbed her swarming with agents. How do you know that she isn't a fed?"

"I know, because I'm the one working for the FBI."

"You-you are the one working for the feds?" Carmichael asked flabbergasted. "I don't believe you."

"See for yourself." Neal said tossing over a leather wallet. Carmichael caught it and flipped it open. Eleanor allowed herself a celebratory smile at the sight of Carmichael's pale face. He ran his hands through his hair and clutched Neal's Id tightly in his hand.

"You bastard!" he hissed as he and Ricky pointed their guns in Neal and Eleanor's direction. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh yeah and why not?" he asked just at a chorus of sirens pierced the evening air, filling the empty warehouse space.

"That's why." Neal said simply.

"How did they find us!" he screamed looking around the warehouse nervously, a thin sheet of sweat breaking out across his head.

"You can blame that on me too." Neal said lifting up his pant leg to expose his tracking anklet. The little light that was normally green was now flashing red. Eleanor had never been so happy to see that stupid anklet in her life. There was a screech of tires and the slamming of doors before the sirens were replaced by shouts of FBI agents.

"FBI drop your weapons!"

"Put the gun down!"

"FBI freeze!"

Then, everything began moving in slow motion, a dizzying scene playing out before her. The agents swarmed around Carmichael and Ricky, disarming them, moving as if they were underwater. Peter came running in his gun drawn followed by a woman with strawberry blond hair. They were yelling but Eleanor couldn't hear them. It was as if someone had turned the volume down on her life. She watched as Peter slapped cuffs on her captors leading them away to the cars. As they passed, Carmichael began yelling at her, spit flying from his mouth, struggling against his bonds. His eyes were bulging from their sockets, his crazy nature shining through. Neal pulled Eleanor close wrapping his arms around her protectively. Through a gap in his arm, she watched him get loaded away, gone from her life completely.

She felt something cold bush up against her raw wrist as Neal snipped her bindings off. Her head was spinning with confusion. The lights that flashed off the nearby buildings and the mass of FBI agents only added to her to her delirium. Her knees felt weak and before she knew it, the ground was coming up to meet her. Neal caught her just seconds before she crashed to the floor. He held her close, as pent up tears of fear, exhaustion, and anger spilled over. His hands stroked her hair while he rocked her. For the first time in a long time she felt safe.

"He's gone Ellie." He cooed in her ear. "He'll never hurt you again."

"I was s-so scared." She whispered, her voice shaking. "I thought I was going to d-die."

"It's alright, nothing is going to happen to you. It's all over, you're safe now." He said before kissing her on the forehead. "No one's going to hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"You are completely sure you want to do this?" Neal asked sitting in the passenger seat, his eye brows raised.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Ellie, you were kidnapped yesterday, don't you think you should take it easy?"

"You're right Neal I was kidnapped yesterday and because of that I want to do something normal for a change."

"And you think this is normal?"

"I do, now let's go." Eleanor said getting out. She walked around the car and held the door open for Neal.

"Thank you." he said with a smile taking her hand, his fingers brushing over her bandaged wrist. Eleanor considered herself lucky. After all she managed to survive a kidnapping with just a gash on her cheek, a few bruises on her arms, and some cuts on her wrists. When she thought of what could have happened she was thankful for what she got. Neal gently wrapped his arm around hers as he knocked on the door in front of them. They only waited a few seconds before a woman with long, beautiful, raven hair and startling blue eyes opened the door beaming.

"You must be Eleanor." She said happily embracing Eleanor like she was a long time friend. "I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to meet you! I'm Elizabeth, Peter's wife."

"Hi." Eleanor said starting to feel only a little bit awkward.

"Hey Neal." Elizabeth said kissing Neal on the cheek.

"Elizabeth."

"Well come inside, dinner's almost ready." She said welcoming them into her bright home.

"You have a lovely place." Eleanor commented as she looked around the Burke's home. It was lively and inviting, the walls painted in light pastel colors that gave off the essence of spring or early summer. It seemed to match Elizabeth's attitude, cheerful and welcoming.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said with a warm smile.

"Hey Elizabeth, where's Peter?" Neal asked looking around.

"Oh he's in the kitchen finishing up."

"You let him cook?"

"Don't worry; he was only making a salad." She laughed. Neal just shrugged and left the two women alone in the living room. "I can't believe it's taken us so long to meet!" Elizabeth began taking a seat on the couch.

"I think we met once," Eleanor said sitting down next to her. "At the hospital."

"Oh yes, yes now I remember, that's when you met Neal, right?"

"Yeah," Eleanor said with a chuckle. "Yeah that's when we met. But who knew it would turn out like this."

"Love is a funny thing; you never know when it'll show up." Elizabeth said as a laugh from Neal floated to them from the kitchen.

"How did you and Peter meet?"

"He was investigating the art gallery I was working at." She said sweetly her eyes misting over as she recalled the memory.

"Investigating? Did something happen?"

"There was a robbery and I was a witness so Peter had to ask me lots of questions. I could tell he liked me, but he was too nervous to say anything. So you know, I gave him a little nudge."

"Men, they never seem to get the message."

"Tell me about it," Elizabeth laughed. "So Peter told me what happened last night."

"Did he?" Eleanor said silently cursing Peter. This was supposed to be a distraction, something to take her mind off of last night, not talk about it.

"He did. How are you holding up?"

"Oh you know, I'm fine." Eleanor said off handedly waving her hand.

"Ooh someone's been spending too much time around Neal. You've learned his technique of deflecting." Eleanor smiled and lowered her head. Elizabeth seemed like such a nice, caring person. Hell she had only known her for a few short minutes and she could already tell that she was lying. And right now, Elizabeth seemed genuinely concerned.

"All things considering, I think I'm ok." Eleanor said looking into Elizabeth's caring eyes. "Had a nightmare last night, but that's to be expected I guess. I-I just don't think I was cut out for that, going undercover and all. It's not who I am."

"Not all of us are." Elizabeth said taking her hand into her own. "But look at what you did. You helped take down a group of criminals and survived a kidnapping, not many people can say they've done that. It may not be who you are, but you did the right thing." Eleanor smiled. "And if you ever need someone to talk to, my door is always opened."

"Thanks Elizabeth."

"No problem honey." She said. Just then a large golden retriever came pattering up to her, resting his head on her lap.

"Hello there." Eleanor said scratching the dog behind his ears.

"Aw that's Satchmo, our baby."

"He's adorable." Eleanor said as Satchmo began licking her face.

"Yeah we like him." Elizabeth joked.

"Alright ladies," Peter said coming out of the kitchen holding a dish, Neal right behind him with the salad. "Dinner is severed."

"Smells delicious." Eleanor said as she and Elizabeth walked to the kitchen table.

"Well, the credit goes to my wife, she did all the cooking." Peter said setting down the dish of lasagna.

"Thank goodness for that." Neal quipped as he pulled out Eleanor's chair.

"Hey I can cook. I can make pot roast." Peter responded looking hurt.

"Oh yes how could I forget, Peter Burke, pot roast master chief."

"Damn strait I am."

"I'm sure your salad tastes wonderful Peter." Eleanor offered sweetly.

"Thank you Eleanor," he said before pointing his finger at Neal. "See Neal, someone likes my cooking."

"You do realize she hasn't actually eaten anything right?" Neal said looking doubtful.

"Oh so you don't trust Eleanor's judgment?"

"Boys, not at the dinner table." Elizabeth said breaking up the fight before it could progress any further.

"Are they always like this?" Eleanor asked amused by the boys' childish behavior.

"All the time, if I didn't know any better I'd say they were an old married couple." Neal and Peter rolled their eyes and the exact same time, sending Eleanor and Elizabeth into a fit of laughter.

"What?" they both said at the same time, making the women laugh harder.

"What are they laughing at?" Peter asked dumbfounded.

"No clue." Neal said shaking his head.

Eleanor sat on the edge of Neal's bed watching him undress. He casually striped off his suit jacket, hanging it neatly on a hanger before slowly unbuttoning his shirt. His fingers slipped on one of the buttons, his hand shaky from the amount of alcohol he had consumed. Eleanor got up from the bed and walked over to him, standing mere inches apart. She began to unbutton his shirt for him getting a kiss of appreciation on the cheek.

The happy mood created from the dinner at the Burke's still hung over her head. After everything she had been through, it felt exhilarating to do something normal for a change. But the more she thought about it, the more Eleanor realized that her life was far from normal. She had been in love with one man all of her life, never broke things off to try something new. Then she had lost that love to a fatal car accident after uprooting her happy life in Georgia to move to New York. And after five years she fell in love again, to a con man, who she met while saving his life. How normal was any of that?

None the less, she was happy with her not normal life. She had hit some major lows but then again who hasn't? Loosing Danny was heart breaking but finding Neal was more than she could ever ask for. She wouldn't change anything.

"What are you smiling about?" Neal asked tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh nothing," she said off handedly as she worked her way down his shirt. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"What were you thinking about?"

"Danny…you…tonight…you know, just stuff."

"Are you ok?" Neal asked concerned, his thumb stroking her jaw line.

"Yeah," she said looking up at him with misty eyes.

"Ellie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm just so happy I met you." She smiled up at him resting her hand on his bare chest. Neal smiled his most dazzling smile, his eyes lighting up like fireworks.

"I'm happy I met you too." He said his lips brushing against hers. They kissed, his hands entangling themselves in her hair, her arms wrapping around his body. She let him hold her for a while, feeling his strong arms surrounding her, keeping her safe. No, she wouldn't trade anything for this. This was her life, this is what she wanted. Neal broke away kissing her again on the lips before completely taking off his button up all pulling on a t-shirt.

"Neal," Eleanor said as she sat back down on the bed, a sudden thought floating into her mind. "Why did Carmichael want to steal that painting?"

"The Bella Notte?" he asked pulling on a pair of sweat pants.

"Yeah, what made that painting so special?"

"The money, Danza is a serious pay day; his works are worth millions in the right market."

"Is that why you would steal it?"

"One of the reasons." He said sitting down next to her.

"What other reason is there?"

"The story." Neal said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"The story? Please don't tell me the painting was made in honor of two dogs eating spaghetti?" Eleanor joked.

"No, this was made long before Lady and the Tramp, trust me." Neal laughed shaking his head. "Have you ever seen Bella Notte?"

"I've never heard of it until this case. Why what is it?"

"Danza painted Bella Notte after his wife Isabella died from cancer. Her death drove him insane. He began to drink, act violently, and even attempt suicide. One day while he was in one of his drunken stupors he saw a vision of his dead wife. He said in one of his journals that she was even more radiant then the most brilliant star in the night sky. After that encounter he cleaned himself up and began to paint."

"Bella Notte isn't a painting of some night sky is it?" Eleanor asked enthralled by Neal's story.

"No, it's a portrait of his wife." He said stroking her arm. Eleanor sighed and rested her head on Neal shoulder.

"He really loved her." she whispered.

"Yeah, he did."

"Am I your Bella Notte?" Eleanor asked. Neal looked down at her a smile on his face.

"More than you can even imagine." He said before kissing her. Eleanor laughed and fell backwards on the bed, her arms wrapped around him. Her hand rested on his face, her eyes locked onto his magical blues.

"I love you Neal Caffrey."

"And I love you Eleanor Roberts." He said before kissing her again.

"You know this makes you the Tramp."

"Only if you'll be my Lady?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She said pulling him closer. Eleanor kissed him, closing her eyes. Why would anyone want normal, if you could have this? No, she'd take her tramp, her con man any day of the week.

It was late, the stars were shining brighter than normal, and Eleanor Roberts was finally happy. Nothing could get better than this.

The End

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