So the premise for White Collar was obviously based on "Catch Me if You Can" which was based on a real dude. In the movie and real life, the guy's mother was French and his dad was American. He spoke French and as a kid impersonated his French teacher. White Collar definitely has a nod to this by Neal and Kate's fascination with France. Neal also speaks French in the show but it is not a huge character trait, I'm assuming because the actor does not speak French. I'm not that mad about it because I love Matt Bommer and think that he was a perfect choice for the role and I'm okay with them dropping his French heritage to prevent struggles for the actor.

Neal's backstory sucks but it has the foundation of a great one. I loved the witsec twist because it would explain his ability to slip into characters and con people because he had to do that to survive. I love the backstory that his mom was pretty absent mentally but not physically. It makes sense that he would have had to steal as a kid to feed himself and his mom. Especially if she was incapable to taking care of herself, which would have led to his weird morals where stealing and lying are fine but he would never want to hurt anyone. I loved Ellen but I think that having her there would prevent Neal from growing up parentless which would explain a lot of his character. I love that his dad was a cop but not that Neal went from goody two shoes to international forger in a year.

So this is my take on what Neal's backstory should have been.

...

Peter was having a great morning. He was late to work but it wasn't a rushed late accompanied by rumpled clothes and a skipped shower but the laze about late. El had a late start time today and had plans to sleep in. Peter had opposite plans but he woke up early to El's head pressed into his chest and the weight of Satchmo on his legs. He could afford a tardy start, he figured. His good morning mood was only heightened as he decided to stop for an expensive Italian latte at the place he scoffs at Neal for frequenting. He was already late to work so what was a few more minutes? Normally he would pick the aforementioned coffee snob up on his way to work but he had been sent a text from his one free arm, as to not disturb his sleeping wife, to make his own way to the office.

As he strolled into the bullpen out of the elevator, he noticed Diana and a few agents he didn't recognize through the glass of his office. Diana's was the only face he could see and it looked concerned. Her eyes had met Peter's immediately, as though she had been watching for him to step through the elevator doors. He nodded to let her know he'd be up. The agents, posed as if talking to her, began to turn once they noticed Diana's attention was no longer with them, but Peter's head swiveled at the same time to find Neal, not caring if it would be rude to ignore the two agents. The feeling of the latte curdling in his stomach did not bode well.

He made his way to his office at a deliberately slow pace to try and spot the con on his short walk. It was not that odd that Neal's desk was empty; he is energetic by nature and always walking around the office, getting coffee, chatting up agents, retrieving files and just stretching his legs. But his current absence and the current presence of two unknown agents felt significant.

As he entered his office the two agents, now standing stiffy, staring at towards the door, introduced themselves. Not agents, marshals.

Diana stepped forward, "Hey boss they are here to talk to you and Caffrey. Hope you don't mind that I let them wait in your office. Caffrey went on a coffee run for everyone before they got here and should be back soon."

Peter was immensely relieved that Diana could account for Neal but tried not to show it in the presence of the marshals, "Thank you, if he is not back in 15 minutes send Jones to go get him"

She left with a nod.

"We are here to discuss Neal Caffrey" the taller marshal, Ross, said.

Peter was not really sure what to say to that, so he just gave Ross a nod to continue once he settled into his desk chair, "We are two of the people assigned to Caffrey's case"

"I'm sorry but I wasn't aware that there was a case against Caffrey?"

"There isn't. He is a part of a case that our agency has been tracking for decades and has just been declassified. As Caffrey's handler here at the FBI we thought it was pertinent to brief you on it, as the information may be helpful if he would try to run again."

"Declassified? For decades? He is only in his thirties, what case could he be part of that started in his childhood?"

Now Peter was panicking because very few crimes would not have expired under the statute of limitations by now. Murder was one of them but he was sure that Neal would never intentionally kill someone. Fowler was just a fluke, proof that anyone could be driven to violence. Though it would explain his distaste for the more morose cases.

Echollis, the shorter blond marshall held up a hand to plactacte Agent Burke, "This case is not going to be avaliable to the public but only declassified to a degree as there is still an active investigation but the people involved in this case are no longer in danger"

"Neal Caffrey has no history before the age of 18 because he techincally doesn't exist."

Peter leaned back in his chair and chewed on the inside of his cheek. His words were measured and careful as was his breathing, "We have always suspected that Caffrey was an alias but there was no other name that we could tie to him. Caffrey was the only one that had mostly valid paperwork, it seemed to be the only name he considered real."

Ross nodded, "Neal Bennet on the other hand was born in France to a French national, Maryse Caffrey Bennett and American Soldier, James Bennet, stationed in France. James Bennett moved his family to DC and got a job as a metro PD. He got on the payroll of the Flynn famlily and became a legal fixer of sorts. He was found out and confronted by a superior officer. Bennet killed said officer and framed it as a take down gone bad. Evidence came to light aginst him fairly quickly and he was arrested. His family and partner were taken into WITSEC and the Flynn organization was dismantled with Bennet's testimony"

Unable to get his thoughts together Peter just stared at the closed file that now sat between the three men. He hadn't noticed its appearance. Despite his years of intelligence gathering and meticulus work being toppled like a house of cards, the only thought he could really hold on to was 'of course Neal was french'.

Eventually he was able to come up with, "If the Flynn family was taken down why was the case still classified until now?"

"Loose ends. Not everyone was arrested, not the grannies and young, underage up and coming generation. We didn't have the evidence. The trials took years and although the case was classified, in the circles the Flynn's ran in, it was common knowledge that they were radioactive, so the family business dried up. The family was under a microscope, so they went straight. It's been so long that the only people who would have known details of their most serious crimes died with that knowledge. The Flynns are still around but they're no longer an active mob family. We are still trying to solve a few cases in connection to them, but all the suspects are dead."

"You're sure?"

"As sure as we can be. We would be happy to send the files over for you. We have the work up on Caffrey's history in WITSEC here" he said while tapping the thick, worn looking file that had enticed Peter just moments before.

"So how long did my CI spend in WITSEC?"

"About seven years. He left against advice and without parental consent at the age of 16. He was officially a missing person until his arrest and his prints came in."

"He left home? At 16?"

"Yes"

Peter leaned forward in the chair, "I'm sorry but did he leave at 16 or..." he hoped the agents understod what he was trying to say.

"Although we were not personally investigating his disappearance when it happened, there was evidence that he ran away..."

Echollis took over for Ross when it became obvious he was unsure on how to proceed, "It is certainly possible that Caffrey left against his will but it does not appear to be that way. You'll understand once you read through the case. What we really came here about today was to talk to Caffrey as his case and history is being declassified to a degree, we need to discuss with him what that means and what information would remain classified. Given what little he has said of his history, it will most likely be a non-issue."

Peter was eager to hear more about this, "So what can Neal reveal or not reveal about-?" he waved his hand, "-you know."

"He can tell you here at the FBI anything he wants, though I doubt he will."

Peter smirked at that.

"Technically he is free to say whatever he wants to whoever he wants, the only thing he is not allowed to give out are the identities of those who also went into protection. Though we strongly advise that he keep his true identity to himself. This declassification status only makes information from his case available to all agencies and it ends protections for those involved. They will maintain their current identities if they wish and they are strongly advised to."

Nodding in agreement Peter was about to ask more details about Neal's childhood but Ross was quicker to take over the conversation again, "Actually Agent Burke there is one more thing that we are here to discuss with Caffrey."

"And what would that be?"

"His mother, now that she no longer has any need for protection, is free to visit her son. She has had no contact with him since he left the program. So she has asked us to give him her current information. Due to privacy laws we cannot just give her his information without consent."

The thought struck Peter like a truck, this woman probably had no idea her son was alive or what he was up to until this very moment. Did she know that Neal was a convicted felon, that he spent four years in prison, that he worked with the FBI helping people?

"Where is she?" Peter decided he needed to know where she was now then he could figure out what to do with the information later.

Ross took a moment to pull something out of his jacket pocket and hand it to Peter, "Maryse Bennet is currently staying at an assisted living facility in Brooklynn under the name Marie Kessler. You'll find all of her contact information there"

He was trying to commit the information to memory and trying to transfer the paper to his own jacket pocket with an air of calm. Yet, another smirk couldn't be kept out of Peter's voice, "So you're telling me that the marshals just so happened to put this woman here in New York near her son when they could have hid her anywhere in the country? That's quite the coincidence"

"I would agree with you, but it is no coincidence. Caffrey's father's partner was like family to him until his arrest. She went into hiding with Caffrey and his mother as his 'aunt'. We caught wind that the Flynns were aware that they were all together and looking for two women, one French, one American, raising a kid together. We knew that the Flynns had connections to law enforcement, and we had suspicion of a leak at the time. Luckily there was no leak, but it was determined that it was best if they were separated. Especially since Kathryn Hill, Bennet's partner, opted to testify at each trial. The constant exposure made her location much harder to secure."

"Hill recently managed to track Caffrey to New York about a year ago and requested a transfer to be closer to him. To our knowledge there has never been any contact between them but you how Caffrey operates, it is entirely possible that our information is crap. Once the case was declassified Maryse Bennet deciced to reunite with Hill."

Peter had more questions but he understood that these men were here to breif him, which was meant to be kept just that, brief. He would have his chance to get all the answers he needed from the files that were being sent to his office. Right now he needed to find Diana and Caffrey, in that order.

Standing up from his desk and scooping the file up in one motion Peter held out his hand to shake and went on auto pilot thanking the two men for their time, exchanging contact information and showing them to the small empty office that was used for extremely discrete meetings and briefings as it was the only room on the floor wihtout walls made of windows. He knew Caffrey was an expert at masking his emotions but he still felt like he owed his friend the option to not mask them for this conversation.

By the time Peter made it back to the bullpen Neal was sitting on Diana's desk sipping from an identical coffee cup to almost a dozen agents around him. He had a sly smile on until Agent Berigan, obviously positioned at her desk to do paperwork but unable to due to the Neal's mass occupying the space, leaned in close with a no-nonsense expression on her face. Neal smiled back at her, when her expression held, his smile abated a bit and he slid off the desk. the smile readjusted into place as he caught sight of Peter and sauntered towards him.

"Sorry, Peter, I wasn't sure when you were coming in, so I didn't get you anything, but I'd be willing to take another stroll through Central Park to get you that Italian roast you like."

His smile faltered as Peter did not return the banter or smile, instead opting for silence until the con was within arm's distance.

"It's fine I stopped for a cup on my way in. There are two marshals here to speak with you. They are waiting in that spare office. Now listen to me. Carefully. You are not in any trouble, they are just here to discuss something with you, so I expect you to make it there. No shenanigans. And afterwards I expect you in my office right away." Peter didn't mean to scare the man, but he was aware of Neal's hobby of annoying agents from other departments and agencies. He did not want Neal to keep those men waiting and irritating them until they left without answering all of Neal's questions. Based on the short interaction Peter suspected that the two were far too professional to stoop to Neal's childish antics but he'd rather not chance it as he knew firsthand that there was only so much Caffrey a person could tolerate.

Peter had worked with Neal enough to see through the extra, large grin that plastered his face as he repeated, "No shenanigans." and walked off towards the stairs. For the first time since his workday began Peter could just take a breath and process what he just learned.

"Diana, Jones!" Despite being only a dozen feet or so within the vicinity of both agents and on the same level of the bullpen as them, he still did the double finger point, sans usual hint of smile that accompanied it. It was easier pointing than explaining.

Both agents followed their boss up the stairs into his office. Jones shut the door without being needed told while Diana lowered the blinds. Peter sat at his desk and took a moment to collect himself with his forehead propped in his hands. He took one deep breath sat up and said, "This stays between us three, Caffrey and upper brass."

After getting affirmation from both, "The marshals just informed me that Neal Caffrey does not exist, never has..."

"So what does that mean? We always suspected that. Who is he really" Diana had to know whose ass was on her desk today.

"Neal Bennet. Neal Bennet was the son of a dirty cop who got in business with an organized crime syndicate known, as the Flynn organization. He got... too involved and murdered a fellow officer who found out about it to keep him quiet. That didn't work out and turned on the organization for a reduced sentence and protection for his family. So Neal grew up in WITSEC."

Silence stretched out for a minute after Peter's quick rundown. Jones was the first to break it, "Well it makes sense. Explains a lot about the guy, really."

"It does. So was he still under WITSEC protection when we caught him? Is that why we never got his real name?"

"Neal went missing from under the marshals at age 16 and only reappeared on their radar when we arrested him and his prints were processed."

"What happened to him? Did he decide to leave or... did the Flynn Organization catch up to him or..." Jones shrugged.

Peter sighed again, "I don't know, the marshals don't know. They seem to think he ran away and said I would understand once I got to go through the files they gave me but it still doesn't sit right with me."

Diana did not want to think about what could have happened to a baby Neal, so she asked, "So they brought files? If they knew who he was years ago when we arrested him why are they bringing this to you now?"

"His case has been declassified. No one involved in this case is thought to be in danger anymore. They will maintain the fake identities they were given if they want but will no longer be under active protection. The marshals... They told me. They said. Ugh. Neal's mother wants to contact him and the only way she can is through the marshals. She is staying here in New York, so is his aunt."

It was almost like Diana could read Peter's mind, "Do you know where she is and what name she is using I can get a workup started on her?"

"Yes, thank you Diana," he handed her the single sheet of paper with Neal's mother's information over to her.

"Jones, I have a file here," the file from Peter's jacket materialized between all three, "I am expecting more to be delivered from the marshals' office. I want you to arrange that and let me know as soon as they get here. I told Caffrey to meet me in my office as soon as his meeting with the marshals was done, so get going."

"On it, boss."

"Of course, Peter, no problem."

As soon as the door closed behind Jones, Peter had that file ripped open and was leafing through it. In a moment of clarity, he grabbed a cold case file out of his desk that the team was working on in their spare time and placed Neal's file in it, then continued reading.

'Goddammit is Neal French' Peter had almost entirely forgotten that the marshals said that his mother was a French citizen and Neal was born there, on a US base but still and spent all of his summers there with relatives. The con's fascination with France made a lot more sense now. This file was just an overview on Neal's life. He went into WITSEC at age 10 with his mom and pseudo aunt. They moved through about 3 different identities by the time Neal turned 12 and his aunt got shuffled into her own accommodations. Neal and his mom went through another few relocations before stabilizing and maintaining the same name from 13 on.

Neal filed for emancipation from his mother at 14 and petitioned the marshals to be separated from her if he gained his independence. It was a null issue; Neal lost his case as he was too young for the traditional emancipation and his mother was considered to be a fit parent by social workers. Peter knew that the childcare system was always in favor of keeping children with their parents even to the detriment of the kids. Eventually he came across the police report filed by teachers at this school that he had gone missing. The report referenced previous reports of neglect made by the school and previous arrest records but those were not included in the file. When questioned, Neal's mother hadn't even noticed that he was missing until the police showed up asking after her son. It was supposedly normal for him to disappear for days or weeks at a time and she was unconcerned. A search of the home showed clothes and money missing indicating a runaway. When the marshals took over the case, almost immediately after it was filed, they of course tried to connect Neal's disappearance to the Flynn's. There was no evidence to suggest so and although they never solved the case, it was concluded that he most likely ran away and Peter had to agree, though it saddened him. It didn't sound like his friend had any good options.

The file went on referencing dead ends and efforts made to find him. He was sure if he kept on reading that the file would go on cover Neal's eventual arrest, made by peter himself. He didn't want to read anymore. He always made it a point of professional pride to know everything there was to know about Neal to be able to outwit and catch him, but this felt like he was intruding, snooping where he shouldn't. Jones was right. It all made sense. Everything about Neal was coming into focus, something he would have rejoiced just the day before had it not been for the terrible picture it painted. Peter sat with his head in his hands contemplating if she should continue his research when he decided to press on but more carefully.