STORY TIME

AN: This is the 11th installment; I came up with this idea and just loved it. I love giving little glimpses into Tony's and Neal's lives, into their pasts. I hope you enjoy this little peek.

My beta, as far as I know, is still having computer issues, so this one is completely on me.

"Do you remember Harvard? Tony asked Neal as he slipped his wine.

Neal nodded and smiled. "…Chance Howard."

Tony smiled. "Yes, he was an excellent student, too bad about him having to leave school."

"Yeah," Neal replied. "…too bad."

Peter looked from Tony to Neal, and then he looked at El. They were both clueless. What were these two talking about?

"Who, in the world, is Chance Howard?" Peter asked as they sat at the Burke's dining table, enjoying their meal.

"I was, for about two months, during Tony's junior year." Neal explained. "I just kind of showed up on campus one day. Tony let me stay with him and his roommate."

Peter and El looked at Tony in surprise. "You went to Harvard?

Tony nodded. "…got my Master's in Criminology there."

Both Peter and El just shook their heads and sipped their wine. They couldn't wait to hear the story.

"I hid out in Tony's room while he was in class, and I got so bored…I started reading Tony's textbooks." Neal continued. "I said 'I can do this.' So I started attending classes. The classes were huge, nobody even noticed me, at first. But, I had to come up with a name for when I had to sign in. Chance just sounded like someone who would go to Harvard."

El grinned. The story really didn't surprise her. She could see Neal doing something like that. "You were stealing education?"

Neal shook his head. "Not exactly, I attended some classes, took some tests. I just never got a degree." Neal paused. "After a while Tony's R.A realized that I was living in Tony's room. He threatened to evict Tony and his roommate. And the professors were starting to realize that I was not registered for classes."

Peter laughed. "You actually stole education from Harvard University." He shook his head. "Only you, Neal, only you."

"I never got a degree." Neal reminded them. "I did get a 4.0 gpa for my work, though."

"So, technically, Peter, when you asked me awhile back if I had even been to college. The answer was yes." Neal clarified.

Peter nodded. "What about the degrees? I've seen the documents."

Neal smiled. "Most people find it very difficult to believe I know as much as I do. Especially when they find out I didn't even graduate high school. So I…padded my resume. I made up the actual certificates because I need the 'proof,' and they were relatively easy to forge." Neal looked at Peter. "Don't feel too bad. No one would be able to tell they were forged from the copies you have in your files."

"You didn't graduate high school?" El asked, unbelieving.

"You didn't tell her?" Neal asked Peter. Neal was shocked. He though Peter told El everything.

Peter shook his head. "It wasn't in your file, of course." Neal's FBI file contained his activities from the age of 18 years on. "And I was just so shocked when you told me. I just…I couldn't believe it."

"After, well, after getting kicked out of military school, I just...I got caught up with those people forging artwork." Neal stated referring to the history he had shared with Peter awhile back.

"It's always fascinated me." Tony admitted. "How do you remember…how do you know all that stuff? …to be able to recognize a painting, to be able to recognize a style. How are you able to remember it all, the dates, the artist's names, all that? How are you able to remember it all?"

"I have a good memory. And I appreciate the skill, time and patience it takes to produce a work of art." Neal explained.

"So what, Tony, you put Neal in an extra bunk bed you had in your room. Those rooms are so small…." Elizabeth asked.

"Well, actually the R.A. didn't care. We told the R.A. that Neal was there. We just didn't tell him that Neal was actually living there…full time. The R.A. actually had his girlfriend practically living there. She would come in and spend the weekend. She went to another college." Tony explained. "IT was the Dean of Housing who got on the R.A about what was going on. The dean threatened his job. So…if the R.A. had to give up his girlfriend then…." Tony paused. "And Neal actually slept in a sleeping bag on our floor."

Both Peter and El nodded their understanding.

"So, you went classes all day?" El asked.

Neal nodded. "I went to a couple of the regular lecture-hall classes. Then I would go to the art department. I spent most of my time there. I sat in on a few of those classes too. I convinced the instructors that I was supposed to be there. I told them that there had been a mix-up with my tuition payment, that my financial aid had not come through yet. By the time I left there I had learned a lot. I even got the instructors to give me textbooks for several of ther art classes. I still have them. But then I got caught up and had to leave." Neal shook his head. "That really was a great two months."

THE END

END NOTES: FYI: An R.A. stands for Resident Advisor. They are older students who, in the United States, anyway, live in the student dorms and act as mentors or advisors to younger students.