Thank you, once again for the incredible support! I am so happy to hear that so many are enjoying this story! It's a lot of fun to write too.

***I claim no ownership in, around, on, (enter your own preposition here) White Collar***

XOXOXOXO

"Moz? Mozzie." The little boy tossed a plastic ball up to the top bunk. Still getting no response, he sighed and decided he would have to climb the rope ladder to get to his friend. Laying his teddy bear back on his own bunk, he took hold and started scaling. Reaching the top he found Mozzie still sound asleep. Neal reached out and shook his friend, "Mozzie!" he whispered, "wake up!"

Finally stirring, the older boy moaned, "mmwhat? What? Are the pigs coming?"

"What? No! Moz, wake up." Neal insisted with an adamant whisper. "Come on, Moz. Get up and get dressed."

"What's going on, Neal?" Mozzie whined while rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, Moz, but we need to get this figured out. I don't want to be a kid anymore, do you?"

Mozzie hesitated a bit before answering, "No – no, of course not. What do you have planned?"

Conspiratorially, Neal said, "Remember, there was a second address at the bottom of the 'invitation' for the paper making process."

Neal watched as the light bulb turned on over Mozzie's head. "And you think if we follow it we might find out who did this." Neal grinned and nodded. Mozzie frowned, "But what if it's another trap?"

Exasperated, Neal rolled his eyes, "What more can they do to us, Moz?"

Mozzie could think of any number of things these mysterious mad scientists could probably do, but he knew nothing would deter his friend from his mission, so he shrugged his shoulders and reluctantly climbed out of bed.

Elizabeth had done a marvelous job of shopping for the boys. They were offered a limited number of little boy play clothes, and a great deal more preppy-boy style clothing. There were no suits to be found, which was fine with Mozzie, and Neal was happy to wear a pair of khaki slacks and a blue button down shirt. Mozzie pulled on his own khakis and a salmon polo shirt.

On stocking feet the boys tip-toed down the stairs hoping not to awaken the adults. Reaching the bottom landing, they both exhaled quietly and started slipping their shoes on.

They jumped at Elizabeth's sunny greeting, "Well, good morning boys! I was beginning to think you were going to sleep the day away; it's nearly 8:30 already. But I suppose after yesterday's adventures you were both exhausted." She smiled at the boys as they did their best to look as innocent as possible. Elizabeth felt the tension emanating from them, but she wasn't sure what to make of it just yet. They were up to something, so she decided to divert them before they could take whatever it was too far, "Peter's already gone to the office. I was about to start breakfast. Why don't you two come and help me?"

She watched as the boys looked at each other and then shrugged, clearly giving up their plans for now. They followed her into the kitchen and waited for their orders.

Elizabeth smiled down at them and shook her head, "You can't prepare food in those clothes, so why don't you two set the table for me?" She placed a small step ladder near the cupboard so they could reach what they needed, and kept up the light distracting banter while they worked, "I was thinking waffles. What do you two think?" Receiving an enthusiastic smile and nod from each boy, she continued on, "Make sure you use the place mats too. Be careful with those glasses, Neal. What would you two think about taking a trip to the Guggenheim with me this afternoon?"

Though both boys thought it would be fun, Neal in particular brightened. Within seconds though, Elizabeth saw a cloud pass over the boy's face, "What is it, Neal? Don't you want to go?"

"Of course I do, Elizabeth, it's just that – Peter . . . "

Catching on to the dilemma quickly, she reassured, "You leave Peter to me, Neal. I can understand why he wouldn't allow you to go to a museum without an FBI escort when you were an adult, but now? I'm sure everything will be fine."

Neal relaxed. If anyone could convince Peter Burke to go against his better judgment, it was his wife. The little boy flashed a charming smile, "Thanks, Elizabeth!" And he bound out of the kitchen to happily deposit the forks at each place setting.

X0X0X0X0

Mozzie had been trying to get Neal alone all morning. He could tell his friend was planning something, and he desperately wanted in on the deal. They were already in the cab on the way to the museum, and he still had not been able to find out what was going on.

Elizabeth, too, had noticed the younger boy's pensive mood. Something was definitely up, so in her typical efficient manner, she tackled whatever it was head-on, "Neal?" She waited for eye contact before continuing, "What's going on in that head of yours?" She caught the nervous glance from Mozzie and realized he knew something too.

Neal flashed Elizabeth his most disarming smile, "I'm just excited about the museum. I haven't been in ages."

Far from being convinced, Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, "Uh-huh." She waved a warning finger, "Any trouble from you at the museum – either of you – and we will leave immediately. Understood?"

Mozzie's eyes went wide as he nodded his head. Neal nodded his head too, and agreed, "Yes, Elizabeth. I promise. No trouble at the museum."

That was entirely too easy for Elizabeth's comfort, but there was nothing more she could do except trust them once the boys had agreed to her expectations.

XOXOXOXO

After grabbing a quick lunch at Café 3, the trio headed into the museum. They casually wandered from one exhibit to the next. They took their time and tried to one-up each other in their knowledge of the different artists. Neal won hands down, but Elizabeth had to remind him more than a few times that he was supposed to be a 5-year-old and should be careful not to blow his cover. When they reached the Thannhauser Collection, Elizabeth and Mozzie were both surprised when Neal adamantly refused to go in. To avoid a complete melt-down a perplexed Elizabeth agreed to move on though she really wanted to see it.

Elizabeth also made sure to keep both boys within reach at all times. She had to remind them to walk and to use their 'inside voices' a couple of times when they became particularly excited about certain pieces, but for the most part they were perfectly well-behaved little boys. When an elderly woman approached Elizabeth, crooning in admiration, "What well-mannered young gentlemen. You are raising them marvelously, my dear," the younger woman began to worry that they were standing out too much. She thanked the older woman and sidled up to her boys.

Making certain none of the other museum goers could hear her, she whispered, "I appreciate how good you two are being, but maybe you could try being a little more – I don't know – child-like?"

Thinking for a moment, Neal hit on an idea. "Well, we could go to one of the children's art classes for a while." Catching the look Elizabeth shot him, he reassured, "I promise not to paint above a kindergarten level. We'd look more like little kids if we did, and you could go see that boring Thannhauser Collection."

Elizabeth was skeptical, "Are you sure you want to spend time in a classroom?"

Though Mozzie was confused and didn't really want to be trapped with a bunch of snot-nosed ankle bitters doing arts and crafts, he could tell this was important to his friend. He jumped in to assist, "It would help us blend in."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't mind playing around with the paints." Seeing that Elizabeth was still uncertain he pleaded, "Please Elizabeth. It'll only be for an hour."

Though she felt slightly uneasy, the boys were making good arguments, and she really did want to see the Thannhauser, "Okay, but only for an hour." Receiving a serious nod from both boys, she guided them toward the drop-in art class. After leaving her cell phone number with the instructor, she knelt down to give her charges a stern warning, "You two are to stay in this room until I come to get you. No funny business."

Mozzie crossed his heart with one hand and crossed his fingers behind his back with the other. Neal agreed, "No funny business. We'll be right here when you get back."

She took in their innocent expressions and sighed as she turned to leave.

XOXOXOXO

As Elizabeth rounded the corner out of their sight, Mozzie turned to Neal. "What're you planning?" he adamantly whispered.

Throwing a glance toward the teacher, Neal quickly dragged his friend to one of the tables covered with pots of paint, brushes and paper. He shoved a paintbrush into Mozzie's hand, grabbed one for himself, and covertly explained his idea. "That second address is only three blocks from here. I can slip out, check the place out, and still be back in plenty of time to get a couple of paintings done."

Mozzie was concerned, "I don't know, Neal. It's risky. Maybe I should come with you."

"No, Moz." Neal was steadfast in his decision, "We can't both disappear. The teacher will have Elizabeth on the phone in minutes. You have to stay here and distract her." He knew being forced into human interaction was enough to make Mozzie quake in his loafers, but he would do it. He always did. "I promise Moz, I'll be back before you know it." With a reassuring pat on his friend's back and another glance at the teacher to make certain her back was turned, Neal glided out the door and was gone.

XOXOXOXO

Mozzie nervously brushed random strokes of color onto a sheet of paper. He concentrated on being invisible while he tried to decide how to be distracting should the need arise. Less than five minutes later though, the young attractive teacher cheerily approached the 7-year-old, "And what are we painting?" She asked in a high-pitched sing-song.

"We're painting an abstract study in the style of Lippold." Mozzie flatly answered. He did not appreciate being patronized.

The stunned young teacher blinked a couple of times before stuttering out, "Richard Lippold?" At the little boy's curt nod, she responded with a smile, "He was a sculptor." She felt badly when the little boy's face fell and rushed in to make him feel better, "but this painting is a wonderful representation of his style." The teacher was relieved when the boy smiled brightly up at her.

Mozzie again became nervous as the teacher glanced at her clipboard. He hopefully peeked at the door Neal had disappeared through as she asked, "You're Mozzie, right? Where's your little brother?"

Brother? It suddenly occurred to Mozzie that Elizabeth had checked them in as her son's. If he wasn't so anxious, this thought would have made him smile. "H-he, errm, he went to the restroom."

Glancing at the closed door to the boy's bathroom, her brow creased, "He's been in there for a long time. Maybe I should go make sure everything is okay."

"No!" Flinching at his own raised voice, Mozzie softened his response, "I-I'll go check on him." At the teacher's nod, Mozzie stood to go just as he realized this would delay the inevitable only a few extra seconds. With no time to devise a better plan, he quickly flipped his hand out and "accidentally" knocked over a pot of green paint onto his new clothes. He had even surprised himself with his rash actions.

The teacher must have misread his shock for fear because she grabbed a rag and immediately started wiping at the blob of paint as she comforted, "It's okay, Mozzie. This paint washes right out. No one's going to be angry with you."

Picking up on the teacher's anxiety, Mozzie began to sniffle, "M-mom's going to yell at me. She told me not to get dirty. These are new pants." He was actually starting to work up some real tears.

Still dabbing at the little boy's clothes, the teacher was beginning to panic. One thing she could not handle was little kids crying. Once again she wondered what had led her to this profession. "Really Mozzie, you're going to be fine. Let's get to the sink and get some clean water on it." She had completely forgotten about finding Neal.

Mozzie kept up the whining and waterworks for the next several minutes as the teacher fretted over the quickly dissolving stain.

"What's going on here, Mozzie?"

The little boy froze at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. She was back early. Very early. His 'mom' started feeling uneasy about leaving the boys alone almost as soon as she had walked away. By the time she reached the Thannhauser, she knew in her gut that she needed to return.

The teacher, nervous that the now calmed little boy might begin crying again, explained, "He spilled a little paint, but it's hardly noticeable now."

Glaring at her 'son', Elizabeth waited for eye contact. Slowly, the little boy raised scared eyes up to her face and swallowed hard. "Where's Neal, Mozzie?"

Dropping his gaze to the floor, Mozzie shifted from foot to foot.

"Mozzie." The warning in Elizabeth's voice was palpable, "I will give you to the count of two to start talking, young man." Taking him by the arm, Elizabeth dragged Mozzie to the table, "One," and took a seat in one of the children's chairs, "Two." She pulled him in beside her and turned his face up to meet hers.

She would not wait any longer. Vaguely, Mozzie wondered what she would do if he refused to answer, but he couldn't disappoint Mrs. Suit . . . Elizabeth like that. Looking down at his tiny hands gently clenched in her worried ones, he let fly with what he knew, "Neal just went a couple of blocks away. H-he went to investigate the second address." At her frantic look of confusion, Mozzie clarified. He told her all about the paper-making invitation and the smaller, alternative address printed on it. He anxiously finished with, "It's not my fault. I told him not to go."

Reaffirming her grasp on the little boy's hand, she jogged out the front door without so much as a thank you to the befuddled art teacher. Outside the building, she turned to Mozzie, "Which way?" She demanded.

He timidly pointed to the east and immediately found himself being dragged in that direction.

Feeling like the worst mother in the world, Elizabeth pulled out her cell phone and filled Peter in on what had happened.

XOXOXOXO

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Please review if you have a second. Hearing from everyone is so very encouraging!