EPILOGUE
AN: Thanks for your response, and since most of you wanted a continuation, here you go. I hope you like what I came up with. Jackie
From the Previous Chapter:
"You said you made a mistake. You said the whole thing was a mistake." Neal reminded him.
"I was angry." Peter confessed.
"I'm tired of having to prove myself to you every day. Every day I start back at zero. I never get any credit for anything. No matter what I do, no matter what I say, you still don't trust me." Neal said.
"Neal, that's…."
"Maybe I made a mistake trusting you." Neal stated.
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Peter couldn't deny he was more than hurt by the statement. But if he were completely honest with himself…he deserved it.
"I've done some good things working in the White Collar division. You know that I have." Neal replied.
Peter nodded. "It's not just about what you've done for us, Neal. You've proven in the past, if conditions are right, you'll run…you'll break the law. Sometimes what you do is a lot more 'south' of legal than I'm comfortable with."
"I'm a criminal, Peter. I 'operate' south of legal. That is what I'm comfortable with." Neal paused. "You wanted to work with me for that reason. I'm a criminal, and I'm damned good at it."
Peter sighed. He was right. Neal Caffrey was a master criminal. And that was exactly why Peter wanted to work with him. Who would have a better insight into the criminal mind?
"You don't trust me, Peter." Neal stated. "That is what this all comes down to. That's it. You don't trust me, and I deserve better. I risked my life to save Elizabeth. I fought with Keller, hand-to-hand combat. You know how much I hate violence, and I had the scars to prove it. Keller broke my ribs, he broke my nose. He blamed me for the bottle of wine and the U-boat thing, things that, if you remember, BOTH you and I were heavily involved in."
Peter started to open his mouth.
"You can't have it both ways, Peter. You can't have me 'act' in a criminal manner for the sake of a case, then blame me or bust me for it when the case doesn't go quite the way you wanted it to."
"That's not…."
"Sure it is. You're still pissed off over Keller taking Elizabeth. You blame me." Neal paused. "And you were right to. I was to blame. But I never intended for anything to happen to El. You know that. You know how fond I am of her. I would never want anything to happen to her. But you blamed me then, and all these months later, you're still blaming me."
Peter shook his head.
"There is nothing I can do to take away the memory of that scene when you walked into at your house. The sight of the sauce pan spilled on the stove and the floor. That look on your face when you first saw the scene, when you first saw me. I had nightmares about it, Peter. But I can't change that. I can't change what happened to her. I can't change the fact that I was given the treasure. I can't change the fact that I chose to keep it." Neal paused. "But to be quite honest with you, Keller would have thought I had it, regardless. And even if I hadn't have kept it, he would have still come after me. And all the rest would still have happened. So blame me all you want, for that, I deserve it. But I don't deserve this. I have earned your trust, over and over again. I've proved myself to you and to everybody else in White Collar." Neal paused, again. "I do good work. I do what I'm asked to do. And I get results. And I shouldn't have to tell you all this. You work with me every day. You know it all."
"It's not that simple, Neal." Peter said.
"No Peter, the issues are not simple, but trust is, either you do or you don't, black or white, yes or no. Which is it?"
Peter didn't' speak.
"And there's my answer. I guess I will see you in the morning, Agent Burke." Neal said, turning away from Peter.
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The next morning Neal came into Peter's office without his usual fanfare and sat down in the chair in front of Peter's desk. Peter wouldn't have ever known Neal was there if he had not looked up and seen him.
"Hey Neal, good morning…I don't have anything for you yet. Just let me finish up these reports, it won't take but a minute." Peter stated.
Neal nodded. He stood and began to leave.
"Where are you going?" Peter asked, normally Neal would just sit and wait for him to finish.
"Back to my desk." Neal responded turning to face him.
"It'll just be a minute." Peter repeated, not understanding Neal's eagerness to leave the office.
"Then I'll be back up when you're done." Neal replied. He left the office.
Peter didn't reply. He knew why Neal was acting this way. The way he had left things had not been good yesterday. Neal had not said good morning. As a matter of fact, he had not said much of anything. And now he couldn't wait to get out of Peter's office and away from him. Usually Peter had to tell Neal to leave.
Peter called everybody to the conference room twenty minutes later. He watched Neal as he took a seat. Neal opened the folder before him and started to read, just as the agents in the room did. Neal didn't look up or acknowledge Peter. Peter continued to glance at him, periodically, as he went over the case. Neal spoke when he was asked a question, but the room was devoid of his usual commentary. Several agents in the room also noticed the change in behavior. They stole glances at Neal several times and then cast questioning glances at Peter. Peter shook his head or shrugged. Peter called Neal back into the room when the meeting was over.
"You know what you're supposed to do?" Peter asked.
Neal nodded. "I've got it."
"Any questions?"
Neal shook his head.
"Neal, I…."
"I'll do my job. I know what's at stake here. I'll do whatever I need to do to fulfill that obligation." Neal replied.
Peter began to speak.
"…professional courtesy…." Neal replied. "That's all we owe each other. I get it."
"Neal, that's…. I want more than that." Peter replied. "I want…no, I need our friendship."
Neal shrugged his shoulders. "You decide you trust me and we'll see."
THE END
END NOTES: Again, probably not the ideal ending. But I detest just wrapping things up in a nice, pretty bow.
