Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA Network and Jeff Eastin.
Chapter 17
When Neal awoke he was shocked to see that it was already passed nine o'clock. The recliner was empty save for the quilt but he could hear Peter's voice rising up from the kitchen below. He surmised that Peter must be on the phone as he could not hear Elizabeth. Judging by the smell of coffee and bacon, she had already been up and left for the day. Neal knew that Peter always snuck bacon onto the skillet when Elizabeth was not around, as it was definitely not on her list of healthy foods for her husband.
While Neal showered and dressed, Peter continued his phone conversations with Diana. After last night he an Elizabeth had agreed to not ask Neal anything else about his past. The whole not-breathing thing was a deal breaker as far as Peter was concerned and he did not want to go through that again. While he was not willing to traumatize his friend further by bringing up his past he was dying to move on with this story. He would just have to take a more circuitous route.
"Diane, I want you to go through the facial recognition sites for missing and exploited children. Go back to 1975 and see if you can find anything on our mystery woman. Run Neal's mug shot too and see if that throws up anything."
"Why on earth would Neal be on there, Boss?" Diana inquired.
Peter was not willing to divulge anything Neal had told him so far, but there had to be some record of Neal and the woman. Two kids just couldn't disappear for six years without a paper trail. He doubted that they would find anything under the name Neal Caffrey but the facial recognition might yield something.
"He says he knew the woman when they were children, so you never know, maybe there will be a link out there." Peter answered somewhat vaguely.
Diana was not convinced. "But Neal's never been missing, Boss. Why would he show up on those databases?" she persisted.
"Just do it, Diana!" Peter barked, more harshly than he had intended. The drama and lack of sleep were taking their toll on him. "Sorry Diana. I didn't mean for that to come out quite like that."
"No problem boss. I'll run the woman first and then start looking for Neal. I can't hold out much hope given all the work you did trying to track him down when he was on the run. You never found anything going back beyond his teens."
Now Peter had some idea why they hadn't come up with any history for Neal. He had been off the grid for six years and who knew what the story was after that. Mozzie would be his next lead, but as Neal had appeared in the kitchen Peter would have to postpone any conversation with Mozzie until he had Neal busily occupied on something else.
"Morning!" He greeted Neal brightly, as he flipped his phone closed, and passed him an empty coffee mug.
"I see you're not on the Elizabeth Burke slim and trim regime this morning." Neal smirked as he surveyed a pan of sizzling bacon.
"I won't tell if you won't." Peter promised as he helped himself to a slice and folded it between two pieces of toast.
Neal poured himself some coffee and joined in the elicit feast. It was hardly Italian roast and French croissants à la June's but it was certainly delicious. All the more so as it was forbidden food and Neal loved nothing more than to break the rules, especially this early on in the day!
Once they had finished, they made sure the skillet was cleaned and put away. Neal laughed out loud as he noticed Peter rearranging the bacon slices left in the packet so as to disguise the missing slices. Peter had the good grace to blush upon being caught in his deception.
"That looks very well practiced Peter." Neal remarked teasingly.
"Yeah." Peter replied bashfully. "It doesn't always work. If Elizabeth works out I gave Satch a slice too there will be hell to pay!"
"Glad to see your relationship is founded on honesty and trust!" Neal goaded.
"Okay, okay. Give me a break. I was up all night babysitting. I deserve some slack!" Peter joked without thinking.
Immediately the smile was wiped off Neal's face and his expression clouded.
"About last night, Peter. I'm really sorry. I …" Neal stammered.
Immediately regretting his words, Peter cut him off. "No, Neal. Don't say any more. Neither Elizabeth nor I are upset with you. I didn't mean to sound flippant just now. You really mustn't apologize any more. Let's let it drop, for now at least, huh?"
Neal looked relieved and just nodded, quickly turning around and going back upstairs for his jacket. When he returned a couple of minutes later, hat in place, he looked 100% Caffrey. It was hard to believe what had gone on just hours before. Peter shook his head as he put his arm around Neal's shoulders and guided him out to the car.
"What?" Neal asked.
"You still look like a cartoon!" Peter replied, smiling.
"Bacon burglar!" Neal shot back as he got into the passenger seat and closed the door behind him.
Peter deliberately kept the journey into the office light. He chattered on about the evening's forthcoming baseball game and what strategy he wanted his team to follow. Neal rolled his eyes in not so mock boredom, making a mental note to ensure he went straight back to June's after work. As they pulled into the parking garage at the FBI building Peter noticed that Neal had grown quiet and was starting to fidget with his tie clip.
"You okay, buddy?" Peter asked.
Neal turned to him, putting his hand on Peter's forearm and looking his straight in the eye pleaded, "Peter, please don't tell anyone what's been happening, or anything that I told you. I don't want anyone to know, okay?"
Peter sighed and struggled to keep his expression neutral. He knew that Neal would not be able to cope with the idea of him or anyone else on the team pitying him. He and Elizabeth had talked some before she left this morning and had both still been shaken by Neal's revelations. They had decided to present a unified front of non-judgmental comfort in the hope that it would create a safe zone for Neal. They were in agreement that they would treat their younger friend as a survivor and not a victim. But as to where to go from there they were at a loss. Elizabeth felt they should encourage Neal to open up more whereas Peter felt so completely out of his depth he wanted to get Neal professional help. In the end, they had agreed to disagree and see how the next few days panned out.
"Neal, I promise. But you must agree to leave this case to me and do not go chasing after this woman. I will find her and bring her in. You must not interfere in any way and I do not want you contacting Mozzie about her. Is that clear?"
"Okay." Neal reluctantly agreed. Normally this would not have meant anything to him. Peter knew he would go ahead and do his own thing regardless. However, this time he was aware that he was not coping too well with all that had happened and he willingly handed control over to Peter.
As they exited the elevator on the twenty-first floor, Peter put his arm around Neal and walked him to his desk in the White Collar Crime Unit. "Stay there and go through the cold case files you started on last week. I've got work to do with Diana. And Neal, no calls to Mozzie."
"Okay dad, I got it." Neal whined, sitting down and grabbing the top file from the pile. "Geez."
Peter smiled and rested his hand on Neal's head for a moment before heading over to Diana's desk. She looked up with a smug grin. "I have news for you, boss." She announced.
"I knew you would. That's why you're my favorite!" Peter smiled back. "Give me a couple of minutes to get a coffee and then meet me in my office."
"Okay boss."
TBC
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story or added it to their alerts/favorites. Thank you also lstuds (Comma Queen) for the beta graft work.
