Reuniting with a ghost

Washington DC

Diana missed working with Peter and the team, but it wasn't the same without Neal. They still got the job done, still enjoyed the work, but there was something of the fun that used to be involved with it missing.

With her family clambering for more time with Theo and the team no longer being the same, it was easier than she expected to move back to the city.

She had an apartment that had great access for the downtown area in order to get to work as well as to be close to her family. The local FBI office had happily taken her back and she was comfortably settled into her new team. Finally, she was keeping in touch with her former team as they were still the best friends that she had.

Ghost Sightings

It didn't take Diana long to start seeing Neal's ghost.

The first time that she saw him, was a reflection on a building's wall. When she took a second look, he was gone. She went the route that he had been heading to see him again, but she lost him in the crowd.

One day she saw him riding the train in the other direction when she was at the station. He was absorbed in a paper so she could only stare at him. Before she could try to get his attention, the trains took off and he was gone.

Another day she was in a foot chase when she saw the perpetrator go into a building. When she got there, she found him hidden in a perfect place to get the drop on her, only instead of attacking her, he was fully bound. As she looked around in bewilderment, she saw the shadow of a familiar figure salute her before disappearing. Her back up tried to pursue, but she knew they wouldn't catch him… how do you catch a ghost?

Once, even when she was at work, she saw him. Neal was walking down the hall of the FBI with a bunch of men in suits. He was being commanding and ordering them how to proceed with a takedown operation that he was leading. That was the oddest sighting she had seen. Why would a con artist's ghost be walking around commanding the FBI?

None of it made sense, but Diana kept seeing him none the less. In fact, the longer that she remained in DC the more often she saw his ghost. It was almost like he was alive and working with the government in DC.

Case Load

Eventually, she got assigned to work a taskforce on a very important case. They were to be working with the FBI in DC, the New York White Collar team, a contracted team from California, and the CIA for the oddest mix of groups that Diana had ever been assigned to work with.

Diana quickly learned that the case was something to do with forged art that was being used to fund terrorists. The FBI was divided in tasks with with DC monitoring the organization as a whole while the New York office tracked the art. Their contracted team was going to antagonize the organization into action while the CIA was putting an agent undercover as a forger. As the inside man, everything relied on the forger to gain information before relaying that out for the FBI to process.

Meeting

Diana was enjoying her breakfast when she saw Neal again. He was at the same coffee shop getting his morning wakeup call and a pastry.

Getting up, she blocked his exit as he wasn't getting away from her this time.

Before he reached her location though, he suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Believing that she was really and truly seeing a ghost, Diana felt silly for preparing to block his exit. Returning to her seat, she continued to eat her meal before heading into work for the morning.

When she went out to her car, he was lounging against the side of it and she couldn't help but stare. There he was, alive, well, and standing right in front of her drinking a coffee just like he used to. The difference was his attire. Instead of being dressed in a fancy suit and hat, he was wearing slacks and a dress shirt.

"Neal?" She questioned.

Lowering his cup, he looked at her in return. "I wish I could explain it all… Perhaps the boss will let me before this is all said and done."

"What do you mean Neal?" Her fury was getting the better of her. He wasn't dead, yet he had let them all mourn for him!

"You're furious. I suppose there will be plenty of that too. Do you know that the contracted team from California is my other team? When the bosses assigned me to play this role, I insisted on both teams being involved and that you be assigned with the DC portion. Too many agents have betrayed me in the past and I have died for real more times than you would think. This time I am choosing those who will be watching my back and ensuring success for the case as no other agents could pull this off."

That wasn't what she was expecting. "Assigned to this? Died before? Do you mean that you didn't fake your death?" What was she missing?

"I was recruited to the agency when I was twenty one. No, I faked Keller killing me because of the Panthers. And yes, I have died for real before, but each time I was revived." With his coffee finished he started to walk away.

"Wait! So you're playing the forger? What is your name then?" She still had more questions.

"All in due time Diana, all in due time." And he was gone.

It wasn't much of a meeting, but at least she knew that he was alive, that there was a reason for his death, and it sounded like he was an agent, most likely for the CIA. She had many more questions, but he promised 'all in due time' so, maybe she would get her answers yet?

Mystery

Since Diana didn't have to report to the task force for a few hours, she had some time to research.

Neal said that he was recruited when he was twenty one, so she started searching for government employees who were hired around that time. Then she narrowed her search down by using his description. Nothing.

He was obviously alive, he said he was recruited, so why couldn't she find him in the government data base?

Changing her search, she looked through the civilian files for a man of his age and description. Then she used her picture of him to narrow down the search. When it finished, there were a few people who looked like him, but he wasn't amongst them. Who was he that the government would remove his existence from the government and civilian systems?

When she was about ready to give up, she remembered that he had worked with the team from California too. Doing some digging, she wasn't able to come up with enough information about them to search. She had their government names, but they were all fake, and there records were black ops, so she couldn't read them.

Apparently, the man who played Neal Caffrey really was a mystery.

Lonely

It was a few days before she saw Neal again.

Arriving home from work, Diana let herself into her apartment to find the babysitter attending to Theo while Neal sat reading a book in another language she didn't recognize.

"Neal?!" She was surprised that he had sought her out, yet alone traced her to her home.

Seeing that Neal was reading and that the babysitter didn't feel comfortable, Diana stepped in to settle the situation. In a few minutes, she had reassured the babysitter and gotten her out the door before she turned to Neal.

While she had been taking care of her sitter, Neal had picked up Theo and was playing with him. Listening to Theo laugh, Diana enjoyed the sight of her friend playing with her son. She had missed Neal and seeing him back in her life was a good thing.

"What are you doing here Neal?" Perhaps she could get some answers now?

"You think that I am horrible to fake my death, and that I am lying about everything." He was stating the known fact and he seemed to understand her anger.

"Pretty much, I watched Peter mourn your death for a year!" That got quite the wince. She had struck a nerve.

"I wish things didn't have to work out the way that they did… but once again, I would do it again if I had to." He drifted off in thought, but seeing that Diana was about to let him have it, he finished explaining. "The Panthers Diana! Every moment that my Caffrey alias was alive after that take down meant that the people I care about had inescapable targets on their backs. I'd rather they think that I was dead, than have to actually lose them. So you can call me selfish all you want, but Peter has El and they have their son. What could be more important than that?"

"They wanted to have you around too…" She was blowing up at him anyway.

"At the expense of what? Should I be in the picture for Peter to cry on as he buried his son, his wife, or both of them? What about when the Panthers went after Peter, should I be there for El as she buried her husband? There was no good option, but they needed me less than each other."

That was a passionate argument that she couldn't really argue with. "Still…"

"It hurt them a lot, I known. You know it's not so great on the other side either." He didn't get any further as his phone rang. Turning to business, he past her Theo and answered the phone. "Yes General?"

Diana watched and thought about what he had given her. He had 'died' to protect Peter and Elizabeth from having to go through the worse loss of each other, he had died before for real with the team from California, did anyone know that he was actually alive?

When he finished up his conversation, Neal turned to her, "Duty calls."

As he grabbed his book to leave, she felt the need to ask him. "Does anyone know that you're alive?"

"My boss."

"Anyone else?"

"You…" With a shrug he was out the door.

So that was why he kept haunting her… he had said it wasn't great on the other side either. He was lonely, and she was the only person that he could talk to.

Astounding

While Neal's undercover role progressed in the field, he didn't come to see her much. His focus was on the progress the case.

Still, Diana was involved in the case so she watched the effects of his work, and it was better than it used to be. This wasn't just the work of a White Collar criminal, this was the work of an undercover agent and knowing that seemed to make him all the more fantastic.

His paintings weren't just master pieces of art, this time she got to see the layers of information hidden in them. There were codes hidden inside of them and other pictures depicting what information he was finding. Then the pictures could be put under things like a black light to reveal whole other levels of information.

The amount of details and information that he could pack into one picture was astounding!

She couldn't believe that she had missed all of this over the years that she had helped Peter try to catch Neal. Did he always hide so much inside of his pictures, or was this just a special occasion for this assignment?

The Phone Call

Neal was over at Diana's one evening when she got a call from New York. He quietly played with Theo while she answered it. Hearing the familiar voice of Peter, she greeted him and saw Neal's head jerk upwards. With a smile she put the phone on speaker so that he could clearly here the conversation too, even though he couldn't participate yet.

"Hey Diana, how are things going in DC?" He sounded cheerful enough.

Looking over at Neal, she could see his face. It was obvious that he was happy to hear his friend accepting his death, but there was a sorrow of missing him too.

"More interesting than you would expect…" Neal was shaking his head 'no' at her so she knew not to say anything yet. "Unfortunately I can't talk about it at this point."

"Hmm, another time then?" He was curious about what was so interesting, but he didn't push her.

"It's not my story to tell, but you would find it very interesting. I can assure you that the person involved wishes to tell you but, for reason not entirely known to myself, is unable to at the moment." For a moment, she left those hints hanging in the air for Peter to absorb, before she changed the subject. "How are things in New York?"

"Things are going good. We've got that joint case with you to keep us busy at work. Do you know why there is such an eclectic group teamed up?" He seemed to be working on something while he talked.

"Yeah, the agent spear pointing the undercover work doesn't trust anyone else. He also said that we were the only ones who could pull this off." She was hinting to Peter as much as she dared, and Neal had caught on to her ploy.

With a reproving look and a shake of his head, he reprimanded her before smiling and rolling his eyes like he wished he could be the one doing it.

"You know him?" Peter was surprised to hear that.

"I've seen him around. Let's just say he takes being a spook to a whole new level." She grinned at Neal while she said that. Her expression told him that she was coming to terms with his actions, even though she still didn't understand it all.

Relaxing a little more, Neal seemed to feel better for the understanding.

Peter on the other hand was getting rather confused. "I get the feeling that there is supposed to be something there, but I don't get what you're hinting at. Do I know him?"

"From what I understand, we all know something of him, but none of us know the real picture. I've done some digging into his identity, but nothing comes up. Whoever he really is, it's a mystery to me." She watched Neal's expression as she said that. He just looked mischievous as he grinned at her. Giving him a glare of her own, she said that she wanted answers, but he just seemed to ignore that.

There was quiet on the other end of the line as Peter was thinking over what she said. When he spoke again his voice was guarded, it was like he was catching on to the possibilities that could entail. "I think I would find this very interesting should there come a time when you can say something other than vague hints and clues."

Satisfied that she had given him enough hints for the moment, Diana was about to change topics when Peter hollered.

"Neal!"

In response to his name, Neal's head really jerked up and his jaw dropped open. He was shocked that Peter had figured it out.

Then Peter continued talking in a more normal voice. "You're not supposed to be throwing that all over the floor Neal, you're supposed to be eating it. No Satchmo, those aren't for you." For a few moments there was just the sound of Peter battling the baby and the dog as he tried to clean up the mess.

Diana smiled as she watched comprehension dawn on Neal's face. The surprise hit as he heard Peter talking to his son as Neal, then the pleasure as he realized that his friend had named his son after him.

When Peter fully came back on the line, he apologized. "Sorry, sometimes I think little Neal takes after big Neal in more ways than just his names. On the bright side though, that means that I have several years of practice in dealing with those similarities."

Laughing, Diana teased the Neal in front of her by joking to Peter. "You certainly had the tones to match the name, after so many speeches for big Neal, little Neal is in for a practiced lecturer." Then after a moment's hesitation she added. "Too bad big Neal isn't around for you to blame that behavior on his influence."

Sticking his tongue out at her, Neal showed his opinion of her bringing up the old lectures again. Then he struck an indignant pose saying that he would never teach little Neal anything that Peter wouldn't approve of, however, the comical attitude of it showed that he probably would, just to annoy Peter.

Chuckling softly, Peter agreed with her. "Neal did give me a lot of practice at lectures… I only wish that he was here to teach Neal things. We tell him stories, but it will never be the same things as experiencing Neal telling them for himself." He drifted off remembering the way that Neal always made any story interesting. There was no way that he could compete with storytelling like that.

This time Neal also looked sad. He knew that Peter would miss him, but to here the sorrow in his voice wasn't something that he had expected to endure. When he faked his death, he hadn't thought he would ever be this lucky.

Having caused enough emotional roller coasters for the day, Diana changed the conversation over to basic things like everyday life and how the kids were growing before she and Peter ended their conversation.

"I hoped that maybe I would be lucky enough to get to be in everybody's lives again… the only problem is how will everyone react? Chuck and the team have been through this before, but their lives have finally stabilized out, so I don't want to cause any trouble for them again? As for Peter and Elizabeth, what if I get killed again for real? Only permanently, then they will have to go through this all over again. My battle is that I want to have my friends in my life, but my life is such a mess that I don't want them hurt by it either." He was stressed and for the first time he was really showing his emotions and concerns to her.

Diana still didn't know what to say to him, but she tried. "If Peter and Chuck were in your shoes, would you want them around, no matter what?"

"Yes, but I'm not them. So, although you're trying to make a point, it doesn't entirely work."

"True, but you didn't watch Peter go through loosing you. To his knowledge you are dead, but he even said once that if you did somehow manage the impossible of faking your death, that he would happily take you back into his life. You're his best friend… he even put that you were a brother on your gravestone." She was going to pound that into Neal's head even if she had to try and beat it into him.

"If only he knew the truth of who I am…" Neal smiled at that.

I would like to extend a thank you to those who have chosen to read my works, and an additional thank you to those who have chosen to leave kudos, follow/bookmark, and favorite my stories!

Despite this story starting on such a sad note, I hope everyone is enjoying it and will stick around to see the happy ending. On a side note, it made me cry to try to climb into Peter's shoes for that first part so I really hope that those emotions came through for you all.