3B: Fatherly Pride


The team generally accepted the new dynamic between Peter and Neal. Neal wasn't an agent and hadn't known the truth of his past until his mother's death, so he hadn't played any of them. Besides, it also didn't bode well for his childhood. To many, his mother's deception made Neal's deceptive skills more understandable.

However, it was the reveal of there being identical triplets that got a more wary reaction from the team. This meant that Neal's ability to create or attract trouble had also tripled! There was also some concern that they might have covered for each other to hide additional crimes. The more positive reactions were concerns about pranks and curiosity about the other triplets.

As the leader of the team, Peter was expected to set the example. Based on this, he discouraged anything hurtful towards Neal, tolerated any general distrust or professional treatment, and was pleased by those who were at least polite and generally friendly. He wasn't naïve enough to expect everyone to suddenly welcome Neal, but he at least expected polite professionalism for one of the team.

With this arrangement, it didn't take long before the team resumed a fairly normal function.


Coming down from the office to ask Neal for his take on a case, Peter paused when he noticed that Neal's hair didn't look right. It was a little shaggy for Neal, and although Bryce had used a product to style his hair in an attempt to hide, he didn't succeed well enough.

"Come on, Neal." Peter changed his plans to coffee with his other son.

Perking up, Bryce seemed to think he'd gotten past him. Grabbing the Fedora, he bounced to Peter's side. "Where are we going?"

Smiling, Peter let Bryce think he'd fooled him. He was just as curious about where Neal was and happy to spend time with one of the other boys. Bryce couldn't make it up often and Junior bounced around so much with the military that he was tough to nail down.

Carrying general conversation, Peter enjoyed talking to Bryce while noting his conversation style. He also used the ride down the elevator to confirm that Neal was at June's. His boys had tried to switch on him, how amusing on the personal front. But, on the professional front, this needed to be addressed.

Getting his car, Peter drove them to a favorite coffee shop near June's.

Turning the fun around, Peter enjoyed Bryce's confusion while he ordered two coffees for himself and then directed him to make his choice.

Then with three coffees and two men back in the car, Peter took a less obvious route to June's. Parking, he watched Bryce's face as he tried to figure out why they were having coffee in the park on a workday.

Peter was amused when they walked around the corner and it dawned on Bryce when he could see June's mansion towering over her neighbors. He tried to remain in character just in case though.

Holding his silence up to the loft, Peter set both of the coffees that he carried on the table before moving to knock on the closet door. "Your coffee's getting cold."

Instructing Bryce to sit while he continued to drink his coffee, Peter took the seat across from him to drink his.

Neal followed closely behind to sit by Bryce with his coffee. "When did you figure it out?"

Explaining, he stated when but not how. Peter wasn't giving his tells away until he had enough that he could afford to.

"Do you know which one I am?" Bryce asked with a curious expression.

He obviously wanted to know if Peter was paying enough attention to know how to tell them apart. "Bryce, I've known which you are since I noticed the switch."

"Are we in trouble?" Neal asked, but both seemed worried.

Mulling over his words, while turning his cup in his hand, Peter let them squirm for a moment before starting. "Personally, no, I enjoyed this and it was amusing to let you think I fell for it. Professionally, this can't happen. We can all get into trouble. When did you switch, I know I picked Neal up this morning?"

"During lunch, I ran into Bryce so we changed in the bathroom and he went in while I came home," Neal explained what had happened.

After finishing his cup of coffee, Bryce told them how he'd gotten into the FBI, sat at Neal's desk, and wrote notes on blank paper in his folder instead of working files. "I looked busy for the twenty minutes before you figured me out."

Although he was impressed, Peter worried about what could happen from it.

After being nudged by Neal, Bryce sighed and pulled Neal's ID out of his pocket but held it under his hand. "I should tell you this, you'll find out when we get back anyway, so it's best to come from me." Sliding the badge across for Peter to see, he explained while Peter lifted it.

"I'm a CIA agent."

Fingering the badge, Peter's emotions warred. This meant there wouldn't be as much issue about Bryce being in the office. He was proud to have an agent son. But, he was also worried. The CIA could be a rough and dangerous place. Passing the badge back after a few moments, Peter was struggling with what to say. "I'm proud you're an agent, which means the Washington accountant gig is a cover, but I've heard horror stories about what happens in the CIA."

"He's been in the middle of some of those horror stories. Bryce won't talk about it, but he did undercover work as a traitor into several faction groups." Neal didn't help his worry by hinting.

Feeling his face pale, Peter was afraid to know the details. It was bad enough imagining what Neal got into with nonviolent situations. Bryce had endured scenarios that would have involved guns and violence. Based on Neal's hint, he would be lucky to be alive.

"Hey?" Bryce reached out to touch his hand while Neal watched him closely.

"It's bad enough thinking about what Neal might have gotten into. You're probably lucky to be alive." Peter almost whispered before shivering.

Getting up, both boys came around the table to pull him up into a group hug.

"There were some situations closer than you'd like, but I got through them. I don't do deep cover operations anymore so it shouldn't be as dangerous." Bryce tried to comfort him while he hugged him closely.

"Don't worry about me, Peter, I'm fine." Neal tried to deflect.

Squeezing him tighter as well, Peter turned towards him. "I have always worried and will continue to do so. I worry about my team, my friends, and my family. It's a part of being the boss, a friend, a husband, a son, and more recently a father." Holding them both close, Peter was glad to feel their arms around his back. They were strong and solid with regular breathing in his ears as comforting reinforcement.

Breaking up when he felt better, Peter directed the boys to change back so that they could go to work. They had a case waiting for them.

When they were ready, Peter was amused to see them both in suites with badges on their belts. Neal had a Sheriff star from his cereal box while Bryce had a real CIA one. Chuckling, he directed them to go for the ride into the office.

Bryce got his desired effect from wearing his badge in the open. Any agent who had previously considered giving Neal a hard time now had an additional reason to think twice about it.

As for their team, they appreciated Bryce's working ability and he earned their general respect. Jones and Diana even exchanged contact information with him before he left.


Some time passed, but eventually, Peter received a notice from Hughes that they were about to work a task force operation with the NSA. In preparation, the other agency was sending their representative that afternoon.

A few hours passed before Peter noticed Junior downstairs in a suit talking to Neal. His first impulse was to be glad to see his son. Ever since learning about Bryce's real work he kept in better contact, he saw Neal almost daily unless he had weekend plans, but Junior was still rare.

Observing the boys as he approached though, Peter got an intuitive leap that Junior was the NSA agent. Pausing in the middle of the office, he just knew it. Two of his sons were agents! Covering the rest of the distance, Peter approached as their conversation wound up.

"I assume you're here for the case?" He hugged Junior in greeting.

Junior must have made a questioning expression at Neal over his shoulder because Neal answered. "I don't know, we've told you not to bet against the gut."

Released from the hug, Junior reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge before passing it to Peter.

Fingering another badge, Peter was still proud to learn of his son's government work, but like his brothers, it had connotations of danger. "I hope you haven't had work like Bryce?"

"No, he handled those issues more directly than I did. I've never been shot, beyond a minor graze or something." Junior shrugged because it was a part of his work.

Grasping Junior's arm, Peter wondered if his boys got their reckless nature from their mother. None of them seemed worried about the dangers involved in their work. "I don't like any of you getting shot. A graze is close enough. That part of being an agent is to be avoided, if possible!"

Reaching over to pat his hand, Junior seemed to understand and appreciate his concern. "We're all really good at avoiding it too."

At least his reassurance that they were good at evading injury helped, a little. Releasing his grip, Peter slung an arm over Junior's shoulders to direct him towards Hughes' office. When they reached the stairs he dropped his arm and led the way.

As he closed the door behind them, Peter could see Jones and Diana move to talk to Neal. They seemed glad to see the brothers together and finally meet the oldest, but there was also the idea that Neal had some teasing to look forward to.

Smiling back when Neal grinned up at him, Peter knew he was expecting the inevitable and had prepared.


It was after Neal had been abducted, rescued, and recovered that Peter learned of another task force operation. This was to be with an undercover FBI agent from Washington DC. He'd been baiting out Public Corruption in tandem with an NSA agent based in New York City.

When the meeting was to start, Peter sat flipping through the information he was finally getting access to. It was interesting to see the vague records of the legendary cases agent Daniel Brooks had closed. He was a genius at undercover work! As the agent delayed arrival, Peter was able to keep going through the records while the team puttered around skimming through their copies. Reaching the more personal records Peter noticed a familiar story, Neal's story to be exact. "Neal? You're Danny, aren't you?" Peter wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Would the FBI break them up after the reveal? How come Neal hadn't told him? But, none of the boys had revealed their work until it was professionally okay to do so.

Looking nervous, Neal reached into his pocket and pulled out his FBI agent badge. "I was waiting for someone to figure it out from the official records, just in case no one believed me." He slid it over to Peter.

Just like he'd done with his other sons, Peter sat fingering the badge and taking it in. His sons were all legendary agents! He'd been proud of them before, but this would change their relationships to that of fellow agents, brothers in arms if you will. It would have the biggest and smallest change with Neal. He'd already been closest to him, but he didn't have to worry about criminal situations either. Neal was an undercover agent, not a criminal in trouble with the law.

Beaming proudly as he passed the badge on to Hughes, Peter reached out to squeeze Neal's shoulder. "I guess that makes three. Elizabeth is now the only one who isn't an agent." He had questions, but they would wait.

Putting the operation into motion after Hughes had confirmed Neal's true identity and quieted the resulting response down, they got to work taking James Bennett's cohorts down.

Officially, Neal remained assigned to the Washington office while he worked in the White Collar office of New York, but he was technically loaned to the NSA to help their agent in his New York operations.

Peter was glad to learn that agent Winters, or Mozzie, was said agent and a good friend to both Neal and James. Bryce talked about a Chuck being his friend but not in current contact with him. Why they were out of touch worried Peter but it was part of those things Bryce didn't talk about. He'd learned to bide his time, and eventually, the boys opened up about personal things.


It had been nearly a year since Peter had learned of his paternal connection to the identical triplets. A long and complicated year of reveals, but a good year all the same!

Closing down his office for the night, Peter wondered what the weekend would entail. It was going to be Father's Day, and this year he had three grown sons to celebrate it with!

Locking his door, Peter turned to see much of the office still working away at their desks. Frowning, he began to be suspicious. It was Friday night and there was nothing imminent to work toward, why were they all still present?

Slowly descending to the main floor, he noticed that Neal's desk was running, but not occupied. His light was on, his computer humming, open files were strewn about, and his jacket was on the back of his chair to match the Fedora on his desk.

"Hey, dad," Neal said with a clap on his shoulder as he passed him to drop a file on his desk and move into the records area.

Stopping to watch, it crossed Peter's mind that it hadn't been Neal who had patted him on the shoulder, his hair was too short.

Neal came by a second time throwing a playful salute. "Are you just going to stand there, dad?"

Since Peter didn't respond, Neal tossed another file onto his desk before going out into the hall and disappearing into the back areas.

This Neal also had short hair, but he saluted him which wasn't Neal's style. Had Bryce and Neal gotten haircuts? Neal's hair had been the same at lunch.

Returning, Neal took a seat at his desk and leaned back to look at him. "Is something wrong, dad?" His eyes were dancing with humor.

Somehow, Peter had the feeling he had seen all three of them, but he was confused and unsure.

Turning towards the records area, he found one Neal standing in his suit, but without the jacket and hat. Directing him to join his brother, he had them call the third one in from the hallway where they'd pulled their most recent switch.

Facing his three sons, Peter was at first happiest that they had all called him dad. It had been the first time for each of them. Perhaps that was part of their plan to celebrate the coming holiday? Smiling happily, it was the best Father's Day gift they could give him.

"What?" One of them asked curiously.

"You all called me dad, that's the first time for each of you." Peter knew the entire office was watching this family moment, but he didn't care. He could feel his eyes misting anyway.

"Once we started to feel ready, we decided this would be a special day to say it and to say it together. The rest of what we have planned has been slowly evolving since then. We started coming up with ideas for Elizabeth, but not in time to enact them. Next year will be spectacular though!" Another triplet explained with a smile.

Peter knew Elizabeth had enjoyed their gifts and the time with them, but apparently, she could look forward to something particularly special next year. Still, he didn't feel a need for anything after this; this was a great gift all by itself.

"Have you figured out which is which yet?" The final triplet teased.

Shaking his head, Peter wiped his eyes before focusing. First, they had all gotten the same haircut so he couldn't tell them apart that way. Second, they had three pairs of matching slacks and white shirts. Third, they had fallen silent with their hands folded neatly in front of them while they stood in the same stance. Each of their eyes were dancing and their suppressed smiles twitched on their lips. All in all, they had achieved a matching front on everything Peter had looked at.

"Pull up your pant legs," Peter directed looking for the anklet. With a sigh, he realized that his sons had gotten two more anklets for them all to wear one.

Making it a game, Peter had them turn around, stand sideways, look away, turn around again, and other random moves until he literally had them pat their heads, rub their bellies, and hop on one foot. This caused them to laugh at him and each other until the whole office was enjoying it. When the humor was wearing down, Peter decided it was time to line them up.

Moving forward, Peter put his hand on the middle triplet's shoulders and walked him to his place on the outside. Then he moved the last triplet closer to the others. Nodding, he pretended to be satisfied with his guess. He knew which was which, but he always enjoyed making them guess in return.

Exchanging glances, the triplets seemed to have their theories on what he was doing.

Turning to the office, Peter asked if they agreed with him. Jones and Diana seemed to bet with the gut, but others seemed skeptical enough that they didn't want to risk anything.

Chuckling, Peter turned back to his sons and continued to draw showing his reasoning out. "You got haircuts this afternoon and changed to match before coming in. Seeing the coming game, the team has been holding out to see this. Am I right?"

Confirming with three nods, the triplets were starting to squirm.

Giving in, Peter pointed out his last point of confirmation for how he knew which was which. "Junior, Neal, and Bryce. Your laughs are one way to confirm which one each of you is. No matter how hard you try, when you are generally happy or amused, you can't fake each others' laugh."

Confirming him correct, the boys each bowed when named. Smiling, the boys were obviously going to take that as a challenge. Still, Peter knew he could always trip them up when their emotions were genuine so he wasn't worried.

With the game over, Peter waited for the boys to get their things and for Neal to lock up his desk. Then with a wave to the office, they went home to Elizabeth for the evening. The triplets had recorded the game so they were going to share with Elizabeth who'd been planning dinner.

Content with life, Peter chatted with them on their way. He had plans for the evening with his family and more surprises to look forward to over the weekend. There was no other way to describe how he felt; he was a happy husband and a proud father.


Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing, and leaving kudos :D