5B: Oh, Brothers!
Most of the team seemed curious through the day, but went home one by one as their day ended with nothing to keep them around. Eventually, the office was down to those who had been present for the encounter at lunch.
Hearing a knock on the connecting door, Peter was the first one called to their meeting. Taking a seat, he waited for the others to join him. When they were all present, the triplets got started.
"You're all being written into the case. We'll have the paperwork here in the morning for you to sign. In the meanwhile, this is to be kept between those present. Peter, you can tell Elizabeth about there being three of us, but not about the operation or what happened. What she can know is also being reviewed." Neal as the lead agent updated them.
With no official details available yet, Hughes, Jones, and Diana shook hands with the agents and went home for the evening.
Remaining behind, Peter talked to his brothers a little but was advised to head home and prepare Elizabeth.
"We'll be working on this for a while, head home, Peter. Tell Elizabeth." Neal encouraged.
Giving in, Peter hoped to tell his wife and parents, then have his brothers over the next evening for dinner. Telling them goodnight, he went back to lock up and head home.
On the drive, he wished that he had the paperwork. There was good news that he'd missed!
When he got home, Peter went in, greeted Satchmo, and went looking for his wife.
Finding Elizabeth in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner, Peter put his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek in greeting.
"Hey, hon. This is the happiest I've seen you in weeks." Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised.
Hugging her, Peter hadn't realized how much learning the truth about his biological father had hurt him and those around him. "I'm sorry, hon. Learning about James messed me up. That seems to be the trend though, the others didn't handle it well either."
Surprised, Elizabeth stopped and turned around in his arms, "others?"
Beaming, Peter told her that he had three younger brothers. "Identical triplets. Neal is the one I know. He was trying to tell me when I blew up at him but he didn't know I hadn't read the rest of the information. Apparently, Caffrey is our mother's maiden name. The others changed their last names too, but to different names."
Feeling himself on a roll, Peter was glad when Elizabeth kissed him, hugged him in congratulations, and told him to tell her about them.
Working together to set the table and final details, they enjoyed the more normal feeling of their home. Then as they ate the conversation transitioned through his apology to Neal and into Elizabeth's day. When the meal was winding down, they shifted to making plans for dinner when the triplets could get together.
After dinner, Peter knew he had a hard conversation ahead of him. He needed to talk to his parents.
Accepting the phone from Elizabeth, Peter got comfortable on the couch and dialed. It wasn't long before his dad picked up so he had him get his mom too.
When they were together, Peter started. "I searched for my biological family."
They were generally accepting and curious about what took him so long, why now?
"Actually, I put it in back in college but didn't get anything until recently." It was hard to explain that he'd never know his parents and didn't want to know his father while dodging their past. Still, he managed and transitioned the conversation onto happier news. "After they married, my biological parents had triplets, three identical boys."
Understanding, his parents talked about his desire for siblings growing up. "I hope they're all you dreamed of," his mother commented. She sounded teary, happy for her boy to have brothers and family.
"Yeah, what I know of them, they are. Neal is my consultant so we've been friends for a while." Relaxing into the conversation, he told them the better stories about Neal. He couldn't tell that they were agents or much about the others, but he had plenty to talk about anyway.
When Elizabeth got back from walking Satchmo, she found Peter sitting calmly on the couch staring into the middle distance. "Did you have a good talk?"
Smiling in contentment, Peter encouraged her to take a seat next to him. "Neal was my other best friend, now he's my brother. Then I also have two more brothers. I just wish I hadn't trashed what might have contained the records of our biological connection." His face fell slightly.
Shifting, Elizabeth then got up and told him to wait a minute. Coming back, she passed him an envelope. "I couldn't trash them knowing you might regret it later or grow curious about your mother, but I didn't want to upset you any further."
Pulling her into a kiss as she sat next to him, Peter had her lean comfortingly into his side before he opened the envelope. Shifting a bit as he saw the initial documents about his father, he flipped through them until he found the ones about his mother. Settling in to read them through together, they learned about the rest of his family.
Going to work the next morning, Peter wasn't surprised to be called into a meeting by Hughes with Neal, Jones, and Diana.
Observing Neal as he locked up his station, Peter was glad to see him more relaxed and how some of the team were back to joking with him. It seemed that his relations with the team were pretty much back to normal.
Meeting Neal on the landing, Peter threw an arm across his shoulders briefly until the doorway forced him to fall behind. Then he took his seat next to his brother waiting for Hughes to begin.
Leading as had been arranged behind the scenes, Hughes handed the contracts to his agents."We're being written into the operation and can expect to know what's going on when one of the Caffreys appears to be up to their usual shenanigans. The tipping point was how quickly Pratt went after Peter. We can handle any further attention better if we know what to expect."
Generally listening, Peter noticed that the paperwork allowed conversation with Elizabeth. He wouldn't be able to tell his parents about his brothers' jobs and pasts, but he could tell his wife. Relieved, he was glad to know he wouldn't have to keep secrets with his most trusted agents, his brothers, or his wife. It was easy to sign his agreement to abide by the terms and pass his forms back to Hughes.
"Call Elizabeth, let her know to expect an agent with papers," Neal instructed from his seat as he watched the proceedings.
"Thanks for letting me talk to her," Peter appreciated the effort it must have taken for his brothers to make that happen.
"You're welcome. I know you like to be open with Elizabeth. It helped that Pratt went after you. Even though we won't let him go after her, the risk was enough to allow her to be told." Neal explained what had gone into the decision while promising to protect his wife.
Reaching over, Peter patted him on the shoulder with a smile. Then he pulled out his phone for the promised call.
"Hey, hon. How is it going?" Elizabeth asked him when she picked up.
"I've signed my paperwork, but I've been advised to tell you to expect yours. My brothers are either in Wit-Sec or grew up there so getting to know them means government contracts. We can't tell my parents more than the basics though." Enjoying the conversation, Peter was glad to hear his wife's acceptance and curiosity.
Before concluding the conversation, Elizabeth asked to speak with Neal. Passing the phone as directed, Peter sat back to watch Neal's face as he talked to Elizabeth as his sister-in-law for the first time.
Neal's face started as curious but moved through comfortable to amused. Elizabeth seemed to be doing most of the talking, but Neal's responses were positive and content.
Accepting his phone when they were done, he could hear the laughter in Elizabeth's voice. "Did I miss something?" Peter couldn't help but smile in amusement despite having missed the joke.
"You'll see. I asked if he was going to do something and he confirmed." Turning aside, her clients sounded like they were arriving along with the agent carrying her contract so she was busy. "I'll see you and the triplets tonight, hon."
Disconnecting, Peter turned to Neal. He was answering some questions of Diana's so Peter waited until he'd finished to ask, "What are you going to do? Elizabeth wouldn't say but she seemed very amused."
Smiling mischievously, Neal refused to answer. Instead, he redirected the conversation to more official business by handing the floor back to Hughes.
"We also have an update on our working agreement with Caffrey. Since Danny is technically from the Washington office his alias will continue to work under Peter for the duration of the assignment." He confirmed that nothing was to change on the surface except the announcement of their biological connection to the general team.
With nothing else to officially handle and the conversation dissolving into teasing, Hughes ordered them to their desks or the landing for the announcement.
Moving as directed, Jones and Diana gave their parting gibes before going for their desks. Following Hughes to the landing, Peter then stood with his arm across Neal's shoulders while Hughes called for the team's attention.
When everyone was looking, Hughes announced that Peter was adopted but had learned the day before that he and Neal were biological brothers with Neal being an identical triplet. They were going to be working a case together, but nothing was changing in their working arrangement. With the update done, he waved everyone back to work.
Going down to the main floor with Neal, Peter didn't want to leave him to face everyone alone. There were a lot of questions to field, and even combined they couldn't answer them all. But once the conversation had slowed down, Peter gave Neal a happy hug before going up to his office to work.
At the end of the day, Peter offered to give Neal a ride, but his brother declined the offer.
"I have some things to get first. I'll see you in a while." Neal put his Fedora on with a full flourish and a mischievous smile.
Suspicious, Peter knew it wasn't criminal, but he wondered what his brother had up his sleeve. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be pranked? I also get the feeling my wife is at least aware if not involved." Peter stood observing his brother.
"She guessed, but she promised not to tell you. You'll see why in about an hour. If you'll excuse me though, I have plans to put together in the interim." Neal clapped him playfully on the shoulder as he walked by to head for the elevator.
Remaining behind, Peter asked Jones and Diana if they knew what Neal might be up to.
"He worked with his brothers late into the night and he's been texting with them at times. It can't all be about the case or talking about what happened. I think they're in on it together," Jones added his observations.
"Their hair is different so unless they do something about that I doubt they're going to try to switch places on you." Diana was closing down her station and moved to lean on her desk.
"It still feels like they're going to take advantage of their similar appearances. What is the fun of being identical triplets if you don't mess with people once in a while? I think Neal would find a way, and he could persuade the others if they're reluctant. However, I think they have their own playful streaks under those serious demeanors." Peter thought he had an idea of what they might try to do, but not a sure explanation for how.
"Take pictures for us!" Diana directed before heading home for the night. She was amused at the prospects and didn't want to be left out despite knowing they needed some family bonding time.
"Just tell me what they do, pictures are a bonus, but I want to be prepared." Jones requested as he moved to the elevator with Peter.
Smirking, Peter didn't want to think of the havoc identical triplets agents could wreak. Parting for the night, Peter left Jones as they each went to their vehicles.
When he got home, Peter noticed how efficient his wife was. Not only had she finished her meeting with her client and signed her contracts, but she had also managed to put together a good meal. "How do you do it all?" He asked when he found her in the kitchen.
Smiling proudly, Elizabeth appreciated the compliment. "Trade secrets, hon." She kissed him in greeting before directing him on his tasks while she went to freshen up for the evening.
Setting the table and taking care of Satchmo, Peter worked through his list until she returned and sent him to walk the dog.
"He'll need a walk later, but this way we can relax with your brothers when they get here." She was planning through everything.
Appreciating how much thought his wife was putting into the evening, Peter kissed her again and left for his walk.
When he got back, he let Satchmo off of his leash and went to freshen up.
Coming back down the stairs, Peter slowed as he reached the bottom. There were three men in identical suits and bright blue wigs waiting for him. Smiling, he started trying to find differences.
"June helped them double-check while performing as their initial judge. I have no idea which one is which myself, but I've only officially met Neal." Elizabeth came up beside him with a grin. She was loving it!
Amused, Peter wasn't sure who was who either. This seemed to be a practiced affair since their suits were matching, their bright blue wigs matched their eyes, and their stances were the same. "You've tortured people this way before haven't you?"
Three sets of amused smiles came back at him.
Perking up, Peter realized that they were different! Each one had their own smile. It would be hard to keep them straight, but maybe he could get a start at it.
Going through the evening, Peter kept watching his brothers. Slowly, he began to notice other differences and the longer the evening went on, the easier it was to notice when he was speaking to the same person.
His next challenge was to figure out which one he was speaking with.
Getting an idea, Peter pulled his phone out and subtly sent a text to Junior. Watching which one answered, he sent a quick follow-up to Bryce before they could switch phones.
The triplets responded generically to his messages while smirking at him. They were confident they could mix themselves up again to confuse him!
When the evening drew to a conclusion, Peter caught them by the door. "I know which one is which and I want to test my theory."
The triplets complied and allowed him to line them up in the appropriate order. Once he stated that he was sure of his choice, Peter stepped back and let them confirm who was who.
In order, the triplets removed their wigs with bows and confused smiles.
Beaming, Peter refused to answer their inquiries as to whether it was luck or skill that he used to figure them out.
Once they'd left, Peter kissed his wife and gave her a few hints to help her get started. "I'm sure this game will be repeated, and I need more leverage before we give too much away." He answered her teasing pleas.
Pretending to huff, Elizabeth then giggled as she revealed hints of her own means that he had missed. "I grew up with a set of identical twins in school so I learned what to look for a long time ago." Then she left him surprised as she hummed about cleaning up.
Amused, Peter looked forward to more get-togethers!
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