Team Work

Mozzie's arrival was timely as they'd pursued the guard as far as they could for the moment.

"Do you mind?" Neal held up his empty coffee cup for Peter to get him a refill.

Knowing that Neal wanted to talk to Mozzie alone, Peter took the cup and headed back up to the kitchen. Along the way, he got an idea. He'd be fixing Neal's coffee, and Neal didn't specify what he wanted.

Grinning deviously despite no one being there to see, Peter went to the kitchen and started to figure out how to run Neal's machine.

When the coffee began to run, Peter found the cream and sugar in preparation for his plan. Then he poured a cup for himself and fixed it to his preferences before starting on Neal's. For his friend, he poured the coffee, but then he poured as much sugar as he could safely fit in the cup without risking a spill. For Mozzie, he just made a regular cup of black as the man liked.

Masking his expression, Peter carefully carried the coffees back to the basement where the others were waiting for him.

There, Peter found Neal and Mozzie discussing general details of the case so they'd covered whatever they'd intended to keep secret from him. Setting the cups in front of their recipients, Peter sat down to drink his own and wait.

No one noticed what he'd done as they discussed the case.

Mozzie had tailed the prosecutor and listened as the man called someone stating that he'd made sure Peter would remain in prison long enough for them to get Caffrey under their influence.

"We're starting a list of who would target me through you. The assumption is that they connect to a case that we've worked so that narrows the list down. Keller and Hagan are a few who top the list of possibilities, but I don't want to overlook anyone." Neal stated before he stopped to take a drink of his coffee.

Peter hid his smile behind his own cup as Neal made a face before throwing him a look silently asking what he'd done.

Trying to keep an innocent expression, Peter raised a brow silently asking if there was something wrong.

"What did you do? This coffee is bittersweet!" Neal sat the cup down as he analyzed it. "How much sugar did you pour in and why so much?"

Smirking before he hid behind his cup, Mozzie seemed to appreciate the joke but he didn't comment.

Still waiting for an answer, Neal sat staring Peter down.

Amused by his stance, Peter still didn't give in for a few minutes as they silently stared at each other.

Finally giving in, Peter shrugged with a grin, "I put as much in as would fit."

"Why?" Neal was still frowning at him.

"Because…" Peter still left him hanging for a moment testing his friend's patience much like he often tested his. "I'm your partner, not an errand runner." He gave one of his reasons.

It was like seeing a reflection of himself as Neal rolled his eyes while continuing to frown at him. "You don't have clearance for everything that we needed to discuss so this was a simple way to balance the situation." Neal admonished him which only added to the growing feeling of them having switched places.

"I know that agent Larkin, but I also know that I'm an agent too, your partner, and your friend. You only needed to ask for a few minutes and you could have asked for me to fill your coffee in the meantime." Peter realized as he spoke that he'd done the same thing to Neal in the past, and Neal secretly had the clearance to know anything he would have discussed. He'd have to keep to his performance in the future, but he could also be nicer about it.

Sighing, Neal understood and was probably remembering all those times when Peter had done this to him, but he made no further comment.

Realizing that he was both working on pushing his friend to open up and learning a different perspective of their dynamic, he was interested to see what would come of this working relationship.

"Give me a minute," Neal took his coffee and went upstairs.

Presuming that he was going to fix the coffee, Peter felt a little guilty, but he didn't regret his actions. He'd learned a valuable lesson from the situation.

"This must feel like a strange freaky Friday with you and Neal switching places," Mozzie commented.

"Pretty much, and it's proving insightful. Anything from things that I need to work on in how I treat Neal, to more about the man he hides behind the shiny con façade, I'm learning a lot." Peter opened up some since Mozzie would understand. "Neal, he's also being so closed off, like he expects me to blame him for everything with James. For the record, I don't, but I need him to talk to me, to listen to me, before I'll be able to get that through his head."

"Neal is a stubborn man no matter which name you use for him." Turning his cup, Mozzie decided to add, "In his cover role, he hides behind a smile, while as himself, he hides behind something of a stoic veneer. He knows the value of his skills, but he's not as confident in his own worth."

"I've noticed, and it's something I intend to work on. He's a valuable person, not just for his skills, but as a person, for who he is." Peter emphasized that Neal was worthwhile for simply being himself.

Nodding his agreement, Mozzie didn't comment since Neal was reentering the space in business mode and ready to progress the case.

It crossed Peter's mind as he watched Neal's serious demeanor that his friend didn't just want to get his name cleared, he wanted life to return to a semblance of normal, where he didn't have to fear Peter rejecting him, only the character he portrayed.

Standing up and catching Neal by the shoulder, Peter held on forcing Neal to stop so his friend turned to him curiously. "It'll be okay, Neal. Nothing that James did is your fault. It's not your fault someone is coming after us, and I don't blame you for anything. Is that clear?" Peter wanted to get that stated; he wanted his friend to relax with him again.

Looking down and away, Neal clearly didn't agree with him.

Sighing, Peter realized that he was baffled by how much this strong and confident man could harbor so much unnecessary guilt and shame. Squeezing his friend's shoulder again, Peter assured him. "It's all true, you aren't to be blamed for his actions, and I'll keep telling you until you get it. I'll verbally drill it through that thick skull of yours until it sticks." He used his other hand to poke Neal in the head.

Flinching, Neal reacted more strongly than Peter expected, so he slid his hand across his shoulders to squeeze again in a hug. Then he let Neal go since they had work to do.

Tackling Mozzie's information, they went to work on their list of enemies that might be behind the prosecutor's efforts to manipulate them.

Dividing the names up, they started tracking where everyone was and the last known information of what they'd been doing.

Since the list was so long and each name required research, they weren't able to finish the task before it was time to call it a day.

Much like he generally did for Neal, Neal gave Peter a lift home.

On the drive, Peter decided to approach his question. "So, you're on a long-term assignment as Neal?"

Answering as he drove, Neal continued with the same serious and closed-off demeanor that he'd had about personal subjects. "As long as it takes to dismantle the corruption from James' precinct and whatever else we come across."

"And whatever else we come across? Is this some kind of retirement mission? It sounded like you had some kind of command in your field. Why aren't your bosses sending you on more active assignments than just poking around for public corruption?" It didn't make sense to Peter why such a valuable agent would be put on the back burner.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Neal stared ahead as he stated, "I've dealt with public corruption for most of my career."

That didn't answer any of his questions, "So, they figure this falls in line with your regular work?" Peter pushed trying to understand.

Sighing and closing his eyes at a red light, Neal elaborated. "I was placed undercover as a traitor in the middle of a civil war the first time, and traitors infiltrated my operation the second time. Neither incident ended well for me."

Although that still didn't answer his questions, Peter started to realize a little of why Neal was reluctant to go into details. Still, he needed to know to understand, so he continued to push. "How bad?"

Neal's knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel as he made another attempt to avoid answering. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Because you're my friend, because I want to understand, and because I think it's important to know at least the gist of your past so that I know more of what you need." Peter was curious, but he wasn't just being nosey, he wanted to help his friend.

Casting a quick glance his way, Neal assessed him before giving in. "Technically, I was killed in action twice. The first time it was believed that I died a traitor's death while the second… well, Langley still has a star on the wall for me. I was accidentally rescued from the enemy both times and the second time the bosses decided to leave me dead as far as the world at large is concerned."

A great sacrifice; that was more than what Peter expected, but he wasn't surprised. Neal had always been loyal, caring, and determined to the point of being stubborn and impetuous. That mix would easily lead to an agent who'd risk it all and ultimately give his life if necessary. "So, your mom and any friends you had all think you're dead?"

Neal's nod confirmed that his connections had been another part of his sacrifice.

"If you ever have to leave, if you get reassigned, if you have to fake your death, if anything ever happens, I want you to send me postcards. You don't have to say anything, you can say they're from Casper the friendly ghost, but I want to know that you're alive, that you're okay. Even if you can't come back, I want to know you're out there, and I want you to take care of yourself in between sending them. Alright? You're my friend and I want to know you're out there while I want you to know that someone cares about you, that you aren't expendable to the job. I need you to promise me this!" Peter couldn't stand the idea of anything like that happening to Neal a third time, but he knew it had happened twice and was therefore possible.

"Peter," Neal sounded like he was going to make excuses.

"No, no excuses. You managed it before regardless of what was going on in your work so you can let me know that you're okay or just talk from time to time." Peter wasn't having it. Neal could find a way if he wanted to.

Sighing, Neal just said, "I can't guarantee much of anything. My life… I don't have much and I've never had much control."

"Do your best, I can't ask for more, but I insist that you try." He wouldn't accept anything less, he wasn't willing to let his friend go. "I'll have to settle for that," Peter wanted more, but circumstances might be out of Neal's control if anything ever happened.

Arriving home, Peter told Neal to have a good night which he returned before pulling away.

Going inside, Peter met his wife when she came to greet him as he hung up his jacket and patted Satchmo as he wormed his way between them.

"How did your day go?" Elizabeth asked after kissing him in greeting.

Returning the gesture, Peter then put his arms around her before pulling her close to him. "We made progress. The guard that was a problem got calls on a burner phone, but we don't know who's behind him yet. Then my prosecutor is trying to keep me in prison as leverage against Neal to manipulate him into something."

Cuddling into him, she asked, "Did you learn anything more about Neal?"

Shivering, Peter started with his lessons from earlier in the day. "First, he finds it as annoying as I do to have smudges on the car. I did the whole putting my foot on the car thing to annoy him. Second, he has a fully equipped safe house in the city that functions as his office. Third, it's fun and revealing to annoy him like he does me. There are some things that I need to pay more attention to when our roles reverse again." He paused and leaned into her as his mind created an image of Neal taking a shot in the back before dying.

"Finally, the theory that he's sacrificed a great deal to serve and protect is more accurate than I like. He didn't specify if he was shot in the back or what, but he was technically killed in action twice. He's dead to everyone he's ever known outside of whatever command chain he works with and those of us who know him as Caffrey… the criminal he isn't."

Feeling dampness on his shirt, Peter knew that his wife was crying as she realized what that meant.

Burying his face into her hair, Peter didn't like the implications either.

"I told him that I want him to send me postcards if anything ever happens. A way for me to know that he's alright, a reason for him to take care of himself knowing that there is someone out there who sees him as something more than expendable for his next mission."

As she cried in his arms, Peter felt his eyes mist up with his own tears. Their friend had been through a lot, they could have lost him before they'd ever really known him, and recent events had only taken more from him.

Regaining her control, Elizabeth sniffled and started to clean herself up. "I need to apologize to him. Although I don't actually blame him for what James did, the situation is unfair, and he's here so I lashed out at him unfairly."

"Me too, and there are other things as well. Today he had me fetch his coffee so that he could talk to Mozzie alone and it irked me. When I thought about it though, I've done that to him more times than I can count so that I could talk to Jones or Diana. I need to remember things like that and treat him more like a partner even though I can't be open about him being an agent."

Peter was saddened by the reality of the situation, but he was determined to right as much as he could.

"I think we should do our best to give him the chance to be himself. We know something of who and what he actually is." Elizabeth suggested as she calmed down and moved on to problem-solving.

Kissing her excitedly, Peter hadn't thought of that. "You're brilliant, you know that?"

Smiling, Elizabeth was also encouraged by the prospect of doing something or their friend. "Do you know much about him when he's not in an undercover role?"

Thinking about it, Peter really had no idea how much of Neal was Bryce and how much was his character. "I guess I can start working on that. Maybe Mozzie will know? Apparently, he's something too, but he isn't the most forthcoming either."

Surprised, Elizabeth hadn't expected that, but then she seemed to decide that it was fitting for both of their favorite cons to be undercover agents. "We didn't know much about them, did we?"

Chuckling, Peter thought that was an understatement concerning who the men truly were. "We saw enough of them to somewhat trust and befriend them, but we missed so much. I wouldn't have imagined either of them as agents before this."

Then he burst out laughing, "I still have trouble imagining Mozzie in the traditional office setting wearing a suit and working for any agency. He's definitely a field agent!"

Giggling, Elizabeth added to the imagery, "I imagine him doing things like paranoid checking his office daily, wanting a window that opens for fresh air that isn't tainted by the government, and he'd be so much smarter than his general coworkers that he'd be seen as the office oddity." Laughing harder, she took a moment before she could explain why. "What if he's perfectly well adjusted when he isn't in the field? Like, what if he does the suits and coffee and is a whizz at the forms? After this, I'd believe that anything is possible with those two!"

Still, Peter couldn't avoid smiling and his own chuckle at the odd sight of Mozzie acting like someone such as Jones. It was easier to imagine that of Neal, but he already worked with him and he'd revealed a surprising aptitude for working in the office and with the team.

Moving to settle in for the night, they got dinner and went about their evening.

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