STORY: Of Second Chances And Happy Accidents, Part II (Neal/Sara, Peter/El, June, Mozzie)
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Chapter 2 - Back In The New York Groove
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“Papa?“
The soft voice of a little child broke the silence of the night, as well as his current train of thought. Neal didn’t have to turn towards the doorway to know that the biggest surprise life had in store for him so far was standing there.
At the tender age of almost three, Allison (Caffrey-) Ellis was a walking talking sunshine - and, at least to Neal, the perfect blend of Sara and him. The sweet little girl had almost all of his physical features - mesmerizing blue eyes, a lean frame, and on the character side both his stubbornness (though Neal liked to say that Sara had it almost as bad as he did) and an almost unhealthy fancy for running around all day.
Besides the unruly mop of red-blond hair on her head, Allison had most of her character features from her mother - the aforementioned stubbornness and impressive determination the two most prominent ones.
“What’s up, pumpkin?” Neal asked while slipping out of the bed without waking Sara up. “Can’t sleep, huh?” he stage-whispered across the room.
Instead of a verbal answer, Allison opted for shaking her head no, which in turn caused her locks to bounce up and down.
With one glance back at Sara, making sure that she still was fast asleep, Neal picked up his daughter and took her back to her own room across the hall, his mind already working on a new, exciting bedtime story (or two or three, Allison simply loved his voice).
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A few weeks later, their little ragtag family was finally ready to make their first big trip. As it turned out, Neal first had to work up the nerve to do the trip, which amused Sara to no end. More than once in these weeks, Neal heard her saying that the “old” Neal Caffrey would never, ever have had to do that. And somehow, Sara was right about it, once again.
The trip was to take them all to New York, which, in turn, meant that Neal finally had to face Peter, Elizabeth, Mozzie, and everyone else who was affected somehow by what he once believed to be his greatest con.
But reality has a talent for sobering you up rather quickly, leaving you strung up by your own actions. No matter how much happiness he would encounter in the future, Neal would always remember the deep void called “loneliness” that had settled in his chest once he realized what he had really done to the group of people back in New York he liked to call his family. This wasn’t a con anymore; this was just a cruel, hurtful act, born in a moment where his mind apparently was short-circuited. Besides that, Paris held next to no appeal to someone who was dancing on the edge of depression.
It wasn’t that Neal was only afraid of being with them in the same room at some point. No, what kept him up at night was the prospect of explaining himself to the people who saw something in him that he couldn’t see for himself, something that was a far cry from the con man he used to be. A better man, with the chance of having a better future than running away from every lawman in the world.
Sure enough, Neal had this all right now, but a little, treacherous part of his heart (or his soul, he wasn’t really sure which was what) kept nagging him that he was on borrowed time, that something, someone was just waiting for the right moment to snatch it all away from him.
So when the day finally came and they boarded the plane to New York, Neal was a mess. But definitely not the hot, charming, slightly dangerous mess Sara remembered from their first few meetings all those years ago. No, this time he was wearing his nerves on the outside, reacting to everything that happened around them in a big way. If it were the two of them alone, Sara would have suggested some alcohol, but neither of them wanted to be a bad example for Allison, and so any form of alcohol was only consumed when they either were out or their little princess was already asleep.
Several long hours later (or at least it seemed so to Neal), the plane touched back on the ground in the town he’d considered his home for more than a decade. Now, despite having a home in London with Sara and Allison, Neal felt a bit lost in the world. And Sara had a hunch that it wasn’t actually about a place, but more with a certain group of people in a certain place.
As pretty much everywhere Sara or Neal went with Allison, the sweet little girl captured the hearts of everyone, and both parents couldn’t help but realize with a smile that this was definitely a heritage from her father’s side. One of the customs officers even gave her a cherry-flavored lollipop and was quite surprised when Allison thanked him wholeheartedly.
After making stops at both the coffee shop and the ladies’ restroom, the family of three finally exited the airport building - only to be met with the sight of June’s dark limousine, and Oscar, her driver, standing next to the driver’s door with a smile.
“Mr. Neal! When June told me about it, I couldn’t believe it at first, but now that you’re standing here in front of me…”
The older man stopped mid-sentence, the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. Ever since June brought the young man home back in the day, Oscar had considered Neal his second son, and it had broken his heart when they heard the news of his “death.”
Lost for words for once, Neal only transferred Allison over to Sara, stepped forward and hugged the man - a gesture that was more than reciprocated by Oscar.
At long last, Neal pulled back, locking his gaze with Oscar, both men wearing a smile.
“I take it that June told you everything,” Neal asked, though he made it sound more like a statement than anything else.
“Yes, she did, but only a few days ago, when it was sure you would come for a visit.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time they finally pulled up to June’s mansion on Riverside Drive, Sara couldn’t exactly tell who was more fascinated by the view out of the car’s window - Neal or Allison. Probably dead even, since Neal was as glued to the glass pane as their little daughter, both of them taking in every sight they could spot during the drive.
“Neal! We’re here!”
In the end, it took both Oscar and Sara to get the other two passengers out of the car. Neal handed Allison to Sara first before following his two ladies, while Oscar and his son took care of their luggage.
“Welcome home, Neal.”
On top of the few stairs leading to the front door, June was standing, as graceful as ever. To Neal’s delight, Bugsy was still tucked under her arm. He exchanged a quick hug with the woman he considered his surrogate mother before June ushered them all in, stating that her staff had prepared small treats to welcome him home. And boy, did that feel good!
Once inside, they spread out in the living room, where Neal could still see himself, sharing a dance with June after Ford was gone once again from her life. And even after all these years, Neal was angry at the older con man for hurting her. But then again, didn’t he do the same when he faked his death? Even though she was the only one to know the details, it still had to hurt.
“Neal, dear, she’s a sweetie.”
June’s soft voice, paired with an amused expression, brought Neal back to reality. And only then did he notice that Sara had, apparently, introduced Allison to her “grandmother,” if the fact that his little sunshine was currently sitting on June’s lap was anything to count for.
“Of course she is,” Neal answered, which in turn caused both Sara and June to raise an eyebrow. “She’s my daughter, after all, and that means she’s got all my charming talents in her blood,” he added with a wink to Sara.
“Good thing that some things never change at all,” June returned, causing all the adults to chuckle and Neal to shrug in an innocent way.
TBC
Chapter 2 - Back In The New York Groove
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Papa?“
The soft voice of a little child broke the silence of the night, as well as his current train of thought. Neal didn’t have to turn towards the doorway to know that the biggest surprise life had in store for him so far was standing there.
At the tender age of almost three, Allison (Caffrey-) Ellis was a walking talking sunshine - and, at least to Neal, the perfect blend of Sara and him. The sweet little girl had almost all of his physical features - mesmerizing blue eyes, a lean frame, and on the character side both his stubbornness (though Neal liked to say that Sara had it almost as bad as he did) and an almost unhealthy fancy for running around all day.
Besides the unruly mop of red-blond hair on her head, Allison had most of her character features from her mother - the aforementioned stubbornness and impressive determination the two most prominent ones.
“What’s up, pumpkin?” Neal asked while slipping out of the bed without waking Sara up. “Can’t sleep, huh?” he stage-whispered across the room.
Instead of a verbal answer, Allison opted for shaking her head no, which in turn caused her locks to bounce up and down.
With one glance back at Sara, making sure that she still was fast asleep, Neal picked up his daughter and took her back to her own room across the hall, his mind already working on a new, exciting bedtime story (or two or three, Allison simply loved his voice).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few weeks later, their little ragtag family was finally ready to make their first big trip. As it turned out, Neal first had to work up the nerve to do the trip, which amused Sara to no end. More than once in these weeks, Neal heard her saying that the “old” Neal Caffrey would never, ever have had to do that. And somehow, Sara was right about it, once again.
The trip was to take them all to New York, which, in turn, meant that Neal finally had to face Peter, Elizabeth, Mozzie, and everyone else who was affected somehow by what he once believed to be his greatest con.
But reality has a talent for sobering you up rather quickly, leaving you strung up by your own actions. No matter how much happiness he would encounter in the future, Neal would always remember the deep void called “loneliness” that had settled in his chest once he realized what he had really done to the group of people back in New York he liked to call his family. This wasn’t a con anymore; this was just a cruel, hurtful act, born in a moment where his mind apparently was short-circuited. Besides that, Paris held next to no appeal to someone who was dancing on the edge of depression.
It wasn’t that Neal was only afraid of being with them in the same room at some point. No, what kept him up at night was the prospect of explaining himself to the people who saw something in him that he couldn’t see for himself, something that was a far cry from the con man he used to be. A better man, with the chance of having a better future than running away from every lawman in the world.
Sure enough, Neal had this all right now, but a little, treacherous part of his heart (or his soul, he wasn’t really sure which was what) kept nagging him that he was on borrowed time, that something, someone was just waiting for the right moment to snatch it all away from him.
So when the day finally came and they boarded the plane to New York, Neal was a mess. But definitely not the hot, charming, slightly dangerous mess Sara remembered from their first few meetings all those years ago. No, this time he was wearing his nerves on the outside, reacting to everything that happened around them in a big way. If it were the two of them alone, Sara would have suggested some alcohol, but neither of them wanted to be a bad example for Allison, and so any form of alcohol was only consumed when they either were out or their little princess was already asleep.
Several long hours later (or at least it seemed so to Neal), the plane touched back on the ground in the town he’d considered his home for more than a decade. Now, despite having a home in London with Sara and Allison, Neal felt a bit lost in the world. And Sara had a hunch that it wasn’t actually about a place, but more with a certain group of people in a certain place.
As pretty much everywhere Sara or Neal went with Allison, the sweet little girl captured the hearts of everyone, and both parents couldn’t help but realize with a smile that this was definitely a heritage from her father’s side. One of the customs officers even gave her a cherry-flavored lollipop and was quite surprised when Allison thanked him wholeheartedly.
After making stops at both the coffee shop and the ladies’ restroom, the family of three finally exited the airport building - only to be met with the sight of June’s dark limousine, and Oscar, her driver, standing next to the driver’s door with a smile.
“Mr. Neal! When June told me about it, I couldn’t believe it at first, but now that you’re standing here in front of me…”
The older man stopped mid-sentence, the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. Ever since June brought the young man home back in the day, Oscar had considered Neal his second son, and it had broken his heart when they heard the news of his “death.”
Lost for words for once, Neal only transferred Allison over to Sara, stepped forward and hugged the man - a gesture that was more than reciprocated by Oscar.
At long last, Neal pulled back, locking his gaze with Oscar, both men wearing a smile.
“I take it that June told you everything,” Neal asked, though he made it sound more like a statement than anything else.
“Yes, she did, but only a few days ago, when it was sure you would come for a visit.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time they finally pulled up to June’s mansion on Riverside Drive, Sara couldn’t exactly tell who was more fascinated by the view out of the car’s window - Neal or Allison. Probably dead even, since Neal was as glued to the glass pane as their little daughter, both of them taking in every sight they could spot during the drive.
“Neal! We’re here!”
In the end, it took both Oscar and Sara to get the other two passengers out of the car. Neal handed Allison to Sara first before following his two ladies, while Oscar and his son took care of their luggage.
“Welcome home, Neal.”
On top of the few stairs leading to the front door, June was standing, as graceful as ever. To Neal’s delight, Bugsy was still tucked under her arm. He exchanged a quick hug with the woman he considered his surrogate mother before June ushered them all in, stating that her staff had prepared small treats to welcome him home. And boy, did that feel good!
Once inside, they spread out in the living room, where Neal could still see himself, sharing a dance with June after Ford was gone once again from her life. And even after all these years, Neal was angry at the older con man for hurting her. But then again, didn’t he do the same when he faked his death? Even though she was the only one to know the details, it still had to hurt.
“Neal, dear, she’s a sweetie.”
June’s soft voice, paired with an amused expression, brought Neal back to reality. And only then did he notice that Sara had, apparently, introduced Allison to her “grandmother,” if the fact that his little sunshine was currently sitting on June’s lap was anything to count for.
“Of course she is,” Neal answered, which in turn caused both Sara and June to raise an eyebrow. “She’s my daughter, after all, and that means she’s got all my charming talents in her blood,” he added with a wink to Sara.
“Good thing that some things never change at all,” June returned, causing all the adults to chuckle and Neal to shrug in an innocent way.
TBC