White Collar - "Best Guarded Secret"
Title: Best Guarded Secret
Author: TeeJay
whitecollar100 Prompt: #44 Secret
Genre: Gen
Characters/Pairings: Peter, OFC, OMC x2
Word Count: 300
Rating: PG
Summary: It was probably his best guarded secret, and now they knew. It was going to be a nightmare.
Author's Note: This is kind of an inside joke between afiawri and me. And for some strange reason, I still wanna break out in giggles.
Disclaimer: White Collar, its characters and its settings belong to Jeff Eastin and USA Network. And, guys? Your characters are not only welcome, they're wonderful. I'm just borrowing, I promise.
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"Excuse me, we're looking for Hubert."
The young FBI agent looked up at the odd couple, maybe in their early 60's. Visitor's badges were clipped to their clothes. The accent clearly indicated they were from one of the southern states, maybe Texas. The woman was nervously wringing her hands.
"Come again?" Agent Bottler asked.
"Hubert," the woman repeated. "Hubert Pretzelman. We were told he works here."
Agent Bottler frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize that name. I don't believe there's anyone working here with that name."
"But we were told he works here," she repeated.
"And you are?"
The man now spoke up. "Mr. and Mrs Pretzelman."
Ah. That made sense. The woman fumbled in her purse and produced a photo, which she held out to the FBI agent.
"This is Hubert. You don't recognize him?"
Agent Bottler took the photo and did a double-take. He was ten, maybe fifteen years younger, but the resemblance was unmistakable. He cleared his throat before he asked, "Could I have that photo for a moment? I will be right back."
Mrs. Pretzelman looked a little unsettled, but then nodded and confirmed, "Certainly."
"Please wait here." Agent Bottler gave the couple a last look and then went up the stairs to Burke's office, carefully knocking on the door.
Peter looked at him through the glass wall, beckoning him in. "Bottler, what have you got?"
"I-uhm, I'm..." he stammered.
"Come on, out with it."
Bottler hesitantly handed Peter the photo. "See the couple down there? They just showed me this photo, asking for Hubert Pretzelman."
"Hubert Pretzelman?" Peter frowned, then it dawned on him. He pointed at the familiar face. "This is Hubert Pretzelman?"
"Yeah."
"And who are they?"
"They say they're his parents."
"Well, looks like Neal has some explaining to do."
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Author's Note Addendum:
I think I have to explain this a bit more, but I didn't wanna spoil the surprise. This came about when afiawri and I discussed that there are still fans out there who don't think Neal Caffrey is his real name and is just another alias (which we both don't agree with). Here's part of that conversation:
afiawri: I understand the in-universe arguments for an alias, but the writers always struck me as the types not to make Neal so deceptive at his core. Or smart enough not to give fans some dorky name from his past to hate. :) Either one.
tj_teejay: And, uhm, dorky name? You mean like Neal's real name being Herbert Pretzelman or something?
afiawri: Funnily enough, the name the jumped to my mind was Hubert. (That or Eugene.) Though I never would've come up with Pretzelman, wow. =)
tj_teejay: Hubert is a good one too. Eugene sounds too undorky, if you ask me. So, who's going to write a drabble where it's revealed that Neal Caffrey is really called Hubert Pretzelman?
This conversation was a while ago, but somehow I just remembered it and thought this prompt would fit perfectly to explore the Hubert Pretzelman story a little further.
==> You can now read on how the saga continues: The Secret of Hubert Pretzelman
Author: TeeJay
whitecollar100 Prompt: #44 Secret
Genre: Gen
Characters/Pairings: Peter, OFC, OMC x2
Word Count: 300
Rating: PG
Summary: It was probably his best guarded secret, and now they knew. It was going to be a nightmare.
Author's Note: This is kind of an inside joke between afiawri and me. And for some strange reason, I still wanna break out in giggles.
Disclaimer: White Collar, its characters and its settings belong to Jeff Eastin and USA Network. And, guys? Your characters are not only welcome, they're wonderful. I'm just borrowing, I promise.
+-+-+-+-+
"Excuse me, we're looking for Hubert."
The young FBI agent looked up at the odd couple, maybe in their early 60's. Visitor's badges were clipped to their clothes. The accent clearly indicated they were from one of the southern states, maybe Texas. The woman was nervously wringing her hands.
"Come again?" Agent Bottler asked.
"Hubert," the woman repeated. "Hubert Pretzelman. We were told he works here."
Agent Bottler frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize that name. I don't believe there's anyone working here with that name."
"But we were told he works here," she repeated.
"And you are?"
The man now spoke up. "Mr. and Mrs Pretzelman."
Ah. That made sense. The woman fumbled in her purse and produced a photo, which she held out to the FBI agent.
"This is Hubert. You don't recognize him?"
Agent Bottler took the photo and did a double-take. He was ten, maybe fifteen years younger, but the resemblance was unmistakable. He cleared his throat before he asked, "Could I have that photo for a moment? I will be right back."
Mrs. Pretzelman looked a little unsettled, but then nodded and confirmed, "Certainly."
"Please wait here." Agent Bottler gave the couple a last look and then went up the stairs to Burke's office, carefully knocking on the door.
Peter looked at him through the glass wall, beckoning him in. "Bottler, what have you got?"
"I-uhm, I'm..." he stammered.
"Come on, out with it."
Bottler hesitantly handed Peter the photo. "See the couple down there? They just showed me this photo, asking for Hubert Pretzelman."
"Hubert Pretzelman?" Peter frowned, then it dawned on him. He pointed at the familiar face. "This is Hubert Pretzelman?"
"Yeah."
"And who are they?"
"They say they're his parents."
"Well, looks like Neal has some explaining to do."
+-+-+-+-+
Author's Note Addendum:
I think I have to explain this a bit more, but I didn't wanna spoil the surprise. This came about when afiawri and I discussed that there are still fans out there who don't think Neal Caffrey is his real name and is just another alias (which we both don't agree with). Here's part of that conversation:
afiawri: I understand the in-universe arguments for an alias, but the writers always struck me as the types not to make Neal so deceptive at his core. Or smart enough not to give fans some dorky name from his past to hate. :) Either one.
tj_teejay: And, uhm, dorky name? You mean like Neal's real name being Herbert Pretzelman or something?
afiawri: Funnily enough, the name the jumped to my mind was Hubert. (That or Eugene.) Though I never would've come up with Pretzelman, wow. =)
tj_teejay: Hubert is a good one too. Eugene sounds too undorky, if you ask me. So, who's going to write a drabble where it's revealed that Neal Caffrey is really called Hubert Pretzelman?
This conversation was a while ago, but somehow I just remembered it and thought this prompt would fit perfectly to explore the Hubert Pretzelman story a little further.
==> You can now read on how the saga continues: The Secret of Hubert Pretzelman