Fic: Cards on the Table
chocolateboxcomm reveals! I wrote Cards on the Table, a Neal and Elizabeth fic set during late season four, for
sholio. I'd been meaning to write a fic for these characters during that time for ages, and this was the push I needed.
Title: Cards on the Table
Fandom: White Collar
Wordcount: 1081
Rating: G
Characters: Neal, Elizabeth
Notes: Written for
sholio for
chocolateboxcomm.
Summary: Takes place during 4x15, "The Original." Elizabeth and Neal have an important conversation.
Between dealing with Pratt, James, Callaway, and the evidence box, not to mention the actual case he and Peter had, Neal's nerves were already on high alert, and when he saw Elizabeth's name come up when his phone rang, he feared the worst. “Elizabeth. Are you all right? Is Peter all right?” Had Pratt come after them?
“We're fine, Neal. Don't worry.” There was a brief pause on Elizabeth's end. “I was hoping we could talk. Would it be all right if I came over?”
“Sure. Of course.”
“Thanks. I'll see you soon.”
“See you soon.” Neal hung up and frowned. People rarely meant anything good when they said the two of you needed to talk. He tried to think of a reason Elizabeth might be angry at him. Peter knew about where Neal was with the evidence box, but Neal hadn't told him anything. Elizabeth had told Peter the truth herself. And he couldn't think of anything else he might have done to get on Elizabeth's bad side.
He covered up the Empire State Building blueprints and made sure anything less than legal was out of view. Not that he thought Elizabeth would care, come to think of it, but it was the principle of the thing.
He opened the door when he heard the knock to see Elizabeth holding a bottle of wine. “I didn't come empty handed,” she said.
“You call before you come over, and you bring wine rather than drinking all mine. You're officially my favorite guest.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Nice to be appreciated.”
“I take it I'm not in trouble, then?”
No, you're-well, you're probably in trouble for something, if I know you. But not with me.”
Neal grinned. “Fair enough.” He didn't push as to what she wanted to talk about. He could tell she wanted to get to it in her own time.
He uncorked the wine and poured them each a glass. When both of them were sitting down, Elizabeth took a small sip, then looked at him. “I expect you know that I told Peter that I'd asked you to lie to him.” Neal nodded. Elizabeth sighed. “He took it well. But he wasn't happy that I lied, and he was right. I shouldn't have lied to him, and I'm sorry I got you involved.”
Neal shook his head. “Elizabeth, you never have to apologize to me. I understand why you did it.”
Elizabeth met his eyes. “I know. And Neal, I was wrong to lie to him, but I wasn't wrong to try to protect him. You know Peter. He always wants to protect everyone else, and he never thinks of his own safety. I have to keep him safe.” Her voice broke off, and Neal could see her composure waver. Then she regained control of herself. “I have to protect him, but I can't do it alone.”
Neal took her hand. It was an unusually intimate gesture for the two of them, but he thought she needed it. And maybe not just her. “I will always be there for you and Peter,” he told her earnestly.
Elizabeth shook her head sadly. “Don't make promises you can't keep.”
“Then I'll just have to keep this one.” He could tell from the half smile she gave him that she didn't entirely believe him, but she still nodded.
“I know you'll try.” Elizabeth was quiet for several moments. Neal could see her gathering her thoughts. “Peter is such a good man,” she finally said. “But he thinks the world is fair. And if it ever is unfair, then all he has to do is charge in and fix it.” She looked Neal in the eyes. “The world isn't fair.”
Neal held her gaze. “I know,” he said seriously. “But it will be all right. We'll look out for him.”
Elizabeth's smile became firmer. “Thank you, Neal. I know how much you're dealing with. How are things with James?”
Neal shook his head. “I'm not sure. So much is happening that I never expected. What do I think is going to happen? We clear James's name, and then what? A father and son barbeque? He takes me to a baseball game?”
“Well, for your sake, I hope not,” Elizabeth said. Neal laughed, far louder and longer than the joke really deserved, but he had needed to laugh. Elizabeth continued, more seriously, “I know the two of us will look after Peter, but it's a two way street. Peter and I are going to be here for you. No matter what happens with James. You'll always have a place with us.”
“Now who's making promises?”
“I guess I'll have to keep this one too.”
“No more about my problems,” Neal declared. “Tell me what's happening with you. Distract me, please.” So, Elizabeth told him a story about a charity event and a development director who had very unwisely insisted on a petting zoo. “There's no way it happened like that. You're embellishing,” Neal accused.
Elizabeth pretended to be shocked. “Neal Caffrey, are you accusing me of untruth?”
“Takes one to know one,” he teased.
“I'm an honest citizen, I'll have you know.”
“Then Mozzie and I aren't trying hard enough.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I think I'll hold off on my criminal career. You give Peter enough trouble as it is.”
“He'd be bored without me.”
“I think you're right,” Elizabeth said fondly. “And I should head home, so he doesn't get bored without me.” She stood, and Neal follow suit. The she surprised him by pulling him into a hug. “Look after yourself, Neal.”
“I always do.” Elizabeth's snort indicated she didn't believe a word of it.
Once she was gone, Neal took another swallow from his mostly untouched glass of wine.
He had always done his best work under pressure. When a con required a balancing act of incredible skill, when there were lies within lies, and a hundred moving parts, that was when he shone. Or at least he used to. The stakes hadn't been this high then. Playing for money seemed so easy in retrospect.
Neal had never been one to back down from a challenge though. What was one more impossible deed? He had too much riding on this to fail. Not just him either. He wasn't alone in this.
He didn't intend to fall. But if he did, he knew he'd have a place to land. And he'd do everything he could to make sure everyone else landed safely too.
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