White Collar Fic: Twist of fate Part 2/2
Title: Twist of fate
Author: melles76
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/characters: Neal, Peter & Elizabeth gen
Word count: approx. 10,900
Spoilers: Seasons 1 to 4
Warnings: Deals with child loss. So you're warned!
Summary: This story is how Neal stepped into the lives of Peter and El. More or less. And how life can change within seconds. This is the prequel for my fic "Life maybe simple, but it ain't easy", so I recommend to read that story first in case you haven't so far.
Part 2
William Burke was an impressive man. He always had stood tall, had never backed down. Life hadn't been easy and it clearly showed in the wrinkles on his face, but he was proud of every single one. Being a hard worker for his entire life, his knees ached a bit as well as his back, but he didn't complain.
He had been watching Peter closely yesterday during the funeral and he hadn't been pleased at all. He knew his son by heart and the fact that he was sitting alone outside on the patio and not with his wife confirmed William's impressions of yesterday. Gently he pushed the door open and stepped outside. He also mourned the death of his grandson he had wished for for years and the loss was incredibly sad, but now he wanted to be there for Peter and his wife.
Taking one last glance back over his shoulder towards the living room where the rest of the family was gathered together, William Burke convinced himself that everything was fine. Of course that was a contradiction in terms, because nothing was fine in the Burke household at all, but he wanted to make sure that his presence wasn't needed inside at the moment. His wife Lucy sat next to his daughter-in-law, speaking quietly with the heartbroken Elizabeth. Emily, his daughter, was talking with his brother and sister-in law, the Mitchells.
He calmly stepped up to Peter and looked down at him. The man was only a shadow of himself which was understandable, of course. "Hey Peter," he said quietly and avoided laying a hand on his shoulder because he didn't want to scare him. "May I join you?" he asked, pointing to the chair next to Peter.
Peter in fact was a little startled and tried to hide it, but failed miserably. Hearing his father's voice, he turned his head in that direction, but didn't look at him directly. Although it was obvious that he wasn't in the mood for a conversation he nodded slightly, but didn't move otherwise.
"Thank you," William smiled slightly and sat down slowly. The white-haired man looked down at his calloused hands while he thought of what to say. "I guess it's useless to ask how you're doing," he began the conversation, because it wasn't sure that Peter would start on his own. "But I ask you anyway. We are there for you, no matter what day and time..."
Peter preferred to continue avoiding eye contact, because he couldn't bear the sad faces of the people he had met in the last days. Trying to maintain his composure, he bit his lower lip before he pressed out a harsh, "Nothing is in order." He closed his eyes, lowered his head and breathed in as deep as possible and out. "Nothing."
William nodded slowly and skidded forward a little on his chair so he could easily lay a hand on his son's shoulder. "I can't imagine what you are experiencing right now, but nevertheless I'm asking you...do you want to talk about it?"
The initial response of Peter was shaking his head, but somehow he knew that he wouldn't get away with this. Suddenly the tears came to his eyes and he buried his face in his hands. "He can't be dead," he sobbed and repeated the words several times. "This is all a mistake, right?"
"No," William whispered softly, and had to swallow himself. "I wish I could tell you that. I really do," he continued, placing his hand on Peter's thigh. "There was nothing you could have done."
Unconsciously, Peter cupped his left hand with his right hand, while holding the wedding ring between thumb and middle finger. It took some time before he finally said, "I don't know what to do."
"Don't keep persuading yourself that it was your fault. This is very, very important Peter. Nothing is worse than telling yourself such a stupidity. And then talk about it... no matter how much or how little. This is easily said, I know...but it helps, trust me. Don't lock yourself out...you're not alone in your grief, son."
"I feel so lost."
"You're not alone Peter. You have your family, you have El. You have your friends who will always be there for you...You're hardly alone. And Timothy will always be there as long as you live," he said softly, pointing to Peter's heart."Now you have to take care of El, do you hear?"
At the mention of her name fresh tears formed in his eyes, but unlike before, he didn't cover his face. "B-but I can't, Dad. I don't know what to do. And that scares me. I don't know what to do."
"At the moment, perhaps, but otherwise it was never a problem for you, Peter. If one of us knows what to do, it's you. Your wife needs you now. You have to be there for her. She depends on you. Don't disappoint her. And when you help her, you'll help yourself, too." William didn't want Peter to slip into a depression. That wasn't an option, so he forced his son to think about the situation. "You can't give up. You never have. Think of your injury, when you blew your rotator cuff. You were devastated at that time. Your dream was to play Baseball as a professional; unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. But you pulled through it. One door closed, another one opened. I know it's not going to be easy, but all I'm asking for is that you'll try once more. Can you do that for me?"
It took some time for Peter to reply, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I can try." He wiped his face with the handkerchief his father had offered him.
"Good," William nodded, satisfied with the small partial victory. He rose with some difficulty due to his aching knees. But still his posture was impressive; he had the same height as Peter and broad shoulders. "You can reach me anytime Peter, no matter how late it is. We are all here for you, okay? You are not alone." He let the words sink in, before he asked, "How about if we go in? Your mom and I can heat something up and I don't want to hear anything about my cooking skills, right?" He tried to cheer up the mood. "You have to eat something. With a full stomach, everything will be easier, even if it's just a tiny bit." He was well aware that Peter and El hadn't eaten properly in days and both of them were taking sedatives.
Peter rose too and swayed a bit. "I'm not hungry."
Reaching out for him, William said, "And yet you should eat something. Mainly because of the drugs in your system."
"Maybe...a little bit of soup?" he suggested, because he wasn't in the mood to argue with his father.
"That's all I'm asking for," William nodded. "Then let's go inside."
1 year later
June 2003
Just like any other day, Peter was working at the White Collar bureau. The only difference was that his desk wasn't at the bullpen anymore.
A news channel was airing on TV and the female voice of the journalist could be heard. "…Lord of Wall Street Vincent Adler has disappeared. And with him hundreds of millions of dollars of his clients' money. A preliminary investigation indicates this investment firm may have been built on a giant house of cards. Securities regulators now claim Adler never traded any shares for client accounts. If true, Adler's disappearance could prove to be the brilliant exit strategy for one of the greatest financial frauds of our time."
An agent shook his head while he continued watching. "Holy cow. You believe it?" he said and had his eyes still fixed on the screen.
"When we return, we'll…"
"Who'd have figured?" he asked no one in particular.
Peter walked past the desks and hearing the question, he asked in return, "Nobody smelled this coming?" He stopped and watched the news channel.
An Afro-American man pointed at the TV. "This guy took thousands of people for their life savings, including charities." He held out his hand. "Clinton Jones."
Peter shook hands with the agent.
"Word around here is you're putting together a special white collar task force," Jones said.
"I am," Peter answered and made a gesture which meant that Jones should come with him.
Jones followed him to the next floor and entered the office. "I've been only here a few months. But I was wondering if there were spots open, if I could get a shot."
"Are you the one who put the Dutchman on our radar?" Peter wanted to know, because he believed he was familiar with Jones' face.
"Yes, sir. I studied a profile like his at Quantico."
"Well, I can't promise anything. It is a long list. Agents with more seniority, you know how it is." He was busy unpacking the contents of the several boxes. It had been only days since his promotion and he hadn't finished his decoration task for his new office yet. He reached into the box again and pulled out a green sucker.
Jones grinned and pointed at it. "That's not the same sucker you got from James Bonds last year, is it?"
Looking at his counterpart, Peter frowned because he hadn't suspected that anyone knew about this particular sucker.
Shrugging his shoulders, Jones explained, "People talk."
"Nobody gets why I'm still holding on to this." He twisted the sucker between his fingers while he looked at it.
"Unfinished business." Jones nodded and then turned to leave. "I get it."
Stunned, Peter looked after the man. He was already impressed by his attitude and ability of quick processing and he certainly would take a look into Jones' personnel file later this afternoon. But right now, he had a meeting with El and even if he didn't like the reason for it, he also turned to leave. There was another bit of unfinished business waiting for him.
Standing in front of the small tombstone still felt…unreal. No matter how many times both of them had been here before. Peter clasped El's hand after she had put down some flowers. Nobody spoke while they both stood quietly at the grave and looked at the engraved letters. Finally he said, "I can't believe that already one year has passed."
Elizabeth leaned on him. "Me neither."
A soft breeze played with El's long hair and tousled Peter's. It was a beautiful day, with white clouds on the blue sky and pleasant temperatures. They remained silent for a few minutes, just holding each other in a tight embrace, lost in thoughts and dealing with the grief that still nagged inside them. Luckily they had found a way to compensate. If there was one thing resulting from the tragedy, it was the fact that their bond had tightened since then.
The last 12 months had been full of ups and downs. Thankfully the downs had been outnumbered by the ups. One of the ups was the decision from Elizabeth to start her own business Burke Premiere Events, which had developed nicely in the last months. Peter was glad that she had found something that she really loved. But he knew that their marriage had also been close to a break-up once or twice. After the funeral, things between them had gone south. Peter's father had attempted mediation, and later El's father, the psychiatrist, had tried as well. They decided to try a time-out with El going home for a few weeks. While she had stayed with her parents, Peter had stayed in Brooklyn with Satchmo and buried himself with work in order to distract. Coming home each day without El welcoming him had been hard and he realized how much he loved and missed her. He had called her after the first week, begging her to come home, but she had refused his wish, telling him that she wasn't ready yet. Respecting her decision, but not understanding it completely, all he could do was to wait and work late hours at the bureau. It was then that he made some progress with the bond forgery case and looking back now, he knew this case had helped him through some lonely nights. And also, it had helped him to stay sane. Others may have tried to solve their problems by drinking. His addiction was called James Bonds.
September 2004
Almost 2 years into the chase of James Bonds, the team had one of the usual meetings in the conference room to swap ideas and gather new information about the still ongoing case. They had come up with a name of their suspect sometime last year and now they were discussing their latest results.
Peter stood in front of a big bulletin board, stuffed with all sorts of lists and photos. "Before returning to New York, Caffrey popped up in Denmark and France. He's not afraid to cross borders."
"He definitely does his homework," Jones added. "We flagged his aliases at all points of entry. I mean, we get a hit, we throw up roadblocks."
"No, he never uses the same ID twice. Tell me something I haven't heard." He looked desperate. His gut told him that they were missing something important. "What about you? Agent…?"
Uncertain what to do, a young female agent stood up and looked at him. "Berrigan."
"You're on the run. How do I catch you?" Peter tried to get into their suspect’s brain, but unlike before, he hadn't succeeded so far. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes would find the right clue.
"Stake out my girlfriend? Caffrey has one, right?" Agent Berrigan offered.
Shaking his head, Peter said, "We think they split up."
"We know where she is."
That answer got him thinking. "Does she know we're on to her?"
"No. We've never had enough on her to bring her in," Jones answered, shrugging his shoulders.
"And he hasn't gone anywhere near her." Peter looked at the board with all the information they had gathered so far regarding Neal Caffrey. "Hang on." An idea formed. "It took us months to catch her and she never stays in the same place for more than a week. She's hiding from him." A grin appeared on his face when he realized something. "He doesn't know where she is."
Diana smiled. This was going to get better and better.
March 2005
Outside the storage facility where they knew Neal Caffrey would met with his girlfriend Kate Moreau, Peter let his eyes wander around. It was essential for the case that from now on, no mistakes would be made. He watched as Jones approached the metal door and took a deep breath. For almost 3 years he had been trying to arrest the ambitious young man, who had conned his way all around the world.
Jones nodded towards him, before kicking open the door and shouted, "FBI! Hands on your head!"
Following close behind, Peter entered the storage unit.
Showing no resistance, Neal obliged and did what he'd been told.
Peter stepped beside him. He had seen Caffrey on various surveillance photos, but seeing the con man in person was something he really had longed for. He looked so incredibly young, so much younger than on the photos. They had even met once before, where Caffrey had tricked him and gave him that famous green sucker, but at that time Peter hadn't known. Nevertheless he didn't feel disgraced. No. He felt great. Because seeing the man, he was reminded once again, that justice had won. The feeling was fantastic and he smiled slightly.
Neal studied him as well and said, "Agent Burke."
Peter nodded proudly. "Neal Caffrey. You're under arrest."
"I know," Caffrey answered without apparent resentment and offered his hand.
This movement caused the armed FBI to point their weapons on the potential dangerous man.
What Caffrey said next, surprised all of them. "Thank you."
Peter frowned. That weren't the words one had expected from a recently arrested man.
Neal must have sensed the confusion of the FBI agent, because he said, "I never would've found her without you."
Accepting Neal's hand and shaking it, Peter replied, "It's my pleasure."
Just in that moment, Jones stepped beside them and in one smooth movement he slapped handcuffs around Neal's wrist.
Not upset at all, Neal said, "So you guys were all in that municipal van out front. It's gotta be uncomfortable." In fact he seemed to enjoy the banter.
That comment caused a grin from Jones. "It doesn't smell too good either," he confirmed and then lead Neal away.
Throwing one last glance back to Kate, Neal obeyed and went with Jones.
Peter just stood there, satisfied and enjoying his victory. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out the green sucker which he popped into his mouth. A smile appeared on his face. He had mastered the latest challenge. One door closed. Another opened. Tomorrow he would start concentrating on solving the Dutchman case and the challenge would start all over again.
To celebrate his victory Peter had decided to surprise Elizabeth. So he went home earlier and was now working around in the kitchen. He was preparing his famous pot roast and smiled fondly while he took a sip from the beer. So far everything was perfect. He was just about to set the table when he heard someone entering the house through the front door. Only seconds later he could hear the clicks of high heels.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked when she entered the kitchen, her confusion clearly shown on her face.
"And a good evening to you, too," Peter replied, grinning. He stepped forward to kiss her on the cheek.
El was still stunned. "Good evening," she said automatically and embraced her husband. "Pot roast?"
"Yep. The one and only."
"What did you do?"
"Are you insulting me that I did something wrong?" he asked in return, but he could see in her face that she just made fun of him.
"Why else would you cook?"
"Because we have something to celebrate?"
"And what could that be?"
Peter held her at arms length and smiled. "Today we arrested Neal Caffrey."
"Really? Wow. That's great!" She sounded relieved and leant forward. "I'm so happy for you." Quickly she gave him another kiss. "At least now I don't have to compete with him anymore like the last three years."
"Hon, I know, " Peter said well aware of her implications. "It's been a hell of a ride for both of us and I do know that I overstepped the border quite a few times when I spent more time at the office than with you at home." His words were honest and he looked at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry for that."
Taking a deep breath, El stepped back and nodded. "This goes both ways. I worked a lot too, trying to establish Burke Premiere Events. Quite successfully, I may add," she smiled slightly. "But now I guess it's time to slow down a bit. We've worked so hard…but we didn't live. Do you understand what I mean?"
Peter thought about what she had said for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, we-," he stopped and looked at the oven. Still 30 minutes to go. "Why don't we sit on the couch?"
Snuggled against each other, with Peter leaning on the back of the couch, they sat in silence for a few moments. Peter had laid his arms around El and held one of her hands in his own, their fingers intertwined. El's head rested against his shoulder.
"I actually can't remember when we sat together like this the last time," El said quietly. "So much has happened within the last three years."
"It's been indeed too long since we did something like this," Peter admitted and savored the moment with his eyes closed. Inhaling her scent, he began to relax. In the first months after the stillbirth touching each other was…complicated, awkward at times. He still wondered sometimes how they had managed to stay together though. Often relationships broke up after such incomprehensible tragedies. He had tried to understand what had happened, searching the internet for plausible causes of infant death. But in the end he had to accept that there were so many reasons. So much that could go wrong. He had to learn that he wasn't able to control anything as much as he had wanted to. They had never talked about trying to conceive another baby but deep inside he knew that he couldn't bear the thought of losing that one, too. Even if the chances were slim that they would have to endure the same thing again. He of all people knew that there were statistics that confirmed this.
But he had also seen what it had done to El. She had been close to a nervous breakdown. The yearly anniversary and the holidays were the hardest. And it was the feeling of being helpless that had scared him the most. He hated being helpless. He always had been the one who pushed forward, the one who liked to lead, the one who had the responsibility. Like he did on the job. But this wasn't like his job. This was his private life and he had often thought of his lover's vow where he had promised El to stay at her side, no matter what. This promise had been hard to keep. Especially at times when he was on the edge of giving up. But his unconditional love for El had been stronger than anything else. And right now he realized that he needed to do something.
Shifting his weight a bit, he cleared his throat. "What about vacation?"
"What?" It was clear that El hadn't expected this. She turned around so that she could face him.
"Yeah, well…with Caffrey arrested, I could use a break. And so do you. You always wanted to go to Greece, right?"
"Yes, I've said that I wanted to visit Athens and the Acropolis sometime, but-"
"Then let's do it," Peter smiled. "Why not?"
"Because," she said, but then fell silent. "What about Satch?"
"I'm afraid he can't come with us, but I think Robert and Trisha would love to do the dog sitting."
"But," she started once more, but this time she didn't finish her objection. Instead she turned around again and played with his fingers, lost in thoughts. "It would be really nice to go to Athens," she finally said. This time she sounded confident.
"Alright," Peter nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, hon."
Touched by his gesture, El turned around and this time she didn't just look him in the eyes, but also lean forward to kiss him as well. They only interrupted when they were in need of air. She smiled. "I love you too hon."
The romantic mood was interrupted by the ringing of the alarm clock from the oven. Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. "Perfect timing, I would say."
"Oh it is. I'm starving", El replied mischievously, but didn't let him go. "Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely. I set the clock like they said on the recipe, I even-"
She slapped him on the shoulder. "Silly. About the vacation?"
Of course he had known what she had been referring to, but he couldn't resist teasing her a bit. "Of course I am! First thing tomorrow I will talk to Hughes and then we can go to the travel agency. How does this sound to you?"
"It sounds absolutely perfect. Thanks hon."
"For what?" he asked a bit stunned.
"For being there for me. As simple as that."
"I just wish I could have done more," he said ruefully.
Elizabeth shook her head. "You did nothing wrong. I know I have been rejecting you many times and was unfair to you. We both…needed time to heal. A bit. Although things will never be the same."
"No, they won't," he agreed. He thought of a quote from Rose Kennedy. "It has been said 'time heals all wounds'. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it's never gone." Both women were right about that.
END
Author: melles76
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/characters: Neal, Peter & Elizabeth gen
Word count: approx. 10,900
Spoilers: Seasons 1 to 4
Warnings: Deals with child loss. So you're warned!
Summary: This story is how Neal stepped into the lives of Peter and El. More or less. And how life can change within seconds. This is the prequel for my fic "Life maybe simple, but it ain't easy", so I recommend to read that story first in case you haven't so far.
Part 2
William Burke was an impressive man. He always had stood tall, had never backed down. Life hadn't been easy and it clearly showed in the wrinkles on his face, but he was proud of every single one. Being a hard worker for his entire life, his knees ached a bit as well as his back, but he didn't complain.
He had been watching Peter closely yesterday during the funeral and he hadn't been pleased at all. He knew his son by heart and the fact that he was sitting alone outside on the patio and not with his wife confirmed William's impressions of yesterday. Gently he pushed the door open and stepped outside. He also mourned the death of his grandson he had wished for for years and the loss was incredibly sad, but now he wanted to be there for Peter and his wife.
Taking one last glance back over his shoulder towards the living room where the rest of the family was gathered together, William Burke convinced himself that everything was fine. Of course that was a contradiction in terms, because nothing was fine in the Burke household at all, but he wanted to make sure that his presence wasn't needed inside at the moment. His wife Lucy sat next to his daughter-in-law, speaking quietly with the heartbroken Elizabeth. Emily, his daughter, was talking with his brother and sister-in law, the Mitchells.
He calmly stepped up to Peter and looked down at him. The man was only a shadow of himself which was understandable, of course. "Hey Peter," he said quietly and avoided laying a hand on his shoulder because he didn't want to scare him. "May I join you?" he asked, pointing to the chair next to Peter.
Peter in fact was a little startled and tried to hide it, but failed miserably. Hearing his father's voice, he turned his head in that direction, but didn't look at him directly. Although it was obvious that he wasn't in the mood for a conversation he nodded slightly, but didn't move otherwise.
"Thank you," William smiled slightly and sat down slowly. The white-haired man looked down at his calloused hands while he thought of what to say. "I guess it's useless to ask how you're doing," he began the conversation, because it wasn't sure that Peter would start on his own. "But I ask you anyway. We are there for you, no matter what day and time..."
Peter preferred to continue avoiding eye contact, because he couldn't bear the sad faces of the people he had met in the last days. Trying to maintain his composure, he bit his lower lip before he pressed out a harsh, "Nothing is in order." He closed his eyes, lowered his head and breathed in as deep as possible and out. "Nothing."
William nodded slowly and skidded forward a little on his chair so he could easily lay a hand on his son's shoulder. "I can't imagine what you are experiencing right now, but nevertheless I'm asking you...do you want to talk about it?"
The initial response of Peter was shaking his head, but somehow he knew that he wouldn't get away with this. Suddenly the tears came to his eyes and he buried his face in his hands. "He can't be dead," he sobbed and repeated the words several times. "This is all a mistake, right?"
"No," William whispered softly, and had to swallow himself. "I wish I could tell you that. I really do," he continued, placing his hand on Peter's thigh. "There was nothing you could have done."
Unconsciously, Peter cupped his left hand with his right hand, while holding the wedding ring between thumb and middle finger. It took some time before he finally said, "I don't know what to do."
"Don't keep persuading yourself that it was your fault. This is very, very important Peter. Nothing is worse than telling yourself such a stupidity. And then talk about it... no matter how much or how little. This is easily said, I know...but it helps, trust me. Don't lock yourself out...you're not alone in your grief, son."
"I feel so lost."
"You're not alone Peter. You have your family, you have El. You have your friends who will always be there for you...You're hardly alone. And Timothy will always be there as long as you live," he said softly, pointing to Peter's heart."Now you have to take care of El, do you hear?"
At the mention of her name fresh tears formed in his eyes, but unlike before, he didn't cover his face. "B-but I can't, Dad. I don't know what to do. And that scares me. I don't know what to do."
"At the moment, perhaps, but otherwise it was never a problem for you, Peter. If one of us knows what to do, it's you. Your wife needs you now. You have to be there for her. She depends on you. Don't disappoint her. And when you help her, you'll help yourself, too." William didn't want Peter to slip into a depression. That wasn't an option, so he forced his son to think about the situation. "You can't give up. You never have. Think of your injury, when you blew your rotator cuff. You were devastated at that time. Your dream was to play Baseball as a professional; unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. But you pulled through it. One door closed, another one opened. I know it's not going to be easy, but all I'm asking for is that you'll try once more. Can you do that for me?"
It took some time for Peter to reply, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I can try." He wiped his face with the handkerchief his father had offered him.
"Good," William nodded, satisfied with the small partial victory. He rose with some difficulty due to his aching knees. But still his posture was impressive; he had the same height as Peter and broad shoulders. "You can reach me anytime Peter, no matter how late it is. We are all here for you, okay? You are not alone." He let the words sink in, before he asked, "How about if we go in? Your mom and I can heat something up and I don't want to hear anything about my cooking skills, right?" He tried to cheer up the mood. "You have to eat something. With a full stomach, everything will be easier, even if it's just a tiny bit." He was well aware that Peter and El hadn't eaten properly in days and both of them were taking sedatives.
Peter rose too and swayed a bit. "I'm not hungry."
Reaching out for him, William said, "And yet you should eat something. Mainly because of the drugs in your system."
"Maybe...a little bit of soup?" he suggested, because he wasn't in the mood to argue with his father.
"That's all I'm asking for," William nodded. "Then let's go inside."
1 year later
June 2003
Just like any other day, Peter was working at the White Collar bureau. The only difference was that his desk wasn't at the bullpen anymore.
A news channel was airing on TV and the female voice of the journalist could be heard. "…Lord of Wall Street Vincent Adler has disappeared. And with him hundreds of millions of dollars of his clients' money. A preliminary investigation indicates this investment firm may have been built on a giant house of cards. Securities regulators now claim Adler never traded any shares for client accounts. If true, Adler's disappearance could prove to be the brilliant exit strategy for one of the greatest financial frauds of our time."
An agent shook his head while he continued watching. "Holy cow. You believe it?" he said and had his eyes still fixed on the screen.
"When we return, we'll…"
"Who'd have figured?" he asked no one in particular.
Peter walked past the desks and hearing the question, he asked in return, "Nobody smelled this coming?" He stopped and watched the news channel.
An Afro-American man pointed at the TV. "This guy took thousands of people for their life savings, including charities." He held out his hand. "Clinton Jones."
Peter shook hands with the agent.
"Word around here is you're putting together a special white collar task force," Jones said.
"I am," Peter answered and made a gesture which meant that Jones should come with him.
Jones followed him to the next floor and entered the office. "I've been only here a few months. But I was wondering if there were spots open, if I could get a shot."
"Are you the one who put the Dutchman on our radar?" Peter wanted to know, because he believed he was familiar with Jones' face.
"Yes, sir. I studied a profile like his at Quantico."
"Well, I can't promise anything. It is a long list. Agents with more seniority, you know how it is." He was busy unpacking the contents of the several boxes. It had been only days since his promotion and he hadn't finished his decoration task for his new office yet. He reached into the box again and pulled out a green sucker.
Jones grinned and pointed at it. "That's not the same sucker you got from James Bonds last year, is it?"
Looking at his counterpart, Peter frowned because he hadn't suspected that anyone knew about this particular sucker.
Shrugging his shoulders, Jones explained, "People talk."
"Nobody gets why I'm still holding on to this." He twisted the sucker between his fingers while he looked at it.
"Unfinished business." Jones nodded and then turned to leave. "I get it."
Stunned, Peter looked after the man. He was already impressed by his attitude and ability of quick processing and he certainly would take a look into Jones' personnel file later this afternoon. But right now, he had a meeting with El and even if he didn't like the reason for it, he also turned to leave. There was another bit of unfinished business waiting for him.
Standing in front of the small tombstone still felt…unreal. No matter how many times both of them had been here before. Peter clasped El's hand after she had put down some flowers. Nobody spoke while they both stood quietly at the grave and looked at the engraved letters. Finally he said, "I can't believe that already one year has passed."
Elizabeth leaned on him. "Me neither."
A soft breeze played with El's long hair and tousled Peter's. It was a beautiful day, with white clouds on the blue sky and pleasant temperatures. They remained silent for a few minutes, just holding each other in a tight embrace, lost in thoughts and dealing with the grief that still nagged inside them. Luckily they had found a way to compensate. If there was one thing resulting from the tragedy, it was the fact that their bond had tightened since then.
The last 12 months had been full of ups and downs. Thankfully the downs had been outnumbered by the ups. One of the ups was the decision from Elizabeth to start her own business Burke Premiere Events, which had developed nicely in the last months. Peter was glad that she had found something that she really loved. But he knew that their marriage had also been close to a break-up once or twice. After the funeral, things between them had gone south. Peter's father had attempted mediation, and later El's father, the psychiatrist, had tried as well. They decided to try a time-out with El going home for a few weeks. While she had stayed with her parents, Peter had stayed in Brooklyn with Satchmo and buried himself with work in order to distract. Coming home each day without El welcoming him had been hard and he realized how much he loved and missed her. He had called her after the first week, begging her to come home, but she had refused his wish, telling him that she wasn't ready yet. Respecting her decision, but not understanding it completely, all he could do was to wait and work late hours at the bureau. It was then that he made some progress with the bond forgery case and looking back now, he knew this case had helped him through some lonely nights. And also, it had helped him to stay sane. Others may have tried to solve their problems by drinking. His addiction was called James Bonds.
September 2004
Almost 2 years into the chase of James Bonds, the team had one of the usual meetings in the conference room to swap ideas and gather new information about the still ongoing case. They had come up with a name of their suspect sometime last year and now they were discussing their latest results.
Peter stood in front of a big bulletin board, stuffed with all sorts of lists and photos. "Before returning to New York, Caffrey popped up in Denmark and France. He's not afraid to cross borders."
"He definitely does his homework," Jones added. "We flagged his aliases at all points of entry. I mean, we get a hit, we throw up roadblocks."
"No, he never uses the same ID twice. Tell me something I haven't heard." He looked desperate. His gut told him that they were missing something important. "What about you? Agent…?"
Uncertain what to do, a young female agent stood up and looked at him. "Berrigan."
"You're on the run. How do I catch you?" Peter tried to get into their suspect’s brain, but unlike before, he hadn't succeeded so far. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes would find the right clue.
"Stake out my girlfriend? Caffrey has one, right?" Agent Berrigan offered.
Shaking his head, Peter said, "We think they split up."
"We know where she is."
That answer got him thinking. "Does she know we're on to her?"
"No. We've never had enough on her to bring her in," Jones answered, shrugging his shoulders.
"And he hasn't gone anywhere near her." Peter looked at the board with all the information they had gathered so far regarding Neal Caffrey. "Hang on." An idea formed. "It took us months to catch her and she never stays in the same place for more than a week. She's hiding from him." A grin appeared on his face when he realized something. "He doesn't know where she is."
Diana smiled. This was going to get better and better.
March 2005
Outside the storage facility where they knew Neal Caffrey would met with his girlfriend Kate Moreau, Peter let his eyes wander around. It was essential for the case that from now on, no mistakes would be made. He watched as Jones approached the metal door and took a deep breath. For almost 3 years he had been trying to arrest the ambitious young man, who had conned his way all around the world.
Jones nodded towards him, before kicking open the door and shouted, "FBI! Hands on your head!"
Following close behind, Peter entered the storage unit.
Showing no resistance, Neal obliged and did what he'd been told.
Peter stepped beside him. He had seen Caffrey on various surveillance photos, but seeing the con man in person was something he really had longed for. He looked so incredibly young, so much younger than on the photos. They had even met once before, where Caffrey had tricked him and gave him that famous green sucker, but at that time Peter hadn't known. Nevertheless he didn't feel disgraced. No. He felt great. Because seeing the man, he was reminded once again, that justice had won. The feeling was fantastic and he smiled slightly.
Neal studied him as well and said, "Agent Burke."
Peter nodded proudly. "Neal Caffrey. You're under arrest."
"I know," Caffrey answered without apparent resentment and offered his hand.
This movement caused the armed FBI to point their weapons on the potential dangerous man.
What Caffrey said next, surprised all of them. "Thank you."
Peter frowned. That weren't the words one had expected from a recently arrested man.
Neal must have sensed the confusion of the FBI agent, because he said, "I never would've found her without you."
Accepting Neal's hand and shaking it, Peter replied, "It's my pleasure."
Just in that moment, Jones stepped beside them and in one smooth movement he slapped handcuffs around Neal's wrist.
Not upset at all, Neal said, "So you guys were all in that municipal van out front. It's gotta be uncomfortable." In fact he seemed to enjoy the banter.
That comment caused a grin from Jones. "It doesn't smell too good either," he confirmed and then lead Neal away.
Throwing one last glance back to Kate, Neal obeyed and went with Jones.
Peter just stood there, satisfied and enjoying his victory. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out the green sucker which he popped into his mouth. A smile appeared on his face. He had mastered the latest challenge. One door closed. Another opened. Tomorrow he would start concentrating on solving the Dutchman case and the challenge would start all over again.
To celebrate his victory Peter had decided to surprise Elizabeth. So he went home earlier and was now working around in the kitchen. He was preparing his famous pot roast and smiled fondly while he took a sip from the beer. So far everything was perfect. He was just about to set the table when he heard someone entering the house through the front door. Only seconds later he could hear the clicks of high heels.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked when she entered the kitchen, her confusion clearly shown on her face.
"And a good evening to you, too," Peter replied, grinning. He stepped forward to kiss her on the cheek.
El was still stunned. "Good evening," she said automatically and embraced her husband. "Pot roast?"
"Yep. The one and only."
"What did you do?"
"Are you insulting me that I did something wrong?" he asked in return, but he could see in her face that she just made fun of him.
"Why else would you cook?"
"Because we have something to celebrate?"
"And what could that be?"
Peter held her at arms length and smiled. "Today we arrested Neal Caffrey."
"Really? Wow. That's great!" She sounded relieved and leant forward. "I'm so happy for you." Quickly she gave him another kiss. "At least now I don't have to compete with him anymore like the last three years."
"Hon, I know, " Peter said well aware of her implications. "It's been a hell of a ride for both of us and I do know that I overstepped the border quite a few times when I spent more time at the office than with you at home." His words were honest and he looked at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry for that."
Taking a deep breath, El stepped back and nodded. "This goes both ways. I worked a lot too, trying to establish Burke Premiere Events. Quite successfully, I may add," she smiled slightly. "But now I guess it's time to slow down a bit. We've worked so hard…but we didn't live. Do you understand what I mean?"
Peter thought about what she had said for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, we-," he stopped and looked at the oven. Still 30 minutes to go. "Why don't we sit on the couch?"
Snuggled against each other, with Peter leaning on the back of the couch, they sat in silence for a few moments. Peter had laid his arms around El and held one of her hands in his own, their fingers intertwined. El's head rested against his shoulder.
"I actually can't remember when we sat together like this the last time," El said quietly. "So much has happened within the last three years."
"It's been indeed too long since we did something like this," Peter admitted and savored the moment with his eyes closed. Inhaling her scent, he began to relax. In the first months after the stillbirth touching each other was…complicated, awkward at times. He still wondered sometimes how they had managed to stay together though. Often relationships broke up after such incomprehensible tragedies. He had tried to understand what had happened, searching the internet for plausible causes of infant death. But in the end he had to accept that there were so many reasons. So much that could go wrong. He had to learn that he wasn't able to control anything as much as he had wanted to. They had never talked about trying to conceive another baby but deep inside he knew that he couldn't bear the thought of losing that one, too. Even if the chances were slim that they would have to endure the same thing again. He of all people knew that there were statistics that confirmed this.
But he had also seen what it had done to El. She had been close to a nervous breakdown. The yearly anniversary and the holidays were the hardest. And it was the feeling of being helpless that had scared him the most. He hated being helpless. He always had been the one who pushed forward, the one who liked to lead, the one who had the responsibility. Like he did on the job. But this wasn't like his job. This was his private life and he had often thought of his lover's vow where he had promised El to stay at her side, no matter what. This promise had been hard to keep. Especially at times when he was on the edge of giving up. But his unconditional love for El had been stronger than anything else. And right now he realized that he needed to do something.
Shifting his weight a bit, he cleared his throat. "What about vacation?"
"What?" It was clear that El hadn't expected this. She turned around so that she could face him.
"Yeah, well…with Caffrey arrested, I could use a break. And so do you. You always wanted to go to Greece, right?"
"Yes, I've said that I wanted to visit Athens and the Acropolis sometime, but-"
"Then let's do it," Peter smiled. "Why not?"
"Because," she said, but then fell silent. "What about Satch?"
"I'm afraid he can't come with us, but I think Robert and Trisha would love to do the dog sitting."
"But," she started once more, but this time she didn't finish her objection. Instead she turned around again and played with his fingers, lost in thoughts. "It would be really nice to go to Athens," she finally said. This time she sounded confident.
"Alright," Peter nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, hon."
Touched by his gesture, El turned around and this time she didn't just look him in the eyes, but also lean forward to kiss him as well. They only interrupted when they were in need of air. She smiled. "I love you too hon."
The romantic mood was interrupted by the ringing of the alarm clock from the oven. Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. "Perfect timing, I would say."
"Oh it is. I'm starving", El replied mischievously, but didn't let him go. "Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely. I set the clock like they said on the recipe, I even-"
She slapped him on the shoulder. "Silly. About the vacation?"
Of course he had known what she had been referring to, but he couldn't resist teasing her a bit. "Of course I am! First thing tomorrow I will talk to Hughes and then we can go to the travel agency. How does this sound to you?"
"It sounds absolutely perfect. Thanks hon."
"For what?" he asked a bit stunned.
"For being there for me. As simple as that."
"I just wish I could have done more," he said ruefully.
Elizabeth shook her head. "You did nothing wrong. I know I have been rejecting you many times and was unfair to you. We both…needed time to heal. A bit. Although things will never be the same."
"No, they won't," he agreed. He thought of a quote from Rose Kennedy. "It has been said 'time heals all wounds'. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it's never gone." Both women were right about that.
END