FIC: Surprises V
5. Child Care
The next morning, Neal and Peter arrived five minutes late. Neal blamed his tardiness on Peter-whose only response was to giggle childishly. Diana rolled her eyes, seemingly immune to Peter's newfound charm.
"There's a stack of cold case files waiting for you in Peter's office, Caffrey," she informed Neal.
"What about Peter?" Neal asked.
"He's coming with me," Diana replied.
"Where are you taking him?" the CI demanded, his body instantly at the ready to grab the child and run if the need arose.
"To my desk," the agent replied.
"Neal, you trust me," Peter reminded his CI, "and I trust Diana, so you should trust her too."
From the mouths of babes, Neal thought wryly to himself.
~*~
Several hours later, someone called Diana's name. It was Peter, and he had something shiny in one hand.
"What is it, Boss?" Diana asked.
Peter held up the shiny object.
"I wanna make this into a badge for Neal," he explained.
Diana could feel her heart melting into a puddle of goo at the adorableness. There was no way she was going to say no to Peter, not when he was this adorable.
"We'll need Jones' help," she declared (because it was only fair that she shared Peter's adorableness with Jones), getting up from her chair.
Peter cheered as he followed Diana over to Jones' desk.
"Hi, Jones!" Peter hollered happily, "Diana says you can help me with something important."
"She did, did she?" Jones asked.
Peter nodded.
"And what is this something important that I can help you with, Peter?"
"Making Neal a badge!" Peter said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, as he held up the shiny object he had shown Diana.
Jones recognized the shiny gold plastic star(1) in the child's hand as the one Neal had picked up several years earlier. When he had asked the CI about it at the time, Neal had admitted to stealing it from Peter's cereal box (though Neal had claimed at the time that he had gotten the prize "legitimately", Jones doubted that had actually been the case).
"Where did you get that, Peter?" Jones asked.
"Neal's place," Peter replied, "but don't tell Neal I have it, he doesn't know."
"I won't tell him," Jones assured him, "and yes, I can help you. But I need Neal's ID-badge."
"I can get that for you, Jones," Peter assured him.
While Jones assembled the rest of the badge, Diana and Peter went over to get Neal so that the three of them could go get lunch (and so Peter could swipe Neal's ID card).
~*~
"Hey, Caffrey," Diana called, sticking her head into Peter's office, "interested in lunch?"
Neal looked up from the file he had been going thru as he replied, "Only if Peter's coming along."
"Silly Neal, Diana is gonna get lunch for us!" Peter corrected the CI, suddenly materializing next to him.
"And I need you to watch him while I'm out of the office," Diana added, "Peter's already told me what he wants."
Neal wrote down what he wanted on a post-it note and gave it to the agent.
"Thanks, Diana," he said, as he felt a tug on his suit jacket. He looked down to find Peter looking up at him with huge, innocent brown eyes.
Peter smiled up at the CI.
"Do you know how to play cops an' robbers, Neal?" he asked.
Diana made a choked noise before hurrying out of Peter's office without another word, unable to handle Peter's adorableness any longer without risk of ruining her "tough bitch" image.
"Of course I do, Peter," Neal assured his de-aged partner, "but why don't you tell me how to play."
"Why?" Peter inquired.
"I'm sure you played cops and robbers differently from how I played when I was a kid," Neal explained.
"You're probably right," Peter agreed, "after all, you did grow up to be my personal con artist."
"Alleged," Neal corrected him.
"I'm tired of talking, let's play," Peter declared, "you be the cop and I'll be the robber."
"Are you-" Neal began to ask, but Peter had already raced out of his office.
~*~
Peter ran as fast he could over to Jones' desk, where he wordlessly deposited Neal's ID. Then he raced off, towards the shelves of files.
"Don't run inside, Peter!" Jones called after the boy, not wanting his boss to end up in the hospital, and leaving him to deal with a freaked out Neal Caffrey (cause he would end up being the one who'd have to calm down the CI if Peter hurt himself, Diana would only make things worse).
"I'm not running, Jones!" Peter hollered back, "I'm resistin' bein' arrested by Agent Caffrey."(2)
Then the child disappeared in the shelves, and Jones quickly hid the ID Peter had given him before Neal could catch up to the child, which he did a few moments later.
"He was heading for the shelves the last I saw him," Jones informed the CI as he approached the agent's desk.
"Thanks, Jones," Neal replied, before heading after his wayward charge, "he's faster than he looks."
"Smarter too," Jones quipped.
~*~
By the time Diana returned to the White Collar Unit, Peter had found the emergency stairs and was leading Neal on a merry chase thru the building. Jones was keeping an eye on the pair using the numerous security cameras installed throughout the building. He was also recording the entire chase, of course, much to Diana's (secret) glee.(3)
Eventually, Peter grew tired of playing the fleeing criminal, and he returned to the White Collar Unit by the elevator after tricking Neal into thinking he was somewhere in the Organized Crimes Unit. The child went straight to his office and pulled out the mat, blanket, and pillow that Neal had bought the previous day for Peter to use when he took his afternoon nap at the office.
"Should we let Neal know where the Boss is?" Jones asked Diana.
"Yes," she replied, "and tell him that I've left his lunch in Peter's office."
As Jones dialed Neal's cell, Diana took Peter's and Neal's lunches up to Peter's office. As soon as she opened the door, Peter leapt up from the mat, cuffs in hand.
"Oh, you're not Neal," he said, seeing that it was just Diana.
"Jones is calling Neal now, Boss," Diana informed him, "he'll be up here soon enough."
Peter grinned as he laid back down, still holding his handcuffs.
~*~
When Neal finally made it up to the White Collar Unit, he was panting from having taken several flights of stairs.
"Why didn't you take the elevator, Caffrey?" Diana asked.(4)
Neal shrugged.
"Elevator was too slow," he wheezed, "where's Peter?"
"Up in his office, taking a nap," Diana replied, "he wanted to wait for you to get here before eating his lunch, so he hasn't eaten yet."
Neal nodded in acknowledgement before making his way over to Peter's office. The CI quietly opened the door, not wanting to wake his FBI friend.
"Gotcha!" hollered Peter as he jumped Neal and quickly cuffed him.
"I thought I was the cop," Neal objected as he stealthily slipped from the cuffs.
"You took too long to catch me," Peter replied.
"I didn't know I had a time limit."
"All cops have a time limit," Peter replied, "it's called a statute of limitations."
"Statute," Neal corrected him, "and I didn't know that that was one of the rules."
"I thought you knew."
"Well, now I do," Neal replied as Peter's stomach rumbled, "and let's eat lunch, I know at least one of us is hungry."
"You don't know if you're hungry?" Peter asked as he climbed into the chair that Neal usually sat in.
"It's a figure of speech, Peter."
"But I can't see it."
Neal reminded himself that Peter was not currently an adult, and to have patience. He was saved by Peter's shortened attention span.
"Oh, I almost forgot, I got something for you," the child announced, setting his sandwich back down on the desk, still wrapped.
"You got me something?" Neal asked as Peter pulled something out of his pocket.
"Yep," Peter replied as he handed the object to Neal.
It looked like a black leather wallet-but Neal knew right away what it really was, and as soon as he opened it, he discovered that he was right, pleasantly so.
"My own FBI badge," he said, "complete with-hold on, is that my ID badge?"
Peter nodded.
"How did you get ahold of it?" Neal asked, wondering if he had dropped it while chasing Peter thru the building.
"I took it," Peter admitted, "and then I gave it to Jones. I was distracting you while he assembled the badge for me."
"Well, you did a great job of distracting me," Neal acknowledged with a grin.
"Do you like it?" Peter inquired.
"Like it? I love it, Peter," Neal replied, as his phone buzzed.
1. Remember that Diana wasn't in New York during 'Vital Signs' while Jones was.
2. Peter is just too adorable for his own good.
3. I have this mental image of Jones running a blackmail ring now, thanks to this.
4. This scene was written well before I saw 2x4 'By the Book', but now that I have seen that episode, I have to say that there is a certain irony to it now.
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The next morning, Neal and Peter arrived five minutes late. Neal blamed his tardiness on Peter-whose only response was to giggle childishly. Diana rolled her eyes, seemingly immune to Peter's newfound charm.
"There's a stack of cold case files waiting for you in Peter's office, Caffrey," she informed Neal.
"What about Peter?" Neal asked.
"He's coming with me," Diana replied.
"Where are you taking him?" the CI demanded, his body instantly at the ready to grab the child and run if the need arose.
"To my desk," the agent replied.
"Neal, you trust me," Peter reminded his CI, "and I trust Diana, so you should trust her too."
From the mouths of babes, Neal thought wryly to himself.
~*~
Several hours later, someone called Diana's name. It was Peter, and he had something shiny in one hand.
"What is it, Boss?" Diana asked.
Peter held up the shiny object.
"I wanna make this into a badge for Neal," he explained.
Diana could feel her heart melting into a puddle of goo at the adorableness. There was no way she was going to say no to Peter, not when he was this adorable.
"We'll need Jones' help," she declared (because it was only fair that she shared Peter's adorableness with Jones), getting up from her chair.
Peter cheered as he followed Diana over to Jones' desk.
"Hi, Jones!" Peter hollered happily, "Diana says you can help me with something important."
"She did, did she?" Jones asked.
Peter nodded.
"And what is this something important that I can help you with, Peter?"
"Making Neal a badge!" Peter said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, as he held up the shiny object he had shown Diana.
Jones recognized the shiny gold plastic star(1) in the child's hand as the one Neal had picked up several years earlier. When he had asked the CI about it at the time, Neal had admitted to stealing it from Peter's cereal box (though Neal had claimed at the time that he had gotten the prize "legitimately", Jones doubted that had actually been the case).
"Where did you get that, Peter?" Jones asked.
"Neal's place," Peter replied, "but don't tell Neal I have it, he doesn't know."
"I won't tell him," Jones assured him, "and yes, I can help you. But I need Neal's ID-badge."
"I can get that for you, Jones," Peter assured him.
While Jones assembled the rest of the badge, Diana and Peter went over to get Neal so that the three of them could go get lunch (and so Peter could swipe Neal's ID card).
~*~
"Hey, Caffrey," Diana called, sticking her head into Peter's office, "interested in lunch?"
Neal looked up from the file he had been going thru as he replied, "Only if Peter's coming along."
"Silly Neal, Diana is gonna get lunch for us!" Peter corrected the CI, suddenly materializing next to him.
"And I need you to watch him while I'm out of the office," Diana added, "Peter's already told me what he wants."
Neal wrote down what he wanted on a post-it note and gave it to the agent.
"Thanks, Diana," he said, as he felt a tug on his suit jacket. He looked down to find Peter looking up at him with huge, innocent brown eyes.
Peter smiled up at the CI.
"Do you know how to play cops an' robbers, Neal?" he asked.
Diana made a choked noise before hurrying out of Peter's office without another word, unable to handle Peter's adorableness any longer without risk of ruining her "tough bitch" image.
"Of course I do, Peter," Neal assured his de-aged partner, "but why don't you tell me how to play."
"Why?" Peter inquired.
"I'm sure you played cops and robbers differently from how I played when I was a kid," Neal explained.
"You're probably right," Peter agreed, "after all, you did grow up to be my personal con artist."
"Alleged," Neal corrected him.
"I'm tired of talking, let's play," Peter declared, "you be the cop and I'll be the robber."
"Are you-" Neal began to ask, but Peter had already raced out of his office.
~*~
Peter ran as fast he could over to Jones' desk, where he wordlessly deposited Neal's ID. Then he raced off, towards the shelves of files.
"Don't run inside, Peter!" Jones called after the boy, not wanting his boss to end up in the hospital, and leaving him to deal with a freaked out Neal Caffrey (cause he would end up being the one who'd have to calm down the CI if Peter hurt himself, Diana would only make things worse).
"I'm not running, Jones!" Peter hollered back, "I'm resistin' bein' arrested by Agent Caffrey."(2)
Then the child disappeared in the shelves, and Jones quickly hid the ID Peter had given him before Neal could catch up to the child, which he did a few moments later.
"He was heading for the shelves the last I saw him," Jones informed the CI as he approached the agent's desk.
"Thanks, Jones," Neal replied, before heading after his wayward charge, "he's faster than he looks."
"Smarter too," Jones quipped.
~*~
By the time Diana returned to the White Collar Unit, Peter had found the emergency stairs and was leading Neal on a merry chase thru the building. Jones was keeping an eye on the pair using the numerous security cameras installed throughout the building. He was also recording the entire chase, of course, much to Diana's (secret) glee.(3)
Eventually, Peter grew tired of playing the fleeing criminal, and he returned to the White Collar Unit by the elevator after tricking Neal into thinking he was somewhere in the Organized Crimes Unit. The child went straight to his office and pulled out the mat, blanket, and pillow that Neal had bought the previous day for Peter to use when he took his afternoon nap at the office.
"Should we let Neal know where the Boss is?" Jones asked Diana.
"Yes," she replied, "and tell him that I've left his lunch in Peter's office."
As Jones dialed Neal's cell, Diana took Peter's and Neal's lunches up to Peter's office. As soon as she opened the door, Peter leapt up from the mat, cuffs in hand.
"Oh, you're not Neal," he said, seeing that it was just Diana.
"Jones is calling Neal now, Boss," Diana informed him, "he'll be up here soon enough."
Peter grinned as he laid back down, still holding his handcuffs.
~*~
When Neal finally made it up to the White Collar Unit, he was panting from having taken several flights of stairs.
"Why didn't you take the elevator, Caffrey?" Diana asked.(4)
Neal shrugged.
"Elevator was too slow," he wheezed, "where's Peter?"
"Up in his office, taking a nap," Diana replied, "he wanted to wait for you to get here before eating his lunch, so he hasn't eaten yet."
Neal nodded in acknowledgement before making his way over to Peter's office. The CI quietly opened the door, not wanting to wake his FBI friend.
"Gotcha!" hollered Peter as he jumped Neal and quickly cuffed him.
"I thought I was the cop," Neal objected as he stealthily slipped from the cuffs.
"You took too long to catch me," Peter replied.
"I didn't know I had a time limit."
"All cops have a time limit," Peter replied, "it's called a statute of limitations."
"Statute," Neal corrected him, "and I didn't know that that was one of the rules."
"I thought you knew."
"Well, now I do," Neal replied as Peter's stomach rumbled, "and let's eat lunch, I know at least one of us is hungry."
"You don't know if you're hungry?" Peter asked as he climbed into the chair that Neal usually sat in.
"It's a figure of speech, Peter."
"But I can't see it."
Neal reminded himself that Peter was not currently an adult, and to have patience. He was saved by Peter's shortened attention span.
"Oh, I almost forgot, I got something for you," the child announced, setting his sandwich back down on the desk, still wrapped.
"You got me something?" Neal asked as Peter pulled something out of his pocket.
"Yep," Peter replied as he handed the object to Neal.
It looked like a black leather wallet-but Neal knew right away what it really was, and as soon as he opened it, he discovered that he was right, pleasantly so.
"My own FBI badge," he said, "complete with-hold on, is that my ID badge?"
Peter nodded.
"How did you get ahold of it?" Neal asked, wondering if he had dropped it while chasing Peter thru the building.
"I took it," Peter admitted, "and then I gave it to Jones. I was distracting you while he assembled the badge for me."
"Well, you did a great job of distracting me," Neal acknowledged with a grin.
"Do you like it?" Peter inquired.
"Like it? I love it, Peter," Neal replied, as his phone buzzed.
1. Remember that Diana wasn't in New York during 'Vital Signs' while Jones was.
2. Peter is just too adorable for his own good.
3. I have this mental image of Jones running a blackmail ring now, thanks to this.
4. This scene was written well before I saw 2x4 'By the Book', but now that I have seen that episode, I have to say that there is a certain irony to it now.
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