InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Cantaloupe!"

Neal Caffrey (classicratpack) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2011-08-14 17:57:00

Entry tags:

neal caffrey, peter burke

WHO: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke and Elizabeth Burke
WHAT: Checking in
WHERE: Peter and Elizabeth's new house in SoHo, New York City
WARNINGS: Probably nothing, will update if need be.
NB: Elizabeth is sort of being NPC'd; the Burkes' marriage is so close that Peter would basically be an emobot without her. So Elizabeth is able to be picked up as a playable character, but until she is, she'll be NPC'd by Peter's mundane. Got it? :)
NB #2: Potential spoilers for White Collar 3x09 & 3x10.

Neal had jumped in a cab right after talking to the MI-5 girl, directing it uptown to SoHo. He hoped he'd gotten the address right; he just wanted to see Peter, to see Elizabeth most of all. He had to reassure himself that everything would be all right. The night before he'd woken up here had been one of the worst he'd ever experienced - the worse ones had all involved death. If Elizabeth was alive ...

He was normally fairly patient, but as the cab crawled uptown, Neal had to fight the impulse to get out and walk. He wouldn't make any more progress doing that. Eventually, at long last, after what felt like ten years, he was dropped off in front of a nice-looking duplex on a quiet street. Neal paid the man and fairly vaulted up the steps to bang on the door.

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likessmart
2011-08-14 11:22 pm UTC (link)

Upon waking up from strange dreams, Peter and Elizabeth had awoken to find they were in a new house. A very posh new house, complete with a snoozing Satchmo on his fancy new dog bed. They'd taken a while to explore before trying to figure out what had happened. That had taken up a few more hours before deciding that they didn't really care what had happened.

That had been a few hours ago. They were snogging on the sofa, Peter's hands under the back of her shirt, unhooking her bra. If it was a dream, he didn't want it to end.

(Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-14 11:24 pm UTC (link)
	Neal banged on the door once, twice before finding it unlocked. If it was the wrong house, he'd simply apologise and move down the block. For now, he stuck his head in, trying not to sound nervous as hell. "Peter? Elizabeth?" (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-14 11:26 pm UTC (link)
	Peter sat up sharply, wincing when he banged his elbow on a coffee table. "Caffrey? Get out of my dream!" He grumbled, looking down at El. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-14 11:36 pm UTC (link)
	Neal came inside, catching a heavy breath when he saw Elizabeth. "This isn't a dream," he said heavily, mustering a wan smile. "Elizabeth, you're safe." He was thanking God with a frequency he hadn't mustered in years. (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-14 11:41 pm UTC (link)
	"It had better be a dream, because if it's not, you actually came into my house while I'm trying to be intimate with my wife." Peter sat up and glared at him, but even that was shortlived due to Satchmo running over and jumping up on Neal. (Reply to this)

classicratpack
2011-08-14 11:47 pm UTC (link)

Neal laughed, kneeling and scratching the dog, hugging Satchmo, given he figured he couldn't hug Elizabeth, though he wanted to. He was practically numb with relief. No Keller, no Adler, no blackmail, no kidnapped Elizabeth. He just had to make sure his take was where he'd left it. "Peter, it's really not a dream. Really. I mean, Elizabeth's safe. Or did Moz get a hold of you when I was unconscious or something?"

(Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 12:25 am UTC (link)
	Peter, shirtless, peeped his head over the sofa. "Huh? No - I mean, what? El and I went to bed last night and we woke up here. I'd thought it was a dream until you got here, now I'm not so sure." He wrapped an arm around a messily shirted El who was looking at Neal like his head was on fire. "Do you know why we're here, Neal?" (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 12:34 am UTC (link)
	"What's the last thing you remember?" Neal asked, instead of answering. For all he knew, maybe Peter had come here from some other point in time. It had to be sometime during their deal; he wasn't calling the cops to pick up a prison escapee, after all. He didn't blink that Elizabeth knew Neal. (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 12:38 am UTC (link)
	"We'd just found that submarine," he grumbled, standing up and folding his arms. "I guess while I'm up, I'll go make us some coffee." He sighed and walked off to the kitchen, smiling when Satchmo trotted over to flollow him. El smiled at Neal, shaking her head. "Do you know why we're here?" (Reply to this)

classicratpack
2011-08-15 12:55 am UTC (link)

"The submarine?" Neal echoed, eyes faintly wide. "Peter, that was almost a year ago." When Elizabeth asked him her question, he turned to her, unable to stop himself from taking her hand. Just seeing her safe was the biggest relief. "I don't really know why, but I know this isn't the place we left." He fished his credentials out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Look at these. And I woke up in my own bed, but the house is decorated like it all belongs to me. June's not here."

(Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 01:02 am UTC (link)
	"No, that was yesterday," Peter called back. He was feeling completely off of his game, completely messed up, but the simple act of making coffee helped settle himself back into a routine. He came back out as the coffee brewed to look at Neal's credentials with Elizabeth. "Holy - Neal, these are good. Unnecessary, but ... if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were real." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 01:05 am UTC (link)
	"They are real." Neal said simply. "And Peter, it was almost a year ago. I can tell you what happened to some of the things you accused me of taking." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 01:19 am UTC (link)
	Peter just held up his hands. "How can those be real? Look, let's just have a cup of coffee and then stop talking crazy." He put his arm around El, trying to subtly reclasp her bra. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 01:23 am UTC (link)
	"Peter. You're in a new place in SoHo, and you're telling me my credentials aren't real?" Neal noticed what Peter was trying to do, and tactfully bent to pet the dog as he spoke. "Look at yours. See who you replaced." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 01:33 am UTC (link)
	Peter blinked. It made a weird sort of sense inside of its craziness, and so once he'd helped El with her bra, he moved to look at his own creds. And promptly dropped them. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 01:35 am UTC (link)
	Neal was amused in spite of himself. "What, whose are they? The FBI director's?" (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 01:43 am UTC (link)
	"I'm the white collar section chief." He grinned at Neal, all but bouncing. "I'm your boss. Do you know how we got to Crazyland? What's going on here?" (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Neal's face fell. "Wait, what?" He took the wallet, looking at the ID, displeased. Eventually he sighed. "I don't know how we got here, but I know we got here. You have your phone?" He took Peter's Blackberry, pulling up the website on it. "Read. Yeah, it's bright, but apparently it gives you the low-down on this place." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 02:02 am UTC (link)
	Peter started to read, wincing after a while. "Superpowers. Superheroes. Gods. Really?" He folded his arms and gave Neal a raised eyebrow. "You believe this?" (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 02:15 am UTC (link)
	"Peter, what the hell else could it be?" Neal's voice betrayed a hint of irritation. "How else could you become unit chief, you get this house, everything, seemingly in one night?" (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 02:20 am UTC (link)
	"I'm sorry, but head trauma seems a bit more logical." He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "June's not here, and her whole house is - you want an Irish coffee instead?" He walked into the kitchen to sit next to a stunned El. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 02:27 am UTC (link)
	"I could go for one." Or was he talking to Elizabeth? "June isn't here, and her whole house is decorated like I picked the furniture." Neal shrugged. "All three of us with head trauma, Peter? Really?" (Reply to this)

likessmart
2011-08-15 02:42 am UTC (link)

Peter nodded, setting about making three cups of strong Irish coffee. He put Bailey's into Elizabeth and then Bushmills into his and Neal's. "You know, three of us with head trauma makes more sense than magically being transported to a wonderful land." He made jazz hands, rolling his eyes. "Not that I'm complaining. Wait, you don't have a tracker. Why don't you have a tracker?" Cue more Bushmills!

(Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 02:51 am UTC (link)
	Neal smirked, fishing out his phone. "I met a woman who works for MI-5, and she showed me an uplink to my criminal profile." The mere fact that he could access the FBI mobile database ought to tell Peter something - he'd never been able to as a consultant. He pulled up his record and handed his phone over to his friend. "Look." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 02:56 am UTC (link)
	Peter grabbed the phone, blinking right away. "You've got mobile access? You know someone at MI-5? I - " He stammered. "You're cleaner than I am." He handed El her coffee and moved to add another shot of whisky to his own beverage. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 03:03 am UTC (link)
	"Easy, tiger." Neal couldn't restrain the grin. "No convictions. No traffic violations. Voted in every election since 1980." He took a pull of the Irish coffee. "You think I've suddenly turned hacker, you get a hold of Penelope Garcia at MI-5. Behavioral Analysis. She'll back me up." (Reply to this)

likessmart
2011-08-15 03:20 am UTC (link)

Peter simply glared. "It's a mean thing to show a man before he's had his coffee. Let me check our case load, see what we have going on." He looked up some files on his BlackBerry, smirking. "Well, we have today off, but you're my number two. And holy crap, El, we have a summer house in the Hamptons!"

Looking up at Neal, he motioned for him to sit. "You already have a friend in MI-5's BAU? One of my buddies back in the day worked at the BAU in Quantico. Huh. They're good people, if not a little weird."

(Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 03:31 am UTC (link)
	"Not a friend, really, but I left a note on that board ... thing. Was looking for you." Neal shrugged, sipping his coffee. "She answered and explained some stuff for me. She seemed really nice, actually. Said I was a dead ringer for her boyfriend." He chuckled. (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 03:36 am UTC (link)
	Peter blinked. "Why were you looking for me? And two guys who look like you?" He shook his head, grumbling to himself. El's eyes had lit up, and she leaned back. "What's the other guy who looks like you do?" (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 03:48 am UTC (link)
	Neal chuckled. "I don't know, Elizabeth. But he's apparently got a Scottish accent." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 04:11 am UTC (link)
	El made a happy sound, purring into her coffee for a moment before Peter shot her a look. She took a sip of coffee to cover up her apparent interest, trying not to laugh. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 04:32 am UTC (link)
	Neal couldn't help but grin at Elizabeth before answering Peter's question. "I was looking for you because the last thing I remembered was something happening to Elizabeth." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 04:40 am UTC (link)
	"I'm glad nothing did." He didn't know what he'd do; it would have resulted in far too much panic, too much abject terror on his behalf. He leaned against his wife, content that she was near, and he was even a little glad that Neal was around if he forced himself to admit it. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 04:50 am UTC (link)
	"You and me both." He didn't even care if he sounded particularly fervent; Elizabeth had been in his corner for a long time. Sometimes he wondered if she was further in his corner than Peter, at times. (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-15 04:53 am UTC (link)
	Peter smiled softly at Neal, glad that he watched over his wife as much as he did. "How long have you been here, anyway? You make it sound like you haven't been here long at all." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-15 05:09 am UTC (link)
	"LIke a day. Barely any time at all." Neal shook his head. "I saw Mozzie, had a drink, tried to sleep. I must have managed it at some point. Had a weird dream about a tornado. Woke up in my bed, went downstairs, saw the place was decorated as if I picked out everything. Tried to call you and couldn't. So on." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-16 03:04 am UTC (link)
	"My number's different." He reached over to grab Neal's phone, programming his number into it quickly. He put El's number in there also before handing it over. He was oddly touched that El was Neal's first thought, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-08-16 03:24 am UTC (link)
	"Thanks." Of course Elizabeth was his first concern. After what had been going on in the other place. "I won't abuse it." Neal marked them on his speed dial surreptitiously. "I'm at the same place, and I think my number's actually the same." He pulled up his information on his phone to show Peter. (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-08-16 03:40 am UTC (link)
	Peter squinted as he read, nodding. "Yeah, it's exactly the same. Well, we have tomorrow off. And you're here already. Breakfast?" El clapped and squealed, getting up to make her boys bacon and eggs. (Reply to this)