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It was an early evening hour when there was a knock on the door of the Burkes' house. Peter didn't even bother checking who it was, he knew who he was expecting. He threw the door open. "FBI! Freeze!" He wore his FBI cap and jacket, "FBI" emblazoned on both in big, bold, yellow letters.
Five kids clustered outside the door, all shouting together, "Trick or treat!" Besides one dressed as Spider-Man, all others were dressed up as characters from TV shows Peter didn't recognize.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Trick of treat!"
Peter whipped out his badge, waving it in front of the group so they'll all see.
"You're all under arrest for threatening a law enforcement agent. I'm gonna to have to take you in."
Five little pairs of eyes blinked at him. A little girl in the back giggled. Tough crowd.
"But," he continued after a short pause, "since you're so cute, I'll give you a pass this time." He grabbed a handful of chocolates from the big bowl waiting by the entrance and dropped a few into each kid's awaiting bag.
He had barely said goodnight and shut the door behind them when, not five seconds later, there was another knock on the door. It seemed like it was going to be a busy night. Peter threw the door open with a yell of
"FBI!" But then the words froze on his lips. It had been months since he last saw Neal Caffrey. He wasn't sure he'd ever see him again.
"Hello, Peter." Neal was wearing a long, woolen coat and fluffy earmuffs, which he took off once Peter opened the door.
"Neal," he said. And then added, "You're under arrest."
Neal didn't look fazed by the pronouncement. "You know, you really should work on your FBI agent act. It's not realistically scary."
Neal Caffrey. The theater critic.
Peter frowned at him. "You want to talk realism? There's an arrest warrant out for you."
"Oh?" Neal wrinkled a brow. "Why?"
'Why'. As if he didn't know. "Kate escaped and you vanished. You do the math."
"I can see how that might look suspicious, but I couldn't help Kate escape."
"Really?" Peter asked, surprised. "How come?"
"Because that would be illegal," Neal answered, as if that explained everything. "And I didn't 'vanish'-"
"Sure seemed like it," Peter muttered.
"-After everything that happened... I needed a vacation."
Neal did look quite tan.
Peter looked him up and down. "In a country with which we have no extradition treaty?"
Neal thought about that for a moment. "Now that you mention it... you might be right."
"In any case, you're a person of interest in her escape."
Neal looked disappointed. "Not a suspect?"
Peter just rolled his eyes.
"Peter, there's nothing I'd like more than to help the FBI."
"I'm sure."
Neal glanced at his watch. "But there's no point in arresting me now. You're just going to scare the kids away. How about I promise I'll turn myself in tomorrow morning? You could interrogate me to your heart's content."
It was actually Ruiz's case, but Peter figured they'd deal with that tomorrow. "Fine." He couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "Neal, what are you doing here?"
Neal grinned. "It's the holiday season, a time of good cheer."
"Wrong holiday," Peter cut him off.
Neal waved that off. "They're all the same."
"No, they're not."
"Well, obviously somebody isn't in a holiday mood."
"I am in a holiday mood!" Peter retorted, raising his voice.
A group of kids walking by outside just then turned to look. Then decided to give the Burkes' house a pass.
Neal, being a smart guy, kept quiet. Though Peter could see the sparkle of joy in the man's eyes. He took a deep breath. "Okay, obviously you didn't come here to turn yourself in. And I'm assuming you didn't come here for the chocolates. So why are you here?"
"Look, I was thinking about you said-"
"About settling down?"
"No, about-"
"About not doing anything stupid?"
"Okay, Peter?" Neal raised a hand to ward off the interruptions. He paused, ensuring that the agent was going to keep quiet. "Even though things didn't work out, I realize you went to bat for me, and that it wasn't easy. And I appreciate that."
Peter waited for him to continue, but it seemed that this time, the young man had finished what he had to say. "You came all the way here to tell me that?"
Neal gave a modest, little shrug. "I happened to be in the neighborhood."
"Right." Peter didn't believe Neal just happened by. "I meant what I said, Neal. If you ever want to do the right thing, my door is open."
"I'll keep that in mind, Peter." Neal adjusted his earmuffs around his head again. "So, you're not going to treat me?"
Peter sighed, grabbed a handful of chocolates and dropped them in Neal's cupped hands.
Neal smiled. "Good night."
"Good night." Peter watched as Neal walked down the stairs. "Neal?" he called after him.
Neal turned back.
"How's Kate doing?"
Neal just grinned. "See you tomorrow."