A Very Rare Occurrence
Jul. 17th, 2012 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gnomiBehind the cut is something I don't do very often anymore: fanfic. You have been warned. :-)
Title: Pictures of You
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gnomi
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: G
Spoilers: Season 4 Episode 1
Warnings: None
Word count: ~600
Beta: None. I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this one.
Notes: This story fought me almost every step of the way, even though the idea for it came to me almost immediately after the episode aired. Thanks toelrhiarhodan and china_shop for encouraging me to dip my toes in. I haven't written any fanfic since "The West Wing" went off the air, and I am woefully out of practice. Forgive any errors, logical leaps that only make sense in my head, OOC-ness, and anything else.
Pictures of You
"Protect our boy." Ellen's voice reverberated in Peter's head while he talked to Reese and got his unspoken permission to go to Cape Verde. There wasn't any question. He was going to find Neal and make sure he stayed safe. It didn't matter that Collins was technically on the correct side of the law. It wasn't about the letter of the law. And it wasn't the first time Peter was skirting the line between legal and... not so much.
After he left Reese's office and headed home -- assured by Diana and Jones that his boarding pass would be waiting at JFK -- he considered his packing. This was either going to be a quick extraction or it was going to be a disaster. Either way, he wasn't going to need a lot of luggage.
He got home to find that El had already started packing for him. She clearly had come to the same conclusion about luggage, since she was shoving three pairs of boxers and three pairs of clean socks into his small duffel.
"You knew I'd go," Peter said, kissing her hello.
"Best wife ever," El replied. "Go bring him home. I packed you a recent photo to show around."
"Thanks, hon."
It wasn't until he was settled on the plane with his hastily compiled file folder of information about Neal's whereabouts and background on Santa Maria that he took a moment to look at what photo El had packed him. It was a 4x6 print of the photo El took of him and Neal the night they took DeLuca down and saved Mozzie and Mr. Jeffries from the Detroit mob.
An odd choice, to be sure. Peter had plenty of pictures of Neal, from the earliest sketches of "James Bonds" to his mug shots to the official headshot that went on his building ID for the office. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. That photo showed Neal at his most relaxed. On the island, with the relative safety that he most likely felt up until Peter's call warning him about Collins, he would have shown that face to the locals.
And once Peter had made it to Santa Maria and started showing the photo around, first at the haberdashery and then at the café, Peter knew El had made the right choice. Señor Maine was well liked by the people of the neighborhood where he'd landed, and Peter gained credibility by having a personal photo of the two of them together.
While talking to the woman at the café, he thought he was within reach of Neal again finally. But when the boy stole his wallet during his sudden standoff with Collins, Peter feared he'd never find Neal in time. As he chased the kid through the streets and up the stairs, he prayed that this wasn't for naught. If luck was on his side – and it had been, at the most important times, though it didn't always seem that way – he could retrieve his wallet and still somehow get a message to Neal before Collins got to him.
So when he heard Neal's voice, his maddening, charming, beloved voice, say, "Y'know, I used to take pride in being able to steal your wallet," it was all Peter could do to sag against the door and sigh with relief. Neal was still OK, and clearly he had charmed even the neighborhood vagabonds into helping him.
Things were in no way resolved, since they still had to get off the island and away from Collins, but for the first time since he gave Neal the nod to run he had hope that everything would be back to normal eventually.
END
Title: Pictures of You
Author:
gnomiFandom: White Collar
Rating: G
Spoilers: Season 4 Episode 1
Warnings: None
Word count: ~600
Beta: None. I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this one.
Notes: This story fought me almost every step of the way, even though the idea for it came to me almost immediately after the episode aired. Thanks to
elrhiarhodan and china_shop for encouraging me to dip my toes in. I haven't written any fanfic since "The West Wing" went off the air, and I am woefully out of practice. Forgive any errors, logical leaps that only make sense in my head, OOC-ness, and anything else.Pictures of You
"Protect our boy." Ellen's voice reverberated in Peter's head while he talked to Reese and got his unspoken permission to go to Cape Verde. There wasn't any question. He was going to find Neal and make sure he stayed safe. It didn't matter that Collins was technically on the correct side of the law. It wasn't about the letter of the law. And it wasn't the first time Peter was skirting the line between legal and... not so much.
After he left Reese's office and headed home -- assured by Diana and Jones that his boarding pass would be waiting at JFK -- he considered his packing. This was either going to be a quick extraction or it was going to be a disaster. Either way, he wasn't going to need a lot of luggage.
He got home to find that El had already started packing for him. She clearly had come to the same conclusion about luggage, since she was shoving three pairs of boxers and three pairs of clean socks into his small duffel.
"You knew I'd go," Peter said, kissing her hello.
"Best wife ever," El replied. "Go bring him home. I packed you a recent photo to show around."
"Thanks, hon."
It wasn't until he was settled on the plane with his hastily compiled file folder of information about Neal's whereabouts and background on Santa Maria that he took a moment to look at what photo El had packed him. It was a 4x6 print of the photo El took of him and Neal the night they took DeLuca down and saved Mozzie and Mr. Jeffries from the Detroit mob.
An odd choice, to be sure. Peter had plenty of pictures of Neal, from the earliest sketches of "James Bonds" to his mug shots to the official headshot that went on his building ID for the office. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. That photo showed Neal at his most relaxed. On the island, with the relative safety that he most likely felt up until Peter's call warning him about Collins, he would have shown that face to the locals.
And once Peter had made it to Santa Maria and started showing the photo around, first at the haberdashery and then at the café, Peter knew El had made the right choice. Señor Maine was well liked by the people of the neighborhood where he'd landed, and Peter gained credibility by having a personal photo of the two of them together.
While talking to the woman at the café, he thought he was within reach of Neal again finally. But when the boy stole his wallet during his sudden standoff with Collins, Peter feared he'd never find Neal in time. As he chased the kid through the streets and up the stairs, he prayed that this wasn't for naught. If luck was on his side – and it had been, at the most important times, though it didn't always seem that way – he could retrieve his wallet and still somehow get a message to Neal before Collins got to him.
So when he heard Neal's voice, his maddening, charming, beloved voice, say, "Y'know, I used to take pride in being able to steal your wallet," it was all Peter could do to sag against the door and sigh with relief. Neal was still OK, and clearly he had charmed even the neighborhood vagabonds into helping him.
Things were in no way resolved, since they still had to get off the island and away from Collins, but for the first time since he gave Neal the nod to run he had hope that everything would be back to normal eventually.
END
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 06:05 pm (UTC)You've been hiding this wonderful storytelling talent under quite a bushel, haven't you? Well, not anymore, m'dear. I know that free time, down time to write is precious, and I won't expect epics, but you're not getting away with just this little ficlet.
Think about doing a few prompts for WC100 - and I'll expect you to play just a little bit on my promptfest in the fall. The High Holy Days are NOT an acceptable excuse for non-participation. ;D
This is wonderful, I love Peter's thought processes, you captured him perfectly.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 06:48 pm (UTC)It was odd, getting back on the fanfic horse. I wrote a *lot* of West Wing fanfic back in the day. Then I got into original fiction, sold a couple of pieces, and then had the girls. Muffin and Squeaker are wonderful for many things, but not for finding writing time.
I will ponder WC100, and I may participate in the next promptfest.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 08:37 pm (UTC)*applauds madly*
no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-25 04:16 pm (UTC)YES! I loved that touch -- it was like anticipating that N would have the island wrapped around his finger and perfectly having a picture that set him (P) *with* N rather than trying to catch him. El is the perfect person to have picked it out.
Thanks for fighting your brain to extract this! :-)
(and, why yes, I was waiting to read this until I finally caught up... silly season finale that TiVo deleted and I had to track down...)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 03:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-19 04:37 am (UTC)Glad you are back in the saddle. That's my way of saying more please.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-19 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-19 04:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-19 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 12:47 pm (UTC)