Dave walks back in a few minutes later and hands Neal his coffee. "Okay," Neal says. "Clearly, you have this all figured out, so what do you from me?" He doesn't think he's ever seen Dave squirm before.
"To start with," Dave says eventually, "a name." The poor guy looks miserable. Neal sighs.
"I'm not going to break," Neal says. "It's not easy to talk about, but it was a long time ago, and believe me, I've talked it to death. I'm more concerned that you're planning on - look, I'll tell you whatever you need to know, but you're not talking to Neal Caffrey right now. Neal Caffrey has no connection to Danny Brooks, and it needs to stay that way. If you can't make that happen - "
"That's why I sent everyone else home early," Dave says. "None of them know. None of them will." He looks less worried now. "Tell me what happened."
Neal sighs, practically burns his mouth on his coffee, and then leans back in his chair. "He still teaches art at the middle school."
Dave catches his styrofoam cup before it falls off the table. Barely. "Okay," he says. "So you just - you never - " He closes his mouth and tries to reconcile the Caffrey he knows with someone who didn't make sure the guy went down in flames. And then he takes a deep breath and reminds himself that Caffrey or no, there are plenty of reasons for him not to have gone after an...abuser.
Caffrey must divine his thoughts from the twist of his mouth, because the next thing he says is "No, I never tried to take him down. I wasn't about to walk back in there myself, and anyone who might have worked with me..." He shrugs, and Dave tries to read the lines of his shoulders. "I didn't want them looking at me differently."
Dave pulls out a blank piece of paper and a pen and hands them over. "Statute of limitations gives you two more years," he says. "Write it down. Sign it Danny Brooks. No one will know, and hopefully the search warrant it'll get us is all we'll need to take him down."
Neal looks up at him. "And if not?"
Dave exhales. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he says, "but whatever happens, Neal Caffrey's name and face will stay far away from this. And no one here will find out, either - not Peter or anyone else."
"Yeah?" Neal studies his the sincerity in his face, and then sets pen to paper and starts writing.
***
Neal walks into Peter's office 45 minutes after Dave borrowed him looking...subdued. Hunched in on himself. Which, Peter thinks as Neal sets his report on Peter's desk, is definitely not normal. "All done? Thanks."
"Sure," Neal says quietly. His fingers are picking at the edge of a styrofoam coffee cup, and he doesn't turn around and leave. Instead, he eyes the chair in front of Peter's desk like he's trying to think of an excuse to stay.
"Have a seat," Peter says before he comes up with one. "I'm almost done myself, and then we can head out." He glances out over the bullpen, where Diana is putting on her jacket. Jones is already gone - as usual, they're going to beat him to his own house.
Neal sits. Peter works. As he signs the last page of paperwork, he starts straightening his desk and looks up. "Dave and his team see some pretty disturbing things. I don't know what he showed you - and I'm not asking, it's not my case," he says as Neal looks up. "I guess what I'm saying is that I understand if you want to go home, but I've found that the best antidote for coming face to face with the worst parts of the world is spending some time with the best. Pizza. Friends that care about you. Terrible movies. A very enthusiastic dog. You're welcome to the spare room if you want it."
The hint of a smile on Neal's face broadens, but his eyes are still sad, and Peter realizes that whatever Dave's case was, it must have been particularly bad. "That sounds pretty good right now," Neal says.
"Get your coat," Peter says as he places a stack of paper in his outbox. "Let's get out of here. El said it's zombie movie night."
Neal makes his way back to his own desk feeling like the ground is more solid under his feet. His past is still in the past - and his present is full of Peter and El and Satchmo, Diana and Jones. He doesn't want to talk - but he knows that they'd listen if he did, and that counts for a lot. That, and pizza, and zombie movies.
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timeasmymeasure
[2/2]
Date: 2014-03-12 06:07 am (UTC)"To start with," Dave says eventually, "a name." The poor guy looks miserable. Neal sighs.
"I'm not going to break," Neal says. "It's not easy to talk about, but it was a long time ago, and believe me, I've talked it to death. I'm more concerned that you're planning on - look, I'll tell you whatever you need to know, but you're not talking to Neal Caffrey right now. Neal Caffrey has no connection to Danny Brooks, and it needs to stay that way. If you can't make that happen - "
"That's why I sent everyone else home early," Dave says. "None of them know. None of them will." He looks less worried now. "Tell me what happened."
Neal sighs, practically burns his mouth on his coffee, and then leans back in his chair. "He still teaches art at the middle school."
Dave catches his styrofoam cup before it falls off the table. Barely. "Okay," he says. "So you just - you never - " He closes his mouth and tries to reconcile the Caffrey he knows with someone who didn't make sure the guy went down in flames. And then he takes a deep breath and reminds himself that Caffrey or no, there are plenty of reasons for him not to have gone after an...abuser.
Caffrey must divine his thoughts from the twist of his mouth, because the next thing he says is "No, I never tried to take him down. I wasn't about to walk back in there myself, and anyone who might have worked with me..." He shrugs, and Dave tries to read the lines of his shoulders. "I didn't want them looking at me differently."
Dave pulls out a blank piece of paper and a pen and hands them over. "Statute of limitations gives you two more years," he says. "Write it down. Sign it Danny Brooks. No one will know, and hopefully the search warrant it'll get us is all we'll need to take him down."
Neal looks up at him. "And if not?"
Dave exhales. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he says, "but whatever happens, Neal Caffrey's name and face will stay far away from this. And no one here will find out, either - not Peter or anyone else."
"Yeah?" Neal studies his the sincerity in his face, and then sets pen to paper and starts writing.
***
Neal walks into Peter's office 45 minutes after Dave borrowed him looking...subdued. Hunched in on himself. Which, Peter thinks as Neal sets his report on Peter's desk, is definitely not normal. "All done? Thanks."
"Sure," Neal says quietly. His fingers are picking at the edge of a styrofoam coffee cup, and he doesn't turn around and leave. Instead, he eyes the chair in front of Peter's desk like he's trying to think of an excuse to stay.
"Have a seat," Peter says before he comes up with one. "I'm almost done myself, and then we can head out." He glances out over the bullpen, where Diana is putting on her jacket. Jones is already gone - as usual, they're going to beat him to his own house.
Neal sits. Peter works. As he signs the last page of paperwork, he starts straightening his desk and looks up. "Dave and his team see some pretty disturbing things. I don't know what he showed you - and I'm not asking, it's not my case," he says as Neal looks up. "I guess what I'm saying is that I understand if you want to go home, but I've found that the best antidote for coming face to face with the worst parts of the world is spending some time with the best. Pizza. Friends that care about you. Terrible movies. A very enthusiastic dog. You're welcome to the spare room if you want it."
The hint of a smile on Neal's face broadens, but his eyes are still sad, and Peter realizes that whatever Dave's case was, it must have been particularly bad. "That sounds pretty good right now," Neal says.
"Get your coat," Peter says as he places a stack of paper in his outbox. "Let's get out of here. El said it's zombie movie night."
Neal makes his way back to his own desk feeling like the ground is more solid under his feet. His past is still in the past - and his present is full of Peter and El and Satchmo, Diana and Jones. He doesn't want to talk - but he knows that they'd listen if he did, and that counts for a lot. That, and pizza, and zombie movies.