A Caffrey Christmas Carol

Christmas Present - Part 2

A/N: Mozzie seems to be using a combination of science and magic to navigate to alternate realities, but of course we know Alternate Universes as a fanfiction concept. I couldn't resist the opportunity to include a shoutout in this chapter to a few of the types of AUs I've seen in White Collar fanfic. Some of the readers of our series also write in the AUs I mention, and I hope you're feeling our love!

As Peter waited for the scene to become clear around them he asked Jones, "Did Mozzie ask you to drink a strange wine this evening?"

"Yeah," the Arkham police officer version of Jones confirmed. "Everyone else managed to choke it down. I got through half and poured the rest down the sink when he wasn't looking."

"I wonder if that's why you're flickering," El said.

"That's what you see?" Jones asked. "To me, everyone from your universe is flickering. Half the time you're in black-and-white."

"That might be for the best." Peter gestured at his pajamas. "My in-laws go for bright colors when picking gifts for us."

"Peter, it's your parents' house," El said.

He focused on the room around them. The living room was decorated in blue and silver, with a tree beside the fireplace. The family was gathered around the dining room table, the meal nearly over. At first glance, nothing seemed different in this universe other than the color of his mother's reindeer sweater. Peter's parents looked exactly as they did in 2005 in his universe. He and El looked the same, too, as did his brother Joe and Joe's daughters.

"Where's Noelle?" El asked as they watched the diners.

There wasn't an empty chair at the table. Peter walked closer and saw that Joe wasn't wearing a wedding ring. Somehow in this universe he hadn't married Neal's aunt in Hawaii last Christmas.

"He actually sent you a Christmas card from prison?" Peter's mother asked.

The Peter at the table nodded at Betty. "Sent one for my birthday, too." He took in her worried expression and added, "He's just yanking my chain, Mom. I promise he's not going to stalk me when he gets out of prison. Neal Caffrey's a con artist and a thief. He's a menace, but he isn't dangerous."

"You're sure?" she asked.

"He's sure," Elizabeth said. "No one's as thorough as Peter when it comes to investigating criminals. He probably knows Neal's shoe size."

At the table, Peter winced. He covered by reaching for another roll and saying, "Oddly enough, I could never find anything about Caffrey before he turned eighteen. I always wondered what kind of background made a kid with his intelligence and talents turn to a life of crime, but that's a mystery I couldn't solve."

"Can you tell us about one of your current cases?" asked Viola. She was Joe's youngest daughter, still in college.

"No. Sorry, but we're not supposed to discuss current investigations."

"Did you work on the Winston-Winslow case?" Joe asked.

"I wish," Peter said. "I'd heard about that place during my training at Quantico. The stories about Win-Win are hard to believe, but they had amazing success as a private investigation company until last year. The CEO resigned after his grandson died, saying he didn't have the heart to continue, and in fact he died of a heart attack a few months later. In his absence there was a struggle for power, and shortly after Robert Winslow took over, the company was on our radar for a laundry list of issues. It ranged from tax fraud to blackmail. I would have volunteered to go to Baltimore to help, but I needed to stay in Manhattan to support the White Collar team. We sent Agent Hitchum instead."