Tempted by the Fruit of Another

Chapter 1

(5.2 years)

Neal turned in bed, reaching for his wife and finding cold, empty sheets where she'd been sleeping moments before. He checked the time: 2:53. It wasn't his usual feeding time but maybe Liam had woken up and Sara had slipped out of bed to breastfeed him. Since his arrival in their lives five weeks earlier, Liam Theodore Caffrey had shown himself to be a model baby, calm, happy and a good sleeper to boot, not clamouring to be fed quite as often as his big sister had, five years earlier.

Neal sat up in bed, disoriented, and decided to go investigate. He made his way across the hall to Liam's room, fully expecting to find his wife sitting in the rocking chair nursing their newborn son but what he found instead was little Liam, sound asleep, his breathing calm and even. The mystery deepened and Neal made his way downstairs in search of his better half.

To his surprise, he spotted her silhouette in the semi-darkness, sitting at the kitchen table and staring off into space.

'Sara? Honey, what are you doing down here in the middle of the night?' he asked, his voice soft.

'I can't sleep' she murmured. 'I thought I heard Liam crying and then I just couldn't get back to sleep.'

'Baby, come back to bed' Neal pleaded as he got closer. 'You're going to be exhausted in the morning.'

Sara shook her head, not even bothering with a verbal answer and Neal made his way to where she sat, standing behind her and gently rubbing her shoulders.

'What's the matter, Repo? You haven't been yourself lately' he murmured, depositing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Sara gave him a non-committal shrug. 'Nothing… just can't sleep' she whispered.

'Come on' he said playfully, a twinkle in his eye. 'I have a sure way to put you to sleep.'

'I'm fine' she said dismissively. 'I'm just going to sit here for a little while. Go on, I'll be up in a minute.'

Neal yawned, eager to get back to the warmth of their marital bed. All he could think about was that he was expected at his desk at Finch and John's first thing in the morning. His new job with the large insurance firm was demanding and he was still in the honeymoon phase, working long hours to impress his superiors, eager to show them they had made the right decision by giving him a chance. He hesitated for a brief moment, leaning in to whisper in his wife's ear.

'Sara, this is ridiculous. Please… come to bed. Whatever it is that's keeping you up, it'll look brighter in the morning.'

'Neal… stop' she insisted, pulling away. 'Just… just go back to bed. I'll be fine.'

Their lives had been particularly hectic the last few weeks as they adapted to having a newborn in the house - right when Neal was learning to adjust to working full-time. Despite their unbridled joy at the arrival of their miracle baby, they were both exhausted from the demands of having two children at home all day, now that school was out. Sara had barely recovered physically from giving birth when she'd been thrown into her new role as stay-at-home mom; it was no wonder she was struggling with the huge changes to her every day life. For the past five years, Neal had been the stay-at-home parent and suddenly, he was gone all day and she was left to tend to the kids - a routine that was foreign to the high-strung insurance investigator.

Neal let out a frustrated sigh; he was no match for Sara's strong independent streak and short of throwing her over his shoulder and lugging her back up to bed against her will, he realized he wasn't going to get her to change her mind. He toddled back to the staircase, giving Sara one last 'come on' nod of the head which she chose to ignore, sending him on his way.

Although her son had been born just five weeks earlier, Sara Ellis had been on maternity leave for several months already. She'd been scheduled to work until her due date but she'd left her job precipitously to take care of Neal after he'd been involved in a serious car crash the previous winter. The taxi in which he'd been riding had been hit broadside and he'd suffered a serious brain injury - an injury which had caused long term memory loss and still lingered to this day. It had been six months from hell for the couple as they prepared for the new baby's arrival while Neal struggled with a slow, painful recovery. He still had large gaps in his recollection and he was often frustrated, attending weekly therapy sessions as well as regular appointments at the Brain Injury Clinic of Lenox Hill. Overall though, he was feeling stronger and more positive, thanks in large part to the long-awaited arrival of their beautiful son.

Neal made it upstairs, checked on the kids one last time and fell into bed, instantly asleep.

WCWCWC

Work was a welcome complement to Neal Caffrey's busy life as husband and father. He enjoyed his new job as an art authenticator with the large insurance company. He was their go-to guy anytime a piece of art was recovered and he took his role with his new employer very seriously. As an added bonus, it gave him an opportunity to handle some very high end art – not all treasures but some interesting pieces, many of which Neal had read about over the years.

Although he'd finished serving his sentence five years earlier, Neal still maintained close ties with the New York White Collar office. Not only was Peter Burke his best friend and confidant but Neal still worked on occasion for the Bureau, mostly consulting on cases, even going as far as doing undercover work from time to time. No matter what else was happening in his life, he still enjoyed the adrenaline rush he got from working cases and even though he was more careful about the choices he made, he still liked to indulge in his guilty pleasure from time to time.

The phone rang on his desk just as Neal was putting the finishing touches on a power-point presentation for his bosses and he reached out absent-mindedly to answer.

'Neal Caffrey' he said into the phone.

'Hey buddy, how's it going?' answered the familiar voice on the other end.

'Hey Peter' Neal said, banging away at the last few details of his presentation.

'Do you have any time next week to do a small job for me?' asked his mentor, a rather cryptic request.

'Okay… that sounds mysterious. What's up?' Neal asked, always up for a little adventure and intrigue.

'We got an anonymous tip from a fence. He wants to share some intel but he asked specifically for a meeting with you.'

'Oh yeah?' Neal said, his chest puffing ever so slightly at what he perceived to be a compliment.

'I can see you preening from here' teased Peter. 'It's just a meet, not the Nobel prize, Neal.'

'Sure, I can do it' Neal responded, slightly deflated. 'Set it up and let me know when.'

WCWCWC

Matthew Keller sat outside the 'Food Emporium' in Chicopee, New York waiting for his mark to leave the store. It was just past noon and he expected her to make an appearance in the next few minutes as she took her lunch break. He'd been observing Michelle Young for the past few days and he was fairly certain she would be the perfect accomplice in his quest to bring down the great Neal Caffrey. After all, everyone had a price and the pretty Ms Young looked pretty down on her luck and ripe for the picking.

Ever since he and Caffrey had parted ways in Italy, Keller had been looking for ways to mess with the life of his ex-partner – the holier than thou Neal Caffrey. They had come from similar backgrounds, both neglected by their parents in their youth and upon getting to know each other, they had discovered they were kindred spirits. The two men had concluded that if they wanted things in life, they could just reach out and take them and that's exactly what they'd proceeded to do. They'd had a ball making their way through Europe, evading police, pulling off heists and essentially living the high life. But at some point, Neal had gone soft on him, rebuking violence as a means to an end and Keller had been monitoring Neal's activities ever since, envious of the fact that the ex-con had made a good life for himself. Neal had a great job, a beautiful wife, two wonderful kids and he had everyone, including his buddy Peter Burke at the FBI, eating out of his hand. Charmed life – that's what Caffrey was living and he didn't deserve any of it. Anything Keller could do to disrupt this perfect little middle-class life Neal had carved out for himself would give him a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction.

His last heist had given him a nice little nest egg and he couldn't think of a better way to spend a portion of it than by getting the revenge he so desired.

He continued tracking the lovely Ms Young as she made her way to the nearby coffee shop just like she'd done every other day for the past week. Keller stepped out of the car and made his way inside.

WCWCWC

Neal could hear Liam crying loudly as he drove up the driveway and he hastened his step, reaching the front door in record time. He was stunned by what he found when he walked in: Hope was sitting at the kitchen table by herself, drawing while Sara sat on the couch in the family room staring mindlessly at the television set as the cries continued, unanswered.

'What's going on in here?' he asked looking from Hope to Sara. 'Don't you hear Liam crying?'

Sara looked up at him, eyes slightly glazed over. 'Of course I hear him Neal, I've tried everything to get him to stop.'

Neal turned on his heels and headed up the stairs towards the baby's room, finding his son lying on his back, wailing, face wet and red and kicking up a storm. He picked him up and cradled him against his chest, noticing he was soaked right through as a wet stain began to spread across the front of his shirt.

'You're all wet, baby' he murmured as the infant struggled to catch his breath.

Neal walked over to the change table and proceeded to change his diaper and his little sleeper and brought him over to his own bedroom, putting him down on the bed as he changed into some casual clothes. Liam gurgled, turning his blond head towards the sound of his daddy's voice. By the time, the two of them made it back downstairs, he'd returned to his calm, happy self.

'He was soaking wet, Sara' Neal said, an impatient edge to his voice.

'Neal, I changed him just over an hour ago and he just wouldn't settle' Sara answered, obviously overwhelmed by the situation.

Hope looked on with concern. It wasn't often she heard her parents argue – as a matter of fact they were notorious lovebirds. Sure, they bantered frequently, trying to outdo each other but always with humor and always ending with a kiss or a nuzzle. This was totally new to her and she wasn't quite sure how to react.

Neal continued cradling Liam against him, the baby seemingly content and he began to look through the refrigerator in the hopes of getting some inspiration for dinner while Sara looked on, despondent.

Neal had never seen his wife like this before. She was wearing the same pyjamas she'd had on that morning and from the look of her, she hadn't even bothered to take a shower. He was getting increasingly worried; she hadn't been herself for weeks. He tried to recall when it had all changed but the past month had been so hectic with Liam's arrival, Neal's medical appointments, school letting out and his return to work that everything was a blur.

'Neal, you don't know what it's like' Sara continued, rising from the couch and walking towards him in the kitchen. 'I'm the one who's stuck at home with the kids all day, every day while you're off doing whatever you're doing...'

'Sara, I'm out earning a living for us, that's what I'm doing' Neal answered, frustrated by her remark.

He continued poking around in the fridge. 'Looks like it's going to have to be take-out for dinner again tonight' he sighed as he finally gave up.

Sara rolled her eyes at his apparent slight and turned away.

WCWCWC

'May I help you?' Michelle asked as she looked up at the stranger standing directly in front of her table.

'No, but I'm pretty sure I can help you' Matthew Keller responded cryptically as he pulled out a chair and sat down, uninvited.

'Look, buddy, I don't know who you are but I did not invite you to sit at my table so buzz off...'

'Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, give me a chance to explain and if you don't like what I have to say then I'll take a hike' answered Keller, his voice cocky.

Her face changed at the mention of her name and she was instantly curious as to who this man was and what he wanted. It wouldn't hurt to listen – she was in the middle of a busy café in the middle of the day; what could he possibly do to her?

'Alright, you've got two minutes before I ask that big burly guy at the cash to kick you out on your ass. Talk' she said as she crossed her arms defiantly across her chest.

Keller smiled; she had rough edges, that was for sure and they would come in handy for the little mission he had for her. He studied the woman sitting across from him. She'd obviously fallen on hard times but she was very pretty, blond, blue eyed with a great body. He knew from his research that, despite the dreams she'd had as a young woman, life had not been kind to her. She had fallen for a real prince, a guy who abused her for years before dumping her and running off with a woman half her age. She was now working at the local grocery store, no doubt making minimum wage but it was obvious that she still had an eye for expensive things as evidenced by her manicured hands and fancy hair cut. She must be blowing a good part of that meagre income on those indulgences, thought Keller.

He placed an envelope on the table between them and slid it closer to the woman. Her eyes went from Keller's face to the small package and she didn't hesitate, looking inside. Her face lit up as she spied the stack of bills tucked in the envelope.

'That's $10,000 for you' Keller said, leering at her. 'Just for agreeing to do a little job for me.'

'Look, buddy, I don't know who you think I am but I have no interest in getting between the sheets with you for any amount of money' she said as she pushed the envelope back towards him.

'Michelle, you've got me all wrong. I just want you to reconnect with an old flame of yours, that's all' explained Keller.

'An old flame?' she asked. Now, he had her curious.

This $10,000 is yours plus another three grand to get yourself some nice clothes and if you carry out the job to my satisfaction, there'll be another $10,000 at the end of the job.'

Now, he had Michelle's attention. Twenty thousand bucks and a new wardrobe, all for catching up with an old boyfriend. That sounded like a fun way to spend some time.

'So, which one of my old boyfriends are we talking about?' she asked.

'Neal Caffrey' he answered with a sneer.

TBC