The answer was an egg. Other answers include: a glow stick, bread (for certain holidays; i.e. " to break bread"), silence, rules (only when used in the context of Neal Caffrey), a dog or horse (you know how you have to "break" them in to make them obedient/docile), shoes (have to get used to them and loosen them up for comfort), a record (because it makes a quote: excellent analogy), Baroque architecture (hey, if you want proof, Noelani618 explains it perfectly well. Read her review/answer).

Had some great – and occasionally odd – answers this time. I love seeing the things you guys can come up with. So, let's take a look at our winners.

govgal
mayaswelltry
morgo7kc (loved all your answers. Great job!)
Simone Lyon (I think the great synchronization is due to the friendship between Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay. The two were buddies as soon as they met.)
LeighJ
SherlockXHolmes23
wolfeylady
brokenclaw
mel
Fedora
Mycroft R Holmes
Smlee
Noelani618
The Smirk on my Face (GASP! I'm sorry for any spoilers.)

Not as many winners this time. My riddles getting to tough for ya? Bwahahaha. Gotta get those minds goin' somehow.

So, today's fic is brought to you by "Under the Radar." Includes spoilers for those who haven't been able to see the season finale yet.

._._._._._._.

Worth It

Sometimes he wondered if it had been worth it.

He wondered if it all had been worth leaving the safety of his prison cell. The cell that, while not in the same league as the one Keller had managed to obtain, was still large enough for him to work and stretch comfortably. Plus, it had acquired a personal charm due to his drawings on the walls. It was dry and warm and he was given three meals a day with two opportunities to go outside for a few hours to relax in the sun. He was relatively safe from violent inmates: being a comedian for the other prisoners and a magician for the jailors that roamed the long and dim halls. He had even made a few acquaintances with his charm and smile.

So what if he had to spend another four years in prison. He had survived the previous three well enough. His sentence gave him plenty of time to work on his artistic talents and the guards were always willing to give him more canvases just to see what masterpiece he made next. In fact, for making them a requested artwork, the guards gave him a few luxuries: lamps, books, clean clothing, fresh blankets; sometimes even food off the dining menu.

Plus, with Mozzie on the outside, he had the opportunity to break out whenever he wanted.

But no. Instead of choosing to spend another sentence in prison and risk losing the one woman he truly loved, he had decided to offer a deal to a certain FBI special agent.

He had decided to serve as this agent's consultant and eventual partner so that he could leave prison with an anklet tracker monitoring him when the FBI personally wasn't. He had decided to use his knowledge of the White Collar criminal world for the FBI's advantage to take down potential threats to the political and economic society.

He had decided to work alongside Peter Burke to protect the law that had previously been his prime target to break, continuously.

Had it been worth it?

Was his freedom worth the continual hardships he suffered?

Take today, for example:

Had it been worth getting taken hostage by his old teacher, a man who didn't mind eliminating a few obstacles if it meant getting what he wanted? Or drinking that insidious drought that made him wake in an unknown location, with a disorientating headache?

Had it been worth being placed on top of a potentially huge and fatally deadly bomb with the orders to dismantle the mechanism guarding the entrance to an old submarine so that the treasures within could be reached?

Had it been worth drinking that damned drink again and this time waking up bound in what was about to become a giant swimming pool?

Had it been worth having guns pointed at him, again, and then actually being shot at?

Had it all been worth risking his life for the umpteenth time, just so that he could serve his duty as the criminal consultant of his partner, Peter Burke?

Then again, he hadn't been alone during these hardships.

When he had been kidnapped and shoved into a limousine by a goon with a gun, Peter had semi-voluntarily entered that same limousine and sat beside his partner and drank that same drought just to stay beside him in whatever Adler had planned for them.

When he had been anxiously trying to decipher the right way to disarm the bomb and open the hatch that was rigged with dynamite, Peter had been there right beside him, obeying his orders, staying calm to help him calm, and offering a smile when he needed it.

When he had to drink that damned drink again, Peter had swallowed the contents of his own cup so that, wherever they ended up, they would be together. And when the water soaked into their clothes and wet their bound hands, Peter did not panic and only waited with a familiar and comforting roll of his eyes for him to get the knife from Alex to cut them loose.

When the guns had been pointed at them, Peter had turned and pushed him back down the stairs that he had just ascended. And when those guns opened fire, Peter bravely stayed between him and the bullets, willingly protecting him without a second thought.

All the times he had risked his life in order to defend the law, Peter had been right there beside him. And suddenly, he had something better than the acquaintances he had made in prison. He had a true friend.

So, had it all been worth it?

Neal looked up at Peter in amazement and relief as the agent slapped him several times on the back and stood from his crouched position on the stairs. Peter trotted up the remaining steps to meet Diana and arrest the man that had been only a second away from killing them. Neal followed after him, pulling himself up the stairs with Alex in tow.

At the top of the stairs, his eyes met Peter's as the man stood proud and strong, hands on his hips; Diana and Jones cuffing the two men behind him. And Peter smiled.

Neal smiled back.

They had survived again.

And it had been worth it. As long as Peter was with him, it would always be worth it.

._._._._._._.

Seeing everything Neal has had to go through, I've wondered if he ever felt like joining the FBI was a mistake. And then I see the way he interacts with Peter and I can tell: it was totally worth it.

Not much else I want to say except that I hope you liked it. :]

So, here's your riddle:

**In spring I am in handsome array; in summer more clothing I wear; when colder it grows I fling off my clothes; and in winter quite naked appear. What am I?**

This may be a little easier than the others but hopefully will still get those brain juices going.

Happy Seder/Passover to my Jewish readers. Go and find that Matzah/Matzo!

And Happy Easter/Good Friday to my Christian readers if I don't post sooner.

Please don't feel offended if you will be celebrating a holiday that I have not announced. If I didn't mention it then it's only because I don't know about it. If there is a holiday I failed to mention due to my ignorance, I wish that it is happy.

Hobey-ho