Caffrey Flashback

Chapter 40: Happy Birthday

Neal's apartment. Sunday morning. March 7, 2004.

After more than a week away, it felt great to wake up in his own place again. Neal had been prepared to argue last night that he should be allowed to return to his loft, and when that argument hadn't been necessary, he didn't put up a fight when Henry insisted on staying at Neal's place. Having been accused of being the infamous Mr. Hyde, Henry needed the show of trust that he was still assigned as Neal's guard against the real Mr. Hyde.

And now Neal woke to the smell of the breakfast Henry was preparing. They had a tradition for Neal's birthday, and it always started with room service or breakfast in bed, depending on where they were.

One of their first arguments, after Henry found Neal and checked him into a hospital in Chicago, had been about Neal's birthday. Neal had insisted his birthday was March seven, because that's the date he'd grown up celebrating. But that was a date the Marshals had chosen for his WITSEC identity. He'd actually been born on March twenty-one and Henry had insisted Neal was still a minor, even though Neal believed he had run away on his eighteenth birthday.

It had led to a compromise. They alternated celebrating his birthday. In odd-numbered years they celebrated March twenty-one, and in even-numbered years they celebrated March seven. Even though it was complicated, even though they often had a lot going on, Henry never forgot. He clearly took great pleasure in planning birthday celebrations, and in keeping his plans a secret. Given everything Henry had been through yesterday – learning that his father was almost certainly the person who had tried to kill Neal and had tried to frame Henry for the crime – it was tempting to tell him he didn't have to do the big birthday thing this year. But Neal knew his cousin. If he weren't busy running this birthday, he'd be fretting and obsessing about what Robert had done.

Neal had realized a couple of years ago that they both needed these celebrations. It was less about a birthday and more about their friendship, falling around the anniversary of when they had met up as semi-adults. It had served as an acknowledgement that they valued their friendship and wanted to continue their journeys together. He'd taken it for granted until 2001, when he waited until the end of that year's celebration to put an end to their partnership, saying they needed to go separate ways, all the while hiding the fact that Robert was blackmailing him into leaving. The next year Neal had made a point of being out of the country on his birthday, and had spent the day in utter misery. In 2003 he'd been in New York, and had been relieved when Henry showed up at his apartment early in the morning with an exorbitant take-out breakfast. That had marked the official mending of their friendship, even if they had to hide it from Robert.

This time after breakfast Mozzie joined them for an activity that had clearly been his idea. With his help they organized Neal's artworks. Some they framed and hung in Neal's apartment. Works in progress were carefully sorted and arranged near a present from Henry: a much more sturdy and expensive easel than Neal had ever owned. Henry had brushed off the thanks, saying it was a more practical choice now that Neal actually had a fixed address and wouldn't be moving every few months. The rest of Neal's art they took to a nearby, climate-controlled storage facility that catered to artists and others with delicate items to store. The rent was already paid for a year in advance by June. She was still staying with her daughters for another week but had wanted to do something in honor of Neal's birthday. She'd left a note saying that Byron had also designated a gift that she would deliver in person when she returned to Riverside Drive.

In the evening Henry insisted they change into suits, and then they were on their way to the hotel where Noelle was staying. Somewhat to Neal's surprise, Noelle was still using the massive suite that Graham had rented. And Graham was back. Peter and Elizabeth were also there, and for once Peter's suit wasn't from Brooks Brothers. He looked almost debonair, and slightly out of his element.