Wanted (White Collar)

Chapter Five - Ran

She woke up with smells of coffee and breakfast. She groggily sits up from the couch, a blanket over her that wasn't there when she had fallen asleep watching some classical movie Neal loves the night before. She saw files and papers scattered over Neal's bed. Alden wasn't where he was last night. She stood up, still in jeans and a t-shirt from the day before.

Neal turns around, smiling when he sees her. He hands her a mug, coffee filled to the brim inside. She looks down at it, shaking her head with a light smile.

When Neal sees this, he says, "you ok?"

She looks up. "Why are you doing this?"

I don't deserve this. He has no idea I'm actually involved in this case. I'm the reason this case is even here, interrupting Neal's life. It won't be long until Peter finds out, which means Neal will know as soon as he does. Then I have to leave.

"It's only polite, you are temporarily living here."

Yeah. Temporary. More like a few hours until Peter finds my prints on the gun.

"I know but-" she starts.

"Hey, it's my job. I know what you're dealing with being in this case for no reason."

She sighs, forcing a smile. Neal, you have no idea. "Thank you."

Just then, June walks in, Alden and her pug on leashes.

"Hello, Lilly. I just walked him for you- he's a lovely dog." She smiles.

At this point, Daphne is lost for words.

"Oh- my God- you didn't have to do that-"

"Oh, it was my pleasure." She hands her the leash.

Daphne bites her lip, choking back some emotion she didn't feel she deserved.

"Thank you anyway, June. It's lovely to meet you."

June nods, and gracefully walks herself and her dog back downstairs.

"So," Neal speaks up. "Where are we going?"

"What?"

"Y'know, that thing we planned... Where do you want to go?"

"Oh-that, of course."

Her initial thought was somewhere farther than she'd normally go, but realizing Neal's anklet and her new found suspicion for taxis, she said, "let's just walk somewhere."

"Sounds good to me."

...............................................

"Tell me more about yourself, Lilly."

"Already into those 'first date' surface level conversations, are we?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be," he suggests.

"What do you want to know?" She looks ahead of her, seeing the never-ending street in front of them, shops to the side of it that no one's heard of. The light from the rising sun shone through some of the smaller buildings.

"Start with your childhood. Just let it go from there."

She nods. "Okay, well, I was born in Utah with two parents, until I turned three and was thrown into the foster system. I was sent here, to Manhattan.

Neal looks at her, surprised eyes and probably a lot of questions. She was staring in front of her as she said these things.

"The foster home owner, Ella Brinks, adopted me when I was 5. I learned everything from her, and when I was 12 my birth mother came to take me back."