Happily Ever After AU - for conning

[abrightboy]

From here

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[conning]

Neal does as requested without hesitation, though he stays at the door for a moment after doing it, his hands shaking. He stares at them, trying to make them stop before he turns around. Instinctively hiding weakness.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm pushes the tape into the machine, getting up and turning to look at Neal, but he does it too fast and almost loses his balance, steadying himself on the back of the couch.

“Neal, do y…” He stops, frowning faintly. “Are you okay?”

[conning]

“Yeah,” he says, sounding a little breathless. He knots both hands into fists before turning around, taking a deep breath and letting it out with a smile. “Yeah, I’m…”

He noticed Malcolm hanging onto the couch and takes a sudden, concerned step forward. “Are you?”

[abrightboy]

“Same old head injury stuff.” He reaches for Neal in lieu of the couch when he’s close enough. “Are you ready to watch it?”

[conning]

Neal cradles Malcolm, focusing on being steady for him, giving himself that out. “No,” he says softly, “but we need to.”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm urges him to the couch where he can curl up against him as he hands him the remote control. Neal gets to decide how much and how fast.

[conning]

Neal hangs onto the remote for several silent minutes, staring at the TV, mind almost blank with anxiety. Finally, impulsively, he lifts the remote and pushes play.

Ellen's face pops onto the screen, but it's not Ellen as he last saw her. It's grainy, monochrome, the Ellen of his childhood through the filter of formerly-high-quality recording equipment.

He's transfixed.

"Neal. It may be a while before you get to see this, so I'll just start from the beginning. I was your father's partner in the Washington, D.C., Metro police department. I, uh... I'm still trying to make sense of this week..."

She stops. Half-smiles, but sadly. "This year, really. I'm making this tape, hoping it finds its way to you. In case you don't get to see me or your father again."

Another pause. "That's the first time I've said that out loud. By now, I assume you know that your father's been accused of a very serious crime. He told me he was innocent, and I believed him. I've worked with him a long time. He's no killer, Neal. The man I know can't be."

There's uncertainty in her eyes, but only for a moment.

"After he was arrested, your dad told me that our department is filled with dirty cops and they set him up. So I've spent the last few months running down leads, trying to back up his story. And he's right about one thing. There are dirty cops... a lot of them. But did they set him up? I thought maybe they had. And then yesterday, your father confessed to the murder."

She fidgets, a woman whose world is coming apart, trying to be strong because she's the only one left to do it. "I tried to talk to him, but all anyone will tell me is that he turned state's evidence and you, your Mom, and I are being placed into Witness Protection. All the information I've found on the others since James' arrest... Only me, your father, and one other cop know about it. And the other cop... I'm not gonna tell you his name for his own safety. He works undercover. He's a good man."

She lifts a black metal filing box into the view of the camera, forcing another small smile. "I'm giving this to him. I'm gonna keep this box safe. And, Neal, if it you need it..." She sets down the box and holds up the chain of her necklace, revealing a large locket, plain in every respect. "The key inside this locket will lead you to it."

She lets the necklace fall. "The marshals are shipping us out soon. I've requested to be placed near you and your Mom. And they say there's a good chance, given the circumstances. Know this... I will do everything I can to keep you safe."

She tears up, barely bites her lip, then tries for a smile. Leaning forward to hover a hand over the stop button. "Goodbye, Neal... Until we meet again."

The tapes goes to static. Neal watches the static for a moment, eyes brimming, before hitting rewind to play the whole thing again.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm points at the screen, tilting his head to look up at Neal.

"....Is that what you took at the hospital?"

[conning]

Neal looks at him, dazed. "What?"

[abrightboy]

"You took something from Ellen," Malcolm reminds him. "Was it the locket?"

[conning]

"No," he says, starting to clue in to what Malcolm is saying. "No, they probably took that and put it with her personal effects during the... exam."

He can't make himself say autopsy. "She never took it off. I guess now I know why."

[abrightboy]

“That means the FBI has it in evidence. How are we going to get to it?” Malcolm asks him.

[conning]

Neal chews on his lip. "I can't request her personal effects. Not as a suspect. Even if I was direct family, I doubt they'd give them up while the case is open."

He gets up to pour a drink. "Either we steal it, or we close the case."

[abrightboy]

“Do you want me to just have them arrest your dad?” Malcolm asks innocently.

[conning]

Neal misses his glass, splashing a little scotch on the counter. "That's not funny."

[abrightboy]

“Well, he’s the only plausible suspect at this point, so I guess we’ll have to steal it,” he points out.

[conning]

“Or find another plausible suspect.” His voice is a lot sharper than intended. He takes a deep breath and pours himself a generous glass of scotch before getting something to wipe up the spill.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm frowns faintly.

"What's the matter?" he asks. "James has been acting weird and suspicious since he broke in here."

[conning]

"That doesn't mean he's the only possibility." He takes a sip of the alcohol, then knocks it back, then stares at his empty glass. Then presses the glass against his forehead for a moment before he turns around to pour another.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's frown deepens.

"Did I say something wrong?"

It's all just fact.

[conning]

Neal massages the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to try and relax. To stop treating everyone around him like some kind of enemy or threat. Malcolm is the only person who isn't one.

"No," he says softly. "No, I'm just. Wired."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm tilts his head, his gaze assessing.

“It’s more than that. You’re irritated. Offended.”

He knows Neal’s stress reactions better than most people’s.

[conning]

Neal squeezes his eyes shut, talking himself down from snapping at Malcolm to let it go. “What if he’s innocent? What if all the lying, all the suspicion and tricks, what if he’s been running so long he doesn’t understand how to do anything else any more? I could… I could help him.”

[abrightboy]

“He’d like you to believe that,” Malcolm tells him. “That plays right into his hands.”

[conning]

“Can I believe it tonight?” There’s something small and lost in the question.