White Collar Ficlet - Never Ask a Question (Month of June)

[elrhiarhodan]

Title: Never Ask a Question (when you don’t want to hear the answer)
Author: elrhiarhodan
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: June Ellington
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None
Word Count: ~300
Summary: June knows when it’s best not to ask.

A/N: Written for The Month of June, the 2013 edition.

__________________



Over the years, June had learned not to ask too many questions. Not about her husband’s business, not about the men who came in the back door with large boxes and left with small envelopes. She understood that there were some things that she just didn’t need to know.

It was the same with Neal Caffrey. She knew he was always up to something - particularly the first year. He had shared some of his story with her - the parts about Kate, and a little about his friend Mozzie. After hours over a glass of wine, he would tell her about the work he did - the legitimate work with Peter Burke, but he didn’t tell her about the reasons why so many pretty young ladies came to visit, but never stayed the night.

She knew that he was in trouble, she knew that he was trouble - and he’d turn her life upside down. He could even break her heart if she wasn’t careful. Her daughters were grown, all responsible adults with fantastic and fascinating careers. June and Byron had been careful to ensure that nothing of their father’s less legitimate side touched their lives. But Neal - he was her son by everything but blood. He was more like Byron than any of the children that came from her womb.

So, she never asked him any questions that she didn’t want him to answer, like why he had left and why he came back. She didn’t want him to tell her that his girlfriend, the one he had sacrificed everything for, had been murdered or that old ghosts were coming back to haunt him. Another thing that June had learned was that it was sometimes way too cruel to ask the questions for which you already had the answers.

FIN

Comments

[sinfulslasher]

Wonderful! I so love June and Neal on the show, they have such a wonderful friendship, and you captured it perfectly here.

The last line is brilliant!

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much. They do have a great relationship - she is the mother that Neal has needed for so long.

[nieseryjna.livejournal.com]

Fantastic portrayal of June and her life, first with Byron and then with Neal. I love especially this line But Neal - he was her son by everything but blood. He was more like Byron than any of the children that came from her womb.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Ah, the mistress of the triple drabble is back, and what a wonderful example of the genre it is.

[elrhiarhodan]

HUGS YOU!

And a humble thank you, too.

[damietta.livejournal.com]

This makes me yearn for an episode with just June and Neal. She is so underused and is such a goldmine of storylines. I loved two things about this greatly; the fact that he is trouble and in trouble and that he was more her child than any of hers.

[elrhiarhodan]

I agree - I think we need to see them - just the two of them. At least with S4, she wasn't just used to move the plot forward, she was - in part - the plot.

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Lovely fic and very believable

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you!

[miri-thompson.livejournal.com]

What a wise and perceptive woman. This is a perfect look at June!

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so much!

[car8.livejournal.com]

This is great. I honestly believe that June knows Neal better than anyone. And he knows and appreciates what she says and doesn't say.

[elrhiarhodan]

I agree - June sees Neal for what he is. A good man with good impulses .

Thank you.

[pipilj.livejournal.com]

Lovely character portrayal of June

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much.

[leesa_perrie]

Wonderful! You really captured June well here - and I love the last line.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much.

[ladyrose42.livejournal.com]

June definitely fills a need for Neal as someone who understands, doesn't pry or push, and is always there for him.

[elrhiarhodan]

That's it, exactly! I only wish we could have gotten a scene with Ellen talking about Neal with June.

[treonb.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is wonderful. June and Neal have such a special relationship, and I like how he's the 'son she never had' here.

(p.s. for some obscure reason my work filter keeps having problems with your journal. Go figure. )

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much.

I think June even says that Neal's the son she never had at his commutation hearing in Judgment Day.

[treonb.livejournal.com]

She does, but I took it as something she only said for the panel.

[hurinhouse.livejournal.com]

june lonely and crossing paths with byron's act-alike... neal struck the jackpot when he walked into that thrift shop. so did june.

[elrhiarhodan]

I think that you've summed it up perfectly - June got the son she never had and Neal, the mother he needs.

[kanarek13]

WOW, this is so perfect, one of the founding stones of their relationship - to know when to ask and when to keep quite and just be there if needed \o/

I really love the last line, this is so true and these two definitely know that and probably have learned that from experience.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very, very much! Yes - Neal and June understand each other perfectly and she sees him clearer than anyone else.

[florastuart.livejournal.com]

Oh, June ... This is lovely, and captures Neal and June's relationship wonderfully. She understands him, and there are things she knows and things she knows better than to ask him about. And he really is the son she never had, in so many ways - they're family. I love this so much!

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you so very much. I know that she was laying it on for the commutation board in Judgment Day, but there was a deep core of truth in her words.