Note: Alright, so as promised I present to you the sequel to All or Nothing. ;) I was going to take more of a break from writing but I couldn't resist the urge to work with Agents Burke and Caffrey. As always I'm not sure where I'm going with this story yet, but hopefully it will be a fun ride! Thank you all for the amazing support for the first book in this series, it really rekindled my love of writing for White Collar!

White Collar: Double or Nothing

Chapter One

Stepping onto the elevator at the DC Federal Building Peter pressed the button for the tenth floor. Unlike the skyscraper that the White Collar office in New York had inhabited the J. Edgar Hoover building was only eleven stories on one side and eight on the other. It was early on Monday morning, Neal's first official day on the job as Art Crime's newest Agent. Peter was still having some trouble wrapping his mind around the events that had lead his CI into becoming his partner. Peter wasn't comfortable with Frost or his methods but at this point all he could do was hope that Frost's CIA agenda and his 'license to steal' didn't derail Neal's FBI career to the point of disaster. Peter's greatest fear was that Frost's sanctioned missions would also provide Neal with the kind of temptation and opportunity that could lead to highly unsanctioned behavior.

"Can't throw a fox in the hen house and just expect him to behave." Peter muttered to himself.

Trying to push uneasy thoughts to the side Peter stepped off the elevator. There was a short hallway that lead to the Art Crimes offices. As Peter approached he furrowed his brow as he suddenly heard laughter, the kind of group mirth that followed someone who was good at crowd pleasing telling a particularly good joke or in this case more likely sharing an embarrassing story. Peter had been the Section Chief in DC for five months now and he hated to think what tale about the boss's New York past Neal was currently telling his new audience.

Peter's suspicions were confirmed when he opened the large mahogany doors inlaid with a copper FBI insignia and stepped into the bullpen area of the Art Crimes office. Neal was sitting up on one of the office coordinator's desk with a box of fancy looking doughnuts next to him with a small crowd of Agents and support staff around him, all of which had fallen deathly silent the moment they spotted him. Peter didn't rule the Art Crimes department by fear or intimidation, he was well liked and honestly had their respect, but at the same he had a reputation for taking his job seriously and expecting those working for him to do the same. Peter had to assume whatever story Neal was regaling them with was undermining that aspect of his authority in one way or another.

Like school children scattering when the principle stepped out onto the play ground everyone suddenly remembered that they had work to do. One of the Agent's couldn't resist the allure of the law enforcement/doughnut love affair cliche as he snagged a coconut covered pastry. Prize in hand he turned around to face Peter who was doing his best to not look like an angry parent who had just busted a teenage party after coming home early.

"Morning, Chief." Agent Dammer greeted Peter with a guilty smile before hurrying off like the others had.

"You seem to have settled well into your new position as alpha dog around here." Neal chuckled as he hopped off the desk he'd been sitting on. "I remember Hughes used to be able to get you, Jones and Diana to clear out of a room with almost that exact same look. Have you been practicing?"

"I haven't had to use that look here until today."

"Luckily for you I'm here now to make sure you don't get rusty." Neal beamed as he picked up the box of bright pastries and offered it to him. "Breakfast?"

"That's not breakfast, Neal, that's a sugar bomb."

"Yes, but it's a really good sugar bomb." Neal smiled.

"Leske's Bakery?" Peter questioned as he read the box. "I didn't know they had a shop here in DC."

"They don't." Neal shrugged. "I had these flown in this morning."

"You're kidding…no, wait, of course you're not kidding." Peter rolled his eyes. "I'd better not find an expense report for that on my desk."

"That reminds me, I need you to show me how to fill one of those out."

Peter took a breath to retort only to think better of it. Everyone had gone about their day but several members of the support staff were still within ear shot. Not interested in engaging Neal like this in his first hour as an Agent Peter just shook his head sadly and headed for his office. Neal chuckled and followed him with a light excited step clearly enjoying the chance to get under Peter's skin. Peter wasn't sure why he had thought that things would be different now, he knew he should have known that five months at the Academy wasn't going to change Neal's caviler attitude towards life.

Following Peter into his office Neal closed the door behind himself, sensing that Peter wasn't as in a jovial mood as he was. The solid oak door gave them more privacy from the rest of the department than the old glass door did back at White Collar. Peter didn't usually keep his door closed, but he didn't protest Neal closing it now. Stepping over to his desk Peter picked up a thousand dollar expense report from Neal for a private courier from New York to DC for a 'classified' package.

"I'm not signing this."

"Relax, Peter, it's just a joke." Neal took the paper and crumpled it up. "I didn't really fly anything in from New York. I had used the box to pack some delicate items when I moved down here, I just picked some doughnuts up from the shop down the street and put them in the Leske box."

"Why am I not surprised that your first official act on the job was to con the office with fake donuts?"

"I'm not conning them, I'm using positive reinforcement and conditioned response to elevate their opinion of me subconsciously." Neal explained. "There's a difference. And they weren't fake so much as they were misrepresented."

"Neal…" Peter growled.

"Peter, I had to do something. This is D.C Art Crimes, 'Neal Caffrey' has been a house hold name here for years, and not in a good way."

"Your reputation certainly does proceed you."

"Alleged reputation." Neal corrected. "However, yes, it does. Even with Frost officially having me exonerated for the bond forging I'm still high on the list of suspects on a lot of the unsolved cases around here."

"In most of those cases you are the list, Neal."

"Exactly. It didn't really matter if the other Agents at White Collar trusted or even liked me. It matters here, these are my colleagues now and if I'm ever going to make it as an Agent I'm going to need the whole team to at the very least be willing to give me a chance."

"Just do good work, Neal, the rest will follow."

"I did good work in New York, did Jones or Diana ever truly trust me?"

"Do I have to even mention how many times you went behind both my own and their backs in that time as well?"

"Nine times out of ten that was because I couldn't take my problems to them or even you without risking being thrown right back in prison." Neal countered. "I want things to be different here, but a true 'fresh start' isn't something that even Frost can just give me. I'm going to have to work twice as hard as any new Agent just to prove I belong here."

Realized that he was just as guilty as the rest of the office for treating Neal for who he had been and not who he was becoming Peter nodded in agreement before smiling warmly at Neal. Instantly suspicious Neal shot him a questioning look.

"What?" Neal finally asked.

"The Academy did you far more good than I had hoped." Peter said. "You belong here, Neal, but you're right it's going to be an uphill battle for you for a while. However if you can stick to it I think that having to prove yourself is going to make you a better Agent in the long run."

"Frost has given me a real chance here to change my life and I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't serious about it."

"I know, I'm just still adjusting to it myself."

"So am I." Neal admitted with a smirk. "This whole responsibility thing is all very new to me."

"It shows." Peter teased.

"I'll get the hang of it, to be fair I've only officially been on the job for forty-five minutes." Neal smiled. "I haven't even moved into my new office yet."

"You've been on the job since the day you stepped foot in the Academy. You really have come a long way just by finishing that." Peter replied seriously. "I want you to know that I recognize that."

"Thank you."

"Although speaking of Frost, have you heard from him?"

"Only casually. He checked up on me a few times at the Academy, but he hasn't given me any assignments or anything like that. I think he's letting me get settled in here first."

"I still don't really know what I think about him."

"He's a war hero, and without his intervention I would have eventually killed myself from an accidental over dose if not a deliberate one."

"You wouldn't have been in that position without him either though." Peter pointed out.

"Peter, I'm trying to put my own past behind me, and I have to put Frost's transgressions against me aside as well if I'm going to move forward."

"I understand that, but I still say you need to watch yourself around him. You need to be very careful when he comes to collect his debt from you. Frost might be a slippery slope."

"Nice pun."

"I'm serious, Neal. Don't let Frost drag you too far outside the law in the pursuit of national security."

"You still don't trust me?"

"I'm your partner now, Neal, I wouldn't have allowed that to happen if I didn't trust you."

"Partner." Neal repeated with a smile. "I like the sound of it."

"I'm proud to call you that, but with Frost I fear you are very much just an 'asset', and the CIA doesn't have a great track record keeping their assets safe."

"Then it's a good thing that I'm an FBI Agent first, and a CIA asset second."

"You still have your loyalties divided."

"No, I don't...partner."