Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar. If I owned White Collar, and if I owned Leverage, I would do a crossover in a heart beat…

A/N: Okay, I hated Kate. I really really REALLY hated Kate. But then I saw Neal's heartbroken face in the finale and I didn't want her to be dead anymore. So I'm writing this, because actually, at this point, I will kind of feel betrayed if she actually is dead. That's too easy for this show. This is my FIRST White Collar fic, so I'm sorry if it is not up to caliber. I welcome criticism if there is a point to it, but not random flaming. Please review so that I know how to improve.

Looking For You

Chapter 1: Broken

Peter Burke watched from across the office at his partner, sitting at his desk, staring at the paperwork, but it looked as though nothing was making it into his head. The agent sighed and shook his head. He knew it had been too soon for Neal to come back to work, but neither the former con nor Hughes had believed him.

It had only been a week since that fateful incident on the tarmac, when the plane that held Kate had gone up in flames. It hadn't been until two days later that Neal was responsive to what was going on around him, and even then, it wasn't until the third day that the tears stopped falling and he had come to grips with the harsh reality that the love of his life was gone. His future was gone. Everything he had been fighting for was gone. And now, he was back at work, and yet a million miles away.

Looking at the clock, Peter saw that it was ten to noon and got up, going over to his friend. "Neal, come on, we're going out for lunch," he said, a hand on Neal's shoulder bringing him out of his trancelike state.

"I've got to finish this folder," the con said, waving his hand over the case file in front of him.

"I think it will still be here when we get back, now come on." Not giving Neal another chance to protest, Peter pulled him out of the chair and led him towards the door, a hand pushing him between the shoulder blades.

"Thought you were going home to have lunch with Elizabeth," Neal pointed out as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

"Who says I'm not? You're just coming along now." The agent glanced over at the con before pulling out into the traffic.

"No, Peter, come on, you and Elizabeth deserve some time alone," Neal protested.

"Oh please, El would have my head if I left you to fend for yourself."

The ride was silent after that, but Peter kept glancing over to make sure that Neal was okay. Every time, he was spinning that stupid hat in his fingers and staring at it intently, as though it held some key to the secret of the universe.

"Neal, do you need to take some more time off?" Peter asked as he made a turn towards the house. The ex-con seemed to jerk out of his reverie.

"No, I'm fine." His voice was almost panicked as he looked at the agent. "Really Peter, I just didn't sleep well last night."

"You've been staying with us for the past week…I know you haven't been sleeping well, and not just last night. Neal, you need to talk about this," the agent said calmly.

"There's nothing for me to say. She's gone, I'm moving on, this is how I am dealing with it Peter."

"Neal, there is no 'dealing with it' going on!" the agent exclaimed as he pulled off to the side of the road and then turned to his partner. "You're not functioning right! You're hardly functioning at all!"

Neal didn't say anything, just looked back to the hat, a sense of defeat emanating from him. "I want you to see someone Neal. There's a really good counselor who works for the bureau…"

"No, no shrinks," was the firm reply.

"Fine, then if you don't want to talk to a professional, and you can't talk to me then talk to El. Talk to June. Talk to Moz for crying out loud, just talk to someone!" Peter said emphasizing the last word and Neal nodded slowly, as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "I know that you loved her Neal, but she's gone. I'm sorry, but she's gone."

Peter pulled back out onto the road and they drove for a few minutes in complete silence before Peter looked over again and saw that silent tears were falling from Neal's eyes as he stared out the window. "If you hadn't been there…I would have died too…" Neal whispered.

"Neal."

"I would have been with her at last."

"Neal, don't do this to yourself."

"I wouldn't be able to find who did this and get justice for her…thank you Peter…thank you for saving my life."

The words took the agent by surprise. He had been ready for Neal to start screaming about how he hated Peter for keeping him away from Kate, but that hadn't happened. "There was no way I was going to just let you go. You're my friend," Peter said simply. They had arrived at the house and he reached over to squeeze Neal's shoulder. "Now come on, let's get in there. I made sure that El made deviled ham."

Neal paled for a moment, eyes wide, and then he saw Peter's lips twitching and slapped the man playfully. "That is really not funny Peter," the con said, getting out of the car.

"Yes it is, and you know it," Peter retorted as they walked up the stairs. Elizabeth was already there with the door open.

"Oh Neal, I'm so glad that you came to join us. I hope you're in the mood for deviled ham," she said, smiling and the con paused there on the steps before she started laughing.

"Come on El! He had you in on it too?" Neal asked as he walked in and hung his hat up on the coat rack.

"Had to have a little fun with you Neal."

007007007007007007007007

She is sitting back in her seat on the plane, waiting. Just waiting. There is nothing left for her to do, no other secret meetings, no other lies to tell…or truths to keep silent. Nothing. Just…waiting.

After a few minutes, she looks out the plane window and sees him walking towards the plane and she can't stop the pleased smile that springs to her lips. He's made it! They're really going to make it out of there and start their lives together all over again. She rests her head back against the head rest and breathes a deep sigh of relief. The nightmare is almost over.

When it takes longer for Neal to make it to the plane than normal she looks out the window again and sees him standing there on the walkway, talking to Peter. What was Peter doing there? Of course, he didn't want Neal to leave. He really did not like Kate and he in no way trusted her. If anyone would be able to derail this and make sure that she and Neal didn't get their happy ending…it was Peter Burke.

The conversation seems to take forever and then the pilot is coming back from the cockpit. He doesn't say anything to her, just grabs her and drags her to the back of the plane and down past the landing gear and is in the process of dragging her away when an explosion comes from behind them and she feels the heat at her back and then pain in her head before the world goes black.

She shot up in bed, gasping for breath before pain erupted in her head and she fell back against a set of pillows. Blinking painfully at the light, she recognized the white walls, bright fluorescent lights, and sterile smell as belonging to a hospital. At first she had thought the visions were dreams, but now it came rushing back and she remembered that it was all real. Reaching up, she felt the bandages wrapped around her head. Looking out the window Kate saw the guards in the hall out of her door and sighed.

"What am I going to do…?" she asked herself, looking around the room, looking for anything. Most important thing to do would be to figure out who was responsible for this. It wasn't Fowler that much was true. She knew it. Fowler wasn't the leader of this operation and he had genuinely thought that he was sending her and Neal off to start their new lives together, not sending them to their deaths. Kate Moreau was good at reading people, and she knew she had read Garret Fowler right.

The door opened and her head whipped around. Two men walked in and she recognized one of them, her blood running cold. The other was a doctor who noted her reaction and turned to his companion. "I'm going to need to ask you to leave. She's obviously distressed by you being here, so please, just wait outside and I will inform you of her condition when I am done examining her."

Those cold eyes glared at her and Kate couldn't help but shrink back on the bed before the man turned and left. Once the door had closed the man in the white coat walked over and smiled at her warmly. "Good afternoon Ms. Moreau. It's good to see you awake, we were starting to get worried."

"How long was I out for doctor…"

"Kensington. You've been in a coma for a week. Part of it was medically induced so that we could get the swelling in your brain down. Do you remember the explosion that you were in before you woke up?" he asked, making notes on his clipboard and checking the machinery.

They were going with an actual explosion huh? "No…I'm sorry, it's all rather foggy," she said, playing along with the story. She would never get out if she didn't do so.

"That's okay Ms. Moreau. It is quite normal for there to be some memory loss after a trauma such as this," he said reassuringly. "Now, do you have much pain?"

"No, I'm fine," she lied, but Dr. Kensington had a knowing look in his eyes.

"Alright. You are hooked up to this pump, it releases a small dosage of painkillers into your bloodstream every half hour. And there is a remote that you can click for an extra small dosage every ten minutes if you think that you need it. Don't be afraid to use it."

"Thank you doctor. Do you think that I could make a phone call?" she asked. "I'm sure my family is very worried about me."

He took on a grim expression. "I'm sorry Ms. Moreau, but because of the attempt on your life, you have been placed into protective custody awaiting release and placement into the witness protection program."

And there was the story they were using to explain how a Kate Moreau could have died in a plane explosion and still be alive in a hospital. "Oh…alright…" she said, looking as down trodden as was possible. "I…I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye…" she murmured as tears were forced out.

Luckily, those tears did exactly what was intended. "Ms. Moreau, you might not be able to make the call, but I could make the call for you maybe. Give minimal information and it would have to be very short so that it wouldn't be traced." At her surprise he grinned. "This isn't my first go round at the rodeo Ms. Moreau, I do know how some of these things are done. Who is it that I should be calling?"

"His name is Neal…Neal Caffrey. He's my fiancé. You might not be able to find him in the phone book, he's lodging with a June Cahors. If you can't find either of them, could you just contact Agent Peter Burke…he's with the FBI, his wife's name is Elizabeth," she said, the painkillers starting to mess with her head.

Dr. Kensington noticed and nodded. "I'll call them and let them know that you're okay," he said. "Now you get some rest. I'm going to go inform your handlers that you're doing alright, but that they need to leave you be for now so you can sleep. It will be fine. I'll check in on you later once I've made those calls."

She smiled tiredly, exaggerating it just a bit and closed her eyes as he turned to leave. The door opened, the lights were turned off, and she heard the click as the door closed again. While the grogginess had been exaggerated she was feeling considerably weaker and decided to take the doctor's advice and get some sleep. Her last conscious thought was of Neal. One week of thinking her dead…he must have been torn apart.

007007007007007007007007

Peter, Neal, and Elizabeth were all gathered around the table for dinner later that night and were laughing at a joke that Peter had tried to tell…and failed…and that El had finished, playfully slapping her husband. The phone rang and Peter, pouting, had stood up to get it. "Fine, I can see where I'm not wanted," he muttered as he walked out and left a giggling wife and grinning partner.

"Hello?" the pair heard from the hallway. "Yes, this is Agent Burke…yes…Mr. Caffrey is here, would you like me…alright. Neal," Peter called. "Someone wants to speak with you. They couldn't get you at June's so they called here."

Frowning, Neal stood up and went out, taking the phone from Peter who crossed his arms over his chest and stood there. "Hello?" Neal asked, looking to his friend who just shrugged.

"Hello Mr. Caffrey. I can't tell you my name because you might be able to find me if I did so. However, I am calling on behalf of my patient. She says she's your fiancé, her name is Kate Moreau and she wants you to know she's alright."

Everything after "Moreau" was heard from a distance because Neal had dropped the phone and was looking at Peter helplessly. There was a gasp from the doorway and Peter turned to see El standing there, a hand clapped over her mouth, eyes wide in shock. "Neal…" Peter said slowly.

"Kate…Kate's alive?"

TBC…