Children in Caffrey Conversation

Do you remember the White Collar episodes featuring children? Neal connected with them more easily. Peter often looked distinctly uncomfortable at first, and then eventually made a connection of his own.

Introducing children into stories helps us see a softer side of our characters. Scenes with little kids can be an acquired taste, both as a writer and as a reader. I like to think that it's an area where Silbrith and I have both grown, and now we want to celebrate the kids who stole our hearts.

I think of our child characters as falling into five categories.

Warning for spoilers for Caffrey Conversation and White Collar

First up is children of recurring characters. Tricia's sons are among the earliest and most frequently referenced kids in this category. We first hear about them in By the Book, and then they show up at Neal's birthday lunch in Caffrey Flashback. Tricia checks up on them during Caffrey Disclosure -- and takes them on vacation to meet puffins -- and they join the celebration in the Treasure Hunt vignette. Silbrith includes them in The Dreamer, Echoes of a Violin, and Night Howls on the Hudson. Perhaps it's time to finally name Tricia's sons, unless leaving them nameless becomes a recurring joke. I like showing Tricia as a working mom, partnering with her husband to take care of the kids. She achieves a balance that other characters may want to emulate... more about that below.

June's granddaughters have made a few appearances, especially in Caffrey Disclosure. Michael Darling's daughter is first mentioned in Choirboy Caffrey and may have been responsible for infecting Neal in Caffrey Aloha. Honorable mention goes to Jones' nephew Ethan, who made his adorable bow in The Queen's Jewels as a mini pirate, and then has an even bigger role in Fireflies at Midnight. Ethan brings out the protective side of so many of our adult characters, and he has an irrepressible love of adventure. I predict that he'll be a good influence on Jones.

The second category is kids as guest stars. Lily and Katy Sinclair made an impression in By the Book when they thought Neal was an adult wizard; that's a joke that kept on giving. During Caffrey Disclosure, Neal helps a boy named Wesley select a guitar and teaches him to play a few chords. In An Evening with Genji, we meet Asami, a little girl from Neal's past who was his neighbor and friend in St. Louis. Silbrith also gave us Amy in Harlequin's Shadow; she met Neal in a hospital and broke our hearts when she died. In my Wish on a Star vignette, Evie and Tony are the focus of attention when their mother is dying. Tony's a fan of the FBI and of Peter. Evie prefers Angela's songs and Neal's stories, and I loved showing her interacting with sometimes overly driven Henry. Their battle over sneaking each other's desserts is a moment that I'll treasure. Neal also interacts with a few kids when volunteering at a runaway shelter in Caffrey Flashback and Caffrey Disclosure; in the latter, I took inspiration from the White Collar episode where Neal pretended to be a substitute teacher.

The third category is nameless hordes. Sometimes we throw a whole bunch of kids at the characters as a challenge. For Neal it's an elementary school choir during In The Driver's Seat, and it kind of freaks him out. He does better once he deals with his own childhood demons. There are lots of kids on the beach in Caffrey Aloha, and Silbrith introduces more hordes during a summer camp in Fireflies at Midnight, during rehearsals for a play in Dark Rabbit, and at a Renaissance festival in Night Howls on the Hudson. By then Neal is more comfortable with the hordes.

The summer camp scenario also includes Peter and Travis. As in White Collar canon, Peter seems unnerved at the idea of being around kids at first, and then is great with them. In canon, I think the writers liked to make the point that Neal connected easily with children because of his own childlike/childish nature. Personally, I lean more toward Silbrith's take. In her stories, Mozzie is the one with the true bond with children; Mozz seems almost ageless.

I've described Henry Winslow and Irene Caffrey as pied pipers, who tend to be followed by children; my favorite examples are in Caffrey Disclosure where Henry plays hide-and-seek with kids, and in Caffrey Aloha where Irene dances with kids on the beach. Both Irene and Henry have a playful side that's most apparent when they're around kids. Angela Caffrey's studies require interacting with children as she produces children's musicals and teaches kids to play instruments. The more we develop Angela as a character, the more I see a motherly side emerging. Gruff Win-Win CEO Graham Winslow is described as leading meetings with a baby in his arms, and in the vignette Homecoming I add to his reputation as marshmallow when it comes to kids. His wife Julia had been a nanny while studying to become a data scientist, and she finds inspiration in the seemingly random actions of children playing hide-and-seek in the Win-Win offices.

The fourth category is showing the main characters as kids. We get a lot of this for Neal, thanks to his flashbacks to his childhood. Caffrey Envoy gave us several scenes of Neal and his cousins as little ones, and then in A Caffrey Christmas Carol we see both Neal and Peter as children when they visit Christmas Past. Silbrith has explored Peter's childhood more than I have. I don't know if I could pick a favorite between stories of little Peter watching for witches and stargazing with his mother on Halloween, or thinking he's found Bigfoot's cave with his brother.

The fifth category is what I'm calling the next generation. Canon gave Diana baby Teddy, and then Peter and El had baby Neal. None of our main characters have had kids, yet... As I alluded to above, when the time comes I think they'll ask Tricia for advice. Angela having a motherly side is a hint of things to come.

When I wrote the scene in Caffrey Flashback of Neal describing a mural he'd like to paint, I had a moment of inspiration. I thought I'd like to end the AU with Neal painting a mural for a nursery. But whose nursery and when? That's something I'm not ready to divulge yet. I'll just say I have a vision of who'll have kids and how many kids they'll have. Experience has taught me that the characters have minds of their own, and they may surprise me.