The found family relationship in White Collar is generally acknowledged to be one of the most appealing aspects of the TV series. In the world of Caffrey Conversation, Penna and I super-sized it.
Penna started the expansion process by creating several relatives for Neal to reunite with. She later enlarged on her initial concept by having Henry and Neal's mom Noelle marry Peter's brother Joe. When I introduced Columbia University into the storyline, Neal acquired several additional close friends, one of whom is now married to his cousin Angela.
Sara Ellis was also in need of a found family. As of the beginning of the series, the only relative in her life was an aunt in Baltimore. As of the fall of 2006, Sara has found a new family with Neal, his friends, and relatives. Mozzie hasn't been left out either. Fashion designer Janet Dodson has become his soulmate, and he's recently acquired a new public alias as Sara's uncle.
In the Crossed Lines series, a similar trend is occurring. In canon, Dean and Sam Winchester formed a tight group with Bobby after the death of their father. Attachments were typically cut short by the people being killed off—a highly unsatisfactory situation in my opinion. In the very AU world of Crossed Lines, Dean and Sam have established tight bonds with their girlfriends and are now living in Maia's mansion. Bobby has also moved in. Maia is in a special situation. She doesn't remember her early life when she was a child in Celtic Ireland around the time of Julius Caesar. Over the past several stories, she's expanded her found family to include the Burkes, Neal and Sara, and Mozzie and Janet. Before Astrena locked memories of her early life behind a wall, Maia thought of them as her new clan. She still views them that way although she no longer remembers why.
Then there's Crowley—the stereotypical loner. Or is he? Even in canon, he experienced moments of caring for someone other than himself. In Crossed Lines, I've used his possession of art forger Curtis Hagen as the trigger for him to yearn for a family. Normally vessels don't influence a demon, but in Crowley's case, he's being affected by a potion that Astrena slipped him. Hagen is gradually finding an independent voice within Crowley, and the ramifications are just beginning to appear.
The found family element is particularly strong in Arkham Files. The series was designed as a meta work with the goal of influencing a cybercriminal. Neal's Arkham character is several years younger than in real life. He is also in a much more vulnerable position than Neal Caffrey. The series begins in September 1975 and builds to New Year's Eve in Sands of Abydos after which a new arc begins with the introduction of Henry into the storyline. I'm revisiting the stories making up the first arc in November and December. I'll begin posting expanded versions in mid-November. Neal's New Year's Eve party in Arkham Files will coincide with the end-of-the-year festivities in 2021.
Like Arkham Neal, Jack Blackfriars in my Six-Crossed Knot series is an orphan, but his childhood was much bleaker than Neal's. He was a foundling in Elizabethan England who was taken in by a gang of thieves and cutpurses. When he was eight, he was informally adopted by Diana and her husband Matthew. For the first time in his life, he felt loved and protected. That happy period only lasted for roughly six months. When Diana and Matthew returned to the present, they were unable to take him with them. Jack found a second family when Father Hubbard and the young vampires Leonard and Bryn took him under their wing. Vampires are particularly susceptible to feelings of loneliness. They witness countless friends age and die. The only constant in their lives is their vampire family. In Jack's case, he has unacknowledged ties to the de Clermont family, and his relationship to Father Hubbard is also a secret. Family complications are one of the main elements in the stories.
Family holidays are front and center in November and December. You are a welcome addition to any of the found families in our stories!
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