Caffrey Conversation: Scotch on the Rocks

One of my favorite fanfic writing prompts is to fill in a blank left by a canon episode. In the case of White Collar, the writers gifted us with a number of tantalizing questions. I've already written about some of them. The origin of Neal's interest in origami and the backstory for his fencing ability were both in An Evening with Genji. I explored Peter's interest in astronomy in The Woman in Blue. In my latest Caffrey Conversation story, Scotch on the Rocks, I picked another canon element—the McNally Solitaire.

This spectacular emerald ring was created for the season 2 episode "Payback." It was named after the episode's story editor Alexandra McNally. Neal had stolen the ring sometime in the past and intended it to be an engagement ring for Kate. In the episode, he instead gives it to Keller as ransom payment for Peter. The ring is later recovered. When Peter asks Neal about it, he explains that it's been missing for hundreds of years but belongs to the Scotland Royal Museum. Not surprisingly, Neal doesn't reveal anything about his history with the ring.

I'd included the McNally Solitaire in an earlier story, The Queen's Jewels. In our Caffrey Conversation adaptation, Neal had planned to steal the ring for Kate and had already prepared a forgery. But once their relationship hit the skids, he decided not to proceed. In that story, Neal had Mozzie sell the imitation emerald to provide the funds for a con to clear his name.

I thought I was done with the McNally Solitaire, but it pointed out that questions still remain. How did Neal learn about the ring? Why did he choose it for Kate? What would happen if the solitaire was an element in a case? Would Neal tell Sara about his association with the ring? Should he? In Scotch on the Rocks, you'll find my answers as well as a few extra twists.

Meanwhile, Peter faces a dilemma of another sort. Typically Neal is the one coming to him for advice, but this time the roles are reversed. As for Winston-Winslow's demonic informant Crowley, a story featuring Scotch in the title could be an irresistible lure.

• Scotch on the Rocks on Archive of Our Own
• Scotch on the Rocks on FanFiction
• Scotch on the Rocks on Wattpad