Set sometime after season 6. Neal has served his sentence 3 years ago. Now, he's free, and everything should be fine. However, something went seriously wrong. To make matters worse, Peter and Neal became estranged. But Neal needs a friend, desperately. What else to expect? No one is going to die. There will be hurt and comfort. Like the story title implies, friendship, too.

One morning, Neal told his handler: Peter, from now on I need to go to Colorado twice a year. He understood it would be difficult to convince his handler. But once Burke had heard the full story, he might be willing to consent. He had to. Cut a long story short: Alex is dying and Neal had given his word to do her a favor and didn't plan to break it. No fluff. Death of character.

Set in S6.01 after the gun shot and before the bottle. There are spoilers in the story or the episode. Therefore, if you haven't seen it yet, be warned. Peter receives a strange scam mail that makes him happy.