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takadasaiko · 6 years ago

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Home from the War Chapter One: Not Normal

FFN II AO3

Summary: When Tom makes a move to use Halcyon to dismantle St Regis all hell is bound to break loose. Keen2, Hargrave2, full Blacklist and Redemption cast. Sequel to Breathe Again Beneath the Flames.

Chapter One: Not Normal

The party was in full swing by the time he arrived. It was a private affair, meaning that there shouldn't be any cameras. At least not the kind where the photos would end up in the newspaper the following morning. After a fourteen hour trip across the world and back again with only a few hours packed full of meetings in between,Tom wasn't sure he could even rely on his training to fake his way through it. At least the crowd at Cooper's party wouldn't expect him to. Certainly not like the press would have wanted out of Christopher Hargrave.

"Tom Keen. Liz wasn't sure you would be back in time."

Tom turned, blinking to clear his contacts as best he could, and a real smile perked his lips. "Hey, Charlene." He made a small, surprised sound as Charlene Cooper pulled him into a surprise hug. Funny how far things had come since she had stared him down for beating Karakurt senseless in the garage with a stool. "I didn't want to miss your husband's big day."

Charlene released him, shaking her head and laughing to herself. "I'd like to think it'll slow down now."

He flashed her a grin. "Well, if running the FBI is anything like running Halcyon, no." Tom scanned the crowd. "Where is Cooper? I haven't had a chance to congratulate him since the official word came in."

"Over with some old friends of ours in the living room. I know Liz is here somewhere and Donald Ressler made it by."

"I guess this is as close to a promotion party as he'd get, huh?"

Charlene smiled, but it turned a little sad. "Tom, Harold told me about Conrad. We've known the man for years, but I-"

"You never really know people," Tom said with a shrug, hoping to brush off the impending conversation about Cooper's predecessor in the FBI who was still awaiting trial for his involvement in the Cabal. Much to Scottie and Howard's frustration, they didn't have a great deal of evidence against him to firmly link him to Tom's kidnapping. It bothered his parents more than him. Tom was going to be happy to close the door on one more childhood trauma and just be done with it. He didn't give a damn what the man rotted the rest of his years away for as long as the hole was deep and dark and far away from his own family.

A laugh pulled him out of his thoughts and he excused himself as he followed the familiar sound. It soothed his raw nerves even after the laughter faded back into the quiet rumble of the crowd.

And his nerves were wearing a little thin. The last six months had been a whirlwind of somewhat organized chaos. After the Halcyon board had decided to keep him on as the CEO he had immediately solidified the deal with Cooper to align the Grey Matters team and the Task Force. Cooper's name had been on the shortlist to replace Conrad Davis as the the Director of the FBI even then, but he had been eager to work it out. The leads Halcyon provided allowed the Task Force to stay in place and active. While they might not be thrilled with the close contact with Nez and Solomon - Tom could hardly blame them when it came to Solomon - it had worked well so far. Even better once their headquarters were officially transferred down to DC.

He spotted Liz in the crowd, a glass of champagne in her hand and she was chatting with Samar. Tom caught the former Mossad operative's gaze briefly, but she didn't give him away as he crept around his wife's back, his lips turned up just a little at the corners.

Liz must have sensed an approach. She turned over her left shoulder and Tom slipped around to her right, grinning by the time she spun on him. Liz's irritation melted immediately into a grin as she wrapped her arms around his neck, champagne glass and all. "That's the way you get yourself shot," she teased and his arms found their way around her waist. He lifted her off her feet in the hug, not caring if he ended up with champagne down his back for the effort.

"I've missed you," he murmured into her ear as he put her down and she stole a kiss.

"What happens to the board wanting you out of the field so that you could handle stuff here?"

"I think they're trying to distract me from the fact that most of them still haven't relocated down here to DC," he chuckled, glancing over to the woman that Liz had been chatting with. "How's it going Samar?"

"Busy."

Tom flashed a grin. "You killed Solomon yet?"

"Hoping we'll do you the favour?"

"You said it, not me."

Liz snorted and her arm snaked around the small of his back as she leaned in, steadier than he had expected her to be with the bubbling drink in her hand.

"Where were you this time?" Samar asked as she sipped at her own drink.

"Asia."

"Vague."

He shrugged, unwilling to say more. He could feel Liz's gaze turn on him, but he kept a steady smile in place. She didn't press him on it, but instead tightened her own hold. "You're in town for a while now, aren't you?"

"As far as I know. Why?"

"Samar and I were talking about all of us getting together outside of work. A bar or something easy."

"Something normal?" Tom asked with a small smile.

"Something like that."

"Agent Ressler is never going to go for it," Aram said as he approached, two glasses in his hand and he passed one over to Samar. "Hey, Tom. Agent Keen wasn't sure you'd make it."

"Barely did. If Ressler's worried about crossing personal and professional lines I think we vaulted over those years ago." He glanced at the drinks. "Where's everyone getting those?"

"Kitchen," Liz answered. "It's not that. He's dating someone."

"Ress?"

His wife nodded.

"Huh."

"Just because I don't share every inch of my life doesn't mean I don't date," Donald Ressler said as he approached.

Tom grinned. "Yeah, but secret's have a way of coming out with this group."

"If you're a secret spy that married an FBI agent, yeah," Ressler shot back. "This isn't a secret. This is privacy."

"We're not going to scare her off," Liz promised.

Ressler quirked an eyebrow and Tom chuckled, shaking his head. No point in pushing him on it. They all knew it'd just put him against the idea more. If Liz really wanted this to happen she would work him slowly until he agreed. She didn't accept no for an answer very often.

"Congrats, by the way." Tom waited until his wife's former partner looked over. "On the promotion."

He grunted something that Tom was just going to assume was a thanks, if it was or wasn't.

Liz leaned into him and he could hear the lateness of the hour creeping into her voice. "Agnes is going to be happy to have you home."

Tom turned, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Give me a second to find Cooper and we'll go home to see her." He felt her nod and released her. It was good to be home and good to see things settling out for her team. The last years had been rough on everyone and he thought maybe they might have earned a bit of a breather after everything.

It had been an uphill battle for Liz to be cleared for active field duty again and she was still in the fight for it. Between her injuries two years before and the events that followed, the therapist that had been assigned to her had been very hesitant to send her fully back to work. She had proved herself physically capable, but the Bureau's expert hadn't thought she was mentally ready to go back. She had pushed her to talk about the time she had spent believing that her husband was dead, her time away from their daughter, fighting to make sure her family was safe, and how she had been willing to bend the rules to the point of breaking to do that.

And Liz had. In fits and starts she had brought herself to face all of those subjects. The one that she couldn't seem to speak about was Reddington. Every time she tried her throat dried up and an overwhelming feeling would take hold of her. This woman didn't have any right to know about him. She hadn't known him. She couldn't understand. She didn't deserve to hear Liz speak about him.

"It's because he's gone."

"Say what?"

Liz blinked, realizing she had spoken the words out loud. She had lost herself to thought as Tom drove them home after the celebration, and she turned to face him, her head still leaned back against the passenger seat. "I was just thinking about the therapy sessions that the Bureau has me sitting through to get back into the field. I've been able to talk about you, about Agnes, about all the changes…. except Reddington." Tom made a small sound of acknowledgement as DC passed them by. "You're here. Agnes is here. Reddington…. I can't get him back."

She saw Tom's lips twitch down a little at the statement and he loosed his grip on the steering wheel with one hand and reached for her. She took it and felt his fingers curl around her own, the support instant and she heard him sigh. "I'm sorry I've been gone so much."

"It's fine."

"It's not. The point of moving HQ down here was so that I'd be home. We've missed too much time."

Liz tightened her grip. "You're here now."

"Yeah, and the next step should be here. This last trip should be the last out of country run I make for a while."

She liked the sound of that. "So what's next?"

"Hmm?"

"For Halcyon. You sidestepped the question when Samar asked. You're usually not that secretive about where you're going."

"Because it's all over the news," her husband grumbled and turned onto their street.

She eyed him, a little suspicious now. "But this trip wasn't."

"No it wasn't."

"Tom," she warned as he pulled into their building's underground parking garage.

"It's...a lot," he admitted with a grimace. "I just wanted to make sure everything lined up before I brought it up." He killed the engine and stopped, blinking hard before he turned to her. "I was going to tell you before I went through with it."

"You still haven't said what it is," Liz sighed. She loved the man, but sometimes he tried her patience. That probably wasn't the best idea as tired as she was. And tipsy. She was pretty sure she was still tipsy.

"Let's get in, get Agnes to bed, and I'll give you the full, uninterrupted rundown. That alright?"

They sat there a moment in the car, both watching each other, and as much as Liz wanted to know what he had been up to right then, he had a point. Their daughter was probably doing her best to wait up for them and Candy had been over there for hours now. A little bit of time wasn't going to change anything. "Okay."

He flashed her a tired smile, took her hand, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Love you."

Liz tried to hang onto some of her frustration towards him, but she felt it slip away at his touch. Damn him. He better be thankful she loved him.

Tom reached around for his bag and they locked the car behind them before moving to the elevator that would take them up to their floor. They had found the place a little over a month before and Liz had to admit that the security of the building left her feeling better when they left Agnes with Candy or any other sitter. They never could have afforded it on her federal salary, but if she had thought Tom's two month stint at Halcyon had paid nicely, owning the company meant they didn't have to worry about money again. They still hadn't managed to finish unpacking in full, but it had been the fresh start she had wanted. That she had needed. No one had died on their living room floor and she wanted to keep it that way. It didn't hurt that Scottie and Howard had brought a place relatively close. They were near enough that they could take Agnes for a day, but far enough that the Keens hadn't found them dropping by without warning. Not that they really could, since they had spent less time in their new home since they had purchased it than they had abroad.

"When are your parents getting back from Paris?" she asked as the elevator chimed their floor and opened the doors.

Tom shifted his bag. "Tuesday? No. This is…. Thursday, right?"

"Friday."

"Right. They're supposed to be back Wednesday next week I think. I'll ask."

Liz fished her key out and opened the door. They were hit almost instantly with the sound of a squealing four-year-old and Tom dropped his bag just in time to scoop her up into the air. "Hey, you. I think you got bigger."

Agnes giggled as he kissed her cheek. "I'm getting really big!"

"You are, kiddo. Too fast. You just have to slow down."

She wrapped her arms around his neck before turning to reach over to Liz and all but swung from one parent to the next. "You're getting too big for this," Liz laughed.

"Nu-uh!"

Candy rounded the corner, drying her hands off. "She told me she wasn't going to bed until you two made it home. I didn't think she'd make it to this hour."

"She's stubborn like her mom," Tom offered.

"Yeah? I'm not the only one she takes after."

Her husband flashed a grin and as Liz moved into the large apartment he walked Candy to the door, speaking quietly. Agnes was already showing signs and of it being well past her bedtime and all Liz could think of was that she was glad that she didn't have to get the little girl up with the sun for school the next day. They needed a good lazy day. "You ready for bed, sweetie?"

"I wanna sleep with you," Agnes said drowsily.

"And give up your own comfy bed with all your stuffed animals?" Tom asked as he rounded behind them. Agnes shook her head. There would be none of that.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Liz asked.

"Uh-huh."

"And take a bath?"

"Yeah."

"Is that what Miss Candy was cleaning up when we got here?"

Agnes giggled and tucked her head down against her mother's shoulder. Liz shook her head and kissed her dark hair. "C'mon."

"I wanna story."

"What kind of story?"

"I dunno. Something good."

"That's descriptive," Tom chuckled.

She squirmed suddenly. "Daddy! Daddy! Read me a story?"

Liz shot him a look. "Volunteer as tribute?"

"I have no idea what that means, but sure," Tom laughed and Liz set Agnes down. She took off to her room, ready and willing to climb into bed for a story.

A knock came at the front door, drawing both Keens' attention. Tom's expression darkened. "Were you expecting anyone?"

Liz touched his arm lightly. "It's fine. I got it."

He hesitated just a moment before nodding and following their daughter. Liz shook her head. This building wasn't nearly as easy to slip into as some of the others. Maybe it was something as simple as a neighbor asking to borrow some sugar. That was normal, right?

The face on the other side of the door caused Liz to freeze where she was, her voice caught in her throat. Gina Zanetakos didn't hesitate a moment though. "Where's Jacob?" she bit out and Liz found herself blinking in surprise. Okay. That wasn't normal.

TBC

Notes: It's always interesting starting in on a new story. There's a different beat and flow to each one. This one (at least at the start) seems to have shorter chapters and may be a bit lighter than the last. At least I feel like it's a bit more balanced between that need for home and family and a little bit of normalicy against the terrible things that drop down around everyone all the time in the show. That effort on Liz's part to find that balance was something I loved for a long time on the show.

So here we are, and Tom just can't quite stay out of trouble :P Also something I loved for a long time.

This will update every Friday for the time-being. That should give me a chance to work on my pilot project without feeling utterly and completely overwhelmed. I'm just about to the point where I'm going to take a step back from the pilot episode and start in on 1.02 for it. That's an exciting feeling.

Next Time: The Hargraves prove they're bad at retirement while the Keens find themselves with Tom's very angry ex girlfriend in their home.

#the blacklist #au fanfiction #home from the war #Tom Keen #Elizabeth Keen #Donald Ressler #Samar Navabi #Aram Mojtabai #Keen2 #Saram

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