#three faces of reddington

[isagrimorie]

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fanart by: blacklistbebrave

[101crows]

Invaluable Asset

AN: this could be a series, but for now I'm going to write it to be a stand alone. Please let me know if you want to see more! This takes. place in season one, sometime after episode 16. Ressler might be a little OOC.

"You're trying to tell me you don't know a single person good enough to steal these cars?"

Reddington sighed deeply, "Of course I do. But they lack a certain talent for subtlety that's necessary for this task. I'm not some type of magician, I can't just pull criminals out of my hat for you."

Cooper turned sharply. "And how exactly do you expect us to find an actor turned car thief willing to go undercover for us?"

"I can't possibly imagine how that's my problem. Either you figure it out or Amíl will be gone in less than a week. And once he's gone, you'll never so much as hear of him again." He placed his hat back on his head and turned to leave, strolling to the elevator with the same easy confidence he always seemed to have.

"For now, I have other matters to attend to."

The elevator closed just as Red finished speaking.

"Well?" Cooper asked Liz, "How do you suggest we go about this?"

Surprisingly, however, it was Ressler that answered.

"I think I know someone."

~

You were just pulling the muffins out of the oven when the doorbell rang.

"One second!" You called, hoping they could hear you as you pulled out the second tray and placed it onto the waiting trivet. You removed your oven mitts and set them on the counter between the two trays, then made your way to the front door. Your eyes lit up as you spotted Donnie through the tall windows. Taking two long strides to reach the door, you flung it open, a wide grin dancing on your lips.

"Donnie! Hi, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

It took everything in you not to pull him in for a hug, but you knew he didn't like spontaneous physical contact, so you abstained. Donnie coughed and shifted uncomfortably and you finally registered the two others standing next to him.

The brunette had an apologetic smile on her face, but the older man looked more amused than anything.

You scanned them briefly. Deciding they looked harmless enough, you stepped back to let them in. Besides, you trusted Donnie not to bring anyone dangerous to your door.

"Nice suit. It looks good on you. Come on in, we can talk while I make the drizzle for these muffins. I hope y'all like lemon,"

You turned and led them through the house and into the kitchen, humming at the thanks you received for the compliment. You also fought off a smile when you heard him mutter something about 'good taste' to the woman.

"So," you said, carefully adding powdered sugar to the bit of lemon juice you had left, "I'm assuming this visit is for business rather than pleasure?"

"Unfortunately. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Alright," you replied. Deciding the drizzle was at the consistency you wanted, you began to spoon it over the muffins. "I can tell this is serious, and the kitchen counter is no place to discuss serious business. Donnie, could you grab plates for everyone? We'll talk about this further in the living room. Please try to keep crumbs on your plates, I cleaned the couches yesterday."

~

You stared incredulously at your friend and his two companions, whose names you'd learned were Liz and David, though you suspected the man was lying.

"I'm sorry, let me get this straight. You spent three years trying to get me to stop stealing cars and remove myself from this life of crime, you helped me move to get away from that life and be closer to you, and now you're telling me you want me to go steal cars in your name?"

David smiled and leaned back in his chair, "Yes."

"No." Donnie glared so hard you thought he might punch David in the face before returning his gaze to you. "Of course I don't want you to go back to stealing cars. But we need someone to go undercover for us, and unfortunately I seem to know the only car thief good enough at acting to help."

"Ex car thief, Donnie. I don't do that shit anymore."

You sighed and buried your face in your hands, dragging them down until your eyes were uncovered. "But you're my friend, and I help my friends. What do you need me to do?"

David sat back up and turned to the woman, who hadn't so much as touched her muffin.

"You really ought to try the muffins. They're incredible. As for what you need to do, we'll need you to get the attention of a certain criminal, so you're going to need you to break into his car. Don't take it though, it needs to look like you did it just to prove you could. Once you've done that, you'll have to convince him to let you join his operation instead of murdering you. Can you do that?"

You weighed your options silently. On one hand, what they were asking of you was incredibly dangerous, and even though you knew it was necessary, the idea of purposely being caught set every part of you on edge.

On the other hand though, Donnie would never ask you to do something like this unless he was truly desperate, and you trusted him not to let you get hurt. Still, he couldn't prevent every danger and doing this would be taking a huge risk.

"Which criminal?"

Liz finally added her two cents into the mix.

"I'm terribly sorry, but that's classified. Unless we have positive confirmation you'll be helping us, he'll have to remain unnamed."

A sharp, angry smile made its way onto your face.

"I'm sorry, you're not just asking me to put my life on the line, you're also asking me to risk everything I've worked so hard to build. Even if I do this, and by some miracle this man doesn't murder me, soon everyone will know who I am and what I did, and if my old employers get a hold of that information, I will be hunted, tortured, and killed. So you can either tell me who's car I'll be stealing and take the risk that I might say no, or you can get the hell out of my house right now and know for certain that you squandered your best chance of catching this man. Do I make myself clear?"

Liz opened her mouth to respond, but David cut her off before she could say anything else.

"Vicente Amíl."

"Jesus fucking Christ," you muttered.

"I'll do it. But just so we're clear, you owe me. Big time."

You locked eyes with Donnie, who sagged with visible relief.

"Thank you, (Y/n). You have no idea what this means to me."

You shook your head, standing. "I'm the stupidest person in the entire world. I can't believe I'm doing this for you. Also," you added, turning back to Liz, "It's incredibly rude not to eat food someone serves you in their home. If you didn't like lemons, you should've said so before I served you."

You turned your attention back to the boys. "You, on the other hand, should take a few muffins to go. Thank you for being so polite. You're welcome back anytime. Donnie, always good to see you, even if you are requesting impossible things from me. Please see Liz out."

Donald raised an eyebrow at that. "Just Liz?"

You glanced back at him and smiled. "And yourself, please. Do come back later though, I'm dying to catch up. David and I are going to get him his muffins."

Though polite, your tone left no room for argument and you could faintly hear Donnie and Liz arguing as they walked to the door. Once the door finally closed, you turned your attention back to the man in the center of your house.

"Wonderful. Now that they're gone, may I have your real name please? I do tire of calling you by your alias."

You watched as he chuckled and rose from his chair, strolling towards the hall leading back to the kitchen. "Raymond Reddington, at your service. It's a pleasure to meet someone so very talented."

"Please," you replied smoothly, "The pleasure is all mine. I meant what I said, by the way. Feel free to drop by whenever. I'm usually off Friday through Sunday and there's a good chance I'll be baking something else. Helps relax me, and my coworkers enjoy whatever I make as well."

He smiled as you handed him a Tupperware container with four muffins safely nestled inside. Placing his hat back upon his head, he made his way to the door, and you took notice of the glint in his eye right before he left.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you quite soon, (Y/n)."

You leaned against the wall and watched him saunter to the car waiting for him. A different car than Donnie and Liz took, by the looks of it. The corners of your lips twitched up as you watched him go.

"Raymond Reddington, huh? What an interesting man."

P.S. The muffins mentioned are real muffins. Feel free to let me know if you want the recipe.

[writingbyshiloh]

Part 6

Parts 1-5

CW: Reader gets injured on the job!,(TBH it could be either hand as long as you have a weird handshake),Making out in a closet. Flashbacks to when Ressler walked in on R and Red having sex (part 2) and Liz and the earring (part 3)

WC: 2.3 (!!!!)

AN: Reader did work with a mob team, Flashback to when Ressler slept with Samar in season 4. I’ve never broken a bone so I tried to google as best as I could :) It ends a but abrutly, but I tried for an hour to work out a better ending and nada

Thank you to everyone who read the series, esp those who provided kind comments/feedback/let me bounce ideas off of them!! Whether you read just half of a chapter or all 6 I truly appreciate it. 7 months later we are done!!! 

“And how is the happy couple doing?” Reddington asks, sliding up next to you at the bar. 

“Oh, you know. Hopefully going to get into a huge argument in 10 minutes,” you reply. 

The task force was undercover at a cocktail party, to which a known member of the Blacklist was invited. Red and Liz are paired up, same with you and Ressler, while Samar and Aram are in the van, monitoring everyone. 

The first part of the plan was for Reddington and you to point out the mob member - Sonny Someone or other. Raymond knew them through business, while you knew him from trying to take him down while on a mob squad. 

Part two was you and your “husband” of the evening get into a fight, giving a reasonable excuse to not be mingling with others hoping to let Ressler bond with some of the other criminals. 

Currently, it's part three. You’re slinking around the halls of the event while not being outed as an FBI agent. Your bigger task is making sure you and Reddington are safe from any mob-connected individuals who may want him dead.

You’re both out of sight, being tucked into a storage room with your back uncomfortable against a shelf with a first aid kit next to you, while his hands gently squeeze your hips.

“We shouldn’t. Everyone here is suspicious!” you hiss, weakly protesting his advances, knowing you’re going to give in. He looks too good and you haven’t spent any time with him in the past two weeks outside of work.  

“Personally, I’ve always found the threat of death an aphrodisiac. Don’t you?” 

You rest your forehead on his shoulder, trying to hide your smile. What do you possibly say to that? You let out a small snort of laughter.

His lips dropped to your neck, kissing any exposed skin. You sigh, not daring to make a louder noise. Your arms, however, pulled him closer. 

Dipping your head, you tried to catch his lips with your own. He understands and brings his lips to yours, gently tugging your bottom lip with his teeth as a suggestion of you opening your mouth.

The squeaking of hurried dress shoes caused you to break apart, both leaning closer to the door to hear what's happening. 

You can hear Ressler's voice, strained as if he is jogging, saying, “They said they’re going down this hall, I just don’t see them!” 

On instinct, you flinch back, knocking the first aid kit off the shelf. You wince hearing the dull smack of the kit hitting the floor, then wince harder at the steps before the door. 

You barely hear the end of Donald's phone call, the opening of the door distracting you. Raymond positions his body in front of you, in case of the possibility that it's not Ressler on the other side of the door, but an attacker. 

“What the fuck.” is the only thing Donald can manage. 

You understand how bad the situation looks, Raymond Reddington looking flushed, and you standing behind. You see emotions flit across his face, not quite sure what to say. You squeeze past Reddington to go closer to Ressler. 

Your motion spurs Ressler into action. 

“Are you out of your mind? He's a criminal!” Ressler hisses at you, trying to keep his voice down. 

Reddington wants to correct him, pointing out that he is one of the most wanted criminals but the look you shoot at him makes him close his mouth. 

“It's not that bad!” you protest trying to save face. 

“It is!” 

“It's not!” 

“Does Cooper know?” Ressler lets out a small huff of a laugh “Does Liz know?”

“NO! You’re the first to know. But you can’t tell anyone. Please.” you beg.

“What's stopping me?” 

“I never told a soul about you sleeping with a subordinate! I planned to take that shit to the grave!” 

“A subordinate? I never knew you had it in you, Donald.” Reddington chimes in from behind.

A new voice around the corner makes you all freeze. You’re certain it's Sonny from listening to his voice through surveillance plans. 

Ressler’s comments and discovery have your nerves set ablaze but you still have enough sense to get your work weapon out and ready. You see Ressler do the same. 

Catching Reddington's eye, you jerk your head to the side, trying to get him to go behind you and Donald. He returns with a bewildered look as if you thought he’d willingly place you in danger. 

All three of you are pressed against the wall, trying to figure out what to do next. Ressler is in front of you, Reddington close behind. 

The voice is nearer, talking but no one is answering. Ressler uses his free hand to make the sign of a phone using his thumb and pinky. You nod in agreement. 

Your stress-addled brain tells you this is the best time to get your man. 

Rounding the l-shaped corner you smack into Sonny, trying to come across as a distracted and drunk partygoer, not an FBI agent on the verge of losing their job. 

“I’m sorry! I should watch where I’m going.” You apologize, trying to buy some time for Ressler and Reddington to understand your plan. 

“It is okay. Sonny.” He introduces himself. His hand is extended for a handshake but you would know him without the introduction. You spent months trying to get a lead on the racketeering he's done. 

You take his hand without thinking, glad he doesn’t recognize you. His left hand is on your right, patting your hand. You want to pull your arm away but can’t, wanting to stay in partygoer character. 

It's too fast for you to react until your index and middle fingers are bent back and you're gasping out in pain. 

Your surprise shouting alerts the two men behind you. With your half-baked plan ruined, they round the corner to come and find you and Sonny. 

With the mob member gone, you hold your hand in shock, telling Ressler to go after the mob guy. Instead of following your order, Ressler communicates with Samar and Aram in the van, telling them that Sonny ran towards the exit. 

The combined adrenaline of undercover, being found out, and having at least one finger broken is what keeps you from crying. Or at least what you tell yourself. 

 ----

Hospitals are never your favourite place, but it's exceptionally awkward now. Reddington is off doing something (he sent someone from his team to pay the leftover medical bills) to save some face. You have two broken fingers and want nothing more than to go home. 

Ressler is keeping you company (you suspect he's also the reason a nurse has checked in on you twice in the past 15 minutes). He only left briefly for Cooper to call you to say you’re not fired, but one out of the three weeks off (suggested by the doctor) was a suspension. Inappropriate relationship with a CI. But with the black site, nothing will stay on your file. 

Outside the room, you hear the voices from your team, most of them hushed, one angry. 

Aram being on the verge of tears is not what you expected to see when. You expected anger, or arguing, but not this level of upset from your close friend. Knowing Aram’s tendency to talk when nervous you’re sure he's going to tell you what's going on. 

“Why would you cheat on Dembe with Mr. Reddington?” The hurt in his voice is obvious. 

You can't control the way your jaw drops in shock or the way that your eyes widen. The doctor only gave you regular painkillers, but now you’re wondering if they’re making you loopy. You make eye contact with Ressler, who slowly shakes his head, not wanting to be part of this. 

“Cheat? On Dembe! What does Dembe have to do with this?” you can only hope that no one else can hear the conversation. 

“Dembe! Your boyfriend?” Aram fills you in.

“My who?”

“You’re dating Dembe. The evidence adds up.” Samar chips in. 

“What evidence do you even have?” 

“What about the earrings you left at the safe house? You and Dembe kept looking at each other and the earrings.” Liz supplies.

“Who remembers things like that?” Fucking profilers apparently. 

“What about how you light up when Dembe comes into the post office?” 

Okay. Maybe you’re not as subtle as you think you are. In your defence, however, that would be because he walks in with Raymond. 

“It's even more messed up that it’s with his boss!” 

You suppose it is a good thing your coworkers are so sharp, trying to tease information from your personal life to fit into their theory. 

“What if I told you I’m not actually dating Dembe. So your theory sucks.” 

Maybe you are getting a bit worked up. You watch the wheels spin in their head, trying to figure out. 

Aram is the first to put the pieces together “Mr. Reddington? He's like 60!” 

“That's why you dropped your coffee when Aram asked how things are with Mr. Right! You heard Mr. R and jumped to the conclusion. ” Liz supplies. It takes everything in you not to ask if this is the hospital where her ex-fiancé works. 

You meet Samar’s eye and she frowns in a way that says not too bad. You make a mental note to ask her what the fuck that means. 

“Does Cooper know?” 

“Do I know what?” The man himself asks, entering your hospital room, a bottle of juice from the vending machine for you tucked under his arm. 

If it didn't make you want to crawl into a hole, his timing would be comedic. His appearance still makes you pleased, he can't be that mad if he is visiting you, and bringing you a gift.

“Yes! Can we stop talking about it now?” you plead. 

Your idea is shot down to a chorus of “no!”s. 

“Hand me my drink, I will answer one question each. Choose wisely.” You say. Might as well get something out of this situation. 

---

“If you clench your jaw any harder we'll have to turn back.” you joke to Ressler, his knuckles white with how hard he is gripping the steering wheel. It was nice of him to drive you home, but his anger for you is coming and going in waves.

“You know, it's a shame how you never managed to catch Reddington before the task force started.” you notice his back stiffen at the mention of the FBI most wanted. You pretend to study your splint before continuing. “And do you remember when you wanted to drop off the files at my apartment? At literally the worst possible time?” 

For the first time since being in the car, he looks at you. 

“I bet you're the first FBI agent to walk in on the most wanted having s-” 

“Stop talking.”

---

It's a rarity to see Reddington unsure of himself. Even when you’re alone with him, he carries himself with confidence. Now he looks torn between making sure you’re okay and leaving you alone. 

“You can ask, you know,” you say, putting down your phone. The news about your fingers has spread to non-FBI friends, but typing with one hand is getting exhausting. 

“How did it go?” He’s sitting next to you, as close as he dared reading his newspaper. 

“Better than expected. No more broken limbs, everyone still talking to me, I’m still employed.” 

You shift the bag of frozen strawberries on your hand to get more of the cold. 

“Cooper called me on the way to the hospital, I was slapped with inappropriate relationships with a CI, much better than with a wanted criminal.” You smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Cooper also said he wouldn’t tell the team if he didn't want me to.” 

“But you did. Liz called, and let's just say your friends care about you.” 

Your chest feels warm at the idea of your friends fighting on your behalf. 

“I didn’t, they figured it out. I think all Ressler told them was he found us in a closet. It's whatever. I don’t think I could figure out another reason why it's so funny when he offs to beat up the mystery man.” 

“Yes, he always is a real go-getter, isn't he?” Raymond agrees. 

You press your lips together to hide your guilty expression. Reddington notices and his hand creeps up to the back of your neck, trying to be reassuring. You lean your body weight into him trying to get comfortable. 

“The next time you see Ressler one-on-one” at least you hope he respects you enough to not talk about your sex life with everyone “he's going to have some choice words.” 

You twist your head to look at Reddington's face, eyebrows raised slightly, tongue between his teeth as he tries to understand what you’re going to say. 

“I may have brought up how he, um, interrupted us one time,” you say. Now is not the time to bring up what other sexy details you shared with the team while he was unnamed. 

“Is that why he ran as soon as your door opened?” 

“Yeah, I think I traumatized him in the car.” 

 “He’s a strong man, he’ll live.” 

[bg-sparrow]

Chapter Three: Shady Business

“This doesn’t work if it’s strictly professional because it isn’t,” Liz said. “If we’re honest now, the rest comes naturally.”

Rating: M || Genre: Romance, Angst, Whump, Hurt/Comfort || Summary: Reddington's latest Blacklister is the face of a successful cruise line — and a former competitor in the luxury goods smuggling business. To obtain Albert Sconce's ledger, Liz and Ressler will have to go undercover as newlywed, prospective clients for an extended cruise on Sconce's newest ship. As they blur the lines they'd otherwise never cross, danger unfolds at every turn, threatening to sink their op and take them down with it.

[ryuzakemo128]

Stranger Things Prompts Part 4

If you wish to request one message me anytime.

Previous Prompt Lists: Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Masterlist

General

"To wake up everyday and do what you do. Expecting nothing in return. You didn't have to help them. You could have just walked away."

"On a lighter note, I think you need to brush up on your Latin."

"I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure you'll find him soon."

"I have nothing left to say, I'm sorry I wish I knew what to say to make you happier about it. But I haven't got a clue."

"Death isn't the end. It's a new beginning for the next generation and the one after that one too."

Marianna and Kolya based prompts

"I understand if you no longer want to be friends. If it made you happier to do so. All you have to do is say it and I'll leave. We'll both leave."

"We did things no one else wanted to do. So we're used to the disappointment and the cruelty. It also means that you have to be."

"Understand that we do this so you don't have to. You have more to live for."

"God doesn't want me and the devil isn't finished." (Reddington line from The Blacklist)

"I have a better chance of getting in and out of there on my own. You lot, can stay out here and make sure you don't get yourselves killed." - Marianna to Eddie, Steve and the others.

"To see it's beauty, to must understand the fundamentals and to gorge yourself on the details. Consume as much as you can to become one with it." - Marianna talking about passion projects, etc.

"Latin is an old language that is considered to be deceased. I find it quite fascinating that it is. It's the main reason I learnt it in the first place, besides most of the Latin phrases are quite beautiful."

Angst

"You've ruined everything."

"You don't understand what you're missing until it's gone."

"Fine. Hand me the gun. I'll kill them myself."

"I guess my expectations were too high."

"You can't run forever."

"I'm starting to think you want to get yourself killed."

"What's the point of trying if it just proves that I'll never be good enough?"

"Giving up is the hardest thing I ever had to do."

"I hope you're happy with yourself."

"When will you take me seriously?"

"Death sounds pretty good right now."

"It wasn't a fucking accident and you know it."

Scenario

Person A brutally murdering their captor, only to return home and break down, realizing what they have done.

Person B throws up while Person A rubs their back and holds back their hair.

In a kingdom, Person B is the successor of the throne, but they fall in love with Person A who is a simple baker. Person B would rather live a simple life running the bakery with Person A than rule the kingdom.

Everyone around Person B and Person A know they have something going on, but they are completely oblivious.

Person A can tell that Person B is having a nightmare because they’re making weird noises/motions in their sleep so Person A wakes them up and asks if they’re okay.

Person A makes hot chocolate for Person B but when they hand them their mug, Person A drops it spilling the piping hot drink on Person B. Person A then helps Person B clean themself up and treat any burns they might have.

Person A and Person B were supposed to go out for a date but a snow storm hits and they get snowed in. Person A is really sad about it so Person B builds them a blanket fort so they can spend the evening snuggling and watching Christmas movies together.

Person B and Person A watching a horror movie and Person A is scared to sleep alone, so Person B keeps them awake all night, talking about whatever comes to mind.

A friend drawing on Person A and Person B's faces when they sleep. They wake up to see each other faces covered in silly doodles.

Person A and Person B go to a fair/amusement park and Person A wants to go on the roller coaster and Person B agrees. Later, Person B regrets their decision and ends up clinging onto Person A for dear life.

Person B hiding in a closet to jump out and surprise Person A, but Person A just keeps not going near the closet by chance.

Person A having pizzas delivered unaware that Person B has also ordered pizzas and both of them bursting into laughter when two pizza delivery people arrive at the door.

Person A, who is usually not the type to show negative emotion, breaks down in front of Person b.

Imagine Person A and Person B as secret santas.

Person A and B both frequent the same arcade and both have the same favorite arcade game. When Person A gets the new highscore Person B comes back the next weekend and tops that score. In a slightly childish back and forth they keep trying to beat each others highscores every weekend. When Person C comes in and tops both of their highscores by a huge margin they have to team up to beat Person C, together.

[down-therabbithole]

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[meganwritesfanfics]

A Little Fall of Rain (Raymond Reddington x Reader)

He knew he shouldn’t have let her come. The mission was dangerous, and there were far too many variables for him to account for. But she was stubborn, much like he was, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

“If I asked you to go back to the car what would your answer be.” Red asked, gun drawn as he Dembe and Y/N stood outside the abandoned warehouse. 

Y/N turned back to look at him glaring. 

“That’s what I figured.” He responded. 

“Alright, Dembe has got your left, I got your right, on average I’m thinking there has to be 20 guards before we reach Kol. Now what are the odds that we can make it through without getting shot at.” Y/N said. 

“I mean the last time I saw Kol, I may or may not have left him for dead so…”

Y/N rolled her eyes but she smiled none the less. “So that’s a zero on the odds scale, good.” 

Dembe also couldn’t help but smile at the two. It was nice to see them together again. Y/N had been a way for a few years working for one of Reddington’s competitors undercover, destroying them from the inside. But now she was home. 

Y/N was his daughter, not biologically, but he had raised her. He had rescued her at age of five from child traffickers, and she had been with him ever since. For all intense and purposes Raymond Reddington was her father. So when she had come back from undercover and insisted she help Dembe be Red’s bodyguard, he wasn’t exactly thrilled, even if it did mean she got to spend more time with him.  

“Red,” Y/N said as she came up to him. She stood slightly taller than the connoisseur of crime, and she her red hair pulled back into a braid that went halfway down her back. She stood in a back tank top and black camo leggings, with her boots going up to mid calf. “Now I need you to stay behind me and Dembe, ok. No trying to talk your way out of things ok.” 

Red smiled as he grabbed her chin. “You know I don’t think I should have to take this kind of sass from you young lady.” 

“I’ve saved your ass on multiple occasions, so yeah, I think you kinda do.” Y/N smiled as she leaned forward and kissed Red on the cheek. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Red said as the three of them busted in the door ready to face a slew of guards. But to their surprise, they found none. They found nothing actually. Everything seemed to have been cleaned out of the warehouse, and fast by the looks of it. 

“I was promised that Kol was here,” Red said angrily. “I not only had the FBI look into it but also…”  

Y/N held up her hand as she walked forward in the empty room. Something felt off. 

“I don’t like this.” Dembe responded, he could feel it as well. 

Suddenly out of the shadows five men burst out guns drawn. 

“It’s a trap!” Y/N called as she began to fire on the men who were ambushing them. As the three began firing at their attackers, Y/N followed two of them into a side hallway. They were in full body armor and stealth suits, they had known that Red was going to be coming, someone had to have tipped them off. 

They turned back smiling wickedly. “Kol sends his regards.” They said as they both fired. 

Y/N felt a piercing pain hit her chest, but her mind barely registered it as she fired two shots, kills shots, sending the two men to the ground. 

She stared at them for a moment feeling unsteady. But before she had a chance to really think about what had just happened, she heard Red calling for her.

“Y/N!” He shouted terrified when he realized she wasn’t with them. “Y/N!” He screamed again. 

“Red,” Y/N started to say but no sound came out. 

“Dembe, find her.” 

Slowly Y/N stumbled her way back out into the main room. 

“Oh, thank God, I was worried something had…” Red sighed when he saw her reappear. But as he saw her he noticed how pale she was and how she was swaying as she walked towards him. “Y/N are you ok?” 

“Red,” She said again, this time a small squeak coming out as she felt her knees buckle. 

Red lunged forward as he watched her fall, Dembe close behind him. Scooping her up in his arms he could feel warm liquid from her back, and he could see that there was a dark stain on her chest. 

“Dembe, call Elizabeth, tell her to send someone out here now!” Red screamed as he shrugged off his jacket placing it on her chest and applying pressure, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. 

Dembe stood frozen for a moment looking at the scene before him. His heart was breaking, both for himself and for Red. Y/N and Dembe were close, always had been, he thought of her as a little sister of sorts. And now to see her like this, knowing that the outcome was grim, he couldn’t help of think of all the good memories the two had. 

“Go!” Red screamed angrily, tears filling up his eyes, and Dembe left. “It’s ok Y/N, everything is going to be just fine. Dembe is going to get help and then…” 

“Red,” Y/N sighed as she placed her hand on his cheek, “I’m sorry.” 

“No, no, Y/N don’t apologize you are going to be fine.” Red insisted pulling her closer, she winced slightly as he pushed the jacket harder into her chest. 

“I need to know you are going to be ok,” Y/N said as her hand shifted to the collar of his shirt grasping it. “You have lost so many people in your life, and I’m sorry I am going to be another, but I need to know that you are going to be ok, after I’m gone.” 

“You aren’t going anywhere Y/N!” 

“Red,” 

“No! I’m not going to lose you, not like this. You are going to be fine, you have to be fine.” Red wasn’t usually one to break down, Y/N was right, he had lost many many people, but the thought of losing her struck deep down at his core. At that moment he wasn’t Raymond Reddington, FBI’s most wanted, a man who’s name struck fear into people's hearts. At that moment he was a father, grieving over his child who he could feel fading away in his arms. 

“Red,” Y/N said again and as Red looked at her, and the sad expression she had on her face, he lost it. 

“Y/N” He sobbed as he pulled her close. 

Y/N weakly wrapped her arms around him holding onto him as tightly as she could. 

“I love you so much, thank you for saving me, thank you for raising me, and thank you for being the most amazing father anyone could ask for.”

“If I had protected you better this wouldn’t have…” 

“No,” Y/N said as she pushed back so Red was looking at her. “Don’t do that. I am here because I wanted to protect you, I made the choice. Don’t blame yourself.” 

“Y/N…” He started again. 

“I have a favor to ask you,” Y/N said. 

“Anything,” Red cradled her gently. 

“I need you to tell…” Her body convulsed as pain shot through her body and she held onto Red tighter. “I need you to tell Don, tell him that I love him.” 

“Don?” Red looked puzzled but then everything clicked. “Ressler!” He gasped and Y/N smiled. 

“We have been seeing each other since I came back. I was going to tell you but…” Y/N said another wave of pain hitting her. 

“It’s ok, I’ve got you.” 

“Do you remember the night you took me to see the ballet when I was 8.” Y/N smiled. 

“You had insisted that I buy you an outfit so that you could match the ballerinas, and since I am the biggest benefactor for the company, I just persuaded the costume designer to make you an exact replica of every costume the dancers wore throughout the show. And when you got them, you asked if we could see the show every night so that way you could wear a different costume each time. There were more costumes than shows so I convinced the company to give us private showings for the two nights after closing. Even though you knew what each dance was, your eyes still lit up like you were seeing for the first time. “ Red smiled as tears streamed down his face. Slowly he looked down to see that Y/N had gone limp in his arms and her eyes were closed. 

“Y/N,” Red said, shaking her slightly. “Y/N.” His voice cracked hard, he knew she was gone. “I love you.” He said pulling her into him sobbing. 

“Raymond, they are here they…” Dembe said rushing in but when he saw Red he knew it was too late. 

“Where is she! Where is Y/N!” Red heard another voice scream and he looked up to see Ressler running with eyes wide. “No, no, no.” He broke, collapsing to his knees. 

Slowly Red set Y/N on the ground turning back to Ressler and nodding. Ressler made his way to them picking Y/N up and cradling her as he cried. Red made his way over to Dembe. 

“I want you to find a good spot to bury her, talk to Mr. Kaplan, near the ocean. She loved the ocean.” Red said as he tried to compose himself as he headed out towards the car. 

“Raymond where are you going?” Dembe asked. 

“I’m going to go find Kol.” Red growled.

[bi-bard]

Small Moments With... Donald Ressler (The Blacklist)

Small Moments With...

Pairing: Donald Ressler X Reader

Requested: by @zizzlekwum

Word Count: 916 words

Warning(s): mentions of violence

Author's Note: I never really expected to get requests for The Blacklist but I'm not upset about it.

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Donald trying to keep you away from his work-life...

"How was work," I asked from my spot by the stove. Donald was hanging up his jacket.

"Fine," he shrugged. He walked over, wrapping his arms around my waist. He never went into detail.

"That's it," I questioned.

He nodded, "Sorry."

"It's okay," I turned around in his arms, pulling him into a soft kiss. "You're just trying to keep me safe."

"Have I used that explanation that often," he scrunched up his face. I nodded, chuckling at him.

"I really don't mind though," I promised, pecking his lips again. I turned back around. "There are some parts of your job that I just don't want to know."

"Really?"

"I've seen you wake up from enough nightmares to convince me," I replied. Donald rested his chin on my shoulder. "Now, dinner?"

"Please," he stepped back. I chuckled at him. "I love you."

"Love you too," I mumbled.

Donald failing to keep you away from his work-life...

I closed and locked my front door behind me. I was tired from work and was ready for a quick dinner and a quiet night with Donald. I heard the floor creak in the living room.

"Donald," I called. When no one answered, I reached into my purse and pulled out the taser I carried with me.

I slowly walked into the living room. I didn't very far before someone spoke.

"I really would put the weapon down," I jumped and looked at the man sitting on my couch. I pointed the taser at him. "I could pull my gun and shoot you before you could take a step toward me. Now, put the taser away."

I put my hand down, glaring at the man.

"Please sit, it is your house," he motioned to on the chairs in my living room. I sat down hesitantly. I then noticed that there was another man in the corner. I was now terrified. "I didn't know Donald had a partner."

"You know Donald," I asked.

"We work together," he replied.

"'Sit down or I'll shoot' doesn't really fit the behavior of an F.B.I agent," I mumbled.

"You would be surprised," the man joked. "So tell me, what's Donald like outside of the office?"

I heard the door open. Saved by the bell. Donald walked in and saw the three of us.

"Dammit Reddington," he muttered.

"Seriously," I asked. "That's your reaction to two men breaking into our house? Mumbling like you spilled coffee on your pants?"

"I can explain," Donald promised.

"Please do," the man I could now call Reddington said with a smug grin. "I'd love to hear this."

Him wanting you to be able to defend yourself...

I groaned and plopped onto the couch.

"That was awful," I mumbled, curling up on the cushion.

"It was not," Donald sat next to me. I pouted at him.

He laughed and cupped the side of my face. There was a moment of comfortable silence where he seemed to be admiring me or memorizing my face.

"I just want to feel like you're safe when I can't be here," he mumbled.

"I know," I nodded. "It doesn't make training any better."

"I can make it up to you," Donald offered. I raised an eyebrow at him.

He leaned over and kissed me gently. I smiled as he pulled away.

"Better?"

"Almost," I shrugged before leaning over and kissed him again. I mumbled against his lips, "Love you."

"Love you too," he replied.

Pulling him away from work...

Donald Ressler was the definition of an overworked employee. I loved his ambition... but sometimes it was his biggest downfall.

I walked into his office, sighing when I saw him still leaning over a file.

"Donald," I said quietly.

He looked at me over his shoulder for a moment, "I'll be there in a minute."

"It's 11 p.m," I replied. "Come on. There's no way you are doing anything productive."

"I need-"

"To make sure your well-rested so you can finish this work with fresh eyes."

He looked at me with a straight face. I smiled.

"Come on," I begged. "Please."

I leaned down and kissed his cheek, then his nose, and then his lips.

"Please," I repeated. He looked at me for a moment before sighing.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," he agreed before going to turn off the desk lamp.

I silently celebrated. He turned around and saw me dancing as he stood up. I smiled at him. He just laughed and shook his head before grabbing my waist, pulling me into another kiss.

"Let's go," he mumbled. I nodded, happy that I had won this game of tug of war.

The other members of the teams asking for stories...

"So... I have to ask," Liz said, leaning on the table. "What's Ressler like when he's not working?"

"Umm," I paused, chuckling. "Sweet, romantic-"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Stories, please," she asked. I chuckled.

I was in the middle of my second or third story when Donald sat next to me.

"You two seem to be getting along," he noted.

"Of course we are, muffin," Liz teased.

"I told you, he tried the nickname once and dropped it as soon as he said it," I said as I started chuckling.

"Never knew you were a romantic, Ressler," she added.

"And... I'll see you later," Donald stood back up, walking over to the other members of the team.

"Anyway, what was the embarrassing story you were telling me?"

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Masterlist

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[writingbyshiloh]

Cheese Cake

Raymond Reddington x fem!Reader

Warnings: Mention handcuffs for arresting someone.

AN: No beta! First time writing something close to an action scene. I put the Red tag list at the bottom :-)

Word Count: 905

---

You flip your wrist to check your watch before looking at Reddington a frown forming on your face. 

“Honestly, you should try acupuncture! It helps improve sleep, digestion, your mood” Reddington said, the last part is a dig at you and your bad mood. 

You couldn't help it. Your unsure feelings solidified into a massive crush on the man. And rather than let him figure that out you decided it was best to put up a wall. 

“A source” you lock your eyes with him, trying to hint that he was the source, “said that there would, uh, be a guest at this restaurant. A very important guest”.

“I’m sure the guest will show up. She has a fondness for the cheesecake here. It is also possible this source as you call him, wanted to spend the evening with a gorgeous lady” he murmured. 

You felt butterflies in your stomach as a result of the complement, which you tried to push down. You were sure he was flirting to keep cover and tried your best to believe it. 

A small smile crept over your face, not able to hide how the compliment made you feel. This made him lean across the table closer to you. If anyone was watching the two of you they would have assumed you two were on a date. 

“It's true,” he said gently “Where did you get your dress? The cut and colour suit you perfectly” 

“Thank you” you smoothed a non-existent wrinkle on your dress. “You look nice as well”. It was true, he was in one of his three-piece suits, hat and jacket in coat check. 

His lips turn upwards in a smile. You take a sip of your water, racking your brain for more conversation topics. 

“I do wonder where you’re keeping your gun though,” Reddington said eyes wandering your frame shamelessly. 

“Purse,” you said, nodding to your bag with your head.  

“You may want to get it ready my dear, your guest just walking in”. 

You subtly glanced around the table, trying to spot the reflection of the criminal behind you. 

“I’m going power my nose, gimme two minutes,” you said, grabbing your purse. As you left the table you saw Reddintion smile at your mix of formal and slang. 

You hung back a few steps but followed the woman to the bathroom. In the large mirrors, you fished around in your bag, pretending to look for lipstick, subtly looking under the stalls to see if you were alone. You noticed the criminal at the sink, fishing around her bag too. You notice her rub her lips together. 

“Want to borrow mine?” You ask, testing the waters to see if she suspects you as an FBI agent. 

“Really? Thank you so much, Honey.” She replied, holding out a hand to receive it. 

As quietly was out could you pull out a set of handcuffs, swiftly clasping half around her dainty wrist. Her face switched from confused to angry in a matter of seconds, realizing what you had done. 

Swiftly you moved to cuff the rest around part of the bathroom stall as a place holder until you got back up. You suspected Reddington had already told them that you saw the criminal but decided to call anyway. 

In a matter of seconds, Liz burst through the door, apprehending the woman and escorting her out. You followed behind, ready to cover Liz's back if something went wrong and to get your coat from coat check. As you passed the table where you and Red sat, you glanced quickly. 

Seeing the table empty sent a wave of disappointment into your stomach. You pushed it aside and prayed that Liz didn't catch you looking. If anyone on the team were to discover your crush your money was on her. 

----

Signing you rubbed your hand over your face. The integration was not going well. She was refusing to give any answers related to her brother or her whereabouts for the past few weeks. While thankful for the tip from Reddington, you wished he would have given a tip about someone more related. 

Getting up from your desk, you made your way to the break room. Once the criminal was back at the post office you changed out of high heels into sneakers but still had on your dress. 

“Any progress?” Cooper asked from behind. His voice made you jump - you thought everyone else left for the night. 

You let out a sign before answering. “Nope. I figured I’d review what information we have and try again in a few hours”. 

Cooper nodded and you topped up your mug with coffee. 

“I’m going to head out, call if you need anything,” he said, making his way to the door. “By the way, someone left a box for you in the fridge”. 

You turn around to ask for more information but Cooper was already gone. Opening the fridge, you see a take-out box. Your name is scrawled in cursive on the front. Questions filled your mind. Sure, Aram, Liz, and the others were nice but you didn’t see them leaving you a gift. 

A slice of cheesecake lay on the bottom of the box. On the top was a note

Good luck with your interrogation. I didn’t want you to miss the cheesecake - Red x

A small smile crept over your face. Maybe tonight won’t be all that bad

---

Tag list: @rhepworth

[thetwistedargent]

Red: “What’s that?”

Liz: “You don’t want to know. Don’t look.”

(here you go))

[ Hey anon, I decided to do a continuation of your last ask. This one is dedicated to @my-robot-heart for inspiring me to continue. ]

After her confrontation with Red, Liz was completely restless. She took an extra long cold shower in an attempt to calm her body down. The only thing the shower managed to accomplish was making her slightly more irritated. She told herself that the adrenaline running through her veins was from anger and not arousal, but that lie was so bad that she couldn’t even entertain it for very long.

The truth was that Raymond Reddington just did something to her. It had been that way every since she saw him handcuffed in that box. The impeccable three-piece suits. That gravely voice that just oozed sex. His toned arms and hardened chest. Even the smug smirk on his face. As much as she hates to admit it, Liz finds herself very much attracted to him.

And after that conversation she had with him, she was finding it hard to ignore her attraction. My god, he had literally propositioned her. She couldn’t even think about him without thinking about sex with him.

And maybe she’s even a little jealous of his sexual liaisons.

So, even though Liz was bone tired, her body wouldn’t quite let her fall asleep. She needed some of release, and oh, did she find it before passing out spent and satisfied.

Liz groggily wakes up from a deep sleep to a banging on the door, which she rolls over and ignores, and then she hears her bedroom door opening.

Her hand wraps around the gun on her nightstand and points at the intruder before her brain even has time to catch up.

“Put the gun down, Lizzie, it’s just me.”

“Red, what the fuck?!” She says as her body slightly relaxes, clearly not considering him a threat.

“After our conversation earlier, I wanted to check on you. I was worried I may have pushed you a lit-“ his words trail off.

Liz looks at him confused, wondering why he’s stopped, but then she’s noticed how his eyes have travel to her nightstand. She gulps. Oh shit. She knows exactly what has caught his attention.

She had been too tired and too satisfied to bother picking up the rainbow dildo. She had hastily wiped it off and then just tossed it on the nightstand, opting to properly tuck it away later.

“What’s that, Agent Keen.” He says with extra emphasis on her name as he nods in the direction of her night stand.

She’s suddenly aware of her vulnerability and state of undress. She’s in nothing but a pair of black cotton panties and a tight black tank top that leaves nothing to the imagination. She can feel the way her nipples are standing at attention.

“You don’t want to know. Don’t look.” She says sheepishly. This just keeps getting worse.

“Oh, but I do want to know. I want to know all the naughty little details.”

“Red.” She warns as he steps closer, clearly not caring that he’s invading her personal space.

“Were you so hot and bothered over our little conversation earlier that you couldn’t resist coming home and indulging? Did you think of me as you pleasured yourself?” He croons as he steps closer to her.

The telltale smug smirk is back in his face and smugger than usual.

His hand reach towards her waist, but he only allows his finger tips to lightly graze over the exposed skin where her tank top has ridden up slightly.

“Tell me, Lizzie.” He leans in to purr softly.

She can feel his breath against her ear. She knows from the heat radiating from her entire body that her cheeks are flushed, and knows that even in the lamp light Red can see exactly what he’s doing to her, even if he can’t see the way her breathing hitches as he speaks. There’s no denying it that he’s driving her absolutely crazy.

“Yes.” She rasps.

“Yes, what, Lizzie?”

“Yes, I needed a release after our conversation.” She pauses before dropping her voice to almost a whisper and continuing. “Yes, I thought about you.”

He lets out a pleased purr of approval, and judging by the gush of wetness she fells in her panties, Liz knows that she’s absolutely powerless to her desires and that fucking voice of his. Fuck.

[theladyofmanyfandomsfanfiction]

Club Abyssinia (6/7)

Pairings: Reader x Donald Ressler (implied), Reader x Raymond Reddington (platonic)

Warnings: Torture, violence, descriptions of injury.

Mini-Series Complete.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Your throat burned as the last of the screams were ripped out. Despite a high tolerance for pain, it appeared that Javier remembered exactly how to cross that threshold in record time which wasn’t good news for you. He had administered the first few blows personally before stepping back and letting one of his lackeys take control. 

Since that time, you had suffered a broken toe, horrifically extracted fingernail, waterboarding, shock ‘therapy’, and multiple bone fractures. You surmised that you were concussed at some point but you had passed out too quickly to remember.

Your head was bowed with little energy until there was a forceful grip on your hair that yanked your head up to meet the face of your torturer. Javier had a smug grin, pleased with how quickly he broke through your threshold of pain since their last encounter.

You were exhausted and your mouth tasted like blood had replaced saliva but there was no way that you’d let the man leave without having the last laugh.

“You know,” you began softly, the burning in your throat starting to get agitated with each word. “It’s a shame that you chose to side against Red. He could have enrolled you in a ‘Torturing for Beginners’ course.”

You chuckled lightly and felt sharp aches in your chest before Javier’s backhand met the side of your face. The sound echoed in your ears and your heard him talking but could hardly make out the words amid all the ringing so it just sounded like distant garble. There must have been something snarky at the end of it because he and his thugs had turned to leave the room.

The moment that they were out of earshot, you (not physically) jumped into action refusing to endure repeated history.

Over the two days of physical torture, you kept yourself focused by formulating an escape since it would be foolish to rely on the Taskforce or Reddington to come to your aid. Between the scrappy meals and torture instruments, you quickly discovered that Javier was so cocky with your capture that he, and a handful of three other men, left the door unlocked. 

That eliminated your need to acquire a key.

The final obstacle to free yourself from the handcuffs and ropes that bound you to a chair had also been planned out as your torturers left their utensils in the room to invoke ‘fear’.

Unfortunately for Javier, he’d have to work a lot harder if he wanted to make it as a successful villain.

Masterlist here

Tags: @felicityofbakerstreet​  @zizzlekwum​  @fullmoonshadowwrites​ 

[tbhwhocaresanymore]

Merry Lizmas @alyblacklist, I’m your secret Santa! Please find under the cut a short Keenler fic. It’s not very fluffy because I’m bad at that, but I tried to keep it in the Christmas spirit.

Ressler had never thought of himself as stupid.

He had always tested well, even when he hated the subject. He was fairly good at keeping his wits about him, and even as a kid his parents had never had to tell him to not get into vans with strangers. He had graduated in the top two percent of his class from Quantico, and so if he was being perfectly honest, Ressler knew he had above average intelligence. Under normal circumstances this would exempt him from taking any sort of stupid, unnecessary risk.

But whenever Liz Keen was involved, normal became a faraway dream.

He cut through a parking garage and crossed the street to start walking in the opposite direction. He’d lost the tail Cooper put on him a few blocks ago, but he was still wary Reddington might also be following somehow. He gripped the burner phone in his pocket.

The package had arrived at his apartment two days ago, and he’d received a single text with a today’s date and an address. He’d tried to trace the number only to find it disconnected, and so he’d taken out the battery and waited.

A police car with the lights off was parked on the side of the street, a bored looking cop behind the wheel. Ressler told himself he was just being paranoid. Cooper and Reddington had no proof he and Liz were in contact because they weren’tin contact, but that didn’t mean they trusted him. This was probably good judgement on their part since every so often she sent him a phone and a single text, and every time he (stupidly) showed up where she said. It probably wasn’t the healthiest relationship, but he comforted himself with the fact that at least he was honest with her, unlike her ex-husband.

He turned the corner and relaxed slightly as the cop car disappeared from view. A light snow started falling as he maneuvered around a group of carolers, ignoring a man in white robes with a sign proclaiming the imminent apocalypse.

A sign over his destination advertised VACANCY in a flickering red light. Unwilling to let the front desk worker see his face, he bypassed the office and went around the side. He took a flight of stairs two at a time, walked three doors down, and raised a hand before hesitating.

The text was burned into his eyes. Motel 6 on Down St, Room 13. 12/24 4pm.But what if this time the text hadn’t come from Liz? Or what if it had and someone had gotten here first? He shook himself. He had these fears every time he showed up to meet her, but they had yet to be realized. He’d known what he was getting himself into the first time he came without turning her in, the latest in a long line of questionable decisions involving Liz Keen.

Ressler knocked three times, and jammed his hands back in his pockets. His breath crystallized in the chilly air. He heard movement on the other side of the door and instinctively glanced over his shoulder, checking for a tail one last time.

There was the sound of a deadbolt unlocking and the door swung open.

*

The clock on the bedside table ticked from 4:03 to 4:04 and Liz felt her muscles crank even tighter.

An abrupt knock on the door startled her to her feet, the gun in her hand whipping up to point at the noise.

She walked up to the door and pressed the gun against it before checking through the spyhole in the door. Ressler. No matter how many times she sent for him, each time she was afraid that he wouldn’t show up.

Liz undid the chain lock and swung the door open.

Ressler blinked rapidly as he took her in, eyes scanning her up and down. “Hey.” His voice was rougher than she remembered.

“Hi.”

She stepped aside and he entered, taking his coat off and dropping it on the armoire. Liz placed her gun on top of it, drinking in the sight of him. “Thanks for coming.”

Ressler was looking at her like he’d been afraid he might never see her again. Although considering she was waging a one-woman war against Raymond Reddington, that wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities. “How are you?” Ressler asked.

Her thoughts immediately went to the patchwork of bruises on her left side. A souvenir from when she’d snuck into a business Reddington owned fifty-one percent of, and tussled with a security guard. “Fine. You?”

“Really? You’re fine?” His eyebrows rose on his forehead. “Because we got a report of a woman matching your description breaking and entering a private bank a couple days ago, a bank that happens to be controlled by Reddington. Said woman fought with a security guard who is now in the hospital but swears he got some hits in.”

Liz pursed her lips. “I’ll admit I’m a little banged up but it’s nothing.”

“Damn it Keen.” Ressler scowled at her, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Let me take you in.”

“No.” She folded her arms.

“Then let me help you.”

“No.”

“Then what the hell am I doing here?” he demanded.

Liz felt her hands form into fists. “I missed you, you idiot.”

Ressler sighed, his shoulders dropping as he stepped forward to envelop her in a hug. Liz wrapped her arms around him, breathing deeply. She was now intimately familiar with his body in a myriad of ways, and let her hands come to rest on his shoulder blades, taking comfort in his warmth.

“What are you doing to me Liz?” She heard him whisper the words into her hair.

“I’m not doing it on purpose.” The defense had barely left her when Ressler was fisting his hand in her hair to pull her head back, kissing her harshly. She responded in kind, biting his lower lip between her teeth.

They fell into each other with a frenzy, tearing each other’s clothes off in a way that was almost violent. Certain moments stood out in her mind, ones she would turn to later when she hadn’t seen him in weeks and was cold under the covers. His mouth on her collarbone, bruising the skin, her nails scratching lines into his back, the sight of his head between her legs. The sex was angry because they were angry. Ressler was angry that Liz insisted on going this alone, was angry at himself for not taking her in. Liz was angry at the world for always taking things away, and punishing her when she tried to take things in return, she was angry with Reddington and his endless, endless need for deception and lies. They were angry about all the bodies they’d had to bury over the years.

Afterwards, spent, they laid beneath the covers of the room’s single bed. Ressler was on his back, running absent fingers through her hair, Liz had an arm on his chest and her legs mixed up with his.

She felt his chest inflate and knew he was about to speak. “There has to be some way I can help you is all I’m saying.”

Liz closed her eyes. “Can we please not do this again?” They had this fight every time they saw each other and it was getting old quick.

He sighed and pressed a kiss to her head. “I’m sorry. But thinking about you out there, all alone… it drives me crazy. I’m your partner, Liz. I’m supposed to have your back.”

“You have.” She tightened her hold on him. “You do. Seeing you like this, it helps me more than you know. And don’t think I don’t realize how much you’re risking to meet with me.”

Eventually they put their underwear and shirts back on and Liz pulled out a pack of gummy bears she’d gotten from the vending machine down the hall and a card deck. He’d been teaching her poker games like Blackjack, Razz, and Texas Hold ‘em. While her poker face was impeccable, her actual knowledge of the games left a lot to be desired.

Ressler ended up winning all her gummy bears, but she put the last one between her teeth to make him take it from her with a kiss. They ended up lying back down on the sheets, the cards getting mixed up as Ressler rolled her over and lavished kisses up and down her body, being gentle with the bruises.

After what felt like no time at all, Liz heard her text tone going off and swore quietly. She picked up their clothes on the bed, rifling through them until she found her jeans. She pulled her latest burner out of the pocket and read the message.

“What is it?”

Liz snapped the phone shut. “A guy managed to come through with something I need, but I have to go now.” NYPD had tagged the car she was using after the bank break-in, so she’d had to hitchhike back to DC where she knew someone who could get her a new one.

Ressler pushed her hair aside to kiss the mark he’d left on her neck. “Relax, I’m not asking.”

She turned around to hug him, very badly not wanting to let go. But then she closed her eyes and saw her mother’s body jerking as the bullets made contact, saw Katarina crashing to the ground, Reddington standing over her with his finger on the trigger.

“This means you have to go doesn’t it?”

Liz didn’t pull back to answer. “Yeah it does.”

*

Ressler knelt next to his bed, staring at the open shoe box he kept beneath the loose floorboard under his nightstand. Inside it were four identical burner phones, each with the battery removed.

Even as he stared Ressler chastised himself for being so stupid. The phones were evidence, incriminating evidence. They might not have had Keen’s fingerprints on them and she may have ditched the old numbers, but he was afraid Reddington could still use them to find her if he got his hands on them. Not to mention if anyone managed to prove Keen had sent him the phones, if Park or Cooper or Aram put in the battery and saw the message that he hadn’t reported, he could go to jail for aiding a fugitive.

But that didn’t stop him from taking the fifth phone out of his pocket and adding it to the pile. Her office and apartment had been cleared out as evidence, he had nothing else left of her.

With a sigh he placed the box back in its hiding place and turned out the lights as he climbed into bed. He found himself staring at the clock, as the minutes ticked by, until it hit midnight.

Ressler looked out the window and sighed. “Merry Christmas Liz.”

End

Okay well hope you enjoyed. Happy holidays!

[trishvaylar]

I have just seen "Misere", 8.14 of The Blacklist. In fact I have watched this episode three times back to back and this is what I have to say about it, what I must say about, what I feel obliged to say about it.

First things first, I felt Red's grief as acutely as I would have felt my own grief. Liz' part in Anne's unfortunate death was just that, accidental. And I do believe that this is the turning point in this feud that Liz started against Red. For a time being she wanted to act like an avenging angel of death when it came to Red, but to go all the way through, and actually take his life not with the help of other people and devises, but with her own hands, is what she quite simply couldn't do. She had said she knows Red's weakest spot, "you can not kill me and I can", but the reality of it that she herself is facing one truth right now, to which the spirit of her soul, of all the good there is in her, leads her as Mr. Kaplan.

Before "Misere" Liz' motivation has been revenge for her "Mother". Right now it is the way back to "just let your consience be your guide". Liz is not a cold-blooded murderer. She wasn't one in season 2, she is not now. She was blinded by her rage, pain, loss, she was all for handling the flaming sword of vengence and bringing it on Red's head. But seeing his sorrow and pain, just like being on the brink of being the reason why Ressler could have died only because Liz was attempting to kill Red in the hospital in the beginning of the season, showed Liz that a rampage of revenge is a way to fully loosing herself, not finding the true path to her destiny.

She may blame Red for putting Tom into her life - but Tom has become the love of her lif, no Tom without Red=no Agnes without Red. She may blame Red for Tom's demise and her own coma, Kaplan's death, Sam's death, the Witch' death, but the truth is: Sam was dying anyway, Tom died because of Kaplan's actions, of her setting him up by giving him the bones she dug up of her own volition, she herself killed herseld because SHE WENT TOO FAR IN HER REVENGE ON RED! And here is Liz, seeing Mr. Kaplan as the one person whose spirit is showing Liz exactly what revenge is turing her, Liz, in! Which is both beautifully heartbreaking and extreamly plausible.

What essentualy would have changed if Red had chosen to stay away from Liz? She chose to study forensic psychology because that was her choice. She decided to work for the FBI because that was her choice. She wouldn't have Tom and Agnes, but there would be a man, probably marriage, child, most likely adopted, because that was what she wanted. She would learn to think like a criminal even without Red, because to be a good profiler, she would need a deeper understanding of how criminal mind works, only she would learn longer and harder. She would discover that justice is not always achieved lawfully. She would discover her inner nature with or without Red, Sam would die of canser anyway. And who knows, Kirk and/or the Witch may have discovered that Katarina Rostova's Daughter is alive and works as an FBI profiler. Then the Cabal, and all the others could get the wind of that fact too. And then the hunt would begin, only without Red to lessen the impact of the hunt, the reason for which would come as a complete shock to an unsuspecting profiler.

Liz was marked before she was even born. Red as the Mother could only stay away this long...until he knew she would not be safe, and tried to minimize the impact by hiring Jacob Phelps, aka Tom Keen, aka Christopher Hargrave.

And to be completely just: there would be no The Blacklist unless we have Red and Liz and their relationship being exactly what it is. If one part of the fandom blames Liz for all the betrayal she inflicted on Red, after all the times he proved he loves her and protecte her, and the other blames Red for ever entering Liz' life, the truth is exactly in the middle of all that; the coin has two sides, but we could only see both if the coin is resting on its' edge. The MO of the show is that we can not be only team Red or team Liz, we should be both, because there is no team Red without Liz, no team Liz without Red. It is either both of them or none at all.

Right now we are through the middle of season 8, with sure knowledge of season 9, which was never declared to be the last. And the MO stays the same: we get to know who Red is=end of story. So Liz will find out that the Witch was not her Mother before season 8 is over. She will continue trying to solve the mystery of who Red is and why he plays such a huge part in her life. The hunt for the blacklisters will continue, and Liz will continue searching not just for Red's true identity, but also for her own.

"Our journey isn't over yet. You may have given up on us, but I haven't". Red will never give up on Liz, and Liz will keep searching, making mistakes, trusting the wrong people, hurting Red and coming back, blaming him, and then seeing parts of the truth, but the journey will continue until we all arrive to the point when the mystery will be revieled. Until then it is a difficult and long path of two people to each other, and at the same time to the core of who each of them really is individually.

PS: to those who say that Red and Anne having sex "kill Rederina": guys, that is what identity change is all about, you have to act like the person you impersonate; if you impersonate a man, have sex with a woman, or your disguise is burnt. And, come on, Katarina was shown to be bisexual, and Red too is bisexual, and SEX REALLY IS NOT ABOUT GENDER OR IDENTITY AT ALL, it is about pleasure any person could make any other person expirience in full. All that is needed is the desire to do so!

PPS: Liz needs her Mother. I will stay and see the story through just to see her finally being reunited with Her, or finding out that her Mother never abandoned her and was there for her the entire time Red reentered her life! No matter how many seasons it will eventually take, but that is all there is to it. I am there for the Reveal. Not for the audience, for Liz!

#Misere #Season 8 #Episode 14 #Liz Keen #Red #Raymond Reddington #Tom Keen #Mr Kaplan #Sam #Rederina #choosing the way #a personal take on the last seen episode #and on team Red #and team Liz #which in fact is the same #put the coin on its edge #to observe both sides #objectively #Anne 😭

[katarinas-redemption]

The Blacklist - Redarina (links)

KONETS THE END - one , two , three , four , five , six , seven , eight

(in no particular order). 

Well I’m not her father. 

Lizzie your mother is dead.

The way Sam told the story. 

Liz figures out that Red is Katarina in her final moments (KONETS)

Red and Katarina both erase Liz’s memories and here

Red speaks FOR Katarina about her mistakes 

Red and Katarina are Both N-13 

Red and Katarina both play the piano.

Red’s Father AND Katarina’s Father drove Wagoneers

Cape May - Once, a long time ago.

Red and Katarina BOTH Moral Relativists

First Introductions Red and Katarina Folding coats 

Everything About Me Is A Lie (Katarina and Red)

DANGER, SCARED, HUNTED. ALONE. (Episode 8.02&1.22 paralllels)

Red and Katarina play with FIRE

Red and Katarina Fighting similarities AND here and here

Red and Katarina VISUAL Similarities/Parallels in Requiem

Red and Katarina Both Go Away

Red and Masha GO FISH Parallels

Red and Katarina same Date Of Birth 

Red and Katarina Both “Disappearing” Red and Katarina Both Folding Hands

Red and Katarina Misc 1, Misc 2, 

Red and Katarina go for the THROAT and here (savages)

Katarina and Red “Watching here from Distance” Parallels

Katarina and Red wear Glasses Parallels

What difference does it make? And “You Must” (Katarina and Red) Misc DIALOGUE PARALLEL

Both Red and Katarina’s MOTHER understood them. 

A cool head undaunted initiative in a Messy Situation and “Clean The Mess”

Ilya made a promise to Katarina “Because he’s a part of this” (ORION) 

Rassvet - Camera Pans on Katarina when Dom said “IT WAS HIS FAULT” AND ILYA says “Reddington”

 Katarina had her own Driver/Dembe  Both Red and Katarina are referred to “Spies THAT STAYED OUT IN THE COLD.

Red and Katarina both staring out car windows 

Half of Red’s face and Half of Katarina’s make One Complete Face

Red knew which windows the intruders would come in thru (CapeMay)

Red AND Katarina both look out the window in Cape May

Family Secrets/Family Feuds (Non-Redarina gifset) 

Red “raised you myself” Katarina “my child is being raised by someone else” 

Katarina is so DEAD. 

Red and Katarina both use *PAYPHONES* 

Red: I know how far a parent will go to protect their child.

https://katarinas-redemption.tumblr.com/post/718629604863213568

“The Messy Situation” Requiem. https://katarinas-redemption.tumblr.com/post/634266610397560832/parallels-the-messy-situation-is-the-kitchen

[cesraeborgia]

Hey! This is a cool thing you're doing and thought I'd ask something!

I feel like ur gonna get asked this a lot but, realistically, what do you think is going to happen with keenler in the upcoming eps? Like obviously we'd love them to happily get together, but this is the Blacklist, and nothing is ever that simple.

Thoughts?

Hey!!! I’m happy to say your my first ask :)) !!!  If you want to chat with me about keenler, my fics, send me prompts, or just say hello!! feel free to drop me an ask here

I had a lot to say so I did a keep reading thing haha. Also, warning, spoilers for the last two eps. 

Personally, I think there’s an extremely interesting dynamic at play here that is similar to when Liz was on the run the first time. I can’t help but draw parallels between Ressler’s interactions with Liz in season 3 and his interactions with her now, and I think that Liz’s plot line this season is going to put her at odds with Ressler both professionally and personally. The fact of the matter is (and this might be a rogue opinion) that in the long run, I don’t see this causing issues for them romantically. The thing about Ressler is that he’s already crossed that line for Liz in the past - when pitted against his job and Liz, the choices he makes always boil down to one thing: whether or not the decision he makes keeps Liz safe. Because Ressler is always acting with Liz’s safety in mind, This might prove to be a problem for Liz, who is used to those who love her (Tom, Reddington) dropping everything on a dime to help her in any situation no matter the cost to her personal safety. This is partially why Ressler was at a crossroads in the last episode: he knew that the path Liz was going down was dangerous, and he was unwilling to help her if it affected her safety in a negative way, or if it contributed to her continued progression down a darkened path, which Ressler does not view to be her destiny, like Reddington does. In keeping with this characterization of Ressler (which, Lord knows if the show will actually do that; they are pretty consistent when it comes to him but still not great) I could see them continuing to work together, even if its not to the result that Liz wants. 

I think that Ressler brings out the best of Liz’s humanity (this is why I always use day/sun imagery when writing Ressler, and night/moon imagery when writing Liz) and that eventually Liz is going to be faced with deciding between embracing Reddington’s idea of her ‘destiny’ or embracing what she wanted her life to be like in the pilot. Obviously, going to war with Reddington posits one end of that spectrum, with exploring her relationship with Ressler being on the other side. 

(Real quick sidebar: I don’t like to describe female characters in relation to male characters; I’m not trying to say that Liz has to decide between the two men, I’m just saying that they symbolically represent the decision she’s going to have to make. If I were less tired I would go on a poststructural feminist rant that would make my dear sweet Judith Butler proud, but, alas, I’m exhausted)

I think that there’s three key things that SHOULD (key word being should, seeing as the writers are who the writers are) be factors in keenler’s progression this season. 

1.) Liz is alone on the run this time. This means that she’s most likely going to turn to Ressler for support, seeing as her sister is gone for the moment being, Tom is dead, her mother is dead, Reddington is pretty much dead to her, and the only person left in her life who she really trusts is Ressler. Now, there could be an interesting plot twist here. (this has been marinating in the back of my mind for the last couple of seasons.) Remember in like season 6 (I want to say??) when Liz let that one blacklister go and was starting to collect names for her own blacklist... let’s just say I wouldn’t be shocked if that plot line was unceremoniously picked up again sometime this season. That might be the only real shot she has at having allies besides Ressler or people who want to see Reddington dead. Ask me more on this later, once I watch the next episode in January haha.

2.) The issue of the taskforce and Reddington. As we can all see, Reddington has no qualms using Ressler as a pawn in his scheme to get to Liz, and I can envision Ressler acting in the role of messenger between the two warring sides during the rest of this season, which would allow for Liz and Ressler to continue to explore their developing relationship within this paradigm. I could also see =, however, Reddington using Ressler to gain an audience with Liz, and or threatening Ressler in order to get Liz to comply. 

In this category there is also the issue of the taskforce itself. As we all know, Cooper was pissed that Ressler had been running off without his knowledge to see Liz, and I can assure you that this is going to cause some problems between the rest of the taskforce and Ressler. (Aram may be a sleeper cell, because it’s Aram, but other than that I can see this getting to be extremely painful for Ressler, Cooper, and Park). I can see Cooper either sidelining Ressler, monitoring his phone, or pairing him off with Park so that she can keep an eye on him, or a combination of all three. I think that this dynamic is where we’re going to see the biggest obstacle to their relationship. 

3.) Finally, the trust issues. I can’t say I’m shocked that the blacklist has never confronted the fact that Ressler is blatantly in love with a woman who continuously lies to him (I love both of them to death, I mean this from a good place) and who has never really shown any signs of remorse about it. Now, while its a good thing that Liz opened up to Ressler later last season, it’s still problematic that she won’t share her cards with him when she knows he won’t be happy about what she’s doing. I personally would love to see Ressler confront her about this (I hope to god he does), but again, this will probably get swept under the rug. I have a lot of problems with this, which is why when I write them, I always try to address the imbalance of power between them and try to put them on a more equal playing field. I would be curious to see how the writers do this (if they decide to). 

I’m sorry that this has turned into a novella-length response, but also I’m not because I have had a lot of this stuff simmering in my brain for the last couple of years. I must also apologize for the random rants in the middle of this - that would be due to my raging ADHD and exhaustion. In conclusion, I would say that I can see keenler happening, however, it is not going to be all sunshine and rainbows, but, rather, a game which may involve using Ressler as bait. 

I hope that answers your question :))

[takadasaiko]

Home For Christmas (a Keen2 one shot for the Blacklist Secret Santa)

Good morning and Merry Christmas, @blacklister214! I’m your secret santa this year! I hope you’re having a fantastic Christmas and that you enjoy  :D

FFN II AO3

---

Home for Christmas

Her day had been set. It would start with kissing her daughter goodbye and sending her to a playdate as Liz used one of her rare days off to turn the apartment into a Christmas wonderland. She had plans. Lights and tinsel and stockings, elves sitting on a new surface every morning and dozens of meticulously wrapped Christmas presents under a tree that reached to the ceiling that made Agnes squirm in anticipation to open them. Just like Liz had as a little girl. She couldn’t remember Christmas with her mother - there was a good chance that they didn’t celebrate it in any way that was at all traditional - and she only had a fractured memory of picking out a tree with her father one year, but Sam had bent over backwards to make it special, and this year, after everything, Liz wanted Agnes to remember this as one of her favourites.  She had been digging through Christmas ornaments to find one of the few that had lasted through all the years and all the chaos, her fingers latching onto the little gingerbread man that Tom had pieced together along with his third graders a couple of  lifetimes ago, when her phone had rung.

The senator’s life is in danger.

Six words had brought her Christmas plans to a crashing halt. She should have been wrapping presents, not listening to Reddington dance around the fact that didn’t actually care about Senator Calloway himself, it was the team hired to kidnap him that he was after. After a heated conversation he had admitted that they had taken some people of his overseas and he needed them back. Two birds, one stone, Liz’s Christmas plans be damned.

But it wasn’t like they could just turn down the case with the New York senator’s life on the line.

At least he had had time to get his decorations up. Liz let out a low whistle as she looked up at the beautifully decorated home with its holly covered gates and snow lined driveway, and she tried to push down at the agitation. In and out. All they had to do was get Calloway to a safe location. If Red wanted the kidnappers, he’d have to get them himself. That wasn’t and couldn’t be their goal. This needed to be quick.

“She won’t even remember it, Keen,” Ressler offered as they worked their way up the icy driveway.

“That’s the point, I want her to remember it, and not because something insane happened.” After everything they had been through, they all deserved a good Christmas.

She watched Ressler open his mouth, but it snapped shut again as Park approached. “We have a problem.”

“What’s that?”

“Calloway doesn’t want us here.”

Ressler frowned. “And he couldn’t say that before we flew out here?”

“It doesn’t really matter,” Liz huffed. “He’s in danger, if he wants to admit it or not.”

“Apparently he hired his own people,” Park explained. “Private firm. Some kind of connection with the owners of the company or something.”

That sounded suspiciously familiar. Liz signalled for them to wait a moment as she pulled her cell out and hit the fist number on her speed dial. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. She thought it was going to roll to voicemail before a familiar - albeit distracted - voice answered. “Hey, babe. Still working. I’m going to have to call you back.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be working a special job as a favour a senator called into Scottie, would you?” Liz asked, ignoring Ressler’s raised eyebrow to the side.

Tom paused on the other end of the line and she could practically hear him assessing the situation. “Get a tip from the usual source?”

“He’s in danger, Tom. Let us help him.”

“You and I both know it’s not that simple if he’s involved.”

“No, but let me handle the man in the hat. You’ve been hired to protect Calloway and we can help with that. It’s our job to help with that.”

She heard him pull in a breath on the other end of the line and loose it in a sigh. “Liz, it’s not my --”  A sound cut him off and she heard Tom shout at someone. There was a moment, another shout, and she found her knuckles going white as she gripped the phone. “You have your team with you?” he demanded and it took her half a beat to register that he was talking to her.

“Ressler and Park.”

“Meet us at the garage around the east side of the house.”

The call ended and her gaze swept the seemingly quiet grounds. “They’re already here.”

Neither Ressler or Park argued the statement and the three of them drew their guns as they circled around to the eastern side of the house. It looked more like a small hanger with the drive winding up the side of the house and around the back to what must have been another exit. Well, at least she hoped it was another exit. If these guys were half as good as Reddington had indicated they needed more than one way out or they’d get cut off. They certainly didn’t want to get into a firefight and pinned down.

“Hey, is that one of your husband’s people?” Park asked, motioning to a prone figure on the ground.

Liz frowned and shook her head. “Doesn’t look like Halcyon equipment.” Which meant that someone had already taken a  shot. Great.

“Cooper’s sending backup,” Ressler said quietly as they approached and Liz saw the cell phone in his hand. Ahead of them, Tom was circled up with the Grey Matters field team around Senator Calloway. Matias Solomon offered a cheeky wave as they approached and Liz struggled not to pop off at him.

Calloway turned as they approached. “I told you that I didn’t want the FBI to --”

Tom squared his shoulders. “I can personally guarantee whatever you’re trying to hide, Senator, they’ve seen worse and they won’t care.” His dark gaze flickered out to the grounds. “We need an exit. Three cars should be enough to keep them guessing.”

“And you want one of us to get behind the wheel with him?” Ressler growled, nodding towards Solomon who blew him a kiss in response.

“You haven’t done anything to piss me off this week and - still no clue why - Nez actually gets along with him, so let’s avoid unnecessary complications.” He tossed a set of keys to Park as Nez disappeared behind the vehicles. “That leaves you with us, Senator.”

The older man looked between Liz and Tom. “I’d rather --”

“Non-negotiable.”

There was a moment where it looked like Calloway might argue. They didn’t have time for this. If the infiltrating kidnappers didn’t know that one of their own had been taken out by Halcyon, they would soon, and the last thing they needed was a shootout.

“We’re set,” Nez called, tossing three license plates to the ground and Solomon was already in the driver’s seat of one of the three identical SUVs.

Tom took hold of Calloway by the jacket collar and dragged him towards the one on the far right that was angled at the exit. Liz started after him, movement catching her attention just past them. Well, there went all hope of getting out cleanly. “Down!” she shouted and Tom dropped instantly, pulling the senator with him as bullets whizzed past. She returned fire and took their attacker down before launching forward and into the passenger’s seat of the waiting vehicle as Tom circled around to the driver’s seat.

Tires squealed as she righted herself, the door slamming closed behind her and she reached for the window. It didn’t roll down and she spotted Tom’s left hand going back to the wheel as he took a hard left out of the back gate. “Did you lock the window?” she demanded.

“You have a history of leaning halfway out them to take your shot. Hey,” he snapped, his dark blue gaze flickering to the rearview mirror. “Stay down.”

Calloway quirked an eyebrow in the back seat. “Me or her?”  

“You,” both Keens answered at once and if the look on the senator’s face was anything to go by, he realized that there would be no turning them against each other.

“Take it you’ve worked together before?” he grumbled.

Tom’s lips stretched into a lopsided smile and she resisted the urge to slug him in the arm. Part of her wanted to remind him to focus, but it was quickly losing to the part of her that felt the rush of excitement at being able to work together. When he’d decided to take on a full time role at Halcyon they’d had to set some ground rules to keep their professional lives from destroying their personal one. Those ground rules had worked well so far and, for the most part, kept their teams on separate cases. It had been ages since they’d had a chance to work together, but now - even as they flew down the road with a less-than-cooperative senator in the back and a team of professional kidnappers on their bumper - there was a thrill to it. They were both excellent at their jobs, they both enjoyed their jobs. Maybe they should rethink those ground rules from time to time.

Her phone buzzed and Liz glanced down to see a text from Ressler laying out the route that their backup was driving. “Tom, take a right up here.”

“You mean follow the streets to the most likely roadblock the feds would set up?”

“That’s our backup.”

“You trust me?”

“I do, but --”

“Then hold on.” He spun the wheel hard in the opposite direction and Liz could have sworn it tipped a little to the side before righting itself on all four wheels and Tom hit the gas down the narrow alley.

“Hey, we didn’t lose them,” Calloway said from the back and Liz glanced around to see the car that had been chasing them slammed into reverse to follow. There was more distance between them now, but they could make that up.

Tom turned again and then immediately again into a dead end. Liz bit her tongue, reminding herself that she trusted him as he killed the engine. She pulled in a breath, her question riding out on it as she released it. “They’ll be back.”

“Nah. Nez and Solomon are waiting on the main street. They’ll spot them and think they’re still chasing us. They’ll lead them right to the roadblock.”

“Ressler wouldn’t have sent them the location.”

Her husband shot her an amused look. “It’s cute you think he has to.”

Right. She was starting to remember one of the many reasons they had decided to avoid working together. “You’re just going to give us the kidnapping ring?”

“I don’t have any use for them. Either you do or you’ll toss them in a hole. If I remember the ground rules right, I’m not supposed to ask which.” She wondered if it had been that obvious what she was thinking as her lips curled up at the corners and he offered her a wink before turning back to Calloway. “Scottie’d like a word with you if you’re up for it.”

“I imagine she would,” the senator said darkly.

“Any chance you’ll tell me what that means?”

Tom snorted a laugh. “I don’t ask, you don’t ask.”

“I’m really starting to reconsider those rules.”

“You won’t when we’re both drowning in paperwork all evening. Weren’t you supposed to be off today?”

“Don’t remind me,” Liz sighed, slouching down in her seat and, as Tom restarted to SUV, they could hear the sound of sirens in the distance.

----

He had not been wrong about the paperwork. After arriving at Halcyon’s New York City HQ and delivering the senator there, Liz had been shuffled onto a private jet and flown back to DC where she’d been met by more paperwork than she thought she’d seen in her whole career. When she talked to him on the phone, it sounded like Tom wasn’t faring much better, but he did offer to call to make sure Shelly’s mom knew Agnes would be staying a little later than they’d planned for the day.

The sun had set by the time Cooper all but kicked her out, telling her that the paperwork would likely be shredded anyway if Halcyon had their way. He’d call her if he needed clarity on any of it and Liz had called Tom on her way home. The call rolled over the voicemail and she felt her spirits drop as she pulled into the parking garage under the building and thought about the scattered decorations that were still lying all around the apartment. It would have been better if she hadn’t even gotten started on the decorations, but now not only did she not have a Christmas wonderland for her kid, she had to tuck everything away into hiding places so that she could try again.

She trudged up four flights of stairs and fished her keys out of her purse. The lock didn’t turn and she resisted the urge to immediately go for her gun, letting her hand hover as she pushed the door open.

The first thing she saw was a string of lights down the hallway. They lined the hall, circling around the doorframes and dipping down between them. She followed them in, eyes wide and smile tugging slowly into place as she entered the living room to see everything she’d wanted to set up. The tree was up and decorated, presents wrapped and tucked away under it, and the empty boxes the decorations had been in were stacked neatly in the corner. “Tom?” she called out, finding her husband at the turntable in the corner. He flipped the record over and repositioned the needle so that Bing Crosby’s I’ll be Home for Christmas filled the apartment. “I thought you were swamped too.”

He turned, a sheepish grin plastered on his face. “Okay, I know we have a no lying rule, but does it count if it was so I could surprise you and knew you’d get the truth anyway?”

A laugh escaped her and she met him where he was, her arms wrapping around his middle and she laced her fingers together to hold him there. “I want to say no, but that could be a slippery slope right there.”

“I know how much you were looking forward to getting all of this ready for Agnes and when I saw you there today…”

“I didn’t think you even remembered.”

“I’m not that tunnel visioned,” he argued.

Liz snorted a laugh, tipped up on her toes, and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “This is perfect.”

“Good. I mean, it may not be an all-the-lights-go-out-and-we-decorate-in-the-dark kind of Christmas, but I wanted to make sure you had the Christmas you wanted for Agnes.”

“And you.”

He inched closer, those dark blue eyes of his holding her gaze in a way that could still make her stomach flutter. “As long as I have the two of you, that’s all I need.”

“Speaking of….”

“Apparently ice skating went a little longer than planned, but she should be back by dinner time.”

“Did you already start?”

“Cooking. Not yet, did you want --?”

Liz loosed her grip on him just long enough to reposition one hand to the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet her in a kiss. She held him there, feeling his own hands move to her hips before he shifted just enough to pull her feet off the floor and she wrapped her legs around his waist, never breaking the kiss. Finally they had to break, both a little short of breath, and she found the man she loved staring up at her. “We can always order in,” he managed.

“Like you read my mind.” She leaned down again, the kiss soft and sweet. “I love you.”

He let her slide down to stand, his gaze locked with hers. “You too. Merry Christmas.”

The day hadn’t turned out exactly how she’d expected it, but somehow, after everything, it had been better. They deserved that. Between the close calls and the unbelievable pain that they had shared over the years, they deserved a little peace with their family. As Liz slipped her hand into his and pulled him close, everything else washed away.