I do not own the Blacklist or any of its characters.
"But Daddy, you promised you would take me trick-or-treating tonight! We even got matching outfits!" Agnes stomped her little feet, folded her arms, and pouted her lips. Reddington couldn't help grinning as he looked at his six-year old daughter who was doing her best to give him a grumpy look.
"Aggie honey, I know you are upset. But your mommy isn't feeling very well and I don't want to leave her alone tonight. You know, all the kids in the neighborhood will be ringing the doorbell tonight, and she can't be getting up all the time to answer the door," he answered her.
"I know Daddy, but it's not fair. You and mommy wanted another baby, and now I can't go trick-or-treating because of it tonight." Agnes kept her arms crossed and looked away from her father, as tears started forming in her green eyes.
Raymond felt his heart aching inside, because he hated to see her crying. However he still couldn't help being charmed by his adorable pouting little girl. He knew Agnes had been looking forward to this evening for such a long time and felt bad he couldn't take her out tonight.
Both of them had planned their outfits for weeks already. Agnes had spent quite some time researching iconic famous duos online and had a made a shortlist of her favorites. At such a young age, she was already very skilled at using computers and the internet.
Initially, Reddington had suggested they would go as Beauty and the Beast, but Agnes refused. She told her mom it was because she didn't want anyone to think of her father as a beast. Agnes had told her mom how much she idolized her dad, something Lizzie was all to excited to share with Red, and that for Halloween all she wanted was to look and dress the same as Reddington.
So eventually Agnes and Red had settled on the Blues Brothers for their Halloween costume. She had yet to see the movie, but Agnes liked how cool they looked in their black suits and black sunglasses and hats. She said it made sense as her daddy always wore similar suits and hats. So Red had arranged for tailor made costumes for both of them and had completed their outfits with two harmonicas, one for each of them.
Reddington knelt down to eye level with Agnes and offered her a solution. "Little princess, look at me. How about I call your uncle Dembe and have him take you trick-or-treating instead of me?" Agnes looked up at her father still teary-eyed and gave him a reluctant nod.
"Uncle Dembe is taking your cousin Elle, and I am sure he would love it if you would go with them. You girls love spending time together, don't you? Do you know what she is dressing up as?" he asked her, trying to get her excitement up again.
"I think she is going as Wonder Woman, Mommy helped her with her costume." Agnes quietly replied. "But I really wanted us to dress in the same costume, and now we can't," she added as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Come here, princess," Red opened his arms so he could give her a hug. "I know you are disappointed and sad, but you know you said you wanted a little brother or sister for the longest time. You just have to wait a little longer and next year the two of us will go trick-or-treating together with your mom and your new brother or sister."
Agnes dried her tears and walked into his arms. "Do you promise?" she asked him.
"I promise sweetheart. Have I ever lied to you?" Reddington replied to his favorite girl and hugged her tightly.
It only took a few tries for Lizzie and Reddington to become pregnant again. Just like last time when Lizzie was pregnant, Red knew it right away. Everything pointed to it. Her body, her skin, a look in her eyes, different tastes for different foods, and just like her first pregnancy, she was more nauseated, distracted and moody.
Red never forgave himself that he couldn't be there for her more during her first pregnancy with Agnes. Of course, the circumstances were completely different. Their relationship was very much at odds, and Lizzie made it appear that she didn't want to have anything to do anymore with the father of her soon-to-be-born child. Her fake husband Tom was still in the picture, clueless as ever, and the Cabal was still very much in play as well.
Red shuttered when he recalled that dreadful wedding and the aftermath with a very pregnant Lizzie being hunted by Solomon and his goons. The fact that his daughter was born in an abandoned nightclub, in combination with that godawful music playing and those disco lights turning, all courtesy of Tom Keen, the man he despised, was something he would never forget. It still made his stomach turn .
Nothing like that would ever happen again, he would make sure of that, even if his life depended on it. Luckily, the dangers that surrounded them the first time around were no longer a threat. However he vowed to be there for Lizzie during her whole pregnancy, no matter what would come around.
He had missed so many precious moments, like ultrasounds, morning sickness episodes and doctor's visits and he was damn sure he wasn't going to miss any more of those moments. If Lizzie needed something, he would get it for her, no questions asked. If Lizzie wasn't feeling well, he would set everything aside and be by her side, no matter what.
No matter what, he had told himself. That was until today, when his six-year old daughter cried in front of him because he couldn't go trick-or-treating with her.
"Elizabeth, I need to talk to you about something," Red sighed when he walked into the master bedroom where Lizzie was resting.
She looked up from the book she was reading, the latest Dan Brown novel, and watched Red walk over to his side of the bed where he sat down. She sensed something was wrong, since Red only called her by her full name when he was either upset or distraught.
"Honey, what's the matter?" Lizzie inquired. "And what was all that noise downstairs? Is Agnes hurt?"
Red kissed her shoulder, put his hand on Lizzie's pregnant tummy and gently rubbed her belly. "Agnes is fine, nothing to worry about," he answered her. "I suppose it's me who is hurt."
"Tell me what happened, honey". She looked at her husband and smiled at him. Here was this master criminal, concierge of criminal, sitting next to her, looking like he was genuinely troubled.
"I think our little princess is a little jealous of our peapod. Agnes is upset that I can't take her trick-or-treating tonight, because I told her I would stay in with you. You know how much I hate to see her sad," he explained to his wife .
"Why would you not take her out tonight, Raymond?" she asked him.
"Well, you did mention earlier this morning that you weren't feeling well. I told you I would never let anything happen to you and that I would be by your side through this whole pregnancy," he replied to her. "On top of that, I don't want you to have to get up every 10 seconds to hand out candy to the kids from the neighborhood. Your well-being is of my utmost concern."
Lizzie looked at him and giggled when she realized the reason for his decision. "Honey, I'm not dying here, I'm just pregnant. I've been in this situation before, and in much less comfortable conditions."
She rubbed his forearm and continued "So you are telling me you can't take Agnes trick-or-treating, especially after she put so much effort into choosing your costumes? You know how much she looked forward to you both dressing up together? She has talked about it for weeks."
Red looked at her and nodded, "I know sweetheart, but I still want to be near you."
Lizzie smiled and comforted him, "Honey, it's not like you need to travel across the globe for three weeks so you can take out some monster on the Blacklist. The only monsters around here tonight are dressed up pumpkins, minions and maybe an occasional clown." She tenderly kissed him on the forehead and stared at him.
"I rested most of the day and feel fine. In fact, I am halfway through this book I'm reading and I would really like to finish it tonight, and maybe even snack on some candy myself," she giggled.
"So please, go out with her. This little peapod and I are going to be fine," she continued as she put her fingers over Red's hand that was still resting on her tummy.
Red conceded to Lizzie, "Okay, sweetheart. Just make sure you don't eat all the candy by yourself." He smiled at her while looking her in the eyes, leaned over and kissed her gently on her lips.
Red and Agnes walked back in the house a few hours later, both worn out from going to all the houses in their neighborhood. They had gathered quite large collection of all sorts of candy bars and both were chewing on a large Snickers bar. Lizzie looked up from her book and was completely drawn in by the adorable sight in front of her.
Both Blues Brothers, one who was five foot eight and one who was forty five inches tall, wearing the exact same outfit and hats and were both tilting their head in that typical Reddington manner. She couldn't help from smiling and feeling so extremely happy. Happy that she finally had everything she always wanted.
"So Aggie", she called out to her daughter while looking at her precious family. "How about you start thinking about a nice iconic foursome for Halloween next year?"
The End