"Lizzie, stop." Raymond was able to gently push Elizabeth away just before their lips connected, calmly pulling his face from hers. She was so close, he didn't know how she managed to get so close; it made his heart beat just a little bit faster, thinking that if he hadn't have stopped her, her lips would be on his right now, but he was a man who knew how to keep his composure. It was heartbreaking; he'd thought of the possibility of this happening, but he really, truly thought there was no chance. Maybe he had led her on, he couldn't help it, he was a flirt, but he sincerely thought he had remained on the paternal side of the fine line he'd drawn between them. The sense of rejection that filled her features surprised him, making him feel even guiltier; he had no intention of hurting her, or her self-esteem. "I love you, Lizzie, but not like that." There were no words for how much his heart ached due to the amount of confusion and disappointment that was displayed before him.

"But..." She was still holding onto him, not wanting to let go because she knew she'd probably never have the chance to be this close to him again. What did he mean he didn't feel that way? He'd given her so many signals, he was practically obsessed. He'd never denied that.

"I'm sorry, Lizzie," it was all he could say. He studied her expressions as they went from uncertainty to frustration to aggravation and ending in humiliation, the whole situation making him tense.

It was when the humiliation hit that she loosened her grip and stepped back from him, shaking her head, completely at a loss as to why he didn't feel the same way, "Why?" The question came out quieter than she intended. She forced herself to keep eye contact despite the threat of tears, biting her lip and waiting for an answer.

"Why what, Lizzie?"

A lump caught in her throat at the response, knowing she'd have to say it outright; her own response causing her to choke up, "Why don't you want to be with me?" She stalled for a moment before laughing dryly and rolling her eyes, a tear falling, "And why do you keep calling me 'Lizzie'? Only Tom calls me that. It's always, 'Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie', and it drives me crazy. You drive me crazy; insane, actually."

He swallowed, trying to decide how to approach this, conflicted as to whether he wanted to confess or not; he'd made such an effort to keep the truth from her. Her patience was astounding, and the longer he kept the answer from her the more he realized he had to tell her. "I'm your father, Lizzie." He nodded before taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. It was perhaps the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, admitting that.

She barely reacted at first, her face blank as she let what he said sink in. Her brows furrowed, "What...?" She was in denial; she didn't want to believe him. That was the worst thing he could have said. She was mad, but, if she were to be honest, she had suspected, which made her more upset with herself than with him. "You mean..." even more tears filled her eyes, just waiting to fall, "You lied to me?" She couldn't stop the tears from falling no matter how desperately she tried, and her next words came out in broken sobs, "When I asked you..." She couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes closed tightly, her body shuddering as she cried; it was such a devastating realization. Lifting her hands up to gently tug at her hair she turned away from him, letting out a resentful cry. "You said no..."

It took all Raymond's strength to keep calm, to keep his own tears from falling. This hurt… it hurt more than any physical pain he'd ever endured. He never wanted to cause his daughter such turmoil. He didn't move a muscle, just calmly asked a question, one that wasn't so simple, but it was all that came to mind, "If you had any doubt about my answer at all..." he shook his head, "any doubts or suspicions about our relation... Why would you allow yourself to accumulate such feelings for me?" He gave a soft, adoring smile, suddenly holding a look in his eyes of a man who had just received a sorrowful, and somewhat ironic, implication, "Criminals are notorious liars, remember?"

She kept her back to him, a sardonic laugh escaping her lungs, shaking her head. Her mind was spinning with the clues that had led her to believe he was her father, ones that she later dismissed and pushed away after he had denied the suspicion; she should have stuck with her gut feeling, it was so obvious to her now, but after figuratively losing Tom, Raymond's rare kindness towards her was even more appreciated, his charm heightened by her vulnerability, but she couldn't word all that, not right now. Finally she turned back to him, her face streaked with tear stains, "Come on, Red... Did it not cross your mind that I could possibly fall for you? Did you really not think for a second that this could be dangerous information to keep from me?" More, angry, tears fell, "What were you so afraid of?" she yelled, reaching the point where she couldn't keep her voice down any longer, "What were you so worried would happen that you couldn't tell me I'm your fucking daughter?" The room went silent for a moment, Elizabeth breathing harshly, looking at Reddington with such intensity that it actually, for once in his life, made him feel uneasy, and he himself standing there with unshed tears in his eyes, unmoving. Liz's lips quivered as she struggled to say her next words, "Because your concern certainly wasn't me falling in love with you." After those words were out she had no control left, she couldn't fight the overwhelming emotion, so she let herself go, tears falling heavily and her body shaking, her cries the only thing heard within the room.

"It had occurred to me, yes," he said, his head nodding softly, keeping his voice as steady as he could manage, "But you had Tom, and I figured you not knowing about his true identity would buy me time, you'd still be head over heels for him. -Not to mention," he shook his head, "I tried so hard to make sure you despised me." This only made her cry harder as she brought her hands up to bury her face in them. Raymond was at a loss for words, another first; he was completely broken, "Lizzie..." He took a few steps toward her, speaking quietly, "I had my reasons." When she didn't respond he lifted his hands up to soothingly rub at her arms, "Shhh..." Stepping the rest of the way into her he wrapped his arms around her, stroking the back of her head, "Everything will be alright." He began to hum the song he'd play her when she was young, remembering how much that music box would soothe her. After a few seconds her body relaxed and she clutched at his jacket, nuzzling her face into his chest and sniffling.

With a sigh she allowed herself to just take in the relaxing comfort and warmth of his arms around her, his voice deep and soothing; she felt safe, and at home, and she couldn't possibly think of him not being in her life. After a quiet moment she took a deep breath, letting his name out in a soft question, "Raymond...?"

"Yes?"

"I love you..."

Reddington closed his eyes at the words, he thought he'd never hear them, he'd told himself long ago he never would. Letting the statement sink in he rested his cheek against the top of her head, holding her a bit tighter, "I love you too," he whispered.

The returned declaration of love made Elizabeth smile, and, even though he didn't mean it in the same way, it was all she needed to hear. After a moment she began to pull away slowly, just enough so that her lips brushed against his cheek as she turned her head. She froze when her lips reached his, surprised that she was so bold as to even wander that far, mindlessly or not; she couldn't help the fact that she wanted to kiss him, that she wanted him to make love to her. Those feelings were already set deep within her.

He froze as well, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, the simple action making his body vibrate with confusing anticipation. "What are you doing, Liz?" he asked almost urgently, but keeping his tone soft, his voice coming out a bit breathless. His lips had moved against hers as he spoke, sending a thrill down his spine that alarmed him.

Elizabeth couldn't think; all she could focus on was his mouth and how it caressed hers as he asked the same question she was asking herself. "One small kiss wouldn't hurt..." she whispered. She wanted to believe that was true, that if she let herself have a taste it wouldn't complicate anything. She allowed her lips to gently press against his, holding it for a moment before softly taking his bottom lip between hers and pulling at it lightly. Immediately her body began to shake with the want and need she was suppressing, it wasn't enough; so she repeated the actions ever so carefully, savoring every small movement, their lips barely even touching. Red kissed backed cautiously, knowing he shouldn't be encouraging her, but he was too aroused, too curious to see how far she would go, and too desperate to keep her there in order to stop. Bringing his hands to her upper back he pulled her closer and semi-regretfully kissed her a bit harder, wanting to see what it felt like to delve even further into what she had started, which only heightened his arousal which, in turn, made him feel that much more perverse. It didn't feel right, he couldn't forget she was his daughter, not even for a moment of pleasure, no matter how badly he wanted to; it was easier for her since she hadn't known for as long as he had, she didn't remember the times they spent together when she was a young girl. Elizabeth was unable to hold in a moan at the added boldness of the kiss, the fact that he was cooperating stimulated her and caused her to be more brave herself. Tightening her arms around his neck she pressed her body into his and was pleased to find that she could feel his arousal pressing back, her stomach coiled at the thought that he was just as heated as she was. She decided to venture forward into the taboo act she initiated, letting herself dismiss the confession he had given her just minutes ago, knowing she couldn't resist crossing the line, more so than she had already done, allowing her tongue to finally enter his parted lips, skimming it along the roof of his mouth and moaning once again, her body shaking violently and her skin completely flushed.

Raymond gripped at her back, feeling lightheaded; he was genuinely surprised by her physical reaction, that she wanted this so badly, that he was the cause of her frenzied state. The passion and energy that he felt took his breath away. He returned the gesture, penetrating her mouth with his tongue, taking in her taste and her warmth, committing every sensation to memory because he knew he couldn't do this again. After a moment his rationality came back to him and he contritely began to halt her actions, ashamed that he hadn't done so sooner, "That's enough, Lizzie." It wasn't, but he had to convince them both that it was.

Elizabeth whimpered, shaking her head softly, "Fuck… No… You want it, I know you do…"

He would be lying if he denied that was true, but this was dangerous, and all he really wanted was his daughter, nothing more, he blamed the pheromones for his excitement, "Elizabeth, I love you, but I can't."

"But you want to," she repeated insistently before one of her hands began to slowly, and shakily, travel down his torso, clearly heading for his groin, "I can feel it..." Her fingertips brushed along the top of his arousal, causing his eyes to close as his erection grew despite his efforts for it not to. "Don't say no, Raymond, I need you." A shiver ran through him as her fingertips brushed further along his restrained member, heat and excitement building up within the pit of his stomach like before. He felt defeated, he had no more energy to protest, so, almost of their own accord, his hands went back to her waist and, nuzzling her, his lips gliding gently across her cheek, he pulled her body close again, pushing his hips forward into her hand. Barely a moment went by before he gently pushed her back against a nearby wall, grinding his hips forward a second time and moaning softly into her ear from the subtle friction; breathing heavily against her skin. Before he could stop himself his hand was between her legs, leisurely caressing her, her body beginning to shake again. His hips began to create a steady rhythm, causing her hand to fully cup his member with the force. She could feel him growing exponentially harder by the second, and the more heated and charged he became the more pressure his fingers applied as he rutted against her, panting and unable to keep himself from shaking as well. Eventually it all became too much for Elizabeth, his hard erection, his fingers touching her, the sheer desire raging within her; she clawed at his back with her free hand, "Please..."

He acknowledged her request by quickly undoing her pants and reaching his hand inside, immediately he felt how wet she was as his middle finger slid along her opening, "Oh god..." He didn't usually make exclamations like that in such situations but he was still amazed that she was so impassioned by him. He was unable to keep his hand steady as his fingertip reached her clit, giving it a light stroke; when that happened she shuddered violently, her hips bucking forward and her knees going weak, a sound of ecstasy flowing from her. He continued to stroke her, both of them trembling and panting, and eventually she came just from his fingers alone. Her wetness drove him wild, just the thought of fucking her made him almost come, but he couldn't fuck his daughter, he just couldn't. Quickly deciding what to do he took her mouth with his again, kissing her deeply, and pulled her pants down a bit before lifting her up and setting her on a nearby counter. He kissed her a moment more and then he broke it in order to pull her pants off the rest of the way. Seeing her half naked on the counter, her legs spread, made his already achingly hard cock throb with desire, she was just so beautiful, and dangerously tempting. He undid his own pants, finally setting himself free, as he moved closer again, wrapping her legs around his waist; he wasn't going to penetrate her, but he had every intention of satisfying her.

He brushed her hair from her face, looking lovingly into her eyes, before pushing his hips forward into her, his hard cock sliding up between her legs. He gripped her tightly, holding her close, his breathing heavy and his heart pounding as he pressed more forcibly into her, grinding harder, the friction horribly maddening. It wasn't intercourse but it was still contact, and it made Elizabeth shudder uncontrollably, the heat within her rising to an unbearable temperature. She was close to her orgasm even before their bodies connected, and this sent her teetering on the edge. She didn't care that this was her father, all she cared about was that the man she had fallen for was now making love to her. "Red..." she groaned, drawing even closer, so close that she could hardly breathe, her chest tightening and her legs tensing around his waist. He was on the brink as well, but he was saddened that he couldn't feel her clenching around him, so he quickly took hold of his cock, beginning to pump it furiously as the tip slid over her clit relentlessly, panting due to his overly aroused state and tiring pace. She wrapped her arms around his neck, beginning to cry out as she orgasmed, her moans alarmingly loud, and seconds later she felt his cum dripping down her abdomen as his movements slowed.

"Lizzie..." his voice, and body, trembled. He let go of his spent member, bringing his hand to her lower back so that both his arms were around her, embracing her. And all he did was hold her. There were no words to be said, he couldn't even fathom the thought of saying one syllable. So he held his daughter, held her as her breathing and heartbeat slowly returned to normal, just glad that she was in his arms. And she was just glad that he was there, period.