Summary:
Liz Milhoan is college student in her junior year when rich handsome quarterback Tom Keen asks her out on a date to an exclusive restaurant. Being inexperienced and all, she turns for help to the only man she trusts since childhood, Raymond Reddington, business partner and long-time friend of her father Sam.
Notes:
First try at a multi-chapter fic. It's completely AU. Please bear with me!
Thank you heatherpeters for all her help in every aspect of writing this. It wouldn't be possible without her.
Chapter 1:
Liz walked through the open garage door of 'Samray's' auto repair shop and was instantly hit with the spicy scents of metal, oil, gasoline and rubber. The area around her was an oasis of tidy organized tools and utilities. Spark-plugs, starters, batteries and exhaust pipes littered the shelves, tires piling in every corner. Stepping farther into the garage, she surveyed the blue Ford, suspended eight feet in the air. A burly fellow in a grease stained overall and baseball cap worked beneath it, changing the oil and checking for abnormalities.
"Hey dad! I'm home."
The man turned around to look at her, beaming with joy.
"Butterball!"
He grabbed a rag and slid a wrench through it before placing the tool in its spot in the big red toolbox, then cleaned his hands and approached her. They hugged and both smiled
"How are you, dad?"
"I'm well, and yourself? This week went by so fast."
Liz went to college in Omaha, successfully studying mechanical engineering in her junior year. On weekends she always returned to Lincoln, her hometown, where her dad Sam Milhoan ran an auto repair shop with his best friend, Raymond Reddington.
"I'm fine, a little tired maybe. The traffic was awful again."
She looked around.
"Where's Ray?"
"Back in the office, ordering spare parts. Why don't you run and say hi?"
Quiet like a cat Liz snuck in the office and found him sitting at the desk, hunched over a laptop, typing numbers into an order sheet. She quickly put her hands over Ray's eyes.
"Guess who?!" she whispered and giggled softly.
Raymond rested his head on the back of the chair and strobed his fingers along her smooth delicate ones. She felt him grin.
"Grandma?"
Liz squealed and laughed, withdrew her hands from him while he turned around in his chair and got up.
He gathered her in a bear hug, a cocoon of caring, and laughed with her.
"I've missed you, sweetheart."
She couldn't remember a time when this handsome man with his deep voice wasn't part of her life. He was friends with her dad Sam since high school and he was like an uncle to her, like a best friend, and she cared deeply for him.
"How are you? Finished that paper in time?"
"Yes, yes. It drove me up the wall, but I received a B+."
He reluctantly released her, smiling at her, proud and excited.
"That's so great. You're so smart, Lizzie."
"Thank you," she smiled back at him. "I'm just glad to be home for the weekend. Need to catch up on sleep. Will you stay for dinner, Ray?"
"Of course, if you're cooking."
"Spaghetti, meatballs and some fresh salad?"
"I can't wait."
"Perfect. See you later then."
She left the office in a good mood; he always managed to reassure her in the most natural way.
Liz picked up her belongings along with a bag with groceries from her car and headed to the upstairs apartment over the repair shop. Sam owned the building and it consisted of a living room, a kitchen, two bathrooms and two spacious sized bedrooms, one of them her very own realm. After settling in, she gathered the laundry and started the washer.
In the evening, she pulled a package of whole-wheat spaghetti from the pantry, prepared the salad, the meatballs and the sauce and started cooking. She had found apple pie in the freezer; it was in the oven now, for dessert. The scent of apples and cinnamon wafted enticingly from the kitchen across the entire apartment. She had set the table in the living room and was now humming softly, while stirring the sauce completely, lost in thought.
Both men showered after quitting time and changed from overalls into regular clothes. Liz was pulled out of her reverie and couldn't help to look at Raymond when he passed the kitchen, admiring his denim clad butt and his bare muscular hairy chest. He was so much more fit and trim than her dad and she wondered why he hadn't found a companion to share his life with.
Sitting around the table, they ate, while sharing the newest gossip from college and town. The three of them drank wine, laughed a lot and really had a good time.
It had always been like that. Raymond spent most of his free time with them as well. Every so often he went fishing with Sam at the nearby creek or they went out for a drink. And when things got too
festive, Raymond even owned a bed in the spare room. For as long as Liz could remember he had been around and she considered him part of the family.
"Are there any extra work requests for tomorrow?" Liz asked her dad when they cleared the table and moved over to the sofa.
"Just finishing up the Ford, the customer needs the car back early on Monday morning."
"Good, because I need to have a look at my own car. I had trouble with the brakes on my way here."
"You had what?"
Sam's expression dropped from being cheerful to instantly upset. He got up from the couch and hovered over Liz in alarm.
"You drove here all the way from Omaha with faulty brakes?"
"Well, yes…"
"Are you out of your mind!?"
Sam raised his voice.
"Do you have any idea what could have happened?"
"Dad, it's just a minor glitch."
"That could have been enough!"
"I'm perfectly skilled to handle such a situation, dad!"
Sam was beside himself with rage.
"That's not the point! I can't believe you were this irresponsible and kept driving. You should know better. You could be dead, Elizabeth!"
Sam left the living room and slammed his bedroom door. Liz looked at Raymond in disbelief. What just happened?
"You know why, Lizzie …", Raymond whispered, looking quite shocked himself
Sam and Raymond weren't tied together just by friendship. They also shared the same loss and pain. Sixteen years ago Sam's wife, Liz' mother Katarina drove into town with her best friend Carla, Raymond's wife, when they were both killed in a horrific car accident. Four year old Liz survived only by a miracle, bearing a scar on her left wrist the only reminder.
Liz had no recollection of the event, her young mind unable to resolve the bereavement at the time, blocking all memories.
"Crash investigations by the police revealed a defective brake line as cause for the accident that killed your mom and Carla. Abrasion had damaged Katarina's car but she loved it too much to put it out of service. It was scheduled for a checkup the following week. Sam never forgive himself for not checking earlier."
Tears pooled in Lizzie's blue eyes, then flowed down her cheeks.
"I never knew this. Dad never told me."
"It wasn't his fault. It was an accident."
Raymond couldn't stand her tears and pulled her into a gentle but tight hug. She put her head against his chest and clung to him for long moments.
"He's just worried about you, Lizzie."
"I know … I'll fix the brakes first thing in the morning, I promise."
He nodded.
"Okay, good."
He held her a while longer, taking comfort in her closeness. Even after all these years the entire subject was still sensitive and unimaginably painful.
"It's late, I need to go… Will you be alright, Lizzie?"
He regretfully pulled away, his voice thick with emotion.
"Yes, I'll go talk to him… Thank you, Ray."
In silence she accompanied him to the door and he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Good night, sweetheart."
"Good night, Ray."
She didn't know why she felt like crying all over again when she closed the door behind him.
Liz hesitantly knocked at Sam's bedroom door and turned the door knob when she heard his low, "Come in."
The door quietly opened and revealed Sam sitting on his bed. He was not crying, but there was so much sadness about him, it was something that she was not pleased to see.
"I'm so sorry, dad."
She sat down beside him, taking and holding his hand. Sam squeezed hers in reassurance and looked at her.
"No. I'm sorry for shouting at you."
He closed his eyes, obviously fighting tears.
"It's just that ..."
He took a deep breath and tried again.
"It's just that I can't lose you too."
She flung herself into his arms and both cried a little.
"You won't, I promise, dad."
#####
Rich, yellow rays of morning sunlight streamed through the window, illuminated the interior of the car workshop with a soft glow. Liz, dressed in red overalls looked around and memories came flashing back. She recalled scenes from the family home movies: Little Liz running along the shelves, carrying wrenches in her small hands and pockets, being chased by her dad. No bolt was safe from
her; she would unscrew literally everything. Ever since she was a teenager Liz loved cars, she loved stripping them down to the basic parts, then putting them back together. She never minded the dirty work and to study mechanical engineering at college was inevitably a logical choice.
Liz opened the rolling gate of the garage and stepped outside to bring her car in. She took a flashlight from the toolbox, opened the hood and examined the car's engine block, particularly the wiring associated with the brakes.
"Good morning."
A large paper cup containing coffee was placed on the car battery and Liz moaned involuntary at the sight.
"Caramel Latte Macchiato, just the way you like it."
He was a darling, he really was and she couldn't help hugging him again.
"Good morning, Ray… thank you."
"I thought maybe you could use some help?"
She released him and smiled.
"I think I've found the problem."
She pointed the flashlight to a certain brake line.
"There's a bite. A marten bite. Little bastard bit into my brake line!"
"A marten? That's pretty uncommon."
Liz sipped at her coffee.
"These critters have pretty much populated the campus. They're cute but have pretty sharp teeth. She laughed.
"Okay, let's fix this."
They worked together in comfortable silence, replaced the brake line and filled it with brake fluids, but before Raymond closed the toolbox, he gave her a questioning look.
"Lizzie, would you let me check the rest of your car as well?"
"Sure, even though it's not necessary, but after last night I understand why you want to do it."
Raymond took the flashlight and examined the numerous recesses of the engine, radiator, battery, battery case, engine block, clutch and starter housings, ventilating ducts, air filter, body frame and supports.
"Your car is in really good shape."
He smiled at her as she finished the rest of her coffee.
"Ray, I'd like to tell you something."
"What is it?"
Liz hesitated, then suddenly blushed and fidgeted with the empty paper cup.
"I've met someone…"
Raymond gave her a broad encouraging smile.
"Really? Tell me about it!"
She sighed and her eyes became dreamy.
"His name is Tom Keen. He's quarterback at school, successful, really good looking and he has such a cute smile.
"His father is a prominent lawyer and runs a very lucrative business. They're quite rich."
"How did the two of you met?"
"He studies art. Two weeks ago I went to see his exhibition. He draws and takes pictures. Some of his work is really strange and unconventional which got me interested. He noticed me there and we started a conversation. We got along well and we had lunch together several times since. I think … I think I really like him."
Ray couldn't help but grin, which only deepened the blush in her cheeks.
"Oh stop it, Ray!"
"No no no no, it's fine, Lizzie, really."
He laughed.
"Sam worried this day would never come."
"He wants to take me out on a date, next Saturday. He insists we should dine in style, not always in that boring cafeteria at school. So he invited me for dinner at the 'Four Seasons'. It's a five star restaurant in Omaha. Very noble, very ritzy."
"Wow, that's great, Lizzie!"
"God, no, Ray. I have nothing to wear. My basic standards won't do it and I certainly can't go in my overalls. Also, I don't know how to behave in such an environment. I've never been to a five star restaurant before, so I'm not familiar with the etiquette at all.
"I know even less about dating. I've never done this before. Tom is so sophisticated and attractive and I fear I can't keep up with him."
She glanced at Raymond, desperate, helpless, pleading.
"I need your help, Ray. Please, tell me everything you know. Teach me everything you know. I need to make this work."
Tbc
Notes:
American pine martens like to destroy brake lines in cars and it seems to be connected to their territorial behavior because they get more destructive during mating season and prefer attacking cars they don't know yet, or better: cars that have the smell of other male martens on it.