Timeline: Post episode 15, likely with an AU twist.

A Night Off

Feeling the sting of the alcohol go down her throat, Liz Keen looked ahead at the mirror, knowing the taste in her mouth didn't improve in the slightest. No matter how often she sipped from the contents of her glass, no matter how much she drank, the truth was still there. The lie of her last name, the crumbling of her life, all of it. This feeling wasn't new, as a lot of shit had rained down on her recently, but Tom's most recent admission wasn't helping.

Nor did the happy couples at the bar, or the potential singles looking for something more, even if it was one night of ignorant bliss. Looking down at her wedding ring, Liz pulled it off her finger, watching as it fell to the bar. She had learned to expect the worst for a lot of her life, but this was starting to feel like the last straw.

She wanted to still feel grateful for this assignment, as it was rare to have this kind of career trajectory. But with every day that passed, Liz would almost give it up based on the consequences that had come to her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Liz saw a familiar face come into view. "Thanks for coming," she said as he sat down next to her. "I didn't know who else to call."

Don took note of the ring on the bar before ordering his drink. It hadn't been an easy night for him either, but he had to admit that he was surprised Liz called him. He knew it wasn't case-related, and they hadn't exactly hung outbefore, but it was clear she needed someone. "What's going on?"

"Did you ever want a life outside of this job? Do you think it's even possible?" Liz scoffed as she swirled her drink once more, taking one last drink before slamming the glass down. "I had a chance of having a family, but since Red came into my life, it's as if the world is laughing at me."

"Contrary to popular belief, I did want that life once." It wasn't the answer she was looking for first, but it got her to finally look up at him. He understood her surprise, as he didn't talk about his personal life much, aside from Audrey's recent re-emergence in his life. "But this job has a way of taking over everything else in your life. At some point, you give up before you begin."

Seeing the amount of concern in her eyes, Don realized that he had gone too far down the path of his own problems. "So no, the world isn't laughing at you."

He hoped that she wouldn't read between the lines, but he wasn't that lucky. "Did something happen with Audrey?"

As Liz stopped speaking, his drink finally came into view. Dropping a few bills on the bar, Don lifted his glass, silently giving the answer Liz was looking for through a long sip. As his hand clutched the glass, his lips pursed before replying, "I told her I couldn't make her happy, that I would just let her down again."

"When?"

"I don't know. A couple of hours ago, maybe?"

They had gone out to dinner, and everything was going great. They were sharing old stories, laughter filling the air as they enjoyed their food. But before their dessert was served, a pit started forming in his stomach. Don had experienced these feelings before, and he refused to keep Audrey from happiness again. Deep down, he knew that she deserved more than he could give her.

Watching as his head dipped slowly, Liz was tempted to place a hand on his shoulder, but she thought better of it as she recognized that they made quite the pair. They were two people dedicated their lives to make the world a better place, but it always came with a price, one he knew all too well, one she was beginning to learn. "I'm sorry Ressler."

"Don, please." He may have preferred last name pleasantries at work, but here, they were just two people looking for understanding. "We're off the clock."

"Are we?" Liz sighed as she tipped her glass to let an ice cube to fall into her mouth. "Are we ever off the clock?"

Don shrugged. "We're already drinking, so at this point, it's probably best to enjoy the moment," he said, giving a mock toast before finishing off his drink.

When he heard Liz's phone ring, he turned his head in time to see the name on the screen. Figuring he would be drinking alone for the rest of the night, he ordered another drink. While staring away from her, he waited to hear her voice to answer the call, but when enough time had passed, Don turned his head and saw Liz dropping her phone, along with her ring, into her purse.

It wasn't his business, but she probably wanted to talk about this, and that was the best opening he was going to get. "Problems with Tom?"

Liz nodded, as she had ignored the call and saw the resulting text of Tom saying that he'd give her the house for the night. What happened after that, who knew? Right now, Liz was just trying to wrap her head around everything. "I'm trying to figure out who to blame. Can I really blame him when I'm never home and I'm always suspicious of him?"

"Maybe you guys just need time to talk." It was clichéd advice, but Don didn't know what else to say. Marriage counseling wasn't his thing on a good day, and based on the tumultuous months that the Keens had gone through; Don didn't want to underestimate what was going on in her head. But he did know that, "Sitting in a bar's not going to fix your marriage."

"Except the moment we get anywhere, there'll be a case." No matter how much headway they had gotten lately, her job always took her away before they could solve their problems. "I mean, I couldn't get a weekend vacation, so I doubt Cooper's a fan of me taking a night off because I found out my husband cheated on me."

Don's head jerked back. "What?" He knew that there was more to Tom Keen than what met the eye, but after the Gina Zanetakos ruse that Red played, Don had hoped that infidelity wasn't one of those things.

Sighing as her head lowered, Liz said, "I walk in, hoping we'd have a chance to talk." That teacher's conference was supposed to help them patch things up, but instead, her last-minute cancellation only made things worse. "I get three steps inside and I see him sitting down on the couch, telling me that we needed to talk about something else." Always a great sign in any marriage. "I mean, I'll give him credit for coming clean, but instead of apologizing, he tells me to avoid the woman if she contacts me directly."

"Seriously?"

"Apparently, she can't be trusted... shocker," Liz said with a scoff. "It had been a long enough day, so I told him that I couldn't handle this right now." It was true, as it was one thing to talk about their existing problems, but adding another one to the list almost made her sick.

It didn't help that Liz realized during her drive that the woman had been in their house. She had only caught a glimpse of the photo Tom had shown her, but she remembered her from the baby shower. "I ran out and drove aimlessly for a bit, but... I had hoped that this would help. But this isn't me, this is...messed up."

He wasn't going to argue there, as circumstances made this far from normal marriage problems. "You talk to Red yet?" After all, the man had been her confidante of sorts, and especially considering all of the warnings, Don figured he would have been her first call.

However, that was the last thing that Liz had in mind. "So he could tell me I told you so? No thanks."

Narrowing his eyes, Don said without thinking, "I don't think this is what he had in mind."

"All the more reason not to tell him," Liz replied, as she hated the way that he made her life into some sick puzzle. Red told her that she needed to be cautious of Tom, but he never told her why. The one time he gave her something concrete, it ended up being a lie for his own benefit. The worst part was that, for all she knew... this wasn't the whole problem.

Don swallowed hard, realizing that only added salt to the wound. "Sorry, this isn't exactly my strong suit."

But he still wanted to be supportive, so he lifted his hand to rest carefully against her arm. The contact caught her off-guard, so he was tempted to retract it, but when she relaxed underneath his touch, Don allowed his fingers to rest against her skin.

"No you're right," Liz said, grateful that he was looking at her arm when he touched her. It was more than just the contact, as that alone was completely unexpected, but she wasn't expecting to be so accepting to it. "And your honesty is appreciated. My friends would just sugar coat all this because no one else really gets what's going on in my life."

It was one of many consequences of being a federal agent; a person's whole life eventually becomes classified. Although that was the least of Liz's problems right now. "My marriage is a lie, I'm starting to second-guess my past and I don't know if I can trust anyone or if anyone trusts me."

Now understanding why she called him, he tried to smile at Liz, convince her that wasn't true. "You know that I've got your back, right?" She looked up at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "You do good work and I don't think you can blame yourself for Tom's actions. That's on him and it's his mistake."

"Okay," Liz said, letting a crack of relief escape her. Feeling his hand leave its hold on her arm, she added, "For the record, this job isn't the only thing you have left... Don." It felt strange saying his first name because she had become so used to addressing him on a last-night basis. However, it was his idea, so it felt good to roll with it, especially on a night when she didn't want to talk business. "Audrey's a tough loss, I get that... but when it's right, you deserve a life outside of the job."

Don was personally skeptical that was the case for him, but he would allow Liz to think he believed her. Moving his glass towards Liz, he waited for her to lift her glass. "We both do."

"Deal," Liz said as she chinked her glass against his.

From there, they had spent the next few hours sitting in the bar, not taking note of the time that had passed, not caring that the conversation topics didn't revolve around personal problems or national security for once. It was almost like having a breath of fresh air after being locked underground for so long, fitting considering where they worked.

However, they both knew that they had to face reality in the morning, so they shared a cab, as they were long past being able to legally drive home. Don had insisted that Liz get dropped off first, and when they arrived, Don got out first, holding the door open for Liz.

She quietly said, "Thanks," but it didn't take long for less than favourable memories to pop in her head. The fights were one thing, but the secrets were another, and she couldn't help but wonder what other secrets lay inside her home, if she could still call it that. Tom wasn't there, but the fragments of their lives still were. So were the empty stroller and the fear of the unknown to come.

"Keen?"

The single word broke her from her thoughts momentarily, but not enough to bury them for good. "I'm... I'm fine," she said, knowing that she wouldn't convince him, but he had done what was necessary tonight.

However, Don still called her on it. "You're not fine; you need a change in scenery." She may be a profiler, but he knew her well enough to know that she couldn't stay in that place alone tonight. Elizabeth Keen wasn't the type to break easily, even after everything she had gone through, but Don knew that this was the most vulnerable he had seen her sincethe aftermath of the Stewmaker. Impressive considering the time in-between included his blurry vision of seeing her with a gun pointed to her head.

"What do you suggest?" Liz asked as she glanced in his direction, knowing there wasn't anywhere that she really wanted to go.

The solution was simple in his mind. "I don't mind sleeping on my couch." What he didn't say was that he didn't really feel like going up to his place alone again. It was the norm in his life, but Audrey had given him a glimmer of hope these past few weeks. He didn't like sabotaging himself from having something besides the job, but he was kidding himself if trying again wouldn't lead to déjà vu.

"No," Liz said, as that was the last thing she was expecting him to offer. "I won't inconvenience you more than I already have."

She said the words, but didn't do anything to dissuade Don's opinion of her state of mind. "Well, I need my partner to be alert in the morning, not wrapped up in her demons. It's your call Liz."

~0~

The clock struck 5 a.m. and Liz knew that it was time to take her leave. Moving from the bed, she leaned down to pick up her purse, slipping the ring on her finger again. It would come off again when she went into work, but she had to pretend nothing was wrong. That also meant that she had to head home, if for no other reason than to get some clean clothes.

However, the last thing she wanted to do was to wake Don up in the process, so she slipped her jacket over her shoulders and fluffed up the pillow before leaving the room. He had told her to make herself feel at home, but it didn't feel right sleeping in his bed, so she slept on top of the sheets. Don had stayed true to his word, taking the couch despite her objections, and based on the fact that she couldn't see any lights on, Liz assumed he was still sleeping. Rightfully so, as four hours wasn't a great amount of sleep, but Liz knew she had a lot to do before heading to work.

"Do you want coffee for the road?"

Liz closed her eyes after she jumped in place, not liking the fact that he caught her off-guard again. Trying not to let that show, Liz chuckled to herself before turning around. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're up early."

What was a surprise was the way he was dressed. It was one thing to see Don in casual wear, but it appeared that he had gone through his entire workout routine before she got up. The sweats stains were apparent on his white tank, while part of her had once doubted that Don even owned a pair of track pants.

"I'm just glad that I didn't wake you up," he replied as he took a sip from his coffee mug, reminding Liz of his earlier question.

"Coffee would be great."

Don nodded as he retreated in the kitchen. "I don't have cream, but if you want sugar –"

"Black's my preference." Walking towards the kitchen, Liz watched as Don filled up a travel mug for her. For a minute, silence had settled in the air while he sealed the mug before handing it to her. It was so strange to see this side of him for this long, as she knew there were plenty of walls around Donald Ressler. It was a shame that she probably wouldn't see it again for a long time. "Don, about last night –"

"I won't say anything if you won't," he interjected, knowing where she was going with that comment. There was no need to make a big deal about it, which Liz seemed to appreciate based on the grin she gave him.

~0~

As Liz stood in the elevator, she felt ready to bury her head into another case, as Red had called her right after Ressler dropped her off at her car. She had watched him drive away, and the more she thought about it, chances were that he didn't sleep at all last night. He seemed okay this morning, but Liz knew that years of practice likely made him better at pretending than she thought.

When the elevator arrived, Liz exited, saying her round of hellos before dropping off her stuff in her office. She heard Malik call her for the debrief that was about to start, so she headed out to the main area, listening attentively to Red describe the next target on the Blacklist.

There was nothing quite like a secret mass murderer to distract Liz from everything she was feeling. Granted, the venture home turned out to be not as bad as she thought, but the time she had spent away was for the best. There was the fact that she didn't spend more time there than she had to. That was because she would face everything, maybe even talk to Tom, tonight. But last night, Liz was able to get her frustrations out and clear her head.

As the debrief came to a close, her and Ressler were assigned to run down a lead. They shared a silent nod before turning to gather their things, not caring that Red was making his own conclusions with the telltale smirk on his face. They both know they have a job to do, and what happened last night would stay between them. There was no reason to tell anyone, because nothing happened except for an increased understanding of each other, which was a natural step in their partnership.

Or at least... that's what they told themselves as the elevator closed.

~End~

Sera's Scribbles: To be honest, I seriously considered not posting this. It has been awhile since I've dabbled in a different fandom and there are some seriously talented writers who write Keen/Ressler here. However, I thought this had come too far to not post it, and I knew I had to post this before the next episode. So I hope you enjoyed it.