Chapter 2: Struggle

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed this story! I am very excited to write this and I promise many twists and turns along the way. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Blacklist or any of it's characters, no matter how much I want to

Liz sighed. I hate airports! After spending an hour checking in luggage and another hour going through security, Liz was about ready to give up. She trudged her luggage forward and collapsed into a seat in the terminal.

Tom laughed and said, "Regretting this trip?"

"You have no idea," Liz said, groaning.

"Well I'm going to go get coffee. What do you want?"

"A tall black."

"You sure you don't want anything else? An actual flavor, perhaps?" Tom said, clearly surprised.

Liz gave him a look that would send any grown man crying, but Tom just grinned.

"One tall black, coming up!"

He turned and left, leaving Liz to resume her inner rant on airports.

Tom looked over his shoulder and observed his wife's troubled expression. She had been acting differently these past few days. Sure, she had occasionally slipped into a phase where she seemed to distance herself from him, focusing mainly on work, but this was different. it was almost as if...she was trying too hard to act normal. Her fake smiles and too-cheery didn't fool him. Not one bit.

He spotted a Starbuck and stood at the end of the line. A man came and stood behind him, a little too close for his liking. Tom was about to admonish him, but the man slipped something into his pocket. Tom whipped his head around to get a glimpse of the guy, but he was already gone. All that was left was a mysterious scent of aloe...and seawater. Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. He unfolded it and a malicious smile was displayed on his face. He had just received his new target.

"Here you go! One tall black coffee," Tom said, handing it to his wife.

"Thanks, Tom," Liz said. She took a sip and said, "Mmm...I needed that. What did you get?"

Tom smiled and said, " A Caramel Macchiato. Do you know when we'll be boarding?"

Liz looked at her watch and said, "We should be boarding now, but I guess they're running a bit late. She couldn't wait to get on the plane.

Ressler looked at his ticket and checked the boarding time. It said 3 o'clock and it was five minutes past 3 already. Ressler growled. He hated airports. They were stuffy and crowded and never seemed to be on time. Donald sat down in the seat closest to the gate so he could board the plane first. After 15 minutes, a flight attendant finally announced that they would now be boarding. Ressler didn't understand why they had to board so late. The flight was only to LAX. From there, he had to take another plane to Sydney. At this rate, I'll never get there he told himself.

When economy class was called, Donald jumped from his seat and rushed to be at the front of the line. The flight attendant check his passport and boarding pass and let him go through. He stepped into the plane and started to search for his seat. Relieved at the fact that it wasn't too far back, he placed his suitcase in the overhead compartment and sat down. He looked down the aisle and could've sworn he had seen the back of Liz. Sorry, Agent Keen. I've been at work for too long. Because of his slowly healing leg at the time, Cooper had assigned him a temporary desk job, which had ended when Ressler managed to break three printers in one week. Ressler clearly wasn't fit for the job.

The pilot came over the loudspeaker and said, " I'm Scott Bedell, your pilot, and along with the flight crew, we would like to welcome you to United Airlines Flight 1053. The weather right now in LA is 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the current wind speeds are a little above 5 mph. We are expecting very little turbulence. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Thank you for choosing United."

The flight attendant proceeded to go over safety precautions and evacuation procedures. "Finally, the damn thing is over!" Ressler muttered to himself. He hated airplanes. The plane began to taxi on the runway, and after about five minutes, it began to take off. As the plane began to ascend into the sky, Ressler's ears started to hurt a bit. He thought back to his first time riding an airplane.

"Daddy, it hurts!" Donald said, looking at his father and pressing his ears. His father smiled at him and said, "Well Don, as we go higher and higher, the pressure in the air begins to change."

Ressler tilted his head, confused by his father's explanation. His mother smiled and said, "Really, honey? Pressure? How is Donald supposed to know what that is?" Donald put his hands on his hips and said, "I'm going to find out, Mom! I always do." "That's my Donald! Always looking for the answer," his father said, ruffling his son's hair. "Not the hair!" Ressler said, swatting at his father's arm.

Ressler was surprised at how vividly he remembered that. He could recall the dimples on his mother when she smiled, the bounce of her curls when she laughed, his father's bright and proud eyes, even the number of stripes on his tie! Overwhelmed by emotions, Ressler reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone and plugged in his earphones, hoping to distract him from everything he was thinking and feeling right now. As Eminem's powerful voice began to fill his eardrums, Ressler sat back and closed his eyes.

Liz looked at her husband and smiled. He was leaning against the window, fast asleep. She was envious at his ability to fall asleep on airplanes. She could never sleep on airplanes, no matter how many sheep she counted. The nightmares that had been haunting her for the past few week didn't help either. She look towards the front of the aisle and saw a man who reminded her of a certain FBI agent. She regretted not visiting him in the hospital. With his perfectly combed ginger hair, he could've been Ressler's twin! But that man was definitely not him. He looked to relaxed and at peace to be Donald. Liz took a sip of her coffee and opened one of her favorite book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. As she began to read the book, Liz tried not to think about a certain mastermind criminal, who seemed to have multiple personalities. One day, he's cold-heartedly killing people, the next he's comforting Liz and reminding her that he will be there, no matter what. Red Reddington would always remain a mystery to her.

Hope you liked it! I promise Red will come, but I really want his entrance to be dramatic and powerful, so stay with me! Please review :)