A/N – Thank you so much for your continued support in this story. I would love to update more than I do but I do have a job and currently doing a postgraduate degree which takes up so much time I do love a bit of the Blacklist to escape from the world of law for a little bit of time each week.

Loved the last episode of The Blacklist – Ressler and that child just made my heart melt. Can't wait for tonight's episode.

Thanks as always for all the favourites and follows for this story. I am so glad that you are enjoying this story. Big shout out to: alittlelambb, Jessica, kimmyH, FoxNSock, Facebook25, Charmaine01, romancefan626, guest, lazybum89, civiliany, Kirst92, RebeccaBraxton, sxcthing123 and flightRN for reviewing the story.

Huge thank you to my beta flightRN, your help and time is greatly appreciated!

Anyway here is the next part of the story. I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: As always I do not own the Blacklist otherwise in every episode Ressler would be all cutesy with children.


Chapter Three – Meeting Crystal

"Tom, it's me," Elizabeth sighed into the phone. "Listen I don't want to fight anymore. I said all that I wanted to say earlier. I'm exhausted."

"We'll talk about this when you get back from your job, Lizzie," Tom replied down the phone. "You don't know what you are saying.

"That's the problem," Lizzie replied hastily. "I know exactly what I am saying. This is the best thing for the both of us. Goodbye Tom."

Liz hung up the phone before Tom had a chance to reply. She looked at the phone in her hand before switching it off and disconnecting the SIM card from the phone. She placed the phone and the SIM card on her bedside cabinet and picked up the files that lay next to it.

The next morning Liz woke up as the sun filtered through the curtains. She blinked hastily, before turning away from the brightness. She looked at the clock on the bedside cabinet – 09:30. She groaned quietly, before stretching - trying to wake herself up. She had slept for ten hours; this was the most she had slept for in a long time. She stood up and wrapped her robe round her. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to tame the tangled mess it had become during the night.

She padded down the stairs quietly and heard some loud clattering in the kitchen. She continued through to the kitchen where she found Don. It was strange referring to him as Don, she tested the word quietly. She supposed Don was the more laid back and more open version of himself, whilst Ressler was his FBI counterpart. He was currently raiding the fridge for food, placing eggs, bacon and other ingredients on the side. He was ignorant to the fact that she had entered the room.

"Morning," said Liz.

"Morning," replied Don as he turned around to face her. "Good night last night?"

"You could say that," laughed Liz as her cheeks turned a faint shade of red as she remembered a topless Don from the night before. She couldn't help but remember the ripped muscles that hid underneath his shirts, but today he was currently dressed in slacks and a polo shirt. She almost did a double take when she realised his hair wasn't slicked back in his usual style. It was odd seeing him out of the usual suits that he wore to work, she much preferred this laid-back look.

"Fry up," asked Don as he indicated to the food that he had gathered from the fridge.

"Go on then," smiled Liz. "But no tomatoes for me."

"No tomatoes," replied Don curiously has he arched his eyebrow whilst flashing her a quick grin.

"I hate them," said Liz as she shivered with disgust. "They're just so red and squidgy…. Yuck."

"One breakfast with no tomatoes coming up," stated Don as he busied himself throwing the food together.

"Coffee?" Liz questioned as she currently needed her daily fix of caffeine. She took two mugs out of the cupboard and looked around the kitchen trying to work out where the coffee machine was.

"In the pot," said Don as he indicated with a spatula.

"What time were you up this morning?" Liz asked as she poured the coffee into her mug.

"Seven, I think," said Don as he tried to remember what time he had gotten up. "Been for a run, showered and made the coffee.

"You should have woken me up."

"Nah," replied Don as he turned back to the cooker to stir things around. He then immediately turned back to her. "You needed the sleep. You're exhausted Liz, you have been working flat out for months. The least you can have is a long lie once in a while. You never know when you are next going to get sleep in our job."

"And yet, you're up and half way through the day before I am even awake," remarked Liz as she sipped her coffee trying to fully wake herself up. "In case you haven't noticed I don't do well with mornings, I have tendency to be late for work or arrive just on time. First day of work I was late. When the Post Office got taken by Garrick I was late. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Don placed two plates on the kitchen bar and placed the fork and knife next to her. He then piled bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages and beans onto both of their plates.

"This smells so good," said Liz. She took a forkful of food and placed it in her mouth. "Mmm, this is so good."

"Glad you like it," said Don as he shot her a sideways glance.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Liz asked Don.

"My younger brother is a chef," Don disclosed as Liz swallowed in surprise. This was the first nugget of personal information that Don had disclosed about himself and his family. "I may have picked up a few things from him."

"You'll have to introduce me to him at some point," laughed Liz.

"We're not exactly on speaking terms anymore," said Don as he looked away from Liz.

"I'm sorry," said Liz as she placed a soft hand on his forearm.

….

Liz and Don spent the rest of the morning going through the Krayevsky's legitimate business finances. He owned several clubs and car washes in the Chicago area, all of them appeared to be turning a healthy profit but they knew this was where they laundered their money. Don ran a hand over his face in frustration.

"He certainly knows how to be a criminal," Don laughed ironically.

"Well, he has gotten away with it for so long," replied Liz. She set her file down on the table in front of them. "I don't think we are going to find anything that it is not legit in his finances for the moment."

"We need to find out how he is doing it so we can look in the right places," said Don leaning back into his chair. Before Don could continue, there was a loud knock on the door.

"I'll get it," said Liz as stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder to halt his attempt to answer it.

"I'll tidy this up," replied Ressler as he indicated to the files in front of him.

Liz walked through the entrance and paused momentarily before she answered the door. She took a deep breath as she knew this could possibly be the introduction that they were waiting for. She exhaled deeply before answering the door and sure enough it was Crystal. She didn't differ much from the picture in her file. Her hair was now shoulder length, but still remained platinum blonde. She was wearing a summer dress, which showed off her natural tan. Her make-up was impeccable. She was very beautiful and she certainly had an expensive taste in clothes.

"Hi," smiled Liz as she opened the door.

"Hi, I'm Crystal Krayevsky," said Crystal as she introduced herself. "I live at number thirty-four with my husband Alex."

"I'm Liz Meller," replied Liz as she opened the door further. "Do you want to come in?"

"Just quickly," answered Crystal. "I have a hair appointment in an hour. But I just wanted to introduce myself and give you this." She handed over what looked like a Pecan pie to Liz.

"Thank you," said Liz gratefully as she took the pie from her and sat on the table in the entrance. "You didn't have to do that."

"No problem," replied Crystal as she waived her hand like it was nothing.

"Don," shouted Liz through the entrance. Ressler appeared two seconds later and joined Liz by her side. He wrapped his arm round her. Liz stiffened for a moment before placing a hand on top of his. "This is my husband Don Meller. Don, this is Crystal she lives at number thirty-four with her husband Alex."

"It's nice to meet you," said Ressler as he unwrapped himself from Liz and stepped forward to shake her hand firmly. Liz laughed to herself softly as Crystal appeared to swoon slightly at his presence.

"You moved in fast," remarked Crystal as she looked around the place. There was not a box in sight. "It took me months to unpack everything and that was with a lot of help."

"Liz is an event organiser," said Ressler in response. "She left instructions for the move whilst we were on our honeymoon. She can't stand disorder and chaos. Last time we moved I thought she was going to have a mental breakdown."

"Shut up," said Liz as she playfully slapped him on the chest. "My job is basically to organise people and I have some pretty good contacts that I know I can trust. So, if there were any opportunity to utilise that, then this would be the perfect time. There is some definite major renovation to be done in some of the rooms, but I wanted to settle in first before I embark on any new projects."

"I hear you," laughed Crystal. "We just renovated the kitchen in our house and I couldn't believe the stress that it caused. I'm glad we don't plan on moving any time soon. So you just got married …"

"Yes," smiled Liz as glanced at Ressler. His arm had returned to her back and he was stroking her back in soft circles. It was funny, she didn't think he was even aware that he was doing it. "Three weeks now."

"I remember the honeymoon phase," smiled Crystal blissfully. "Enjoy it while you can."

"How long have you been married now?" Liz questioned.

"Four years," stated Crystal as she laughed to herself. "Feels like an age. So are you guys from around here?"

"No," said Don as he shook his head. "We've actually just moved from Washington DC. Heard there was some good job opportunities here."

"What some of business are you in?" Crystal questioned.

"Security," said Don.

"Well, you should talk to my husband. I hear he is looking for some new people," smiled Crystal. "We are having a dinner party tonight with some of the other neighbours. You should come, it would be the perfect opportunity to meet the rest of the neighbours, plus you can meet Alex. You definitely need to come."

Don looked at Liz who nodded in agreement. "That sounds good," smiled Liz. "Thank you."

"It's blacktie," Crystal expanded. "We all need an opportunity to dress up around here, life gets too boring otherwise. Starts at seven and dinner will be served around seven-thirty."

"Well, we'll see you then," said Don.

"Perfect," smiled Crystal. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone and there will be some Alex's friends from work too."

"Sounds good," said Liz as Crystal glanced at her watch.

"I better dash if I am going to make my hair appointment for tonight," said Crystal.

"It was really nice to meet you," replied Don.

"No, it was really nice to meet you," grinned Crystal as Don disappeared into the back of the house.

"Thanks for the pie," added Liz. "I'll show you out."

Liz moved to show her the door. "I am looking forward to tonight and getting to know everyone," smiled Liz. "There is nothing worse than moving to a new place where you don't know anyone."

"And now you know me."

"Thank you so much again," responded Liz gratefully.

"Oh… and by the way….your husband is hot," winked Crystal at Liz before she left.

Liz let out a small chuckle before she turned around to find out where had gone. She found him on the phone in the kitchen.

"Yes…. We have been in contact with Crystal Krayevsky and we will be meeting Alexander Krayevsky tonight at his house…. Yes, I'll keep you informed…. Bye." Don hung up the phone before glancing over at Liz.

"Who was it?" Liz inquired.

"Cooper," responded Don. "He wanted to know as soon as we were in contract with the Krayevsky's. So what did you think of Crystal?"

"First impressions?" Liz thought back to the previous couple of minutes. "She seems normal minus her expensive taste in clothes. I think we could possibly even be friends in my normal life."

"That's good," replied Don. "It makes getting to know her easier, as well as pump her for any information she has on her husband."

"Very true," smiled Liz. "Although I think that you may even be better than me for that part of the job."

"What do you mean?" Don questioned, ignorant of Liz's implications.

"Well she certainly appreciated your looks," teased Liz as she laughed softly. "I bet she can't wait to see you in a tux. Speaking of tuxes, has the bureau kitted you out with one?"

"Yes," said Don. "Think it is a Ralph Lauren."

"Very dapper," smirked Liz. "Well, I suppose I better go raid my wardrobe to find something to wear with those ridiculous high heels. I mean there's heels and then there are these high heels that that I will be expected to wear tonight. You're probably going to have to carry me back tonight."

Liz raided her wardrobe and picked out numerous dresses that she could wear. They were all worlds away from her everyday work outfits, which were all smart and conservative. She ended up picking a black, knee length dress. It was strapless and had a deep-v down the front that finished near the bottom of her breasts. The dress was slightly lower than she probably would have deemed appropriate but none of the dresses were exactly modest. It had a satin section at her waist and a subtle zip at the back.

However, she was unable to zip the back of the dress up. She had succeeded in getting it half-way up but it seemed to have gotten stuck on something. She reached round to the back of the dress to try again, but once she finally got a hold of the zipper and attempted to pull it up she failed for what seemed like the hundredth time. She let out a frustrated sigh as she strained her neck to see what was going on. Why were zippers at the back of dresses anyway? She groaned as she looked at the time: 19.10. They were supposed to be at the Krayevsky's ten minutes ago. She supposed her and Don would just have to be fashionably late instead. She shoved her phone and gun in her clutch before quickly re-doing her lipstick and adding some more mascara. She swung on a pair of black Louboutins before hastily grabbing her clutch.

She looked down the stairs where Ressler stood in his suit. She had to admit that he looked attractive; he had slicked his hair back in his usual style. He was even wearing a bow-tie. If Red were here, he would have, no doubt, made some snarky remark about it. She laughed to herself about, which alerted Don to her presence. She smiled as she walked down the stairs towards him.

"Wow," stated Don as she began to feel slightly nervous under his gaze which travelled down her body. "You look amazing."

"Thanks," replied Liz as she flashed up a grin. "And you don't look too bad yourself."

They stood for what seemed like several minutes in silence, both distracted by the other. The proximity between them clouded her mind, she opened her mouth before she closed it again. It was strange Liz couldn't exactly explain their relationship. Their relationship definitely wasn't strictly platonic, she had definitely caught him looking at her in the Post Office and he had caught her looking at him too. Ever since Don had given the code to Red, even after she had subtly shaken her head to tell him not too, their relationship had become undefinable. They seemed to be dancing along a fine-line, not knowing where exactly their relationship was going and that was because she was married and Audrey had re-entered his life. Liz had gone to visit Don in hospital after his surgery, but she had to admit to herself that she was slightly disappointed when she found him laughing with another women.

"My zipper's stuck," Liz stuttered. "Could you do it up?"

"Right," coughed Don. "Sure."

He positioned himself behind her and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. His fingers ghosted over the offending object. His hands trembled slightly as he reached for the zip and he accidently skimmed his fingers over the soft skin of her back in the process. Liz shivered slightly at this brief touch. He then pulled up the zip slowly to the top, running his hand up her back in the process. Before he reached the top, he softly brushed her hair round to one side of her neck so he could continue with the task at hand. Once he finished he rested his hand briefly on her shoulder bare shoulder and run his thumb back and forth for the most miniscule of seconds.

"Done," growled Don. His low voice brimmed with desire. Liz turned round to face him and she suddenly became aware of how close they were. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp when she realised how his eyes had darkened with arousal. They both stared at each other, neither of them wanted to be the one to break the gaze. However, Don coughed loudly as he took a step back.

"I suppose we'd better get going," said Don as he offered her a gentle smile. "Don't want them worrying about what we've gotten up to."

"We're newlyweds, I have a pretty good idea of what they think we are getting up to," teased Liz as she noticed Don's cheeks reddening.

They walked side by side down the street, occasionally brushing each other's arm by accident. His hand grazed hers slightly before she made the leap and placed her hand in his, fingers interlocking. Don shot her a sideways look, she just give him a small smile in response.


A/N – What happens at the dinner? Any comments are greatly appreciated. Let me know what you want to see in this story!