This is from The Stewmaker, right after Liz has been taken away by the ambulance. This was originally just going to be a conversation between Ressler and Keen after her ordeal. But it took on a life of its own, and I ended up having a longer scene at the cabin, giving Ressler some interaction with Malik. And of course, I had to throw in Aram too! (So I hope it doesn't ramble on too long!)

"He is on my jet," Reddington explained knowingly.

Of course of he is. Ressler watched Red walk away, wondering again how the hell Red played everyone so well.

Including me - for 5 years. Case in point - he still had no clue how Red had beaten them to the cabin.

Dembe brought the car closer, then climbed out to hold the door for Red in that quiet, polite manner he had. Ressler found it slightly amusing. We're at the top of a mountain, yet he still has valet parking. He shook his head before turning and walking back up to the cabin to help process the evidence.

The sun was rising over the mountain now, daylight chasing the cool night away. Trudging back up the path with his eyes on the ground in front of him, he suddenly realized how tired he was. They'd been up all night, swarming over the mountain on foot and on a fairly steep incline in parts. They'd been searching for Kornish's cabin and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been worried sick about Keen. At what they might find – or not find – if they had been too late.

The ground was damp beneath his shoes and footprints marked the pathway. He told himself he wasn't looking. That he'd just walk on by and not give it another thought. There it is. He stopped suddenly on the path, looking down at his shoe prints and her smaller prints facing his. The place where Keen had crumbled and he'd caught her. The exact place where her sobs had wracked her body as she had clung tightly to him.

He told himself he had just been concerned for a fellow agent. She had been through a traumatic ordeal and was understandably emotional. So he had comforted her, been strong for her and done what she had needed.

He had just been doing his job.

Of course you were.

Realizing he was still standing still, he started moving again – sidestepping their footprints to keep them intact. That wasn't lost on him.

She'd have a field day profiling THAT.

He looked up toward the cabin where the tall oak trees stood as silent sentinels above it. It was located just below the summit, in a spot that ordinarily Ressler would have found inviting. It reminded him of the cabin his folks had in PG County. The peaceful solitude was marred this morning though, as FBI agents and police officers searched the area looking for Stanley Kornish.

Agents walked by him, carrying equipment to the cabin to catalog and collect evidence. A helicopter could be heard in the distance, providing air support to the agents and officers on the ground. The entire scene was swarming with law enforcement. Then why can't we find Kornish? They'd found his car, so the man had to be on foot.

Animal Control was leading a large dog toward a cage on the back of their vehicle, while an agent stood ready to process the animal. He hadn't noticed the dog until now, remembering there had been evidence of a dog at the first crime scene at the motel. His eyes fell on the huge animal. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that dog looked… sad.

He took another look around outside, prolonging the moment in the fresh air as long as possible before he entered the toxic air inside the cabin again. He hadn't got a good look at it when they had raided it in the darkness. When they'd stormed the cabin the first rush of air past them reeked of chemicals and all he had seen was Reddington, arms folded behind his head. What the hell had he been doing here?

After Red informed him that Keen needed medical attention, she was all he saw after that as he'd quickly holstered his weapon. Checking her pulse with his hand to her cheek and worriedly looking her over, it was obvious she'd been drugged, but with what? He'd searched her eyes, trying to see how bad she was doing. All he had wanted to do was help her and get her out of that toxic chemical environment.

Malik saw him come back inside and approached quickly, removing the protective mask from her mouth to speak to him. They had no idea what they were breathing in and were taking precautions.

"I wasn't sure if you were still here."

"Why wouldn't I still be here…?" he asked her, glancing sideways at her.

"Well, I thought you might have gone in the ambulance with…" she stammered. Seriously? Had she really said that out loud?

"No. There's work to be done here," he answered, a little too quickly.

"Is Liz going to be okay?" she asked, changing the subject

"Yeah, I think so. The medics checked her and took her…" after she collapsed on the path… His voice trailed off as he took his first good look at his surroundings. Distracted, he took the protective mask that Malik handed him, holding it up to his mouth before he took a few more steps into the room.

For the most part, the cabin looked like nothing out of the ordinary. It had an old, musty look, sparsely furnished with worn out chairs and couches, a small wooden table and chairs, and torn curtains on the windows. The first sign in the main room that something was very wrong were the shelves and shelves of empty baby food jars. Possibly hundreds of them, each of them half filled with liquid and containing…souvenirs.

But the dank room he stood in contrasted starkly to the brightly lit, stainless steel room his eyes were drawn too. It was located off the main living area, accessible through two wooden doors that stood wide open.

The room where the Stewmaker had made his …stew.

"It feels more like a hospital in there, it's so clean and sterile," Malik said beside him.

"Not like any hospital I've ever seen," he replied, as she nodded in agreement.

Malik followed his gaze to the stainless steel bath that was surrounded by bottles, jars, and numerous containers of chemicals. The bath was filled with a red liquid that bubbled slightly, which was more than a little unnerving. His eyes scanned the stainless steel room, taking it all in, feeling more disgusted the more he saw. He walked toward it and stood in the doorway, unable to keep his eyes off the bubbling red liquid. Keen would have ended up in there. He suddenly didn't want to go any further into the room.

He turned quickly, his gaze finally landing back on the wheelchair that Keen had been strapped into. He dropped his eyes then, licking his bottom lip behind his mask, before quickly looking back up at Malik, suddenly realizing she was beside him again.

"Yeah, it's unbelievable," she said quietly. It was more than just the horrors of the cabin that was on his mind, she knew that. Entering the cabin behind him with their weapons drawn, she had seen him immediately face Reddington – his familiar target. It was the change in him the second he saw Keen that had got her attention. Reddington had seen it too and even deflected her attention away from it by teasing her about her blouse. There was no hiding the elephant in the room though - Ressler soothing and comforting Keen in a tender manner neither of them ever imagined possible from the man. That had been …unexpected.

"We still can't find Kornish," she added, having just received an update from the agents outside.

Ressler turned and looked at the bath again. He had a gut feeling where Kornish was. So did Malik.

"Keen couldn't have done it. She was bound and …in no condition to… So either Kornish committed suicide in his own vat, or Reddington killed him."

"My money's on Reddington," she said determinedly

'We've had a little incident…' Red's first words to him as he'd barged into the cabin echoed in his ears. I need to have a chat with Red about that 'little incident'.

He dropped his eyes from the bath, looked briefly at the wheelchair again and then back up at her.

Malik may not have been on the task force for very long, being on loan from the CIA, but right now she was reading Ressler like a book.

"Look, there are far more agents in here than we even need…why not head back to the Post Office while we gather the evidence? There's a chopper standing by outside to take some personnel back to DC," she offered, watching him carefully. She didn't want to overstep her mark, but the man didn't need to be here right now. He was of better use …elsewhere.

"Agent Keen will need …debriefing. If she's up to it, of course…" she added, playing her final card.

He knew what she was doing. He wasn't that much of a blundering Neanderthal. Truth is he did need to get back and report to Cooper – and try and find Red. And if Keen was up to talking, then yes, they needed to hear what she had to say. Anything else Malik may have been implying was just… He had just been doing his job.

Of course you were.

Attractive but treacherous - wasn't that how Reddington had described Malik on meeting her? He glanced sideways at her, trying to read her. She's a woman - and a CIA agent. Give it up.

###

Keen arrived at the Post Office, having been discharged from the hospital a little while ago. Cooper had sent an agent to pick her up, and the agent had relayed the Director's options to her – be driven back to the black site, or be taken home.

She chose the Post Office. Home didn't feel like home right now.

As she stepped out of the elevator she was greeted by Cooper striding toward her.

"Agent Keen, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine sir, thank you..." She replied, knowing full well she really wasn't fine and looked a complete mess.

"Good to hear. If you're up to it, we'd like to ask you a few questions about what went down today. Or if you'd rather, I can have a car take you home.

"I'll be able to answer some questions, sir."

"Very well. When Agent Ressler returns we will come find you." He looked at her a moment longer, taking in her disheveled appearance and unkempt hair.

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to be taken home? We can always do this tomorrow."

She didn't want to go home right now, feeling unable to face Tom when she felt like this. She mustered up a smile for the Director. "Quite sure, thank you sir."

He seemed satisfied, nodded and headed back to his office.

As she was making her way to her office, Aram saw her and immediately left his desk.

"Li….Agent Keen, how are you feeling? Can I get you anything? Coffee? Or are you hungry, I can get you something to eat, if you'd like?" he was hovering, and babbling, he knew. She looked so …lost, that he couldn't help it.

"Some cold water would be wonderful, thank you Aram." He grinned and hurried off to find her a bottle of water.

She made it to her office and slowly sank into her chair. The relief to be off her feet was palpable. Her head was aching and she rummaged around in her drawer for some headache pills, not finding any.

Aram was back, knocking at her door before entering. "Agent Keen, I have a bottle of cold water for you. I also got you a cup with some ice in it, too. Are you sure I can't get you anything else? Are you sure you're not hungr-"

"Actually, could you find me something for a headache?" she interrupted him, taking the water.

He smiled and nodded quickly, glad to be of service to her. "Absolutely! I'll be right back." And he turned quickly – and plowed headlong into Ressler who had just walked through the door.

"Agent Ressler! I am so sorry! I didn't see you there! I was just going to get Li…Agent Keen some…"

Ressler waved him off, stepping out of his way. Aram took a quick look at Keen and then fled from their office.

"I think you rather enjoy scaring the crap out of him," she said with a faint smile.

He ignored her comment, as he looked at her. "You alright?" he asked quietly.

She hesitated before answering, before telling him the truth as opposed to what she'd told Cooper. "I don't know…I think so… I think I will be at least…"

He nodded. "Rough day, Keen. Just give it time." He then sat down in his chair, stretching out his back muscles, and sighed.

"You look tired," she observed.

"Tell me about it. You look …tired too, Keen." He thought it prudent not to tell her she looked like hell.

"Right." She knew he was being polite. She had a change of clothes in her locker and would have loved to go take a long, hot shower and clean up, but right now she couldn't even move out of her chair. Every muscle ached and her head was pounding. I'll do that later, she told herself.

"Cooper wants to go over what happened today."

"Yeah, I saw him when I came in. He's on the phone though. Indicated it could take a while," he replied.

Aram was back again, knocking nervously on their door. "Agent Keen, I found these for you." He quickly came in and gave her some headache pills.

"Aram, you're a life saver. Thank you!" and she smiled at him. He grinned back at her and turned to leave, the grin instantly dropping from his face as he saw Agent Ressler.

She poured some water in the cup and immediately downed a couple of headache pills.

"Didn't they give you something for that headache at the hospital?" Ressler asked, watching her.

"They did, but they said the after effect of the sedatives and drugs …and the chemical fumes …could hang around a while…" her voice trailed off as her eyes took on a faraway look.

He was watching her carefully, not sure if she was up to talking about it. Actually, he wasn't even sure he was up to it.

"I know Cooper isn't here yet, but do you want to talk about it…? He asked gently.

She was still looking off into the distance, her mind back in a cabin, bound to a wheelchair as a sadist injected her with pain. "I'm not sure where to start…it was all so… He was giving me sedatives that made me dizzy and out of it…" Her eyes finally focused back on him and he spoke again.

"We don't have to do this now… We can wait till tomorrow," he decided.

"He had a son…"

Had. He immediately noticed she spoke of Kornish in the past tense. She had seen what Reddington had done, he just knew it. Damn you, Red.

"Yes, I saw him when we spoke to Mrs Kornish. He looked about ten years old."

"Eleven…" she said slowly, remembering Kornish calmly telling her how he'd married late and had a child late in life.

"Keen, did he hurt you, I mean, apart from the drugs of course. Did he hurt you in any…other way…?" He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer, but they needed to know.

"Not like that, no…" she knew what he was asking, and saw his shoulders drop in relief. "He was almost kind. Like a quiet spoken grandfather. But then he was also a strange mix of kindness and sadist, all in one. He apologized to me that he had been told to make me suffer …but that didn't stop him doing it. And then Red!" She stopped, gasping.

He looked up at her quickly at that. This is what he needed. "Keen, how did Red get there?"

"I don't know, he was just there. I suddenly saw him behind Kornish, right as he was about to inject the final dose of… and then Red was there and stopped him!" She was breathing faster now, at the memory of exactly how Red had stopped him.

"Why did Red kill Kornish?" He couldn't help it. He needed to know what had happened.

She didn't answer and was right back in the cabin again, as Red turned her away so she couldn't see. And she knew right then what he didn't want her to see. His monologue of the farmer had seemed so surreal. So calm, yet so sadistic. Just like Kornish. She'd never heard Reddington use that tone and he was terrifying. Her eyes grew wide at the memory. And then right when she had thought maybe, just maybe Kornish could live, she had heard the change in Red. And she knew it was over. Her ears were filled with the sound of Kornish hitting the chemical bath and the odor was everywhere.

She started shaking then, panting hard at that vision in her mind.

Damn it. You pushed her too hard. He left his chair and quickly went to her, leaning toward her. They were in the exact same positions as they had been in the cabin, her sitting and him before her and he suddenly resisted the urge to touch her cheek.

"Keen," he said, and she finally looked at him, blinking hard and suddenly focused back in their office. A tear rolled down her cheek as she held his gaze before she finally answered his question.

"Because he's a monster…" she whispered.

She was looking at him in front of her, and suddenly the memory of sitting in the wheelchair and seeing the door fly open as Ressler stormed into the cabin came flooding back. She remembered the one thought that had sprung to her mind when she had seen him, that she had clung to as he had leaned down to check her - that her Boy Scout was here at last. And at that memory the dam broke and she cried in earnest.

And this time, he did touch her cheek again. He didn't even realize he was talking softly to her, soothing her with the same tone he'd used in the cabin. But she knew.

###

Across the bullpen, Aram sat at his desk trying not to look into their office. He couldn't stop glancing that way though, knowing Liz was very upset. But Agent Ressler was with her and he looked almost…kind… He didn't think he'd ever seen Agent Ressler look like that before. That was good though, right? That's good that Liz had a …friend… she could talk to.

Above Aram, Director Cooper had stopped halfway down the stairs, also looking into their office. Agent Keen was obviously very distraught, but Agent Ressler seemed to have the situation in hand. He dropped his eyes to give them some privacy before heading back up to his office. The debriefing could wait until tomorrow.