Disclaimer: I do not own The Blacklist.
Ressler and Liz left the office at around four to get the last box that Tom had of Liz's belongings. Donald didn't like that Liz had to pick things up from the man who hurt her. No matter what happens, he knows he's going to be there right behind her, as much as she doesn't want him there.
Donald turned onto their street, and Liz directed him on where to park. Right in front of Tom's vehicle.
"Ressler, I'm going to be fine, don't you worry your blond head." She said, running her right hand though his blond hair, messing up his glorified hair.
When Liz pulled her arm away and exited the car, Don rolled his window down, "I'm still gonna worry!" He grinned, rolling the glass back up.
Liz walked up the stairs, and knocked on the door. It seemed like she waited a few minutes until the door was opened by Tom. He seemed to look different since the last time Don saw him in the Post Office. He looked like a finer version of who he was before, but he still had the vibe of a shady man. Donald kept his eye on them very closely until Liz was invited inside by Tom fast, Ressler couldn't hold back his feelings now, he unbuckled his seatbelt and ran out of the car to get inside the apartment. He was determined not to let someone he cared about get hurt.
He opened the door, fueled with anger. Liz was passed out, collapsed to the floor, because of Tom throwing a few punches to her face. There were marks of red in the places on her cheek he hit. Donald was even more angry to see Tom with such a smug look on his face after what he did.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Don growled, clenching his fists together.
Tom inched closer to Ressler, "None of your business, Captain America."
"If you don't explain this, I am willing to show you what you did to her, what made her feel much pain."
"Oh, I'm so scared! An FBI agent's going to beat me up! Ooh, so frightening!" Sarcasm rolled out of Tom's mouth.
"You're done." Donald pushed Tom by his shoulders against the wall behind Tom.
The first punch was thrown by Tom unexpectedly at Don's side, then Ressler gave him a more harsh one back to his face. Donald punched Tom around until Tom got dizzy from all the hits toward his face. He fell down to the floor, causing him to pass out. Just before Don was done beating Tom up, Liz started to regain consciousness again. She didn't bother pulling the two apart, especially with what Tom has put her through. Ressler turned around, knowing Tom wasn't going to start anything, and helped Liz up from the ground.
"Keen, you okay?" He asks, holding her face up to see her.
"I'm fine, thank you." Liz coughed out, pulling his hand away from her face and putting it on her shoulder.
"I'm going to bring you to the car, and then I'll get your box." Donald replied, moving his hand towards Liz's ribcage gently, guiding her down the stairs, taking their time, step by step.
"Be careful. I know you beat Tom up, but knowing him, he might make a quick recovery." Liz looked at Ressler's face as he helped her into the car.
"I promise, all I want is for you to be okay." He looked her face closely, before shutting the door.
Donald walked back up to the dreaded apartment, and saw Tom was still passed out. He hoped he would remain there for a while. To him, he felt Tom deserved it. While Don grabbed the box beside the door, he heard Tom move. That freaked him out a bit more, to make him want to leave the place quickly. He closed the door silently behind him and ran back to the car.
"I hope you have all your things, I don't think I want to come back here to get anything else again." Donald said, putting the box down in the backseat, then getting into the driver's seat.
"I hope I do, I'd rather not deal with him anymore." Liz said as Don put the car in reverse to back out of the spot.
"You never deserved the hurt he caused you." He put the gear shift in drive to head all the way back to the apartment.
The moment they walked inside the apartment, it seemed like they were back at the beginning again, but now they both have viewed the perspective of what Liz has been put through. The situation has brought harm, but it brought them closer.
Liz walked to the bathroom and dropped her box into the closet, hoping to leave the mess for tomorrow. She turned to the bathroom mirror and noticed a bruise on her right cheek, swollen as if it just happened. Her fingers glided across the bruise, reminding her that someone saved her before Tom could have ended her life. That someone being the unexpected, Donald Ressler.
"Liz," Donald walked slowly into the bathroom to see she was examining the bruise.
She turned quickly to see Don, letting go of her cheek, "Donald, you need anything?"
"No, I just wanted to say something. Until today, I never realized what you've had to put up with. I feel bad for letting him do this to you." Don walked to her, and wrapped his arms around her, embracing her gently.
"You don't need to say sorry, I chose that lifestyle, and he mistreated me." Liz put her arms around his neck and nestled her head on his neck, while she tried to hold back the tears behind her eyes.
"I feel like I should apologize, you never deserved it. You're too much of a good person to get hurt."
Liz really wanted to say something back, but all she could do was let the tears fall and hold onto Ressler a little tighter. He was being so kind to her, and treating her like Tom wouldn't. She didn't want to let go of him, she just wanted to be there with him, stuck in that moment for a long time. That made her realize Donald was her hero.
"Ressler." She spoke.
He pulled out of her embrace a little to see her face. "What's wrong?" He let go of her, and wiped the tears that were falling on her face.
"Thank you for saving me." Elizabeth hugged him once again.
Don was a little caught off guard by the second hug, but he put his arms around her again. "You're welcome."
They both pulled away slowly and walked in different directions. Donald went to his room and Liz stayed in the bathroom, looking through her closet. As Don closed his door, he heard a noise from his phone. He pulled the phone out of his pants pocket and noticed the screen was lit up. The name across the middle of the screen read "Audrey." Ressler was shocked. It was someone he wasn't expecting, he thought since she left his life, they wouldn't speak again. His thoughts, shaken in disbelief caused him to check what the message read.
"Donnie,
Audrey here. I've missed you a lot, and I'm not sure if you knew that. I wanted to talk to you, maybe sometime this week? For coffee or dinner at most, no interruptions. I just want to clear things up and start over on new terms. If you're available, please tell me.
-AB"
Ressler had no clue she still had feelings until this moment for him. Something about that message left him curious why she wanted to catch up. This message was going to be the one thing keeping him up all night and he knew it.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this short chapter. Blacklisters don't have much longer to wait until next week's episode!
