After the negotiations with Denisov and the "field trip" with Red Liz and Don are back in their suite...
This chapter is also a different version of the events when Liz got the phone call from Wilcox and then met with Red in the bar of the hotel.


The moment Don closed the door behind them Liz turned to him and looked at him temptingly, started to undress.

"No," he said, "we really can't..."

She nipped his protest in the bud by leaning against him, kissing him passionately...

A little later they lay in his bed, naked, not even a blanket over their bodies because they were still hot enough.

"We really can't do this," Don said again. As much as he enjoyed it, but they had to stop it. It would just cause problems.

"Never date a co-worker?" Liz asked with a smile.

"Yeah. But that's not the worst thing. I mean, you are still in love with Tom..."

"...and you are still in love with Audrey," she added. She sat up, turned to him, sat down crossed-legged. "I know, Ressler, but..."

"Don," he cut her short, "my name's Don." They had slept with each other, she sat in front of him in the nude - and she called him by his last name. Unbelievable!

"This is not about being a couple, Don," Liz said and stressed his name, "this is about feeling good, having some fun, feeling alive, feeling anything at all. Let's be friends with extras, Don."

He wasn't sure whether this was a good idea. What if one of them fell in love with the other - and the other one didn't? What if Cooper found out? What if...? On the other hand, this journey they were on was so awkward and insane that it probably couldn't get worse. Well, it always can get worse. But she was right about one thing - if it got worse, they would have some fun, at least.

I'm becoming like Reddington, Don thought, horrified, when he remembered what Red had told him about enjoying life.

And unfortunately, he didn't have much choice. His body would react on her every time she would try to hit on him. I must have an addicted nature, he thought, because there wasn't a big difference between taking pills to be happy and having sex to be happy. He could refuse to have this affair and went on suffering and being sorry for himself, or he could have this affair - with all possible consequences.


A little later they got ready to go downstairs to meet Reddington.

Liz was in a good mood, dressed up, put up some make-up, did her hair. She was feeling sexy tonight.

Don noticed it when she entered his room. "Did you dress up for Reddington?" He asked with an ironic smile.

"No, for you," she replied, smiling at him. It was a long time ago he had seen her smiling that way, happily, relaxed, herself. Maybe having an affair wasn't the worst thing on earth.

When they went downstairs Liz had to take a phone call and stopped on the stairs, whereas Don went down to the lobby to wait there for her.

When she finally joined him her mood had changed.

"You alright?" He asked, sensing that something bad had happened.

For a second she thought about pretending that everything was fine, but that wouldn't be right. "No, but I'll tell you later, okay?" She linked arms with him, and they went over to the bar.

When they entered the room Red was already there, sitting at one of the small tables. He was about to stand up and shout a cheerful "Lizzie!", when he realized that she wasn't alone.

He had noticed it before, during the negotiations and the field trip, but now it was so obvious that he couldn't ignore it any longer. Something had changed between them. Of course, he didn't meet them together often, nevertheless, he sensed a development in their relationship, and it wasn't a good one. Well, at least not from his point of view.

Her hand was on Donald's arm, just a small gesture, nothing noteworthy, unless... There was a tension between them. A sexual tension. Are they...?

To his surprise Red felt jealous. He had always considered his relationship to Lizzie as a fatherly one, and her relationship to Tom had never bothered him because he had known it wasn't for real and had inevitably to end one day, but to see her with Donald was... Donald could be anything for her. He wasn't a spy nor a criminal. He could offer her a real future, a marriage, children... Red felt a twinge of jealousy and couldn't deny it.

He forced himself to a smile. "Lizzie! This time you really have to try the Baklava."

"We didn't come here for the Baklava," she replied, not too friendly, but her voice wasn't that cold anymore.

"Hello Donald."

He doesn't want me to be here, Don noticed, maybe he's jealous. This thought almost made him smile. But he decided to ignore Red's refusal.

Red did the same, ignored Donald and talked to Lizzie about the case and then about the Russian milonga.

"Watch closely, Lizzie. Everything you need to know about negotiation is there in the tango milonga... A sensuous battle, violence..."

He's going to say "sex" in 3, 2..., Don thought.

"...Sex..."

I knew it! Well, as long as he doesn't want me to sleep with him...

When Red spotted the guy from the CIA he knew that the negotiations had gone sideways, and his mood changed from bad to really bad.

"Did you see that?" Red asked Dembe after Lizzie and Donald had left the room.

"Saw what?"

"They're having an affair!" Red was stirred up.

"Agents Ressler and Keen? Well, they share a room..."

"It's a suite with two rooms," Red corrected him, sharply, "but that's not the point."

"Are you jealous?" Dembe knew Red well enough to sense his emotions.

"Hell, yes," Red admitted, then he added, "and I'm concerned."

"You need to tell them, Raymond," Dembe said calmly. "And you need to tell her. About Tom. You should have told her some time ago."

Red looked at him in despair. He knew Dembe was right, but he wasn't ready for it. "I don't know how to do that, Dembe."

"Yes, you do. You tell her the truth by telling her everything. I mean, look at it. You can't tell them without telling her about Tom. You can't tell them without telling them about that night."

Red hesitated, feeling scared. "I don't think I can do that."

"Maybe you should stop thinking about it and do it."

He might lose her when he told her. Forever. To Donald. It was clear who would win in this case. On the other hand, he couldn't risk it. Maybe it was just a harmless affair. Consolation. But what if it got more? What if she got pregnant? If they found out then, he would really lose her.