Dembe drove them to the alternate safe house, it was as small as the previous one was large and was situated a few blocks over from Haight street in a quiet neighborhood. Red led her to one of the two bedrooms and had her sit on the bed while he went into the other room to bring in her things. She should not be surprised that this place also had everything she would need and in her size and style.

"I thought you might like to shower before we decide what to do about your ex." He helped her up and followed her into the bathroom.

"Red, it's ok. I'm fine, really." He was so sweet with his concern, and it just made her love him all the more.

"If you need anything I'll just be in the front room, I'll hear if you call." He kissed her temple and left the room. What he really wanted was to shower with her and look over every part of her to prove that she really was safe and not an illusion.

He needed a drink while he thought about all that had happened this morning. He would let Brimley get information from Elijah regarding his accounts and business and why he thought he could betray him before putting the pup out of his misery. He wondered if Lizzie would let him kill Tom or would even want him to die. She had loved him once upon a time.

His cell phone chirped interrupting his thoughts, the number showed that it was Agent Ressler. Well, he might as well see what he had to say. "Donald, I'm already taken, so you will have to find someone else to join you for dinner tonight."

"Very funny, Reddington. I have news for you."

"I'm listening." The only news he wanted to hear is that Liz had been exonerated.

"Cooper and I have been working a few angles on the side and we found Karakurt. He is going to testify to exonerate Liz in the death of the senator in exchange for a deal."

Harold, the old dog, he would make sure he was duly rewarded for his tenacity. "I have to say Donald, I'm impressed. Tell me though, how does the Director feel about all of this? I can't believe he is going to sit back and let this happen."

"The Chairman kicked him out for insubordination, he won't be able to interfere and Aram is going to make sure all the information is encrypted. Only a select few will know what is happening."

Red chuckled, he knew he liked that woman. "Just make sure you keep Karakurt safe until the trial, if you need some help with that just let me know."

"There's still the question of Tom Connolly's death. I have given this a lot of thought and I think I might have an idea."

"By all means, Donald, I would love to hear your idea." Red realized that he actually meant that. Donald had really grown since that first meeting, and yes he was going to take credit for it.

"Liz will never be able to come back to work for the FBI, but what if we give her an immunity deal like the one you had?"

"Brilliant idea, Donald. I would also require a new deal, of course both deals will be written by myself and I will need some additional guarantees that the deals will not be reneged in the future." He couldn't wait to tell Lizzie. Would she want to work with him? He was already making new plans to keep her safe and by his side.

"I'll talk to the Chairman and see what can be worked out."

"Agent Navabi will know how to contact us." He hung up the phone and was smiling to himself as Lizzie walked out, wearing nothing but one of his dress shirts. He was not about to complain that she had rifled through his closet, she looked amazing.

"You look like the cat that got the cream." She walked over and sat on his lap, planting a lingering kiss on his mouth.

Red pulled back and was pleased with her mew of protest. "There will be plenty of time for that my dear. I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" He seemed delighted with something, so it had to be good. She was getting excited, it had been so long since she had something to be happy about.

"That was Agent Ressler on the phone." He chuckled when her smile turned into a frown.

"What did he have to say? And when are you going to give me my surprise?" She turned to straddle his lap and kissed his neck, enjoying the noise of approval he made low in his chest.

"He and Harold have brought in Karakurt and convinced him to testify on your behalf." He expected her to jump for joy, but instead she had gone still in his arms.

After a moment she angled her head to be able to see him before she spoke. "I know that's a really great step in clearing my name, but I'm still on the hook for shooting Connolly. There is no way to magic that away."

He ran his hands soothingly up and down her arms, reassuring her that all was in hand. "Ressler is trying to get you and I an immunity deal, one that I will write myself to make sure there are no loopholes for your government to exploit."

"An immunity deal?" What would that mean for her and Ray? Would he be able to settle down and be with her, or would he have to leave her for months on end for business? She wasn't sure she could deal with that.

"Yes, sweetheart, and by the look on your face I can see you need some reassurance. I hope that we could stay together. I would like for you to become my partner and work by my side." He held his breath waiting for her response. He wanted so much for this to work out for them, but he wanted Lizzie to have a choice and he would move mountains to give her what she wanted, even if it killed him.

"Your partner? How would that work?" She would not be able to handle him meeting most of his female clients without her. Not that she was jealous by nature, but after having met a few of his 'associates' they were not to be trusted.

"Well, by partner, I meant as my wife." Her face lit up and it lit up all the dark places inside of him. If she only knew the power she held over him, that he was willing to do anything to keep her happy. "We would have spousal privilege and the ring I'll put on your finger should keep all the wolves at bay." He wanted nothing less than all of her and he would give all of himself in return. He waited nervously, wanting this so much he could taste it.

She wasted no time in answering him. "Yes, yes. I want to marry you." This wasn't something she had thought about it, but now that he had said something it sounded like the most perfect thing in the world. She kissed him as the tears fell unbidden from her watery eyes.

When the kiss ended, he wiped the tears from her eyes and cradled her beautiful face in his hands. "If you are feeling better, we have a couple of loose ends to tie up and then we can see about getting an impromptu appointment with the county clerk, if that's okay. We can always plan a huge wedding and invite anyone your heart desires if you would rather go that route."

"No, short and sweet is fine with me. Dembe and Mr. Kaplan can be our witnesses." She was so happy. She laughed to herself remembering the white picket fence fantasy she held onto for so long. This marriage would be anything but conventional, but she now knew she was far from ordinary and she had Ray to thank for taking the blinders off her eyes so she could see the truth.

He patted her thighs to get her to move off of him, but she was not having it. "Something on your mind?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

She put her hands over his on her thighs. "Just you right now. Can we take a little bit of time for us before we take care of those loose ends?"

He pulled her closer, he could feel the warmth between her legs through his trousers and it made his head spin. "Anything for you, sweetheart."

Red called Mr. Kaplan to take care of all the details before they slipped into the bedroom. He trusted her to have everything ready when he and Liz arrived.

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The civil ceremony was over quickly. Red somehow already had rings on hand for them, something she would have to ask him about later. The documents were signed and recorded by the county clerk. Mr. Kaplan excused herself to see that preparations were in order for the next stop.

"Are you ready to tie up those loose ends, Mrs. Reddington?" He hooked his arm in invitation.

"I am, Mr. Reddington. As soon as this is done the sooner we can concentrate on us." She took his arm as they walked to Dembe and the waiting car.

Their first stop was to see what was found out regarding Elijah's betrayal. Red had tried to dissuade her from going in when he met with Brimley. He was still trying to protect her, but she had successfully argued that they were now a team and she wanted to learn every aspect of how he conducted business.

To her credit, her step only faltered once when they first walked in to find Brimley next to Elijah's bruised and mostly intact body. His greeting was muffled by his oxygen mask. "Took you long enough."

Red rolled his eyes, he was used to his go-to torture experts ways. "Well I'm here now. What did you find out?"

Brimley set his mask aside before responding. "Turns out he was working with that… "

Red cut him off, impatient to get the information and get Lizzie out of here. While she didn't show any outward signs, of which he was incredibly proud, he knew it would take some time before she would become numb to scenes such as these.

"I already know that much. I am curious to know what could Tom have possibly offered him that I could not?"

"Alliances with both the German's and the Russians. It seems you meddled in some arms deal and pissed off a group of militants. The Russians simply wanted Katerina's daughter. They are convinced she has information locked in her brain and they mean to extract it." Done with his speech, he placed his oxygen mask back on his face.

"Very good, thank you. Mr. Kaplan will be here shortly with a team to clean up." He took Lizzie's arm and led her out and back to the car.

Once they were seated and on their way to deal with Tom, Lizzie turned to Ray who was being uncharacteristically quiet. "I understand, Ray. Everything isn't so black and white. It's green."

He turned to her then with a smile. She was able to get past all the barriers like no one else and see the man beneath and he loved her for it. He reached out and brushed his fingers against her cheek. "You certainly have a way with words."

"I trust you to keep me safe and out of Russian hands, and I will walk through the fires of hell to protect you. Let's go deal with the troublemaker and we will worry about the rest when they come calling." She took his hand in hers and set them in her lap and turned to watch the city fly by.

Mr. Kaplan met them outside of the boat they had docked on pier 39. "Elijah has been dealt with per your request, and we are working to acquire his business interests. Mr. Keen is below deck waiting for you."

"Thank you, Kate, we've got it from here. I don't think we will be long and then your people can take over." He took Lizzie's hand and helped her onto the boat, climbing aboard after her.

Lizzie stood rooted to the spot once she was on board, not sure if she really wanted to hear what her ex had to say or if he would only try to make Red the bad guy in all of this as usual. He was always trying to make her believe that everything that had happened was Ray's fault, but in reality Ray would not have entered her life had it not been for Tom breaking the rules and integrating himself into her life in a most intimate way. He was only to watch and make sure she was safe, but when he betrayed Red and went to work for Berlin, he threw her into the the hornets nest so to speak.

"I want you to talk to him first, I doubt he will speak anything but lies if he knows I'm here."

"Of course. I'll get him talking, and you join us when you have heard enough." He gathered her into a fierce hug in an attempt to give her strength for what was to come. She nodded when they broke apart, signaling that she was ready.

Red descended into the cabin, only to find their captive standing over the body of his guard, reaching for the gun. Red reacted quickly, but not quick enough. Tom slammed into Red knocking them both to the ground.

As soon as she heard the commotion, Lizzie knew that Tom had somehow managed to free himself. She drew her weapon and headed cautiously down into the hold. Tom was on top of Ray slowly strangling him. "Get off of him or I'll kill you!"

Tom leaped off of Red and grabbed the gun he had tried to get earlier and rolled back up raising the gun to take a shot at Liz. Her FBI training kicked in and she shot him twice in the chest. She stood there with the gun still at the ready, frozen. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about killing a man she once loved.

Mr. Kaplan rushed down the steps to find the situation under control. "I'll just give you a minute." She walked back up the stairs and out of view.

Red walked over and laid his hand over the gun and used slight pressure to get her to lower her arm. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

She let him take the gun and slide it into the waistband of his trousers. When he turned her to him, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him to her. she was slowly coming to grips with what happened. There were no tears this time, she had already mourned Tom and the life they had shared. The Tom she knew was long gone. The man lying at their feet was a traitor and a liar who would have killed her had she not shot first.

"Let's go and let Kate get to work." He guided her to precede him up the stairs. Mr. Kaplan and her team were standing ready and at his nod, they went to work.

"What now?" She was ready to move on from all of this and begin something new with Ray.

"It will be a few days until the immunity deal is ready to be signed." He stretched out his arms to the open sky. "The world is our oyster, Lizzie."

"Let's go somewhere private and warm. I want to spend as much time with you as I can with little to no clothing." She laughed as his hands dropped and his pupils turned black with desire.

She grabbed his hand and he happily followed her to the waiting car. "Your wish is my command, since you made my heart your home."

fin