Two months later :

Kate stirred awake as she felt Raymond's arm's around her. Her head was on his bare chest, her leg draped over his. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, his soft eyes were looking at her. He smiled.

"How long have you been watching me?" she asked as she passed her fingers over his chest.

"Not long enough and it will never be enough. I could never get tired of watching you, whether you are sleeping or not."

Years ago, those kinds of words would have made Kate blush, but now they were a sweet melody to her ears.

She gently placed the bed sheet over her bare body and removed herself from him and placing herself on her back. He took her hand and kissed it before bending over her and kissing her.

Outside, the spring sun was slowly rising and seeping through the curtains. She could feel it's warmth penetrate the bedroom. Over the past two months, they had spent almost every night together. There wasn't an inch on his body she didn't know or him hers. And yet, there was something bothering her. The secrecy of it all. She knew it was for her own good that he wanted it to be that way but it was a heavy secret to carry around. If Liz, Samar and Aram probably could have cared less, it wasn't the same for Donald. She knew that he was watching her every move, her every reaction when Raymond was around, or when he would mention his name. This relation was something he wouldn't understand or accept. It wasn't that she needed his approval, but she didn't want to feel as though she had to justify herself. What was there to justify in love? Nothing, absolutely nothing!

So, here she was, in the apartment across from hers that Raymond had bought, the minute he had returned from The Bahamas. He had wanted to be close without raising suspicions. Out of precaution, he had Bass check Kate's apartment for wires and cameras. He knew that Ressler hated him and he would stop at nothing to take him down. Dembe would spend the night at Kate's and keep a look out.

All of that crept up in her mind and a veil placed itself over her happiness.

"You hate this don't you"?

She looked at Raymond. "I hate the way it is, not what we have."

"I'm only doing this to protect you. I don't really fancy this either."

"There are so many things I would want to do differently."

"Tell me."

"I don't know. Just being able to not sneak around. Go for a stroll in the park together, go to dinner and walk through the front door and sit by the window, like a normal couple. Just do things together is all. Right now, I have the impression that all we do is combine our joint efforts on the blacklist, meet in less than romantic places and then when Bass give's us the green light that it's OK, I cross the hallway over here."

Amidst the deception of it all, she laughed. "Damn, I feel like a teenager, hiding from her parents."

Raymond smiled. "Something you never did I'm sure. Did you ever do anything bad in your adolescent life?"

"I told you, I had a very boring adolescence."

"Well, you're sure making it up for it now!"

"At least you don't find me or us boring…yet!"

"Love, that day will never come."

He removed the bed sheet from her body and placed himself over her and started kissing her again, as his hands trailed over soft skin. Just as their foreplay had reached its peak, his phone rang.

She looked at him. "Take it. I'm going to take a shower and get ready for work."

He kissed her forehead. "I'll make it up to you."

He removed himself against his burning desire for her and grabbed his phone.

"Reddington."

She slipped out of bed and put on her robe.

"When?" she heard Raymond say as she opened the door to his apartment.

She had a quick look and then took the two steps that separated his door from hers. Dembe was waiting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Good morning Kate."

"Good morning Dembe."

"There's more coffee if you want some."

"Thanks."

He nodded and headed out of the apartment.

She had to admit that at first, it had been weird, this whole masquerade but there was something in Dembe that had made it less awkward. He respected Raymond and only wanted his happiness and through that he also respected Kate, which of course she did too. It was also the fact that she knew that with Dembe, Raymond was safe.

By the time she had showered and gotten dressed, Raymond and Dembe were in her apartment. Raymond had prepared Kate a tumbler of coffee and handed it to her.

"You look beautiful."

Dembe smiled as he watched them.

"And you elegant as always."

Raymond looked at his watch.

"We must get going."

"What's going on?"

"Another name on the list, I'll tell you in the car."

Donald raised an eyebrow as he saw Kate, Reddington and Dembe walk into the special unit together.

"Got your own chauffeur service now?"

Raymond wanted to put him back in his place but he knew it would only lead to more prying.

Kate looked at Donald and smiled. "You're just jealous you have to drive yourself into work. Actually, they were waiting for me outside my building. Reddington has a new name."

Cooper walked over to them. "What do we have on the agenda today?"

"Dr. Pawel Bartosik, aka The Heartbreaker!"

Donald sneered. "I thought you would have won that title by now."

Raymond simply ignored him.

"What do we know about him?"

Kate looked at the screen as Aram put up Dr. Bartosik's picture. "An eminent cardiologist from the University of Krakow."

"Nothing wrong about that", said Donald.

"Well initially no. But Bartosik was raided from the Doctor's and Cardiologist Association a couple years ago. Since then, he's gone freelance."

"Freelance?" asked Liz as she stood next to Raymond.

"He offers his services around the world to bring down politicians and businessmen who, let's just say, get in the way of someone else making a fortune or gaining power."

"What is his MO?"

"Basically, he approaches his victims and injects them with a mixture of betablockers and digoxin, in incredibly high doses, to induce what looks like, to a medical examiner, a heart attack."

Aram smiled. "I get it, that's why they call him the Heartbreaker, he literally breaks their heart."

Kate laughed. Leave it to Aram to be a step behind.

"According to this his last victim was three years ago. How do we know he's still a threat and even alive"? asked Samar.

"This morning, Melanie Mannarino, one of the two candidates running for Governor of Delaware was found dead in her backyard. The preliminary medical examiner report indicates that she died of a heart attack. Mannarino was young, fit and no apparent health problems."

"And you think that Bartosik is behind this? Why?" asked Donald.

"Yes, simply because up until two months ago, there was no chance for Mannarino to even hope to be chosen as Governor. She then dished out to the media that Steven Bidwell, her opponent, had apparently very intriguing and unconventional sexual practices. Bidwell, started losing partisans."

"Bidwell would have contacted Bartosik to handle it. It makes sense." Said Cooper. "Where do we start?"

"We need to talk with the medical examiner and see if he finds anything based on what we know."

"Ok, you two head over to the morgue and talk to the ME," said Cooper as he looked at Donald and Samar.

"The rest of you, try to find any information about this Dr. I want to know if he has a residence here, if he's using a credit card, if he's got family."

They all nodded and headed to their designed task.

One hour later Aram returned with a potential address and Liz and Kate headed out.

Kate's phone rang and she picked it up.

"I heard you have an address?"

"It's a possibility. Liz and I are going to check it out."

"OK. Call me when you're done. And be careful".

"I will."

"He's changed", said Liz, keeping her eyes on the road.

"What?"

"Raymond. He's changed".

Kate said nothing.

"A couple of years ago, I didn't recognize him. He was in a very dark place. Unpredictable, carefree, irresponsible, almost like he had a death wish. And now I see a entirely different change in him. I think you are the reason behind it."

"I know you too are close. Did he say anything to you?"

"Raymond has way too much respect for you to and I don't need him to tell me. I see it."

Kate nodded. If Liz knew it and had guessed it, the others too.

"Don't worry about the others, they don't know Raymond as well as I do. They'll never guess it or figure it out", said Liz almost as if she could read Kate's thoughts. "And trust me, I'm not judging you. On the contrary, I'm hoping maybe this will save him, from all of this, from himself."

Kate looked at Liz gently. "You still feel that's he's hiding the truth from you, about being your father?"

Liz shrugged. "Maybe. Would it be so bad for me to somehow hope that it's the truth?"

Kate put her hand on Liz's. "Not as bad as me hoping that my love will be enough to save him."

As they continued their route, both hoped and imagine a most probably impossible future.