So we finally got to Tom Keen in the episodes. And yes… I was disappointed. All that build up and we got no dialog between Ressler and Tom. "You need to come back with us," and "That's not happening." doesn't count! And I was severely unimpressed that Ressler wasn't in the last 17 minutes of the episode. Plus the fact Liz told Cooper she trusted him more than anyone else in the world! What?! After all Ress has done for her and the secrets the two of them share?! So, here is my take on the missing scenes in this episode. It starts as Red and Ressler are leaving Germany on Red's jet.

Ressler sat at the rear of the jet while Red and Dembe sat at the front, deep in some conversation he had no interest in. As Reddington laughed at something Dembe said, Ressler's fist clenched. Damn you, Reddington.

Dropping his gaze from the two men for the sake of his sanity, he forced himself to look out the window. It was still daylight and light clouds surrounded the plane. As they banked, the sun shone through the small window, dazzling him. Slamming the window blind down he then sat back heavily in the large recliner.

Red approached, and Ressler hoped like hell the man was going to the rear restroom. No such luck. He sat down across from Ressler and studied the agent. Ressler ignored him, his eyes fixed on the closed window blind. But in that pull that Reddington always had over others, Ressler's eyes slowly focused on the criminal sitting across from him.

"You're upset," stated Red.

No shit, Sherlock.

Ressler glared at the man silently. Of course he was upset. They had gone to Dresden, Germany with the sole intention of bringing Tom Keen back. They'd had him. He stood right there with them, and Red had chosen not to pursue the man in the aftermath of the gunfight.

"Donald, whatever you may have thought our mission was, it was never to bring Tom back."

"That was MY mission," replied Ressler shortly. Wasn't it obvious that was their intent? They needed Tom Keen to exonerate Liz. That was a no brainer.

Red waved his hand dismissively and began to explain to Ressler in a manner that irritated the heck out of the agent. "That's not how this works. This was a negotiation. A first step to-"

Ressler leaned forward as he interrupted. "Liz doesn't have time for first steps and subsequent steps. She's going to prison! For a murder her bastard of an ex-husband committed. Or have you forgotten that?!" He held Red's eyes in his, boring into them as Red looked back calmly.

"I haven't forgotten that for one moment, Donald," said Red evenly. Whatever reasons he'd had for leaving Germany without Tom, he was apparently fine with it.

Ressler threw himself back into the chair and exhaled heavily. The bastard doesn't get it. "That judge is out for blood and Liz is ready to hang herself out to dry and take the fall for Tom. And we've done nothing to change that. She's running out of time and options here!" He snapped his words out, as they left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You need to have a little faith. We went to Germany to deliver a message. Our objective was accomplished," said Red calmly, seeing the FBI agent seething before him, barely suppressing the anger that wanted to bubble forth completely. Donald certainly had a temper.

"Our objective was accomplished?! We went all that way and we didn't bring him back! That's the only truth I see here," said Ressler, folding his arms as he lowered his gaze, suddenly tired of looking at Reddington's smugness.

Red smiled slightly, tilting his head a little as he regarded Ressler. "You know, it's really not your fault. It's the way you've been trained. The cop in you can't see this in any other light. I told you before we left that you were a tourist. You have to trust me on this, Donald."

Ressler felt Reddington pat his knee before he rose and made his way back to Dembe at the front of the plane.

Trust you? You bastard.

But as he sat back in the large leather chair, flying across the Atlantic in Reddington's private jet he hated the fact that part of him did want to trust that Red could still fix this in the way he fixed everything else. And that was the hardest of all to take. Because if there was one thing that drove him insane in this 'partnership' with Raymond Reddington – it was being left in the dark as Red pulled all the strings three steps ahead of everyone else.

###

But by the time they landed Ressler's anger had subsided somewhat, or perhaps he'd just got better at hiding it. Replaced now with a feeling of dread, he wasn't sure which felt worse. Being angrier was easier. It helped in putting the blame on something else and deflecting the true feelings he had. Concern. Worry. Dread. His partner was going to jail. Liz was in trouble.

After Red and Dembe dropped him off at his vehicle he drove to the post office. Stepping out of the elevator he was surprised at how empty the war room was. Quiet day. Aram and Samar were together at her desk. Of course they are. They're always together. And realizing that was uncalled for he made a concerted effort to sound polite when Samar asked if they'd found Tom.

As he made his way into his office he quickly surveyed the contents of his desk, noting a few reports that needed to be gone through. Dropping his keys into his drawer – the drawer formerly known as the drug stash – he then flopped into his chair. He couldn't look at Liz's empty desk, and looked toward Samar as she came and stood in the doorway with her shadow, Aram, right behind her.

"So you went all that way and you didn't bring him back?" she asked.

Ressler just looked at her, trying very hard not to let his anger show. He'd told Reddington the very same thing. Unable to think of a reply that wouldn't sound harsh, he said nothing, looking instead at his partner's empty desk now. Red's words echoed in his ears, 'you need to have a little faith'. Sure. Right. He needed to talk to Cooper, and hauling himself out of his chair he found that Samar wasn't moving out of his way until he answered her question.

"No, he didn't come back with us, but apparently Reddington has it all under control," he told her with barely repressed anger as he grit his teeth.

Whether she accepted his answer or saw the clench of his jaw and thought better of blocking his way, he wasn't sure, but she stepped aside.

As he swept by the two of them, they followed him. Don't they have anything better to be doing? He reached the metal staircase and Aram spoke up, followed immediately by Samar.

"Wait, Agent Ressler…" Aram started.

"Cooper isn't up there," said Samar.

Standing on the second step above them he stopped. Just great.

"You…you haven't heard, have you?" said Aram worriedly, and Ressler turned at the sound in his voice.

Samar continued. "Director Cooper is in the hospital. We had an incident here this morning and the Director collapsed. He was carted off by ambulance."

Ressler stood open mouthed on the stairway, feeling his stomach hit the floor. Swallowing heavily, he looked between the two of them. He'd felt for some time something was wrong with Cooper. And now…

Samar took a step forward when Ressler didn't move. "But Liz is with him and she called a little while ago. He's going to be fine. Apparently his blood sugar got too low."

Something in that explanation sounded off to Ressler, and he narrowed his eyes as Aram spoke up.

"Liz was with him when it happened. Um…they were in your office, and we um… we tried not to listen but…" Aram stopped and looked to Samar for support. Ressler stood silently on the stairs, processing this.

Samar nodded to Aram and looked to Ressler. "He and Liz were arguing. We couldn't hear the words, but the tone was unmistakable. I've never heard Director Cooper that angry. Next thing we knew Liz was yelling for help."

"When we ran in, Mr Cooper was convulsing on the floor. It was very scary," added Aram. "I had a card, but I don't guess we need that anymore."

Convulsing?! Their low blood sugar explanation sounded even less likely to him as Ressler stepped down from the staircase. Cooper and Liz were arguing. No guesses what that was about. He'd had his own words with her standing outside the Deer Hunter's house. This whole situation was affecting them all, even their boss.

"Where is Liz now? Still at the hospital?" he asked them.

"She's back at the court house," Samar told him, "She said Cooper was resting so she left the hospital and went back to the hearing with Judge Denner."

And jumped right back into the line of fire. Ressler nodded and stepped silently by the two of them to retrieve his car keys from his desk drawer. He really, really needed to talk to Liz.

###

The fifth floor of the courthouse was deserted, apart from two police officers outside one of the court rooms. He had been texting Liz and they were in a recess at the moment. As he approached the two officers at the door, he flashed his badge at them. They looked him up and down, noting the jeans and casual jacket but still stepped aside and let him through.

As he entered the courtroom Liz sat toward the front. Turning at the sound of the door opening she stood when she saw it was Ressler. As she came toward him, she motioned to him to sit in the very back. As he sat down on the bench, she slid in beside him. Very aware of others in the room, they kept their voices low.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked her.

As her tired eyes looked at him, he saw the answer to that. She wasn't doing so good. She might fool others, but not him.

"Fine, I guess. It's been a rough day," she said, leaning in toward him to keep their conversation private.

"I heard about Cooper. What happened, Liz? Samar and Aram heard you and Cooper arguing?" As he looked at her, he saw the momentary flash of desperation that she quickly covered up.

"Yes, we were…it was not a good situation at all. And when he collapsed, I felt so afraid for him!" As she looked up at him, tears sprang to her eyes.

"But he's going to be okay, right? Samar said low blood sugar?" he asked her, reading the look in her eyes. And as she looked at him nodding, he knew she was lying. Low blood sugar, be damned. There was more going on here. He decided to let it ride for now though. He didn't have long to talk to her before the judge would be back in.

"Liz, we found Tom, but he wouldn't come back with us."

At the slump in her shoulders and her exhale, he put his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry. I tried Liz. We were right there with him. We had him and then everything went south and he ran in the middle of a shootout."

She nodded, looking up at him. "It's okay. Thank you for trying, Ress. The judge will be back in soon and this will just play out the way it's meant to," she said quietly, looking toward the closed door of the judge's chambers.

"Damn it, Liz. You have to convince him you didn't do this!" he told her as he leaned closer, still aware that he needed to keep his voice low. "Do not go down for something you didn't do." Their attention was drawn to the door of the court room opening and Dennis Wilcox entered. He eyed Ressler, then kept walking to his table at the front of the room.

"I don't know how to do that, Ress. They have the bullet I fired into Aleko's foot. I'm screwed here…" she looked up and met Ressler's eyes as he leaned close, his hand still on her arm. They could be facing her being carted off to jail in the next court session. This might be the last moments of her freedom.

"Liz," he started and then stopped. Nothing he could say was going to change anything now. Instead he squeezed her arm and looked up as the door to the judge's chamber opened and Denner entered the courtroom.

"You need to go. They'll clear the courtroom here before we start," she told him apologetically. She didn't want him to go. She wanted him sitting right beside her when the judge dropped that gavel and decided her fate.

He knew she was right, and as they stood the bailiff announced that all non-essential personnel needed to clear the courtroom. Ressler raised his eyebrows at that. He'd been called a lot of things. Now he was deemed non-essential.

"Thanks for trying, Ress," Liz told him and then met his eyes again, before she dropped her gaze and resumed her place at the front of the court.

Ressler watched her sit down then exited quickly through the door and stepped out into the hallway. He didn't want to leave, but knew he had to. It was a closed proceeding, and he was… non-essential. Head down and hands in his jacket pocket he stalked down the empty marble floored hallway toward the elevators. Rounding the corner he stood in front of the elevator watching as the elevator passed the 3rd floor on its way back up.

The elevator came to a stop and he stood still waiting for the doors to open. And as the doors slid open and revealed the lone occupant of the elevator, he looked right into the eyes of Tom Keen.

"What the-?" He was the very last person Ressler expected to see.

"Well, if it isn't the boyfriend. Should have known you wouldn't be far from her," Tom said with a leering grin.

"Shut up, Keen."

"You sleeping with her yet?"

Ressler stepped into the elevator and after the doors closed, he slammed his palm onto the emergency stop button to hold the elevator on the 5th floor. He leaned forward to address the man. "I'm going to ignore that question because it doesn't merit an answer."

Tom shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head as he laughed. "So you're not. But you wanna be."

"You think you can lift that mind of yours out of the gutter for one second. What the hell are you doing here? Your conscience finally get the better of you, Keen?"

The humor left Tom's face as he regarded the agent before him. "Why I'm here has nothing to do with you."

Ressler rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It has everything to do with me. She's my partner," Ressler replied, pointing back toward the court room.

"And she's my ex-wife." He reached his hand out to release the doors, but Ressler stopped him, standing quickly in front of the panel.

"Not so fast, Keen. I'm not letting you anywhere near her until I check you out."

"Didn't know your tastes ran that way, Agent Ressler," snorted Tom, emphasizing Ressler's name.

"Shut up. Turn around and put your hands where I can see them on the wall. Put them up!" Ressler was about to draw his weapon when Tom complied, turning to face the wall with legs apart and hands against the wall.

"Whatever you say. But I'm unarmed. You think I'm going to risk getting this far only to be stopped by some overweight security guard on the ground floor?"

Ressler patted him down and searched his pockets, making sure Tom was unarmed. When he came across a cell phone, the only contents of his pockets besides some cash, he took it. "I'll hang onto this." Kicking Tom's feet apart, he patted down the outside of his legs then back up the inside of them. Tom laughed at the agent.

"Easy there boy, getting close to the merchandise."

Ressler ignored him. Satisfied Tom was unarmed he stepped back from the man. "So what is your intention?"

Tom turned, regarding Ressler. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm here for the same reason you are. Liz."

Ressler dropped his eyes, then looked back up at the man. "So you're here to confess?"

"No, I thought I'd shoot the Judge and blow up the court room," he said sarcastically, but at the look on Ressler's face as he reached for his weapon he added, "I'm kidding. Of course I'm here to confess."

Ressler re-holstered his weapon. "Well then, don't let me stop you. Let's go." Reaching behind him, he released the emergency stop and the doors slid open. As the two men glared at each other, Tom was the first to break eye contact. Ignoring Ressler now, he swept past him and into the corridor. Ressler followed, making sure the man did as he intended.

Tom suddenly stopped and turned back to Ressler. As they faced each other out of earshot of the two police officers at the court room door, Tom dropped his voice.

"You know, I don't like you. I never have. I saw the way Liz looked at you. The way you looked at her. I would hear the change in her voice whenever you would call her. I always knew when it was you."

Ressler listened silently, wondering where Keen was going with this.

Tom continued. "But for what it's worth, as much as I don't like you, I admire you. That doesn't mean I wouldn't beat the tar out of you given the opportunity. But what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad you've got her back. She needs that with Reddington in the picture. Don't trust him. Whatever he tells you, always know he has a hidden agenda, especially where Liz is concerned. So whatever happens to me after I go in there and confess to murder, I thank you for being there for her."

Ressler nodded, acknowledging Tom's words. "Glad to see we're on the same page. I don't like you either," he replied.

Tom grinned at that. "See you around, 'pal'."

And as Tom turned and walked up the corridor toward the court room, Ressler begrudgingly knew they both had Liz's best interest at heart. And however much he'd like to rough the man up severely for what he'd done to Liz's life, part of him couldn't help but reluctantly admire Keen for having come back to face the music. He still loves her…

He watched as Tom calmly walked toward the two officers at the door. When he failed to show any ID, they drew their weapons. As Tom held his hands in the air, he spoke evenly to the officers. His words reached Ressler, sounding firm and resolute in the empty corridor.

"I suggest you let me through. I'm the man who killed Eugene Ames."