Haylie spent the next few days at home doing whatever she could to keep her mind off of where Red was and the void she had from Liz's death. She cleaned out her clothes, rearranged her whole apartment and began cooking meals for Tom and freezing them.
Finally, the day of the funeral arrived and Mac was there that morning to pick her up. She had chosen a black pantsuit with a black shirt underneath. "Are you ready to go, dear?" Mac asked.
Haylie looked down, "I'll never be ready to say goodbye to her but yes, we can go."
Mac felt for her, wondering if this brought back memories for her of when he 'died'. He led her to the car and drove her to the church where she took a seat with her team.
Cooper gave the eulogy:
"I wish there was something I could say to stop your tears, to take away the pain of losing her, I can't. What I can do is remind you of how lucky we were to have Elizabeth in our lives. I'll never forget the first day I met her. It was her first day on the job, she had been offered an opportunity that most agents waited a lifetime to get. 'Why me?' she asked. 'I'm nobody special.' I think we all know different. She was humble, self-effacing, and very, very special. Like all of you, I'm sad and angry. Like you also, I'm also very blessed to have known Elizabeth. So as we leave here today, let's celebrate. The last few days, many have come up to me and they've said, "We are so sorry for your loss." But we haven't lost Elizabeth. We know exactly where she is."
Haylie felt the tears roll down her cheeks as she listened to Cooper speak so eloquently about Liz. After the service, the team followed Liz to her final burial. Haylie found herself watching Tom and feeling terribly for him. She couldn't imagine being left with Thomas to raise alone.
Aram spoke at the burial and his simple words made her break down.
Haylie walked away at that moment, Mac on her heels. "It's ok to let out your pain," he said as he caught up with her.
Haylie turned back to him, "It's not just Liz. I miss Raymond and I don't know if he'll ever come back. I can't imagine what Tom is feeling right now."
Mac pulled her into his arms and just held her in the cemetery while she grieved. Once she was all cried out, she pulled away and said, "Let's get to the office and see if Aram found anything."
Mac nodded and walked her to the car once more. When they arrived, all of the team was there except for Aram.
"Where's Aram?" Haylie asked as she pulled off her blazer.
Ressler answered, "He took a personal day because he said he can't handle Liz's death."
Cooper nodded, "None of us can. He found a lead, though. He found another potential victim of Solomon's crew but the thing that made it interesting is not him. The man has no ties to Liz but he met with a woman who we found out met with Panabaker. We can't identify her though."
Haylie nodded, "So, we're at a dead end until we can find Reddington. What is going to happen to this task force? Liz was the glue that held us together."
Cooper nodded, his tone solemn as he replied, "I assume there is a chance we can stay afloat if Reddington agrees to speak to you instead. But let's not worry about that until we have to. Everyone go home."
Haylie sighed, she'd been home and she had nothing left to distract her. "Let's go get drinks in honor of Liz."
Ressler and Samar nodded at her suggestion. "Let's do it."
"Mac, I'll meet you back at the building. I need time with my team," Hailey instructed.
Mac nodded but had a thought, "May I see the picture of the woman you can't identify?"
Haylie looked to Cooper for an answer. He nodded as he walked over to Aram's work station and pulled out two photos, handing them to Mac.
Mac took the photos and looked over them. "I know that woman and Reddington is the only way you'll get to her. That's Susan 'Scottie' Hargrave."
"Looks like having criminals around is always useful," Ressler said, his tone condescending.
"Forget drinks, we need to look this woman up," Samar commented with everyone agreeing.
The team spent the rest of the day working hard until they all went home. When Haylie arrived at her apartment, it was very late and she was exhausted. She walked into her door and her breath caught when she saw Red having a cup of tea at her island.
"Raymond!" she shrieked as she raced over and wrapped her arms around him, tears flowing down her face, "I thought I would never see you again!"
"Nonsense, dear," he replied as he returned her embrace, "we have work to do."