Liz winced as Ressler hit the brakes and slammed his hand against the horn. She was surprised by how irritated he was, despite the horrid driver that cut him off and the traffic jam that was beginning to form. His toned forearm tensed as he gripped the wheel and sighed in frustration with a clenched jaw.
The flavor of the week was another criminal named, James Culver. A man with a penchant for kidnapping the family members of elite politicians, holding them ransom to further the political agendas of his clients. It was pretty cut and dry, but Ressler seemed to be handling it oddly.
She'd noticed it throughout the week. He was a little more irritable than usual. She had noticed him rolling his eyes more at Reddington's remarks and being short with uncooperative witnesses. If she was being honest, she was scared; worried that he was using again.
While he kept his eyes on the road, she studied him. He still seemed very much in control of himself. His eyes weren't bloodshot, there weren't any bags under them, and he seemed to hold himself steadily. Conversely, he wasn't too relaxed or absentminded. She could tell his reactions were sharp, considering his defensive driving. She couldn't find any signs of drug use and she wanted to take comfort in that, though something held her back from doing so.
"You okay?" She finally asked as their vehicle barely inched forward due to the traffic.
He raised an eyebrow at her and only gave her a sideways glance. "Yeah. Why?"
"You seem a little tense."
She watched as his shoulders dropped with a sigh. "I'm fine. It's just been a long week." He leaned his head against the headrest, realizing they were suddenly stuck in gridlock.
She gave him a nod and turned towards the window. She bit her lip at his words. It was a vague answer and it certainly didn't satisfy her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, catching her off-guard.
She turned back towards him, eyes wide and showing her confusion. "Of course."
"You sure about that?"
She nodded cautiously, her brows stitching together.
"'Cause you've been rubbing your scar for the past few minutes."
Liz looked down and realized that her thumb was against the inside of her wrist, gently running through the scarred skin. She didn't even know she was doing it, but he knew that it was a self-comforting habit of hers.
Liz crossed her arms over her chest defensively and leaned back into her seat. "It's nothing."
Ressler glanced out the windshield, realizing that the traffic was at a standstill and put the vehicle in Park.
"Tell me what's up." He said softly.
She thought about what to say for a moment, then searched his eyes and sighed. "I was worried…that you were using again…"
She watched as his eyes looked into hers, and for a second she was worried that she had offended him. Then his lips turned upwards.
"You've got nothing to worry about, Keen." He said with a chuckle.
Ressler reached behind his seat and retrieved his wallet out of his jacket. He then pulled out a small object and held it up to her.
Liz reached over and looked at the object in her hand. Her breath caught when she recognized what it was. She admired the sheen of the brass as she turned it over, running her fingers over the stark presence of the 'V' engraved on one side and the encouraging words on the other.
"Is this a…sobriety chip?"
Ressler nodded, studying the myriad of bumper stickers on the car in front of him. "Five years. I got it last week."
She looked at his eyes; calm, yet proud, as the sunlight streamed through the window and illuminated them into a stunning ocean blue. His hair burned bright against the setting sun, and Liz couldn't help but take it in.
She grasped the chip tightly in her palm and reached over to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a tight embrace.
"I'm proud of you, Ress." She said softly.
"Thanks, Keen." He sighed as he leaned into the embrace. "That means a lot."
She ran a comforting hand up and down his back and when she pulled back, she couldn't help but notice the way his eyes regarded her deeply. Liz swore she saw his eyes drift down to her lips, his thumb gently stroking her shoulder.
Before the moment could go on, however, a loud honk from the car behind them forced Ressler to turn back with a glare. Liz noticed that the traffic ahead had cleared, and Ressler wordlessly threw the car in gear and began driving.
She tried not to dwell on what had happened, then it hit her.
"A week?!" She yelled, smacking him in the shoulder.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, though he couldn't help but laugh. "Jesus, Keen!"
"You got this a week ago and you didn't tell me?!" She fussed. "We could have celebrated!"
Ressler scoffed and shook his head. "Come on, you know I'm not the celebrating type."
"So what'd you do when you got it?" Liz challenged.
"Same thing I do every night: dinner in front of the TV with a beer or two." He shrugged.
"What, you couldn't go nuts and make it three beers?" She asked sarcastically.
Ressler laughed at that, almost forgetting that they still had hours of work ahead of them. "I'm not sure binge drinking is a good way of celebrating my sobriety."
"Look, I'm just saying—" Liz began, but was interrupted by her phone ringing.
She looked at him as he focused his attention back on the road. Placing a hand on his arm, she ignored the ringing and gave him the chip back.
"We're not done talking about this." She promised, before picking up the call.
By the time they were able to close the case and settle most of the paperwork, it was already 10 o'clock. Much of the Post Office had gone home, which Ressler was thankful for as he sat in his office, using a small towel to wipe away at a cut he had gotten on his jaw from an earlier fight.
"Hey." Liz called as she walked into their shared office. "You doin' okay? Aram told me you guys had some trouble with Culver."
"Nothin' we couldn't handle." He sighed reassuringly. "How's the kid?"
"He should be out of the hospital by morning." She replied, her eyes on the small amount of blood coming out of his injury, then roaming across the bruises and scrapes that marred his face.
Noticing her worried scrutiny, he put the towel down and gave her a grin. "I'm fine. I just sneezed and the cut opened back up."
She nodded. "Good." Liz then looked out towards the empty war room when she saw the lights being turned off. "You heading out soon?"
He stared at the sparse amounts of papers and files before him. All he needed to do was cross some T's and dot some I's.
"Just about," he shrugged.
Liz studied him as he picked up a pen and finished up his work. There was still something up with him, though she knew it would be hard to find out what was really bothering him.
Just then, Aram stuck his head through the door of their office. "Hey, I saw the lights on. Heading home soon? Agent Park left half an hour ago. I was just about to leave."
Liz heard Ressler grunt as he got up to put the files away. "Yeah. It's getting pretty late." He sighed. "See you in the morning."
Aram gave a smile to him and Liz and headed towards the elevator. As Ressler put away his things, Liz leaned over to watch Aram through the doorway as he got onto the elevator. When the elevator doors closed, she smiled and got up.
When Ressler reached over to take his coat off the coat rack, she put a hand on his arm, earning her a confused look. She gently pushed him back onto his chair and walked out of the room. Ressler stared at her as she walked back in with a box.
"I know you said you're not one to celebrate…"
He sighed, but couldn't help the smile that broke out. "Keen…"
"Before you say no," she interjected, placing the box on a nearby shelf and opening it up. "I went to Giuseppe's and I got your favorite…Chicken Parmigiana." She offered musically.
"You didn't." He said, eyeing the box and getting up from the chair.
"I did." Liz smiled, handing him the food.
"Shouldn't you be getting home to Agnes?" He asked, though Liz could just notice the hopefulness in the question, as if he wanted her to stay.
"I've got the sitter staying late."
Ressler pursed his lips and nodded, looking back down at the food. Liz couldn't help but smile to herself when she noticed the flush creeping up his face. She cleared her throat to hide the laughs trying to come out.
"And if you're up for it…" she pulled out a bottle of wine, flourishing her hand to show it off.
Ressler laughed at the showmanship. "When did you have time to pick all this up?"
"I have my ways." She shrugged. "...and Park may have covered for me a little."
"I'll be sure to thank her," he said, digging through his drawer and pulling out a Swiss Army knife.
Ressler then pulled off the cork with the corkscrew attachment and poured the wine into a couple of paper cups. Liz couldn't help but notice how relaxed Ressler was. His shoulders were dropped and his eyes were bright as he showed off that stunning full smile that she rarely ever saw.
"To you." Liz said, tapping her cup against his. "For five years of strength."
She watched him over the brim of her cup, as he savored the wine. Crinkles formed around his eyes as he took the bottle in hand to read the label. She couldn't tell whether the warmth she was feeling was due to the wine or the sight of him visibly relaxing.
They had their meal in comfortable silence, occasionally engaging in conversation. It was nice to talk about things other than work. Often, they didn't have time to talk about their life outside of the all-consuming job. It felt refreshing that there were no topics about her obscure past or about dangerous criminals.
"Looks like we kicked it." Ressler noted as he poured the last of the wine into their cups.
"It's good wine." She said as she took another sip.
Liz sighed happily, belly full of good food and the sweet warmth of the wine caressing her throat. They finished cleaning up and sat down to relax in their chairs.
"Thanks for this, Keen." Ressler said softly. "I didn't know how much I needed this."
"Of course." Liz smiled. "You deserve it. It's good to slow down sometimes and take a breath. Just know that next year, we're celebrating outside of the office."
"I think I can handle that." Ressler nodded gladly.
He took another sip of the wine, and stared down into the cup, swirling it around in thought. Liz couldn't help but notice the solemn look in his eyes.
"Hey. Where are you?" She asked gently.
He looked up at her and arched his eyebrows expectantly.
"You've been off this past week. What's going on?"
He exhaled and leaned back into his chair, setting the cup on his desk. "Earlier this week, I asked Reddington how Dom was doing."
"And…?" She asked, hopeful about her grandfather and surprised that Ressler would go out of his way to ask about him.
"No change." He sighed. "Still in a coma…Because of me."
"Ressler—"
"If I hadn't stuck my nose around, he'd be safe. And now your grandfather's barely clinging to life." He poured out, tears threatening to break out of his pain-streaked eyes.
"It wasn't your fault." She placated, getting up and sitting on the corner of his desk to place a hand on his shoulder.
Still, he shook his head as he stared down at the floor. "This job's already taken so much from me…and I still go out of my way to find trouble. And other people get hurt."
"Hey!" She yelled, her grip tightening on his shoulder.
He looked up, and Liz's breath caught at the sight of a tear rolling down his face.
"I don't blame you." Liz whispered, her hand sliding up his cheek as her thumb brushed away his pain. "I would've never known my grandfather was alive if it wasn't for you."
Ressler remained quiet, unable to speak without the threat of his voice breaking. He looked up at her as she attempted to calm him.
"You opened up the possibility of Agnes meeting her great-grandfather." She said with a smile as tears began to fill her own eyes. "You've done so much to put my family together."
She then stood up and leaned over to give him a tight embrace.
"Thank you." She whispered.
She pulled away and rest her hands on his shoulders, and though he looked at the floor, she could see a faint smile adorning his face. Without thinking, her hands crept up the sides of his jaw, prompting him to look up at her.
Liz closed her eyes as she planted a kiss on his lips. She felt him freeze, breath halting and she could feel his eyes on her. Despite this, she muscled through, focusing on how soft his lips were and the sweet tingle that spread warmly through her.
She was about to pull away when he finally responded. His hand found a place on her hip as he fell into the kiss, his other hand slid up and his fingers carded through her hair, just behind her ear.
The moment she felt his tongue tease against hers was the moment Liz could barely keep control, letting out a moan that surprised them both.
Ressler chuckled against her lips and pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. He smiled and leaned back to drink her in; her hypnotic cerulean eyes lost in his as they caught their breath.
"You should get home." He said gently, his thumb gliding under her lip. "Don't wanna keep Agnes waiting."
Liz grinned and cleared her throat. "You're right." She nodded, unable to lose the fluttering in her stomach.
She began gathering her things until Ressler spoke again.
"Liz, do you wanna…I don't know, split a cab?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the wine bottle.
Though he tried to keep his cool, he couldn't keep himself from blushing. She had told him to take a breath and she went and took his away.
Liz blinked in surprise, then smirked.
"Sure."
After they finished cleaning up and getting their things together, they turned off the lights and headed for the elevator. As the doors closed, Ressler reached over and intertwined his fingers with Liz's.
Their hands stayed connected as they waited for the cab and even when they hopped into the back. Liz laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes comfortably. She didn't expect the night to turn out this way, but she certainly wasn't complaining. Instead, she reveled only in the warmth of his hand and his thumb occasionally brushing the back of hers. It wasn't until they arrived at the building and walked up to Liz's apartment that Ressler broke the silence and let go of her hand.
"Thanks again, Liz. This was fun." He said gratefully.
"You're welcome again." She smiled and nodded.
"I was wondering if, uh…maybe I could return the favor? Maybe sometime this weekend we could…get dinner or something."
She looked back at him, his charming grin hiding the nerves he was feeling. Under the lights in the hallway, she could see the endearing glint in his blue eyes.
"I'd love that." Liz replied softly. She then raised herself on her tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, delighting in how natural it felt and the way he responded so easily. "Good night, Ress."
"Good night, Liz. Say hi to the little munchkin for me."
She gave him one last glance with her beaming smile and captivating moon eyes and stepped into the apartment. With a satisfied sigh, Ressler walked back down the stairs towards the cab, his shoulders unburdened and his heart racing. Reaching into his pocket, he fingered the brass chip that brought it all together, relishing the symbol of his resilience with a smile.