Agnes

Author's Note: A one-shot—thinking about the upcoming episodes after Ivan Stepanov and some possibilities. Based on a spoiler promo pic of Agnes dangling from some stairs at the Post Office. Angsty, keener (kinda). Please leave a review.

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Aram walked into the Post Office and immediately was struck by the child dangling from the stairs leading to Cooper's office.

"Agnes?" He asked as he smiled and walked toward her while serendipitously looking around for her mother.

"Uncle Aram!" Agnes said as she ran toward him and launched herself at him.

Aram leaned down and hugged her and continued to look around.

"Are you here with your mom?" He asked as he crouched down so they were at eye level.

Agnes shook her head in the negative and swung her arms around.

"How did you get here?" Aram asked.

Just then the elevator opened behind him and Alina Park started to walk in and then stopped mid-step.

"Is that…?" She asked.

"Agnes, this is Agent Park," Aram said as he stood and placed a protective hand on the child's shoulder. "You can call her Alina."

Alina smiled at the child and looked around with her eyes.

"Nice to meet you Agnes," Alina said. "I have a cousin named Agnes."

"You do?" Agnes asked wide-eyed. She had never met another Agnes before.

"She's in college at Northwestern studying rocks," Alina said. "Forty thousand dollars a year, and she's studying rocks."

Agnes giggled.

"Geology?" Aram asked.

"Fancy title, still rocks," Alina said. "Who are you here with?"

Agnes bopped up and down.

"Uncle Donnie," Agnes said with a smile.

"Really?" Alina asked. "Uncle Donnie brought you to work?"

"We are going shopping for snacks soon," Agnes said. "I just need to stay for the morning."

"And he's…?" Aram asked as he looked around.

"Upstairs," a man said from his seat on the stairs.

"Connor?" Aram asked looking around at the stairs, he hadn't even noticed the man dressed in a suit until then.

"I'm on babysitting duty," Connor, a junior agent, said as he stood up and sighed.

Aram could tell he was not thrilled about the task.

"How did you get…?" Aram asked.

"Ressler called me at 6 am and told me I needed to be in for an important duty," Connor said. "I found out it was Agnes when I got here at 7:30."

Aram nodded and looked down at Agnes.

"More paper airplanes?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea, but let me go see Don first, okay?"

Agnes nodded.

"Connor, does she have any toys or…"

"He brought in that backpack," Connor nodded toward a backpack covered with glittery unicorns on it.

"And you haven't looked?" Alina asked, disappointed as she walked toward the backpack and opened it. Inside she found craft supplies, colouring books, crayons, glitter, glue… "Yeah, Connor is going to set up a craft table, aren't you Connor?"

Connor nodded and took the bag from her.

"Probably here where we can all keep an eye on her," Aram said as he gestured toward an empty table in the bull pen.

"And actually sit down a colour with her," Alina said. "Haven't you ever babysat before?"

"No," Connor said. "I was an only child."

Alina sighed and shook her head. "I thought you had a ton of brothers and sisters?"

"From my dad's second and third marriage," Connor offered. "Growing up it was just me and my mom."

"Crap," Aram said.

"That's what Ressler said as well," Connor offered.

"Well, make an effort, colour with her, glue things," Alina said as she looked down at Agnes. "We're going to be with Don but if you need anything, Connor will get it for you, okay?"

Agnes bopped up and down on her heels and nodded with a smile.

Aram and Alina climbed the stairs to Cooper's office.

"What the hell is going on?" Alina asked quietly.

"I have no idea, but I sense we're about to find out," Aram replied before he knocked on the door.

"Come in," Cooper called and they walked inside.

"I saw you talking with Agnes, Connor okay with her?" Don asked anxious.

"He was an only child," Alina said.

"I know, I thought he had siblings or I would have called someone else," Don sighed from his place leaning against the wall inside Cooper's office.

"Why is Agnes here?" Aram asked. "And where is Liz?"

Don shifted off the wall and stood.

"Liz is gone, for now," Don said. "And Agnes is with me for a while."

"Like with you, you are taking care of her? She's living with you?" Aram clarified.

Don nodded.

"And when did this happen?" Alina asked, knowing that yesterday she saw Don in the office still at 6pm when she left, and he definitely did not have a child with him.

"Last night," Don said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Liz left Agnes with you last night?" Aram asked.

"Technically this morning," Don said, his neck going a little red. "She knew Agnes wasn't safe with her, so she asked me to take care of her."

"You met her somewhere and didn't alert…?" Alina asked.

"Agent Ressler felt it was in the best interest of Liz and Agnes that he not inform us until after Liz was gone," Cooper offered.

"So, you met Liz in the middle of the night, and she convinced you to take Agnes?" Aram asked, still trying to clarify.

Don cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.

"When I got home last night, they were at my apartment already, with take-out," Don said.

"She broke in?" Aram asked. "And fed you?"

Don's face got a little redder. "She has a key."

Aram's eyes widened and Alina looked at Ressler like her eyes were going to pop out.

"You gave her a key, or she had one copied without your…?" Cooper started.

"We had keys to each other's places," Don said, not meeting their eyes.

"Oh," Cooper said as realization hit him.

"Look, Agnes is staying with me and Liz is keeping herself safe," Don offered. "And I need to figure out how to keep Agnes safe and still work."

Just then, the door opened and Reddington walked in followed by Dembe.

"Ahh, I see the gang is all here," Reddington said as he smiled at the group of them.

"I don't recall calling you to come in," Don said defensively.

"You didn't need to, Donald" Reddington said. "When Liz left without Agnes this morning, I knew what she had asked you to do."

"You're spying on me now?" Don asked as he took a step toward Reddington, his anger palpable.

"Donald, any good bloodhound knows to sniff for their prey's weakness," Reddington smiled at him. "Lizzie's is you."

Don quickly looked around the room embarrassed and closed his eyes.

"Did you grab her when she left?" Don asked.

Reddington waited a beat.

"I probably should have had my men take her in, but I let her go," Reddington said. "I am unsure of her plans, but, perhaps you can enlighten the group."

"She's hiding from Townsend," Don said as he re-crossed his arms over his chest.

"Have you heard from Lizzie since she kissed both you and Agnes goodbye this morning?"

Don's face and neck reddened, and he cleared his throat. He turned to look at Cooper.

"Can I get permission to have Agnes here during the day with me for a few days until I figure something out?" Don asked.

"Ressler, you and I both know that much of your job is in the field and you can't…"

"I will take Agnes off your hands," Reddington offered.

"Like hell you will," Don lunged at him.

"And that's why Lizzie left Agnes with you," Reddington smiled. "I expected no less. How about we reach a compromise? I will provide adequate security and education and Harold can allow that to happen on the premises until we can decide on a better plan."

"Who would this security person be?" Donald asked.

"Chuck," Reddington said.

"I'm not letting Chuck watch Agnes," Don scoffed.

"Chuck used to be a grade 1 teacher," Reddington said. "He retired early and came to work for me, ex-military and all…"

"Wait, Chuck used to teach primary school?" Don asked.

"He's great with children, has first aid and CPR and…I can provide the documentation if you need it," Reddington said as he nodded toward Dembe who produced a file that he handed to Donald. Don looked inside in disbelief. One of Reddington's killers for hire used to teach Primary school. He shouldn't be surprised, Tom Keen was a grade 4 teacher.

"If you wanted to use your office for a few days, Ressler," Cooper said. "I would be comfortable with Chuck being here with Agnes, considering his credentials. I would not give him a pass, so he would need to be walked in and out each day; which also assures he cannot take Agnes out of here without permission."

"Has anyone thought that a black ops site for the FBI may not be the best location for a 5-year-old?" Alina asked.

Everyone turned and looked at her and said nothing.

"So, we are in agreement?" Cooper asked the group. "There's a plan for Agnes for, at least, the next few days and then Don, you'll figure out something more permanent?"

Don nodded and so did Reddington.

Alina looked at them all like they were nuts.

"So, Donald, has Lizzie contacted you since she left this morning?" Reddington asked.

"Not yet," Don said simply.

Reddington nodded.

"It was only a couple of hours ago," Reddington said as the rest of the group looked at Ressler. "I'm sure she's busy getting away still."

"Did she say when she expected to be back?" Aram asked. "Agnes stayed with Scottie for months and…"

"I expect it will be a while," Don said candidly.

"Like months, a while?" Aram asked.

"Can I take the rest of the day?" Don asked as he cleared his throat. "Agnes and I have to do some shopping."

"Of course," Cooper nodded.

"I'll keep up the security detail at your apartment as well Donald," Reddington said as the young man started to walk past him.

"I wouldn't expect any less, Red," Don said over his shoulder as he opened the door.

Aram turned on his heel and followed Ressler out and down the stairs.

Ressler walked up to the table where Agnes was colouring and smiled down at her.

"Nice glitter," Don said kindly.

"I am almost out," Agnes said. "Mummy kept saying we'd get more but…"

"We'll get some more today, okay?" Don asked her.

Aram watched as his friend awkwardly tried to navigate his relationship with the little girl.

"Okay Uncle Donnie," Agnes smiled up at him.

"We're going to get going soon," Don said as he placed a hand on her head. "Fifteen minutes Connor, have her ready to go."

Connor nodded and Don left the young girl to her colouring and walked into his office with Aram at his heels.

Reddington and Dembe walked down the stairs and out of the office while Don watched them from the window in his office. How had he not clued in to Reddington's detail on him?

"Aram…" Don warned when he saw his friend walk in the office behind him.

"I just don't…" Aram started. "You had keys to each other's apartments?"

Don didn't turn around to look at him and instead pretended he was looking for something in a file cabinet.

"So, this whole 'Liz came to my apartment, Liz contacted me' thing was…you two were involved?" Aram asked.

"It's complicated," was all Don conceded.

"That's putting it lightly," Aram said as he watched the man fake-read a file.

"So, how are you with this Agnes situation?" Aram asked.

He watched Don swallow hard.

"We'll be fine," he said.

Aram watched his jaw tense and then release. He was far from comfortable taking care of a five-year-old girl, but he was probably not going to admit that.

Last night, when Don had walked into his apartment, he was relieved but also had a sinking feeling why Liz was there with Agnes. He had been wondering, in the back of his mind, if this would happen one day. They had eaten together, and Agnes had been put to bed in his bed so he and Liz could talk in the living room. She had explained her worries and fears for Agnes and asked him to take her, she said she'd like to say it was just for a few days, but she needed him to know it was probably for months. Don swallowed and nodded. He would never say no, but he also didn't really want to say yes. But without hesitation he had agreed, reassured her even that things would be good, that the time would pass quickly, and she would be back with Agnes sooner than she thought and this would be a little vacation with Uncle Don.

Liz smiled in relief at his quick response and pretended to not see the reservation in his eyes. She had talked lists with him, things Agnes liked, things she hated, things that scared her. Don tried to take it all in, but mostly it was a blur of information because all he could hear was his heart pounding in his ears. He felt the dryness at the back of his throat and the prickles of sweat gathering in the small of his back.

And then, she had kissed him hard, and he had responded for a moment and then pushed her back. He didn't need her to do this, to seal the deal, to assure he was thanked for taking her child. She looked at him confused and then angry. She wanted this for her, what was between them had nothing to do with Agnes, she assured him. That if she had asked Aram to take Agnes, she would still be falling into Don's bed tonight before she ran again. He had hurt her feelings, and he regretted his instinct to protect himself when it came to Liz. It was almost instinctual at this point, and he needed to stop that if he was to allow them to move forward.

After a slightly heated discussion and some raised voices, he told her he loved her and that he wanted her to know that before she left, that he needed her to know that before she left. That he wasn't going to let her leave again without making that crystal clear. She had responded by kissing him and they had made love on the floor of his living room, tumbling off the sofa and onto the carpet like two teenagers with no regard for knees or backs or sore muscles. He had laid with her in his arms, naked on the floor with just a throw blanket barely covering them for a long time, their skin covered in goose bumps from the cool air of his apartment. She had told him the story of when she first knew he meant more to her than anyone else and he was smugly satisfied that it had been many years ago, before Agnes had been born.

They had hastily half dressed, and Liz had carefully lifted Agnes off his bed and carried her to the sofa where she tucked her in and sat watching her sleep. Don had left Liz to that moment with her child, the last night with her in a long time, and was almost asleep when she crawled into bed next to him and cried in his arms. They had slept the rest of the night with her spooned in his embrace and her tears wetting his sheets. He had reassured her, kissed her shoulders, whispered in her ear, and at some point, they had both fallen asleep. And, in the early hours of the morning, while Agnes was eating pancakes he had made them, Liz kissed them both goodbye, told Don for the first time that she loved him, and had walked out the door. She hadn't wanted to make a big deal of her exit, or create a scene, or upset Agnes, but Don knew by the time she got to his elevator she was probably a bawling mess.

"Last night," Aram started and heard Don sigh, he obviously didn't want to talk about what happened with Liz anymore. "Did she give you any instructions or…?"

"There's a storage locker with some things for Agnes," Don said, relived there weren't any more questions about Liz showing up at his apartment last night. "Liz gave me a list of her favorite foods, TV shows and movies she likes…"

"That's it?" Aram asked.

"What else is there?" Don asked, confused by his question.

"What did she tell Agnes about leaving and you taking care of her?" Aram asked. "Does Agnes know you well?"

Don cleared his throat. In truth, most of his time with Liz had been spent at her apartment after Agnes was asleep and before she woke. He had spent some time with Agnes, but not much.

"It'll be fine, Aram," Don said, to himself as much as to his friend. He snapped the file shut and reached for his jacket and Agnes' on his desk and nodded toward his friend. "Hold down the fort for the rest of the day?"

Aram nodded, knowing the book was closed on any sort of further discussion. "Yeah, I will, don't worry about a thing."

Don nodded and walked past him into the bull pen and saw Connor packing up all of the art supplies.

"Where's Agnes?" Don asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Agent Park took her to the washroom and to de-glitter," Connor offered as he zipped up the glitter unicorn backpack and Don took it and placed it over his shoulder.

"Thanks for today Connor," Don said sincerely.

"No problem," he said with a smile. "Good luck."

Don nodded and turned when he heard Agnes walking toward them chatting merrily with Alina.

"Ready to go?" Don asked Agnes.

She smiled at him and reached for his hand. Don took her little hand in his and looked down at their joined hands for a minute, it suddenly got very real that she was his responsibility for the near future. Don nodded, his conviction to take care of her sealed.

"Let's go get you a few things, does that sound like a good idea?" Don asked as he looked down at the little girl bouncing on her heels next to him.

She nodded and they made their way toward the elevator.

Alina walked next to Aram and they both watched them leave, Agnes skipping next to Don and Don walking with their two jackets over his arm and her glitter unicorn backpack over his shoulder.

"How's he doing?" Alina asked.

"He says he's fine," Aram said quietly.

"Is he?" Alina asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and watched them wait for the elevator, Agnes talking about a song she wants to listen to in the car and Don nodding.

"God, no," Aram said before he turned and walked back to his desk.

The end.