Wait 9
Author's Note: Continuing with the story off book and AU. I may incorporate some of the elements of canon but I'm not holding myself to any of the proper story.
Let me know what you think!
SSSSSSSSSSS
Donald Ressler stepped onto the elevator and turned around, noting that Liz was not next to him. Rather, she was standing on the other side looking at him.
"You coming?" He asked.
She bit her lip.
"Liz?" Ressler asked.
She shifted.
He stepped off the elevator and toward her and let the door close behind him.
"What's going on?" Ressler asked.
"As soon as I step off that elevator, I'm a consultant and not an agent," she said.
He took her hand in his and smiled at her. "I've got some news for you, Liz. You are already a consultant, and I'm so happy you are, because that means I still get to work with you. The title may be different, but you at the post office helping catch blacklisters is the same."
She gave him a small smile and nodded.
"I am grateful for this chance," Liz said. "I'm not an idiot, but it's just not who I see myself as."
"I think you'll find your place," he said quietly. "And maybe that place isn't as different as you thought it would be."
She nodded.
"I'll have to see how it feels," Liz said. "I know Reddington is thrilled."
"He is really happy all his efforts paid off," Ressler said.
"How do my…?" Liz asked as she touched her face.
"Can't see anything," he said with a smile. "No signs of a fight."
She nodded and pressed the button and the door opened again. Liz stepped inside and Ressler followed.
It had been 5 days since the incident and she was mostly healed, sore still, but healed. Her vomiting had stopped, and she was well rested, it still didn't mean she was ready to face a future that no longer involved being an agent. Ressler had made an off-hand comment that with the baby coming she might have another focus in her life, and she looked at him annoyed. He knew she wasn't sure of her abilities as a mother, but it was the first time it was apparent.
"Hey, I know Aram and Samar know, and we told them to keep it quiet, but when do you think we should tell Cooper? It feels weird only him not knowing," Ressler said.
"Today?" Liz asked. "I'd like to do it together though. There may be some implications for the FBI that we'll need him to navigate so we can still work together."
"Without you in the field, it makes things a little easier, probably," Ressler said.
She nodded.
"Oh, we're also out of food," Ressler said. "Grocery run after work?"
She smiled and looked at him funny.
"What?" He asked, his eyebrow raising toward his hairline as the elevator beeped, indicating the arrival at their floor.
"It's just sooo domestic," Liz smirked.
"Is domestic bad?" Ressler asked, unsure.
"When you wake me like you did this morning," Liz gave him a mischievously. "It felt very undomestic…"
Ressler chuckled. He had woken her this morning with a sexual act that he knew would relax her going into her first day back at work and it had done just that until they arrived at the Post Office.
The doors to the elevator opened and there was chaos in the room before them.
"Agent Ressler, I have been trying to get a hold of you," Cooper said as he walked toward them.
"What's going on?" Ressler asked as he reached for his phone and turned it on. It blew up with beep after beep indicating messages. "Sorry, I didn't realize my phone was off."
"The Politician's accomplice, Mason, is holding hostages at…"
"What? He was in the wind, all intel pointed toward Asia and…" Ressler started.
"Welcome back Elizabeth," Cooper nodded at her.
"Thank you, sir," Elizabeth nodded. "How can I help?"
"Can you take a look at the psych reports on the man and help us come up with some profile information that can help with the hostage situation," Cooper asked her. "I need you and Navabi at the site immediately."
Ressler nodded and touched Liz's elbow exchanging a look with her before he walked toward Samar.
Liz watched him leave her side and walked toward Aram.
"Where are the psych reports?" She asked him.
"Hey Liz, welcome back," Aram smiled at her. "What a day to return."
"Yeah, it looks like all hands are on deck," Liz smiled. "Can I get those reports?"
She watched Ressler and Samar don their Kevlar as they walked toward the elevator and felt worry in the pit of her stomach for the first time. She was always there to back him up and today she wasn't. She absolutely trusted Samar but still didn't like that she wasn't there.
Liz poured over the psych reports for Mike Mason and came up with some ideas about the man that she could share with the team on site. They hooked her up to a comm and the first person she spoke with was an agent on the scene. As soon as he heard her name he scoffed and seemed to not take what she was saying seriously. She pushed through the conversation and waited for Ressler and Samar to finally get on the comm so she could be done with the asshole.
"Keen, we're wired," Ressler's voice came through loud and deep in her ear.
"What's Mason doing?" Liz asked.
"A lot of pacing," Ressler said. "We think 2 hostages are dead."
Liz took a deep breath.
"He's probably got issues with mothers," Liz said over the comm. "He's more likely to kill women who are the same age as his mother, late fifties, or women who represent motherhood to him. Anyone pregnant, of child-bearing age, anyone who mentions they have children…"
"Got it," Ressler said. "Intel says the two likely victims are late fifties, early sixties, both women."
"Fits," Liz said.
"Anything else?" Ressler asked.
"I thought you didn't put much faith in profiles?" Liz smiled.
"Only yours," he said back low and soft, and Liz thought that may have been the sexiest words he ever spoke to her.
"Get the mother-figures out first," Liz said. "When you talk with Mason, talk about masculine things, things that support his feelings of manhood. Don't say anything that could be considered emasculation."
"Got it," Ressler said. "Thanks, we'll get back on comm once we make contact."
"Be safe," Liz said before he broke contact.
It was another 40 minutes before she heard from him again.
"Liz," Aram said across the room. "Samar is in the comm."
Liz reached for her earpiece.
"Samar?" Liz asked.
"Mason's let a few women go but he seems to be fixated on one woman," Samar said.
"Older?" Liz asked.
"Yes," Samar said.
"Short blonde hair?" Liz asked.
"Yes, did Ressler…?"
"She represents his mother," Liz explained. "She's in the most danger."
"Shit," Samar said.
"What did Agent Navabi say?" Cooper asked as he arrived at her side.
"Mason's fixated on a woman who looks like his mother," Liz explained. "Samar, you need to get her out of there as soon as possible. He's likely to execute her for his mother's crimes."
"Ressler is trying to negotiate her release as we speak," Samar explained. "Mason doesn't seem too interested in talking to the police about the hostages."
"Tell Ressler to turn on his mic and comm so I can hear what is being said," Liz explained.
"Copy," Samar said and the line went dead.
A minute later, Liz heard Ressler's voice as he spoke with the man about some new NRA policy that just was passed. Liz smiled, he was talking about perceived masculine topics and doing as she suggested, keeping the man holding hostages from feeling emasculated at all.
"Hey, it's me," Liz said into his ear softly. "Keep Mason on manly topics and talk about how men are misunderstood."
She heard him talk with the man for quite some time about hunting and learned that Ressler knew a lot about hunting and even preparing the animals you killed. It was an incredibly detailed conversation about brands and styles of knives at one point. Liz kept telling him he was doing a good job.
"Is he calmer?" Liz asked softly.
"Yeah, man, I get it," Ressler replied in the positive.
"The woman's name inside with him is Paige Buckle and she's single, a librarian with a local branch and she cares for her father who has cancer," Liz said softly. "Tell him that about her, he needs to see she's very different from his mother."
Ressler talked with him for another couple of minutes about hunting and then nodded toward the woman and shared the information Liz had shared.
The man turned and looked at Paige Buckle as if he was seeing her for the first time.
"Her dad needs medication, he's in a bed, and she needs to get home and give him it," Ressler said. "She's a dedicated daughter who lives with him and cares for him everyday."
Mason started to look anxious.
"How about you let her go, let them all go, and you and I can just talk," Ressler offered.
Mason bent over a little and nodded.
"They can come out?" Ressler asked, surprised he was agreeing to this so quickly.
Mason nodded again and walked away from the door.
Liz heard Ressler and other law enforcement yelling for the hostages to come out and run toward waiting officers. Liz could hear the chaos of the situation and in the middle of all of it she heard a gun shot and Ressler swear.
"What?" Liz asked him.
"Shots from inside, shots fired inside! Breach!" Ressler yelled and the line went dead.
Liz looked at Aram following the team from a traffic cam at the corner and walked over to his desk.
"What do you see?" Liz asked.
"I think another 6 hostages got out," Aram said squinting at the screen. "And it seems like Agent Ressler and what looked like every other cop on the scene ran into the building."
"And other shots fired?" Liz asked.
"I'm not sure," Aram said.
Liz bit her lip.
Several minutes passed before Cooper came down the stairs.
"Mason is dead," he said to the pair of them. "Self inflicted gunshot wound."
"Anyone else hurt?" Liz asked.
"A few of the hostages are dehydrated and all are quite shaken," Cooper said. "But besides the two earlier victims, no other serious injuries. Agents Ressler and Navabi are organizing the scene."
Liz and Aram nodded.
"Great work profiling and helping Agent Ressler negotiate so no one else was hurt," Cooper said. "We're lucky to have you back."
Liz smiled and nodded, and Cooper walked away.
Liz was just about to open her mouth when she heard Ressler's voice in her ear.
"Thanks for all of your help," he said. She could hear the commotion around him. "I couldn't have done that without you."
"Glad to be back," Liz said with a smile.
"It's going to be a while at the scene," Ressler said. "Samar and I probably won't be back until the end of the day."
"See you then," Liz smiled and heard the connection end. She took out her earpiece and smiled at Aram.
"Everyone is right," Aram said. "It's good to have you back, Liz."
She sighed and leaned in a little.
"Ressler told me about Samar," Liz said quietly.
"Oh, uh…I'm sorry…"
Liz looked at him confused.
"Are you okay with what happened?" Aram asked, confused.
Liz nodded.
"Really?" Aram asked surprised.
"Aram…It was a mistake, he and I weren't in a committed relationship, and I also recognize that I helped create the circumstances that lead him down that road," Liz said clearly. "Am I thrilled? No. But do I understand and can move on from it? Yeah, definitely."
"Wow," Aram said, surprised she didn't seem to have as much of an issue with it as he did.
"And you need to forgive them and move on as well," Liz said. "If I can…"
Liz placed a hand on her stomach knowingly.
"Then you can." Liz finished.
Aram swallowed hard and nodded.
"I'm not saying it's easy, but I'm saying neither you nor I have the right to judge two people who reached out to each other in a moment of pain when they were not committed to us in any way. In fact, I'm sure Samar just thinks you are friends, and I know Ressler thought I used him that night."
Aram nodded.
"I'm going to write up a good copy of a profile and head out after lunch, unless I'm needed," Liz said. "I'll check in with Reddington."
Aram nodded and they parted ways.
And at 1:30 pm that day Liz was walking around a grocery store with Reddington shopping for her and Ressler. She had already gone through the meat and veg departments loading up on items she knew they used and didn't have and were in dairy.
"Lizzie, we could have been sitting and having a nice lunch," Reddington said as he watched her place cream in the cart.
"We need groceries and Ressler is dealing with the scene," Liz explained. "He's not going to want to go grocery shopping after today. I'm doing this to be thoughtful."
"Are you and Donald in couples therapy?" Reddington chuckled.
"No, but we probably should be, so I don't screw this up," Liz chuckled as she placed cheese in the cart.
"You won't," Reddington said as he took the crappy cheese out of her cart and reached for a nicer one and placed it in the cart.
"How do you know that?" Liz asked.
"Because when you were with Tom you would have never shopped on your lunch hour to be thoughtful," Reddington said. "As committed to him as you were, god help us all, you wouldn't have considered a long hard day as a teacher reason enough to do something nice for him. I know it was his job, but he was always more considerate of you then you were of him."
Liz thought about his words and nodded. The most she had ever done for Tom, if she felt he was stressed, was get take-out of have sex with him. It would have never occurred to her to shop for groceries to make his life easier.
"So, you think I'm more committed to Ressler than I was to Tom?" Liz asked him, nodding for him to turn the cart toward the checkout.
"I think you understand Donald better, and your desire to be a family and a couple is stronger with him," Reddington said. "I don't doubt that you loved Tom…but I always wondered if you fully committed to him."
Liz looked at him curiously as they got in line.
"Who am I to say?" Reddington said with a smirk. "But this looks good on you Lizzie. You're already more of a committed partner to Donald than you were with Tom. And you and Tom were together for years."
Liz nodded and loaded her items onto the conveyor belt.
"All I'm saying," Reddington continued. "Is I am proud of you Lizzie. You took the lemons that were Tom and are making lemonade with Donald."
Liz chuckled at his analogy and packed her groceries with the clerk.
"Do you have any new Blacklisters?" Liz asked as they started to wheel out of the store.
"I have hundreds," Reddington laughed. "But how about we start a new case next week. All of you need to finish the work on this one first."
"Slowing down, are we?" Liz chuckled.
"Maybe just cognizant of the fact that the people on the task force need lives outside of work and, for almost 3 years there hasn't been much time for that," Reddington said as he helped her and Dembe put the groceries in the trunk of his car. "The criminals will always be there, but a burnt-out task force can't capture them."
Liz nodded. "Does this have to do with my condition?"
"Yours and Donald's upcoming bundle of joy?" Reddington asked, getting in the car with her. Liz could see that he considered lying to her but stopped himself. "Partially. I want you to have a healthy pregnancy Lizzie. I want you and Donald to experience the joy of family. And that cannot be accomplished if you and he are working non-stop."
"Reddington…" Liz started.
"And maybe I'm getting older and want some breaks between cases," Reddington said as the car started, and they headed toward Ressler's apartment. "Dembe and I are going to visit a friend in Nantucket this weekend. I need more breaks too."
Liz sighed. She knew he was being honest, but also knew that her pregnancy was still the primary reason for the slow down. Liz also knew that nothing she was going to say would change his mind, so it wasn't worth the argument.
"Thank you for not letting him kill the guy who beat me up," Liz said as she looked at Reddington.
"It's in all of our interests that Donald stays out of jail," Reddington nodded.
"How so?" Liz asked.
"Because if he was to be placed in jail, I couldn't handle the loss it would bring to your life, and the life of your child," Reddington said. "So, I would be forced to break him out of jail, and he'd be forced to be a fugitive, which, I imagine, would not make Donald happy."
Liz laughed. "Your reasoning astounds me."
"It's a gift," Reddington said. "Speaking of gifts…I would like to gift you and Donald with a gorgeous place that I have recently acquired in the…"
"No homes, no apartments, no condos," Liz said. "Thank you for your offer, but we'll figure it out."
"On government salaries?" Reddington asked. "Have you looked at housing prices in DC?"
"No, we haven't," Liz admitted. "But we're not taking a home as a gift. Others manage, so will we."
Reddington huffed next to her as they pulled up outside of Ressler's place.
He and Dembe brought up her groceries and helped her unpack them.
"Then what am I permitted to buy you?" Reddington said. "What is all this money for except to spend it on those around me?"
Liz snickered. "This is really bothering you, isn't it?"
Reddington looked around Ressler's nice but small apartment.
"He owns or rents?" Reddington asked.
"Owns, why?" Liz asked.
Reddington didn't respond.
"You need a home, Lizzie," Reddington said.
"I actually really like it here," Liz replied. "I feel incredibly safe in this space. And a baby doesn't take up…"
Reddington turned and looked at her.
"I'm glad you feel safe here, Lizzie," Reddington said honestly.
"Thank you," Liz nodded as she gathered up the bags and put them in recycling.
Her phone rang and she looked down to see Ressler's name.
"Hey, how's it going at the scene?" Liz asked when she answered the call.
"Slow," he replied. "I'm not sure I'm getting back to the Post Office this afternoon."
"That's okay," she said. "I can wait."
"No, I don't know when we'll get out of here," Ressler said. "I don't want you starving and waiting around for me to get home."
Liz nodded.
"Okay, I'll see you at home," Liz said with a small smile; she liked referring to his place as home.
"Text me what you need from groceries, and I'll pick the essentials up on my way…" Ressler started.
"Already done," she smiled.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"Reddington and Dembe took me to a grocery store on my lunch and we now have food," Liz said, proudly.
"Well, look at you," Ressler smiled. "Thanks. Liz."
"I bought a frozen lasagna so I'll have that when you get home, so you don't have to cook," she offered.
"I really do love you," he sighed and she could here the fatigue in his voice. Negotiating always take a lot out of the persona responsible.
"That's because I'm amazing," Liz chuckled.
"Always," Ressler laughed.
"See you later," Liz said before they disconnected.
She turned to see Reddington looking at her strangely.
"What?" Liz asked, slightly embarrassed.
"Your face lights up when you speak with Donald, I haven't noticed that as much before," Reddington observed. "It's nice to see Lizzie."
Hours later, Liz was home from work and reading one of the pregnancy books they had ordered online, when Ressler came through the door.
"Sorry, it's late," he said tiredly. "Did you eat?"
"Yeah, I wasn't waiting," Liz chuckled as she got up. "But I can have another small piece and sit with you while you eat. The scene all cleared?"
He nodded as he undid his tie and threw it over a chair while she went to the kitchen.
"I feel badly because you are always the one to cook," Liz said. "I know I'm not a great cook, but I think I should take a few nights a week off your hands."
"Sure," he said as he peeled off his suit jacket and threw it with the tie, emptying his pockets of keys and wallet while he took off his holster and gun. "I'm good with that."
"Why don't I take Monday, Wednesday and Fridays? It may be takeout, or it may be something like this, but it won't be a night you have to cook," Liz offered as she plated lasagna for him and a small piece for herself.
"Sounds great Liz," he said as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "And it smells amazing."
"You can thank Mama Leoni for that," she chuckled as she settled into his frame.
"Thank you, Mama Leoni…" Ressler said as he kissed her neck and she giggled.
"And Reddington stopped at a great Italian bakery, so we have Sicilian cannolis for dessert," Liz said. "He scoffed at my cheese choices."
"He's Reddington," Ressler chuckled as she handed him a plate with Lasagna and salad on it.
They walked to the table and sat down to eat.
"Hey, can you be honest with me?" Liz asked him.
"Always," he said before he put a mouthful of lasagna in his mouth.
"Would you be okay with me staying here?" Liz asked. "The more I think about my own apartment, the more it doesn't make sense. But if you…"
"Liz," he said as he reached for her hand. "I want you to stay."
She nodded and smiled.
"And babies don't take up much room, right?" She said looking around.
"I think we try it out, but if it doesn't work, I can sell, and we can find another…"
"And I'd like to contribute to your mortgage payments," Liz said.
"Liz, it's fine," he said. "I have it all set up with my accounts."
"Ressler, I need to…"
"How about you buy the groceries and put gas in the car, things like that?" He asked, knowing she was not going to let this go.
"I'm not sure that's even," Liz said.
"I don't care about even," he smiled at her. "We can figure out what works. But if you want even, then we can figure that out as well."
She nodded and leaned in and kissed him.
"What was that for?" Ressler asked when they parted.
"For being you," Liz smiled at him.
He leaned forward and kissed her softly.
"What's that for?" Liz asked.
"For being you too," Ressler smiled at her.
They sat looking at each other for a long time, smiling, before they both chuckled and went back to their food.
To be continued…