Agnes 29
Author's Note: Second Last chapter of this little tale.
Let me know what you think.
RRRRRR
Donald Ressler was one happy man. Liz, Reddington, and Dembe had arrived in Iceland safe and with good news on December 29th. Townsend and his entire organization had been eliminated, the threat against all of them was now gone, and they were safe. Would there be other threats? Possibly, but none as significant as Townsend. As much as everyone had hoped to be together for the holiday, Ressler would take safety over any date. And tonight was New Year's Eve, a time for fresh starts. They had banged pots and pans with Agnes at fake midnight (aka 9 pm) and allowed her to stay up with them until she fell asleep, which turned out to be just before 10 pm.
He sat with Liz leaning against him on one side and Agnes asleep on him on the other side starring at the fire before them. More than half of their security team had left, Reddington and Dembe had come just for a day and then departed for parts unknown, and they were having a quiet moment, the first as a family in a long time. He turned the envelope that Reddington had given him, over and over again in his hand and continued to look at the fire.
"You going to open that?" Liz asked him as she looked t the envelope that was causing him so much grief.
"I don't want to ruin the moment," Ressler chuckled sadly.
"Maybe this is the moment where you need to deal with this," Liz offered.
He nodded slowly.
"Do you want me to?" Liz asked him as she placed a hand on his thigh.
"No, I will," Ressler said quietly.
They went quiet for a few minutes and then she watched him start to tear open the envelope slowly.
He took out the packet of papers with photos attached and took a deep heaving breath.
It was information about the woman who had assaulted him, the man who was involved in the collection, and the Incubator who ran the operation. The Cabal was, of course, part of it, but most of those members were gone or so embedded in the organization, government and other nefarious projects that they were fairly untouchable.
Liz watched him read the information and look away, then look back at the information. His eyes were watery, and his breathing started to become ragged.
"Honey, you're safe," Liz said as she sat up a little and wrapped an arm around his stomach, comforting him.
He nodded and wiped at his eyes.
"What's it say?" Liz asked. She knew Reddington had been working on this as a side project for the last little while, but he hadn't told her anything.
"The incubator is dead," Ressler said. "Killed two years ago in a deal gone wrong."
Liz nodded and kissed the side of his face. She wasn't sure if that brought him solace of more disquiet that he couldn't face one of the people that hurt him.
"The man who came to take my sample away is Hershel Godderick," Ressler said. "He lives in Queens, works as a lab tech, wife, two kids."
Liz nodded. She wished he was some shady asshole that made this easier. But, the reality of life was that many people involved in Blacklist cases or crimes in general, were people who were otherwise regular citizen, usually good people who did bad things.
Ressler flipped to another page and read it. He sighed and closed the papers and stuffed them back in the envelope.
Liz wanted to ask about the woman, but waited to see if he wanted to share. It was his information, not hers, and she wanted to let him share it only when and if he was ready.
He turned his head and kissed her softly on the lips. She smiled at him and kissed him back.
"Her name is Trina Cordova," he said softly, their noses almost touching. "She dabbles in drugs, prostitution, does jobs for some people for money…"
Liz swallowed, she wasn't part of the Cabal either. Like the lab tech, just a person they hired, used, possibly blackmailed.
"What do you want to do?" Liz asked.
He sighed and looked away from her and down at Agnes and closed his eyes. As much as he hated what was done to him, he loved his daughter.
"We pass the case onto the Bureau," he said softly. "They can bring them in, charge them, and…"
"You'll need to testify," Liz said, knowing the right path was going to be harder for him than the easy one. But, long term, he'd be able to live with his choices and sleep better at night.
He nodded slowly.
"If the Bureau can get them to admit it though," Liz said, placing a hand on his cheek to make him look at her. "Then it'll just go away quietly. They'll be punished by the system and you won't have to re-live it."
He nodded, tears in his eyes.
She leaned in and softly kissed his lips.
"I love you," she said when they parted. "And I will be there for whatever you choose. Even if you change your mind every second day, I will support your choice."
He nodded slowly.
He pulled away from her and slowly reached under Agnes and lifted her up, carrying her up to her bed, and tucking her in before he re-joined Liz on the sofa. He had called his mother about Agnes yesterday. She wasn't able to figure out a video call, so it was just over the phone, and there were a lot of long pauses. He couldn't really get a handle on how she felt about all this. She'd met Agnes on their visit to Detroit and outright asked him if Agnes was his, and he had been honest in that moment when he said she was not because he hadn't known then. But his mom, as much as he loved her was a straight-to-the-point woman who loved him, but didn't coddle him. She had advised him to forget the past and be grateful he had a kid. Ressler knew she meant well, but that was easier said than done. He told her they were still figuring out their plans, and she said she wanted to visit with them, get to know her granddaughter better and meet Liz. He liked how the call had ended and had promised to call her with more information when they had made some decisions.
Liz tucked her body into his they sat quietly watching the fire for a long time, their spiked cider cooling on the table. They had set up a video call with the members of the task force tomorrow, they were all meeting at Cooper's place to talk with them. Ressler and Liz were going to tell them about Agnes, Townsend and everything in between. They owed that to their friends and wanted to stop keeping secrets from them. Ressler was secretly hoping Aram or all of them would want to visit them right away when they got back and understand why they had to do what they had to do.
"I like it here," she said quietly. "It's peaceful and it's…"
He waited for her to continue and then turned his head to look down at her.
"It's?"
"It's where we became a family," Liz smiled up at him. "You and me and Agnes."
He nodded and smiled down at her.
"Want to get back to DC right away or…?"
"Or?" Ressler asked.
"Or stay here for a few months?" Liz asked him.
He looked at her surprised, thinking she would want to get back to their old lives and put this chapter behind them as soon as possible.
"I like Iceland," Ressler admitted.
She smiled softly at him.
"How many months are you thinking?" Ressler asked her, not sure if she was talking just until spring or enjoying a summer here again.
"I'd like to see the midnight sun," Liz said. "And Agnes is doing so well with the doctors here, I'd hate to have to change that so soon."
Ressler nodded. She was thinking longer than the winter.
"How are things with Reddington and you?" Ressler asked. They had spoken about the difference between what she wanted and what Reddington wanted frequently, but he wasn't sure if she had got through to Reddington yet.
"We have had many long talks," Liz said quietly as she leaned into the collar of his flannel shirt and nuzzled it. "His plans for me were his plans, and not mine. He gets that now."
"And?" Ressler asked.
"And, I think, when we're ready, we should see if the Bureau will take us back and, if not, find other jobs," Liz said. "I won't be the next concierge of crime."
Ressler nodded and smiled at her, pulling her a little closer. "Good."
She kissed the side of his neck. "He's agreed to continue to work with the task force, but on more of a part-time basis. He said he needs to enjoy some vacation time in between cases. He seems…"
Ressler waited for her to continue, and when she didn't, he squeezed her hip.
"It's like without me involved, he's lost a bit of his appetite for it," Liz said. "I feel bad about that, but I also am not ready to jump back into the Bureau right now. I want time for us. I need time for us."
"And that starts with him coming to terms with you not taking over his empire?" Ressler asked.
"I may be a lot of things," Liz said softly. "But I can't do that."
He swallowed hard and nodded. Ressler knew she didn't want to be part of Reddington's world as a criminal, but he always worried she would be brought into during her quest to take down Townsend.
"And the money?" Ressler asked, knowing that Liz had taken millions from Reddington to keep him and Agnes safe and to finance her hunt for Townsend.
"He's chalked it up to my inheritance," Liz snickered. "Most people get jewellery from their dead relatives I got a whole lot of cash."
Ressler kissed the top of her head.
"That can keep us here for a while and set us up in DC or wherever we choose, and keep us comfortable until and even after we figure things out," Liz said.
He nodded, as much as he didn't like that the money was likely from crime, that money had kept his family safe, fed, and protected.
He shifted and forced her to move, until he had them both laying on the sofa in front of the fire, her back wedged into his front and his arms around her body.
"You tell me when you're ready to get married to have a baby…" Ressler started. "You've…it's been a year, Liz. And I don't want you to think…"
She rolled and turned in his arms facing him.
"I'm done with the past," Liz said with a smile. "I want my future to start now."
He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled.
She leaned in and kissed him passionately and clothing was swiftly removed as Ressler and Liz started to practice for when she was off birth control, and they could create a new addition to their family.
To be continued…