What If? Part 6

Author's Note: I know you wanted the scene to start right after the last one, but it's not. This is me writing the scenes I want and not fleshing out the entire story so here's the next one—I'll fill in some backstory.

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"I can't believe you're alive," Liz hissed annoyed as she was pressed up against him in the small box that the terrorists thought contained guns but actually contained one adult male and one very pregnant adult female.

"You sound so thrilled," Ressler sighed as he shifted. Her stomach was pushing right into his groin and it was becoming very uncomfortable and the trip had just started.

"I grieved your loss, I cried Ressler..." Liz said.

"And I had to let that happen so I could get intel and if I hadn't, you would be on your own here," he said. "And how would that have went?

"Kirk won't kill me, but he wouldn't let me leave either," Liz said. "He would kill you for this though."

The truck hit a bump and they both bounced in the small crate, she landed more on him than her.

"Sorry," she said as she shifted her weight off him.

"It's okay, as long as the baby is..."

"I'm giving her up," Liz explained as she untwisted her leg from between his.

Ressler knitted his brows together. Reddington hadn't said that to him. In truth, he hadn't asked. Liz had been at the estate for an entire day before they had a moment to speak. And it was literally 1 minute. Then a day after that they had another minute. Then 3 days later when they had about 3 minutes to speak. Besides convincing her he was undercover they hadn't gotten far on any other details before he showed up to her room about 11 pm just shy of one week into her stay and helped her escape to this delivery van. He had just planned to send her; to get her free. But she had pulled him in with her and threatened to go back if he didn't come as well. Which was, how they ended up in this too-small crate he assessed big enough for one.

"Why?" He asked.

She tried to pull her hips back and away from him. The baby was pressing on her bladder and their close quarters meant he was pressing on the baby who was pressing on her bladder.

"She'll have a better life away from all this," Liz explained.

He looked down at her in the darkness and waited for the rest of the explanation; the real explanation.

"If I keep her, I'm tied to Tom forever and that is not something I want," Liz said softly. "I wanted to adopt. And now I can give back to an adoptive couple."

"Wanted? Past tense?" Ressler asked.

She sighed.

"I'm alone, Ressler," she said as she rubbed the side of her stomach. "And obviously a poor judge of character considering..."

"He fooled you," he said, his voice sure and clear. "You can't be held resp..."

"It's gonna take a long time before I trust anyone again," Liz chuckled.

"Liz, I'm sorry I... what the hell was that?" He asked as he felt a thump against his thigh.

"Lucille," she smirked.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"I call her Lucille, as in Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development because she's demanding," Liz chuckled.

"The mom on the show?" Ressler chuckled with her.

"The one and only," Liz said as she grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly. "Here."

They bumped along in silence as he felt Lucille kick and roll.

"That's amazing," he smiled down at her.

She smiled back. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing what two screwed up individuals can..."

Ressler pulled his hand back.

"I don't want you to talk like that about..."

"It's true," Liz sighed. "You know it and so do I."

The truck turned and she slid flush against him. Ressler wrapped an arm around her back and steadied her.

"You okay?" He asked.

She nodded and enjoyed the comfort of his embrace, not trying to pull away.

"I am glad you're alive," Liz said quietly. "Ecstatic, really."

Ressler swallowed hard.

"I wish I had known I'd be joining you in this very small crate," Ressler said, trying to break the tension. "I would have showered again after my shift. It's going to get pretty rank in..."

His speech was cut off by Liz kissing him soft and slow on the lips.

He took a moment before he responded and kissed her back, feeling another man's child rolling between them. They broke apart when the truck came to a stop.

"There's no way we're in Truro yet," Ressler said as he felt around for the gun and ammo.

"Shit," Liz said as she too tried to find everything that had shifted along the way.

"Gun?" he hissed as he heard the door to the back open.

"I think it's under my ass," she said as she shifted and rolled onto him.

"Come on, I have the ammo," he encouraged as she wiggled her very pregnant body and very ample breasts against him.

"Here," she said as she shoved it into his hand.

The lid to the box was pulled up before he could get it in the carriage and in the bright lights he saw a weapon trained on them and heard Shayla's voice.

"Jesus Christ you're going to get us all killed," she said as she looked down at her bedmate laying with the very pregnant daughter of her boss practically on top of him.

"Shayla I..." Ressler said as he pushed Liz down and tried to block her body with his own while his eyes adjusted to the bright light in the truck storage unit.

"Agent Ressler and Agent Keen, get the hell out of that," Shayla said as she jumped down onto the ground.

Ressler looked at Liz; his mind reeling. He had been discovered. He was actually going to be a dead man now. He hoped he could save Liz, at least.

"Shayla..." Ressler started as he rose carefully, keeping Liz behind him as she got up as well.

"Give me your phone," Shayla said.

Her gun was away and Ressler was thinking he could take her when...there was something about the way she was standing...

He tossed her his phone and she pulled up a screen, tapped his phone a few times and placed her finger on it and tossed it back to him.

"Send that to your mother," she said.

Ressler looked at her confused.

"Just do it," she said.

He sent the image of her fingerprint she'd created to Reddington.

"What the hell is going on?" Ressler asked.

"Ethan, or Don...which do you prefer?" Shayla asked.

"If you need money, I have a man who..." Liz said as she started to walk toward Shayla.

"I'm Officer Nora King of Homeland Security and you, my dears, are fucking up my operation," Shayla said as Ressler's phone started to ring.

"Answer it," Shayla said.

Perplexed, Ressler put the phone to his ear.

"Why are you sending me the fingerprint of and ex-military homeland security officer through a classified government security channel app?" Reddington's voice asked on the other end.

Ressler looked at Shayla astounded. She was undercover. Deep undercover for four years, at least.

"Jesus Christ," Ressler said as he looked at her.

"Nora King, served 2 tours in Afghanistan and has been with Homeland Security as an officer for..." Reddington started.

"I have Liz, we're fine and in Nova Scotia," Ressler said. "I'll call you back."

He hung up the phone.

"What the hell is going on here?" Liz asked the two of them.

"When did you find out I was FBI?" Ressler asked her.

"Almost from the start," Nora shrugged. "You were good though."

He swallowed hard. He got into her bed thinking he was getting intel and the entire time she knew he was an agent.

"Why didn't you tell me before...?" Ressler asked her, angry he'd been duped.

"I didn't hear you complaining," Nora said with a raised eyebrow.

Liz looked between the pair of them; they were involved. It was clear now.

"Wait, you're Homeland and we're FBI and no agency spoke with...?" Liz asked.

"I'm not here officially," Ressler explained. "Only Reddington knows I'm alive."

"Jesus Christ of all the stupid..." Liz snapped at him.

Ressler pinched the bridge of his nose. He had found himself in the most absurd situation ever. The woman he cared so much for that he faked his own death and infiltrated a terrorism organization was carrying another man's baby. And the woman he had been sleeping with for intel was, herself, an undercover intelligence officer who had also duped him. And here he was, between them both.

"I don't need this," he sighed as he started to walk away from the pair of them.

"Ressler, why would you...?" Liz yelled after him.

"Because I wanted to keep you safe!" He yelled as he turned to face her red-faced and angry at the turn his life had taken. They had literally just kissed moments ago and now here they were.

"Okay, I don't have time for this," Nora said annoyed. "I need you both back in the box so I can bring you back to the..."

"Oh no, you aren't taking her..." Ressler said, approaching Nora.

"Yes, you both are going back because she is supposed to be in her bed and you are supposed to be in mine, and my people are set to breach tomorrow. I need Kirk to not get tipped off about..."

"Fuck," Ressler said under his breath. "When?"

"Just get back in the fucking box," Nora said. "I need to make the drop off and get you both back before anyone..."

"She can't be hurt when your people come storming in and..." Ressler said as he pointed at Liz and took a step closer to Nora.

"I promise she and your little baby will be..."

"It's not mine," Ressler corrected her.

It was Nora's turn to look surprised. She was sure they were a couple.

"Come on," Liz said as she lightly grasped his arm and tugged. "She's right, we can't tip off Kirk."

He relented and walked back with Liz, climbing inside the crate for Nora to cover them.

"Ressler..." Liz said quietly in the dark.

"I forgot to call Reddington back," he said, trying to avoid talking with her. He reached around and pulled his phone out of his back pocket.

"I know you are probably feeling..."

"Oh, you know what I'm feeling?" He scoffed.

Liz swallowed hard.

"I can imagine that this is...you were sleeping with her, for whatever reason and..."

"For intel," he chuckled softly. "Trying to get intel from an intelligence agent working for the same purpose. I was so stupid."

She placed her hand over his heart. "You were human."

He shook his head in the negative. No, he was jealous and mad about her and Tom when he made the decision to bed Shayla. He was searching for intel, but he was also searching for closure to the romantic Liz fantasy he had.

"I better call Reddington," he said softly before he hit the return call button.

To be continued...