The Short Game
Story 3
Author's Note: Set during Gaia and starts after Ressler and Navabi return from Kentucky and the story goes from there. Many of you may not like the start of this chapter, but I refuse to believe that Ressler didn't sleep with anyone until he and Liz finally knocked boots. That has been disproven by Samar, Hannah & Audrey (and, I'm sure other women we didn't see over the years) —he probably always loved Liz, and this is still a Keenler fic, but Ressler wasn't waiting around for her.
Right now, we're at a difficult spot for them. Liz's gone back to Tom, Agnes is with Kirk, and everyone is still adjusting to discovering that Liz is alive and duped them. This particular story isn't about the undercover operation much, it's just there in the background as a conduit for more keenler angst.
In the last Short Game story (before she even had Agnes), Liz assumed Samar and Don were involved and we're continuing with Liz still thinking that is the case.
Please leave a review.
WWWWWWWWWWW
"That was entrapment," Don said as he lay next to Samar in her bed.
"Entrapment?" Samar chuckled, it was the first time she had laughed in days.
"You lured me up here with the promise of water and on the premise of getting your migraine meds," Don said as he turned his head so he was looking at her on the other pillow. They had just come back from Kentucky, and she had asked him to stop at her place on the way to the post office from the airport and an hour later they were here.
Samar just shrugged.
"You could have left," Samar said casually.
"I thought we both agreed this was not a good idea," Don sighed as he sat up and started to look for his underwear and pull off the condom.
"It's still not," Samar said as she rose naked from her bed and walked out of the room.
"Then why the hell are we here?" Don called to her as he snagged his underwear and pulled them on before walking to her ensuite and disposing of the condom.
Don then started to look around the room for his pants, shirt, tie, jacket…where the hell did he lose his shoes? Everything was everywhere and he hoped he wouldn't return to work looking too rumpled.
Samar walked back into the bedroom and handed him a glass of water.
"Thanks," Don chuckled as he took the glass from her and took a drink before he put the glass down and pulled on his pants. "We were due back an hour ago."
"We got held up," Samar said as she walked into her walk-in closet. "Don't pull on your pants yet."
"Excuse me? We're late enough," Don said surprised.
She didn't answer for a moment and Don stood there with his pants undone. "Navabi?"
"Oh my god, men really only think of one thing," Samar said as she walked out in fresh underwear and a bra pulling a shirt over her head and holding a steam cleaner.
"Oh, thank god," Don said as he shucked off his pants and walked toward her.
"You're welcome," Samar said as she handed him the wand.
She walked to her dresser and pulled out a clean pair of black pants, no one would notice if she was wearing the same colours but different clothes, but they would notice Ressler rumpled.
"So, what was it this time?" Don asked as he held his pants in one hand and steamed them.
"Who says it has to be something?" Samar asked.
"Cut the crap, Navabi" Don said as he looked over his shoulder at her and then pulled on his pants before he picked up his shirt off the ground and started to steam it. "Last time we both agreed this was a mistake, and…"
"Well, as long as you don't fire me in the next 24 hours, I would say this was a better experience," Samar said as she sat on the bed and pulled on her boots. "Quicker though."
Don gave her a dark look.
She looked at him pulling on his shirt and sighed.
"What was it this time for you?" She asked him.
He met her eyes and said nothing then reached for his tie and started to do it up.
"Happy couple Liz and Tom working to get Agnes back? That she really hasn't had any time for you? The fact that she let you believe she was dead?" Samar asked.
Don finished his tie.
"All of the above?" Samar asked.
Don cleared his throat and reached for his suit jacket and started to steam it.
"Yes," he said quietly with his back turned to her.
Samar nodded.
"Aram's girlfriend from hell," Samar admitted. "That, and Liz, and Levi and…just a lot."
Don nodded in understanding.
She got up off the bed and watched him turn off the steamer.
"I'm not going to apologize for this, I needed this," Samar said. "But I understand if you regret…"
"I needed this too," Don said as he pulled on his suit jacket and met her eyes.
Samar nodded and walked from her bedroom. Don found his socks and shoes and pulled them on before joining her and driving them back to the post office.
As soon as they arrived, Samar went to her desk and Don went to Aram to ask for an update. Aram explained the new intel and then looked at Don curiously.
"You look different," Aram said as he studied him.
"Different?" Don asked with a furrowed brow hoping it wasn't written all over his face that he and Samar had just slept together.
"New face wash? Your skin has a bit of a glow…" Aram said.
"No," Don said dismissively.
"Huh," Aram said.
Just then Samar got up from her desk and walked up to Cooper's office without even looking at them.
"She's put in for a transfer," Aram said.
"Excuse me?" Don asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Aram nodded before he explained the details, as he knew them, to Don.
After the explanation, Don stepped away from Aram and was looking for a folder he could bring to Cooper's office to join the conversation when he saw them both coming down the stairs. Then, Aram called them all together and he dropped the file.
When Liz was done speaking to the group, he caught up to Samar and asked about the transfer. She seemed upset and he didn't know how much he could or should say to her in this open space. In the end, he offered to help her stay in any way he could. It was the best he could do under the very strange circumstances they found themselves in. But, when they finally were alone upstairs, he asked her quietly if it had anything to do with him, or what had happened between them. She had crossed her arms and said a definitive 'no' and he had just started to probe for more information when they were interrupted by Liz, glaring at him as she spoke to them.
In the end, the nuclear power plant was saved and when he and Samar showed up to the post office that night Cooper reminded him that he and Keen needed to register for the pharmaceutical conference first thing the next morning.
"Shit, I forgot about that," Don sighed as he looked at Cooper.
"Liz said she'd come to your place tomorrow so you can drive in together," Cooper said.
"What's this one again?" Samar asked him.
"Black market distribution of opioids to doctors who are requesting a premium from patients to over prescribe so they can sell on the streets," Don sighed as he wiped at his forehead. He needed to get home, get showered, and pack for a weekend at the Marriot playing a pharmaceutical rep for an opioid company with Liz as his work partner.
"Maybe we should do this another time, with Agnes…" Don started.
"This conference only happens once a year," Cooper said, making to qualms about them going. "Liz said it was a good distraction from everything going on with Agnes."
Don sighed.
"Okay, Philly PD will be covering us, I'll see everyone Monday," Don said as he walked toward his office to grab his car keys.
That night he quickly showered, packed, and got in bed early. He was tired, from the flights to Kentucky and NYC, from his activities with Samar, from all the running he did today. He was tired and needed a good rest before he bit anyone's head off at the conference or slipped up.
He was laying in bed at 10pm when his phone buzzed; he thought he had turned it on do not disturb. It was at text from Liz.
You up?
Don texted back: Just heading to bed, everything okay?
There was a full five minutes before his phone vibrated again and he had already started to worry about her in that time.
Are you alone?
Don replied: Yeah, what's going on?
Can I stay over?
Don got out of bed and quickly texted: Get up here.
He opened his door and stood there waiting for her, worried something bad had happened with Agnes or Tom because after the way she was glaring at him in the office today, he thought he was the last person she would reach out to. He heard the elevator ding and she walked slowly toward him, her body betraying her level of upset and, when she got to his door she started to cry. Don wrapped her in his arms and pulled her inside.
They sat on the sofa, and she told him about the feed Kirk had provided her with, about Tom expressly going against her wishes, and how she was now worried even more about Agnes because she couldn't see her or hear her. Don asked a few question, but mostly just sat and listened to her. There was nothing any of them could do. He offered to cancel the operation, but she insisted that the distraction, and few days away from Tom after the stunt he had pulled, would be good for her. Just before midnight, they both started to yawn and Liz took a throw pillow and laid down on the sofa while he grabbed her a blanket.
"I've got your clothes," Don said as he pulled out a bin from his closet and placed it at her feet. "They aren't folded but…"
Liz sat up and opened the lid and looked inside at her clothes from their Baltimore apartment haphazardly thrown into the bin. She reached inside and picked up their fake wedding picture and her eyes got watery.
"I'm sure there are enough clothes in there for the weekend," Don said as he cleared his throat. "And some pajamas for tonight."
Liz nodded and didn't meet his eyes.
"Goodnight Keen," Don said before he walked to his bedroom and shut the door behind him.
The next morning, he found her a weekend bag for her clothes and shoes. There was definitely enough of everything in the bin to get her through a weekend conference. Liz wasn't proud of the fact that she searched his medicine cabinet and closet for signs of Samar and was happy to see none. She liked the woman, although she had been the most testy since Liz returned, but she wasn't sure she could handle them keeping things at each other's places. Liz had been gone for months and she wasn't sure how their relationship had progressed. From the looks of them having secret chats and him walking with his arm around her waist briefly once, things were going well between them. She knew she shouldn't be jealous but she was. As much as she was trying with Tom for the sake of Agnes and her family, she was still jealous of what he had with Samar.
They stopped at a drugstore on the way to Philly and got her some makeup, a toothbrush, and other personal items and headed for the conference. Her phone kept vibrating the entire morning and she kept dismissing the calls.
"Tom?" Don asked as he drove.
"I texted him I was fine and undercover this weekend," Liz offered. "Which I think is generous considering what he pulled."
Don nodded. He didn't want to offer his opinion on her husband because he wasn't sure he could keep himself from saying 'scumbag' at some point.
"Could it be about Agnes?" Don asked.
"Cooper will call me," Liz said. "Or Reddington."
Don nodded and, except for an NPR podcast about an unsolved murder that they listened to, Liz and Don were quiet the rest of the way.
They parked and went into the lobby get their registration package.
"Canadians?" The woman smiled at Don and Liz.
"We wanted to see what a real conference was," Don joked. "The ones in Canada are so much smaller."
"Oh well, this is the largest one we have," the woman smiled at him. "Enjoy!"
"Thanks," Don smiled at her as he handed Liz her badge.
They went to their rooms which were across the hall from each other and dropped off their bags before heading down to the conference. Don got a text from Tom as they were walking down the hallway asked about Liz and Liz took his phone and hit audio record.
"I'm fine, leave us alone," Liz said with venom before she hit send.
Don raised an eyebrow and took his phone back. "That was clear."
Liz huffed next to him as she fixed her name tag. "The display is set up?"
"Yeah, the exhibitors start at 10am," Don said. "A team went in to set us up last night."
"So, we're fancy Canadians?" Liz smiled at him.
"No Patty, we're organized Canadians who knew we needed our display set up before we arrived," Don said.
"I hate Patty," Liz said under her breath.
"I wasn't keen on Matt," Don said.
"At least you got Luke," Liz said. "I can make Star Wars references all weekend."
Don laughed at her joke.
They worked the display on Saturday and got the names of 34 suspicious doctors that seemed to be lobbying for them to disregard order amounts that were permitted for physicians. One doctor even noted that he had 5 billing addresses so, technically, they and he were not breaking any laws as they were shipping cases of opioids to several addresses. After a long day of handing out pens and pamphlets and talking up doctors Liz and Ressler wanted nothing more than to go to their rooms and spend the night in their own company. But there was, of course, a dinner and bar night that they needed to go to.
"Any news on Agnes?" Don asked as they walked back to their rooms for a brief reprieve before dinner.
Don's phone buzzed and he looked down at it. Liz's eyes caught Samar's name on his screen, and he didn't open the message and just put it back in his pocket. She decided to address the elephant in the room.
"You and Samar seem…good," Liz said awkwardly.
Don looked at her surprised. He wasn't sure what she was talking about and hoped she didn't know what happened between him and Samar yesterday.
"We do?" Don decided to go on the offensive.
"Yeah," Liz smiled at him as they arrived at their doors.
Don looked at her perplexed, she couldn't know what happened between him and Samar. But why else would she be talking about them?
"I'm trying to convince her not to transfer," Don said as he cleared his throat.
"You are?" Liz asked with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know she put in for one."
"Today," Don said. "I understand why, but I…"
"Protocol and inter-office relationships," Liz nodded as she swiped her card.
"What?" Don asked, thinking she did know what happened at Samar's apartment yesterday.
"It's safer if you and she aren't partners," Liz said over her shoulder as she walked into her room.
"Keen…" Don started.
"I'll see you in an hour Ressler," Liz said as she turned to shut her door. "I need a nap."
Don nodded, he wanted to get to the bottom of this talk about Samar, but he also knew Liz had a missing daughter and was still working and doing undercover operations, he didn't need to add more to her plate.
"See you in a bit," Don nodded before he swiped his card and took out his phone to call Samar. "Hey, you called?"
Liz heard him call Samar before he walked into his room and the rest of their conversation was gone. She could call Tom, but she was still angry with him. She leaned her head against the door and listened to his muffled laugh across the hall. Samar had made him laugh.
Liz walked from the door and crawled into her bed thinking about her life and how it was falling apart. An hour later he woke her from her nap with his knock on the door. She had slept long and wasn't ready for the dinner.
"Shit," she said as she walked toward the door and opened it. "Sorry."
"You just woke up?" Don asked her as he took in her dishevelled appearance.
"I just need to get ready and iron a dress and…." Liz started.
"Give me the dress and I'll iron it while you get ready or we won't make dinner," Don said as he took off his suit jacket and placed it over the back of a chair.
Liz went to the weekend bag and pulled out a rumpled conservative black dress and handed it to him.
"Thank you," she smiled before she ran to the washroom.
Don got out the ironing board and waited for the iron to heat.
"I steamer would probably be better, but I don't see one in the room," Liz called from the washroom.
"They're amazing," Don said as he laid her dress flat and started to iron it. "I need to get one."
"You know they are amazing, but you don't have one?" Liz asked, confused.
Don cleared his throat. "I've used a friend's."
Liz swallowed hard. Samar must have a steamer.
Don ironed and she put on makeup. He wanted to talk with her about Samar, to clear the air, but couldn't get up the nerve. He kept on thinking of the stupid conversation; Hey Liz, I slept with Samar because I was mad about you and Tom and then fired her from the task force for helping you. Then yesterday, she practically attacked me in her apartment and well, one thing lead to another, and that's how I know steamers are great because after we ripped off each other's clothes, my suit was a mess and we needed to get back to work so I steamed it. I know sleeping with her, both times, was a huge mistake, but what the fuck do you care? You're with Tom, Aram has a gorgeous girlfriend, and Samar isn't a nun and I'm not a monk…
"Done?" Liz asked Don as she exited the washroom.
"It's not perfect, but it'll do," Don said as he lifted the dress off the ironing board.
"Thanks," Liz said as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. She felt his entire body stiffen upon contact and realized she had overstepped and needed to watch herself from now on. She wouldn't appreciate a woman kissing Tom all of the time, she needed to respect that as well.
Liz went to the washroom and changed, and they were down at the dinner schmoozing with the doctors again. They got the names or cards of another 13 that were trying to work around opioid ordering limitations and Don emailed the names to Philly PD as soon as they got back to their rooms. On Sunday, they got the names of 9 more doctors who were suspect and Don felt he had done a solid for all of the people in NA with him who wouldn't have easy access to these drugs on the street.
On their way back from Philly, with all of the doctor's names now in the hands of Philly PD, Don and Liz listened to a music history radio show that focused on the 1990's and early 2000 musicians that overdosed.
"Seems fitting considering what everyone was trying to bribe us to do," Liz said when she settled on the channel.
Don chuckled and they listened to the show all the way back to DC.
"Should I drop you off with Tom or…?" Don asked.
Liz swallowed hard. Technically, she wanted to stay with Don for another few days, but knowing he had been away from Samar and may want to see her, she knew that was impossible.
"Yeah," Liz said. "I can…I can pick up the rest of my bucket of clothes at your place in a few days if that's okay? You've been storing them long enough."
"It was no trouble," Don answered honestly.
"Well, thanks for keeping them from being lost in some FBI storage facility somewhere," Liz smiled at him as he pulled up in front of the warehouse that she called home.
"I hope you get news about Agnes soon, Liz," Don said as she reached for the handle. "I just want her back with you and safe."
Liz's eyes watered up at his genuine sentiment and she nodded, unable to form words. She got out of the SUV, grabbed her bag in the back and walked inside without looking back. If she had faltered for a moment and looked back, should would be in his arms right now, because as much as she was walking away from Don Ressler, she wanted nothing more than to run toward him.
To be continued…