These Things Take Time

He'd taken it better than she had, and that was a little bit of a surprise. Elizabeth Keen had no question in her mind that her husband wanted kids. He was great around them. He had students that would come running up to him when they were out. They all loved Mr Keen, and Mrs Keen never questioned that he was going to make an amazing father when the time came. She just hadn't thought about it coming about so soon.

Liz loved kids too, but it had always been just one of those things that was logged away under someday before Tom brought it up one night over dinner. He'd made her favourite, and he'd looked so nervous when he broached the subject, like whatever he was going to say might turn the world on its head for them. He had stumbled through the question and she had gone utterly silent on it after, the reality of what having a baby could mean overtaking every part of her being. Wanting to be a mother and actually being one were two entirely different things. When it came down to it, she suddenly realized that the reality of it was staring her in the face - as was a husband that had been hoping for an answer to what should have been a fairly innocent question between two people that loved each other - and she had told him she needed time to think about it. The disappointment that flashed through his eyes at an answer that he probably hadn't suspected was quickly blocked away and he'd offered a smile and an acknowledgement to take all the time she needed on it. She knew it wasn't fair to shut down on the man that wanted to talk and discuss everything, but he'd given her her space like he always did.

Then she'd brought up adoption and Liz had been happily surprised how excited that had made him. He had grinned like he just couldn't stop himself, and it hadn't gotten past her that he had been leaning towards the worry that she had reservations about having children at all.

She did, but that didn't matter. She loved him, and Elizabeth Keen hadn't been quite so aware just how badly she wanted this family until Tom had asked. The more she thought about it, the more she needed it. The more they needed it. Her own insane childhood didn't have to spoil her own baby's. They could do this. Together.

They had moved to DC - funny how she always seemed to come back to that area, no matter how often she moved away - and they'd contacted an adoption agency. Neither of them had known what to expect. Liz's own adoption had been anything but traditional, and Tom's parents hadn't died until he was away at college, so they'd both gone in without really knowing what to expect. They'd left with the knowledge that this was going to be a long and drawn out process.

"They're not going to just hand a baby over to anyone," Tom had pointed out and Liz knew he was trying to cheer her up as he'd wrapped an arm around her and promised that they were in this together.

Now, though, as she sat in their new home that was finally sorted after the move and looked over some of the paperwork that they had to go through to begin the process, she couldn't help but feel the weight she had been trying to push off all week. Of course they weren't going to just hand them a baby. They didn't know them or how hard they would work to give the child a home that they could grow up happy and healthy in. They would have to prove that, but at least at the beginning of the process, that seemed rather daunting. It seemed near impossible.

Keys turned in the front door and Liz looked up from where she sat at the computer with the terrifying questionnaires that were supposed to tell the agency if she would make a good mother or not.

"Babe? You here?" Tom's voice drifted in and for all the noise he was making he sounded like he had his arms full of something.

"At the computer," she called back, standing in her place. She had expected him home an hour or so before, but hadn't quite started to worry yet. From the sound of the ruckus at the door, maybe she should have.

"No! No, don't do that," Tom huffed as she rounded the corner and tried not to laugh at the way her husband was balanced precariously with a bag of dog food in one arm, another bag of what looked like toys in the other, and a very rambunctious puppy making sure the leash he had been connected to was wrapped around his ankles at least three times over. The puppy looked up at her laugh and gave a happy bark as he tried to dart towards her, taking Tom off his feet entirely and he went crashing to the floor.

"Oh my- Are you okay?" Liz managed to ask between her half-swallowed giggles.

Tom gave his own snort of laughter as he gave up, sprawled out on the wooden floor of their front hallway. The puppy turned just long enough to give him a sloppy kiss across the face before returning to his original goal, still tied up by his leash.

"So, uh, we're getting a dog?" Liz asked, but she was grinning as she knelt next to the fuzz ball that decided she could be his new best friend too.

"This went so much better in my head," Tom grumbled, still not actually moving on the floor.

"You okay? Anything broken other than your pride?" She unhooked the leash and the newest member of the Keen household launched himself into her arms.

Her husband finally cracked an eye open and blinked against slobber-smeared glasses. "Thanks, buddy," he groused and sat up, carefully detangling himself from the mess the pup had left him with.

"He's just telling you he loves you, aren't you, cutie?" Liz cooed, scratching the happy puppy on top of his mop of a head.

Tom crossed his legs, not bothering to get up, and scrubbed at his lenses with the edge of his shirt. "You like him?"

"He's adorable. Where'd you get him?"

"Mrs McAllen at the school was trying to get rid of the last puppy from the litter. He's up on his shots and she gave us a bunch of food and toys to get started. I thought... Well, I know you've been kind of frustrated since the adoption meeting."

"You do know there's a few differences between a baby and a puppy, right?" Liz teased and he rolled his eyes good naturedly.

"I thought maybe he'd take your mind off of it a little, you know. If you don't want him..."

"I want him. Don't be mean."

He gave her a big grin and she leaned forward, puppy still in her lap, and pressed a kiss to his scruffy cheek. She pulled back quickly and made a face. "Gross. Puppy drool."

"Because you're not covered in it too," he laughed and reached over to pet the drool machine. "What do you want to name him?"

Liz hummed to herself as they sat on the floor on the hall, both smiling more than they had all week. The fuzz ball was on his back between them, positioned do they could both pet him equally. "Hudson."

"What do you think about that, Hudson?" Tom asked and the puppy just wiggled. Blue eyes flickered up to meet Liz's own. "You like him?"

"I love him, Tom." She folded her legs under her and leaned forward, her lips touching his. They didn't part immediately and she leaned further in, his hand coming to the side of her face as they both melted into the kiss. The stress that had weighed on her lifted just a little, and not for the first time since she'd met the man she had chosen to marry, she was reminded that she wasn't in the middle of it alone. "Thank you," she whispered when they finally broke.

His goofy grin had faded just a little and settled into a loving smile. "It's going to take time, but we'll get through this," he promised. "We're in this together, right?"

"Yeah."

Tom reached forward and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer again. Hudson barked happily and, now free of his leash, took off through the little townhouse to explore. Liz looked up from where she was leaned against her husband's chest. "He's going to pee on the floor, isn't he?"

"Probably," he answered with a sigh. "We should probably get up and go get him."

She looked up and he didn't look like he wanted to move any more than she did. "He'll be fine."

Tom chuckled as they leaned back against the closed door, surrounded by dog toys and the occasional sound of a happy puppy exploring his new home.

"Thank you," Liz said again. "I'm sorry I shut off when stuff like this happens."

"It's okay. I'll tell you a secret: I knew what what kind of decision I was making when I decided to propose to you."

"Yeah? And what was that?" Liz teased and she felt his lips press against the side of her head, a content sigh escaping him.

"Best decision of my life."

Her hand found his and she leaned in, both of them purposefully ignoring the sounds of an un-housebroken puppy rampaging through their kitchen in light of the first few moments they had to relax together in a week. They could replace chewed shoes and they could mop up any mess he left, but these little moments were important. They weren't rushed and they weren't harried by all the stresses they faced. They had each other, and everything else could come in time.

Notes: I needed some Liz and Tom fluff. Desperately needed it. That phone call on Thursday's episode just about killed me. He misses her. She misses him. Excuse me while I go write angsty current episodes Tom now.

So, I've had a request for something involving Gina. Any other requests?