Some Things Never Change

Their meetings weren't regular by any stretch, but she usually got back to him pretty quickly when he let her know that he had found something new. He had waited and waited, and then he had begun to get worried. The news showed nothing out of the usual and she hadn't mentioned any huge case that would have taken her time. He wasn't worried, of course. He no longer had the right to worry over her too much. They weren't married and if she didn't want to answer the phone, Liz likely had a good reason.

That was the argument he was having with himself, anyway. It had him paused halfway up the stairs to her motel room, trying to decide if he should feel better or worse that her car looked like it had been sitting out during the torrential downpour that had befallen the city that day. If she had gone to work, she hadn't taken the car.

He did have the files with him, he decided. If everything was fine he could drop them off and leave. Surely that wouldn't be pushing things.

That decided, Tom climbed the remains stairs and knocked softly of the door. He waited, pulling his hoody a little closer to keep the rain out of his face, and had about decided that she wasn't home when the door unlatched from the inside.

It opened and Liz poked her head out a little. "What're you doing here?" she asked, her voice rough and scratchy.

"I was going to drop something off. Are you sick?"

It was a stupid question, and he knew it as soon as the words left his lips. She nodded and moved away from the door, leaving it open for him to follow. He did so, pulling back his hood once he was in and out of the rain, grimacing a little at the room.

The tiny motel room was in utter chaos. Clothes were dropped on the floor, a sandwich with only a bite out of it sat on the little dresser, and the trashcan was overflowing with Kleenex. Liz looked absolutely miserable as she took a seat in the chair next to the bed, checking her phone. "It was on silent. Sorry," she offered, voice halting in the middle so that she had to clear her throat. "What'd you find?"

Tom pulled the flash drive from his pocket. "It's not time sensitive. I just wanted to get it to you."

She nodded, her gaze a little blurry as she reached for the box of tissues only to find it empty. She glared at it, offended, and coughed. "Thanks."

He didn't move, but instead looked around the room. "What do you need?" he asked.

"Tom, you don't have to-"

"I know. I want to," he assured her quickly. "Tissues. Maybe some sprite and crackers?"

Liz looked like she was about to turn him down, but her expression softened after a moment. "Thanks, Tom. I owe you."

His lips quirked up at the edge. "You've taken care of me a time or two," he answered.

"Key's by the door. Not that you need it."

He nodded, promising that he would be back soon. Soon turned into a relative term by the time he had gotten everything that she needed. Liz rarely ate when she was ill, and if someone didn't break her out of it, she had a bad habit of trying to stay awake and work so that she would feel at least partially productive for the day. Tom half expected to find her bent over the computer with the file he had delivered pulled up, but instead he found the motel room empty. He set the bags - filled with tissues, medicine, and various other odds and assortments - down and peeked around the corner to the one place that wasn't visible from the door. Liz was bent over the toilet in the bathroom and didn't bother to look up.

Tom frowned. "You ready to get back to bed?"

"I'm not sure I can get up," she admitted softly.

She was shaking and Tom wondered how long she had been sick. Slowly he moved forward, hand on her back to let her know he was there, before he stopped down and halfway lifted her up. She leaned heavily against him, his arm around her waist to steady her, and slowly he got her over to the bed and under the covers. "Have you taken anything for it?" he asked and she shook her head, grimacing as she did.

"You're going to get sick too," she managed as he pressed a hand to the side of her face.

"I'll be fine." He glanced over to the bags. "Last thing you want to think about, I know, but I grabbed some soup from the little place around the corner."

Liz made a face and cleared her throat. "You don't have to-"

"I know," he answered. "You already said that."

"Why?"

The question hit hard, like a punch to the gut. Their relationship was currently undefined. He was somewhere between an unofficial CI and... Well, he wasn't sure. Friend might be stretching it. She didn't seem to hate him with quite the raging fury that she had when she held him prisoner on the boat, but since the goodbye kiss there had been no indication that she felt as she once did. At least not that he saw, and while he secretly hoped he was overlooking some sign that they might have a chance, he didn't dare latch onto that hope. He knew how he felt about her, and that would have to be enough.

"Tom?" she called, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Because I care about you, Lizzy. I want to make sure you're alright."

She blinked at him, her pretty blue eyes glassy with the fever, but she didn't say anything. Instead she reached out from under the covers and took his hand, her fingers hooking around his own and holding on. Her name tumbled from his lips, but she was already asleep. So he reached for the chair and pulled it forward to take a seat, her hand still clutching his.

She had been sick for nearly three days. Copper had sent her home and told her, under no uncertain terms, that she wasn't to return until she was feeling better. It took her a moment to get her eyes open, and as she struggled with them she tried to piece together her day. Had she gotten food down? No, she didn't think she had. Water? Maybe a little.

Liz's eyes blinked slowly open and she noticed something resting in her grasp. With some effort she turned and saw a familiar figure bent over, head resting against the mattress in an awkward angle from the chair he was sitting in. His hand was in hers, her fingers wrapped tightly around his. Tom was still sleeping and slowly she remembered that he had dropped by and stayed to take care of her.

Just like he had every other time she had gotten sick when they had been together.

A smile tilted her lips. From this angle, he really did look like the man she had married. His hair was growing back and he had finally gotten that terrible reminder of his last undercover assignment removed from his neck. His face was relaxed in sleep and she shifted, her free hand reaching out to it. Tom stirred, blue eyes blinking open. "Hey," he greeted groggily. "How're you feeling?"

"Better, I think."

"Good." He sat up, wincing a little and looking a lot stiff. "You need your phone to call work?"

"No, they know I'm sick."

"That allowed?" The tease died almost before it made it out, and his expression evened out in a way that she had about decided that he did on purpose rather than wearing whatever he was feeling right on the surface as he had seemed to do in their marriage. He had told her that many details about his time with her were true, and she wondered if he hid his feelings because they bubbled so close to the surface when he was near her.

"Cooper told me to go home and not to come back," she said and rolled her eyes. "I'll be good by tomorrow." She still hasn't released his hand and he hadn't made a move to pull away, so she gave it a squeeze. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Taking care of me."

A small smile perked his lips. "No problem."

"Good to know you didn't do it all those times just for a job."

She wasn't sure how he would take it, but his smile didn't fade. "Did it because it's you, same as this time. I guess at least some things don't change."

Liz pulled his hand up to her chapped lips and pressed a kiss to it. "Looks like they don't."

Notes: Oh Tom and Liz. I need some fluff with those two, because when they're together they are so darn cute. So cute.

Hey, if you're on Tumblr, don't forget to check out the RP blogs! There's one for Tom, Liz, Red, and Ressler and they go back and forth with each other too. It's really entertaining. :)