Their lead had led them to a part of town she was not comfortable with. Seeking Tom out when her partner was nowhere near was entirely different than running across him with Ressler in tow because their suspect had decided to take refuge in the same warehouse district as Liz's ex husband. It was a great way to stir up trouble and for someone to get hurt.
"Something about this doesn't add up," Ressler murmured, hand on his gun as they slipped through the back alley.
"No argument here," Liz answered, and she was partially relieved to know that the uneasy feeling settling deep within her wasn't entirely because of a secret coming too close to the surface.
A movement caught the two agents' attention and they took off in a sprint, shouting for the suspect to stop. He didn't, and they rounded a corner that was more familiar than Liz was comfortable with.
The suspect stopped in front of the warehouse Tom had been staying in and he turned, looking Liz directly in the eye like he knew exactly where he was. She froze, mind processing the warning of a trap laid out for her - all the warnings of the dangerous enemies she had made swirling and folding in on each other at a terrifying speed - and she turned to shout at Ressler.
His eyes widened and the world seemed to freeze before it exploded into burning flame and roaring fires. Liz was thrown from her feet, hitting the pavement hard and rolling. It took a moment to force her eyes open and she blinked hard around the smoke that filled the air and her ears were ringing painfully. She swallowed hard, her partner's name tumbling from her lips as struggled to stand and make her way to him.
Ressler looked as dazed as she felt, but his eyes were open and he waved her off. "I'm okay," he mouthed, though he might have said it. Her hearing wasn't the most reliable.
He sat up slowly, blinking rapidly as he did and his blue gaze fixed on something behind her. "Hell," he whispered and she turned. The explosion had come from somewhere close to the building and the flames had caught, the building quickly going up in flames.
"No," Liz whispered as she stepped towards it. Tom might have been in there, and as far as she knew he didn't have a surveillance system in place. He had moved around too much to have one in each building he stayed in. He hadn't had any warning, and that man that they had been chasing had known. He had to have. He knew Tom was in there and he had attacked him to get to her.
"Most of the buildings are abandoned in this area," Ressler was saying as he dialed for help on his cell. "One good thing at least. Keen? Keen, where are you going?"
She hadn't realized that she was moving forward until he called to her, but then she turned, her voice strangely calm for the terror raging through her. "The way he looked at me before the explosion went off... Ressler, I think someone is in that building."
"Fire department's on its way."
"It can't wait. Stay here."
He looked at her like she had lost her mind, and maybe she had, but she wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt because of her. They had targeted Tom because of her.
Liz slipped into the building, pushing down the old panic that the flames dragged forward and she called out for him.
The entire garage was on fire and the flames had reached the Mustang that he had been using. It was there, so Tom must have been somewhere in there too. She screamed for him, but her voice was lost to the secondary explosion that rocked the building and sent her to her knees.
The warehouse was on fire. Great. Tom found himself just staring at it for a moment, taking a mental inventory on what he had with him and what was likely already ashes in the burning building. He'd left the car parked inside, trying not to draw attention to himself, and most of his clothes were in there. He had what he was wearing and a small bag slung over his shoulder. It wasn't much, but he'd had less. The bare few sentimental items he owned were kept on his person, so it wasn't an entire loss.
Tom was ready to turn around and cut his losses when he spotted someone that shouldn't be anywhere near that part of town. Agent Ressler looked more agitated than usual as he spoke quickly into his cell phone, and the former operative felt a cold knot forming when he didn't see Liz anywhere nearby. As he slipped forward quietly, he heard why as Ressler yelled into his phone. "There is a federal agent in the building. About to be two if you don't get here-"
"Liz is inside?"
Ressler spun. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, but Tom didn't have time for his usual hostility.
"Did Liz go inside?"
"Yes," the agent answered. "She thought someone was in there. I was-"
Tom didn't wait as he took off in a sprint, not caring if the blond was following him or not. The fact that he had let Liz go in infuriated him - even if on a good day he would have about as much of a chance to stop the stubborn force that was Elizabeth Keen, and it looked like he'd taken a pretty hard blow in the initial explosion - but he didn't have time to think about that.
"Liz!" he called out, the smoke inside hitting him like a brick wall. He choked against it, ducking lower and calling again. The whole place was alight, and he needed to find her before it came down on both of their heads.
"Tom?" came Liz's voice, small and choked against everything and he dove for it, calling out and trying to find her in the chaos. Finally he spotted her, huddled in a corner and blood was caked against the side of her face. She spotted him and launched herself into his arms. "I thought-"
"It's okay. We're going to be okay," he soothed and held her carefully. She had a death grip on him, and he could only imagine what sort of traumas something like this would bring to the forefront of her mind. She had come in for him. To protect him. He couldn't think on it with the fire closing in around them, but he understood it. "Come on. You good to go? You okay?"
"I think so," she managed, but she didn't feel entirely steady against him. Tom wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her lean against him as they started for the nearest exit.
He barely heard the crack overhead above the roar of the fire around them, but Tom's instincts leapt into action as he moved, shielding Liz as the ceiling crashed in around them. He felt debris hit hard as he did his best to put himself between it and the woman that made only a small, startled sound as they both went down.
"Tom?" Liz whispered in his ear and he blinked hard against the darkness hedging his vision.
"You okay?"
She nodded. "You?"
"Yeah," he answered automatically, feeling his body protest as he made his way to his feet and pulled her to hers. She didn't look convinced, but she didn't push the subject either as she wrapped her arm around his middle and they moved around to the side exit.
They were met by a firefighter almost immediately and Tom motioned for them to take Liz first. She had been in there longer and would benefit more from the oxygen mask. She didn't let go of him, though, and he saw the same haunted look in her eyes that was always there when she woke screaming from one of her nightmares. "I'll be over in just a second," he promised and pressed an impulsive kiss to her forehead.
He watched them lead her over to the ambulance and pulled in a deep breath, a cough choking him for his efforts. Everything was beginning to ache as the adrenaline was wearing off and he was limping a little as he made it over to the only other person that might have an idea what was happening.
A medic was shining a light into Ressler's eyes, having him follow it and speaking with him. He must have seen Tom approaching, because he stood from where the medic had him seated, motioning that he needed a moment. He was an idiot, but he was a loyal idiot. The former operative had to give him that. "Liz is getting looked after," he stated. "What happened, and don't give me the classified bull crap."
Ressler seemed to weigh his options, his gaze flickering over in Liz's direction before coming back to glare at Tom. "You're the one she thought was in there."
Tom's jaw tightened and he heard all the accusations the agent meant to throw at him. "I'm not sure if they were after me or her or both or us, but the end result was that Liz was put in danger. I can't stop this if I don't have the facts. What happened?" He bit out the last two words, temper flaring.
The blond snorted. "Of course she's been talking with you. Not sure why I thought otherwise. Listen, buddy, I'm not handing over details of a classified investigation to you, even if-"
Both men's heads snapped around as a scream broke through the rising argument. Tom recognized it, and he was halfway to Liz by the time that his mind registered that he was moving, twinging ankle entirely forgotten. The EMTs had taken a step back and she was shaking as her ex husband gathered her up in his arms. Liz clung to him immediately, her face buried in the crook of his neck and he motioned for the medical team to take a step back as he spoke quietly to her as he had all the times that they had both been woken by her nightmares.
"It's alright, Lizzy. You're safe now. I'm not going to let anything hurt you, you know that, right?"
She tightened her grip and he tangled his fingers in her hair, letting her hold as tight as she needed until the panic wore down. After several long moments he felt her shift. "This is why," she whispered.
"Why what?" he asked gently.
"Why I have to know. Why I can't just walk away. I have to know and I have to remember or I'll never... Or it'll always be like this."
Tom felt a stab of guilt. "I know. We're not going to stop unless you want to."
She pulled back, eyes glassy. "You're not going to just disappear and go buy your boat?"
That pulled a small smile from him as he ran his thumb across her face, smearing tears and soot. "Not without you," he promised. "No point."
She nodded and leaned forward, spent by the rush of emotions and memories the fire had stirred. Tom continued to stroke her hair as he looked around to the closest EMT who was simply watching. "You ready to let them check you over?"
"Yeah," she answered softly. "You okay? Have they looked you over?"
"I'm okay," he promised. "I'm a lot tougher than I look."
Liz managed a smile, a little mischief pushing back the horror. "Look pretty tough to me," she teased and he smiled, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
Tom took a step back and out of the way, doing his best to ignore Ressler until the shorter man cleared his throat. "I don't think it's a secret that I don't like you."
"Really?" the former operative quipped. "I'd never gotten that impression. You hide it so well."
The blond snorted. "You're dangerous for her. For our entire team."
"So's Reddington. At least you know where my loyalties lie." His gaze was fixed on Liz as he spoke to her partner.
He could almost hear Ressler deciding. "The guy stopped to look at her before the bomb went off. Like he was taunting her."
Interesting. It could have been someone that was after her directly, or it could have been someone Bud had hired. Either way, she had been put in danger. Either way, when Tom found him he wouldn't be walking away from it.
"This whole thing is bigger than I know the details of," Ressler continued. "I know Liz is trying to protect us by keeping us in the dark, but-"
"That only goes so far," Tom agreed softly.
"What the hell was that anyway?"
Tom quirked an eyebrow. "You're going to have to be more specific."
"Keen and the panic attack right there. It was... obviously something you'd seen before."
"Yeah," Tom answered carefully, lips thinning out into a grimace. "She... Liz was in a fire when she was a little girl. Those kinds of things stick with you."
Ressler's gaze followed Tom's and he pulled in a deep breath. "She went in there to help you," he said tightly, and it sounded more like an accusation than a statement.
Tom pulled his shoulders back, ignoring the way they protested after having pieces of a ceiling dropped on him, and drew himself up to his full height. He wouldn't take a swing at him, not unless he swung first, but he wasn't going to take a lecture either.
The agent snorted, shaking his head. "You don't deserve her, even if she does still love you."
Sarcasm had always been Jacob's verbal line of defense, but years as the more even-tempered Tom Keen had helped him learn to curb it at times, so he set his jaw and waited a few seconds as he weighed his reaction in his own mind. This was Liz's partner, and no matter how much they hated each other, they both cared about her. If it came down to it, he'd much rather see golden boy watch her back than Reddington. At least he was fairly predictable.
"Sir, your wife said that you were in the fire?" an EMT said from off to the side. "You mind if we give you a once over? Just to be safe."
"One of the other guys already gave me a once over. Clean bill of health," he said with an easy smile.
"Liar," Liz called from her place, shooting him a glare and he chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Okay then," he agreed and turned to submit himself to one of his least favourite events - being poked and prodded by doctors of any kind - but paused, gaze drifting around to the blond agent that was still waiting for an answer. "You're right. She does. There's not a man in the world that's good enough for her."
If Ressler believed his words or not, Tom didn't really care. They were true, and he knew that just meant that he would have to work harder. Somehow, despite everything, they were still drawn to each other. She still loved the man that has been wrapped up in Tom Keen, and, perhaps, there was a little more of Tom in Jacob than he had originally realized.
"You and Ressler playing nice?" Liz asked softly as he took a seat next to her and he was glad that she didn't bother to fuss over the fact that he had tried to get out of a medical exam. Her voice was more clear now, less panicked than it had been, but there was still a hint of everything. It would linger and she would likely dream about it for weeks.
"As nice as can be expected." His attention swiveled around to the EMT as her fingers seemed to find every sore spot available. "Ow," he huffed.
"He's a terrible patient. Ignore him," Liz said from his side. She offered a tired smile and took his hand. "Thank you, by the way."
"For what? You're the one that rushed in to save me." He wanted to tell her that it had been stupid and to never pull a stunt like that again, but what was the point? She was stubborn and determined, and most of the time those were qualities he loved about her. Telling - even begging - her not to do something did absolutely nothing in the long run.
"You know what for," she groused as Tom stiffened, the EMT's fingers finding what he hoped was a deep bruise along his side and not a cracked rib. "You've... been here whenever I've needed you, Tom. For whatever I've needed, and without any promises of anything."
He glanced over at her and the edges of his lips quirked up in a tight smile. "I know you haven't promised anything, Liz," he assured her.
"That's why it means more," she pressed, and she was still gripping his fingers between her own. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." A hiss of pain escaped him and he squirmed away. "I'm fine. Just leave it alone."
"I really think you should come in for-"
"No."
"World's worst patient," his ex wife told the EMT. "I'll keep an eye on him and make him go in if it gets worse."
The young woman didn't look convinced, but she wasn't going to drag him off to the hospital either, not if Tom could help it. Finally she nodded and muttered something about paperwork that he needed to sign to indicate that he'd turned down their advisement. He stood, trying to shake the feeling of being out in the open and exposed where they were. They had been attacked, and the man that had nearly gotten Liz killed was still out there. There was too much to do to sit around all evening wasting time.
"Hey," Liz called softly, her eyes flickering over to where Ressler was talking to one of the firefighters. "How much flack am I about to catch?"
Tom's lips twitched downward as he followed her gaze. "Probably a decent amount."
"Well, it was bound to happen. Guess it's time to get it over with. You still have that key to my motel?"
"You don't have to-"
"You're right. I don't, but I promised that nice lady that you were so rude to that I'd make sure you didn't crash from some hidden injury or something, and you don't have a place to sleep tonight. It makes sense."
And she would dream, he realized. She knew the nightmares were coming and she wanted him there when it did. He swallowed hard, trying not to let himself jump all over what that meant. No expectations. He hadn't earned those yet and he knew it. Maybe someday though.
"I'll grab take out on the way home?" she offered and he smiled.
"Okay. You've convinced me."
She echoed the smile as she turned to join her irritable partner and Tom found himself watching her. Ressler was right. He didn't deserve her, but there she was. They were drawn to each other, neither quite able to say goodbye and leave for good. She had changed his life in more ways than she likely knew yet, but in ways that he would never change. No matter the dangers it brought with it, he loved her, and he wouldn't give that up for anything.