All We Ever Needed

It had gone too smoothly, right up until the actual move, and part of him felt like he should have known it was coming. They had gotten up early, loaded up the car with a couple of breakables that they didn't trust the movers with and the dog, and had gotten on the road. Liz was ecstatic about moving back to the DC metroplex and starting her profiler training, and Tom was secretly happy to put a little more distance between them and Bud's center of operations less than three hundred miles away from where they had lived in Rochester. His handler had allowed him to stay on because it had paid exceptionally well, not because he was encouraging his best operative to continuing with the romantic relationship he'd formed with the woman he was originally only supposed to protect only from a distance. Bud wouldn't put up with another switch, even if Berlin suddenly popped up out of his silence and demanded Elizabeth Keen's head or something equally as terrible. The Major would simply expect him to do his job, just as he'd trained him to do. That's why Tom wouldn't have been one bit surprised to find that they had at least light surveillance on them while they had lived in New York. It was time to put some distance there in case he was ever forced to completely cut ties with the man that had raised him to keep Liz safe.

That had been one of the things that had Tom in high spirits starting out, but it hadn't lasted the whole way through the twelve hour trip that was only supposed to be around six and a half. The torrential downpour that crept up on them while they were sitting still, stuck in traffic didn't help either. It beat down so hard on their windshield and the hood of their car that it kept Liz from dozing off to pass the time. It also kept them from being able to pull over and let Hudson out, leading, in turn, to the accident that their favourite pooch had in the car. The one time that they did pull over, Tom ended up feeling a bit like a drowned rat after he stood out in the rain and all but dragged Hudson into it to the patch of grass along the side of the highway. Liz got a kick out of it until Hudson decided that he needed to pile into her lap when he got back inside, dripping and shaking water everywhere so that they were all three soaked through. By the time they got the call - Liz's cell phone was the only one with the smallest amount of charge left to the battery - that the furniture would not be able waiting for them, it was just another thing to add to the pile of everything that was going wrong.

The rain had finally stopped by the time they got to DC, even if the thunder was still rolling overhead. They dropped Hudson off, finding the little townhouse that they had bought quiet and dark, and not a restaurant open nearby. They did, however, find a little Chinese place down the street from Ikea.

"We'll drop in, grab a lamp, and go get the food," Liz told him as she grabbed the car keys, taking charge of the situation that had spun into such a crazy mess.

Tom shook his head a little, lips quirking ever so slightly at the corners as he followed her back out the door without even getting a chance to change his clothes. He shrugged his still-damp sweater off and tossed it towards the railing on the stairs before following her out the door again.

Why Ikea seemed like the place to go, he wasn't sure. The rush of people was a bit much even for him and Liz wrapped an arm around his middle, hugging up close to him as they walked. "Babe, you're still wet."

"That's what happens when you stand out in the rain with the dog," he teased and pressed a kiss to her head. "I'm going to go grab towels so we can get a shower. You want to grab the lamp?"

"What, you want to be able to see?" she laughed. It was a little forced, but he could hardly blame her. He had a great poker face, but even his was wearing a little thin.

Tom waded through the people, slipping in and around, avoiding baby strollers that mothers seemed to be using as bulldozers to make a path for themselves. Finally he found what he was looking for and grabbed two sets of towels to tide them through the weekend. They had an inflatable mattress that they had used after everything had been packed with some quilts, so as long as Liz found a lamp she was okay with they would be set for the night.

He found his wife standing at the clearance bin, staring at one she had in her hands like she might have fallen asleep on her feet. "You okay, babe?" he asked as she continued staring and Liz laughed. Granted, it was more of an exhausted giggle, but it was real.

"Look at it," she said and handed her prize over.

Tom blinked, brain running in overdrive to figure out what she meant. It was a lamp like all the others. It didn't seem any better or worse, but obviously the woman he loved saw some sort of characteristic that made it stand out against the rest. He just wasn't sure what that was. He also wasn't sure exactly what expression he was giving her, but it was enough to make her laugh harder. "I'm missing something really obvious, aren't I?" he asked sheepishly.

"Look," she said again, but this time she pointed to the logo that probably should have read Ikea. Instead, the a was scratched off.

"I'm obviously more tired than I thought," he chuckled and she rolled her eyes good naturedly, tipped up on her toes, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"His name is Ike. Let's grab a shade for him."

Tom stared at her for a moment before a real smile tugged at him. She was a little goofy after the day, but Liz wanted the lamp that no one else bothered with. It was different, but instead of calling it damaged she found something to love about it. Maybe it was silly, but that's what she did. She saw value in things - and in people - that others tossed away. It was one of the things he loved the most about her.

"What?" she laughed and reached for a shade when he just kept staring at her.

"I love you, you know that?"

"Hope so. You married me. Kind of stuck with me now." Her grin only broadened as she grabbed his chin between her thumb and pointer finger playfully. "You know what? I think we both need food, a shower, and sleep. In that order."

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "No arguments here. Get Ike and we'll go make sure Hudson hasn't destroyed our new place."

"Food first," she reminded him.

"Right. Food first." The agreement was nearly lost to the loud clap of thunder that they heard even inside of the huge store and the rain followed in sheets.

They did make it back at least mostly in tact. By that point it just didn't seem to matter how soaked their clothes were. Tom had brought the car around to make sure their purchases remained dry and they had gotten their food. By the time it was all said and done they were glad there wasn't a clock to plug into the wall. The lateness of the hour no longer mattered.

Hudson snoozed in the corner as Tom and Liz finished their Chinese take out on the floor next to the newly lit Ike. The food was was good enough, but Tom would be happy to get the kitchen put together when their stuff came. As crazy as it sounded, he had decided he liked cooking. It was relaxing and it was so very... normal. There was something about the relatively simple life he and Liz lived that was more than he had ever known he had wanted. It was more than someone like him could have hoped for.

Liz sighed, leaning against his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her. "You like it?"

"The place or the food?"

"Both?" he chuckled and kissed the side of her head.

"It's perfect."

He grinned at her. "The place or the food?"

She laughed and turned, her nose nearly touching his as she reached up to pull his glasses from his nose and kissed him. "Both."

Notes: I got a request a while back to write their move in scene, and honestly, this thing just took on a life of its own. The original plan was to kind of skim over the whole Ikea trip and focus on their time together, but then Liz took hold and decided she wanted to be adorable and sleep deprived and Jacob got a little mushy on me. This is not me complaining. It definitely ended up even more fun than I expected :)