Almost There

She set the bags down hard and surveyed the space. There were fewer boxes than most families moving in might have had, but there were precious few things that they had taken with them when they'd run, and even fewer that they had gotten back when they'd returned. A box of her childhood toys, a few photographs, some clothes, and a few other miscellaneous things that Liz would have to dig through to see just what they were. All in all, they were starting over again. It could have been worse though, she reminded herself. At least they were finally together again.

"I'm not sure our old bed would have fit in the bedroom," Tom said as he set Agnes' carrier down and she cooed happily at him, reaching up and towards him. He scooped her up and turned back to Liz, who was still looking around. "So maybe that works out."

"Mr positivity," she murmured, finally breaking her trance. "It's fine. It'll be fine."

Tom offered her an encouraging smile. "They'll come around."

"I'm not sure I deserve them coming around."

"We did what we did for Agnes," he reminded her softly and she tried for a smile as she knelt to grab a plush bunny - not a great deal unlike the one she had had when she was young - from the bag. She stood silently and crossed the space between them to hand it to their daughter who lit up happily, that joy easing some of her mother's nerves.

Liz's gaze slid passed. "What's that?" she murmured and Tom looked back at it and shrugged.

"I thought it was something you picked up for Agnes."

Liz frowned as she picked the little brown bear up off the counter. It was soft and as big as their daughter was, with a bright red bow tie and a card under it in Raymond Reddington's distinct, scrawling handwriting.

For Agnes.

She pushed down the frustration and waved the card at her husband as if he could actually read it. "Well, Red's made it clear he knows where we live."

Tom sighed and shifted Agnes in his arms. "What's the plan? Furniture store or do we want to get an idea what made it here and what didn't first?"

Liz massaged the bridge of her nose. "We can get through all of the boxes in an hour. Maybe lunch and then risk the stores? Scottie is going to let us get settled before sending you off to the ends of the earth, right?"

"Supposedly, and even when I have to leave town, part of the deal was that it wouldn't be for long. I'm not missing anything with you, am I?" Tom murmured, the question directed at Agnes and she laughed at the goofy face he made for her. Liz shook her head, smiling a little at the sight. His own grin didn't fade as he looked back at her. "What?"

"Big, bad spy. No one would believe me," Liz teased as she started for one of the boxes she was certain had a quilt or two they could lay out for Agnes to lay on while they worked.

"Well broadcasting it sort of defeats the purpose," he answered with a wink.

Liz rolled her eyes and tossed the end of the quilt into the air to let gravity unfold it. Once it was laid out Tom moved to set Agnes down and they surveyed what they had. "Clothes are in the bags, a few toiletries, and I think that box is stuff Kate was going to have delivered," she mumbled as she glanced around.

Tom shrugged off his jacket. "Only one way to find out."

Liz set after one box and then another. Most of the stuff that she found were things that they had either already gotten to Cuba and had since been shipped back or that had been in the plan to get to them after the dust settled. Not everything made that much sense, though. Hudson's dog bed took up an entire box while Liz still hadn't found a photo of Sam she was looking for. "Babe, do you remember where you packed that picture of my dad and me at the beach? The one from when I was a kid?"

"Ahh… Maybe the one over against the wall under those shelves? I saw it and I tucked it away some place safe so it wouldn't get bent. It made sense at the time."

"Helpful," she teased as she unfolded herself from her seat and shuffled to the box in question. She tugged it open, finding a few envelopes with a variety of pictures inside but not the one she was looking for. She dug a little deeper until her fingers brushed a familiar wooden box with a symbol carved deep into the lid. "We're you seriously going to have Kate ship your go-box?" she laughed, glancing around. "What good does that do?"

Tom flashed a grin. "I had the passports and stuff. I just like the box."

"So you've said. Where'd you get this thing anyway? It's pretty old."

"I've had it for years. It's one of the few things I've always taken with me." He stopped and waved a hand at it. "That's where I put it. I knew it was somewhere safe!"

Liz laughed at him as she worked the latch open to find a collection of photos, a folded dress that looked like it must have been Agnes' christening dress, and a few other odds and ends. Funny, but this box that had held her husband's most dangerous, life-altering secrets once now protected their little treasures. She held the dress in her hands, fingers moving along the fabric and she imagined the people she loved most surrounding her daughter in a church and she couldn't help but wonder what else she had missed. No more, she promised herself.

As the dress unfolded, Liz realized there was something heavier wrapped up inside. A tiny jewelry box fell to the carpet and she picked it up, finding two silver rings inside.

"Aram gave them back at the funeral," Tom said quietly and Liz spun. She hadn't even heard him move over towards her, but now he was crouched down with her, his blue gaze fixed on the rings. "I, uh…." He swallowed hard.

Liz reached out on impulse, her fingers touching his knuckles and he immediately took her hand. "I'm okay, Tom," she promised. "We're all okay."

"I know."

He had told her that it's been nearly forty-eight hours before Kate could safely contact him to tell him that Liz had made it through. For that time he had lived in limbo, afraid that the news of her death was true and something had gone wrong, with this tiny, new little person depending on him to hold it together and know everything that he didn't.

She squeezed his hand before letting go so that she could slip the larger ring out of the box and her lips quirked very slightly at the corners as he shot her a questioning look. "Tom," she said slowly, "you and I have been to hell and back together. We've seen each other at our best, at our worst, and everything in between, but something I've learned - a truth I know - is that I love you, and I'm will to face whatever comes at us. Together. For better and definitely for worse. You're the family I choose." She reached forward and slipped the ring onto his left ring finger and found him staring at her, his eyes wide and unblinking. She ducked her head, a little embarrassed. "Well, we never got to finish the ceremony, but that's what I was going to say."

"Lizzie," he breathed, his voice cracking a little. He leaned forward as if he was going to kiss her, but stopped, his forehead leaned against hers where they sat in their new living room, and he reached for the remaining ring. "I.. Yeah, mine sounds terrible now."

She laughed softly. "Please?"

He cleared his throat and she saw his eyes flutter closed as he spoke. "I, uh," he chuckled a little and squeezed her hand. "I've been a lot of places and I've played a lot of parts in my life, but the first time I felt like me was the moment I sat across from you at that little coffee house in Georgetown. It'd been so long I don't think I even recognized it, but… You helped me piece out what really matters in life, Liz. What's important, and loving you, working to become the husband you deserve… I don't want to be anyone else."

His eyes slipped open and Liz eased up on her knees and kissed him. It was slow and sweet at first, but as it deepened she could feel the weight of the promise that he'd proven again and again. She wrapped an arm around his neck as she rocked back, pulling him with her as she lay flat on the floor with him leaned over her. When they finally broke she could feel his hot breath against her face and she found herself grinning at him. "I think you're forgetting something, Mr Keen," she whispered teasingly.

"What's that, Mrs Keen?"

"The ri-" she started, but a sharp, ear piercing wail snapped both of their attentions to their daughter who had her tiny fists balled up and was letting them know exactly how she felt about things.

Tom grinned and shifted so that he was sitting next to her, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles as he slipped the ring on her finger. "Love you," he said as he hopped up to check on Agnes.

"Love you too," she murmured with a smile as she watched him scoop their daughter up, bouncing her gently and she was quiet in moments, laughing soon thereafter. Liz's smile didn't fade as she turned back to the box, the photo she had been looking for now easy to find. Sam smiled up at her and she ran her thumb across his face. "We're okay, Daddy," she promised softly. "We're going to be okay." They were almost there. Every step closer gave her hope, and they would get there. They were too stubborn not to.

Notes: This was requested by the awesome Anon Author who wanted to see Liz find the rings that Tom got for the wedding. Somehow that also turned into them giving each other their vows that they had written up for each other (which may have been a request from her as well at one point). So here, on the eve before the Blacklist returns, have some Keen2 fluff. It's going to be an amazing year for these two.