Steady

It was late, but she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Mato standing over Agnes, his gun aimed at her, and that smug look on his face as he told her she had spirit. The one time she had actually drifted off she'd been jolted awake by the nightmare, her daughter's name on her lips, and had startled her husband from his palette that he'd made on the floor. She'd settled back in so he wouldn't worry, but sleep was impossible. Liz had waited until she finally heard Tom's breathing even back out and she sat up slowly, watching him carefully, and grabbed for her sweater as she padded over to the door that would lead out into the warehouse. She needed air.

She eased the door open, breathing a sigh of relief when it didn't make a noise. She peeked out, looking left and right for any security that Red had left - funny, she always seemed to be surrounded by people these days that she didn't want around - and found no one in immediate sight. She slipped out, closing the door behind her, and let her gaze sweep over the empty space. It felt like a new cage that she was expected to stay in while her daughter was in danger.

Familiar voices sounded from around the corner of the makeshift apartment's outer wall. They were hushed, but Liz recognized Dembe and Baz. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but she inched closer, pressing her back against the outer wall and straining to hear without being seen.

"...never thought he'd take it that far," Baz was saying and Liz could hear the conflict in the man's voice. "Not with Kaplan."

"Raymond felt like he had no choice." Dembe's voice was quiet, with pain working its way in and Liz felt a chill spread through her. It wasn't possible. She was misunderstanding them. Red wouldn't…. Not Kate Kaplan. Of all the people that had been put into danger with their plan, Liz had thought Kate was likely the safest.

"Still, she'll be missed. Mr Kaplan was a good woman."

"It was not easy for him."

Liz blinked hard. Red had killed Kate. He had killed her for her part in everything that had happened. For betraying him. If he could kill her, she was terrified to think about who else he might be willing to kill when the opportunity presented itself.

She forced herself to move, keeping her footsteps quiet as she could and eased the door back open. Tom was still curled up on his side in the same restless sleep he'd seemed to manage through the night. Liz glanced back at the door, seeing a lock, and flipped it, before pulling open the door to the closet, not bothering to be quiet.

"Liz? Babe, what're you doing? What happened?" Tom's exhausted voice came from the little room.

"We're leaving," she answered simply. Baz had left a bag of clothes for them both from the stuff that they'd uncovered from Cuba and she reached into the closet for it.

"Back up. What's going on? What did I miss?"

Liz slung the bag over her shoulder and moved to the main room, pulling the curtains on the window, and flipping the overhead light on. "Red killed Mr Kaplan."

There was a pause and she risked a glance back behind to see Tom's jaw tighten. "Damn," he breathed. "I was hoping…. Damn. How'd you find out?"

"I just heard Baz and Dembe discussing it." She emptied the contents onto the bed, sorting through them. Jeans, t-shirts, and a couple of sweaters. Socks, underwear, toothbrushes, and even a case of Tom's contacts. She swallowed hard, remembering that the things had been waiting for her when she'd gotten to Cuba in the first place. Kate had sent it ahead so they'd have a few things when they both got there. Tom was going to bring what he could and anything else that they would need they would either buy or find a way to get to them. Kate had even made arrangements for Hudson to be sent later. Liz had no idea where the Cleaner had set their dog up to wait, and the realization just added to the anxiety that was about to boil over.

"Hey," Tom said softly. She hadn't heard him get up, but he was standing with her now, his fingers gently touching the back of her hand that had been sorting through their things. "What are you doing?"

"If Red got ahold of these, he might have bugged something. I don't want him tracking us."

"Babe, slow down. Just take a second to-"

Liz turned, feeling her temper flare dangerously and he stopped mid sentence. "No," she hissed, and her vision blurred with the tears that were threatening. "You're not hearing me. Red killed Kate. He killed her, Tom. A woman that has been with him for years. He trusted her. Cared about her, and he killed her."

His brows drew together. "You know I'll be the last person to defend Raymond Reddington, but… he's not going to hurt you, Lizzie."

"I'm not worried about me, you idiot," she snapped, looking up at him and she could feel her own desperation clawing even as the words escaped. "I'm worried about you."

Tom blinked at her for a moment before his expression softened and he tried for a small smile. He took her hand and pulled it carefully to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Babe, I just spent the last couple of days with the man. If he'd wanted me dead, I'd probably be dead."

It sounded reasonable. She could hear the logic in the words, but she also knew that right now their situation was anything but reasonable. "Until he decides that it's your fault. Until he decides you convinced me. Tom, it wouldn't be the first time he's tried to kill you. I'm not taking the chance. Help me check these for something to track us and then we're going."

"And then what?" he asked softly, raising his hands in mock surrender when she glared. "I'm serious. Then what? Agnes is out there, and you and I both know that we're not leaving the area until we've found her. Are we going to go ask one of your teammates to let us crash on their couch while we search? We don't have the cash right now to find safehouse that Reddington wouldn't be able to find. All running does right now is put us more at odds with a dangerous man."

She opened her mouth to argue and a sob escaped. All at once she was being pulled into his arms and she leaned in, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "What if he hurts you? I can't lose you too."

"I'm not going anywhere, Liz. You know that. For better or worse. We're a team, and we'll do this together."

A hollow laugh escaped her. "Yeah, for better or worse" she whispered, tightening her grip around his middle. She felt his fingers work through her hair in a soothing motion and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying not to picture her friend lying in a dark alley somewhere, blood covering one of her skirt suits that she wore, and her eyes empty. Alone. After everything she'd given to both Red and to Liz herself. "It's my fault."

"It's not your fault, babe."

"It is. I should have known.. I should have known."

He tightened his hold on her and she felt him guide her over to the bed. They hadn't even tried to both sleep on the narrow mattress, but as he eased her down onto it, shifting so that his back was against the pillows and she was half curled into him, the intimate closeness was all that felt like was keeping her afloat. He let her cry against him, never letting go and never faltering. Finally, when the tears had slowed a little, she heard him pull in a deep breath. "This is not your fault," he said firmly. "Kate knew the risks. We all did, but Agnes is worth it. We're going to get her back, and when we do… that's when the big decisions will need to be made. If you still want to run, then we'll go. If you want to stay, we'll make it work, but it's a decision that needs to be made after we have our daughter back… and not at two in the morning when neither of us have slept well."

Liz swallowed hard, her fingers latched onto his t-shirt and gripping at the fabric there as if letting go would send her adrift. His words filtered in, and while part of her wanted to continue fighting them, they helped to ease some of the overwhelming panic. "Promise me we're all going to get through this," she whispered hoarsely.

"I promise."

"You mean that?"

She heard him chuckle. "I know better than to lie to you."

"Good," she managed.

Tom shifted down in the bed and Liz reached for the covers, pulling them around them both. "You comfortable?" he asked and she nodded against his chest.

"Just don't let go."

"You either," he whispered, and she could hear the weight in his words. In a world that seemed to be spiraling out of control far too quickly all over again, he was steady. He was just as afraid as she was, Liz knew that, but he was willing to put that aside to protect and comfort her. There were questions and answers and lies all mixed in and raging for her attention, but in that moment she knew one truth: they would fight for their daughter. At all costs, they would fight for their family. It was the tether she needed to hold steady in the storm.

"I love you," Liz said quietly.

"I love you too. We're going to get her back."

"I know."

She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head and she let her eyes drift shut, hoping that the closeness would help to drive away the nightmares. A new day would mean a fresh start, and Agnes was depending on them to be at their best.

Notes: Well... Red. I'm not at all happy with him right now, and I imagine Liz will be a mixture of furious and terrified when she finds out. I feel like Dembe and Kaplan were just on a whole different level than everyone else that works for Red. The fact that he was capable of going that far says a lot, and I needed to find a good way to work through that. So you guys got a one shot :)

Also, for those that don't follow Tumblr, the podcast has its first episode up! It's called Keen Minds and you can find it under Keen Minds Podcast on Facebook and Tumblr, as well as Keen_Minds on twitter. It's hosted on both YouTube and SoundCloud under Keen Minds Podcast as well. The second episode should be up early in the week. Fingers crossed for fewer technical difficulties, because I get those a lot lol.