Six Impossible Things

It was a strange feeling, and as he inched closer and closer to it he questioned its validity. As if it were some sort of trick to lure him into a false sense of security just to snatch it away again. The moment he accepted it, the moment he saw it as truth, it'd be gone again like a dream fading away and leaving a terrible reality in its wake. It had certainly happened enough that the fear wasn't without merit.

He felt a shift, pulling him closer to wakefulness, and he felt an arm go around his middle, fingers playing with the hem of his t-shirt. They teased his skin and sent a chill up his spine at the light touch, finally causing him to crack one eye open and find dark hair in his line of view, her head tucked under his chin, her arm around him, and the closeness daring him to put his trust in that elusive feeling of peace, even if for just a moment.

Slowly - hesitantly in case the movement might break the spell - he moved his hand under the covers, tracing up her arm and the woman he loved nestled closer, her bare feet against his and a soft sigh escaped her. He waited, holding his breath, but the moment held. Everything remained steady and he released the breath slowly, pressing a kiss to her head.

"You're not getting up, are you?" Liz murmured sleepily and he felt her fingers close around the fabric of his shirt.

"Not yet." He paused, squinting past her at the clock. "Unless you want breakfast early? Agnes'll be waking up soon."

"Wait until she does."

He chuckled at the soft command and he tightened his own hold on her. "I love you."

Liz made a soft sound that ended in a content sigh and what he thought was an I love you too. After a moment she moved, pulling back enough to look him in the eye. "What?" she asked, her tone a little hesitant.

Tom couldn't help the smile. "Just holding onto it."

"What?"

"Few moments of peace."

"Afraid if you let go it'll slip away?"

"Maybe. Wouldn't be the first time."

His wife's expression turned thoughtful, as if she were counting all the ways the statement was true. Finally she frowned a little and slowly propped herself up on her elbow so she was looking down on him. After a half a beat her expression turned a little mischievous. "Six impossible things."

Tom snorted a laugh that was cut off when she leaned down to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, and there was a long moment where there was nothing but the two of them. They were safe and they were happy. The chaos that had pulled them under the crashing waves had subsided and left their family while at the end. Somehow. He wasn't going to question it.

"I've been thinking about that," Liz said breathlessly as they broke, the words soft.

"About what?"

"Six impossible things."

Tom shift a little under her, his brows drawing together in a curious expression.

Liz laid down half on top of him, her arms folded across his chest and her chin propped on them so she was looking directly at him. "We've talked about how we both want a normal life, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed tentatively, not sure where the conversation was going.

"And to get that, our go-to was to fake my death, have you help take out the threat here, and run away to Cuba." She loosed a breath, as if she might be trying to find the right words or gauge his reaction before it came. Or both. "Is it possible we've been looking at this all wrong? That… Normal doesn't have to be the nine-to-five with dinner on the table every night and the picket fence? Maybe our normal is different, but not...less normal. Just unique to us."

"Is this about the job offer again?" Tom asked hesitantly, not really wanting to discuss Scottie Hargrave again before coffee.

"No. Well, not specifically. This is about us and expectations. We tried to run away from a master criminal by faking my death only to be chased down by a man that thought he was my father. And - and I'm not pushing you on this, I swear - we do have the possibility of your family out there now." She sighed, sounding frustrated with the way the conversation was heading. "Now we have a new place, trying to get things settled and I… I'm just saying maybe we need to find our normal, not everyone else's."

She was worried, he realized. Worried that he just expected to settle out and play house quietly when, if they were honest with themselves, they were never going to get fully back to those moments before Reddington had dropped into their lives. Too much had changed. It had been something he had wondered on himself. "Because we do six impossible things before breakfast," Tom chuckled and watched his wife's expression ease in the relief of knowing he had made sense of her pre-caffein ramblings.

"Exactly. I want Agnes to have everything we didn't, but that doesn't mean we can't be us."

Tom's smile widened just a little as he reached up and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "You know as long as I have the two of you, that's what matters. You know that, right?"

"Even if our lives never really slow back down?"

"With what happened in Cuba, I think it's pretty clear they won't indefinitely," he chuckled. "But I love you, Liz. Like you said, we'll find our normal. That's where we're going to be happy, even if no one else gets it. We're not them. We'll take the peace and the chaos in stride as long as we're in it together."

Her grin only grew and she kissed him again. "I love you too," he murmured as she did.

"For better and definitely for worse, isn't that what you said?" he teased gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I."

"Good to know." He shot her a mischievous smile and started to pull the covers up around them when a soft cry started over the baby monitor, interrupting the playful moment. "Anyway. We have a little girl. Of course it's going to be an adventure."

She rolled her eyes and kissed the tip of his nose. "Dork. You go get started on breakfast and I'll get her up."

He stopped her as she started to get up and pulled her into another quick kiss. "We've got this."

"I know," she answered with a smile. "You and me."

Notes: I really needed some excuse for fluff. Just Keen2 fluff. Also working on a Thanksgiving piece

that I hope to have up tomorrow!