On Your Side

"At least if he's doing it for me he won't risk a double-cross, unlike with the vast majority of his prospective employers."

That was what he had told her. He'd told her that he cared about her husband's well-being because of his connection to her and to Agnes. He was offering them a way for Tom to go back in the field and be safe. That had been what he had said, but she should have known better.

She thought she had, especially after what happened with Mr Kaplan, but there they were.

"Elizabeth-"

"Don't," she hissed. "You just couldn't stay away from him, could you? You just couldn't let us be happy?"

Reddington loosed a long breath. "It was never going to end differently, Elizabeth. You knew that and I knew that."

She blinked hard, feeling her vision blur as she did. "Did he know too much? Like Sam? Like Mr Kaplan?"

A soft snort was her only acknowledgement and Liz felt the rage boiling over as her gaze swept over the lifeless form in front of them, dark blue eyes closed and he might have been asleep had it not been for all the blood. "After everything, why? You owe me at least that answer."

"You're going to have to be more specific, Elizabeth," the Concierge of Crime drawled.

"Let's start with why you killed my husband."

She didn't get her answer. Instead she blinked and the back street was replaced with a dark room. Reddington wasn't there. It was quiet, the only sound beyond her own terror raging in her mind Tom's even breathing in the bed next to her. His back was to her, and she couldn't help but feel the distance from the conversation they had had when he came home from the op in Belgium earlier that evening. She lay there for a moment, watching the movement that proved he was pulling air in and releasing it, sleeping soundly and entirely unaware that she'd just seen one of her worst fears played out in her nightmare.

Carefully she scooted closer, wrapping her arm around his middle. He stirred at the touch and sudden closeness, and she pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades. "I love you," she whispered, her voice sounding loud against the empty room.

"You too," came the sleepy reply.

"I mean it. I love you. All of you. I know I'm not always the best at explaining. I just… don't let Red take you away from me, okay?"

He shifted and turned over, still looking like he was more than half asleep as he turned to face her. He inched further down in the bed and she tightened her hold on him, her fingers toying at the fabric of his t-shirt. His eyes slid open slowly and he leaned in, his forehead touching hers. "I'm not going anywhere. We've fought too hard to let go now."

That pulled a smile from her. "Just a new type of battle huh?"

"Mm," he managed. "And I'm on your side. No one else's. Just you and Agnes."

"And I'm on yours," she promised softly.

"Love you, Lizzie," her husband mumbled, sounding as if he were struggling to stay awake, jet lag getting the better of him.

She nestled in closer. "Love you too, Tom." They would take it one day at a time. They'd come too far and she loved him too much. She had to trust him not to go some place she couldn't follow and that they could face this together. They were a team, and when they had no one else in their corner, they had each other.

Notes: I feel like I should leave a small note on here that I don't actually think that Red would double-cross Tom at this point. I think he genuinely meant what he told Liz on the phone, but considering what she's just learned about Kate and what she believes she's learned about Emma combined with Tom and Red's past history... I could imagine there'd be some fear there. Not to mention that, as Liz said, there's more than one way that she could lose Tom.

Also, I kind of adore sleepy Tom. He's adorable. Badass spy mumbling he loves his wife in his sleep. Seriously. Adorable.