Questions and All

It had been a long day, starting far earlier than it should have with Tom jolting awake with a nightmare brought on by memories that seemed just out of his grasp. She knew the frustration. It ran deep and dug in without relief, but it didn't make her any less exhausted from being woken up with him at three in the morning and chasing down a new person on Reddington's list all day.

It was late. Liz had had to call and tell him not to wait dinner, but she hadn't expected to miss putting Agnes down to bed. They had gotten their perp, though. At least she could sleep knowing he was off the streets.

The apartment was quiet as she stepped through the front door, but she could see a lamp light from the living room. She eased her way in, shedding her jacket as she moved, and spotted a new addition to the living room decor that brought a small smile to her lips. "You got a board," she chuckled as she came to stand next to the couch.

Tom was seated there, leaned forward so that shoulders were hunched, his elbows rested on his knees, and his chin was propped on his fingers laced under it. He didn't look over at her, but seemed fixated on a file that hadn't quite made it to his evidence board yet. Liz inched forward, careful not to startle him, and peered over his shoulder to see a police file on a little boy with a bright smile on his face. Christopher Hargrave peered back at her from the photo clipped to the top of the file. Tom pulled in a shaky breath, shifted, and Liz found those same eyes - older, yes, and they had certainly seen more than the three year old in the photo, but they were the same eyes - staring up at her with that haunted look she had found him with the evening she had walked in on him watching the taped confession of the man that had supposedly murdered him. "Hey," she greeted, her voice much softer this time as she took a seat on the arm of the couch. "Find something new?"

He blinked and swallowed hard. "I know when my birthday is now."

Liz paused, the words sounding a little funny tumbling from his lips. Of course the date he had given her for his birthday wasn't the right one. It hadn't really come up and she hadn't put a lot of thought into it, but much like her own there was a better than even chance that someone had simply decided on a date to celebrate it and that date had stuck for him. Now, as he was reading files about his childhood, he had concrete dates to go off of. It had to be jarring.

Slowly she slid off the armrest and onto the couch next to him. His gaze went back to the paperwork. "I'm not thirty-two yet. I thought I was. Please tell me that's as weird as it sounds."

A short laugh escaped her and she leaned in, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "Yeah, I don't know mine either. We're a pair, aren't we?"

She felt Tom give a mirthless chuckle more than she heard it. "When Agnes was in the hospital right after she was born the doctor kept asking for details about medical histories and family history and…. I never realised how many blanks there were. I don't think it mattered as much."

"We just have to fill them in."

"You sound so sure we can."

"I am. We're stubborn, and you've decided it matters for you now, so I know you'll figure it out."

He sighed and leaned in, his head resting against hers. "I love you."

Liz smiled as her arm snaked around his back and she felt his go around her shoulders, pulling her in. "Love you too. You've got this, and Agnes and I aren't going anywhere. We'll be right here to support you."

Her husband turned and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, and she tightened her grip on him, snuggling down with him. If she wasn't careful she was going to drift to sleep right there.

"Babe? What's today?" Tom asked suddenly.

"Not your birthday, according to the file," she teased sleepily. The way he was running his fingers though her hair wasn't helping her stay awake.

He dropped his hand and Liz gave a small sound of protest as his arm suddenly disappeared from around her shoulders and he rocked forward for his cell phone that was on the table. He clicked it on to check the date and his brows drew together. "Wow. I'm the worst husband in the world. I forgot Valentine's Day."

"Well, I guess that makes me the worst wife in the world because it never crossed my mind," Liz chuckled.

"Yeah, but I remember this stuff. That's… I've never forgotten a day. And we could have actually done something this year. I'd planned to do something this year and make it special since we weren't… damn. I'm sorry."

Liz couldn't stop smiling at how flustered he was getting over it. He really did feel bad. It was cute. "It could have to do with both of us going nonstop since three this morning." That didn't seem to help, so she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his scruffy cheek. "Okay, here's what we do. Tomorrow I'll do my best to get off at a reasonable hour and we'll either go out to a nice dinner or we can have one here. No work, no research. Just you, me, and Agnes."

Her husband's expression softened into a smile. "I think I could get behind that."

"Good. Now, I'm going to grab a shower and get some sleep. You coming?"

He took her offered hand and she pulled him up from the couch and towards their room. He stopped though, and Liz turned a questioning look on him as he pulled her closer, leaning down into a kiss. Her eyes drifted closed, relaxing into it, as she felt his arms around her. Finally they broke, but she didn't let go. Instead she leaned her head against his chest, content. "Happy Valentines," Tom murmured softly.

"You too," she answered. "And babe, I love you, but if we don't go to bed you'll be carrying me in there."

He chuckled and Liz let out a sharp sound of surprise when she found her feet off the floor and she swallowed the laugh so it wouldn't wake Agnes up. "Dork," she grumbled through a laugh and he grinned at her and carried her into the bedroom. Their lives were still crazy, but at least this felt like a mostly good crazy. They were finding themselves in it, and they had each other through it. Their version of normal was a strange one, but they were getting there, questions and all.