Light

The week had been utter chaos, beginning with a call in which Tom had told her that he had missed his flight when Kat Carlson had shown up bleeding at his hotel, and it had just spiraled from there. He was careful in what he told her over the phone, finding a new way to tell her that he'd give her the full story when he got home every time she asked if he knew what had happened to her. He was a master at evading without sounding like that was what he was doing, but she knew him. Something about this had him spooked, and she wasn't sure if it was just the residual paranoia of having been watched so closely or if there was more to it.

He had booked two flights home during the week that he'd missed, but he'd promised her he'd be home for Agnes' birthday. Now the day was here and Liz hadn't heard a peep out of him and she was torn between worry and irritation. She didn't want to call and interrupt the investigation. Last she had heard, Kat still hadn't woken up from the surgery that had just barely saved her life and Tom was hoping to be there when she did. If he wouldn't make it, she had to trust him that he would let her know.

Liz shifted the bags of party supplies and moved Agnes' stroller to the side so she could get to the door. "Almost home, sweet girl," she murmured, "and this afternoon you'll get to see your Uncle Don, Uncle Aram, and Aunt Samar. Are you excited?"

Agnes giggled, pulling a smile from her mother as she swung the door open, backing in with all the bags and the stroller. Now she just had to get this put up and find time to get by the bakery for the cake…

She stopped at the end of the hall and stared a moment at the cake sitting on the table.

"Hey babe," a familiar voice greeted from behind and Liz turned, finding Tom exiting their bedroom, still toweling his hair off from a shower. He looked exhausted , the bags under his eyes more pronounced and, if the healing cuts on his face were anything to go by, he had downplayed just how much trouble he'd gotten himself into recently.

He gave her a sheepish smile. "I should have called or texted, but I didn't want to jinx it before I was on the plane and by the time I landed I kind of wanted to surprise you. Surprise?"

A short laugh escaped her as she dropped the bags and covered the space between them, the irritation pushed aside to make room for the relief at seeing him there. She wrapped her arms around his middle and she felt him melt into the hug. He pulled her in, long fingers running through her hair as they held onto each other, the only thing finally startling them out of the moment Agnes' high pitched squeal to get their attention.

Liz reluctantly released her husband, who was grinning now as he moved to scoop Agnes out of her stroller. He picked her up and pressed a long kiss to her chubby cheek, pulling a giggle from her and a smile from, which made it difficult for her to risk shattering the moment. "Tom," she said quietly. "What happened? Why couldn't you tell me on the phone?"

His smile faded at that and he held Agnes just a little closer, bouncing her and hugging on her like he might never put her back down. Liz knew the feeling. She'd barely been able to take her eyes off their little girl after that month away from her, even if she'd only had a couple of hours with her then. From the look on his face, Tom knew his visit was limited. The chaos that had taken him to New York wasn't over yet.

He swallowed hard, closing his eyes and he shifted Agnes in his arms. "Kat still hasn't woken up. She was stabbed twice and the local cops have linked it to a John Doe they found dead in his hotel room. Room was booked user a false name and they're still trying to track down his real name. Nez and I have been looking into it, but…" Agnes made a sound that drew his attention and he smiled for her, even if it wasn't as bright as she usually pulled out of him. "Kat gave me a jump drive when she showed up. It's a bunch of financial records that I'm working through as quietly as possible."

"You don't want Howard knowing," Liz breathed, the tightness in his expression confirming it. "You think your mom was set up?"

"I think it's possible. Kat said the truth was on the jump drive and that it was him."

Liz grabbed the bags from the floor and set them on the table to start sorting through. "Could be the John Doe."

"Could be. Could be the John Doe was working for someone."

"And you don't trust your team with that?"

Tom sighed heavily. "It's not that. It's that these guys have been through a lot. I don't want to drag them into more distrust if I don't have to, and if it isn't Howard…"

"You don't want him to know you're questioning him," Liz murmured, her hand stilling with a pink tiara halfway out of the bag. She risked a glance back to see the torn expression on her husband's face. He had so much trouble trusting people. His life hadn't made it easy, and she knew how hard it had been for him to risk the truth with her, and how much that meant from him. Now he was desperately trying to not jump to the wrong conclusion when it came to Howard's guilt or innocence, that hard-learned distrust making it difficult for him.

Tom snorted a mirthless laugh, reluctantly moving to set a squirming Agnes in her highchair. "It's not his fault I've had a bad track record."

Liz pursed her lips together, her mind racing with the new information. If Tom admitted it or not, Bill McCready had done a number on him. The man had "saved" him, as Tom had put it to her once, when he'd been on the streets as a young teen, and given him a purpose. As far as Liz could tell, it had been a very complicated relationship which Tom had thought meant more to McCready than it actually had. The older man had been fond enough of his protégé when Tom had fallen in line and continued to bring in top dollar for his organization, but the moment Tom had stepped out of line the man that had raised him had tried to put a bullet in his head. Twice. They hadn't discussed it at length, not with everything that had followed McCready's death, but she saw the conflict in his eyes on those rare occasions that it came up. Tom had cared for the man, trusted him, and he'd betrayed him deeply.

Now he was reeling at the idea of Howard doing the same. If Howard truly had set Scottie up, he'd used his son to do it. He'd taken advantage of Tom's questions and the terrible void in his life for a real father that had weighed on him since he'd become a father himself.

"Hey," Liz tried, reaching out to him and her hand found his.

He took it, trying for a smile. "Right now I just want to be here, okay? You, me, and Agnes. And the half a dozen people coming to celebrate with us."

"Is your dad coming to the party?"

Tom grimaced a little. "I invited him before all of this broke loose."

She squeezed his hand. "It's okay. Nothing's going to happen. Not at our daughter's birthday."

He nodded slowly, the stress still lingering there and she tipped on her toes, pressing a reassuring kiss against his lips. "I love you," he breathed.

"You too, and Tom? You've got us. If everything else goes to hell, Agnes and I aren't going anywhere. You trust me on that?"

A small, real smile perked his lips and he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "We need to get this up before people starting getting hers." He reached for the tiara that Liz had left on the table. "Please tell me this one's for Ressler."

Liz flashed him a grin and rolled her eyes. "Your daddy loves to tease Uncle Don, doesn't he?" she asked Agnes and the little girl started giggling as her mom plucked the frilly tiara out of her dad's hands and put it on his head. "What do you think, sweetie? I think it's perfect."

Tom's laugh, something even he couldn't fake around her, rang in her ears as he pulled her close. She wrapped one arm around his neck, the other hand behind his head to guide him closer and into the kiss. She'd missed him, and she knew he would have to leave again, but for that moment he was there with them and no one was going to take that away. No matter how dark it got, they were each other's light and they would always find their way home.

Notes: I may have needed some fluff after the Redemption finale. I'm still not over it, but hoping that tomorrow's Blacklist episode provides at least something like an answer on the subject.