She had been dreaming. About what, she wasn't entirely sure, but it had left her with a knot in her chest that was working it's way up to her throat, threatening to cut off her air. She swallowed hard against it, finding the passageway clear, and risked opening her eyes.

She found a pair of large, dark blue ones staring back at her.

"Mama, Mama, Santa came!"

A groan to Liz's right drew the little girl from off her mother and she flopped towards it, the words barely audible through the giggles. "Daddy, wake up!"

The familiar sound of Tom's laugh came from the figure in the bed next to her. "It is way too early, kiddo."

"But Santa came and he left presents!" Agnes giggled as she pounced on Tom.

Slowly, with each laugh and each word coming from her family in the dark bedroom, the nightmare started to wash away and Liz found herself remembering that the true nightmare they had lived through had, in fact, been survived.

"I wanna open 'em!" Agnes declared shrilly, hopping up and down.

"You don't want breakfast first?" Tom asked and Liz heard a soft oof when Agnes landed in the middle of him again.

Another loud, piercing giggle filled the room. "No!" she squealed and then she was gone, her laughter echoing out of the room and down the short hall.

Liz looked over and she could just make out the smile that tilted her husband's lips up as he watched the door that their daughter had bounded through seconds before. He loosed a short breath. "We should probably get up."

That tugged a smile of her own into place. "Probably, otherwise she'll open all the presents."

It took a moment more, but Liz finally worked up the gumption to throw the covers off, the cold air hitting her. She dove for her robe that had been left draped over a chair before following Tom out the bedroom door.

Agnes was waiting impatiently, but she'd managed to keep herself from diving headfirst into the pile of presents. She looked back, a wide smile showing her first missing tooth, and Liz found herself marveling in the moment over how lucky they were.

"Okay, kiddo, let's see which ones are yours," Tom said as he moved to take a seat by the tree.

"All of them," Agnes told him firmly and he laughed.

"Maybe not all of them. How about…. this one?" He reached under the tree to pull a large present forward and she was eager enough to meet him halfway.

Liz took a seat on the floor with him as Agnes tore through the paper and down to the box below. Her eyes lit up when she saw the photo of the toy castle below. "I wanted it!"

"You may have mentioned that once or twice," Tom laughed and handed her the next present that she went out with just as much enthusiasm. Liz barely noticed when he held a small box out for her, mischief in those dark blue eyes.

"When did you even have time?"

"I made time," he answered softly and nodded towards the box.

"Daddy, daddy! It's a pony!" Agnes squealed from her place and they both glanced over at the small, toy horse that she was waving in the air. "Sugar has a friend now!"

"Totally what I was thinking," Tom managed, and as Agnes went for the next gift Liz pulled back the wrapping on her own.

The box was simple and solid, no photos or labels to show what she should expect beneath the lid. It was just the right size for jewelry, and while Tom had been known to pick a few nice pieces out over the years, he seemed especially proud of himself with this. Probably not jewelry.

"You're running out of time," he murmured, glancing over at where Agnes was opening a big, puffy pink sweater that she'd be wearing to her Grandma Scottie's house later that day.

Liz tugged the lid from the box and found two plane tickets inside. A small, breathy laugh escaped her when she saw the destination. "Paris."

"For New Years." He caught her gaze. "We keep talking about it, but between your job, mine, and Agnes, we don't do it. I already talked to Cooper, and I'm pretty sure my team's going to be thrilled to have me out of the office for a couple of weeks."

"What about Agnes?"

"Scottie's already offered to watch her. She'll spoil her rotten." He leaned her shoulder into hers where they sat, his smile contagious. "C'mon, babe. Just you and me. Let's do it."

She shook her head, laughing softly before leaning up and pressing a kiss to his scruffy cheek. "Let's do it."

A knock on the door drew their attention and Agnes was instantly on her feet. "Biga!"

Tom's excitement evened out at their daughter's cry. "Did he say he was coming today?"

"No, but she's never wrong about it," Liz murmured as she got to her feet. Tom remained on the floor and she nudged him with her foot. "Play nice?"

"Always do."

"Not always."

The smile returned, even if a little less enthusiastic than before, and he winked at her. "For you."

Liz heard the locks coming undone and started down the hall. "Agnes, what have we told you about opening the door without us?"

"It's Biga!" the little girl said stubbornly and tugged the door open anyway, revealing a familiar face on the other side.

Raymond Reddington's smile lit up as soon as he saw her and Agnes launched herself at him. He caught her and scooped her up into his arms, stepping inside the door. "Hello there."

"Merry Christmas, Biga! I knew you'd come!" Agnes announced and wrapped her arms around his neck. Liz snagged the bag of presents that had been at his feet in the hallway and closed the door behind them.

Reddington stood there a moment, soaking in the warmth. After a moment, a pair of clear blue eyes that were remarkably like her own turned towards Liz and there was a softness to them. "Merry Christmas, Elizabeth. I know it's very early, but with children -"

"We were up," Tom said from the end of the hallway. At least he hadn't remained on the floor in protest to their visitor.

Reddington turned, Agnes still in his arms. "Tom," he greeted tensely.

"Reddington."

"Biga, did you bring me presents?" Agnes asked, diffusing some of the tension between the two men at least.

"You sound like you didn't just rip through three in five minutes," Liz teased and Agnes grinned brightly. "We have to save some for Grandma Scottie's."

"How about one more before you go?" Reddington offered and set Agnes down. She nodded enthusiastically and he nodded a quick thanks to Liz for grabbing the bag. He reached into it, producing a box with a big, red bow on top and Agnes' name in his own scrawled handwriting.

She sat down in the hallway and made quick work of the wrapping. Inside the box was a small, stuffed rabbit. "Look, Mama," Agnes said loudly, holding the bunny up. "He looks like yours!"

Liz glanced over and a wistful sort of look had settled over Reddington. "I gave your mother a bunny just like that when she wasn't much younger than you."

"Now I have one."

"Now you have one."

She smiled brightly and hugged the stuffed animal close.

"Reddington," Liz said softly. His smile was a little sad, but she reached out and touched his arm. "Why don't you guys come in for a few minutes. Agnes can show you what she got."

"C'mon, Biga," Agnes said as she stood, taking him by the hand and doing her best to drag him into the living room. Tom stepped out of their way and Liz followed in, pausing next to him. Agnes took Reddington right up to the tree, showing him presents and ornaments, and all the decorations that she'd helped Liz and Tom put up around the apartment. The Concierge of Crime listened with his full attention, nodding and responding in awe that kept the little girl giggling.

Tom sighed at her side. "She does like him."

"She does," Liz answered softly and leaned in. Her husband's arm went around her instantly and pulled her just a little closer. "We have a weird family."

That finally pulled a soft chuckle from him. "We do, but as long as I have you and Agnes, that's what matters." He kissed the side of her head. "Merry Christmas, babe."

"Merry Christmas." She wrapped her arm around his back, holding on tight as they watched Agnes convince Reddington that he should help her set up her new princess castle and play with her. After everything that had happened, all the lies and the truths and the chaos that had fallen down around them, somehow they'd come through it, and in that moment their weird little family could be together. For that Christmas and all the ones that would come after it, that was something she could hold onto.

Notes: Merry Christmas, everyone! I know I've been very quiet on the fanfiction front, but I decided to indulge a complete fluff piece where everyone's happy and together and alive and healthy. If I have time I may write a follow up piece for that New Years trip for Tom and Liz ;)

And for those reading Home from the War, I'm hoping to be able to jump back into the writing process at the beginning of the year. I'm ALMOST to my goal of three polished scripts for my writing portfolio. I just finished up my spec script for a current show that I needed (shocker, I wrote one for the Blacklist) and I'm in the last stages of this round of polishing. Once that's done I think I can start to poke at home again. Two different Blacklist projects at once like that was just overwhelming my brain a little lol

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!