Once Ray and Liz got back to Liz's apartment, she parked Ray's car right outside and came round to help him out of the passenger seat. He accepted her proffered hand but didn't really need it, he was already feeling a lot better. They got inside the apartment and Liz went off to fetch an ice pack, leaving Ray on the couch.

When she returned he took it from her and placed it against his back, wincing slightly at its coldness, 'It's okay, Lizzy, don't worry. It's just the cold of the ice pack. I don't think the punch was that bad after all, it just hurt like a bitch at the time'.

Liz couldn't decide if Ray was just trying to be brave or not but she sat down next to him and held his leg tenderly. He smiled at her to reassure her and she tried to smile back but tears were threatening to fall.

'Hey, hey, sweetheart, don't you cry. Even if it is Tom who's done this, you've no reason to cry'

'I hate to see you in pain'

Ray leant over, ignoring the ache in his back, and kissed her. 'I'll be fine. Don't worry. Now go get me a photo of Tom so I can see if it really was him'.

Liz smiled back at Ray unconvincingly and went off to find a picture of her ex-husband. She returned swiftly and showed the picture to Ray.

'Yeah, that's him. One hundred percent.'

Liz sighed and sat back down, 'Dammit. I thought I was rid of that bastard. And now not only is he back but he's hurt you'.

'Well I'd rather he'd hurt me than he'd hurt you again, if I'm honest'.

'Don't say that! I can't bear the thought of you being hurt! Especially not if it's due to my appalling taste in men'.

Ray lifted an eyebrow at her and smiled.

'Yeah, yeah, present company excepted', Liz said, smiling back. 'I'm serious though. He can't get away with this. He has no claim over me. We're divorced. He's signed away any rights to me or to this apartment or to any money. He's just doing this to be malicious'.

'Well, maybe. But until we're sure, I wanna stay here until we can have words with him. Or, better yet, the police can catch him'.

Liz reeled at Ray's statement, 'You wanna stay here?'

'Of course I do. I'm not letting you out of my sight until he's caught'.

'So, you wanna make a police report?'

'Lizzy, he got away with this when he did it to you. And whilst I can handle what's happened to me, I can't handle him coming back for more with you. So, yeah, we're talking to the police'.

Liz leant into Ray's shoulder, careful to keep her weight from pushing onto his back, 'Okay. Shall I call them now?'

'Well, no time like the present, sweetheart. Don't worry, I'll be here when the police are questioning us. You're not on your own this time, okay?'

Liz looked up at Ray and kissed him quickly on his lips, 'Thank you, my brave soldier'.

'Oh, Elizabeth, that hurt worse than the punch. I'm a sailor, not a soldier'.

Liz giggled and stood up to go fetch her phone. Walking over to Ray, she dialled the non-emergency number for the police and sat back down. Once connected she gave the police officer all the details they needed over the phone and then hung up.

'Okay, well, they're gonna send someone over now to take an official report'.

'That was quick', Ray said, slightly surprised.

'Yeah, I guess there's not much serious crime in this town. An assault like this is pretty much as bad as it gets', Liz said as she snuggled back up to Ray on the couch, allowing him to hold her and kiss her hair. She sighed, hoping to keep the sound of it under her breath, but Ray heard.

'Are you worried about talking about when he beat you?'

'Yeah. I've never told anyone before. I just hid away afterwards. I mean, my dad knew but I convinced him I didn't wanna do anything about it. I just wanted Tom gone and to try to forget him. Last thing I wanted to do was have to press charges and see him in court or whatever. Thankfully dad understood in the end. And as Tom had already left town, he decided to let it drop'.

'I wonder why he's come back. It's odd that he'd turn up just as we've gotten together'.

'Yeah, I know. It's like he found out about us but I have no idea how. And it's not like he really cares about what I'm doing. I'd have heard from him before now if that were the case'.

Ray lifted Liz's chin up and kissed her gently, 'Don't worry, Lizzy, we'll get to the bottom of this. And hopefully the police will want to arrest him. Either way, until he's no longer a threat, I'm gonna make sure you're safe'.

Liz smiled up at Ray and reached up to stroke his cheek and sideburn, 'I know you will. Thank you'.

'No thanks necessary. This is personal for me too now, remember. And there's no way in hell I'm gonna let that bastard hurt you again'.

Liz settled her head back on Ray's shoulder and they sat there, just holding each other, waiting for the police to arrive.

Half an hour later the doorbell sounded and Liz jumped up to go answer it. Ray started to stand too but Liz held him down by his shoulder, 'Don't you dare, you need to rest. I can get the door'.

'Okay, okay. Just make sure you use the peephole before you open it?'

'I will, don't worry', Liz said as she exited her apartment and went down to the front door. She peeked through the small glass fish eye and saw two police officers standing on the doorstep. Quickly, she opened the door and beckoned them in, showing them up to her apartment.

Once inside, she led them over to Ray and made introductions before asking them if they'd like a drink. Both officers requested coffee and she went into the kitchen to prepare some for them.

'Thanks for coming so quickly, officers, it's very much appreciated', Ray said as he sat back down, having stood up to shake their hands.

'Not a problem at all, Mr Reddington. It's a pleasure to be of assistance to a hero like you. We were both at the Memorial Day event, saw you up there in your glad rags'.

'Ha, yeah, of course. I forgot half the town knows who I am now', Ray said, feeling a bit embarrassed all of a sudden. What kind of US Navy hero gets sucker punched in a bathroom?

'Not to mention your dad's restaurant makes the best damn pizzas this side of Chicago', the other cop chimed in.

'Well, thank you for that. My dad's recipes are wonderful. I'm just happy to be able to keep the tradition going'.

'Yeah, we heard Nick passed away. Real sad. He was a wonderful guy, real salt of the earth'.

'Thank you', Ray said as he smiled ruefully.

By now Liz had reentered the room and started to pour some coffee for them all. Having done that, she sat back down and reached out to hold Ray's hand, anticipating that the questioning was about to begin.

Half an hour later and they were done with all the questions. The police took the photo and envelope that had been delivered that morning with the hope of retrieving some fingerprints from it. They also took Ray's and Liz's fingerprints on their mobile fingerprint device in order to be able to eliminate them from any other ones on the papers. One last thing they wanted to do was take photos of any bruises Ray might have from today's assault so Ray took off his shirt and turned his back to them. As he did so, Liz gasped and tears immediately formed in her eyes. He had two huge black and blue patches on his back. The second that one of the officers had finished photographing them, she walked up to Ray and gingerly wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. She didn't care that the cops were still there, she just needed to hold Ray, having seen how bad his injuries were.

The cops then said their goodbyes and promised to be in touch with any developments as soon as they might arise. As soon as they were out of the door, Liz burst into tears and after a few minutes of crying whilst clinging onto Ray around his neck, he realised she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. He sat back down on the couch and pulled her down with him, placing her on his lap. He still had his shirt off and she was soaking his bare chest, the tears running down and matting his chest hair.

'Shhhh, sweetheart, it's okay. I'm gonna be just fine. Please don't cry'. Ray kept trying to calm Liz but eventually he just held her and let her cry it all out. After a few more minutes, she started to get herself back together. She looked up at him and tried to smile. He smiled back at once and kissed the tip of her nose before gently wiping away the tears from her cheeks.

'I'm sorry, Ray. I didn't mean to have a meltdown there. I don't really know what I was expecting to see but half your back is bruised. It looks so bad. You must be in so much pain'

'Lizzy, I promise it looks worse than it is. It did hurt at the time but I'm okay now. Honestly, it's just kind of a dull ache now'.

Liz leant forward and kissed him softly, 'Well, you tell me if there's anything I can do'.

'There is actually'

'Anything'

'I'm famished. Got any food?'

Liz laughed and had to resist the urge to punch Ray on the arm, 'I might've known. Okay, I'll go rustle us up something. Don't you move'.

Liz found some cold cuts in the fridge and made them each a sandwich with some salad on the side. They sat and ate in near silence, each thinking over what the police had said to them earlier. They'd said that whilst they would take into consideration Liz's story about being beaten by Tom years ago, there was nothing they could do about that now unless he confessed. And they were going to see if they could find any CCTV footage from the zoo to prove that Tom had been there and to check if he might've bought his ticket with a credit card. However, even with those enquiries proving successful, they would still need a confession from Tom in all likelihood as there were no witnesses to the actual assault. A more hopeful line of enquiry was his fingerprints on the photo and envelope but even if there were that'd wouldn't necessarily tie him to the assault. However, it would be enough to bring him in for questioning.

Once they'd finished eating, Ray suggested they watch a movie together and so Liz went to peruse her DVD collection.

'Okay, we have romance film, comedy or action?'

Ray pondered for a moment, 'Well, normally I'd say comedy but I'm not sure my ribs are up to laughing too much right now. Romance is a bit…..'

'Chick flick?'

'You said it, not me', Ray replied with a wink.

'So action it is'.

'Whaddya got?'

'The Hunt for Red October'

'Are you kidding me?'

'No', Liz replied with a slight giggle.

'Good, cos I love that movie', Ray smiled. 'I always thought I was a bit like Jack Ryan'.

'Oh, you're far more handsome than Alec Baldwin. Or Harrison Ford'.

'Right answer, sweetheart'.

Liz slipped the disc into the machine and they cuddled up together to watch it. The whole way through they were stroking each other and turning to kiss any part of the other they could reach. By the end of the film, both of them were half-asleep and so they got up and headed to the bedroom.

'I'm not going to go into work tomorrow, Lizzy. I'll get my deputy manager to look after the place and have someone bring some paperwork over here so I can at least be productive'.

'Not just because you don't want to leave me alone, I hope? You're going to have to go back to work sometime'.

'I will. But I wouldn't be able to concentrate at work anyway, knowing you were here all alone. And besides, my back will probably be pretty stiff tomorrow. I don't fancy doing anything that involves standing up for too long. So paperwork works just fine. And that can be done anywhere'.

'Okay. Good, I'm glad you're going to look after yourself'.

'And you'

'And me', Liz said as she approached him at the foot of the bed. 'Now how's about you let me take care of you now?'

Ray looked at her quizzically before realising that she'd started to work on his belt buckle, 'Oh, Lizzy, I don't think I'd be much good to you at the moment'.

'That's okay. What I have planned shouldn't involve you moving much at all', Liz said as she sank to her knees in front of him. Ray gasped as he felt her hands gently cup his balls and then gritted his teeth as Liz took hold of his length and slowly started to stroke him up and down, encouraging him to get hard. It took no time at all and as soon as he was erect she kissed his tip.

Ray groaned and threaded his fingers through her hair, desperately trying not to buck into her. Liz then removed her hands and mouth and stood back up, quickly stripping off her clothes as she did so. She then helped Ray out of the rest of his clothing and encouraged him to lie down comfortably on the bed, using a pillow to prop under his back to help with his aches.

Then she slowly crawled back up his body and with one last smile at his face, she ducked her head back down and started working her mouth up and down his shaft, fondling his balls with one hand and holding his hand with the other. Their fingers interlaced and Ray grasped her hand as hard as he dared, pushing his head back into the pillow and starting to breathe ever quicker.

Liz continued sucking him, occasionally stopping to just run her tongue up and down his length and kiss his balls. Ray was in absolute heaven, although not being able to move was killing him. He wanted nothing more than to flip Liz over and bury himself inside her. But he knew that she wanted to do this for him and he suspected his back wouldn't appreciate such movement right now.

As Ray got closer and closer to his climax, Liz increased the tempo, now moving her head up and down as fast as she could, sucking him and running her tongue over his slit every time she came back to the top. Suddenly Ray's hips bucked, just once, and Liz's mouth was full of him, his seed squirting out in hot, fast spurts. He grunted and then sank back into the bed. Liz swallowed him all down and then wriggled back up the bed to kiss him and hold him tight.

Once Ray got his breath back, he turned to her and looked at her in wonder.

'Thank you, sweetheart'

Liz smiled at him, 'No need to thank me, I enjoyed it', she said with a smile. 'And I think it was the least I could do for you after today'.

'What on earth did I do to deserve you, Lizzy?'

Liz snuggled in closer and they cuddled up, ready to fall asleep together, 'I don't have an answer for that right now. But I'm so glad we found each other'.

Ray kissed the top of her head and left his lips lingering there as they slowly dropped off.