Ray sat back down next to Liz on the couch and reached out to hold her hand. Her eyes were downcast and her expression didn't change even as he made contact.

'Sweetheart, you know what this means, right?'

Liz didn't say a word but she slowly nodded and tears started falling down her cheeks again.

'We can't let this go on. He's been in here. He's blackmailing us…'

'He's blackmailing me, Ray'

Ray reached over and took a hold of Liz's chin, gently forcing her to look at him, 'He's blackmailing us'.

Liz smiled a little and took a hold of Ray's hand, which was still on her face.

'Which means we're going to have to go to the police, we have no choice. I can't imagine how hard this is going to be for you, for other people to see all this, I really can't. And if I could trade places I would, in a heartbeat. But the police need to see it. This is the best proof yet that it's Tom that's behind all this. And now we have an extortion letter too. You see that, don't you?'

As Ray finished speaking he leant forward and kissed Liz tenderly on her temple, reaching his hand up into her hair and holding her head close against his lips. After a few moments, Liz found her voice and spoke up, 'Yeah, I get it. Let's do this. I mean, if he follows through on his threat, the whole town's going to see these pictures soon anyway. My career would be over. I'd need to move…..'

'That's not going to happen, Lizzy. We're going to stop this asshole. Okay, I'm going to go make a few phone calls. You be alright here for a little while? I'll just be out on the front path'.

Liz nodded slowly and Ray kissed her once more on the temple before standing up and heading out of the flat. Once outside he turned and hit the brick wall by the front door as hard as he could, three times. The pain didn't register at all. He was fuming. What he wouldn't give for five minutes alone with Tom, he thought to himself as he pulled out his phone and dialled the detective's number, blowing on his quickly swelling knuckles as he did so.

Tom was still in an exuberant mood that afternoon as he bounced around the house gleefully. He just couldn't stop smiling and Amber was becoming increasingly concerned that maybe he was a little unhinged. Eventually he came and sat down next to her at the kitchen table, a bottle of beer in his hand.

'So, it's all set for tomorrow morning, yeah? Ten o'clock?'

'Yeah', Amber managed, wondering what on earth she'd made herself a party to.

'And what was the name again? Jacob Phelps?'

'That's right'

'Okay, cool. Man, I can't wait. This is gonna be the best'.

As Tom finished speaking he reached over and took a hold of Amber's hand 'Come on babe, let's go upstairs and celebrate in style'.

Amber let herself be led up to her bedroom. She had absolutely no desire to sleep with Tom again but she just kept telling herself that it'd all be over soon and he'd be gone. She just needed to get through the next couple of days.

As Ray came back into the apartment, he saw that Liz hadn't moved at all and he went back over to sit next to her on the couch.

'Okay, sweetheart, all sorted. The detectives will be here in a couple of hours. Is there anything you'd like to do in the meantime?'

Liz shook her head and stared at her hands, which were grasping each other tightly in her lap. Ray sighed softly and pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could. 'That's okay, we can just sit here. Just you and me, safe and sound'.

Liz allowed herself to be held and slowly started to feel herself relax. Within ten minutes she was fast asleep, her nose buried in Ray's neck, his fingers stroking her arms with the gentlest of touches. He smiled to himself as he heard her breathing change and he rested his head on top of hers and allowed himself to slowly drift off too.

As promised, within two hours, the front door buzzer sounded and Ray and Liz both woke with a start. Liz's heart started racing instantly and Ray soothed her, kissing her cheek and whispering in her ear, 'It's okay, sweetie, it'll just be the police. Tom wouldn't ring. I'll go let them in'.

He left her on the couch and stood up, heading downstairs to let the officers in. When the three of them came back into the apartment, Ray glanced at Liz and noted that she looked like a rabbit in the headlights. What she was about to have to go through made his blood boil and he felt a flash of anger pulse through him again. Gathering himself, he went straight to her side and sat down, putting his arm around her and pulling her in close.

'Good afternoon, Miss. I'm sorry that we've had to come back again. Mr Reddington here says you've had some further trouble?'

Liz nodded at them, furiously blinking in an attempt not to cry again. Ray decided he'd be just as able to tell the detectives what they needed to know as she would and so he kissed the back of her hand once and then stood to show them the bedroom.

Liz sat on the couch, numb. She couldn't bear to think what the police officers would think of her once they'd seen all those horrible pictures. She just wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. After a few minutes, Ray and one of the officers came back into the lounge and Ray led him to the DVD player. The officer extracted the disc and set about dusting the player itself, the TV and the two remote controls for prints. Meanwhile the officer in the bedroom was taking photographs of all the pictures on the walls before placing them in exhibit bags.

As the officers went about their business, Ray returned to Liz on the couch and gathered her up once again. She was beyond crying now and so just sat there, clinging to him with her eyes screwed tightly shut. After less than an hour, they were all done. Ray pointed out the extortion letter on the coffee table and they bagged that too, along with the envelope.

'Okay, folks, I think that's all we're going to need. We'll get all this back to the station right now and start getting it processed. We'll be in touch as soon as possible'.

'Thank you officers', Ray said as he got up to show them out of the apartment.

Just as the second detective was about to leave the apartment, he turned back towards Liz and looked at her, 'And don't you worry, Ma'am. We're gonna catch this sicko. He's not gonna get away with this'.

Liz looked up at last and managed a smile. Despite the fact she knew what the man had just seen in her bedroom, she saw in his eyes true sympathy and determination, not a hint of judgement. She smiled wider and nodded her thanks to him.

Ray walked them both back downstairs and bade them farewell. Standing for just a few extra seconds on the doorstep, he ran his hand back and forth through his shorn hair and took some deep breaths of fresh air. Eventually he turned and went back upstairs to Liz, wondering just how he was going to keep her occupied for the next couple of hours.

When he got back inside he found he needn't have worried about distracting Liz. She had the vacuum cleaner out and was working it furiously around the lounge. He knew she was just trying to make the place clean and feel like hers again, desperately attempting to get rid of the lingering atmosphere of invasion that had pervaded since Tom's intrusion. As she continued with the vacuum, he found some rags under the sink and set about cleaning down all the work surfaces in the kitchen before moving into the lounge and cleaning and dusting in there too. As Liz disappeared into the bathroom to carry on with her purge, Ray headed into the bedroom to see what needed to be done but found it looked fine. He glanced at his watch and realised he had less than half an hour to get Liz out of the main space of the apartment so that he could receive the visitor he was expecting.

'Hey sweetheart, the bathroom surfaces look good enough to eat our dinner off', he said as he wandered in there.

Liz looked up at him and smiled weakly. She looked exhausted, he noted unhappily.

'Why don't you take one of those relaxing baths that you indulged me in earlier and I'll finish off the little bit of paperwork I still have to do?'

Liz looked at the bath and seemed unable to make a decision so Ray stepped forward and made one for her. He turned the taps on and poured some creams and potions in with the running water. Soon, the room started to get wonderfully warm and steamy and the smell appeared to be helping Liz to relax. He turned to her and reached for the buttons on her blouse, intending to undress her. However, Liz stopped his hands and smiled at him ruefully, 'Maybe not right now, Ray. I'm feeling kind of exposed at the moment'.

Ray smiled back and leant in to kiss her on the cheek. His heart was breaking for her and the idea that him undressing her and bathing her made her uncomfortable was a true kick in the gut for him. However, he understood completely and so left her to get herself ready for her bath. He disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a glass of red wine. Knocking on the door, he waited for her to reply before coming in. She was in the bath and her face already looked a little less tense. He knelt down next to her on the floor and placed the glass on the far side of the tub.

'Sorry, Ray'.

'For what?'

'Shutting you out just now'

'Oh, Lizzy. Don't apologise. I entirely understand. Absolutely no reason to be sorry. Just you relax in here. I'll just be next door. I won't leave. You're completely safe, okay?'

Liz reached out and grasped Ray's hand and he stood to leave, bending down quickly to give her a loving kiss on her forehead. He then turned and shut the door behind him, heading back towards the lounge to check his phone.

Within five minutes, his phone beeped with a text message and he quietly eased himself out of the apartment and down the stairs to the front door. Once there, he met with the man he'd called to arrange to come over earlier, when he'd been outside introducing his knuckles to the brickwork. Taking a package from him, he handed over some money and then tiptoed back up to Liz's apartment. As he came back in, he listened carefully at the bathroom door and heard nothing and so headed on into the bedroom to carry on with his plan.

Once he'd finished in there, he returned to the lounge and sat down to try to concentrate on some paperwork whilst Liz continued to soak. Just as he was starting to worry that she might've fallen asleep in there, he heard the bath start to drain and he quickly moved to the bedroom to finish off what he'd started earlier. He then exited the room and went back to the lounge, sitting down and pretending to look busy.

Liz emerged from the bathroom and, wrapped in just a towel, poked her head into the lounge. Ray glanced up and smiled at her. Her cheeks were rosy and flushed and she looked much better.

'Hey beautiful'

She smiled at him, her first genuine smile for some time, 'Hey yourself. Get much work done?'

'A little. Can't really concentrate', he said as he sighed.

'Yeah, I'll bet. Well, I'm just going to get dressed. You have any plans for this evening?'

'Nothing really. Whatever you want to do is fine by me', Ray said as he took off his reading glasses and made a show of stretching his back. Halfway through, he laughed to himself as he realised he really had had to stretch his back as it had started to stiffen up again. Liz looked at him curiously and he winked at her, 'I forgot about my back'. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the bedroom. As soon as she was out of sight, Ray stood and headed after her quietly.

Liz opened the door and gasped loudly. Her bedroom had been transformed from one of personal horror with all Tom's pictures, to one that brought happy tears to her eyes. There were rose petals everywhere; all over the floor, the sideboards, the bed. And tens of candles lit and blazing away, giving the room a wonderfully warm and cosy glow. She turned to head back to Ray and found him standing in the doorway, beaming widely at her.

'Ray…..', she managed before she threw herself into his arms and allowed herself to be held, her wet hair starting to soak through his shirt instantly.

'I thought I'd try to make this room a safe haven for you again. Well, for us. I hope it's okay?'

Liz pulled her head back and looked up into Ray's eyes, smiling joyously as she wept, 'It's more than okay. Thank you'. She reached her hands up and took a hold of Ray's head, pulling him down for a searing kiss. As her hands left her towel, it slipped off and lay now at her feet but she barely noticed. Eventually they pulled apart and rested their foreheads together.

Ray held her tightly in his arms, not wanting her to feel too exposed in front of him. He stroked her back and kissed her neck, murmuring in her ear how much he loved her and how he was going to look after her, no matter what. After a few minutes Liz started to walk backwards towards the bed, holding Ray's hand and pulling him with her. She sat down and he sat right next to her. She felt no shame now at being naked and reached out to stroke Ray's sideburns, her eyes glowing with the love she felt for this man.

'You asked me earlier what you'd done to deserve me?'

Ray smiled at her, awaiting her next words.

'I think you have your answer now, you silly, sweet man', Liz said and smiled at him, continuing to stroke his cheeks.

Ray turned and kissed her fingertips, 'Just you wait right here, my angel. I'll be back in a jiffy'. He headed back to the kitchen and then reappeared in record time, carrying a box.

'I thought maybe we could dine in bed, if you'd like?'

Liz grinned and shuffled back across the sheets, the petals sticking to her wet skin.

'Sounds great. However, I do feel you're a little overdressed for the occasion…'

Ray put the box down and swiftly disrobed down to his boxers before joining her on the bed. He then opened the box and started to feed her some of the delicious treats he had put together earlier. There were a few savoury snacks from the restaurant and then a gluttonous amount of chocolate coated fruit. One by one he popped them into Liz's mouth, kissing her in between mouthfuls.

After they had finished eating they both lay, completely sated, on top of the bedsheets.

Liz turned to Ray and moved closer, resting her head on his chest and holding him tightly to her, 'Thank you. I already feel a million times better'. She then looked up and caught his gaze, 'I love you, Raymond Reddington, I hope you know that?'

He smiled and leant down to kiss her, 'And I love you, my beautiful girl. So very much'.

Liz looked up at him and then down at the bed, 'Shall we leave the petals on here? That feels wonderfully decadent, doesn't it?'

Ray laughed and nodded, 'Absolutely. And we can leave the candles burning too, I made sure they were in safe positions on fireproof surfaces'.

Liz laughed and poked him in the ribs, 'There's my lovable nerd again', she said as he pretended to frown at her.

Ray reached down and pulled up a sheet to cover them both. Settling Liz on his chest again, he held her close and stroked over her arms. She, in turn, stroked his chest and belly and allowed herself to be lulled to sleep. Ray had made her feel safe. He had made her feel that she was worth fighting for. And she knew now that there was no way Tom was going to win this battle.