Disclaimer: I don't own The Blacklist. I just love this pair of characters too much. That's all. Carry on.
When they both were done with dinner, they both went their separate ways to get ready to sleep. Liz went to the closet in the bathroom and Donald walked towards his room. As Liz took her clothes from her closet and closed the door she bumped into Don's bare chest from behind her. She blushed before she turned around.
"Nice seeing you there," Liz giggled, and tried to keep a straight face.
"Nice seeing you too, need anything before I take a shower?" Donald asked.
She looked down at everything she had in her arms, then looked back to him"Hm, nope! Go right ahead, I'm going to get ready for bed and most likely I'll pass out when I get under my covers."
"If you need anything, just ask." He said, letting Liz walk to her room. He shut the door after he saw her turn the corner.
Liz changed into her newly purchased pajamas that Ressler bought for her. A navy long-sleeved shirt and matching satin pants. They made her feel like someone actually cared about her. The day was completely perfect, and something she'll remember for a long time. She walked over to the desk and turned off her light. The thing she hates to admit is that they have to go to work the next day as if nothings happened. As much as she'd love to tell Meera what happened, she knows it would cause her to lose her sense of being professional.
She slipped under the sheets, pulled the comforter over her shoulders, and turned onto her right side, facing the wall. Her eyes almost shut, until she heard steps toward the door frame.
"Liz," Donald said, looking over at her.
"Ressler, what's going on?" Liz asked, as she tossed over to the opposite side to see him.
"I just wanted to tell you goodnight, I'm going to sleep soon."
"Goodnight, Ress. Get some rest, it will keep you focused tomorrow."
"I'll try. Goodnight, Keen." He smiled before turning around and walking back to his room.
Liz turned back onto her side and shut her eyes.
"Liz, pick one. Your family or your job." Tom stood across Liz with his arms crossed.
"Tom, please don't do this, Tom, please." Liz pleaded.
"Make up your mind, or I'm choosing for you." He glared at her.
"Tom, you can't do tha-"
"I did, now pick!"
"I can't do this right now Tom. I have to complete-"
"Another freaking case. What has this job done to you? Liz, I want to be in a normal family, and I know a family with you is never going to be normal."
"Tom, please don't do this. I love you so much, and I can't give up my job to be with you-"
"Oh, I see, you pick your job over us yet again. Liz, I'm going to file for divorce and you can have your freedom of being at work for the rest of your life."
"Tom, no! I want both, I still want us and my job. Is it that hard to understand?"
"Lizzie, I already made up the decision for you. You picked your job over us."
"Tom, I never meant to-"
Tom slapped Liz harshly across her face, leaving a mark on her cheek. She cupped her cheek and attempted to run away from Tom's grip, but she fell to the ground by him holding onto her arm tightly.
"Elizabeth!" Ressler rushed to crouch beside Lizzie, who was shaking from the uncontrollable feelings she felt from the dream. He held her shoulder, attempting to keep her still.
Liz opened her eyes wide, and took in a few deep breaths, hoping to calm herself down. "Wha-t jus-t happ-ened?" She felt the ground beneath her, turning her head to see Donald looking at her.
Ressler touched her hair, trying to move her bangs out of her eyes, "I heard a thud from your room, and I came here. I saw that you were shaking and I didn't know if you were hurt. It sounded like you took a fall, and you did."
She blinked her eyes, then looked back up at him. "I'm fine, it was just my dream. Don't worry about it."
"Liz, it wasn't a dream, it was another nightmare. I know that you wouldn't have fell to the floor and started shaking if it were a dream."
Liz got up and sat up onto her bed once again, "Ressler, it was a dream, trust me on that." She replied defensively. "A happy dream..." She muttered.
"Don't think I didn't hear that, Liz. I know you had a nightmare. You don't need to cover it up with a lie. You can tell me about it. I'm willing to hear and I won't tell anyone about it." He got up from the ground and sat beside Her.
She moved away, "You better not."
"I promise." Donald looked at Liz sincerely.
Lizzie gathered her thoughts, then started again, "It was about Tom. It was one of our arguments before the divorce. It was the first of the many. It was once I got home and he faced me with a decision that I couldn't make. Instead, he made it for me. After he did, he hit me for the first time." Liz started to tear up. In order to hide this feeling, she put her hands to her face.
Ressler moved close to her and put his arms around Liz again, hoping to calm her down. "Lizzie, it's over now, you have nothing to worry about." He whispered to her.
"The fear of him, it's been scaring me. He's been the monst-" She cried into her palms more.
"Liz, shh, he's gone. He's never going to lay a finger on you again. I promise that."
Liz moved out of his gentle grip and sat in her normal state, still in tears. "My mind doesn't need to keep me up with these horrible things, it's hurting me."
"I know, I feel the same way, you don't deserve these thoughts." Donald stopped for a moment. "Can I tell you something?"
"Go ahead." She said, wiping the tears away from her face to look at Ressler.
"I've had similar things happen to me. When I was with Audrey, the last conversation I had with her when we were together, hanging by a thread, was very similar to that. She made the decision for me if I wanted to be with her of still be chasing Red. It was dreadful. It left me broken. She basically made up my mind for me and left herself. It tore me up inside, and I never have been the same after that."
Liz was shocked by hearing that from him. She never thought they'd have anything in common besides the job they have. It made her notice he was broken. Never a completely perfect person.
"Donald, I never knew that. I'm so sorry." She looked down at her hands, as if she broke something that couldn't be fixed.
He gently moved over to her and held her hands gently. "It's okay. It's in the past, I don't worry about it much anymore. Sure, once she left it made me a wreck, but I broke through that. I think you can do the same."
"Really?"
"Yes, you certainly can. I know so."
Liz turned around and hugged Ressler, causing his back to fall onto her bed. "Thank you." She backed off him and rolled beside him.
"You're welcome." Donald got up slowly from Liz's bed and headed out of her room.
"Ressler, I have one more thing to ask." Liz spoke up as she sat on her bed like before.
He walked back to her door frame, "Keen, what's it?"
"Can I stay in your room tonight? To keep the nightmares away? That's all."
Ressler nodded and waited for her to reach him to follow him into his room. As Liz stood in his room, she admired the way the room looked, it looked the same as it did when she changed in here before. The room was tan and the comforter matched the color of the walls. The dresser was clear over towards the closet and they were on the same side of each other. Her eyes looked at everything quickly until Donald started talking again.
"You can sleep on the left side of the bed, the right is usually where I sleep, so if I end up on the floor, you can move over to that side, but most likely that won't happen." He chuckled to himself as he got onto his side of the bed.
"Okay, I got it. I don't tend to move unless a nightmare ends up making me fall off the bed." Liz smiled as she got onto her side.
Donald turned off the lamp on his nightstand and turned over to see Liz's face. "I hope you don't have another nightmare tonight."
"No promises." She grinned then closed her eyes.
"Goodnight, Liz." He said before his back faced her.
"Goodnight, Ressler."
Author's Note: I'm sorry if I made this happen too fast, but I couldn't help myself. Please keep your eyes out for a new chapter by Valentines Day or something...