I'm not one to do author notes but I thought I would put a quick thanks in to all of the readers who have reviewed. It truly makes my day when I find out someone likes my story, so, thank you! I hope you like that last chapter of this story :)

Just as quickly as Red had shown up, his mood shifted from furious to one of concern. The second he was standing up straight again he took a step toward the two Agents, ignoring the man behind him who Dembe was cuffing, and stooped back down, kneeling before them. They were both looking at the man in amazement and with a little fear.

For a few moments Don and Liz just sat frozen and it wasn't until Red spoke that Ressler shifted from his protective stance over Liz. Red had a slight frown on his face as he looked at Liz, asking, "Are you okay, Lizzy?"

Liz opened her mouth to say something, anything really, but all that came out was a slight squeak. Don sat beside her, shifting his eyes between the two as he waited for her response. He was a little surprised when what she finally half whispered was, "When I asked you, you said you weren't my father." She sounded hurt, and it showed in her eyes as she asked, "How could you lie to me about that, and after Sam died?"

Don shifter his eyes back to Red and was surprised by the shame he saw there. A sad smile pulled at Red's lips as he quietly answered, "I thought I was protecting you Lizzy. If anybody finds out you're my daughter they'll try to use you against me." The smile completely fell and turned into something dark as he added, "They'll hurt you, and I could never live with myself if that happened."

A sad smile much like Red's crossed Liz's face and it had Don wondering how he had never seen the resemblance before. However, he was pulled from that thought when he heard Liz somewhat angrily reply. "Well it's a little late for that, isn't it?" As if to prove her point she let her eyes go to Tom, who was still writhing in pain on the ground, only now with his hands behind his back and Dembe standing over him.

Both Red and Don winced at that. Don couldn't help but sympathize with Red. He had seen over the last few days how much Red cared about Liz, and what he was willing to do to protect her, and now he understood why. That was when Don realized something, something that he couldn't keep to himself because he knew Liz would want to know. They both started and looked at him when he cleared his throat before he asked Red, "Is that why you handed yourself into the FBI? Is that why you came back, because you knew Liz was in trouble?"

Liz stared at Don for a moment, taking in his words, before turning to look at Red and she was a little surprised to see no denial there. Looking down at his hands, all he said was, "I waited until I was sure he could be a real threat." After the silence grew thick again, he closed his eyes with a pained smile as he added, "I didn't want to cause you anymore pain in your life, Lizzy. God knows you've been through enough and I'm already to blame for far too much of it."

It was obvious that Red was surprised by what Liz said next. With tears in her eyes, she all but whispered, "Thank you." She wanted to say more. She wanted to say thank you for saving her life, for keeping an eye on her even if she hadn't known about it. She wanted to hug him because she finally had her father back. Not the father that took her in and raised her, but the father she had blurry, faint memories of; the father who used to make her feel safe and loved when she was only a little girl.

Red seemed to understand her though, even without the words. A true smile, although faint, pulled at his lips. He leaned forward a little and placed a kiss on Elizabeth's forehead. Quietly, he told her, "It's a father's job to protect his daughter. No thanks is necessary, Lizzy."

Father and daughter looked at each other for a few more moments before they seemed to come back to reality. It was the pained hiss that Ressler accidentally let out when he tried to shift away to give them some privacy that did it.

When both pairs of eyes fell on him with concern he couldn't help the faint blush that he felt creeping up the back of his neck and up his ears. Awkwardly, he apologized, "Um, sorry." He tried to shift away again but Liz stopped him by grabbing his hand while Red put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place.

Don didn't know how Red knew, but the man admonished him with a, "Donald, really, you should know better than to try and put weight on that ankle. It could be broken."

He wanted to argue but before he could Liz added, "Just stay still, Don. You already got hurt protecting me; I don't need to feel guiltier because you hurt yourself trying to give me space I don't need." Don didn't say anything in response. He simply stopped trying to move.

Breaking yet another silence, Red finally said, "I called Cooper before I got here. They shouldn't be too far behind, then Dembe and I will bring you two to the hospital. Lizzy, you need your head checked out, and Don, at best your ankle is sprained." He frowned down at the limb before adding, almost to himself, "Although it's almost definitely broken."

Even though it was only a few minutes later that Cooper showed up with the team, it was much longer until things were sorted out enough for Red to take them to the hospital. Red had helped Ressler onto the couch while they waited, so as everything was happening he and Liz sat next to each other. At some point Liz fell asleep against his side while he gave his statement to Meera. Liz had already finished giving hers to Aram. Red was off in the living room giving Cooper his own still when he did finish so he just sat there contently waiting with a protective arm around Liz. He didn't miss Aram and Meera standing off to the side, throwing glances at them, or Meera's phone 'casually' being pointed in their direction, but he ignored it.

When it came time to go to the hospital he gently woke Liz and she helped him hobble out to the waiting car. They stayed silent throughout the trip and once they were in the ER they got separated. They both needed x-rays. Throughout the hours it took for them to be poked, prodded, and treated, Don found himself worrying about Liz being angry with him.

It was no secret that honesty was extremely important to Liz, especially now, after being faced with so much dishonesty, after finding out most of the last two years of her life had been a lie. Don was worried that when she realized he knew too much she would be angry enough to want nothing to do with him. That was why he found it difficult to say anything when he hobbled out into the waiting room on his crutches to finder her waiting there for him, Red at her side.

She gave him a confused frown at the odd behavior, but he was looking down at his feet so he didn't see it. Red did, however, and decided to speak first. "Donald, you and Lizzy will be staying with me for the next few days. Lizzy has a concussion, meaning she needs to be watched, and I see I was right that you broke you ankle." Don didn't look up, simply nodded. Red frowned a little before sighing out, "Come on you two. We could all use a little sleep and Dembe is waiting with the car outside."

Liz spent the entire trip to Red's frowning at Ressler, who was in the front and couldn't see her. It wasn't until they had parked and Dembe was helping Ressler into the house that Red stopped Liz with a hand on her shoulder. Gently pulling her to the side, he told her, "He thinks you're angry with him, Lizzy." She frowned at him, furrowing her brows in confusion, but she didn't have to ask the question before he answered, "He's worried you're angry that he knew what was going on and didn't tell you." Once again she didn't have to ask before he said, "I saw him tailing you the other day and confronted him. I brought him up to speed on what we knew, but I wanted to wait and see if you would bring him in on everything yourself." Red shifter slightly on his feet before adding, "I didn't want to lose any more of your trust so I wanted him to keep it to himself until you went to him. I knew you eventually would."

Tilting her head to the side, she asked, "If you knew I would why didn't you wait?" Red could see that she was just curious; that she wasn't actually mad at him.

He let out a slight laugh as he said, "Because, Lizzy, I knew he would help protect you with his life." Liz couldn't help the smile that spread across her face or the blush warming up her cheeks at his words. Unable to stop herself, she took a step forward and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back tightly, resting his chin on her head.

Red didn't say anything else; it wasn't his place to. He knew Lizzy would talk to Donald, he just hoped Donald had enough intelligence to use the opportunity to tell Liz, or that at least she would tell him herself.

Even though they were dragging into the ungodly hours of the morning Liz and Don both found they couldn't sleep. Don was sitting in the dining room when Liz came shuffling in with two cups of tea. After a quick glance at her Don focused on the cup placed in front of him. He didn't look up when Liz said his name but thanked her for the tea. Liz wasn't pleased with that, so she gently cupped his cheek with her hand and made him look up at her. When she finally had him making eye contact she sent him a reassuring smile as she said, "Thank you, Donald, for everything, not just saving my life." She saw doubt in his eyes, so she added, "Thank you for helping Red." She leaned forward and kissed his other cheek as she gently added, "Thank you for having my back."

Don felt it hard to breathe with her so close but managed a faint, "I told you I always would." The smile she sent him in return had his own lips pulling into a small smile. He put his hand over the one she had on his cheek as he said, "I would do anything to protect you, Liz." He couldn't help the slight frown as he whispered, "I would sooner die than see you hurt again."

Liz felt her heart skip a beat at the honesty in his words and the look of complete love on his face. Before she could really think about it she pulled his face forward and brought their lips together in a gentle kiss. Before long, Don had moved both his hands to hold her face as he kissed her back, all doubts about how she felt gone. After a few minutes, when they pulled back for air, Don pulled Liz into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Liz buried her face in his neck and that's how they stayed. The two clung to each other. They felt a need to comfort and be comforted. They needed each other.

Red smiled at the scene before him. Nothing made him happier than to see his little girl finally falling for a good man that would do everything in his power to protect her and make her happy. It was every father's dream.