Title: Beyond Borders
Chapter 7 – Dangerous Liaisons

My wife…Liz's mind swirls with the sentiment as her eyes flutter open a few hours later. She gently cocks her head and looks up to see Ressler's head lolled to the left and his eyes also closed. Did I actually hear him call me his wife or was I just dreaming that? And now…she frowns as she looks at the time. Do I send him back to the couch or…we just had sex…it's not like falling asleep in the same bed will change things…sex did that already!…we're married…no we're not…legally we are….ah!

"Liz?" Ressler's sleepy voice is heard, pulling her warm sapphire gaze up to meet his.

"Did I wake you?"

"No…I uh…what time is it?"

"Almost midnight. I think I fell asleep but I remember you realizing Stanton has a son."

"Would certainly explain Red's interest," Ressler frowns as he gently tucks a dark strand behind her ear. "He finds the boy, he has whatever leverage he wants over Stanton."

"That's why Stanton didn't leave," Liz adds as she tries to sit up, her body offering some fresh aches and her lips slightly wincing. "We can talk more in the morning."

"I should go…get some sleep," Ressler yawns as he puts the book on the small bedside table and then starts to pull away.

"You don't have to go," she utters in an almost deft whisper as her hand quickly rests atop his, stopping his actions and forcing him to look back in torment.

"If I don't leave now…I might never," he confesses in truth.

"I want you to stay."

"Are you sure?"

"I…" she pauses as her heart starts to race. "I am. I was scared at first but I can't deny I have feelings for you and sending you back to the couch after we…"

"Had hot sex in the shower," he gently retorts as her face instantly warms and her head nods in agreement. "I want to stay."

Her face rewards his confession with a warm smile as they both tuck under the covers and the lights are turned off; Liz snuggling into his embrace as his strong arms wrap around her and hold her close.

"Goodnight," both offer at once and then gently snicker before sleep whisks them both away into the darkness.

XXXXXXXX

The next morning, Ressler awakens first and looks down at Liz's beautiful face as she sleeps so peacefully beside him and he smiles; his mind feeling an odd sense of contentment that he hadn't felt in a very long time. He wouldn't deny the romp in the shower was amazing and he would hope they'd do it again, but even having her close to him…her body leaning against his as they just read or talked was soothing. It was odd. It was new. But it was something that he didn't want to let go of. But when I get my paperwork all figured out…then what? As he watches her slowly stirring to life again, he pushes that somewhat morbid thought to the back of his mind, telling himself he'd deal with it when the time actually came.

"Morning," she greets him with a slight stretch.

"Morning, I…" is all he manages before his fingers accidently pump her side, evoking a sudden burst of laughter from her lips. "Ticklish?" He arches his brows in wonder.

"No I'm laughing at your bed head," she tosses back with a playful smile. "I was wondering if you hopped out of bed in the morning with your hair perfectly slicked back. Now I see you don't."

"First off I don't hop," he smiles as he leans in closer. "Secondly…I think you were ticklish."

"Oh is that a fact Mr. Ressler?"

"Yes it is Mrs. Ressler," he states huskily as he leans in for an early morning kiss. But it's only mere seconds before she has him flipped onto his back and her on top, holding his wrists above his head. "Could get used to this."

"Good," she whispers as she leans in closer, happily keeping him her captive as she presses her lips to his and hungrily devours them; her mind drinking in his warm, husky scent. But before they can get too far, the phone rings and her frame flops down on his.

"If it's Red, I'm going to personally kill him," Ressler growls as Liz's lips chuckle as she reaches for the phone.

"This isn't a good time," Liz answers, looking down with a grin at Ressler still beneath her, her eyes not checking the number first.

"Should I call back then?"

"Tom." Liz states more than questions, Ressler feeling her body instantly seize atop his; his jaw hardening seconds later.

"Liz? Are you um…alone?"

"No…now is fine. What's up?" She stammers in haste.

"I know I left a few things there and I was wondering…I guess I should come and get them."

"Yeah, now's not a good time. Work is just…"

"Right…work…" Tom huffs as Liz's brow furrows. "Okay. Well let me know then. I guess since you've moved on I should do the same and stop hoping for something I obviously won't get. Let me know Liz. Bye."

Liz hears the line disconnect in her ear and looks down at Ressler with a small frown as her jaw sets.

"What did he want?" Ressler inquires with a small hint of disdain as he slowly sits up, Liz folding back onto her knees.

"He um…he wanted to come get his things."

"Good timing," Ressler retorts in sarcasm as Liz looks at him squarely. "You have to admit it."

"We can get the mood back later," she mentions quietly as his jaw softens.

"Leave the box with me and then tell him to come get it."

"Then I return to a crime scene?" Liz counters as Ressler offers a wry glance. "I can handle this. You have bigger issues to worry about."

"Text Red and tell him I'm meeting him today for an update," Ressler tells her in a determined tone as he leans in and kisses her on the forehead. "I don't mind dealing with Tom."

Before she can utter another word, he pulls back and regrettably leaves the warm nest of covers; Liz watching him head into the other room before she flops back with a small growl. Tom…now? really?

She hears Ressler in the other room and quickly reaches for her phone.

'What's on your agenda for today?' she texts Red and then starts to get dressed for the day.

'Brunch, a Monet viewing and a hostile takeover. The usual. And yours? Did you and your husband really enjoy the new mud wrestling place? I'll have to check it out then.'

"Figures," she gently grumbles about the mud wrestling comment. But her gaze lingers on his words about the hostile takeover.

'Ressler needs to meet.'

'Husband getting restless?'

'About to climb the walls. Humor him.'

'Your wish is my command. How was the library outing?'

With that Liz dials Red's number. "You knew Stanton has a son."

"Was all that mud hard to wash off?"

"What is your interest in Stanton's son?"

"All business first thing. Lizzy, I'm going to have to have a word with your husband so you wake up on the right side of the bed. Stanton's son is the heir to his vast empire. I have no interest in his son. However, I always have interests in vast empires."

"Hostile takeover. You know where his son is don't you? Keeping Stanton behind bars ensures whatever little plan you've concocted goes through."

"Little? Come now Lizzie, when do I ever do anything that's little," Red lightly chuckles.

"Red, Don's life is on the line here because of all this," her tone swiftly softens.

"He's getting to you isn't he. Tell me is he still sleeping on the couch? Now even that's too cold for me."

"Where is Stanton's son?"

"I can assure you whatever ripples this hostile takeover makes, will not affect your husband's reentry into the real world. That is still on schedule, but if poor old Donald is bored and wants to hear it from me, I'll indulge him. Three o'clock by the Old Time Café. They have great carrot muffins. Tell him to be on time."

"Red…Red!" Liz growls as Ressler's frame appears in the doorway. She notices an amused look on his face and realize she's only wearing her dress pants and bra.

"Red's doing things your way as usual?" He tosses out dryly as she reaches for a navy camisole.

"He said be at the Old Time Café at 3."

"And Stanton's son?"

"He's in it for the money but that was a given," Liz replies as she reaches for a navy blouse and then pops her around the closet door to see him still lingering. "He said your paperwork is on schedule."

"Good…that's…good," Ressler says as his mood slightly sinks; his brain now racing to as to why suddenly he was so remiss as to leaving when he just got here. You know why…his brain reminds him firmly. You've bonded in the most intimate way possible. You care for her and those feelings will only get stronger. How can you go back to the way it was after all this? He knows the answer but won't contemplate it right now. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if this is just a distraction while Tom is…damn it Tom!

"I know being used by Red is…"

"Common place by now?" Ressler retorts as Liz walks toward him.

"Cynic," she smirks as she pecks his lips and then pushes past him into the hallway. "Red's after something bigger."

"Meanwhile I just sit around until 3pm? Doing what?"

"Cooper won't mind if you come with me and wait at the office until just before 3."

"The…office," Ressler shakes his head as Liz smiles. "Sounds so…normal."

"Normalcy is overrated. T…" Liz starts and then stops as she bites her tongue and looks away; Ressler slowly coming up behind her.

"I know he was a part of your life before I came into it like this," his warm voice resounds in her ear as his hand gently rests on her forearm. "I don't mind if you use his name once and a while."

She turns to see him offer a small smirk and feels herself relax a little at his teasing tone. "Tom always asked me to get a normal office job. He…he didn't get it. I should make breakfast."

"It's his loss but…"

"But what?"

"But I hope it stays that way," he tells her in truth as she looks up in small surprise.

"I'm not interested in having a life with Tom again."

"Good."

And that was it, at least for now. The two of them go about their breakfast before Liz calls Cooper to tell him, Ressler would be coming with her until his meeting with Red.

"Anything?" Liz asks as they slowly meander through early morning DC traffic; the two of them on the lookout for McBeth, Norman Oslo or anyone else Roger Stanton was sending after Ressler.

"So far so…good," Ressler comments in truth as they near their professional home back. He pulls into the secure covered parking lot and stops the car.

"Now we just need to get through the rest of the day. Take an escort with you when you go to see Red."

"Not really in to threesome's."

"I'll remember that," she groans. "Don…"

"I'm more worried about being seen in public at a café with Red than going head to head in a shootout with one of McBeth's goons. Will he make me drink tea?" Ressler gently moans as Liz can't help but snicker. "What?"

"Keep it up and I'll put the hood on you," she replies firmly as they head toward the elevator.

"Use it at home later," he tosses back as one of the heavily armed guards looks at him in amusement. "She likes to be in control."

Liz shakes her head but can't help but offer a small smirk as they enter the elevator. "That'll give them something to talk about."

"More like be jealous over," he counters as the two heavy doors open and both exit to see Cooper watching them in concern.

"Anything on Stanton?"

"His lawyer just left. Again more gibberish."

"If we get his son first we'll hold the ultimate bargaining chip," Ressler tells them in truth.

"We need to find him first," Liz reminds them as they head toward Cooper's office.

"You two okay?"

"I will be when Red Reddington hands me my old life back," Ressler grumbles as he looks directly at Cooper.

Liz hears the contrite tone but reminds herself that as playful as Ressler is in private, mostly private, around Cooper it was business as usual; this was a small blip, an visual inconvenience and soon his two top agents would be back to normal.

"Any word from Red?"

"I'm meeting him at 3pm today," Ressler responds.

"When we ran a check there was no mention of a son?" Liz asks Cooper, hoping to change the subject and direct her worried mind toward something else.

"We didn't know until this morning that we had to look for one," Meera pipes up. "But now we can run a check with any known mistresses and see what happens."

"Well he's been married a bunch of times," Ressler responds dryly.

"In that month he must have mentioned at least one name."

"Actually he's only been married twice and after the last one died he swore off anything serious," Ressler informs them as he looks at the screen, turning back a few quiet seconds later to see three sets of eyes watching him intently. "That's what he told me. He's had a few flings but nothing serious. When his wife died it was rumored that his money was willed to Don Carlito's favorite charity."

"The Columbian drug lord? They've never had any dealings," Meera starts.

"That we know of," Liz pipes up.

"But if he does have a son as Red claims then it was a clever rouse. He would then have every governmental agency watching Carlito while he works at establishing his son as heir to his empire. In case of his death, the son gets everything."

"But parental instinct comes first and Stanton felt the noose starting to tighten, tried to run but couldn't find his son and lingered and was caught," Cooper concludes. "Think Red has the son already and is just playing a game?"

"Wouldn't surprise any of us," Liz retorts dryly. "He'll wait until the last possible moment before he plays his final card if it suits him best."

"And then what? He can't have…"

"The name on the will transferred to his?" Ressler interjects. "Why not? Overnight I was turned into the invisible man. What better way to stick it to Stanton than to take his empire by finding the son he tried too hard to keep locked away from the world?"

"Something about Ressler's paperwork brought Red out for all this. Stanton made a mistake and now he's desperately trying to call in any favors," Liz ponders audibly. "But what? What could have been opened when that happened?"

"Maybe the fact that Roger Stanton's son, Kyle Staton's mother is also in the process of applying for immigration status," Aram's voice is heard as all four turn and stare at him in shock.

"What? Just because I'm busy doesn't mean I wasn't listening," he smiles as he presses a button and a female face appears on the large overhead screen. "Meet Miss Conchita Carlito."

"What?" Cooper asks in shock. "Any relation to…"

"Yes, she's Don Carlito's daughter. However, her immigration form states her name as Conchita Santos."

"How did you find this out?"

"Stanton's man was so busy unlocking all the paperwork to get to Ressler that he did a mass open and her name was caught in the letter batch of Q, R and S. That's how Red's man found out about her and the boy. She's slowly working her way through the system so that if something were to happen to Stanton, she would be able to take him into her own legal custody until he was of age to leave."

"Stanton would be assured that his empire was secure if she was a legal citizen. Where is she in the process?"

"Days away. All this internal meddling by Stanton's man and then Red's, and a bit by ours, overloaded the system, but it could be less than a week and she's approved."

"Red finds the boy and he disappears the legal guardian, takes out Stanton and walks away laughing all the way to the bank," Liz postulates. "Hostile takeover."

"We need to find this Conchita Santos before Red or even McBeth does. We need to put her on ice until we find the boy."

"We find her…we find the boy," Ressler remarks as Liz looks at him.

"She might not give up her son if she knows it'll mean his life."

"It will if we don't find them both," Cooper states firmly as he looks at Meera. "Go with keen and bring Conchita back. Red helped us get Stanton but we all know that Red has his own agenda most of the time. We need to make sure ours plays out first. Go."

Meera nods before she stands up and then hurries past Ressler with Liz at her side.

"And I get to sit and what? Contemplate life?" Ressler offers in sarcasm.

"Filing?" Aram adds as Ressler shoots him a warning glance and he quickly retreats to his desk.

"Whatever it is, do it here until 3pm. Stanton's men can't get down here without a pass."

"You sure about that?" Ressler tosses back to Cooper who merely looks at him in frustration.

"You two okay from yesterday?"

"A few bumps and bruises, but otherwise fine. Figures Red's stake in this would be monetary."

"Take backup with you this afternoon."

"Why? If I want I can…just push a button and see where Red Reddington is at all times," Ressler responds.

"Peace of mind," Cooper tells him firmly. "That wasn't a request."

"Right," Ressler huffs as he heads for a chair beside Aram and watches as he continues to research Stanton's file.

XXXXXXXX

"Was a close call yesterday," Meera comments as her and Liz head toward the address given them by Aram.

"Too close. But we managed to make it to the immigration hearing in time."

"How frustrating. So what's it like sharing personal space with Ressler?" Meera inquires. Liz's mind suddenly flashes to them fully intertwined in a passionate embrace, her face instantly flushing. "Liz?"

"Interesting," she replies with some truth as she looks over with a small smile. "But he's frustrated waiting on Red and I can't blame him. I would be too. I am," she gently grumbles as Meera smiles. "What?"

"But at the same time, you like it?" She dares to question as Liz's warm smile quickly betrays her. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Good. Because in a few days…this could be all just a distant memory."

"Maybe."

"Are we there yet?" Liz retorts as both women lightly laugh.

XXXXXXXX

"Just watch your back."

"Okay I'll report back as soon as I have something concrete," Ressler calls out to Cooper as he pulls away from his own desk and heads toward the elevator to go up. "We'll probably just have tea and talk about something stupid. One of Red's games to keep me angry at him."

Cooper offers Ressler's verbal tirade a small smirk as he gives him a firm nod and then watches the elevator doors close. Then he turns and heads back to Aram.

Ressler tells the FBI appointed driver to wait in the dark SUV while he goes and talks to Red on his own. "You're still in line of sight. That should appease Cooper."

He gets out of the truck and heads across the street for the small café. "Naturally he's late," Ressler grumbles as he sits down at a small empty table and starts to scan the surrounding area for his wily nemesis. "I'm waiting for someone," he casually waves the curious waiter away before settling back into his chair. His mind starts to drift toward Liz and what she might find if anything at Stanton's mistresses place. But that notion is not allowed to carry on for very long as he looks up to see a familiar silhouette walking toward him.

Ressler looks up with a small scowl just as Red approaches. "About ti…" is all Ressler manages before Red's hand shows a small caliber pistol hidden in its fold.

"Get up now Agent Ressler," Red demands with a small hiss.

"What the hell?"

A/N: muwhahaha so tossing in a few angsty elements. Tom for one. Don't hate me but I did have him planned to show up and create a bit of tension but don't worry…our couple's long term future is hehe (but the path might not be as smooth as hoped for). What will it be like when Tom shows up? And of course with Ressler in danger how will that affect Liz's on the job performance when not with him? A bit more of the back story into Stanton and hope that was okay. But um…Red…who's side are you on? lol would love your thoughts as they help me to update faster for you all so please do review before you go and thanks!