Olive came on a Tuesday. Liz was already enjoying her maternity leave at home when her water broke. For a first time mom, she was very much in control of the situation. She called Eliza next door and both women went to the hospital. Arriving there, she was taken to a room and then all they had to do was wait for the right time.

Don wasn't as controlled. He invaded the hospital screaming at the nurse, after speeding and passing a few red lights.

"Calm down, sir" the tiny nurse was saying to him, but he was about to hyperventilate. "Here, I'll take you to her"

When he entered the room and saw the women chatting, he was almost disappointed.

"What do you mean you leave me a message saying "Don, honey, my water broke, I'll be at the hospital, ok?" As if we were talking about shopping, Liz?"

They both look at him and then burst out laughing as he observe puzzled.

"I'm alright, honey. Eliza brought me here, and we're waiting"

"Waiting for what?"

"We need to wait for the contractions to become less spaced, Donald" Eliza explained. "C'mon here, you can help me keep the time between them"

He approached them and sat next to Liz on the bed, giving her a kiss.

"Are you okay, babe?" He asked, serious, looking into her eyes. She chuckled.

"Yes, honey, I am."

It took a few more hours until it was time. Liz was super nervous but in the end it was easier than she had thought. Of course, an epidural helps a lot. And having Donald next to her at all times, even when she squeezed his hand so tightly that he started screaming louder than she was.

When it was all over, and they heard the cry of their newborn baby, ir was all worth it.

Olive was a petit and delicate baby, and when she opened her tiny eyes they were surprised to see that they were green, in a tone that was almost... olive.

"The perfect name" Liz whispered to Don, who had tears in his eyes.

"I love you." He said, placing a kiss on Liz's forehead and then carefully kissing Liv's head.

They didn't stay long at the hospital, and most visits happened when they were already home. Liz loved that everybody was excited to meet the baby, but to be honest she was exhausted and just wanted some time alone with her family.

Finally, after nearly a month, they had a night for themselves.

Olive was very calm, and cried just the usual frequency for a 1 month old, but Liz already missed her sleep. The baby finally setttle down it was near midnight, and she just crashed onto the bed.

"Liz, honey, are you okay?"

"Yes, sure, pitching " she said, her voice muffled on the pillow. She turned her head to look at Donald. He chuckled.

"Our girl has been giving you a hard time, hasn't she?" Liz grunted.

"Not really. I mean, I guess it's normal in the first few months. I'm just... Ugh, I haven't had any real sleep in weeks, and I'll be back to work next week. I can't see how I'm going to handle."

"I'm sure you can handle it,babe. But you could also ask Cooper for a few more weeks"

"No. I guess doing something else will help me relax. All I talk about these days are diapers and baby stuff" she laughed. It sounded like a complaint, but she really liked it. Being a mom was everything she had ever wanted.

Don closed the book he was reading, and then laid down next to her, his face towards her, their noses touching.

"You're a great mom, Liz" she smiled.

"And you're a great dad. Thanks, you've been really helpful." There wasn't much he could do. The baby mostly cried because of hunger, and that had to be Liz, but he tried to help with what he could. Mostly, he tried to help her relax while she was working with Liv. From massages on her foot while she was breastfeeding to cups of tea or snacks when the girl just wouldn't sleep.

She put her hand up to caress his forehead, and he did the same, tucking her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes to feel his touch. It had been a long time since they had had some time alone.

He leaned slowly an brushed his lips on hers, enjoying it slowly as she used the tip of her tongue to wet his lips before kissing it fully, her hand behind his back pulling him closer. She slowly opened her mouth, asking him to deepen the kiss while his hand explored under her shirt.

She moved to turn them over and straddle him when they heard crying coming from the baby monitor.

"Uhg" liz grunted, burying her head in his chest as they both laughed.

"Do you want me to go?" He asked, fixing her hair as she blew a lock out of her face.

"Nah. She's probably hungry. It's time." She got off him and stood up, but he held her hand before she went away to Olive's room.

"I love you, Liz" he said. She whispered, and then bent down to give him a wet kiss.

She loved that he would randomly tell her he loved her, and it would always be exactly when she needed.

When she came back to bed, she was so tired she was glad he was already sleeping. She slipped under the covers and snuggled against him, and he instinctively put his arms around her. She felt immediately asleep, knowing that her daughter would need her soon.

xxx-xxxx

Six months later, baby Olive was big and the cutest thing in the world, and Liz was presented by Red with an all planned wedding at the Plaza. Deep inside she wanted to have planned everything, and she would have definitely chosen a more intimate place, but it was all beautiful and thoughtful that she accepted anyway.

It was one week for the wedding, and Liz was already intimate with the wedding planner, Lauren, and took over the preparations. She cancelled the ice sculpture Red thought it was so necessary to have, decided on the flowers and the colors of the wedding, and called her old friend Mary from college to be her maid of honor. She felt a bit down when she hung up with Mary, who was coming from Los Angeles and wouldn't be here to help so much, but accepted anyway. She didn't have that many friends. She had Samar, but they weren't close enough for her to name her maid of honor. She realised that after she married Tom, they became this enclosed unity and she cut off most of her friends. She decided to invite them all, hoping that some would come for her to have a second chance.

Back to the wedding plans, they decided on a red velvet layered cake and Red insisted on a big dinner menu, and for this she didn't complain. It was great to see him so involved in her wedding, like a father she didn't have anymore. She thought about Sam and how happy he would have been if he was here.

She thought a lot about it and then at night went to Red's house. He was drinking whisky in front of a lit fireplace, the only source of light.

"Lizzie, is everything okay?" he asked as she entered the house, opened by his butler.

"Yes, sure. I wanted to talk to you, is it okay?"

"Of course, my dear. C'mon sit here with me." she sat next to him and felt the warmth of the fireplace on her cold skin coming from outside. It was October, and the cold autumn wind was already becoming stronger. She took of her jacket and thanked when Jonah brought her a glass of wine.

"So, I wanted to thank you again for the wedding"

"No need, Lizzie. It's my pleasure. Has Lauren been good to you?"

"Yes, she's great. We're going to see wedding dresses tomorrow."

"I bet you're going to look great on a wedding dress, Lizzie. I remember your dress when you married Tom was quite simple, wasn't it?"

"I liked it!" she said, perplexed at his attitude. When she married Tom, they didn't have that much money so her dress was just a simple white dress.

"Anyway. This time you'll look like a princess. I'll see to that"

"Yes. About that..." she was talking about his involvement in the wedding. It wasn't a cheap wedding and he was paying for everything. "I'll never be able to pay you back for this, Red"

He chuckled, and then bent down to take her hands on his. "Lizzie, you don't have to pay me back a dime. Consider it my wedding present, and a compensation for what I did to Sam. Don't they say that the bride's family pays for the wedding? Let me be your family."

"Will you give me away?" she asked, and he sat back, shocked. He wasn't expecting her to ask him that. Tears came flowing on the man's eyes, and Liz smiled. She never thought she would see him cry, and was proud to have been the reason, in a good way.

"Lizzie, I... don't know what to say." he wiped the tears, and smiled, feeling silly. "Of course I will, my dear, it will be an honor" She smiled, feeling the emotions herself.

"Thank you" she said, already crying, and then they both stood up and hugged, a long and warm hug.

"Oh, Lizzie. I love you so much." he said to her ear, and then placed a kiss on her cheek. "And I'm so proud of you. You and Donald have created a great life." She smiled, and then they sat together on the couch, and she placed her head on his shoulder as he had his arm around her, snuggling her closer. They stayed like this for a long time.

xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Right now she was trying wedding dresses with Lauren, as Red took care of Liv.

She just observed as the man played and laughed at Olive's giggles. Never would have she believed if someone told her a few years ago that she would be planning her wedding with Donald Ressler at the Plaza, and Raymond Reddington would be taking care of her daughter.

She got distracted observing them and was pulled back into reality by Lauren clicking her fingers in front of her. She was a small woman in her forties, very demanding and a bit scary at times, but with a good heart.

"Lizzie, darling, pay attention, will ya? What do you think of this one?"

It was the 6th dress she tried, and she could see Lauren was a bit annoyed. She looked at herself in the mirror and noticed she hated all the details she had previously loved it when she saw it on the rack.

"No, right?" Lauren guessed, and Liz gave her an apologetic smile. The woman buffed and then waved her away.

"Ok. I'll go grab a few more options" she said, and Liz went back to the fitting room, not without first going to kiss her baby.

In the fitting room, Liz looked at the other 5 discarted dresses and laughed at how silly she was acting. That was Don. She would marry him in her pyjamas if she had to. She picked up the very first dress she tried and put it on again. Being a very indecisive person, she didn't want to believe she had found the one on her first try. Well, she hadn't done that with husbands, why would it happen with a dress? But it had, and that was the one.

She placed the veil on her head and left the room, finding a stunned Lauren, carrying a few more dresses, and Red, whose eyes sparkled as soon as they were laid on her.

"Lizzie, you look beautiful"

"Isn't this the first one?" Lauren said dropping the ones she was carrying to the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Laur, but yes, this is the one."

"Don't worry darling. I've had worse. Once the bride of a gangster wanted to try every single dress in the store, only to call the wedding off after it" they both laughed, and Liz looked at herself in the mirror. It was happening. There in front of her lied Mrs. Ressler.

She moved to pick Olive when Lauren shouted.

"No! What if she does anything to the dress?" She said, clearly not a baby person. Liz rolled her eyes and then moved back to the fitting room to change out of the dress.