10.

The next few days passed in a haze of sleep and painkillers. Jacob found Liz either by his side or close by most every time he woke. She had her nose buried deeply in a file or some other form of information, and whenever he asked what she was reading she told him that she had a lot of catching up to do.

He wasn't sure how long it had been when he first woke to a clearer head. Blue eyes blinked rapidly, the room coming into focus. They had never moved back to the little apartment, but had stayed in whatever place Reddington had stored them away in. Jacob shifted, testing his body and feeling it protest. Deep bruises and hairline fractures were the most numerous of his injuries, but he'd managed a concussion, cracked ribs, a shoulder out of socket, and a nice deep gash in his side from where he'd caught a piece of the floor a little too close on the way down. Surprisingly enough, that was the only set of stitches he'd received from the fall itself. They pulled now and he winced, carefully swinging his feet over the side of the bed.

Liz was nowhere to be seen, which had been rare these last handful of days. Apparently she had thought he was dead at least for a short time, and that had stuck with her. She would fuss at him for getting up, but this was the first time in a while he felt like he might be able to stand without crashing straight to the ground.

Jacob eased his weight forward, feeling his bones and muscles protest, but they didn't rebel. Instead his legs held him up, and it seemed his ribs were the loudest complainer. He set his jaw and took a hesitant step towards the door, finding the area outside empty. Voices drifted from down the way and he followed them, his bandaged ankle twinging a little with each step.

Reddington's voice spoke up as Jacob rounded the corner, but Liz wasn't the only one with him. A woman with long, dark hair turned before the former operative thought he had even made a noise, her eyes fixed on him. Jacob recognized the blond man that followed her gaze, and he set his jaw carefully. Liz stood from her place, surprise written clearly in her eyes, and started crossing the room. "You're supposed to be resting."

"I just needed to stretch my legs. I'm okay. Not one hundred percent, but better," he answered, pushing down the feeling that she was just trying to get rid of him. That was genuine worry in her expression. "What's going on?"

"Rallying the troops," Reddington said as he eyed him carefully.

"I thought the Cabal had a grip on the task force," Jacob murmured, feeling Liz's hand remaining on his arm. He wasn't sure if she was there to keep him from snapping if anyone said something stupid or to keep him from falling over. Possibly both.

"You must be the infamous ex husband," the dark haired woman said calmly, as if he hadn't just insinuated that they were being controlled by their enemies. Her smile was small, but her eyes held more amusement than Jacob thought should be required for the statement. Her gaze was drifting from him to Liz, and the amusement only seemed to grow.

Ressler, for his part, snorted. "A little warning would have been nice, Keen."

"He's here to help."

Blue eyes focused on Jacob and the younger man bristled ever so slightly as the FBI agent spoke. "I don't trust him."

"And I don't trust you," the former operative growled back before Liz tightened her grip on his arm.

"But I do. I trust both of you, and if you both trust me, you'll have to at least pretend to get along long enough to get through this," she stated firmly.

Jacob felt his breath catch as she turned her gaze up at him and his lips thinned out. "Okay."

"Promise?"

"I trust you, Lizzy." He saw the flash of relief in her eyes and he offered her a small smile. In the end she'd been right about Reddington. It had nearly gotten him killed to question it, but the Concierge of Crime had gone out of his way to patch him up. He didn't think he wanted to go to those extremes to test Ressler's loyalties. He would choose to trust Liz.

She smiled at him and wrapped a very careful arm around his middle in a side hug. "Thank you."

Ressler didn't look as ready to jump on board. "Liz, this is dangerous. We're walking a thin line here. If this doesn't work, or if anything goes wrong -"

"Tom won't be in the middle of this," Reddington said, his tone sounding as if the discussion had been had and decided on.

"Excuse me?"

The older man glanced over at him. "Look at you. You're barely on your feet. I didn't have Nicholas put you back together to have you fall apart beforehand."

"Give me a couple days and-"

"We no longer have a couple of days, Tom," Reddington said firmly. "Things are moving now." He turned his attention back to Ressler. "Will Agent Mojtabai be ready by this afternoon?"

"I've set up a way to get him here, yeah. We have... a few people we can trust on the inside once everything comes out."

"They've put a stop to the press releases while Red and I have been out of the country," Liz explained, gently nudging Jacob to the seat she had vacated. He was ready to argue, but finally just sank into the chair when she perched on the armrest. "Red's going to gather the last pieces of intel and Aram's going to release it."

"It's going to start an all out war," Jacob murmured thoughtfully.

"We're already at war," Reddington answered.

"So where are you in all of this?"

Liz looked down at him. "I'm relaying the information and protecting Aram," she answered tightly, like it was not a place she wanted to be.

"The likelihood of them discovering this place is slim," Reddington explained. "I'll need Dembe and Baz's people with me, so that leaves you to make sure nothing happens here."

The statement was directed at Jacob and he nodded. "I'm good for that," he acknowledged and Liz put a hand on his good shoulder.

"We'll be at the quiet end of all the action. Red apparently doesn't trust me to protect myself."

"I don't trust the Cabal, Lizzy," Reddington answered. "If they got ahold of you... this would all be lost."

Jacob watched her expression shift from irritated to resigned. He cleared his throat. "So, what? The information gets released and then what happens?"

"We arrest the Director," Ressler said firmly.

"And Bud?"

"He's out of the picture. Well compensated for his silence and his lack of cooperation with the Cabal," Reddington affirmed.

"And you trust that?"

"My goodness no. Why do you think Lizzy is staying out of the line of fire? They don't know you're alive, so they won't be expecting you. I never assumed to buy Bill's undying loyalty, just time. We've been busy while you've been sleeping."

"Because you threw me down three stories," Jacob groused.

"You said you were willing to die for her. Anyway, you bounce back pretty quickly from what I hear. Look at you already up and about."

His smile was infuriating and Jacob nearly stood, but Liz broke in first. "Get Aram here and Jacob and I will make sure he has the security he needs to get everything out."

Reddington nodded. "Alright then. Time to get this over and done with. These people have caused far too much trouble over the years."

Jacob reached up and found Liz ready to take his hand. He squeezed it and offered a small smile. "Ready to get your life back?"

"Yes," she breathed. "Past ready."

Ressler stood and Liz followed, releasing Jacob's hand as her former partner reached out to shake hers. "See you on the other side, Keen. Keep yourself safe."

"You too," she said quietly, shaking his hand. In what looked like a spontaneous decision she reached forward and hugged him.

Jacob watched as she released him and kept his mouth shut. They were all on the same side now, and if there was going to be strife, he wouldn't be the one to cause it.

It was difficult letting her friends go after being away from them for so long. Liz watched them slip out of the warehouse from different exits until only she and Tom were left. Tom looked tired but determined not to go crawl back into bed. He had a purpose, a place in this plan, and Liz hoped for his sake more than her own that no one found the warehouse.

Red seemed convinced that Tom was ready for whatever came their way, but Liz knew the man she'd married. He was a good actor, but she could see that he was still worn down from his injuries. Could he fight? Of course he could, but if it came in close with someone like Masterson - she wasn't any more convinced than the rest of them that he was out of the game - it would be a problem.

Tom had settled himself into one of the larger chairs sideways, long legs bent over the armrest at his knees, and he was focused on cleaning a gun in his hands. He glanced up at her after several long moments and tilted his head. "What?"

"Nothing," she said automatically.

He smirked. "Liar."

She sighed a little and moved over to stand behind him, her hands going to his shoulders. He tensed just a little, but relaxed as she bent and hugged him from behind, her chin propped on his shoulder. He leaned back into her, a breath escaping him as he closed his eyes. "You're worried," he murmured.

"Yeah."

"About me or in general?"

"Both."

He leaned back a little more, tilting his head so he was looking up at her. "We're going to win this, Liz."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you don't lose," he answered with a smile that was all Tom. It was the one he gave her when he told her how proud he was of her, how much he loved her. It was real. "And I'm not going to leave your side. I'll be with you the whole way."

"I love you," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his dark hair.

"Love you too. More than I can say."

"You prove it. Every day," she told him and her eyes drifted to the chain he wore around his neck. She'd noticed it several times before and had even seen what rested at the end, but he'd been injured and drowsy. She hadn't asked, even though she recognized it. Now Liz reached forward, pulling it out from under his t-shirt and holding the wedding ring up. "You had this in the boat."

He blinked, and then understanding seemed to sink in. Not his boat. The boat they never talked about. "Yeah."

"You're amazing sometimes."

"Just stubborn," he chuckled. "I don't... There's never been anyone like you and there never will be. I love you, Lizzy."

It meant so much more coming from him now. It had always meant a lot, not that it didn't, but now that she knew how hard he had to work just to fit in with people and how sometimes his real emotions were just sort of...off, it meant more. Now she understood that he wasn't exaggerating. "I love you too. I need you to promise me something, okay?"

"Okay?" he said uncertainly.

"If anything goes bad..."

"I won't let anything happen to you."

"Tom - Jacob - I need you to promise not to get yourself hurt for me."

His lips thinned out and turned downward. "I'll do what I can."

"Tom, I need you to promise me-"

"Lizzy, if it's you or me, I'm going to choose you. Every time." He reached back and pulled her close and into a kiss she was more than happy to melt into. "I love you, remember?"

She smiled a little. "Yeah," she chuckled. "You just said that."

"We're going to get through this," he promised. "We've come too far not to."

"That's terrible logic," she laughed at him.

"Didn't we just talk about how stubborn I am?" He grinned at her, the smile making it all the way to his eyes. "Anyway, we're just babysitting a hacker. We're on the calm end of this, remember?"

"Unless they have something planned."

"And if they do, you and I will handle it. We make a pretty good team when we're working together."

They really did, she realized. It was amazing how well they moved with each other when the bullets started flying. "I wonder if part of me always knew," she confessed softly.

"Hmm?"

"About you. That you were more than you said." She shrugged, moving around and motioning for him to scoot over where he was flopped the wrong way in the oversized chair. He did and she took the corner so that she was looking at him. "I told myself that the quiet life was what I wanted, but as soon as I joined the task force it just… fit."

"Adrenaline junkie," he teased and she popped him lightly on the arm.

"If you'd really been what you said, you would have run ages ago, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I probably would have. Good thing I wasn't quite so naive, huh?"

"Good thing." The sound of voices coming from down the hall caught her attention. "That's Samar with Aram. You ready?"

"Yep." He looked up at her, his gaze catching hers. "And Liz? We're going to be okay."

She nodded. She believed him. She had to, because the thought of losing him again wasn't an acceptable outcome.

Aram Mojtabai was a loyal man. He was loyal to his country, to his job, but most of all, he was loyal to his friends. He hadn't believed for a moment that Elizabeth Keen was anything other than an honest agent, equally devoted to her country. When Samar had asked for his help uncovering evidence against the Cabal, he'd jumped on it.

Now, as he followed Samar in, his laptop and files clutched to his chest, he was both excited and terrified, but there was no question in his mind that he was doing the right thing.

"Hey," a familiar voice filled his ears and Liz had a smile plastered on her face. It was a little strained, but it looked mostly real. Close behind her followed a man that he hadn't actually met yet, but had seen in the photo she used to keep on her desk. She moved forward and immediately pulled Aram into a hug. "I've missed you guys."

"We've missed you too," the computer expert answered as he returned to embrace. When she finally released him, his gaze drifted back behind her.

Liz seemed to notice. "Aram, this is T-Jacob. Jacob, Aram."

Dark eyes blinked. "I thought his name was Tom?"

"Liz is trying to call me by my real name," her ex husband answered. The comment was casual, but there was something in the tall man's eyes that seemed to say that he was happily pleased she was putting in the effort. He had heard that he was there and that he and Liz would be Aram's support on that end of the plan. He looked like he'd already been put through hell with the way his face was bruised and he seemed to ease his weight to one side just a little.

Aram tried for a smile. "Do you guys have some place I can set up? I want to be ready when Mr Reddington calls for the go-ahead."

"Yeah, right over here."

Aram started to follow Liz, noting how at ease she seemed to be with her ex. He's heard terrible rumours, but with the way Tom - or Jacob - leaned in and spoke quietly into her ear and the smile that pulled from her, Aram thought the rumours might be exaggerated. Mr Reddington did have a habit of telling rather wild stories, after all. With the way those two looked at each other, he didn't think even half of what he'd heard could be true.

Liz's cell phone buzzed and she glanced at it. "You ready?"

Aram nodded firmly. It was time to reclaim their task force and clear their friend. They could do this.

His job was fairly simple. He was distributing the information gathered and embedding it so deeply into every part of the internet that the Cabal had no chance to scrub it clean. They might have been able to go after individual reporters, and they had certainly proved they were willing to track down people like Red and Liz for it, but the damning evidence would spread. It couldn't be stopped.

Aram was so focused on his work that he couldn't be sure if the gunshot was the first sign that there was trouble. He heard voices shouting and he tried to drown them out as he released the information. The Cabal couldn't stop it now. They could kill them, but they wouldn't be able to stay in power, using their government as a shield. It had gone quiet again and he grabbed the gun that he'd really prefer not to use, steeling himself for whatever he might find.

Notes: I'm hoping that everyone is still enjoying this story. I wasn't around for the last summer hiatus, so it may just be that things go quieter during it, but it doesn't seem as if people are reading quite as much. Just want to make sure everyone's still enjoying the story :)

Next time - Gina and Justin Masterson find their hideaway.