AN: Set 3 years later.
"Yes, momma!" Yelled three year old Scott while lying on the kitchen floor near Liz, who was cleaning the counter off. He was in the middle of an all out meltdown because Liz wouldn't let him go to the Post Office with her so she could work on a case.
After she'd given birth, Scott had stayed in the NICU for almost a month because of various health issues. After they had finally released him, fully healthy if not a little small, Liz had told Red that she wanted to go home. Meaning back to America, and hopefully back to the FBI. Red had been hesitant at first, but Liz had eventually convinced him and they had moved back the next month. Convincing the FBI not to arrest the both of them on sight had been an entirely different matter, and they'd come close to losing everything until Red gave the FBI one of their most wanted criminals on a silver platter. After that, they had readily agreed to let them rejoin the task force and resume working on his blacklist.
Liz had told the FBI that she wanted to work behind the scenes, mainly doing grunt work and paperwork. Scott was the most important person in her life besides Red, and she didn't want to risk him losing both of his parents if a job went south. They'd agreed to it only on the condition, that Red remain an part of the task force. Since then, everything had gone relatively well until recently.
She and Red had been fighting a lot lately. It seemed to her that he was putting himself in dangerous situations more often, and seemingly on purpose, but when she had confronted him about it, he'd laughed off her concern and told her that was "preposterous". They'd had their worst argument in years after that, and since then their relationship had cooled considerably. He was still around, but he didn't touch her or kiss her like she was used to. It had been over three weeks since they'd last made love. That was the longest they'd ever gone, by far. She was at her wit's end.
With him.
With Scott.
With the FBI.
Red had been gone the last week, only coming home to pack a bag and tell her he'd be back in a "few days". When she'd asked him how long a few days would be, he had ignored her and walked over to give Scott a hug, then walked out the door without a word. That's when she realized that they were in trouble, and she was going to have to be the one to fix it; because he never would. He was a man, and he was Raymond Reddington; not a good combination for talking about feelings. She hadn't heard from Red the entire week and she missed him, a lot.
"Momma!" Scott cried again, breaking her out of her troubling thoughts. She quickly finished up her cleaning and looked down at him. His face was red and puffy with snot dribbling out of his nose. He actually looked a lot like Red at that moment, and she felt a pang of longing for her...whatever he was. Partner? Boyfriend? Lover? Husband, even? He had a lot of labels, but right now she just wanted the man back in her life.
"Scott, baby, you know I can't take you into work. It's too dangerous." She bent down and picked him up, then grabbed a tissue and wiped his face free of the tears and snot. He sniffled and stuck his bottom lip out. "I wan' dadda, momma."
Liz felt tears prickling at the back of her eyes as she silently agreed with the kid. She wanted him in the worst way. She opened her mouth to say something, but her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Frowning, she pulled it out and saw that it was Ressler. "Milhoan."
"Liz, we need you here at headquarters right now." He sounded anxious.
She sighed. "Ress, you know that I have Scott. I can't just leave and-"
He cut her off. "Just bring him. The blacklister we've been searching for for weeks was just hand-delivered to our front door. He's being stubborn of course, so we need you here to help. You're one of our best interrogators." That much was true. Since she didn't go out on cases anymore, she used her profiling skills and psychiatric background to play with criminals' minds and garner confessions. It was actually pretty fun, and she was good at it.
"Who's going to watch Scott then? I can't just let him wander around." She stuck the phone in-between her shoulder and ear and ran her fingers through Scott's dark brown hair as she hugged him to her. He was tired enough from his tantrum that he cuddled up to her and burrowed his head on her shoulder.
Ressler sighed. "We have people here who can watch him. Scott knows a lot of the agents here, and you know they love him to death." He was right. After they'd returned to the FBI, it had taken a long time for people to accept that Red and Liz were in a relationship, and that they had a child together. They had had to endure stares and whispered conversation for months,. Eventually the whispering and staring had dissipated as people came to accept that they obviously couldn't change anything. After that, they'd warmed right up to Liz and Scott. He was now everyone's favorite at the PO, and Scott was spoiled rotten when they saw him. She avoided taking him to headquarters if possible, but sometimes she didn't have a choice. Like today.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you better find someone to watch him before I get there."
"That won't be a problem," he said and hung up before she could say anything else.
Liz set Scott on the counter and made sure he was still completely dressed (he loved to take his clothes off and run around naked, much like his father). Satisfied with his appearance, she smiled at him and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "Looks like you're going to get your wish, little man. You want to come with mommy to work?"
Scott smiled widely and nodded. "Yes, yes pwease? Dadda too?"
Liz's smiled faded as she shook her head. "Daddy is still gone. He'll be back soon, I promise."
His smile dimmed a little, but he held his arms out for her to pick him up. She complied and hauled his diaper bag over her shoulder (they were having a hell of a time potty training him), then grabbed her car keys and walked out to her silver Mercedes. Red had tried to convince her to get another car, but she loved this one and had refused him every time he asked. He had eventually given up.
She buckled Scott in his carseat, then slid into the car herself and pulled away from the curb and into traffic.
OOOOOO
Liz hustled into headquarters with Scott on her hip. It was boiling hot outside, and she felt like a frumpy housewife as she noticed how all the women she passed were impeccably dressed and had perfect hair. She wished she had time to make herself look like that these days, but Scott kept her busy most of the time, and with Red being absent so much lately she had felt like a single mother. She didn't know how single mothers did everything by themselves all the time, but she admired them even more so now.
Liz found Ressler in his office studying his computer screen. She clung onto Scott as he tried to lunge forward when he saw him. "Ressy! Hi!" Liz laughed every time at Scott's nickname for him. It never failed to amuse her.
Ressler stood up from behind his desk and smiled at Scott. "Hey, Scotty. How's it going?" He pretended to steal his nose and throw it away in the trash. This was a familiar routine, but Scott loved it.
"I good. I miss my dadda." He jutted his bottom lip out again.
Ressler reached forward and ruffled his hair. "Well you're in luck. Guess who's here?"
Liz furrowed her eyebrows and stared hard at Ressler. "Red's here?"
Ressler looked surprised that she didn't know and nodded. "He's the one who lured the blacklister here so we could arrest him. I'm surprised you didn't know."
Liz sniffed and looked around nonchalantly. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him today yet. I'm sure he's been busy and didn't think to call." No way in hell was she going to tell him that she hadn't heard from Red in days.
Ressler shrugged and said, "He's with Cooper now, but he'll be finished soon. I'm assuming he'll be able to watch Scott while you do your thing?"
She nodded warily and followed Ressler out of his office and towards the interrogation rooms. She dug through her diaper bag with her free hand and pulled out a baggie of goldfish for Scott to eat so he would be distracted.
As they walked down the hallway, people gave Scott high-fives and called out to him the entire way. Scott loved every second of it. She had a wide grin on her face as they rounded the corner. The smile froze on her face when she saw Red standing with his back to her flirting with one of the blonde, leggy secretaries that worked at the PO. Apparently he was finished with his meeting. She'd never felt more frumpy in her life.
She cleared her throat, trying not to jump to conclusions, but failing miserably. She felt tears threaten as Red turned with a smile on his face. His smile froze in similar fashion as he saw her, Scott and Ressler staring at him.
Scott broke the awkward tension. "Dadda!" He screamed loudly and lunged for him. Red quickly recovered and caught him before he could wriggle himself out of Liz's arms. Red hugged him tightly and spoke quietly in his ear. Liz temporarily forget what she'd just witnessed and felt her ire disappear as Scott laughed and wrapped his arms around Red's neck.
After a few moments, Red looked up to see that they were all still staring at him. Including the blonde bimbo. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and handed Scott to Ressler. "Donald, can I bother you to watch Scott while I speak to Lizzie for a moment? It won't take long." Ressler nodded as Scott screamed and tried to get away and back to his father.
Red grabbed Liz's arm gently and steered her towards an empty office. Red yelled over his shoulder before they entered the room. "Oh, and try not to slip on any banana peels while you're holding my son." She saw Ressler roll his eyes before Red pulled her inside and shut the door.
"Red, what the-"
Before she could get the rest of her sentence out, he had her pushed against the door with his tongue down her throat before she could even process what he was doing. After a few moments he realized she wasn't kissing him back so he pulled away slightly and nuzzled her jaw while still pinning her to the door. "Mmm, Lizzie. I've missed you."
She felt anger rise up and pushed him back so she could look him in the face. "You bastard. You leave without barely a word, you don't call all week, then you just show up here and expect me to accept you with open arms? I'm not like that blonde bimbo you were just flirting with unashamedly in front of everyone," she said in a low voice so people wouldn't be able to overhear her.
He had the presence of mind to look contrite as he winced and said, "Sweetheart, I apologize. I've had a lot of time to think this week, and I realized how much of a bastard I've been to you for the last month. I always seem to screw up the best things in my life. I guess I'm not meant to be happy."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. We're not permanently broken, just a little cracked around the edges. We can still fix this if you're willing."
He took a step forward and put his hands on her waist, then moved his thumbs under the hem of her shirt to caress her soft skin. His eyes were gentle as he smiled. "I'm definitely willing, Lizzie, but you have to understand that I'm not intentionally putting myself in harm's way. It comes with the job. You can't be angry at me for that."
She sighed and ran her hands up and down his forearms. "I know. I guess I just thought it was going to be different this time around. I hate worrying about whether or not you're going to come home. I keep dreaming about you just disappearing without a trace. No phone call. Nothing."
He pulled her close and wrapped her in all-encompassing hug, then kissed the spot in front of her ear and said against the shell. "I will always come home to you if at all possible. You simply can't think about other possibilities or you'll go crazy."
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. His familiar scent calmed her nerves as she finally felt at peace for the first time in weeks. He didn't move his mouth from her ear as he continued to speak. "As for what you just observed, that was inexcusable. She means nothing to me, but I still shouldn't have engaged in any kind of flirtation. For that, I truly do apologize." She knew he would never cheat on her. He was a natural flirt, and she'd given up trying to change him a long time ago.
Instead of answering, she ran her hands down his back and stopped at his waist and pulled his lower body flush against hers. She could feel that he was already half-aroused. After a few moments of wandering hands, she pulled back and brought his face down so she could kiss him, but before their lips touched she whispered, "Next time, we talk about our problems instead of running away. We've done that far too often in our relationship." He laughed quietly near her ear and hummed in agreement.
She closed the gap and pressed her lips to his, finally feeling like things were ok. As he pressed her against the door again, she didn't fight it and let him do what he pleased. After a few moments, they had both managed to unbutton each others shirts, and were working on their pants when there was a knock on the door. It was Ressler. "Guys, we need to get moving out here. Hurry it up." They heard Scott agree. "Ya, dadda and momma. No kissy face. Hurry up!" They listened as Ressler walked away laughing and Red leaned his forehead against hers. "I guess we'll have to continue this later." He reluctantly moved his hands from her bra and helped her button her shirt back up, all the while peppering her neck and jaw with little kisses. She was putty under his able hands.
"Red, knock it off. They're going to be able to tell what we've been doing."
He pressed his hips into hers teasingly, then reluctantly pulled away and began to button his own shirt back up. She helped him with his tie, then smoothed his vest down and buckled his belt back up, "accidentally" brushing the front of his trousers occasionally. As soon as they deemed each other presentable, she moved to open the door but he pressed her against the door again and kissed her neck from behind while moving his hands to her ass and squeezing it. "Just remember what you're in for once Scott goes to bed."
She felt her cheeks flush at the thought and nodded against the door. "I can't wait. Its been way too long."
He sighed and kissed her neck once more before allowing her to open the door. They walked down the hallway together with their shoulders and hands brushing occasionally. As soon as Scott saw them, he wriggled out of Ressler's arms and launched himself at his dad's legs. "Dadddddddaaaaa," he sang, his voice muffled by Red's legs.
Red smiled and swung him up in his arms, then put his hand on the small of Liz's back and pushed her towards the door of the interrogation room. "Go work your magic. We'll be here when you're done."
She turned and gave him a small, loving smile before squaring her shoulders and walking into the room to face her next victim. All was right again. Nothing could stop her.
AN: Alright, this is the actual end. I had so much fun writing this fic. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the support. This fandom truly is the best. *wipes tears away*. I'll be continuing with Plus One soon, so watch out for that. Please let me know what you think! Thank you for reading. *hugs you all*