TWELVE
Just wanted to say, sorry for the long wait for this chapter. This story as a whole has already been written and beta'd but RL got in the way and its been hard to find time to sit down and even update. So here you guys go... This is...to me...kind of a filler chapter. A necessary evil if you will.
Only a few more chapters to go and then this story and this saga will come to an end. Maybe if the mood strikes and my muse ends up coming back I will write a follow up one shot.
Again, sorry for the long wait...
Lizzie laid on her side on the bed while Nora played silently with some blocks next to her. She starts giggling as Nora gets excited when she makes a tower. Dembe smiles while looking over at the two. He was hanging out in her room while Ray and Jennifer had found a quiet spot in the stairwell at the end of the hall.
It had been Lizzie who had kicked them out of her room, after a morning of longing looks between the two. Knowing that they wanted to talk, but were both too afraid to make the first move.
Dembe gets up as the door open and the doctor walks in holding a few supplies. She quickly looks around the room and eyes Dembe. The doctor grabs Lizzie's arm before pulling out the IV. "What's going on?" Dembe asks walking over to the bed. Lizzie looks worriedly at Dembe.
"I just got a call from the ER. There is a man with a gun. He is looking for her," she nods her head toward Lizzie. "We locked the main doors to get onto our floor, but there are other ways to get onto the floor."
"What's his name?" Lizzie asks as she gets out of the bed. She hands Nora to Dembe before walking over to where a duffle bag sat in the corner. She pulls a pair of yoga pants out of the bag and slips them on. "Go find Ray. Please," Lizzie turns to look at Dembe. He nods silently before heading out of the room. "Besides the stairwell at the end of the hall, where is there another exit? Somewhere where it doesn't head into the ER?"
"The service elevator," the doctor announces.
"Where is that?" Lizzie asks taking off the gown and pulling on a shirt. The door swings open and they turn to see Dembe standing there. "Where's Nora?" she asks noticing he didn't have her daughter.
"She is with Raymond. They are getting out of here. We will meet them at the jet." Lizzie suddenly places a hand onto her mouth and heads towards the bathroom. Dembe follows her, holding her hair back as she gets sick.
"Seriously?" she gasps out. "You choose now? Ugh!" she moans out as another wave of sickness passes over her.
"Get her back into bed. She cannot go anywhere like that," the doctor says. Lizzie waves Dembe off as he tries to help her up. She gets up by herself and grabs the toothbrush she left there. She quickly brushes her teeth before allowing Dembe to help her. He wraps his arm around her waist, guiding her out of the room. The doctor leads them to where the service elevator is. "This will lead you down to the garage. But it does stop at the ER. Be careful."
"Have the police been notified?" Dembe asks as they start to get onto the elevator.
"I believe so," the doctor remarks. Dembe gives a brief nod as the doors close.
"Ray, Nora and Jennifer made it out correct?" Lizzie asks looking up at Dembe.
"I'm not sure," he answers truthfully. "I explained what was going on when I found them. He took Nora and then told me to come back and protect you. We are supposed to meet at a central point in an hour."
"Where?" he looks at Lizzie with what only could be described as caution. "Just in case we get separated."
"In the French quarter. There is a bar called Rousseau's. Raymond knows the owner. Her name is Jordyn. Tell her who you are. Hopefully Raymond will be there before you. If you can't get there…"
"I'll call Ressler. He's still in town," she replies. They both lapse into silence watching the numbers. They both breathe a sigh of relief as they pass the ER and head down toward the garage. The elevator comes to a stop and Dembe pulls his gun out before the doors open. He immediately pushes Lizzie behind him. She grips the back of Dembe's jacket as she hears Nick's voice.
"I'm not afraid to shoot, if you don't hand her over. Me and Lizzie, here, have some unfinished business," he says.
"Then shoot me, because I'm not giving her over to the likes of you," Dembe slowly backs Nick up as the two walk off the elevator. He backs Lizzie up to the opening of the garage. "Run Elizabeth," he tells her.
"She leaves and I'm putting a bullet in her stomach. She would not only lose that baby that she's carrying, but she will also lose her life. I know the exact spot that would cause the most pain," Nick moves his gun and aims it at Lizzie.
"You even think about pulling that trigger and I will put a bullet in your brain. I know for a fact that her fiancé has killed for her and I will as well," Dembe replies slowly backing them towards the mouth of the garage. They were close enough where she could take off easily. "Go!" he whispers. Lizzie takes a deep breath before taking off. She rounds the corner as she hears a gun shot, but doesn't look back. It took some time to find her way to the French quarter and to Rousseau's.
She grabbed a sweatshirt off a bench from a girl who would rather play tonsil hockey with her boyfriend than pay attention to anything else. She slips it on over the simple tank top she wore. She had tossed the hospital gown as soon as she left the hospital grounds, not having been able to change out of it before she left the hospital.
She finally stops to ask someone where the bar was, hoping they knew. The last few times she stopped to ask, but they were tourists, and didn't know where it was. The guy gives her a bright smile before pointing her in the right direction. "Thank you so much," she tells him. She heads in the direction the guy told her to go and breathes out a sigh of relief as she spots the sign to the bar. She stops and pulls her hair back, making herself a little more presentable.
She opens the door and nearly gets knocked over as someone slams into her legs. She looks down while a pair of blue/green eyes look up at her. "Mama!" Nora squeals. Lizzie scoops up Nora, holding her daughter close.
"Nora!" she hears. Ray comes into view and breathes out as he catches sight of Nora with her mother. "Lizzie!" she smiles at him as they both move towards each other. Ray gathers her and Nora into his arms, giving her a kiss. "Are you okay?" he tries to check her over, but Nora wouldn't let go.
"I'm fine. I'm not sure about Dembe though," she takes a deep breathe.
"Jennifer, can you grab a glass of water please?" he asks, turning to his daughter. For the first time since Lizzie walked into the bar, she noticed Jennifer sitting at a table in the corner. Jennifer nods and heads towards the bar to get what Ray had asked for. She walks over a few seconds later with a bottle of water. Jennifer hands it to Lizzie.
"Thank you," she says taking the lid off and taking a long sip of the cool water.
"Now, tell me what happened," Ray says running his hand over Lizzie's back in a soothing manner.
"Dembe and I were able to get to the service elevator. The doctor warned us that it stopped at the ER when we were leaving. We made it past the ER with no problem. It was when we got to the garage that we encountered Nick. Dembe has his gun, but I was defenseless. Dembe tried to get me as close to the entrance of the garage as he could. We were close enough that he told me to run. So, I did. I heard a gunshot as I took off, so I'm not sure who did it. I'm so sorry, Ray," she remarks. "I just ran, I didn't stop."
"Your safe, Lizzie. Dembe was doing what was right. He was protecting you and our child," he tells her, rubbing her stomach where their child was nestled.
"Dembe!" Lizzie calls out seeing the bodyguard walk through the door. She breathes out a sigh of relief as she gets up, adjusting a sleeping Nora. She walks a few steps over to him and gives him a brief hug.
"My brother, thank God are you okay," Ray walks over and wraps his arm around Dembe. Ray takes a step back and walks over to Lizzie. He wraps his arm around Lizzie and she lays her head on his shoulder, while closing her eyes. "What happened with the doctor?"
"I took him out. He is now in custody of New Orleans Police Department. I talked to Ressler on the way. He is going to take custody and bring him back to DC." Lizzie sighs and turns her face into Ray's neck. She was ready to have a normal life, but being Raymond Reddington's fiancé/wife and an FBI agent her life would never be normal.