THIRTEEN
Sorry about not updating regularly! Between work and kids my life has been crazy busy. But now that the holiday season is over, things should be settling down for me. After this chapter only 3 more left. Hope everyone enjoys this.
"Are you sure?" Ray asks for what Lizzie thought was the millionth time. She rolls her eyes at him and smirks when he glares at her. She was lying in bed at the hotel Ray had gotten for them after another round in the hospital after the whole Nick thing went down.
"Geez, Ray, you make it sound like I'm an invalid," she remarks. She turns her body to lay flat on her back, bringing a sleeping Nora with her. She runs her hand up and down Nora's back as the girl makes a whining noise at being moved.
"I know you're not an invalid sweetheart, but I almost lost you again," he says. "And the doctor told you to take it easy." He takes a seat on the edge of the bed while laying his hand onto her abdomen. "I want you to take it easy because this little life means everything."
She lays her hand on top of his. "I know, Ray. I know. Believe me, Samar and Dembe are going to take good care of us. If I feel tired or anything else, I will sit down. I carried Nora for nine months half the time on the run. Trust me, Ray, I got this. I know my body," she explains.
"If you say so, sweetheart," he tells her, dropping a kiss onto her head. She smiles brightly at him, while bringing her hands to his face. She pulls him towards her and he grins, while pulling himself fully onto the bed. He lays down next to her, laying his hand over Nora's back. The girl wiggles, but then gets comfortable and goes back to snoring quietly.
They both smile as they gaze down at their daughter. "She reminds me so much of you," Lizzie says. "Her mannerisms, the way she looks at me sometimes. Do you have any baby pictures? It would be fun to compare yours and hers. To see how much you two look alike. I just wish I had a baby picture. I don't have any pictures until I came to live with Sam," she trails off as a tear slips down her cheek.
Ray catches it, while leaning over and giving Lizzie a kiss. He pulls himself closer to her and she closes her eyes, relishing in the closeness. She couldn't wait to be married to this man. She breathes in his scent before closing her eyes. A short nap with the two most important people in her life wouldn't hurt. She feels Ray start to get up, but she tightens her hand on his.
"Stay," she says quietly.
"I've got stuff to do sweetheart. Stuff to get done before tomorrow," he tells her.
"It'll keep. Have a nap with me and Nora," she looks at him with a pleading look. "It's what the baby wants." He huffs out a breath and she grins knowing she won. He lays back down next to his family and Lizzie snuggles into him, loving his warmth and his scent, something that was so uniquely Raymond that she couldn't quite identify it. He closes his eyes and settles next to his fiancé. He needed more siestas with his family.
~*~ TBL ~*~
Dembe walks out of his room to see Jennifer pacing in the hallway. She was whispering into her cell phone furiously. He stops and waits as she finishes her call before hanging up angrily. "Everything okay?" he asks slowly, not sure what brought her ire on.
"My mother. Demanding I come home. Like I'm some errant child or something. Ugh, she makes me so angry sometimes. She's 'worried' about me. Wants me home to her before someone finds out who I 'am'. I am probably the safest where I am now than when I am with her," she remarks looking Dembe over.
"That's very true," he says. She paces a few more times trying to work something out in her head. "Have you seen your father?" Dembe questions. Jennifer didn't seem to hear him as she was still pacing. She stops pacing long enough to look at Dembe.
"Did you say something?" she questions.
"Your father? Have you seen him?"
"I did a little while ago. He said something about going to talk to Liz. Haven't seen him since," she tells him with a shrug. "What?" she asks once she realizes he was still staring at her.
Dembe shakes his head. "Nothing. Just thinking that since you haven't seen him since he went to talk to Elizabeth, that he a) got roped into talking, b) they are…um…"
"Having…" she trails off with a cringe. Talking about her father that way was just…disgusting.
Dembe nods his head. "Yes, that. Or the third option, option c is that they are having what they call a 'family snuggle'."
"A family snuggle?" Jennifer asks incredulous.
"Yes, in the weeks after Nora was born Elizabeth slept a lot. Roped Raymond into laying down with her and the baby. Until it became a daily occurrence. And once Elizabeth was back at work and us back to our 'business trips' it was something he looked forward to when we came back."
"Can I ask you something?" she asks, not sure how the bodyguard would answer the question rolling around in her head. She watches as he nods. "Why does Nora call him papa and not daddy?"
"You picked up on that, huh?" he asks. She nods. "Well, he uh, he didn't want to be called daddy. He figured that he was still in pain over losing you. He was daddy to you, and that has a special place in his heart. He wanted to be papa to Nora."
"Wow!" she says, shock lacing her words. "Wow!" she says again.
"It's a lot to take in, I know," Dembe remarks.
"Yes, it is," she says. "When my mom got taken a while back with that excuse of a man she called a husband at the time she said she got rescued but she wouldn't say by who. So I didn't know it was my father. She never talked about him, but when she did, she didn't have very good things to say about him. I had my judgements about him as well. But when I met Liz, they all went out the window. And when I talked to him, and we had an honest conversation, I couldn't believe I had judged him so harshly. I couldn't believe the stuff that came out of my mother's mouth about him. But I look back on it now, and I realize she was angry about our lives getting uprooted and having to live somewhere else and be someone else. She never forgave him for anything that happened. And even now, I don't think she forgives him, even after he saved her."
Dembe nods his head. "Very insightful. And were you able to talk to your father about any of this?"
"Oh yes. I was. I see now that my mother was trying to pit me against him. I got a lot off my chest with him. I see he is a good man. Flawed, but good none the less. Liz talked about how he has two sides of him. Ray, who we all get to see. The father, the family man. While the rest of the world sees Raymond 'Red' Reddington, the Concierge of Crime."
Dembe nods once again. "She once told him that. The suits he wears, the aura he puts off for everyone. It's just armor."
"I suppose that's just the psychologist in Liz," she remarks. "I'm gonna go find my father." She turns on her heel, abruptly ending the conversation. She walks over to the room she knew her father and Liz were staying in. she knocks on the door, but doesn't get a response. She pushes the door open, while giving a light knock. "Dad? Liz?" she questions. She takes a step into the room and smiles at the sight that greeted her. Her father and Liz both sleeping with Nora nestled in between the two.
"Did you find them?" Dembe asks coming in behind Jennifer. He spies the three on the bed and smiles. "Come and let them sleep. Would you be willing to run a few errands with me? Just to get a few things done before tomorrow?"
"Sure," she says following him out of the room.
~*~ TBL ~*~
Lizzie wakes with a groan, blinking against the sleepiness. She turns to see Nora sitting up playing with a few blocks while Ray looks on with a smile on his face. Nora fits two of the blocks together and claps.
"Good job babygirl," he coos to his daughter. He turns his gaze to Lizzie. "How was your nap?"
"Mmm," she says with a smile before leaning over to give him a kiss. "It was great. Thank you for laying down with me."
"I always love our family snuggles," he replies.
"Mama, look," Nora interrupts, showing Lizzie how the two blocks connected together.
"Good job baby," she tells her with a bright smile. She loves how smart her daughter was. Even at a year old. She spies the clock on the bedside table and gasps. She climbs out of bed and runs into the bathroom.
"Everything okay sweetheart?" Ray asks with concern.
"Yeah," she calls back. "We were supposed to go dress shopping and I slept through our appointment time."
"I talked to Samar. Dembe called and talked to the boutique, explained everything and you have a new appointment time. Dembe and Jennifer stepped out a little bit ago to run a few errands, but they will meet you and Samar there. Take a few minutes to get ready. You have some time."
"Awesome!" she tells him as she comes out brushing her teeth. "Ray, give that man a raise. He deserves one." Ray laughs and continues watching Nora play with her Legos. He turns to stare at his fiancé as she comes out of the bathroom in just a pair of shorts, her t-shirt having been discarded in the bathroom. Lizzie rummages through her suitcase looking for something to wear. "Ray," she says looking up from grabbing some clothes. "Ray!" she yells.
He shakes his head. "Yes sweetheart?" she motions to their daughter. He finally notices Nora had her hand on his shoulder. "Nora girl?"
"Papa," she says putting her hand onto his face and making sure she had his undivided attention. "Papa," she says again while rubbing her belly.
"You hungry?" he asks already knowing the answer.
"Hunry," she tells him with a nod of her head. He gets up from the bed and walks over to her bag. He rummages through and finds a package of goldfish.
"What are you going to do while we are gone?" she asks.
"Order some room service. Nora is getting hungry," he tells her.
"You know what would make me love you?" she asks.
He grins lasciviously at her. She smiles while shaking her head at him. "You already love me."
"Love you even more?" she asks. He chuckles while waiting for her to continue. "If you would get me a BLT for dinner? Extra bacon. I'm suddenly craving bacon." He chuckles once again.
"Okay sweetheart," he says. There was a knock at the door and they both turn. "That must be Samar. You should get going." She walks over to him while wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him in for a kiss.
"Love you," she says before turning on her heal and walking over to the door. She pulls it open to see Samar standing there, patiently waiting.
"You ready?" she asks and Lizzie nods.
~*~ TBL ~*~
They get to the boutique and immediately head in seeing Dembe and Jennifer talking quietly. "You made it," Dembe remarks with a grin as the four meet.
"Okay, which one of you in the bride?" a young lady asks as she walks over. Lizzie raises her hand. "Okay, follow me." she leads them to a plush white couch. "My name is Jessica. I hear you are getting married tomorrow?"
"Yes. We've been engaged for a while now. My work is crazy, so we decided to just bite the bullet and get married. I was married once before and it obviously didn't work out. That was sort of my dream wedding, and so this is going to be very low key. Between the two of us, we only have a handful of people coming. So I want something simple. Nothing to extravagant. Short, maybe."
The lady nods her head while listening to Lizzie. "All right, I think we can find a few things. What's the price point?"
"No price point. Whatever she wants," Dembe butts in.
The lady looked taken aback. "All right. If you would follow me." Lizzie gets up and follows Jessica back to the dressing rooms. She hands Lizzie a robe. "Now do we need to set you up with some lingerie? We have a great selection. Are you looking for a veil?"
Lizzie thinks about her questions for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, lingerie sounds good. Should we find a dress and then go from there?" Jessica nods.
"I'm going to go and get a few dresses for you to try on."
Lizzie nods her head and then undresses after Jessica leaves and puts her robe on. She comes back a few minutes later with a few dresses. The next 45 minutes were spent trying on dress after dress, and between the four of them they didn't like any of them. Jessica finally allows Dembe, Samar and Jennifer to come back and look through the dresses. They each take one and Jessica brings them back to Lizzie. She looks at them and sighs, hoping she will like at least one of them. She was disappointed that she hadn't found anything that took her breath away that made her feel she was putting on something special. She tries the first two dresses on and she liked the two, but there wasn't a spark. She pulls the third dress off the hanger and out of the bag and smiles when she sees it.
It was a spaghetti strapped, short dress. It had a light blue sash just under the bust. It had lace over satin with delicate flowers on the lace. It was just what she wanted. She discards the robe and grabs the dress, slipping it on. "Jessica?" she calls. Jessica pokes her head into the dressing room and smiles seeing the look on Lizzie's face. Jessica zips the back of the dress and it fits Lizzie perfectly. She turns and looks at herself in the mirror. She smiles when she sees herself. It was perfect.
She turns to look at Jessica who smiles at her. "You look beautiful. And by the way you are looking at yourself in the mirror you think so as well."
"Some things are worth waiting for," Lizzie replies.
"Something tells me you are not just talking about the dress," Jessica replies. Lizzie catches her face in the mirror just smiling. "All right, are you ready to go and show your friends?" Lizzie nods and the two walk out of the dressing room.
"Wow," Samar remarks.
"Elizabeth, you look beautiful," Dembe tells her. Jennifer nods her agreement.
"Well, that's the first time you've all agreed to something. So what do you say?" Jessica asks.
"Yes," Lizzie tells her. Jessica smiles and then leads her back into the dressing room. Lizzie gets dressed while Jessica gets her dress into a bag.
"Is there anything else that you need? We have a nice selection of lingerie, garters, and shoes."
"Sure, I'll have a look," Lizzie tells her.
By the time they left Lizzie had found a lingerie set to go under her dress, a red nightgown for the wedding night, a garter to go under her dress and a cute pair of white silk ballet flats, while she found a dress for Nora and shoes to match.
She walks out of the shop with a smile on her face. They stop for a quick lunch before heading back to the hotel. She grins as she sees Ray, sitting on the couch in the main room going through a file in front of him. He gets up with a bright smile seeing Lizzie holding a garment bag and Dembe all the other bags.
"Did you find everything you were looking for?" he asks.
"I did," she replies while wrapping her arms around him and giving him a kiss.