I know you didn't ask for angst but I started writing/reading in English (yes as you can see I'm not a native english speaker) for the Rumbelle fandom and we bask in angst and smut there, it's hard not to add angst everywhere...

Now about this chapter, here comes some more angst (not as much as in the last chapter) and some fluff (YAY!). There's some Liz/Tom in there too, but it's definitively a Lizzington fic so don't worry!.

Thank you so much for your lovely reviews, they made my day (and night actually)

10 years later

Rain was falling silently on the graveyard when the black official car parked near by. She knew who it would be. Of course he wouldn't have missed it. A sad smile spread on Liz lips when she saw the dark-skinned bodyguard/chauffeur get out and opening the back door. The tall figure of the man clad in a black uniform emerged from the car followed by a 30 years old blond girl; also dressed in an uniform. The five stars pinned at the man's collar marked him as Fleet Admiral and the two stripes on the girl's shoulders marked her as Lieutenant. But she didn't have to see their stripes to know their rank.

The Admiral Reddington and his daughter were here to bid a last farewell to Sam Milhoan. After five years fighting against lung cancer, Sam had finally lost his last battle leaving Liz an orphan for the second time in her life.

"Who's that?" the man standing at her side asked, squeezing her hand.

"The United States Secretary of the Navy, the Admiral Raymond Reddington and his daughter Jennifer," she replied her eyes on the two figures walking toward them.

She locked eyes with Raymond and everything she had tried to forget for ten years came back with full force. She felt tears sting the back of her eyes and she clenched her jaw, bracing against the anger and sadness she felt growing in her chest.

After dragging her from Red's house that Christmas Eve, Sam had locked her in her room, forbidding her to leave the house for days. They had spent their first Christmas at home instead of sharing it with the Reddingtons. When her break had been over, Sam had driven her back to Quantico – she had come with Jen's car – in a heavy silence. When she had opened the front door, ready to apologize to her friend, she had found the apartment empty and a note on the breakfast counter.

Jennifer had left. In her note she had said that she couldn't live with her anymore and needed some time alone so she had moved to the dorms at the Uni. Liz had felt her heart broke a second time in a few days. She had cried her eyes out for the loss of her lover and best friend. Soon after, Sam had decided to move from Virginia to Nebraska, selling the house and everything he couldn't take with him. Liz had been crushed by his decision, she had grown up in that house, she had loved Red in that house and now somebody else would walk those halls and inhabit those rooms. It wasn't fair.

She felt dragged from her thoughts by two arms closing around her body forcefully.

"Oh my God, Liz I'm so sorry," Jen whispered in her ear. "Why didn't you tell me last time we had lunch together?"

"He didn't tell me it was that bad," Liz replied, hugging her friend back, tears pooling in her eyes.

She had re-established her friendship with Jen after the young woman had graduated from the Navy Law Education Program and had been assigned her first case as JAG counsel. They had needed a profiler and Liz had been the one chosen for the case. The first few days had been awkward but after some night heads bent on files they had found how much they had missed the other. After the first time, they had chosen not to talk about Liz's affair with Raymond anymore. It was past and they didn't need to dwell on it.

"Milhoan," Raymond greeted her when Jennifer released her and stepped back.

"Admiral," she replied, repressing a smile. It was their old routine.

They stayed facing each other for a few second before the smile won out and spread on their face. Raymond took a step forward and engulfed her in a hug. She buried her nose in his collar and breathed him in. She had missed his smell so much. She smiled against his neck when he kissed her on the top of her head. She had missed him so much.

Someone clearing their throat behind made them jump apart, guilt written on their face.

"I've missed you, Lizzie," Raymond said smiling tenderly.

She smiled back before grabbing the hand of the man waiting next to her.

"Red, this is Tom Keen, my fiancé. Tom, this is Admiral Raymond Reddington, the US Secretary of the Navy."

"Sir," Tom greeted him, his eyes going back and forth between the two of them.

"Mr. Keen," Raymond smiled slightly.

He was glad his Lizzie had found somebody to love her. He just hoped that man was the good one. He had to talk to Jenny, she seemed not to be surprised by the presence of that man; she must have been aware of his existence. Of course he knew his daughter and Liz had been working together on several cases and had kept contact since then, but Jenny never talked about Liz when she was with him. His position as SECNAV had allowed him to follow Liz career from afar but he had promised himself not to interfere with her private life and he would keep this promise. Yes, he had pulled some strings after taking his functions to make sure Liz and Jennifer would team up on his daughter's first case but nothing more.

"It's time," Liz whispered when she saw the priest walk to the open grave behind them.

The ceremony went in a blur for Liz. She remembered Tom's arm around her shoulders, Jen's hand squeezing hers and Red's presence behind her. She remembered blurred face after blurred face talking to her, offering their condolences, and always the heat of Red's eyes on her. It was the only thing grounding her.

"Are you coming with us?" she asked Red, her eyes on the grave. The four of them were the last ones there and she could feel him close behind her.

"I can't, I have a meeting in D.C. later today, I'm sorry sweetheart," he sighed sadly, closing his arms around her from behind.

She closed her eyes, and leaned against him, clasping his joined hands and squeezing lightly when she felt him nuzzle the side of her neck. She knew she shouldn't indulge in such a proximity, not with Jen and Tom that close, but she needed him. She needed his strength and warmth.

"Raymond?"

"Yes Dembe, I know," he replied, taking a step back from Lizzie, his arms leaving her shoulders. "I have to go," he smiled sadly.

Liz nodded silently and hugged him back when he took her in his arms once again, brushing his lips on her cheek.

"Thank you for coming, I know you're busy," she said when he released her.

"I always have time for you Lizzie, remember that," he said before turning to Tom. "Nice to meet you Tom, I hope we'll have time to talk further in the future. Jenny?" he crooked an eyebrow at his daughter.

"I'll fly back to D.C. in a few day, I talked with the Admiral and she gave me some days off," she replied before hugging her father tenderly.

"Good bye old friend," he nodded to the grave before leaving the graveyard and settling in his car.

Liz watched him walk away a knot in her throat. It had been the first time they had actually talked in ten years. Of course she had seen him on TV or at some events in D.C. but she had never had the chance to talk to him since that dreadful Christmas Eve. She was glad he had been able to come.

Tom's arm sneaking around her shoulders made her jump. He smiled slightly before kissing her cheek.

"Are you ready? They're waiting for us at your dad's."

She nodded and followed him to their car. Jenny let them take some advance and smiled ruefully, shaking her head before following them. They drove in silence, each of them lost in their own thought. Liz took a deep breath when they parked and Jen squeezed her shoulder from the back seat.

"I'm here if you need anything," she said and Liz nodded thankfully.

They exited the car and walked to the open front door. Sam's friends were already here drinking, eating and talking in small groups inside the house. Liz felt like a stranger here. Without Sam, the house seemed empty, as dead as its owner, she started to recoil when people began to acknowledge her presence but Tom's fingers around hers dragged her onward. He had a strange frown at his brow when she looked at him, surprised by his attitude. She shrugged her concern for her future husband and plastered a fake smile on her lips before greeting people. She had never understood that tradition. She didn't understand why people chose to gather and talk about the lost one when all she wanted to do was to curl alone in a corner and cry. She missed Red's aura, it would have been easier for her if he had been here.

Tom left her a few minutes later to grab a beer and she stood here, alone, watching her 'guests' smile and laugh around her. She felt sick. Her dad was dead and seeing Red had awakened long lost feelings in her. She felt lost. She jumped when someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go find some place calmer," Jen whispered in her ear.

Liz nodded and the two of them navigated through the crowd to the stairs at the back of the room. She felt a pang of nostalgia when she opened the door of her bedroom. Even if she had been 25 when Sam bought the house and had never really lived here, he had made sure to have an extra room for her, it had been her room since the day he moved in. He had brought all her stuff from Virginia and put them back exactly at the same place in this new room. They sat on the bed; Jen's hands clasped in Liz's and looked around silently.

"What will you do with the house?" Jen asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I don't know. I know Sam would have wished for me to keep it, but I'm not sure I can," Liz replied, getting up and walking around.

She stopped in front of a shelf full of stuffed animals and picked a small pink bunny. She turned it around and ran her finger on the scorched back of the plushy.

"It's the only thing I have from my life before Sam," she began. "I don't remember much from that time, but some times I have dreams. The smoke, the heat, the arms of the fireman and this little guy. Sam told me one day that I spent days refusing to leave it after the fire. They let me keep it even if it was ruined beyond repairs. This little guy is the only thing I have from my parents, what do I have from Sam?" she asked, tuning to Jennifer, her eyes full of unshed tears.

"You have a house full of memories, Liz," she replied closing the distance between them and running a finger on the rabbit still in Liz's hands.

"I never lived here, Jen. Sam moved from our old house after… after… you know what," she finished lamely not wanting to open an old wound.

Jennifer chose to ignore the allusion at her father and hugged her friend tightly.

"I have the weekend off, I'll stay here with you and Tom and together we will put everything in order. You can decide later what you want to do with the house."

"Here you are!" Tom exclaimed opening the door before Liz could answer. "I was looking for you, everybody has left. What's this awful thing in your hand Liz?" he asked when he saw the bunny.

"Nothing, just an old memento from an other life," she replied putting the plushy on its shelf. She knew Tom wouldn't understand. "Let's get back downstairs, I'm sure we have some clean up to do," she added a meaningful stare falling on Jennifer.

The young woman nodded silently and followed Liz out the room. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Tom take the rabbit, turn it around and grimace at the sight of its burned side before putting back in place, shaking his head. He followed them soon after, closing the door behind him.

They spent the rest of the day cleaning and organizing the house. At some point, Tom left to order some take-outs at the local Chinese restaurant and they settled on the couch to eat, music playing softly in the background.

When Liz started to yawn, Tom took her hand and led her to the bedroom upstairs. It had been a long day, and all of them were exhausted. He helped her get out of her clothes and joined her in the bed. Taking her in his arms, he sighed.

"Thank you Tom," she whispered against his throat.

"What for?"

"For being here, with me. I love you," she mumbled brushing her lips on his skin.

"Always," he replied kissing the top of her head. "So the US Secretary of the Navy, uh?" he asked a few minutes later.

"Hmhm."

"You didn't tell me he was Jen's father," he said lightly.

"The Reddingtons were our neighbours back in Virginia and Red was dad's protégé when he was instructor in the Navy. Jennifer used to live with us when her dad had to leave for a mission," she explained smiling softly at the fond memories of that time.

"How come you never talked about him?" he asked, tracing soothing circles on her back.

"Something happened on Christmas Eve ten years ago and Dad decided to move here, I was still in Quantico at the time and Red had just got his third star… Please Tom, I really don't want to talk about it," she said, looking him in the eyes before kissing his lips tenderly.

"As you wish," he sighed.

Once again she was hiding her past from him. Since she had begun working cases with the JAG office and got Jen back in her life she had been more secretive than ever. He wasn't stupid, he knew something was off with this Admiral and was decided to find the truth. He sighed again when he felt her body relax against his; she had fallen asleep.

I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you think about it :)