Elizabeth slipped into a somber mood once back into the privacy of the bedroom. She sat on the couch, flipping through a magazine, trying to calm her frayed nerves.
Her eyes constantly checked on the sleeping baby, who lay in the middle of the huge bed.
Red had disappeared a few moments after the incident... oh fine, now she was beginning to think in those terms. The woman constantly checked on the time, wondering what was taking the man so long.
Silas stood calmly by, his own temper barely held in check at the woman's constant abuse.
"You people have no right keeping me here, like I was a prisoner or something." The still inebriated neighbor was not shy about voicing her displeasure. "When my husband gets home, you will be very sorry, I can assure you of that."
Red Reddington allowed the verbal diatribe, his manner calmly collected. He leaned over the desk, hefting the silver plated .45 in capable hands. His eyes shifted coldly.
"Barry is an upstanding pillar in this community that.."
"Fucks around behind his old lady's back?" Silas stated so off-handedly that, for a moment, Red thought the man was making some sort of weird small talk.
He glanced over his shoulder at the fuming individual, his expression unreadable.
"How dare you!" The woman's face turned a crimson red. "I will not stand for that vulgar, uncouth speech from the likes of.."
"What I find 'vulgar and uncouth'..." Red stopped her in her tracks, his look a deathly quiet one which sent a warning signal even to Silas' seasoned brain, "is a rich bitch who feels it's her 'right' to fire off a weapon, right in the middle of Suburbia, destroying property, not to mention..."
He lifted himself upright, suddenly towering over the seated female. "Almost killing a six month old child and a young woman whose only crime...was to try to enjoy a moment's relaxation in our own fucking pool."
Silas shifted a wary scan Red's way, sensing the tension emanating from the older man.
The woman in question blanched visibly. "..W-Wha.." The related news stunned her. "I..I d-didn't...I wasn't a-awar.."
"You know what I would like to happen now, Silas?" Red ignored the useless apologies, turning leisurely, checking the whereabouts of his Chief Security Officer.
"No, Sir.." Silas answered dutifully, uneasy with his contemporary's mood. "But, whatever it is, I will try to accommodate your wishes."
"Take this fucking idiot out somewhere...oh, I don't know..." Red mused openly. "Do you remember where we dropped that slime bag, Archie Dunbar?"
Silas finally 'got' where the 'Boss' was headed, his face keeping a carefully neutral expression. "It's a long drive, Boss."
"You got somewhere else you have to be?" Red asked pleasantly.
"W-What are you talking about?" The 'Neighbor Lady' was beginning to sweat and Silas didn't think it was from all the booze she had ingested. "Are y-you insane?" The light blue eyes darted about the burly individuals surrounding her, a new-found terror found within. "Who are you people?!" She demanded shrilly.
Red simply glanced back at her, remaining silent.
"People will miss me." her voice had begun to shake.
"I highly doubt it." Joe mumbled under his breath.
"My husband knows, I just wouldn't up and leave." the woman tried again, her desperation showing.
"Oh, like he would give a shit." Silas scoffed. "Hell, he'll probably send us a thank you note."
"The police will–"
Red held up a silencing hand, then offered a curt motion.
Silas nodded to Joe, who instantly lifted the woman from the chair, manhandling her roughly to the entrance of the huge office they now occupied.
Red and Silas ignored the pleas and shouting, watching calmly as the woman was ushered into a corridor which led to the garage. Soon enough, the silence returned to the room.
"So what do I do with her?" Silas wanted to know. "Because I have no idea who this Archie Dunbar is... do you?"
"He was a very dear friend of mine." Red supplied the answer. "Too bad I had to kill him."
"You want me to kill this woman?" the man was confused.
Red looked at him oddly. "Would you?"
"An hour ago, sure." he confessed. "But even I have some scruples left..." the man thought the statement through, for all of two seconds, "oh, who the hell are we kidding."
"No, Silas. I don't want you to kill her." Red shook his head exhaustively. "Just take her out to the 'wilds of New Jersey', and drop her off."
"You mean like, Paulie and Chris on the Soprano's, 'wilds of New Jersey'?" Silas needed clarification, yet again.
"Exactly." Red nodded contentedly. "I want to scare the hell out of her." and he did. "But make sure, some anonymous do-gooder calls in a tip to her location a few hours after you drop her off."
"What about the husband?" Silas asked. "If he comes snooping around."
"Handle him." Red lifted an exasperated hand. "Now, I've got places to be. And I do not want to be disturbed the rest of the evening, for any reason."
"What if I get stuck in the 'wilds' with her?" Silas face was perfectly serious.
"Send David and that new kid... Kevin." Red waved the issue aside. "They have a better sense of direction."
Silas held his smile. "You can be a hard man, Reddington." it was mentioned in passing. "You know of course, I've had Survivalist Training."
"You've taught it." Red smirked disdainfully.
Silas' smile finally broke through. He watched the man saunter away before tackling the task assigned him. A task he was going to enjoy.
When Red returned, he found the baby had awakened and Elizabeth playing with the little boy by blowing kisses on his tummy.
"You should put him on his stomach for a while." Red suggested, having watched the interaction for a long moment.
"Oh, right." Liz lay out a soft blanket, tossing Sam's toys down haphazardly around the square. "Tummy time." she placed the infant down face first.
Red held his smile. Liz got down on the floor, opposite the baby, cooing and encouraging the little one to crawl by her actions and words.
The little boy was very animated but getting no where fast.
"Show him a toy." Red motioned with his hand, his arm resting leisurely on the pillow beside him. "He might try for it."
The woman picked up Sam's teddy bear, waving it back and forth. The blue eyes beamed with joy, the baby kicking his legs frantically, his tiny toes catching on the blanket.
His tummy was to full and too big, no progress was being made what-so-ever. Sam was fast getting frustrated, his little face scrunching up accordingly.
Red sat his paper aside, getting down on the floor with them. He put his hand behind the boy's feet, providing the purchase for which Sam had been looking.
"Look at him, Red!" Liz beamed, watching the little guy drag himself across the surface of the blanket with his arms and Red's help.
Red rubbed the little feet with his thumb in silent encouragement, "Bring it closer now, he's worked enough. Let him grab his prize."
Elizabeth grinned madly when Sam grabbed the bear with his tiny fist. The toy instantly headed for the mouth. The baby diligently chewed on it's nose.
She clapped enthusiastically, "Good job, Sam!"
The baby looked up from his toy, grinning furiously, pooting, loudly.
Liz lay face down in the blanket, her shoulders shaking with her laughter while Red rubbed the boys back, chuckling. "You do live up to your namesake."
A pleasant hour passed, before it was time for the baby's feeding. Red did the honors, his attention caught by the commotion behind him.
Liz was singing softly, playing a game of sorts. She pumped the chubby legs in time with the song she sang.
"There's more to that song than what you're singing." he sort of chastised, handing the bottle over.
"Well, who remembers the words to "The Wheels on the Bus"." she kissed the baby's feet, sparing the man a disgruntled glance.
"I do." he supplied, readily. "And Dembe."
"You'd think we never feed this kid, to watch him." the woman commented offhandedly.
"He's been a good eater." Red nodded approvingly.
"What did you get?" She motioned to the jar.
"Ahh, yes." he checked his choice. "A favorite of even the fussiest of palates... apple sauce."
Cracking open the jar, the man spooned some of the pale mush out, placing it in the waiting mouth.
Sam, unsure of the texture, pushed it around his mouth, some falling outside his pursed lips.
Red caught it with his thumb, wiping it off on the cloth, before spooning the rest into the small mouth.
"You're so good at this." Liz smiled warmly, watching him spoon over another small portion. "With him."
"He's an good baby. Good natured. Easily distracted." Red got the kid's attention again, tapping the soft spoon on Sam's messy lips.
"Oh well now, look." Red wiped Sam's cheek off with his finger, offering a disgruntled expression. "Look what you did here." he showed the baby the food. The blue eyes widened, the little mouth opening wide like a little bird.
Elizabeth placed her hand quickly over her mouth, stifling a chuckle.
"He turns his head right when I'm going to stick the food in." Red enjoyed her mood, hiding the fact well, keeping up the façade. "What's that all about?"
A few more bites and Sam was full. Liz leaned over, grabbing a baby wipe, cleaning off the dirty face.
"Have you ever thought about having more kids?" She asked.
Red sat back slowly, his thoughts turning introspective.
"For a very long time, after I had been branded a traitor," he began slowly, "all I could think about for a few years was survival." he glanced at the sleeping baby between them, his arm coming to rest along the back of the couch on which they sat.
"I thought that what had occurred, couldn't possibly go on forever, however," he mused, "that sooner or later I'd get some semblance of my life back." he felt his way along. "But as time went on, that hypothesis became blurry, so the thought was pushed to the background completely." he shrugged mentally. "Then I got comfortable in my new lifestyle..."
"And that was it?" she queried.
"While I was traversing the underworld," he confided, "I met a woman who didn't know who the hell I was." Liz looked at him slightly befuddled.
"We didn't have Google like we do now." his hand lifted slightly off the back of the couch. "She either had to go to a post office and happen upon my picture, or get hold of an American newspaper that was running low on headlines that day."
"So what happened?" Liz was intrigued.
"I fell in love with her. Or at least, the idea of her." he contemplated. "She was sweet, kind and beautiful. Incredibly naïve. Normal." the man had welcomed such a concept at that time. "She wanted to have a child, and I grew to embrace the idea, until I came over one day, finding my rival sitting in her front room, conversing with her."
"She was a traitor?" the woman was flabbergasted.
"No, as I said, incredibly naïve." he shook his head slightly. "She thought him to be one of my close associates, allowing him inside the house. He could have snapped her neck anytime."
"He didn't hurt her, though." Liz was somehow relieved.
"No, it was a message." Red's face hardened. "He didn't have to draw a picture. I couldn't stand the thought of putting her in danger, so I left."
"She must have been heartbroken."
"We both were." he lowered his eyes for a beat, then lifted his head and his spirits. "But, she's alive and married with three beautiful children. A price well worth the payment."
"You say that so easily." she hesitated visibly, not having meant to be so forward.
"No Elizabeth." his eyes allowed his pain for a second. "Not easily."
Quiet entered the room for a goodly spell, the only sound Sam's soft snoring.
"So you never thought about it after that?"
"Well," the man glanced up at the ceiling, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his thumb, "after I killed the son-of-a-bitch, it started a chain reaction that required clean up, which took place over the next couple of years."
"This is the man in the living room?" she clarified in her own mind.
Red nodded. "Well, he just had to die." the quiet returned for a brief second.
"Then what happened?"
"I turned myself into the FBI." He smiled warmly at her. His phone rang in his pocket, breaking the spell.
Red sighed heavily, answering the call. "Oh," his eyes shifted to the woman's profile, "...hello, Aram."
He felt Liz tense next to him, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.
"I see. And you've confirmed..." He broke off, jotting down the information Aram was conveying. "Tell Cooper I will take care of it personally. Good night, Aram."
He shut the phone, squeezing her shoulder. "They found his parents." he announced without preamble.
"Okay..." she managed a reply of sorts.
"I'm sorry, Lizzy." he reached for her hand, rubbing her fingers tenderly.
"When do we leave?"
"In the morning." he was pleased when the woman leaned over, supporting her head on his shoulder. She needed comfort and had sought it with him.
"You know why babies are so cute and cuddly?" he asked quietly. The woman lifted her eyes, seeking his. "So we'll take care of them. Love them." He squeezed her shoulder gently. "You were just doing what came natural to you. You protected and nurtured Sam but now you have to give him away, which goes against your instincts."
The woman listened earnestly.
"I also think once you see him with his mother, you'll feel comfortable letting him go back where he belongs."
"I hope you're right."
"Do you want to hold him?" He asked.
"He'll wake up." She warned.
"You're forgetting, I'm the baby whisperer." Red shifted, lifting the child placing it in capable arms.
Sam never stirred once, until his head was settled between Liz's breasts whereupon, he sighed contentedly.
The woman felt a range of emotions, as she held the tiny bundle protectively close. She tried so hard not to cry... but in the end, the tears slid down her pale cheeks.
Red wished things could have worked out differently. He wished it with all his heart. But the reality was, he was not a miracle worker... no matter the general consensus.
So he accepted what was. All he could do for the moment, is to be there, be supportive.
He could truthfully say however, he did not think he had ever dreaded an approaching morning more.
True to form, the day was an overcast dismally cloudy affair that somewhat matched the atmosphere inside the mansion.
It was early morning still, but all was set for the pre-arranged meeting.
"Go ahead, I'll be right there." Red motioned to Dembe, who was loaded down with baby paraphernalia. Liz tried a smile which failed dismally before she preceded the man out the door.
"What ever was left in that room, regarding Sam," Red informed Silas, who had accompanied them from the room, "needs to be gone by the time we get back. We'll be about two hours."
"Sure, no problem." Silas nodded. "She's taking it hard, huh?" the two men watched the baby and the woman being loaded into the SUV.
"She is." Red fixed his hat, fingering the rim. "Most of the gear is gone... I didn't really want to do the rest in front of her."
"I understand. All traces of Sam will be gone by the time you get back."
"Thank you, Silas." the man nodded shortly, using the only coping mechanism he ever allowed himself, gently biting the inside of his mouth twice. It was a habit he had acquired over the years which often served him well.
It was either that minuscule gesture, or just go ahead and follow his body's dictates, which would be to allow the rage that always simmered just under the surface... to erupt.
They drove for fifteen minutes, Liz playing with the baby's toes the whole time. They finally pulled up alongside a replica of Red's plane.
"Whose plane is that?" the woman craned her neck, taking in the sleek jet from front to back.
"An associate of mine." Red answered glancing at the aircraft absently. "He's here visiting family and won't need it for a couple of days." he unbuckled Sam from the seat, handing the carrier over to Dembe, before helping Liz from the car.
Dembe traversed the stairs, carrier in hand, before disappearing through the jet's portal.
Liz blinked the tears away, walking to the steps slowly. Red matched his steps to hers, his head tilting as he watched her progress.
"You're doing better." he commented offhandedly, nodding approvingly, as the woman managed the steps slowly but steadily.
"Better than what?" Liz kept her eyes glued to the portal, her hand gripping the rail tightly. "A Galapagos turtle?"
"Oh no, you're not that fast yet." Red managed with a perfectly straight face. She halted at the top of the stairs sighing, slightly amused in spite of herself.
"You're such a smart ass." she held her smile with difficulty.
"You should make him a bottle for the flight." He suggested evenly, nodding amiably.
The woman hobbled to the galley, mixing the bottle quickly.
"We're leaving in a few minutes." Red came back from the cockpit, checking on the safety of the baby. He reached in his pocket, pulling out a pacifier. The man wiped it once against the fabric of his slacks, just about to stick it in Sam's mouth.
Liz made a disgruntled sound snatching the object, with only one lethal look in the man's direction, went to rinse the pacifier of any supposed germs.
Red lifted his brows, he and the baby exchanging enigmatical looks. "Little does she know, that you'll be eating sand in a couple of months."
"He most certainly will not." the woman snapped her belief.
Red shared a moment with the baby that bespoke volumes. Sam's mouth was suddenly filled with baby toes. He gurgled happily around the soft warm socks he now chewed upon.
Red smiled approvingly down at him "We good to go?" he asked the rhetorical question.
"Yep. Should I give it to him now or– Oh my God!" Liz clasped the bottle to her chest, her face aghast. "Stop that!" she hurriedly pulled the toes from the baby's vicinity.
Red glanced up to the stricken woman, smiling benignly.
"Sammy, honey..." she allowed Red to seat her, then buckle her belt. "We don't eat our sockies. We just don't, 'kay?" she asked sweetly.
"In my country," Dembe chimed in helpfully, his expression most sincere. Red closed his eyes, sensing the direction the statement was going to take. "Children often eat crickets."
Liz's eyes widened in horror, a visible shudder racking her entire body. She offered the most disgusting sound she could express, her features echoing her distaste.
"Oh, stop it!" she practically screeched. Which brought a soft smile from Red and a wide one from her antagonist who sat across the way. "Bleh!"
"Well once actually," Red leaned back into the tale he was about to embark upon, "when I was in Columbia..."
"Don't you even go there!" the woman warned, covering her ears with her hands, shutting her eyes tightly. "Blah, blah, blah!" she chanted repeatedly.
Red held his smile, glad that they had managed to lift the woman's doldrums slightly.
He felt his own ears adjusting as the plane lifted higher into the sky. The baby began to protest the change in altitude.
"Here." he handed the bottle to Dembe. "It will help pop his ears." Red said as they started leveling off.
The flight was uneventful thereafter.
Liz held the baby the entire way until the pilot directed his passengers to 'buckle up'.
Red glanced out the window as they taxied into Dekalb-Peachtree Airport. The Airport Security was already on-site, awaiting their arrival.
Sam's parents were to come on board, so they could reunite with their baby in private. And hopefully, ease Lizzy's worries about leaving the baby.
When the plane stopped, Dembe lowered the stairs, waving the parents forward.
The couple jogged quickly to the plane, as the Press pushed hard at the arms holding them back.
The security were doing the job well.
The young couple ran up the steps, into the plane, searching breathlessly about, before finally zeroing in on their baby.
"Oh, Sam!" A young woman, crying brokenly, rushed for the infant. The mother lifted a confused Sam into her loving arms, showing her prize to an anxiously awaiting 'dad'.
The tall man stood by, his arms encompassing his small family, his face a rapturous beam of contentment.
The woman laughed and cried her joy, touching her baby at every possible advantage point. She kissed the little one repeatedly, anywhere Sam would allow.
Finally, the moment was broken, the father having noticed the small audience. He looked up teary eyed, staring directly at Elizabeth Keen.
"Thank you, thank you so much." He clasped her hand, then noticed her casted arm. "Oh my God, did you get injured?" there was instant concern on the boyishly handsome face. "Rescuing him?"
"Um, no."Liz blinked back her need to weep, clearing her voice gently of the throaty lump of emotion welling inside her heart. "His name is Sam?" she had picked up on that anomaly instantly, totally amazed by the coincidence.
"Samuel Christopher." The man smiled happily, smoothing his hand over the baby's head. He had barely taken notice of the two men on board, smiling at them wildly now before his expression sobered slowly.
"I know you." he tilted his head. "You're Raymond Reddington." his tone had cooled decidedly, his eyes hardening perceptibly. "Are you the one who did this?" he accused heatedly. The niceties of seconds before fading into oblivion. "Did you take my son!"
Liz stepped before the accused, scowling angrily. "No!" she defended staunchly. "He's the one who saved your son!" it was snapped right back. "Red would never harm a child! Apologize to him this instant!"
"Lizzy..." Red chided, fully understanding the emotions playing out.
"No! You saved him, Red!" she turned her fury on an unsuspecting co-hort. "You took care of him. Kept him warm and comfortable and safe." she pointed at nothing in particular, but she had meant to point to the one in question. "You made his gums stop hurting." She cried plaintively. "You don't deserve this!"
Red pulled Liz into his arms, soothing her. "It's all right." He murmured.
"I-I'm sorry." The father stumbled. "I didn't know."
Red nodded, his embrace tightening about Elizabeth's frame. He glanced at Dembe, his expression speaking volumes.
Dembe gestured the two young people to the door of the jet, picking up the baby supplies Liz had brought. The couple moved slowly away from the solitary figures, feeling horrible that they had accused the one person who had actually been the catalyst for saving their infant son.
The woman halted her steps uncertainly before turning about, "Thank you for bringing my baby home, Mr. Reddington." She hesitated, totally befuddled suddenly. "...There just aren't any words to express.."
"No." Sam's father echoed the sentiment. "No... there isn't. How do we possibly..."
"You're welcome." Red mumbled into Lizzy's soft hair, his hand gently rubbing a peculiar circular motion on her back.
"Hey.." he halted the intended departure, "he's teething. He likes a damp cloth filled with crushed ice to chew on."
The mother smiled warmly, hugging the baby close. "I'll do that." the smile reached her eyes. "Thank you for taking such good care of him, both of you."
Their steps echoed inside the now empty plane. Liz broke completely, sobbing into his chest, collapsing into him. He took their weight effortlessly, easing into the couch.
Red murmured soothing inanities, his arms tightening consolingly.
"Shh, it's all right."
"H-how could he s-say something so horrible?" she stuttered, gulping for a semblance of control. "You s-saved that little boy, you saved m-me." she blurted sub-consciously, her hands tightening on the front of his lapels.
Red startled against her, looking down at the crown of her head. He had not expected that statement.
"He didn't know, Lizzy."
"He couldn't see how well taken care of he was?" her anger would not be silenced. "He couldn't see you had flown here specially to deliver Sam to them?"
"He was just scared, relieved, thrilled." Red fingered the strands of hair caught on her wet cheeks, liking the feel of silky mass. "We can never really know what those two were suffering."
She lifted her head, staring at him oddly. If Red Reddington did not know, who could? His own daughter was still missing.
Lis knew that was a subject for another time.
"Well, he had a piss poor way of showing it." she sniffled, wiping angrily at her eyes with her sleeve. "I am so sorry, Red."
"What are you sorry for?" he smiled down at her, offering a handkerchief.
"You saved over forty kids and don't get your just dues." she was suddenly on a roll. The injustice of it all was simply too much to bear. "The Feds get the slap on the back and all you get is... that!"
"Lizzy, I don't care about the back slapping. I care about the kids going home to their parents, where they belong."
Red settled more comfortably beside her, his eyes mellowed, filled with gentle humor.
Dembe came back into the jet, his expression a foreboding one. "I hate the Press."
"They got to their car okay then?"
"I gently persuaded a few of the more persistent reporters, the meaning of the word, privacy." Dembe grinned evilly. "Where to now?" he asked pleasantly.
Red tilted his head, enquiring of the woman.
"I want to go home." she sniffed quietly.
Red settled, locking his hands together, propping his feet onto a convenient table. In the ensuing quiet, his thoughts turned introspective.
It was good that Liz had seen how very much Sam's parents loved him.
He had not anticipated her jumping to his defense, acting as a shield... not that he had ever needed one.
It had been totally unexpected, but left him with a warm feeling inside. Perhaps it wasn't beyond the realm of possibilities, that one day, she might actually see him as a friend.