How are you holding up at the prison? It must be horrifying boring for you there. I am honestly still ticked that Howard even put you there when you did nothing wrong. I hope Nez and the others come to their senses and break you out soon.
Prison is awfully dull, there isn’t much happening - nothing worth my time or attention. But thank you for your concern, @mercavenir. Howard ruined a lot of things by putting me in jail; he’s jeopardised the business and turned my friends against me.
Title: A Keen Christmas
Fandom: The Blacklist
Summary: This will be one Christmas that Tom and Liz will never forget, with forgiveness and hopes for the future.
Notes: Written for asktheblacklist (rpg group on tumblr) Secret Santa.
The neat little brownstone was glowing from within in soft blues, greens, and reds. Elizabeth Keen shouldered her shopping bag on one hip as she pulled the door open. A smile crossed her lips as she stepped into the living room, seeing the stockings hung on the fireplace mantle and the large tree in the corner, lit with bright colors and beautiful glass bulbs. This was her home now. Her life. And for the first time since her childhood, she was feeling the Christmas spirit.
As she crossed over to set the bag on the counter that divided the great room from the kitchen, her eyes made a sweep over the tree again. Something looked...different. There hadn't been that silver box there when she'd left. Or the three packages beside it. Or the two green ones half hidden off to the side. It seemed like the presents were multiplying on their own.
"There's Mommy..." Tom announced, coming down the stairs with Agnes in his arms.
"Did you guys have fun this afternoon?" Liz smiled. When she joined them, she took Agnes from her husband and kissed her baby girl's chubby cheek. "Such a pretty girl in her reindeer dress...Daddy does a good job of dressing you up."
Tom shrugged slightly. "Picking the outfits out is the easy part. Getting them on her....not so much."
"Is that why you have bags under your eyes?"
"You noticed, huh?" He grinned. "I don't even know why I'm so tired...being a stay at home Dad is pretty laid back compared to the stuff I've done before. And I have a beautiful wife to share the job with."
When he leaned in, Elizabeth was only too happy to meet his kiss. It was strange how they'd gotten to this point, but she was glad they were back to being a happy married couple. In the end, she hoped the trials they faced would only make them stronger. At first she thought she was remarrying Tom just to give their baby a shot at a normal life, but it was so clear to her now that she'd wanted a second chance, with all the secres out in the light.
"Know what else I noticed?" She smirked playfully when they parted.
"What's that?"
"Our tree seems to be miraciously birthing more presents when I'm out of the house."
Tom tried to look nonchalant. "You don't say?"
"Tom...Agnes is five months old. She doesn't need half a Toys R Us under the tree." She scolded him gently.
"Hey, it's not just me." Tom pointed to the tree. "That pile on the left...all Reddington. And I think her Godparents have gotten her at least a half dozen gifts apiece."
Liz rolled her eyes. "This better not be a yearly tradition."
"It won't be," He smiled, then grew serious. "Everyone was really worried that she was gone for good. You can't blame me...or our friends...for wanting to spoil our little miracle baby here."
Tom ran his fingers lightly over Agnes' head and the soft, dark down that was growing there. The baby cooed in response. A smile lighting her face as she gave a happy gurgle. Liz felt her heart soften and she sighed heavily. It was true, the days that Agnes had been held by Alexander Kirk had been the most terrifying of her life. And everyone else had worked so hard to find her. Even Samar, who she knew was not totally over the betrayal she felt over Liz faking her death.
"Okay...as long as this doesn't become a tradition," She finally gave in. "After she gets three, she's going to start becoming aware of all the presents and then we're going to have a problem."
"Just this one year," He promised, dropping a kiss on the baby's head. "I'll put away the groceries for you."
Liz smiled. "You make a pretty good house husband.
Tom returned the smile and went into the kitchen. Liz took Agnes into the living room and sat down next to the tree. The baby looked up at the lights with interest, something that her mother never got tired of watching. She'd been so afraid when she found out she was pregnant, even if she'd always wanted a family of her own. Everything had been so crazy and up in the air. But now, it felt like things were finally settling into place.
That didn't stop her from tensing slightly when she heard a knock on the door. Sometimes she still had nightmares about Agnes being taken away from her or their lives disrupted again. Being around Reddington and on the task force meant it was always a possibility, but she found she couldn't deny any longer how the fugitive cared for her. He'd been willing to trade his life for her own and he'd turned over heaven and earth to find her daughter. That was the kind of parental devotion she would only know now from him, with her biological parents and adoptive father all dead.
Her husband came out of the kitchen to answer the door for her, and Liz knew it was more out of protectiveness than anything else. Without asking, Liz knew the same fears that still came to life in her mind had also taken root in his. But when she saw his posture relax, she knew it was friend not foe. At least today.
"Honey," Tom turned from the door. "We have some visitors."
Samar stepped in first, her dark eyes flickering over Liz with a touch of coolness. It quickly warmed when she saw Agnes. Liz smiled at her hesitantly, hoping that they could rebuild their bridges, since they were going to be working together again. Though it was strange not to be an FBI Agent anymore, at least she could still be on the Task Force as an asset. Part of the team that had been like a second family to her.
Aram stepped in next, holding a rocking horse at least half his size. He gave Liz a guilty smile. "We were just stopping by and..I thought...well, since Agnes is my goddaughter, I'd like her to take part in a, uh, a family tradition of ours. Something every child and grandchild gets on their first Christmas..."
"Rocking horses?" Liz couldn't help but laugh. "Aram...thank you."
She passed the baby to Tom and hugged her friend. The quirky tech specialist had become very close to her heart. He was the most loyal kind of friend, one you could always count on. Of all the people she'd had to betray to try to protect her daughter, it had been most painful to do it to him and Ressler.
"We're just really glad to have you back. Both of you. All three of you." He whispered in her ear as he hugged her back. "Both of us."
When they parted, Aram turned to Tom. "Why don't we see if Agnes like the rocking horse?"
"I'm sure she'll love it when she gets a bit better at holding her head up." Tom chuckled. "It's a cool gift, man."
"Well, maybe we should...uh...move it. Somewhere...over there." Aram jerked his head over his shoulder towards the kitchen.
"In the kitchen?" Tom frowned a moment, then suddenly he seemed to understand something. "Oh yeah. That's a great place for it."
Tom and Aram picked up the horse together and headed into the living room a little too quickly to be nonchalant. Liz found hersel standing by the tree with Samar, just out of earshot of the guys. She felt awkward and it showed on her face. Turning to her..friend? Former friend? Begrudging co-worker? she offered a small smile.
"Samar..."
"I was so damn mad at you, Liz." Samar turned away from her careful inspection of the tree to face Liz. "I understand that you were trying to protect your daughter, but I felt so betrayed."
"I know. And I'm sorry. I did what I thought was right at the time, but now I'm not...so sure."
The former Mossaud agent looked down momentarily. "I don't have family, Liz. For years I thought they were all gone and I discovered my brother only to lose him all over again. Outside of a few flings, I was on my own. And then I joined the task force...and I felt like maybe, there were people that cared about me. Friends. And they became like my family..."
Liz smiled softly. "It was like that for me too. I had my adoptive father, and I had a husband...but...I'd never known what it was like to have siblings or a family that was more than two people. Until the task force. That's why Red fought to make sure I could stay even though I can't be FBI any more."
"In the course of trying to find Agnes, I realized that I still cared about you, despite myself." Samar looked her in the eye again. "And now I feel like...I can forgive you. Perhaps my trust isn't the same it had once been, but I still care about you. Despite putting me through hell, you are still my friend."
"Oh Samar..."
The two women embraced and when they parted, a smile passed between them.
"But if you ever do something like that again, I'll kill you myself."
Liz laughed. "It's a deal."
*****
The best part of Christmas with a five month old was being able to end the festivities at eight o' clock at night without having to worry about a temper tantrum. After cookies and listening to some music, Agnes was happy to go to her crib and dream of sugar plums. And leave her parents to assemble the toys under the tree.
"Why did we buy her a new stroller and a swing one of those bouncy chairs in one year?" Liz groaned from her spot on the floor near the tree.
"Because she's our first child and....we have no common sense," Tom explained smoothly, handing her a mug of cocoa. "Don't worry, Baileys to the rescue."
Liz hesitated a moment, then took a sip of the sweet, creamy concoction. "This is good. Now...what do we start with first?"
"Um...the swing." Tom decided.
Once they unpacked all of the pieces of the swing, they both stared at the array of plastic parts like a deer in the headlights. The picture on the box seemed to mock them, reminding them what they were supposed to make out of the mess.
"This is going to go about as well as the shelf unit from IKEA, isn't it?" Liz broke the silence.
"Don't." Tom held up his hand. "Let's just forget that ever happened."
Liz picked up the instructions and looked at them. "I think...that long thing goes into the short thing....um..A and B..."
"Long thing into the short thing?" He raised an eyebrow.
"If you think you can do better, you can assemble and read the instructions." Liz gave him a look.
"Please, continue." Tom chuckled. "Your Mom look is getting better every day, you know."
There was a knock at the door and after a moment the door open. Tom and Liz both looked up in surprise, ready to pounce on the intruder. Instead Raymond Reddington strolled through the door casually, Demebe behind him. He smiled at them, waving his hand a little.
"No need to get up." He paused above them, looking down at the many pieces of plastic spread across the floor. "My...they always seem to make these things more and more complicated, don't they?"
"How did you get in?" Tom looked at Red closely.
"It's Christmas, Tom." Red laughed. "You don't think twice about a jolly old elf coming down the chimeny. And I prefer not to do the whole 'sees you while you're sleeping' bit. Seems a little too vouyerisitic for my taste. But I do come bearing gifts."
"Agnes has almost a whole Toys R Us under the tree," Liz pointed out.
"This is true," Red agreed with a nod. "But what she doesn't have under the tree is a college fund. I know you two want to do everything on your own, but I also want you to remember a conversation we had not that long ago, Lizzie. How you wish your father could be here to see Agnes grow up. I'm sure he would have wanted to make sure that her future was seen to, don't you think?"
Liz watched Red closely, the question she'd once asked him at the tip of her tongue again. If it wasn't Kirk, then could it be Red? She was starting to think it was very possible, but when the news came out, she wanted him to tell her himself. It would mean so much more that way, even if slowly she was starting to think it was the most likely option.
"How much?" She asked slowly.
"One hundred and fifty thousand dollars." Red spoke it like he was saying it was only twenty dollars. "It might seem a bit of an overkill, but we don't know what she'll want to do when she's old enough to decide. So why limit her choices? And if there's money left over, she can get a car or put a down payment on her first house."
"I'm not sure we can...accept that." Liz swallowed hard.
"Yes, you can. And you will...because the trust has already been set up in her name, available on her eighteenth birthday for school. The remainder, if there is some, on her twenty-fifth." Red smiled at her. "Lizzie...don't be so stubborn. I enjoy playing Santa Claus. And besides, it frees up more money for you and Tom to give Agnes a good childhood. Children are expensive, as I'm sure you found out this Christmas."
Tom sighed and threw up his hands. "If the trust is already set up, then I don't see what we can do about it."
"That's the spirit of the season, Tom." Red said with a hint of sarcasm. "So does that mean you don't want to know what Santa has brought the newylweds?"
"Red...what have you done?" Liz felt an uneasy tickle of suspicion go up her spine.
Red took an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "Merry Christmas, Elizabeth."
Liz took the envelope and openedd it with slightly shaking fingers. When she saw the official looking document, she was confused. Then she noticed the word 'Deed' at the top, and the address listed on the first line. Her mouth fell open in shock, eyes scanning down to see her name on the document.
"You...you paid the house off?" She stammered. "I told you...we wanted to get our own place. Not be under your thumb."
"You picked out the house, didn't you?" He looked into her eyes deeply, the smile fading slightly. "I'm sure...your father...would want to know you've got your own house. And if I remember right, you described this place to me as being 'perfect' but a little pricey."
"I...I don't know what to say." Liz admitted, not sure how she felt about having Red pay for her house.
"Then don't," Red smiled and looked down at the pieces of the swing. "I think you have enough on your hands right now."
Liz gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. Then she looked at Tom and shrugged. "Well, he's right about that much."
*****
The other great part about having a five month old at Christmas was not having to get up at the crack of dawn. While both Liz and Tom were morning people in general, she remembered all too well from her own childhood that a child's ideal of morning on Christmas was more like late night. When she finally opened her eyes, there was soft light filtering through the windows and Tom was still snoring softly beside her.
Liz smiled a little and tiptoed over to the dresser. She pulled out a flat package she hadn't put under the tree the night before. Then she shook her husband gently.
"Hey you..." She leaned in and kissed him when his eyes opened. "Merry Christmas."
"Mmmm...was it a dream or did Reddington come in here last night and give us the house?" He rubbed his hand over his face.
"Not a dream." Liz confirmed. "But I'm not surprised you're fuzzy on the details. You polished off half a bottle of Bailey's last night."
Tom snorted and sat up slowly. "Well, we did stay up until two in the morning putting all that stuff together. And you are awful chipper for someone who was right with me the whole time."
"I'm excited." Liz lifted up the flat box. "I have something special for you."
"Do I get to see it now?" Tom looked a little more alert.
"Mmmm....don't you think Agnes will want to open her presents first?" Liz teased.
"You're awful," Tom laughed. "And I might have something very special under the tree for you too."
"Then let's save those for last." She suggested with a smile, an impish gleam in her blue eyes.
"You've got something up your sleeve," He smirked knowingly.
"Perhaps."
After Liz retrieved Agnes in her adorable little snowman sleeper, the little family went downstairs. Tom lit the tree up and Liz brought their daughter over to the tree.
"Merry Christmas, Agnes." She cooed, watching her daughter reach out and touch one of the bulbs. The chances of the baby knowing more than there were pretty lights and shiny baubles were pretty slim, but that didn't matter. There had been several long weeks when Liz and Tom feared they would never get a single Christmas with their daughter, let alone to be able to look forward to many more in the future. And that was worth going all out for, in her opinion.
"Time to see what Santa left..." Tom smiled as he joined them.
The couple sat down beside the tree, taking turns opening the presents for Agnes. Truth be told, they were enjoying it every bit as much as the baby. She seemed very enthused about a teddy bear from Harold, clutching it in her chubby fists for rest of the morning. When everything was done, they put her in the swing and let her watch her parents exchange their gifts for each other.
"You went overboard on me too." Liz pointed out when the only thing was left was a sea of wrapping paper around them.
"So?" Tom gave her a lopsided smile and leaned in for a kiss. "And there's one more..."
He took a little jewelry box out of the pocket of his robe. "You know, we didn't really have a proper engagement. I got you a ring, but it wasn't quite...what I had wanted for you. I proposed before I found the perfect ring."
Tom offered the box to Liz and she took it from him. She could see the eagerness on his face as she opened the lid. The gasp that came out out of her made his eyes light up. And with good reason. He'd picked out the most beautiful ring Liz had ever seen, a brilliant diamond that was so clear she thought she could see right through it. The setting was rose gold, with small, leaf like scrolls holding the gem in place.
"Oh my God, Tom..." She managed to squeak out. "This...it's amazing."
"So are you, baby." He said sincerely.
Liz felt tears prick her eyes as she leaned in and kissed him. Then she passed the box to him and held out her hand for him to put it on next to her wedding band. With a smile, Tom slipped the ring onto her finger. Then he kissed the back of her hand. Happiness flowed through her and she couldn't wait to give him his special present now.
"So...one more left." She smiled at him.
"And then we get to start cleaning up all of this..." He waved his hand at the ocean of wrapping paper covering their living room floor. "I didn't know there was this much wrapping paper in the world."
"Just wait until next year." Liz smiled.
Tom looked back at her with a quizzical look. Before he could question what she had meant, she passed him the flat box. He stared at it for a moment, then opened it. His eyes went wide when he saw the framed picture, staring at moment and then looking up at Liz in disbelief.
"Really?" He sounded a bit breathless. "How long have you known?"
"Well, I thought maybe it was just stress." Liz admitted sheepishly. "And then after two months, I thought I'd better go to a doctor. And since it was so close to Christmas...I thought you could forgive me for keeping the secret for a week."
He lifted the frame in his shaking hands, staring at the image of the fuzzy kidney bean on the ultrasound. "How far?"
"Nine weeks," Liz looked at him closely. "You're happy, right?"
"Happy?" Tom laughed. "I'm esctastic. I'm also very surprised..."
"Well, we did do a lot of celebrating after we got Agnes back." She smiled at him. "I hope it's a boy. So we have one of each."
"I don't care what it is...this time we get to do it all together. Give birth in a hospital. Bring a baby home and have those first few weeks as a family..." Tom's eyes misted over a little.
Liz felt tears prick her eyes too. "At one point, you told me you chose to think about our future...and I want you to know that I have been too. Even when it didn't seem like it."
"I know, baby." He leaned in and kissed her again. Then he pulled up her shirt and kissed her stomach, which had only the slightest bit of puffiness to it. "And the future is now."
"We aren't naming the baby Ebenezer," Liz warned.
"I think we have enough time to come up with something better." Tom laughed and rested his hand on her stomach, touching the spot where his fingers had just been.
"I think we have a lot of time," Liz replied, resting her hand on his.
In the lights of the Christmas tree, it seemed to her that the diamond sparkled as bright as the hopes for their future.
