I'm Sorry For What I Said When We Were Trying to Park the Camper 2

Author's Note: If you have not read Perp-Loving Cop Hater, go back and read that first. This is in the same AU universe, but years later. Read part 1 first.

Let me know what you think!

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Donald Ressler pulled into the greater Detroit region at 7pm, just as traffic was finally thinning out from all the commuters so the highway was nice to drive. Agnes was sitting in the back with a headset on watching an Anime movie and ignoring him, and Liz was sound asleep in the seat next to him, had been for the last 3 hours of the drive. And he couldn't blame her, the lull of the car combined with the toll their baby took on her body allowed her to fall into an easy slumber after the last pit stop.

"Dad, how much longer?" Agnes asked from the back.

"Twenty minutes," Ressler called over his shoulder. "You need a washroom?"

"Yeah, but I can wait," Agnes said before replacing her headphones over her ears.

Ressler nodded.

He looked over at Liz, his wife, and smiled. She may have finagled him into thinking that the wedding was just for him, it was not, but he had a couple of surprises of his own on the wedding day. Liz and Agnes had picked him up in nice dresses, with done hair and nails just after 2 pm and he had taken the rest of the day off citing an appointment. The others would find out the next day that they got married.

Liz had been right, city hall was almost empty and they'd only had to wait about ten minutes after filling out the paperwork to go in for the ceremony. He'd ordered Liz and Agnes small bouquets. They were surprised when he took them out of the box he'd had delivered to the courthouse. Liz told him it was a sweet gesture and kissed him for his efforts.

And, during the service he'd surprised them both again with jewellery he'd run out to buy at 10 am that morning, citing a meeting in another building. Liz's was a wedding band with a circle of embedded diamonds, his was a plain gold band, and Agnes got a necklace with a heart on it. Liz had cried and they had screwed up the courthouse schedule because Liz had a hard time pulling herself back together citing hormones and a ridiculously romantic man as her reasons for emotional overload. Almost 15 minutes later, they had continued with the service and were pronounced husband and wife. Liz had booked them into a nice restaurant for dinner that night and he had made love to his new, very pregnant, wife in the home they owned and the bed they slept in every night and Don Ressler couldn't have been happier.

As he pulled into his parent's driveway Ressler was struck by two things: that his wedding and honeymoon was farther from anything he would have imagined for himself twenty years ago (in his youth he had pictured a bachelor party, groomsmen, a beach vacation…) and the second realization was that he had never been more happy than he was right now, with nothing he had expected from his life and everything he had.

He put the car in park and reached over to softly shake her shoulder.

"Liz…" he said softly as he heard Agnes open the back door and hop out. He looked over his shoulder and saw her run into his parent's house as if she lived there, probably headed for the washroom.

"Liz…" he tried again.

She stirred and yawned and stretched and looked at him like she could fall asleep in the next minute again if he didn't get her moving.

"Come on," he said as he opened his door. "Let's get you inside."

She nodded absently and closed her eyes and, by the time he got to the other side of the car, seemed to be falling back asleep.

"Liz…" he said as he gently pulled at her.

"I'm up!" She said loudly, her voice groggy, and he helped her get out of the car and walked with his wand around her waist, afraid she may fall, up the stairs and into his parent's home.

"Liz…" Lisa said as she walked toward them. She hadn't seen Liz since she was three months pregnant, and the difference was beautiful. "Oh my, look at you!"

Lisa's hands immediately went to her round belly, and she gasped when she felt something move.

"He's an active one," Liz smiled warmly at his mother.

"We know it's a he?" Lisa asked surprised.

"No, ma," Ressler said. "We just go between 'he' and 'she' instead of saying 'it'"

Lisa nodded.

"You look beautiful Liz," Maurice said as he leaned over his wife, who still had not removed her hands from Liz's belly, and kissed Liz's cheek.

"I feel like a tanker truck," Liz joked as she looked around for Agnes. "Where's…?"

"I left her a present in Donnie's old room," Lisa said. "She likes all those comic book books from Japan…I got her some."

"Well, that's it," Liz smirked. "We'll never see her again."

Everyone laughed and Liz's hand went to her stomach when there was a particularly violent kick.

"Ow!" She said.

Lisa looked at her hand then looked at Don with a confused expression and then quickly grabbed his hand and looked at the ring on it.

"We got married," Don said with a smile.

"When?" Lisa asked.

"Thursday," Don said as he placed an arm around Liz's waist. "We decided Wednesday and just wanted us."

Lisa squealed and jumped at her son with a warm hug. He caught her and embraced her warmly.

"I take it you're happy?" Liz asked as Maurice hugged her and then they switched to hug the other person.

"I had a feeling…but I didn't want to say…" Lisa said. "You asked me about the RV and visiting family and…I was thinking you'd do it in Idaho."

"Nope, DC," Ressler smiled at her.

"You're okay with it just being us?" Liz asked her concerned.

"Of course, I am!" Lisa smiled. "You are both in your 40's there's no need for all that white dress, toss the bouquet stuff!"

"Well, we had a wedding," Maurice said. "And we were in our 40's…"

"And I felt a little foolish, honestly," Lisa smiled at him and tapped his chest. "But my mother insisted and…"

"I've got some pictures on my phone if you want to…" Ressler said.

"Of course I do!" Lisa said excitedly. "Come in, have a seat and…"

"I need to visit the washroom," Liz said as she started down the hallway. "Show them the pictures!"

Ressler sat down on the sofa with his parents and showed them pictures of the ceremony with them exchanging vows, exchanging rings, him putting the necklace on Agnes, and kissing Liz.

"Who took these?" Lisa asked.

"The guy who was getting married next," Ressler said with a smirk. "He did pretty good for being a little nervous about his own ceremony."

Lisa scrolled to the picture of the two of them and Agnes in a close shot together, her son holding Agnes and all three of them smiling in the sunshine.

"That one's a selfie outside the courthouse," Ressler explained.

"You look very handsome in your blue suit," she said as she patted his leg. "It brings out your eyes. And Liz looks lovely in that grey dress and Agnes looks sweet in her skirt and top."

"Yeah, they were the prettiest girls around," Ressler smiled as his mom scrolled through pictures of them at dinner and then a funny selfie Liz took at the end of the night in their living room of her sitting on his lap and him without a tie or jacket. What wasn't in the picture was the fact that her shoes were off, and she was asking him to rub her feet.

"Agnes is happy?" Lisa inquired.

"She seems so," Ressler said. "Part of the reason for this trip is to make her feel special and included."

"She doesn't feel that way?" Lisa asked, worried.

"No ma, I think she does, it's just…"

"She needs to feel like she's not getting kicked to the curb because some new snuggly baby is around," Maurice said.

"Thanks dad," Ressler nodded. "We want her to know we love her and nothing, no baby, changes that."

"Son, you have been her dad for going on five or six years now," Maurice said with a smile. "She knows you love her."

Ressler smiled at him. If anyone understood where Ressler was right now it was his dad.

"So, wait, you're not going on a honeymoon, just the two of you?" Lisa asked.

"Ma, we have had a house together for almost five years, we have a mortgage, she's due in 8 weeks, we don't need that kind of honeymoon," Ressler smirked, thinking of the old days when a couple might have lost their virginity on their honeymoon and stayed in the same bed for the first time together. That ship had sailed long ago for him and Liz, on the virginity front, and sharing a bed. He had slept beside her almost every night for years, there were no hurdles to jump in their relationship anymore.

"I still think you should have…some time…just you two," Lisa said.

"Have you noticed she's 32 weeks pregnant?" Ressler asked his mother with a smirk. "We've had years of that kind of time, ma."

Lisa and Maurice laughed as Liz walked back into the room.

"My mom is sad we aren't going on a honeymoon, just us," Ressler said.

Liz smirked and walked over to him sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've been living a honeymoon for 6 years."

She waggled her eyebrows at Ressler, and he burst out laughing.

"How's the baby doing?" Maurice asked Liz.

"She's good, lively, spunky, likes to kick me…a lot," Liz said as she absentmindedly rubbed circles on her belly. "The doctors say it looks like she's got long legs like her father."

Lisa and Maurice smiled.

"Maybe she'll be a ginger like her father," Maurice said as he mussed Ressler's hair.

"Scientifically she's got more of a chance of having dark hair, but, that being said, Agnes was a ginger her first year and then she went dark, so, you never know," Liz shifted on his lap, trying to get comfortable.

"You sure you're up for the long trip?" Lisa asked her.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Liz smiled at her. "We're off Moday?"

"Yes, and we should make it to Idaho by Wednesday or Thursday," Maurice said.

"I'm going to try and sleep as much as possible before then," Liz said as she started to try and stand and Ressler helped heave her up. "So, I'm heading to see Agnes and then to bed."

Ressler stood and kissed her goodnight. "I'll herd the cat."

"Thank you," Liz smiled softly at him before she waddled upstairs to the guest room. When they visited, she and Ressler always took it and Agnes always took his and Robby's old room.

"Herd the cat?" Maurice asked, confused.

"Agnes," Ressler smirked. "She delays going to bed and it's like herding a cat. I've been getting her to bed the last couple of months because Liz loses patience with her and is so exhausted that sometimes she ends up crying, sometimes both of them end up crying."

"Oh," Maurice said, surprised.

"You only knew boys, fist fights, staying out late, the cars…." Ressler chuckled knowingly. "Right now, I have out of control hormones from Liz and, we swear Agnes is in puberty with her mood swings…it's a different ball game."

"Wow," Maurice said as he looked toward Lisa.

"It's a learning curve for me," Ressler said. "That's for sure."

"All children are different and a handful in their own way," Lisa smiled. "Robby was always about the fights and the cars, you were about the girls…and sometimes the fights."

Ressler looked down and chuckled. He had been very into girls in his teen years.

"And the pot," Maurice said. "More so before me."

"Taking me to visit that guy sobered me up," Ressler noted.

"What guy?" Lisa asked.

"Former student of mine who did a lot of drugs," Maurice said. "Fried his brain and I wanted Donnie to meet someone who could be his future if he…"

"I didn't smoke up that much," he said with a chuckle.

"Enough," Maurice said. "And Freddy, I didn't tell you at the time, did acid as well, which may have done more damage than the pot, but I wanted you to think it was all pot."

Ressler shook his head. "Yeah, I figured that out eventually, but I was already off the stuff by then."

"How many other secrets do you two have from me?" Lisa asked playfully as she patted Maurice's knee.

"Oh, they will slowly get revealed over the rest of my life," Maurice chuckled. "I need to keep the mystery alive, so I reveal them slowly…"

He winked at his wife, and she smirked at him.

Ressler looked at his watch, it was 8:30. He got up. "I need to start the process of herding the cat. I'll be right back."

He mounted the stairs and found Agnes on his old bed head buried in a graphic novel.

"Sweetheart, it's time to get to bed," he said as he walked into the room.

"I just have…"

"The book will be there tomorrow," he said softly.

"Dad, ten pages and I finish this chapter," Agnes said, not looking up.

"Fine, ten pages and then…"

"I need to have a shower," Agnes said absently.

"No, you can have one tomorrow," Ressler said. "Brush your teeth and wash your face tonight."

Agnes huffed.

"I'm coming back in 15 minutes, and I expect the book away and pajamas on," he said. Neither he nor Liz wanted to discourage reading, but Agnes was a bear if she didn't get enough sleep and that started with her getting in bed by 9pm.

She didn't acknowledge him.

"Agnes?" He asked.

"Yeah, fine," she huffed.

He nodded and walked down the hallway to their room where Liz was just settling into bed.

"You sure you want to do this? It's like 3 more days of today…" Ressler said as he placed a knee on their bed and leaned over her to kiss her goodnight.

"I'll probably sleep through half of it," she chuckled. "I want Agnes to see where I was raised, I want her to have some family time before it's all screaming baby and diapers."

Ressler nodded and kissed her softly again.

"See, my mom knew something was up with you," Ressler smirked at her.

"I'm never living this down, am I?" Liz huffed with a smile.

"Living what down?" Ressler asked innocently with a raised eyebrow. He had called her on the wedding trickery, and she had confessed that it was something she wanted but had struggled with. Most of her weddings to Tom had ulterior motives or were to prove they could stay together. She wanted her wedding to Don to not be tainted by any of that. She wanted it to be what it was supposed to be; two people who genuinely loved each other and wanted to share their lives. In the end, that's exactly what it was, no other reasons tied to fear.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad we're here."

He smiled back. "Me too."

"Goodnight Ms. Ressler," he teased.

"Goodnight Mr. Ressler," she chuckled.

He smiled.

"You know Aram is still slightly devastated," Liz said with a pout. "I feel like we let him down."

"Was he the one getting married?" Ressler asked as he moved their bags from the floor to the chest at the foot of their bed. "He'll survive."

"He really wanted to be there," Liz sighed. "I kind of wish we had included him."

Ressler turned and looked at her, not sure what to say.

"What would help?" Ressler asked.

"Maybe he can be there when this little one is born?" Liz asked.

"In the room with you naked and…?" Ressler asked, his face scrunching up. "I don't think…"

"Not in the room," Liz said. "He'll never have sex again if he sees that!"

Ressler chuckled. He had watched the videos in their classes and honestly knew he would be okay with all of the blood and fluids but wasn't sure how he would be with Liz being in so much pain. That was what was making him queasy and nervous.

"Then what?" Ressler asked.

"Maybe he could be at the hospital, he could bring Agnes, when we're near the end and he's about to be born," Liz said. "Aram could bring her in and be the other person that meets the new baby."

"I'd be okay with that," Ressler nodded. Truthfully, they were probably only having this child together and he, selfishly, wanted to keep the whole birth experience to himself. He wanted that moment for just him and Liz.

Liz smiled at him.

"Okay, get some sleep," Ressler said as he walked toward the door. "I'll try and be quiet when I come in."

Liz nodded and snuggled under the covers. Ressler walked past his old room where Agnes was still reading.

"Done that chapter yet?" He asked her, knowing he was going to annoy her with the question but he also knew, from experience, that she needed to be reminded that they had agreed to a set of conditions.

"Agnes?" Ressler asked.

"One more page," she said absently.

"And then pj's," he said. "I'm coming back in 10 minutes,"

She nodded. He always extended the original time by a good 5-10 minutes and he wasn't sure if she ever noticed but it was his way of not being a dictator.

He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mom was making tea.

"Agnes good?" Lisa asked.

"She loves those graphic novels," Ressler smiled as he sat at the island.

"That's what they're called!" Lisa said excitedly.

"Thanks mom," he said with warmth.

"She's my grand-daughter, I get to spoil her," Lisa said with a smile.

"And she loves her Nana," Ressler said as he blew on his mug of tea she'd placed before him. "I know she hasn't said two words to you yet but…"

"She and I will take a trip to see Ellie's kids tomorrow and we'll have some time then," Lisa said. "While you help Maurice pack up the RV."

Ressler nodded.

"What can we get you as a wedding gift?" Lisa asked him.

"Nothing ma, we have…"

"I want to get you something," Lisa said softly. "Liz's uncle always sends you on those nice trips every year…"

"Ma, it's not a competition," Ressler said.

In truth, Reddington was only known to his family as Liz's uncle Raymond, a reclusive rich man that every year gave them an extravagant family vacation for Christmas. Reddington had wanted to buy them a house, they had refused. He had wanted to give them money, they had refused again. They had finally relented on two things: he was allowed to set up an education fund for Agnes, and could give them a trip each year for Christmas. He was not pleased, frequently telling them he had not amassed his wealth to keep it to himself. But Don and Liz needed to own their own home. They needed to know that the money that paid their bills and made their car payments was theirs. Liz had grown comfortable with Reddington's place in their life as a family member, but would not allow him to be their benefactor.

So, in true Reddington form, he found loopholes. The vacations were extravagant. The first year he had sent them to Paris, booked them into the most expensive hotel, booked Michelin star restaurants for several meals, hired a woman to take them on tours, booked a ballet and a concert with the best seats, hired a private yacht to take them down the seine, and had purchased them new wardrobes that they found in the suite when they arrived. It was over the top.

They had a conversation about what constitutes a 'vacation' and the next year he had been better. Booking them a trip to Bali where they stayed at an all inclusive very fancy resort but, besides a helicopter tour and some fun water activities booked for Agnes' benefit, had not gone too over the top. Ressler looked up the resort after the vacation and discovered that it was the most expensive and exclusive one in Oceania. The third trip had been to Australia, with someone picking them up and driving them to various sites, an opera that Agnes fell asleep at, a camping trip in the outback that was breathtaking, and a three day stop over in the Cook Islands where they stayed in a private beachfront home. The fourth trip was to the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador where they helped save sea turtles by participating in tagging them, stayed at an exclusive beach resort, and played on the beach for a week. This past Christmas, Liz was pregnant and Reddington gave them a vacation to Newfoundland that was coming up in September—they were staying on Fogo Island for a few days and then at a private home in Gros Morne National park which would (hopefully) work with a newborn.

"Still…" Lisa said. "I'll think of a nice present."

Ressler shook his head. They had called Reddington Friday to tell him about the wedding and he had been happy, pleased that Lizzie had not allowed fear to dictate her future. He had yet to send them a present, but Ressler was sure, knowing him, something ridiculous was in the works.

"Ma…" Ressler groaned. He could hear Agnes upstairs running water, probably washing her face and brushing her teeth. He would go up in a few minutes to tuck her in.

"You got married Donnie," Lisa said. "A mother has the right to celebrate that!"

Ressler smiled at her and drank his tea, knowing it was a losing argument.

To be continued…