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Samar is in the kitchen of her apartment when she first hears it. She's still reeling from the events of her day and still very much on the edge so she isn't as quick to react as she usually would have. There was so much going through her mind that she just thought her brain needed to turn off. This proves to be a mistake when the sound comes again and diminishes any doubt in her mind that she wasn’t alone.
She quietly sits her mug down on the counter and moves through her apartment, eyes scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Once she reaches the door of her bedroom, she slips inside and goes straight for the safe in her closet. She punches in the combination and pries the door open; her gun sat snuggly on a stack of documents.
She reaches her hand out, her fingertips just managing to graze the metal before her arm is yanked behind her back and she’s pushed up against the closet.
Samar groans and tries to push back against the person.
“Samar.” Comes a voice all too familiar.
Samar stops struggling and furrows her eyebrows.
What was she doing here?
“I just want to talk.” Liz assures; her voice soft and sincere. Samar had missed it. “I’m gonna let go now.”
She follows through and this time, Samar reacts immediately.
She swiftly grabs Liz’s arm and reverses their position so she now had Liz up against the closet, her hood falling off to reveal blonde.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you.” Liz struggles against her.
“How did you even get past security?” Samar questioned, knowing fully well that a detail was put on her after the events of today. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Samar.”
“You’re a wanted fugitive, Elizabeth.”
“I needed to see you. I heard about your brother and I-”
That lit a fire in Samar, her defences going up. “No. Elizabeth Keen, you’re under arrest f-”
Liz finally breaks out of her grasp and pushes her off.
Samar quickly rushes forward again and Liz dodges but is too late to realise that Samar wasn’t going for her.
She makes a weak attempt to get there first but Samar holding up the gun halts her.
Liz puts her hands up, slowly backing away.
“Let’s try this again.”
Liz doesn’t move. “You wouldn’t.”
They both knew it very well. Samar hadn’t even bothered to put the safety off.
Tears were burning at Samar’s eyes. “I’m a federal agent and you’re standing in my apartment.”
Liz notices her internal turmoil and softens. “No one knows I’m here; I was careful.”
Samar still hesitates so she keeps going. “Hey, it’s me. It’s just me.”
And at that, Samar finally breaks.
Her body shakes as she breaks out into sobs and sinks to the floor. The weight of her day was finally taking its toll and she didn’t have the energy to resist it. Especially with someone who had been her safe space for the longest time.
“Hey,” Liz rushes forward and takes Samar into her arms.
“I’m s-sorry-”
Liz shushes her. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Samar exhales deeply against Liz and for the first time in a long time, she allows herself to completely let go. All her pain was bubbling to the surface and the only thing she could do was cry. Her sobs got stronger with every passing moment but so did Liz’s hold on her.
Liz doesn’t try speak, to tell her everything’s going to be okay, she just holds her tighter every time she gets a bit louder or her body shakes a bit more, and Samar is so fucking grateful for that.
The two of them sit like that on the floor of Samar’s bedroom, rocking back and forth, until her sobs completely die out and all they can hear is the sound of their own heartbeats.
Slowly, Samar pushes her body upright thus gently breaking out of Liz’s hold. She wipes at her face with the sleeves of her sweater and sheepishly looks down at Liz.
“I’m sorry about that.” Her voice is hoarse. “It’s been a day.”
Liz smiles softly at her and nods towards the bed. “Want to tell me about it?”
Samar returns her smile and nods. “Yes. I would like that.”
The women pull themselves off the floor and make their way to the bed.
Samar sits on one side of the bed against the pillows and pulls her knees to her chest; Elizabeth sits on the other side, her body turned to face Samar and her head propped on her hand.
Samar exhales deeply, shaking her head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Wherever you want to.” Liz encourages.
“Shahin…” Samar stares out in front of her, her eyes filling with fondness and a slight smile on her face as she recalls the memory of her younger brother. “He was my little falcon; the sweetest little boy. Our parents were assassinated when we were just children which meant that the responsibility of his care and protection fell on me. I didn’t mind at the time. With the loss that we had just suffered, I was glad that he didn’t have to face it alone.”
Samar’s voice starts to tremble as she continues. “I’m his bigger sister. There’s nothing I wouldn’t have done for him. Nothing I wouldn’t have protected him from but…I failed to protect him from himself.”
Samar starts to cry again, bringing her hands up to her face. “I failed him. I blamed myself for not being able to protect him from the bombing all those years ago, but this…this somehow feels so much worse.”
Liz reaches her free hand over and places it onto Samar’s arm, her tattoo burning right below. “None of this was your fault.”
“But it was. I had no idea that Shahin thought of our parents as cowardly. That he made it his life goal to be better than them. If I had just taught him better then-”
“Then nothing. You didn’t know. And even if you had done things differently, perhaps he wouldn’t have. He would have still been known to the world as Zal Bin Hassan. That was based on his choices, Samar, not yours.”
The women sit in silence; Samar’s eyes are still trained ahead as Liz gently rubs Samar’s arm with her thumb.
“I just wish I could go back to the better days. I mourned him for years and then, by some miracle, I got him back today. And just lost him all over again.” Samar’s face was pained.
Liz looks up at her. “You’re in the worst of it now. The better days are still to come.”
Samar turns her head to look at Liz, her expression softening as soon as their eyes meet.
Liz continues. “I mean, I’m a fugitive on the run, it has to get better than this.”
That makes Samar break into a smile which, in turn, triggers Liz’s.
"Yes, I suppose it would be nice to imagine a future where you're not on the run. A future where you can come home."
Come home.
The words hang in the air, neither of them breaking eye contact.
The weight of things unsaid gets a bit much and Liz blurts what she's been clutching onto. "I miss you."
A moment. And then Samar sighs and reaches her hand over to caress the blonde's face. Liz closes her eyes and tilts her head further into Samar's touch.
"I miss you too.” She whispers. “I hate that we've been on opposing sides lately. But at least today was a stepping stone in exonerating you."
Liz opens her eyes and brings herself to sit up. Samar's hand falls away at the movement but Liz makes sure to reach for it and take it in her own.
"About that," She starts, carefully. "You don't have to do that."
"What do you mean?" Samar furrows her eyebrows. "Do what?"
"Let Reddington take Shahin. I can call him off. You don’t have to give up your brother in a bid to help me, Samar.”
Samar stares at her in disbelief. “You’re insane.”
“What?”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to help clear your name.” She declares.
And then, with tears brimming her eyes, she adds more softly, “As for him, my brother died in Pishin.”
Seeing Samar try to keep it together while she’s clearly in so much pain brings tears to Liz’s own eyes.
They both had a natural instinct to protect the other and if anything, Samar’s words just solidified that.
Overwhelmed with emotions, Liz takes Samar’s face in her hands and leans forward. She rests her forehead against the brunette’s, feeling every ragged breath against her skin.
“I know you’re hurting right now," She whispers. "But you’ve got this. And I’ve got you.”
With that, Liz closes the gap and kisses Samar.
It’s tender, it’s soothing and it’s exactly what Samar needs right now.
Samar brings her own hand up to cup Liz’s face, her thumb gently tracing skin.
They keep the kiss where it is, not trying to deepen it or turn it into something more. Both of them just revelling in the feel of each other.
When the kiss finally breaks, Samar pulls back just slightly enough so that she can look at Liz. The look of adoration that she’s met with knocks the air right out of her.
They both take a moment in each other before Samar is able to speak up. “Thank you for coming to check up on me.”
“I’ve got you.” Liz repeats, and Samar believes her.
“I know you can’t stay but,” Samar is so sure that she has never felt more vulnerable in her life than in this moment. “Would you stay for just a little while longer?”
Liz smiles softly and lays back against the pillows, her one arm outstretched towards Samar. “C’mere.”
Samar moves over so she can lay her head on Liz’s chest and the blonde immediately wraps her arms tightly around Samar.
Contentment immediately engulfs the women and Samar closes her eyes against the feeling.
Liz kisses her forehead and mumbles into brown hair. “Try to get some rest. I’ll stay for as long as I can.”
Samar hums against her in response.
Samar gives way to her exhaustion tonight with the knowledge that she’s safe, and that there were far better days ahead for the both of them.