Raymond held the frozen peas on his nose and watched Masha eat Cheerios out of the corner of his eye. After untying him, Katarina had sent Raymond into the house to watch their daughter while she and her father 'talked'. The toddler hadn't shown much interest in him when he arrived in the kitchen. The banana slices and cereal that made up her lunch had captured her full focus. Now that she was nearly done, he noticed more glances were being directed his way.

"Who you?" Raymond was a bit surprised to hear his daughter speak English. She had been coming to visit her grandfather here in the States since she was six months old, but most of the year she spent in Russia.

"Raymond. Kak tvoye imya? (What's your name?)" Masha gave him a surprisingly stern look for a two and a half year old. She pointed her chubby index finger at him in an absurdly adorable way.

"No. English. English." Raymond laughed out loud. She was scolding him for speaking Russian. No doubt this was learned behavior. Perhaps Katarina had been teaching her daughter to only speak English when she was at her Grandfather's. It made sense. An American overhearing a young child speaking Russian would become immediately suspicious. Children were adept at picking up languages when they were young, so it was practical to teach her both now.

"Sorry. What's your name?" She regarded over her sippy cup with serious blue eyes.

"Masha." Raymond smiled. It was an odd feeling to be sitting across from his daughter, speaking to her for the first time since she was a newborn. He could stare at her sweet face all day long. He scooted his chair so it was right next to hers, and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Masha." She put her small palm in his and smiled as he gave it a smal shake. He released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. She wasn't afraid of him. He reluctantly let go of her fingers. Instead of drawing her hands back, Masha pointed at his face.

"Ow?" Raymond blinked, then nodded.

"Yes, I hurt my nose. Ow." He lifted the peas to give her a better look at his injury. He braced himself as his daughter inspected his nose with her tiny fingers, but her touch was butterfly soft. When Masha drew back, she raised her elbow and pointed to a bandage at it's tip.

"Ow."

"You have an "ow" too? I'm sorry. Did Mommy kiss it all better?" Raymond demonstrated, kissing the pads of his fingers, then carefully touching them to his daughter's band-aid. Masha smiled and nodded, seemingly untroubled by his casual contact. She pointed to his nose again.

"Mommy kiss?" It took him a moment to realise that Masha was asking if her mother would use her healing kiss on his nose to fix it. Raymond tended to doubt it, given Katarina's present mood with him. He'd been lucky she hadn't decided to leave him handcuffed to the chair in her father's garage.

"No, I don't think Mommy will kiss it better." Masha frowned, then after a moment's contemplation, leaned forward and planted a feather kiss on Raymond's nose. She sat back in her chair, a satisfied smile on her face.

"All better." Raymond's throat thickened with emotion and for a moment he didn't trust himself to speak. He knew it was ridiculous to get worked up over a small gesture of kindness from a child. It was hardly something that should bring tears to his eyes, and yet it had, because Masha wasn't any child. She was HIS child.

"Yes. All better. Thank you." Masha's friendly smile stretched even wider as she sighted something over Raymond's right shoulder.

"Mommy!" Masha hopped out of her chair and ran past him at an impressive speed for a toddler. Raymond turned to watch as Masha embraced her mother as though they'd been separated for days, rather than minutes. He felt a surprising and unwelcome surge of jealousy toward the woman he loved. What was wrong with him, that he'd coveted the closeness of a mother and child? That fact that he was a stranger to Masha was as much his fault as it was anyone's.

"Hello Masha. Did you make a new friend?" Raymond's heart swelled as his daughter's head bounced up and down. 'Friend' might not be 'father', but it was something. "How would you like to watch Sesame Street for a few minutes?"

"Cookie, Cookie, Cookie!" Katarina laughed as she took Masha's left hand in hers.

"Yes, with Cookie Monster!" Katarina started leading Masha into the den, but the little girl turned back and looked right at him. She held her free hand out expectantly.

"Raymond, come." Raymond immediately stood, responding to the summons with all the haste of a knight commanded to appear before his Queen. The look Katarina gave him stopped him in his tracks.

"No, Masha, Raymond can't come right now. Maybe in a little while." Masha's smile turned into an adorable pout.

"Now." The stubborn expression on Masha's face was identical to the one he's seen on Katarina's many times before. In that moment the resemblance between them was uncanny.

"In a little while, I promise." Katarina's tone was soft, but firm and after a short staring contest, Masha nodded. She gave Raymond a small wave as she allowed her mother to lead her into the next room.

After a minute the soft, but familiar notes of Sunny Days floated into the kitchen. A few seconds later Katarina reappeared in the doorway.

"How did it go with your Dad? Is he out there digging a shallow grave?" When he'd left Frank Richards and Katarina they had been engaged in a heated argument, and using some words that had definitely not been covered in his introductory Russian courses.

"My father is taking a walk to cool down. He's got a bit of a temper." Raymond raised an eyebrow, but elected not to point out he wasn't the only one in the Richards family with that trait.

"I hadn't noticed." He lifted the peas off his face and tenderly touched his nose. It was definitely swelling, but it didn't feel like it was out of alignment.

"Let me see." Raymond obliged by removing his hand, and letting Katarina examine her father's handiwork. Her soft hands cupped his face as she gently turned it in order to examine his nose from different angles. "Doesn't look crooked. I'll check again when the swelling goes down."

"About how sure are you he's not going to be calling his handlers about me." Katarina's released him and straightened, her hands moving to her hips.

"100%. Calling in outsiders would expose me and him. If he was going to kill you, he'd do it himself." That had been Raymond's assumption, but Katarina's validation of his opinion was oddly comforting. "I've told him if he tries anything, I will take Masha and he'll never see either of us ever again." Clever Katarina, targeting the man's weak spot. Her father might not believe his daughter would kill him over Raymond, but he would know she was more than capable of disappearing on him.

"Powerful incentive." Frank had already proven he loved his daughter more than his country. Now Raymond would just have to hope Katarina's father loved her more than he hated Raymond.

"You're a big hit with Masha apparently. She wants to know if you're staying for dinner." He could think of nothing he'd rather do than spend more time with Katarina and Masha, but he was a more than a little surprised at the implicit invitation.

"I'm not sure I'm welcome." Katarina sighed and looked out the window.

"I can handle my father." Perhaps it would be smarter to leave it at that, just accept the olive branch. It was too bad leaving things alone wasn't in his nature.

"I wasn't talking about your father. You're still angry with me." Katarina's arms crossed her chest in classic distancing body language.

"I'm entitled to be." Raymond sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was hard to dispute the point. If the situation had been reversed, he'd have been furious.

"I did what I thought I best for us. For you. For Masha." He wouldn't apologize for his decision. It would dishonest to say he regretted his choice, and he'd sworn he wouldn't lie to her.

"I'm not questioning your intentions, Raymond. I'm questioning why you didn't talk to me first."

"I didn't think you'd agree." Katarina's lips tightened in a way that told Raymond she didn't appreciate his answer, honest though it may have been.

"But you did it anyway."

"I know I'm right. Please, trust me." She had to know he'd never do anything to hurt her or Masha. They were his world.

"The problem Raymond, is that you don't trust me." Katarina started to turn away from him, but he reached out to take hold of her shoulders.

"I DO." She didn't fight his hold, but she wasn't looking him in the eye. He need her to. She needed to see the truth in his eyes. "Look at me, Kat." After a long pause she turned, gazing directly into his eyes. God, she was beautiful. She was the only woman he'd ever known who could level him with only a look. "I do. It's just...you are in danger and it's my fault. I wanted to fix it. To end this, so you can be safe and we can be together." He belonged with her. He knew that as certainly as he knew his own name.

"At what cost Raymond? Because I guarantee there will be one, and I do not want you to be the one to pay it!" Him? That was what she was concerned about? He'd assumed she was angry her own behalf, Masha's? It hadn't even occurred to him that it was his safety she feared for.

"You're worried about me?" Katarina's face reddened with anger. He couldn't help, but notice how stunning she was in her fury. She reminded him of a valkyrie or maybe an amazon queen.

"Of course I'm worried about you, you idiot! I love you!" In a bold and admittedly risky move Raymond pulled Katarina to him for a long and passionate kiss. He found him rewarded for his impetuousness when the woman he loved returned the caress in full measure. It was impossible to say how long they remained like that, arms wrapped around each other when a gruff voice intruded on their private bliss.

"I need to speak to the American alone." They broke apart like two teenagers caught by a disapproving parent. Katarina scowled at her father, her face betraying not one hint of embarrassment. Raymond only hoped his own expression was as convincing.

"His name is Raymond." Frank Richards gave a disdainful snort and Raymond fought the urge to roll his eyes. Katarina looked to him, the unspoken question in her eyes.

"It's fine. I doubt he's going to kill me with his granddaughter in the next room." She shook her head and turned to her father.

"Behave." Her eyes swung back to Raymond, "Both of you." After shooting them both a final forbidding glance, she marched out of the room toward the sound of the television.

Raymond and Frank regarded each other with mutual expressions of distrust. Katarina's father broke their staredown by bending over and opening one of the upper kitchen cabinets. He removed a frying pan and Raymond briefly wondered if the large man was planning to bludgeon him to death with the cooking implement. The thought fell by the wayside when Frank also removed a bowl.

"Get the eggs, butter, and milk out of the refrigerator." After a split second's hesitation Raymond complied.

"Are we cooking something?" Was this the Russian's idea of breaking bread? If it was a peace offering, Raymond would make every effort take it in the spirit intended. He owed Katarina that much.

"I'm cooking. You're staying out of my way." Raymond let the remark roll off him. Frank didn't like him, and that was fine. He wasn't exactly enamored of the KGB sleeper, especially given the state of his nose.

"Yes, sir." Frank grunted as turned on the stove top and took the salt and pepper from the kitchen table. He retrieved the butter from where Raymond had set it on the counter.

"Dom."

"Excuse me?" The large man sliced a chunk of butter from the stick and tossed it in the pan.

"You are father to my granddaughter. Given those circumstances, formality is hardly appropriate. My true name is not Frank Richards, but Dominick Yashkin. You may call me Dom." Raymond blinked, surprised at the concession.

"Thank you." Dom didn't glanced up from his work of cracking eggs into a metal bowl, rather forcefully in Raymond's opinion.

"It isn't as a sign of approval or respect. I would happily shoot you and bury you on the edge of my property." Well that was...honest at any rate. Raymond briefly wondered what investigators would find if they search these woods with cadaver dogs. It was probably not something he should contemplate.

"Understood." Dom froze for a moment, then placed the mixing bowl on the counter. He then turned to Raymond and the level of anger and disgust in the older man's eyes almost made him step back.

"Do you? Well, I can't begin to understand Katarina's affection for you. A man who would use her family against her in order to coerce her into committing treason. Who makes love to her while being married to another woman. Who involves her in an even more dangerous shadow organization to assuage his own guilt. You are not worthy of being Katarina's husband, and certainly not of being Masha's father." With every word of loathing Katarina's father had spewed, Raymond had felt himself become more and more angry. All thoughts of establishing a truce with this man flew out of his head. He wasn't the type of turn the other cheek, at least not after the verbal beating he'd just taken.

"I'm curious, on what authority are you speaking about fatherhood? Because, if I'm not mistaken, your stellar parenting skills lead Katarina to ignore you for a decade. In fact, the only reason she reconciled with you was to provide an excuse to meet with me. Really you should be thanking me." Dom's face was nearly purple with ire, his fists clenched at his sides. The KGB agent took a step toward Raymond and Raymond raised his fists in response.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa!" Both men froze and simultaneously dropped their arms, Masha rushed into the room and made a beeline for Dom. The older man reached down and scooped up his grandchild.

"What is it, my princess?" The transformation was incredible. The threatening KGB agent had vanished completely and in his place was a doting grandfather. As Dom beamed at Masha, Raymond felt his anger leave him as swiftly as it had come. It was hard to hate someone who loved his daughter as much as he clearly did.

"Mommy say Raymond and Grandpa come!" Raymond smiled ruefully. Katarina had sent Masha in to unwittingly keep the peace. How well she knew both him and her father.

"We'll be in in just a few minutes. Hurry back to your mother." Dom set Masha down and she scampered out of the room, blissfully ignorant of the fight her presence had ended before it had begun. Raymond elected to break the silence first.

"What I said wasn't true. Katarina wanted to reconcile with you because wanted Masha to know her grandfather. And she missed you. I apologize for saying otherwise." He'd wanted to hurt Dom, because, if Raymond was being honest, the older man's words had struck a nerve. The hardest reproaches to hear were the one's that were true.

"You weren't wrong about our estrangement. As father I've made...mistakes. If I'd been more honest perhaps none of us would be standing here now." They both fell silent a moment, pondering that what-if. A world where Katarina had never become a spy. Would Raymond still be in this predicament? Surely another agent would have been assigned to him, but if it hadn't been Katarina, would they have been successful? Somehow Raymond didn't think so. After Katarina's initial betrayal he wondered how he could have been so deceived. Now he knew. He'd missed the signs because so much of what they'd had was real.

"I realise you have no reason to like or trust me, but I love Katarina and Masha, more than anything. I will protect them." Dom regarded him for a moment, not with disdain as he had before, but with analytical assessment.

"I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that if you fail, you're a dead man."

"I won't fail." Failure was simply not an option to Raymond. The odds may have been stacked against him, but his entire life had been built around making the impossible happen.

"But if you do-"

"If I did, I doubt I'd care one way or the other." He'd had nightmare about the world Dom was suggestion, one without Katarina and Masha and he knew with certainty that it would be the end of him. The man he was would cease to exist. If that future came to pass, he didn't give a damn what Dom did to whatever the hell remained. Raymond forced a confident smile and banished those dark thoughts from his mind. "But, as I said, I won't fail."

"Set the table, Raymond. The eggs will be ready in a few minutes." Raymond. It was a start. Dom resumed his food preparation without bothering to tell him which cabinet held the plates and utensils. The KGB agent didn't even asked if he even ate scrambled eggs. It didn't matter. Even if Raymond had been deathly allergic he would have choked the offered food down, excused himself to the bathroom and administered the epipen. He doubted anything he could do would win over the stubborn spy, but Raymond would try. As Dom had said, they were now tethered to each other. They were family, by blood, if not yet by law. Nothing mattered more than that.