SIXTEEN ~ EPILOGUE:

AUTHOR NOTES: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, liked and commented on this story. I first published the first chapter of Heal on Feb 19. I cannot believe this amazing journey I have taken. I love this amazing 'ship' I'm apart of.

A BIG SHOUT OUT to my amazing beta's/editors/sounding boards/friends and just all around amazing friends Alysha Jones Porter & Meaghan Morelock. I could not have gotten through this without the two of you. I am thankful every day that i get to call the two of you friends.

And so here it is. The final chapter of my Ray & Lizzie Saga. I may visit them in the future, but for now, I leave it here.

"So, this is it?" Ressler asks as he stands in the doorway watching Lizzie pack up her desk.

"For a while anyway," she remarks. "I just want to have this baby and spend some time with him and Nora."

"Have you guys thought about a name yet?" Ressler asks, taking a step into their office and taking a seat at his desk.

"Samuel Todd," she remarks opening another drawer and taking a few things out before placing them in the box that was sitting on her desk. "After two of the best men I know."

"Only two?" he asks with a smirk. She laughs before stopping and rubbing a hand over her stomach. Her face twists into a grimace before she leans forward. "Liz?" He jumps up from his desk and rushes over to his partner. He helps her ease down onto the chair. "Liz, what's going on? What is it?"

"Something's wrong," she chokes out.

Ressler looks down and suddenly jumps up, reaching over for the phone. "Liz, you're bleeding!" He quickly dials 911 before helping Lizzie up and out of their office.

"Ressler!" she calls out.

"I know. I know." He leads her over to the elevator. "Samar! Aram!" he calls. Samar appears first and quickly walks over to Lizzie's other side. Aram appears right after her. "Call Reddington. Tell him we're heading to George Washington Hospital. Tell him to get there as soon as possible."

Aram nods before heading off. Liz was starting to get pale and sweaty. "Ress," she says softly.

"We're getting onto the elevator right now. The ambulance should be waiting. Just hang on," he says, tightening his grip on her as she starts to slump forward. He could feel Samar tighten her arm around Lizzie as well. "We're almost there. Just hang on." The elevator doors were barely open when the paramedics spring into action. They help load Lizzie onto the stretcher, strapping her on before putting her into the ambulance.

"Ress," Lizzie calls out. He jumps into the ambulance next to her before taking her hand into his. "Ray?" she asks.

"Aram is getting in touch with him as we speak. Don't worry. Everything is going to work out."

"If something happens and we don't make it, I want you to let Ray know that I love him."

"Liz, don't talk like that. You guys are going to be fine. Stop this crazy nonsense."

She smiles softly before blinking her eyes a few times. It was getting harder and harder to pay attention. "Ress... If it comes down to him or me… save…save Sam. Tell Ray…tell him to save Sam."

"Stop talking crazy," he says with a grin.

She smiles at him while she blinks a few more times. "You're a good man, Don. A good uncle. But I'm tired. Take care of them for me. Don't let… don't let Ray fall into the bottle. Love you… Don," she says as her face slumps to the side, eyes finally closing.

"Liz! Liz! Elizabeth!" he calls out frantically. Ressler slides forward in his seat as the ambulance screeches to a halt. The doors swing open and Ressler can see doctors waiting.

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity as Lizzie gets taken out of the ambulance and rushed into the hospital. He watches as they rush her up to the surgical floor. A nurse stops him as they rush her down a hallway.

"That's my partner," he tells her. "Her husband isn't here yet. I don't want her to stay alone." The nurse nods and leads him down the hall. She rustles up a pair of green scrubs and hands them to Ressler.

"Change into these," she says. He turns and heads into a bathroom and comes out a few minutes later. The nurse then leads him into the operating room where Lizzie was. He immediately stops, seeing Lizzie laid out. A screen was put up right in front of her belly, hiding it from his sight and hers, should she wake. The doctors got to work quickly, Ressler taking her nonresponsive hand. He was silently praying that she would pull through and he wouldn't have to make the tough decision between her and the baby.

Lizzie's eyes open as Sam lets out a wail. She turns her head just in time to see Ressler cut the umbilical cord. Sam gets brought over to where another nurse waited, making sure everything was okay. He gets weighed, diapered and wrapped up in a blanket before being brought over and handed to Ressler. The nurse talks to him quietly before walking away.

"He's healthy, Liz. Looks just like Red. Six pounds even. Seventeen inches. He's small, but he's healthy. That's the best news." He lowers Sam next to his mother. Lizzie breathes in his scent.

"Love you, Sammy," she tells him softly. She closes her eyes as the monitors start beeping. The doctors and nurses spring into action, trying to find out what was happening. Ressler steps back from Lizzie as another nurse takes the baby out of Ressler's arms and calmly leads him out of the room.

"You'll be able to see him in the nursery, but for now you can wait in the waiting room." Ressler nods, not really believing what was happening. He couldn't lose Liz; she was his best friend. He didn't even want to think about what Red would do. He starts pacing in the hall as the doors swing open. He turns to see a harried looking Red and Dembe walking down the hall towards him.

"What happened, Donald? All she was doing was packing up her desk."

"I don't know. We were talking in our office when all of a sudden she grabbed the desk and started breathing hard. I helped her sit down before noticing she was bleeding. We got her to an ambulance as fast as we could. They brought her into an emergency C-section. Sam's healthy; a bit small, but healthy nonetheless. He's six pounds even, seventeen inches long."

Ray breathes out a sigh of relief before sagging briefly. "What's happening now?"

"I don't know. They didn't say anything other than Sam was going to the nursery. She woke briefly when Sam was born. But then she passed back out and the machines started beeping. She told me in the ambulance if it came down to it, to save Sam."

"Dad?" They turn to see Jennifer running down the hall. She was in scrubs herself having just finished her shift. "Everything okay? What's going on?"

"It's Elizabeth," Ressler says. "Emergency C-section. Baby is fine. We're just not sure what's happening to her now."

Jennifer nods before walking into the scrub room before scrubbing up and putting a facemask on. She walks into the room and confers with the doctor for a few minutes before walking back out into the hallway. "Jenn?" Ray asks.

"Well, she suffered what we call a placental abruption. It's when the placenta suddenly pulls away from the inner wall of the uterus. The doctors managed to save the baby, and get him out before they lost them both. She was bleeding prettily heavily. They had to take out her uterus to get the bleeding under control. They will most likely have to tie her tubes so there is no chance of pregnancy in the future. I'm sorry dad."

"It's alright Jenn. We had talked about it. We were done. We had two. We were happy with that. Lizzie didn't want any more than that."

Ray takes a seat on one of the uncomfortable chairs lining the hallway. Dembe sits down next to him quietly. Ressler and Jenn take a seat across from them, talking quietly.

"Is there something happening between Agent Ressler and your daughter?" Dembe quietly asks.

Ray snorts before taking a look at the two across from them. They were both looking down at the phone in Jenn's hand. "I'm surprised you didn't pick up on it before now. They've been together almost since the wedding. Maybe a little after. Donald is a good man. I couldn't ask for a better man for her, but if anyone asks I will deny it." Dembe grins at his friend before his phone buzzes and he excuses himself to take the call. The doors open and Ray jumps up seeing the doctor walk out of the room, pulling his cap off.

"How is she?" Ray asks, worrying his hands.

"And you are?" the doctor asks.

"I'm her husband," Ray says staring the doctor down.

"Well, she had a lot of bleeding. We had to take out her uterus to stop the bleeding. And we had to tie her tubes to really get the bleeding under control. I'm sorry. She will make a full recovery, but she will not be able to have any more kids."

"Papa," they hear from down the hall. They all turn to see Aram and Samar walking down the hall, Nora walking in between them. She lets go of their hands and runs to her father. Ray scoops her up and then turns toward the doctor.

"And the baby?" he asks.

"A little small but otherwise healthy. For now your son has been moved up to the nursery, and then your wife will be moved to a room on the labor and delivery floor. So they can keep an eye on her."

"Thank you."

~*~ TBL ~*~

Lizzie blinks her eyes a few times, adjusting to the light that floods her room. Her eyes finally adjust as she sees a figure standing at the window. "Ray?" she rasps out. Ray turns and smiles at his wife. He takes a few steps and perches on the bed by her hip.

He takes her hands in his and smiles down at her lovingly. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Sammy?"

"He's fine. I saw him and he is a mini me. But there are a few things I should tell you. They had to take out your uterus and tie your tubes to get the bleeding under control. You had what they call placental abruption. It's where the placenta pulls away from the wall of your uterus. If Donald hadn't gotten you to the hospital when he did, I would have lost you both."

"Oh God," she cries out. Lizzie wraps her arms around Ray, and they hold onto each other. "I guess it's good that we decided to not have any more children then," she tries to lighten the mood. "Have you held him yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you. I know Ressler held him for a second while you were in surgery. But I wanted you to be the first to hold him."

"You are so sweet. I'd like to see him."

"I'll go get a nurse." Ray leaves the room and comes back a few minutes later with a nurse holding their son. The nurse hands Sam to Lizzie before walking back out. She looks down at him, really seeing him for the first time.

"Welcome to the world Sammy. Mommy loves you." She looks up at Ray with tears in her eyes. "When can we get Nora here? I want her to meet her brother."

"Donald and Jenn will bring her in when visiting hours start."

"I love our family," she says, holding her hand out to Ray. He walks over to her and she pats the bed next to her. He takes a seat beside her and she holds Sam out to him. "Our little Samuel Todd."

He grins at her as he takes their son from her. She lays her head onto his shoulder and they both look down at their son.

~*~ TBL ~*~

"Mama! Papa!" Lizzie looks up from where she's staring at Sam's face while he's nursing. She smiles as she sees Ressler and Jenn walk into the room with gifts and Nora. Lizzie gives Ray a smile as he drapes a blanket over her shoulder, covering a still nursing Sam. Nora tries to get onto the bed with little success. "Papa!" she calls out, hoping her father would help her to where her mother sat. Ray lifts Nora onto the bed and they watch as she scrambles over to Lizzie.

"Be careful, Nora girl," Ray says. "Watch your little brother."

"Little brother?" Nora asks. She looks to her mother who nods. Nora crawls towards her mother more slowly than before. She peers inside the blanket and down at her brother before a smile crosses her face. She leans over and places a kiss onto Sam's head. She looks up to see Ray smiling at the two of them while Jenn places her head onto her father's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. There was a soft knock at the door before Aram, Samar and Cooper walk into the room, all carrying an assortment of bags, balloons and teddy bears.

They each place their gifts onto the table in the corner. "We got Nora a little something," Samar remarks, pulling out a t-shirt that proclaimed the wearer the 'World's Best Sister'.

Lizzie hands Sam off to Ray before fixing her shirt and taking the blanket off her shoulder. She leans back and tries to get comfortable, but the stitches make her uncomfortable. Ray smiles brightly as Dembe walks into the room. He comes to stand next to his employer before peering down at Sam.

"Looks just like you," Dembe says.

"I think so as well," Lizzie remarks. Ray hands Sam off to Jennifer before walking over to sit next to Lizzie on the bed while Nora claims a seat on her mother's lap. The two watch as their extended 'family' coo over their newborn son. She lays her head onto Ray's shoulder.

Whatever came next, they would handle it. They had each other and they had their family. She couldn't wait to see what came next. And she couldn't wait to see what life threw at her and Ray.