Weeks of healing went on, with no further hurdles of infection, and little bit by little bit, each day Samar's energy returned.

In the mornings she wouldn't let him leave for work without a kiss; whether she was already out of bed and ambling around the apartment or whether she was still dozing in bed, enjoying the warmth of the bedcovers a little longer, it didn't matter. At some point, she would reach forwards and take Aram gently by the collar, adjusting his tie until it hung straight, then finally pull him in closer until he sank into her, and her lips found his. Of course after that point, Aram didn't want to leave... But eventually he did. Sure, there was an odd day here and there where he was five minutes late scurrying out of the Post Office elevator and into the war room because they had been so caught up in the moment, but he got there nonetheless.

In the evening when he returned home again, the first task at hand was to find her and kiss her back. In most cases, she was putting the finishing touches on dinner, until Aram came into the kitchen and distracted her by wrapping his arms around her from behind and nuzzling his face into her hair.

It took a few weeks of that before the work of Reddington's lawyer shone through.

Aram absentmindedly checked his mail on the way through their apartment building when he returned home, only pause in confusion as he found one envelope addressed not to him, but to Samar instead.

Her charges were dropped forever. The hunt for her was over.

Needless to say after dinner, Aram insisted that they make the most of the evening's pleasant weather and take a stroll outside. It didn't matter that the only things within walking distance of the apartment were a park and a corner store; for once, Samar could leave the apartment and enter a public space without risk of being arrested... And that was everything. They did the full lap around the park twice, passing not one but two Metro PD officers who eyed her with a mild hint of frustration but otherwise left her alone, before they stopped in at the corner store on the way home again, just because they could. Not even the idea of being spotted on CCTV footage was an issue now.

Weekends went hand in hand with going out and about, being able to explore the District and enjoy Saturday lunches in diner booths or Sunday breakfasts in quaint cafes, together. And, as Samar healed, early mornings went hand in hand with getting straight out of bed and being able to go for a run –at first a gentle job, and then slowly but surely increasing the pace as her fitness returned.

And then came the next letter addressed to Samar; the confirmation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that she was now an asset –a consultant who had to work with Aram's team until they were satisfied that she had paid her dues and then some.

Her freedom came at a price but given the alternative, Samar was content to accept that.

Ressler was sent the memos from the higher-ups to say his case was shut down and the supposed killer he had been chasing was now his team's consultant, and he wasn't a fan. With that, naturally came about the revelation of where Samar was living and well... Both Ressler and Liz recognised that address far too quickly. Aram could feel their eyes on him when he sat at his desk, both of them shaken by the revelation and the idea that they couldn't trust him after he had hidden the truth for so long. Liz eventually let it go, but Ressler... Aram was fairly certain that if it wasn't for Samar's case being dropped and her being accepted as a consultant, he would have been fired for insubordination instead... But he didn't care about that. He loved her far too deeply for Ressler's annoyances not to simply bounce off him.

The only thing that made either Samar or Aram nervous after that, with Samar finally being medically cleared for the job, her security clearance and consultant ID being issued, was her first day on the job looming ever closer.

When Aram's alarm clock sounded that morning, it wasn't just for him anymore. Torn between anxiety and excitement, Samar woke and sat up in the bed with a jump. Aram slowly sat up beside her, rubbing her back.

'Everything ok?' He asked softly.

'Mmhmmm...' Samar turned her head to offer him a sleepy smile. 'Today's the day.' There was an edge to her tone however, as if she was trying too hard to sound upbeat, and faltering somewhere in the middle. Aram tilted his head towards her, pressing a reassuring kiss to her cheek.

'Let's not get ahead of ourselves,' he murmured, offering a small smile, 'breakfast and coffee first.' Samar leaned back against him, sinking back into the arm around her.

'Do we have time for anything more than toast?' She sighed. Aram gave a hopeful shrug, tugging gently on her hand to prompt her to follow him in clambering out of bed.

'We might if we make it together.'

They tag teamed taking showers, and making coffee and French toast. Somehow in doing so, they were dressed, their backpacks for the day were packed, and they found themselves sitting side by side on the two barstools at Aram's kitchen counter in record time. They didn't have endless hours to have deep conversation over coffee consumed sip by sip, but they had time enough. They had time to sit there without needing to inhale breakfast on the run to work and more importantly, they had had time to breathe.

'Agent Ressler doesn't want me on your team, does he?' Samar's gaze remained fixed on her breakfast as she asked the question, but Aram turned his gaze to her by his side, raising a cautious eyebrow. There was no easy way to answer that question.

'Well... Not really,' Aram began. He chose his words carefully; 'but then again, he doesn't always like working with Reddington either, but he still does it.' He furrowed his brow in concern, pausing until Samar finally pulled her gaze from her coffee cup and stared back at him. 'Are you reconsidering?'

'No.' There was a certain vehemence to Samar's voice and she shook her head adamantly. 'I want to be free, and I want to do something good for the world. I really want this to work out.' Which was to say, she wanted it so badly, that the sudden thought of the frustrated agent she had met in the hospital being unwilling to let her help, was a little unsettling. As much as she had made the decision for herself to work for Reddington and the Bureau in the desperate attempt to right her wrongs and keep some semblance of a grasp on her freedom, the reality was that she wasn't just at Reddington's mercy in doing so, but at that of Aram's team too.

Whether or not they chose to accept her assistance rather than essentially leaving her to sit silently in an office corner, was one more thing her freedom hinged upon.

'So you're nervous, now that the day's here.' Samar nearly bristled at the observation, as gentle as it was. Nervousness was rarely something she allowed herself to feel, let alone something she allowed other people to notice... But as she turned to meet Aram's gaze, only for him to hold it for barely a second before flashing a brief, reassuring smile and turning back to his own breakfast, Samar let it go. He wasn't making a fuss but rather, simply making sure she knew he understood.

'Something like that,' she murmured back. Samar shook her head out of sheer annoyance at herself and how ridiculous she felt, but couldn't help but break into a tiny smile too, as out of the corner of her eye, she noted a small crinkling around Aram's.

He gulped back the last drops from his coffee mug and pushed himself up from his seat. He lingered there a moment, peering over her shoulder to check the contents of her mug, before hurriedly ducking around the counter to the coffee machine on the other side, and bringing it back again, wordlessly dividing the remains of the elixir of life between both of them. Samar swivelled in her seat in surprise at the sudden appearance of that dark liquid gold being poured practically over her shoulder, and Aram standing there... The pot from the coffee machine came to rest softly on the counter, now behind her, but Aram still lingered there. He leaned in, brushing those loose strands of hair back off her face and behind her ear as he always did, then pressing the softest of kisses to her lips. Samar's arms slipped over his shoulders, pulling him in closer to her all too gladly.

Finally, and not that either of them appreciated it, there was the need to draw breath... And finally, Samar was smiling again, properly now.

'Come on,' she murmured, rising to standing in the tiny space between Aram and her seat. Still with her arms around the back of his neck, Samar waggled her brow as she spoke; 'let's go see if I'm allowed to help you save the world.'

/*/*/*/*

Those heavy elevator doors rumbled slowly open, the noise almost echoing in Samar's ears. Aram's hand around hers suddenly tightened, giving them that reassuring squeeze.

'Ready?' He asked softly. Samar stared out through those doors into the war room, taking a breath. Of all the futures she could possibly have imagined for herself the day before her parents died, this reality was about as far away from those fantasies as one could reach. From her life changing in the blink of an eye from a happy childhood to one where she had to raise herself, to the defection to Israel and Mossad, to losing her brother and abandoning her post, and everything else along that path from then until now... Never would she have expected to end up as a criminal consultant to the FBI whilst working for the Concierge of Crime, after years as the world's most deadly assassin. Never would she have expected to find the love of her life in the midst of all that either.

It was the most twisted path she could have ever taken to find both him, and the sense of justice and peace within herself that finally had her satisfied... And yet still she had found them.

Samar let out a slow, deep breath.

'Ready,' she murmured back. She gave a short nod, smoothing down the edges of her shirt, and then took that first step forwards out of the elevator, Aram moving quickly beside her.

As they moved steadily towards what she knew –from listening to Aram's endless stories of his office in the last few weeks- was his desk, Samar eyed the two agents that stood in front of it, waiting for her with narrowed eyes. Those two agents, one strawberry blonde and one with dark waves, who had interviewed her in the hospital so long ago.

Their names were still crystal clear in her mind.

Keen and Ressler.

Samar didn't falter however. There was no break in her stride towards them no matter how much Aram's shoulders seemed to tense next to her as they closed the gap between them and his team.

She had no idea what path was next for her, nor how twisted or otherwise it may or may not be... But that was a question for another day.

Right now she had Aram, and she had her freedom.

And that was all she needed.

A/N: And that's the end, folks!

Thanks for reading and of course, for playing the endless rounds of Guess Whimsy's Nonsense! :D