The Truth

Chapter 1: Guilt & Satisfaction

Both Raymond Reddington and Elizabeth Keen are characters owned by Jon Bokenkamp, and I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of The Blacklist.

The brittle bones crackle and smolder over the fire. The hard, white tissue heats up. It

doesn't catch on fire or golden.

It's a slow burn, its almost like holding a marshmallow a foot from the fire. It will start to warm, and it will get softer less sharp, but it doesn't just fall away.

The feel of the bone brings guilt into the mans hands, but also that he is bringing justice. Which is foolish, he brought the owner of the remains what they deserved decades ago.

He felt the same way when we was cleaning away the proof of the murder and again when he was putting the skeleton in the ground.

But it was at its strongest when we was washing away the proof of that man's life, when he was creating a legacy from the remains.

Everyday he goes to sleep telling himself he had to do. He knows he had to, but it never gets easier. There are days when its better, days when he feels good. Now he doesn't know how to answer her questions.

He's gotten sloppy, gone soft. He's getting older, how will he do this until he's eighty?

Lizzie. She thinks she knows everything. She's never been farther from the truth. He must have been the same at her age.

He wants her to know she's wrong about him. He wants to save her from getting hurt.

But she's an adult, and he can't let her turn him in. He has to have the proof of his innocents first.

He just wishes she would know one thing, even though it's the last thing she can know.

He really is her father.