Title: Too Late
Author: thousand-miles
Rating: K
Disclaimer: still don't own any of these characters
Spoilers: none really
Summary: Part three of Lunchbox. Lizzie gets a call that scares the hell out of her. Will this lead to a step forward or backward between her and Red?
A/N: This is part three of Lunchbox. Turned out different than expected, but this is what my muse wanted. And…now promises if there will be more. I never expected to write two sequels. I hope you still like it though. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Too Late
Her phone was ringing. Quickly she walked to her kitchen counter and picked up. She didn't check the id. It could only be work calling her at this hour. Before she even had the chance to say some form of a greeting a familiar voice immediately started talking.
"Agent Keen."
"Dembe?"
"I'm sorry Agent Keen."
Trepidation got hold of her. Why was Dembe apologising? That could only mean one thing. "No." She said.
"I was too late."
"Noooo!" The phone fell from her hands and she screamed. Everything was a blur after that. All she knew was that she'd lost the man she loved. She'd lost him without ever being able to call him hers. He'd told her she had him, but after that they'd never talked about it again. That was mostly her doing. She simply wasn't ready for that. She didn't quite know how to handle his confession. And now he was gone. Gone was what they could have been. She curled up on the kitchen floor and cried. Cried for a love lost.
That was how Dembe found her an hour later. He lifted her in his arms and sat down on the couch. "How?" She asked, tears rolling down her cheeks again.
"Raymond is not dead."
She stopped breathing for a second and looked at him. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out.
"You didn't let me finish." He explained.
"But you said you were too late." She sounded small and fragile.
"He got hurt. I was too late to prevent that from happening. I failed him." Dembe looked away in shame.
"He's okay?" She reached out with a trembling hand.
He took her small hand in his bigger one. "He will be."
She nodded and repeated his words over and over again. Dembe gently pulled her to her feet. "Let's go see him." He helped her gather her things and led her outside to his car.
Walking into Red's safe house Lizzie felt dazed. There were simply too many feelings running through her. She felt overwhelmed and didn't know how to deal with it all. All she felt like was crying. Dembe guided her up the stairs. They stopped at a door which opened immediately. Mr. Kaplan looked from Dembe to Lizzie.
"Ooh dearie. No worries. He'll be fine." Mr. Kaplan looked back at the door. "He's sleeping."
"Ooo. Then.." Lizzie nodded towards the stairs. "If you could bring me home, Dembe?"
"Don't be silly. You need him. He needs you. Now get in there." Mr. Kaplan opened the door and soflt pushed Lizzie inside.
Quietly she stepped into the master bedroom. The door closed behind her and she was met with darkness and silence. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. When her eyes had adjusted to the darkness she could see the bed. Walking closer she could hear his soft and steady breaths. For the first time since that dreadful call she felt panic dissipate. Yet as she drew close to the bed the tears were once again rolling down her cheeks. She realised she still didn't know the extent of his injuries. She considered switching the lights on but she didn't want to wake him up. He would need his sleep. She looked at his sleeping form. He was lying on his back, the sheets tucked up high under his chin.
Standing by his bed she was unsure of his next move. She wanted to touch him. It would give her that final confirmation that he was indeed alive.
It was then that her exhaustion hit her, the events of the last hour catching up with her. Not giving it an extra thought and giving into her need to feel him close, she walked to the other side of the bed. She took off her shoes, her coat and her blazer. She looked around for a moment. She felt like she needed to be as close to him as possible. Not giving herself a chance to change her mind she rummaged through his dresser and found one of his white t-shirts. She quickly changed into it and carefully crawled into his bed. She got as close as possible without actually touching him. His steady breaths calmed her and it wasn't long before her eyes close.
The following morning Red woke up feeling groggy. He was in pain. For the first time in a long while he felt every bit his age. Everything ached. He remembered the event that had led to his current situation. On his was to a meeting a last minute call from the man he was meeting disturbed him. The man had told him he didn't trust their meeting place and suggested another one. On his way back to Dembe and with his mind on Lizzie he'd lost his focus on his surroundings and before he knew it he had been stabbed in his side and his watch was gone. A stupid robbery. Shaking his head at his foolishness he felt a tickling against his neck.
Looking to his left he was confronted with brown hair sprawled out on his and her pillow. He swallowed thickly when he realised who it was. His Lizzie was here, sleeping in his bed. He didn't know how she'd gotten there and how he wished he'd been conscious when she'd crawled into bed with him. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her against his body. He wanted to feel every inch of her body pressed against his. He wanted to see her, but couldn't. Her head was low on her pillow, just below his shoulder. All he could see was her brown hair. He turned his head a bit more to the left. It was as close to burying his face in her hair as he could get, but it was enough to smell her hair. She used some sort of peach scented shampoo.
He contemplated these last few weeks with her. Ever since his confession Lizzie had been somewhat shy and unsure. She'd shied away from his touches and when she caught his eyes she would quickly look away. He didn't really know this side of her but knew it had everything to do with their conversation. He had purposely given her time to wrap her head about what could be. He wasn't going to wait much longer though. He needed them to take a step forward. He longed for her.
With a loud gasp Lizzie bolted upright in the bed breathing hard. Disoriented she looked around the room but there was nothing familiar. Then she remembered Dembe's phone call and her eyes filled with tears again. Overwhelmed and not yet fully awake she whispered. "No Red, no." Suddenly there was a hand on the small of her back caressing her gently.
"Calm down, sweetheart." His voice was rough from sleep.
She immediately turned around and threw herself on top of him. "Red." She clung to him, forgetting about his condition.
He was surprised by the woman who had thrown herself on top of him. She had a tight grip on his shirt. He felt her tears soak his shirt. He wanted to comfort her but her weight on his chest was hurting him.
"Lizzie." He groaned in pain. He needed her to get off of him. "You're hurting me."
It was as if she got burned. She immediately let him go and moved away from him to her side of the bed. "I'm sorry." The tears were slowing down and her breathing was returning to normal again.
Red looked at her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back towards him. He needed to see her. He needed to look into her beautiful blue eyes. "Turn around, Lizzie."
She did as he asked. It pained him to see her tear stained cheeks and her watery eyes. "Come here." He beckoned.
She shook her head. She wasn't going to hurt him again.
"Come here." He tried again.
"No. I won't hurt you again." Without thinking she stood up and took a few steps away from the bed.
Red's jaw dropped at the sight of her. She was wearing one of his shirts. His eyes roamed her body. His shirt reached her mid thigh revealing her beautiful long legs. He swallowed thickly. God she was a sight for sore eyes.
Lizzie ran a hand through her messy hair before turning around to look at him. He was staring at her. His lips slightly apart as he worked his jaw. "Red?" She asked. Then she realised she was wearing his shirt. She blushed and quickly grabbed her pants and put them back on. She took a couple of deep calming breaths.
"Don't ever scare me like that again, okay!" Her tears had made way for her anger. It was easier to be angry at him. Easier than dealing with her feelings. She knew all too well how good she was at not dealing with her feelings. Red knew too.
Carefully Red sat up against the headboard. He watched Lizzie pace back and forth in front of hin, the anger clearly radiating off of him. "Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" She whirled around and glared at him. "You have no idea what I went through."
"Lizzie." He wanted her to calm down. Wanted to take her in his arms. He hated it that she was out of reach and he knew she was doing it on purpose.
"No, Red. Whatever you were going to say, don't." She held up her hand. "You scared the hell out of me. I can't…. I won't…" She willed the tears to stay at bay but it wasn't working. "How can this ever work?" She whispered. It was the first time she referred to their situation. "I cannot sit around and wait for you wondering if today is gonna be the day that you won't come home."
Red looked up to the ceiling for a moment. It was difficult for him to see her cry and not being able to comfort her. "I'll always do whatever I can do to come home to you safely." His voice was thick with emotion. Each and every day she was always on his mind. She was his end game, his second chance at life. Nothing was going to keep him from her. Yet if push came to shove, he would do whatever he could to keep her safe. If that meant his own death, than so be it. Problem was Lizzie knew exactly how far he would go.
She was standing at the bedroom door her hand on the door handle. "I could have lost you without ever having you, Raymond. I don't know how to deal with that."
The End.