Takes place after the S2 finale. How Liz and Red would travel to

stay under the radar and escape. Goes AU after that with a little bit

of help from the Leverage team.

Liz thought they would go immediately to an airstrip and fly out of the country as soon as possible, but here they were in another car riding along another dusty road. Drivers and vehicles were changed every 12 hours, and would bring with them a picnic basket filled with all the necessities of a meal with fruit, cheese, and nuts to snack on until the next change. The cars were nondescript, nothing luxury, the need to keep a low profile paramount. If they needed to relieve themselves it was usually on the side of the road, occasionally there was a rest area. A note from Dembe had arrived from the first relief driver and Red was none too happy. He'd written a hasty note in return on the back of the one he had read and sent it back with the driver being relieved. He walked into the bushes to take care of his needs and Liz walked a little in the other direction to do the same.

She walked back to the car and saw that Red had yet to return, she started feeling a little panicky as she looked in the direction she had seen him walking, but he came in to view before that panic could really take hold. She must not have cleared her feelings off her face, because he gave her a reassuring smile as he walked up to her and took her by the elbow and led her to the car. He was extremely tense when they loaded up into the new vehicle, she could feel it rolling off of him in waves.

She waited for him to tell her what the note was about, giving him time to sort his thoughts and, of course, censor what he would tell her. She expected it. It still hurt though. After 10 miles of silence she finally realized she was going to have to ask. "What is it Red? The note couldn't have been good, you haven't said a word since then, I assume it was from Dembe?" She was trying to keep the emotions out of her voice, he was doing everything in his power to keep her safe, the least she could do was try to clamp down on the grief, panic and all the other stuff whirling around inside her head.

Red knew she had questions, he could hear her thinking. He was surprised when she didn't start in the second the car started rolling. He was just deciding how much to reveal to her. He wasn't sure how she would react when he told her they would have to split up for a little while. The contingency plan he had in place was working out well, but then he had gotten the note and he knew he would need to get in contact with someone he hadn't since before he turned himself into the FBI and he would not rest until he had Lizzie somewhere safe. He reached for her and rubbed soothing circles on her hand with his thumb.

"We were going to stay in a series of safe houses until we could leave the country, but Dembe said that the FBI has already compromised two of them, and we aren't even there yet," he shook his head and huffed a laugh, "I suspected Donald would slip on a few banana peels before getting his bearings, but it seems the cabal may clearing the way for him. I asked Dembe to reach out to someone I doubt even the cabal knows I have ties with. Hopefully on our next stop we will have our answer. Until then lets try to relax and enjoy the journey." He gave her a tight smile and turned to look out the window leaving his hand in hers since she hadn't pulled away. He suspected she needed the contact as much as he did.

They traveled for four long, grueling days, the trip taking longer than it normally would with their need to stay off the main roads as much as possible. Some of the roads so rarely used that they would have to stop and remove downed trees or debris before they could move on, thankfully it was never anything too challenging for them.

Liz was aware of her attraction to Reddington, it had always been there, who wasn't attracted to him, she fought her attraction by either ignoring him or being angry and lashing out at him. But seeing him without his jacket and tie, a few buttons of his shirt undone, his sleeves rolled up, and his muscles straining while he worked to clear a path made her weak in the knees and a searing heat to coil between her legs. Red teased her with suggestive comments in conversation, though not overly so, which left her not knowing if it was just part of who he was and he treated everyone that way or if he was actually interested in her. She tried to keep her thoughts away from that line of thinking too much, they were on the run after all and this wasn't the time to test out the waters.

She didn't push him for answers or ask where they were going, trusting him with all the details and knowing he needed to think and plan. She didn't think he did much sleeping, but he never complained while she used him as a pillow to sleep.

On the fourth day of travel they finally reached Portland, Oregon. Red reluctantly shook Lizzie awake as they pulled up in front of a large brick building. Liz woke to Red's firm shaking of her shoulder with one hand while he gently stroked the hair out of her face with the other.

She smiled up at him and noticed his small smile and questioning brows, then she came fully awake as the last few days came rushing back. She sat upright and looked at their surroundings, immediately missing his warm touch. It was dark outside, she must have slept longer than she thought, she grabbed Red's wrist to check the time… just after 11 pm. They were in front of a brick building, she could just make out the sign in the dim light of the street lamp. Her head shot around to look accusingly at Red.

"A brewery? Really Red? I was hoping for a hotel, I would give anything for a long hot shower and a fresh change of clothes and you bring me to a brewery? It's after 11pm, are they even open? You can't be this desperate for a beer."

His smug smile causing her eyes to become mere slits as she glared at him.

Red chuckled lightly at Lizzy's reaction. He stepped out and extended his hand to help her out of the car. "I could use a beer, but that is not why we are here, my contact has offices in the back." He left it at that, hoping she would continue to follow his lead without question.

He led her to the front door and fished a key out of his pocket. He looked up to see the question in Lizzie's eyes. "Our last driver delivered the key in our basket, with a note that the owner is expecting us."

He unlocked and opened the door then stood aside for Lizzie to precede him.

As they made their way to the back, Liz tried to imagine what type of contact Red could have that had offices in a brewery. The vast array of colorful characters Red did business with would never cease to amaze her. She thought of Mr. Vargas, the hair, his manner of dress, even the way he held himself was comical. She'd never spoken to him, but had seen him as he was leaving one of Red's safe house's. She couldn't contain a small giggle as she remembered how she had made up voices in her head that she thought might fit him. She saw Red look at her questioningly in her peripheral vision, but before she could think about what to tell him a tall, lanky man came around a corner and startled her.

Red put a hand on her back to calm her as he greeted the newcomer. "Hardison! Fantastic to see you. Thank you for letting us stay over for what's left of the night. This is Elizabeth, the young woman I told Nate about. Lizzie, this is Hardison," he gestured between the two of them, then put his hand on Hardison's shoulder and looked at Lizzie and tilted his head back and forth, "Hardison is like the Aram of the criminal world," he looked back to Hardison with lifted brows, "Were you able to get the things Dembe requested?"

"Yeah man, everything's in the back office." He yawned as he motioned for them to follow him and lead them to the correct office, "There's a small bathroom with a shower to freshen up, and I pulled out the futon for you guys. Nate and the rest of us will be here about nine in the morning to go over whatever it is you have planned," he paused then looked at Red with an expression of pride, "You know I came up with a brilliant plan…"

Red cut him off before he got too excited, "Thank you, Hardison, we have had an exhausting journey though, can we talk more about this plan of yours in the morning?" Red gave him a brilliant smile.

"Oh, uh sure, I mean yeah, you guys must be beat. I guess I'll see you in the morning." He nodded to Liz once again before he left the room.

Red turned to Lizzie then. "Go ahead and have the first shower and crawl into bed. I have a phone call to make and then I will take my turn, just save me a blanket will you?" He turned to walk into the main room.

Lizzie put her hand on his arm to stop him, and she tried not to sound worried. "Wait, where are you going to sleep?"

Red patted her hand comfortingly. "There are several other offices here Lizzie, I am sure one of them has a comfortable couch I can rest on. I don't sleep much and will wake you in time to get ready before the team shows up," he gestured to the bags across the room, "Your bag is the large blue one over there, Dembe will have made sure to let them know your size and preferences, all the necessities should be in there as well "

Liz let go of his arm and looked down at the ground, feeling a little awkward. "Can we keep the doors open in case I need you in the night?" She looked up to see what he thought of her request and from the smirk on his face she realized just where his thoughts had gone. She rolled her eyes. "I have been having nightmares lately and I don't want to wake up somewhere I'm not familiar with and not know where you are."

His face immediately changed to concern. "Of course Lizzie, I won't go too far so I will be able to hear if you call," he touched her shoulder once more before leaving the room.

She watched him walk away and then walked over to grab her bag and head into the shower. the bathroom was more of a small closet with a toilet, sink and a small corner shower, there would barely be enough room to lift her hands to wash her hair. Oh well, as long as the water was warm. She wondered how Red would fare with his broad shoulders and muscular back. She stopped herself before getting carried away, reminding herself this was not the time, nor the place.

She rifled through the bag, finding a light blue t-shirt with small sheep patterned on it and matching shorts. She held them up with a smile and wondered who had picked these. There was also a white bra and panty set and a navy and white striped v-neck top and a pair of white skinny jeans and a pair of wedge heels to compliment the outfit on the bottom of the bag. She pulled out the toiletries bag and noticed there was also a makeup bag and what looked to be a small box to hold jewelry, whoever packed this bag had thought of everything. There was even a mesh bag to put the clothes she was taking off. She turned on the shower and and waited a minute for the water to heat before stepping in. It felt so good, almost orgasmic, after four days without one, she didn't realize how much she took for granted the luxury of a simple shower.

Red waited until he heard the shower turn on before making his call. Hardison had left the burner phone on the counter as per Dembe's instructions. He had been assured that the call would not be traced to this location, anyone tracing the call would believe it originated in Fiji. He dialed the number and took a breath to calm himself before the call connected. A moment later he heard a short clipped voice on the other end.

"Ressler"

Red smiled into the phone and made sure his voice was jovial. "Donald, how nice to hear your voice, have you missed me?"

"Cut the bullshit Reddington, where is she?" He looked over to make sure Aram was tracing the call and at his nod he continued, "We have every available resource on this, we will find you both!"

Red laughed into the phone. "Oh come now Donald, we both know how horrible you are at tracking me," he knew Donald would take offense, he needed to throw him off his game for a moment, "Besides she isn't even with me, last I heard she was sailing off with Tom or Jacob or whatever he is calling himself these days."

Ressler wasn't buying Reddington's act. "You know as well as I do that she would never go with him after everything he did to her and the team. No matter what anyone says I know she is innocent and loyal. You need to bring her in, we can help her to clear her name, she will face charges for Tom Connolly, but I am sure you can pull a few strings on that score." He couldn't believe Reddington was talking to him for this long, he had to know they were tracing the call. Maybe Reddington was telling the truth and Liz really wasn't with him.

Red listened to Donald's spiel. He was either trying to trick him into giving them Lizzie or dear old Donnie had no idea where Lizzie had spent her last night in D.C. He shuddered to think of it himself, oh how he wished Lizzie could see him as a man, he wished it could have been him she turned to when she needed comfort, but their relationship was still a bit shaky. He hoped that with time away from all the stress she would start to at least trust him again. He decided to test the waters, he knew Donald had feelings for her, though he knew without a doubt Lizzie thought of him like a brother and not a lover.

"So I take it you don't know she spent her last night in D.C. with him on his new boat? I talked to her just before her arrest and she told me he had asked her to sail away with him." He heard Donald's sharp intake of breath and knew he had hit his mark.

"Why would she do that? I can't even begin to understand what she could have been thinking." He ran his hand roughly through his hair.

Red chuckled. "I can't help you with that Donald, but I am glad we had this little chat, now you know where to start looking. If we are going to keep up our little deal, you know the most important part is, I speak only with Elizabeth Keen," with that he hung up the phone and took the battery out, broke the phone in two and threw it in the garbage, making sure to throw a couple paper towels on top to keep Lizzie from seeing it. He spotted a bottle of scotch and a glass on the table in the corner and smiled, he walked over to pour himself a glass and sat down to savor it while he waited for Lizzie to finish in the bathroom.