Written for the prompt "Liz sees Red's scars" issued on the Lizzington Shipper's FB page. Standard Disclaimer applies- I have no affiliation with or own anything pertaining to The Blacklist (Though I wish I could be)

Liz climbed the steps slowly in the darkened mansion. The hallways were dimly light causing her to struggle locating her room in the enormous house. Not wanting to appear inept Liz had waved off Red's offer to escort her to her room, he'd shown her to it before dinner and she'd felt confident in her ability to make her way back without a guide. Unfortunately after a large dinner and one too many glasses of scotch, Liz found herself sheepishly opening door after door quietly trying to find her room. Her first two attempts found her in the study and the large bathroom on this floor.

Chiding herself for not taking Red up on his offer she tried to move as quietly as possible so he wouldn't hear her subpar attempts at retaining her pride. Her odds were dwindling quickly as there were only 4 doors left on this floor: she knew the one at the end of the hall wasn't correct but one of them was also Red's. She wasn't very impressed with her odds. Skipping the next door she moved to the door after grabbing the handle and turning it slowly, impressed with the soft click as the latch disengaged freeing the door to swing open enough to peek her head inside.

Liz's entire body froze at the sight before her. Raymond Reddington stood opposite her in the dimly lit room bathed in moonlight from the tall window. He stood there shaking his dress shirt off his shoulder to reveal not only the bandage covering his gunshot wound but also the whole of his back and part of his arm were covered in burn scars.

She stood in shock, the hand over her mouth shook as she watched him peel the bandage off the gun shot wound and assess the damage. Whether it be the shock or the scotch Liz found her body moving on its own accord. "Tell me you got them during some right of passage for some weird aborigine Tribe in The Congo."

The shock on Red's face was evident when he jumped slightly and turned towards the enraged Liz entering his bedroom. "Lizzie-"

"Tell me your wife had a sick bedroom fetish!"

Watching as he shrugged his shoulders to adjust his dress shirt back to its proper place she continued, "Tell me your parents tortured you as a child and you had to be taken into children services."

She could see the truth in his gaze as he stared at her, she could almost hear the words he yearned to speak hanging just at the tip of his tongue.

"You can even tell me that little Raymond didn't listen and when Grandma left the oven door open you fell on it!" Crossing the room slowly she came to stand beside the foot of the bed stopping only a few feet from him.

All of her hurt was clear on her face as angry tears rolled down her cheeks, "But don't look at me and tell me you earned those saving a little girl from a fire! Don't look at me and tell me- " Liz collapsed against the bed as she tried to collect her thoughts and reign in her emotions. "That the one and only memory I have of a man I assumed to be my father saving me-was really of you?"

Watching Liz sit on the end of his bed broken down in tears tore at his heart. He couldn't find the right words to start this conversation so he stood staring at the woman before him.

"You saved my life that night?" It was a

simple question in its own right that only served to open the flood gates to her overwrought emotions.

"Yes."

Liz didn't have to wonder if he was being honest with her, he had never lied to her the entire time they had been working together. Swallowing hard she continued, "My family?"

"Dead." Red wasted no time with his answers, never lying to her made his answer come so much faster no matter how it would hurt her. The pain of the truth would heal but the pain of betrayal ran deep and wide.

Liz's head fell, the weight of his gaze was too heavy to continue to hold. Staring down at her hands she worried the scar on her wrist, "In Montreal you told me that everything I knew about myself was a lie- what else don't I know about my past?"

Red watched her for a few moments waiting to see if she would look up, when she continued to stare at her scar he asked her, "Do you trust me?"

"What?" Slowly lifting her head she looked at him in confusion at his question.

"It really isn't a difficult question Lizzie, do you trust me enough to tell you what you need to know when it is the right time?" This moment, many years from now, would come to be a turning point for them.

Liz wiped at the tears on her cheeks as she thought about his question. Ever since Red had come into her life he'd brought nothing but pain and danger. 'No that's not right it was already there,' she thought bitterly. What Red had done for her was open her eyes to the truth that even Sam had kept from her. It was then she realized the truth was always there, right in front of her face all along. The truth was she did trust him in everything including her life. "Yes."

Red finally released the bated breath he didn't realize he'd been holding while she contemplated her answer. "Then just know you will get all of the answers you seek when it is the right time. Partial answers will only lead to more questions and you searching for those answers will put you in grave danger from people you don't even know are after you."

"Why are you doing this for me?" The question had been plaguing her thoughts for some time now. She had asked him so many times 'why she was important' but had never questioned him about why he was doing all of this for her. True he had his own motives but he'd been on the run for 20 odd years he could have stayed like that but he'd come back for her.

"Because I love you-" The answer seemed to slip effortlessly from his lips, though he'd hadn't said those words aloud in years. "It has evolved in forms over these last few years but it is love never the less. I don't expect it to be returned or even accepted but I promised you the truth at all times and that is why I am doing this." Red moved forward and knelt before Liz at the foot of the bed, brushing away another stray tear that had fallen. His voice was rough with emotion as he continued, "When the time comes to face your foes, you will have all the details you need and some you'll wish you didn't know. But you will also have me by your side and we will face them: together."

It was all too much emotion for Liz to process in her current state, "I think I need to lay down."

Pushing himself back up-using the bed- he nodded at her, "Would you like me to take you to your room? It seems you got a little turned around earlier." Red remarked casually, buttoning his shirt once more purposefully leaving the top two buttons undone for comfort.

"Yes please." She replied softly pausing slightly before moving to stand up.

Sensing her exhaustion regarding the previous days and the information she'd had to process; Red touched his hand to Liz's shoulder stopping her movement. "I've got you-" Red replied bending down and scooping her into his arms. Feeling her automatic resistance, he hushed her dismay with a simple statement, "Just relax."

Seated in his arms she turned to look at him, their faces mean inches apart. Both of them could feel the tension mounting between them due to the close proximity but neither were ready to act upon it. Resigning herself to his actions she lowered her head to his shoulder, her silent signal of acceptance.

Resting his chin against her head, Red maneuvered them out into the hall and down to the next bedroom that was made up with her things. Moving to the bed, he gently settled her in the center and helped her slip under the blanket all the while aware of Liz's gaze never leaving his face. When she was settled in Red sat beside her on the edge of the bed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "Try to get some rest."

When he began to move to stand Liz's hand shot out, grabbing his forearm to halt his movement. She was silent for moments, suddenly finding the words she needed. "You won't tell me about the fire?"

Red shook his head no.

"And you won't tell me about my family or my past?"

Again Red shook his head.

"But you will?"

Red nodded to her this time, it wasn't all she had hoped for but it would be enough tonight. His nod prompted her to continue, "What if I asked you to stay? I don't want to be alone tonight."

Red smiled softly down at her, unable to deny her anymore tonight.

At his nod of agreement Liz shifted over a bit to allow him to lie down beside her. Soon after he found a comfortable position she found herself drawn into his side, he allowed her to move so she could find a comfortable spot. He was not surprised when she scooted closer to use his shoulder as a pillow while resting her hand on his chest just below the opened section of his shirt and directly above his heart.

For all the tomorrows they would be facing each new day could bring misery, pain, fear and even death. Yet in his most trying and desperate moments he would cling to this night in his memory. Memories of her scent and the warmth of her touch would soothe his broken soul for the rest of his days. Somewhere deep inside himself he would hold this night close to his heart and would sacrifice all for just one more moment to feel like this.

A/N: There you go shippers another prompt based one shot. The plot bunnies jumped and interrupted PFHS's next chapter but with this done I'm back on track.

As always please leave love or hate (or grammar/spelling errors ) I love hearing from everyone...and so does my Muse.

Always,

Lady