Hi, guys! This is a short fic I've written for RayOfTheDawn as part of the SecretSanta challenge. I hope you all like it! Let me know with the reviews :D
It was 2 am and Red was sitting on a chair in one of his safe houses thinking of Lizzie. Of course he was thinking of her, it seemed to be all he was capable of doing lately. He couldn't seem to forget about the way her body fit so perfectly into his embrace, the way he had held her on the boat that day. It had been a whole month since that incident, but he couldn't stop picturing it in his mind every time he closed his eyes.
When he had sipped the last bit of his scotch, he got up to go to bed but was stopped by the vibrating sound of his phone on the wooden table. It was her number. Lizzie never called him at this time of night, so something had to be wrong.
"Lizzie? What's wrong?" The first thing he heard was laughter. Then her voice filled his ears.
"Reeeeeeed! Why do you have to assume there is anything wroooong? You need to live a little!" More laughter. Red was taken aback by what he had just heard, but just the thought of his Lizzie in such a state was making him smile.
"Lizzie, have you been drinking? Where are you?" As much as he liked her carefree state, he had to make sure she was home safe from any possible harm.
"I am experiencing the power of cannabis, Red. You can't even believe how free it makes you feel! You should totally come here and have some with us. I'm sure you'll love it!" Just when the words left her mouth, Red could hear another voice at her end of the line. "Who is this, Liz? Who are you inviting? This is supposed to be just the two of us here, babe." Babe?! Who the fuck is she with?!
"Lizzie? Who are you with? Where are you?" Red was pacing the length of his living room; anger started boiling within him.
"I'm with a friend, Red. You need to stop worrying so much, it's not good for… something... I've forgotten." He heard the man calling out to her again and she said she was coming. "So Red, will you join us?"
"Yes, Lizzie. Tell me where you are and I'll come to you." He was already putting on his coat and hat.
"Then you'll have to find me because I won't tell you!" She started laughing some more and before he could say anything else, she had hung up.
Red let out an exasperated sigh before placing a call to a trusted contact of his, who would be able to trace Lizzie's cell. As soon as he told the guy what he needed, he hung up and called Liz again.
"Yeeeeeesssssss? Who is thiiiisssss?" Her voice sounded even more away than it had just a couple of minutes ago and the sound of her giggling was making his heart clench. He should be there with her.
"Lizzie, it's me. Where are you, sweetheart? You have to at least give me a clue so I can find you." He tried to keep his voice as stable as possible, but found himself thankful that she was way too high to notice how anxious he was since he wasn't in control over the situation.
"Reeeed! I've already told you! I'm right here! Why can't you find me? It never seemed to be a problem before, honey." Honey. Had she just called him honey? Had he actually heard it right? Oh God, this definitely wasn't going well at all.
"Lizzie, you have to give me some clues. I can't just guess where you are. Tell me what you see around you." Keep a steady voice. Keep a steady voice. Keep a steady voice.
"I see… trees! And stars! And soooooo many buildings!" More giggling. Red was about to lose it when the sound of a new text interrupted him.
Looking quickly at his phone, he saw it was a text with her location. "Okay, sweetheart. I think I know where you are. You just stay there okay? I'm coming, Lizzie."
"Wait, Red?"
"Yes?"
"Could you please hurry? I don't think I feel so good right now." Oh no. If she was having any bad side effects... he had to make sure she was safe.
"I'm right on my way, Lizzie. Hold tight." He ended the call and within minutes he was making his way to the waiting car with Dembe at the wheel.
Xxxxxx
The car had barely come to a stop and Red was already jumping out of it. He made his way into the house unceremoniously and tried to listen for any sounds that told him where Lizzie was. When he got into the kitchen, he spotted her through the window above the sink. She was in the backyard, lying on the grass with some guy on top of her, who was trying to convince her of something as it seemed. She kept shaking her head frantically and Red almost ran out and pushed the man off her. He was so angry that he didn't even think before his fist made contact with the man's face. As he laid unconscious on the ground, Red turned to check on Lizzie.
"Lizzie, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Who is this guy?" His hands found her cheeks as they cupped her face looking for any signs of injuries.
"He is just a guy I met in college," she sighed. "I don't feel very well. Can we please go home?" She looked so defenseless in her inebriated state that Red couldn't find it within himself to express right then just what he thought of her 'scape route'.
"Of course. Let me help you up." He pulled her to a standing position and held her close to make sure she didn't fall. They slowly made their way to the car like that and no words were spoken during the ride.
When Dembe parked the vehicle outside Liz' house, Red got out first and went to the other side to help her. Once they had made it inside, Red sat her onto the couch and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He watched intently while she emptied the glass and when she handed it back to him, he couldn't keep everything that was building up inside to himself anymore.
"What could ever possess you to smoke pot with some guy you barely even know, Elizabeth? What can possibly justify your behavior to do such a thing? That guy could have raped you! Would have raped you had I not gotten there in time! What the hell were you thinking?!" He was only partially aware of his voice coming out louder with each sentence. Expressing his own fears was just making his heart beat faster. Just the thought of her being taken against her will by someone who was not deserving of her… no, don't go there, Raymond!
Just then, he heard a sniffling sound. When he looked at her again, he could see tears running down her cheeks. His anger faded instantly and his heart clenched inside his chest and in a second he was beside her again. "Lizzie, I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean for it to come out this way. I was just so scared of anything happening to you… Lizzie, look at me." He hooked two fingers under her chin and made her look up at him. Her eyes were puffy and red and she was so vulnerable and so beautiful at the same time, it was all he could do to not kiss her right then. Instead, he cleared her face from the tears and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Why did you do this, Lizzie?" It was almost a whisper. He had to know why.
"I don't know… I just felt like everything was crumbling and I needed a way out, you know? And I knew this guy still had contacts with some dealers and he had always invited me to smoke with him when we were in college. I just feel like my life is so boring lately, that I decided to give it a try."
Boring? Red raised a brow at her. "You're still high, Lizzie. Let's get you to bed." As he moved to get up from the couch, she grabbed his hand stopping him from doing so.
"I know what I'm saying, it's all true. It's how I've been feeling lately. I'm not high anymore, Red. I'm just getting this shivers and I don't feel so good. I think that's from the impure stuff –"
"What do you mean 'impure stuff'? Lizzie, his material was not pure? And you knew it? How can you smoke something like that? Knowing it's not good, for God's sake!" His tone was rising again and he saw Liz flinching.
"I'm sorry, Red! I didn't know it would make me feel like this! If I did, I'd never have done it. Please don't be mad at me. I can't have you mad at me. Not you, Red." And she started crying some more.
Red was livid learning that whatever she had had wasn't pure. The complications that this could have had on her were enormous. But at the sound of her last words, he just couldn't say anything else. "Shh, sweetheart, I'm not mad at you. I just need you to promise me that you'll never do it without me again. Promise that to me, Lizzie." He was holding both her hands in his and gave her a light squeeze so she would look at him once again.
"Yes, Red. I promise. I'm so, so sorry." At that, he moved closer to her on the couch and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her shaking form.
"It's okay, Lizzie. Stop crying now, sweetheart. You're going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay." He rubbed small circles on her back and buried his face on her hair, planting soft kisses to her temple.
Red lost track of how long they stayed that way, until all he could feel was her deep breathing and the rise and fall of her chest. Taking care as to not wake her up, he carried her to her bed and gently removed her shoes before pulling the blanket to cover her body. He lowered himself next to her and softly nuzzled the side of her face before planting a kiss on her cheek and leaving the room with one last look at her.
He was deeply in love with that woman and he knew it. He only hoped that she would soon notice that as well.