Disclaimer: Not mine.


Meeting Lizzie 1

Red Reddington's head was pounding when he picked up the phone and growled irritably, "Yeah?"

"Ray? Is that finally you?" He blinked, trying and failing to recognize the voice on the other side. No one called him that these days; the man named Raymond was dead for more than a decade, Red had killed him himself. Blinking again, he rolled over to his back and stared at the ceiling. "Who's that?"

"Nice, buddy! It took me half an hour to reach you after dialling the number you left me for 'emergencies', and now you have the balls to tell me you don't even know who the fuck is calling you?"

Red shut his eyes. The curtains were blissfully drawn, but there was a single annoyingly persistent ray of sunlight streaming in through a small gap between them. It hurt, but it made him remember – and remembering that voice hurt even more, the pain bringing clarity to his befuddled mind.

He sat up abruptly, his heart racing.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I hoped you wouldn't need to call me. Are you safe? Is…" Red could bring himself to say her name. "Is she safe? Where are you?"

"We are ok, for the time being."

"Right, so what's the matter?" He suppressed the urge to vomit and gazed at his feet, willing the panic to abate. They were safe, she was safe. He repeated it like a mantra. She was safe.

Red's life was so messed up, he was so messed up, and the only thing keeping him sane, the only thing making his existence a little more bearable was that tiny little girl he had saved fourteen years ago.

"I need you to come here. Someone needs to look after Liz for a few nights." Sam sounded weary and Red's heart missed a beat when he heard her name. Liz. Lizzie. He didn't allow his mind to wander, he didn't allow himself to think about her often. She was the sole reason why he had adapted and thrived in the murky dark waters of the criminal world.

His thirst for revenge had fuelled him for years, but when Red had found himself shot and slowly bleeding to death, it hadn't been revenge what had kept him alive. It had been the innocent child who had been caught in the middle of this mess, the child who would always be in danger as long as his enemies would live. Red didn't have any other option but to destroy them before they managed to destroy her.

"Look after her? I'm not a fucking babysitter." He said harshly, his mind shied away from her as if burnt.

Red wasn't a good man and he knew that – hell, most of the time he hated what he had become. He hadn't handled his criminal status well; he had spent years indulging in his darkest desires in order to escape reality at least for a moment, and it had left him emotionally crippled, cold and empty.

He rarely visited his female associates these days; those women were all power-hungry gold-diggers, volatile and self-serving – a danger, really. Drugs clouded his judgment too much for him to use them safely and so his only remaining escape mechanism was his beloved scotch.

No, Red didn't deserve to even think about her, and yet he cherished the thought of the child like a sinner cherished his most reverent prayer.

"Yeah… I… She… She's going through a difficult time right now. Remember when you were eighteen?" Sam chuckled nervously. "To tell a long story short, Liz is officially grounded for the rest of her life."

"Why are you calling me, though? Your sister could help, your neighbors could help." He started to get angry. His proximity was a danger to them and he would rather kill himself than to endanger his only friend and the girl. "I'm quite busy right now, and you don't want the likes of me anywhere near your home."

Sam was silent for a second and Red slowly rose and made his way to the bathroom. He observed his face for a moment and shook his head. His eyes were bloodshot and he hadn't shaved or combed his hair since he had arrived at his private island; he certainly hadn't been sober during his whole stay. No one sane wanted the likes of him anywhere near their homes.

"She's sneaky, Ray." Sam sighed. "God bless my sister, but she can't handle that girl. I can't do that most of the time."

"Since when you can't handle a mouthy teenager?"Red closed his eyes and swallowed. It was tempting – he had been curious about her in those rare moments when he had dared to think about her. She must have grown so much! Red was eager to replace the image of the blue-eyed child with an image of a blue-eyed girl.

"I'm sick, Ray," Sam answered bluntly and then he sighed again. "I need to have some tests run, and then you and I need to talk about the results. I would prefer a face to face chat, buddy."

Red's knees buckled and he crashed down on the bathroom floor, the phone falling from his hand. It was like a punch to his gut, the idea of Sam sick and helpless. He had been Red's oldest friend, the boy who had taught him how to beat the shit out of someone and how to impress girls. He crawled to the toilet and heaved out.

"Ray, are you ok? Ray? Ray! Are you still there?"

After a few more moments, the line went dead. When Red was done, he flushed the toilet and reached for the cell, dialling Sam back and anxiously waiting for his friend to pick up.

"God, Sam… I'm sorry, I'm such an ass!"

"Sure you are. Listen, it could be nothing but it could be serious. We haven't planned for a situation like this and we definitely should. I'm not a young man anymore, and things just happen, Ray."

"Yeah, yeah, we should meet and plan. I'm on my way, see you soon." Red answered meekly and put his forehead against the cool surface of the toilet bowl. He ended the call and closed his eyes. He wasn't ready to face the girl, and he wasn't keen on letting Sam see what he had become, how low he had sunk.

Embracing the toilet bowl, Red threw up again.


Well, it took me a little longer than I expected, but I hope that we all will have lots of fun with Red and Lizzie on this particular journey. It will be one hell of a ride, so stay tuned and hold on tight! :) Next time: Liz and Red meet... How badly could that end? ;)