This story is a gift for hestia-Prytaneum as a part of the Secret Santa hiatus of the Lizzington Shippers facebook group.
This story is influenced by a famous scene from the X-Files. To not forget the disclaimer: I don't own 'The Blacklist' or 'The X-Files.
Thanks again to my beta readers almcvay1 (and her friend who plays softball!) and HollyRose31523.
"Where is she?" Red said coming out of Lizzie's bedroom.
"Isn't she in there?" Dembe asked, surprised.
"Would I ask if she were?" Red snapped.
"Calm down, Raymond. I'm sure she's here somewhere."
Red had been very happy when Dembe had caught up with them again after they had left New York. It was safer for all of them if they travelled separately. Red and Dembe were well known and hard to miss when they were together.
Red Reddington had always been a man of great confidence, no matter what situation life put him in. But he couldn't deny that he always felt safer with his friend Dembe by his side. The strong tender-hearted man was always surrounded by a tranquility that made him feel calm. But right now, exactly these characteristics drove him crazy. In a situation where the person missing was the only one who meant more to him than Dembe.
"The house is not so big that I could've missed her in some long windy corridor," Red spat. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Dembe."
"It's okay, I know you're worried," he answered.
Red went down the stairs of the small safe house they were currently staying in. He put on his jacket and his usual fedora.
"Where are you going?" Dembe asked, following him.
"I've got to look for her," Red answered, testily.
"I'm sure she just took a walk and will be back soon,"
Red's gaze at him left open no possibility that he might stay in and wait for her to come home. He could see in Dembe's eyes that he was worried as well.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Dembe asked.
"No, thank you. I need you to stay here and call me in case she shows up." Red said while heading out the door.
He strolled through the dark small-town streets, without a destination in mind. Where could she have gone? Where would she head right now? There was nowhere she could go. The thought of that hurt him deep inside. He had never wanted that for her, being wanted just like him. But now wasn't the time to think about that. He had to find her first before he could worry about her future again. Suddenly a bitter thought crossed his mind. Could it be that she had gone to Tom after all? That bloody son of a bitch. But Dembe had told him that he had left for good. That even he had deserted her now. In Red's opinion, it was the best way he could protect himself from Red himself. He would never stop hating that man who betrayed him and most of all Lizzie. If it weren't for her, the man would have been dead by now.
He walked through what almost seemed like a forest. The swooshing sounds of the trees were soothing. Just before he could dive further into his thoughts, he was distracted by an unusual sound. He couldn't be sure but bright lights shining through the trees seemed to be lighting for a sports field. He immediately changed his direction and headed towards it. Perhaps he could ask some of the spectators if they had seen Lizzie.
Red suddenly thought about families who had pictures of their partners inside their wallets. He longed to have a picture of Lizzie inside his, but in fact he didn't even own a wallet. As he had many times before during the last few days he started to miss things that were ordinary, normal. Taking a walk in the bright of the day through a crowded place, heading for coffee or ice cream with the now added element of paying for it with money from his very own wallet.
As he arrived at what turned out to be a small-town baseball field, he didn't see anyone he could ask about Lizzie - but instead he found her. She was standing inside a batting cage, hitting balls out of the automat which was operated by a young boy. He hesitated to walk any further to avoid any kind of noise which would let her know that he was there.
Red watched her for a while and couldnt help but grin at the picture she made. He had never seen anyone playing baseball in heels before. They had already gained a layer of dust and sand on them.
It was obvious that she had never played baseball in her life. She missed every ball that came out of the machine. He watched her for a little while before he finally stepped out of the shadows.
"Lizzie", he said softly but he managed to scare her anyway.
"Red", she spat. "You're like a panther. Can't you make some noise? You scared the hell out of me." Red couldn't help but chuckle, meeting her gaze. He noticed once more that even her angry face was beautiful.
"I'm sorry, dear," he capitulated. "I have been looking all over for you," he continued, reproachfully.
"I didn't realize how late it was, and when I did I was just getting the hang of this." She held the bat up again and waited for the next ball. The boy loaded the ball machine. As the ball left the machine she swung hard but missed it again. Red stepped aside so he didn't accidentally get hit by the bat, since Liz wasn't exactly in control of it.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Red asked.
"I am trying to blow off some steam," Liz answered.
"Do you always play baseball when you have to blow off steam?" he said in a teasing ironic tone.
She rolled her eyes at him and nodded to the boy signaling him to launch another ball.
"I tried drinking, but the only thing you always keep in the house is Whisky and to be honest, I am not very fond of it. So I went to find a bar." She missed the ball again. "Long story short, I ended up here."
"And does it help?" Red asked.
"No, it just frustrates me more because I really suck at this." She threw the bat to the ground. It landed at Red's feet.
"You really do, dear." Red smiled at her cheekily.
"You're a real help, Red," Liz rolled her eyes.
He chuckled, picked up the bat and held it out to her.
"Come on, I'll show you," he said.
"You play baseball?" Liz asked surprised.
"I did during my time at the US Naval Academy." Red answered. "And quite well, actually." He paused a moment as he remembered a few choice events from the time long past.
Liz watched him. She loved his caring but mysterious eyes that now seemed to stare into a past that seemed much more afar than it actually was.
"Tell me something about your time in the academy," she asked.
He held the bat out to her again to renew his offer to show her how to play. She took the it out of his hands.
"Okay then, what am I doing wrong?" Liz asked as she stood in front of him.
"First of all, you are strangling the bat." He went behind her and stood very close to her.
She could feel his jacket softly touching her. Liz's heart began to beat faster as Red wrapped his arms around her and lay his hands on hers.
"Left hand below and the right hand above it," he almost whispered in her ear while he cautiously sorted her hands around the bat. "Keep a relaxed but steady grip."
"Alright," she said.
"Now hold it up to your right shoulder." He put his right hand on her elbow and softly pushed it up, his left hand still touching hers.
"So, what position did you play?" Liz wanted to stretch the moment. She enjoyed feeling him this close to her.
"I was a Pitcher," Red replied and pretended to still angle her elbow in order to linger here, leaning in to Lizzie's body. "I tried to be a Catcher at first, but when I threw my first ball back to the home base I knew that Pitcher was the position I wanted to play. I could put all my negative energy into the balls and just throw them at the opponent."
"Sounds like a good therapy," Liz determined.
"It was, at least for college boy problems." Red stepped even closer to Liz and entered her space. He took a deep breath of her hair which smelled deliciously like vanilla and coconut. He nodded at the boy to fire another ball. Red put both of his hands on Lizzie's again and prepared to hit the ball with her.
"Watch closely, Lizzie. Never let your eyes leave the ball. Never let it out of sight. There is nothing else you need to see other than this little white ball."
The machine threw it out but even at a slow speed they missed it again.
"One more, please." Red said to the boy. Liz started to giggle.
"Focus, Lizzie," he said but smiled himself.
"I am totally focused," she lied. She tried to imagine Red as a academy boy - what he might have been like; a jock, a heartbreaker or a nerd. She wondered if Red had been the type of guy she would've fallen for when she was in college herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by the second ball coming out of the machine, which they missed as well.
"You know what, Lizzie," Red said and took the bat out of her hands. "I guess what you need is just a properly pitched ball." He walked towards the boy at the ball machine, tapped him on his shoulder and as far as Liz could see, he also passed something on to him. Another ten dollars for managing the machine, she assumed.
"Come, Lizzie," Red said, holding out his hand. She took it and he gently pulled her out to the baseball field. The air was much cooler as soon as they entered the field.
"It's a really beautiful night, don't you think?" Liz asked.
"It is," Red replied. Even if the day had been unusually hot for this time of year, it cooled down very fast at night. They had a clear sky full of stars shining down on them.
"Look, Lizzie, there is the Big Dipper." Red pointed at the sky and automatically pulled her closer to him to make it easier for her to follow his line of sight.
"I see it," she said.
They looked at the stars for a moment with Red's arm resting around Lizzie's waist; she didn't want this moment to end.
Unfortunately for her, it did. Red was in his element and obviously very excited to play his sport again.
"Stay right here," he said.
"You are not really throwing a ball at me from over there, are you?" Liz pointed at the pitching point which was at least 20 meters away.
"Probably not the first one." Red chuckled and winked at her as he took a few more steps back.
"Take the bat up as I showed you and keep your eyes on the ball," Red explained again.
Liz did as he told but it was hard to keep her eyes strictly on the ball. They wanted to rest on so many little details right now.
"Are you ready?" Red asked bending his arms and pulling them close to his body.
"I guess." Liz replied.
Red drew his arm back and for a moment it looked like he would do a real major league pitch. But in the last moment he slowed down his movements and threw the ball underhanded in the direction of the center of the bat.
Although Liz was distracted by his beautiful chuckle that she loved so much, she swung the bat and hit the ball – line drive at Red. His chuckle died abruptly as he had to duck quickly to avoid the ball. "Whoa," he said as he came back up and watched the ball until it hit the ground. "See I told you! Very good, Lizzie." He reached into his pocket and another ball came out. He held it up to her to silently ask if she was ready for another one. She nodded and everything went exactly like the first time. Although this time the ball went by Red so close that he could feel the draft from it. He gave Liz a foolish mad look. She started giggling uncontrollably.
"Thank god you became a Pitcher, your team would've been very bad if you had been a shortstop," she said.
"Now you become cheeky. I would rebut but I am just glad to see you smile again," Red replied.
For a moment they just stood there. For a while now this was the first moment where they both could enjoy a moment of silence.
"Shall we go home? I believe Dembe will be relieved to see that you're alright." Red asked, disturbing the peaceful silence too soon.
"Yes, we shall. Thanks for cheering me up after all."
They were walking off the field when they suddenly felt drops of water falling on their heads.
"What the hell? Where did the rain come from?" Liz cursed as they both looked up in the sky again. But there was no cloud in sight. The sky was still a dark sea full of stars.
The few drops increased. They noticed the staccato hissing sound that, without a doubt, was the sprinkler system.
"I guess that's what you get for being cheeky," Red laughed. "Run!"
"I'm in heels, Red." But he didn't care.
He grabbed her hand and dragged her after him. They ran until they were right outside the field, still holding hands.
As they finally managed to get out of reach of the sprinklers Red pulled Liz into his arms as they stopped running. Even with the brief run through the sprinklers their clothes were wet. Red held Lizzie tight inside his arms.
"You know what, Lizzie?" He smiled at her.
"What?" She asked.
"You are the most beautiful thing to catch."