Hello my dear readers!

I come back with a second BL story and this one is actually taking me to the limits of my comfort zone. I am a action writing type of writer and I am not so good with the whole fluff and talk and angst thing, although I LOVE to read it. But I though: "Hey, this community is SO cool and the guys who read and reviewed your last story were so kind and cool...you should try something new."

Wel and here we are.

I intend to not post so many chapters, but make them longer. This means the updates will take a little bit longer than they used to the last time. Hope you dont mind. If you prefer shortzer but faster: tell me:)

I hope you'll like the start(It's not that long yet, cause I wanna know from you if it is any good first;) and let me know what ya thing:)

Have fun!:)

Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)


Chapter 1

Elizabeth Keen was officially bored. She was sitting in the Post Office at her desk and praying to any kind of higher power, that Red would find her a case, pronto. After her failed marriage and her father's death there hasn't been a lot she had left in her life anymore. It was only work, Red and more work from day to day. A heavy sigh left her lungs and she slowly let her gaze wander over the rather empty, cold walls of her office. Nothing personal anywhere to be seen. Well…she didn't really have any personal life left anymore and she didn't particularly liked to be remembered of lost thing. At least Red still thought she was something "special". A quiet pathetic thing to hold on to, when she considered the vehemence she had been fighting against this just a few months ago.

She jerked, when the phone on her desk ringed sharply.

"Keen." She tried really hard to keep her excitement over the call out of her voice, but the caller still picked up on it and teased her immediately.

"Happy to hear from me?"

A smile appeared on her face anyway "Hi, Red. Please tell me you have a new case for us. I am going nuts with boredom here."

Red laughed whole-heartedly and Liz wondered what had him in such a good mood.

"Pack your things and your dog, Lizzie. We are traveling to Mexico in two hours. I already talked to Cooper and he cleared you for the next week. Dembe and I will pick you up at your house."

"Huh?" Liz' mouth was hanging open, almost hitting the desk surface.

"No need to thank me, Lizzie. Just be ready in two hours and pack a nice summer dress."

With that, Red ended the call and Liz heard a distinctive click, followed by a beeping tone. Her brows furrowed and she sat in her chair motionless. Well, that was weird. He never takes me on his longer journeys. And he wants to take Hudson? What's going on?

Slowly she collected all her things and when she was ready to go, Liz called Cooper just to make sure that Red wasn't lying about clearing his newest idea with her boss. He wasn't. Cooper, almost as much in the dark as she was right now, only informed her that Reddington was meeting some kind of contact in Mexico and decided that Keen had to go with him. The criminal had given no other explanation, which wasn't a surprise to neither Cooper nor Liz. Red loved those little games. Liz assumed that it made him feel almighty…having the upper hand all the time and being a step ahead of them.

Well, as long as it gives me a reason to get out of here…by all means…be my guest Red.

An hour later, Liz was about to throw the last piece of clothing into her suitcase, when a knock sounded at her door. While shouting to Hudson not to bark like a maniac, she glanced at her bedside clock, frowned and inwardly groaned. Red was too early. She stomped down the stairs and threw the door open, glaring at Red, who stood smiling and holding a shopping bag in his hand.

"Hello Lizzie. I've brought you a little something as an apology for being early."

Unsure of what was happening, Liz tentatively reached for the bag.

"C'mon Lizzie. I wouldn't give you a bomb or a toxic animal, now would I?"

Liz hesitated and finally found her voice.

"I don't really know."

Red clicked his tongue and shook his head. Liz could see his eyes narrowing under the brim of his hat.

"You disappoint me, Lizzie."

Liz responded with a roll of her eyes and finally peered into the bag. She saw something red and silky waiting for her just to touch it. Yes, it almost beckoning her to reach in and touch it.

"What is that?" she asked quietly.

Red smiled and nodded in the direction of the bag.

"I know you like your FBI style, but for this occasion you will need something really nice and I have to admit I do not trust your style of clothing."

Red saw her eyes lower back to the dress and her face seemed to pale a little. Interesting.

"I have to put it into my suitcase and then I am ready to go. You want to wait inside?"

Red smiled and came in. He watched her run back up the stairs and heard a door slam.

Again: Interesting.

Red saw Hudson trudging to him and sniffing the air around him.

"Ah…good dog. You smelled it right? We may be able to teaching finding bombs and drugs, after all." With a smile he produced a small pack of meat out of his pocket and fed it to the dog chunk by chunk. When the last piece was devoured, Red patted the dog's head and went to the kitchen to wash his hands.

On the way he looked around and noticed some changes in the house since Tom had moved out. He had been around a few times but mostly because of a pressing matter and didn't have time to look for changed details. There was more color and a few more personal things. The biggest change was that there were various things randomly scattered around the house. His Lizzie seemed to be either a bit of a slop lately or she was just too tired. He had noticed her drawn face and the usual pretty rose ting on her cheeks being a little bit paler than normal. Maybe she would feel better after she found out what he had discovered. He at least, was over the moon with happiness.

Red heard Liz stumbling down the stairs, dragging her suitcase behind her and making a lot of banging sounds.

"Good lord, Lizzie. What did you pack? Stones? Let me help you before you do some damage on your back."

Red rushed to her, taking two steps at a time and took the offending object out of her hands. He lifted it and brought it down without further disturbing noises. Liz hurried after him, grabbing for the suitcase but found it, every time she tried, just out of her reach.

"Don't be ridiculous, Elizabeth. I am a perfect gentleman and will not allow you to carry this monster all the way to the car. Really, you should know me better."

Liz froze and blinked at him.

"Allow me?" she asked incredulously. "Since when are YOU the gentleman. Usually you ask Dembe to be the gentleman and help."

Red turned to her, never losing the strange smile on his lips.

"Follow me, please. We need to be at the airport in eh…" he glanced demonstratively at his golden watch and sighed. "…an hour. See, you almost made us late. Good thing we came earlier."

With that, he swung around, walked lazily through the door and to the black car waiting for them. Dembe stood, leaning on the car trunk and opened it when he saw his boss coming out of the house.

What, in Pete's name, is happening here?, she wondered, still standing rooted to the spot and looking after the man who just left her house. Finally, she shook her head, closed her gaping mouth, called for Hud

"Why so nervous, darling?"

Her head whipped around, meeting Red's curious gaze. Of course he would notice, damn him.

"Nervous? I am not nervous. Why should I be?"

Instead of answering, Red covered her still moving fingers with one hand and squeezed gently.

"No need to clench. There won't be any danger in Mexico waiting for us. I promise."

Liz' brain interpreted the sentence as something that was not at all a comfort.

"You're telling me I am supposed to believe you? Honestly Red…after so many times you told me not to worry and then thrusting me in some ridiculous situations I am not at all prepared for, you expect me to be calm and relaxed now? Please…you can't be this insensitive."

Liz was completely aware of the fact she was lashing out at him out of frustration. THIS was just what she wished for merely a few hours ago, but this man had the unique ability to throw her out of balance and at this point in her life she didn't want that anymore. She wanted stability and someone who cared about her without ulterior motives and Red surely didn't belong into this category. She took a deep breath and looked away from his stare.

"Listen, I am sorry. I am just a little bit stressed lately." When she saw him nod, she tugged at his hand playfully. "And you don't really help relieve that stress most of the time." She smiled at him thinly and was glad he accepted her explanation and apology without asking anything further.

The rest of the ride went smooth and quiet. The silence was to Liz' surprise rather comfortable and she found herself starting to relax a little bit. In no time they arrived at the airport and climbed out of the car. Red insisted to carry her bag and Liz suspected very strongly that she had wounded his ego by saying he let Dembe take over the gentleman actions. She shrugged her shoulders at her own thoughts and followed the two man to the private jet, she could already see in the distance. The wind was picking up and her hair was thrown into her face, making her curse under her breath. Tom always wanted her to have longer hair. Made her seem softer, he said. Maybe she should consider cutting it really short. Just to mock the man who put her through hell. Funny how I don't think of Red when I say putting through hell…

She reached the jet's stairs when Dembe and Hudson were already inside with their suitcases and Red was waiting patiently for her at the top of the steps. Through his dark sunglasses she couldn't see his eyes but she felt his gaze on her like a hot laser pointer. Suddenly she was afraid to trip over her own feet and fall flat on her face.

Oh c'mon Elizabeth…get a grip here…you are a lot of things but you have NEVER been a klutz so stop it!

She made it safely to the last step and took the offered hand to get over the edge of the entrance.

"Welcome aboard, sweetheart. I hope you will enjoy the flight." Red said when he lead her with a hand on her lower back through the jet and pointed out some important things.

"The restroom is over there, the mini bar is around the corner but I've heard from a reliable source that the food and drinks you can order are a million times better than the snacks in this little excuse of a fridge. Ah…here are the seat. You can choose freely where you want to rest. The flight won't be long but you may rest your eyes anyway. I will wake you once we reach our destination." Red gestured to the ten seats available and looked at her expectantly. Liz watched Hudson make himself comfortable at Dembe's feet and hesitantly put her handbag on the seat right next to her and smiled.

"Thank you, Red. I think I will take this one and indeed rest."

While she made herself comfortable on the chair, situated right by the window, Red patted her shoulder and grinned. "Be my guest. I am wishing you a good rest. Call if you need anything. I will be right across the aisle.

With that, he left Lizzie to her thoughts and after only a few minutes, she fell into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, Red took a file out of his leather case and breathed deeply before opening it. Inside was a sheet of paper with a picture of a woman close to Liz' age. There weren't a lot of information on the paper besides the name, age and line of work.

Bethany Hurst, born Petterson. Barkeeper in Mexico City.

Red rolled the name around in his mind for a while until a soft smile appeared on his face.

Pretty name…Red wondered if she had chosen it herself, or if her adopted parents had decided for her.

tbc...