Red heaved a long, tired breath and headed out from his safe house, leaving Dembe secure in the hands of his medical team. He was no longer critical but hadn't yet woken up from his injuries. There was nothing more Red could do now to help him and so he decided what he really wanted, needed to do was drink a lot of scotch and be amongst strangers. People who didn't look at him accusingly for yet another lapse in his judgement. He could feel the tendrils of guilt over his friend's condition tickling the back of his brain and even though he knew it had not been his fault he also knew that if he didn't get some alcohol inside him soon he would be unable to keep his demons at bay much longer. He lengthened his stride and set out for a local bar with low lighting and few patrons, just enough to distract him whilst he remained mostly unseen.

Liz brought another giant pile of plates through from the front of the restaurant and lifted them onto the side by the dishwasher. Standing straight, she cracked her back and sighed. Glancing at the clock she saw it was nine forty-five, fifteen minutes before the last food orders would be taken. She hoped and prayed nobody else would come in tonight, she was dead on her feet and desperate to go home. Glancing over and smiling tiredly at the kitchen porter who had started loading the dishwasher, she turned and went back out to the front of the restaurant, ready for any of her customers who may need a top up of wine or want to order their desserts. Standing in front of the bar area, looking for signs that she was wanted anywhere in her area, she heard the bell above the door tinkle as somebody new came in. She couldn't believe it; just twelve minutes until she had hoped to be allowed to go home and here came another customer. Cursing quietly under her breath she glanced towards the door, but rather than frowning at the incoming patron, she found herself smiling to herself. It was Raymond.

Red had stumbled from the bar he'd been in for nearly four hours and walked a little more carefully along the street back towards the safe house. He had just called to see if there was any change in Dembe's condition but there wasn't, however he had nowhere else to be so had decided to head back anyway. Stopping suddenly, he felt his stomach lurch and he covered his mouth, desperate not to vomit in the street like a common drunkard. He managed to quell his nausea but realised he couldn't go back to the safe house like this. He'd only make a scene with the doctors and nurses and get in their way. He needed to sober up a little, maybe get some food inside him. He quickly decided to go to the restaurant nearby he often frequented. Maybe he could make himself more presentable before having to go back to face his inevitable self-loathing by Dembe's bedside. He made it to the front door and walked in, glancing up to see how busy it was in there. Thankfully it was nearly empty, the lateness of the hour ensuring he wouldn't have to worry about too many prying eyes. Looking towards the front of the restaurant he saw Lizzy, his favourite waitress here. She was always friendly towards him and he knew she had a crush on him. Maybe she could distract him for a while, even make him feel good about himself.

'Good evening, Mr Henley. Table for one?'

'Yes, please, thank you Lizzy. And again, call me Raymond', he replied smiling at her broadly. No matter how many times he insisted she call him by his first name, she always started off overly politely.

Liz smiled back at him and pulled his chair back so he could sit before placing the specials menu in front of him, 'All the specials are still available, even though the kitchen will be closing in ten minutes'.

Red frowned and stared at his watch, disbelieving that it had gotten that late, 'Oh my, I do apologise. I had no idea you were this close to shutting for the evening. I should go, I don't want to keep you working later than you have to'. As he was saying this, Red started to get to his feet but didn't quite manage, losing his balance and slumping back into his chair.

Liz, by now, had identified just how inebriated he was, the smell of the scotch fumes coming off him in waves every time he spoke. She frowned slightly, looking down at him. He had always been completely in control of himself every other time she'd seen him, seeing him like this was a little disconcerting for her.

'No, no, don't even think about leaving, Mr… Raymond. The chefs are still here, there's food ready to be cooked. Don't you worry about that at all, please?'

Red lifted his eyes back up to meet hers and smiled ruefully. He could see that she had ascertained just how much of a mess he was and had taken pity on him. Ordinarily he may've declined her offer anyway and left but she looked like she genuinely wanted him to stay, like she was worried about him.

'Okay, I will. On two conditions', Red said, smiling slyly at Liz. She laughed and nodded, raising her eyebrow to signify she was curious.

'One – I'll have the quickest thing there is to prepare, no matter what it is, so staff can start going home'.

'Right, okay', Liz laughed, 'Spaghetti Carbonara it is then'.

'Splendid, just what the doctor ordered. Secondly, would you do me the honour of joining me for dinner? I assume your shift is nearly over? Could I persuade you to do that?'

Liz's mouth fell open at his words. The number of times she'd fantasised about him saying something just like that and now he really had. Was she dreaming?

'I, er, well….. I would love to, Raymond. But I'd need to ask my manager. Such things are not really allowed'.

'Never mind your manager. Go fetch them now and send them over to me. I'll get it sorted out, don't you worry', Red said as he finished with a wink to her.

Liz smiled back at him and turned on her heel, heading towards the kitchen. She paused just two steps away and turned back, 'Oh, I'm so sorry. Do you want a drink whilst you wait for your food?'

'Yes, please. Your finest red. And a carafe of water. Thank you my dear'.

Liz turned away again and walked off, her heart hammering away in her chest. She couldn't believe this was happening. The man she'd had a crush on for nearly a year, ever since she started working here, had asked her to join him for dinner. She almost skipped into the kitchen, looking around eagerly for Paul, her manager. Locating him by the back door, sneaking a smoke, she explained the situation and although he frowned at her he said he would go and talk to Raymond. He was a good customer of theirs and always tipped very generously so Paul couldn't really refuse. Liz waited on tenterhooks as Paul disappeared, looking over her uniform to see if she had any food or drink spillages on it. Thankfully she seemed okay for once. Hearing the door to the kitchen swing back open, she looked up as Paul reentered. He nodded curtly to her and headed off to his office, quite openly pocketing something as he did so. Liz grinned. She couldn't care less if Raymond had had to 'bribe' her manger to allow her to dine with him, all that mattered was that she was going to. She quickly fetched their most expensive red wine and a large jug of water and headed back out to the front, asking the chef on her way past to prepare two orders of the spaghetti.

'I see that silver tongue of yours managed to persuade my manager easily enough', she said to Raymond as she got back to the table and set the drinks down.

'Oh, this tongue of mine is wondrous in many ways, sweetheart. Now, please sit down and let me pour you some of this delicious looking wine'.

Liz could feel a huge blush creeping over her face at Raymond's comment about his tongue. Was he flirting with her? The idea that he wanted to dine with her hadn't seemed overly flirtatious considering the state the man was in. He clearly just wanted company. But did he want more than that? She was nervous and ecstatic all at once and looked up at him coyly as he poured them both a glass of wine.

'How long have you been on shift today, Lizzy?'

'Well, I did four hours over lunch and I've been here since five this evening'

'You must be exhausted, on your feet that whole time. Please, have a drink of wine and relax. It's so nice for me to have such beautiful female company tonight, I can't tell you how much I needed this'.

Liz smiled at him but could see the sadness in his eyes as he said this. She wondered what had driven him to get as drunk as he was. And to request company for dinner when he normally quite happily ate here alone. She held her glass towards him and clinked his own with hers, 'Cheers, Raymond. And thank you'.

Red smiled as she did this and took a long drink of his wine. Leaning forward over the table towards Liz he looked her right in her eyes and asked, 'So, Lizzy, tell me about your hopes for this evening'.