Part 2
As promised Dembe and Luli had went to Elizabeth's home while Tom was still at work and had gotten a suitcase of her clothes, as well as some of her toiletries. Reddington had finally gotten her situated in his guest room and laid down to rest before he headed to his study and sat down, staring at the ice as it melted in his scotch glass. His mind wandering to Thomas Keen, and he blamed himself for not taking care of this 'problem' sooner. He hated to see Lizzie in pain, but he would not allow himself to show his emotions. The smooth music from the record player across the room allowed his mind to ease, bouncing along with the melody of Sinatra's sultry voice. Raising the cool glass he allowed the poignant liquid to move past his lips, and burn its way down to his stomach. The burning had become one of the only signs to him that he was indeed able to feel in the latter years of his life. He had kept himself distanced from people, not allowing anyone to get close to him. Yes he did hold a special bond with Dembe, as well as Luli. He trusted them with his safety, and yes he had come to gain some personal satisfaction with Luli that every man needed from time to time. But if need be, he would have no problem with turning his back and walking away from both of them. The only person he found himself doubting his abilities to leave and turn his back on was indeed Elizabeth Keen.
Hours into the dead of night Elizabeth woke up in a cold sweat, and sat straight up in bed. Her breathing was labored, her hands tightly clenching the bed sheets that she had cocooned herself in to the point that her fingernails though not visible due to the darkness of the room were white instead of pink. She had a nightmare, it had seemed so real. Right down to the smells, the voices, the feeling in her gut of danger. There had been the distinct smell of sulfur in the air, and copper which made her tongue salivate as she was walking into the dining room of her home. It had felt so cold, she could see her own breath as her eyes moved to lock on the figure of a woman lying in a pool of blood. Her eyes were glazed and held a bluish grey tent over the usual brown orbs, and her mouth was slightly agape. The gaping wound that spanned her entire throat was one of skill, no doubt she had bled out quickly. The entire room felt as if it had spun instead of her turning her body around, hearing heavy footsteps on the loose boards of the wooden floor directly beforehand. The pitter patter of blood dripping slowly off of the tip of a knife blade was distinct. There she found herself face to face, and eye to eye with the man who had so professionally taken her life. He seemed so familiar, yet his eyes held a gaze that was just not the same man. When she spoke her voice was that of a whisper, cracking and weak.
"Tom…"
Elizabeth quickly made her way out of the bed and flipped the light on as her tears from earlier reappeared and she ran a hand through her unruly hair. What was she going to do? She couldn't go home now, not knowing what she knew. She must have cried louder than she thought because the light rapping on her door let her know that Red was now awake, his voice actually gentle through the door as he spoke her name in a questioning manner. She sniffled and opened the door, letting her now red and itchy eyes meet with his surprisingly concerned blue ones.
His voice held a concerned conviction as he spoke through raspy and tired tones, "Are you alright Lizzie?"
She frowned and felt embarrassed that she had obviously woken him up as she was crying.
"I'm sorry, yes I just…I had a bad dream and it…got to me is all." Her eyes pleaded with him to leave it at that but somehow she knew it wouldn't be that simple, and she was right. Reddington nodded but then casually strode into her room and placed a hand on her arm, right behind her elbow and walked her back to the bed, sitting her down and moving to sit next to her.
"Listen Lizzie…it's going to take time but things will get better. If you'd like I've found that sometimes, talking it out does in fact help. Do you want to talk about your dream?"
She shook her head and stared down at her hands, managing to keep it together as long as she didn't look at him. That was until his left hand found hers and gently covered it. Her eyes were fixed on their hands joined together for a few seconds before she turned her head and looked over at him, as vulnerable as she had ever been in front of him before and not liking it. She tried to deny the light tingling sensation she felt from his touch, it had happened the first time he had held her hand in the park when he had first warned her about Tom.
As she told him the last details she remembered of her dream she suddenly realized that during the course of her talking she had moved closer to him. His arms now around her with one hand gently stroking her hair while her cheek rested against his chest. Her arms around his midsection, clinging to him as if she was afraid if she let go he would disappear. She found his embrace to be more soothing than she would ever admit, feeling safer than she had in a long time. When he let go of her she felt ashamed to say she suddenly missed his touch, and as he moved to the door to bid her goodnight again she bit her bottom lip and forced her cracked voice to say, "Would you stay?"
Reddington's body froze with his hand on the door knob, and his back to her upon hearing her question. It took him a few seconds before he turned around to face her general direction, and he spoke, "You want me to stay with you?"
Elizabeth nodded slowly looking him in the eyes as she nervously rubbed her scar with her fingertips, something she had done since she was a child.
"Yes, please stay with me…you make me feel safer."
Hearing her admission he gave a charming yet subtle smile and closed the door to the guest room, before he made his way back over to the bed and sat on the edge as she covered herself back up. His eyes scanning her face while his right hand moved to gently rub her back as he whispered, "Close your eyes Lizzie, I'll be right here when you wake up."
It only took a few minutes for her to fall back into a slumber and he sat there and watched her as her breathing slowed, and he released a soft sigh as his eyes started adjusting to the darkness. He would protect her no matter what, even if it meant giving his own life. He only hoped that when everything was said and done she would be able to forgive him for the secrets he had been, and still was withholding from her. Facts that deep down he knew she deserved to know about, but was not yet strong enough to deal with emotionally or mentally. One day she would know his true inhibitions for choosing her, one day she would have the answers to all her questions except for maybe just one, and most importantly he hoped she would be able to forgive him for his deepest and darkest secret, the worst sin he had ever committed.
As daylight broke its way hastily through the long burgundy curtains of the guest room Elizabeth awoke feeling much better than she had before, but as she turned to move she found herself pinned down and panic quickly set in. Lifting the sheets as much as she could she recognized the hand that was possessively holding to her and she swallowed the hard lump in her throat. Resting her head back down on her pillow, trying to think of how to not wake him while slipping out of the bed and his embrace. Her eyes closed involuntarily as she felt the feeling of his warm breath on the back of her neck. She felt the blush rising on her cheeks as her body shivered. She had finally managed to get ahold of herself until he moved in his sleep and completely pulled her body back and flush against his. Lizzie's eyes widened when she swore she heard him make a distinct noise in his sleep. She didn't know where her sudden courage came from but she slowly managed to turn her body around until his hand which was previously on her stomach was moved to her lower back and her face was inches away from his.
She took in his features, he seemed to look younger as he slept. The tension wasn't present on his face, and without thinking she slowly lifted her hand up and touched his cheek with the gentlest of touches. His light stubble pricked her fingertips as she traced his cheekbone and her breathing started to escalate. It wasn't until his eyes opened though and locked with hers that she held her breath, she was frozen and unable to move her hand, and then she heard his voice.
"Lizzie…"