Chapter 2

He woke up to the feeling of thousands of little needles pricking into his arm. His first intention was to move it to shake feeling back into the limb, but not only was almost all of the feeling gone, but he could feel pressure, something wrapped around it. Opening his eyes, it took him a moment to realize where he was and then he saw her. His Lizzie was holding his arm to her chest like a child would clutch their teddybear. The smile sliding across his face couldn't be helped and his chest swelled with adoration at the sight of her. Her cheek was resting weirdly in the crook of his elbow and her hands were tightly clasped around his forearm. He could feel the warmth of her against his palm, her steady heartbeat and… it was then that he realized that his fingertips were brushing against one of her breasts and he thanked his lucky stars that, for one, she wasn't awake yet, but also his unconscious self hadn't squeezed the round globe.

Unsure of how to proceed, Red just stayed put for the moment. Sooner or later she would wake and then untangle herself from his half embrace. As if on cue, Liz shifted, slowly coming back from the land of dreams. She started stretching, but stopped herself, groaning as she felt the kink in her neck. Carefully sitting up, she tried slipping from his arms unnoticed, but soon she found herself eye to eye with a very sleepy looking Red.

"Hey," she greeted softly, putting his arm back on the couch with a blush.

He held onto her hand for a moment and squeezed, even though his arm was still a little asleep. "Good morning. How's the neck?"

She clutched at the hurting part of her body and grimaced. "I'm too old to be sleeping on the floor."

"You really didn't have to."

Before she could respond, a wail came from the crib. "Like clockwork," she said and made her way over. Feeling lazy, Red stayed where he was and merely turned his head to observe his two girls. "Can you hold her for a moment? She doesn't like waiting for her food." Liz rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation.

"Of course," he replied immediately and held out his arms.

She grinned knowingly and walked over to him. "Are you gonna sit up?"

"I don't think so," he said with a smile.

Liz shook her head, but bent down and put the baby on his broad chest.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he spoke softly and kissed the little forehead. "How did my princess sleep, mhm? Did we have a good rest?"

She had to bite her lip in order to stifle a sob at the sheer cuteness in front of her. It was amazing to see the two of them together and she didn't think she could ever get enough. Turning, she made her way to the kitchen area and started preparing a bottle.

It was then that the door opened and Tom was standing in the room, his face turning sour when he spotted the man on the couch. "What is he still doing here?" Without waiting for a response, he walked over towards them and started picking up Agnes, who began crying immediately.

"Put her back down," Liz said.

"She doesn't belong with that man."

"Tom, put her back down, now!"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now, Liz?" Agnes was crying in earnest now, her little hands pushing against the chest of the one that had disturbed her peaceful morning.

"I'm not asking you again. Leave her where she wants to be."

With a huff he put the wailing child back down and glared at Red. "Are you happy now?!"

Red, who had refrained to interfere, gently closed his arms around Agnes, stroking lightly over her back. "I will be as soon as you've closed that door behind you on your way out."

Tom turned to Liz, ready to argue some more, when she held up her hand. "Just go."

"This isn't over," he threatened, banging the door shut as he stormed out.

Agnes wailed at the loud sounds, but Red was quick to comfort her, shushing her softly as he brushed his nose over her head. "It's okay, sweetheart, no need to cry. I, too, dislike being bothered that early in the morning, especially if I haven't had breakfast yet." It didn't take long for the girl to calm down and soon she was merely hiccuping from time to time. "There you go, my sweet angel." He kissed her head once more and looked at Liz. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"You know that this wasn't necessary. I would've left."

"But I didn't want you to," she quickly replied and then turned back to preparing her daughter's meal. "Are you hungry?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation away from herself.

Red let her, their relationship was still fragile and he didn't want to upset her any further. "Don't worry about it. There are some things I need to take care of soon anyway."

"Oh… if you need to go -"

"I'd like to feed her first, if that's alright."

Liz nodded and walked back over to him, watching as he carefully sat up with Agnes in his arms, before reaching for the bottle. He looked like an expert feeding her daughter and Liz felt guilty for being jealous that this wasn't the first time for him.

"She truly is an angel," Red spoke softly, his eyes never leaving the child in his arms.

"She can be quite the devil, too."

"I don't believe that at all," he said and nosed the fair hair again. "You could never be anything but an angel, isn't that right, sweetheart?" In response little Agnes reached out to touch his cheek and Red grinned widely at her.

Liz gently took her from his arms after she was finished eating, praying that she wouldn't fuss about being taken from the arms of her new favorite person, and quickly burped her, while Red started putting his belt back through the loops.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked, watching him closely.

"Better," he replied with a smile. "A little sore, but that rest has done wonders for me. Thank you, Lizzie."

She blushed at his words. "I didn't do anything."

"You did more than you had to. Thank you for having me. The two of you were the perfect hosts."

She shook her head, but couldn't help smiling at his silliness. "You're welcome to come over anytime.

"That is very generous of you." He let the back of his fingers stroke over the baby's chubby cheek. "If you need anything, just give me a call." He was giving her space, trying not to pressure her.

"Thank you."

Red nodded and then leaned closer to kiss Agnes goodbye. "Be a good girl for mommy, alright?" He smiled when she squealed in delight and then quickly kissed Liz's cheek as well. "I'll call you later."

"Okay. Be careful," she added, hating the feeling of panic rising in her chest when she thought about what could happen while he was conducting his business.

"Always."

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She picked up on the first ring, holding the phone to her ear, while holding her daughter in her other arm. "You forgot your hat," she said as a way of greeting, eying the item on her breakfast bar.

"Hello, Lizzie," came his deep voice and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading over her lips. "And it's a fedora actually, there's a difference."

Agnes was already bouncing on her hip, making excited noises as she had apparently recognized to whom that voice belonged.

"Is that my girl?"

My girl. She loved hearing him say that. "Yes," she replied. "Seems like you've got another female wrapped around your finger."

"I'd say it's the other way around. Give her to me please."

Liz chuckled. "You know she can't exactly hold a conversation yet, Red."

"Humor me, Lizzie." She did of course and put the phone on speaker, holding it closer to her child.

"She can hear you now."

"Hello, princess," he greeted softly and Agnes squealed in delight. "I'm happy to hear you too. How's my sweet angel this fine afternoon?" Again the girl made her joy known. "Mhm, I agree, the weather is fantastic. I was wondering, if you'd like to be my guest for dinner this evening. You could bring your mother. Does that sound agreeable?" As if she had understood, she bounced in her mother's arms and made happy noises, clapping her hands. "Wonderful, princess. Let me talk over the details with your mommy, alright? I'll see you soon."

"You're a dork," she said upon putting the phone back to her ear.

"I was merely conversing with your sweet daughter, Lizzie. There's nothing wrong with that," he replied, but she knew he was smiling. "So?"

"Mhm?"

He huffed a laugh. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

"Oh, so I'm invited as well? I wasn't sure if you just wanted me to drop her off," she told him, trying to sound somewhat upset.

"As if I wouldn't want you with me." His words warmed her heart and she tried not to blush even though he couldn't see her. "When can you be here? I can send Dembe to get you."

"That's alright," she interrupted his planning. "I'll just pack a bag for Agnes and then we'll be on our way. Should we bring something?"

"Elizabeth, you wound me. As if my guest would have to bring anything to a dinner I invited them to."

"You know, most people say it's common courtesy."

"You don't need to worry about that at all. I'm happy as long as you're here." The silence afterwards was weird and Red scrambled for something to say. He hadn't mean to let that slip, but sometimes he couldn't stop himself with her. "Are you sure you don't want me to send Dembe?"

"We'll be fine. Thank you though. Give me… twenty minutes?"

"Don't hurry on my behalf. And give that sweet angel a kiss from me, will you?"

This time it was her cue to chuckle. "You can do that yourself in a few." With that she hung up and cuddled Agnes close, the grin on her face getting bigger and bigger. She was looking forward to seeing him and was more than glad that he had called sooner than she had thought he would. Happiness flooded her as she realized that this was his way of forgiving her for what she had done to him. He had dealt with the pain on his own and surely he was somewhat angry still, but in the end his love for her and her daughter won out.