Over the next week Red came around to her house less and less. At first, she had thought that he was busy with helping the FBI with the next Blacklister, but after one particular incident where she had called him and he didn't answer or call back, she finally realized that he was avoiding them.
It infuriated her.
It was Sunday night and she had just put Alec to bed. She was walking without her crutches now since the doctor gave her the go ahead to wear a boot. It was huge and uncomfortable, but it certainly beat using the crutches, and it allowed her to care for the baby without help.
It had been a long day. Alec had been cranky and fussy pretty much the whole day for no reason that she could figure out, and by the time she put him to bed she was at her wits end. She just hoped he slept better that night. He had been getting up every two or three hours to eat every night, which in turn, left her exhausted. She didn't know how single parents did it. She wasn't sure she could do it without Red.
There was a knock at the door that startled her out of her depressing thoughts. She glanced at the clock and frowned. It was well after eleven. She walked to the door and glanced through the curtained window in her door. It was Red.
Liz felt like being petty and ignoring him like he had ignored her earlier, but unlike him she wasn't immature. She stepped back and unlocked the door then swung it open.
He tried to smile at her, "Lizzy."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Red." She wasn't going to make this easy for him.
He cleared his throat in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness, "May I come in?"
She shook her head, her lips in a thin line, "I don't think so. Come back another time. I'm tired and I'm going to bed. Alec is going to be up in an hour or so to eat."
She started to shut the door but he put his hand out and stopped it, "I need to talk to you. Please let me explain my absence."
Liz tried to close the door again without saying anything, but it didn't budge. She didn't feel like injuring him, so she huffed in annoyance, turned around and walked up the stairs with a loud 'thunk', thunk', thunk' on every stair.
She heard the door close and lock and she knew that he had let himself in. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of looking back, so she walked in her room and shut the door; praying he wouldn't follow her. She quickly got ready for bed, laid down and listened for signs that Red was in her house. She didn't hear anything. Maybe he had given up and left, but she highly doubted it. He was stubborn when he wanted to be. Making sure the baby monitor was on, she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, knowing that she only had about ninety minutes until Alec woke up.
OOOOOO
Liz awoke to sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. It looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. She stretched her hands over her head, feeling rested for the first time in a week and glanced at her clock. It was 11:30 AM.
She bolted upright in panic. She hadn't heard Alec all night and she thought for sure he had been kidnapped or stopped breathing.
Tears spilled from her eyes as she strapped her boot on and walked as fast as she could to Alec's room. She made her way over to his crib and saw that he wasn't inside.
She was in all out panic mode and hurried down the stairs to find her phone and call the FBI.
Picking up her phone that was on the entryway table, she started dialing the number when she heard a soft coo from the living room.
"What the hell?" She mumbled to herself.
She walked in the living room and saw Alec lying on the floor on his blanket staring up at a toy that Red was dangling over his head. Red was stretched out on his side, with his vest open and his sleeves rolled up. He looked entirely too good and she was glad that she was so upset with him, because she missed him like hell.
She closed her eyes in relief that Alec appeared unhurt and happy, but she was even more upset at Red now, and stalked over to him.
"Red, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
He rolled on his back and looked up at Liz, his face unreadable, "You were exhausted and needed a break. I came to help."
Liz ground her teeth together, trying to contain her fury, but failing, "You son of a bitch! You don't just get to pick and choose when you want to help out. You can't just ignore us and leave for days without a word, then come waltzing back and expect everything to be fine. You can't!"
Tears were pricking at her eyes again, but she refused to let them fall in front of him.
He sat up slowly, grimacing at the creaking of his body, "Lizzy-"
She cut him off, her voice a mere whisper, "No. I appreciate the help, but no. Just leave."
Alec chose the perfect time to start fussing, so she knelt and quickly scooped him up, not looking at Red. She knew he was staring at her, so she did her best to ignore him.
She walked out of the room, bouncing Alec on her shoulder slightly to get him to stop whimpering, and walked in the kitchen; placing him in the car seat that was sitting on the table.
He was distracted by the toys that were hanging down from the handle, so she started the coffee maker and put some bread in the toaster.
She had her back to the kitchen doorway, so she didn't hear or see Red's approach until he placed a hand on her waist, his thumb moving in small circles on her skin just under the hem of her shirt. She stiffened at the contact, but didn't move away. She was so tired of fighting her feelings for him and wanted to lean back into him and have him embrace her, but she resisted. Her fury at him hadn't dissipated.
He leaned forward, his mouth inches from her ear and his chest making contact with her back, "I'll honor your wishes and leave. I want to return tomorrow and talk with you about a number of things. Does that sound agreeable?"
He was warm and smelled so good, and his voice sounded apologetic, so she went against her gut and gave him a small nod.
She heard his slight intake of breath before he leaned forward and kissed the area in front of her ear, the closest place he could reach. He whispered in her ear, "I love you, Lizzy. See you tomorrow", then he stepped back and walked out of the kitchen, stopping for a second to mumble something to Alec that she couldn't make out. She didn't say anything back, or turn around to watch him leave.
A minute or so later she heard the front door open and close. She let out the breath she had been holding and sighed, suddenly more tired than she could ever remember being.
OOOOOOO
The man across town crossed his arms in consternation as he watched the scene before him play out. His little threat to Red had kept him away from his distractions for a couple of days, but now that he had returned to them, something had to be done.
Author's Note: Whoo whoo, all aboard the angst train. I'm sorry this is so short, but it felt like a good place to stop. Thanks for the reading and for the reviews from the last chapter. This story isn't getting the same number of readers that JOS was getting, even when it was in its beginning, so I don't know if people just hate Navigation, or aren't reading it because it's a sequel. Who knows! Haha..Please let me know what you think. The more responses I get, the faster I write. It's just a fact of life. :)
