Notes:
RL is a bitch, so I decided to post what I have and leaving the rest for another chapter...
Thank you heatherpeters for the beta.
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Liz didn't wake up until hours later. She was a bit embarrassed to have slept for so long despite feeling wonderfully refreshed.
She thought back to her earlier conversation with Red at the beach. She had told him the truth about Tom and Agnes, but she realized she had failed to tell him the most important matter. Instead, she had fallen into his arms like an emotional and exhausted wreck.
The realization that he hadn't responded to her arrival or to any of her revelations, sank in slowly.
He had left for good, had made peace with his past. Had he found closure with her too? Moved on? Was it too late?
She didn't know how he felt; did he even want them here?
The uncertainty troubled her and she knew she had to talk to him. She opened her eyes and rose from the bed, when the cute exchange between Red and her little girl at the other end of the room stopped her.
Agnes sat on his lap, uncooperative, turning her head away when he tried to feed her small chunks of banana and sugar powdered waffles, wrinkling her nose and mouth.
"As stubborn as her mother," he silently laughed, shaking his head in amusement.
"Just one bite, sweetheart," he tried again, but Agnes reached out her arms to the window, pouting when he wouldn't take her there.
She suddenly stopped fussing and looked surprised when Red took a large bite instead.
"I'm known for my sweet tooth and if you don't want this delicious waffle, I certainly will."
He took another mouthful and she looked at him with big eyes, appalled at his cheekiness. How dare he eat her waffle?
He chuckled at her expression and offered her the next morsel which she now eagerly accepted, smacking her lips.
She grinned back at him while she chewed, powdered sugar dusting her chin.
Liz was deeply touched watching how Agnes responded to Red, smiling at each other, hopelessly and genuinely enchanted with each other.
It'd been so long that she couldn't even remember the time when Agnes acted like this: carefree and happy. Liz felt utter shame, thinking back on the times she kept them from each other. More than once she'd refused to let him visit, knowing it'd hurt him.
She had to fix it all; it couldn't wait any longer.
She rose to a sitting position on the bed and witnessed how Red finally granted her little girl's wish, lifting Agnes and holding her secure in his arms while he walked to the window to look outside.
Stunned, Liz looked around and saw that the suite was an underwater bedroom. She hadn't even noticed when he had brought them down here.
The huge floor-to-ceiling glass window gave a perfect view of the reef, housing hundreds of brightly colored tropical fish and coral.
As if in a silent film, the water swarmed with angelfish, clownfish, tangs, parrotfish and snappers, cruising manta rays and dancing octopuses. Moray eels and lobsters peeked out from the cracks or caves along the bottom. An occasional small shark, barracudas, lionfish and sea turtles passed in the distance.
Agnes cooed happily, her little mouth spread into a broad smile, dimples framing her lips as she gazed into the water, watching the fish darting in and out of the variegated masses of coral, sponges and sea fans.
They stood there looking outside for a long time. Agnes snuggled closer against him, resting her head against his chest. Touched by the way she was seeking his closeness, he smiled and placed a kiss on her head.
"Once upon a time octopus Leo fell in love with manta-ray Kristin."
His low voice rumbled through the room, causing Liz and Agnes to lay quiet and listen.
"But Kristin made it clear in her actions and words that she didn't share Leo's feelings. They could never be together. At least not together like he wanted.
"She told him they were too different; he the eight-armed hideous creature and she the proud and graceful beauty.
"Leo was always there when she needed him, however. He saw to her protection, even offered food and shelter if requested, but otherwise kept his distance.
"What was the saying about loving someone enough to let them go? He didn't want to hold her back, so she could discover love and happiness elsewhere, without him.
"So, he watched from afar as other manta-rays came and went, watched Kristin raise a family and live her life.
"Leo tried to put the whole thing behind him, bury it deep and never think of it again. But he didn't know how to archive that. None of his three hearts were able to let her go. He still loved her. He still wanted her in his life, no matter how much pain she'd caused him.
"He danced for her every day in front of his cave, expressing his love and devotion, even if only for himself to hear."
Liz' eyes were damp with tears. This was their story. She knew he knew she was awake and listening, so she rose from the bed and slowly approached Red by the window.
She stared at him, wanting him to look at her, but he wouldn't. He kept his gaze trained at the underwater world.
"Years passed, until one day, Kristin realized the only constant in her life, the one she could truly trust, who never left her side, who loved her without any demand, without any wish, without any expectation and with a depth of feeling that would last for as long as he lived … was Leo."
Liz' voice was weak and hoarse from crying as she continued Red's story.
"And Kristin understood that she loved him too … always had, but she had been too blind to see it. Blind, ignorant and stupid."
She paused and took a shuddering breath.
"So, she went to see him. To tell him how she felt. That she was in love with him and wanted to be with him. Forever."
As Liz finished, deep silence fell in the room. Agnes had fallen asleep in Red's arms and he gazed down at her for a long minute, his face shadowed by a deep sorrow, before he wordlessly turned away. Liz looked at his retreating back and her heart sank at his obvious rejection.
Red gently put Agnes back in her crib, tucking the loose edges of the blanket around her. He remained standing in front of the crib, looking down at the sleeping child, his hands tightly clenching the rail before he spoke.
"As much as I wish … " He faltered.
"As much as I long to have you both here with me … " He tried again.
"I can't ask you to stay."
He finally turned around to meet Liz' eyes. His handsome face held a sad, almost painful expression.
"You deserve better than this. You deserve a normal life, Agnes deserves a normal life. Not some prison in paradise."
She shook her head, not agreeing with him.
"What I deserve is a chance for us. I deserve to love you," she insisted in a firm voice that stressed every word.
"Agnes deserves a real father. We're a family and I'll not walk away from that."
"We can never leave this island, Lizzie. We're stuck here for the rest of our lives."
"There's nothing in the outside world worth going back to, Red. I ruined my glorious FBI career by killing two men. I'll always be in danger because of my parents and their crimes in the past.
"Agnes experienced the horrors of abduction, death and the pains of being separated from the ones who really loved her for far too long.
"My baby's life is as messed up as mine. I never wanted that for her. I'm sure Agnes and I will find love, peace and happiness right here on this island - and not in a world without you in it.
"I don't care where I live, as long as I'm with you. I love you Raymond Reddington, or whatever the hell your name is."
With the same low growl and fierce demeanor she usually exuded to push him away, she now demanded to be in his life. Her blue eyes flashed with determination and persuasiveness; it rendered him powerless to resist her any longer.
She had come all the way just for him and she refused to leave. How many times had he fantasized about her telling him the exact same words he just heard?
His love for her was overwhelming. It was a force he was unable to control. If he sent her away now, it would be like ripping out his own heart all over again. He had felt sad, miserable and alone without her for far too long.
He was done being reasonable and he certainly was done hurting. Wasn't it time to listen to his heart? Just for once?
"Don't even try to tell me this isn't exactly what you had in mind when you told me that if anyone could give you a second chance it was me."
He stepped closer and traced her face gently with the tips of his fingers, wiping away the last of her tears.
"I love you too, Lizzie and I don't want to fight this any more. I can't."
His tense and yearning body told her more clearly than words how much he wanted her.
"Then don't," she pleaded.
"Come here," was all he said and she threw herself against him. He gathered her in his arms and she clung to him, her body flooding with relief, her heart soaring.
He held her close in his strong, solid embrace and she breathed in his clean masculine scent. When she looked up into his eyes she saw tenderness mingling with desire.
He felt her shudder as he took her face in his hands, leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. He kissed her forehead, each cheek in turn, and returned to her mouth to press her lips back against hers.
The world around her faded away as he coaxed her lips open with his tongue and gently deepened the kiss. His mouth devoured hers and she hungrily responded, loving the taste and feel of him.
Liz' senses were reeling, her body was tingling, her blood zinging with electricity as Red's kiss worked its magic.
She was hypnotized, intoxicated by his passion. Slipping one arm around her waist and one arm around her shoulders to pull her closer against him, she suddenly flinched in pain at the contact and broke the heated kiss, panting.
She was clad only in her bikini and sensing what was wrong, he turned her around to look at her back, tenderly sweeping her hair aside.
Just as he suspected, her shoulders and upper back were sunburned crimson red.
"My god, you got too much sun."
He wet his lips and carefully kissed her burned skin.
"Let me help you take the sting out of these burns, sweetheart."
TBC