AN: Wow, your feedback's been overwhelming. Thank you so, so much! It really means a lot to me that you like this fic and I'm still excited that my mate actually likes it as well! Special thanks for beta-ing goes to wonderful jackandsamforever!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter 3

On Sunday she slept in, actually using the time off she had been granted. Around lunch time she went online to see if her new friend was logged in, only to be disappointed when he wasn't. She didn't like it one bit that he didn't come online to talk to her all day long.

Monday came all too soon and Liz found herself back in the war room; getting waved over by a very curious Aram.

"Tell me, did you do it?"

She rolled her eyes as Ressler came to a stop next to them as well. "You two are the worst."

"Come on Keen, share."

"Yes. Yes, I went onto that site."

Both men grinned and started asking her questions without even leaving her enough time to answer, not that she wanted to anyway. Without another word, she turned and walked into her office, ignoring the boys calling after her.

When the door opened and Ressler walked into the small space, Liz pretended to be hard at work, trying hard to ignore the way he was grinning at her. "Alright Liz, tell me about that site."

"Don't you have something to do?"

"No, I'd rather talk about you. So, spill, Keen. Find anyone yet?" He asked.

Dropping her pen with a sigh, she turned her chair to the side and crossed one leg over the other. "I only really talked to one guy."

"Ooooh, so there's already a guy. Have you met him? Have you hooked up yet?"

"No!" She replied immediately. "No, I have not hooked up with him."

Ressler leaned forward in his chair. "What's his name? What does he look like? Come on, spill."

She shook her head. "I'm only gonna tell you this much: his name's Richard."

"Who's Richard?"

Both Ressler's and Liz's head flew to the now open door, where the Concierge of Crime was standing, his trademark hat in his hand.

"Red," she said, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Hello, Lizzie. Donald." Both men nodded at each other. "Who's Richard?" He asked again, and the female FBI agent almost groaned out loud at the question.

"Agent Keen here has signed up –"

"Shut up, Ressler!" She interrupted immediately, then turned back to the man standing in the doorway. "Is there something you need, Red?"

"You."

After a somewhat uncomfortable silence, Liz finally found her voice again. "Right. Do you have a new name for us?"

Red gave her a smile, knowing that he had thrown her off. "Let's discuss this over lunch," he said, and then turned to the other agent. "I'm sorry, Donald, there's only enough space for two."

Throwing a fake smile back at the man, Ressler stood. "What a shame. Keen, call me when you have something for us." With that, the Captain American impersonation left.

"Shall we?" Red asked, putting his hat back onto his head.

Trying not to notice how good he looked in this particular three-piece, it was the dark blue one, Liz stood and put on her jacket before walking past him and towards the elevator. As soon as they both walked inside and the doors had closed, Red turned to her.

"So...who's Richard?" She shot him a look that clearly said that she did not want to talk about that. "Lizzie, I haven't seen you since Friday. Didn't you miss me?" Finally the doors opened again and she left the elevator, walking towards the exit of the building. "I missed you," he added softly.

Maybe it was his words, or maybe it was his tone of voice, but something pulled at her heartstrings, warming her from the inside. She waited for him to catch up to her and then gently bumped her shoulder against his. "It was a little too quiet this weekend," she told him, before walking out into the sun, missing the grin that spread over his face.

After greeting Dembe, both got into the car and Liz was all business again. "So, you have a new name for us?"

"I'm famished, Lizzie. Have you eaten yet? We'll talk about business later. Tell me how you've been, did you get enough sleep?"

Knowing he wouldn't back down, she gave in. "Yes, I actually slept more than I have in a long time, but I don't think I would have managed another day without doing anything. I got a little fidgety on Sunday."

Red chuckled. "You need to find a hobby."

Liz snorted. "When would I have time for a hobby?"

He turned in his seat, facing her now. "You can't just work all the time, Lizzie."

"You're the one bringing me all those names, remember? Between working and trying to get some shut eye, there's not much time."

"What about chess? Or cooking! Neither take up much time." She gave him a look without saying anything. "What?"

"Red," she started, "I can neither play chess, nor do I know how to cook."

"I could teach you," he offered immediately.

"You can cook?"

He looked offended at that. "Of course I can cook, Lizzie! Not all of us live solely on take out."

She leaned her head against the headrest and watched him for a moment. "And you'd teach me? Both things?"

Red smiled at her. "I would love to, Lizzie."

The corners of her lips turned upward, and it was then that he knew that there could never be anyone but her. She was just so very beautiful. On the outside as well as on the inside. She was such an intelligent, passionate, young woman, and she had captured his heart without even trying.

When they got to the diner the waiter addressed Red by his first name, obviously the Concierge of Crime was a regular,and lead them to a booth in the back. They ordered what they wanted, then handed back their menus.

"So, Lizzie," he started, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. "Who's Richard?"

Liz groaned, having thought they would actually talk business now. "Seriously, Red?"

"Humor me."

"No."

"Come on, Lizzie, don't make me beg." He gave her puppy dog eyes.

She closed her eyes for a moment before re-opening them to give him a look. "I'm not discussing my love life with you."

His eyebrows shot up at that. "Your love life, Lizzie? Just what happened this weekend. Did you two meet? Fall madly in love and are planning on running away?"

"What? No! God, what do you think I am?"

"A beautiful, intelligent woman who's in the prime of her life."

She blushed heavily at his words and quickly looked away. "I haven't met up with him."

"But you're going to?"

"I… I don't know," she answered honestly.

He leaned forward slightly, gently trailing his index finger over her hand. "Maybe you should."

Liz sighed. "After Tom… I just… I don't know," she said again.

His heart hurt for her. He didn't want her to feel this pain, to think that this was all life had to give, which seemed nothing but darkness. "Sweetheart, sometimes you have to take chances, even if it seems risky. After everything that's happened, lately anyway, I realize that this is one of the hardest things for you; but you can't give up on life, on love. You deserve to be happy." Her eyes were wet, and for a moment he was afraid she would cry, he hated seeing her cry. He covered her hand with his and squeezed it, and was somewhat startled when she turned her hand underneath his and squeezed back. She didn't normally show any sort of affection for him, and having her touch him was a rare occasion.

Soon the waiter came and brought their lunch, and they both ate in comfortable silence until Red started telling her about the next name on the blacklist.