Liz spent the next day and a half consumed with thoughts of Red and what he was planning on telling her. She didn't want to listen to his excuses, but felt he at least deserved a chance to explain himself; even if she was still angry with him.

After all he'd given her a whole night's sleep the night before and that was worth listening to anything he had to say.

It was 10:00 AM the next day and Liz was walking from room to room looking for something to clean while she waited for him to show up. Cleaning was her nervous habit and she'd already dusted the TV twice and had even cleaned her kitchen windows, which hadn't been done since she moved in.

He didn't actually say when he would arrive, and she hated herself for being nervous about it. She didn't want to need or depend on him as much as she did, but it was hard work staying mad at him.

Alec was asleep in his swing in the living room and hadn't made a peep all morning, probably because he was up most of the night before. Again. Hardly getting any sleep was wearing on her, even with the eleven or so hours she had gotten the night before.

She was in the middle of scrubbing the kitchen sink when she heard a knock at the door. She quickly ran a hand through her hair and smoothed them over her clothes, annoyed with herself for caring.

Liz made her way to the door and checked to make sure it was Red. It was, and he looked fantastic as usual. She opened the door, trying her best not to smile, but failing and giving him a half-smile. He was dressed in casual clothes: Black T-shirt, dark blue jeans and his usual blue coat over the top. No hat or sunglasses either; that was new. She wanted to throw herself at him, but resisted. "I'm mad at him. He keeps leaving and ignoring my phone calls. He's trying to distance himself from us." It was going to be a long day if she had to keep reminding herself of that.

"Lizzy, you look beauti-"

She held her hand up, "Save it, Red."

He pursed his lips in annoyance, but didn't comment further.

They stood there staring at each other for a few moments before Red spoke up, "I thought we could go to the park and talk. That way we can get Alec..and you..some fresh air." She knew he purposely used Alec's name first because it would be hard to turn down something Alec needed.

She nodded and sniffed, "That's fine. Let me get him ready", she paused, "You can come in..if you want."

"Thank you. Can I help you with anything?"

She looked over her shoulder as she walked away, "Yeah, you can pack a diaper bag. Make sure there's diapers-"

This time he cut her off, "I know what goes in a diaper bag, Lizzy." Then walked upstairs to collect the items, leaving her staring after him.

She shook herself and made her way over to Alec, who was still asleep. She didn't want to wake him up, but fresh air would do him some good.

She picked him up and he opened his eyes immediately, dark blue orbs staring back at her, "Hey baby", she whispered. She loved when he was like this, boneless and sleepy. It wasn't as hard to imagine raising him alone when he was like this.

She quickly changed his diaper and dressed him in warm clothes. While it was spring, it was still pretty cold outside.

Red walked in the living room carrying the diaper bag just as she finished up, and gave her a small smile, "Are you ready to leave?"

She nodded, and he walked over and picked Alec up off the floor then reached a hand down to help her up. The damned boot made it impossible to refuse him, because otherwise she would have to crawl over to the couch and drag herself up. She didn't want to do that in from of Red.

She reluctantly took his hand and he easily hauled her up, steadying her before letting her go. She reached for Alec, but he shook his head, "I'll carry him. Let's go."

She rolled her eyes at his retreating back but followed him as he buckled the baby in the car seat. Liz observed him from the entryway as he made funny faces at the baby to try to get him to smile. Something she didn't think she'd ever see Raymond Reddington do. Alec wasn't smiling yet, but if anyone could get him to do it, it would be Red. Some ice chipped away from her heart as he mumbled words to the baby that she wished she could hear.

He finished buckling him in, picked up the car seat and turned to walk out. She hurriedly turned away so he wouldn't see her staring and walked out the door, hearing him follow behind her and lock the front door before walking down the steps.

His car was parked in front and she nodded to Dembe, who was standing there with the door open, and slid in the backseat. Red put the car seat in, and she brought the seat belt over and buckled it in before he could do it.

He glanced at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes, then stood up and shut the door; then opened the front door and got in the car himself. He didn't turn around and try to make conversation while they drove and Liz was glad for it. She wasn't sure she would be able to resist his charms, especially when he was being adorable with Alec.

OOOOOO

They arrived at the park within a half hour. She didn't understand why they went to the one that was farthest from her house, but figured that Red has his reasons, and she wasn't going to ask.

Red got out before Dembe could open his door, then opened the back door and unbuckled the baby from the car seat. He lifted him out leaving the car seat in the car, then shut the door, not looking at her or saying anything. Dembe opened her door and offered his hand to help her out, which she took, then thanked him with a small smile. He answered with a nod and Liz turned to see Red a little ways down the sidewalk, walking slow so she could catch up.

Liz walked after him and started to catch up to him only because he sat down on a bench. He had one arm holding the baby, who was sitting upright facing outwards, and one arm draped over the back of the bench.

She saw a few women pass Red and openly admire him, and say things like "Oh your baby is SO cute!", and "Men with babies are just adorable!". It gave Liz cavities just listening to them, but Red never disputed that Alec wasn't his and just smiled and thanked the women. He had put his rose-colored sunglasses on and she couldn't read his expression well in the sunlight. She hated when he hid behind them.

She slowly walked up to the bench and sat down just out of reach of his fingers that were draped over the back. Liz turned her head towards him, "Do you want me to take Alec?"

He shook his head, "No, he's fine."

This whole conversation was already feeling stilted and awkward to her. She sighed internally.

"Lizzy, will you please move closer so I don't have to speak louder than necessary? What I have to say requires discretion." To emphasize his point, he ran his fingertips over her shoulder.

She turned her head and raised her eyebrows at him. He looked right back at her with the same expression, challenging her.

This time she sighed audibly and scooted a few inches over. "Closer Lizzy."

"Red." He was just trying to annoy her..she knew it.

He interrupted her, "I have some very important things to discuss with you and we don't have a lot of time to waste." He put is arm around her shoulder and tugged, and she went reluctantly. He pulled her completely against his side then slipped his arm around her waist, rubbing his had up and down her ribcage slightly.

He had a lot of nerve. Especially since he knew she was upset with him.

Red leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I need you to act like you're enjoying being with me. We're most certainly being watched, so we need to make this quick."

She didn't have the slightest clue what he meant by being watched, who was watching them? But she was reluctantly enjoying his hand on her side and his lips caressing her ear. She felt herself responding to him and if he wanted her to make it look convincing, she would.

Liz put her hand on his thigh, higher up than she ever had, and felt him stiffen slightly, but he quickly relaxed and smiled at her. Then he whispered again in her ear, "Thank you, Lizzy. Now I need to tell you my reasons for avoiding you this last week."

She nodded and listened as he began speaking into her ear, "I was warned to stay away from you, or yours and Alec's life would be in danger. That was four days ago, and while I stayed away almost three days, I couldn't stay away any longer knowing you were being watched and in danger."

She fake smiled at him, pretending like he wasn't saying those devastating words to her, "Is it Tom?"
He shook his head, "I don't believe so, but I can't be sure, he may be a part of it. I believe this is part of a bigger picture, it most likely is a man who is number one on my Blacklist; whom I haven't been able to even get close to in over twenty years. I have damaging information on him, and while he's left me alone all these years, for some reason he's coming after me now." He pulled her a little closer, kissing her temple. "That's why I must leave you for a while. I don't know how long it's going to be for, but I have to catch him before he endangers more people that I love. I won't let him ruin my life again."

She shook her head, turning to talk in to his ear, "No, you're not leaving. I'm worried that if you do, I'll never see you again. I can't live like that, hoping every day for you to come back, and then you never do."

"Lizzy, do you not understand me? Alec's life is in danger. Keeping you both safe is my top priority."

She understood him just fine, but didn't want to accept it. She couldn't.

She looked over at Alec, who was chewing on his fist and drooling, looking at his surroundings with wide eyes. Liz couldn't put him in danger and as much as she wanted to be with Red, Alec's safety was paramount.

Tears filled her eyes and her anger at Red melted away. He had only been trying to keep them safe and she couldn't fault him for it. She was suddenly mad at herself for wasting yesterday when she could have spent all day and night with him.

He tightened his hand on her waist slightly and ran his hand up to just under her breast, "I'm going to have Dembe return you home and sweep your apartment for cameras and bugs. I believe there are quite a few, but if I disappear, I don't believe they will care if they're removed."

Liz was surprised at this news, but didn't want to waste conversation on it. She suddenly wanted to talk to him about anything and everything, but didn't know where to start. So instead she said, "How much longer until you have to leave?"

He kissed her hair, "Soon. I'm risking your lives now by being here with you."

She was confused, "Why do they even care if you're with me?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. That's why I need to find him."

She turned her head and kissed him softly on the lips. This was the first time she'd kissed him in days and she felt like everything was right again; even if that wasn't true. He rose his hand from her side and put in on her neck, pulling her impossibly closer and deepening the kiss. His tongue entered her mouth and she met it with hers. They stayed that way for a minute or two until he broke the kiss, putting his forehead on hers. She looked at him and saw the raw emotion on his face. He looked vulnerable and heartbroken and she wanted to hug him and tell him it was all going to be ok. That wasn't the case though, so she did nothing but stare him in the eyes and try to convey what she was feeling.

His mask slid back over his face and he turned away and removed his arm from her neck, then pulled Alec around and hugged him tightly to his chest. Alec looked so small in his arms and whimpered at the sudden change in scenery. Red buried his face in his little neck and breathed him in. Liz turned her head to give him some privacy and tried to control her emotions as much as possible. That's when she saw a man walking swiftly towards them, looking menacing.

Shit. They were too late.

"Red."

He lifted his head, "What?" He could hear the panic in her voice and started looking around.

She nodded her head at the man, who was still a fair distance away, but was clearly walking towards them.

"I think we need to get out of here."

He squinted behind his sunglasses and nodded, and she was glad the weren't too far away from the car. Red quickly stood up and started speed-walking towards the car with Alec in his arms. Liz stood up and followed close behind. She glanced behind her and saw that the man was jogging now and was pulling something shiny out of his pocket.

They weren't going to make it.

"Run!" She screamed at Red, and felt white-hot pain as something sliced through her calf. She felt herself falling and her last thought before she blacked out was that she hoped Red made it to the car with Alec safely.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the cliff-hanger, but as you guys know, I really can't help myself..heh. I got a ton of reviews from the last chapter, and see how fast I got this chapter out? I wasn't planning on getting this one out so fast, but your responses convinced me. Let's do it again..yeah? The more reviews I get, the faster the cliff-hanger will be resolved. I'm really not trying to black-mail you guys, I promise, but I want to find out what happens soon too. ;) Have a great day and please let me know what you think.