Red and Liz walked for over two hours, pausing briefly at one point to sit under some trees and just relax, watching the birds swooping in the sky overhead. It was wonderfully peaceful.

Once they were back at the house, Liz headed straight to the kitchen, declaring she'd fix them up something to eat. Red sat down in the front room and sighed softly. He was feeling much better but still couldn't quite shake the feeling he wasn't completely recovered. His mind was still foggy and the fear of another anxiety attack paled him a little.

Liz returned to the front room, carrying a tray of cheese and crackers and some fruit.

'Wow, this place is well stocked. You'd never be able to tell it was one of your safe houses, Raymond', she said to him fondly.

'Ha', Red barked. 'Well, yes, you know I do appreciate the finer things in life. Oh, you found the Brie? Wonderful. It's imported from France, the real thing. Absolutely divine', he said as Liz handed him a plate.

They sat and ate peacefully, each just enjoying the other's company. Once they had finished, Red excused himself to go to the bathroom and Liz cleared up the dishes.

As Liz finished in the kitchen and scanned over that morning's newspaper, which Mr Kaplan had left lying on the table, she realised that Red had been gone almost ten minutes. She headed for the stairs, worried that he might have had another relapse. As she got to the top of the stairs, she saw the bathroom door was open and the room empty so she turned towards Red's bedroom and hurried into it.

'Raymond, where are you?'

There was no reply and he didn't appear to be in here either. Liz started to panic and quickly headed to one of the other upstairs bedrooms, where Mr Kaplan had been this morning. She found Red standing at the window in there, absolutely stock still. He didn't react at all when she entered so she hurried to his side and turned him slightly so she could look him in the eyes.

'Raymond, hey, you all right?'

'I think so. I just, er, found myself in here and became captivated by the wind in the trees. I don't really remember…. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to worry you'.

'That's okay, I just need you to talk to me if these kinds of things happen. Deal?'

'Sorry, Lizzy, yes. Deal. This didn't feel like before though. More like I was in a kind of daydream. I actually feel all right'.

'Good', Liz said as she reached out and squeezed his hand. 'Now, how's about you come back downstairs so I can keep an eye on you, okay?'

'Of course'.

They both headed back down the stairs and returned to the front room. Red sat back down on the couch and Liz came to sit next to him, still feeling the need to keep close. 'Fancy telling me a story, Raymond?', she asked with a smile on her face.

'A story? What kind of story?'

'You know, one of your ridiculously over the top ones which I only half believe are true. One of your crazy adventures'.

'Only half believe are true? Oh, Elizabeth, I'm wounded. They are all perfectly true. I admit, there may be a tiny soupçon of embellishment once in a while but only within the confines of artistic licence'.

'Okay, so go on. Tell me about Mad Boris and his harem of spoon fed camels', Liz said, laughing out loud as she did so.

'How on earth do you know about Boris?', Red asked, feigning a shocked look as he turned to her. 'That's a top secret story. Nobody knows that…... Do all my stories really sound that silly to you, Lizzy?'

'No, not at all. I was just teasing', Lizzy said, grabbing hold of Red's hand. 'Come on, entertain me'.

'Well, seeing as you asked so 'nicely', my dear', Red said, whilst pretending to frown at her. 'Oh, well, I'm sure you'll love the tale about a Swede I once knew called Sven. Absolute giant of a man. Easily two metres tall. Beard like a rhododendron bush in full bloom. You can see why the Vikings were so feared if he was anything to go by', Red said as he pulled a face at Liz, making her laugh. 'He was into the smuggling of saffron, would you believe, of all things…..'

Red carried on and Liz listened, enraptured. In truth, she sometimes found his tales too far-fetched to be true. But, if he insisted they were, she trusted him. Besides, they were almost always funny. And it was clearly cheering him up to chat away to her. His hands were becoming more and more animated and the range of facial expressions he was pulling was making Liz giggle. She settled back into the couch and let his voice just wash over her.

Before they knew it, Mr Kaplan had returned and headed straight into the front room.

'Hello, you two. How are you both doing?'

'Very well, thank you Kate. You and Dembe have a successful day?' Red asked, hoping to get some details out of her.

'Yes, we did. Very productive. And, if you continue to improve, I'll even tell you about it. Tomorrow.' Mr Kaplan said whilst raising a matronly eyebrow at Red.

'Fine, fine. Well, as long as you're both safe'.

'And how are you feeling? Any more moments of panic or despair?'

'Just the one really, and an odd moment where I lost focus. But I'd say I'm at least 99% better now', Red said smiling happily at Mr Kaplan.

'Excellent news. Well, I'm going to prepare some dinner. You two hungry?'

'Always', said Red.

'Absolutely', chimed in Liz.

Two hours later and the three of them were still sitting around the kitchen table, happily sated and starting to feel sleepy.

'Right, well I'm going to head to bed now, Raymond, Elizabeth. I shall see you both in the morning. Please come and fetch me if you're worried about any new or recurring symptoms though, okay?'

Red and Liz both agreed they would and bade goodnight to Mr Kaplan. Once they had cleared up in the kitchen they headed upstairs to Red's bedroom. One by one they went to use the bathroom and then found themselves back in the bedroom, each suddenly a little unsure of what would happen next.

'Raymond, if it's okay, I'd like to sleep in here with you again? I know there's another room I could use but I'd like to be close to you'.

'Oh sweetheart, thank you. I wanted to ask if you would but wasn't sure how to'.

'Raymond, don't be silly. You know I've said I'll not leave your side until you're completely better and I meant it. I just wanted to be sure you were still okay with me invading your personal space'.

'More than okay. I'd very much appreciate your presence with me tonight, Lizzy. Just having you close makes me feel much happier'.

'Okay, well, that's settled then', Liz said as she pulled back the covers and slid into the bed. 'But I'm having this side, so you'd better not have a problem with that', she said as she winked at him.

'I think that's a problem I can easily surmount, my dear', Red said as he got in the other side.

Liz reached out and turned out the bedside lamp. Once more the curtains had been left open so the moonlight came streaming into the room. They both lay there in the quiet for a few moments, each becoming increasingly self-conscious of the other's proximity. Before she really realised what she was doing, Liz snaked out an arm and found Red's hand. She squeezed it lightly and he immediately squeezed it back. He then let out a sigh he hadn't even realised he'd been holding in. They soon both fell asleep, hands still tightly bound together between them.