A/N: Thank you for all who reviewed and followed. I really appreciate it. This is not a easy one to write so it takes a big longer for updates. The angst is continuing. Red is being Red. I believe he simply cannot stop caring and Lizzie seems to be unable to accept that. I hope you will like this chapter.

Chapter four

They spend the rest of the morning away from each other. Red busied himself in the shed where he worked on repairing an old boat. It took his mind off of his troubles with Lizzie. It wasn't easy for him to be that harsh to her, nor did he like it. But it seemed to be the only way to communicate with her. He longed for a time to just be with her, to hold her close and frankly to never let go. But that dream would remain a dream. He was sure of it. It pained him. They had to get through this, one way or another. Whatever the outcome there would be no more doubts about where they stood after this.

It was past noon when suddenly the door opened and he heard footsteps. He didn't acknowledge her presence and kept working on the boat.

"I brought you something to drink and a sandwich."

"Thank you." It was hard for him to hear her soft, insecure voice. But he'd dealt with side of her before. He needed to know this wasn't temporary because it was what she'd done in the past.

She hesitated. She wondered what he was doing but she was sure her inquiry would be unwelcome. She felt herself getting more and more insecure. But there was something she needed to ask him. "I didn't pack any clothes for this cold. I need to get some new clothes."

"You will find more than enough clothes in the closet."

"OK." She waited for a moment to see if he would talk to her. "I'm going to go out for a walk." She turned around and made her way back to the door. Before she left he spoke again.

"Be careful out there."

"I will." She whispered before she left.

It was late that afternoon when Red finally heard Lizzie walk back into the house. She'd been gone for almost two hours and he'd been ready to call in the cavalry, worried she was lying somewhere in the snow injured.

When he heard her footsteps in the hallway he immediately walked up to her. Quickly he looked her over to make sure she wasn't injured. "Where the hell were you?" He asked, his voice raised.

"I told you I was going to talk a walk."

"You stayed away for more than an hour. I thought you'd gotten lost or injured."

She huffed. "Like you care." She muttered.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" He asked as he stepped closer. He saw she wanted to get away from him but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist. When she didn't answer he asked again. "What did you say, Elizabeth."

"Like you care." She exclaimed, but she refused to look at him.

Her words angered him greatly. If there was one thing he'd never shied away from was letting her know he cared deeply for her. That she now accused him of not caring felt like another knife in his back. "You know I care deeply. I've never pretended otherwise. Yet you chose to ignore it and preferred to focus on my flaws." He released her hand and walked away. "Don't tell me I don't care, Elizabeth."

In the kitchen he prepared a warm cup of tea for her. It would be easy to leave her be and let her take care of herself. But he couldn't. When he'd touched her he'd felt how cold she was. He knew her well enough to know she might ignore her own health. He grabbed his zipped hoodie that he'd put on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and went in search of her. She was seated in front of the burning fire place. Her head hung low which made her hair fall in front of her face.

He approached her carefully, not wanting to startle her. He wordlessly handed her his hoodie which she accepted just as quietly. He watched how she immediately put it on. He couldn't deny that he liked the way it looked on her. To stop himself from getting lost in what that thought could lead to, he handed her the cup of tea he'd made for her. "I'm glad you're okay." He whispered.

She looked up at him and once again watched him walk away from her. "Don't leave."

He sighed and took a moment before he turned back to her. "Why not?" He asked.

"I don't want to feel alone anymore." She softly said.

"I've always been here." He hesitated for a moment before he continued. "I think for a few days it will be best if we give each other space. I want us to work things out in whatever way possible. I don't want to aggravate things even more and it seems like that's what we're doing."

She tried her hardest not to get emotional. It started to feel like they were going to say goodbye after their stay here. She swallowed thickly before speaking. "If that's what you want."

He heard her voice tremble and it seemed to grip his heart. But he tried to ignore it. He tried to explain his reasoning. "I'm not going to ignore you, nor do I want you. I will cook for us so we can have dinner together. Let's give each other time to think it all through okay?" He added one a final thought. "I'm not doing this to hurt you."

TBC