Disclaimer: Unfortunately not mine.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had intended on getting this up over the weekend but RL was insistent I pay attention.

It was the sound of the door closing that woke her, the gentle snick of the latch falling into place despite attempts to be silent. A quick glance at the clock next to the bed told her it was 5.40am. She heard him quietly move around, she couldn't see him as darkness still enveloped the room but the whispers of fabric against skin made her think he was undressing. Her heart picked up a notch at the idea of his clothing being placed gently over the chair in the corner of the room. She listened intently, heard his feet pad slowly towards the bed. He lifted the covers and slid in silently next to her. He shifted closer to her and led close, almost spooning behind her, but not actually touching her body with his. He was close enough to feel his breath on her neck. The smell of his cologne touched her nose; it was faint, applied hours before, but it was enough to make her breath hitch and a small shudder rippled through her. She shifted slightly pressing her back into his front and his arm wrapped around her waist. She was only slightly disappointed when she felt the fabric of a t-shirt and boxer briefs through her own tank top and shorts.

He let out a slow breath and she smelt whisky, she smiled slightly and idly wondered how many he had had before he had decided to come to her room.

'There are still a few things we need to talk about Lizzie' it was whispered lightly into her ear, she shivered at the vibrations his words caused and tilted her head slightly to give him better access to her neck. He dutifully placed a soft kiss along the column before moving slightly away from her. She wasn't the only one struggling with a physical reaction.

She grinned slightly 'Fire away, I'm listening.'

'Have you considered how this will affect your life, I mean really thought about it? The chances are we are never going to be able to keep this a secret Lizzie. That means only one thing, we will have to leave. Be on the run indefinitely. You are likely to be named a fugitive which means forever looking over your shoulder, forever running.'

'I thought we talked about this already, I have considered the possibility, and while it may not be my lifestyle of choice I'm more than willing to do it, for us. I'm pretty sure the opulent houses and penthouse suites may not be to my taste but I'm willing to open negotiations. Slightly less lavish for you, slightly more normal for me. Compromise. The corner stone of most relationships.'

He sighed slightly behind her 'You make it sound so simple. I don't think you really understand how tiring that kind of lifestyle can be Lizzie. How disruptive. It's exhausting. '

She huffed out an annoyed breath 'Of course I don't really understand Red, I have never lived like that. It's something I'm willing to do. It's not a rash decision, I haven't lost my mind. Give me some credit.'

She felt his nod but sensed he was far from done.

'There are things I won't be able to give you Lizzie. There won't be a wedding. The FBI will never stop looking; we won't be able to risk signing legal documentation which implies our location and choices. There won't be a house with the white picket fence. There will be different houses, apartments, hotel suites. If we're lucky one day we might find somewhere far from sight in the middle of nowhere but it's not at all assured '. He paused and she knew what he was going to say, she knew this was probably the hardest part for him. 'There won't be any children Lizzie. I can't risk that. Not again. I won't let there be a child who would have a target on its forehead before it's even born.' She felt the tension in his body as he voiced what she knew he thought was going to be the deal breaker.

'It's ok Red. I've thought about it. I won't lie, it was a big consideration, but I knew that you wouldn't want children. It would be undeniably selfish to bring a child into a world which is as unstable as ours. I have accepted that.'

'Lizzie, it was only a matter of months ago you were days away from having a child, how can you so easily give that up?'

Lizzie turned in his arms, irritation emanated from her body as she settled on her right side facing him. 'This is not easy for me Red, nothing about this is easy. Everything you have said, every barrier you can see are ones I have already thought about. I have laid it on the line for you, and despite you crawling into my bed at stupid O'clock, you have yet to tell me exactly what it is you want. So tell me Red, what do you want?'

Red lifted his hand from her waist and raised it to play gently with a strand of her hair which had fallen into her face. 'I want you to have everything I can't give you. The devoted husband, house full of children, a life filled with happiness. I have agonised over my feelings for you, wanting you so badly but promising myself I wouldn't ever act on them. I swore that when this is finished, when you didn't need me anymore for your answers, I would let you go without a fuss and leave your life like I never existed. But I'm selfish Lizzie, and even though when I made those promises to myself I meant every word, here I am, in your bed. The reason why I am reiterating these things Lizzie, reminding you that it's not going to be easy, is because once we do this, I'm never going to let you go. You have to be sure. If you're not say now and I will leave this bed and when you get up we will go back to finding Berlin like none of this happened. If that's what you want I can do that.'

Lizzie shifted closer to him, her hand resting on this thigh as she pressed as close as possible. 'I had a husband, a house. I was supposed to be filled with happiness. That didn't work out so well. I want happiness with you Red. You will undoubtedly piss me off beyond belief sometimes. I can't promise I will never throw a paperweight at you again. I can't promise that I will never say hurtful things in anger. I can promise I want this though. I love you.'

Her face had edged closer to his with each word she spoke, he brushed his nose against hers 'I love you.' No long winded explanation of his devotion could have affected her as much as those three words.

Their lips hovered, close but not touching, their breaths mingled and finally she brushed his lips with hers, it was barely a touch. She did it again and again as his hand ran up her body to rest against her neck. Their lips caressed, hard then soft. Tongues gently touched and teased. Her hand snaked up the back of his shirt as their legs tangled together. She felt the roughness of his skin against her palm almost immediately. Small creases appeared in her forehead as she frowned at the extent of the marred skin under her hand. She pulled away from Red and saw shock and fear cross his face. Like he had forgotten he had scars on his back and he really didn't want her to see them.

'Turn over.' It was a request that he knew meant so much more than her wanting to see his back. If he refused he knew that this would go no further. If he agreed there was every possibility it would go no further anyway. He owed it to her to give her he opportunity to make her own decision. Red sat up in the bed and removed his t-shirt.

Even the darkness that had surrounded them wasn't going to be any help; it was giving way to the light that was creeping through the curtains. It was past dawn and the sun was making its presence felt. He turned his back to her tensed for her reaction.

She gasped at the extent of the scaring. Burns. There was no doubt. Her gaze fell to her own burn scar on her palm and wrist. She raised her hand to his back and gently ran her fingertips over the raised flesh.

'You were in a fire?'

He nodded once. Carefully, deliberately. She felt his tension, the way his shoulders were held rigid and it suddenly occurred to her that the flames which had branded her skin might have branded his too. She let out a shuddering breath and voiced her suspicion.

'The same fire I was in?' She was calm, not accusing, she merely wanted to know, not to blame. She didn't think it was possible for a man to be as tense as Red was right then, his muscles were solid, she could feel the tautness of his body in every breath he took. He nodded once again.

A veritable storm of thoughts and questions flew through her brain as she observed the man sat in front of her. Why would he be there? What possible reason would he have for being in her house the night of the fire? Did he start the fire? Did he know she was there?

'Did you get me out the house Red?' It was a guess, but her intuition shouted that she was right. A hesitation, then a slow nod. She didn't know what to think, didn't know what to feel. She didn't understand, and she was sure he wasn't going to explain, not really. He might placate her with a fraction of the truth but she was sure he wouldn't tell her the whole story. She flattened her palms against his back and ran them around his waist to settle against his stomach. Resting her head on his left shoulder she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. 'Will you tell me the whole story one day Red? When this is all done, when it's safe?' She whispered it into his ear and he immediately turned his head towards her. He was surprised, even he couldn't hide it.

'One day Lizzie, I will tell you everything I can.' She smiled against the skin of his shoulder, he was always so evasive. Agreeing with his words but leaving himself a get out clause in the process. It was enough though, right now it was enough.

Suddenly she felt exhausted. The pure emotional upheaval of the last few hours washed over her in a wave causing her to let out a huge yawn against his shoulder. She felt his chuckle rather than heard the quiet noise. He loosened her grip around his waist and turned in her arms.

'It's been a long night. We should get some sleep'.

Lizzie raised her eyebrows at him and sent him a saucy smirk 'I have to admit when I pictured you in my bed Red, sleep was not really my first thought.' He huffed out an amused breath and pulled her down into the bed with him. He pressed close to her back, tucking his legs against hers and wrapping an arm around her waist.

'There will be time for that Lizzie I assure you, but right now I have been awake for almost 26 hours and I'm quite sure my performance would be slightly lacking.'

A sleepy 'Mmm' the only response he received. He closed his eyes and felt the tension release from his body.

It wasn't perfect. It wasn't a fairy tale. It would be hard and he wasn't entirely sure he was making the right decision. But in this moment, pressed against her sleeping back, feeling her heart thump strong and steady it felt right. It was real. And right now, that was enough.

Finish.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. I know, I know, I bottled the M rating. I tried, I honestly did (one reason why its taken me as long to update!) but no matter how I wrote it I never felt it was right. I couldn't quite get over my embarrassment either, its a bit sad that a grown woman can't write a convincing sex scene but there you go. I hope you aren't too disappointed!

Thank you to everybody who had read and left me a review. I honestly never expected to receive so many lovely comments, they mean the world to me and spurred me on to make this story what it turned out to be (so really its all your fault, cant even blame me at all).

Let me know what you think of the final chapter, even if its just to tell me I robbed you of sexy times ;-)