Hi guys:)

Here comes the next chapter with, I guess for a lot of you, a nice twist into the "light";)

I'm not gonna keep you from reading too long, I just want to thank you all for reading, reviewing and everything else! THANK YOU

Disclaimer: Blacklist is not mine (for details, see prologue)

Chapter 7

Liz didn't know how much time had past, but she didn't know a lot of anything right now. Her eyes were closed but she saw pictures flying in front of her eyelids, taunting her with small information she wasn't understanding and didn't recognize. Were they even real? Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her because of the drug. She heard voices all around her talking but she was not able to understand what they were saying, only that they were angry.

A memory of Red invaded her mind and she smiled. Red standing in a shop and picking out hats. Looking all smug and endearing at the same time. Red looking at her with something in his eyes that she couldn't place at all. Some emotion that was unknown to her and that he wouldn't disclose to her. Red making fun of Ressler and then…Red in a fire?

She frowned, her muscles tensing and the shaking she felt in them was hurting her stomach. The smoke was so thick and penetrating her nose and invading her lungs, making her cough and cry out in fear. A man walking through the fire and someone calling. Liz felt the tears streaming down her face and a sob leaving her throat.

Flames were engulfing her toys and her furniture and the heat was starting to prickle on her skin painfully. She was crying out for her father, her mother but no one answered and the only thing she could hear was the roar of the fire around her and the melting sound of her dolls.

"No…" Liz gasped, shaking her head in desperate need to toss those memories away, forget them once more.

Her arms lifted and her hands covered her ears weakly when a voice started to chant the word "Remember!" into them.

Again, she saw the man walking through the fire but now she felt him grab her, lifting her into his arms and sheltering her body with his own from the flames.

"Daddy?" her small voice was almost inaudible over the creaking of the wooden floorboards, which were doing their best to hold their own against the blazing fire.

"Everything is going to be alright." A deep, smooth voice growled into her ear and she was gasping for air.

"Red?"

That wasn't possible. It was supposed to be her father rescuing her, not Red. Shaking like a leave, Liz concentrated on recognizing the face of the man carrying her but her own face stayed firmly tucked into his neck and suddenly there was no doubt in her mind. That smell. Liz opened her eyes, blinking rapidly. "Oh my god…" the unique smell that only Red had. A mixture of sandalwood and gunpowder and something she never have been able to identify.

"What did they say?!" a disembodied voice shouted at her and she cringed. "What did they say!"

"Everything is going to be ok." Liz whispered, hearing those words repeating themselves in her head over and over again. Red's voice calming her fears and lulling her into unconsciousness.

While Liz was welcoming the darkness, Ilia was furious seeing her not responsive and not getting any answers. His face had turned red and his hands were clenched into fists.

"You have given me your word that this would work, Luka!" he shouted at the man standing next to the metal table and Liz.

"I don't know why it doesn't have the desired effect on her. Maybe her body is too weak…"

"We've given her blood so that she would be strong enough!" Ilia raged, reaching for the gun in his pocket and training it on the rapidly paling man.

"I don't know, boss. Maybe she is still traumatized by the fire and stuck on those memories. We would need to hypnotize her to get her through those then."

"Can't you just tell her to not think of that?"

"You can't influence her mind with only the drug as much as you could under hypnosis." The man explained with a quivering voice. Ilia simply stared at him.

"And you couldn't have thought of that earlier?"

Luka gulped, sweat pouring down his face.

"You told me she was leading a normal life and that she passed all the psyche examinations at Quantico. I haven't expected a still present trauma."

Ilia cursed and lowered the gun, turning away from the man.

"Get her back in the cell and find a hypnotist." He barked, walking out of the room.

Half an hour later, the door to the cell opened and Red jumped to his feet as fast as his aching back would allow.

"What happened? Is she alright?"

The guard didn't answer, as expected, only walked to the mattress and situated Liz on it. Walking out, he didn't even look back, to see Red hurrying to Liz' side and kneeling beside her.

"Lizzie? Darling, can you hear me?"

He felt panic rising in him when she didn't answer. Her face was pale, her entire body covered in sweat and goose bumps. Lying a hand on her forehead, Red cursed inwardly and caressed her messy hair. A high fever was obviously spreading through her body and there was nothing for Red to do about it.

"Did you remember, Lizzie?" he asked her quietly, wondering what they had done to her and what the consequences would be now.

At least an hour later and after pulling the jacket once more over her bare body, he heard the first sign that Liz was coming around again. A low moan, accompanied by a rustling of his jackets material sent him in a matter of seconds to her side, holding her cold hand in his own.

"Can you hear me, Lizzie?"

Another groan from her and Red's worry increased again. When her head lolled to the side and her eyes opened into slits, he breathed a sigh of relief. Lowering his head so that he could look into her eyes he shook his head in frustration. Liz' pupils were huge and the brilliant blue of her eyes was almost completely taken over by the black of it.

"Drugs…" Red breathed and shook his head. Stroking Liz' hair away from her face, he closed his eyes and dropped a lingering kiss against her forehead.

"Stay strong, sweetheart." He murmured against her skin. "Dembe's coming for us."

Liz stirred but didn't open her eyes again and Red satisfied himself with checking out her wound. Seeing the fresh blood seeping through the once clean bandages, he grimaced and balled his hand into fists.

For two hours he sat at Liz' side, stroking a hand up and down her arm and taking his eyes off her for only seconds. When a loud explosion rattled through the walls and the light suddenly clicked off, Red sprang into action.

"Dembe's here, darling. We have to move now."

Carefully, Red positioned his arms under Liz and slowly lifted her up. With a few short movements she was positioned as comfortable and as safe as it was possible in his arms and Red walked back a few steps, until his back hit the wall.

"Trust me, Lizzie, Dembe knows what he is doing and you will be in a hospital in a blink of an eye." He chuckled. "Maybe not a blink of an eye but you know what I mean."

The seconds ticked by and then minutes began to stretch into an, for Red, unbelievingly long half an hour, he started to curse under his breath. Just when he was about to start worrying, heavy footsteps caught his attention. When they stopped in front of door, Red could hear hushed voices, he could barely recognize. But when Dembe's voice became louder and the door started to move, Red sighed in relief.

"Dembe, my friend. You truly are a sight for sore eyes."

"We have to hurry." Dembe told him with a grim expression on his face, holding the door open for Red when he passed his friend. "How is Agent Keen?"

"She's alive. For now."

Dembe nodded, leading the way to a door down the corridor and letting Red enter before himself.

"We have to go through the tunnels. Leon went into the other direction to distract their men." He explained. "There are too many. We have to retreat."

"So I assume we are not very well armed?"

Sifting Liz' weight a bit, Red stopped immediately in his tracks when he heard the soft groan coming from her.

"Lizzie?"

Her eyes were moving rapidly under her eyelids and her lips were moving, trying to say something.

"What is it? You can tell me sweetheart."

"Daddy…"

Red frowned at the woman in his arms and started to move again when Dembe urged him on with one hand.

"Don't leave…"

A tired and anguished sob made Red almost stop again, but he knew that they had to hurry, so he ignored his urge to simply hug and kiss her, giving her comfort in her distress.

"Everything is going to be ok, Lizzie. " he whispered into her ear, hoping that it would be enough for now.

"No…so hot."

"It's ok…" Red tried to shush her, concerned for someone hearing her. "Relax, Lizzie."

"Red…"

Red stilled his movements and an expression similar to fear took over his face.

"Lizzie…"

She couldn't remember him, could she? Her head lolled from side to side, signaling to Red that she was indeed, still caught in her memories of the past.

"It hurts…" she stuttered and rubbed her hand over the scar.

"Raymond, we have to move." Dembe's voice hissed into Red's ear and he nodded automatically but still didn't start walking again. Only when a hand pulled at his arm, he raised his head and looked at his friend.

"Move. Now" Dembe barked and dragged Red with him in the direction of a small light Red could spot at the end of the tunnel. Red made two steps of his own when he heard shouts and bangs from behind him.

"I guess we really should hurry up now." He muttered and made sure to not let Dembe out of his sight. Suddenly Dembe disappeared behind a corner, calling for Red to follow him.

"I never liked tight or crowded spaces." Red complained when he noticed the corridor narrowing and getting darker.

"The door is right ahead." He heard Dembe informing him.

"It better be…" Red huffed. "I need physiotherapy for my back anyway but now it is going to take me months until I'll be able to get back to my exercises."

When Dembe opened the door, bright light flooded the corridor and Red had to turn his head away for a moment.

"Wow…that's what I call a light at the end of the tunnel." He quipped, quickly stepping over the threshold and letting Dembe close the door behind them.

"The car is right there." Dembe gestured to the tree line in front of them and Red sighed in relief. The twinges and stabs of pain in his back were getting worse and he had to work very hard not to groan out loud.

The moment they reached the car, Red heard the door slam open and Ilia's voice shouting at his man in Russian.

"Time to go, Dembe."

Red positioned Liz on the seat as gently as possible and ran to the other side to slide in beside her and lean her body against his. The car sped off and Dembe couldn't hold back a quiet but forceful "yes." In victory. Turning around he glanced at his boss and the woman in his arms, whose Hair he was stroking.

"I called the FBI. They should find this place in a few minutes."

"That was good work, Dembe." Red praised, not looking up from Lizzie's pale face. "Now we just need a miracle for our Lizzie here."

tbc...

As always: please let me know what ya think!:)