Thank you all so much and I apologize for taking so long to update :) Hope this makes up for it. Please let me know your thoughts it's always appreciated!

Chapter Seven

Liz awoke to the sounds of two men's soft laughter floating out from in her kitchen area.

Still groggy from her deep sleep, she sat up slowly on the couch and rubbed around her eyes with her fingers, trying to make sense of what was going on and where she currently was. She was still inside the house she had made her new home without Tom, but she was sleeping on her couch- something she ordinarily didn't do. She felt a little ill as she rose up on her elbows and inspected her living room. The bottle of Whiskey she had drunk was still in the same place she had left it last night on her mahogany coffee table, along with a man's dark grey fedora hat. She didn't even have to guess who the hat belonged to.

Red.

No part of last night was lost on her. She remembered everything, from drunk dialing him awkwardly, to Red and Dembe coming over. She felt instantly abashed at how ridiculous she had been last night, but it wasn't exactly like she could take it back anytime soon. Besides, what she had looked for- some type of resolution with Reddington- had come out of it. It seemed that they were going to try for something more than just a working, platonic relationship together- and she was pleased. Finally, things seemed to be looking up. Finally, things seemed to be going her way for once.

Speaking of working...

Cursing softly, she turned to check the time, relieved that on the clock it only said it was 7.15 in the morning. She hadn't slept in and she wasn't late for work. She still had time to have a shower and get properly dressed before heading to the Post Office. She sighed softly in relief and stood from the couch, feeling her temples pounding.

She felt like a mess this morning and, no doubt, she really did look like one. She tightened the sash of her gown over her waist before following where the boisterous laughter was coming from. It seemed way too early in the morning to be in such a frivolous mood and, for some reason, Liz found herself slightly irritated.

When she went into her kitchen, the first thing she saw was Red and Dembe sitting at her dining room table. Dembe had moved his chair closer to where Red was sitting so he could look over Red's shoulder at the splayed out newspaper in front of them. Apparently they were attempting to complete a crossword puzzle together at this ridiculously early hour of the morning. It stunned Liz to see Dembe- who usually looked stern and composed- smiling carefreely while Red looked ironically just as irritated as Liz felt upon waking. Dembe looked up at her unceremonious entrance and nodded at her silently, while Red remained focused on the crossword puzzle in front of them.

"Uh, good morning. I didn't know you came back, Dembe." Liz couldn't remember the quiet man returning to her place, no less hearing him come in.

"I brought Raymond over a pair of fresh clothes. Also, there is fresh coffee brewed in the pot." Dembe went to stand and pour her a cup, but Liz objected quickly.

"No, please. You don't have to do that. I can do it myself. Don't let me interrupt you two. Please, just... carry on. And thank you," she added, crossing over to the pot, while reaching in the cabinet for a mug. "Coffee is exactly what I'm needing. Do you guy's want some?"

It felt strange having the two men in her house, but she worked hard at pretending it didn't bother her.

"No, thank you, Miss. Liz. I am all good this morning." He smiled at her before returning his attention to the crossword puzzle over Red's shoulder.

She nodded and focused her attention on Red. "Red?"

He answered without so much as even glancing her way. "No, thank you, Lizzie."

She couldn't help but get the impression that he was deliberately ignoring her - or was, at the very least, avoiding looking in her direction this morning. She was certain she wasn't being paranoid. But why was he running so hot-and-cold with her? She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Well, she didn't think she had. She had only been honest with him- something he once thanked her for, because a person's honesty wasn't something he personally experienced often in his life. What the hell was his problem?

She considered outright asking Red that, but then Dembe was in the room and the last thing she wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable. Truth be told, she quite enjoyed having the man inside her house. She didn't mind him being around at all.

Liz felt inwardly relieved as the two men started normally again as if she hadn't interrupted them, while she fixed herself a cup of coffee. She noticed- without really wanting to- that Red was, in fact, in some different clothes than the ones he had worn to her house last night. Dembe had told the truth, in bringing some fresh and clean ones around for him to wear today. Liz wondered what else Dembe did for him as she carried her hot cup over to the table and sat opposite the pair of them. Obviously their friendship ran deeper than what she was aware of. She watched the two of them bicker like close friends over the words on the crossword puzzle and Liz didn't believe she had seen Dembe smile so much in one setting before.

Fifteen minutes passed without a single mere look in her direction in acknowledgement while she drank all of her coffee up, so growing tired of waiting, Liz stood from the chair and moved over to where they were sitting to collect their empty cups from the table.

Liz made sure it seemed completely accidental when she bumped the side of her hip against Red's chair and leaned down over his shoulder to reach the handle of his empty cup with her hand, invading his space in the hopes of aggravating him. She stole a quick glance at Red's face to gauge his reaction, then at Dembe's, who appeared as if he was trying to hide a smile over her antics, and as she moved again, she made sure her elbow brushed up against the nape of Red's neck before she turned and placed the cups loudly into the sink.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she said, ignoring him. "Don't mind me. I'll get out of the kitchen, give you two boy's some space."

She thought it would probably be best to give Red a taste of his own medicine and treat him the way he was treating her in return. See how he liked it, if she ran hot-and-cold towards him the way he was with her. She didn't understand Raymond Reddington at all, she realized, as she headed upstairs. The way his mind worked was an utter mystery to her.

Liz blew out a puff of air from her mouth, annoyed, as she went into the bathroom and changed out of her clothes. Red ignoring her after having stayed the night was so... high-school. Had they done anything intimate last night, maybe she could have somewhat understood where he was coming from. Only they hadn't done anything last night, just kissed, and... that was it.

She still couldn't figure out his mood five minutes later after her shower while getting dressed into a clean, knee-length black skirt and a green blouse. She thought since Reddington was older, it would be less... confusing and more easy. Apparently not. She applied her make up and fixed her hair up into a neat bun, her face seeming as if it was permanently pinched tight in confusion.

She could only hope to God everything wouldn't be as confusing as the day went on, and they were actually doing something productive, like working on capturing and bringing in the next person on Red's list. Even as she was finally done and went back downstairs to grab her pair of ankle boots from the front door, Red's aloofness and failure to acknowledge her unsettled her even more. She tried to blank them out as best she could, as she heard them engrossed in conversation in her kitchen. As she sat down at the front door and slipped her boots on, she wondered if maybe she was just only being paranoid after all. Or maybe... Red was trying to be considerate in giving her some space? Why and what from, she had no clue whatsoever.

When she heard footsteps approaching out into the hallway to where she was, Liz quickly stood and tried to look distracted as she grabbed her handbag off the rack. She didn't want Reddington to assume his indifference after last night was affecting her. She could play whatever little game he was playing, and meet him halfway, she told herself. She caught Red's silhouette out of the corner of her eye as he moved closer to where she was standing and purposefully, she picked up her phone and pretended to read the screen.

"Lizzie, I have an update on the whereabouts of a certain someone who used to be in your life. It's about Tom."

Liz felt her lips part in shock, before she recovered and made herself close them back up. The last thing she was expecting was for him to talk about her ex-husband, and, truthfully, she no longer cared. Tom had made sure of that after mysteriously disappearing from the house and then, two days later, forwarding divorce papers her way. She was well and truly over Tom now; though hearing his name still hurt her some.

"I thought you would be interested. Apparently Tom is-"

Liz interrupted him quickly, "Honestly, Red, I don't care in the slightest. Tom is old news now. Whatever he does or whoever he does it with, it doesn't concern me anymore."

When Red didn't speak, she forced herself to turn and look up at him. Red was standing closer to her in the hallway than she anticipated, one of his hands tucked deeply in his trouser pocket. She stared at his mouth before bringing her eyes down to his chest instead, fixing her eyes on the buttons of his vest. Looking at his mouth after having kissed last night- it was too hard to play his game of indifference that way.

Deliberately changing topic off her ex-husband, Liz muttered, "In Florence, you were with a woman. She referred to me as 'The Girl'. Who was she?"

She saw Red lean back on the heels of his shoes, as if stunned by the sudden unexpected direction she was taking things. "As I said, Lizzie, I was with an old friend from years ago."

"Who? What is this 'old friend's' name exactly?"

"You've met her once before."

"Who?" No names came to her mind. Not at this hour of the morning, anyway. "What is her name?"

Irritation spread throughout her bones like a raging fire, as Red lifted his hand and drew back his shirtsleeve to check the time on his wrist watch.

"Heavens, is that really the time? Time certainly flies, doesn't it? If we are going to make it on time, we'll have to get ready to go, Lizzie. Let's not waste time talking. In fact, I will go tell Dembe to have the car ready..."

He made a move by stepping back towards the kitchen. Before Liz knew it, her hand was flinging out to catch him by the wrist, holding him still.

Liz had worked and spent time with Red long enough to know when he was avoiding something. It didn't impress her in the slightest. "Really? You're going to use the lamest excuse in mankind to avoid answering my question? I thought we had moved past all of this..."

"Okay, Lizzie. Madeline. The woman I was with in Florence, was Madeline."

"The Madeline Pratt? The woman I met who wanted an artifact stolen from the Syrian Embassy? That Madeline?"

"Yes."

Liz felt the heat rise to her cheeks as that confession stung her more than she would have liked it to have. Really, why should she care? It was none of her business. Working to compose herself, she released his wrist and took a step back from him. "It's none of my business, I know that. I don't even know why I bothered to ask in the first place. I was just... curious." Liz knew it was more than just plain curiosity, but she would never admit to that. Especially not to him. "I heard her voice when I was talking to you on your end. You... told me you were conducting business in Florence, when really, evidently you were catching up with an old friend, lover... whatever. You lied to me."

When she dared to peek up at his face, she saw his head was tilted to the side, his eyes intent on her face. The tight-lipped smile of his was full of amusement. "Are you jealous, Lizzie? Is that what this is all about?"

She huffed out a laugh to cover her mortification inside and looked away from him. Her ears burned; She didn't realize he was capable of reading her that well, and it was disturbing. "Of course I'm not jealous. Don't flatter yourself."

"Madeline and I are business partners, spanning years and years back. It's as simple as that. But your jealousy over the matter is frankly adorably endearing."

Liz didn't know where to look. She sure as hell didn't want to look at Red, so she fixed her eyes on the screen of her cell phone again in her hand instead. It was the safest and easiest place to look. "I don't really care. It's like what I told you last night; I don't care what you do, or who ever you do it with. Just next time, spare me the confusion and don't lie to me." Since she was only just getting started, she couldn't seem to stop. "Oh, and another thing: Whatever you're trying to do, with all this hot-and-cold bullshit, please stop it. It's... irritating me, and I think we both know what happens when you irritate me."

Doing something Liz never expected from him, he laughed; that grating, infectious laugh. When Red spoke again, that humor was gone, replaced with something deep and serious in his voice. "What you don't seem to understand, Lizzie, sweetheart, is that... there will never be anyone else. There cannot be anyone else. Your... jealousy is a wasted emotion, something completely unnecessary. Madeline also assisted me in selecting a dress for you."

"Correction: I'm not jealous. It isn't jealousy at all. You're mixing my words up, and turning everything around. Like you always tend to do, and I-" Her words got caught in her throat, when Red's hand landed on her shoulder.

She closed her eyes tightly and sucked in a deep breath as he ran his hand down from her shoulder to her wrist, caressing, stroking. She felt hot all over when he placed his other hand on her waist, and Liz felt it- rather than saw it with her eyes, which were squeezed shut out of fear of losing herself- as he leaned down and his cheek brushed against hers.

"Unfortunately we are going to have to resume this wickedly entertaining conversation later, sweetheart." His lips moved against her earlobe, and she felt her entire body shudder and fall apart as he moved and pressed his lips into her cheekbone. "Time is of the essence, and we need really to start moving if we want to meet Harold and Donald on time. Wouldn't you agree to that, Lizzie?"

Her name had never sounded more erotic coming from his tongue, his voice.

"Yes, you're right," she breathed, her voice sounding strange to even her ears. It was too high, too... squeaky. "Let's get a move on."

With some difficulty, she moved her arm and blindly groped out her set of car keys on the stand near the front door. She felt incapable of moving, as if her body was made of lead. But with effort, she managed it. She pulled away from Red and turned towards the front door, placing her hand on the doorknob.

"See you there." Fortunately her voice worked with her this time around, probably because she was distanced from him. "Since you have a key, I take it you'll have no trouble locking up for me, right?"

"Lizzie, where are you going?" Much to her pleasure, Red seemed confused. "I'll get Dembe to bring the car around, and then we can head in together. Dembe would hardly mind."

"Yeah, no. Not a good idea."

Patting herself mentally on the back at having succeeded in confusing him, Liz left her house.

Hoping this wasn't a let down? Sorry! What did you think of the season finale? I was not expecting what happened but I'm still feeling strong about this pairing... Would you like for Liz to get Red jealous in the next chapter?