Here it comes guys: another so called breather:) Wanna give ya a little break before we come to the finale;) No worries...it might take another three or four chaters but it IS getting nearer;)

Thanks to all the review givers! You are really a blessing to all of us writers!

Now, not too much talking,

Have fun reading:)

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

Cleansing Waters

Red didn't let go of her hand. His tight grip didn't waver for even a second, while he urged himself on to maintain the fast pace he had fallen into. The barks sounded louder now, but they were still far enough away, so they had a little bit of time to find the river Red had seen on a previous hike with Dembe a few months ago. It had to be somewhere here and the needed the help of water to make their trails disappear. Admitingly, it was an old and well known trick but why not fall back on old when it worked so well?

"They're coming nearer, Red." Liz panted behind him.

"I know."

The dark wasn't helping at all. The last time he had been here it was morning and everything had been gleaming in the sun and the water had sparkled, drawing their attention to it. His ankle was starting to pulse uncomfortably and he was feeling the beginnings of desperation hovering at the edge of his mind. Just when he was about to let loose a colorful curse, his eyes landed on an interestingly shaped tree. It was big but growing sideways from the ground and making a curve upwards in the middle of its body. He remembered that tree.

"It's not far anymore." He reassured her, correcting their direction slightly to the right.

Within minutes, both of them started to hear a whooshing sound. The further they walked, the louder it got until suddenly they reached the tree line and the ground under them stopped, only to decrease steeply and completely end at a fast flowing deluge of water, which roaring was almost deafening.

"No…no, no, no ,no." Liz murmured, starting to back away. Their still jointed hands were holding her in place though and she started to struggle against Red's hold.

"Calm down, Lizzie. I'm here. I won't let go, you hear me?"

"No…" she barked at him in panic. "You can go swim and drown, I am going to hide in the tree if I have to but I am NOT jumping in there!"

Without any warning Red pulled her to towards him with a forceful tug on her arm and encircled her in his arms when she collided into his body.

"I will NOT leave you."

His face was inches from hers and before she could protest, his warm lips were covering hers. The kiss was not at all sensual or tender. He pressed their mouths together, drinking in the feel of her sweet, soft lips. Liz was just beginning to understand what was happening, when the contact broke and she felt herself fall. Her arms flailing a scream stuck in her throat, she felt the ground under her feet disappear and a hand grasping her clothes.

The icy cold water felt like a brick wall when they hit it. The cold immediately seeped through their clothes and pricked their skin like thousands of little needles. Liz was still underwater and couldn't see anything. She wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, water made its way into her mouth and forced itself into her throat, making her hold back a gag. Her mouth snapped shut again, her limbs kicking wildly to get herself back to the surface. She felt her eyes sting but didn't know if it was because of the tears gathering or the water irritating them. Liz shut her eyes tightly and when she felt herself move upwards, she opened them again and started to gasp when she broke the surface. For a moment, she was spitting out water and trying to get rid of the tangy taste in her mouth, but soon enough she was once again gazing into Red's eyes. He had one arm around her waist and with the other, he was trying to keep them above water and on course.

"R…Red…" she stuttered, now holding on to him without shame. Her legs were starting to go numb from the cold and she did not like this feeling…at all. Some kind of memory wanted to surface but it didn't get through her panic stricken mind.

"Hold on. It's not gonna be long now." His voice was steady but the strain was obvious. Liz only nodded and tried to qualm the panic before it could rise even futher.

Red groaned quietly, tightening his hold on the woman in his arms. She was as stiff as a board, not being able to move a muscle more than an inch out of fear. She may not realize it but she was desperately trying to bring her body even closer to his and slowly his own body was starting to feel the coldness and was beginning to tire. The black trees around them were moving by fast and he couldn't see any place where it would seem to be safe to go out of the water, so he let them float further down the stream, not letting go of his precious burden attached to him. He felt her face press into his neck and he was only hoping that she was just trying not to see their surroundings and not loosing consciousness because she was starting to get too cold. He had seen blood coming out of her mouth but he was quiet sure that she had simply bit her lip or something, so he didn't dwell on it too long. But her slumping body DID worry him.

"No sleeping, Lizzie." He growled.

"I'm not." Though his skin muffled her voice, he was satisfied that she was talking to him. Red looked down at her, but with this action he wavered his attention far too long away from the things before him and the only thing he was able to see when he looked back up, was a black mass sticking out of the water and then his hips and legs collided brutally with something hard and unrelenting. The collision made him loosen his hold on Liz and both of them slightly bounced back and let go of each other.

"Lizzie!"

Shortly he lost her out of sight, panic rising, he franticly looked around and only when he heard her calling his name, Red calmed slightly.

Assessing the situation, Red felt the body of the tree trunk under the water and found it lying horizontally and guessed it would be stable enough to hold him when he climbed on it. He did just that and slipped one leg on either side of it, clamping his muscles so that he would have a good hold on it with his thighs. Sliding forward slowy, he found Liz clutching a branch and pinching her eyes shut, breathing hard and whimpering from time to time,, when a bigger wave of water swayed her wildly from side to side.

"Give me your hand, Lizzie." He urged her on, stretching his arm out to her, but she didn't even look at him, didn't flinch. There was no indication that she had even heard him.

"Elizabeth!" he yelled. "You will die! Trust me, and you will live! Give me your hand." He commended, afraid of what would happen if she didn't react. But she did.

Slowly she emerged a shaking hand out of the water and without looking up, stretched it in the direction of his voice. Without hesitation, Red leaned forward and snatched her hand, instantly starting to pull her out of the water.

"Let go of the branch." One more order and he was sure she would be safe. Back in his arms and out of the immediate danger. With an enormous effort Liz' fingers uncurled from the wood and Red started to pull her up in earnest now, but instead of pulling her completely to him, he started to move backwards in direction of the shore, with her still partially in the water. Red hadn't been sure if his strength would be enough to pull her out and then drag them both back, so he opted for a safe out.

Slowly he crabbed back along the tree trunk, taking Liz with him. When his legs finally found ground under them and he looked back, seeing a small sandbank, he swung one leg over the tree and stood up. Liz was kneeling in the water, still trying to catch her breath, but now looking at him with an odd expression in her face.

"C'mon…" Red whispered and bent down to turn Liz with the back to him and pull her up by the armpits. Her body way shaking like a leaf, pressing into him in hope to get some kind of warmth, but his body was almost as cold as hers. The only difference was that he was used to it.

"Talk to me sweetheart."

Through chattering teeth and quivers, Liz opened her mouth, turning her head so that she could look at him. Before he knew what was happening, cold lips enclosed his and a hesitant kiss was pressed against them. It was short, Liz withdrawing after only seconds but still looking at him.

"Don't you…ever …do…. that again." It was hard to understand what she was saying but Red's complete concentration was on her words.

"What? Kiss you?"

"No…" she smiled around the uncontrollable shakes that went through her body. "Use a kiss to take me by surprise…and make me….do something…I don't want to." She paused. "That wasn't nice."

"But necessary." For Red this conversation was finished with a better outcome than he had expected. He imagined her being disgusted by him and beating him into a pulp…at least when her strength came back. He didn't expect a kiss.

He held her close, wanting to drown in her scent and the warmth that started to enflame their bodies, but his mind screamed at him to take cover, to get themselves out of sight. And he listened to his mind.

"Let's go, sweetheart."

"Where…?" she asked exhausted, pressing her back further into his body heat.

"Somewhere safer than here."

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Red let her rest the next time, it was at least half an hour after they started to put distance between themselves and the river and both of them were dead on their feet.

"We will rest here." He stated, catching his breath and leaning against a tree. One hand was still keeping contact with Liz' shoulder, when she heavily sat down. Shivers were still running through her body.

"How are…our chances?" Liz asked between her chattering teeth. She closed her eyes, letting her head fall back and sighed contently when she suddenly felt warmth envelope her. Instinctively, Liz cuddled her body nearer, brushing her cheek over the wet shirt Red was wearing and drawing her knees against her chest.

"Better than it seems."

The answer wasn't as confident as Liz would have liked it to be but for the moment she was in heaven. The toasty warmth between their bodies was starting to warm her up and the exhaustion was starting to get stronger and stronger. Her eyes closed gentry and Red felt her body grow heavier and all her muscles relax. When he was sure that she was asleep, he buried his face in her damp hair, nuzzling it and promising himself, that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, even if it would cost him his life.

Red listened into the night, not hearing anything unusual. Only the rustling of the leaves and the occasional call of an owl disrupted the silence of the night. And then he fell asleep.

tbc...

I have to tell you that I am not very happy with this chapter. Basically I couldnt find the right words but I have my strange periods when this happens...so let me know what ya think:)