Liz had never met Meera Malik, but she knew her reputation. She was known to be one of the most strong-minded Dream Walkers at the Post Office. She had mastered her Gift to a level nobody had never even dreamed to reach. Feeling her stress, Red squeezed Liz's hand and smiled when she looked at him.
"I'll be by your side, sweetheart," he whispered.
She nodded but didn't reply, she didn't know what to expect. The three of them walked into a bright-lighted room and froze. The room was white from floor to ceiling and, in the middle, stood a woman dressed in black.
"Take off your shoes and everything that is not necessary," the woman said with a strong British accent.
The three of them looked at each other before complying. They left their clothes and shoes in a white locker and walked to the woman waiting for them.
"You're the reason I'm training most of our pupils with the Gift," Meera said her dark stare on Red.
"I like you already," he replied smiling broadly and the woman shook her head.
"Tell me what happened," she asked, choosing not to argue with Red.
"She was on the phone with…" Ressler began.
"Not you," Meera cut him off. "I want to hear it from Elizabeth."
Liz looked at the woman facing her; her stern face, the blackness of her eyes; she looked intimidating. And Liz could feel a strange aura around Meera. She felt Red move behind her and close his arms around her shoulders, his nose buried in her hair.
"I'm here, you're safe," he breathed against her head and for the first time, Liz saw Agent Malik smile slightly.
"I guess you haven't consummated your relationship yet," she said. "Keep the skin contact, it'll help for now."
They nodded and Red stepped aside, putting his arm around Liz's waist, his fingers slipping under the hem of her blouse.
"I was on the phone with my husband," Liz began. "We were arguing and he knew I was lying. I couldn't tell him where I was."
"And where were you?" Meera asked.
"At Ressler's," Liz replied, not looking at Red.
"May I ask why? The two of you met a few days ago if the rumor is true, why not going to your soulmate's?"
"Because I was stupid," Liz replied curtly. "Anyway, Tom called this morning and when he said 'Tell me the truth' and I felt like I had to tell him everything. I couldn't help it, I had to."
"How did you counter his order? He must be powerful to put a compulsion on someone through the phone."
"I tried to help her. I tried to block him from my side but when I realized it was too strong, I called Donald," Red explained.
"And I cut the call off," Ressler added.
"And I closed my mind, cutting everything and everyone out," Liz finished.
"What do you mean from your side?" Meera asked, her eyes going from Red to Liz and back.
"Our bond is… different," Red said. "We're still trying to figure out everything."
Meera seemed to see them for the first time since they walked in the room.
"How old are you?" she asked suddenly, her eyes on Red.
"We're 23 years apart," he replied, squeezing Liz's side lightly.
"That's impossible!" Meera gasped. "Unless… Unless you're the ones destined to fulfill the Prophecy."
Red and Liz looked at each other and laughed. They couldn't help it. The Post Office's Dream Walkers seemed really obtuse sometimes.
"We are. But that's not the point. We're here for Lizzie and her 'husband problem'," Red finally said.
"Right, sorry. So, tell me everything. From the moment you met your husband," Meera said, focusing on Liz.
"We met six years ago in New York. I was in a relationship at the time, with…"
"Nick," Red supplied.
"You knew?" she cringed.
"Of course I knew. I've been your imaginary friend your whole life," Red replied, kissing her temple tenderly to make sure she understood he wasn't mad at her.
Ressler and Meera stayed silent, watching them communicate silently. The couple had had a life before finding each other and Ressler and Meera didn't really understand how they could stand it. Their situation was unique; they were unique; their link was unique.
"Why did you break up with Nick?" Meera asked when she saw they had reached an understanding.
"I… I don't know. We didn't really break up. He… Nick walked on us. I mean he walked on Tom cooking breakfast in his underwear and it sort of ended like this," Liz explained, lowering her eyes in shame.
Liz felt Red's aura close around her, the heat of his hand on her waist rising. Her own hand was rubbing at her scar on her wrist for the first time since that day in the Cage. She felt Red's ghostly hand close around her wrist and caress tenderly her scarred skin. She looked up at him and nuzzled at his jaw to thank him.
"Do you think he could have used his Gift on her since the beginning?" Ressler asked breaking the sexual tension crackling around the couple.
"I'm sure he did," Meera said, happy to see someone was following her. "Reddington?"
"Yes," he finally turned his attention to Meera.
"You said you've been Elizabeth's imaginary friend her whole life. Does it mean the two of you have been linked even before you got your powers?"
"Lizzie wasn't aware of it, but yes."
"Did you feel any changes in your link when she met Tom?"
Red stayed silent a few minutes, trying to remember how their shared dreams had been after she met Tom.
"I don't really know. If I remember correctly, she seemed happy. In no need of me for some times," he said sadly.
"After I met Tom, I remember not being able to come to our room. It felt strange at first, but I thought it was because I didn't need it anymore. I'm sorry Red," she said running her hand on his arm.
"It wasn't your fault," Meera said. "He tempered with your mind. I know everything I need. Let's work now."
"What's my role in this?" Ressler asked suddenly.
"You're here to observe so you'll recognize the signs if Elizabeth can't block him. Step back now. Both of you, I need to work with Elizabeth alone."
Red brushed his lips to Liz's temple before stepping back with Ressler. He could feel Liz's anxiety through their link and see it in her posture. It killed him to see her like this, but knew it was their only chance.
"Calm down Elizabeth, I'm not going to hurt you," Meera tried to reassure her in a soothing voice. "Are you ready?" she asked and, when Liz nodded, focused her stare on her.
From their spot next to the door, Ressler and Red saw Meera's eyes turn red and Liz take a step back. Ressler's hand on his arm was the only thing keeping Red in place. He could feel Meera invading Liz's mind. He could feel her dig into her memories. She was bound to discover what had been done to Liz's mind so long ago. He had known from the beginning that he would have to explain himself but hadn't realized it would be so soon. Clenching his jaw, Red watched the two women fight mentally.
The moment she saw Meera's eyes turn red, she felt a presence in her mind. Something entirely different from what she experienced when Red's presence was around her. The Dream Walker in front of her was invading her mind. She saw images of her childhood flash before her eyes, remembered things she thought she had forgotten.
"Try to push me out," Meera said.
Suddenly, Liz felt Red's presence around her, giving her strength. She knew him, she knew she could draw in his strength to expulse Meera from her mind. As soon as she realized that, Meera stepped back, her eyes back to their natural color.
"How did you do this?" she asked.
"Red helped me," Liz said turning around to smile at her soulmate.
Eyes wide open, she immediately run to him. Red had collapsed on the floor, Ressler kneeling at his side, fingers on his throat. She immediately put her hands on his chest, feeling his heart beat under her fingers.
"Red!" His eyes fluttered open after a few seconds and she breathed a sigh of relief. "What happened?"
"I don't know! We were watching you and he just collapsed," Ressler said, panic in his voice.
"You took too much," Meera said, looking down at them. "I've never seen such a thing. I'm sorry, I didn't realize how different your link was."
"You're okay?" Liz asked when Red put his hand on hers.
"Yes," he rasped sitting up.
"I'm sorry, Red. I'm so sorry." Liz eyes were full of tears, fear pooling in her stomach.
"It's alright Lizzie."
"I could have killed you!"
"I'm stronger than you think, Lizzie. You just surprised me," he said softly before kissing tenderly her forehead. "If I can help you, I'm willing to pass out a few times until we find a way to control this new ability."
"Should we try again?" Meera asked when Red finally stood up. "But this time try to do it by yourself. Stay back, Reddington."
Liz closed her arms around Red and kissed the skin exposed by his open shirt collar before walking back to Meera.
"Ready?"
Liz nodded and once again, Meera's eyes turned red and Liz felt her presence in her mind. Moments from her youth flashed before her eyes. Her first Christmas with Sam. Her first day at school. Her first boyfriend. And something else. Something she couldn't clearly see but that was clouding every memories. Every moment she remembered was surrounded by smoke. She could almost hear someone screaming. An incontrollable terror spread in her body and she closed her mind as tight as she could. When she opened her eyes, Meera was looking at her surprised.
"Did you do it by yourself?" she asked.
"I think so," Liz replied, rubbing at her suddenly burning scar.
"Elizabeth… How did you get that scar?" Meera asked after a few seconds of silence.
"I don't really remember. My… Sam, my adoptive father told me my parents died in a fire when I was four. I guess it comes from that time, I don't remember anything before Sam," Liz explained, that strange ghostly smell of smoke grazing her nose.
"Ressler, Reddington? Could you leave us alone for a few minutes?" Meera asked, looking at the men.
"Why?" Red immediately asked.
"Because I need to talk with Elizabeth and I don't want you to interfere," she replied, her eyes on him, making perfectly clear she knew his role in what she had just discovered.
"It's alright Red," Liz said when he opened his mouth to protest. "I'll see you later."
She concentrated and projected her presence around him, her ethereal nails scratching at the back of his head the way she knew he loved. She saw him clench his jaw and she smiled smugly. He wasn't the only one able to play this game. The women waited until Red and Donald had gathered their clothes and left the room before sitting down, cross-legged on the floor.
"I'm going to tell you something you won't like," Meera began. "Someone has tempered with your memories."
"You already told me. Tom…"
"No. Before Tom."
"What do you mean?"
"Did you know any Dream Walker with a Psychic Gift before the Post Office?"
"No that I'm aware of. But we're supposed to keep a low profile, aren't we?" Liz replied confuse. "What do you mean?" she asked again when Meera stayed silent.
"When I was in you mind. I felt something. A barrier. Something keeping me away from a part of your past."
"But… You're supposed to be one of the most powerful and skilled Dream Walker here."
"Precisely."
"Can you determine who did this to me?"
"I can't, but I can tell you it had been here for a long time, since you were a child. It must be what saved you from Tom having full control over you. It protected you."
"How so?"
"You see it wasn't the first time someone messed with your mind. You've spent almost your whole life with this block in your head so when Tom tried to manipulate you, your mind knew what to do and protected itself from that new attack."
"A blessing in disguise," Liz murmured. "Do you know what memories had been suppressed? Can I recover them?"
"We can try to figure it out together, sometimes remembering bits of the memory helps to lift the block. The other solution is to find the person who put it in the first place," Meera explained, taking Liz's hands in hers. "Tell me what you remember from before Sam. From the fire."
"I remember Sam sitting next to my bed when I was a child. For a year or so after my father adopted me, I had recurrent nightmares. I don't remember what they were about, but I remember the heat and the smoke," Liz said, eyes closed trying to remember what she couldn't.
"So someone blocked the memories of the fire."
"I guess so."
"I can't lift the block, but I can help you find your way back to this moment. You have to trust me but I can't guaranty it won't hurt," Meera said softly, squeezing her hands.
"Can Red be here with us? I feel like he should be here…"
"Not yet. As I understand you have a special link, call him only if you can't find your way back, understood?"
Liz nodded and closed her eyes, feeling Meera presence infiltrate her mind, the Dream Walker's voice guiding her back in time until she found herself facing a dark closed door.
"It's your choice Elizabeth. You can chose to open the door or try to find the person who closed it for you. But know there's no going back if you open that door."
Meera voice seemed far away. Liz was standing alone in the dark, the door she was facing outlined by a flickering orange light. Her hand shook when she put it on the handle. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and suddenly felt sucked in the room, the door closing loudly behind her. She could barely hear Meera's voice now, it was a whisper at the back of her mind. And then she heard voices.
"We're is it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about! You've been misled!"
"Tell me where it is! Tell me where the Fulcrum is!"
She suddenly recognized the voice. Red. It was Red. He had been there that night.
"Yes. Raymond Reddington officially died that night."
The fire. The Phoenix. The man that could walk through flames.
"Know something Lizzie. I would never and will never lie to you."
"But you're not telling the whole truth."
"Not when it might be too dangerous for you. Look at me Lizzie, I will never lie to you."
Suddenly flames were around her. The whole room was on fire. She could feel the heat bite her skin. She ran. She didn't even know where she was going. She just ran as far as she could from the heat. She went to hide in a closet. Curling up, she tried to make herself as small as possible. Smoke seeped under the door. She coughed. She had to do something. Scream. Scream, a small voice in her head said. And she did. She screamed. Her lungs burning she kept screaming until she couldn't anymore. The closet was full of smoke; she couldn't breathe anymore.
And suddenly Red was here. She felt his ghostly arm around her. The closet door opened and someone take her in their arm. She was much smaller. A child. She curled up in the man's arms. She couldn't feel the heat of the flames anymore. The man was protecting her. He walked to the living room. Everything was ablaze around them but he didn't seem to be bothered by the fire. She sneaked up her arms around his neck the moment they were about to cross the front door and suddenly her hand found skin. The instant their skin touched, she felt fire run in her veins. She screamed. It hurt. She fell. The man had collapsed on the floor.
"Wake up!" she yelled at him, but he was unconscious on the floor. "Please wake up!"
She could see the flames slowly creeping toward them. Liz looked at the door. She could step out and leave the man on the floor. She could save her life and leave him to die. Fear was rooting her to the spot, she couldn't move. Red's presence was still here but she couldn't interact with it. She was alone. A lonely child with an unconscious man. And suddenly, his coat took fire. He screamed.
"Don't touch me!" he yelled when she took his hand to drag him outside.
"You're burning!" she yelled back. Her little hand closed around his big wrist. "We have to get out!"
And he suddenly stopped moving. He was dead. Liz was sure he was dead. But she couldn't leave him like this. Closing her two small hands around his wrist, she pulled as hard as she could. Slowly she managed to drag him across the threshold. She didn't know where this strength came from. Once a few feet from the burning house, she turned the man on his back to smother the flames. He grunted at the movement. He wasn't dead.
"Please wake up! Tell me what to do," she cried, her hands on his face.
"Clothes," he breathed and she understood.
Her little fingers trembling, she ripped his shirt open taking the burned material of his overcoat off with it, she threw it away, leaving him naked from the waist up. She didn't know how, but the moment she saw his burned shoulder, blood oozing from his back, staining the grass beneath him, she knew what to do. Gathering all the strength she has left, she turned him on his belly and put her hands on his back.
She suddenly felt something grow inside her. She felt as if her skin was too small for her. It hurt. It hurt like hell. She was screaming again. And the man was screaming too. She felt a searing pain on her right wrist and the man pushed her away.
"Stop!"
She fell down on the grass, crying, her right hand cradled in her left. She looked up at the man that was now standing. He turned around and she saw the scarred skin of his back. She knew he had been badly hurt and didn't understand how his skin could look like this so soon. He bent to retrieve his scorched overcoat and turned back to her. Liz curled up fearfully when he walked to her.
"Let me see," he murmured, kneeling in front of her.
"It hurt," she cried.
"I know but please, let me see."
His voice and eyes were soft. She nodded and he took her hand in his, looking at the burn that would definitively leave a scar.
"I'm sorry sweetheart," he breathed, his eyes filling with tears.
"Where is my daddy? Who are you?"
"I don't know, sweetie," he replied, pushing back the hair falling over her eyes. "But I know someone. My friend will take care of you until we find where your daddy is," he added, waiting for her to take his hand. When she did, he pulled her to him and lifted her in his arms.
"What's you name?" she asked yawning against his shoulder.
"Red. You can call me Red."
She nodded and slowly her eyes closed. She felt good in his arms, safe. Before sleep took her, she noted a strange shaped mark of sound skin on his left shoulder.
When Liz opened her eyes, she was lying on the floor of the white room. Red and Meera kneeling at her side.
"Are you okay?" Meera asked.
"You were there," Liz breathed her eyes on Red. "I remember."
A single tear escaped Red's eye when she scooted away from him when he tried to touch her.