Hi there:)

I know christmas is in the past now but we still have two more chapters to go...so the next one will be the last one.

I hope you'll like this chapter:)

P.S.

Dont mind any mistakes...I tried to write fast;)

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

Chapter 10

"I don't think this is a good idea, Red."

"I think it is a wonderful idea, Lizzie."

This was a typical conversation between Liz and Red, not only was it always Red trying to convince her of some idea of his, but Liz also being not sure of it. Liz rolled her eyes at herself and Red's back.

"Wouldn't it be a beautiful picture? You, me, the snow…and Dembe."

Liz' eyebrows rose. The so called beautiful picture was quiet disturbing for her. In fact, not because she didn't want to be alone with Red…and Dembe. No, it was more like she was scared of being alone with him because she wanted to be alone with him.

When she looked up, she was startled to see Red standing directly in front of her and staring intently into her eyes.

"Don't you trust me, sweetheart?

The hurt in his voice made Liz swallow hard.

Of course she trusted him but the question was if she trusted herself. She was aware of her growing feelings for Red but what if he didn't feel the same way? She shook her head at herself. Too many what if's for her liking right now. Especially since Red was still waiting for an answer.

"I do trust you." Her voice was too weak though and Red frowned.

"I won't force you. If you don't feel like..."

"Red." she cut him off, her voice a bit sharper than intended. "I want to go."

Slightly calmer than before, Red gave her little grin and winked at her. "We will have so much fun!"

Two days later...

"Good lord, Lizzie." Red exclaimed loudly, upon seeing her packed suitcase. "I may be used to a lot of peculiar things women do, but this?"

Liz in turn gave him a confused looked, titling her head down to see for herself what seemed to be wrong with her baggage. Red had told her they would be gone for five days but since he didnt want to elaborate on their destination, Liz had to pack a variety of things and her suitcase had gotten bigger and bigger accordingly. Now she was standing there with a suitcase meant for two people and it was stuffed to the maximum.

"What?" Liz asked innocently. "I am a woman…I have needs. And you were too vague for any woman to be able to pack properly."

Red didn't answer but neither lost his smile nor twinkle in his eyes.

"Dembe, would you help the lady with her suitcase, please."

I can manage, Red." Liz argued and was about to reach for the handles of her suitcase when Dembe snatched them from her grasp.

"It's my pleasure." He added quietly, his friendly gaze lingering on her.

"Thank you." She breathed finally and walked over to Red, who was holding the door open for her.

"It won't be a long drive, Lizzie. Maybe two or three hours." Red informed her when they got settled into the leather seats.

"Where are we going?" Liz tried once more to find out where Red

"It's a surprise."

Huffing more in amusement than annoyance, Liz let her head fall back against the headrest and closed her eyes.

"I won't mind if you fall asleep, Lizzie."

"And you expect me to fall asleep after you told me that?" with still closed eyes, Liz smirked at Red.

"I merely stated a fact but please…do as you wish."

Silence filled the car like a thick smoke, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as it would have been two years ago. When Red's ears heard the first deep breathes coming from the woman next to him, he smiled contently and turned around to look at her.

Tenderly he swept away a few wild strands of hair falling into her face and finally Red reached under his seat to retrieve a red wool blanket. Gently placing it over Liz, he watched her snuggle deeper into it and sigh in her sleep.

"You have no idea what you do to me, do you? No idea at all." Red whispered, still following every single breath she took and watching her face.

Three hours later…

"Wake up, Lizzie. We're there."

Slowly her eyes slid open and she had to close them again quickly when the winter sun blinded her mercilessly.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"Because you looked adorable." Red stated matter of factly and straightened up from his crouching position. "Follow me inside, sweetheart. It's too cold out here for just a wool blanket."

Finally opening her eyes, Liz looked down at herself and almost flung the blanket from her when she hastily tried to catch up with Red, who was already a good distance away from her.

Dembe was waiting for her and fell into a brisk pace with her. Slowly Liz turned to him and whispered.

"Where are we?"

The man smiled and shrugged.

""You were driving, Dembe." She told him accusingly, but didn't get any other reaction than a smile. Resigning, Liz followed the two men into a cabin, where it was nicely warm inside. Shivering from the change of temperature, Liz wrung her hands together and took a long look around herself. Everything was made out of wood and the decorations were all country style. It looked nice and remembered her to some extant of her childhood home. The warmth and the familiarity that a home could radiate was something she remembered the most about the house she had lived with Sam in.

"Do you like it, Lizzie?"

Red had come up behind her and looked over her shoulder.

"It' really nice." She didn't want to ask again where they were because his answer would be vague at best.

"Make yourself at home, dinner will be delivered in just a few hours."

With that he miraculously disappeared and Liz was left alone. With only a few steps, Liz had entered the living room and gasped in surprise when she saw the huge Christmas tree standing. It wasn't decorated yet, but the size alone was impressive enough for her. It was beaming with a healthy green and standing rigidly in the corner of the room.

"Wow." She breathed. Most of the tree's Sam had gotten for Christmas have been only half the size, since Liz had almost always refused to help decorating. Later on, Liz had not bother buying any Christmas tree's because she had been alone and most of the time not even home and when she had married Tom, her husband had known about her feeling on Christmas and decided that they didn't need a Christmas tree.

Nearing the tree, Liz reached out and let her fingers touch a green branch. She listened into herself and to her surprise, she didn't feel any hate. Only a little twinge of sadness that her father wasn't here with her anymore, but the hate wasn't there.

"You're still here?"

Liz whirled around, finding Red leaning against the doorframe.

"I…well…I just wanted to look around."

Red pushed away from the frame and walked over to her, not meeting her eyes but looking at the tree.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"We will decorate it tomorrow."

"We?"

Now his eyes traveled down to hers and he smiled.

"Yes we."

"But I never…"

"I know. Sam told me."

Liz' eyebrows shot up and she took a step back.

"What do you mean, Sam told you?"

"You knew we were friends." Red reminded her.

"Yes…but I didn't know he was telling you things about me."

"That's what friends do, isn't it, Lizzie?"

Liz blushed and avoided his penetrating eyes for a moment, her thoughts racing through her head. How much did Sam tell him?

She was about to ask him, when her eyes caught something that made her still all movements.

Red's eyes followed her gaze and a knowing smile grazed his lips. He stepped away from her and let her pass him without comment.

Slowly Liz neared the fireplace, with her eyes still fixed on the object, innocently standing on the mental. The shiny globe was gleaming in the last rays of sun coming through the window and the scenery before Liz' eyes was so familiar and yet so ghostly unreal that she didn't know if she was still sleeping.

"Where did you get this?"

Her voice was husky. Unbelieving.

"A friend of mine made it for me. An exquisite piece of art, isn't it?"

"But…I have the same?"

"Do you?" he seemed surprised, but his eyes told her a different story. Turning away from him, Liz took the snow globe into her hands and carefully turned it from side to side. Everything looked the same. The lake, the girl ice skating and the man at the shore. Titling the globe slightly, she noticed something she hadn't seen before. Another man was standing at the tree line. Liz' mouth opened when she recognized him. Round eyes jumped from globe to Red and back.

"It's you."

"Is that an accusation?" Red asked amused by Liz' excitement, but not sure where it would lead.

"No, but….I have the same globe…only the man…you…" she paused, again looking at the globe to make sure she was actually seeing what she thought she was seeing. "The figure isn't there in my globe."

Red's warm hand took the globe from her hands and he looked at the globe in concentration.

"Really? How peculiar."

Liz took the globe away from him in frustration and put it back on the mental.

"Sam told me some uncle Redmont sent it to me."

"Hm…" Red's crooked smile made Liz angry. Why wouldn't he just once tell her the truth straight away? What was so hard about it?

"Red, please."

Instead of answering Red walked over to the sofa and slid onto it with a content sigh.

"You should relax, Lizzie. Come. Sit."

"Red." A warning, but Liz knew it wouldn't show any effect on Red, but to her astonishment, Red suddenly laughed.

"Lizzie, my dear. I admit. I did sent you the globe."

"Why? You didn't even know me."

She watched Red purse his lips and her eyes narrowed. Red had only a few tells, but the ones he had, Liz had learned like her own and she knew exactly what this one meant. She was wrong about her assumption that he hadn't known her.

"I've heard from Sam that you weren't that fond of Christmas….so I wanted to give you something to help you through the holiday ."

"I did, you know?"

"What?"

"Help me to get through the holidays."

Again Liz couldn't help but blush She walked over to Red and sat down next to him.

"Every year I was in a really bad mood around Christmas. I still am actually. But don't ask me why, I cant explain it myself."

"I wont ask, Lizzie."

She didn't thank him but smiled gratefully.

"When it got to bad…when my mood hit rock bottom…I looked at the globe and it helped to remember the good times I could have and I felt better."

Suddenly she felt her hand enveloped In Red's bigger and warmer one.

"How is it this year?" he asked curiously.

"I don't feel…the hate anymore." She admitted quietly. "Although I have more reasons than ever before."

Glancing over at Red she smiled.

"I think you are distracting me too much to wallow too much."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. And I promise you that I will be always there to distract you. AS long as you want me to be."

tbc...

Let me know what ya think:) I wish ya a great new years eve and a happy new year!