'Lizzy', Red said, breathlessly, as he pulled himself further away from her.

'Yes?'

'What are you doing?'

'Isn't it obvious?', Liz smiled at him and tried to move closer again.

'Sweetheart, this isn't a good idea'

Red stood up off the bed, instantly grateful that he wasn't suffering from the same condition as yesterday morning, and backed away towards the window.

Liz frowned at him and sat up, 'Why on earth not?'

'How can you even ask that? We're on the run together. You're suffering from some kind of sleep disturbances caused by the stress and anxiety of our situation. We're only sleeping together so I can look after you. Elizabeth, please, tell me you don't really think this is a good idea?'

Liz got up off the bed and walked straight up to Red, 'Well, obviously I do think it's a good idea seeing as I was both contemplating it and acting on it. So please stop talking to me like I've not put any thought into this. I know you're attracted to me', Red's cheek twitched and his mouth pulled down into a grimace, 'and I'm attracted to you. I was kinda under the impression that sometimes these kinds of things happened when two consenting adults were attracted to each other and cared deeply for each other'.

With these words, Liz thrust her hand into Red's pyjama pants' pocket, causing him to jerk slightly away from her to keep her from touching more than just his thigh. She scowled at his reaction, pulling her hand out along with the key before heading to the door and exiting the room as quickly as she could, slamming the door firmly behind her.

Red stared at the rumpled sheets on the bed and ran his hand over his hair, letting out a deep sigh. Having just gained consciousness, his waking mind was only slowly beginning to compute the full extent of what had happened. His beautiful Lizzy had hit on him, albeit in his sleep, and he had firmly and a little cruelly rejected her. What on earth was he thinking? Although, in his heart of hearts, he knew their feelings for each other had very much crossed a line lately and that Liz was most certainly correct about the mutual attraction, he couldn't just start a relationship with her now. I mean, he couldn't. Could he? Either way, he could've been a hell of a lot more tactful with his words when trying to dull her ardour. He sat on the bed and waited for sounds indicating that she'd departed the bathroom, not wanting to see her again until she'd calmed down and he'd had a chance to think.

If it's possible to have an angry shower, then that's what Liz was doing. She washed her hair and then squirted the rest of the shampoo down the plug hole, not caring that she herself would now be out of it, only that Red would. She knew she was acting petulantly but she was deeply embarrassed by what had happened. How could he be so cruel? And so patronising? Not to mention the fact he'd been lying to himself when saying that he didn't think it was a good idea. Okay, so the timing may not be great but she knew he wanted her, his feelings for her in that regard were always written all over his face, his love and lust towards her oozing out of his pores. She stepped out of the shower cubicle and cranked the hot tap up to full. Let him try and have a shower now with no hot water and no shampoo…..

Suddenly she stopped and thought about what she was doing. She reached back into the shower and turned it off. Turning away, she picked up a towel from the rack and buried her face in it, the tears coming thick and fast. Slowly, she slumped to the floor and just let it all out, her chest heaving with the effort of how hard she was crying.

Red heard the shower turn off and waited for sounds that Liz was leaving the bathroom. However, after five minutes he'd not heard anything. Reluctantly, he stood and made his way to the bathroom door.

'Lizzy, are you all right?'

There was no reply so he asked her again and hesitantly tried the door handle.

'Go away, Red, just go away'

He could instantly tell by her voice that she was crying. His heart broke at the sound, especially knowing that it was his actions and words that had made her cry.

'Please sweetheart, let me in. We need to talk'.

'No, we don't. You've made it very clear you have no interest in me. Why don't you go look up Madeline Pratt or Doctor Whatsherface? Someone more deserving of your attention'.

Red's face blanched at her words. He hated himself for making her feel like that.

'Lizzy, I have no interest in either of those women. Or any others for that matter. The only woman in the whole world I truly care about is the other side of this damn door'.

'Yeah, you've got a strange way of showing it', Liz said as she threw the empty shampoo bottle at the door.

Red flinched and sighed. 'Lizzy, please, please undo the lock'.

Liz looked at the handle twisting and tried to weigh up what to do. She knew she couldn't stay in here forever but she didn't want to talk to him just yet.

'Lizzy, I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I had only just woken up. I wasn't thinking straight. Please, we need to talk about this'.

Liz shakily got to her feet and went to the door, flicking the lock. Red instantly opened it and stood there, looking at her with deep worry etched on his face. As she looked back at him, her lips began to tremble and tears started to fall all over again. Before either of them knew what was happening, they were in each other's arms, not talking at all, just holding each other close.

A few minutes later, they broke apart slightly, just enough so that they could look into each other's eyes. Red lifted his hand up and wiped the last of Liz's tears from her cheeks, smiling as softly as he could at her.

'I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I really didn't mean to upset you like that. And you're right; our feelings have become something we can't ignore any longer'.

Liz tried to smile at him but it didn't reach her eyes. She was still terrified he was going to reject her again. He took her hand and led her back into the bedroom, where they both sat down on the edge of the bed.

'Lizzy, my feelings towards you haven't changed in a very long time. You're right; I am attracted to you. And I love you. I love you so much it actually physically hurts sometimes', he smiled as he said this, a strained smile. 'And it's only because of that that I reacted the way I did. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want you to rush into something you don't really want because of our constant proximity. Because of the stressful situation we're in. Because of anything other than it's what you really want. What you really want in your heart. You are too precious to me for me to hurt you like that'.

Liz sniffed quietly and looked back at him. He was being completely sincere, she was sure.

'Red, this is what I want. And you know what; I've been thinking too. These sleepwalking incidents I've been having. They're not just caused by stress and anxiety. Can't you see that? If that were the case I'd have been having them a lot more over the last couple of years. Every time I have one, I come to find you. I need you, even when I'm asleep. I think my unconscious mind is trying to tell me something that I was refusing to acknowledge before now. You're what I need. You're all that I need. You make me feel safe and loved and treasured'.

As Liz finished speaking her head dropped down and she focused on a spot on the carpet, unable to meet Red's eyes any longer. He reached over and took her hand, holding it tightly in his own.

'Okay, sweetheart. Here's what's going to happen now. I'm going to take a shower. You're going to get dressed. And then we're going to go for a walk or sit in the garden or whatever you'd like and we're going to talk about this further. Okay?'

Liz lifted her head back up to him and smiled a little, grateful that he was at least treating her like her feelings weren't misguided and misplaced like she'd felt he had earlier.

'Okay, sounds like a plan'.

'That's my girl', Red said as he leant towards her and left a lingering kiss on her temple. 'Okay, quick shower then I'll be downstairs'.

As Red stood and made his way to the bathroom, a thought suddenly occurred to Liz, 'Er, Red, you may need to use the hand soap to wash your hair…..'