My dear readers and followers! I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and I hope you'll like this little chapter! Dont mind the mistakes, I was trying to be fast and write between wrapping presents and decorating;)

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

Chapter 12

"She did what?" Sam shouted through the phone and his eyes bulked dangerously. The woman on the other side, he was sure, was either very close to crying or she was getting a panic attack.

"I am so sorry. I have no idea how this could have happened. I was gone for only a moment, getting her a glass of water and suddenly she was gone. No trace of her. She must have run away. What other possibility is there?"

"She is four years old, for Pete's sake!" Sam thundered and stomped his foot in anger. All those people, so incompetent. "I'm on my way. I'll be there in 45 minutes. Keep looking." He ordered and hung up.

He made it to the psychologist's office in under 45 minutes and stormed into the building. Looking around frantically, Sam felt his pulse starting to get faster and faster. Before he got the chance to shout at the receptionist, he saw Liz' psychologist running towards him and gesturing wildly.

"I found her!" she called, before reaching him and Sam sighed in relief.

"Where?" he asked sternly, but he should have known that the answer wouldn't be ti his liking.

"She hid in a closet. We wouldn't have found her if she hadn't gotten one of her asthma attacks…" She wasn't even finished explaining the situation, when Sam started to run in direction of the staircase.

Entering the already well known office, Sam immediately approached the closet and opened the door slowly, so he wouldn't startle the hiding girl.

"Lizzie? Sweetheart, it's me, Sam."

What he found when the door was fully open, made his breath hitch in his throat. Lizzie coward in the farthest corner and was literally choking on her sobs and gasps.

Kneeling down, he inched closer, laying a soft hand on the girls shoulder. But he was only met with a flinch and another wet and painful sounding cough.

"Lizzie, you need to calm down now, you hear me?" Sam tried to keep his voice quiet but strong, to give her something to hold on to, but it didn't seem to help at all this time. Trying to look into Liz's eyes, he lowered his head and tightened his hold on her. When finally, he caught a glimpse at her face, he gasped and his own breathe left his lungs with a whooshing sound.

"Call 911." Sam called over his shoulder, not leaving the girl in front of him out of his sight. He could see Liz' lips starting to get a blue tinge and although he was as far from a doctor as an ant from an elephant, he did know that this situation was now getting much too dangerous for his taste.

Somewhere in Europe…

Red woke up with a start when he felt something moving against his hip. The first thought was that it might be a rat or something but when it didn't cease, he started to wake up and realized that it was his cell phone. Scrambling for the device, he almost fell from his camp bed, hissing when his back got jarred uncomfortably.

"What?" he barked into the phone, hoping the call would be dealt with in seconds and he would be able to go back to sleep. Two days without a wink of sleep was just too much for him after running from government for months.

"Raymond?"

The voice was, although low and obviously whispering, clear as day to Red and he frowned.

"Sam? Is everything alright?"

"No."

Red paused and his frown deepened. Slowly he set up, wincing all the way up before saying anything else.

"What happened? Is Lizzie ok?"

"No."

Red's eyes grew big, his lips pursed and suddenly anger took hold of him. Anger at Sam. For not telling him what happened. For not calling him sooner. For not keeping Lizzie safe. Trying to reign in his emotions and stay calm, he finally asked.

"Would you mind telling me what is going on? I can't help if I don't know." His voice was tense but still quiet. Living in a basement, under a unknowing families living room didn't allow him to be anything but that.

"She started to choke."

"Choke?" Red breathlessly asked, not yet understanding what had transpired a few thousand miles away. "How did she start to choke?"

"A car backfired and she panicked. She hid in the psychologists closet and made herself hyperventilate. Before I could reach her, she already had overstressed her lungs."

"Tell me she is alright now." Red demanded, his voice now slightly louder. His free hand formed a fist around the thin sheet he was using as a blanket. He felt the material stretch under his skin and it gave him a light satisfaction.

"She's in ICU." Sam told him quietly. "They say that she is out of the worst but they still want to keep her for a while."

"I'll be there in a few hours."

With that the call ended and both men knew exactly what would happen next. Decision time was coming closer and they both could hear it knocking at their door already. And it wouldn't be a welcome one.

Seven Hours later…

Red burst through the doors of the hospital and looked left and right, searching for Sam or a nurse. When he spotted a young nurse rounding the corner, he jogged over to her and asked her for directions to the ICU, which she gave him readily.

Like a whirlwind, he sped through the halls of the hospital, only stopping when he almost tripped over an extended leg of a sleeping person.

"Sam?"

The man sat up abruptly in his chair, grunting in surprise before recognizing his old friend.

"There you are. I was starting to worry." He told him, scrubbing his face roughly with one hand.

"How is she? Any news?"

"No." was Sam's tired answer and finally his eyes focused properly on Red and despite of his worry, a disbelieving smirk appeared on his face. For a moment both men stared at each other, until Sam cleared his throat and pointed at Red. "You…ehm…changed your look."

Sam almost laughed when he saw the embarrassed look on his friends face.

"I am…hiding…you know?"

Taking of his hat, Red shook his head and his hair, which he hadn't cut for months, fell free, framing his now bearded face.

"I can see that…" Sam said, leaning forward as if wanting to tell him a secret. "Under that Neanderthal beard, right? Good hiding spot." He quipped, earning an eye-roll and an annoyed clicking with Red's tongue.

Before Red could open his mouth to snarl at Sam, a doctor appeared in the hallway and stepped next to them.

"You're Elizabeth's family?" his sceptic look lingered on Red's face but he obviously wasn't keen to start any problems, since he started to explain her condition immediately after seeing their nods.

"She suffered a pulmonary embolism, caused by the fibrosis.!

Red shifted slightly, about to ask for details but was positively surprised when the doctor continued to explain on his own.

"The main artery in her lung is was blocked. We managed to unblock it but the fibrosis will undoubtedly cause it again."

"What can you do?" Sam asked, standing up from his chair he had vacated for the last few hours.

"Except for giving her as much oxygen as possible…nothing much."

"And what do you suggest we could do to prevent it happening again?" Red asked, his voice tense and worried.

"It is not a common thing to do with such a small child, but I would suggest a transplant."

The silence that suddenly hung over them was almost painful and Red groaned inwardly.

"How fast can it be done?" he questioned suddenly, surprising Sam with it.

"She would need to wait for a donor…."

"How. Long?" Red pressed out from between his gritted teeth, his patience thin. He could see the doctor calculating in his mind and finally reaching a result.

"At least four years."

At this moment Red knew that he would never let her wait for so long. In her condition she wouldn't be able to live like a little girl deserved, she would be vegetating. Already starting to plan in his head, he thanked the doctor and listened halfheartedly Sam asking some more questions. Only when he asked if they could see her, Red looked up again. Both were thrilled to hear that they were allowed to visit her and followed the doctor down the hall.

Opening the door, he gestured them inside and reminded them that they had only a few minutes, before a nurse would come and examine the girl once more.

Red's eyes were glued to the bed, where Lizzie was lying in. her eyes were open but she didn't seem to notice them.

"Is she awake?" Red asked the doctor quietly.

"She is heavily sedated. She might not recognize you." He paused for a moment, observing Red and Sam's reactions. When they seemed genuine enough to him, he continued. "The effects of the sedative will wear off soon. I give another hour and she should be coherent again. I'll leave you alone now. If there is anything you need, please call the nurse. She'll be outside."

With that, he turned and closed the door with a final clicking sound.

Red stepped hesitantly closer to the bed and leaned with his arms against the metal railing surrounding it. He looked into the girls eyes and his eyes filled with tears when he saw her blue eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

"You think she can see us?" Sam asked him from the other side of the bed, but Red could only shrug his shoulders. Never in his life had he felt so helpless before. It wasn't just Lizzie, but also his own daughter and his wife. He was not capable to protect them differently than to vanish, which for everyone was a painful experience he was sure. He couldn't solve this problem which was haunting him and his whole family. He was simply worthless right now. No matter what he tried, it simply didn't seem to be enough. And now this. Lizzie was an innocent and was only here because her parents have needed a Ginny pig for their research. How someone could do something like this to a child, non the less his own, was beyond him. Looking in the girls eyes now, he saw himself in them. Lifeless and unable to do move. Scared and lonely. He lowered his gaze not wanting to be confronted with that fact about himself anymore. His hands grasped the metal tighter until he felt his arms shake. It was time to wake up from his own sedation. It was time to start fighting for his life and for his loved ones. It was time to live and not hide.

Looking back into the blue orbs, he was surprised to see them directed at him now. Not daring to say anything though, Red only lifted a hand and gently pressed it against the girls dark hair, caressing it lovingly.

"Lizzie? Can you hear me?"

His question was met with silence but he thought he had felt a slight movement against his hand.

"Sweetheart?"

This time he was sure he felt her move and bent down, closer to her. Suddenly he was her eyes move a little bit and her lips twitch.

"That's my girl." He smiled softly and nodded at her. "Come on, Lizzie. It's time to wake up now."

Red was aware of Sam's stare, but he couldn't care less right now, as long as Lizzie would listen to him and show more signs of life than a twitch. He almost fainted, when after a minute she opened her mouth and the sweetest, albeit slightly croaked, word came out of her mouth.

"Red…"

This low and breathlessly spoken word, gave him everything he needed. Courage and determination. It was time to fight.

tbc...

Again I wish you a joyful and very merry Christmas! I will try to upload the last chapter before New Years Eve:)