A/N: I know this took forever! I have been a little preoccupied making some seriously amazing Lizzington friends. I am in awe of the sheer talent that I get to chat with. Their feedback, support, and advice is invaluable. Thank you!

Disclaimed, as always.

Chapter 29

She knew it was impossible to believe for a second that he wouldn't know what was going on. He knew her better than she knew herself. He'd always been amazingly perceptive, but their time together had only honed his skills. Especially when it concerned her.

She tried to regulate her breathing, to calm down so her explanation sounded at least a little bit rational "What if it's gone? Forever, Ray. We may be relatively safe, but the fact of the matter is, me being blind is a huge liability and I need to know if there's something to be done for it. My sight came back once, it could happen again."

She knew she sounded shrill, desperate even. But the past two years, Red had shown her how absolutely beautiful life could be and she would do anything to keep that.

He held her until she was somewhat calm. "I want to show you something. We're going to take a field trip." His voice was calm, such a distinct contrast to her panic that she focused on it, let his calm demeanor spread to her.

So he led her to the library and said "Close your eyes. Keep them closed." She wondered what he could possibly show her that she hadn't already seen. They'd spent countless hours in here, made love against and on top of just about every surface, even the floor.

They came to a stop at one of the countless shelves. His hand travelled slowly down her arm until it reached the tips of her fingers. So slowly in fact, that she thought that maybe they would be utilizing one or more of the surfaces soon. But instead of continuing the sensual touch, he handed her a book.

"Remember, no peeking. Just feel." So she ran her hands over the binding first, searching for telltale raised print, but found braille instead. It was 'Pride and Prejudice', her favorite novel!

She couldn't keep her eyes closed a second longer. When she opened them, the library looked the exact same as it usually did, but they were in front of the book shelf that she'd previously assumed was his. She ran her hands over the countless spines before her.

Hundreds, possibly a thousand or more books in braille. "Oh my god! How long have you have these?"

His shoulders raised and lowed in a slow shrug. "I guess I bought that first one after the second morning we sat together. The others were ordered or commissioned in the weeks after that. There's also a few hundred audiobooks, as well. Field trip isn't over yet though, so let's go to my office."

Just one doorway down the corridor, his office was actually where he held conference calls and Skype meetings for all of his business that was entirely legitimate these days. She had a computer in here as well, to her delight.

They were both terrible with technology. She had caught on quickly and soon he'd been going to her when he had problems. There were new boxes stacked in the corner and a new computer sitting next to her laptop. Squinting at the accessories, she saw that it was an entire set up to accommodate her blindness.

Everything was braille compatible. The computer screen was small, purely existing for diagnostic purposes and so it could be used by a sighted person. There was a flat, wide rectangular box with small holes dotting along the surface next to the braille keyboard. She wasn't sure what the flat box was though.

Still shocked, she could only whisper "What's this one?"

Up until that point, he'd been a silent observer, standing back while she explored. "It's a braille display. There are pins that come up and translate everything that is on the screen into braille. There's also a braille printer." He seemed less confident as usual. Maybe he was waiting for her anger.

As soon as she's done falling in love with him all over again she'll be upset for the frivolous cost of everything.

The books alone had to be eight thousand plus. There was probably twenty grand in the technological equipment.

Wait. That equipment had been new. She turned around and walked out of the office without a word.

If her suspicions were correct, he had a reason to be wary of her anger.

He followed, she knew he'd be too curious at her abrupt departure. She walked into the kitchen and yanked open a cupboard. The contents were unchanged as far as she could tell, but she reached up to the shelves and found that they were labeled in braille.

"You knew. You knew that I was having problems and you were doing everything that you could to make your world, our world accommodate that, weren't you?" Her arms came up and she hugged her shoulders in an effort to hold herself together.

She felt foolish for ever thinking that she could do this without him.

But then his arms enveloped her and she was shaking and crying against him. "Lizzie, there is nothing that I wouldn't do to make your life easier. How could you doubt that for even a second? Is that why you were going to go alone? Because you believe that if I went I would make you feel like you were a bother?"

She felt so guilty for trying to leave without him, but she couldn't let him believe that for a second longer. "I could never think that of you. I wanted to go alone so that I could find out if there was hope, if there was a chance that maybe something could be done. I wanted to protect you from, well hope. That sounds so stupid right now saying it out loud, but it's the truth. I know that me being blind again will crush you. You'll somehow find a way to bear the burden of fault, but it's only because of you that I could see again in the first place. And maybe I wanted to fall apart in private. To make it easier to be brave for you."

He knew that she'd been having trouble with her vision for weeks. As a man that has studied every nuance, every expression on her face, he knew exactly when she started squinting to see objects not close to her. When her hip would bump into a table or ledge because she overestimated how close it was. He silently observed every single detail and waited for her to come to him and share her fears. But he waited in vain. She was so terrified that she wouldn't be enough, he would have laughed if it didn't make him so angry.

It was laughable to think that a career criminal was more deserving than an angel, no matter how clean he kept his nose these days.

Since he wasn't much one to wait, he started his research. Spoke with world renowned experts on the technological advances in aiding those without vision. All of the accommodations that she'd explained so long ago were at the fore of his mind. He never wanted her to feel trapped in a world of darkness.

The moisture of her tears soaked though his shirt and he felt honored to be loved so well. She was only trying to protect him.

Her weight was slight as he swung her up into his arms and carried her to their room to rest. She needed him to be there for her and show her that no matter what, they would be fine. Her sniffles slowed to the occasional rough breath and he sighed in relief.

There were so many arrangements to be made, but for right now, they would stay in their safe haven. Lizzie needed him. Everything else could wait.

She'd been his light for so long, he could be no less for her.

Tbc…

A/N: