Dembe stopped counting after the fifth time of finding Raymond drunk and passed out on the floor in the last month. This time was no different, Dembe returning from a meeting with some associated to close a new shipping deal to find Red laying in the middle of the floor in a large library room of the newest safe house, two empty bottles of scotch laying around the floor.
"Raymond? Raymond?" Dembe knelt next to him and shook his trying to get him to wake from his drunken sleep.
Red let out a kind of snoring-snort. Dembe hung his head, pulling a blanket off the back of the couch behind him and draping it over Red.
Elizabeth sat on the porch, a warm fuzzy blanket and a hot cup of coffee keeping her warm from the cool Alaskan winter breeze. The view from the house high in the mountains refreshed her soul, it was quite and peaceful. Time had stopped for her when she arrived, no task force, no work, no blacklister's, no one shooting at her or trying to kill her, but there was also no Red. Sitting there in the quite while the wind's hollowed through the trees, she found herself missing Red, and wondered what he was doing.
The pounding of his pulse throbbing in his head finally brought Red out of his sleep, almost having to peel his face of hard wood floor beneath him. He squinted as Dembe pulled the curtain aside and let the bright light of the day come into the room.
"Let's go Raymond, I have made you some coffee." Red laid his head back down on the cold floor.
"What's the point?" Red kind of muttered against the floor. Dembe stood over Red.
"Raymond…" Red heard the warning in his friend voice, sluggishly rolling himself over, his shoulder yelling at him from sleeping on the floor again. Red reached over and started to rub his shoulder, the wound had healed, but long-lasting ache had remained. Red opened his eyes to see Dembe standing over him watching him with disapproval on his face.
"Don't look at me like that Dembe, I hate it when you do that." Red closed his eyes, laying his arm over his face.
"Cooper called, he needs to see us." Dembe holding the cup of coffee over Red, hoping it would lure him off the floor.
"Uuhhhgggg!" Red let out a moan of disgust as he pushed himself up, moving too fast he felt the all too familiar spin of the room take over his head causing him to close his eyes and put both hand on the floor beside him to steady himself, hoping he didn't get sick and throw up on Dembe's shoes.
"Go take a shower, I'll make you something to eat." Dembe set the cup on the floor next to Red, Red opening one eye, look at the cup and then up at Dembe.
Dembe was patient, but he was getting tired of this. He let out a frustrated breath and moved behind Red, dipping down he laced his arms under Red's shoulder and around his chest, pulling Red to his feet and making him stand.
A little wobble at first Red held on to the back of the couch to keep himself from swaying, when Dembe was sure he could stand on his own, he picked the cup off the floor and handed it to Red.
Teetering back and forth just a bit, Red took the cup from Dembe and too a drink of it. Dembe left him standing there, Red stumbled over to the bathroom, blindly removing his rumpled cloths, and throwing them in the floor. Almost falling over as he leaned down to turn the water on for the shower, he felt like his head was going to explode as he leaned against the cool tiles over the toilet, giving himself a moment to relieve the build up liquids in his bladder.
The hot water of the shower washed over him, easing the pounding headache and sore muscles of his shoulder, as the water flowed over his face he though of Elizabeth, imagining the water was her hands as it ran down his back, he could still feel the heat on his lips from their dance in Cuba. He beat the side of his fist against the wall cursing himself yet again.
Red was leaning against the wall of the elevator when the door opened, his head still pounding. He had found the darkest sunglasses he had in an effort to try and fend off any light that might make his head hurt more. Cooper was waiting for them as the stepped off, taking in the sight of Red.
"You look like hell Reddington." Cooper looked over Red.
"Thank you for stating the obvious Director Cooper, but I am not a lap dog and do not wish to be summoned as such, what do you need." Red's hateful tone didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team as they all stood there watching to see what Cooper was going to do.
"Office." Cooper nodded his head to the side, Red shook his head and held his hand out, offering Cooper the lead, Dembe following behind.
Dembe closed the office door behind Cooper and Red, taking his normal place at watch on the stairway. Red sitting down as Cooper walked around his desk finding his own seat.
"I'm sorry Harold." Red spoke softly, Cooper pulled his glasses off and set them on his desk.
"Where's Elizabeth?" Sitting back in his chair, Red felt a tug at his heart when Cooper spoke Liz's name. Red just shook his head.
"I don't know." Red took off the sunglasses and looked at Cooper.
"You're telling me that you have no idea where she is? Raymond Reddington, the man that can find a flea on a camel's ass in the middle of a sandstorm. You don't know where Elizabeth's at?" Cooper sat back up in his chair.
Red dropped his head backwards and put his sunglasses back on.
"No, she asked me not to come looking for her, so I didn't." Red shot back.
"Just like that? You did what she asked?" Cooper asked, surprised at the answer Red had given him.
"Yes, just like that…why is that so hard to believe?" Red was starting to get frustrated as to why he was called here in the first place.
"You said you needed to talk to me… so talk Harold." Red's snotty tone was starting to get under Cooper's skin.
"I want Elizabeth back, she one of my best agents…I want her back, this is your fault…you fix it." Red rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses as Cooper talked, the last thing he needed was to be made to feel worse.
"Putting aside the fact without the continued operation of this task force, that immunity agreement you have becomes null and void, so unless you are going to start talking to one of us, I would say you need her, and judging by the way you look…I'd say you may need her more then you think." Red's mouth hung open slightly, he hated to admit it, but Cooper was right. Red stood up to leave.
"I'll see what I can do." Red's shoulders slumped in defeat as he walked out.
Elizabeth walked through the small mom and pop store in the local town, it wasn't overly stocked but had a little bit of everything. Checking her list one last time, making sure she had everything before heading back up to the cabin. Mark was waiting behind the counter for her.
"Good morning Liz, find everything ok?" Mark turning to grab some mail he had piled up for her.
"I did, thank you." Liz started putting the items up on the counter.
"Got some mail for you." Mark handed the envelopes, Elizabeth stashed them in her bag for the time being.
"The said we got a winter storm moving in, in a couple days, better make sure you have everything you need. You won't be able to get down the trail for a few days." Mark warned her, Elizabeth checked over her things, happy with what she had she finished up with Mark and headed back up to the cabin.
Setting her coffee on the table next to her, Elizabeth started thumbing threw the mail she had got, her hands came to a stop and her heart bounced a couple time when she say the dark brown envelope and the unmistakable handwriting of Red. Her hands shaking as she looked at the letter, she needed a minute before opening it, laying it on the table. She slid her coat on and grabbed her coffee, looking at the letter like it was a time bomb waiting to go off.
She settled into the swing outside on the porch, her hand trembling as she held it and slowly opened the tab, slipping the folded-up piece of parchment out and unfolding it.
Lizzie,
It feels like a lifetime since I last laid eyes on you, I kill's me to know you are out there somewhere, to far away for me to touch you, hold you. In my blinded efforts to keep you safe and hidden from the truth, all I did was push you away and for that I am deeply sorry.
The truth is, choices were made many years ago that set us both on this path, a path that I never wanted to be on or see you on, but here we are. Your farther was already married to your mother when I started to work with him in the counter-intelligence unit with NSA, your father and I became good friends, there was always something I couldn't put my finger on about your mother.
Turns out she was a double agent working for the KGB and the Cabal, she had information that both sides desperately wanted to get their hands on. The night of the fire, your father asked me to come over, he was going to confront her about it. I can go over the fine details another time.
Your mother and father started to fight, a fire started, your mother shot your father, I ran after her, I was only a few feet outside of the door when I heard your screams from the house. I ran back in, finding a scared four-year-old girl hiding in the closet.
The whole house was engulfed with flames, we nearly got out of the house before it came down on us. I knew your mother would be looking for you, for me. The only choice I had was to take you to Sam, change your name.
When your mother failed to deliver to the KGB, they put a bounty on her head, and she went into hiding. You were never going to be safe if she was still alive. Someone would always be looking for you, to get to her.
You asked me for the truth Lizzie, and I'm giving it to you. I came back into your life because the people looking for you mother find out you were still alive, and they have been after you ever since, I came back to keep you safe, I have always been there, watching from a distance, making sure you had the things you needed, helping Sam to provide for you.
I never dreamed I would end up having feelings for you, but somewhere along the way it happened, I think it was when you stabbed me in the neck with that pen"
Liz smiled and let out a quick laughter with a tear as she remembered that night, continuing with the letter.
"stupidly I thought that keeping you at a distance was best, the life I created would never allow me to give you what you so deserved, a normal life, but I think my definition of normal may be wrong, having a normal life is no more then having someone to share it with, someone to love, someone to kiss good morning and good night, share a laugh over a cup of coffee, someone to keep you grounded and whole…but most importantly someone to make a home with.
I've been all over the world, stayed in the most wonderful places, but none of them are home. You are my home Elizabeth, my Polaris…come home Lizzie, please.
Red
The cold wind chilled and dried the tears that streamed down her face, her brain reeling from what she just read, all these years and he had finally told her the truth. She was mad and happy all at the same time, happy that she finally had answer, mad that it took her leaving and going to the other side of the county for him to realize what he had. The urge to see him hit her hard, a shift in the wind reminding her that the storm was coming in. Liz runs back in the cabin in search of the satellite phone she kept for emergencies.
Elizabeth quickly typing in Dembe's number, she paced back and forth as it rang.
"Dembe, are you with him?" She asked, her free hand tapping on the tabletop.
"Yes" Dembe as standing right next to Red, Red too busy talking with an associate to even notice Dembe was on the phone, but Dembe still turned his back slightly to Red.
"The mailing address I gave you, tell Red he needs to be there within forty-eight hours." Dembe glanced back over this shoulder, making sure his voice was a whisper.
"I can hardly get him out of the safe house, how do you want me to get him to Alaska?" Dembe looked back over his shoulder again making sure Red had not snuck up on him.
"Tell him…." Elizabeth was cut off by Dembe, Red was turning to walk over to him.
"I'll find a way." Dembe clicked the phone down. She hoped Dembe would find a way to get Red to the little store in town, she wrote a few things on a note and bundled herself up heading back into town.
Mark was surprised to see Liz in the store twice in one day.
"Liz, did you forget something?" Shaking her head, she walked over to the counter.
"No, how long until the storm hits?" She asked looking over at TV in the corner of the room
"Well, they are saying day after tomorrow." Mark looked at the weather channel and then back at Liz.
If Dembe get's him here, it will be close. Liz talking to herself as she thinks what to do. Mark watching her closely.
"How long after the storm hits can you get up the mountain to the cabin?" she asked Mark, after all he was the one who she had rented it from.
"Depending on how fast it come's down, maybe an hour, two at the most." Mark shifting his back and forth as he spoke. Liz handed Mark the note she wrote.
"There's going to be a guy showing up here, his name is Kenneth…he's about 5'10, early 50's he'll have on a fedora. Please give him this and put any supplies he needs on my tap." Liz nodded at Mark. Mark set the note on the cash register and nodded.
"Sure, no problem Liz." Mark gave her another friendly smile, stepping outside the wind picking up she pulled her coat up a little tighter and hoped Red would make it.