Liz felt foolish being so flustered over a visit from Red, but she hadn't interacted with him in anything but an official capacity for so long that she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. He'd been keeping her at arm's length for weeks, months, even. Ever since they cleared her name. It had started to grate on her as it always did when he shut her out, but the moment he walked through the door and his eyes dropped down to her swollen belly—more visible in her leisure clothes than it ever was at work—all of a sudden she understood why he'd been distant.

Red had been trying to avoid this very moment, inevitable though it was. She was showing now, clearly—she'd felt her baby move inside her more and more with every passing day. And the reality of it was impossible to ignore forever, even though Red certainly tried.

Well, now he had to face it. And perhaps, subconsciously, that was why Liz had been so nervous about this visit.

Red reached out a hand almost by reflex, but jerked it back just as fast. He looked up and met Liz's eyes, his own filled with a longing she couldn't name, but felt, deep down and fierce. "May I?" he asked.

Everyone and their uncle had asked to touch her belly. Up until now, Red hadn't. Liz hadn't consciously wondered why, but, oh, she should have known. She should have known.

She grabbed his hand and pressed it flat against her, held it there with both of hers. She took a shaky breath, struggling to tamp down the feelings coursing through her body as his warmth seeped through the thin fabric; this wasn't the time or the place.

Her baby moved along with Red's gentle, curious fingers.

"Oh! She knows you're there," Liz said. "You know, I bet she—"

"Lizzy," he whispered. His eyes shut tight and his jaw clenched; the sound of his heavy breathing was especially loud with his face so close to hers.

"What's wrong?"

"Please," he said, his voice low and rough. "It doesn't have to be Tom. Anyone but Tom."

Liz's heart started pounding in her chest. "Anyone?"

"Please don't make this about a power play, or spite or… or…" He took a grounding breath. "Yes, anyone but Tom."

Liz swallowed around the lump in her throat. "What if the person I want wants no part in this?"

Red's jaw trembled as he struggled to speak and his eyes were bright as they began to well with unshed tears. "What if he does, desperately, but believes he could only bring death and destruction to her life?"

Liz felt like she had been holding her breath for an eternity and for the first time in forever, she might be able to let it out. "Can't… Can't we figure that out together? Can't we take precautions, make changes?"

"I'm not sure I even have an idea what that would look like."

"Run away with me," she blurted out.

"What?"

"We could disappear. Go anywhere you want. Somewhere no one would find us," she said. "Maybe Cuba. You always wanted to see me in a guayabera dress."

"Lizzy."

"Just think about it," she urged. "Please."

Eventually, Red nodded.