Liz was about to turn in for the night when her cellphone buzzed. A quick glance confirmed the caller ID said Nick's Pizza. Of course. Who else would it be?

"Hey. What's going on?"

"I'm outside your apartment. I didn't want to knock and draw attention."

"Hang on, I'll be right there." Liz pulled the door open to find Red lugging what had to be the largest stuffed bear she had ever seen. "Oh, wow. I think that'll draw more attention than knocking."

"Probably," he said, with a chuckle.

"Agnes is asleep already. She was pretty wiped out after the show."

"I thought she might be, but I wanted to bring this by anyway. You can give it to her in the morning."

"Thank you. I'm sure she'll love it." They went about the awkward handoff of the giant bear, which Liz stashed in the living room. "Are you headed somewhere again so soon?"

"No. I just wanted her to have her gift while the recital is still fresh." He shifted his feet. "I'm probably keeping you—"

"No!" she said, too fast. "Uh… I was gonna get ready for an early night, but since you're here… why don't you come in for a drink? Unless you're not in the mood, of course."

"Of course I'm in the mood."

"Good. Awesome. Come in."

Awesome? Come on, Liz, get a grip. He's gun shy enough about accepting your feelings for him without you coming on too strong.

"Scotch?"

"Please."

Liz kept a bottle of Red's favorite on hand now, even though it cost a small fortune. He was the only one who drank it, anyway—other than the occasional night when she missed him enough that anything that could make her feel connected to him helped soothe her loneliness.

"I want to thank you again for coming tonight. I wish you could've sat out front with the rest of us."

Red nodded his thanks as he took the tumbler, his fingers brushing against hers a bit when he pulled away. "It was wonderful anyway, even from backstage."

Liz took a seat next to Red while he savored his drink in silence.

"My mother used to be a dancer when she was young," he said, after a while. "She gave it up long before I came along, so I only ever saw a couple photos, but she was beautiful on stage. Just like Agnes."

"I'm sure she was," Liz agreed.

She took a moment to give Red a once over, as surreptitiously as she could. There was a tension in him, like he was poised on the edge of something. Like there was something more he wanted to say, but he was unsure if he should. Or could. Liz gave him a moment—she had learned it was best to let him work up to whatever he wanted to reveal. Pushing him could backfire.

"My daughter…" His voice cracked on the second word and he trailed off.

Liz reached out and took his hand. "She was a dancer, too?" she prompted gently; Red only nodded. He was quiet for a long while, staring down at their clasped hands.

"Lizzy—" Liz's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the old nickname in his gruff voice—"words cannot express how much it meant to me to be able to see Agnes tonight. I…" He shook his head and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, worn and slightly yellowed with age.

It was a programme for a dance recital, very much like tonight's. Liz's stomach flipped as she carefully took it from his hands.

"Oh, Red," she said. "Almost to the day?"

"Yes. Quite the unlikely confluence of events, if I do say so myself. Almost enough to make even a committed skeptic believe in fate."

Liz took to her feet and snagged a programme from the kitchen counter.

"Here. I don't think you got one earlier."

"Thank you. I'll cherish it. Like I've cherished this one."

"I know you will."

Red nodded, but he still seemed agitated, lost and mournful and one wrong thought away from bursting into tears. He looked up at Liz and that was enough; his face crumpled and he covered his eyes.

"Hey. Hey, it's OK." Liz moved the programmes to the coffee table and pulled him into her arms. "Come here."

She rubbed his back as he cried into the crook of her neck. When he finally settled enough to pull back, his crushing sadness had receded, but the tension had not. His fingers were still in her hair, still sending pleasant shivers down her body; she licked her lips and his eyes tracked the movement.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Liz sought Red's lips with her own and swallowed the surprised sound he made in response.

When the kiss broke, she slid her fingers inside Red's open shirt collar to rest on his bare skin. "Don't kill me."

"What?" he said, a little dazed.

"I'm gonna ask you something and I don't want you to freak out." Warily, he nodded for her to continue. "Come to bed with me."

All of the tension left his body in a surprised huff of air. "Oh. That's all you wanted to ask?"

"Yeah. Unless you don't want to."

"Of course I want to, Lizzy, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't know."

A giggle bubbled out of her unbidden. "You don't know?"

He shook his head with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It sounds good, though. Right?"

"Amazing."

"But?"

"I don't know," he repeated. "It seems… hard to wrap my mind around."

"What if… What if this was how we could live bigger lives? What if it's been in front of us all along?"

"I could see that," Red said; Liz leaned in to kiss the smile off his lips.