Liz opened the door for Stark, who greeted her with a silent nod and a stiff smile. He was still somewhat wary around her, but he'd been unbending little by little every visit, helped along mostly by Agnes' endearing and open curiosity as proof that he'd been welcomed into the fold by everyone, not just Red.
He and Red exchanged pleasantries before Red decided to cut to the chase rather than drag out the suspense longer than necessary.
"Give it to me straight, doc," he said, trying to present a nonchalant confidence, but Liz could tell he was bracing himself for the worst. She could see it in every line of his body, in the tightness of his jaw.
Stark took a thick folder from his briefcase and flipped it open, angling it so Red could read along with him.
"Your numbers haven't looked this good in years, Raymond," he said. "I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing; I spent the last few hours poring over the rest of your file to be sure that I'm not missing anything, but I'm not."
"So it's working."
"It's definitely working," Stark said, and for once his smile even reached his eyes. "Congratulations. I never thought I'd have a chance to say this to you, but if you keep improving like this, you're going to be fine. You should live to a ripe old age—as long as you cut back on some other, uh… risky behaviors."
Red let out a laugh and clapped Stark on the back. "Spalding, I am in your debt."
"This is a serious recommendation, Raymond. I know you've made some dietary and lifestyle changes recently—and by all means you should keep those up—but it would be even more beneficial to your overall well-being if you didn't put yourself in such… horrifically dangerous situations all the time. The stress alone is detrimental enough to your system, even without the daily risk of violent injury and death."
"Are you suggesting I retire?"
"I—I don't know if I would use that term for it," Stark said.
"But that is what you mean."
Liz narrowed her eyes at Red; what Stark was saying gave so much fuel to reinforce Red's own wishes that Liz almost suspected that they had set this 'intervention' up to bolster his plea for her to cut down on her time with the task force. But perhaps that wasn't the best way to interpret all this. Perhaps she should take it another way—when what Red desired mirrored medical advice so closely, it probably really was what was best for him.
After all, it wasn't as if she wanted to go back to the status quo with the FBI. Her life had been close to chaos since her very first day as a special agent. Truth be told, she could use a real sabbatical—time to spend with Red and Agnes as a family without the weight of the world on their shoulders or the fear of death breathing down their necks.
"Raymond," Stark said. "I understand this is… more complicated for you than it would be for most other men in your situation, but some advice is reasonably universal. Lowering stress, eating a balanced diet, getting adequate rest and regular exercise—it's all pretty standard stuff. If you were an average man in a dangerous profession, then yes, I would also recommend you start considering retirement. This was a very close call, but you made it through against all odds. One stray bullet and it was all for naught. The least you could do is consider it.
"Oh, and of course you should also at least try to keep up with that cardiovascular regime I started you on that you're always trying to weasel your way out of…"
"That won't be a problem anymore," Red said, heading across the room towards where Liz stood leaning against the wall. "I have someone now who'll really be able to whip my ass into shape. She has a completely different strategy than Dembe to keep me on track—much more hands on. Truth be told, my motivation has skyrocketed."
Red pulled Liz smoothly into a spin and she let out a shout of laughter at the impromptu dance. Red was all smiles and she couldn't help but mirror his happiness, even if it meant that Stark got even more food for thought about their relationship than he already had.
"I should dip you for that," she said, her voice low.
"Be my guest, you know I'm very fluid."
Not one to back down from a challenge, Liz did exactly as she said she would. Once he was upright again, Red dropped his voice and said, "The fact that you can do that to me so effortlessly is a major turn on."
"Save it for the bedroom," Liz said, cutting her eyes towards Stark, who seemed a bit flustered, but Liz couldn't find it in herself to care all that much. Red was going to survive—he could make all the innuendos in the world if he wanted to.
Besides, Stark had already gotten a considerable window into their relationship these past few weeks. Even if he thought so in the beginning, he no longer had reason to believe that Agnes was the byproduct of a bizarre one-time tryst between CI and handler, and certainly not anything more nefarious than that.
No, Red and Liz and Agnes were truly a family. Dembe, too. An unconventional one, perhaps, but a family all the same.
Just then, Agnes wandered out from the other room. "Mommy, what's going on?"
"Agnes, baby, guess what? Mr. Stark says Red is getting better!"
Agnes' face lit up. "You did it?"
"We did it," Stark said, and held his hand up for a high five. She gave him one as she rushed forward to hug him around the legs, and he patted the top of her head fondly. "My little lab partner."
Agnes turned to Red. "Were you and mommy dancing?"
"Yes."
"But there's no music."
"That's OK, you can dance without music. Here, let me show you," Red said, holding out his hands. "Stand on my toes, honey."
They stumbled around rather clumsily for only a few moments, because Agnes wasn't content to balance on Red's feet for long without trying to set the pace herself.
"Like mother, like daughter," Red said to Liz, as he hoisted Agnes up into his arms. "You'd both rather lead."
"Cute," Liz said, and between Red's mischievous grin and the wicked glint in his eye, she barely managed to fight off a blush. "We should do something to celebrate Red getting better. Do you want to go somewhere special? Disney World? Harry Potter Land?"
"I want to go to the park!"
Red chuckled. "That sounds wonderful. We'll go this afternoon. Just as soon as mommy gets back from telling everyone at work I'm feeling better. Is that a good plan?"
Agnes nodded excitedly.
"That all sounds great, but do you know what we've gotta do first? We've gotta have a nice big lunch to fill that belly of yours," Liz said, gently poking said belly and causing Agnes to twist around in Red's arms, ticklish. "Why don't you go get washed up while I make something."
Red set Agnes back on her feet and she ran off towards the bathroom to do as Liz suggested. "Spalding, can I interest you in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before you head out?" he asked.
"No, thank you."
"Are you sure? Elizabeth has perfected the ratio of peanut butter to jelly and it would be a shame to miss out."
Stark met Liz's gaze sheepishly; she waved him off. "Don't worry about it, he has to build up my sandwich making skills because I can barely boil water."
"Ah, well, I'm afraid I'll have to decline," Stark said. "Not because I doubt your skills…"
"Oh, of course not," she said. "Come on, I'll show you out."
Liz led Stark down the hall; once she was sure they were out of earshot of Red, she stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Hey, one more thing before you go…" Stark waited, silent and expectant, and froze with surprise when Liz pulled him into a hug. "Thank you. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough."
She took a step back and swallowed around a lump in her throat. "He almost gave up. I… I don't know what I would've done."
Stark cleared his own throat. "You're welcome. I'm glad I was able to help. Like I told him, I never expected… Well. You're very fortunate."
Liz nodded and Stark offered her a stiff smile before she ushered him through the door.
