A/N: Remember this is an AU fic.

Chapter eight

It was the day of their trip and Lizzie was looking forward to it. Jethro sensed her excitement too. As she walked through her house to gather her things for the trip, Jethro followed her on her heels. The sun was already shining and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Lizzie was in her bedroom when she heard Jethro bark. Grabbing a vest in case it got cold, Lizzie closed the door behind her and walked back into her living room.

"Good morning, Lizzie." Red greeted her with a smile which she returned. He was glad to see a bright smile on her face. It was good to see that she was doing better. She was wearing a blue, knee length shirt with a white short sleeved blouse which had colourful flowers on it. "You look beautiful." He complimented her.

She was pleased with his compliment. She'd taken extra time this morning to make sure she looked nice. The days that Red visited her she'd hardly put any effort in her appearance. But today it felt right. They'd agreed Red would bring the food for their picnic and Lizzie would take care of Jethro's treats.

She looked at Red. She hadn't seen him in his three piece suit ever since he was back in her life. Today he was wearing beige slacks and a black short sleeved button up shirt. The top two buttons were undone showing a bit of chest hair. She liked this casual look on him, but she had to admit, she missed his suits to. Maybe she'd get the chance to see him in one again.

"Ready to go?" Red asked her.

Before Lizzie could answer, Jethro did so by barking loudly and pushing his paw against Red's leg. Clearly he was ready and wanted them to hurry up. Red and Lizzie laughed. Lizzie grabbed Jethro's leash and her bag and was ready to go.

Red had picked the place they were going to go. Apparently he knew the area well and she wondered how. What was his connection to this place? They'd decided to take her car, but Red was driving. Jethro sat in the back with his nose outside the window which was partly opened. Jethro clearly enjoyed the car ride.

"How is it that you know this area so well?" She asked after they'd been driving for a short while.

"Why do you assume I know this area?" He countered easily while keeping his eyes on the road.

If he'd looked at her, he'd seen her roll her eyes. "I'm still a profiler, Red. I'm not a fool."

He smiled at that. The answer was simple, yet complicated. He wasn't ready yet to share everything with her. "I visited Sam here a couple of times." He knew that answer would be sufficient to avoid his real reason for knowing the area like he did.

His answer surprised her. Red had never told her much about his friendship with Sam. Just before he'd left her life she'd stopped asking him about it. Clearly it was something he was reluctant to talk about. She'd gotten used to Red keeping secrets from her. But now she was confronted with it again for the first time after a year and she didn't like it. His need to keep secrets from her had caused her a lot of pain. She sighed and shook her head in frustration. For now she would let it go. She didn't want anything to ruin this trip. The rest of the drive was silent, the music and Jethro's excited barks the only sounds.

Another 30 minutes later, Red parked the car. He'd brought them to a small valley which had some beautiful trails and would offer them a nice place to picnic. He sensed Lizzie's frustration and knew he had to deal with that first. Getting out, he grabbed the bag with picnic supplies. Lizzie meanwhile helped Jethro out of the car and put the leash on him.

She didn't wait for Red to point the way, no she simply chose a path and walked.

Red saw her go. He quickly shut the car and followed her. She didn't get far and he stopped her by grabbing a hold of her hand. Jethro however had other ideas and pulled on the leash. Lizzie tumbled forward but Red put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. He squeezed her shoulders. "I want to share, Lizzie. I need time, just like you."

She nodded mutely. Though he withheld things from her, he always did answer her honestly. The honesty still surprised her though. She also didn't know yet how to handle it.

"Come on." Red took her hand again and pulled her along. "Let's enjoy our day." Getting further onto the trail, Lizzie released Jethro's leash. He never strayed to far away from her. She'd expected Red to let go of her hand at some point, but he didn't. He'd laced his fingers through hers and simply walked on as if it was the most natural thing to do. When he was like this, honest, caring and touching her, it was hard to stay mad at him.

"You confuse me, Red." Lizzie confessed after they'd walked for a while.

"How so?"

"Because I want to be mad at you and I am. But you make me want to move forward too." She admitted as she stopped walking. She didn't let go of his hand though. Jethro, who'd strolled ahead of them stopped, turned, walked up to them and sat down next to them. He looked from one to the other as if he felt that Lizzie needed his help.

He smiled at her. "That's because I want us to move forward. You are my future, Lizzie. Only you." He admitted seriously. "Come on, let's keep walking." He pulled on her hand to get her moving again. Slightly shocked by another of his admissions, Lizzie let herself be dragged along. This was really turning out to be quite a day.

TBC...