A/N: Thanks for the reviews and to those who are hanging in there. Remember this is an AU fic.
Chapter eleven
Red and Lizzie stood together in a strained silence. There was so much to talk about but they couldn't. Not with Abby needing their attention.
"Uncle Ray, can we built a sand castle?" Abby ran up to the two grown ups with Jethro following closely after her.
"Sure, but I didn't bring any toys to use." He should have known Abby wanted to play on the beach.
"I'll see what I have at the house that we can use." She didn't want to deny Abby the chance to built a castle with her uncle.
"Thank you." Red nodded at Lizzie. Lizzie and Jethro made their way to the house as Red and Abby looked for a good spot to built a castle.
Walking back from the house with a small bucket and a shovel, and of course Jethro beside her, Lizzie saw Red and Abby had found a spot to built the castle. She stood still to watch them for a moment. Red was sitting on his knees and Abby was standing next to him as Red tied her shoelace. After tying the shoelace Abby hugged Red and kissed his cheek as a thank you. She smiled at the picture they presented. He was making it difficult to stay mad at him. She looked at Red who was now back on his feet and looking at her. He titled his head to the side and looked at her as if he was trying to read her mind. She didn't want to keep Abby waiting any longer so she quickly joined the three of them started building the sand castle.
It took quite some time for the three of them to built the castle. The fact that Jethro every once in a while walked through the part that they'd built didn't help. Every time that happened Abby laughed loudly and Red dutifully rebuilt the part that was destroyed. She really enjoyed seeing Red and Abby. It was obvious that Abby adored her uncle. The softness she saw in his eyes every time he looked at his niece warmed her heart. They'd shared few glances and sometimes she caught him looking at her for a long time. It caused a little flutter in her stomach, especially now when he was wearing those glasses.
Lizzie had been in charge of creating the moat around castle, something which was easy for her to do. It brought back memories from when she was a kid and had built a castle with her father. It saddened her that Abby might not have that memory. Red and Abby were building the main castle with smaller ones at each corner. After a while Abby got tired and started to order Red and Lizzie around while she watched on with Jethro who kept an eye on everything. After the castle was finished, they needed to add water to the moat which Abby wanted to do. Red stood up to go to the water with her, but Abby requested Lizzie to help her. It surprised them both and Lizzie looked at Red to see if it was okay. He smiled at the both of them and nodded.
He was glad Lizzie and Abby seemed to get along. That was important to him. He needed to find a way for his two worlds to coexist though he had to admit, he wanted his life with Lizzie to move forward. He also knew that his brother's family also still needed him. Abby, who was a happy girl, still had nightmares at night and he often got out of bed to comfort her. Her mother was trying hard to keep going but she was struggling. Both sought him out to play the role of his brother. It was something he sometimes had a hard time dealing with. He wanted to share his burdens with Lizzie because it was quite a weight on his shoulders. But he felt it wasn't something he couldn't do. After all Lizzie still had her own demons to deal with. There was so much on his mind and all of it kept him up at night.
Seeing Abby and Lizzie return with water for the moat Red had to put his dark thoughts aside. And he did so but not before Lizzie saw the worried look. Looking closer she noticed how tired he looked, wary even. She realised then that not only was he trying to take care of his brother's family, she knew he also wanted to take care of her. As strong as Red was, and at times she'd thought of him as unbeatable, she only then recognised that he was carrying a heavy burden and that he might need her help. She also knew he would never ask for her help.
"I'm thirsty, uncle Ray." Abby said after Red had taking a picture of her in front of the sand castle they'd built.
He saw that Abby was also getting tired and knew it was time to go home. He wanted to spend more time with Lizzie, but knew Abby should be his priority.
"Why don't we go to my house and get you something to drink?" Lizzie wasn't ready yet for them to leave.
"Okay." He held out his hand to Abby who immediately took it. The three of them walked back to Lizzie's house. To any onlooker they seemed like a happy family. Something deep down both adults wished for.
TBC..