A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thanks again for the reviews and follows. I really appreciate it. Here are the three of them just spending some time together. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter fifteen

Lizzie and Abby enjoyed playing with Jethro. They threw the tennis ball in the shallow water and Jethro enthusiastically jumped after every ball. After a while Jethro let the ball fall out of his mouth and made his way over to Red. Clearly he didn't feel like playing anymore. Lizzie however wanted Red to have a bit more time to himself and decided to go for a walk with Abby. They went back to her house because Abby needed to use the bathroom. On their way back and a bit out of nowhere, Abby started to talk about her Uncle Ray.

"Miss Lizzie?" Abby asked in a small voice. She was holding Lizzie's hand tightly.

"Is uncle Ray going to go to heaven just like daddy?"

"Sweetie." Lizzie heard the anxiety in the little girl's voice and it tore at her heart. She crouched down. "Your uncle Ray is never gonna leave you."

"You promise?" Abby asked as she threw her arms around Lizze's neck.

"I promise." She hugged the little girl tightly. She felt guilty for her selfish feelings of wanting Red for herself. Clearly his niece needed him more. She didn't want to keep Red away from Abby. "Let's go back to your uncle Ray."

A little while later they reached Red who was still lying down on the blanket. Lizzie put her finger on her lips to indicate to Abby that she had to be quiet. She didn't want to wake him up. He needed his rest. Abby quietly sat down next to her uncle while Lizzie put another blanket down. Abby lay down next to Red and snuggled into his side. Lizzie smiled at the picture the two presented.

"You have fun, honey?" Red asked, running his hand over his niece's hair. He looked up at Lizzie who was looking down at them with a smile on her lips. "Thank you." He said to her. Carefully he sat up, taking Abby with him who was leaning fully against him. Looking at Lizzie he saw her skin was starting to get red. "You're burning up, Lizzie. You should have let me put sun lotion on you."

Lizzie looked at her arms. They did look a little red. Maybe she should have let Red rub lotion on her. "I'll put some on now." She reached into her bag for her lotion.

"Want me to help you?" Red asked innocently.

"I'm sure I can manage."

Red followed Lizzie's every move as she applied the lotion on her skin. When she moved her hands over her legs, he felt his mouth go dry. He was mesmerised by her every move. It was Abby who kept him from staring at Lizzie any longer.

"Uncle Raaaay." Abby said as she tugged on his arm. "What are you doing?"

He looked at his niece who was looking rather impatiently at him. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you keep looking at miss Lizzie?" Abby was back on her feet, looking at him with her hands on her hips.

Red looked from Abby to Lizzie who was trying hard not to laugh, but failing. Then he saw the mischievous look in her eyes.

"Yes, uncle Ray, why do you keep looking at me?" She made sure to run her hands over her leg one more time even though the lotion was already rubbed into her skin.

"Because she looks pretty." He watched how Abby turned to Lizzie. "Don't you think so Abby?"

Abby nodded her agreement. "Can we go swimming?"

"No yet. We have to wait a bit longer. The water is still too cold."

Red grabbed the bag he'd brought with him. He'd brought some toys with him for Abby to play with. He took out the Frisbee and stood up. "Shall we?" He asked his niece. As he walked away with Abby, he looked over his shoulder to Lizzie. She was lying on the blanket, enjoying the sun. He sighed. He wanted to lie down next to her and hold her in his arms. Unfortunately he couldn't because they had an audience and he really didn't want any at all.

At first he threw the frisbee around with Abby, but that quickly changed when Jethro started to chase the frisbee and catch it. Jethro caught the frisbee every time. Abby asked her uncle to throw it higher and farther away to see Jethro jump after it. After a while Abby got tired. She walked back to Lizzie and lay down next to her. Lizzie woke up from the movement and saw Abby lying next to her. She smiled. She took the sun lotion out of her bag again to rub some more lotion on Abby. She didn't want the little girl to get burned.

Red watched Lizzie take care of his little niece and smiled. He really liked seeing them together. It was clear that Abby liked Lizzie a lot and Lizzie also seemed to care about Abby. Standing up from her spot on the blanket, Jethro quickly took Lizzie's place and lay down next to Abby. He put his paw on Abby's arm and his nose next to her face. Clearly he was going to keep an eye on her. Lizzie ran her hand over the dog's head before joining Red. They stood close, their shoulders almost touching.

"She asked me if you were going to leave her just like her father." Lizzie told Red what Abby had said to her.

Red sighed and ran a hand over his face. Sometimes he worried if Abby would get too attached to him even though he was never going to leave his niece. However in time his role in their lives was going to change. He didn't want her to get too attached yet he also wanted her to know that he would always be there for her.

"I'm afraid she'll get too attached." Red admitted to Lizzie. "I can't be her father, Lizzie."

She turned towards him and ran her hand over his arm. "She doesn't want you to be her father. She just needs her uncle Ray."

"I don't want to disappoint her."

He surprised her. This time it wasn't his honesty, but his insecurity. She didn't know this side of him. "You won't." When he didn't respond she closed the distance between them and put her arms around him. His arms immediately wrapped around her. The strength of his embrace surprised her. "You won't." She said again to reassure him.

He put his head on hers and inhaled her scent. It relaxed him. He was thankful for her reassurance. "I wanna spend the day with you, Lizzie. Just the two of us." He pulled back and looked at her. He pushed a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her ear. "I want to be with you, sweetheart." He whispered. He put his head against hers for a brief moment and closed his eyes.

She loved it when he called her sweetheart. She wondered if he knew what that did to her. He probably did. She enjoyed their moment.

"Thank you." Red said, kissing her hair. "I know this complicates everything and I don't want you to feel second place."

"I did at first, but I understand now. We'll find our way." It was once again Lizzie reassuring Red.

Red put his finger under her chin, tilting her head upwards. He softly brushed his lips over hers. It was a mere brush and over so quickly that she wondered if it really had happened. "Thank you." He whispered before pulling her back into his arms.