A/N: this fic is a tough one to write so it takes me a bit longer to update. I hope that doesn't disencourage you to continue to read it tough. Thank you for the wonderful reviews and the follows. I hope you enjoy this chapter. A kind word would be appreciated.

Chapter three

The following morning, with Red still asleep and his arms still around her, Lizzie managed to carefully disentangle herself from him. Standing next to the bed she waited for a moment to see if he was going to wake up. When he didn't she quietly left his bedroom. Before joining Dembe in the kitchen she went to the bathroom to freshen up. She smiled at Dembe as he handed her a hot cup of coffee and sat down.

"How is he?" He asked her, his dark eyes full of worry.

She ran a hand through her hair and searched for the right words to describe Red's state of mind. "I've never seen him like this." She looked at the cup in her hands. "He's seems lost." She looked at Dembe. "You don't know where he went?"

"I don't. He just left. He was distressed but wouldn't let me accompany him." He considered Raymond his brother and he would do anything for him. Yet he also knew there were parts of him that Raymond kept closely guarded. He had hoped that with Elizabeth in his life he would finally be willing to share that closely guarded part of himself. So far he hadn't but maybe now he would.

"He was in Boston. That's all he said." She looked at Dembe. "He lost someone. He made me promise I wouldn't leave him. I've never seen him like this before. I don't know if I can help him, Dembe."

"You're the only one who can."

Both sat in silence, drinking their coffee and lost in thought. Lizzie looked at her watch. "I'm going to go home and grab some clothes and stuff while he's still asleep. Will you keep a close eye on him?"

He nodded. "I will."

She grabbed her jacket. "Call me if you need me. I'll be back as soon as possible." She left then, got into her car and drove him. All the while Red was on her mind. She hoped he was still sleeping and wouldn't notice her absence. His distress and her promise to him to not leave him weigh heavily on her shoulders. At home she grabbed a bag and put some clothes into it. She wondered how much she would need and decided to take enough for a couple of days. In the bathroom she also put her toiletries in her bag. Before she left she called Cooper. Since Red was still away she requested some vacation time which Cooper granted. With everything now taken care off, she locked her front door and was glad she could return to Red.

Slightly anxious she entered Red's house again. She hoped Red was still asleep. She put her bag down in the small hall way and found Dembe in the living room. "You heard anything?" She asked when he looked up.

"No."

"I'll check on him."

"Elizabeth," Dembe said before she walked away. "Raymond would never hurt you. However I have never seen him like this before. He can be... unpredictable."

"He would never hurt me."

"Just be careful. I am here if you need me."

Carefully she opened the door to Red's bedroom. Though no lights were on, the light pouring through the window was already brightening the room. It was there, in front of that window, where Red was standing. His hands braced against the window frame. His head hung low and she noticed the soft shaking of his shoulders. She softly closed the door behind her and approached him. Just like the day before he didn't seem to notice her presence at all. Her heart broke for him once again. She slid underneath his arms so she could face him. With one hand on the back of his neck she gently guided his head on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He clung to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her. He heard him murmur something into her shoulder, but couldn't understand what he was saying. She rubbed his back and kissed his temple. He finally calmed down and she breathed a sigh of relief. He kept clinging to her though but she didn't mind.

"You left." His voice was rough from the lack of use but his anguish was still so palpable.

So he had noticed her absence. "I..." What was there to say? She had broken her promise to him.

He untangled himself from her. "You promised." He said. He turned his back on her.

He had looked only fleetingly at her, but she'd seen his pain. She grabbed his wrist before he could walk away. "I'm sorry."

He kept his back to her. "I woke up and you weren't there. I thought..." He swallowed thickly and his shoulders slumped once again. "I thought it was all a dream. I hoped it had all been a dream. But then the pain hit me again. It wasn't a dream. I felt the air leaving my lungs and I struggled for another breath. I looked around in need of support but there was no one." He turned around to finally look at her. "I was alone again." He pulled himself free from her grasp. "I'm alone." He walked away without giving her a chance to respond.

"Red." She called out to him. She didn't want him to walk away. She needed him to know that he wasn't alone. That she would always be there for him, if he let her. She walked up to him and put her hand on his back. He back was rigid, the tension in his body obvious. "I'm here." She said to him.

But he didn't turn around. He kept his back to her. She didn't remove her hand though. No matter how hard he was going to push her away, she would show him that he wasn't alone. She didn't want him to stay caught up in his grief. "Why don't you take a showed and come downstairs for breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." He mumbled.

"You have to eat. Go and take a shower. It'll make you feel better."

He turned around, towered over her and stared a down. "A shower will not make me feel better. A shower won't fix the hole in my heart."

She swallowed thickly. For a moment he scared her, but she trusted him to never hurt her. She tried to calm him down. She cupped his jaw and looked straight at him. "I know it won't fix your pain." She caressed his jaw with her thumb. She continued softly and saw his eyes soften. "I'm not ignoring your hurt, but I need you to eat and a shower will do you good too, okay?"

"Okay." He turned his head and softly kissed the palm of her hand that had cupped his jaw.

TBC...