A/N: Finally here's the next chapter. Time to leave the angst behind. I struggled with this chapter and didn't know how to continue. So I decided to bring in somebody. I hope you like it. Thank you for all who keep hanging in there with me.

Chapter fourteen

She wasn't sure what woke her, nor did she know what time it was, but it was still dark outside. She heard a sound, a scratch followed by a howl. Was that a wolf? She got out of bed, put on her jeans and Red's vest. To be sure she grabbed her gun too. She made sure she passed Red's bedroom quietly. She really didn't want to wake him up. As she headed downstairs she heard the scratching again.

First she opened the front door, holding her gun ready. Not seeing anything at the door she stepped out to be sure there was nothing there. Turning around she made her way back to the door. Just as she was about to grab the door to step inside again it opened.

"Red!" Lizzie exclaimed when she saw him. "Damn, you scared me!" She lowered her gun and stepped inside.

"Same here, Lizzie. What our you doing outside in the middle of the night."

"I heard a sound. Something's out there."

"And you decided it was best to investigate on your own?"

"I can hold my own, okay. You know that."

"I do." He heard she was getting agitated. "You know I do. It's just the two of us here. Just be careful."

Before she could answer she heard the noise again. "See." She followed the noise to the kitchen back door. What she found there was nothing what she'd expected. "Look, Red!"

There huddled on the porch was a dog that reminded her of Hudson. He was black, and his big brown eyes asked for her help. She handed Red her gun and crouched down. "Come here, sweetie." The dog was skinny, wet and shivering. She held out her hand to him, trying to coax her towards her but he shied away from her touch.

"Grab some water please, Red. Maybe he'll come inside." She opened the door and stepped inside, hoping the dog would follow her into the cabin.

Red filled a small bowl with water and put it down just inside the door. It was apparently enough to coax the dog inside. Lizzie quickly closed the door behind her. She looked up at Red and that was when she first noticed his sleep attire. He was shirtless. How come she hadn't spotted that before? He was more muscular than she'd thought. Clearly he hid quite a fine body in those suits. She'd expected him to be in good shape and sure she'd wondered what he'd look like shirtless. She'd even dreamed about it once or twice. She shook her head and swallowed. "You, euuhh… you must be cold, Red." It was best for her and probably for him too, that he put a shirt on. "Maybe you should put a shirt on? Don't want you to catch a cold." She mumbled the last bit and focused back on the dog who had found the water and was now busy lapping it up. He was still shivering too. "Can you grab a big towel too?" She didn't want to scare the dog away so she kept a short distance.

"Sure." He smiled at her. She was completely focused on the dog.

He returned a few minutes later and saw the dog approach Lizzie carefully. He couldn't help but smile when he saw the big smile on her face.

"Hey, sweetie." She cooed at the dog whose tail slightly wagged in response. She looked up to see Red join her and took the offered towel. She let the dog sniff her hand and when he didn't shy away she softly petted him. Seeing he was fine with her touch she wrapped him up in the towel and started to dry him. She looked at Red as he sat down next to her on the kitchen floor. "Do you think someone lost him?"

He looked at her and saw she was already getting attached to the dog who had crawled onto her lap. The dog seemed perfectly content. "I'm sot sure. I think it's a stray."

She looked at the dog in her lap who had happily settled down. "I'm glad he found us. Who knows how long he's been on his own. He must be hungry."

"Are we sure he's a he?" Red asked.

Lizzie nodded. She looked at him noticing that he was now wearing a sweatshirt. He looked comfortable but more than that it felt right to be here with him sitting on the kitchen floor. She reached for his hand and squeezed it, but didn't meet his eyes. "Thank you, Red."

"You're welcome." He saw her eyes beginning to close. Looking at the dog he saw it had fallen asleep already. "Let's go to bed."

"Yeah." As she started to move the dog woke up again. "Ssstt…" She shushed him. She carefully stood up with the dog in her arms. Though he was skinny, he was still heavy.

"Let me." Red said. The dog eyed him wearily as he was being lifted into Red's arms. "Let's get you upstairs, huh." He whispered to him. "We'll put him in your room so he won't be alone."

Together they walked up the stairs to Lizzie's bedroom. "I'll go grab him a blanket to sleep on."

Lizzie watched the dog inspect the room. She'd always loved animals, especially dogs. "I always loved dogs." She started when Red returned. "I begged Sam for one for years. He didn't budge though." She watched Red put the blanket down on the floor next to the bed at the side she slept.

"He's probably hungry." She watched the dog sniff the blanket, circled it three times before lying down and let out a sound that seemed to be a content sigh.

Red crouched down and caressed the dog's back. "We'll get him some food in the morning. He'll be fine for the night." Standing up he looked at her. She was sitting cross legged on the bed. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Promise me you won't go out in the middle of the night on your own again."

"I won't. Goodnight, Red." She watched him leave her room before lying down. She lay awake for a short while when the dog started to softly whine. She turned the lights back on and sat up. The dog had made its way to her side of the bed and was looking up at her expectantly with his big brown eyes. Getting up, she grabbed the blanket from the floor and draped it over the foot end of the bed. "Come on, sweetie. You can sleep here." He immediately jumped on the bed and lay down. Lizzie crawled back into bed and turned the lights off again. Within minutes both fell asleep.

TBC...