A/N Sorry for the long delay in posting chapters, especially after the little cliffhanger. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 8

Liz looked to Red and then to the person who had just walked in with a very familiar dog. Red looked panicked and Kate looked scared.

"What the hell's going on?" Liz asked, sounding confused.

Father and daughter looked at each other, and finally it was Red who decided to speak.

"Lizzie, I believe you met Kate today." There was panic in his voice. Seeing the look she shot him he tried again...maybe less sarcasm would help. "Lizzie, this is my daughter, Kate Reddington." His voice still sounded panicked and Red hated that. But this, having Kate and Lizzie in the same room, was something he didn't expect to happen- at least not so soon.

Kate shot a nervous smile and a timid wave to Liz. "Hi."

Liz, still looking to the both of them, thought how this wasn't possible- she had read his file. But then she properly looked at Kate and she was starting to see the similarities...the same green eyes, the hair color, the mouth. "Yeah," she thought to herself, "they definitely look alike, could she really be Red's daughter?"

"I've read your file Red. Your family is dead." Liz admitted to herself that it came out quite blunt, and seeing the face Kate made made her want to apologize, but she needed to know what was going on.

"Kate, Pumpkin, why don't you take Red and Hudson for a walk?" Seeing that she was about to protest, Red continued. "Take Dembe with you."

"Yes Dad, " Kate replied sadly. She wanted to stay, but she knew that her father was about to tell Liz what had happened, and he hated speaking about it in front of Kate, much less at all. Giving her father a kiss on the cheek, she waited for Liz to put Hudson on his leash, grabbing it when she was done. Saying a soft bye to Liz she walked out the door. Whistling, Kate waited for Red to join her before leaving with Dembe.

Turning to Liz, Red wasn't sure how to begin. Chewing his lip and pacing, he decided to tell her as much as he could.

"My file is a lie...well... most of it. The stuff about my family is. It needs to stay that way. Do you understand that Lizzie? Everything. What you've just seen in the last 5 minutes and what I tell you now can never be spoken- it will always have to be a secret. Can you do that? Can you lie to the FBI? To your friends and to Tom?" Red asked seriously as he joined Lizzie on the couch.

Wincing when he mentioned Tom, Liz thought about what he'd just said. Could she do it? Could she willingly lie to everyone she knew? But then she thought about it...she would be lying to protect Red's daughter, an innocent girl. She knew that yes, she could do it. Plus, Red was the only person she knew she could trust with her life and her secrets at the moment.

"Yes, Red. Everything you tell me will remain between me and you."

Looking at her and seeing the truth, Red nodded his head and tried to decide how he was going to start his story.

"It was Christmas eve. I was on my way home and I ran out of gas. I was so excited to get home that I didn't even check. I just wanted to see Kate and my wife." Red coughed as he struggled to speak. Seeing this, Liz reached out to hold his hand, squeezing it. Red continued. "I had to pull over. There was no one around, just me and a car full of gifts stuck in the snow. I left them in the car and started walking. I must've walked for five miles at least." Getting up, Red poured himself a drink, and after downing it in one gulp, he refilled it and poured one for Lizzie. Sitting back on the couch, he passed one to her and retook her hand, lacing their fingers together. "It was so quiet...all I could hear were my breaths and the steps I was taking. All I could think about was getting home to my family, knowing that they were at home waiting for me." Taking a mouthful of his drink, he looked at Lizzie out of the corner of his eye and could see that she was profiling him, maybe making sure he was telling the truth. He decided that it didn't matter. She knew him well enough to know that he was being truthful. "I don't know how long it took me, but I'd finally arrived and I could see that the lights were on and there was a fire going. I couldn't wait to get out of the cold. I walked through the door and all I could see was blood. It was everywhere." Finishing his drink, Red rubbed his face and he felt like crying. Taking a deep breath he continued in the same detached voice he'd been using. "I must have interrupted them...whoever did it. All I saw was The Stewmaker standing over my daughter's body, taking a goddamn picture. When he saw me he ran, and I had to make a choice...give chase or go to my daughter. I chose my daughter."

Seeing how upset he was getting Lizzie tried to speak, but Red wouldn't let her.

"If I don't tell you now, I never will Lizzie." She squeezed his hand in understanding.

"So I went to my daughter...there was blood all over her face and in her hair. She'd been shot to the side of her head, but she still had a pulse. So I took off my sweater and put it on her wound and I picked up her little body and ran for my wife's car. I drove for miles. I went to a doctor...well...ex-doctor, who I met while working intelligence. He did everything he could with what he had and then we went to a safe house. He watched her while I contacted all the criminals I'd met while working undercover until I had enough funds and the best doctors working on her. She didn't wake up for two weeks and then even after that I was told she might have problems growing up. I didn't care, as long as she was alive. My little girl was my world and she still is."

Seeing that Red was finished giving his story, Liz downed her drink and almost choked on the lump that was in her throat.

"What happened to your wife?"

"I don't know, by the time Kate was relatively out of the woods it was already out that I was missing and that they were dead. I couldn't go back home, so I had to start from scatch. I had to start a new family with just me and Kate."

"How don't you know?"

"Because I still don't know who took my family away from me. I don't know who tried to kill my daughter. I've been trying to find out for the past 20 years and I'll keep looking until the day I die."

"But...that's it..." Liz whispered and covered her mouth, causing Red to turn to her quickly.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"The picture... the missing evidence. That was a..."

Realising what she was talking about, Red cut her off.

"A picture of Kate? Yes it was. You have to understand, Lizzie, if people knew of Kate being alive, she'd be a bigger target than me. Why kill me when you could kill my daughter and make me suffer?"

After hearing the story, Liz could understand why the world thought Red had done something to his family. She didn't blame him for wanting to keep Kate safe and she made her own promise that if anyone ever found out, it wouldn't be from her.

Hearing the front door open, Lizzie composed herself. She didn't feel pity for Kate and she wanted to make sure her body language didn't show it either. Seeing Red the dog come through the door followed by Hudson, Liz couldn't help but chuckle.

"What?" That was Red...always curious.

"I just realized that your daughter named her dog after you." She laughed some more when Red shot her a look.

"He's named Red because people hear that name and think of a bad guy...a criminal. When I hear it, I think protector." Seeing the look Red give Kate after her speech, Lizzie had to stop herself from saying 'aww'. Seeing Red as a father was something Liz couldn't wait to see. Kate headed towards Red and kissed his cheek.

"I'm off to bed, night guys!"

"Night Pumpkin."

Just hearing Red use a sweet nickname for his daughter made Lizzie realize that she was seeing Raymond, not Red. It also made her realize that he'd been Raymond the whole evening.

"Night Kate." Giving Kate a warm smile as she walked out the room with Red the dog following, Lizzie looked at her watch and realized how late it was. But she didn't want to go home. Red, seeing her look at her watch, stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her along to his bedroom.

"Red... what?"

"You can stay here tonight and figure out what you want to do tomorrow." Seeing Lizzie about to protest, he spoke first. "Relax, Lizzie. I don't sleep that much, so I'll be fine on the couch." He moved into his room and grabbed some clothes she could sleep in. Handing them to her, he kissed her forehead and walked out the room, turning around to say goodnight.

"Night Red...and thanks."

"Anytime, Lizzie" Red said, closing the door softly behind him.

A/N

A big thank you to jadenanne7 for being my wonderful beta. And a big thanks to everyone reading and/or reviewing.