A/N: There is an extreme amount of angst ahead. I tried writing it differently, but this is just what came out.

Disclaimed, as always.

Chapter 11

Liz heard Red and Dembe joking and laughing so she assumed they had kissed and made up. She left them alone for the past hour, but was drawn out of her room by her grumbling stomach.

She breezed into the kitchen where they were talking "I am glad to see that you two boys are getting along again. Red, I am still a little mad at you for not telling me that Dembe was coming to visit. What if he would have showed up when I was running around naked? Did you ever think about that?"

Dembe dropped the spoon he'd been holding to stare back and forth at Red and Liz. You'd have thought it was Wimbledon. He finally settled his shocked gaze on Red. One quirked eyebrow from Red and Dembe broke into a wondrous smile "I am so happy for you brother." His face darkened "This changes things."

Red still wore the same expression on his face "It changes nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's already been planned for."

Liz had no idea what they were talking about, but was happy that Dembe knew about them and was happy for them. She would definitely be asking Red what changes Dembe referred to.

She couldn't wait to get Red alone.

She didn't get a chance to talk to Red alone until they retired for bed. They said their good-nights to Dembe and walked to Red's room, hand in hand.

Red didn't even wait until the door had clicked shut before he was on her. He kissed her with a fervor that was dizzying and oh so wonderful. There was an urgency, something different coloring his actions. It wasn't bad, just different.

She didn't know what got into Red, but she was more than happy to give as much as she got. He was tireless in his demands. He took her from behind, and her nails gouged into the flesh of his thigh, his behind, as she came apart around him.

She thought they would rest, but Red, still hard turned her to her side, one leg over his shoulder, his thumb pressed against her clit, powered thrust after thrust inside of her.

Once again, she lost count of how many times she came.

The finally did rest, facing each other, neither one willing to let go of the other. His eyes were closed, but the tension still bracketed his eyes, the set of his jaw.

She knew he was asleep, but she had to say it. Her "I love you, Red." was whispered into the dark.

She had closed her eyes afterwards, losing her own battle with sleep, so she never saw the one solitary tear escape from beneath his lashes.

Liz awoke with a start. She reached for Red and found him gone, but that was nothing new. He was a restless sleeper.

What was new was hearing Red and Dembe's voices, so she went to investigate.

They were both dressed, Dembe in casual clothes and Red in his customary suit. Where was he going?

They had just embraced with Red whispering in Dembe's ear when Liz confronted him. "What is going on here?"

They both startled as if electrocuted. Dembe moved across the room to where Liz entered and waited wordlessly by the doorway behind her.

Red walked in front of her, smiling, and rubbed his hands over the tops of both her arms in a comforting gesture "Lizzie, sweetheart, I am going out to take care of some business. Dembe will stay with you for the duration."

She immediately went on the attack "This is why he came. To baby-sit be while you ran off and did something stupid and dangerous. I can help you, Red. Dembe and I both can help you. Please don't go alone. I know what you are planning. I can help you make it work." She knew that she sounded pathetic with her begging and crying, but she knew how stubborn Red was and nothing would move him once his mind was set. She couldn't stop herself from trying though.

"Sweetheart, you'll be fine. Have I ever told you about this old man I met in Peru? No? Well, I met him on a desert oasis called Huacachina. He was a native resident, born and raised in that desert. He was a wealthy man, made so by the tourist industry in the town. I asked him why he would stay in such a horrific landscape. Don't get me wrong, the oasis was beautiful, but the climate was consistently treacherous. He told me that his love was there and that he would brave anything to be by her side.

"I thought it was an adorable tale, told by a man that went home to his plump wife of forty years every night. I later learned that his wife was dead, buried in the desert 22 years prior. He stayed in a landscape that was slowly killing him all to be close to a gravestone that depending on the month, had to be located by GPS and unburied from feet of sand.

I met him over a decade ago, but I never once knew what he meant until you."

He smiled his smile that mirrored the one he gave her from the inside of a blood splattered box and she was gutted. She knew he was going to leave her. He never said he would be fine.

"Red, no. I love you! Please don't do this!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck as if the force of her hold would keep him with her there forever.

For a moment, he held her back, his hold almost bruising. He whispered in her ear "It's because I love you that I am going to take care of this. When it's over, we can be together. If that happens, I swear I'll never leave your side again."

He looked over her shoulder at Dembe and nodded. Dembe stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Restraining her. "No! Don't leave me Red! Please don't do this! You don't need to do this alone! Dembe let me go or I'll kill you myself! Red!"

She screamed and struggled against Dembe, but he was gone. Dembe held her for about 10 minutes, keeping her from hurting him or herself.

By that time, her voice was ruined, shattered. Her cries, barely audible, but not for lack of trying.

Her rage turned to loss and she collapsed on the floor, Dembe sliding with her to hold her as she sobbed into his chest.

Red drove for a few miles before he had to pull over. He could no longer see for the tears clouding his sight.

Tbc…

A/N: Let me know what you think!