A/N: Ok, so this is still angsty. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. All will be revealed tomorrow! Thank you for the favorites/follows/reviews! It is so very much appreciated!

Chapter 13

Three weeks had passed.

Mr. Kaplan was called and brought in to investigate, but must ended up wathcing Liz while Dembe was away.

Dembe refused to believe that Red was gone. She didn't know when he slept, but half of his day was spent out meeting contacts and looking for Red. There was no body, His body disappeared from the Coroner's office and without that closure, Dembe refused to even acknowledge that Red was gone. There was talk in the underground world that Red travelled that he truly was dead and that another member of the Cabal had red's body stolen as an example. Rumor was that his body was on display, like a wild bear shot for sport in the new Director's home.

The other half of his day was spent bullying Liz into eating, drinking, sleeping, taking a shower, and changing her clothes.

For Liz, it was all too easy to believe that Red was gone. Her entire life, every single good thing that had ever happened to her was taken away. For the first few days, Dembe kept her sedated. Not knocked out, but whatever he gave her took away her ability to feel. Kind of. She was screaming on the inside, but on the outside she was just numb, nearly lifeless. She knew that seeing her upset hurt Dembe, so she didn't have the heart to tell him that the sedative didn't help her. They helped him and that was what was important.

She knew that she was in a mentally unhealthy place. She knew that and yet could do nothing about it. Some days she couldn't even lift her head to get out of bed. Those days, Dembe carried her out of bed.

She would literally be dead if it weren't for Dembe. She had no desire to eat, to drink.

Though she was slowly coming out of her fog of grief in the past couple of days. She had finally spoken three days ago.

He had Mr. Kaplan flown to their location to see to Liz's care and to babysit her while he was out looking for Red. Mr. Kaplan was a bully, but Liz loved her for it. She knew that they were trying to work through their own grief, but had to push that aside for her.

She wanted to get better, to move on. She wanted to move away and never think of this place again.

There were still people after her and she was still one of the most wanted FBI criminals but none of that mattered.

She had taken to wearing Red's clothing, because nothing kept you more mentally stable than wallowing in the clothes of the dead man you were in love with, right?

She was pulling out a pair of Red's boxers when an envelope fell on the floor. It had her name on it.

She shook as she fell to the floor with it and tore the envelope open. Oh God. It was a letter, from him.

Dear Lizzie,

I am so sorry sweetheart. I am so sorry that I've failed you. I had every intention of returning to you, living our lives together, but the fact that you are reading this means that that eventuality no longer exists.

You need to know that I love you with everything that I have. Thus, my compulsion to rid us of one of our biggest obstacles to happiness. I know that you don't care about it, but all of my assets are yours, the money, the safe houses, the cars, the planes-everything. At the bottom, there's information on a safe deposit locker that has all of your new information. Along with it, you'll find enough identities and documentation to keep you safely hidden for the rest of your life.

What I need you to do is to stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop feeling sorry for me. If I'm gone, I died knowing that I had experienced the greatest thing that life had to offer me. You. You were my light in the dark, my beacon of hope. Now, my hope is that you will pull yourself together and move on, travel. I hear that there's an especially magnificent Café in Hong Kong called 'The Coffee Academics'. Don't worry, it's not as pretentious as it sounds. They have a custom glass blown Chemax that brews the singular best cup of coffee you will ever experience.

I digress, but I am both wordy and an immense fan of the written word. And I must confess that if this is to be our last conversation (if a bit one sided), I want it to last.

I love you sweetheart. You were absolutely worth every millisecond. I would like for you and Dembe to remain together for the time being, but I know that you are stubborn and that you will want to leave him behind. The danger is never really gone.

I learned many things over the years as a fugitive. I would like you to know that my greatest learning experience was you. You taught me to look at myself in a different light. Please remember that you now have the ability and the means to do whatever you please.

But first, try the coffee.

Love Always,

R

She cried then, loud ugly sobs. Dembe ran into the room, saw her there lying on the floor with the envelope on the floor and the letter clutched to her chest. "Dembe he's gone! Dembe he's really gone!"

He held her so tight it felt like he would crush her but she welcomed it, it felt like she was held together, less in danger of falling to pieces.

His tears ran into her hair, his grief gave her a strength, a clarity that she lacked while alone. Dembe needed her just as much as she needed him and what he needed was for her to get it together.

Her breathing calmed and her tears slowly stopped. She ran Red's words through her mind over and over again. There was something she was missing.

Suddenly, it occurred to her.

"Dembe, call to have the jet readied and pack your things. We're going to Hong Kong.

Tbc…

A/N: Let me know what you think!