A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Have some more angst, my gift to you Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, follows, and favorites! It means a ton…seriously.

Disclaimed, as usual.

Chapter 15

New Delhi was just as jam packed with people as Hong Kong, but with a different tone. Markets peppered the side streets, children laughed and played in and around them freely. It was nothing like she'd pictured. She couldn't wait for answers.

The address Liz had been given was on the outskirts of the city so they had to drive for about an hour before they would reach it.

Although Dembe spoke Hindi beautifully, he was markedly uncomfortable. "What's wrong Dembe?"

He constantly scanned the area "I hate India. Last time I was here, I was stabbed." That statement shouldn't have made her smile, but it did. Dembe wasn't afraid or paranoid, he was still upset that someone got the better of him. He was pouting and it was adorable. "I'm sorry, Dembe."

He grunted "Your smile says otherwise." She laughed outright "I'm sorry! You look like a little boy when you pout."

They rode in companionable silence for the rest of the trip. When they arrived, Liz scrambled from the car, uncaring of the possible danger. Dembe grabbed her from behind, picked her up, and hauled her behind him so that he could lead the way, gun drawn.

There were two men at the door of the two story building. They stood as Liz and Dembe approached.

"You have no business here." The larger of the men said in perfect English.

Before Dembe could react, Liz pushed past him and stood on tiptoe to get in the man's face "We know where you live and we know where you sleep. That is my husband in there and if you think to keep him from me, I'll murder everyone you hold dear. He is my entire business. I suggest you step aside."

She held his gaze and let him see that her statement was no bluff.

The guards exchanged a glance, but moved aside. "We were told you would come, but not that you were so disagreeable."

Liz ignored him and moved forward through the door way. There were more guards inside. One was a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Liz couldn't stop the jealously that rose to the surface at the thought of Red living with this stunning beauty queen look-a-like for the past three plus weeks. He was so damn charming, she was probably half in love with him.

Dembe spoke to the beauty queen "Where is he?" his voice was cold, full of disdain. Dembe always had her back.

Beauty queen just smirked, as if she had a secret that they were not in on "Upstairs, second door on the left."

They made their way up the stairs, with Liz in the lead.

Nothing could have prepared her for what they found inside.

Red was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to countless tubes and monitors. A nurse was on the opposite end of the room, writing in a chart. "What's wrong with him? What happened?"

The nurse snapped her head up "Liz. Glad you could finally make it."

Liz's eyes narrowed "You know me?"

The nurse gave her a compassionate smile. "We all do. You both were in the file given to us as the only visitors allowed should anything medical ever arise for Mr. Reddington. We didn't know when you would arrive, just that you eventually would.

"I am not going to lie or sugar coat things. He's in a coma and has been since we were alerted that he needed medical care. He was shot three times. Twice in the chest and once in the head. The head was just a graze, but there is brain swelling. There's no telling when, or if, Mr. Reddington will ever regain consciousness. We are doing everything that we can and have every medical technology available to us. We are firmly entrenched in the waiting game."

Liz had tears running down her cheeks and Dembe looked as if someone had struck him. She reached out and grabbed his hand, not knowing who needed the support more, him or her.

They moved forward for a better look.

Red looked so different. His hair was longer, shaggy in a way that resembled his wanted poster. The only difference was the full-on mountain-man beard that accompanied it.

She squeezed Dembe's hand so tightly that it was probably numb. She looked up into his face "I know you hate this place, but it just became home."

Over the next few days, Liz learned everything she could about the daily care that Red received. She took over everything but the administration of medication, but watched like a hawk every milliliter of medication that entered his body. It wouldn't be long until she took over that too. She needed to take care of him. She wasn't sure why, she just did.

Dembe turned him frequently to keep deadly pressure sores and infections from complicating his recovery. His lacerations were almost all healed. The swelling had lessoned, but still no improvement.

"Dembe, I'm going to give him a bath, can you get the basin down for me, please?"

"Sure, you want me to stick around and help you move him?" She smiled, Dembe needed to feel useful too.

"Would you mind picking up some food from that restaurant we ate at yesterday? That fried bread was amazing. Besides, this is going to take longer because I am going to shave him and cut his hair. If he wakes up looking like a Yeti, he's going to be pissed."

Dembe smiled, but it was more of a grimace. He knew as well as she did that the longer he stayed unconscious, the smaller his chances of waking up became. She couldn't voice her worries out loud. She couldn't or she would fall apart. He would be ok. There was no other option.

While she bathed him, and no one was around, she let all of her hopes and fears out in the open. She read that talking to a person in a coma could help because sometimes they could hear it.

"You need to wake up. There is something important that you need to know, that I need to tell you, but you'll never know if you don't wake your ass up. I love you Red, but this an insane ploy for attention. I am a sure thing, you know you don't need to pull this soap opera stuff. Dembe is worried sick, you know. He won't sleep, hardly eats. That man is wasting away and you could put a stop to this by just waking up."

She said anything and everything she could think of to him to try and get him to react. Half of it probably didn't even make any sense, but she said it anyways just to make sure he knew that he wasn't alone. That she would be there for him no matter what.

Tbc…

A/N: I know. Angst-ville. Let me know what you think!