A/N: Thanks to all of you for your generous reviews! I am glad you are all enjoying this story!

Red Wine in the Night

It felt good to not have blood and dust coating his body. He felt as if he'd just shed a whole layer of skin after stepping out of the shower back at his apartment in Baltimore. After dressing immaculately in a suit and a fresh windbreaker, he'd gathered one of the many boxes he kept hidden in each of his safe houses; which contained a considerable amount of money, a hand gun and some nice fake passports. All he needed to disappear off the face of the earth faster than the speed of light.

-R-R-R-R-

The stillness of the small living room he'd broken into hours earlier surrounded him like a dark blanket. The light streaming in through the curtains from the streetlights outside cast a white glow across his chest. For several minutes he contemplated going upstairs to pay Lizzie a little visit in her room. However, Red had not contacted Dembe or Kaplan to confirm Tom's whereabouts, and he didn't think she would appreciate the intrusion on his part. So he opted to stay put on the couch and wait for her to come to him...eventually. He was surprised, really, to see how deeply she slept after all that she'd been through today. He, on the other hand, hadn't had a good night's sleep in years.

He sat on the couch, continually convincing and then talking himself out of going up to Lizzie's bedroom; he needed a distraction. He didn't think she would mind if he raided her kitchen to grab a drink and perhaps even a bite to eat. He hadn't eaten anything aside from the Spätzle back at the pub in Germany.

He stood up and made his way past the dining room into the small kitchen at the side of the house. It was tastefully furnished and well-kept, not like the kitchens he was accustomed to using, but nice. A facade of a happy life. But Red knew all too well that the seeds of doubt he had planted in Lizzie's mind had begun taking its toll on her. He could see it in the way she stubbornly tried to carry on as if nothing was wrong with finding connections between her husband and the most hostile terrorist in Germany.

Red opened the refrigerator; it hummed to life and lit up most of the floor in a pool of white light. There was a box of cold Chinese on one of the shelves, and some white cubes which Red assumed to be tofu. No doubt a courtesy of the man child in Lizzie's bed. Why anyone would want to substitute good hearty meat for that he couldn't fathom. He opened the meat box and nearly keeled over at the sight. Turkey bacon! Turkey bacon everywhere! Good Lord! Why? Lucky for him there was a package of roast beef cuts for a sandwich. He prayed to the heavens that that was Lizzie's doing.

Red took the package out and flung it on the island behind him. There was a half full bottle of white wine on the side of the door. He preferred red wine, but this would have to do. He grabbed everything else he would need for a sandwich and let the door slam shut. He noisily rummaged through the cupboards for the bread, and then set a plate and knife out.

With neat and precise movements, Red began slicing a tomato and placing the thick slices onto two different pieces of bread. He spread mayo onto the other two pieces, and in no time had made two considerably large sandwiches. Perhaps he had put too much effort into making them as perfect as possible, but one could never say Raymond Reddington half-assed a job.

He turned back towards the cupboards and found two wine glasses, then took the cork screw out from the drawer. Red paused when he heard the unmistakable sound of a brushing movement nearby. He smirked to himself before focusing on the task at hand. With one swift movement, he brought down the end of the screw and pierced the cork firmly with it.

He turned around towards the island as the cork gave a loud ¡PoP! Just in time to see Lizzie drop her gun to her side with a gasp.

"Lizzie!" Red exclaimed and grinned widely, completely unfazed by her abrupt entrance.

"Jesus, Red!" Lizzie's chest heaved as she her breaths came out in short gasps. "What the hell are you doing here?" She whispered harshly.

"Checking up on you," Red replied smoothly. He admired the way the moonlight streamed in through the window and touched her face. Another grin tugged at his lips when she shifted under his scrutinizing gaze.

Red sat down on the stool in front of the island and motioned towards the stool beside his. "Join me Lizzie. I've fixed us some delicious sandwiches for lack of anything that had any real protein in it," he said while pouring the white liquid in the wine glasses.

Red watched as she glanced over her shoulder towards the silent stairway before turning towards him, and slowly easing herself down onto the stool with her knees towards him. Her eyes roamed over him, never leaving his body, as if she was afraid that he would disappear at any moment.

Red picked up his sandwich and pushed the plate with the remaining one over to her. She eyed it with an incredulous expression that said, 'Really?'

"Come now Lizzie," Red said as he took a giant bite and moaned loudly with pleasure. He swallowed thickly and motioned towards her.

"Oh my God!" she breathed as she leaned in closer to him to peer at his shirt in the darkness. "Is that blood on your shirt?

Red laughed and checked his collar where the bandage he had applied to his shoulder had become slightly stained with with blood. Nothing that would kill him. He immediately changed the subject. "Go on," He reached for his wine glass and took a large gulp. "Eat!"

Liz shook her head in exasperation as he continued to eat with fervor. "Red!" Liz snapped when she realized that she wouldn't be getting any answers from him any time soon.

"Yes, Lizzie?" Red said around another sip of wine. His throat had become parched after the long hours stuck in the box and being tortured by maniacs. He only was now beginning to realize now how thirsty he had been.

"What happened?" she asked trying to catch his eye while he avoided looking at her. "Mr. Kaplan and I went to the warehouse but you weren't there, and Dembe tried looking for you in your safe houses when we couldn't find you at the Church.

Reds mouth formed a straight line at her words. With a sigh, he put the half eaten sandwich down on the plate, succumbing to the fact that he could no longer avoid the inevitable. He scratched the back of his head trying to stall for as long as possible. Finally, when he couldn't put it off anymore, he met her eyes. They were full of confusion and worry. Worry for him?

"I'm sorry for what I've put you through today Lizzie," he said quietly.
He watched as she struggled with how to respond to his heartfelt words. She obviously didn't understand the full extent of his feelings towards her. How could she, when he was constantly having to weave a web of questions in order to lead her towards the direction that the answers were?

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, "What happened?" She asked again in a hushed tone.

"There's a mole within the FBI. That's how Anslo and his people were able to breech the Post Office. The people involved in this are much bigger than Anslo. They meant to intimidate me in order to keep our business dealings under wraps," Red explained in an even timbre.

"And these are the people that Anslo Garrick took you to?"

Red smiled humorlessly. "That is correct, Lizzie."

Lizzie shook her head in disbelief. "What did they do to you?"

"Oh the usual," Red waved a hand dismissively. "Torture, beatings, attempted castration, but you know, I would never allow anyone but yourself to go near my ancestral jewels."

Lizzie rolled her eyes and glared at him, then reached out hesitantly and turned his face towards the moonlight. She let out a small gasp at the sight.

"Red, your eye is swollen shut!" She said with shock.

He laughed softly at her concern over something which seemed so trivial at a time like this. He considered leaning further into her touch, but figured that that would be pushing the limits.

"It'll heal soon enough," he replied.

"Where else are you injured?" she asked.

Reds eye twitched slightly as she gave him an imploring look. "Nothing to worry yourself over Lizzie. Just a few broken ribs. That's it."

Liz shook her head in disbelief, then sighed and looked towards the stairs again. She seemed to contemplate something for a moment before standing, apparently having made her mind up, and walked over to a hook on the wall to grab her car keys. "Come on."

Red continued to watch as she went to the coat closet down the hall and grabbed her jacket. "Lizzie, it's
much too dangerous for you to be seen anywhere near me. I need to get everything squared away before we can even think about-"

"Red." Liz seethed quietly. "Let's. Go."

She approached him again and put her hand on his arm to help him stand up. He let out a groan when his side gave him another jolt of pain as he struggled to get off of the stool.

"We need to get you somewhere where you can rest," she whispered, as she took hold of his arm and threw it over her shoulders to lead him outside. "Are there any hotels we can stay at that won't be on their radars?"

Red grunted in disdain. "Lizzie." he murmured when they reached the front door. "I would think that you would have more confidence in my abilities to make my safe-houses undetectable."

Liz rolled her eyes, then said, "Fine, which one do you want to go to then?"

A/N 2: I love hearing what you guys think! More reviews welcome!