AN: Yes, I do thank and appreciate all who have viewed, followed and left comments about this story. Liz and Red have such a complicated relationship. Enjoy the read then let me know what you think.

Chapter 5 Rolling In The Deep

The tree the tempest with a crash of wood
Throws down in front of us is not to bar

Our passage to our journey's end for good,
But just to ask us who we think we are...

~Robert Frost

Oh no! She had fallen asleep. She knew Red would be drumming his fingers on the table in irritation if she didn't get downstairs soon. Liz quickly donned her navy blue sheath dress, arranged her hair in a French twist, and then put on her ruby earrings and perfume. Just as Red walked in from the living room she was putting on her red high heels while she was descending the stairs.

He looked up and was ready to scold her for being late when he noticed her dress and said, "You look gorgeous, sweetheart! That must be a new dress."

She quickly asked him to help her put on her ruby necklace. When the necklace was on she picked up her new red Gucci clutch as they passed the table by the front door.

Liz was feeling rushed and a little disheveled as she slid into the back seat of the car. She stopped to take some deep breaths in an effort to calm down while she was explaining to Red why she was in such a whirlwind. He glanced over at her and smirked, but didn't say a word. Remembering that she had not put on her lipstick, she took some from her new clutch and carefully applied it as they sped down the driveway. Normally Red would have some smart remark to make, but he said nothing.

She noticed that he didn't move closer or attempt to touch her. That was unusual. He usually placed his hand on her knee, entwined their fingers or encouraged her to rest her head on his shoulder. She had to admit that she missed his touch. To some those slight gestures might not mean so much, but to her she longed for a soft loving caress. Her mind had finally acknowledged that what she had with Tom was just empty gestures. She longed to know the real power of true devotion.

She finally just marked up Red's lack of engagement to being worried about being late; however Red was normally very calm and never seemed to be flustered by anything as simple as being late, at least not outwardly.

After their encounter with Madeline earlier they had walked right back to the car; no hand holding, no pleasant conversation. Liz had finally let her displeasure be known when she stopped to take another look at the city as they crossed the Ponte Vecchio.

Red had been so lost in thought that he didn't notice she had stopped until Dembe stopped to wait for her. Red then turned and said, "Lizzie, we don't have time for you to dawdle."

~X~X~

Red knew that Lizzie could sense the change, his cool distant attitude. He was aware that his demeanor and interaction had changed. It had to change. He had allowed the time he spent with Lizzie earlier to distract him from the seriousness of this business trip. His focus. This trip was very important to the continued strength of his organization, his image as the Concierge of Crime, his livelihood. He had to stop allowing his emotions to control his actions making him vulnerable, exposing him to danger. When he became vulnerable and exposed everyone that relied on him also became vulnerable and exposed.

He should have seen Madeline before he left the leather boutique. He should have known she would be in the piazza; after all she was waiting for their meeting. He should have known better than to put her off for so long.

He didn't have time to explain that to Lizzie. He just hoped her strong instincts would give her understanding.

~X~X~

Dembe drove them directly to the entrance of the contemporary Florence Opera House. The house lights were being lowered for the performance just as they were ushered to their seats. Red leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Tonight we're going to see a performance by the City Contemporary Dance Company of Hong Kong. It will be a cutting-edge work. The dancers will explore the pathways of our minds. We will see their interpretation of how our memories change over time while the landmarks of our mind remain indelible."

Soon the live electronic music began and the distortive video projections appeared. The dancers performed the powerful, exquisite choreography flawlessly. Liz glanced over at Red to see that he was mesmerized by the performance. She was soon immersed in the dance as the performers began a relentless flow of movement: contorting, bending, joining, freezing, coiling and fragmenting their bodies. She was reminded of these same actions happening among the olive trees. Nature acting upon nature…people acting upon people. Minds and emotions acting upon each other...affecting memories.

As the set on stage began to move with the dancers, Dembe appeared and knelt down to whisper in Red's ear. Red let out a deep sigh, ran the palm of his hand over his close cropped hair as his jaw twitched. He looked over at Liz, smiled slightly, stood up and left the auditorium.

He never returned! Instead Dembe came to sit beside her. Of course Liz had many questions, but this was not the time to discuss them. She tried to reengage in the performance, but try as hard as she could it was no use. About forty-five minutes later the dance company had completed their performance. After the applause had died down and the curtain calls were ended, Liz immediately stood up to go leaving Dembe standing in the aisle. He had to walk quickly to catch up with her.

As Liz worked her way through the crowded aisle she knew she had to calm down, she had to school her emotions. When she reached the lobby she excused herself to go to the ladies room, again leaving Dembe waiting for her. She found an empty stall and went in to take a seat. Liz just sat taking deep breaths and talking to herself quietly trying to calm herself.

'He must have a good excuse for leaving without saying goodbye. Maybe his business meeting started earlier than he expected. Criminals do conduct their business at the most unexpected times.'

Hurt began to turn to anger. Tears pooled in her eyes and began to run slowly down her face. She grabbed a handful of tissue and began to dry her tears.

A little voice said, 'You know where he is.' But she didn't want to admit that.

Why was she sitting in a restroom stall for god's sake? Her brain reminded her that Dembe would be worried so she should put on her big girl panties now and get the hell out of the restroom stall.

Liz walked by a mirror as she was leaving; she noticed that her eyes were red and beginning to get puffy. Right then and there she promised herself that there would be no more tears. She would not allow this incident to destroy the perfect day she had spent in this beautiful city with Red.

She needed to release her anger just as an impulsive thought ran through her mind while she walked out of the ladies room, 'He's one lucky bastard. If he was here right now he would soon have another hole in his neck.'

Dembe looked relieved to see her walking toward him. When she got closer he noticed her red puffy eyes, pity easily reflected back to her. She stopped and stared into his face and said, "Don't you DARE feel sorry for me! You hear me?" The poor man just shook his head and walked beside her as he led her to the car.

"I'm hungry. Let's stop someplace to get some takeout."

Dembe decided that was not such a bad idea after all so he stopped at the first place he came to. While he went in to purchase dinner Liz sat in the car. She now decided that was a bad idea because the nagging little voice in her head kept reminding her that Red had deserted her.

She opened her clutch and stared at the cell phone he had given her. Should she call him? He had asked her to use it only if there was an emergency, well in her mind this was an emergency. No man should just walk out and not tell you where he was going. She pulled the phone out of her clutch, punched the speed dial for Red's number and immediately ended the call when Dembe opened the front car door.

"I got you a pizza and a salad."

~X~X~

After they arrived at the villa Liz went upstairs to change her clothes. She decided to put on her swimsuit and then added a mini length cover-up. When she returned to the kitchen Dembe was just finishing his dinner. Liz decided to take her food out to the patio and asked Dembe to come sit with her. He paused, got up to pour both of them a glass of wine and walked out to join her.

"We need to talk." He was afraid she would say that, but in his typical manner he did not reply.

"Where is he?"

"He had to go to his meeting earlier than he had planned."

"Then why didn't he come to tell me that he had to leave?"

"You were in the middle of the dance performance."

"How long will he be gone?"

"I don't know."

"Who is he with?"

"You should ask him that."

"Well I would, but he isn't here right now."

Dembe could tell she was getting irritated again so he said, "Red will return as soon as he can. He asked me to tell you that he's sorry he had to leave and that he will make it up to you."

Liz drank the wine that was in her glass, then taking off her cover-up, walked over and dove into the pool. She knew it was useless to try to get anymore answers from Dembe, he and Red were two of a kind in that respect, so she decided to swim her frustration away.

Swimming helped her relax, helped her mind focus. She told herself once again that Red had come to Florence to meet with Madeline and other business contacts. She knew the meeting was very important to his financial interests. They had spent a great day together; he had gone out of his way to make their time together very enjoyable. She had seen a side of Red that he rarely allowed anyone to see. He had shared his feelings for her in a way that she would never forget.

A shiver ran through her body as her mind lingered on the words he had spoken to her in the museum. He had compared her to a goddess. Nice, but the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, his touch meant so much more to her than the words.

While Liz was lost in her memories she heard a familiar voice. It was Aram. Wait. Aram was supposed to be in the meeting with Red. If Aram had returned Red should have returned.

"Aram did Red come back with you?"

Aram replied, "No, I haven't seen him tonight. I thought he was with you."

"Obviously he isn't. Jump in. Come swim with me."

Liz thought…I 'm not going to get upset…I'm not going to get angry…I'm not going to cry! There is a good explanation for this.

Aram looked over at Dembe, shrugged his shoulders then decided to join her in the pool. He removed the shirt he had on, took a running leap and cannon balled into the water. Liz laughed. Soon the swimming turned into a free for all. Aram picked Liz up and tossed her into the air; they raced down the length of the pool trying to out-swim each other. Then they had diving contests to find out which one could dive without doing a belly flop. The activity continued until they wore each other out.

Both of them drug themselves out of the pool like tired puppies and sat down in a lounge chair. Liz decided she needed more wine so she went inside and returned with a full bottle. She poured Aram and herself a generous amount and proceeded to down half of her glass all at once. Aram excused himself saying he needed to get to sleep because he was due to meet Mr. Reddington early in the morning. Liz said goodnight and then refilled her wine glass. She was hoping that if she stayed there long enough Red would return, but no such luck.

~X~X~

Dembe was leaning over her shaking her by the shoulder and telling her it was time to go to bed. She mumbled something unintelligible and tried to stand up. She was very wobbly on her feet so he steadied her by holding her arm. He helped her walk up the stairs to her bedroom and asked her if she would be okay. Liz just nodded, walked into the room and flopped on the bed.

Before her eyes closed she heard him talking in the hallway.

"Yes, Raymond, she's now in bed…she's very angry and upset you didn't tell her that you were leaving… I tried to explain… yes, we got takeout…she wants to know when you're coming back…I'll tell her. Raymond, my friend, you're going to have to do some major explaining to smooth this one over."

AN: As always your reviews and comments keep me motivated. I would love to hear your thoughts. The next chapter is the one that inspired this story. Hope you will keep reading.