Chapter 3: Slow Burn

Liz yawned and stretched out her legs and arms tentatively. Her knee was still pretty sore but the swelling had started to go down now, thanks to Red's insistence on icing it often. As she reached her arms out to the side, she slowly realised that Red had rolled away from her in the night and was out of reach. She turned towards him and gently put her arm on his side, where the blanket had fallen away and his t-shirt had ridden up.

'Hey, sleepy-head, rise and shine', Liz cooed gently to him and was instantly rewarded with him jumping even further away from her and yelping.

'What the hell was that, Red?', Liz laughingly asked him.

'Er, nothing, Lizzy, you just surprised me a little….'

'Wait. Are you ticklish?'

'What? Don't be ridiculous! You honestly think that someone trained to withstand torture, who has in fact been tortured many times, who has faced death so often I've lost count…..'. Red didn't get a chance to say more as Liz launched herself across the mattress and aimed straight for his side where her first touch had proved so successful at eliciting a yelp from him.

'Noooooo…' Red squealed before descending into a fit of giggles as Liz ran her hands up under his t-shirt, trying for his armpits.

'Please Lizzy, this isn't funny….' Red gasped out

'Then why are you laughing so much, hmm?'

Liz was now half sprawled on top of him and was trying to see if he was ticklish at the back of his neck, like she was.

'Lizzy…..ahhhhh…..stop… Hee hee hee….., oh god'

Liz reluctantly pulled away from him, grinning from ear to ear.

'Well, that was fun, wasn't it, Mr Chuckles?'

'Dear god, no', Red huffed out. 'And let me assure you, were it not for your knee, I would most definitely be returning the favour right now'. Red scowled at her menacingly.

'Wow, that is a scary glower I'm getting. I guess Number Four doesn't want it to be known he's actually a big, ticklish teddy bear really…..'. As she was saying this, Liz once more grabbed his sides and started running her fingers towards his back.

'Right. That's it!' Red jumped off the mattress. 'Much as this is absolutely hellish, I'm desperate for the bathroom. And let me just say, Elizabeth, that I will now be spending most of today concocting an extremely intricate and ingenious plan for my revenge'. With that Red disappeared from the room, heading towards the back of the cabin.

As she lay there, quietly laughing to herself, Liz heard the grandfather clock chime away from the small hallway towards the bedroom. It sounded odd to her ears. She thought it had probably just sounded eight o'clock but wasn't sure as the chimes had kind of petered out towards the end.

'Hey, Red, I think the clock's dying' she said to him as he re-entered the room.

'Yes, I heard that. Hmm, maybe I'll have a look at it later. I love fixing things. And, even if I say so myself, I'm rather a dab hand at it', he smiled at her smugly.

'Oh, God, take that smug grin off your face, Red. I know your weak spots now. And, besides, I'm absolutely starving. How's about you make me something yummy for breakfast?'

'Of course, sweetheart. Let me just fetch you a fresh ice-pack for your knee first'.

Red popped outside and came back in with more icicles for Liz's knee, wrapped in a scarf. 'Oh my, it is absolutely perishing out there. Remind me not to go out there in my bare feet next time', Red said as he dramatically shivered, making Liz laugh. Having handed them to her he then disappeared into the bedroom to throw on some pants and a shirt before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast for them both.

Liz lay back on the mattress, with the ice slowly working its magic on her knee. As she lay there, she couldn't help but once more laugh to herself about Red's ticklishness. Oh, this was gonna be fun…..

Red entered the kitchen and immediately had to stop and lean against the wall. Liz tickling him had been one of the worst tortures he had ever endured. He had wanted just to grab her arms, pull her in close and kiss her till they both near passed out. He took a deep breath and headed for the cupboard, to see what 'delights' awaited them this morning.

'Okay, today I have made a veritable smorgasbord of culinary excellence', Red declared upon returning to the front room. 'We have Franks 'n' Beans, cheese straws and some canned raspberries'.

'Oh my god…. I thought I was hungry but, er, maybe not so much', Liz laughed

'Nonsense, you need your strength in this cold. Chow down, Lizzy'.

Once they had finished their breakfast, Red took the plates back to the kitchen.

'I've found some ingredients to make bread, Lizzy. I'm just going to mix it up now and pop it in the oven and then I'll have a look at that clock'.

'Okay, Red. Er, before you do that, could you possibly help me to the bathroom? I mean, I can get there but I really wanna take a shower and wouldn't mind some help getting in the tub, if that's okay?'

'Of course', Red said as he came back in the room. 'Here, up you get', he lifted her up gently and put one of her arms around his shoulders. They limped slowly to the bathroom and Red got the water running just right for her.

'Okay, let me just lift you in at the far end of the tub and then once I'm out the room you can toss your clothes on the floor. I'm going to leave the door open though, okay? I want to hear you if you should fall'.

'That's fine, Red. Thank you', Liz smiled at him shyly as he disappeared out the door, leaving it half-open.

Red got back to the kitchen and once more leant against the wall. 'Oh, today is going to be a nightmare', he sighed to himself before starting to find all the flour and other ingredients he might need for bread.

He had just gotten what he thought should be rather an excellent loaf of bread in the oven when he heard Liz calling from the bathroom. He hurried there at once, terrified she had fallen.

'Lizzy, are you okay…..?'

She was still in the shower, completely naked. Thankfully the glass front was so steamed over that she was just a blur to him.

'I'm fine, Red. I just said; can you hand me a towel and help me out?'

'Ah, sorry, I didn't catch what you said from the kitchen…..' Red couldn't stop blushing and turned away to grab a towel from the shelf. 'Here you go', he said as he blindly held his arm towards her whilst still facing away.

'Thank you, Red. Now, could you help me out maybe?'

He turned once more to see her wrapped snugly in the bath towel. Reaching in he scooped her out of the tub and placed her gently on the bath mat.

'Bedroom?', Liz asked

Red opened his mouth and raised an eyebrow.

'So I can get dressed…. That's where my clothes are'.

'Yes, yes, of course. Right. Yes. Let me help you'. He once more wrapped his arm under her shoulder and within ten strides he was placing her on the bed. 'Okay, here are the last of your clean clothes. I guess I'll work out a way of washing all our laundry later….. I, er, I should go tidy up after my bread making'.

Red scuttled out the door and back to his old friend, the kitchen wall. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the cold plaster. Today was not going well at all.

Having cleaned up the kitchen and washed all the dishes he'd used he went back to the bedroom only to find Liz wasn't there. He hastened into the front room and found her sprawled on the couch, flicking through a crossword puzzle book she'd found.

'Man, these are hard. I've no idea how you can solve them'.

'Ah, well, there are a lot of things you have to learn about crosswords before you can do them easily. There are hidden codes, anagrams, all kinds of fun', Red smiled at her. 'I can teach you some if you like?'

'Sure, that'd be great. Don't you want to have a look at that clock though? It's sounding even weirder now'.

'Good point'. Red headed off towards the clock and soon ascertained that moving it into the front room was going to be very difficult on his own. He came back into the front room and grabbed a large cushion off the sofa before heading back towards the clock. Once there he placed the cushion on the floor and slowly eased the clock down until one end of it was resting on the cushion. He then lifted the other end and dragged the whole thing back towards the fireplace.

'Right, that's the easy part. Now I'm gonna head out to the shed to see if there are actually any tools in this place. Which, in retrospect, I probably should have done first…..', Red winked at Liz.

'Yeah, that might've been an idea', Liz laughed back at him. He was so good at playing the fool. She was really enjoying seeing this side of Red. Being trapped in this cabin wasn't at all bad. In fact, it was actually proving to be pretty fun. Although the diet of canned food left a lot to be desired.

'Lizzy, it turns out I am still a genius after all', Red called out as he re-entered the cabin from the shed at the side of it. 'Not only did I find a splendid tool collection in one of the cupboards out there but…. Wait for it….. Alcohol!' He held out a bottle of what looked like bourbon and two bottles of white wine. 'And there's plenty more where that came from', he beamed.

'I swear that's the biggest smile I've ever seen on your face', Liz said to him as he set the bourbon down and headed off to place the wine in the fridge.

'Can you blame me? Quite apart from the fact we've been living on beans and what, for all intents and purposes, is meat akin to dog food, for the last two days…. I can't remember the last time I went this long without a drink. Apart from when I've been incarcerated, of course'.

'Red, it's been two days'.

'Exactly! What a nightmare. Now, let's see about this toolbox'. Red sat down next to the clock and opened it up. Having had a cursory glance inside he quickly ascertained that it wouldn't be too hard to fix it up. He grabbed a few tools, rolled up his sleeves and set to work.

As Liz watched him carefully dismantling, cleaning, coaxing and reattaching various parts of the clock, she was reminded of when he had fixed the music box for her. Watching him use his hands so gently and carefully, doing such a delicate task, made her feel tearful. He had gone to such lengths and spent so much time fixing that music box for her. It would've been so easy for him to have just gotten someone else to fix it but he had wanted to do it for her personally. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched him start to put the clock back together.

'Okay, I think that should do it. Now, to get this monster back in place', Red smiled up at her. 'Hey, are you all right, Lizzy?', Red asked, having seen the tears in her eyes.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering something', she smiled back at him reassuringly.

'Okay. Well, I'm here if you did wanna share anything, sweetheart. Please remember that. You don't have to keep your feelings to yourself'. With that he lifted the clock back up and dragged it back into the hallway, lifting it up from the cushion and repositioning it where he had found it.

'Right, that's that. I'm gonna go chop some more wood I think. We've got a day's worth left in the shed but seeing as it's not snowing right now, this would seem a good time to get some more. I won't be long. You gonna be okay whilst I'm out?'

'Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. I'll just puzzle some more over these crosswords', Liz replied whilst tucking herself back up on the couch.

Red popped into the bedroom briefly and put on his bulky jacket and scarf, stopped by the door to pull on his boots and disappeared out into the snow once more.

As Liz sat there thinking about the music box again and all the sweet ways Red had been looking after her since they got here, she determined to do something nice for him tonight. Since cooking was the only thing she could think of, despite her loathing for it, she hopped to the kitchen to see if there was something she could throw together for their dinner that wasn't just from a can. It didn't take her long to work out that there really wasn't much that could be done in terms of their dinner. More canned food seemed to be their only option. However, she thought, as she smelt the bread in the oven, maybe there was something she could bake. She poured through the cupboards and managed to find a readymade cake mix which just needed water. Couldn't be too difficult, right? She quickly followed the instructions and within a few minutes it was sitting in the oven. The bread had looked ready so she took that out as she was putting the cake in.

Okay, now what, she thought. Quickly, she remembered the wine in the fridge. Excellent idea, Liz! She opened up the door and poured herself a generous glass, before returning to the couch.

Half an hour later, Red returned from the outside. 'Okay, that's a whole new pile of logs sitting in the shed…. Oh, no, the bread….', Red blurted out before hurriedly starting to pull his boots off.

'It's okay, Red, I've taken it out already. It looks perfect'. Liz did not want him going back into the kitchen right now. Her cake was going to be a surprise.

'Oh, thank you sweetheart. I really don't know where my head's at today. Maybe I should just go check it to be sure'.

'No, no, honestly, it's fine. Why don't you go have a shower and warm up and I'll pour you some wine?'

'Ah, yes, I can see you've already started on a bottle. Without waiting for me? Tut, tut, Lizzy…'. He winked at her whilst heading to the shower, desperate to be able to feel his hands and feet again.

Whilst Red was in the shower Liz returned to the kitchen and quickly checked on the cake. It looked and smelled great so far. She poured herself another large glass of wine and one for Red also. Then sliced some bread for them both before finding some of that onion relish to put on it. Bit unorthodox, she thought to herself but it wasn't like they could afford to be fussy.

She once more hobbled back to the couch and awaited Red's return.

'Ah, sweetheart, you got me some wine. And a very full glass too. What is this; half the bottle?'

'Well, maybe. I figured you deserved it having worked so hard today'.

'Thank you, dear. Rarely have I anticipated a glass of wine', he sipped a little, 'so desperately….. Oh, my, that is absolutely foul! God, I'm not sure I can even swallow it!'

Liz laughed at him. 'Don't be so dramatic, Red. What were you expecting out here in the wilderness; Chateauneuf de Pape?"

'Well, no…. But I was hoping for a few more notches above lighter fluid and vinegar if I'm honest. Ah, well, never mind. Hopefully the bourbon will be more palatable'.

Liz leant towards him and they clinked glasses. 'Here's to being lost in the wilderness and drinking vinegar'.

Red laughed at her, 'Yes, indeed. We are actually very lucky. I promise I won't complain any more about the wine'. He took a second sip and winced.

Liz gave him a questioning look.

'See, not a word' he mumbled out whilst trying to swallow it without it touching too many of his taste buds.

'Okay, let's have a look at those crosswords you've been staring at', Red said as he shuffled closer towards her on the couch.

They sat there happily for over an hour as Red tried to explain to an increasingly tipsy and giggly Liz how one should go about approaching a crossword puzzle. At first Liz was picking it up quite easily but before too long, she was losing the ability to follow what he was saying.

'Elizabeth, are you drunk?', Red asked her, raising an eyebrow.

'Yeah…, getting there. I guess we're not eating much at the moment. And this wine is kinda strong'.

'Well, yes, it does have that in its favour I suppose', Red replied, offering his glass a semi-reproachful look.

'I'm gonna go get the bourbon', Liz said, jolting to her feet. Before she knew it, she was face down on the mattress, her knee having given way.

'Ow'

'Lizzy, for goodness' sake', Red said whilst leaning down to help her up. 'Are you all right?'

Liz couldn't stop giggling long enough to answer so Red decided she was just fine.

'Well, I guess I'll go get the bourbon then, sweetheart. But I don't suggest you have any'.

Red disappeared into the kitchen, only to return a minute later carrying what looked like a black brick.

'What's that you got there, Reddy…', Liz slurred at him

'I have no idea. You sure you don't know?'

'Ohmygod, the cake! I made you a cake!', Liz suddenly blurted out. 'Oh, shit. I was trying to do something useful'. Liz sat on the couch, pouting and almost looked like she might burst into tears.

'This was a cake? Hmm, well, I'm afraid to say it's not much use now. Well, to be fair, we could use it as a doorstop I suppose. Or a bookend?'

'Red, stop, it's not funny. I wanted to do something nice for you. You've been so sweet and lovely since we got here and I've just been sitting here, being useless. And now I can't even do one nice thing for you without messing it up. Dammit. I can't believe we couldn't smell that it was burning. I guess the smell of the fire masked it….', Liz sniffed a little and looked even more tearful.

'Lizzy, sweetheart, it's fine. And it's the thought that counts. And it was a very sweet thought indeed'. He sat next to her on the couch and pulled her into his arms. 'Come on now, let's go to bed. It's been a crazy day and I'm exhausted'. He planted a brief kiss to her temple and then disappeared into the bedroom to fetch their sleep clothes.

Once they had both changed and visited the bathroom one last time, they curled up together by the fire once more, each feeling very sleepy with the effects of the wine taking their toll. Just as Red was about to drop off, he heard the grandfather clock chime midnight.

'Good job, Red. Maybe you are a genius…..' Liz quietly muttered, just as she dropped off to sleep.

Red smiled to himself and pulled her closer to him, resting his face in the hair at the back of her head. He had made it through today, despite everything that fate had conspired to throw at him. Resisting Lizzy when she was so close all the time and being so friendly and open to him was proving to be very difficult. However, right now he just felt grateful to be able to lie here with her in his arms as he slowly dozed off…..