RED

Chapter 15

Liz was prepared for the worst today; she was almost sure that by the end of the day she would sit alone in one of the FBI’s hellholes, crying for her life, for Red, and mostly, crying because of the results she would get at the hospital.

But much for her luck she ended the day with a small smile on her face while she was driving back to the motel. It turned out that Cooper had been searching for some evidence for Liz and Redmill and their investigations hadn’t taken longer than two, maybe three hours.

More precisely her investigation. She hadn’t met with Red yet but Aram had told her that he had left at five in the afternoon. She still didn’t know where he was now, at least he wasn’t in prison, but this fact didn’t help their current situation.

How should she manage their little fight? How would Red treat her after she had left him in the morning? Lizzie found it somewhat funny because it was their first fight since they’d got married.

Husband and wife.

Eliza Redmill…

Okay, actually she didn’t wear his name yet; they agreed if the FBI let them go she would change her name.

And there was the other thing that scared the hell out of her in the morning; the pregnancy test. But as if her guardian angel had sent her some faith when Rose came and spoke to her. Her little speech about choices had given Liz so much confidence and when it was her turn to go see the doctor,she was sure what she would do.

Her thoughts would have gone further but then she saw that her door was slightly ajar. She took the gun out of her holster and kicked it open.

“Mrs. Redmill, please don’t kill me!” Said a woman with her hands in the air.

Liz had realized that she was Red’s magic manicurist, Rosa. Liz sighed andclosed the door putting the gun on the nightstand.

“Rosa, hey. What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Redmill asked me to come here. He has a gift for you.” Rose explained with a heavy accent, a silk red scarf appeared in her hand. “But first I have to blindfold you. Do you allow me?”

“What gift?”

“I don’t know. He just asked me to do this and dress you up while you’re blindfolded.”

“What?!” She furrowed her brows. What was Red’s plan this time? Why couldn’t she see her own dress?

“Please, Mrs. Redmill. I can’t say further but…” Rosa saw that Liz wouldn’t obey unless she got some information about the evening. She looked around then stepped closer to Liz and continued in a smaller tone. “I really can’t say anything but considering the dress, you won’t regret if you play his game.” She smiled.

Liz was still angry for what he had donelast night, but since she left him in the morning they were equals and now, finally they could have a quiet evening together. Plus it was always fun when he created these games…last time when he had asked something similar they ended up at a Halloween party in New York.

It started as an undercover mission but it laterturned out that their target wasn’t even there. Liz still remembered what she was wearing, a stunning heart-shaped black cocktail-dress with a big-rimmed black hat that Red had sent her earlier to wear. She added some extra sexy items; red-hot lipstick and femme fatale make-up, just to be sure that Red would not pay attention to anyone but her all night.

When they had met in the party, Liz almost yelled at Red for not wearing a costume, he was wearing his tux when he casually stepped next to her; ‘I want a drink. Shaken, not stirred.’ She needed a minute to realize that he had actually quotedJames Bond and she simply couldn’t resist his charm for the rest of the night.

After a few drinks and a really hot slow-dance with him, she quotedIan Fleming as well; “All women love semi-r**e. They love to be taken. It was his sweet brutality against my bruised body that made his act of love so piercingly wonderful.” It drove him absolutely crazy.The next moment he had her bent over the desk in the library so he could fulfill her naughty request.

Lizzie smirked unconsciously then nodded, “okay, Rosa. Do what you want.”

During the dressing, which wasn’t that hard than they boththought, Liz tried to figure out what kind of dress she was going to wear tonight. The corset on her, she had figured that out, prevented her feelingthe fabric on her skin and her legs felt exposed…this dress must be something sexy? Then why did Red ask Rosa to dress her up in that?

Fifteen minutes later Liz was ready and Rosa helped put her coat on, “Dembe is waiting for you outside. He’ll drive you.”

“Dembe wasn’t supposed to be in a hospital?” Liz thought, but then she almost laughed out loud; right she was talking about Dembe, the immortal bodyguard who couldn’t bear hospitals!

“Drive me where?” She turned to the source of the voice.

“To your destiny.” Liz sensed the woman’s smile from her words; however Liz found the remark a bit steamy. Rosa led her out and suddenly the cold air hit her knees. Lizzie really hoped for Red’s sake that she was actually wearing more than a tiny nurse costume or something like that.

At that moment two large, gentlehands grabbed her shoulders and helped her into the car. A minute later Dembe’s tantalizing voice filled the car.

“Don’t worry Liz. You look beautiful.”

This man has a really calming voice, Liz thought. It wasn’t the first time he put her nerves at ease, but of course it still couldn’t be compared to Red’s.

The drive lasted at least ten minutes and comparing to the turns, she was almost sure that they wereat the harbor; after Dembe had let her out she heard the wavesof the ocean and smiled softly.

Dembe led her to somewhere warm and that place smelled so good; Red’s cologne lingered in the air combined with the smell of a delicious dinner.

Her two favorite scents.

“Just wait here and do not remove the scarf.” Dembe ordered quietly. A door closed and she was alone.

When she started to believe that she had been tricked, two soft lips kissed her exposed shoulder and she jumped a little.

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. It’s just me.” Red whispered as he sneaked his hand around her and clenched them in front of her belly, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Red, what is all of this? Where are we?”

He ignored her questions, instead he continued kissing her neck and soon Liz forgot not just those silly questions but almost her name.

“Honey, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Last night I was a big ass, with a capital A” he murmured into her hair, inhaling her scent. “Could you forgive this Ass?” She had never heard his voice that gentle and loving.

“Since that particular ass is so nice, yes.” She chuckled and felt him tightening his hands around her. “But only if you forgive me for leaving you this morning and not telling you where I waslast night.”

“It’s okay. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. It would be quite hypocritical of me to demand you to tell me all your secrets, don’t you think?” He chuckled again and turned her around to kiss her properly.

It wastruly a wonderthat after almost the thousandth shared kisses with him, Red could still get her weak at the knees with a simple swirl of his tongue.

After they parted she realized that she was still standing in that damn scarf.

“Uhm, Red? When will you tell me about your plan?” She asked as she felt him walking away from her, already missinghis warmth.

“Take off the scarf, please.” Red asked somewhere from behind and she obeyed. At first she couldn’t believe her eyes; she was in a boat, to be exact the little luxurious dining room of a boat with a table set for two which looked exactly like…

No way!

She gaped and put her hand above her heart as if she could slow her heart beat; at that moment she felt the silk fabric under her palm and Liz looked down.

No f*****g way!

Liz was wearing a strapless ivory tea length wedding dress, with silver grey chenille around her waist. It was the same dress that she had showed to Allie a few months ago!

At that point she seriously thought that she would get a heart attack, but the series of surprises hadn’t finished here.

Familiar music filled the room and she turned around quickly. There he was, wearing a beautiful silver gray silk waistcoat which set off his broad shoulders andchest with a cream white paisley tie, and black tux pants. He looked so great, so elegant and happy and…her damn hormones sometimes drove her nuts!

“Since I didn’t have the chance the first timeI organized our wedding day again and here I am, asking my beautiful wife to give me the first dance.” He smiled and offered his hand which Liz took with watery eyes.

He put his left hand around her waist while the other held hers against his chest and Liz gently scratched the tiny hairs at the nape of his neck with her right. They slowly swayed around as the song gave rhythm and she couldn’t help but think about how lucky she was to be with her man.

“All these things; the boat, the song, the dress…how did you know?” She sniffed gently and buried her nose in the crook of his neck.

“Well, I had a singing bird, named Allie, who helped me out with everything. She showed me the dress and told me that your favorite movie scene is when Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson are dancing on a boat in Parent Trap. And this song isnumber one on your IPod.” He chuckled.

I musta done something right 

To deserve you in my life

I musta done something right 

Along the way

She felt more than heard the big sigh that escaped his chest “Maybe I’m a monster but I might have really done something right to have you in my arms and be the luckiest guy on Earth who can call you his wife.” He whispered and they stopped for a moment.

Liz raised her glassy eyes to his and smiledthe way Red loved most. “Red, you’re not a monster. You may wear a costume of a monster but here,” she placed her hand above his heart. “You’re a wonderful man who deserves the best. And I’ll do any and everything in my power to accomplish that.” She pulled him closer and kissed him softly when she saw his eyes start to well up with tears.

Maybe the Concierge of Crime wascold-hearted, but underneath the mask, Redmill was a heartbroken, vulnerable human being who had been thrown out next to the road of life, and left to die on his own.

But she would salve the wounds on his heart and maybe one day only the tiny scars on the surface would show that his now healthy heart had been broken once.

They continued dancing like that till the end of the song. Both of them hardly believed that after all the threats and fears, they finally had a quiet moment.

The beginning of their relationship, the friend with benefits thing, almost felt like a dream for Liz. It was so unbelievable that she actually kept him away from her because she feared he would hurt her, not caring with that endlessly comforting feeling that his scent and presence provided.

He led her to the table anda waiter appeared with aperitifs,orange juice in wine glasses, also bringingtheir appetizer.

“To our future,” Red raised his glass and clinked with hers.

“Why are we drinking orange juice instead of champagne?” She furrowed her brows.

“I thought it would be more suitable, and after yesterday I don’t really want to see any alcohol for a while,” he chuckled nervously.

“Red.” She paused for a moment like a mother did when she caught her disobedient child. “You’ve drunk more before and your drunken state wasn’t that bad.”

Damn, she knows me too well, he thought.

“Mr. Kaplan told you, didn’t she?” It was more a statement than a question.

He sighed and crouched in front of her chair, taking her hands into his.

“Don’t be mad at her, it just slipped out when I told her we had had a fight. She thought I was mad at you because you might be…pre-pregnant.” He finished softly, practically whispering.

“And are you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and a thickness in her voice.

“Sweetheart…” he caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. “We will figure out what’s next…”

“Red…” she tried to interrupt him but he just hushed her.

“No, Lizzie, just listen to me. If you want to keep the baby, I’ll do anything to keep both of you safe. I’ll set up a security system…”

“Red…” she smirked at his excitement but as if he didn’t even hear her, just continued.

“Maybe I’m not the best candidate for being a dadand it’s not the safest time for having a baby either but…”

She cupped his cheek “Red!”

“Yes, my dear?” He asked with his big deer eyes, looking at her like a treasure.

She let a few seconds slip away before she finally spoke. “I’m not pregnant.”

“You...” his voice died for a moment as relief and a strange sense of disappointment filled him. He cleared his throat then continued, “you’re not pregnant?”

“I thought it would make you happy.” She asked with slight disbelief.

He was still gaping at her. After his conversation with Alan a little thought entered his mind, and as much as his rational brain forced him not to feel too excited about this thought, but his heart beat just a little bit faster as he imagined his wife, holding a tiny life in her arms or him, bathing the little baby.

Of course he knew it was easier that she wasn’t actually pregnant, but sometimes the easier way wasn’t the better.

“Yes, it makes everything a bit easier and I know you would never want a child of your own…” she didn’t want him to finish the sentence so she kissed him.

“I have to tell you, I was scared to death when I found out that I forgot those damn pills. I was just sitting in the hospital, thinking about the worst option if I wereto be pregnant…” Red winced,he feared Liz would want to do that. It would have destroyed her soul. “And then a pregnant woman, a real angel, sat next to me and asked three questions: is it a love child? Were you in love with his/her father when that little thing decided to come alive in your tummy? Do you really want to kill something that is made by him?” She shook her head, laughing a little. “Those questions were plaguingmy mind the whole day and…” she sighed and looked away for a moment to collect the nasty thoughts in her head. “I realized I didn’t want my own child because his or her father would have been Tom and I think my subconscious sent me a sign with thatstatement. But today, for a moment I let myself wonder; what if I could have a baby with greyish blue eyes and incredibly long eyelashes…” she couldn’t help but smile as his lower lip trembled before he kissed her passionately.

“It’s too dangerous for now, but if you want a kid someday and you want me as his, or her father…” she nodded happily and kissed him again.

It was the best evening of her life and the night hadn’t even started yet!