AN: This is my first try on a The Blacklist story. I'm madly in love with the idea of Lizzington, so that's where we're headed. I'd like to thank my wonderful beta jackandsamforever, for sacrificing her time to do me this favor. You were always very encouraging. Thank you so much.

All mistakes are mine and mine only.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Blacklist or any of its characters. I just love using them for my purposes

Chp. 1

Being undercover, with him of all people, was the last thing she wanted to be. That smug look on his face, when Cooper had told her that she was the one joining him, had made her want to hurt him. Badly. They were currently in Laglio, at Lake Como. It was beautiful, there was no denying it. Still, Liz had better plans than to be here, in Europe, with one of the FBI's most wanted men. The Hotel was big, huge even, and she still hadn't been told just what exactly she was looking for there.

"Ms. Keen." She heard Dembe say from behind her, as she turned to look at him. "Mr. Reddington would like to talk to you in the suite." Liz nodded and followed the tall, muscular man inside. He was about to open the door for her, when she put hand on his arm.

"You can call me 'Liz', you know?" She told him, a smile on her face.

He nodded and gave her a brief smile in return, before opening the door to his boss' room.

"Lizzie! How nice of you to join me," Red said from where he was leaning against the bar, a huge grin plastered on his face. "Would you care for a drink?"

She chose not to reply and instead crossed her arms over her chest. "Dembe said you wanted to talk to me."

"Ah, yes, Dembe. He is a good man, isn't he?

"Cut the crap, Red. What do you want?"

He studied her for a moment, his eyes boring into her. "Lizzie, our main reason for being here in this beautiful place is sadly not for pleasure. Though, I think we could fit pleasure in our busy schedule as well. It is very beautiful, almost cinematic. Astoundingly gorgeous, don't you think?

"You just love hearing yourself talk, don't you?" She retorted.

Red ignored her comment and stepped closer to her. "Lizzie, our target's name is Salvatore Gambino. He's an international arms dealer with close ties to Syria and Iran. He wants me to get him and his staff to the US. He's number 65 on the list."

"What do you need me for?" She asked.

He gave her a wicked smile. " You just do what you do best; which is looking beautiful and being your charming self."

Liz tried her hardest not to blush at his words, then straightened her back and attempted to look nonchalantly at him. The light crinkle at his eyes told her that he had noticed the effect his words had on her.

"Then let's find Mr. Gambino and get this over with," she said and turned to leave.

His hand on her arm stopped her. "Ah, Lizzie. We need to discuss your choice of wardrobe." Before she could even form a reply his hand had slipped down to hers and he pulled her along.

THE BLACKLIST

"You can't be serious!" She exclaimed.

"I don't understand your hesitation, Lizzie, this is quite beautiful," he answered, holding up the dark blue dress.

"Do you realize how short that thing is?!"

"That is exactly the point, Sweetheart", he smiled and pressed the dress in her hands, "You'll turn heads and make extracting the information a lot easier. Go try it on, Lizzie, give it a chance." He gave her a slight push towards the bathroom.

It had been a while since she'd disappeared into the bathroom and Red was getting frustrated with waiting. "Lizzie, I do realize you're a woman, but the amount of time that you're spending in there getting a dress on is ridiculous." He leaned against the wall next to the bathroom, and looked at his watch.

"I'm not sure about this, Red," Came her voice.

The hesitation and nervousness in it made him stand up straight. "I'm sure you look wonderful", he gently coaxed. The door opened slowly and Liz walked out, clearly unsure of her appearance. She turned and looked at him, not sure what to do with herself.

The dress fit her like a glove, hugging her curves in all the right ways and ending just above her knee. Her back was a whole different story, since the dress didn't cover her shoulders and the skin down to her tailbone.

Red had a hard time breathing and was struggling to swallow due to the sudden dryness in his mouth. That was a whole new feeling for him. He must have been silent for too long, because Liz dropped her head in shame, which pulled him back to reality.

"Lizzie, you look absolutely stunning. I'm afraid I'm at a loss for words." She raised her head and looked at him, probably anticipating a sarcastic remark.

"Are you sure?" She asked, and his heart clenched at the tone of her voice. She sounded so unsure of herself.

"Yes," he said and stepped up to her, bending forward to place a kiss to her temple while whispering into her ear.

"I'll have to keep a close eye on you, I'm afraid." When he pulled back, he saw that her eyes were closed and he wondered if that sorry excuse of a husband had ever told her how stunning she was. "Why don't you put on those pumps over there and we'll go eat."

She followed his directions and for the first time he could see just how well that dress looked from behind. "Do you even realize how beautiful you are?" He saw her shudder and had to smile. When she had put on her shoes he lost the slight advantage in height, as she was now just as tall.

He pulled out a jewelery box and opened it. Inside was a necklace that looked more expensive than anything she'd ever worn. "Allow me?" She turned and lifted her hair for him, so he could fasten the necklace around her.

"It's beautiful, Red," she told him.

"Not as beautiful as you," he answered and placed a small kiss on her exposed neck.

A knock on the door pulled them away from each other as Dembe came in. "Raymond, dinner will be served shortly." He turned to leave, but then looked back at Liz again. "You look beautiful, Liz." She gave him a shy smile as he left, closing the door behind him.

"So you're on first name base now?" She couldn't tell if there was jealousy in his voice.

"Dembe is a good man," she decided to answer.

"That he is," Red agreed, "Shall we?" He held out his arm and she took it without hesitation. He felt warm and comfortable and smelled really good. Just now she realized that he was wearing a tuxedo himself.

"You know, you don't look half bad yourself," She said, bumping slightly into him and trying to lose the nervousness.

"Well, thank you, Lizzie. I'm sure I look even better with such a gorgeous woman on my arm."

"Red," she slapped his arm playfully, "You need to stop that."

"Stop what?" He asked and then pulled her with him. They reached the restaurant and Red spotted their target immediately. "Salvatore! It's so good to see you," he greeted the tall man. "Salvatore, this is my assistant, Elizabeth. Lizzie, meet Salvatore Gambino."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Elizabeth," Gambino said as he took the opportunity to kiss her cheeks.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Gambino. And it's Liz," She answered.

"Sonny." He smiled at her. "And my old friend, Ray. How are you?"

They exchanged pleasantries over dinner and were about to talk about business when a young man walked up to them and began speaking to Salvatore.

"Papa, deve parlare con tuoi gente. La misura di sicurezza in questo posto è incredibile." The boy spoke quickly and seemed to be in a hurry.

Salvatore turn to Red and Liz. "This is my son, Arcangelo. Arcangelo, you've met Ray. This is his assistant Liz."

The good looking young man turned to look at her. "Please excuse my manners. Normally I would never miss such a beautiful lady. My deepest apologies, I'm all yours now, Liz." He gave her a charming smile.

"How about Arcangelo here shows you around, Liz, while old Ray and I conduct our business."

"That'd be lovely. Thank you for dinner, Sonny." Liz said, giving the older man a smile. "I'll see you later, Raymond." She enjoyed the flicker of surprise that came to Red's eyes at the use of his full name.

THE BLACKLIST

Arcangelo led her to a huge garden full of roses and they sat down on a bench, talking nonsense and sharing some laughs.

"Nickname you absolutely despise?" He asked her a while later.

"Betty," She answered with a groan.

The Italian laughed. "Some friends call me Jelly! That's much worse!"

"Jelly?!" Liz laughed.

"Well, Arcangelo, Angelo, Gel-O, Jelly..." He smiled when she grinned. "You have a beautiful smile... Hey, how about some champagne on our new found friendship! I have a bottle up in my suite. You up for it?"

"Umm..yeah, I guess," she replied and stood with him.

"Ms. Liz?" Dembe came from out of nowhere and Angelo stepped away to give them some privacy. "You shouldn't do this."

"Shouldn't do what? I'm only going for a drink, Dembe. I'll be fine."

"Liz, your bodyguard cam come pick you up in an hour. Let's go. Champagne is waiting!" Angelo called out.

"I'll see you later, Dembe. Come save me if I don't return." She winked at him and then followed the young Italian to his room; she didn't see the look of concern on Dembe's face as they walked away.