I would like to put it out there that I do not own The Blacklist and please don't sue me. Also I would like to state that I had not watched the second part of Anslo Garrick before I wrote this, so if it seems a bit off... sorry! Please read and review. Much love!

Elizabeth Keen was at a loss. Twenty-four hours ago, Raymond Reddington had bargained his life for hers, surrendering himself to a man –and Elizabeth used the term loosely –who had made it perfectly clear that all he wanted was to torture Red and relish his anguish as long as possible before slowly killing him. Raymond Reddington should be dead. And yet, twenty-four hours later, he sat beside her in her car, ruminating aloud on the fact that he regretted that it was Elizabeth and not himself who had put the fatal bullet in Anslo Garrick's head.

"It was my mistake that he was running around alive in the first place. You can rest assured that I will not be making that mistake again. A bullet right between the eyes is the way to go. And another in the heart, just in case."

Elizabeth ignored him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of asking him if he was planning on assassinating anyone anytime soon. Surely he was not this callous. Surely having his longtime companion shot and killed before his eyes had some sort of affect on him. Then again, this was Raymond Reddington. He cared for no one but himself. But Elizabeth was different. She cared for whoever needed caring for, no matter how she might get burned in the end. And she knew she was going to get burned.

As Elizabeth parked the car at the safehouse that Red had been using, she watched him look up at the front door and sigh.

"Are you okay?"

Red turned to her and gave her a small smile. "It's going to be quiet. I dread the quiet."

Elizabeth would never know what prompted her to say what she said next, but as she was saying it, she knew it was right. "I can't go back to my house. Tom will want to know what happened, and I just cannot have that conversation tonight. I had considered a hotel, somewhere to stay for a few days where I can get my head on straight and come up with a story, not that he would believe me if I told him the truth."

Red chuckled, a deep sound that reverberated through the car. "I wouldn't believe you. I can hardly believe it happened myself. To think that I was almost bested by a dead man. Hardly fathomable. I do agree with you that going to a hotel sounds much better than going home. Not that this safehouse is a home by any means. It just feels too big right now."

"Why don't you come with me?" Elizabeth could hardly believe what she was offering, and by the look on Red's face, he couldn't believe it either. "We could get a room with two beds and a kitchenette and neither one of us would have to be alone. My treat."

When Red offered no answer, Elizabeth figured that she had made a mistake. Embarrassment set in, and she could feel her cheeks burning, and knew that Red could see her turn a nice shade of crimson. It was humiliating. It was time to backtrack. "It was just a thought. I don't know what I'm saying. I've been up for almost two days and I really just need to pass out for a while. I'll have to face Tom eventually anyway and…"

"Let's go." Raymond's voice cut through Elizabeth's rambling.

"Go? Like, to the hotel?"

"Yes. Neither one of us wants to go home and quite frankly after everything that's happened today I want to keep an eye on you. You've been in danger before but this was different. This was too close. It was almost over." Red locked eyes with Elizabeth and she found it impossible to break the contact.

"What was almost over?" With Elizabeth's words, the serious look in Red's eyes was gone.

"Us… our partnership. I'm very proud of the work we've done together, Lizzie. It would be a shame for it to end so soon. Now, drive us to the hotel of your choosing. It's late and I am dying for a shower."