A/N-I am loving the Lizzington family and wanted to contribute to the world of amazing writers out there, helping us through our wait until the next episode airs. I have never written FanFic before and this is completely un-beta'd. If there are any volunteers, PM me I'd love the help!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money off of this.

Chapter 1

Raymond Reddington. He definitely is the Bain of her Existence. All Lizzie could think of, was the bottle of wine and collector's edition of Gone with the Wind waiting for her to at home. Instead, she was cold as hell, crouched behind a rusted out '74 Nova, hoping like hell her toes didn't freeze off. For a shoot-out, it seems to be at a stand-still as their target shoots with frightening accuracy at anyone approaching from any sides. He has to have back-up with him. No one is that good.

"Lizzie, I can't believe he would let this peach of a car go to absolute ruin. It's a crime against humanity. My next door neighbor, Patty Stevenson's father had this very same car. Brand new off the lot, Candy Apple Red, that car would set the stage for the most delicious acts a 14 year old boy could only dream of."

"RED, A) Why in the hell are you here? And B) 14? Really? At 14 I had my nose stuck in a book 99% of the time." Lizzie hissed to Red as she tried to get her bearings from having the scare of her life. "You are supposed to be covering the back entrance. Ressler is going to shit himself when he notices that you've abandoned the post he assigned you."

"Lizzie, Donald will recover from the shock, I promise. And up here, I am doing something infinitely more important-covering your back. Relax, everything will be fine, I left Dembe in my place so that there will be someone competent back there, at least." Red's grin is infectious and Lizzie can't help but smile in return. She loves his absolute disregard for authority. She would never tell him that, but it's undeniable.

This particular night, Red, Lizzie, and the FBI team are waiting for Vincent Gentry, #22 on the Blacklist. He is a magician of sorts. He makes his victims, literally disappear, no traces have ever been found. Hundreds of men, women, and children are gone, like a puff of smoke. However, a source of Red's found a lead that may bring about his capture, or if Red has anything to do with it, his demise. Accidents can happen, and when Red is along, they happen frequently.

"I can't believe that we are stuck here in po-dung Indiana, looking for Vincent's brother, when I could actually be having a day off. You ever hear of one of those? They rock" Lizzie's furious whisper, accented by the puffs of steam due to the cold, seems to drive her point home to Red, as his grin dims slightly.

There's no time for Lizzie to dwell on her irritable mood, because a snap of brush in the forest in front of them is deafening in the quiet. Both of them, guns drawn and ready, hold their breath as they wait for whatever is in the woods in front of them to come out.

They have no option but to stay and fight, as Sebastian, Vincent's brother is known to have an arsenal to put any doomsday prepper to shame. Moving would leave them completely exposed to Sebastian's excellent marksmanship.

Lizzie's attention is momentarily distracted by Red, who is slowly maneuvering his body in front of hers. "What do you think you are doing? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Red catches her eye during her whispered protest. "When whomever that is shows themselves, you need to be ready to make it into the trees to our left, the opposite of where they are coming from."

"Red, I won't leave you, I won't run while you leave yourself exposed-"

"Lizzie, we don't have time. Be ready." The words hadn't even finished their last reverberation in the air before the woods to their right exploded into chaos. Dogs! Shit, shit, shit, she thought to herself as she tried to get a clear shot of the 3 enormous canines that are hell bent on maiming them.

"Get out of here! I will be right behind you." Red, never taking his eyes off the beasts, shoots one immediately. Lizzie takes off for the woods drawing the fire of Sebastian and Company, while one of the dogs changes its trajectory away from Red, to follow Lizzie. Yes, follow me you son of a bitch, is all Lizzie can think of. Red has a better chance if he only has to deal with one hell-beast.

A burning sensation tears through Lizzie's left arm, just as she clears into the forest, branches whipping at her face. Great, a graze, that's just what I needed. A small scream bursts forth involuntarily as another burning sensation in her injured arm reaches her brain. Are. You. Kidding. Me… Damn it!

Adrenaline pushes away the pain, helps her focus on the immediate problem. The dog-! This time, a full forced, blood-curdling scream is ripped from her throat as the beast tears into her upper leg from behind.

Lizzie falls to the forest floor in a tangle of tearing flesh and growling hound, scrambling to turn on her back and shifts for a shot. After wrestling for what seems like forever, but can't be more than a few seconds, she twists her body, left arm useless and puts a bullet between its eyes, ending the mongrel's miserable life with a yelp echoing through the forest.

Focusing on the here and now, Lizzie can feel the numbness of shock setting in. Or maybe it's the absolute awful damn cold of the night. Either way, she has to keep her wits about her or die.

Fight the panic. Take stock of the situation. She can hear shots continuing in the woods behind her. She can't see the clearing or the car, so she made it much further than she originally thought. Copper. Blood. Pain.

Her arm, hanging useless at her side seems to be her biggest problem. Hide. Looking around, Lizzie looks for anything that could provide her with sufficient cover to tend to her injuries temporarily until she makes her way back to the team. Dragging herself to her feet, her left leg on fire, dripping blood on to the pristine, snow covered forest floor, she circles around and spots an older tree with enormous exposed roots.

She steadies herself on the nearest tree, grabs a branch with her right hand and twists with all of her strength, snapping a branch off. She needs to cover her tracks. As she makes her way to her destination, she leans to the right, dragging the branch behind her. It helps her compensate for her injuries on the left side of her body and distorts her tracks should one of Sebastian's friends comes looking-Someone had to have released the dogs when they did. Her efforts won't do any good if they have another dog, but she isn't in any shape to be running anyways and has no hope if that is the case

Gingerly settling down low enough to stay out of sight, Lizzie unbuckles her belt and pulls it off. Making a loop and trying to lasso her limp left arm is harder than anticipated and is glad that no one is here to witness her fumbling attempts at first aid. Finding the highest wound, she tightens the belt as much as she can. Black spots dance before her eyes, her nostrils flare as she struggles to breathe, to remain conscious. If she passes out, she may not wake up.

Red. He will be looking for her. If he's alright. She whimpered, and this time it had nothing to do with her injuries. He has to be fine. They were just making their way back to a good place after the Braxton fiasco.

He fine, he just can't get away because he is helping the team capture Sebastian. There is no other option. He will come for her.

Lizzie regulates her breathing and formulates a plan to get back to Red, when all of the gunfire ceases, leaving the air deathly still.