They arrived at the zoo without incident and Red found a parking spot right up front; it bode well for the kind of day she hoped they would have. The girls shot out of the car excitedly, and Liz had to tell them to stay where they were so they wouldn't get run over.

Red came around the car and took Liz's black bag from her, then put it over his shoulder. He turned to the girls who were standing nearby and bouncing up and down on their toes, "You guys can begin walking, but you need to stay close."

They nodded and started walking slowly towards the front gate, as Liz and Red followed at a more sedate pace behind them. She walked next to him seemingly lost in thought, and hadn't said a word to him for quite a while. It was beginning to concern him, and he was insanely curious about what had her so preoccupied.

He sidled up close to her and bumped his shoulder into hers, "Penny for your thoughts?"

She glanced at him with slightly furrowed eyebrows and a distant look, "I don't think they're worth that much."

He yelled towards the girls in front of them, "Stop for a moment, girls." They stopped and turned to look at him with annoyed expressions on their little faces, but stayed where they were.

Red put his hand on her opposite shoulder and turned her to face him, "Is something bothering you?"

Her left eye twitched, and she didn't make eye contact with him as she said, "No, I'm fine. I'm just tired."

He narrowed his eyebrows, "Lizzy-"

She cut him off in a falsely cheerful voice, "I'm fine, lets go have fun." Then began walking again, leaving Red standing there staring after her. There was something off about her, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. It'd started in the car, and had only gotten worse since.

He pulled his amber sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and slipped them on, adjusted his gray fedora lower on his head, then followed after the girls; they were already almost to the front gate.

He quickened his pace and caught up to them as they walked through the entrance and stopped at a crossroads. Liz looked at the girls, "What do you guys want to see first?"

Eilina yelled, "The pandas!" as Akhita said at the same time, "The apes!"

aLiz smiled and looked at the map she'd picked up at the gate, "Well, it looks like the pandas are closer, so we'll go there first, then go see the apes. Sound like a plan?"

They both nodded, then Eilina grabbed Liz's hand and began dragging her towards the pandas; they knew exactly where to go. Red and Akhita followed close behind as they reached the panda house quickly, then groaned. There was already a long line.

Liz turned to the girls, "Let's go see the apes then come back to this one later." They nodded in disappointment and began walking dejectedly towards the ape exhibit. Red caught Liz's arm as she turned to follow them, "Lizzy, why are you ignoring me?"

She winced, but he couldn't see her eyes behind her dark sunglasses. "I'm not ignoring you, Red. Not everything is about you."

Liz turned to walk away, but he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. She tried to pull away, but he didn't allow her to as he pulled her after him to catch up to the girls. Once they were close enough he said in a low voice, "Now tell me what's bothering you. Are you having regrets about us?"

She turned her face towards his quickly with a look that bordered on panic, "No! Hell No..It's just that..."

She shook her head and looked away, "Never mind."

He grabbed her chin softly and turned her head back to his, then kissed her lightly and whispered in her ear, "Tell me." It wasn't a request, but a demand, and she was helpless to resist him.

She heaved a sigh, "Fine. This trip just reminds me of when my dad used to take me to the zoo every Saturday; it's one of my favorite memories of us together." She swallowed thickly and blinked back the tears that were pooling in her eyes, "I can still see everything in my mind clearly, like watching a movie. I remember him taking me to see the monkeys, and making monkey sounds to get them to react as I yelled for him to keep going. It always left me in a fit of giggles and I just..."

She stopped and wiped her eyes, then gave him a watery smile, "I'll be fine. I'm actually glad I have those memories." While she'd been explaining what was wrong, he'd motioned with his arm for the girls to come back over to them while they talked. He didn't dare leave them by themselves for too long. Once he'd checked to make sure they were coming, he'd focused on everything that Liz had told him, and ran his hands up and down her arms comfortingly; which she hadn't seemed to notice.

He nodded, "I took my daughter to the zoo once or twice, and I still can see those memories in my mind clearly, so I understand what you're saying." He smiled faintly at her as she nodded, then took a breath, "It actually helps to talk about it, so thanks."

He nodded, then turned to the girls as they approached them. "Are you guys ready to see the monkeys?" They both groaned at the same time and Akhita said, "Rayyyy, we're going to see the Apes, not monkeys. They aren't the same thing you know." Liz hid a smile behind her hand.

Red rose his eyebrows at her, "Really? Hmm..I guess you learn something new everyday. Thanks for setting me straight, Akhita." He smiled charmingly at her.

Akhita preened importantly, "Yeah I know all that stuff. I got to go to a camp and learn about all kinds of different animals. It was so much fun!"

Red pursed his lips and nodded his head, acting impressed, "Wow, you're lucky. You'll have to tell me sometime what you learned, but in the meantime why don't we start making our way over there. We're burning daylight."

"Ok!" She grabbed Eilina's hand and began dragging her down the path, weaving around people as they went. Red turned to Liz with a small smile on his face, "I've forgotten what it's like to be around little kids; their enthusiasm is contagious.

Liz nodded and stepped closer to him, hooked her thumbs in his belt loop and pulled him flush against her chest, then whispered against his ear, "Thanks for listening." She let go just as quickly, and followed after the girls, leaving Red momentarily frozen.

As he stood in the middle of the bustling pathway, an older woman stopped in front of him and smiled, "You have an adorable family. It's so nice to see someone who truly loves and adores his wife and kids. Thanks for being a good example." Then walked away before he could say anything. He wouldn't have corrected her anyway; it would have been too difficult to explain.

As Red caught up to the girls again, Liz turned to him, "What did that woman say to you?

"She asked where the bathrooms were." He could tell she knew he was lying, but decided not to call him out on it.

They turned to watch the girls as they approached the glass wall and watched the Apes. Red grabbed Liz's hand and led her closer to the girls, who were pressing their faces against the glass in obvious fascination.

Akhita turned to looked at them with a wide smile, "They're so cool, I'm gonna die!"

Liz smiled and turned her face into Red's shoulder to muffle her laughter. She started to pull away after getting herself back under control, but Red slid his left arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side, playing with the hem of her shirt with his fingers. She turned to him and gave him a small smile. He returned it, then moved his hand completely under her shirt and rubbed the small of her back for a few moments, then moved it to the outside of her shirt once again. His teasing was maddening.

They stood there arm in arm and watched the two little girls talk excitedly with each other, and with other little kids that were standing there too. It was adorable.

OOOOOO

They spent the next couple of hours moving from exhibit to exhibit. The girls never lost their enthusiasm, and Liz found herself having more fun than she thought she would. It helped that she had Red by her side again after not seeing him for a week. It used to be when he left for long periods of time she felt relieved that she had a break from his constant mind-games and manipulation; but they've come a long way since then and things have changed between them. She watched as he walked forward and knelt between the two girls, a hand on each of their shoulders, and began talking to them in earnest about whatever random fact he knew about giraffes. She felt a pang of loss suddenly, for herself and for him, because she didn't know if either one of them would ever get the chance to do this with their own children. It depressed her, and she didn't want her euphoric feeling to go away because of a few stray thoughts, so she pushed them to the back of her mind and locked them away with all of her other child-related thoughts.

After a few moments, Red stood up and approached her. "The girls are ready to eat, are you hungry?"

She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was past noon. Her stomach grumbled at the thought and she smirked at him, "I am, what do they want to eat?"

"Hotdogs." He said it with such distaste that it caused Liz to laugh.

She stepped closer and kissed his jaw, feeling emboldened by the days events, then whispered by his ear, "You don't like hotdogs?"

She heard him swallow noisily and his breathing quicken, then he said, "I might if you make them for me and let me watch you eat them."

She pulled back and looked at him with their chests still touching, and forgetting that they were surrounded by hundreds of people, leaned down to kiss him. Just as their lips touched, the girls ran up to them, and Eilina said, "Aw come on guys, not again. We're hungry!"

Liz smiled against his lips and pulled back to look at them, "Sorry guys. Let's go find some hotdogs then."

Eilina spoke up with an excited voice, "I know where a hotdog stand is. It's just around the corner." Then grabbed Akhita's hand and started running away.

Liz pulled away from Red reluctantly, running her hand down his side softly, before turning to follow the girls; Red followed soon after.

The girls were standing in front of the hotdog stand talking to the man behind it as they reached them. The girls turned and started telling Liz what they wanted at the same time. "Girls, don't tell me, tell him. But do it one at a time, please."

They told him what they wanted, then Liz and Red stepped forward and ordered too. They received the food soon after and went in search of a shady picnic table or bench to sit on. Unfortunately the rest of the patrons at the zoo had the same idea, and there weren't any more shady places to sit.

Liz glanced to her right and saw a table available, but it was sitting in the glaring sun. She turned to Red in question, but he just shrugged and began walking towards it. Liz was already beginning to feel a little overheated, and wasn't looking forward to sitting in the hot sun.

The girls reached the table and sat down, then tore open the foil on their food and began eating hungrily. Red sat down on the opposite side and Liz sat down close to him on his left. They began eating in silence, everyone too hungry to make conversation. Liz started feeling a little dizzy and light-headed and wondered if it they were the beginning signs of a heat-stroke. She opened her water and took a long drink, and it seemed to help a little, but not enough. Red glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow, asking if everything was ok. Instead of answering, she reached over and took his fedora from his head and plopped it on her own. He glared at her, "Hey, I need that."

She was already beginning to feel better with the top of her head shaded from the suffocating heat. She smiled, "I need it more."

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes penetrating, then shook his head in defeat and turned back to his food. Score one for her.

Hearing giggles, she looked at the girls and said, "What?"

Akhita laughed again and said, "You look funny!"

Liz narrowed her eyes playfully at them, "Why?"

Eilina leaned forward, "Because it's a man's hat, and you're a woman." Then dissolved again into a fit of giggles again.

Red spoke up from next to her, his voice low, "I think she looks better in it than me." Then glanced at her with heated eyes; his voice husky and full of an emotion that wasn't appropriate in front of little girls, even if they didn't understand it.

Liz took a deep breath, averted her eyes, and began eating again.

They finished eating quickly, not wanting to sit in the sun longer than they had to, and stood up to begin walking towards the only exhibit they hadn't seen yet; the giant pandas.

Liz didn't give Red his hat back, and he didn't ask for it, but she saw him occasionally giving it longing glances when he thought she wasn't looking. She probably should give it back since he didn't have much hair on the top of his head, but she was enjoying the reprieve from the sun and was feeling much better than earlier.

They reached the Panda House in minutes and Liz groaned at the line that was still long; it would probably be at least an half-hour's wait to see them. She tapped both of the girl's shoulders in front of her to get their attention, "Are you guys sure you want to see the pandas? We can go get some ice cream or something instead."

The frowned and Eilina said, "No, we have to see the pandas. We always see them when we come here, it's tradition."

Liz smiled at the seven-year old's use of tradition and nodded, "That's fine, but we're going to have to stand in line for a little while."

The both nodded in understanding and Akhita said, "We know, we always have to stand in line." She said it in a "duh" voice and Liz couldn't help but smile.

"Ok, just making sure you knew."

The girls didn't answer, and turned back around to talk to each other excitedly about something they saw off to the side of them. Liz didn't see what it was, and didn't bother to ask.

Red put his hand on the middle of her back and leaned towards her ear from behind her, "I'll be back shortly, I need to make a phone call."

She nodded and turned to watch him walk away; his stride confident and cocky like usual. She found it incredibly sexy and couldn't take her eyes off him and his broad shoulders as he walked further and further from her.

She was interrupted by a little girl, and who she assumed to be her father walking up behind her and the girls. He was tall, with dark hair and eyes, and had a friendly face. He smiled at her with obvious interest in his eyes, and she saw him glance furtively down at her left hand to check for a ring. She suddenly wished Red was still there.

He reached out a hand for her to shake, "Hi, I'm Derek." He placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder next to him, "And this is Izzy."

Liz gave him a faint smile and shook his hand lightly, "I'm Liz." She gestured to the little girls behind him, "And they're Eilina and Akhita.

The two girls turned around and started talking with Izzy excitedly, and Liz wished Red would hurry back. Derek stepped forward a little, "So how has your day been going?"

Liz waved a hand in the air, "Oh just fine, just a little warm, but the girls are having fun and that's what matters." She realized that she still wore the fedora on her head and wondered what Derek thought about it.

He smiled, "I agree, my daughter loves it here, we come at least twice a week."

Liz nodded, but didn't know what else to say. She hated awkward pauses, and hated conversing with strangers even more.

Derek spoke up again, and said confidently, "So, would you be interested in coming with my daughter and I sometime to the zoo? You could bring your girls too, then we could have lunch somewhere. It would be fun."

Liz cleared her throat and said, "Oh, I don't think-"

He cut her off, his eyes cool, "I just moved to DC a couple of months ago and have had a hard time finding someone to spend time with. It seems like everyone around here is already married or taken." He laughed and Liz felt the hairs on her neck stand up. There was something off about him.

She smiled falsely, "Well you see-"

He cut her off again, his voice and eyes pleading, "Come on, just give me a chance."

Liz could see the reason why he was having a hard time finding someone; he was creeptastic.

She took a deep breath, "Derek, I-"

Liz was cut off again, but this time by Red sliding his arms around her waist from behind and pulling her against him as he spoke to Derek from her shoulder, his voice deadly, "She's already taken. Move along."

Derek held his arms up in surrender, "Hey she didn't tell me she was taken." He looked at her with narrowed eyes, "You could have told me."

Liz rolled her eyes and put her hands over Red's that were lying on her stomach, "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't let me."

"Yeah, whatever Bitch." He mumbled the last two words, but she heard them clearly. Before she could say anything, Red released her and stepped around her, his eyes thunderous, "I suggest you leave before something entirely unpleasant happens to you. I wouldn't want to traumatize your child." His voice was like venom and it made even her nervous. She was glad his back was to the girls so they couldn't see this side of him.

Derek called Izzy over and walked away quickly. Liz could hear her crying that she wanted to see the pandas, but his stride didn't falter; she felt sorry for the little girl.

Red's back was to her, but she could see that he was breathing hard, trying to calm his rage.

She reached forward and rubbed her hand between his shoulder blades and said quietly, "Let it go. It's not anything to get worked up over."

He took one last deep breath and turned to face her. His face was an expressionless mask; she hated this face the most. He rose an eyebrow, "I'm fine."

She nodded and turned to the girls. They were still chatting away, seemingly oblivious to everything that had just happened. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Liz stepped forward and said quietly, "Let's just get through this line then go home. I'm more than ready, and I think you are too."

He nodded and ran his fingers over the brim of his fedora that she was still wearing. He lowered his voice even more, his eyes dark, "There are things I want to do to you while you're wearing my fedora, Lizzy, things that I can't talk about with prying ears around."

She blushed and slapped his chest playfully, "Stop it, Red."

He didn't smile though, and stepped even closer, their chests touching, "You want to hear one of them?"

She hesitated and glanced at the girls, then turned back to him and nodded shyly. He leaned forward and put his lips on her ear, then proceeded to tell her exactly what he wanted to do to her, something that included handcuffs, chocolate and his hat. After he finished, he stepped back with a smirk as Liz's face turned dark red. She was aroused and knew she needed to calm herself down before she tried to interact with the anyone.

After a few moments, she got herself under control and looked back at Red. She stepped forward and put his fedora back on his head, then said seductively, "I think you earned this back."

He smiled widely, the first time she'd seen that in a long time, then laughed out loud. It was a sound she never wanted to forget.

"Oh, Lizzy. That was just the tip of the iceberg."

She blushed again, then breathed out a sigh of relief to see that they were finally at the front of the line. She couldn't take anymore of Red's teasing without taking him right then and there; which was something that would scar every child within a mile radius.

The girls pointed out anything and everything to Liz and Red, so they were effectively distracted by the time they reached the end of the panda exhibit.

After they walked out, she turned to the girls, "K, girls, it's time to go. I need a nap."

The girls laughed, "You're too old to take a nap!"

She shook her head, "No one is ever too old to take a nap, including you two."

They both shook their heads frantically, "We're not tired."

Liz smiled, "I was just teasing, but it really is time to go. We've seen and done everything."

They sighed in disappointment, "Ooookayyy. Thanks for bringing us though, we've had sooo much fun!"

"You're welcome."

Red stepped forward and smiled at the girls, "We'll have to do this again sometime. I throughly enjoyed myself. Thanks for telling me all those interesting facts about the apes."

Akhita nodded, "I would tell you even more, but I forgot my book." She moved her bottom lip over the top one, "But hopefully I can show it to you sometime."

Red nodded, "I would very much like that."

Liz glanced at everyone, "Let's go then. Aram should be ready to pick you two up by now."

Eilina said happily, "I can't wait to tell Uncle Aram about everything we did today. He's going to wish he was here."

Liz smiled, "I'm sure he'll be very jealous."

OOOOOO

They arrived home within forty-five minutes, and Liz glanced in the back seat to see that both girls were out cold; so much for not being tired.

Her cell-phone rang and she answered it quietly, "Keen."

"Hey Liz, I'm about five minutes out from picking them up. Did you guys have fun?"

Red had his hand on her thigh again and was skimming his fingers over places where they shouldn't be.

She was distracted and didn't hear Aram's question.

"Liz?"

She cleared her throat and stopped Red's hand with her free one from moving any more, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Did you guys have fun?"

Liz smiled, "We had a lot of fun. You're nieces are adorable and pretty easy to take care of."

"Good, good. Hey I'm almost there, so I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

Liz hung up her phone and looked at Red, "Aram will be here in a couple of minutes. We might as well wait in the car for him."

Red quirked his mouth and tilted his head towards her, "Whatever are we going to do while we wait, sweetheart?" His tone was seductive.

She reached forward and rand her hand down his bare forearm, "Not anything you want to do with little kids two feet away."

He huffed an amused laugh, "You're right, I don't want to be interrupted."

As she opened her mouth to answer, Aram's car pulled behind hers. She stepped out quickly so Red couldn't do anything else to arouse her, and waited for Aram who was walking towards her with a smile.

She opened the back seat and shook Eilina awake softly, "Hey your Uncle Aram is here, wake up."

She opened her eyes sleepily and smiled when she saw Aram, then shook Akhita awake, "Hey, wake up, Uncle Aram is here!"

Akhita opened her eyes quickly and smiled, "Hi, Uncle Aram!"

Aram smiled, "Hey girls, are you ready to go back to my house?"

They nodded and slid out of the car quickly, then turned to Liz and gave her a big hug at the same time, "Thank you!"

Then they released her and hugged Red's legs as he rounded the back of the car, "Thank you Ray for being so nice!"

He patted their heads, "You're welcome. See you guys sometime soon."

They let go of Red and each took one of Aram's hands. Aram smiled at Liz and Red, then said, "Thanks again guys. I still have my job thanks to you."

Liz nodded and watched as Aram led the little girls towards his car. They were chattering excitedly about everything they had seen.

She felt more than heard Red approach her from behind. He slid a hand around her side and squeezed it softly, "Do you want to go take that nap?"

She turned to him and nodded, "I'm exhausted, and sunburned."

He grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs to her apartment. Liz took the keys and unlocked the door, then he led her inside. As soon as she shut the door behind her, she was pushed up against it by Red, who then crashed his lips over hers and kissed her passionately. It took a moment for her brain to catch up, but when it did, she moved her tongue into his mouth and her lips over his over and over. She wrapped her legs around his back and her arms around his neck and just let herself go. She was almost to the point of no return, when he pulled back, his lips swollen from their bruising kisses. He was breathing hard as he said, "Shall we move this to a more comfortable area of your house? Any soft surface will do."

Liz smiled and dropped her legs, but Red didn't let her move away from the door. Before she could ask him why, he put his fedora back on her head, stepped away from her and said, "Now let me show you what I already explained to you back at the zoo." He smiled faintly.

She smiled and nodded, then took his hand and led him towards her bedroom. She looked forward to it, especially since this would be their first time. She knew he would be a wonderful lover.

They reached her bedroom and Red pushed her on her bed softly, then laid over the top of her and kissed her again with long and soft strokes of his tongue in her mouth; it was incredible. He moved his hands under her shirt as he kissed her. and Liz felt dizzy with desire. She hadn't felt like this in a long time.

He rolled off of her after a moment, then stood up to remove his shirt. She couldn't have moved her eyes away from his body if she wanted to. He reached out a hand and pulled her up, then began to remove her shirt as well.

He looked at her and smiled devilishly, "Do you have any chocolate?"

She grinned and nodded, then rose an eyebrow, "My handcuffs are in the drawer behind you."

They proceeded to act out his fantasies, and it ended up being one of the most incredible experiences Liz had ever had the pleasure of taking part in, and looked forward to many more with him. This was only the beginning for them.

Author's Note: Gah, I know this is such a letdown from the first chapter, and I'm sorry for that. I hope you at least got some enjoyment from reading this, but if you didn't, then I failed at my purpose..haha. Thanks for reading and thank you SO much for all the kind reviews. I truly cherish every single one of them. I hope to get back to "TFMR" and "Hell in a Handbasket" tomorrow. Please let me know what you think! :)