Liz looked out of the plane window just after they landed and saw a single car parked on the runway. Its door opened and a man stepped out of it. "Is this Dembe?", she said with an excited look on her face.

"I hope it is. If it's not we should better take off again.", Red bend over Liz to look out of the window himself. Dembe leaned against the car and nodded when Red waved at him through the window with a big smile.

They got out of the plane and Red – never letting go of Lizzie's arm and therefore pulling her behind him – walked quickly over to Dembe and gave him a long hug. "How are you, Dembe?"

"Fine now that I see you're both alive and well.", Dembe answered and petted Lizzie on the shoulder.

"Don't be silly.", she said and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you, too."

They quickly got inside the car, Red and Lizzie were both on the backseat and Dembe drove them to a house in a rural area just outside Oslo. During the hour long journey Dembe gave them the most important information but he could see in the rear view mirror that both Red and Lizzie were exhausted.

"What a lovely place.", Red said when they entered the house. It was small but very cosy with a fire place in the middle of the living room and a kitchen with a dining table just big enough for the three of them to have dinner together.

Red put down his luggage when he saw the familiar grey and brown fur scurrying towards him. "Mr. Catington? Oh dear." He got on his knees and picked up his cat and petted him as if he never petted him before. "I can't believe you brought him with you.", Red said looking up at Dembe. "I missed you, you little sharp-clawed bastard!" He gave the cat a smack on the head and let him go.

"Dembe, I would love to talk things through but Elizabeth and I didn't get much sleep on the flight. I think we should call it a day."

"Sure. There are two bedrooms for the two of you. I'll sleep on the sofa.", Dembe said. Lizzie was already on the first step on her way upstairs and stopped to glance at Red who tilted his head and turned to Dembe in one slick movement.

"I don't think that's going to be necessary to be honest.", Red said.

"You can have the second bedroom.", Lizzie added and turned around to go upstairs and check out the upper floor.

Dembe didn't understand. "What do you mean?" He looked at Red with a confused look on his face until it finally clicked. "Oh, you mean…? Oh."

Red smiled. "Coming to think of it, maybe the sofa is still a better choice for you.", he picked up his suitcases and followed Lizzie upstairs. "These walls don't appear to be very thick.", he said – more to himself than to Dembe – while knocking on the wall on his way up.

Red walked downstairs in his bathrobe, rubbing his eyes as Mr. Catington snuggled up against his legs which made walking forward without falling over and waking everyone up a lot more difficult. It was very early in the morning and Dembe and Lizzie were still asleep but Red felt too fidgety to stay in bed.

He made himself a cup of tea, wrapped up in a blanket and sat down on the front porch watching the sun rise. Mr. Catington curled up on his lap and Red couldn't help but feel happy, for the first time in ages he allowed himself to be happy and carefree. He knew that the carefreeness would only stick around for a couple of hours, days maybe, but the happiness – that one would last as long as she was with him.

He heard the creaking of the wooden floor and soon after saw Liz standing next to him. She leaned against the door frame and smiled at him, folding her arms to keep her warm. As soon as Mr. Catington saw her he jumped off Red's lap and hurried inside.

"Seems he doesn't like me that much.", Liz mumbled with a yawn, looking at the cat that now carefully observed her every movement from inside the house.

"He just needs to get used to you. Last time he saw you, you were kind of… agitated."

Liz gave Red a grin and took a sip from his cup of tea that stood on the windowsill. She kept her eyes fixed on him as he closed his and took a deep breath of fresh air. The house was so remote that they couldn't see any other buildings, but a lake instead and the forest adjacent to the back of the house. It was nearly too idyllic to be true and to see Red actually enjoying the peace and quiet made Lizzie feel like all the decisions she's made ever since she met him – all the decisions she had been doubting more than once – have in fact been right. They all led up to this moment and it felt like this was exactly where she was meant to be now.

"Come here.", he said gesturing her to sit down next to him.

"I was actually thinking about taking a shower."

"Oh. Of course. I'll prepare some breakfast then. I'm assuming you must be hungry."

"Or you could shower with me.", she said and drank the rest of his tea, putting the cup back on the windowsill before she went inside leaving Red behind.

"What…. I mean… wait!", he said he followed her.

They stepped into the bathtub and Liz drew the shower curtain as he turned the tap on causing both of them to instantly jump up and squeak when the water poured down on them – it was a lot colder than expected.

Just as they recovered from the shock and the water got a little warmer, Dembe knocked frantically at the bathroom door. "Are you okay? Elizabeth?"

"She's fine.", Red answered. "And so am I. Just in case you were worrying about me, too."

Lizzie suppressed her giggle by pressing her lips against Red's chest. She looked up at him, water running down her face as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling his wet body closer to hers and kissing him passionately.

He wiped a strand of hair out of her face and kissed her cheek, slowly wandering down her neck turning the kisses into soft bites.

"You taste nice, Lizzie.", he whispered in her ear and then got down on his knees, holding on to her hips for support.

"Do I?", she asked with one hand against the bathroom wall and the other on Red's shoulder knowing that what was about to happen would leave her too weak in the knees to stand steadily on her own.

"Delicious.", he mumbled – nearly inaudible over the sound of the running water and Lizzie's groaning – as he buried his face between her thighs.

She gasped for air delving her fingernails into his shoulder when her legs eventually crumbled and Red wrapped his arms around her hips, holding her tightly so she wouldn't fall over as the shivers began running up and down her body, rendering her dizzy with pleasure.

He looked up at her and gave her a cheeky smile. "Good morning, Lizzie."

"Good morning.", she said out of breath, washing the sweat off her forehead. "Can we start every day like this from now on?"

"Anything to make you happy, my dear.", Red said standing up and kissing his Lizzie. He resisted the urge to confess his love knowing it was too early for that. But time would come eventually.

The End. (…as for now.)