AN: This is a Secret Santa gift for my mate, Clara. I hope you'll like it, girl! I gave it my very best shot. Sorry, for pretending I didn't know who your Santa was, when it was me all along! And I'm so sorry for not watching You've Got Mail before writing this, but it's just not something I go for, dude. Special thanks to wonderful jackandsamforever, for being the absolute best! Sorry for sending you that much stuff, girl. And also to redisthenewblackington, who once again worked her magic to get me an absolutely beautiful cover photo. You guys are the best! Happy reading people!

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own TBL and I'm not making money out of this. Really too bad.

Chapter 1

"You should try it, Liz. That's how my best friend found his wife. They've been together for four years now."

Was he imagining this? Somehow it felt surreal to be listening to Aram suggesting that his Lizzie try her luck with an online dating site. Surely she would tell him how absurd the thought was.

"I don't know, Aram." She shrugged, "I'm not really in love with the idea."

"Let me write the site down for you. Just give it a try, no one says you have to marry the first guy that comes your way, or even meet anyone from there. Just have some fun." The younger man scribbled down the name of the dating portal and handed her the piece of paper.

She took it from him and nodded in thanks before she grabbed her jacket and walked towards the elevator. Red followed and got in with her. "Hot date tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah, right." Liz rolled her eyes. "I'll be more than happy if you'd actually leave me alone this weekend. Seriously, Red, I need to sleep. Unlike some people."

"But Lizzie, it's so boring without you."

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling. "I'm sure you can find something to keep you busy. You better not call me."

He clutched his hat over his heart, looking at her with wide eyes. "Lizzie, I'm hurt. One might think you're trying to get rid of me."

"One weekend, Red. That's all I'm asking." As soon as the elevator opened, she strode out with him following behind.

"I will miss you dearly."

"Right," she replied. "Goodnight, Red."

He gave her a smile. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Have a good weekend." He watched as she got into her car and drove away before walking over to where Dembe had parked.

When she got home, Liz drew a hot bath and poured herself a glass of wine, before settling into the tub, relaxing for the first time in weeks, if not months. After almost falling asleep and drowning, she decided that the tub may not be the best place to relax. She dried herself with a big, fluffy towel and pulled on some sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Sitting down on the sofa her eyes fell on the piece of paper Aram had given her. Maybe it would be fun. He was right, she wouldn't have to meet with anyone if she didn't want to; all this was rather harmless. Reaching out, she took the laptop from the coffee table and leaned back into the sofa cushion, unfolding the crumbled piece of paper.

MatchDotCom... She took another sip from her glass and then went to register, where the site asked her to choose a nickname. Now, what did she want to call herself?

Lizzington Lizzington Lizzington

Red sat in an armchair with a glass of scotch in his hand, the ice clinking against the glass as he swirled the liquid around. He couldn't get the image of Lizzie chatting online with some weird strangers out of his head. It was bothering him, a lot, if he was being honest with himself. Pondering his options, he gulped down the rest of the amber liquid, before standing to pour himself another two fingers. She had asked him for some alone time this weekend, for him not to call her, and he would grant her the wish. He would not call.

Sitting back down into his armchair, Red powered up his laptop. He typed in the browser address and frowned at the website that showed up. This was not his usual style and it felt a little weird, but things could usually not get weird enough for him.

He clicked a couple of buttons until the site asked for a nickname. For a usually bright man he was at loss. It couldn't be something obvious, of course. If Lizzie found out it was him, then she would have his head. Looking around, his eyes fell on a file on the table; he had just looked at it this morning. Taking out the photo, he smiled at what he saw. The time he had spent in Mexico had been wonderful, and he remembered how the women there had called him Señor Sombrero. Red smiled. That would be it, Señor Sombrero. Typing in the words, he saw that it was still free and quickly typed in the rest of the information so he could get started.

Once he was good to go, he started looking through new members, trying to determine if Lizzie was under them. It was easier said than done because there were a lot of women without a photo, and he was rather sure that his favorite FBI agent wouldn't upload one herself. He was about to click on the 'next' button when his eyes fell on a certain profile.

IhateFertilizedDuckEggs83

Red burst out laughing. She was just too much sometimes, but he loved it. And what he loved even more was that she had apparently thought of him, even though he wasn't around, and even though she had told him to leave her alone for the weekend. It gave him a warm feeling inside.

Double clicking her name, a chat window pulled up and Red didn't think long before he started typing.

"It certainly is an acquired taste."

There was a 'seen' on the right bottom corner and he could practically see the cogs turning in her head.

"Excuse me?"

His Lizzie. Always so formal.

"Fertilized duck eggs. They are not for everyone."

"Oh, yes. I actually haven't tried them before though." He read.

"You haven't? How can you say that you hate them if you haven't even tried them yet?"

He took a sip from his glass and waited for her to reply.

"Well, I've also never taken a bullet to my body and still I know that I wouldn't like it."

He huffed a laugh. "That is a very interesting comparison, although I'm not sure if I should be concerned where your mind is."

He watched the little pen scribble a 'note' and then it wasn't anymore. She had probably deleted whatever she had written down. A couple of moments later he received a new message.

"I guess."

"Are you a criminal, IhateFertilizedDuckEggs83?" He wrote.

"No," she wrote back. "And if I were, do you think I would just tell you that now?"

Smartass. "You'd be surprised how open some people can be." She was surely already rolling her eyes at him. "Where are my manners? I'm -" He broke off. Who was he actually? "Richard."

"Hi, Richard." She typed back.

Shaking his head at her, his hands flew over the keys. "What's your name? I'd hate to have to call you Fertilized Duck Egg."

"Liz."

Talking about honesty. "It's very nice to meet you, Liz."

"You too," she replied shortly, and then after a moment another note followed. "I'm sorry. I'm kinda new to this and not sure what the correct etiquette is here."

He smiled at her words. "Don't worry about it. It is a little strange to be talking to random people online. I don't know what possessed me to join today."

"You too? I just joined today myself. A friend told me to try it, but I don't know."

"That depends on what you're looking for," he wrote. "I'm sure there are a lot of people that are looking for something casual."

"Is that what you are looking for?"

"Not me, no," he replied. "But there are more than enough that are. I think it's a waste of time, there are easier ways."

She didn't reply for a long couple of moments and Red feared that he had maybe pushed her too far already.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you in any way. Sometimes I tend to talk too much."

"It's alright. I was just surprised by the openness." She messaged back. "It's been a long couple of weeks and I'm probably overtired. I should get going."

"Already?" Red asked out loud. He took a look at the clock on the wall, it was 9pm. He turned back to the laptop on his legs. "Of course, I don't want to keep you then. I would enjoy talking to you again soon. But if you're creeped out, then I'd understand too."

"I'm not." She quickly replied. "I'm just exhausted. I'd like to talk to you some more as well."

Now they were getting somewhere. "I'm glad you say that. I'll let you leave then. Goodnight, Fertilized Duck Egg ;-) " He was getting the hang of this quickly.

"Maybe I should have taken some more time with the nickname," she replied, and he bet she was smiling. "Goodnight, Richard."

A moment later the site stated that she had gone offline, and so Red signed out as well.

This should be interesting.