Ch. 1

Mike walked into the kitchen, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. Which wasn't far from the truth. He'd been having an internal battle for a couple of weeks now. Mal was trying to come back, and the fight to keep him in the back of his mind, was really starting to take effect on Mike.

Zoey had already made breakfast, and was sitting at the bar, finishing a bowl of fruit.

"Mike, are you okay? You look horrible." Zoey asked, concerned.

"Jee thanks. I love you too, Babe." Mike replied, obviously still exhausted.

"You know what I mean. Seriously though, are you alright?" Zoey asked again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a hard time sleeping last night." Mike replied.

"I noticed that you kept tossing and turning. Is anything on your mind?" Zoey inquired, concerned about her lover.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Mike said, not wanting Zoey to worry about him.

"Alright. If you're sure." Zoey said, walking over to Mike and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.

Mike wrapped his arms around Zoey's waist, hugging her back.

"I'm fine, Baby. I promise." he said, kissing her forehead.

Ch. 2

Later that day, the two decided to go for a walk in the park. It was a pretty summer day. The air was warm, the birds were chirping, and little squirrels scampered from tree to tree. There weren't many people at the park, despite the fact it was such a perfect day to spend outdoors.

As they were walking, Mike groaned and held his head. Zoey gasped and placed her hands on his shoulder.

"Mike, what's wrong?" she asked, really concerned now.

"N-Nothing. I'm fine." he tried to reassure her.

"Something's wrong. Are you sick?" Zoey wasn't believing that Mike was fine.

Mike didn't answer her. Instead he groaned some more, and fell to his knees, clutching his head.

This was extremely alarming. Zoey had never seen this happen. She wasn't sure what was going on, or what she should do. She crouched down, so she was eye level with Mike.

"Mike, look at me. What's going on?" she said, determined to get to the bottom of this, and help him.

Mike slowly turned to face her. Zoey's eyes went wide in shock when she saw the darkness in Mike's eyes. She couldn't believe it.

"Y-You're not Mike..." she said, fear evident in her shaking voice.

"That's right, Toots. It's me, your old pal, Mal! And I'm here to stay." Mal replied with a dark smirk.

"No..." Zoey said quietly, putting her hand to her mouth. She was horrified.

"Awe, what's wrong, Zoey-Bear? Do you not like me?" Mal asked tauntingly.

Zoey backed away from him. Mal was capable of anything, and she didn't want to take any chances. With a dark chuckle, Mal stepped closer. All that time of being pushed to the back of Mike's mind had made Mal even more aggressive and cruel than before.

"I know you're in there, Mike! You have to listen to me!" Zoey tried to reach out to her lover, who was trapped in his own mind.

"Mike was weak! He's gone forever!" Mal exclaimed.

"Fight him, Mike! You're stronger than him! I know you can do it!" Zoey encouraged.

Mal backhanded Zoey across the face. That was the first time he had ever laid a hand on her. Her eyes were huge and shocked, as she held her face.

"Y-You hit me..." she said, voice cracking.

Mike started gaining control over his body again, blinking and shaking his head hard. When he came back to, he stared at Zoey's face. He knew he had done something terrible.

"Zoey..." he said softly, guilt obvious in his tone.

"M-Mike? Is it really you?" Zoey asked.

"Yes, it's me. Your lip is bleeding... Did I... Did I do that...?" Mike replied, very upset with himself.

"Mal did.." Zoey answered.

"I'm so sorry, Zoey. I-I didn't mean to hurt you... God, I'm horrible..." Mike said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"No, you're not horrible. Mal is horrible. That's not you. I know it's not your fault." Zoey responded.

Ch. 3

They went home after that. Mike made himself some coffee, and searched for the business card his old psychiatrist had given him. He figured it was time to give her a call again.

"Dr. Johnson, it's Mike. I think I need to schedule another appointment with you." Mike said through the phone.

"Are you having trouble with your personalities again?" Dr. Johnson asked him.

"Not all of them. Just... Mal. I haven't heard anything from the others." he replied, almost seeming afraid to say Mal's name. As if he may come back when his name was called.

"Come to my office tomorrow at ten am." Dr. Johnson replied.

"Alright, I will do that. Thank you." Mike said before hanging up the phone.

He walked into the living room, where Zoey was sitting on the couch, watching tv.

"Zo...?" Mike said, slowly walking towards her. He was a little afraid to get so close to her right now.

"Yeah, Mike?" she responded, giving him an almost sad look.

"I have an appointment with Dr. Johnson again, tomorrow morning. Maybe now I won't hurt you again." he told her.

"Mike, you didn't hurt me. I'm fine, see?" she reassured him, hugging him tight.

"Zoey, I really need to fix this problem. I can't have Mal taking over again." Mike said, very worried.

"Michael, look at me. We will get through this together. Like we always do." Zoey replied, trying to make Mike look her in the eyes.

Mike focused on Zoey's face, and took deep breaths in and out. Zoey could always calm him down. She just had a special way with him.

The next morning, Mike woke up and got ready to go to the psychologist. He was nervous about this trip. He wanted Mal gone, but if they gave him medication to get rid of him, wouldn't that mean the others would go away too? Mike was attached to the others. Sure their random outbursts could be annoying, but they were good people.

"I'm going to my appointment now. Are you coming with me?" he asked Zoey, before he left.

"Sure, babe. Let me just grab my purse." she replied.

Zoey was very supportive of Mike through everything. She put up with Chester's complaining about things now days, she dealt with Veto's show-offy tendencies. She got used to Svetlona wearing lipstick, and she didn't mind Manitoba's constant need to act like Indiana Jones. She was even willing to put up with Mal pushing her around, as long as she had her Mike.

She knew he was always there. He just needed a little help coming back sometimes. All Zoey had to do was scream for Mike to help her, and he would come out of it. She wanted this to all be over, so Mike could be happy, and live a normal life.

They thought that they wouldn't have to deal with this anymore, but that was before Mike had an accident at work, causing him to have a head injury. He insisted he was fine, and none of the personalities came back, but the truth is, he just didn't want to concern Zoey.

Ch. 4

Mike went through the session with his therapist, and got a prescription. He gave Zoey a small smile, as he walked over to the red-head, who had been waiting in the lobby.

"Did she prescribe you some medication?" Zoey asked, looking at the slip of paper in Mike's hand.

Mike nodded. "Hey, Zo?" he asked.

"What is it, Mike?" she replied.

"It's gonna be weird without my other personalities. I mean, I want Mal gone for sure, but the others... I've grown attached to." Mike explained.

"I know it's going to be hard for you, but I'm going to be right by your side through it all. I promise you that." Zoey said, hugging Mike.

"Thanks, Zo. I don't know what I would do with out you." Mike replied, hugging Zoey back.

The two left the psychiatrist's office, and went to get Mike's prescription filled. As they were waiting, the couple looked through the drug store. Mike picked up a squeaky toy, that was shaped like a duck, and squeaked it in Zoey's face, playfully. Zoey giggled, and lightly slapped his hand away.

"Mike!" she giggled.