Part I

Paige had to be here. Had to be alive. Her not being alive wasn't an option. He couldn't even begin to imagine what his life would be like without Paige. But worrying about that now was a waste of time. Because she was alive. He could feel it. If she wasn't, he'd know it.

Room after room was filled with Tinker Bells. Young Eastern European women.

Scared.

Bruised.

Battered.

His heart ached for each of them. Once he made sure they weren't in immediate danger, he left them with another agent before moving onto the next room.

Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was her face. If he had slept the past few days, the photograph he had intercepted of Paige would've haunted his dreams.

Scared.

Alone.

Vulnerable.

All words he didn't associate with Paige. But she had been covering her breasts in the photo and he had no clue what hell she had endured in the past seventy-two hours. Didn't know if she was safe.

Violated.

Beaten.

Alive.

She had to be alive.

Because there was no way he could deal with the alternative. It made him sick to his stomach to think that someone touched her.

Hurt her.

Raped her.

The bile rose up in the back of his throat as every worst case scenario flashed through his mind. The only peace of mind that he had was that a balloon hadn't ruptured in her. That she hadn't suffered the same tragic fate as the girl in the bus station. And the only reason he knew that was because of that damn picture.

Suddenly, Johnny's voice cut through his earpiece pulling him back to the present. "She's okay, Mikey. Second floor, end of the hall."

Okay.

Paige was okay.

Relief coursed through his veins, knowing she was here. And while he should remain professional, continue checking on all the other women, there was no way in hell that he could remain in this warehouse without seeing that Paige was safe with his own eyes.

"Keep checking the rooms, check in with Agent Tuturro," Mike called over his shoulder as he sprinted out of the room, making a beeline for the staircase. He took the stairs two at a time as he ran up them, knowing each one brought him that much closer to her.

From the doorway, he noted her disheveled clothing, the bruises on her arms and the dried blood on her hand. Other than that, she appeared fine. There was no way of telling if she had been sexually assaulted without asking, but he prayed that she hadn't been.

Paige never should've been in this situation. Once her team got pulled, he should've realized she planned to go out on her own. He knew how much these girls meant to her. He should've been there to back her up. If only she had come to him. If only he had done what she wanted and slept with Jess and get more resources to secure a team for Paige. If only Jess hadn't been so petty and only willing to give extra resources if he slept with her. If only Jakes hadn't been careless about disregarding a restraining order that his ex-wife placed on him regarding his son. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Jakes had a son. But spending the day with him got Jakes arrested when he was supposed to be following Paige. There were dozens of ways this could've played out differently and plenty of blame to go around. But he couldn't focus on that right now. Right now his focus needed to be on Paige, making sure she was really okay.

Paige spotted him in the doorway and started running towards him. Mike wrapped his arms around her tightly, never wanting to let go. "We got them, we got them all," Mike whispered, knowing she was more concerned for the Tinker Bells than herself. "Suspects are being taken in right now." As much as he wanted to go vigilante and make each one suffer the way these women had suffered, he couldn't. Maybe in some other universe on a property that wasn't crawling with federal agents. But for now, the justice system would have to suffice. Mike kissed the top of her head, "You did it." As much as he hated the risk that she took, he was proud of her.

It was as if that one kiss broke the floodgate of emotion Paige had been holding in and she broke down in his arms. He hugged her tighter as she clutched his shirt. "I got you, you're safe." He kissed her forehead, smoothing his hand over her hair. He continued to hold Paige, whispering a million and one things to her, trying to reassure her that she was safe. Remindering her that she was brave and strong. Letting her know how scared he was. Promising that everything would be okay. Reminding her how many lives she saved.

Paige pulled back slightly, looking up at him with tear filled eyes, "I wasn't thinking. I - "

Mike shook his head, refusing to let Paige blame herself. "This isn't your fault. I should've been there. I - "

"It's not yours either."

He kissed her forehead in a silent apology. He searched his eyes for any indication that something was wrong. Looking for something broken in her eyes.

Haunted.

He smiled slightly when he all he saw was exhaustion.

Stress.

Unease.

Not shame.

Brushing her blonde hair back from her face, he rested his forehead against hers, oblivious to the flurry of activity around them. But he needed to take a moment to let everything sink in.

"Not to interrupt this touching reunion, but the ambulances are here. Paige, you should get checked out, maybe go to the hospital," Johnny suggested.

"I'll take you."

"All I want to do is go home. I know it looks bad, I look bad, but they didn't - I'm okay, they didn't do anything other than hit me."

"Humor me," Mike stated, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. He wouldn't make Paige go to the hospital. If she said she wasn't sexually assaulted, he believed her. But there was no way she was leaving here without seeking some sort of medical attention.

"Fine." Paige reached for his hand and he looked down at their joined hands, suddenly aware of all the eyes on them. "Stop it."

"I didn't say anything."

"You're overthinking things. Trying to figure out if us holding hands is breaking some rule."

"You like breaking rules, don't you."

Paige gestured to herself, "Obviously."

Mike groaned, realizing he shouldn't have made a joke about her breaking rules. He hadn't even stopped to think how many rules she had broken by ingesting those heroin filled balloons and what that meant for her career. "Sorry." But she was making jokes. That had to be a good sign. If she hadn't broken down earlier, he'd be more concerned. Worried she was pretending things were perfectly fine when they weren't.

"Don't, okay? I made choices that I knew would have consequences. I'll deal, okay?"

"Not by yourself. Come on, let's get you checked out so you can get home."

Paige rested her hand on his face, lightly stroking his jaw, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me."

"I get to thank you. For not lecturing me. For finding me. For letting me break a few rules, including this one." Paige pulled him down for a kiss.

Not caring that everyone, maybe even Jess, was watching them, he kissed her back. He had been terrified the past few days. Afraid they couldn't find her. Afraid what could've happened to her during the time she had been gone. But now she was here in his arms. Caught up in the moment, it was easy to forget where they were when her body was pressed against his. Her lips on his. Her tongue sweeping through his mouth. Her hands tugging on his hair. It was easy to forget. Easy to get lost in her embrace. To break a rule.

"And I think breaking a few rules is good. You just, you gotta know which rules to break."

"I knew it!" Johnny shouted. "All this time son! I knew it! How long has this been going on?"

"None of your business, Johnny," Mike said, glancing down at Paige. "You're a bad influence on me."

Paige smiled, "Absolutely. Speaking of bad influences, you're sure there's nothing I can do to convince you to just take me home?"

"You're not going anywhere until you see an EMT."

A/N: Quote is from Bag Man.