Hayley McBride
Summary – Fiona and Michael haven't seen each other in six years until they accidentally run into each other one day and Michael discovers she had his baby. This story was inspired by the plot of "Run So Far" by Ori1but I've changed some stuff.
Michael stared in wonder at the little girl who was sitting calmly eating her morning porridge. His daughter.
"Good morning Hayley" he said to her.
"Good morning" she answered and looked down at her porridge.
"Sit with her Michael" Fiona called from the kitchen. Michael obediently sat down opposite the little girl with reddish hair and Fiona's green eyes.
"Did your Mom tell you anything about me?" he asked.
"She said I should talk to you" Hayley answered. "She said you might ask me questions."
"Was that all?" Michael prompted.
"Yep" said Hayley
"Um" Michael wasn't sure how to begin. Fiona came in and placed porridge and coffee in front of him without speaking and disappeared into the kitchen again.
"Um has your Mom told you anything about your father?" Michael asked
"Yeah I asked her why I don't have one" Hayley explained straightforwardly. "She said that he doesn't know about me." Hayley stirred some honey into her porridge then crinkled her forehead before continuing; "Taylor says his Dad knows about him, but he lives in Texas. Have you been to Texas?" she asked him.
"No I haven't" Michael answered truthfully. At this point Fiona re-entered dressed in lycra exercise pants and carrying a sports bag. She came over and kissed and hugged Hayley.
"Michael is going to look after you until I get back from work" Fiona told her
"Fi I..." Michael interjected
"You're free aren't you?" Fiona challenged aggressively.
As Michael watched Hayley eat he tried to get his head around the fact that she was really his. After she finished her breakfast she took her bowl over to the sink, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. Fi was obviously training her to be independent.
"Now we go to the park" Hayley announced.
"Sounds good" Michael agreed. He held her hand and listened to her chatter happily about school and games and animals. She was so beautiful and interesting that he was mesmerised by her. But the best part was when she fell over and hurt her knee in the park. She walked up to him and said defiantly in a very Fiona –like way;
"I'm not going to cry" and he gathered her onto his lap and held her while she did just that. His daughter. His little girl. He was surprised when she asked later in the day as they ate icecreams; "Are you going to be my new Daddy?"
"I am your Daddy Hayley" he told her. "I'm going to visit you a lot from now on" Michael was glad an opportunity to tell Hayley the true nature of their relationship had grown organically in the course of their conversation. He was a bit worried about being overdramatic. Hayley took a few minutes to process this new information before speaking.
"Will you send me a present on my birthday? Taylor's Dad sends him a present on his birthday"
"Yes" Michael answered. "What kinds of presents do you like?"
"Well I like horses" Hayley explained. "But I also like toy guns and barbies with sparkly dresses" Michael wondered if he could get her one of each.
"When is your birthday Hayley?"
"Um I don't know Michael" she said crinkling her five year old forehead in concentration. "Should I call you 'Daddy' instead of Michael?" she asked.
"Yes I'd like for you to call me Daddy" he told her.
"That's good I can tell Lilly that I have a Daddy now. Lilly's my best friend" she said.
When Fiona returned home that evening she discovered Hayley asleep with her head in Michael's lap. He was stroking her hair and gazing at his daughter in wonder.
"She's so amazing Fiona. I can't believe she's really ours" he said softly.
"Yeah she's ours" agreed Fi. "When she gets a certain stubborn look on her face I feel like I can see you staring out at me. It's creepy in an adorable sort of way"
"I'm glad I ran into you Fi" said Michael gently. He wondered what she was going to say. Would she explain her decision to disappear six years ago? Would she explain hiding his child from him for five years? Hiding her pregnancy? Or would they simply never speak of it? He knew something was coming, he just didn't know what.
"Michael are you angry with me?" she asked.
"No Fi I'm not angry" he told her honestly. He adjusted the position of Hayley's head before continuing. "I'm also not going anywhere" He added this with a challenge in his eye. "So are there any other men lurking around the place?"
"No Michael" she answered with a tired smile. You're the only one lurking"
"So you noticed me watching the house yesterday? he asked
"You were good" she countered. "I nearly didn't notice you"
"You seem softer Fi" he observed. "I think motherhood suits you"
"Well there's definitely less guns and bombs, but it has its rewards. When do you have to leave?" she asked abruptly.
"I'm on assignment. I should be here for three months."
"And then?"
"Then I'll come back. I'll ask for assignments near you. I'm serious Fi" he told her. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Michael broke it.
"If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?" He studied her face to see her reaction.
"You won't know until you bring me a ring and ask me" Fiona replied. She leant in to pick up Hayley and carried the sleeping girl down the hall to her bedroom.
Michael realised he was scared because he didn't actually know what Fiona wanted. He didn't want to lose her or his daughter, but he didn't know why Fiona had left in the first place so he didn't know how to keep her with him, how to make her stay.
"Am I on her birth certificate Fi?" he asked when she returned.
"I didn't want anyone knowing her or my real identity so Hayley's birth certificate says her parents are Anne and Michael McBride. My name's not on there either." she explained. "How's Madeline?" she asked
"She's fine" Michael said. "She still smokes all the time but I think she would like to hear from you Fi"
"How's Nate?" Fi asked choosing to ignore Michael's last comment.
"Ruth had twin girls in August. They named them Crystal and Melody. Mom hates the names but she managed to spend three days at their house without any major catastrophes."
"How's working for an agency?" she asked. "Is it everything you hoped it would be?" as she spoke she moved over to him and settled herself in his lap. There was no bitterness in her question and Michael enjoyed having her so close. He wrapped his arms around her before he answered.
"Yes and No. I enjoy the work Fi but during these past few years I've found myself missing things I didn't think I would" They both acknowledged his true meaning in silence.
"How's Sam?" Fi asked
"He's Sam" Michael answered. "He has his lady friends, he still does small jobs. I think he missed working with us for a while but then he adjusted. Life goes on"
"It certainly does" Fiona sighed. Then she got up and held out her hand for him to take. "Come on, let's go to bed."
After Michael fell asleep Fiona examined her feelings for him. She knew that she loved him and she knew that she trusted him, but would it be enough? He was the only man in the world for whom she would do anything and she trusted him not to use her or betray her, but that didn't change the fact that she had betrayed him. Michael had told her he wasn't angry and she believed him but she still felt guilty.
The following night Michael cooked dinner for Fiona and Hayley. In some ways it felt like they had always been together. After they each finished their banana split for dessert he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
"Mommy if you say 'yes' I'll have a real Daddy!" squealed Hayley.
"I'm already your real Daddy" Michael corrected her. But he didn't take his eyes off Fi's face.
"I mean you'll live with us" Hayley explained oblivious to the silent communication taking place between her parents.
"How can you want me after what I did?" Fi asked quietly. How can you not be angry Michael? If our situations were reversed I wouldn't be able to forgive you"
"They were and you did" he reminded her. He took the ring out of its box and slid it onto her ring finger.
"You're my girl Fi"
"I am" she responded. There were tears in her eyes.
After spending an hour with Hayley in her room Fiona entered her bedroom and found Michael waiting for her.
"I think we need to talk" she said as she closed the door behind her.
"About?" Michael questioned
"About how this is going to work Michael" she clarified. "I don't want to hurt our daughter with our bullshit. We need to make plans and there's stuff from the past we need to talk about too"
"Agreed" he said.
"You go first" she prompted.
Fi knew that Michael wasn't weak, but she wondered how he would cope with what she was about to dump on him"
"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant Fi? Why did you disappear?" he asked.
Fi took a breath and began her story. "Two weeks after you left for Europe I was abducted by some old...associates from Ireland"
"Oh No" Michael thought. But he kept silent.
"Michael I was tortured and raped repeatedly in what I later discovered was a Miami warehouse.
"Oh Fi...'
"Just let me finish okay?" pain and tension were easily identifiable in her voice. Michael sat back obediently and resolved not to speak until she'd explained everything.
"I managed to free myself after a month but I knew I had to leave Miami and go on the run. I kept in touch with Sam and I told him to fill you in when he saw you but..."
Michael looked down. He felt ashamed. If he had returned to Miami or even attempted to contact Sam or Fi during that time he would have realised Fi was in trouble. He could have done something! She left the sentence unfinished. "After I realised I was pregnant I dropped off the grid entirely. Sam had no idea where I was. I left him one final message asking him not to tell you what had happened to me. He didn't know I was expecting."
Michael was shocked.
"Oh Fi I would have helped you"
"Michael I didn't know if it was your baby or not" she told him sadly. "I wanted to find out before I contacted you again. I saw a doctor when I was about six months into the pregnancy. She estimated the date of conception to be the night you left, but I wasn't sure. I really wanted a DNA test but I didn't have a blood sample from you so it wasn't possible." She shrugged.
"Fi I am so sorry you had to go through that alone" he said sincerely.
"Michael I knew I had to survive. I went to call your handler a couple of times to leave you a message but I just couldn't face re-living everything again. I am so sorry" Michael was speechless. He remembered that when he'd touched her the night before he'd noticed new scars on her waist and back but he had forgotten to ask about them.
"Did you get revenge?" he asked quietly.
"Yes Sam and I killed all of them with a bomb" she told him.
"I can't believe he didn't tell me" Michael said
"I asked him not to Michael" she repeated. "I also asked him not to try and find me. I was really messed up. My family doesn't even know if I'm alive or dead"
"Are you ready to face them now Fiona?" he asked.
"Yeah" she answered listlessly. Michael wondered where his Fiona had gone. Where was the dangerous woman who would do anything to fight for the innocent and vulnerable? Why wouldn't she fight for herself?
"Come here" he invited. She lay down next to him on the bed and he stroked her hair.
"Hmm" she gave a contented whimper and cuddled up against him.
"Did I..." half of the question came out before he could stop it.
"What?" Fi asked
"Last night when we were together..." he trailed off again and she looked up at him expectantly.
"When I ..." he couldn't get the words out.
"Michael are you trying to ask me if you hurt me last night?" she inquired
"Yes. Yes I suppose that is what I'm trying to ask" he confirmed uncomfortably
"No you didn't hurt me Michael." she smiled. "Far from it in fact. Just do what you've always done, it's always worked pretty well for me" she grinned. "Do you have any complaints?" she asked cheekily.
"No Fi, never" he grinned.
They lay in pleasant silence for a few minutes before Fi broke it.
"I guess if you're asking about trauma I used to have a lot of nightmares" she said.
"So we're made for each other in more ways than one" he replied.
"Oh yeah I forgot about those nights in the loft" she said in remembrance. They both knew they were remembering the times Michael would have nightmares so bad that he would wake up sweating and pointing his gun at shadows. He closed his eyes and remembered her gentle hands on his as she would take the weapon from him and her cool lips against his ear as she would calm him with her voice.
"There have been many times over these past six years when I wished you were with me Fi" he told her.
"Wish no more" she said seductively and she closed her eyes and kissed him. He enfolded her in his arms and kissed her back. Her last conscious thought before becoming lost in him was simply "I'm home"
5
