A/N: The unthinkable happened and my ill-fated Lakers beat the Warriors. If you follow the NBA at all, you'll understand how unlikely this was. The good news is, it put me in a ridiculously good mood so I pulled this fic from the vault. Let's not talk about how I wrote this in May.

On another note, my fic views more than tripled from February 2015 to February 2016. Graceland fans where are you hiding? I'm currently working on a five part epilogue to Crazy Diamond and I'm about half-way finished with that. Hoping to start posting by the end of the month. And I'm sure I'll post something else before then.

This is set after Season 1.

"You're supposed to be pushing papers, not getting shot by drug lords," Paige admonished, smiling softly as Mike opened his eyes.

Mike blinked a few times, the haziness in his eyes was replaced with confusion as he focused in on her. "You're here."

"You got shot and I'm listed as your emergency contact," Paige explained, not exactly sure how out of it he was. He moved back to DC and was supposedly working behind a desk, so it hadn't completely surprised her that she and the rest of the agents at Graceland were still listed as his emergency contacts. What surprised her was that he was shot in the field. In Texas. "I got a call from the hospital, so here I am. I would've been here sooner, but my flight got delayed. But you're just now waking up, so pretend I've been here since they brought you in."

Mike was more than capable of handling himself in the field, she trusted that. She trusted him. He was no longer the rookie that barely survived his first day. He cheated death on more than one occasion and he could think on his feet. Mike was an incredible agent, there was no denying that, but he was supposed to be behind a desk in DC, working his way to the top, not running around in the field. She swore her heart stopped when the hospital called her to inform her that he had been shot.

It had been almost five months since Mike left and if she was being honest with herself, she'd admit to wondering what if. Wondering if she could gather the courage to just show up on his doorstep to see what would happen. She tried not to think too much about it, not wanting to delve too deep into the reasons why she was having trouble giving into that impulse. It wasn't like her nights were spent longing for Mike.

Things had been left unfinished between them, but more importantly, she just missed him.

Mike nodded, his eyes drifted shut and for a few seconds Paige wondered if he fell asleep, but his eyes opened again and he sleepily smiled at her. He nodded towards the chair on the far side of the room. "You brought me a bear?"

"Yes." Paige got up to retrieve the stuffed animal she picked up in the gift shop. "I figure it's tradition, you know? You end up in the hospital and you get a bear. I didn't bring you one last time, but I figured the one Johnny gave you could use a friend. But just one friend," Paige quietly added, hoping she would never have to give him another bear.

Mike accepted the bear from her and chuckled softly, pointing to the sunglasses the bear was wearing. "Perfect."

"Now you have a matched set," Paige said. The bear Johnny had given him last summer wore an identical shirt and sunglasses. "But this one's wearing a yellow shirt, don't get them confused."

"I won't." Mike set the bear down beside him and smiled, "I'm happy you're here."

"Charlie wanted to come too, but she's in the middle of the case and couldn't leave. I was able to push my case off on Zelanski. Briggs - "

"Zelanski?"

"Wayne, he's DEA. He - he's the new roommate."

"He's in my room?"

"You left," Paige quietly said. She didn't resent him for it. Hell, she was the one that filled out his transfer request form. Maybe there was some little part of her that had hoped he'd stay, but she didn't want to be the reason he didn't follow his dream.

Her response was met with silence and she could see Mike processing what she said. She could practically see the wheels turning in that overactive brain of his, wondering what else Zelanski took that was his, aside from his room. Not that she was his, but in a way she was and always would be, even though they had done nothing more than kiss. Just like he was always hers. No one even questioned the possibility of her not flying out to check on see him. Jakes even offered to take her to the airport and he hated going to the airport.

"Mike was shot," Paige called out when she heard someone in the hall. "He's in San Antonio."

Jakes popped in her room, "When's your flight? I can take you."

"Are you going to tell me how you got shot?" Paige asked, changing the subject.

"I have this theory about buses. The FBI confiscated a shipment of cocaine and found traces of motor oil. That has to be how this cartel is smuggling it in the US. I'm just not sure which cartel or which bus line."

"So you're just out there blindly searching? Mike, you have to be careful! You know how dangerous some of these guys can be, but - "

"I know, I just..." Mike sighed heavily, "I missed the field. I missed you."

"Mike..."

Ignoring her, he reached for her hand, "How long are you here?"

"At least a few days. I wanted to make sure you're okay." She came out here knowing his injuries weren't life threatening, but she still needed to see him.

Mike tugged on her hand, pulling her closer, "I..." his voice trailed off and his attention shifted towards the door.

Paige turned around to see what caught Mike's attention and she noticed a frantic blonde frozen in the doorway. The blonde's eyes questionably flicked towards her before meeting Mike's gaze. Picking up on the newfound tension in the room, Paige started to pull her hand away, but Mike squeezed her hand before lacing their fingers together.

Paige gave him a curious look but said nothing as she waited for Mike to introduce his friend. She shouldn't feel jealous, she had no right to feel jealous, but that didn't stop her from sizing up the other blonde. Wondering who she was and what her story was. What their story was. Paige realized this was how Mike probably felt when she mentioned Zelanski earlier. But the difference was there was nothing going on between her and Zelanski, and there was clearly something going on with Mike and this blonde even if Mike wouldn't let go of her hand, because apparently he wanted her to think there was something going on between them.

"AD Jessica Foster, this is Special Agent Paige Arkin, she's with the DEA. We..."

Paige shook her head at Mike as she laughed softly at his hesitation because he had no clue how to introduce her, especially since he was pretending there was something going on between them. Paige turned to face the other woman and ignored her impulse to claim Mike as hers, although she had a feeling that Mike wouldn't mind. She simply said, "We were at Graceland together."

"I see." AD Foster smiled tightly, "I heard you were injured and I was just coming to check on you. I can see you have things under control. Take care of yourself, Mike."

"Jess..." Mike's voice trailed off he sighed heavily. "Wait. I'm sorry."

She should probably leave to give them some privacy, but Mike didn't want her to leave and she wanted to see how things would play out. Uncomfortable, Paige stared at their joined hands, not wanting to look at the other woman or Mike during their awkward exchange. But as the seconds ticked by, the more apparent it became that she should go make a coffee run or something even though she was curious what he was sorry about. Paige pulled her hand away, "I'm going to go get some coffee."

"Paige, you don't - "

"No, you stay. I'm leaving," Jessica said. "Mike, I'll see you back in DC."

Paige waited until the door closed before turning to Mike. "Are you sleeping with her?"

"Paige, she's my boss."

"She heard you were shot and took the first flight to San Antonio."

"She was in Dallas," Mike weakly protested.

"Last summer when Jangles gutted you, Clarke called you in after Bello attacked you. I'm guessing he didn't ask how you were doing."

"We're not sleeping together," Mike said. Yet. Jessica liked him. He was lonely and he liked her enough. There was the added bonus that sleeping with his boss could do wonders for his career and in all honesty, he was tempted to sleep with her and not just because of his job. They had kissed a few times and he had almost invited her back to his place after drinks one night, but there was something that kept him from taking things further.

He hadn't realized it until now, but Paige was that reason. They shared one kiss, months ago and he was still hung up on her. He fell for her the moment he saw her on stage. The possibility of them being together was constantly in the back of his mind even if they were on opposite ends of the country. He had to know if they could ever be more than friends.

"But she wants to, doesn't she?"

"It doesn't matter. She doesn't matter. She's not you."

"Mike..."

"Don't," Mike said, reaching for her hand again. He didn't want to hear all the reasons and excuses of why they couldn't be together. He wasn't even sure if it was feasible for them to be together. He lived in DC and Paige was in LA. He wasn't even sure if he was asking her to try, but he just didn't want her dismissing the idea right away. "You said you're here for a few days, don't make any decisions. I'm not asking, I'm not even sure what I'm asking. Just..."

Paige squeezed his hand and gave him a heart stopping smile. "Get some rest, Mike. Like you said, we have a few days."

THE END