WARNING #1: Spoilers for "Bag Man". WARNING #2: Allusions to spanking of an adult.
Mike had a lot of fears. He feared Bello would figure him out. He feared Briggs would find out he told Juan about his problem. He feared he could die at any moment. But what he feared the most was that he would lose the best thing in his life at the moment – Abby. He adored her, and he was getting desperate to hold onto her.
Paige and Johnny had warned him, but he had let his heart be stolen by a pretty girl with deep brown eyes and the kindest smile he'd ever seen. She was perfect in every way, and he was so afraid of losing her.
It didn't help that his mind raced with a million other thoughts every time he was with her. Briggs, Bello, Charlie, Paige, Johnny, even Jakes – they all had control of a corner of his brain. Try as he might, he just could not give Abby his full attention. And when she looked at him with tears in her eyes, accusing him again of having another girl, his heart broke. He had no choice.
"Let's go to my house."
Abby checked his face to make sure he was serious, then smiled that killer smile. "Aren't there rules against that?"
Mike bit the inside of his cheek for a moment, his brain giving him a second chance to do the right thing. "I'm not in a rule-following mood right now," he said, pushing the little voice away. Abby was more important that anything else in that moment. Even the house.
I'll just keep her downstairs. It will be fine. Mike tried to convince himself that what he was about to do wasn't really a big deal. But of course, Abby asked to see his room. Those eyes. That smile. What could he do but say yes?
Up in Mike's room, they kissed and chatted and kissed again. "We should go," Mike said, trying to cover his nerves. "I just need to use the bathroom first." He disappeared, leaving Abby alone in his room. He should have just waited until they got to the restaurant…
Abby heard a noise in the hallway and opened Mike's door a crack, just as Paige came around the corner. She quickly closed the door again and Mike reemerged from the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the panic on her face.
"Paige is in the hallway with a gun," she said, bewildered.
"Did she see you?" Mike asked, his own panic setting in. The knock on the door answered his question.
"Do you mind if I borrow your boyfriend for just a second?" Paige asked, ignoring the look of shock on Abby's face.
Mike followed her into the hall, a hand subconsciously drifting back to grip a suddenly tingling cheek he knew would soon enough feel the full brunt of what he had done. "Look, I know I made a mistake," he said, quickly jumping to his own defense. There was no way this would end well.
Paige cleared the house and Mike said goodbye to Abby, perhaps forever. Paige was waiting for him when he closed the front door and she immediately launched into a scathing lecture Mike knew he would hear again later from Briggs.
"I'm all for breaking a few rules now and then," Paige said gently, winding down, "but you've got to know which rules to break."
Mike nodded and looked away. "Are you going to tell Briggs?"
Paige gave him a sad look and turned to walk away. "I think you already know the answer to that question."
By the time the team met to set up for the op the next day, Mike could tell Briggs already knew.
"This is never going to work," Mike commented bitterly, not sure if he was talking about the op or working with a furious Briggs.
"Stick to the plan," Briggs replied, anger showing on his face.
"It's time to change it." Mike grabbed the bag full of heroin and started to leave the van.
"Stick to the plan, young man!" Briggs ordered. Mike left without looking back.
Briggs' anger had only increased by the time Mike got back to the van after telling Bello he had nothing for him. The look he gave Mike as he pushed past him sent a chill down Mike's spine. He knew he was just digging himself a deeper grave, but after seeing Caza's messenger tortured and losing Abby, he was having some difficulty caring about the trouble he was in, or the punishment that would result from it.
Twenty-four hours later, so much had happened – so much had gone wrong – that Mike figured he was in the clear. They had missed Odin again, Mike had been strangled to unconsciousness, and Briggs had saved his life. Mike bounced into Briggs' room, confident, friendly, ready for a fresh start. Uncharacteristically, Briggs was laying in bed reading.
"You up for a run?" he asked his mentor.
"Nah, not today," Briggs answered casually.
They talked for a few minutes about the man who had attacked Mike before he turned to head out for his run.
"I'm proud of you, Mike" Briggs called from his bed. Mike turned back and grinned. "But we need to talk," he added, sobering. "Close the door."
Mike obeyed, his heart pounding. He turned around slowly, trying to swallow the nervous feeling that had crept up in his stomach. "What about?" he asked. Briggs gave him a look, and Mike's eyes quickly found his feet.
"What the hell were you thinking bringing her here?" Briggs asked, the anger that had dissipated quickly returning.
Mike stood glued to the floor, still staring at his feet. His butt cheek started tingling again. "I just…" he began, searching for some explanation that wouldn't end with him bent over the table in the Com room, as if there was any other possible outcome to the conversation. "With everything that happened…" he tried again.
"Mike, we make these rules for a reason," Briggs said, having grown tired of waiting for Mike to come up with a valid excuse. "This house is sacred."
"That's what Paige said. Whatever." Mike commented under his breath.
"What?" Briggs asked angrily.
"Nothing."
Briggs studied Mike carefully. He debated internally between cutting the kid some slack and bringing the hammer down on him. Mike made the decision for him.
"Are we done here?" Mike asked suddenly, defiance flashing across his face.
"No, we are not!" Briggs roared. "You broke a major rule and now you're pissed at me? I don't care what is going on outside this house. As soon as you walk in that front door, the rules apply to you. This is for your safety, and for everyone else's. If we lose this house, we lose everything, and I'll be damned if I let you be the one to ruin this!"
Mike hung his head again, the defiance draining out of him just as quickly as it had showed up. He was suddenly very tired, the emotions of yesterday threatening to overtake him. "I'm sorry," he said, barely above a whisper. "It was a stupid thing to do. And it didn't even work."
Briggs softened a bit. "What didn't work?"
Mike looked up, tears stinging his eyes. "She broke up with me anyway."
"Aw, I'm sorry, Man. That sucks."
Mike shrugged then straightened suddenly. "I'll meet you in the Com room," he said, turning to leave.
"What for?" Briggs asked.
Mike turned back around. "Aren't you going to…punish me?" he asked, confusion showing on his face.
"Oh, I'm definitely going to punish you, but not like that. Not this time," Briggs answered.
"Why not?" Mike asked before he could stop himself. His brain immediately scolded him. What are you doing? Idiot.
Briggs sighed. "You've had a rough couple of days."
Mike nodded. He had. "So, what are you going to do to me?" he asked nervously.
Briggs grinned a bit. "For starters, consider yourself grounded until further notice. And," he continued, "remember what I told you about the Chore Wheel when you first got here?"
"Yeah," Mike answered with a sigh. "Wherever I see your name, put my name instead."
"You got it, Kiddo," Briggs answered. "Now get out of my room."
Mike looked at Briggs for a moment as if he was trying to figure something out. "Yes sir," he finally answered and made his retreat.
As soon as he was alone, Briggs pushed the blankets aside and struggled out of bed. He lifted his shirt and examined the deep bruise covering his entire left side. "Mikey, you're lucky you did this," he said quietly to the air, "because if you hadn't…" Briggs doubled over in pain, consoling himself only by imagining the equal amount of pain he'd be laying down on Mike at that very moment if he could…