So I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to write them. I blame this. post/139862030021/shematthie-insp
Mike will never admit it to anyone. They all have their assumptions about why he left and why he came back. They'll never guess the real reason and he'll never tell them. He's accepted that he'll have to keep his secret forever.
The reason he came back is the same reason he left. And it involves a certain British doctor. He'd thought that if he left it might stop and he'd come back because he realized it wasn't ever going to change. He was hopelessly in love with Neal Hudson.
He'd never said anything too afraid that he would lose his friend. But it hurt so much to see Neal with someone else. So once their residency was over he'd left. He'd thought that not seeing Neal everyday might help him to get over him. All it had done was made him miserable. He missed him so much.
So he'd made the decision to return to Angels and tell Neal how he felt. If he didn't feel the same it would be easy to leave. But he'd made his decision too late. It was obvious that Neal had feelings for Christa. Mike cared about his friend too much to interfere with something that made him happy
He made the decision to stay at Angels anyway. Angels was home. Even if he couldn't be with Neal the way he wanted being away had shown him that he'd take whatever he could get.
He'll be the best friend. The best man at his wedding. Uncle Mike to his kids. And he will never ever tell Neal about his feelings.
He'll spend the rest of his life haunted by three words. Maybe, perhaps, almost. Maybe they could have had something. Perhaps if he'd told him. He'd almost had everything he'd ever wanted.