Title: Stay With Me
Author: i luv ewansmile
Summary: Michael keeps a promise he made to Fiona, just not in the way that she expected. Warning: Character Death
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Burn Notice. This is just for fun, not for profit. I promise to put them back when I'm done playing with them.
Author's Note: This is a one-shot. I've been struggling with writing "Drowning" so I decided to take a break and I had the idea for this story so I went ahead and wrote it. Please leave a review on your way out. Thank you.
A soft knock on her door alerts her to Sam's presence outside her apartment. "Hey Sam," she greets him letting him in, "Any word from Michael?"
Ever since Michael's burn notice was lifted and he was reinstated as a spy and traveling the world working again for the government, Fiona has relied on Sam to get word to and from Michael via his channels of friends. The last that they heard was that after his current mission he'd be coming home for some leave.
Fiona goes to the fridge to get Sam a beer but she pops her head up from behind the fridge door after Sam remains quite. "Sam?" She questions, and upon the look on his face her grip on the beer bottle she holds in her hand goes slack and the bottle shatters on the kitchen floor.
"He's not coming home Fiona." Sam's words hit her like an assault rifle straight to her chest. She jerks at the words, closing her eyes as she stumbles, losing her grip on the world, sliding down to the floor as her knees go weak.
She should feel angry, but all she can do is close her eyes against the hot tears leaking from her eyes. She shouldn't believe him but she had already known in her heart that something was wrong, so terribly wrong.
She trembles at Sam's touch as he eases her up off the floor and brushes the splinters of glass off her. His strong arms easily pick her up and place her on her couch.
"Fiona," Sam's voice is gruff but persistent, "Fiona, listen to me, that's not exactly what I meant."
"What?" Fiona's voice is barely above a whisper.
"He-" Sam starts, "He's been injured. It's not good. They can't transport him home."
Her eyes light up in hope, she demands, "Where is he?"
"I- I don't know. They can't tell me." Sam's breath hitches in anger.
"Can't or won't?" Fiona regains her voice and yells out, pleading, "I need to see him! I have to be there for him! He needs me!" Her chest heaves as she fights to gain control of her emotions. "And I need him," she adds softly.
"You can't." Sam replies simply.
"Damn it Sam!" She fumes, her mind racing, "Why even tell me if you can't help me get to him?" She accuses.
Sam's brown eyes look away from her penetrating stare. He takes a deep shaky breath before turning to look at her, his eyes locking onto hers, and Fiona's heart seems to drop to her feet, "Because, they don't expect him to make it through the night."
Sam drives her to Madeline's so that they can be together. Madeline wasn't taking the news well but Sam was more worried about Fi. She was uncharacteristically quiet. She had stopped crying and now sat starring at the framed picture of her and Michael that she held in her hands.
"He promised me." She says softly. Sam looks at her with a solemn face. Madeline ceases fumbling with her cigarette lighter. They both wait for Fiona to continue but instead of saying more she walks out of the house through the back door, and down the steps.
Sam and Madeline stare at each other blankly before a gunshot is heard and has them jumping and running to the back yard.
Sam reaches the back door first and he thrusts it open and it bangs against the house. Fiona snaps around startled and fires a shot off at his head that misses and hits the wooden paneling.
"Shit Fi! Stop!" He yells, and in one fluid motion swipes the gun out of her hands. She tries to punch him in the face but he grabs her arms easily as she seems to have lost all the fight in her.
She pounds weakly against his chest, sobbing, "He promised me he wouldn't do this! He promised me he would be here! That he would never leave me! Not now! How could he break that promise? He won't be here when…" She breaks down, crying broken heartedly, her words muffled.
But Sam had heard enough to piece together the rest and apparently so had Madeline because Sam hears her gasp.
Sam takes Fiona by the shoulders and holds her away from her so he can see her face when he asks, "Fiona, are you telling me you are pregnant with Michael's child?"
"It's our child! He's supposed to be here!" She screams and Sam clutches her to him, wrapping his arms around her, gently rocking her as he stares shocked past her shoulder to Madeline whose face has blanched.
"He knew." Sam states in understanding but Fi nods yes into his chest.
"Damn," Sam sighs, "that's why he took this high risk mission, he made a deal with them so he could have a long enough leave to be here with you. High risk, high reward… high price to pay."
Fiona goes still in his arms and Sam realizes what he's just said. Sam prepares to defend himself from the oncoming attack but he's unprepared for Fiona's words.
"I killed him. This is my fault. I sent him to his death." Fiona states in a rush of words.
Madeline steps in and pulls Fiona to her, "No honey," she says confidently even though fresh tears slowly spill down her face, "He loved you, loves you," she clears her throat as she corrects herself. "He's not dead yet."
"Sam! Come on!" Madeline yells, pulling both of them to her car.
"Where are we going?" Sam asks confused.
"To find out where my son is and bring him home!" She proclaims as she cranks the car and slams the transmission into gear.
It took every favor that Sam ever had and every threat that he could manage to fabricate but within the hour he had found his answer.
Sam paced the floor waiting. Madeline and Fiona sat huddled together waiting. The door swings open and a man in a black suit gestures for them to come in. They are brought to a conference room with a long table with a phone in the center with the speaker turned on, and a large flat screen TV on the wall with a fuzzy static imagine that suddenly clears to reveal a live feed of their loved one.
"Michael!" Fiona gasps seeing him as he struggles to breathe.
"Move closer to the camera," the man in the suit urges and Fiona, followed by Madeline and finally Sam move to stand in front of the TV with a webcam perched on top.
A look of recognition flashes in Michael's eyes and instantly Fiona can read the emotions laced in his face.
"You promised," Fiona accuses softly, her heart breaking as she sees the pain each breath causes him.
"I'm… sorry…" He barely manages.
"No you're not," she accuses. Michael's eyes flutter close for a second and Fiona's accusation dies upon her lips, instead she tells him, "Stay with me Michael. I can't do this alone." His eyes flicker open at the sound of her voice and she can see that he's trying, "Please, please stay with me," she pleads and places her hand upon the TV screen. Her tiny body shakes with emotion as she tells him, "I need you Michael. We need you."
"I'll… always… be… with… you… I… love… you... Fiona…" And with those last words, Michael Westen takes his last breath, the monitor flat lines and alarms go off. The screen cuts to static and Fiona's scream of "No!" pierces the silence.
Epilogue
The nurse walks in with a precious bundle held in her arms. Fiona holds her arms out and takes the precious child and pulls him close to her chest. She gazes down at the tiny being, her lips part into a sad smile. "Have you picked out a name for him? The nurse asks softly. Fiona gazes into the baby's face watching as the newborn seems to look right back at her with an inquisitive look upon her face. She smiles, and replies, "Michael, just like his daddy."
Madeline sits beside Fiona on the hospital bed and smiles down at her grandson as his petite fingers wrap around her index finger, "He's strong," she laughs, already smitten with her grandbaby. Sam stands on Fi's other side, "Hey little Mikey, you can call me Uncle Sam." Fiona and Madeline burst out laughing as Michael Westen Jr. makes an unhappy face before grinning at the laughter.
Michael was right. He had kept his promise to never leave her, for he left a piece of himself with Fiona, the greatest gift he could ever give to her, a son of their own.
The End