He'd let Joe go.
After dedicating the last year of his life to finding - and killing - Joe Carroll, Ryan had let him live.
Mike didn't understand it.
He wouldn't have done it. He wasn't even sure he'd be able to do it ten years down the line - if Mike ever saw Mark Gray again, he'd kill him, and he knew he would.
But then again, Mike never had been able to work out what was going on in Ryan's head, what he was thinking. What he was feeling. It must have been a trait shared by the Hardy family, because Max was just as much of a puzzle to him.
…Max.
Where was Max?
He hadn't seen her since… Since the FBI turned up.
He looked around, pausing only for a second when he saw Claire walking away from Ryan and climbing into a car, before he turned the other way and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Max stood at the side of the house talking to an FBI agent.
If anyone would understand his frustration and confusion over Ryan giving Joe up to the cops, it would be Max.
He made his way towards her with a sigh, shaking his head slightly as she took a few steps forwards to meet him.
"I wouldn't have done what Ryan did, I would have shot him," he told her.
"No, you wouldn't," Max shook her head slightly. "Not now," she told him. Mike paused, looking away from her briefly.
"I'm not as good as you think I am."
"I never thought you were perfect," Max raised her eyebrows and gave him a small smile, letting out a small laugh when Mike half-smiled back at her.
How did she do that? How did she make him feel better, how did she make him feel normal with just one, simple sentence? She made him feel good again, she made him feel like the old Mike Weston, the man he'd been before Joe Carroll. Before he'd lost his friends and his colleagues, before he'd almost been killed, before Lily and before the twins…
Before his father's death.
He stared at her, and it hit him like a tonne of bricks.
She made him Mike again.
This woman who'd only been in his life a few short weeks had had more of an impact on him than anyone else he'd ever met. She gave him some semblance of his old life back, and he adored her for it. He might not be perfect, but he thought Max was pretty damn close to it.
He watched her carefully, cocking his head to the side as his eyes searched his, and he knew she was waiting for him.
He took a step closer, bowing his head slightly and almost expecting her to move away and ask him what the hell he was doing… He was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. In fact, she leaned in towards him, meeting his lips halfway in a small, uncertain kiss.
Mike pulled away after only a few second, looking down at her and biting back a smile.
"Finally!" Max grinned widely.
Mike smiled back at her, any nerves he might have had previously disappearing as he realised Max wanted this just as much as he did.
He ducked his head down, kissing her again and slipping one arm around her waist as one of her hands gently cradled his neck.
Yep, Mike thought to himself. Finally.
