Summary: Three years post 7x02 Michael Westen returns to Miami with only one thing on his mind, Fiona. But he's not the only one coming home. AU.

Author's Note: To be honest, this story was a little outside my comfort zone because the complexity of the characters but once I get an idea in my head, I need to write it. Enjoy and be sure to review, favorite, follow, and all that good stuff.

Need to Knows: Read before starting this CHAPTER

-I'm not really sure about this chapter so be warned.
-This chapter isn't nearly as long as I'd like it to be but it's been a real long time since I posted and I started a new job so I'd rather post this half than keep you waiting x amount of days.
-I tried to stay true to the characters but I'm out of my comfort zone. Hope I don't disappoint.

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xTie on Wings
presents
The Fallen Apple
A Burn Notice Fan-Fiction
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Chapter Seven: Confession

Throughout her life people often questioned her as to why she found it so hard to love. Why was she so cold? Why did she feel the need to be so guarded when it came to affairs of the heart? Some assumed it was the death of her sister, others blamed it on Michael Westen, but, in truth, it was all because of the boy standing in front of her, Thatcher O'Connor. He was the one thing on this Earth she loved so completely, so irrefutably, and she had to let him go. She had to let go a piece of her heart so immense, that giving any more of it risked its extinction. But now that Thatcher had returned would the pieces of her heart be restored, or had he returned to take the rest?

It's the question that she asks herself as he takes a seat on the opposite side of the coffee table, a strategic barrier placed between them. That wasn't the only strategic move he made; she also notices the way his eyes scan across the room pausing at each door, noting each exit. She'd of been impressed with his security measures, except they were taken against her causing her to fear that his return to them was nothing but a mirage that'd disappear again.

He catches the uneasiness in her gaze mistakes its reasoning. Letting the edge of his lip curl into a miniscule smile of reassurance, he says, "Don't worry, Glenanne. This isn't one of those keep-your-friends-close-enemies-closer scenarios." He sees not only the uneasiness vanish but something new emerge in her gaze, something he couldn't quite place but knew it made him feel uneasy so he adds. "With that being said, this isn't an I-need-mommy-and-daddy moment either. I guess what I am trying to say is I promise to make an effort not to hate you, to be civil, and no more friendly fire. But, only if you maintain some semblance of professionalism, to treat me as one of your clients and not the long lost son returned. Do we have a deal?"

The horrors of Frank Westen's parenting, the scars that are embedded deep within him, made the possibility of being a parent terrifying. He wasn't against being a father to Thatcher; if anything he was determined to give his son everything his father didn't… and one of those things was trust. He didn't know Thatcher enough to know what's best, so he trusted Thatcher did.

"Alright," Michael says, looking to Fiona to see if she'd be willing to surrender this battle in the hopes of winning the war.

And she wants to. She opens her mouth, but, for a few seconds, no words come out. It's like something is stopping her from her follow through and she realizes, it's the word client. He wanted her and Michael to see him as a client but all she could think of was all the clients she'd seen as him over the years.

It all started when they helped Kenny and his son Jack [Burn Notice 2x10]. Kenny had lost his savings in a scam after investing in a false miracle drug for Jack. Something within her that laid dormant manifested, that maternal instinct to protect… the passion, the ferociousness… everything that made a momma bear protecting her cub she was during those kinds of cases.

She wants to explain to him where her head is, what their clients mean to them, but when she finally looks up at him, sees the exhaustion in his face waging war with the willingness to fight her protests, she know she cannot deny him his request.

"Okay."

And the moment she signs off, he jumps into strategy, "What we're going to want to do is utilize the element of surprise and the best way to ascertain—"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Michael responds, stopping Thatcher in his tracks. If he wanted to be treated like a client, then he'd have to answer questions like a client. "Before we talk countermeasures we need to know who's after you and why."

She realizes Thatcher's hesitancy to go forward with the discussion, so she decides to guide him into the conversation. "Does it have to do with Tommy?"

Lungs filled with misery barely manage to push out a question, hoping not to give too much away. "What do you know about Tommy?"

Glass. The relationship was like glass but each parent saw it differently. Fiona sees it as a fragile thing, very delicate and treated it as if it might break and he agreed with it needing a delicate touch but Michael knew it was already broken. The best they could do was try to piece the glass back together into a mosaic.

"We know you are wanted for his murder," Michael answers after a moment's hesitation.

The conclusion they'd done their research is drawn and he wishes he could fault them but he'd done his homework too. He'd spent years reading intel file after intel file as religiously as one would read the morning paper. He smiles slightly, the edge of his lip turning up and a slight chuckle slips at the irony of the situation but the phenomenon is gone almost as quickly as it appeared, the realization that they needed his version of the truth if he wanted their protection striking with full force.

"Most people preach that revenge and justice are two different things and Tommy agreed but what he failed to mention was that vengeance was bad. He told me that I could let the person that incinerated my family away with a slap on the wrist or I could make sure they never hurt anyone again. The choice was simple but turns out it wasn't my revenge he was training me for. It was his. He killed them to get me and got me to get to you."

All the truths he'd been long afraid to divulge exploded from his lips… Finally, someone cared enough to know his truth but the moment he'd let it all out, he lifted his head to meet their gaze and saw a reaction he didn't see coming: guilt. His little recount of his life story was supposed to help them understand that he wasn't a monster, that there was still some humanity left in him and it may have worked too well because he'd become a victim in their eyes.

And they'd become the monsters.

Michael thinks of the chain reaction that'd started when he abandoned Fiona… the possibility that if he hadn't left Fiona, she'd have told him about Thatcher, an innocent family wouldn't have lost their lives, Thatcher would have grown up knowing he was loved and safe. But the turmoil within was nothing compared to the heartbreak Fiona found herself entrenched in. Knowing the woman she loved like her sister- the girl that reminded her of Claire in a million and one ways- was dead already shook her to her core but knowing Tommy killed her as a means to an end… that her death was nothing more than a causality of vendetta tore through her. And that was before she considered the ramifications it had on Thatcher- the loss of his childhood and the darkness of hatred fueled by loss that entrenched his heart….

"Stop it," barked a sharp tone slicing through their trains of thought and gaining their attention. "I'm not telling you what happened so you'll feel guilty. You just needed to understand why you killed Tommy so you can understand why Tommy's son Phineas wants me dead."

"Because you killed his father," Michael rationalized.

"No. It was because Phineas didn't know his father's true motive. He thought I was being groomed to take over the family business which caused him to harbor resentment towards me. Me killing Phin was just the excuse he needed to kill me. He would've to if…"

He stopped abruptly, lips snapped shut to stop his no holds barred confession. He'd confessed to murder, given more insight to his life than ever, and yet, his instinct was to keep Alanna from them… to protect her.

Seeing the haze of emotion in his eyes as seconds ticked by, Michael decided to reel him back into the conversation, "If what, Thatcher?"

"Doesn't matter. I escaped and lived to fight another day," he quickly responds.

The thought of pressing for more details crossed her mind but she quickly realized how delicate the bridge they'd been building was and if she didn't tread lightly, the whole thing would collapse. Besides her head was already spinning from everything else he'd said that she didn't know how much more she could take.

"And now that everyone's caught up, can we continue?"

To Be Continued…