A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews, PM's and favourite story and author adds. I really do appreciate everyone who takes time to read this. I'm sorry if I haven't been able to reply personally, RL is crazy at the moment with the kids all home for Christmas.

Huge thanks as always to Purdy's Pal and DaisyDay for reading through parts of this for me. I did think about deleting the intimate part of this but DaisyDay threatened me with things unmentionable if I did!

After the angst of the finale I know a lot of us are still very raw. I haven't been able to re watch it yet and I suspect I won't be ready for a while, so I wanted to keep this chapter all Michael and Fiona. Sam and all the angst will be back in the next chapter, I just thought we all needed a little M/F love this time.

8

Fiona's senses were on alert when Michael came to stand beside her. She had always known whenever he was near because of the way her body reacted to his presence. Her heart hammered inside her chest when he reached out to skim his fingertips over her bare arm and it took all of her self control not to just turn around and fall into him.

Swallowing the lump in her throat she closed her eyes against the welling tears in her eyes before she sniffed them back. Her emotions were creating havoc inside her and she was determined that she would never crumble before him again. Allowing him to see her at her most vulnerable had left her feeling raw and defeated, something she was unaccustomed to feeling. She hated not being in control, but her restraint was slipping away fast with every second that he stood by her side.

"Fi," he whispered her name as he stepped closer towards her, needing to feel her skin beneath his fingers. "Fiona…"

When she opened her eyes and turned to him, he couldn't stop the gasp escaping from his lips. The pain in her eyes brought his own emotions to the fore and he found himself stepping closer towards her.

"It looks like you got what you wanted," she told him softly as she tried to keep her voice from breaking.

"What do you mean?" he asked, but his words slowly died away when he looked into her eyes. Lifting one of his hands to her face he slowly traced his fingertips over her cheek to wipe the beginning of a tear away. "I've already got what I want."

"No," she sniffed as a lone tear escaped to carve a wet track over her cheek. "They want you back…"

"Fi—"

"No," she whispered brokenly as she swallowed back the emotion that ached to break free. "They want you back, Michael…and I know this is everything you've wanted ever since you were burned."

"I…" he started, his voice breaking slightly as he tried to get his words out. He swallowed hard and fought to find something to say, anything that would break the thick atmosphere around them. "It's not everything I wanted."

His words caused her heart to surge inside her chest and she fought for control as she tried to find a tiny piece of hope to cling to. Ever since he was burned he had tried everything to get back in, leaving her in the process countless times.

"I know you Michael," she told him, her voice no more than a whisper. "If Raines came through that door right now and told you all was forgiven and you could return to your job, you wouldn't think twice."

"That's not—"

"What?" she snapped. "Not true? Remember when you told me I should want for you what you wanted for yourself?"

"What?" he asked quickly, his eyes snapping to hers as she regarded him with a wide tearful gaze. If he had known back then that his words would continually come back to haunt him he would never have said them. But before he could tell her that so many things had changed she spoke again, her words taking his breath from him.

"You wanted back in. You're taking jobs with the CIA, you're going on trips with agents and now you find out that the only thing stopping you from getting back everything you lost, is me," she lowered her eyes and turned away from him to lean against the balcony. "I don't know what you want anymore."

"Fiona I want this," he shook his head in frustration but it quickly dissipated when she slowly turned around to face him. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the tears brimming in her eyes. He knew he had hurt her. They had caused each other more emotional pain than either of them dared to admit but at the same time they were bound together so tightly.

Her hand trembled as she reached for his. He was trying to show her how much he loved her, she knew that. She had never loved any man in the way she loved him, even after he had hurt her more than any other man ever had.

When her hand touched his, his eyes snapped to hers, their emotion causing her to take a breath. He was battling with his own demons and the glistening sheen in his eyes only made her love him more. She tightened her fingers, squeezing his hand in a gesture that she hoped would indicate that he still held her heart, no matter how many times he had broken it.

"I'm sorry, Fi," he whispered, his voice shaking under the intense emotions that were coursing through his body. "If I could change it all, I would. I really would."

Fiona's whole body shook as she took one step towards him to fall against his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She didn't want any more words; explanations could wait until another time. All she wanted right now was to feel him around her.

In a desperate move, Michael tightened his arms around her enclosing her in a tight embrace. Fiona moulded herself to his body, her lips seeking the soft skin of his neck. She heard him groan in surrender as he lifted his head for her to trace the line of his jaw with her tongue, enticing his own hands to roam across her back and shoulders.

Fiona gasped when his hands raked lower to the waistband of her jeans to pull her shirt up over her head. She lifted her arms, freeing herself of the retraining material that kept their bodies apart. Almost instantly his was kissing her bare shoulder, trailing hot kisses down her throat until he came back up for air.

Pulling back, he gazed down into her eyes with heated desire. No words were spoken as he walked her backwards, edging her towards their bed that beckoned for them across the room. Lips met, clashing together in a mixture of passion and pure love. Michael refused to release her, even when they reached the bed and fell into a tangled heap onto the soft mattress. His hands slid lower, unbuttoning her jeans to push them down her hips and away from her body.

Fiona's hands were on his clothes, pulling his shirt from pants to rip open his buttons, exposing his chest. She groaned as Michael's mouth attacked her neck, trapping her against the mattress. Fiona welcomed the sensations, her mouth desperate for his as she yanked his head up roughly to find his eyes before crushing his mouth to hers, taking him into sweet torturous desire as her hands came up to clasp possessively in his hair.

Her's hands fumbled blindly, their lips still locked in an earth-shattering kiss. With urgent fingers she pushed the shirt off his shoulders before moving between their bodies to pop open the button of his jeans

His mouth left hers with a gasp as he felt her hand move lower, his muttered words of passion only encouraging her further.

Closing his eyes in total submission, he helped to guide her hands, pushing his clothes away from his body only to return to his task of removing the rest of hers, his lips caressing where his touch had.

Muttered groans and whimpered words followed as they moved as one, taking each other to the brink of heaven before slowly being released to fall slowly back down to earth. Michael leaned into her body as she cried out his name in release, holding onto her until her shaking began to subside.

Floating back into awareness, he heard her say his name with such love he almost gasped with the intensity of his feelings. Holding her close to him, he delighted in the sweet sensations of her warm naked body leaning into his, slick and sated.

"Michael," she whispered into his neck, her lips caressing him as she began kissing the soft flesh until her heart began to return to some kind of normality. She loved him totally and completely, even more that she had on that very first day back in Ireland. He was everything, and no matter what happened she knew he loved her and that was worth more than any words he could ever say.

Neither could seem to draw away, their bodies still reacting to each other both needing the physical contact. His hand came up to trail his fingers across her face, loving every inch of her with his touch before his lips followed where his fingers burned to finally catch her lips again.

000

Moonlight was streaming through the windows when Fiona awoke a few hours later to feel one of Michael's arms wrapped tightly around her. Inclining her head she gazed down at his sleeping face and couldn't help the soft sigh that escaped her lips. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed and she took her time in sweeping her eyes over his features.

They had become so close over the last year that she sometimes couldn't remember the time when they were apart. It seemed so long ago since that night she had awoken in the middle of the night to find him gone. Even now after all of this time she still felt the familiar pang inside her when she found herself alone in their bed, and she knew that the insecure part of her was afraid that he would do the same thing to her again.

Michael moved in his sleep and opened his fingers wide to spread across her stomach. She suddenly felt all of the anguish of the last few days just float away when she lifted her hand to his and threaded their fingers together. It was in the quiet moments like this that she allowed herself to believe that they could actually make it through anything.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

His voice startled her, but before she could answer his question he shifted to pull her against him so that her head was nestled between his neck and shoulder. Fiona allowed herself to relax against him as she welcomed the feel of his fingertips tracing patterns over her back. These intimate moments between them were the times she cherished the most. Neither of them were very good at voicing their feelings to each other but when she felt his lips resting against her temple, the words that she was too afraid to say echoed inside her head.

Taking a breath she tried to get closer to him, needing the feel of his body against hers. Her mind was reeling from so many different scenarios, knowing that any one of them could have played out to take him away from her again. Slamming her eyes closed, she laid her lips against the soft flesh of his throat and felt the heat from his skin soothe her worries. She had faith in him, she always had.

"I'm fine," she whispered into the silence, as much to reassure herself as well as him.

Michael's eyes flickered open again and he slid his fingers over her shoulder to pull her closer in towards him. He couldn't seem to shake the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach when he thought of how close he had come to losing her again. Over the last years she had become the most important thing in his life and he didn't know if he could ever survive without her again. Inclining his head he peppered tiny kisses into her hair and breathed out her name when he shifted onto his side to face her.

The moonlight highlighted her features and he reached out to trace his fingertips over her lips. He had never felt so overwhelmed like this before. She evoked so many emotions in him that sometimes just the thought of her caused him to catch his breath. When he had met her all those years ago back in Ireland he had no idea that he could fall so hard and so fast for anyone in his life. She was everything and losing her scared him more than anything in his life.

She was the one; he'd known it all along. She was his reason for living and everything else in between. If this whole mess with Pearce had highlighted anything it was his love for the woman beside him.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered when she opened her eyes to look at him.

Fiona smiled slightly and lifted her hand to his on her face and wrapped her fingers around his. Turning her head she placed a soft kiss into his palm before tucking their joined hands beneath her chin.

"I missed you," she told him softly, her voice laden with emotion. "I…need you to know…I…"

Shuffling closer towards her, Michael placed a kiss onto her lips, taking her words from her. He knew what she was feeling because he was feeling it too. He had been away on so many operations with the CIA, and jobs with Sam, but this was the first time that he'd felt the sting of their separation.

Leaving her behind after she had been so upset had almost broken him. That was the turning point, the one moment that came around to smack his senses to make him understand that despite her personal turmoil she was still thinking of what was best for him.

"I'm here now," he whispered softly as he rested his forehead against hers.

"But for how long?" she asked, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. "It's only a matter of time before you—"

"I am not going anywhere, Fi," he told her in a whisper, his voice cutting through hers as he spoke. "We'll face Raines together."

"What are you going to say to him?" she asked softly. "He holds everything you ever wanted in his hands. All you have to do is take it."

Michael shifted slightly so that he could see her eyes. The pain in them caused him to gasp in a breath as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Fi?" he asked worriedly when she trembled against him.

"I'm okay," she lied as she sniffed back the remaining tears that threatened to tumble from her eyes. Lifting her head slightly she angled her chin so that she could look up to see the worry etched on his face. Her fingers shook as she stroked his cheek and offered him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

Michael was a man who had always kept his emotions hidden from everyone, but Fiona had always seemed to slip through his defences to see right through him. Now though, after everything they had shared he was finding it increasingly difficult to hide behind the walls that kept him concealed. Reaching out to her face, he slid his fingers across her skin and matched her smile. They would get through this just like they always had.

"We're going to be okay, Fi," he whispered into the darkness, as much to reassure himself as much as her. He felt her shift against him as she came to rest her head on his chest.

"Do you sometimes wish that things were different?" she asked quietly as she spread her fingers across his abdomen. "That we were different, like normal people?"

Swallowing hard Michael ran his fingertips over her shoulder with one hand while the other played with her hair. He hadn't seen her so overly emotional before, not like this and it was beginning to worry him. He didn't want to come out and mention his fears to her and cause her any more distress so he continued to dance his fingers over her skin as he fought to find the right words.

"Aren't we normal now?" he asked with a smile as he looked down at her head on his chest.

"Normal for who?" she whispered. "Our lives are so reckless; we can't even go out to a meal without looking over our shoulders anymore…that is when we get to go out…"

Michael's hands stilled and he moved his body so that he could pull her up to his level again. She seemed so…sad…something he was unaccustomed to seeing in her.

"What's going on Fi?" he asked her worriedly as he smoothed her hair away from her eyes. He could see her hesitation when he pressed her for a response and for a heart stopping moment he was afraid of what her answer would be.

Tears flooded her eyes when she fought the welling sadness inside her. How could she tell him that she didn't want to have any more regrets or lost opportunities in her life? She had already lost her sister without being able to tell her how sorry she was. Now her father had gone too and she was left feeling as if her whole world was crumbling in around her. If she lost Michael too she didn't know if she could survive that loss again.

"Fi?" he asked her again as his fingers brushed the beginning of a tear away from her eyes.

The love in his voice caused her walls to crack to bring a tidal wave of sorrow along with it. Slamming her eyes closed she tried desperately to stop the tears from flowing but she couldn't seem to stem the flow.

Wordlessly he wrapped his arms securely around her and held her tight against his body as she shook. He didn't know what to do. He hated to see her like this, so vulnerable and so upset. He was supposed to be the one to protect her from all of this…whatever this was she was going through.

After what seemed like hours she moved against him, keeping her body pressed firmly against his. She knew she had to tell him if only to ease his fears but she hated feeling so vulnerable. Lifting one of her hands she grasped his fingers before she took a shaky breath.

"I…I never got to say…I was…sorry," she whispered brokenly. "He died before…"

"Oh Fi," he whispered softly as he leaned down to kiss her head. Those few words were all he needed to hear before everything became clear. He knew she wasn't coping with her father's death even though she insisted she was fine. And with everything else piled on top of that, he was just surprised she hadn't broken earlier.

"I…couldn't even say…goodbye…" she shuddered. "Not even to…Claire…"

"I know," he told her as he rubbed her shoulders. "They both knew Fi. Your father knew…"

"He…said he… hated me…" she shook against his body when her voice caught on a sob. "What if…what if he…"

"He didn't hate you," he whispered softly pulling her tighter into him. His breath fanned her hair as he kissed the soft strands. "He doesn't hate you."

She was silent for a long time while she lay cocooned against him, his touch soothing her tremulous emotions. A single tear slipped down her cheek and she simply nodded against him and slipped her arms further around his body. She was so tired, both mentally and physically, and she needed his comfort more than she would ever admit. Closing her eyes against her memories, she let his touch surround her, lulling her into a dreamless sleep.

Michael's fingers absentmindedly combed through the silken strands of her hair. It was in these quiet moments when he felt so close to her. He knew she would never allow anyone but him to see her like this. She hated showing weakness and vulnerability and he knew it was because she knew she could trust him implicitly that she allowed him to see her with her defences down.

When he heard her breathing deepen, Michael's hand stilled in her hair. Shifting slightly, he glanced down into her sleeping face and felt his heart skip a beat. He watched her for a long moment, his eyes scanning every inch of her face. He knew she stirred deep feelings within him. She had the ability to turn him inside out and upside down without having to say a word. He knew that the things he'd been feeling for her for so long went far deeper than anything he'd ever felt before.

He'd once told her that he wasn't good at relationships but he'd known even when he'd spoken those words that they had been a lie. He'd always known that she was the only woman he could imagine having a lasting relationship with, but commitment had always scared him, until now.

Fiona's breath caught on a sob as she slept and he moved slightly so he could look down at her. When he couldn't see any signs of her waking he lowered his lips to her forehead and let them linger over her skin. He had never felt as close to her as he did right at this moment and he knew that no matter what excuses Reins had to offer for what he'd put her through, no excuse would be good enough.

He enclosed her against him for a long time, unwilling to relinquish his hold. Her rhythmic breathing lulled his senses until he finally lost the battle to stay awake. Blinking his eyes open he fanned his fingers over her lower back. He wanted to stay awake just in case she needed him but exhaustion crept over his body as his eyes slipped closed.

000

A few hours later, Fiona slowly opened her eyes as she tried to lull herself away from the beautiful dream that had imprinted itself into her mind. For a few moments she wondered why she couldn't move, and why her pillow was incredibly warm. Her mind wandered back over the events of the past few hours, and sudden awareness slowly started to creep over her mind. Moving her hand, she encountered a warm hand on her hip and she couldn't help but smile when she felt the man beside her react to her touch.

She stilled her movements for a moment, relishing the warmth of his body. She knew by his steady breathing that he was still asleep, and the last thing she wanted to do was leave the security of his body but she really needed the bathroom.

Michael drew in a deep breath, followed by slow stretching movements when she slid her hand over his stomach. She felt his hand dance along her side as it snaked behind to her spine, continuing to stroke her lower back. Taking every ounce of strength she could muster, Fiona slowly pushed herself off of him to sit up on the edge of the bed. Her body complained with the loss of his body heat as she slowly turned to face him.

"Hi," he murmured gravelly, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Hey," she told him softly as she leaned back towards him to kiss his lips. "Go back to sleep."

"Hmmm," he smiled sleepily, pushing himself onto his side as he reached for her.

"I'll be back in a minute," she told him softly when she leaned back towards him to place a kiss onto his lips.

"Kay," he mumbled as he laid his head back down onto the pillow, his eyes closing almost instantly.

Fiona watched him for a few moments and she couldn't seem to draw her eyes away from him. Exhaustion highlighted his features and she knew the reason was because he had taken care of her last night.

With a contented sigh she looked around the floor to see his discarded shirt in a heap by the side of the bed. Leaning forward she picked it up and slipped the material over her shoulders and stood up to watch his sleeping form for a few more moments before she turned towards the bathroom.

He was on his side facing away from her when she came back towards their bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled over at him as she slipped the shirt off of her shoulders. She could hear his deep breaths as he sank further into slumber, and when she pulled back the covers to slip into the bed to snuggle up behind him, his body moved backwards in his sleep to bring her flush against him.

Fiona smiled when she slid her fingers over his stomach as she shuffled closer. She heard his contented sigh as his hands enclosed over hers and she couldn't think of anything else that could ever come close to the beauty of this moment.

His breathing deepened when she settled behind him and when she pressed a kiss in between his shoulder blades, he didn't react. Kissing him again she kept her lips against his skin before she drew back slightly to listen for any signs that he was awake.

"I love you," she whispered softly when she was satisfied that he was still in a deep sleep. Leaning forward she kissed his skin and hummed against him. "So much…"

Her eyes closed as she let the warmth from his body seep into hers. This was how their life should have always been, she thought to herself as she allowed herself to fall back into slumber beside the man she loved.

000

The next time Fiona opened her eyes it was to a panicked Michael sitting on the edge of the bed trying to pull his jeans on. His actions were hurried and his frantic movements were jarring the mattress, making her more alert.

"Michael, what are you doing?" she asked sleepily. "Come back to bed."

"There's someone at the door," he told her as he half turned to place a quick, hard kiss onto her lips. "You stay in bed. I'll get rid of whoever it is."

"Okay," she yawned as she traced a lone finger down the length of his bare back, knowing exactly what that one brief stroke did to his body.

Michael shivered with her touch and she could already tell that he was fighting with himself to abandon his quest for his clothes to crawl back into bed with her. His movements slowed and his back arched as he tried desperately to resume pulling on his jeans without breaking contact with her fingers.

"Fi..." he groaned quietly, his warning tone holding no trace of anger. "You're not helping..."

"Sorry," she grinned, already seeing him faltering as his body seemed to follow her retreating hand. When the loud knock on the door sounded again they both groaned in frustration before Michael stood up and turned to face her. He slid the zipper up on his jeans while she watched him with a look in her eyes that he knew all too well.

"Behave," he told her with a hint of a smile.

"See, that's always been my problem," she grinned. "I never did take orders too well."

"I'm not ordering," he told her, his voice dipping to a sultry growl. "I'll be back in a minute and..."

His words seemed to die on his lips when she moved with cat like grace towards him, crawling across the bed until she was kneeling, naked, before him on the mattress. She watched his mouth open and close as she lifted both hands to lay flat on his chest.

"Fi..."

Fiona fixed him with a smouldering gaze. She loved to look into his deep blue eyes and see so much of herself mirrored back at her. It had never been like this for her before, not with anyone and that made her love for him all the more undeniable. Moving in a little closer she slid her hands up and over his bare chest until she wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck to gently pull his head down to meet his lips with her own.

Michael was lost; he knew it even before she touched him. Her lips met his and filled him with smouldering fire, igniting tiny lightning bolts within his body. She was a siren, his beloved Fiona. She could command his body to do as she willed with just one look and he was too much in love with her to even think about fighting anymore.

Just when he thought he would drown with bliss when her tongue delved into his mouth, she quickly broke away from him, breathless. The smile she gave him was filled with promises of many other things to come and he wanted nothing more than to take what she offered and ignore everything else. He moved towards her, his lips craving hers but she held her hands to his chest to stop him. Slowly, his confusion dissipated around him as his senses began to slowly return, un-fogging his brain. He looked at her, seeking an explanation and only then did he noticed that her mouth was moving.

"Go, get rid of whoever won't take the hint," she told him. "I'll keep the bed warm."

His mind swam with so many different answers, many of them wanting to ignore their annoying intruder, to push her back down onto the bed and bury himself inside her.

"Go," she told him in a whisper. "Get rid of them."

"Okay," he managed to mutter unconvincingly when he wanted nothing more than to follow her body down onto the bed. "Okay..."

Fiona smiled at him as she lay back down again and pulled the sheet up to cover her. "Hurry back."

She watched his face morph into to pure happiness, something she hadn't seen in him for as very long time. He turned away from her and headed towards the door, but when she heard him utter a name, she knew he wouldn't be coming back to bed any time soon.

"Raines…what the HELL are you doing here?"

TBC