Title: Abandoned

Author: PapayaK

Category: Hurt-Comfort, whump

Spoilers: most of Season 2

Summary: Michael left. Or did he?

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just having fun.

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Abandoned – Chapter 9
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They stopped at the Doctor's house, but with one look at his patient, he climbed into the back seat with Sam and directed Fi to his clinic, where Fi was banished to the waiting room.

Fifteen minutes later, Sam came out to join her.

She looked up at him questioningly.

"I'm fine, thanks. His PA put a few 'band-aids' on me… He's back with Mike now."

"His physicians' assistant was here?"

"Yeah- he called him in. Thought he might need some help with whatever Mike needs."

Sam sat down with a heavy sigh, "Never should've gone to Terasov's…"

"You couldn't know who she really was, and anyways. It's over now."

"We hope…"

Fi had no answer to that. All along, in the back of their minds, what Hernandez had originally said had stuck with them: What if there was something else wrong? People don't just pass out for no reason. Something was wrong with Michael.

An eternity later, the doctor came out to sit with them.

He nodded, "Westin is in bad shape. But I was able to at least get some x-rays. His cracked ribs are now broken, and he managed to get himself a concussion since I saw him last…" He was scolding them.

They started to protest, but he cut them off, holding up one hand, "I don't want to know. The good news is that's all it was. He passed out from a combination of the concussion and just general weakness. I mean, seriously! Has the man had a real meal yet?"

Fi especially, looked sheepish at that.

"You two need to take better care of him. Where's his mom? I bet she can make him eat. If I remember correctly, she's the only person he's afraid of." He chuckled at the memory, "He's gonna be just fine in about a month or so. As long as he rests and keeps up on everything I told you before. The infection could still be a problem if you don't stay on top of it.
You can take him home when you're ready. I need to clean up a bit and lock up, so you've got about half an hour."

He shook their hands and left.

Sam stood and looked at Fi, "So- what are the odds that we can keep Mikey out of trouble for a month?"

She walked past him, "Hernandez is right – let's take him to Madeline's."

Sam chuckled and followed her.

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The next time he woke, Michael found himself in his old room at home. He sighed. Even now, he would much rather be in his loft than at his mom's. If he would admit it, it was mostly because he really didn't feel up to soothing her distress at his condition.

But Maddie surprised him.

She came in quietly with a bowl of soup and a glass of milk. When she had placed them on the bedside table she sat next to him and smiled gently. "I'm glad you're awake. You should eat that while it's still warm." She stood and moved to the closet to pull out extra pillows.

He painfully pulled himself to a sitting position and allowed her to arrange the pillows behind him. He was relieved and somewhat surprised when she didn't comment on how hard it was for him to accomplish such a simple thing.

She arranged another pillow on his lap as a makeshift table and handed him the soup. "Don't worry – I didn't make it." She smiled again and waited while he took a few sips. "Chicken noodle. And pretty good for a can."

She looked around at the things in his room. Michael watched her while he ate. Wondering what she was thinking.

"So, Michael…"

He braced himself and tried to arrange a comforting expression on his features.

"You've been through this kind of thing before?" she asked calmly.

He raised his eyebrows at that. It wasn't at all what he expected from her. He nodded slowly.

She nodded to herself. "Well. Physically, the doctor thinks you're going to be fine. IF you give yourself a chance to heal." He voice was just a tiny bit scolding at that.

He smiled a little, admitting that the scolding was deserved.

"I know you'll be bored, but Sam and Fi are putting together a list of approved activities for you. Sam has been buying every new lock he can get his hands on for you to practice picking, and Fiona is trying to convince me to let her set up some kind of shooting gallery in the backyard!" Maddie rolled her eyes at that. "Said you'd use silencers! Imagine!"

Michael continued to listen, another small smile quirked- he couldn't help it.

Madeline considered her son, rested her hand gently on his leg and asked quietly, "Are you going to be okay, Michael?"

His smile faded as he heard the love and concern in her voice. Suddenly he was glad they had brought him here. "Yeah, Mom, I'm gonna be okay."

She handed him his milk.

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END
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Thank-you all for sticking with it to the end. I hope you enjoyed it! Another big thank-you to everyone who reviewed!