A/N: As always thank you to everyone for the reviews, PM's, favourite story and author adds. You have all helped to make my return to writing in 2011 a memorable year.

I have had a lot of requests to have another couch scene, so as a thank you to all of you I have added one in this chapter.

Thank you to Purdy's Pal and DaisyDay for reading through parts of this for me and for brightening my days with laughter. You two as well as Jedi Skysinger and Haunted-Eternity are some of the nicest people I've ever met. I hope we'll all be friends for many more years.

Happy new year everyone

10

It was approaching midnight when Michael's phone began to ring loudly from inside his jacket pocket that was hung on the back of the sofa that he and Fiona were lounging on.

Looking down at the woman leaning against his shoulder he smiled at her when she made no attempt to move.

"Fi," he murmured when he placed a soft kiss into her hair. "I need my phone…"

"Hmmm," she yawned as she snuggled in closer to his side. "Tell them to go away."

"Fi…" he urged her again and gently shifted her weight so that he could pull his jacket around onto his lap. He looked down at her with a mock glare when she just offered him a wide smile and shifted to rest against the back of the sofa to watch him as he turned on his phone and placed it against his ear.

"Agent Pearce it's late..." he spoke into the phone while Fiona reached out for his hand, threading her fingers through his before she shuffled closer towards him again. Michael smiled down at her and bent to kiss her forehead before giving the caller his full attention. "…Okay…yes…tomorrow fine…we'll meet at the address of the warehouse I gave you. Thanks Kim…bye…"

Turning off the phone he looked down at it thoughtfully before he felt Fiona's gaze burning into him. She squeezed his fingers to gain his attention and when he tossed his phone onto the coffee table and turned to face her, she wasn't smiling.

"It's Kim now?" she asked haughtily as she sat up a little straighter.

"Uh…well…," his voice trailed off to be replaced with an uncomfortable smile when he reached for her to pull her back against him. "We should go to bed."

"Don't change the subject Michael," she told him irritably, but she didn't fight him when he moved to make her more comfortable. She knew he was trying to make her forget that certain slip of the tongue but she doubted that she could forget anything when it came to that woman. Pushing her displeasure to the back of her mind she suddenly realised that they had Madeline's family room to themselves. Madeline had gone to bed hours ago and Sam had made his excuses and left them alone when Fiona had dozed against Michael's side.

Looking down at her now, this was just like one of those times when he basked in her warmth and stole these intimate moments as he memorised every part of her. He smiled as he reached out to softly touch her arm, her warm skin sending heat through his body. In the years he had known her she had become his anchor, the one person who he felt completely at peace with above all others. It was in times like these when he didn't know anymore where she ended and he began.

She had her eyes closed but opened them again when she turned with his touch to offer him a sleepy smile. He could count on one hand the amount of times they had spent like this, but each time he fell in love with her all over again. He reached for her, this time smoothing his fingers over her forehead to chase a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Fi, go to bed," he whispered, his voice causing her to sink further into the softness of the couch.

"I'm fine right here," she insisted with a smile, but even as she spoke she was fighting off a yawn.

Michael returned her smile, his eyes silently scanning her soft features. Did she have any idea how much he loved and adored her? Reaching over her he took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle tug, pulling her over towards him.

"No you're not," he whispered.

Fiona gazed up at him adoringly and smiled before settling her head against his chest. Her hand slid down his arm, his skin grazing her fingertips gently until she reached his hand, linking their fingers together again. She loved this, she realised as she gave a contented sigh.

"I'm okay…you're here…" she whispered sleepily, even as her eyes were closing.

Michael closed his eyes briefly as his heart thundered inside his chest. This bond between them had broken through every defence, every barrier that he'd erected around himself ever since he could remember. No one had ever gotten this close to him before. No one had ever loved him enough to sacrifice their own lives like this woman had.

His eyes gazed across her features and he reached down to gently stroke a stray strand of hair from her cheek. He couldn't ever imagine a day without her by his side, and this relationship thing he had always tried to avoid, he found it far easier to slip in to than he'd realised.

She was the reason his relationship with his family had been restored. It was Fiona who had calmed him down the many times he would have blindly killed his enemies without thinking of the consequences, because he had lost all of his faith in humanity. It was her love and her guidance that kept him whole, safe and unbelievably happy.

"Fiiiiiooonnnna," Michael whispered, singsonging her name. "Go to bed."

Beside him, Fiona just smiled and kept her eyes closed. "Mmm…comfy…"

Michael couldn't help but smile as he shifted positions so that he could pull her head onto his lap. "Okay have it your way," he whispered as he bent over her to kiss her cheek. "But don't complain in the morning when you can't move because you slept on me."

"I'm with you…nothing else matters," she whispered softly as she tugged on his hand so that she could kiss his palm. Reluctant to release him, she held onto his hand with her own, wrapping her fingers around his. "Do you think we'll get through this?"

Michael swallowed the lump in his throat and his fingers stilled in her hair. Shifting her upwards he moved her so that he could lay down beneath her to pull her so she was laying flush against him, her head on his chest.

Inclining his head he kissed her forehead before he settled back down against the cushions again. He combed his fingers through the long strands of her hair with one of his hands while he stroked her back with the other.

"We can get through anything, Fi," he whispered with total conviction. "You taught me that."

000

A loud bang jarred Michael awake. Opening his eyes he blinked slowly as he took a few seconds to gather his bearings. For a few moments he fought to remember why he couldn't move until images from the night before came filtering through to his mind.

Inclining his head he looked down at Fiona's sleeping face. They must have fallen asleep sometime during the early hours while they'd laid awake talking about unimportant things. Nothing could have prepared him for the burst of love he felt cascading through his body when she stirred against him, delving her hand deeper beneath the waistband of his jeans.

For a few luxurious moments he lost himself in her warmth, letting the sensations she caused inside his body take over. Moving his fingers he suddenly realised that sometime during the night his hands had pushed her camisole above her stomach, searching for the comfort of her warm skin even in his sleep.

When he heard another crash followed by a string of expletives he suddenly realised that they had fallen asleep on his mother's couch. Shooting his hand down to Fiona's he stopped her caressing touch before she could reach her destination and brought their joined hands back up to his chest.

"Fi," he whispered softly as he shook her gently. "Fiona…"

"Mmm…" she murmured before she stretched against him. Opening her eyes she blinked the sunshine out of her eyes before she lifted her eyes up to his and smiled. "Hey…"

"Hey," he greeted, his lips turning upwards when she turned her face into his neck to place a soft kiss onto his skin.

"It can't be morning already," she yawned when she snuggled in closer to him. "Just a little longer."

Michael shook his head and smiled down at her. Even in these quiet, private moments he was in awe of her. This woman had transformed his life into everything he ever wanted and sometimes he still couldn't understand how he had become so fortunate to have her in his life.

Opening her eyes again, Fiona lifted her head and began placing tiny little kisses on the underside of his chin, trailing her lips down his throat until she made the journey back upwards to capture his mouth before he could stop her.

Michael was lost. In the back of his mind he knew he was supposed to be telling her to stop but her kisses were intoxicating. This woman was able to scatter his mind into sexual overdrive just by her touch alone, controlling his every action and making his logical thoughts melt into nothing but her. Opening his mouth beneath hers he sighed with contentment when she deepened their kiss.

He plunged his tongue into her depths, his aching need for her drowning out how wrong it was to be doing this here, but he couldn't seem to stop. Her hands clawed at his shirt, her fingers desperately trying to pull him closer to her, and he complied with her fully, his own body's response to hers causing him to forget where he was.

Fiona was drowning in him, her thoughts scattered in a thousand different directions as she gave in to her aching desire. Their tongues duelled in a passionate frenzy and she was faintly aware of pushing him down further into the couch…couch?

Passion clouded her senses when the brief thought of where they were disappeared from her mind. When she felt one of his hands leave her waist to slide around to her stomach and find its way beneath her shirt, every other thought melted away. Her body trembled in anticipation as his fingers danced across her skin until a loud cough brought Michael's hands to a standstill.

"Oh…" Madeline's shocked voice caused their kiss to come to an abrupt end when they tore their lips apart.

Fiona's mind was fogged in desire and she was struggling to think of a reason why Madeline was in their bedroom when she suddenly realised where they were. Her mouth opened in embarrassment as a deep crimson blush spread across her face. Turning her head she buried her face into Michael's neck, trying to hide.

"Mom," Michael choked out her name and held onto Fiona before she could scramble off of him. "We were…uh…"

"I can see that," Madeline beamed as she averted her eyes to the photographs on the wall. "I was just going to tell you there's a pot of coffee in the kitchen…"

"Thanks Madeline," Fiona's muffled voice sounded foreign to her own ears when she forced the words from her lips. She kept her face turned into Michael's neck knowing she wouldn't be able to meet the older woman's eyes.

"I'm going to go back to my room," Madeline told them with a wide smile as she stepped away. Turning back to them before she reached the door she couldn't resist teasing them a little when she saw Fiona clutching Michael's shirt. "I'll be taking a long bath…maybe I'll take half an hour…"

"Mom—"

"Half an hour," she called as she turned away from them, leaving the blushing couple to cling on to each other for support.

"Oh nooooo," Fiona groaned into his neck, her heart racing inside her chest. "I'll never be able to look at your mother again…"

"One more minute and she would have seen—"

Fiona lifted her face away from his neck and looked up at him in disbelief. Moving her hand up to his mouth she covered his lips with her fingers. "Don't even go there," she warned as she slowly started to push herself upwards and off of him.

When she pulled away from him he reached for her, his fingertips gliding along her retreating arms. His body still craved her touch and he was more than a little tempted to pick her up in his arms and carry her into his old bedroom but he doubted she would appreciate his mother knowing exactly what they would be doing. So instead he watched her in silence, casting her an appreciative gaze as she stretched.

Fiona moved to the edge of the couch and sat down beside his thighs before she turned her head to smile down at him. She loved this man so much and there were so many times when all she wanted to do was say those forbidden three words just once when he was awake to hear them.

Patting his leg she stood up and reached out a hand to pull him up and off of the couch. Ignoring his protests she grinned down at him and held onto his hands when he stood up to face her.

Michael gazed down at her in awe. He couldn't believe how someone who had spent the night sleeping on a cramped couch could look so completely stunning. Some kind of male pride came over him when he reminded himself that this woman; this beautiful, perfect woman had chosen to spend her life with him. Lifting their joined hands to his lips he kept his eyes focused on her when he placed a kiss onto her knuckles.

"Michael," she whispered his name when the touch of his lips against her skin relit the fire in her eyes.

"Would you two get a room already," Sam groused when he came into the family room holding a hand to his head.

With a soft groan Fiona leaned her forehead against Michael's chest before closing her eyes in frustration. All of these interruptions were causing chaos inside her but she pushed her annoyance away when she lifted her head.

"Morning Sam," Fiona forced a smile to her lips as she reluctantly released Michael's hands to breeze across to the kitchen.

"Oh look at you miss perky," he groaned. "I tell ya Mikey your ma's got the loudest snoring problem I've ever heard. I thought the paint was gonna start peeling off the walls!"

"Really?" Michael smirked as his eyes sought out the woman in the kitchen again. "I hadn't noticed."

"Hadn't noticed?" Sam asked in disbelief when he followed Michael towards the kitchen. "I was across the hall and I heard her! How could ya not notice? I swear a fog horn is quieter…"

"We didn't hear anything," Fiona told him with a shrug when she handed Michael a mug of coffee before passing one to him too. Moving back to her boyfriend she turned his arm so that she could see his watch and sighed. "I'd better get washed up if we're going to make that meeting with Pearce."

"Wait…meeting?" Sam asked in surprise when he looked down at his coffee with distaste. Placing it onto the kitchen counter top he walked around to the fridge to pull out a beer. "What meeting?"

"Pearce called last night after you turned in," Michael told him when he held his mug out to Fiona. She took it from him and took a mouthful before passing it back to him with a grateful smile. "She's got some information for us."

"Well look guys maybe I should be the one to go with ya Mikey—" Holding his hands up when Fiona shot him a dangerous glare he looked to Michael for support. "I'm just sayin' that Fi can be a little intimidatin' and Pearce well…"

Michael put his mug down and caught Fiona's arm before she could storm towards his friend and brought her around to face him. "I need you to look out for my mom."

"Michael—"

"No Fi listen to me. You're the only one she'll listen to and if Raines has sent someone, then I need to know my you and my mom are safe…"

"I don't need you to be my white knight Michael," she snapped haughtily. "I can take care of myself; I've been doing it a long time."

"That's why I want you to stay here. Lock her in if you have to, just keep her in the house until Sam and I get back…" moving towards her he smoothed his hands up and over her shoulders, stroking her skin with his thumbs. "Please Fi…you're the only one I trust enough to keep her safe..."

Fiona sighed heavily; she had never been able to resist those eyes of his. His lips turned upwards into a slight smile and for a few seconds she thought about kissing that smile off of his face but being caught once already quashed that idea.

"Okay," she groused. "But I swear Michael if you so much as let that woman touch you I swear I'll—"

"I won't," he grinned. "It'll be a quick in and out…"

"You are not helping your case, Michael," she growled when he retreated towards the back door with Sam in tow.

"I'll stop by the loft to change and then go to the meeting," he told her quickly before he and Sam disappeared.

"You'd better," she sighed, speaking into empty space when the door swung closed behind them.

Folding her arms across her chest she looked around the kitchen and sighed heavily before she rooted through Madeline's cupboard to pull out a box of herbal tea that she kept here. Clicking on the kettle she leaned against the counter dejectedly as she waited for it to boil…

000

Sam looked down at his watch for the third time in five minutes. Reaching for his beer he lifted it to his lips and took a long gulp before banging the bottle onto the table.

"I don't like this, Mikey."

"She's only a couple of minutes late, Sam. She'll be here," Michael told him with a heavy sigh. Sometimes he wondered which one of his friends was the most impatient, Fiona or Sam, but before he could tell the older man to drink his beer, Agent Pearce appeared at their table.

"Hi," she nodded to him as she sat down. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," Michael told her before he shot Sam a warning glance. "What did you find out?"

"What no welcome drink?" she asked with a smile but it slipped from her face when Sam slammed his bottle back onto the table to stare at her. "Okaaay…"

"Fi's my friend," Sam told her, keeping his tone light. "I'm just here to make sure you don't get all touchy feely with my buddy here."

"Sam—"

"What?" Sam looked across at Michael who was shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "I'm just looking out for ya brother...cuz y'know Fi'll kill ya!"

"Look," Pearce shook her head and swallowed the uneasiness that had crept over her. Taking a folder out of her bag she pushed it across the table towards Michael. "I managed to pull Raines' phone records for the past three weeks."

Michael opened the folder and looked down at the list of numbers that were highlighted in yellow marker. Looking back up at her he shrugged his shoulders in frustration. "Is this supposed to mean something to me?"

"Raines has called one number three times since yesterday," she told him as she pointed to the yellow highlighted number. "The phone calls lasted for a total of five minutes each."

Sam regarded Agent Pearce dubiously as he leaned against the table, "Yeah, but that could be a friend or—"

"I traced the number to a cell phone that was registered to a woman," Pearce told him, cutting through his words as she reached into her bag to pull out another file and took out a photocopied sheet of bank records. Laying them onto the table she pointed to a large cash deposit that had been placed into the account the day before.

"Normally this wouldn't cause suspicion but it's the woman's personal relationship with you that caught my attention. My guess is that Raines knows enough about your relationship with Miss Glenanne to have specific details that this woman has been unaware of until now," Pearce looked to Michael, waiting for any kind of reaction but all she got from him was confusion.

"Personal?" He asked as he shook his head irritably. "Agent Pearce I am slowly running out of patience…"

Pushing the top paper aside, Pearce pointed to a name highlighted in red and moved it towards him. "The phone number and bank account belong to this woman… "

Michael's eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open as he snatched the paper off of the table. Pushing his chair back he stood up before grabbing his phone to punch in a number he knew by heart. Lifting it to his ear he struggled to hear the connection through his pounding heartbeat.

"Mike?" Sam asked worriedly, already getting to his feet. When Michael shoved the sheet of paper towards him, he looked down at it and shook his head as his mouth gaped open in shock. "Jeeze…Mike this is—"

"FI…PICK UP DAMMIT..." Michael practically yelled into the phone when it went straight to voice mail. Casting his friend a frantic look he could already hear the waver in his own voice as he headed towards the door. "She's not answering."

"Right behind ya brother," Sam told him as he cast a brief thanks back to Agent Pearce before he shot after his friend.

Kim Pearce watched their retreating forms before she leaned across the table and gathered the discarded telephone records. Looking down at the number again, she remembered the file that she had read on this woman. By all accounts she had disappeared off of the grid three years ago with her young son and she doubted it was just the money that had lured her back.

Standing up, she placed the folder back into her bag and raced out of the door. If the reason behind Samantha Kees' return was indeed vengeance, then Michael could use all the help he could get…

000

Fiona sighed and flicked through the pages of the woman's magazine that she'd already read through three times. Glancing up at the clock she shook her head and sighed again before tossing the magazine aside and stood up from the kitchen chair.

Checking that both the front and back door's were still locked she turned and made her way towards the bathroom, her baby sitting duties already wearing a little thin.

Stopping outside the bathroom door she knocked on the hard wood and stood back to fold her arms across her chest.

"MADELINE," she called before banging on the door again. "You've been in there for over an hour…are you okay?"

When she got no response she banged on the door again and tried the handle. When it turned in her hand her senses sparked into high alert and she looked back towards a large flower pot that she'd given Michael's mother as a Christmas gift and pulled out a gun. She knew better than to go into the bathroom with her gun drawn, especially if Madeline had only dozed off, so she cocked it and held it downwards before tentatively nudging the door. "Madeline, I'm coming in okay."

Pushing the door open she cautiously pushed it ajar and prepared herself for having to cover her eyes. Madeline was known for taking her long baths but surely even she couldn't last out for over an hour.

"Okay Madeline," Fiona sighed as she opened the door to step fully inside. "I warned you…You really need to—"

Before she could register what was happening something caught her in the chest causing her knees to buckle and her body to spasm erratically. The gun fell from her fingers as she fought for control. Her breath came in rasping gasps as she tried to fight the electricity pulsing throughout her body but she couldn't seem to move. When she fell to the floor her eyes caught sight of Madeline's prone body slumped against the wall, before her world turned black…

TBC