Sorry about the late update! I just finished up the semester and took on a babysitting job, so things should be calming down around here. On the upside, I recently watched Blair Witch Project 2, and our boy Jeffrey gets nekkid in it! *evil grin* Go check it out! Enjoy this update!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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The hallway was empty, and Fiona let out a miserable sigh. "He's not here, Sam."

Sam reached out and laid a comforting hand on Fiona's arm. "We'll find him, Fi."

She wished she felt as confident as he sounded.

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Michael felt his way along the wall until his hand felt the smooth metal of a doorknob. He hesitated. What was beyond that door. A bathroom? Closet? The outside?

Finally he turned the knob slowly, and the warmth of the sunlight warmed his skin.

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Finally giving up, Fiona and Sam left the house and trudged back to the Charger. Sam was scowling.

"I'm going to have a word with my informant."

Fiona didn't respond. Sam hated the miserable look on her face. There was nothing he wanted more than to find Mike, if only so Sam could bring him back to Fiona. They were meant to be together, and Fiona wouldn't be okay until they found Michael.

Sighing, Sam turned his head and looked down the street, at the long line of houses. Two houses down, a door opened and a man emerged from inside.

The sun was bright, and Sam reflexively shielded his eyes so he could see. As the other man slowly moved further from the house, Sam's heart began to race.

It couldn't be…

The man eased forward, and Sam finally caught a glimpse of his face.

"Fiona!"

Fiona swung around to see Sam bolt across the yard. "Sam?" She ran after him. "Sam!"

She was just within reach of him when she finally saw what he was seeing, and she couldn't contain a gasp of shock. "Michael!" With a speed she didn't know she could achieve, she raced past Sam and across the lawn.

"Michael!"

Hearing his name, Michael froze. That was the voice that had haunted his dreams ever since Larry found him. But confliction filled him. Was she his girlfriend as she claimed? Or was she the killer of his wife, as Larry claimed?

Finally Fiona reached the porch where Michael was standing. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Michael…" There was a strange expression on his face, and she inched forward with her hand out until she finally was able to touch him.

Michael froze when she touched him, and his body reacted. Grabbing her wrist, he spun her around and wrapped his arm around her neck.

Fiona froze, confused and for the first time afraid of Michael. "Michael," she gasped out.

Sam came barreling up the steps. "What the hell are you doing, Mike?" he yelled. The need to protect Fiona kicked in, and he wrenched her free of Michael's grasp. Michael immediately turned and swung, but Sam was able to duck. He raced behind his friend and grabbed him in a choke hold.

"Be careful, Sam!" Fiona demanded, rubbing her own neck. She had no idea what was wrong with Michael, but she knew that Larry was the reason for it.

Sam nodded, applying pressure until Michael lost consciousness. Then he lifted his best friend's limp form into his arms and carried him to the Charger. Fiona trailed behind him.

What the hell did Larry do to him?

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Instead of going to Madeline's home or even the loft, Sam got on the phone with some of his connections while Fiona drove. He hadn't wanted to, but he'd had no choice but to drug his friend to keep him from waking up and harming himself or Fiona. By the time they were close to the loft, Sam had secured a safe house. They stopped at the loft long enough to get a few things for Fiona and Michael. Then they drove to the safe house. Sam called Madeline on the way and told her to go stay with a friend. He was grateful when she didn't argue with him.

It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at the safe house. Fiona parked and went to get their bags, while Sam got Michael out of the backseat. Fiona looked up at the house as they headed inside. It was a nice house, fairly secluded, and there were plenty of spots that would be excellent to shoot from.

Once inside, Sam laid Michael on the couch and gave him another dose of sedatives. Then he turned to Fiona. "We'll be safe here."

Fiona crossed her arms. "For how long?" They had no idea when Michael would regain his memory, or his sight. And even though he was confused, he still needed to be protected.

"For as long as we need to be here." He wouldn't let anything happen to either of his friends, even if that meant tracking Larry down and killing him with his bare hands.

Sighing, she nodded. "Okay. Then we should get him upstairs."

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When Larry got to the house, right away he felt that something was off. He reached for his gun as he moved further into the house.

"Kid? Where are you?"

There was no response, and he quickly moved down the hall, to the bedroom where he had been keeping Michael. Hopefully he was just asleep.

He pushed the door open, and his blood began to boil when he didn't see Michael anywhere in the room.

"Son of a bitch!"

Turning around, he ran back out of the room. He had an idea of what was going on, and if he was right, there would be a lot of blood spilled very soon.

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After settling Michael in the bed upstairs, Fiona and Sam went back downstairs and into the kitchen.

Sam looked in the refrigerator and smiled. His contact had stocked the entire kitchen, and he grabbed a beer.

Fiona watched him, but her mind was on the man upstairs. Her throat still ached from Michael's earlier grip, but she couldn't be mad at him. Larry must have told him something terrible. As soon as he regained consciousness, she would have to figure out how to fix whatever damage had been done.

Sam drank half of his beer, then looked at Fiona. "Want to talk about it, Fi?"

"I'm just thinking about Michael." She absently touched her neck.

Seeing her touch her neck, he reached into the freezer and grabbed a bag of frozen peas. Then he wrapped them in a towel and gently held it against her neck.

She started to pull away, but Sam gently grasped her arm. Sighing, she resigned herself and allowed him to tend to her bruises.

"What are you planning to do when he wakes up?"

Fiona shrugged slightly. "Talk to him. Larry must have told him something. He never would have done that otherwise."

"Are you sure you can handle him?"

"Of course I can, Sam." Sighing, she finally pulled away and leaned against the counter.

Sam nodded and resumed nursing his beer.

"I'm going to check on him." Without waiting for Sam's response, Fiona put down the frozen peas and hurried upstairs, to the bedroom where they had settled Michael. Michael was still unconscious in the bed, but Fiona couldn't resist running her fingers through his thick hair. Despite the fact that he'd bruised her throat, she was thankful to have him back with her, and she would die before she let Larry get his slimy hands on him again.

He stirred and groaned softly under her touch.

"Shh, Michael…" Leaning over, she kissed her forehead.

When her lips made contact with his skin, he settled down again and let out a soft sigh.

Fiona smiled. He was back…

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A few hours later, Fiona finally came back downstairs. Sam was sitting on the couch in the living room, a beer in his hand as he aimlessly channel-surfed. Fiona sat down beside him and crossed her legs.

Sam looked at her when she sat down beside him. "How's our boy?"

"Still sleeping."

Sam nodded. "He needs the rest."

He turned his attention back to the TV, but a few moments later, Fiona spoke again.

"I'm worried about him, Sam."

Setting his beer down, Sam turned the TV off. Then he turned toward Fiona, his eyes caring and honest. "He's going to be okay, Fi." Michael would be okay, because he had to be.

"How can you know that?"

"Because I do." He shifted closer to her. "Look, Fi, Mikey's my best friend. And he's the closest thing to a brother that I've got." He gave her a smile. "And because he loves you, you're a part of him. So I guess you could say that I see you as my sister."

Fiona's mouth relaxed into a smile. "That's sweet, Sam."

"Yeah, well…" Sam extended an arm.

Taking his invitation, she leaned into him for a comforting hug. She and Sam fought like hell with each other, but they would both fight like hell for each other any day.

He hugged her tight and rested his head lightly against hers. It would be hard, but as long as they had each other, they could get Mikey through this. Everything would work out.

It had to.

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When Michael finally woke up again, he wasn't sure where he was. His head was pounding and his mouth was dry. He blinked slowly in the vain hope that he would be able to see, but just as before, he couldn't. Moving slowly, he sat up and pushed away the blankets that covered him. He expected to hear Larry's voice, but then he remembered what had happened the day before, and he tensed. Where was he?

The soft sound of tentative footsteps reached his sharp ears. "Who's there?" he called out quietly.

"Hey, buddy. It's Sam."

Michael remembered this man, but he was still full of conflicting emotions. Who could he trust?

He suddenly felt someone's presence directly beside him, and he tensed again.

"It's okay. Thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some yogurt." Sam carefully placed the yogurt and spoon in Michael's hands. "How are you feeling?"

"Head hurts," Michael finally responded.

"Side effect of the drugs. We didn't want you hurting yourself, so I gave you something to knock you out." Sam watched his friend's confused expression, and he felt terrible. How were they going to help Mikey get back to normal?

"Oh." Michael slowly pushed the spoon into the yogurt, then brought it up to his lips. But before he even tasted it, he hesitated.

"It's okay, pal," Sam assured him, as though he could read the younger man's confused mind. "Eat it, and we'll see about getting something more solid into you a little later."

Finally Michael took a small bite of the yogurt. Sam smiled, pleased. Maybe he was on the road to recovery sooner than anticipated.

Once the cup of yogurt was emptied, Michael handed it to Sam. He was still upset and confused, but he found himself still trusting this man, despite everything that Larry had said. If this man wanted him dead, he would be dead already…wouldn't he?

Sam took the cup and spoon. "Try to get some rest, Mikey. It'll help your headache."

Michael nodded and stretched out on his side, away from Sam. Maybe when he woke up, things would be more clear.

Sam watched Michael for a moment before he slipped out of the bedroom. Fiona was waiting for him in the hall. "Hey, Fi."

"How is he?"

"He seems okay, physically." They walked downstairs together and into the kitchen. Sam grabbed a beer while Fiona sat down at the table and watched him.

Opening his beer, Sam took a long, slow drink. Then he looked at Fiona. "You okay, Fi?"

"I'll be okay when he's okay, Sam."

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That night, Sam and Fiona retired to their respective bedrooms. Fiona's was beside Michael's so she could get to him quickly if she needed to. Sam's room was down the hall, but close enough that he could be in Michael's room in moments. Neither Sam nor Fiona were particularly tired, but it was late and they at least needed to try to sleep in case Larry somehow found them.

Fiona had just drifted off to sleep when she heard her name being called. Instantly she was wide awake, and she sat up in her bed, listening intently. The entire house was silent, and after a few moments, she was convinced that she was hearing things. Then she heard it again.

"Fiona!"

Michael… Grabbing her Walther, Fiona flung herself out of her bed and threw her door open. Then she ran into Michael's room. "Michael?"

He was sitting up in the bed, his unseeing eyes open and wide.

Fiona quickly searched the room, then made her way to the bed, tucking her gun away. "Michael…?" She reached out and gently placed her hand against his cheek. "It's okay, Michael."

"I remember," he gasped out, and for a moment, she was unable to process what he was saying.

"What?"

"I remember!" Twisting around, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto the bed. Then he buried his face in her chest, his broad shoulders shaking. "I remember…"

"You remember?" Her arms went around him, holding him in a comforting embrace.

He nodded into her chest.

Letting out a slow breath, she rested her head against his and tried not to let her tears fall. Her hand began gently stroking his dark hair.

"Welcome back, Michael."

Sam came barreling into the room a moment later, his piece in his hand. He had heard Michael calling out, and he came in expecting to find him injured or worse. He wasn't expecting to see Michael wrapped up in Fiona's arms, but it was a very welcome sight. He tucked his gun away with a relieved sigh.

Fiona looked up, and Sam met her eyes. They shared a relieved smile before Fiona returned her attention to the man in her arms.

He watched them for a long moment before slowly backing out of the room. Fiona could handle things from there.

He was just grateful to see the smile in her eyes again.

To Be Continued...

A/N: *evil smile* Not done yet... Review!