A/N: Thank you as always for all of your reviews, PM's and favourite author/story adds. I am extremely thankful to everyone who has taken the time to read and review.

As requested by a few people this chapter has another couch scene. I hope you all like this scene as much as the last one.

Thank you as always to Purdy's Pal and DaisyDay for reading through parts of this for me.

10

Fiona hurtled towards Madeline's bedroom when she heard the scream pierce the air. Her heart was thundering in her chest and the pure adrenalin pumped through her body, causing her to slam her shoulder into the closed door. Her shoulder rammed against the wooden obstacle flinging it open and startling the woman who was trying to climb out of the broken window. Fiona's gun flew out of her hand with the impact and she didn't even register where it landed as she acted on instinct.

"MADELINE!" Fiona yelled, stopping for a split second by Madeline's prone body before she rushed forward and grabbed hold of the intruder's dark vest, yanking her back into the room to land a fist against her nose. A loud crack filled the air when the bones shattered, spurring Fiona onwards to deliver another powerful blow to the stalkers head.

The woman cried out and flung out her arms, catching Fiona's chin to propel her backwards against the bedroom wall. Fury raced through Fiona's body as she launched herself towards her attacker who was already half way out of the window and grabbed hold of any part of her clothing she could grip. Her fingers were slipping against the fabric when tiny shards of glass sliced into her skin causing blood to seep out of the wounds.

"BITCH…" the woman growled when she suddenly turned her head to glare at Fiona with cold, psychotic eyes. Her hand shot out and struck Fiona's arm, slicing a jagged glass edge into her bare skin. "HE'S MINE!"

"NEVER…" Fiona yelled as she tightened her hold even though her fingers were slipping in her own blood. "YOU crazy BITCH…"

Madeline's sudden groan distracted Fiona for a brief second but it was enough for the attacker to kick out, forcing Fiona to tumble backwards to crack her head against the wall. Stars appeared before her eyes and she squeezed them closed briefly to try and erase the thudding in her head, but it didn't erase the pain. Glancing up towards the window she caught sight of the woman's foot disappearing and groaned with frustration.

"Fi…" Madeline's voice sounded lost and fragile when she tried to sit up but couldn't seem to move.

"Stay still," Fiona told her worriedly when she crawled over towards her to leave a trail of blood droplets all over the floor. Her fingers stung when she wiped the blood on her white vest and she cursed herself for letting their crazy stalker escape but Madeline's soft groan brought her back to her senses.

"What happened?" Madeline asked in confusion as she snagged Fiona's arm and pulled herself upwards to sit with her back against the bed.

"She was in here," Fiona tried to keep her voice even when she spoke but anger seeped into her words. "She got away…Damn woman kicked me…"

"Oh god, Fi…you're bleeding…" Madeline gasped when she reached out to grab hold of Fiona's arm to inspect the tiny cuts all over her hands and fingers. Her eyes drifted over the bloody trails until they came to rest on the long jagged wound on her upper arm. "What the hell did she do to you?"

Fiona pulled her arm out of Madeline's grasp and lifted her hands to inspect her fingers. "These… they're nothing…just flesh wounds."

"Flesh wounds! Honey, you need stitches—"

"Yeah, so do you," Fiona told her quietly when she noticed the cut on the older woman's head. Shifting onto her knees she gingerly parted Madeline's blonde hair with her fingers and sat back onto her heels. "It's not deep, but whatever she hit you with did some damage."

"I don't remember…it happened so fast—"

Fiona leaned against her shoulder and smoothed her hand over Madeline's arm, ignoring the stinging in her fingers. "It's okay. She took both of us by surprise."

"I need a cigarette," Madeline's voice shook as she spoke. Wrapping her fingers around Fiona's uninjured forearm she used her as leverage to pull herself upwards. "Help me up."

"You know, smoking's bad for you," Fiona scolded as she got to her feet and helped the older woman up.

"Yeah, well so are crazy women by the looks of you, sweetheart!"

Fiona couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped her lips when she threaded her arm through Madeline's and slowly walked her out of the bedroom. "I did manage to hit her a few times if it's any conciliation."

"You did?" Madeline turned to her and beamed a smile before squinting through the flash of pain behind her eyes. "I hope you got her good."

"Oh yeah," Fiona grinned. "I broke the bitch's nose."

"Yeah?" Madeline asked, her voice rising with pride. "That's my girl."

000

Michael lifted the binoculars to his eyes and looked through them from where he was seated in the charger and surveyed their surroundings.

"Are you sure this is the house, Sam?" he asked as he lowered them and sat back in the seat.

"Yeah, this is the place Mikey. The cute little waitress I spoke to wrote the address down on this napkin," Sam told him with a wide grin as he pulled the folded napkin out of his pocket to show his friend. "Pam Taylot definitely lives here."

Michael looked down at the napkin and back up to his friend, shaking his head incredulously when he saw the perfect outline of lips on the white tissue. "Is that lipstick Sam? And her phone number?"

"Hey, when you've got it brother!" Sam grinned smugly. "Come on, I'm faithful to Elsa, but you know how it is when temptation gets ya?"

Michael fixed him with a confused gaze and shook his head emphatically. "No."

"What…never?"

"No."

"Seriously? Oh boy brother, you got it bad my friend," Sam shook his head and cleared his throat when he refolded the napkin and put it back in his pocket. "Like I was saying, Layla wrote it all down…and for the record, I wasn't tempted either."

"Well, it's not the average home of a stalker. I expected some run down shack. " Michael mused as he looked around at the quiet suburban street keeping his eyes on their surroundings. "And, I'm glad to hear it Sam."

Both men slipped into a comfortable silence as they kept their vigil on the stalkers house, passing the binoculars back and forth.

"We're looking for a woman who's immaculate from what I remember," Sam told him, scanning the house for any movement. "She didn't look like a nut job, she looked…normal…"

"Yeah, well what's normal Sam? She's smart enough to—" His voice trailed off when the cell phone on the dash board began to vibrate. Reaching out for it he looked down at the screen and felt a small amount of relief wash over him when he saw Fiona's name on the screen.

"Hey Fi…" he greeted cheerily until he heard another woman's voice at the other end. "Wait…mom, slow down…"

Sam's eyes shot to his friend who was already passing him the binoculars and starting the car. He strained to hear what Madeline was saying and already his mind was jumping to all kinds of conclusions. Shifting forward in his seat he tried to get Michael's attention for any indication on what had happened, but Michael held up his hand, silencing his words as he spoke into the phone.

"Are you both okay? Is Fiona…no, stay where you are, we're on our way."

Closing off the phone he threw it onto the dash and backed up the charger, the tyres squealing with protest before Michael sped out of the street with speed.

"What happened?" Sam asked worriedly. "Mike?"

"She was at my mom's house, Sam. She was in there when they arrived…"

"Mike, why was your mom calling from Fi's phone?" Sam asked urgently when he saw Michael's jaw twitch with worry. "Is she…?"

"I don't know," Michael shook his head and yelled at other motorists to get out of the way while he dodged in and out of the traffic.

"Calm down brother," Sam hissed when he clung to the edges of his seat. "I don't want to wind up in the back seat of someone else's car!"

000

Fiona was holding her hands under the tap when Michael and Sam charged through the back door, guns drawn.

"Oh look, the cavalry's arrived," Madeline scoffed as she limped over towards Fiona and handed her another towel. "Here you go honey, try this one."

Fiona took the towel gratefully and lifted her eyes towards Michael when he came over towards her and pulled her hand out from under the water.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice catching when he saw all the cuts over her hands. Turning her arm upwards he gasped in a breath when he saw the temporary band aid stitches that she'd placed over the jagged cut on her forearm. "Fi…"

"I'm fine," she told him softly as her eyes lifted to meet his gaze, anger flaring as she spoke. "I had her Michael, I had her right there but she—"

"It doesn't matter," he told her quickly as he reached over to turn off the tap and wrap the clean towel around her hands before leading her towards the table. Taking care, he sat her down and moved to the chair opposite her so that he could get a better look at her wounds.

"I'm fine too by the way," Madeline told him with a mocking smile as she took a long drag from her cigarette and puffed the smoke out into the room. "Thanks for asking!"

"Mom," Michael lifted his eyes apologetically and looked towards Sam, nodding towards his mother and silently asking for him to take a look at her. "I'm sorry…What did she do?"

"I don't remember," Madeline stubbed her cigarette out into a nearby ashtray before reaching for another one. "It happened so fast."

"It's okay Maddie," Sam told her, pulling a chair out and indicating for her to sit down. "Let's take a look at you."

"I'm fine Sam, Fi fixed me up already," she told him as she lit her cigarette. Looking towards her son she was suddenly struck by how careful he was being with Fiona when he was touching her so gently. His eyes were scanning her wounds as if he could heal her just by looking. A sudden lump formed in her throat but she swallowed it back and hid it with a fake cough. "You can make yourself useful and fix the window."

"The window?" Sam sighed, disappointed as he trailed behind her. "Glad to see I have my uses."

"Oh quit whining Sam…"

Michael picked up the antiseptic lotion and soaked it into some sterile gauze before dabbing it over Fiona's wounds. She flinched a little when he wiped along the jagged edges, his eyes shooting up to her face.

"Sorry," he told her softly. "Did you get hurt anywhere else?"

"No," she shook her head ruefully. "But my pride took a beating!"

"Fi, you were looking out for my mom. You did the right thing."

"Well…I did break her nose," she told him smugly, a smile turning up the edges of her lips. "It's not exactly what I wanted to do to her, but it'll have to do…"

"You did good, Fi," he told her softly, leaning in closer towards her until his lips lingered over hers. Their eyes met and held and he hovered over her until she smiled and focused on his lips.

"Careful, you're spilling lotion all over the table."

Michael's looked down at the wet puddle he'd managed to create and lifted the bottle back up before his eyes met hers again. Moving the bottle aside he leaned across the table and kissed her. His lips lingered over hers for a few seconds before he pulled away again.

Sam's voice drifted through the silence when he made his way back into the living area where Fiona and Michael were seated. He came in just in time to see them pulling apart and stopped where he was.

"If you want I can go back out there," he offered begrudgingly as he looked back down the hallway.

"Sit down Sam," Fiona beamed a smile in his direction before her eyes fell back to the man sitting opposite her at the table. Reaching out towards him she touched her fingertips to his, bringing his attention back to her. "What do you want to do now?"

"Now?" he asked quietly as he scanned the room around them. "I want to take my mom back to the loft and make sure she's safe."

"Excuse me?" Madeline's voice echoed throughout the room bringing all eyes to her. "I will not let that nutcase drive me out of my home."

"Mom—"

"No Michael," she held her hand up to stop him before he could offer any protests. "She's not stupid enough to come back here, not after meeting with our girl here." Her gaze shifted to Fiona who couldn't help but smile as she lowered her eyes to the table. "You sure showed her, honey."

"Thank you Madeline," Fiona smiled when she lifted her eyes to meet the older woman's gaze. "But Michael's right, it's not safe for you to be here…"

Madeline opened her mouth and started to protest but stopped when Fiona pulled her hand from Michael's grasp and stood up. "You saw how dangerous she could be Madeline; don't argue with us over this."

"This is my home—"

"I know," Fiona told her quickly, moving closer towards her until she was standing by her side. "That's why we need to deal with this woman so we can all get back to normal."

"Normal," Madeline chuckled as she patted her on the shoulder when she moved passed her towards the kitchen. "Normal is for sane people honey, you're all nuts!"

Sam sighed and shrugged his shoulders when Michael looked to him for support.

"Well, we could go back to the loft but it's not exactly ideal for all of us," Sam suggested. "Staying put could be the best option…just hear me out Mike," he held his hand up to his friend who was already starting to protest. "If she's crazy enough to come back here then we'll be waiting."

"Oh, I like your plan Sam," Fiona beamed when images of a startled stalker flashed in her mind. "As long as I get to shoot her."

"Hey, you broke her nose!"

"Yeah and she drugged me!"

"Well, it's me she's stalkin' sister," Sam snapped back.

"Guys, stop!" Michael groaned as he stood up from the table and looked over towards his mother. "If we're going do this we need to find another way to deal with her."

"Yeah?" Sam asked curiously as his lips curled up into a knowing smile. "You have a plan?"

"I do yeah," he sighed before he fixed Fiona with an apologetic gaze. "But you're not gonna like it."

000

The loud knock on Madeline's front door later that evening brought Michael and Sam to their feet, both of them indicating for Fiona to stay with Madeline. She was by her side in seconds, standing guard over the woman who had become her surrogate mother in so many ways.

They both watched silently when Sam moved to the opposite side of the door frame, gun drawn as he nodded for Michael to pull the door open. Both men silently counted to three before Michael leaned forward and grabbed the door handle to fling the door open, his gun pointing dangerously to the person who was standing on the opposite side.

"Twice in a week Westen," Agent Pearce told him in a levelled voice, her seriousness present in every part of her glare. "Do you want my help or not?"

Lowering his gun Michael reached forward with one hand and pulled her inside while taking a look at the street outside. When he was satisfied that they weren't being watched he swung the door closed with a bang and turned towards Agent Pearce's un-amused stare.

"Uh, sorry," Michael told her almost nervously as he kept an eye on Fiona who was glaring at the other woman with a mixture of suspicion and mistrust. "Thanks for coming."

"Well don't thank me yet, I haven't agreed to anything," she told him coolly, folding her arms over her chest. "…so, you going to tell me what the hell is going on."

Michael opened his mouth to try and come up with some sort of explanation but before he could speak, Fiona came forward to stand before the other woman, fixing her with dangerous eyes. The first thought that crossed Fiona's mind was to turn around and land a punch on her chin and knock her on her ass, but she pushed that thought away.

"Agent Pearce," she greeted frostily when Madeline came to stand by her side. "This is Madeline, Michael's mom. Madeline, this is the woman I was telling you about."

"Oh, so you're the woman who calls my son away for weeks on end?"

"Nice to meet you Mrs Westen," Pearce nodded as she extended a hand to hold it out to Madeline.

For a few moments Madeline watched her with the same intense distrust as Fiona until Agent Pearce awkwardly lowered her hand back to her side. Lifting her cigarette to her mouth she said a muffled, "You too," before she lit it.

Sam could feel the tension in the room when Fiona and Madeline joined forces to create a vortex between them. He'd known Madeline for a long time now and he'd never known her to connect with another woman as much as she did with Michael's quick tempered girlfriend. He glanced over at Michael who was watching the scene unfold with a look something akin to pure horror before he stepped forward to try and defuse the awkward meeting.

"Mom," he spoke evenly, reaching out to touch his mother's arm to break her scrutiny of the dark haired newcomer. "Isn't there something you need to be doing?"

Madeline turned to him and smiled sweetly before the smile dropped from her face. "No."

Fiona sighed heavily and shot Michael a glare before hooking her arm through the woman's beside her. "Come on Madeline, Michael obviously needs to talk to Agent Pearce, so we'll just go and check the windows…you never know, I may get to break someone else's nose before the night is out!"

Michael's eyes shot to Sam's before he laughed nervously when Fiona turned back to throw him a glare before she lead his mother out into the hall.

"Uh…I…"

"What's this all about Westen?" Agent Pearce asked impatiently when she turned to face him. "Is it about the job?"

"In a way," Sam spoke up motioning for her to sit while he made his way over to the refrigerator and grabbed three beers. Coming back into the room he handed one to Michael who took it gratefully, and the other he held out to Agent Pearce.

All three of them sat around the table before Sam proceeded to relay the events over the last two weeks, adding a few exaggerated details as he spoke.

000

An hour later Michael downed the remainder of his beer and went in search of his mother and Fiona who as of yet hadn't returned to the living area, long after Agent Pearce had left. Moving down the hallway he stopped outside his mother's bedroom door when he could hear soft laughter coming from inside and for a moment he hovered outside, unsure whether to interrupt whatever it was they were doing.

Fiona's soft laughter filled his ears transporting him back to the days when they used to laugh. Everything had become so serious over the last few years and he realised in that one moment that he'd missed that sound.

Lifting his hand he knocked on the door before pushing it open to lean in and look around the door. The sight that greeted him both scared him and warmed him at the same time. The two most important women in his life were sitting side by side on his mother's bed, propped up against the headboard with a stack of family photo albums spread all over the mattress.

"Michael, come and look at this," Madeline chuckled when she leaned into Fiona's shoulder. "I've been showing Fiona your old baby photos."

"Yes Michael," Fiona beamed a smile at him. "Who knew you were so cute when you were a baby!"

"Uh…thanks," he told her with a confused smile. He'd expected glares and cold shoulders, not this. "Fi…can I talk to you, outside?"

"Oh whatever you have to tell me Michael you can tell me in front of your mother," Fiona told him with a warning smile as she sat up straighter on the bed.

"Pearce has gone and Sam has turned in, he's in Nate's old room, so I was thinking maybe we should—"

"Should what Michael?" she asked teasingly, shifting slightly so she could move off of the bed to stand enticingly before him, recognising the look in his eyes. Turning back to Madeline she smiled at the older woman affectionately. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course I am honey, quit your worrying," Madeline grinned as she leaned over the side of the bed to lift her shotgun proudly. "Get some sleep before you fall down."

"Keep the door unlocked mom," Michael told her quietly while he moved towards the boarded up window to make sure it was secure before he turned back towards her. "We'll be in my old room."

"Yeah, yeah…now go, both of you," she told them as she gathered up the albums. "Oh and Michael," she called just before they both headed out of the door. When he turned she lifted her hand towards Fiona who was smiling at her incredulously. "You make sure she sleeps."

Michael flashed her a smile before he ushered Fiona out of the door and closed it behind him.

"So, how did it go with Pearce?" she asked softly as he manoeuvred her into his old bedroom to sit her down onto the small couch while he pulled some bedding out of the drawers.

"She's agreed to play Sam's new friend tomorrow and in return Sam's going to work with me on a job."

"Okay," she nodded. "So, how is that going to work exactly? You think this psycho woman is going to switch her efforts to Agent Pearce?"

"That's what we're hoping Fi," he told her as he opened the folded sheet to throw it in the air, billowing it across the mattress until it floated back down. Fiona walked to the other side of the bed and grabbed the edges, pulling the sheet across the bed.

"Well, I may not like the woman…but I suppose if she can help with this."

Michael shook his head when he tossed a pillow towards her, followed by a clean pillowslip. "Look, I know things have been a little tense lately but—"

"It doesn't matter anymore Michael," Fiona sighed without looking at him while they finished making their bed for the night. "It's been a long few months…I'm just tired."

"Are you sure that's all it is, Fi?" he asked her worriedly when she moved back towards the couch to sit down. "I know we haven't had a lot of time together lately, but I'm hoping when this is all over—"

"Me too," Fiona told him with a tired smile as she leaned back against the couch to watch him walk towards her and sit down.

He regarded her for a long moment before he reached over for her hands to inspect the healing cuts adorning her palms.

"I'm fine, Michael," she sighed. "Look I know you're probably tired and tomorrow is going to be just as—"

"Fi…" his whisper brought her attention to him, her words dying away when she saw the intensity in his eyes.

She suddenly found herself being pulled upwards to straddle his thighs, all the time gazing into his intense blue eyes. Smiling she placed her forehead against his, both of them breathing unsteadily. Her hands slid around his shoulders to meet at the back of his neck as she met his eyes again. Slowly they gravitated towards each other, their lips touching, once, twice, until they sank into each other. She opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, seeking entry into his which he granted readily. His hands trailed up her body to tangle in her hair, pulling her head closer to him with a force so strong she thought she was going to ignite right there. Somehow one of her hands had found its way inside his shirt, moving over his chest leaving a trail of fire in its path.

Pulling her mouth away from his abruptly, her breath came in ragged gasps. They gazed at each other; both shocked by the intenseness of the kiss. Dark desire coursed through them to shine so clearly from each other's eyes when they gravitated towards each other once more.

"Tell me what you want, Fi," he whispered breathlessly when his lips traced the outline of her jaw and chin.

"I only want you," she gasped when he lavished her neck, scattering her thoughts into a thousand different directions when he began placing small nuzzling kisses over her soft flesh.

"You…have…me," his told her in between kisses. She gasped again at the sensations he was evoking in her body. Raising her head she moved slightly to give him better access to her neck.

"M…Michael," she gasped in a ragged breath, her whole body shaking as she lowered her head again to lay her forehead against his not wanting to ask him the question she was afraid to ask. Despite his closeness and how much she wanted to take him right here, right now, she had to know when he would be leaving her again. "How long do we have…"

"Shh," he whispered hoarsely as he pulled her down into a deep drugging kiss.

000

Moonlight streamed through the window, silhouetting the couple tangled together on the couch. The moonlight highlighted their skin that was still glowing from their hours of lovemaking.

Fiona breathed in a deep contented breath as she slowly opened her eyes. Michael had his arm slung over her bare stomach, holding her firmly to him. She could feel his hair tickling the back of her neck and his breath warming her skin.

Smiling to herself, she reached down a hand and placed it lovingly over his, stroking his fingers gently with hers to rouse him from sleep. His fingers opened to take hers in his, threading them together as he placed tiny kisses over her bare shoulder.

"You know," she smiled as she brought their joined hands to her lips for a kiss "We do have a bed."

He shifted behind to lift himself up on one elbow to look over her body and smiled. Leaning down he placed a soft kiss onto her lips and manoeuvred her onto her back so he was directly above her. She released his hand so she could pull his head down to hers more firmly, deepening the kiss and at the same time igniting passions for the fourth time that night.

Their lips slowly parted, only a mere breath apart. She found his eyes with her own, seeing the love she felt for him mirrored in his eyes.

"Michael…I…" she whispered softly aching to tell him the words she was so afraid to say. Pulling his mouth to hers again, she kissed him with everything she felt and let his kisses tell her that he loved her too.

Hours later they were awoken by the shrilling of a cell phone. Fiona blinked the sunlight from her eyes a few times before turning to the man beside her.

"Ignore it," she whispered, capturing his lips with her own. He readily complied, kissing her back, but the damn phone wasn't going to shut up.

Pulling his lips reluctantly from hers, he groaned, "I swear I am going to shoot whoever is on that phone."

"Poor baby," she smiled up at him, distracting him with tiny kisses to his chin.

Smiling, he reached over her to his jacket on the floor fumbling blindly beside the couch. Climbing over her, he finally found his phone and sat on the edge of the seat in front of her legs while he put the phone to his ear, "Yeah."

"Well it took you long enough," Agent Pearce grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry I was busy," looking down at Fiona he mouthed 'Pearce' to her. He couldn't help but be distracted by the beautiful woman lying naked on the couch beside him. His eyes skimmed over her body, drinking in every curve. Seeing his distraction Fiona smiled wickedly and couldn't help herself as she trailed a hand over his back making him shiver.

"Michael, are you okay?" Agent Pearce asked worriedly.

"Yeah, um, yeah, I…" he gulped when Fiona moved to sit behind him and began placing kisses over his earlobe and down his throat.

"Westen?" Agent Pearce asked again.

"I'm fine," he said on a gasp, moving his neck to give Fiona better access. "I'll call you later when we're ready to go."

Hurriedly pressing the phone off, he threw it onto the floor and turned around swiftly, pushing Fiona back down to the couch.

TBC