A/N: Thank you to everyone who has left reviews, PM'd and for all of the favourite story and author adds. I really do appreciate all of your comments.

Special thanks to Purdy's Pal and JediSkysinger for reading through this as well as the early drafts and rewrites. Extra thanks to JediSkysinger for giving this a BETA too.

Lastly thank you to DaisyDay, Noelle and all the girls on twitter for your constant support

11

There was always something about Michael that kept her by his side. Even though he'd constantly treated her badly, she still returned to him time and time again. When he'd told her that he was done with the CIA, she really believed him. Those words he'd spoken had given her the strength to carry on fighting beside him because she genuinely believed that he'd meant every word.

She was still a little angry as she sat in her car and adjusted her seat. Last night, she had given herself to him completely. She'd fallen for him all over again and allowed herself to believe him once more. She had gone against everything she'd promised herself after they'd been released from that CIA prison. She had set out to restore her life to some kind of semblance of what it was before, but one touch and he'd melted all of her resolves away.

Lowering her sunglasses over her eyes, she pushed all thoughts of Michael Westen to the back of her mind. He was infuriating and she hated that she loved him so much. He still had the power to occupy her thoughts, even when she didn't want him to. Shaking her head, she sat back in her seat and started the car. Already she'd broken her own personal rule and allowed him to creep back into her mind, but that would soon change as soon as she picked up the paperwork for her bounty. Maybe some good old fashioned aggression was all she needed to purge him from her thoughts.

Pulling out into the road, she didn't fail to notice that a black sedan pulled out a few cars behind. Tightening her hands on the steering wheel, she kept her eyes on the road, only looking up into the rear view mirror every few seconds to see if her tail was still there.

The car directly behind her turned off to leave just one car between them, but she fought with her instincts to put her foot down and speed away. If what Michael told her was true, then Meyers and his MI6 cronies didn't have any jurisdiction here. They couldn't arrest her for speeding and she would only reappear on their radar for acts of terrorism. Since she didn't have any plans to blow things up right now, she knew he couldn't touch her.

Something didn't feel right. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she couldn't seem to shake the nagging doubts that there was something more to this than Meyers wanting to settle an old score. The car behind her turned off into a side road, leaving no space at all between her and the sedan behind her.

Slowing down, Fiona smiled to herself when she looked into the rear view mirror to see if she could get a clear view of the driver, but something else caught her attention. A flash of silver brought a rush of adrenalin through her body when she recognised the barrel of a gun and immediately put her foot down, speeding off to get away from her pursuer.

A loud twang hit the side of her door, a sound that she knew all too well. Whoever was following her didn't want to arrest her; they wanted her dead. With one hand on the wheel, she reached across the seat to fumble around inside her bag for her phone and yanked it out the second her fingers closed around it.

Another twang resounded around her and she instinctively ducked when it was followed by another. Pressing in number one speed dial, she drove faster, hoping to put some distance between them but the car behind her wasn't giving up. The engaged tone greeted her from Michael's phone and she growled with frustration when she hung up and tried again only to be met with the same sound. Abandoning the call she instead pressed speed dial two and prayed that it connected.

A loud crack echoed behind her, shattering the glass window to send shards of glass flying in all different directions. Wind whistled through the open hole, whipping her hair in all directions and she practically screamed Sam's name when she heard his voice over the phone.

"SAM!"

"Fi, what the hell's happenin', you sound—"

"I'VE GOT MEYER'S BEHIND ME…HE'S—"

The bullet that hit her in the shoulder propelled through her body with burning heat, taking the words from her lips. She could hear Sam's pleading voice, screaming at her to tell him where she was, but she couldn't seem to move her mouth. Time seemed to slow down as her limbs became heavy causing everything to become hazy and she couldn't seem to keep hold of the steering wheel any longer.

There was a loud thud when her car ploughed into a road sign, propelling her forward into the airbag that only succeeded in knocking her backwards. She vaguely managed to cling onto the wheel as her car spun out of control; tossing her around like a rag doll inside before it finally came to a stop upside down.

The squeal of tires seeped into her pain fogged mind as she slowly registered that she was lying in a puddle of something. Shakily, she tried to feel around for her phone, but instead her fingertips dipped into the pool forming around her. As she lifted her fingers and tried to focus, the sight of the red liquid dripping down her hand caused her heart to hammer loudly in her ears. Her last thoughts before she slipped into darkness were of Michael and their new life…

000

"FIONA!" Sam's voice yelled out as he crouched on all fours beside the battered car. "Come on, sweetheart, open your eyes for me…"

Fiona's eyes fluttered with recognition and she rewarded Sam's pleas by slowly opening her eyes, only for them to slide closed again. Sam shook his head desperately and tried not to yell at the paramedics, who were trying their best to stem the flow of blood that seemed to keep coming.

"Fiona, c'mon, don't do this," he urged brokenly when her hand grew heavy in his. "Stay awake. You have to stay awake!"

Her eyes opened again and Sam seized her hand in a desperate grip. "Mike's gonna be here soon, Fi. He's on his way right now."

"Mic-hael…" Her words were slurring a little as she opened her eyes again to try and focus on Sam's face.

"Yeah, darlin'," he choked on his own tears as he brought his other hand up to clasp around hers. "He'll be here soon."

"No…" she mumbled as if the effort of that one word took all of her strength. "Won't…"

"Yes, he'll be here any minute," he told her again, squeezing her hand to reassure her. "Now, don't ya be even thinking of leaving us. You hear me, Fiona? It'll destroy Mike if he loses you."

She mumbled something he couldn't quite hear, so he leaned in closer to try and hear what she was saying.

"H-hurts…"

"I know," he choked. "Stay with me, darlin'."

"Sa-m?"

"I'm here, Fi," he told her softly as he tried to combat his own tears.

Her voice was almost inaudible when she opened her mouth again, urging him to come closer. When he leaned in further, he heard her soft shaking voice.

"Take…care…of…him."

"NO," he gasped out, grasping her hand as tightly as he could. "FIONA…FI…!"

But there was no answer…

000

Michael arrived at the scene in a complete state of panic. Sam had to hold him back while Fiona's listless body was surrounded by paramedics who were working on stabilizing her for travel to the hospital.

He couldn't hear a word that Sam was saying to him or the traffic and sirens that wailed around them. All he could focus on was the woman he loved lying on the ground while he stood around waiting. Yanking his arm from Sam, he surged forward yelling Fiona's name, but Sam caught hold of him once more stopping his movements.

"LET ME GO!" he yelled as he tried to see his girlfriend amidst the wall of people around her. "FIONA!"

"She's gonna be okay, Mike," Sam assured him, even though his voice was breaking as he spoke. "MIKE, come on, buddy, let the paramedics do their job!"

His words seemed to impact into the struggling man in his grasp. Michael stilled, his body suddenly crumbling and Sam had to use all of his physical strength to keep him upright. He was scared too; he'd seen the state Fiona was in before the paramedics pushed him out of the way. The fact that her heart had stopped and she needed CPR wasn't something that he thought Michael needed to know right now…maybe when Fiona was well again, then he'd tell both of them of the images he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"What happened, Sam?" Michael almost wailed. "Who did this to her?"

Before Sam could formulate any kind of reply, sudden movement caused Sam to release his hold on his friend and allow him to move forward. He kept up, anxious to see any signs that Fiona was okay, but she was bundled into the ambulance before he could get a good look.

"I'm going with her," Michael told him urgently, his emotional state obvious. He was far from the stoic spy that never cracked under any kind of intense pressure, not now…

"GO!" Sam told him quickly, urging him onwards as he stepped closer to the ambulance. "I'll call Jess and your mom and meet you at the hospital."

Michael looked back at him and nodded briefly before he climbed into the back of the ambulance to take his place at Fiona's side. The vehicle's doors were slammed closed, obstructing Sam's view, and he found himself stepping backwards when the sirens began to wail loudly before it sped away. He watched in a daze for all of two seconds before the dust cleared and he was left only with the remaining police officers that had surrounded the wreckage of Fiona's car. The scene jolted him back into the present and he turned sharply, rushing towards his car while reaching for his phone at the same time.

Elsa answered on the first ring, her voice bringing a flood of emotion to burn his eyes. Swallowing hard, he tried to keep his voice calm, but the soft waver filtered through his words.

"Elsa…baby, I…" Looking down at his shirt, he gasped in a breath when he saw that it was stained with Fiona's blood. He'd seen so much stuff, had so many people's blood on his clothes, but this was Fiona's…it was different…personal…He had to forcefully quash the bile that rose up into his throat when he closed his eyes and tried to regain his composure.

"Sam…honey? What's the matter…Are you—"

"Oh god, baby," he groaned. "Can you meet me at the hospital with a new shirt? I got blood on this one."

"WHAT? SA—"

"No, no," he gasped out. "I'm okay…it's Fiona's. There was an accident and she…"

"I'll be right there," she told him as relief bled into her words. "And Fiona? Is she…"

"I don't know," he told her honestly as his eyes fell onto one of the officers, recognition forming instantly. "Listen Elsa, I gotta go. There's something I need to do."

"Sam?"

"Yeah?" he asked softly as he started the slow walk back towards the wreckage of the car.

"I love you…"

Those words for so many years had filled him with dread, but since Anson, Fiona's prison stay and everything since Panama, they didn't seem to scare him anymore.

"Me too, baby," he told her honestly before he hung up the phone and made his way towards his buddy, who was walking around the wreckage of Fiona's car.

"DEAN!"

The officer looked up when he heard his name and grinned when Sam made his way towards him.

"Sam," he greeted as he reached out to shake his hand. "What brings you out here?"

Sam winced visibly and tried not to look at the car, but before he could even open his mouth to ask if his friend knew any information, the other man held his hand up to silence him. Reaching out to Sam's arm, he ushered him away from the scene and looked back at the upturned car briefly before he turned back to Sam.

"What do you know about this?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Cuz I got a call that our guys were here to keep the scene secured until the Feds arrived."

"The Feds?" Sam asked as he shook his head. "Why?"

"No idea; but there's something not right about all this. I got it on the QT that some heavy handed CIA guys want the vehicle and reports ASAP."

"The CIA?" Sam asked in confusion. "What's this got to do with them?"

"Beats me," Dean shrugged. "All I got was to keep the area clear until they arrived."

Sam's mind was racing; why would the CIA interested in this unless… Turning back to the man who stood beside him, he shoved his phone into his pocket and nodded towards the car.

"But you must have some idea what happened here," Sam pushed. "When I got here, I found the car on its head and Fi…" Images of Fiona, bloodied and broken, brought a lump to his throat, but he fought it back. "She was in a bad way."

"All I can tell you is we got a report of two cars. A dark sedan, with blacked out windows, was firing on the driver of the Hyundai. Witnesses said the sedan shot out the rear window and ran the other car off of the road before it sped off."

"That's it?" Sam asked in disbelief. "That's all ya got?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Dean nodded solemnly. "Why are you so interested in this, anyway?"

Sam sighed heavily and tried to reign in his growing temper. If the CIA had anything to do with this, then it meant that the bad apples Michael had spent his whole time rooting out went deeper than Card and Riley. He was getting too old for this.

"The car belongs to a good friend of mine," he started. "Her bag is still in the car. Do ya think ya can get it for me?"

"You know I can't—"

"Come on, Dean," Sam urged. "Look at me; I've got her blood all over me. At least let me make sure she gets her stuff… "

Dean shuffled on his feet, but it was enough for Sam to know that he was swaying a little. Trying again, he said something that he knew his friend couldn't resist; he played into his love of his family.

"Look, you know as well as I do once the feds get here, I might as well kiss her stuff goodbye and I've gotta call her mom, ya know? All the numbers for her family are in her bag and her mom lives out of the country." When the officer beside him still looked unsure, Sam tried anothertact. "I know she'd want to know that her daughter is at the hospital…think how you would feel if it was your Kimmy."

Dean Pritchard turned his eyes onto the man beside him and sighed heavily before he began to walk towards the upturned car. Sam followed, hoping that he didn't change his mind half way there. When they reached the car, he nodded towards Sam and indicated for him to retrieve the bag that was lying in a pool of Fiona's blood. Reaching in to grab it he tried not to let the sight of the red pool render him into a jabbering wreck. Fiona needed him to be strong now. Looking around the rest of the wreckage, he tried to find her phone, but it must have been crushed somewhere in the mangled metal.

Standing back up, he tucked the bag beneath his arm and shook Dean's hand once more before he hurried off towards his car. Climbing into the driver's seat, he started the engine and stuck his cell phone on loud speaker while he waited for Madeline's voice to echo around him.

"Maddie," he hissed out, his voice breaking through his warring emotions. "There's been an accident."

"What? Who? Oh god…Sam, what happened?"

"It's Fi," he told her solemnly. "Meet us at the hospital, okay? I'll fill you in when you get there."

Turning off the phone, he tossed it onto the passenger seat and eyed the bloodied bag before he reached across to pull it onto his lap. He knew if Fiona was here she would kick his ass just for touching the heavy handbag. It was still partially zipped closed, so hopefully whatever was inside would still be there. Opening it up, he raked around inside feeling like an intruder, when his fingers snagged on a long box. Curiously, he plucked it out and then stared down at it in complete shock…He had to get to the hospital!

Reaching across for his phone again, he pressed in Michael's number as he started to drive, only to hiss in frustration when it went straight to voice mail. Tossing the bag and the phone onto the passenger seat again, he tried not to think of what the unopened box could mean for Michael and Fiona. He couldn't picture the two of them with a baby, but he had to get to the hospital as fast as he could. They needed to know that their patient could be pregnant.

000

Around him the doctor's voices became a blur when he felt her fingers grasp on to his. Looking down, Michael searched Fiona's face, wanting nothing more than to see her open her eyes. Squeezing her hand, he held on tightly and walked quickly alongside her as the gurney began to move.

"It's okay now, Fiona," he told her when her eyes slowly opened to fix on him, confusion marring her gaze. He could see her lips moving beneath the clear oxygen mask over her mouth and leaned in a little closer to try and hear what she was trying to say.

"Mic-hael…"

"I'm here," he told her quickly as his eyes welled with relief. Quickening his pace, he held on tightly to her hand and tried to get closer so she could see him more clearly. "I'm right here."

He could see that she was struggling to remain awake as her eyes tried to stay fixed on his face. Michael smiled down at her, eager to give her some reassurance that she was safe; all the while hoping that she couldn't see the tears in his eyes. Swallowing back the lump in his throat, he squeezed her fingers before repeating, "I'm here," over and over again.

He stayed by her side all the way into the hospital, holding onto her hand until he was forcibly moved aside as she was wheeled into the Trauma Unit.

He began to move forward again before the doors swung closed, but was prevented from going any further by a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in there."

Turning sharply, he glared at the young nurse who held onto his arm. "I need to be with her-"

"She's in good hands; try not to worry," the nurse told him quickly as she tried to get his attention on her instead of the closed Trauma Unit door. "Are you family?"

Michael sighed heavily as he turned to her. How could he explain to some stranger how Fiona was more than family to him? She was his lover, his best friend, his everything. How do you wrap so much love and condense it into a simple yes or no?

"Yes," he told her quietly, "I mean..."

The nurse looked at him in confusion before offering him a sympathetic smile. "Okay, then can you tell me what your relationship is to the patient?"

"Oh…" Shaking his head, he closed his eyes briefly in an attempt to banish the fogginess from his mind. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze swept across to the blind covered window that blocked his view into the Trauma Unit.

"Sir?"

"I love her." His voice sounded foreign to his own ears as he spoke and he suddenly tore his eyes away from the windows to look at the nurse who was regarding him understandingly. "I mean…we're…she's my girlfriend…"

"Okay," she nodded with a small smile. "Well, I'll need you to fill out some forms—"

Michael slowly looked down at the clipboard in her hands and was momentarily tempted to snatch it from her and throw it across the floor. All he wanted to do was be in that room with Fiona. She needed him to be there. A sudden thought struck him and he spun his head back towards the nurse beside him.

"She's allergic to penicillin," he told her quickly, cutting her off mid sentence as he pulled away from her to move closer to the trauma room. "Do they know?"

"Yes sir, they will now."

"She's not been eating properly either," he scrunched his eyes closed and lifted his fingers to his temples, trying to erase some of the tension. "She managed to say my name..."

"She's receiving the best care; try not to worry." Reaching out, the nurse patted his arm. "Why don't you go and take a seat and fill these out. Someone will come and see you when your girlfriend has been assessed."

"I need to be in there with her," he hissed desperately before shaking his head by way of an apology. "I'm sorry…it's just—"

"MIKE…" Sam came bursting through the doors, ignoring everything else around them as he quickly made his way to Michael's side.

"Sam…I…" Michael's voice was starting to crack and he hurriedly turned away from his friend before he could see for himself just how emotional he really was.

"How is she?" Sam asked him as he laid a hand on his arm. "Is—"

"God…Sam…what happened…?" Michael's voice caught in his throat as he turned around to face his friend, not seeming to notice when a lone tear escaped and made a wet track over his cheek. "She…"

"I know," Sam told him gently as he slowly manoeuvred him over towards the plastic chairs that lined the wall. When they both sat down, Sam took the forms from the nurse who looked on sympathetically before he turned his attention back to the broken man beside him. "She loves you. She'll hold on for you."

Michael pulled away from his touch and looked over towards the blind covered window again. "I should be in there."

Sam looked down at the clip board in his hand and placed it onto the chair next to him. He knew he had to tell Michael what he'd found in Fiona's bag, but how was he supposed to tell his friend that his girlfriend could possibly be pregnant?

"Let them do their job," he told him finally. "Fi will be okay."

Swallowing at the growing lump in his throat, Michael shook his head miserably before he turned back towards the man beside him.

"How did this happen, Sam?" he asked desperately trying to understand. "She left the apartment this morning to go to one of her damn bounties—"

"She called me sayin' that she was being shot at," Sam told him in a rush, cutting his voice off mid sentence. "All I got outta her before all hell broke loose was that Meyers was behind her and shootin'."

"MEYERS?" Michael hissed out, springing out of his seat. "MI6 Meyers?"

"I talked to a buddy of mine at the scene after you'd left. He said the feds had been all over them to not disturb anything." Looking down at his hands, he sighed heavily when he realised that what he was about to tell his friend could very well open up a gigantic can of worms. "He said the CIA had ordered all evidence of the accident, including Fiona's car, to be handed over to them."

Michael's sorrow filled eyes flashed with sudden darkness when he processed what Sam had just told him. Lifting his head, he glanced over towards the Trauma Room door before he abruptly stood to his feet.

"You're telling me that the CIA had something to do with this?" he hissed out, his voice louder than it should have been. "Is that what you're telling me, Sam?"

Sam got up to stand beside him and stood in front of his friend to keep him from doing something stupid. Michael was angry and he was upset, those two combinations had almost caused the man before him to combust when he had been separated from Fiona the first time.

"Mike, before you go all out nuts, there's something you should know," Sam faltered over his words, unsure whether this was the right time to tell Michael what he'd found, but he couldn't think of anything better than this to deflate his anger.

"WHAT?" Michael growled, already reaching for his cell phone. "I'm going to call Raines. I'll make him tell me what the hell is going on."

"Uh, Mike, you might want to hold off on that for a second," Sam suggested cautiously, as he reached into his back pocket to pull out the crumpled box he'd taken from Fiona's bag.

"Really, Sam? Someone tried to kill my girlfriend and you want me to wait?" Shaking his head, he pulled his phone from his pocket, but froze when Sam shoved the box towards him.

"Yeah," he nodded solemnly. "I think you should wait."

"What's this?" Michael snapped impatiently. "I don't—"

"I found it in Fiona's bag."

Michael's anger seemed to die away instantly when his eyes fixed onto the box in his friend's hand and he suddenly deflated. Reaching out for it, he held onto it like it was some precious object before he felt a sob escape his throat. Fiona was pregnant?

Without speaking, Sam gently manoeuvred his friend back over towards the chairs where they had been sitting in only moments ago and eased him into one.

"It hasn't been opened," Sam tried to reassure him, but he knew the implications didn't really matter now. "But…what do I know?"

"She didn't say anything," Michael spoke softly, unable to keep his voice from breaking. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Maybe she didn't know," Sam offered. "You know Fi…"

"They need to know about this," Michael told him suddenly as he looked up to try and find the nurse who had been with them only moments ago. "I need to find someone."

"Sit. I'll do it," Sam offered when he realised that the man beside him couldn't have got up even if he'd wanted to. With one last look behind him, he sighed heavily and went in search of a nurse, hoping against hope that Madeline got here soon…

TBC