I have my laptop! Please excuse the typos in this - I'm still getting used to the keyboard. The chapter's short (again), but I like it. I'm starting 6th form tomorrow, so I'm not sure when you'll get the next update, but I have started to write it and type it up.

I realised the other day that I healed Doyle too much and too little at the same time. He can drive a car, but he can only see out of one eye. Whoops. However, to fix this I would need to change quite a bit, including some of the plot details, so just suspend your sense of reality for one more chapter. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I own a laptop, lots of clothes, a mobile, a bed (very useful), many DVDs, not so many videos (about three? the rest have been chucked out)... but not 24.

Trust

"You can trust me

trust nobody" – Trust Me

I was back in my office, waiting to discover if I had ruined it all – my job, the investigation, hundreds of innocent lives and, most importantly to me, my relationship with Nadia. I could go to prison for manslaughter, or even murder. Despite having no idea of whom or what I believed in, I prayed to anyone listening.

I'd been sitting silently for at least an hour by the time Nadia appeared, closing the door behind her. I said nothing, just asked one question with my eyes. She understood at once.

"They resuscitated her. As soon as she came to, she told us what we needed. We have Marshall; Owen's questioning him now on the location of the other bombs."

I let out a sigh of relief without realising it.

"Mike."

I looked up.

"What happened? I remember Gemma's name now – it was in your file. She's the one you used excessive force on before, isn't she?"

There was no point in denying it. I nodded slowly. Explanation time.

"In Denver, a few years ago, I was going out with her. She told me that she worked at home for an IT company. We'd been together for almost two years when I discovered the truth. I overheard a phone conversation between her and a 'customer' – she'd been hacking into my files and selling information about CTU to whoever would pay the most. I reported her at once and she was arrested."

I looked her in the eye.

"Milo and Annabell didn't like this. They were both idealists. They thought I was being too presumptuous and should have trusted her, asked her about it myself. Turned out I was right. Then we had to bring her in for questioning, like today. I lost my temper and she ended up in hospital.

She said it was a mistake; that she'd actually fallen in love with me. But that didn't stop her selling the information. She could have stopped, found herself a new job. She cared more about the money than about what we had."

I knew Nadia could tell I was still hurting, but to be honest, I didn't care. I was tired of all the secrets. I was tired of not trusting people. For the past few years I had become accustomed to trusting nobody, frequently having to remind myself that trust meant hurt. Gemma had proven that to me. But I now knew that if there was one person I could trust, it was Nadia. So I gave her an ultimatum.

"Look, Nadia, these past few months have been amazing, being with you. But I want to know that we're going somewhere. And I want to be sure you know everything about me, so you don't get so far and then back out at the last second. I want you to know that my ex-girlfriend is in prison, and that I've almost killed her on more than one occasion. I want you to know that I lose my temper, and that I'm sarcastic, and can have worse manners than Chloe at times. I'm about as far from perfect as you can get. I'm – "

"Mike?" Nadia interrupted.

"Yes?"

"You're about as close to perfect as I can live with. You're honest, sensitive and I can trust you. That's all I need. Although I may be sentencing you to some anger management courses, if you don't mind."

I was amazed, completely and utterly.

"I love you."

The words were tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. Oops.

"Uh... I mean..."

"I love you too."

"Really?"

She smiled at me, radiating happiness.

"Really."

Next time: Several years later... You're not getting any more hints out of me than that.

Review and make my day!