A/N: This next chapter was difficult, but made necessary by Matt Nix's choice to separate Michael and Fiona, so this is all on him. I don't own "Yours to Hold" by Skillet either, but the song just screamed Carlos and if we are to deal with the fact that Fiona let this guy into her life, then there was a reason. After all, it's not Carlos' fault he was no Michael Westen. Seriously, who else could fill our hero's shoes? Unfortunately, Fiona has to get over her hurts and abandonment issues before she figures that out.

This chapter also relates to the events in Purdy's Pal's own reaction to the addition of Carloser (LOL) into the cast called "Pale Imitation," as well as her brilliant piece about Madeline, "Blackbird's Song."

This vignette takes place while Carlos, Sam and Jesse are sitting at a table listening in while Michael gets ready to rescue Fi in 7.02 "Forget Me Not," as Carlos recalls the events in his relationship with Fiona.

"Yours to Hold"

Sitting around waiting for someone else, someone you don't really know but detest and mistrust anyway, to save the woman you love is difficult at best. Harder still was her friends seem to be perfectly okay with the man who had apparently just watched while his former girlfriend was kidnapped being the one they're counting on to keep her alive while she's in the hands of a cold blooded killer all because of that guy.

"What this situation needs is a little Michael Westen…" Sam had assured him in the car on their way to the tactical command center hidden behind the building opposite of where his amado was being held. The older man had sounded actually relieved that the bearded intruso was there, though he had been cursing up a blue streak about his so-called best friend he hadn't heard from in almost a year the minute before.

Carlos Cruz looked over his shoulder at the back of said man donning a flak jacket over his shirt… qué clase de hombre lleva el rosa? He knew Sam and her other amigo Jesse Porter were keeping a close eye on him, making sure he didn't start anything else. That sucker punch he'd gotten off wasn't usually his style, but it was the least of what Michael Westen deserved for the way he had hurt Fiona Glenanne.

He remembered the first day he'd seen the flame haired beauty like it was yesterday. He had been getting his ass handed to him by a very large brawny man who was on something… PCP, crack, whatever and either the tazer had missed its mark or the guy was so chemically enhanced that it didn't matter.

Next thing he knew, Goliath had hit the pavement and a petite party girl wearing a fancy cocktail dress four inch heels and smirk was standing over the unconscious mass of muscle holding a broken brick.

"You owe me one, muchacho… What?" she had demanded because he was, he knew, gaping at her open mouthed and speechless, just as stunned as the inert form at his feet by her sudden appearance. "It takes a lot of skill to hit someone with a brick, you know. It's all in the wrist."

Somehow he'd managed to find one of Lou's cards with his number on it, telling her if she ever needed work she could call his boss. It was a lame way to slip her his phone number, but it was the best he could come up with at that moment. He was woozy from the hits to his head and bleeding more than a little.

~~I see you standing here
But you're so far away~~

He'd been just as surprised when he'd seen her actually standing in Lou's office, sitting down a skip at the front desk. who was looking a lot worse for the wear. That had been over six years ago now. Back then the young Latino, who'd managed to get out of the barrio and into college thanks to bail bondsman they both now worked for regularly, had seen her here and there over the years, bringing in bounties until her regular appearances thinned out to once in a while before becoming not at all a little over two years ago.

~~Starving for your attention
You don't even know my name~~

"¡Que demonios! Fiona fue arrestado?" and Lou had turned on the television to sensational reports of a bombing at the British Consulate which one of his best trackers was being arrested for perpetrating. Three months later, he'd learned she'd been released from prison and that was the last he'd heard for months on end.

Then mysteriously she was back, looking thinner and smaller, with an air of barely suppressed violence radiating off of her. Lou had been immediately suspicious. Magically her record had been scrubbed clean.

~~You're going through so much
But I know that I could be the one to hold you~~

Whatever had happened to Fiona while she'd been gone, she'd been deeply wounded by it. Her clothes, her hair, her posture, her speech… everything about her screamed that she had been hurt and very badly, but he could truly see it in her eyes every time she looked at him. Su corazón se dolía de su angustia.

~~Every single day
I find it hard to say
I could be yours alone~~

Carlos turned and glared at the man who had been responsible for causing her such pain. Jesse shifted forward in his chair, but there was no need for concern. The dark haired spy was too occupied with giving instructions to the men carrying the M249 machine guns lining up near the windows of the building and here and now was not the place or the time to let el cabrón know what he really thought of him.

~~You will see someday
That all along the way

I was yours to hold
I was yours to hold~~

He recalled the day Fiona had first come back into the office looking for work. Gone were the designer clothes, replaced by rugged looking denims and combat boots, and Lou had been concerned. They'd both heard the rumors of a perra blanca flaca who'd been busting heads from Little Havanna to Overtown and back. But he'd vouched for Fiona and insisted that his surrogate father needed to give her a chance.

Then the petite woman with the wild reputation had snatched up the three nearest bench warrants and said she would be back. When his boss had called the Florida Department of Financial Services, Bureau of Agent and Agency Licensing, he'd been shocked to learn that she did have a limited surety agent license.

Lou had been even more dumbfounded when Fiona Glenanne had returned two days later with the trio bound and gagged in the back of what appeared to be a late model stolen land yacht. As much as he had wanted to object, Carlos knew the man was not going to turn down three prized prisoners in one day. However, the owner had insisted that his newest hire take his most trusted employee along from now on, as much to keep an eye out for his own liabilities as to watch the back of the mujer salvaje loco.

~~I see you walking by
Your hair always hiding your face~~

Clenching his jaw, he watched while Sam got up to talk with el bastardo and again the tall bald man moved into a more defensive position. He didn't know much about Jesse; this was the first time they had really worked together. Señor Porter was around a lot less than Señor Axe, or el varado viejo perro licores as Fiona had once called him. But today the older man hadn't looked or acted anything like he'd come to expect from the easy going, always drinking retired naval officer she'd introduced him to months ago.

~~I wonder why you've been hurting
I wish I had some way to say~~

In the beginning, Fiona had kept it strictly professional between them. She was frequently on the phone with Sam and just as frequently in a bad mood at the end of the conversation. She often took long circuitous routes to their destinations, as if she was checking for something but never finding it. Both of these became less frequent as time went on. Occasionally, the redhead would ask him about himself.

~~You're going through so much
Don't you know that I could be the one to hold you?~~

He talked about his large family, about his mother, all his younger brothers and sisters still at home. He neglected to mention what his old neighborhood was like or the gang he'd run with. She mentioned that she was the youngest in her family and that seemed to make her sad for reasons he could never fathom.

~~Every single day
I find it hard to say
I could be yours alone~~

He told her about Lou, about how their employer had taken a young hothead who'd lost a father to street violence off those streets and gotten him into college. Again, he had been economical with the truth when it came to the details. But this hadn't seemed to upset her; she hadn't said much about her own past. He had even taken her to the local community center he volunteered at when he wasn't working where he ran several programs to see to it the neighborhood kids had somewhere safe to hang out after school.

~~You will see someday
That all along the way

I was yours to hold
I was yours to hold~~

Sam came back to the table, looking grim and saying nothing. Carlos couldn't understand why they were all so confident in Michael. From what he'd been told and what he'd overheard, el pendejo had been gone for almost a year with no word to anyone and now they were going to be shooting into the building with some serious firepower. How the hell did he know that Fiona wouldn't get caught in the crossfire?

~~I'm stretching but you're just out of reach
You should know
I'm ready when you're ready for me~~

The young Latino closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, trying to keep himself under control. From what they'd said, this plan was better than the trap they had apparently all been about to walk into; but, he still sincerely wished Fiona's ex had stayed wherever the hell he'd been. Carlos thought about the day she'd finally let him in, the tears in her eyes when she'd thanked him for the gift he'd gotten her because of momentary slip on her part, giving him just a glimpse into who she was and he'd responded.

~~And I'm waiting for the right time
For the day I catch your eye
To let you know
That I'm yours to hold~~

She hadn't given him a lot of details about Michael. It was over between them and she wanted a new life. She'd told him more about her time in prison, which infuriated him when Madeline had told him she'd gone to jail for Michael. The nightmares that woke her up, the whimpering she did in her sleep, the sad distant look she would suddenly get in her eyes when they were at Madeline's house before she brushed it off. She didn't really have to say how much the hijo de puta had hurt her; the man's own mother had had plenty to say on that particular subject and then, that insanity when her brother had come to town…!

~~Every single day
I find it hard to say
I could be yours alone~~

(You're so far away)

Finally, finally, finally it was over. Fiona was alive, the maniac who'd kidnapped her was dead and it was all he could do to restrain himself from taking another swing at Michael for putting her in danger in the first place. But as he approached the man from behind, all he could see was su bella mujer exiting from the building safe and apparently unharmed. He ran towards the redhead and swept her into his arms.

~~You will see someday
That all along the way

I was yours to hold
I was yours to hold~~

She was his to hold again. He kissed her, pouring his relief and his passion into it. Embracing her tightly, he picked her up and turned her so that her back was to her former lover. He could feel the gaze of her ex-boyfriend upon them as their mouths and their bodies molded to one another. Finally opening his eyes, Carlos stared at the man who had saved Fiona, letting him know that he was grateful, but also furious.

~~I'm stretching but you're just out of reach~~

And once Fiona was checked over by the paramedics and he brought the car around, Carlos planned on letting Michael Westen know how unwelcome he was in their lives before they parted company for good.

~~I'm ready when you're ready for me~~

Because no one was going to hurt Fiona Glenanne while he was around to have anything to say about it…