a/n- Hi there, everyone. I can't thank you enough for the kind reviews!

Disclaimer- I don't own anything Burn Notice related.

As much as I hated to, I had to start from the very beginning to get Michael up to speed. He sat there quietly, his blue eyes alert, I could tell that he was going to be a very good listener.

"When I met Jacob I was only sixteen years old." I began. "And he was twenty four. My parents didn't approve of him right off the bat because of the age difference. But, Jacob was a funny, handsome… a total charmer, and a few months away from finishing college."

I paused for a moment, finally taking a sip of my coffee. The taste and smell were somewhat comforting to me. I put the cup down and stared into the dark liquid as I went on.

"He had an amazing apartment right here in Miami, a beautiful car and no job. Maybe if I was a little older I would have found that to be suspicious." I sighed dejectedly at my young stupidity. "I was crazy for Jacob and since my parents didn't approve of us, I rebelled. After being together for six months I found out that he mixed up with drugs in some way or another." I stopped for a moment collecting my thoughts.

"The night I found out I had snuck out of my parent's house to go see Jacob. He had no idea that I was coming over, it was supposed to be a surprise... When I got to his apartment he was less than thrilled to see me but, he let me in."

I looked up from my coffee and made eye contact with Michael, he nodded to me. Madeline reached over, took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. I smiled weakly at her before continuing.

"So, I stayed over, and I happened to wake up in the middle of the night, I just felt like something was wrong. I got up and found Jacob in the living room with three other men, huddled around the coffee table. Money was laid out and they were inspecting little baggies. It became obvious very quickly that I shouldn't have seen what I saw. Jacob saw me before the other men did. When he got up I saw that he was very angry. I had never seen him that angry before… It scared me. He grabbed me and hauled me back into the bedroom."

I stopped talking as I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I had never told anyone about that night before and this was well… awkward.

"As soon as Jacob shut the bedroom door he started yelling at me, he was livid. I was so startled that I started to cry and out of nowhere he backhanded me. That was the first time he had ever hit me. He told me that if I told anyone about what I had seen there would be problems… And then he just left the room, like nothing had happened." I stared into my coffee cup once again and shook my head as I tried to fight back tears. "I should have left that night. I was so stupid!" I cried, frustrated with myself.

"Sarah…" Michael began, his voice smooth, soothing almost. "It's okay" He reassured me. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself, I nodded in agreement.

"It's not like I can change my actions now." I whispered. "The next day Jacob apologized, He came clean to me, and he told me everything. He had become involved with a drug gang as a teenager and had been dealing drugs to get himself through college… He told me that was his last deal since he was to graduate in a few months' time… I stupidly forgave him. After Jacob graduated we eloped and eight months later I gave birth to our son, Joshua. He's six years old now."

I smiled a little at the thought of my little boy. But, my smile soon faltered as my thoughts returned to Jacob and why I was sitting in Madeline Westen's house, at her table, talking with and spilling my guts to her Son.

"It had been a few years since I saw Jacob with the drugs and he hadn't hurt me since then. It seemed that everything was going well, Jacob had gotten a great job and I was going to night school to get my GED. But, Jacob started drinking and out of the blue he started to turn on me. He started being down right mean to me, calling me names, telling me that I had gotten fat since I had Joshua, accusing me of wanting to leave him after I got my GED. He just wasn't the Jacob that I knew anymore." I stopped to take another sip of my coffee before continuing on.

"One night we got into a stupid fight, I had dropped Joshua off at a friend's house for a few hours so I could get some studying done. I didn't tell Jacob what I was going to do, I wanted to surprise Jacob when he got home from work with a little us time. He got home and everything went to hell. He was angry that I left Joshua with one of my friends and he accused me of cheating on him since I was home alone. I got mad and told him that he was wrong. Things got really heated and that eventually led to things getting physical again between him and I. I guess you can say that that was the beginning of the end."

I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts once again.

"It's hard on Josh, you know, knowing that his mom and dad constantly fight. He's a great little guy. He really is. I love him to death. He's smart, funny and brave as hell! And now Josh is at that nosy age, you know where he hears and sees almost everything… No six year old should be exposed to this kind of violence and abuse. I try to shield him from what I can, I really do… He's recently has gotten into the habit of getting between Jacob and I when Jacob starts in on me. I guess he's gotten tired of seeing his dad beat his mom. It's just not fair that he's got an abusive jerk for a father."

Michael scoffed. Curiously, I made eye contact with him. "That's one thing your son and I have in common."

I didn't say anything. I just stared, like an idiot, at the man sitting across from me. 'Say something!' My mind screamed.

Thankfully Madeline spoke up, "Michael, don't start bashing your father." She said, rolling her eyes as she lit up another cigarette.

"C'mon, ma the man was an abusive bastard..." Michael retorted.

Suddenly the room went awkwardly quiet. Through the silence I could hear that it was still raining, the sound was soothing. I wanted nothing more than to go out and sit on Madeline's porch... Just watch the rain… and forget about everything.

"Has your husband hurt your son?" Michael asked, breaking the silence.

"Not until recently." I answered honestly. "All of Jacob's anger was directed toward me but, about two weeks ago Jacob was getting onto me about not having dinner ready in what he thought was a reasonable amount of time and he got me into a corner and started hitting me. Joshua heard me screaming and came to help me. Jacob wasn't having it and he hit Josh across the face, broke his nose, he…"

Michael cut me off. "Where is your son now?" He questioned urgently.

"He's at this Grandparents' house, they live in Miami Beach." I answered.

"He's safe there?" Michael questioned harshly.

I hesitated before answering. "Sarah…" Michael moaned disapprovingly.

"Joshua's grandparents would never let anything happen to him!" I exclaimed.

"'Joshua's grandparents?'" Michael questioned "Are they not your parents?" He asked quirking an eyebrow at me. I shook my head in response. "You left your son with your abusive Husband's parents?"

"I know! I know how terrible that sounds and seems!" I shouted, frustrated. "I had no one else to leave him with. I had to get him out of our house and away from his father! David and Sue have given me their word that they would keep Jacob away from Josh."

"Alright, alright" Michael sighed putting his hands up in defeat. "If you believe that Josh is safe then I won't push you to move him again." I nodded my head silently in response. "Now, tell me more about your Husband."

I took a deep breath before replying. "The idiot I married graduated college with a business degree, he held a job for about three years until he was laid off. He's now the head supervisor of a warehouse in Hialeah for a company that sells commercial flooring and such. Jacob runs with a gang from the warehouse, I recognized a few of the men he hangs around with to be the ones I saw that night in Jacob's apartment. I'm thinking the flooring business is just serving as a front for the drug gang. If I could prove that that is true, Jacob will be locked up and my son and I will be able to live our lives."

Pushing my chair away from the table I stood and stretched. Michael quickly followed suit. "Do you think we could continue this outside?" I asked, hopeful. I looked over to Madeline who had to be half way through her pack of cigarettes.

"Do what you need to, Honey." She said "While you finish up with Michael I'll make us all some sandwiches." She added with a grin. I looked over to Michael who had made his way over to the front door. He stood in the open door way, motioning for me to follow him.

Sitting down on the bottom of porch steps I gently and a bit childishly stuck my feet in a little puddle that had formed at the bottom of the steps. Michael sat down next to me. "Can I ask what happened before you came here tonight?" Michael prompted.

"I work a few nights a week in a diner at the airport. It's not much but its helping me feed my son and helping me to kind of put myself through school. I knew that my shift was going to run a little late, so I borrowed a co-worker's phone to text Jacob telling him what was going on so I wouldn't have to hear about it when I got home. Well, I got home and he was waiting for me. Right away he started to ream me asking me where I really was, who I was with. He wasn't satisfied with my truthful answer and started in on me, as you can see." I pointed to my face which hurt like hell.

"Why did you come to my mother instead of going to the police?" Michael asked gently. I shrugged in response as I continued to play in the puddle. "Sarah." Michael said firmly.

I looked up at him, hazel locked onto blue; I felt my heart skip a beat. "The only thing the police told me that I could do was get a restraining order and I knew that once the restraining order was up things would go back to the way they were, maybe even worse." I answered truthfully. "Your mother is a sweet woman and she understands what I am going through. It's nice to have someone on my side for a change."

Michael nodded his head in agreement before I continued. "I also remembered your mom telling me that one of her sons helps people and I need help. I can't live like this anymore. Like I said if I could prove that the flooring business that Jacob works for is a front for the drugs, I'll be free! I can't just put an anonymous call into the cops telling them what I think. Jacob may be an abusive bastard but he's smart, he…"

Michael cut me off "I'll help you." He said firmly.

I smiled gratefully at the man sitting next to me. I hardly knew him, and yet I trusted him with every fiber of my being.

a/n- I won't lie... This chapter did not want to cooperate with me at all. That's why it took so long for me to update. Sorry guys! Please read and review! And if you have any suggestions please feel free to voice them. Thank you so much for reading! You guys are awesome!