Her lips set in a thin line, and Mike releases her wrists, knowing he's just won a fight he didn't truly want to win. He waits for the verbal wrath he's sure is about to be unleashed upon him finally admitting his guilt. Facing his crimes to the only person whose judgment he values.

She crosses her arms over her chest and stares down at him, resolution set across her face.

Mike prepares himself for her response.

"Good. Then you shouldn't have a problem adding Grand Arsen to the list when we burn Sid's house and all the evidence down to the ground around him." She says, with a stubbornness that only Paige could display. Mike's shocked, but he can't help but admire her strange brand of macabre optimism.

"Paige, without Sid, I'll never clear my name." Mike's voice is pleading for her to see reason. "We both don't need to go down for this. Just go back to your life. Forget me. I'll run for as long as I can."

There's a long pause and Mike hopes it means that Paige is realizing that his is the only way.

"Croatia." She finally says.

"What?"

"Croatia has no extradition agreement with the US. It's government is fairly stable. With half a million dollars you could live comfortably there." Paige says practically.

"Where am I going to get half a million dollars?" Mike asks critically.

"Markum keeps it in his mattress. The bills are unmarked." Paige says, fumbling through her purse.

"Paige, the entire government is looking for me. Especially after this. Look someone had to have heard the gunshots, just get out of here."

"Then don't waste time arguing with me." Paige says, digging into her bag she pulls out a plastic bag and digs through some documents before she tosses him a passport.

"You just carry this around with you?" Mike looks down critically at the incredibly realistic passport in his lap with his photo on it.

"I thought you might need it." Paige says simply, putting the rest of the documents back in the plastic bag to put away.

"Michael J. Richards." Mike looks down at the passport in his hand. Mike grabs her hand before she can put away the second passport she holds. "Is that yours?"

She flushes pink as Mike looks down at the passport in her hand.

"Paige A. Richards?" He reads her "Common last name, huh?"

"I made these before." She says defensively, "Back when we were still… I thought just in case we needed to..."

"Elope." Mike finishes for her.

"...Run." She corrects him, glaring at him, "They would work. Don't read too much into it. It was a long time ago."

"And you've kept them in your purse all this time…" Mike says watching her as she turns away from him, wiping his gun clean.

"Like I said, don't read too much into it." She turns to turn off the pilot light under the stove. Mike shakes his head in awe. She's really prepared to burn this place to the ground to protect him.

"They'll come after you, you know. It'll come out that you were dating Markum. They'll find out about you and me with a little investigating. Jess will tell them, or someone from the house. You're not safe here." Mike says softly.

"I'll figure it out. If we do this right, they can't prove anything." Paige says quietly.

"Come with me." Mike says softly.

"Mike just go. Start over. Forget about me." Paige insists, focusing intently on her work.

"I won't go without you. Either you're coming with me, or I'm marching down to the police station and turning myself in for the murder of Sid Markum and all the other crimes they've accused me of." Mike says, his eyes trained upon her.

"Do you know what your asking me?" Paige says, not turning to look back at him.

"Yes." Mike says resolutely, "I'm asking you to start over. Look at me Paige. It's the only way." He suddenly needs her to look at him. It's the only way he can read her. He needs her to look at him if he has a hope of being anything. Without her, it doesn't matter if he's in Croatia or behind bars. It will all be the same.

Mike's breath catches in his throat as she slowly turns back towards him, her green eyes still lowered to the ground. As the lashes flutter upwards and his blue eyes meet hers, he once again knows the unbelievable truth without her needing to speak the words.

"Come on."

This story was based on the Counting Crows "Cowboys"

Cowboys on the road tonight
Crying in their sleep
If I was a hungry man with a gun in my hand,
And some promises to keep,
Who wanted to change the world,
What's as easy as murder?
It's all headlights and vapour trails
And Circle K killers

And I know I could look at anyone but you now
I could fall under the eyes of anyone
But you now, now, now, now

So come on, come on, come on
Oh, come on through now
Come on, come on, come on
Oh, come on through now

This is a list of what I should have been
But I'm not
This is a list of the things that I should have seen
But I'm not seeing
The look in your eyes
As his fingertips slid down your neck
And made you shiver
I'm just turning away from where I should have been
Because I am not anything
Oh, anything, oh

The President's in bed tonight
But he can't get to sleep
'Cause all the cowboys on the radio are killers
And I believe she loves you
'Cause you never make her feel like anything
She said, "I wouldn't feel a thing,
But I can feel, I can feel..."

And I know I could look at anyone but you now
I could fall under the arms of anyone
But you now, now, now, now

So come on, come on, come on
Oh, come on through now
Come on, come on, come on
Oh, come on through now

This is a list of what I should have been
But I'm not
This is a list of the things that I should have seen
But I am not seeing
The look in your eyes
As his fingers are unzipping your dress
And it makes you shiver
I'm just turning away from what I shouldn't see
Because I am not anything
Oh, anything, no

Everyone's in bed tonight
But nobody can sleep
'Cause all the satellites are watching through our windows
She says she doesn't love me, like, like she's acting
But it's as if she isn't talking
'Cause Mr. Lincoln's head is bleeding
On the front row while she's speaking

I said, "come on all you cowboys,
All you blue-eyed baby boys,
Oh come on all you dashing gentlemen of summer,
I'll wait for you where Saturday's a memory,
And Sunday comes to gather me,
Into the arms of God who welcome me,
Because I believe, oh I believe..."

And I know I could look at anyone but you now
I could fall under the eyes of anyone
But you now, now, now, now

So come on, come on, come on
Oh, come on through now
Come on, come on, come on
Oh, come on through now

This is a list of what I should have been
But I'm not
This is a list of the things that I should have seen
But I'm not seeing you look at me
So please, won't you look at me?
'Cause I'm not seeing you look at me
Oh, oh, I, I will make you look at me
Or I am not anything