Chapter 16:

Face to Face

Cristina was surprised to find Mike standing on the other side of the door. It was clear to Cristina that he had walked to her apartment. His hair and his clothing was wet from the rain, his attire sticking to him like a second skin. His eyes looked sad, lost and vacant. His eyes fell on Cristina and a million thoughts went through his mind at once, each thought louder than the last. Cristina blinked, tightening the sash on her robe.

"Michael?"

"Hey, Cristina. I know it's late, and I hate to bother you, but I think that you and I...I think we need to have a talk." Cristina studied him. His tone sounded strange to her ears. Reluctantly, Cristina stood to the side, allowing him into her apartment. He stepped inside, looking around. It was a mess. The sight of it struck him. It wasn't like her to keep a messy home. She was the cleanest person he knew. He turned to her, taking her in. She looked exhausted; he could see it in her eyes.

"I will grab you a towel. You can dry off," she told him. He nodded, watching her disappear into the bathroom. She came back with several white towels. He put one down on the couch so he could sit down. He used the other one to start drying himself off. She studied him. "Eve. She told you things. Did she not?"

"She did," Mike confirmed. "Along with some other things. Cristina, why didn't you tell me Maryse came here?"

"I didn't want to burden you, Michael. Besides, Maryse..."

"She's lying. We're not together, Cristina. Never again. She lied." Normally he hated interrupting people, but he wasn't going to let her get those ugly words out. "She's lying. We broke up after I found out about the other men. I made her move out. She left the keys behind. Why she is doing this, I have no idea, but we're not together." He sighed. "Cristina, Eve thinks Maryse had something to do with what happened. Is it true?"

Cristina averted her gaze. He didn't need her to say anything else. It was all right there in front of him. He swallowed his rage, swallowed the urge to go out and hunt down Maryse and strangle her with his bare hands. "So it's true. Why did you tell Eve you blacked out and fell?"

"Please. This...it is hard. I am still in devastation."

"You're in devastation?" Mike stood in a flash. Cristina felt a wave of fear hit her. She backed up a few steps. Mike took in the fear and sighed, steadying himself. "Cristina, imagine how I felt when I found out that I was going to be a father...and then finding out two seconds later that I'm not going to be? You couldn't tell me this? I had to find out from Eve freaking Torres!"

"I'm sorry!" she told him. "You stopped speaking to me..."

He stopped. She had a point. He had felt so guilty that he had started avoiding her, giving no thought to what could have happened. He knew that they hadn't used protection, but he hadn't cared. He tried to put himself in her shoes, finding out she was pregnant and he was no longer talking to her. In that moment, he wasn't sure he could feel any worse.

"I'm sorry about that, Cristina. It really didn't have anything to do with you. I just...it was a weird time," he confessed. "I don't regret what happened, but I took advantage of you, and I regret that."

"You did not."

"I felt like I did. I put you in the middle of something you shouldn't have had to be in the middle of. How Maryse found out about what happened between us is beyond me, but I'm sorry, Cristina. I'm sorry this had to happen to you."

The smile that split her face was beautiful. Tears spilled over. Mike rushed to her and hugged her tightly. She clutched him tightly, like she didn't want to let him go for anything. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I'm here now, Cristina, and I promise you you'll never be alone."

In the middle of the night, Cristina awakened with a start. Looking over, she was surprised to find Mike was still there with her, fast asleep. She reached out, touching him softly, making sure he was real and not just a figment of her imagination. She smiled; it had been an emotionally draining night, full of tears. When they had both exhausted the well, they curled up on the couch together and watched a couple of movies. She asked Mike to stay with her, and he put up no resistance.

He had assured her repeatedly that Maryse had been lying to her. She believed him; Mike had never lied to her before. The image of Maryse, who seemed so much more glamorous and larger than life, haunted her, loomed over her like a storm cloud. She was pretty sure that Maryse would be at the back of her mind for a long time, the woman who had cost Cristina her baby. It was hard for Cristina to remember that Maryse had no idea that she had been pregnant.

She readjusted so that she was against Mike's back. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed her face to his back.

Mike woke up at the crack of dawn. Rolling over, he saw that Cristina's side of the bed was empty. Sliding his shirt on, he walked out into the living room and found Cristina standing on her small rickety balcony, dressed in her robe and slippers. The moment felt so very familiar. A smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Mike walked out onto the balcony. She heard him approaching, turning to face him.

"You're awake early."

"I have a hard time sleeping these days," she confessed softly. The words hit him. She looked back out at the LA skyline. "When I came to America, I never thought things would become so...so..."

"Complicated?"

"Si," she answered, running a hand through her hair. She leaned on the railing. "I just wanted to be successful. To live a quiet, normal life. It is not easy."

"If it's any consolation, if I had any inclination that things were going to get so crazy when I met you, I would have..." He shot her a look a grinned. "Oh, hell, who am I kidding? I would have done it all over again. Are you kidding? I spotted you halfway down the street and thought, 'There is one of the most beautiful women on the planet'."

"I was having the worst day of my life," Cristina confessed, laughing slightly. "You showed up like an angel. Helped me find my way. I will never forget it."

"It does sound like something an angel would do," Mike confirmed, putting an arm around her shoulder. "How are you feeling this morning, Cristina? Did you have a nightmare?" She nodded. Mike had a sneaking suspicion that her confrontation with Maryse had left her traumatized, but Cristina refused to talk about the encounter. He didn't want to force her to relive whatever she had been put through. He knew that she was still reeling - and would be reeling for a long time - from the entire concept of being pregnant and losing the baby.

"I will be okay, Michael," she assured him. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I know you will."