A/N: Thanks for reading...let me know what you think. Is it June 25th yet?

Johnny squeezed Paige's shoulder reassuringly as they showed their badges to the agents outside Mike's door, Jakes trailing behind them. "Do you want me to come in with you?"

"I need to do this by myself." Bringing Johnny in with her would be taking the easy way out. It would provide a buffer between her and Mike. At best, she could hope that Mike wouldn't want to unload on her in front of Johnny and he would ignore her. But however he decided to react, she deserved it after what she did.

Even though she wasn't sure Mike would ever forgive her, she needed to see him. Needed to see he was really alive. Needed to explain herself. Even if he didn't believe her, she needed to let him know she forgave him, even if he never forgave her. Needed him to know she didn't want him dead. That she had sent Sid after him, to arrest him. Not to kill him.

Johnny nodded, "I'll be right outside if you need me, P."

Paige nodded, blinking back tears as Johnny cupped her face in his hand. For three days she thought Mike was dead and would've given anything to have him alive and now that he was, she was afraid to see him. Afraid of how he would react to seeing her. Afraid to face what she had done.

"Hey, listen to me. Mike, he's stubborn, as stubborn as you are. He's gonna be mad. But Mike cares about you, I know he does. Just like when you were mad at him, you still cared about him."

"But what I did, what if - what if he can't forgive me?" Paige asked, voicing aloud that fear for the first time. It was selfish, but once the news that Mike was really alive sunk in, it preoccupied her thoughts.

"Give him time." Johnny kissed the top of her head. "Don't let him push you away. If he pushes you away, push him back."

Paige nodded and placed her hand on the doorknob, slowly opening the door. A sob escaped her throat and she placed her hand on her chest, clutching her shirt as she saw Mike lying in the hospital bed, as if all the air was sucked out of her chest. She gripped the door knob until her knuckles turned white, afraid to approach Mike. Her heart was racing in her chest and she took a few deep breaths as she cautiously approached the bed.

She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath, thankful to see that he was breathing fine on his own. Her eyes darted to the monitors, oddly comforted by the various blips of the machines. She was reminded of the summer before when she had waited for him to wake up when Jangles stabbed him.

His room wasn't filled with balloons and floors this time around. No stuffed bear from Johnny to tease him about the time he took down a gang of bears.

"You're a bear."

Should she have brought him something? Flowers? Balloons? She was pretty sure the gift shop didn't sell balloons that said, Sorry, I sent someone to kill you. Get Well Soon.

Mike looked so peaceful. If it wasn't for the machines and paleness of his skin, he would look like he was sleeping. He hadn't shaved since he'd been in here. Paige made a mental note to pack him a care package and bring it with her the next time she visited. She had confiscated some of his clothes before Briggs packed them up, but she had his favorite tshirt, and she'd make sure to bring it. Make sure his ipod was charged. Get him some magazines and books. She was pretty sure he was bored out of his mind. It must be driving him insane not being able to leave the hospital or go outside. Running was definitely out of the question. Mike ran everyday, not just to stay in shape but because it cleared his head and she was positive there was a lot of garbage floating around his head right now.

Paige continued her silent observation of Mike, trying to gather as much information as she could in order to figure out what he needed. Mike looked like he had lost a little weight, not a lot, but just enough that she noticed. She would have to smuggle in some food for him, bring him a chili cheese dog or a Guadalajara Dog even though he was embarrassed to admit he secretly liked them. He had to be sick of hospital food. Maybe she could convince Charlie to make sauce. She wasn't sure how much longer Mike would be in the hospital, he might not even be here in three days. But if not, it could be a welcome home dinner for him. She'd have to text Charlie for an ingredient list and stop at the store on the way home.

Mike needed his rest and she didn't want to disturb his sleep, but she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to run her fingers through his hair. She needed to touch him. Needed to reassure herself that he was really here, that this wasn't another dream or hallucination.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Paige whispered, her voice barely audible as she gently stroked his hair. The simple action comforted her. Reassured her that this was real. He was real. "You have to believe me." Mike was alive. He could hate her all he wanted. But he was alive, no thanks to her. She was going to do whatever it took to get him to forgive her and earn back his trust.

She desperately needed his forgiveness. If only it was as easy as crawling through broken glass. Because she'd do it. She'd do anything he asked. Her hand stilled as Mike stirred.

"There's those blue eyes."

His eyes slowly opened, his gaze hazy and unfocused but it hardened once he saw her. She guiltily pulled her hand away.

"Why?"

A simple question. A single word. But her answer was anything but simple.

"How could you? How could you think I did all those things? Despite everything that happened, everything I did, how could you think that?"

When his questions were met with silence, he kept asking questions. She smiled slightly, despite being the target of his interrogation. Mike was alive. She said she'd give anything to argue with him again and it looked like she was getting her wish.

Relieved he was even talking to her, Paige sat down next to him and started to reach for his hand and felt like she had been slapped when he pulled it away. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I thought - I thought if you lied about Lina, you lied to me about Lina. Again and again you lied to me. If I meant something to you and you lied to me, then I wasn't sure what you were capable of. I thought you could be lying about everything else," Paige rambled, the words spilling out of her mouth. She knew she should choose her words more carefully, but now that she started talking, she couldn't stop. "The lengths you went to with the letter you forged, I thought, I hoped - fuck, Mike, I believed it was true. Then I found out you were lying. I couldn't believe you did that to me." He had been so desperate to save his case, that she didn't know what lengths he would go to. She lost faith in him. He failed her. And his career had been tanking so fast that she no longer had any idea what he was capable of.

"The letter wasn't for you. It was for her family," Mike said, his voice getting hoarse. "You weren't supposed to find out."

Just because she wasn't supposed to find out, didn't make it okay. Just like not knowing the outcome of her actions, didn't excuse her. Paige handed him a glass of water, "You should rest. We can talk later. I just have one more thing to tell you, then I'll let you get some rest." How did everything go wrong with them? Things used to be so easy with them. They used to be honest with each other.

Mike clenched his jaw, waiting for her to continue. He took a drink of water and set it down on the bedside table.

"I understand if you can't forgive me. Especially with how I treated you, when I wouldn't forgive you. But I want you to know that all I ever wanted from you was the truth. I never wanted - God, Mike, I never thought. If I had thought - I didn't," Paige quietly said, struggling not to cry. "I'm sorry. I don't have an excuse and I'm not making one, but you have to believe me, I never wanted things to end like this. I never wanted - I wasn't thinking, I was just - "

"You being sorry doesn't change anything. It doesn't change the fact that you sent someone to kill me. So much for Graceland being sacred," MIke snapped.

"I didn't send Sid to kill you! I sent him to arrest you! I never would've sent anyone to kill you."

"You sent him to arrest me?" Mike asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "You sent a man that had me at gunpoint after his team slaughtered everyone at Sulla's to arrest me? I was unarmed, Paige. Unarmed and he was about to shoot me when you walked in the room and you gave up my alias to him? If you wanted me dead, why not just let him kill me then? It would've been easier to cover up. Easier for your conscience."

"No, Mike - I didn't - "

"You're a fucking coward!"

"I never wanted you dead!"

"There's no excuse for turning me over to Sid. None! If you wanted me to pay, you should've turned me into The Bureau!"

"You have to believe me, Mike. I - "

"That's just it, Paige. I don't have to believe you. You didn't believe me. My word is shit, remember? Well, so is yours. As soon as I'm cleared to travel, I'm going back to DC and as far away from you as possible."

"Mike, you can't do that," Paige said. He couldn't leave. He couldn't leave before she had a chance to fix things. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction she was expecting from Mike, but she wasn't expecting him to run from Graceland. To want to get so far away from her that he was leaving as soon as he could travel. Maybe that made her a hypocrite because she was leaving Graceland too. Or at least she had been earlier that day. But that was before she learned Mike was alive. Even though everyone had been great to her at the house, there was the chance that they wouldn't want her there anymore.

"I can. I never should've come back this summer. I wish..." Mike's voice trailed off, his voice filled with sadness. "I wish I never met you."

Johnny collapsed on the couch next to Charlie as Paige angrily marched upstairs.

"How is he?" Charlie asked. "How does he look? Is he eating?"

"I didn't get a chance to see Mike. Paige went in first and they fought. I thought I was going to have to stop the guys from throwing Paige out of his room, but she ran out in tears before that happened." The agents watching over Mike had one order - protecting Mike. But even though Paige had turned Mike in, she would never intentionally hurt him. Mike wasn't in any danger from her. The stress from seeing her probably didn't do Mike any good, but not seeing him wouldn't do her any good. Unless a doctor told him that Paige shouldn't see Mike, she was going to see him. Until Mike decided otherwise. And even then, he wasn't sure Paige would stay away from Mike. Both of them were stubborn as hell and neither were going to give in. And he wasn't sure whose side to take. If he stood by Paige, because she had been through hell over the past few days. Or if he should take Mike's because she gave him up and almost got him killed in the process. "It was bad, Charlie. Mike said he wished he never met her and he's going back to DC as soon as he can."

"He can't do that."

"He's pissed." Johnny looked around, wanting to make sure Paige hadn't snuck back downstairs, because the last thing he wanted was for her to overhear. "She almost got him killed," Johnny whispered, keeping his voice low.

"You and I both know, she didn't mean it."

"Not meaning it doesn't matter to Mike."

"You weren't there the night they met. The way Mike looked at Paige, that's not something someone gets over."

"I think almost dying because your girl turns you over to the cop that she knows wants you dead trumps your love at first sight theory."

Charlie smacked his arm, "You have to have faith."

"Maybe, we'll see." Part of him felt like Mike could've forgiven Paige for anything. She probably could've shot him after he got her out of Sulla's and he would've begged for forgiveness, but it was going to take a miracle for them to work through this.

"Where's Jakes?"

"We left him at the hospital babysitting Mike. Paige was freaking out about him being left alone, so he stayed behind." Johnny shook his head, if Paige had been that paranoid earlier they wouldn't be in this mess. "Is Briggs around?" He wouldn't apologize for punching him and he was still angry with him, for not trusting him - any of them with the truth about Mike being alive, but now that he knew Mike was alive and Sid tried to kill him, he would have to put aside his issues to bring down Sid.

"He took off a while ago."

"He left you here alone knowing that Sid's watching this house?" Not that Charlie wasn't capable of taking care of herself, but with Sid watching them, Briggs shouldn't chance it.

"Sid has a family and he has no team, he can't watch us 24/7."

check my bio page for updates