A/N: Don't hate on Johnny too much for interrupting...he was either gonna interrupt there or at their impromptu movie night, I figured they deserved a perfect 'date' amidst all their angst. But as for this fic...this is the last chapter. It's really not what I usually write, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I probably secretly like angst, but I don't usually go for full on tragedy and angst on top of angst. I tried to balance the dark with lighter moments that were mostly flashbacks.

Thanks to everyone that read, favorited, followed and reviewed this fic, I know it was really angsty so thanks for sticking through it despite Mike being dead for the first seven chapters. I'm still debating writing Mike's side of the story, it's been outlined for months, I just can't seem to find the motivation to actually start it. His story (Broken is the Promise, Betrayal) runs along the same timeline, starting at the hospital with Sid and ends sometime after this fic ends, most scenes are new. There are a few from this fic that are told from Mike's POV. After I finish my 8 fics for my ficathon, I'm going to see if I can entice my muse to start writing it.

That's enough of me rambling...as always, let me know what you think :)

"Scared, Warren?" Sid taunted as he menacingly leaned over Mike's hospital bed. "Your best wasn't good enough. I'm better than you. Smarter. You're gonna rot in the ground for trying to bring me down. I'm going to make you regret the day you learned my name."

"Don't touch him!" Paige screamed as she ran into the room. Drawing her gun, she aimed at Sid and fired, but the bullet didn't seem to affect him, and he started to reach for Mike's ventilator tube. She shot Sid again and again, emptying the chamber, but the bullets bounced off him one by one.

Sid wrapped his hand around Mike's ventilator tube, "You're gonna suffer, Warren. I want the last face you see to be mine. I want you to know your blonde girlfriend gave you up to me. She wants you dead and who am I to refuse a pretty blonde?" Sid started squeezing Mike's ventilator tube, cutting off his air supply.

"Get away from him!" Paige shouted, yanking Sid's arm, but he ignored her.

"I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill all your friends, but I'm going to save her for last," Sid promised. "I'm going to slit her throat and make sure she knows how much she suffered. If she even cares."

Mike desperately looked at her with panicked eyes, gasping for air as she tried fighting off Sid, but it was as if she wasn't even there. Sid didn't flinch when she pistol whipped him. Didn't react when she grabbed his hand to try to pull him away from Mike's ventilator. Mike couldn't breathe and she was helpless. Mike flatlined and his body went still as his monitors went off. Sid waited a few seconds and fled the room. She frantically tried reviving Mike as she screamed for help.

Paige screamed when she felt a hand on her arm. Her eyes shot open and she instinctively backed away until she noticed Mike sitting on the edge of her bed. He pulled his hand away, but didn't move away from her.

Blinking back tears, she sat up and stared at him in disbelief, trying to sort out the nightmare from reality, even though the past few weeks felt more like a nightmare than reality. Paige closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to regulate her breathing before she started having a panic attack.

It was a dream. It was all some horrible dream. When she opened her eyes, everything would be fine. She was at home. Not the hospital. Mike was asleep in his room down the hall. Paige took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes, confused to see Mike watching her. Convinced she was hallucinating, she reached out to touch his face, not sure if her mind was playing tricks on her or if this was real. "You're really here," Paige whispered before launching herself in his arms. She hugged him tightly, relieved that he was really okay. Mike wrapped his arms around her and she relaxed in his embrace, running her fingers through his hair for a few moments. As reality came into focus, she suddenly remembered that they didn't do this anymore and pulled away. "Sorry."

Mike shrugged, indicating it was fine. He loosened his hold on her but didn't move away from her. "I heard you screaming."

"Just a nightmare," Paige confessed, struggling to keep her voice even. She didn't Mike to know how much trouble she had sleeping these past few weeks. Not that it mattered if he knew, but she didn't want him feeling sorry for her. It had been days since she had a nightmare and she thought they had stopped. But that had been before Sid kidnapped her and goaded her with information about Mike's death. Apparently it took her subconscious a few days to filter new material into her nightmares.

"You're trembling," Mike quietly said, his voice filled with concern as he tenderly stroked her face.

Paige looked at her hands and gripped the comforter, trying to will herself to stop shaking, but it was Mike's touch that calmed her. Well aware of the fact that Mike's eyes were on her, she kept her eyes trained on her hands, breathing a sigh of relief when her hands stilled. "See, all better now," Paige said, resisting the urge to lean into his touch.

"What were you dreaming of?" Mike asked, gently pressing her for answers.

"You." Not all of her dreams were nightmares. Sometimes they were memories. But more often than not, she dreamed of Mike dying. Reliving memories that didn't actually exist for her. Memories that were rooted in reality, but were really manifestations of her fears and guilt. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, desperate to stop the images that had haunted her dreams from resurfacing.

Mike remained silent, but continued stroking her face. That simple gesture, reassured her that this was real. That Mike was real. This wasn't some trick her mind was playing on her. He wasn't bleeding out in a warehouse or suffocating in his hospital room. He wasn't demanding to know why she betrayed him. He was sitting on her bed.

Breathing.

Earlier, he told her he needed space, but apparently that didn't apply to nightmares. Although, anyone in the house could have been screaming and Mike would've gone to check on them. But checking on a roommate having a nightmare was one thing, staying to make sure they were okay was another. At least that was what she was telling herself. She really couldn't picture Mike sitting on the edge of Jakes' bed comforting him.

"It's late," Mike said. "You should get some rest."

As much as she wanted to stay in this moment and just be with Mike, she was too proud to ask him to stay. Too stubborn to make her way to Johnny's room and crawl in his bed. She hadn't slept in Johnny's room since Mike had come home from the hospital. As of tonight, Mike knew she was having nightmares, but she didn't need him knowing that she had been afraid to sleep alone these past few weeks. Although he probably already knew. He had known about her coming to see him at night and he hadn't said a word until he wanted to use it against her to prove his point about her needing to rest after Sid grabbed her.

"Probably," Paige said, settling herself back into bed. "Goodnight, Mike."

"Goodnight, Paige," Mike said, getting up from the bed as she pulled her comforter around her like a cocoon.

Paige prided herself on being tough. On being in control of her emotions. For not getting too emotional. But until Mike died, she hadn't experienced the death of someone close to her. Certainly not someone she was involved with. Living with. Working with. In love with. Even though she and Mike weren't technically dating when he got shot, the lines were so blurred between them, that a simple label of broken up didn't matter. Didn't change how devastated she felt. Or how responsible she was for Sid's role in his death. Everyone, except Mike, constantly reminded her that she wasn't responsible for Sid's actions, only her own. But that did nothing to stop her guilt. Her guilt didn't disappear once she learned Mike was alive. Her grief didn't erase her actions. Sleepless nights filled with nightmares didn't balance the scales.

Falling into a restless sleep, Paige tossed and turned for the rest of the night. She slowly opened her eyes, thankful that visions of Mike dying hadn't continued to haunt her dreams. As much as she would love to stay in bed all day and figure out a way to avoid Mike, she was supposed to go apartment hunting with Charlie this afternoon. Her room was still dark, indicating she had hours before she needed to get out of bed. The last thing she wanted to do was get up, but she also didn't want to risk having another nightmare if she fell back asleep again. She wondered if she could bribe Jakes to make her coffee. Johnny would probably be so thankful to have his bedroom all to himself that she could probably convince him, but there was a better chance Briggs was already awake since he had an early meeting this morning and mentioned wanting to go surfing before his meeting. Paige rolled over to grab her phone and froze when she saw Mike sleeping in the chair across from her bed.

"What the hell Mike?" Paige asked, climbing out of bed and walking over to the sleeping agent.

Startled, Mike's eyes shot open. "Sorry," Mike apologized. "It's just you were so upset and I thought - I'll leave you alone."

Too concerned for his wellbeing, it hadn't even occurred to her that he stayed to watch over her. And with things so hot and cold between them, naturally he took her concern for anger. Paige pushed her hair back as she hesitantly approached him. "I'm not mad you're here." Ecstatic, actually. "I just - you, already got hurt enough because of me. You shouldn't be sleeping in a chair." Paige sat down in front of him, pulling her knees to her chest, just needing to be near him.

Paige closed her eyes, relaxing as Mike lazily ran his fingers through her hair with a gentle affection. This seemed almost normal. Just Mike playing with her hair like he always did.

"Do you have some freaky hair fetish I should know about?" Paige teased as Mike twisted the ends of her hair.

"Shut up," Mike said, rolling them over.

Paige held her breath, waiting for Mike to make his next move. She squirmed in anticipation as he intensely watched her. Mike lifted her head slightly so he could fan her hair out beneath her. "Freak."

"You love it," Mike whispered against her lips before kissing her.

Mike suddenly dropped his hand and started to stand up. Perfect. He could only be near her for a few seconds before needing space. Paige quickly stood up and started to head back to bed when Mike reached for her wrist. Before she realized what was happening, he was kissing her. Dazed, she melted into Mike as he slowly kissed her. Paige's head was spinning and she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not, but his lips were on hers and that was all that mattered. Mike slowly pulled back and she lingered in his embrace for a few moments longer before reaching for his hands. "You can't keep doing this."

"Kissing you?" Mike asked, lightly pressing his lips against hers. "I thought that was what you wanted earlier. Before Johnny interrupted. You never came to find me after you got back. You were avoiding me."

Paige couldn't deny it. She had been avoiding him because she was mad at him for getting her hopes up before pushing her away. "We can't keep doing this."

"I remember this being the one thing we always did well," Mike murmured against her lips before teasing her with a few more kisses.

As much as she wanted to give in, she didn't want to get distracted and found herself pushing him away, "You know what I'm talking about. We need to talk."

"We can talk tomorrow."

"Mike, I can't keep doing this push and pull with you. If you're going to push me away, then end whatever it is between us. Tell me it's over, so I know. But stop pulling me close only to push me away," Paige said, frustration leaking into her voice. "Because this back and forth is driving me insane." Giving him up wasn't an option as far as she was concerned, but she needed to know where she stood with him.

"That's not what I'm trying to do."

"You said you needed space. You didn't want to talk about things, but you kissed me." She was exhausted, but more than ready to analyze and overanalyze what this kiss meant. She was tempted to go wake up Jakes and make him play referee and she clearly wasn't getting anywhere with Mike. Maybe Jakes could make him talk.

"Yes, I kissed you."

"With everything we've been through, with everything I did, you can't just kiss me and not expect to explain yourself."

"It was a moment, Paige. Just let it be a perfect moment. It's been building between us for days and there was no one around to interrupt. If there's one thing I learned over the past few weeks is that life is short, nothing's guaranteed and you have to take what you want otherwise life will pass you by."

"What is it that you want?"

"I wanted to kiss you goodnight. Goodnight, Paige," Mike softly said, signaling the end of the conversation.

Paige was about to ask another question when it dawned on her that Mike said goodnight, not goodbye.

"It's barely 6, you should go back to sleep," Mike said. "Unless you secretly turned into a morning person."

Ignoring his attempt to lighten the mood, she defiantly crossed her arms. "You need to rest as much as I do. I wasn't just released from the hospital."

"That doesn't mean you're not hurt! I'm not blind, Paige. Do you think I'm that much of an asshole that I can't see that you're hurting?"

"My arm barely hurts and these bruises look worse than they are."

"I'm not just talking about the other day. I'm talking about all of this. You're not sleeping and when you are, you have nightmares. Just shut up and go to bed," Mike said, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice. He pushed past her and pulled back her comforter. "We're both wounded, but me almost dying trumps your almost concussion, so you have to go back to bed."

She stared at him for a few seconds, annoyed that they were already fighting just minutes after he kissed her. She was so confused right now and couldn't take much more of this emotional roller coaster. Right about now, she was wondering what she ever saw in Mike. He was infuriating. "Jerk," Paige muttered as she climbed into bed, rolling over to the far side of the bed so she wouldn't have to look at him. She waited to hear his footsteps exiting her room and was surprised when she felt the bed dip as he climbed in next to her.

She could hear Mike breathing, so she was pretty sure she wasn't imagining things. He hadn't reached out for her or said a word. She wasn't sure why he stayed with her. If it was pity or guilt or obligation or what, but he was right here next to her. As much as she didn't want to question it or push him away, she needed answers, despite Mike insisting that they would talk later. Paige rolled over to face him, propping herself up on her elbow, she watched Mike stare up at the ceiling, being careful not to look at her. Being careful to stay on his side of the bed so he didn't accidentally touch her. He just kissed her and he was worried about staying on his side of the bed?

"Why do we keep hurting each other so much?" Mike asked.

"Because we love each other. What's the saying? You always hurt the one you love?" Taking a risk at upsetting their most recent truce, she slid closer to him and carefully rested her head on his chest, waiting for him to push her away or leave the room.

Whoever said love was moonlight and roses clearly hadn't met her and Mike. Their love was messy and complicated. It bordered on toxic and despite the countless ways they hurt each other, deliberately and unintentionally, they found their way back to each other.

"I never meant to hurt you," Mike quietly said. "Everything I did, it wasn't about you. Maybe that was the problem."

"No, Mike. That wasn't the problem. What I did - how can you forgive me? Can you ever forgive me?"

"I hate what you did. I hate that you didn't trust me, but I don't hate you."

"But you can't forgive me?" Paige tearfully asked, afraid to look at him.

"I'm trying," Mike insisted. "I need time."

"Maybe you shouldn't be here." The last thing she wanted to do was push him away, but if he walked away from her now she'd have an easier time moving on with her life.

"Probably not." Mike lightly ran his hand along her back, before he started running his fingers through her hair. "But you're here, so I'm where I need to be."

THE END

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