There is no knock. There never is with Paige. The door is just pushed open, and suddenly Paige's small frame is somehow filling Mike's doorway.
"Hey." Mike greets her with a blush. His injury has him feeling pathetic, and she's caught him attempting to put on his jacket with one arm. The same jacket he's been fighting with for the past ten minutes. The jacket seems to be winning. Mike hates showing weakness, and Paige witnessing is even worse.
Right now, Mike doesn't know where he stands with Paige. With the way she reacted in the hospital, he was sure he was going to come home to find his stuff on the curb and five very pissed and former roommates using him for target practice. He was relieved to find that apparently Paige hadn't said a word, and yet her cool dismissal this morning told him she wasn't exactly on his side either.
Now she's finally here, and Mike can explain. He'd been hoping he'd get to talk to her. He'd been camped out on the living room couch all morning, hoping she'd come downstairs. Now that he was leaving for prison, he wasn't sure he'd get a chance.
Every movement hurts, but Mike gives up on the jacket and puts all his focus into limping across the room to her. Keeping his voice hushed, in case other roommates are listening in, he says quietly, "I'm glad you're here. I didn't want to interrupt you earlier, since it looked like you were working, but I just wanted to say, thank you. For not telling anyone. I know you're not comfortable with it, but you have no idea how good it feels just knowing-"
Mike doesn't get a chance to finish explaining before she explodes, shoving him roughly in the chest. "Are you fucking serious Mike?!"
"Ow! Careful my side!" Mike stumbles backwards in pain, steadying himself on the bed. He groans from between gritted teeth as he grasps his side. "Ok, so you're obviously still pissed…"
"You're really doing this? What is wrong with you?!" She screams again, pacing around his room. She's so worked up, Mike worries she might throttle him any minute. He does not have the strength for this right now. If he'd been in better health, the light shove wouldn't have even fazed him, but in his current state he's winded.
"Keep your voice down. The others might hear." Mike groans feebly.
He should have known she wouldn't be ok with this. Paige was one of the most loyal people he knew. He loved that about her. Despite her willingness to play dirty, she had her own moral code she wouldn't break. Some things were sacred to her, and her friendships were one of them. That was why he'd told her his secret. He trusted her. That, and he was delirious from a lack of blood and an abundance of morphine.
He should have known, that same loyal streak he loved would be what made this so hard for her. He'd betrayed not only Briggs, but her, and she may never forgive him. He just hoped her keeping his secret meant she was going to give him a chance to explain.
"Let them hear!" Paige yells even louder. "You're an idiot! You've been out of the hospital for five minutes, against doctor's orders, and now you want to go to jail?!"
Mike stares up at her shocked as he slowly realizes this fight is not about him spying on Briggs. This is a completely new fight. Somehow, she's already heard his plan to go under in prison. This is about him putting himself in danger, and that has her upset. Mike takes it as a good sign. Sure, she's screaming at him now, and his side aches from the stress, but in her own unintentional way, Mike realizes this is her showing she still cares about him, despite everything he's done.
"Charlie thinks that Bello might give up Odin to cut a deal for me." Mike tries to explain, trying to stand up again to face her. Somehow the thought that she still cares is making him feel like he can stand. He needs to appeal to her rational DEA side. If he can just touch her, he can calm her down. Her rapid pacing in front of him is making him dizzy.
"For God's sake, STAY DOWN!" Before he can stand, Paige has a hand on his shoulder and shoves him back down roughly, "Get it through your thick head. You're injured. You need to stay in bed!"
She's growling as she resumes pacing, but this time Mike stays seated, watching her mind working, and trying to predict what she's thinking. Finally, she takes a few deep breaths and calms herself down enough to turn to him and ask, "Have you ever even been in a prison Mike? There's a whole different gang mentality in there. It's like caged up animals."
"I know. I took an entire course on prison sociology. I know what I'm getting into." Mike says weakly. He had done his homework. He wasn't near as stupid as Paige seemed to think he was. He knew this was a dangerous assignment, but he had to see it through. He would have thought Paige of all people would have understood his need to finish this. He had gotten Bello, but Charlie was right. Odin was still out there.
"A class? Christ Mike…" She seems speechless at his naivety. "Mike, you're not only injured, you're pretty. The slightest sign of weakness will..."
"You think I'm pretty?" Mike sits up a little straighter, calling her out.
"Really? That's what you want to focus on right now?" She stares at him incredulously. "Listen to me! If you're dumb enough to do this, you will be either dead or someone's bitch by the time they do lights out!"
"The FBI won't let that happen-"
"The FBI can't touch you in there! Any sign of preferential treatment or accommodation and they'll know you're a fed, if Bello hasn't figured it out already."
"Paige it'll be fine! My cover is solid. Bello saw me take a knife for him."
"Yes Mike, you got stabbed! You're injured. You shouldn't even be here. You should be in the hospital. Mike, why are you doing this?"
Mike doesn't know if her question is, why he's going to prison, or why he's spying on Briggs, but the answer's the same either way.
"Because I'm a FBI agent. This is my job." He glares up at her in pain. Her eyes stare down at him, her expression softening. Possibly she recognizes the mirror of determination and dedication to the job that she has herself. Maybe it's just how pathetic he looks. Either way, she grows silent, staring at him with wide green eyes. Now that their fight seems momentarily paused, Mike becomes more aware of the pain in his side.
"Ow…" Mike groans, holding his ribs. "So your plan was what? To kill me before I ever get to prison?"
"Not kill you, drama queen. Just maim you to the point you can't go." Paige admits, allowing him the attempt to momentarily lighten the mood. "Believe me, if we were in the hospital right now, and there was a doctor standing by, I'd claw those stitches out with my bare hands to keep you from going."
"Good thing I left then." Mike teases, though he doesn't doubt her sincerity. "With these nails you could do it too. Mmmmph..." Mike has to bite his cheek to keep from screaming out from the pain in his side. She's already seen him cry at the hospital. He'd like to keep some of his dignity in front of the girl.
"Ugh. Lie back. Let me see." Paige sits down on his bed next to him, focusing in on his injury. She didn't mean to hurt him this badly, but if he thought what she was doing was rough, he wouldn't last an hour behind bars.
"I'll be ok… I just need to. ughh…" Mike tries to stand up, but his side lurches in pain.
"Mike. Lie back." She instructs softly.
Mike lays back on the bed nervously, as her hands come to the hem of his shirt. Earlier he had been proud showing off his battle scar to Briggs and Charlie, but now in his room alone with Paige, this feels intimate. He's lying back on the bed, looking up at her, making no move to either assist, or prevent her hands from lifting his shirt. His heart starts racing in his chest as she leans in, and he can feel the pulsing beat all the way down his left side. She gently drags his shirt upwards, and he looks up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the sudden change in the atmosphere.
She's just a coworker... Just a coworker… Mike repeats the phrase again and again in his head. It's the same mantra he's had on repeat since he first saw her in the bar. Sure, Mike may have a little crush, but who wouldn't? Sometimes he almost thought she felt something too, but he might just be imagining it. Either way it didn't matter, because they were both professionals and she was just a coworker...
Her fingers are gentle, and she carefully pulls back the bandage to examine his scar. She looks at him clinically, her long fingernails trace up the muscles of his abdomen, being careful to avoid the injury itself, and his stomach spasms under her touch. The jerk of his gut sends a shooting pain through his side. She pulls back her hand away quickly, in fear she hurt him, but he grabs her hand to keep him from leaving as he tries to control the pain and compose himself.
"Sorry." He gasps. "I'm ok… I'm fine. Don't go."
Paige looks down at him, shocked by the response of his spasm under her fingers. Any other time, she would find it endearing that he was so ticklish, but she can't allow that sort of thing sway her. She has to remain hard to Mike, he's a liar and a rat. She can't allow herself to get closer to him. She's gotten to close already. If she hadn't she would have gone straight to Briggs the second he told her he was a rat. She would be driving him to prison right now, because he's right, it's his job. Instead she's trying to calculate how much time handcuffing him to the bed would delay his incarceration.
She stares down at his stomach. The cut is so deep. Its an ugly scar running up his entire side. She doesn't even know how he survived it. She can't look away from the angry red gash. She thinks back to how weak he looked in that hospital bed. She was so worried he was never going to wake up, and that flash of blue as he forced his eyes open, was the most beautiful color in the world. When he focused his eyes on her, was the happiest feeling she'd ever felt, quickly followed by the worst, when he told her it was all a lie…
Paige shakes her head, bringing her attention back to his wound. "Mike, all the stitches are fine, but there's still a lot of fresh blood here. You take one wrong hit..."
"Torah Torah Torah." He groans.
"What?" She asks genuinely confused, and Mike realizes she missed the earlier conversation. He doesn't have the energy to explain it to her. He lies there on his back, trying to breath through the pain, focusing his thoughts into where he tightly held her hand in his.
With a grunt, he tightens his grip on her hand and uses it to help pull himself back up to a seated position. Once he's uncomfortably upright again, he still doesn't let go of her hand in his lap. A moment of silence passes between the two before Mike finally asks...
"Paige… why are you here?"
"Briggs thinks that if I ask you not to do this, it might stop you." Paige admits, her voice clearly not believing that would make a difference.
"Briggs is a smart man…" Mike sighs as he looks down at her delicate hand in his, his fingertips grazing over her wrist as he plays with the jangling bracelets distractedly, pondering this response.
Of course Briggs was somehow involved. For some reason Mike couldn't tell, Briggs really did not want Mike to go to that prison. Whether that was out of concern for Mike's health or something else, he couldn't tell, but it was fairly ballsy of Briggs to enlist Paige to do his dirty work for him.
Yet Mike had to admit, it was ingenious. Because if she asked him not to go, really asked him, could he actually say no to her? He hadn't been able to say no to Paige yet. Not in a way that stuck anyways. He would always say no at first; No to football, no to dating Abby, no to breaking up with Abby, no to sharing his secret, but in the end he always gave in to her. If she truly asked him to not go, what would he do?
Her surprised eyes come up to meet his. He stares at her expectantly, weighing her reaction. This is Paige's chance. He's basically telling her that all she has to do is ask. Ask him anything. If she asks him to stay he will, even if he doesn't want to.
"Mike…" She looks at him, and for a moment Mike worries she actually might ask, but she just lowers her eyes, speechless.
"Look, why are you here Paige?" Mike's voice is groggy. The pain medication he's on doesn't seem to be helping with the pain, just making everything harder.
"I told you. Briggs-"
"Yeah, I don't care about Briggs right now." Mike cuts her off quickly. "I'm asking you. If it was you, could you let Odin go? Knowing this is my last chance to get this guy, could you just walk away?"
"You don't know that. You'll have other chances."
"Not like this. If Briggs is right, and I find Odin, he can lead me to Jangles too. C'mon, Paige. The guy gutted me." Mike grabbed her hand and pressed it to his stomach, ignoring the pain it brought. "Now, I want the bastard. Paige, I'm so close. You know me, and you know as well as I do, I have to do this."
Paige didn't know what to do. Everything he was saying made sense to her, it sounded exactly like the Mike she knew. Hell, he sounded like her. She didn't know if he was just playing her though. He'd been lying to her the entire time and now the man she thought she knew so well, was a stranger. She couldn't separate the lies from the truth. He seemed so earnest, and she wanted to believe him, but her normally dead on instincts had completely missed his treachery. How could she trust him again after that? More disturbing, how could she trust her own judgment?
"I don't know who you are anymore, Mike." She admits, her voice breaking.
"Yes, you do. You know me better than anyone, Paige." Mike moves closer to her on the bed, staring intently into her eyes. He has no doubt what he's saying is true, even if she doesn't believe him. "And that's why you know I have to do this."
"Look, I'm going to be, ok. I promise." Mike says in a comforting voice, but it was a promise he might not be able to keep, and they both knew it.
"Don't do that. Don't lie to me." Paige wants to believe him. She wants to believe everything he says, but she's so unsure.
"I am coming back." Mike says firmly. He's hurt by the fact that he's lost her trust. He wishes somehow she could know how hard it was keeping all this from her. "Paige, you know all my secrets now. I won't lie to you again."
"Yes, you will. Everybody lies at Graceland." Paige says sadly. She picks up his discarded jacket from the bed and gently helps him slide it on, avoiding his eyes as she does. Turning quickly, she leaves him and hopes it's not the last time she ever sees him.