A/N~Thanks for reading! Love you all! Thanks as always to arifa_7 for helping me on this.
Sam sits in the airplane, looking out the window. Jesse notices Sam's foot constantly tapping. Jesse jokes "Sam, the pilot can feel your foot tapping. Maybe you could switch to tapping your fingers?"
"Why didn't he call us Jesse? Anyone of us, even Maddie, he could have reached out for help but instead he tries to kill himself? How bad could it have been for him to want to end it all?" Sam wonders aloud.
Jesse can hear the pain in Sam's voice and tries to make him feel better. "We don't know what his mission entailed. All we know is that he talked to Fiona and he was gone. You can worry about him, but you can't start questioning everything until we see and talk to him."
Sam agrees. "You're right Jesse. I just can't believe this is the way we'd get to see him again."
"I'm sure he's fine. He'll pass the physical and any psychological tests they throw at him. Even if he's not ok, he'll trick them into believing he is ok so he can go back into the field. I have no hopes or expectations about this trip." Fiona bluntly states.
Sam wants to yell at her about being so insensitive and cold, but they are distracted by the pilot's announcement that they will be landing. The plane lands and they head to their hotel. An hour later, they are talking to the lawyer, Arianna, that Elsa hired to accompany them if they needed legal assistance.
Arianna is in her thirties, tall and thin. She sits down in front of the group in Sam's room and begins her presentation. "I was assigned to provide legal representation if need be for any or all of you if the situation arose. I ended up doing research on Mr Westen's entire situation and found several issues that would play in the group's favor. We all know why he was burned. He shouldn't have shot Tom Card but he did bring down Olivia Riley, who was a bad lady. Frank and Nate Westen's death were directly because of an opp. There were attempts to alienate Mr Westen from contacts, family and friends which for the most part failed, until now. If this was a suicide attempt, he was slowly pushed to the edge and then shoved off the building. All of those things I could easily skew into our favor, plus one more crucial point."
As she pulls documents out of her briefcase, she explains "When you were all in that holding cell, they questioned you relentlessly for three weeks. All your stories matched and you all signed agreements stating that even though your actions may not have been legal, the end result was beneficial. Card and Riley's actions were out of line enough that the CIA was willing to let you walk away. You all signed the same agreement, except Mr Westen. On paper he was offered the same deal..."
Fiona interrupts. Wiping tears from her face she says, "Let me guess, he threw it away and asked for his old job back as part of the deal."
Arianna ignores Fiona and continues. "On paper he was offered the same deal, until Agent Strong got a hold of him. You would have been released a week earlier if it wasn't for Agent Strong. He questioned Michael continuously and when he realized he wasn't getting anywhere, he tried another tactic."
Sam sighs heavily. "Let me guess. He's away from all of us, no contact and no idea of what's been said to us. Strong tells him that unless he plays ball, we will be the ones punished." As Sam looks over the papers Arianna handed to him, he shouts "Damn it! That lousy bastard tricked Mikey."
Fiona gets up and walks over to a window. Jesse leans back and asks Sam "What happened Sam? Clue me in on because I'm lost."
Sam hands Jesse the paper and glares at Fiona. "Look at the signature. The same statement we signed, Mikey's signature is above the line. This other document is the one Mikey signed ON the line. The son of a bitch knew he was exhausted and broke him. He used carbon paper."
"He slipped the real agreement under another agreement? What does it say Sam?" Jesse asks.
Arianna's phone rings and she steps outside to answer the call. Sam reads the agreement, but paraphrases. "In exchange for our freedom and clean records, Mikey has to rejoin the CIA to help bring down a terrorist. If the mission fails, we all go back to jail. He's to have no contact with us whatsoever."
Jesse takes the papers and looks at them. "How did you get this? It's all classified."
Smiling, Arianna says "It pays to be nice to secretaries. I have a few contacts who snuck me copies of files when their bosses weren't around. You help them, they help you."
"What's our next step?" Sam asks.
Arianna packs up her papers and says, "If he wants to come home, we bring him home. Commander Axe, you are the next of kin. What do you want to do now?"
Taking hold of Fiona's arm, they head to the door. He shouts over his shoulder "Let's go get Mikey back home to Miami."
Back in his room, Michael is trying to sleep. He hears soft footsteps on a wooden floor. Opening his eyes, he slowly realizes he is in the loft. He sits up and sees Fiona in the kitchen, making a pot of tea. As he gets out of bed, he says "Oh God Fiona. I had the worst dream. I was stuck in the Dominican Republic, and no one was with me. You all hated me because I made a deal to keep the team out of prison and I had to go back to the CIA. My dad was even in the dream. It was just awful."
Fiona stops for a moment and looks at Michael. "It wasn't a dream. You made a deal and you were shipped of to do your job. I can't believe you would chose the CIA over me." Fiona starts to cry.
Michael moves closer to Fiona, to take her in his arms and tell her it will all be ok, but like in all the other dreams, he can't lay his hands on her. He feels confused and lost. All he wants to do is feel her against his body, even if its one last time, but he can't get close enough to her. He begs "Fiona, please. Let me hold you. I can fix this."
She whirls around and says "Fix this? Michael, there is no fixing what happened. You betrayed my trust. You stabbed me in the back when you made that deal."
Michael feels tears flood his eyes. "You don't understand. No one understands. I had to make the deal. They were threatening to send you to jail.." He walks up to her so they are standing face to face. "I couldn't lose you, not again."
"So having us torn apart and having me hate you is better?" Fi questions.
"You might hate me, but at least you are alive and free." Michael explains.
Fiona laughs as she walks away from Michael. "I would rather be dead than see you being owned by the same agency that ruined your life and killed your brother."
Michael leans against the workbench. "What was supposed to do Fi?"
"You were supposed to get us back home with Tyler Gray, turn him in and then leave the CIA so we could try and live a normal life."
Michael asks "Why didn't you beg me to stop?"
Fiona is in shock. Her jaw opens but she can't make a sound. Eventually she shouts "I begged you constantly to stop and you never listened. Even my going to jail to save you didn't make you stop. It just drove you more!"
"Nate was killed. I had to find his killer!" Wiping his eyes with the heel of his hand, he says "No more arguing. I want to stop this Fiona. I want the normal life you always dreamed about. It just took me longer to realize that. Tell me we can still have that Fi." Michael takes Fiona's hands. They are rougher than usual, but he holds them and looks into her eyes.
Fiona blinks away tears and says sadly "We can't. I've moved on. I have to go. Campbell is waiting downstairs for me."
Michael let tears fall from his eyes as he croaked "Campbell? You are with Campbell now?"
"Michael, when I left, I told you I was done. I meant it. I took a month and got a new job. I found a new place to live and I called Campbell."
"You don't love me? I'm here begging you to come back and you are throwing me away for Campbell?" Michael says, trying to gain his composure.
" I love you with all my heart and soul, but I can't be with you. I can't be your friend and I certainly can't help you." She walks up to Michael and kisses him on the cheek and says "You take care."
Michael screams out "Come back! Don't leave me here alone!" He is too late. Running to the front door and leaning over the railing, he sees Fiona climb into her car and pull away. Michael yells out "FIONA!" but she doesn't hear him.
Hearing Michael's yells, Sam, Fi and Jesse come running into Michael's room and find Michael trying to get out of bed. He locks eyes with Fiona and starts to pull of the leads to his monitors and rip out his IV's.
"Mikey, what are you doing? Get back in bed. You need to rest." Sam orders.
Michael looks Sam in the eyes, his blue eyes filled with tears, and says "I have to get out of here. You all hate me. Why are you here? Haven't you guys tortured me enough?"
The nurses rush into the room, but Sam motions for them to stand back. Sam now has his hands on Michael's arms, keeping a tight grip so he doesn't try to break away. He sees the fear and confusion in Michael's eyes, which breaks his heart. "Buddy, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. You're my best friend and my brother. I'm here to help you. We are all here to help you."
Michael allows Sam to move him back to the bed. He sits on the edge of the bed. Sam moves closer, hoping get Michael to lay down in bed. Instead Michael leans forward and rests his head against Sam. Sam pats Michael's back and says softly "It's ok Brother. Lay back and rest."
No sooner does Sam lay Michael down, a nurse injects him with a sedative. Michael tries to fight, but stops when Fiona says "Michael, stop fighting them. You need to rest so we can get you back home again."
As Michael is overcome by the sedative, Sam releases his grip and wipes the tears from Michael's face. Turning around, he tells the others "Let's go into the hallway, and let the nurses work."
Fiona shakes her head and says "No. We should stay in here. He needs us here. I shouldn't leave him again."
Sam wraps an arm around Fiona and moves her towards the door. "We'll be right outside the door if he needs us."
He is surprised when Fiona wraps her arms around him and weeps "What happened Sam? He's never been like this. I've never seen him so bad."
"It'll be ok. Let's go into the hall and find the doctor. I need answers." Sam growls.
Jesse, looking at Michael's sedated figure, says "You guys find the doctor, I'll sit here with Mike. We shouldn't leave him alone until we know what caused him to end up in this condition."
Fiona, smoothing her hair and wiping her cheeks, agrees with Jesse. "Let's go Sam. We need to find out what's going on with Michael."
Sam talks to several nurses while Fiona calls Madeline. "Maddie, I'm calling to see how everything is going. Is Charlie doing ok?"
Sensing Fiona's worried tone, Maddie quickly assures her "Everything is fine. Don't worry. How's Michael? Can I talk to him?"
Fiona hangs her head down and say "He's resting now Maddie. He's been through alot and Michael just needs to rest right now. The next time he's awake we'll call." Fiona ends the call and walks up to Sam who is talking to the doctor.
The doctor stops talking when Fiona approaches them, but once Sam introduces Fiona, he continues. "Mr Westen had a very high blood alcohol level when he was brought to us. One thing that I also noticed was there were several drugs in his system..." Seeing that Sam was going to jump down his throat, the doctor said "When he was found, there was an empty bottle of pills, prescription antidepressants to be exact. When combined with alcohol, these medicines increase suicidal tendencies. I'm surprised his doctor let him near the drugs, unless he didn't disclose this during an exam."
Sam and Fiona look at one another with worried eyes. "When can we take him home?" Sam asks the doctor as he watches Fiona press the heels of her hands against her forehead.
A voice from behind them booms "He's not going anywhere. Westen has a job to complete and when he's well enough he will complete it. I didn't waste all my time training him for this mission to ruin it because he doesn't know enough to not drink alcohol and take pills. I'll just keep a tighter watch on him." Strong says.
"No one is watching my buddy except me, this woman and the guy sitting in Mike's room." Sam snears and says "Who are you?"
Strong extends his hand but neither of them shake. Withdrawing his hand, he says "I'm Agent Strong with the CIA. Michael is working with me on bringing down a terrorist group." Turning to the doctor, Strong says "I want to be the only one who has access to Mr Westen."
Sam would have argued but the doctor stepped in and said "I'm sorry. There is no way I can allow that. Mr Axe is the next of kin. He will help decide Mr Westen's course of treatment and who will be allowed into the room. Until I receive orders from my boss, I am not going to limit contact to just you. Family and friends are paramount in his recovery right now."
"What the hell happened?" Sam and Fiona hear a new voice shouting from the direction of Michael's room. Jesse is steering another man out into the hallway. "I want to know why he's in here."
Jesse is pushing the man into the hallway, saying "I don't know who you are, but you better get the heck out of here on your own, unless you want me to help you leave."
Turning to Sam, Fiona throws her hands in the air and says "Who the hell is this?"
The man backs away from Jesse and says "I'm Agent Burke with the NSA. Mr Westen is going to be under our supervision."
Sam and Fiona exchange shocked looks. Strong steps past Sam and Fi, striding up to Burke. "Like hell you are. This is our case and Westen is our agent. If you are with the NSA, I want proof. I should arrest you right now since you are the one I'm after!"
Sam interrupts and raises his arms. "Neither of you are going to see him. I'm his next of kin and I make the decisions around here."
Strong and Burke are about to bicker when their phones ring. Each man answers and walks off in a separate direction.
Arianna is leaning against the wall. She tells the team "Guys, let the puppies fight. The big dogs managed to get an injunction, so neither of them can touch Mr Westen right now."
"How did you manage to get an injunction against two major government agencies?" Fi asks.
Arianna smiles slyly and explains "Not only do I have secretary friends to get me documents, my firm has access to judges who can issue injunctions. I might be young, but I do have more power than anyone imagines."
The doctor ushers the group away from Strong, Burke and Arianna, who is arguing and practically throwing papers in their face. Doctor Suarez urges the group "Go have dinner and then you can come back to see your friend. You can't deal with these issues on an empty stomach. He'll be ok alone for a few minutes. He's been safe here so far, so don't worry. I'll get security to stand outside his door."
They know he's right. Sam tells the others "I'll be there in a minute. I just want a moment alone." Both understanding, they head to the cafeteria. Entering Michael's room again, Sam pulls a chair next to Michael's bed and takes his hand. "We have to eat dinner, but the nurses will be here." Holding Michael's hand to his face Sam says "Brother, this isn't your fight anymore, I got this one. Your mission now is to get better so we can get you back home where you belong. If I have to break laws to get you home, I'm going to do it. Get some rest and we'll be back later." Wiping the tears that were pooling in his eyes, Sam stood up and backed out of the room, hoping that Michael would get a decent rest while they were gone.