A/N...Thanks to Deb & Arifa for helping me on this! Hope you enjoy & thanks for sticking with me this long!

Michael sits in his hotel room, looking out the window. He hears the door open but doesn't turn around. He knows that Dr. Rachel Cranston is there to talk to him.

She starts off by introducing herself. "I'm Doctor Rachel Cranston. You worked with a friend of mine, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I've worked with his team a few times." When Michael doesn't turn around or react to her, she sits down at the small table that is in the room. She inhales and says "Sam got me your files and gave me some information about you." She pauses and watches him stare out of the window. Trying to lighten the mood, she says "Sam thinks you'll be a pain in the neck, but I think we'll get along fine."

Michael turns around and sees an attractive woman in her forties. She is wearing khakis and a white cotton blouse. He asks "After reading my file and talking to Sam, what makes you so sure we'll get along? We have nothing in common. No one has anything in common with me." Michael sits down next to her, leans close and continues in a low voice. "Have you been cut off professionally and had to work your way back inside your line of work only to find more and more corruption and lies that destroyed your life and relationships? I don't think so"

Rachel leans back, leaving space between her and Michael. He is smiling at her, happy that she moved away from him. She smiles back and says "You are trying to assert your dominance over me. That's good. Shows you still have the will to fight. You are one hundred percent right. I haven't been through most of what you experienced. We do have one thing in common though."

Michael asks "What on Earth could we have in common?"

Rachel answers quickly. "We both have siblings that were killed.. My sister Caitlin was an NCIS agent when she was killed in the line of duty. She was shot by a sniper." She watches Michael's expression change from smug to sullen. She continues to talk. "I couldn't go to her funeral because I was eight and a half months pregnant and couldn't travel. For years I felt guilty about missing her funeral and not getting to say goodbye. It's hard carrying that guilt of surviving when your younger sibling dies before you."

"At least your mother doesn't blame you for your sister's death." Michael says in an offhanded manner.

Seeing an opportunity to move forward, Rachel asks "It may feel like she does, but has she ever said 'I blame you' directly?"

Michael lets out an uneasy laugh. He folds his arms and leans into in palm of his hand while he talks. "She says she forgives me, but in the same breath she tells me how angry she is." Michael recounts for her how Nate died, how his mother shunned him and eventually cut him out of her life, only to be let back in after he had killed the men responsible for his death. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he says sadly "She didn't even call to check on me when I was in the hospital. I think sometimes she wishes it was me that died. At least Fiona came to see me. She constantly cuts me to shreds but she at least checks on me."

Wanting to move into a new area, Rachel asks Michael about how he met Fiona. He tells her about meeting her in Ireland and having to leave her in the middle of the night because his mission was blown. He tells her about meeting up with Fiona again in Miami and leaving her again after taking down Riley. "She walked away and we didn't meet again until I woke up in the hospital."

Shifting in her chair, Rachel says "Why do you think she was so angry when you talked to her? It sounds like you bent over backwards to keep her safe and happy. Was there something that went wrong?"

Michael is quiet. He recalls the deal they made in the junkyard in Panama and her reaction when he told her her made a deal. "I told her that when this was all done, i'd leave the CIA. I didn't."

"From what I understand, you made that deal to free them all. She didn't like that, did she?"

Michael shook his head. His voice is strained as he said "Fi went to jail for me once before and it was hell on Earth when she was in there. I couldn't let them go to jail forever. I traded my life for theirs. At least I know they are free."

"She doesn't see it like that?"

Michael explains "I left her in Ireland. I left her a few times in Miami because of what I was after and I left her so she could have a life. She never saw it as me having to leave. She always insisted it as me wanting to leave."

Sensing that Michael is getting frustrated and upset, she decides to change gears. Rachel leans forward and asks "Now that you aren't working, have you given any thought to your future? Would you be a civilian? Would you go back to the CIA? Would you chase after Fiona and your mother? What do you want?"

Shaking his head and refusing to look her in the face, Michael says "I don't know."

"I looked at your file and I've talked a bit to Sam. I know we just met but in our time together I can tell what might do you good. I think what you need is time alone to think about what you really want. Fiona and your mother are important people in your life, but it seems that they haven't always been there for you. Tell your mother and Fiona that if they can't support your choices, then they need to leave you alone. Be clear if you tell them that and stay true to your decision. You need supportive people in your life like Sam and Jesse. Stop trying to please and keep everyone safe and take care of you for once."

She watches Michael get up and walk over to the patio door. Rachel says her goodbyes to him and leaves a card of a local colleague if he wants to talk on a regular basis. She leaves him quietly and makes her way to the lobby.

As she nears the exit, Sam stops her. He asks "So, is he cured?"

"Not cured, but he'll be ok. I can't tell you what happened when I talked to him, but I will tell you this, because I know he won't do it." She says softly "You and Jesse are like brothers to him. Very protective and supportive. However, he needs to talk to his mother and Fiona. If they can't be supportive and loving to him, then they need to leave him alone. Women have no idea the power we have over men. We can make them or break them."

Sam thanks Rachel and watches her leave. Later that day he finds himself over Maddie's house, along with Fiona. "You both are wondering why I asked to meet here." He says.

"I imagine its because of Michael. Is he ok?" Maddie asks in a worried tone.

Sam nods but doesn't say anything right away. Fiona interjects "If we are here because of Michael, I don't see the point. There's nothing we can do to help him. He has to come to terms with everything on his own."

He has had enough. Sam slams his hand on the table, making both women jump. "That's exactly it, Fi. There is something you can do. You can either be supportive of what he's doing or leave him alone. No coming over here to visit, no asking me or Jesse for help on jobs. Be there for Mikey as a friend or just back off."

Maddie is shocked. "Sam, who do you think you are telling Fiona who she can and can't see."

"Maddie, you haven't seen what' I've seen. All Fiona has done is cut Mike down. In the hospital, once we knew he was ok, she couldn't stop ripping him apart. On the plane home, Mikey tried talking to Fi and she cut him open. When he was in the house, she couldn't hold her tongue." Sam takes a breath and continues. "Whenever she makes a nasty little comment, it drives Mike back into his little shell where he sits and thinks we all hate him. If we had the chance to support him when he freed us, we might not be trying to put him back together. We didn't have the chance to do that because you freaked out and you ran off."

Fiona gets up and walks out the door without saying a word. Sam is a bit gentler with Maddie. "You have to forgive Mike for Nate's death. You heard him the night I had to take him away, Nate's death is a weight on his shoulders. He hurts so much because of it and you are the one person who can maybe make him feel better, but you shut him out. Either love him and help take care of him or..."

Sam's voice cracks as he tries to swallow the lump in his throat. Maddie takes Sam's hand in hers and says "I want to help him. Maybe I could talk to him in the morning."

Sam smiles. "He'd like that." He looks at the door, almost hoping Fiona will walk back inside.

"Fi will come around too. She needs time to process everything. You threw a lot at her today." Maddie says.

Sam nods, knowing she is right.

Fiona spends the rest of the afternoon driving around Miami. She doesn't know where to go or even what to do. Somehow she finds her way to the loft. She makes her way to the stairs and climbs up them. Pushing her way inside, she stands and looks around the burnt home she once shared with Michael. She wanders around, remembering various pleasant and unpleasant memories. She remembers the lazy days they spent in the loft making love. She remembers the quiet moments when they were both content to cuddle. Then she notices the remains of the fence that Michael chained her to when she was going to turn herself over to the authorities. She remembers the fight, the tears in his eyes, and his last embrace before he shackled her. She remembers hearing him scream her name across the lot street, holding her letter in her hand. She wipes the tears from her eyes when she thinks of how broken he was when he saw her for the first time in prison, his embrace when she got out of prison and the tears they both shed over Nate's death. She recalls the night they shared in Panama and the soft, gentle words he spoke to her in the morning. She cries as she remembers torching the loft and losing almost everything that mattered to her. Overwhelmed by memories, she turns to leave, but kicks something the rolls across the floor. She looks down, notices it is one of her snow globes and picks it up. Wiping the blackness away, she sees two dolphins inside. She makes her way down the stairs and into her car when her cries turn into sobs. Fiona knows she has to make things right between them but first she needs to figure out what she wants for her life.

The next day, Michael sits on the beach. He watches the waves roll in and out. He knows someone is there with him, but he doesn't acknowledge them. Finally, he hears a voice he recognizes. "Sam said you were out here."

He doesn't look up, but he says "I needed to get out of the hotel for a bit. What are you doing here Mom?"

Maddie sits down next to him. She looks at him, noticing his clenched jaw and answers simply "I wanted to see how you were doing."

Michael speaks in a shaky voice that unnerves Maddie. "If you came to check on me to make yourself feel better, I don't want you to be here."

She looks at him and sees the frown he's trying to hides from her. "I came to check on you because you are my son and I care about you."

"Did Sam talk to you?" Michael asks.

Maddie answers. "Yes. Why is he telling me to stay away if I'm not going to support you?"

Michael shakes his head. He feels like he has nothing to lose, so he lets his thoughts run free. "Because you have a tendency to care for me when it's convenient for you. Nate died and you wanted nothing to do with me. Once I avenged his death, you took me back into your life. I come back home after spending almost a year in hell and when I need help you shut me out."

Maddie firmly tells Michael to look at her. She tells him "I have always cared. I might be angry with the choices you have made, but I have always loved you and cared. I let you have full run of my house and garage when you needed to hide clients. I worked through my feelings about Nate's death and realized I couldn't lose you. I lied to the CIA when Riley was after you, and I was ready to leave Miami and start over when everything fell apart. I have to protect Charlie and I knew that Sam could take care of you. If I shut you out, you would have had nowhere to go when you came home and no one would have called Sam to help you."

After a few minutes of silence, Michael softly inquires "Why didn't you call me in the hospital? As mad as Fiona is at me, she still made sure I was ok."

Maddie feels her heartbreak. "I was worried sick about you. Fiona called me several times when she was with you so I could be updated and I asked about you, but you were either sleeping or with the doctors." She moves closer to Michael and places an arm around him. "Let's leave everything in the past. I'm here now and I'm going to help my boy. So lets figure out a game plan and get you back on track."

They sit in a comfortable silence for some time. As they get up to leave, Michael feels a bit better about the future, but at the same time he feel a little sad and incomplete. Eventually, he hopes he can shake his negative feelings, but he's not sure how to go about that.