He doesn't know when or how or at what speed even but all he remembers is his awkward conversation with Donna and then the next thing he knows, he's sitting on his couch with his phone clutched in hand.

Everything in between is a complete blur to Mike. Somewhere between then and now, all he could think was, NO WAY, NO WAY, NO WAY!

When reality finally kicks in, Mike realizes how sore his body is and that his breathing is awfully erratic. His chest feels tight, his hands are shaking, his mind is racing, and worst of all, his phone has a number punched in already. Mike doesn't need to refer back to that post-it note to recall whose number it is.

Shaking out of his panicked reverie, the junior associate hastily checks to see if the call has been put through. He isn't ready to face the person on the other end and he doesn't want to do it without mentally preparing himself for the conversation ahead. Which, now that he thinks about, he isn't sure exactly how to proceed with. Is he angry? Sad? Happy? Confused? If he's honest with himself, Mike feels a bit of everything but he doesn't let that thought run free. There is no way that this conversation is going to happen while he feels extremely jumbled.

Taking a deep breath, Mike decides that he feels happy. And why shouldn't he? After being shunned by the only people he calls friends, the young man actually feels ecstatic to hear that there is someone left. That there's a way to salvage his social life even if it means that he be friends with one person for the rest of his life but deep down inside, Mike already knows that she means way more than just a friend to him. She's his family in all but blood and he'll happily take her back into his life, no questions asked.

Unwilling to prolong it any further in fear of second guessing his decision, Mike firmly grips his phone and puts the call through. With trembling hands, he brings the phone up to his ear where he picks up the tail end of the sound of it dialing.
It's agony to wait but he preservers. This is one thing he will not let go of, not again at least.

Mike is just about to hang up the call feeling that she might not pick up but the second he draws the phone away from his ear, there's a faint hello on the other end of the line.

For a minute, everything stops. Mike had so much prepared to say when he was waiting and now all that has escaped him. He tries to make his tongue form words but nothing is under his control in that moment. Fortunately for Mike, she didn't seem to have minded. It's almost as if she knows what he's feeling.

Right before he is about to mutter a hello, she sighs.

"This is kinda awkward, isn't it? Me calling you out of the blue like this."

He's not sure what to say to that, so he says nothing. Taking Mike's silence as a cue to keep going, she continues to explain.

"I'm sorry, Mike. For suddenly intruding on your life without so much as a warning. I'm sorry for all the emotional turmoil you undoubtedly faced in the years after your parents died. I'm ju-"

"It's ok." Mike's not sure where that came from, especially since he was at such a loss for words a few short moments ago. But then she started talking and he felt all his tension melt at the sound of her voice. He didn't care anymore. He was just happy to hear her talk.

"It's ok." He repeats. "I'm just glad you called. You don't know how much I've needed you even if I hadn't realized it till just now."

His voice breaks a little towards the end and the fact that there are tears rushing down his face doesn't register at all with him. Mike just wants to cry now. He's suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of relief and sorrow and happiness and despair all at once that he doesn't realize he's been outright sobbing until she shushes him through the phone.

"Oh sweetie, no, no, stop crying. It's ok, alright? I'm here now and I won't let anything happen to you. I swear on my life baby boy, nothing's gonna happen to you."

Mike chuckles at that, broken and croaky but filled with warmth nonetheless.

"It's not that, Kimi. I'm just so happy to hear you again."

He hears her let out a breathy laugh at that and he wonders how she understood him, what with all his sniffling.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I was thinking maybe you wanted nothing to do with me. Or worse, maybe you'd forgotten me." Mike had detected a bit of sarcasm in that last part.

"I think you've got the wrong Mike Ross then cause I couldn't have forgotten you even if I tried."

"Ah, that's right. I forgot how cheeky you are, Meeku."

At the mention of his nickname, Mike quickly sobers up. There's so much he didn't realize he missed about her, like how she treated him with such fondness. He'll never admit it to anyone but himself but he really wants that back. For someone to care about him the way Kimi cared about him when he was a kid.

"Meeku? Mike? You still there, sweetie?"

"Y-yea. I'm here. I just..I was just reminiscing, that's all."

Kimi laughed and said, "I can imagine that with a brain like yours, it's easy to get lost in your thoughts, huh?"

Wiping the remnants of tears from his eyes, Mike gets up from the couch and walks over to his little dining table. Still holding on tightly to the phone, Mike sits down and gazes out of his tiny window, just in time to see a rabbit run across the yard.

"Any chance that we can meet? Preferably, now?"

Mike didn't want to wait any longer than necessary for this is one person he needs right now at this very moment. He hopes that the hesitancy in his voice hasn't traveled through the phone because he doesn't want her to think less of him. Why he'd suddenly started to feel rather self-conscious is beyond him but he can't help feel that this entire situation is too surreal for his liking. Mike doesn't want to wake up from all of this just for it to be a dream.

"Of course. What's the hurry little man?" she asked. Mike catches an undertone of despair in her question and the way it's softly spoken, as if she's worried he's in some sort of trouble. The least he can do is rectify that. So he responds with the most straightforward response he can come up with.

"I-I need you. Right now."

Then suddenly there are tears again and he can feel his breath hitching before he starts to full-out cry. He needs her. He needs his best friend, sister, and surrogate mom. He just needs to put his arms around her again, to smell her scent and feel her close and know that he's not alone. He doesn't want to be alone anymore. Mike thinks this is his breaking point before he hears Kimi crying on the other end. It's quiet and barely audible and Mike knows she's trying to keep it together for his sake but he can feel it just as much as he can hear it and that's when he knows. That's when he knows that Kimi needs him just as much, if not more.

"What." She pauses and Mike can hear her composing herself. "You thought I'd make you wait? Clearly you have forgotten me."

And then she laughs. She laughs out of pure joy and love and Mike finds himself laughing with her.

"You're right. How silly of me." He smiles to himself though he knows Kimi can't see it.

"Indeed. Now clean up, will ya? I'll be over in a bit."

It's the first time in weeks that Mike smiles so brightly.

"Aye, aye Cap'n."

A\N: I hope I did justice to your expectations. I know that the character for Kimi is a little vague but I didn't intend to reveal much about her yet. Otherwise I won't have much to write about her in the later chapters but I hope you got a sense of how important she is to Mike. Cause she's hella important to him. LOL

Feedback is always welcome and I would hope you take the time to read and review.

I'll try and update soon, yea?