Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long to post. I was out of town for a week traveling about, visiting old friends in various cities, so I had no time to write. Then since I took a week off, I had to put in a lot of time at my big kid job before I left and after to catch up. I still have plans to finish this story! Things should start picking up soon now! I didn't edit this chapter too well because I just wanted to get it posted. I may come back later and fix mistakes.
Mike is sitting in the courtroom feeling raw. Paige has been on the witness stand for the last hour. His attorney has been questioning her about the night of the attack, making her relive every moment. His attorney is gentle and understanding with Paige, but thorough. When he feels a question is not answered fully, he asks her to explain. Mike is hearing details he'd never heard, that he never wanted to know. The courtroom has been cleared out to give Paige privacy during her explanation. The only people in the room is Mike, his attorney, the prosecutor, judge and the court reporter.
Finally, the attorney thanks Paige for her honesty and sits down beside Mike. He gives him a reassuring smile and mouths, "She did good."
Mike shifts uncomfortably in his chair. He knows why his attorney had to ask all those questions. The court had to hear all the horrible things done to Paige so they could understand that Mike's actions were not extreme in response. He still feels distraught that Paige has to do this for him and he knows the worst isn't over yet. The prosecutor still has to cross examine Paige. He glares from his seat as the prosecutor stands up and crosses the room aggressively to where Paige sits in the stand.
"What is your relationship to Mike Warren?" The prosecutor asks Paige bluntly.
"Agent Warren and I are both agents placed at Graceland." Paige replies.
"You didn't answer my question, what is your relationship to Mike Warren?" The prosecutor repeats.
"It depends because of our living situation. We are co-workers, housemates and friends." Paige answers calmly.
"Are you lovers?"
"No."
"Are you certain?" The prosecutor asks. Mike rolls his eyes. It was a dumb question. She answered him. The prosecutor should move on.
"Am I certain I've never had sex with Mike Warren?" Paige laughs, also thinking this is dumb. "I don't know what you've heard about me sir, but I assure you, I remember the men I sleep with. No. I have never had sex with Mike Warren."
"But the record here says he stayed every night with you while you were in the hospital, even sometimes staying in your bed."
"And although we all know how incredibly sexual an ICU suite can be, somehow we managed to keep it in our pants." Paige says dryly. "I think you're confusing Graceland with Grey's Anatomy."
"Is there any romantic relationship between the two of you?" The prosecutor pushes onward, like he doesn't believe she's telling the truth.
"As I've previously stated, no. We have never dated." Paige says firmly.
"So you two don't flirt?" He asks doubtfully.
"No more than I do with anyone, handsome." Paige winks at the prosecutor. Mike has to hide his laugh with a cough.
"You two don't touch?"
"What does this have to do with the case?" Paige is starting to get frustrated with the one minded badgering of the prosecutor.
"So you two have never kissed?" The prosecutor presses on, clearly not caring whether Paige answers his questions or not. His allegations don't need her response. She's getting visibly flustered.
"Look if there's a problem with my work performance, let's talk about it. But both Agent Warren and myself are professionals who take our jobs very seriously. I would trust him with my life, and in this case-" Paige can't finish her statement, because she is cut off.
"Do you think Mike Warren is in love with you?" The prosecutor asks boldly. Mike swallows a lump in his throat. For him, time seems to stand still at this question.
"That would be pure conjecture on my part, but no. No, I don't." Paige rolls her eyes. Mike's not sure if he feels relieved or not.
"Are you in love with Mike Warren?"
"Listen, we could be here all day talking about all the men in the world who are not fucking me. But this hearing isn't about that. Today is about the men who kidnapped me, beat me, tortured me and repeatedly…" Paige yells, trying to get back to where she thinks the focus should be.
"This hearing is not a criminal trial for your attackers Ms. Arkin. This is a disciplinary hearing on whether or not Agent Warren is fit to serve, or whether he went outside the lines when he disobeyed a direct order from a commanding officer and went in with no backup, no authority, no warrant, no-"
"He had solid reason to believe I was in danger inside. It clearly falls under the exigent circumstance exception justifying a warrantless search." This time it's Paige who cuts the prosecutor off. She is getting pissed off.
"Ms. Arkin did you go to law school?" The Prosecutor asks arrogantly, clearly not appreciating being interrupted.
"No I didn't, but your implication Mike needed a warrant, leads me to question whether you actually went to law school." Paige snaps.
"Ms. Arkin, if you could just answer the questions asked and keep your personal commentary to yourself." The prosecutor is being combative with Paige and Mike wonders why his attorney isn't standing up and objecting. The prosecutor continues."So your sworn testimony is you don't think Agent Warren's judgment was at all clouded by his feelings for you?"
"No. I think Mike's judgment was sound. He saved me. I like to think if the roles were reversed, I would have done the same for him. Or anyone in the house. When you live in a house together you get close. We all care about each other. Mike is the last person who would break the rules unless he had no choice."
"Ms. Arkin you work for the DEA correct?" The prosecutor finally changes the subject, and Mike is relieved.
"Yes." Paige answers calmly.
"In the last month how many different types of drugs have you had in your system?"
"Most of those were prescribed by the hospital. I am recovering from massive injuries." Paige is rightfully offended by the question. "The others were forced when-"
"Are you worried you might become addicted?" The prosecutor gives Paige no chance to finish her sentence.
"No. I follow the doctor's orders very carefully." Paige answers shortly.
"Are you worried the drugs are going to impair your judgment?"
"No!"
"Are you on any drugs right now?" The prosecutor leans in close to the stand and Mike wants to jump up and slug the man if he takes one more step towards Paige.
"I am still on an antibiotic and some pain medication. I have a prescription for all of them."
"Ms. Arkin, I'd like to start asking some questions about the incident."
"Finally. I'd be happy to answer them." Paige rolls her eyes, but Mike is on high alert. He doubts the worst is over.
"Why would anyone kidnap you?"
"Mike was singlehandedly responsible for taking down one of the biggest drug lords in California, Jeremiah Bello." Mike can't help but notice the tone of pride in Paige's voice. "He wanted revenge on Mike."
"Yes, but why would he think that his best revenge against Mike involved capturing you?" The prosecutor goads Paige on.
"Bello seemed to have been under the mistaken impression that I was Mike's girlfriend." Paige says nervously, glancing over in Mike's direction. It's the first time the entire trial she's looked at Mike.
"Tell me Ms. Arkin, why does everyone seem to think that you are Mr. Warren's girlfriend except you?"
"Because everyone is wrong and, as I've already told you, I am not in a relationship with Mike Warren." Paige practically growls at the prosecutor.
"Ms. Arkin, the night of the incident, where were you headed?"
"I was helping Agent Dale Jakes on a case. I was-" Paige is cut off again. Mike feels his fists clenching at his sides.
"Just answer where were you headed, please?"
"The Red Line." Paige says simply, crossing her arms across her chest.
"What is the Red Line?"
"It's a gentlemen's night club."
"Why were you going to a gentlemen's night club?" Mike does not like the suggestive tone the prosecutor is using. She was obviously working, and if he'd let her finish a sentence he'd know that.
"Like I was trying to explain earlier, I was going undercover to help agent Dale Jakes-"
"What were you undercover as Ms. Arkin?"
"A dancer."
"You mean a stripper. And do you often use stripper as your undercover alias?"
"Sometimes. Bad guys like strippers." Paige shrugs casually.
"Have you ever gone under as a prostitute?"
"Yes, but I've never-"
"Ms. Arkin do you often use your sexuality to get your way?"
"Excuse me?!" Paige looks like she might punch the prosecutor herself now. Mike glares over at his attorney who just shrugs. How can this badgering be allowed? Isn't there rules against this sort of thing?
"Well you're a lovely girl, and many of your reports suggest your M.O. seems to be going undercover as the suspect's girlfriend. Presumably these 'boyfriends' of yours want to sleep with you. How many sexual partners have you had Ms. Arkin?"
"Are you asking about in my personal life or professional life?" Paige asks obstinately, refusing to fall into the verbal trap. Instead of engaging her, the prosecutor decides to move on to his next question.
"How does Agent Warren feel about your tactics? How does he feel about you seducing men to get information?"
"That is an oversimplification of how I work, and as for what people think about it, I don't know or care! I'm a great agent, whose record speaks-" Paige is getting flustered and defensive. Mike wants to rush over and hold her, assure her that he doesn't think any of these things about her.
"And how was it you, a great agent, were not able to free yourself? Presumably to perform some of the sexual acts you described earlier you would have to have your hands free. Why didn't you run away?" Mike's arms are crossed, and his fingernails dig so deeply into his skin that he starts to bleed. His jaw is clenched tightly and if looks could kill, the prosecutor would be a pile of dust right now.
"There were six men! I was unarmed, injured, and drugged. I couldn't-" Paige looks like she might start crying in frustration at any second. These are the questions she's been asking herself, but has been too ashamed to voice out loud. Could she have gotten away? Could she have fought more?
"Your testimony said that your injuries didn't occur until mostly after the sexual encounters. Did you even try to get away before that?"
"There was no way I could have-" Paige's voice is a mere whisper by now.
"So you couldn't get away, but Agent Warren could walk right in, and kill four men, just for suspecting they might have had sex with you. Ms. Arkin, has agent Warren ever shown jealousy towards any of your other lovers?" The prosecutor leans in, he's obviously going for the kill.
Paige sits there staring at him open mouthed. He's completely twisting the situation. That's not how it happened. She wasn't a slut and Mike wasn't some jealous boyfriend who shot men who took his property. But she couldn't deny it, he was twisting words but he wasn't lying. She didn't know how to answer the question, because as she thought about it Mike was always showing signs of jealousy of men she talked to. Sure he never shot them, but she'd be lying if she said he never acted jealous. She knew if she said that though the prosecutor would take that information and misrepresent it too. She doesn't get a chance to answer though, because suddenly there's a loud slam as Mike's chair crashes to the floor.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Mike's scream echoes through the silent courtroom as he stands up quickly, knocking his chair back in the process, his body tense leaning over the table, looking wild and dangerous like he might attack at any second.
All eyes turn to Mike, but his are locked on Paige's terrified green ones. Looking into them, he realizes he's made a mistake. He just gave the prosecutor what he wanted. At that moment all the fury he felt towards the prosecutor turns inward towards himself. All the great work Paige did on the stand talking about him and how she trusts him, and he'd just ruined it. He can't believe he fell for it.
"Mr. Warren, given your history of slaughtering men who you feel are attacking Ms. Arkin, one more outburst like that and I'll ask that you be restrained for my safety." The prosecutor says smugly to Mike, turning back to Paige he asks, "Ms. Arkin, is it still your sworn statement that Mike Warren is not prone to violent over the top outbursts when he feels someone has wronged you?"
Paige just looks back at the prosecutor calmly. Mike's outburst seems to have given her the moment she needed to recollect herself.
"I would not be sitting here today if it weren't for Mike Warren. He is a great agent. He has good instincts and he gets the job done. Most of the time he goes by the book, which I guarantee he knows better than anyone here, but every now and then, the results justify the means. There is no other possible scenario where I would have come out of there alive. So if you're asking if I'm bias the answer is yes. Yes I am. Because I owe that man my life. And if you punish him for doing his job, for doing what no one else was able to do, then you're fools and you're losing a man who could, given some time, become one of the greatest agents the FBI's ever had."
Mike sits quietly, listening to Paige speak. He knows he screwed up and he had been worried she was becoming too emotional and agitated earlier. The prosecutor was clearly getting a rise out of her. The same way the prosecutor had definitely gotten under his skin. But the way she brought it around. The emotion in her speech. He's touched she would say such things about him. He's pretty sure that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said about him. He's not sure he agrees with what she says, but he wants to become the man she talked about.
As Paige walks back to the bench her fingertips lightly graze Mike's in a silent show of camaraderie. Mike reaches back and grabs her hand, pausing her beside him. His outburst probably just undid all the good she did on the stand. The prosecutor's probably going to use it as evidence that he's too emotional and too overprotective when it comes to Paige but he doesn't care right now if he loses his job. He only has one question for her.
"Did you mean that? What you said about me. Did you mean it?"
"Every word." She whispers solemnly.
"Thank you." He gives her fingertips a squeeze, his gaze lingering on her as she gives him a comforting smile and then walks back to her seat.
Coming back to the moment quickly, Mike starts thinking about the hearing again. He looks around cautiously for who might have observed the intimate moment. The prosecutor is still gloating over Mike's outburst, and his own attorney is scribbling notes beside him. The judge is staring at him knowingly. She definitely noticed the exchange. Mike sighs and stares up at the ceiling nervously. This whole thing was already not looking good for him, and Paige was only the first witness called in his disciplinary hearing. This was going to be a long day.