Author's Note: Trying to move quickly here. Not much time. Please ignore the errors.
Mike and Briggs are out in the middle of the ocean, waiting for a wave to hit, but the ocean seems fairly calm so they just float. As they sit, the two men casually chat.
"Look now that we've got a moment. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." Briggs says casually.
"Sure. What's up?" Mike's always a little suspicious when Briggs just casually wants to talk. That man always has an agenda.
"So Agent Warren. Do you realize it is officially two years, to the day, when you were just a young innocent pup arriving at Graceland?"
"It's crazy. In some ways it feels just like yesterday, but then I see Sam and it feels like ancient history." Mike shakes his head.
"How are you liking it here?" Briggs asks.
"It's great. I mean, the people are great, the job gets tough sometimes but it's y'know rewarding…" Mike says, scanning the horizon for any sign of waves. The water barely ripples.
"Still have any thoughts of getting reassigned back to the East Coast? Moving up in the world to a fancy desk job?" Briggs tries to sound casual, but Mike gets suspicious.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Mike asks jokingly.
"No, I just thought after two years you might be itching for a change. I didn't peg you to give up on your dream of DC." Briggs shrugs.
"I'm not saying I've given up on field director, but I like it here. I'd miss it too much to leave." Mike says, guardedly. It's true in his original plan he would be back in DC by now, but he has relaxed into the daily life of Graceland.
"Look Mike you're one of the most promising FBI agents I've ever seen. But you did what you set out to do, as much as I'll miss you, you will damage your career if you stay here much longer." Briggs says flatly. The tone of his voice doesn't seem to leave much room for discussion.
"So what, you're kicking me out?" Mike asks, shocked. He immediately runs through the events of the past couple weeks, looking for clues or motives for Briggs's behavior. The man must have a plan of some sort, what's his angle?
"Mike you should have left once the whole Jangles thing was wrapped up, but it's a year later and you're still here. Why?" Briggs asks, trying to make Mike see reason.
"I'm still the newest person in the house, Briggs." Mike says belligerently. Every other agent has been there longer than him Briggs longest of all, and yet Mike was the one he was kicking out. There had to be a reason.
"Sam's the newest person in the house." Briggs corrects, and Mike can't believe he forgot Sam, but he was so new Mike still didn't consider him part of the house.
"You've been here for longer than me. I can still do good here." Mike insists, sounding almost frantic at the thought of having to leave.
"Not as much good as you could do in DC." Briggs says firmly. "Look Mike, I'll miss you. We all will, but it's time to move on. Look, you've got an annual review scheduled, and I've already recommended in my report you be promoted."
"So that's it? I don't even get a say in this?" Mike is suddenly frustrated and running his hands through his hair. What is he going to do? This is all wrong. He can't just drop everything and move to DC.
"Look you're a smart man, and you know as well as I do the clock is ticking. You know this is the right move for you."
"I can't just leave Briggs! I have open cases, unfinished business, my whole damn life is here!" Mike's voice screams out to the empty ocean.
"Look you do great work, but with me, Johnny and Chuck we've already got enough FBI in the house. We've already got Sam in as DEA, in Lauren's old room. With two more empty rooms we can get another DEA and another custom's agent in here. Get a little more balance."
"Wait, did you just say two more empty rooms?" Mike's mind is racing, he must have heard Briggs wrong.
"Well I assume you'll be taking a certain blonde agent with you when you go." Briggs shrugs nonchalantly, but he knows as well as Mike he's just showed his hand. The two men sit and glare at each other in silence as they both size each other up.
"I…"
Mike considers lying, but it seems pointless. Briggs knows about him and Paige. Not just a vague suspicion, judging from his behavior Briggs knows everything. Mike starts to wonder if there's anything his mentor doesn't know.
"How long have you known?" Mike asks finally, not even putting up a fight. Paige is going to kill him.
"You hit the mic switch when I was under with Jason Wong."
"When we…Shit." Mike's face turns white as he remembers that day that he and Paige had been trapped in the box together. He tries to think back to remember exactly how much Briggs knows.
"So what do we do now?" Mike asks.
"I don't know." Paige answers in a quiet voice.
"What do you want to do?" Mike asks gently.
"I don't know." Paige can't look up at his eyes, and looks like she might cry any second. "Maybe we should just forget it and go back to just being friends… and then maybe in the future…"
"Yeah… Yeah, maybe that would be best. Friends." Mike says woodenly, sitting down in his chair, feeling suddenly exhausted and defeated.
Mike and Paige sit quietly in the small box of a room, both lost in their own thoughts, each sneaking glances at the other. Paige is trying to pretend that she's paying attention to what Briggs is doing. Mike is just staring into space and occasionally over at her, not even trying to hide that his mind is somewhere else.
Paige taps her pen nervously. The drumming sound fills the otherwise empty space. Finally, Mike's hand just reaches out to stop her nervous drumming. His hand touches hers and it feels like electricity. They both stare at each other, and Mike starts to wonder what the hell they're going to do.
Suddenly, their lips are on the others and their bodies are crushed together. Mike doesn't remember who moved first. He doesn't even remember deciding he should kiss Paige. All he knows is his mind went blank and now she's in his arms. The two stumble back against the control board, and Paige lets out a squeak of discomfort as her backside hits it roughly. Mike pulls her more towards him, away from the desk, kissing her clumsily, the force of his body straining to be with hers pushing her backwards.
"We shouldn't be doing this." She moans against his lips, even as he roughly helps her shrug her police vest off her shoulders.
"This is exactly what we should be doing." He argues as he brings his fingers up into her hair.
"We should talk about this."
"I don't want to talk." Mike mutters, kissing her forcefully.
"I'm a mess you know that right?" She asks as Mike pulls her shirt over her head, throwing it to a corner of the room.
"Yes. Kiss me." Mike grunts, his hands trying to touch every inch of her bare torso.
"Are you sure you want to put up with all that?" She still continues to talk even as his lips press roughly against her own.
"Fuck, yes. Love you. Love you so much." Mike is kissing her so furiously, he can't even make full sentences.
"Are you sure it's not just the trauma talking? You could have Florence Nightingale Syndrome and..." She continues to talk even as he backs her up against a wall. The resistance behind her finally allows him to press his body against hers without the two of them nearly toppling over.
"God, I love that you just used that term properly." Mike growls as he kisses her neck "So hot."
"Mmmm… but what if that's all this is?" She ponders, as his hands fumble with her belt.
"You really think that?" Mike pulls away breathless, staring at her with hurt eyes. He doesn't know how after all this she doesn't realize he's crazy about her. That he has been since the moment he met her.
"I don't know… Maybe. Would you even be with me if this hadn't happened? Wouldn't you be in DC?" Her eyelashes flutter down her against her cheeks, and Mike stops attempting to undo her pants to just stare at her.
"You honestly think…" Mike can't get over the fact that she would doubt this was real. He tries to cool the lust that's pumping through his veins making his brain foggy, but the only thing he can think to say is, "Paige, I hate karaoke."
"Wait, what?" Paige is caught completely off guard by this comment.
"I do. It's loud. Everyone's off key. You can't talk to people. I can't sing. It's my personal idea of hell." Mike says quickly.
"I don't understand…" Paige is looking at Mike like he's suddenly gone crazy, but he cuts her off.
"Since I've come here, I have been to every damn karaoke bar in California. Because I would do anything to be where you are." Mike's running out of ways to tell this woman how he feels about her. She's one of the most perceptive people he knows and he doesn't understand how she couldn't know how desperately in love with her Mike truly was. At least he's hoping that came out romantic. He looks at her, realizing he's not good with words, but he hopes that she understands.
She smirks at him for a moment, pondering his words and then grabs him by the waist of his pants and pulls him back to her. She kisses him roughly, her fingers fumbling at the button of his fly. His hands come to her waist band as well as they both struggle to rid the other of pants, racing to see who can get the other naked first.
"You're not going to disappear on me again right?" Mike removes his shirt, and uses the brief moment of his lips being free to ask.
"I don't know if I can handle having a boyfriend, Mike." Paige answers honestly, hoping he'll just stay with her in this moment, and won't start getting dressed. She doesn't want to think about anything. She just wants to live in this exact moment.
"I don't care what we call it. I just know I want to be with you." Now that they're both down to only their undergarments, he rocks his hips against hers lightly, a promise of things to come, as he buries his head against her neck, kissing her softly.
"Can we just keep doing this, and not tell anyone, while we figure things out?" Paige knows it's not fair to ask this of him, to keep another secret, but he quickly agrees to her request.
"Yes. Absolutely. Our secret. As far as anyone else knows, we're just friends." Mike assures her, kissing her softly, and Paige knows it's crazy but she starts to get self conscious about whether Mike is ashamed of her.
As if he's reading her mind he softly adds, "But just so you know, I want to shout it from the rooftops. So the second you change your mind, you let me know. You set the rules, baby."
"Rule one. Don't call me baby." Paige laughs.
"Yeah, as soon as I said it, it felt wrong." Mike admits, kissing her lips softly, his fingertips coming to the strap of her bra and pulling it down, his lips following as he slowly removes her bra, giving her time to object. After a few moments of him tenderly kissing her, he whispers just as softly, "Rule number two: I love you."
"I thought I set the rules?" Paige sighs, as his lips come back up to meet hers.
"Sorry." Mike doesn't sound at all apologetic as he kisses her softly.
"Rule number three, we're not stopping this time until you've finished." She threatens him, playfully pulling him in and spinning around, switching their positions so he's the one up against the wall.
"It won't take long." Mike promises, arching his hips away from the wall so she can pull his boxers down his thighs. "I was trying to impress you last time."
"Well maybe it's time I impress you…" Paige grins, looking up at him with mischievous sparkling eyes, as she kisses a trail his bare stomach.
"You always impress- OH MY GOD!"
"Oh my God...Seriously Briggs," Mike blushes at the memory, of all the possible things Briggs could have heard over that microphone. They'd been trapped in that box all day, and they certainly used that day alone to make up for lost time. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough Mike. Way more than enough. My poker has never been so shitty." Briggs admits. "It was like a day long porn fest playing in my ear and I couldn't turn it off."
"So this whole time, you've known…" Mike is dumbfounded as he thinks back over all the time him and Paige have been sneaking around.
"That you and Paige are secretly dating? Yeah. don't get me wrong though, you two do put on a good show, but yeah. I knew." Briggs said. "So the question now comes down to, what now?"
"What now indeed." Mike says, wondering if Briggs would keep their secret. He had so far. He doesn't know what's changed that made Briggs kick Mike out. "Look, this doesn't have to mess up the house. No one else knows right?"
"Doesn't matter Mike they'll know soon enough. Face it kid, you beat the bad guy, you got the girl, your story here is done. Time to move on to bigger and badder things." Briggs says in his obnoxious all knowing way that makes Mike want to punch the guy.
"I won't leave without Paige." Mike says simply.
"I didn't expect you to."
"She won't want to go to DC, and she shouldn't have to! This is her home! Her shrink is here, you guys are here, her families within driving distance. I don't even know if she would go with me." Mike admits finally. Things have been great with him and Paige these past few months, but this is a huge thing. They've never talked about the future in any serious sense, and in all honesty Mike's afraid to. He knows his future is Paige, but he doesn't know where she sees Mike fitting in.
"Look Mike, I've been keeping your secret for these past few months because you kept mine, and Paige seems happy." Briggs says simply. "But I don't think it's going to be a secret much longer so you might want to report it to the bureau. There's paperwork to fill out for things like this, but relationships at work happen."
"Report it to the- are you insane?" Mike stares at Briggs mouth open. When did Briggs ever believe in doing paperwork. Mike didn't want his personal life to become a matter of record on file, and he knew Paige would hate it even more than him. She didn't want the motel owner two cities over to even know about them.
"Well I'd say you've got three maybe six more months until it's impossible to keep your secret anymore." Briggs defends.
"You're giving me a deadline?" Mike is outraged that Briggs would give him an ultimatum like this. He couldn't put that pressure on Paige.
"I'm not doing anything! You did this to yourself my friend." Briggs raises his hands in defense.
"What do you mean?" Mike asks, staring at Briggs.
"You don't know?" Briggs asks.
"What do you know?" Mike will drown Briggs in this ocean if he doesn't cut the mysterious act quick. "Is everything ok? Is Paige safe? Does Caza want me dead? Is that why you're trying to get us to leave?"
"Shit. I thought you knew." Briggs mutters to himself.
"Just tell me. Now."
"Paige is pregnant."
"That's impossible. She can't have kids. You heard the doctors at the hospital." Mike says stubbornly, his mind not even allowing the possibility to enter his head.
"I heard the doctor say it's possible that she might not have kids." Briggs's words are like cold water in Mike's brain as he thinks back to exactly what the doctor said. His mind starts racing through every possibility. Every secret tryst him and Paige have had over the last few months. After that first time, they had never used a condom. . .
"Look even if she could, she can't! I mean, she got the implant thingy-" Mike stumbles over words and gestures to his arm, "She's got the thing. In her arm. You know so she can't get pregnant!"
"Yeah, that same arm that was sliced to bits when she got to the hospital? Based on current evidence, I'm guessing it fell out." Briggs says bluntly.
The realization washes over Mike and he sits there on his board processing Briggs's information. He's so caught up in thought, he completely misses the giant literal wave that comes crashing over him as the ocean tries to drown the preoccupied agent.
By the time Mike comes sputtering up for air, grabbing a hold of the board using it as a flotation device, all he can say is, "Oh my God, I knocked up my girlfriend."
"Well at least you're calling her your girlfriend now!" Mike can hear Briggs's voice from closer to shore where the current had carried Briggs still atop his board.
Mike paddles back to shore dragging his board behind him until he finally collapses in the sand, emotionally and physically exhausted.
"She's not ready for this…" Mike mutters.
"Who is?" Briggs asks, sitting down patiently in the sand beside him.
"Dammit Briggs we were doing fine! Why did you-" Mike's getting angry now, lashing out at the man who broke the news to him.
"Woah, I didn't impregnate her!" Briggs quickly defends himself. "Why didn't you use a condom?"
"It made sense! We're exclusive, we've both been tested, and if I left a bunch of used condoms around the house everyone would know!" Mike argues.
"Why…" Briggs begins to ask again, but Mike cuts him off with an exasperated yell.
"I didn't think she could get pregnant!"
"I assume they still teach sex ed in Virginia." Briggs says glibly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they still teach sex ed-"
"No that she's pregnant!" Mike wants to hit Briggs. This is no time for him to be joking. Maybe Briggs was wrong. Maybe there was just a scare. Paige would tell him if she were pregnant. Wouldn't she?
"Well she turned down free tequila shots last night."
"Oh my God, she's pregnant." Mike groans.
"Can I ask you something Mikey? How did you not know?" Briggs tries to ask gently. Mike has been asking himself that same question over and over again.
"She didn't tell me! It's not like I routinely make her pee on a stick." Mike grumbles. "I have to go. I have to talk to her."