A/N: This story has had me thinking for a while. I know it has been a long time since I updated but I wanted to make sure I got it right. So research needed to be done. In addition, I still DO NOT own any part of Burn Notice. Enjoy.
After seeing the house and deciding that it was what they wanted, Michael took Fiona back to the loft so he could go talk to his mom. As he was walking out of the loft, Fiona stopped him.
"Michael do you have any idea what you are going to say to her yet or are you just going to wing it?" Fiona walked towards Michael who was already at the door.
"Honestly Fi, I have no idea I'm thinking it's probably best to just be straight with her about everything. The smoking and us moving. I don't think she will be happy about either one. Although we won't be that much further then we are now she won't see it that way." Michael said as he walked Fiona back to the bed so she could rest while he was gone.
As Michael started to walk, away Fiona grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her, at the last second she gave an extra little tug making him fall onto the bed next to her.
"Fi what are you doing?" Michael tried to sit up, but Fiona would not let him.
"I don't know Michael I guess I just don't want you to leave yet." Fiona leaned into him and kissed him. She knew once she started Michael would not want to stop. She was right. After about an hour of talking and kissing Michael knew, he had to stop and go to talk his mom. He knew he was just putting it off and it was not going to get any easier.
Michael pulled away from Fiona reluctantly. "Fi we gotta stop. I need to go talk to Ma. You two are supposed to go shopping tomorrow and I want her to be able to somewhat prepare for not being able to smoke around you." Michael had gotten up out of the bed and started making his way to the door again.
"Michael, don't you think you will be needed these." she held up his keys.
Michael patted his pockets, "How did you get them out of my pocket with out me feeling it?"
"You were a little pre occupied when I did it. Some spy you are." She held the keys out to Michael as he made his way back to Fiona.
Michael took the keys and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he turned away. "Call me when you know what you want for dinner Fi. I'll pick it up before I come back."
"Ok Michael, good luck with your mother. Try not to make her cry." Fiona was getting up off the bed.
"Michael saw her get up as he was shutting the door and opened the door again. "Fi what are you doing? You should be resting."
Fiona stopped at the door briefly to say. "There is a baby sitting on my bladder what do you think I'm doing? " Then walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Michael left the loft.
By the time, Michael drove to his mother's house he managed to form a plan in his head of what to say to her. He would start with telling her about the move and then break the smoking to her. He just hoped he could get through it all. As he was getting out of the Charger, he saw the front door open and Madeline was coming out to greet Michael.
When Madeline saw Fiona was not with him she asked, "Where's Fiona? Is she ok?" When Michael made it up the porch stairs, he kissed his mother on the cheek and walked into the house. Madeline followed him inside. "Michael, why aren't you answering me? Something is wrong isn't it? Or else Fi would be here with you. What is going on?"
Michael sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for her to sit across from him. He was hoping that if there were something between them it would be easier to get through this. Once Madeline was sitting she went to pull out a cigarette, but Michael stopped her. "Ma I need to talk to you. First off, Fi is fine, the baby is fine. Turns out Fi was right all along, she is only 18 weeks along and not the almost six months that we were originally told. As of now the due date is July 11."
"Michael that's great news, how come Fiona isn't with you?" she went to light the cigarette again. Michael stopped her again.
"You see Ma the thing is Fi can't be around smoke. It can be very bad for her and the baby now. I know you have been spending a lot of time with her lately and we are concerned for the baby. You and Fi are supposed to go shopping again tomorrow and I just wanted to talk to you about the smoking. I know you're not going to want to hear this but you can't smoke around Fi at all anymore." Michael stopped and finally took in a breath. He just watched his mothers face to see what would happen next.
Madeline just starred straight at Michael. "So Fiona is not coming here tonight?" Michael shook his head no. Madeline lit the cigarette. "So your telling me I can't smoke around Fi, and that's the only reason you stopped by tonight?"
Michael took the cigarette out of her hand and put it out in the ashtray near by. "Not just around Fi but if she comes here it still smoky Ma so you can't smoke in the house either." Michael sat as far back in the chair as he possibly could. He sat back and waited for the eruption.
"Michael you expect me to not smoke in my own house?" Madeline sat forward.
"Well kinda. We spoke to the doctor today and he said that second hand smoke could cause all kinds of birth defects. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be responsible for anything like that. Not to mention Fi would kill you then kill me for letting you smoke around her." Michael tried to sit back further but there was nowhere to go.
"So you're telling me I can't go near Fiona if I am smoking. Fine out in public I will not smoke near her. If I need a cigarette, I will just excuse myself and go have one then come back. As for smoking in my house that won't be as easy. This is my home Michael and I should be able to do what I like. However, I love both you and Fiona so I will try. I guess until I de-smoke the house I will just visit at the loft." Michael made a "oh shit" face and tried to hide it before his mother saw it. "What are you telling me I can't come to the loft either? I already know I can't smoke there."
"No Ma you can still come to the loft it's just that we decided to buy a house and should be moving in very soon. We actually went to the house today and Fiona loves it. She thinks it's a little to big for us but-"
Madeline interrupted him, "Michael your babbling what aren't you telling me now?"
Michael took a deep breath, "Well the house is a little further then the loft." he paused. "It's about half an hour away from here. Without traffic."
"Is that all you have to tell me or is there some other bomb you would like to drop on me?" Madeline asked.
"Nope that's it I think." Michael relaxed a little knowing that everything was out in the open now. Even though it was not going how he was hoping it would, he was still breathing.
"Ok then, well all things considered I guess this isn't so bad. It's not like you're leaving Miami. Plus maybe cutting down on smoking would be a good thing. I would like to live long enough to see Charlie and your baby grow up." Madeline got up and went into the kitchen to get some iced tea. "Michael would you like something to drink?"
Michael stood up and went into the kitchen, "Actually Ma I should get going. Fi is at the loft waiting for me to bring home something for dinner."
Madeline moved towards Michael to give him a hug goodbye. "Ok Michael you go and take care of Fiona and I will see the both of you tomorrow when I come pick of Fi to go shopping. I guess we will be shopping for the baby and the house. I hope you're ready to pick up the bill." she smiled at Michael as he turned to leave the house.
On the way out to the car, Michael called Fiona to see if she had decided on what she wanted for dinner. After the phone rang, a few times it went to voicemail. Michael hung up, got into the car, and tried again. The same thing. He knew he was probably over reacting but he sped back to the loft to make sure everything was ok. When he pulled in and locked the gate, he noticed it seemed to be darker then usual in the loft. With his gun drawn, he went up the stairs and unlocked the door. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside. He couldn't see much of anything since it was so dark inside. Michael opened the door further and flipped on the light. "Fi?" he walked further into the loft. Michael looked out on the balcony and upstairs in the office. She was not sleeping in bed or in the kitchen either. Michael was starting to panic. "Fiona?" Michael turned towards the bathroom and saw the light was on and the door was closed. Slowly he made his way to the door and opened it even slower. He saw Fiona in the bathtub with ear phones on and her eyes closed. Michael let the breath go the he didn't realize he was holding. He walked over to the toilet and put the seat down so he could sit. Fiona had no idea he was there until he removed one of her ear buds. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up straight.
"Michael what the hell are you doing? You scared the crap out of me." she pushed Michael away.
Michael shook his head. "I scared you, Fi I called your phone twice and got no answer then I come home and its dark in the loft you didn't answer when I called your name, I come in here and find you asleep in the bathtub looking like a prune. How long have you been in there?" Michael helped Fiona out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her.
Fiona leaned into Michael, "I don't know, how long have you been gone?" then she walked out of the bathroom.
Michael followed her out, "Fi I was gone over an hour. You're telling me you were in there the whole time I was gone? How the water wasn't that cold? Not to mention your lucky you didn't drown."
Fiona sat on her brown chair, "I wasn't asleep the whole time I must have just dozed off. I kept turning on the hot water to keep warm. I thought a nice long warm bath would feel great and you know what Michael it did. You should try it some time."
Michael walked over to the fridge to see what they had to eat for dinner. There was not much in there other then yogurt and beer. "Fi did you happen to think about what you would like for dinner?"
Fiona head lifted up as soon as she heard the word dinner. "Actually yes I heard a commercial for Arby's and I'd really like to try one of their Rueben's. I know its not like have real corned beef but it will do for now. By the way how did it go with your mom?"
Michael moved over to the chair and sat on the arm, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Basically, you're not going over there until she stops smoking in the house and the smell goes away. As for us moving, she didn't say much about it. She is happy we are staying in Miami."
"Well that's good I guess. Did she say if she still wanted to go shopping tomorrow?" Fiona put her hand on Michael's leg.
"Yeah she seemed excited about that. Now you get to shop for the baby and the house." Michael put his hand on top of hers.
"Oh wow I didn't even think about that. We are going to need so much just to get started. Lets face it neither of us really has any furniture, unless you count this chair and the bed which to be honest can just stay here."
"It's ok Fi I knew going into this that we would need a lot. As for the bed, I figured you would want a new one. Tomorrow when you go shopping start looking for furniture and whatever else you want for the house." he started to get up.
Fiona stopped him by holding onto his hand, "Michael how are you going to pay for all of this. The house, all the furniture, all the baby stuff. Did you win lottery and not tell me?"
Michael sat back down on the arm of the chair, "No nothing like that Fi, all of my accounts have been unfrozen and well I've not only got all that money back but the interest it collected as well. So we won't need to worry about money for a while." he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then got up. "All you want is the Rueben what about fries or something?" he was walking towards the door.
"Yeah they have curly fries there that sounds good. Make it a large curly fry and two Rueben's. I don't know if I'll be able to eat all that but I am really hungry. Please hurry Michael." Fiona got up to walk towards their wardrobe so she could get dressed.
As she was walking passed the door she was adjusting her towel and Michael had the door partially open not knowing that Sam was about to walk through the door. Sam saw enough to turn around and walk back outside.
"Sam! Don't you ever knock? Fiona shouted.
"Hey Sister you don't have to knock when the door is open." Sam yelled back from outside the door.
"Sorry Fi, I didn't know he was coming up the stairs. I'll get him outta of here so you don't actually kill him while I'm gone." Michael said as he started opening the door again.
"Good thinking. Maybe it would be best if he didn't come back with you." Fiona started looking through her clothes for something to wear.
"Ok Fi I'll be back soon." Michael left the loft.
Michael got outside and Sam was sitting on the steps. Michael smacked Sam on the back of the head. "What were you thinking Sam? You should know better then to just walk in if the door is open or not. You never know what she is going to be doing." Michael started walking down the stairs and Sam followed.
"Sorry Mikey, but how the hell was I supposed to know she would be walking around half naked?" Sam started getting into the charger. "Where we goin anyway?"
"Sam this is Fiona we are talking about, you never know what she is going to do. And I'm going to get dinner. If you wanna come for the ride that's fine but it's probably not in your best interest to go back into the loft tonight. She's likely to kill you. Since the baby started showing she's been a little self-conscious about her body. And you seeing it is going to drive her over the edge." Michael started the car and moved it outside the gate so he could lock it. Once Michael got back in the car and was on the way to Arby's Sam spoke up.
"I didn't even see anything Mike, she was covered by the towel and you were blocking her. Not that I would want to see anything. C'mon Mikey she's like a sister to me." Sam looked at Michael.
"I still don't think you should come back to the loft with me." Michael said.
"Yeah ok Mike, by the way how did the doctor go?"
"It went fine; Fi is only 18 weeks pregnant instead of almost of almost six months like originally thought. Everything is fine and the baby is due July 11."
"That's great Mike." Sam said.
"Yeah it is Sam; we also picked out the house we are going to be buying. It's been a busy day. I also talked to Ma about smoking near Fi." Michael said as he watched the road in front of him.
"No kiddin, you guys are really gonna move out of the loft?" Sam paused a moment. "Wait you told your ma that she can't smoke near Fi and you're still alive."
"Yeah I think it's the fact that I am giving her another grandchild or maybe that she gets to help shop for the new house that I am still alive."
"Speaking of the new house where is it? I didn't even know you were really looking yet. You know I would have helped you look I have contacts in real estate that could have gotten you a great deal Mike."
Michael pulled into the Arby's parking lot and parked. "Yeah I know you would have helped but I found a great house at a great price. Plus the location is excellent. I knew Fi would love it so I arranged to hang on to the key so Fi could see it today. Its move in ready once we get furniture." they walked into Arby's and got in line.
"Really Mike you picked a house without even asking me to see it, I'm hurt." they moved up in line.
"Get over it Sam, if it helps there will be a room for you for when you are between your lady friends." Michael smiled at Sam.
"Yeah I guess that kinda helps. So you guys are really doing this. Having a kid, moving into a real home. What's next getting hitched?" Sam said half laughing.
"You're funny Sam. To be honest that hasn't even come up. I think we are both happy with where we are right now. Why complicate things?" Michael moved up to the counter to order.
On the way back to the loft they were both quiet until Michael's phone rang. Michael looked at the caller ID. "Hey Fi what's up?"
"Michael I decided I wanted a chocolate shake too. Did you leave Arby's yet?"
"I did already leave but I did get you a shake, I figured you would want one. I'll be there soon."
"What about Sam?" Fiona asked with a bit of hatred in her voice.
"He is still with me but will not be joining us for dinner."
"Good, see you soon Michael." She ended the call.
Michael looked quickly over at Sam, "Damn Sam she really doesn't want to see you tonight. Just give her a couple of days and I'm sure she will calm down."
"Yeah okay Mike but I swear I didn't see anything."
As they pulled up to the gate at the loft Sam got out to open the gate so Michael could drive through. Michael got out of the car, handed Sam his bag of food, and started to walk up the stairs. "I'll call you tomorrow when Fi goes shopping maybe we can go check out the house."
Sam started to walk out of the gate, "Yeah ok Mike Ill talk to you tomorrow tell Fi I didn't see anything."
Michael went the rest of the way up the stairs, into the loft as Sam got into his car, and pulled away.
