A/N: Thank you Jaudreylover24 for the review! No need to apologise, I'm glad you're still reading!

The two beams of light from the front of the car illuminated the street as they pulled up to the house. Tony's hand rested on her thigh as she parked on the curb. She squeezed it lightly before moving to unlock the doors. Michelle took in the fact that he was smiling and couldn't help but smile back. They had gone out for dinner for the first time since being placed in Witness Protection, and it had served as a nostalgic reminder to both of them of how simple things used to be. As they walked to the door, she noticed how quiet it was. More than usual. Immediately, she started trying to deduce why. She didn't want to assume the worst. And both of them felt so happy right now, so she didn't want to kill it with her over-worrying.

But her smile quickly faded when she became aware of the absence of the two guards who usually stood around the front of the house.

She placed her hand on Tony's waist to stop him from walking further.

"Stay here," Michelle muttered before grabbing her gun and flashlight.

When he didn't respond, she turned to look at him, seeing a familiar look of anxiety on his face.

"T-They're probably at the back. Just let me check." She said in an attempt to reassure him.

"Michelle, I'm-"

"Get back in the car, and lock the doors," Michelle said with a hardened voice.

Tony obliged silently. She moved along the siding of the house to find the gate ajar, and one agent collapsed in the bushes. He was bleeding from his head. Bending down, she could hear him take laboured breaths. Michelle helped him up.

"What happened?"

"It…" He puffed. "It was Lyons. T-There were too many of them."

Her eyes widened. Marshall Lyons was one of Wilson's associates. He hadn't been involved significantly in Tony's torture, so he'd gotten off with a light sentence. But that certainly didn't mean he couldn't promote himself to do what Wilson had started, or worse, want to silence Tony in case he had anything more incriminating to share. Arrests were still being made. Every new piece of information Tony remembered often had dire consequences for those even remotely connected to Wilson. It helped the case tremendously but didn't make them feel any safer.

"Where'd he go?" She asked, pulling at his shirt to keep him awake.

"T-Towards the back."

Michelle quickly helped him to staunch the bleeding on his head by passing him her jacket. She then slid his radio out from his back pocket to notify the FBI, keeping her voice quiet.

She walked closer to the corner that led into the backyard, finding the grass littered with bodies of FBI agents and mercenaries alike. Most of them looked like they had been garrotted or stabbed. This was a professional job. Michelle paused, peeking around the corner to find Lyons trying to work at the back door lock. It was heavily reinforced. There was no way he would be able to do it. But it was clear his goal was to lie in wait for them.

"Freeze," Michelle called, raising her gun with the flashlight crossed over it. "Hands up. Now."

He moved to draw his weapon, but she was quicker, firing at his hip, just below the outline of the kevlar vest underneath his clothes. Lyons cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground. Michelle walked over to him, kicking his gun away. She yanked him up by the shirt and slammed his head against the wall.

"Who sent you?" She demanded.

Lyons said nothing, so she dug her knee into where she had shot him. He howled.

"Who the hell sent you?"

"N-Nobody. Nobody!"

Michelle shoved the gun's muzzle under his chin, forcing him to tilt his head up.

"If you are keeping something from me, and you don't think I'll find a way to make you talk, you are very mistaken." She gritted through her teeth, slowly pressing into his wound again. "Believe me when I say that shooting you again is the nicest thing I can do."

"I-I mean it. I swear!" He yelped. "I just wanted to make sure he didn't connect me to anything else."

"Just you?"

He nodded fervidly.

"You sure?" Michelle pushed on his wound one last time, keeping the gun directed at his chin.

"Just me. It was just me."

She squeezed her eyes shut when she felt a flashlight shine straight into her face. The beam was unsteady as though its owner's hand was trembling.

"Michelle?" A painfully recognisable voice called from beside her.

Turning to face him, she saw Tony staring directly at her with some mix of disgust and confusion, his chest heaving. Michelle wondered how long he had been standing there and felt her stomach sink. Regardless of what he had heard, she was scowling whilst holding a man at gunpoint and had blood all over her. All the colour had drained from his face. He looked terrified, and she instinctively went to walk forward to comfort him, letting Lyons drop beside her. But to her worry, he took a step back, and the fear on his face only seemed to grow.

"Tony..."

He bolted around the corner, and by the time she caught up with him, she heard tyres screech as he drove away. She called out to him, apologising and begging him to come back. Her knees were ready to give out. But it was too late. Michelle had let Tony see a side of her that she had promised herself he would never see. He would never look her in the eye again. He'd looked concerned when she'd practically ordered him back to the car before. But what she just saw was downright horror in his expression. Michelle was sure she would never be able to erase it from her memory.

There was no going back now.

Nothing would ever be the same between them again.

Because how would she ever be able to comfort him again when she had become the very thing he was afraid of?