Michelle woke up gasping for air but quickly clamped her hand over her mouth to avoid waking him. There had been enough nightmares by now for her to be able to stop herself from screaming so she wouldn't make any noise. But when she realised that the spot next to her in the bed was empty, her breaths started to shake. Standing and grabbing the gun from the bedside with trembling legs, she called out his name, checking the bathroom, checking every other room of the house but instead found herself alone. She couldn't find the dog either. Her heart started to race, and she tried to calm herself down with a few deep breaths. Walking out to the street, she asked one of the FBI agents if she'd seen him. The agent said he'd apparently gone for a walk. Michelle knew he liked doing that to clear his head. Sometimes she went with him, while other times she let him have his space, but it was usually during the day, not at four in the morning. To her relief, she saw a note written in a familiar scrawl on their kitchen counter that she must have missed on her first search.

"Gone to Jack's. Taken Wrigley."

Sighing with relief, she let herself fall back asleep for a bit. She trusted that he was okay. She knew she was a little overprotective at times, so something like this was important for her to let go of some of that.

When she woke up, the sun was shining brightly through the windows. He wasn't beside her, but she could hear the pattering of the dog's footsteps and could smell what she guessed was bacon and eggs, as well as freshly brewed coffee. Quietly, she padded into the kitchen. Her heart melted at the smile on his face when he turned around to tell her good morning.

"When did you get back?"

"An hour or so ago, I would have let you know, but you were sleeping, so I didn't want to wake you."

Michelle nodded. "It's okay."

They sat at the table, enjoying the peace and quiet. She observed him for a moment. She could tell he was somewhat content like he'd gotten something off his chest.

"Did talking to Jack help?"

"Yeah. It did. I just…I want to make sure I don't say the wrong thing when we talk about what you told me the other day."

She smiled appreciatively at his consideration. It meant the world to her that he was trying so hard to be accepting and understanding when she wouldn't have blamed him for running away and never looking back.

Tony cleared his throat. "Can I just ask you one thing?"

"Anything," Michelle replied.

"Did you enjoy it?"

She furrowed her brow.

"When you…when you got information out of those people, did you enjoy it?"

Michelle was quick to harden her voice. "N-No. Never."

It made her wonder just how sadistic Wilson's people were. The idea that they hadn't just tortured him to make the most of Tony's information but also because they somehow derived pleasure from seeing him suffer sent a chill down her spine.

Tony let out a breath. "Then that's all I needed to hear. I-I didn't think you would have, but I just needed to hear you say it."

"Of course. If…if there's anything else you want to know about, ask, and I'll tell you. I don't want to hide any of this from you anymore."

He looked up to meet her gaze, seeing nothing but honesty there. But he knew she was hiding something. Or at least, he knew there were some things she hadn't told him yet.

"Jack…Jack told me about the deal you made with Taylor."

She froze, immediately wondering what aspect of the deal he was referring to. Jack knew about the tracking chips. Was Tony offended by that? Would this be the thing that breaks them? Because she let the government track him without his consent after everything they'd been through, after all the betrayal, after all the corruption?

"You would have let me leave you even if it meant life in prison?" He asked but quickly held up his hands. "I-I'm not saying that I would have, but…you were seriously willing to go to prison just to make sure I'd be happy?"

She shrugged with a small smile, feeling relieved by the total lack of resentment in his voice. "You did the same for me."

Tony laughed through his nose. "I did, didn't I."

Lifting her hand, she placed it on the table. He covered it with his own.

"I'm…I'm sorry for not telling you. I've been talking about being open and that was still a huge thing to keep secret. The…the only reason I didn't want to tell you wasn't because I was afraid of going to jail. I didn't want to tell you only so that your decision to stay with me wouldn't be influenced by you not wanting me to go to jail. You don't deserve to have me holding you back."

As he thought back to that time in his life, she watched his expression fade. "Look, Michelle, I might not have been in prison for very long, but I was there long enough to know that it's somewhere I never want you to be. Even if we weren't together, even if things were to change, and believe me, I don't want them to, I would protect you from that. And more than anything, I defend what you did because I know you didn't do it for satisfaction, or money, or for power. You did it because you saw a problem and took it into your own hands. That's why you don't deserve to go to jail. Not just because I love you, not just because I want to protect you, but because I know you're a good person."

Feeling tears well in her eyes, she got up in one quick motion to press his lips to hers. He wrapped a hand around her waist, holding her to him. She threw both of her arms over his shoulders.

"I love you." She whispered.

Her thumb caressed his cheek. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you too. I…I don't know what I would do without you."

"Well, the good thing is…" She said with a slight smirk. "We don't have to think about that anymore. All we need to think about is being there for each other while we heal. Both of us, okay?"

He nodded after a beat. "Okay."