Hi everyone- This is my next multi-chapter story. I had been wondering about what happened to the tracker-bullet Fiona slid into Michael's gun in the second-to-last episode. I figured that if the bullet were hollow or fake, maybe it wouldn't have worked when Michael shot Sonya. This story is based off of what could have happened if Michael had used the tampered-with bullet to shoot Sonya on the roof.

I don't own Burn Notice in any way, shape, or form.

Enjoy!

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Bang! Fiona heard the gunshot ring out across the rooftop and prepared to take her final breath. She kept her gaze locked intensely on the man she loved, and was somewhat dismayed to realize that, even now, she still adored him. She had hoped that the all consuming love would have perished the moment he let Sonya pull the trigger, or the bullet entered her skin, but it hadn't. It still burned hot inside her heart, reminding her mercilessly of the future they would never get to share.

But wait, when had the bullet entered her skin? She felt no pain, and was still facing Michael at the same angle as before. Overcome with curiosity, she finally looked away from Michael's face and realized that his left hand was raised, and the gun in it was pointed at Sonya, who had blood trickling from her chest onto the sun-warmed roof.

Fiona felt a rush of relief and happiness flood through her, and she turned toward Michael, who was now looking at her with clear eyes. Eyes which she had been longing to see for months. Not those of a brainwashed wreck of a man, reduced to becoming a traitor, but those of a good man, for whom she was ready to give her life.

Fiona stood still for a moment more, reveling in his unadulterated gaze. She was about drift towards him, needing to approach the warmth for which she had been pining when another completely unexpected gunshot rang through the quiet air.

Fiona looked over in surprise and saw that Sonya had somehow been able to struggle to her knees and fire the shot. But how was she still alive? Fiona didn't waste time wondering, and instead pulled her own gun from behind her back and sent two bullets flying into Sonya's chest, killing her instantly.

Fiona turned towards Michael once again, ready to leave with him once and for all, but gasped in utter horror when she saw him.

He was lying prone on the roof, blood gushing out of a bullet wound just below his ribcage. Fiona rushed towards him, cursing the tears that blurred her vision, and settled on her knees beside him, panicked. Before she could say a word, she heard heavy footsteps approaching the roof and, hoping that it was not too late to protect Michael, shot the henchman who appeared, even before his eyes could adjust to the bright sunlight.

She quickly turned back to Michael, tucking her gun behind her and placing her hands over his wound. The feeling of his lifeblood drenching her fingers was enough to make her sick with grief, but she pushed her emotions down. His eyes were open, but he looked confused.

"Hang on, Michael. Stay with me," Fiona begged.

Michael saw her tears and reached up to touch her dewy face, but couldn't lift his arm high enough. She lowered her face to his instead, kissing his forehead briefly, then removed her phone from her pocket and dialed Sam's number.

"Did you get him?" Sam asked as soon as he'd picked up.

Fiona couldn't figure out how to answer that question and instead let out a loud sob. She knew it wasn't a useful response but it was the only sound she could make at that moment.

"Oh no Fi, what happened?" Sam knew something had gone terribly wrong.
Fiona managed to pull herself together, knowing what was at stake. She couldn't believe she was crying, but after the day she'd had it only made sense.

"Michael's shot. He needs to get to a hospital and I-I can't lift him." Fiona cursed her small frame.

Sam answered before she could say more. "Jesse and I will be right there. Where are you?"

"Roof. Please hurry!" Fiona hung up and turned back to Michael, who seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. "I'm...sorry." He managed to choke out. "Thought...killed...her."

Fiona shook her head, replying, "Not your fault." Then she remembered. She had planted a fake bullet in Michael's gun. It was heavy enough to do some damage, but apparently not enough to kill Sonya. It really wasn't Michael's fault, it was her fault. All her fault.

She brushed her guilt aside to be dealt with later. Michael needed her complete focus. She kept applying pressure to his wound, waiting desperately for Sam and Jesse to arrive. Finally, just when she was about to try slinging the CIA agent onto her back, she heard their voices coming from the staircase and sighed in relief.

Sam and Jesse's eyes widened briefly at the scene before them. Fiona held Michael cradled in her arms, accompanied by a desperation of which neither man had thought her capable. They were stopped in their tracks by their own panic, but snapped out of it quickly and set about lifting Michael between the two of them. Fiona, wanting to help in any way possible, took out her gun once more, and prepared to cover her friends as they carried Michael from the building.

The team had to dodge a few bullets before exiting the building, but made it out in no time. They approached a Hummer, and Sam nodded for Fiona to hop in the back before laying Michael across the backseat. Fiona cradled his head in her lap as Sam and Jesse took their places in the front.

The drive to the hospital took around twenty minutes, but felt much longer. Fiona was frustrated by how slowly Sam was driving, but bit her tongue, instead whispering words of comfort to Michael. She thanked him repeatedly for saving her, and confessed her love for him over and over in quiet tones that she so rarely used. Thankfully, Sam and Jesse averted their gazes and refrained from asking questions during the whole drive.

When they finally arrived at the main entrance, the two men lifted Michael onto the stretcher that a nurse had provided and Michael was wheeled away. Fiona followed as far as she could, but was stopped by a nurse at the operating room doors.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay in the waiting room," the man in blue scrubs informed her kindly but firmly. "We'll be sure to have someone update you as soon as possible."

Fiona nodded to acknowledge what the nurse said. He left her with a clipboard full of paperwork and she made her way back to where Sam and Jesse were seated.

"Fi," Jesse began cautiously, "what happened?"

Fiona explained everything that had occured when she confronted Michael on the roof, and then confessed that it was all her fault for putting the tampered-with bullet in Michael's gun. Her two friends listened sympathetically. They looked dismayed but did not seem to blame her in the least.

"It's not your fault Fi," Jesse consoled, "it was just a mistake. Mike shouldn't have put you in that position to begin with." Jesse rubbed his brow and looked at her once more. "We should never have gone back for him."

Jesse knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he didn't completely mean them, but he was tired and stressed and still a bit angry at his friend for betraying them.
He soon reized that his anger didn't hold a candle to Fiona's however, as she gave him a look that was incredibly vicious.

The petite woman started towards him, muscles taut, looking ready to do some serious damage, but Sam grabbed her by the arm. "He didn't mean it, did you Jesse?"

Jesse shook his head, grateful to Sam for offering him an escape. "I honestly didn't Fi. I'm sorry. It's just, Michael put us through a lot, especially this past year, especially you. I just, I'm not sure why you didn't walk away...ever."

Fiona nodded, accepting his honest apology. "I wish I knew too," she agreed, in a soft voice. "It's not that I can't walk away, I can and I have. And I know Michael would let me. But I just don't want to. I always think I want to, but when it comes down to it-" she thought back to the final explanations of both Carlos and Campbell "-I will always choose Michael." She sat back in her chair, alone with her thoughts. Anyone in the vicinity would be able to tell she was deep in though about something terribly important.

Jesse stepped outside, mentioning as unobtrusively as he could that he would call Madeline to update her.

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A couple of anxiety filled hours later, Michael's surgeon approached the solemn group. She was wearing a small smile, causing Fiona to feel optimistic.

"We managed to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. It will take some recovery time and physical therapy, but Mr. Westen should recover nicely." Fiona, Sam, and Jesse all let out huge sighs of relief and broad grins spread across their faces. It looked as if the sun had peeked out from behind dark clouds to shine upon them.

"Can I see him?" asked Fiona, a bit breathlessly.

"He should be recovering from the anesthesia now, so that's fine. Just remember not to upset him or let him get worked up. He's doing well but too much excitement could cause complications."

Fiona nodded solemnly to show that she would keep Michael calm. Normally that would be a tall order for the Irish spitfire, but she was prepared to aid in Michael's recovery in any way possible.

She followed the surgeon to Michael's room and crept in, feeling a lump rise in her throat at the sight of the man she loved looking so weak and helpless. She went over to sit in the chair beside his bed, holding his hand tightly, hoping that the action would relieve the pressure of tears begging to escape her eyes. Michael's own eyes began to blink open and he peered around anxiously, calming only when he spotted Fiona.

"Fi," he croaked out.

"Shhh..." she whispered. "You were shot, but you're going to be okay."

Michael looked confused for a moment, then realization dawned on his groggy face. "Sonya tried to - and I was going to - oh Fi, I'm so sorry."

Fiona shook her head rigorously, trying to assuage his partly misplaced guilt. "I'm fine, Michael; you saved me. I'm just glad that you're okay."

"No Fi, it's not okay. I'm gonna make this right, I swear." Michael tried to roll out of the hospital bed, and if he hadn't been so injured Fiona would have laughed at his clumsiness. Instead, she gently pushed him back down and placed a kiss on his forehead, looking into his familiar eyes.

"You need to stay here and get better. We'll worry about James when you've recovered."

"There's no time for that!" he exclaimed, clearly agitated.

Fiona remembered the surgeon's words and coaxed him to relax, wrapping her arms around him like she hadn't since nearly a year before. Holding him like that made her feel whole, complete, safe, and she wondered how she ever could have convinced herself that she was happy without him. Her closeness had a similar effect on Michael, and he was soon close to sleep. Before he drifted off, he made one final promise to her.

"I'll get him Fi, I swear. I will take James and his organization down, once and for all."

Once Michael was sleeping soundly, Fiona sat back in her chair, analyzing his words. She knew Michael, and if she thought he would allow himself to heal before going after James then she was fooling herself. It was clear that he would not rest until he had confronted James. But what really scared her was that he would once again get caught in James's web.

The past few months had been terrifying for her. When she had lost Michael to the CIA and then to his undercover work, it was like losing herself. She was a strong woman, and she had moved on, to some extent, but a part of her could never completely let Michael go.

When he had come back, she had been aloof and disconnected, but none of the feelings she had for him had dimmed. And even when she began suspecting Michael of sympathizing with James, she never once considered leaving him behind. Michael was a good man, but he was a great spy. And great spies always ran the risk of losing themselves. Fiona knew she had been his touchstone, but was surprised by just how lost Michael had been without her.

So now, keeping watch beside his hospital bed after having nearly lost him forever, she decided it was time for her to remove some of the burden from his shoulders. She could not let him go back into James's clutches, no matter how determined he was to make things right.

Fiona gave Michael one final kiss and whispered an 'I love you.' Then she left Michael's room and the hospital, ready to defeat James by herself, for the man she loved. The Irishwoman went home, wracking her brains in order to figure out the best way to find James. She knew he had been in the helicopter that was approaching the roof where she had faced down Michael, but she wasn't sure where he would go after the plan had fallen through. She supposed Michael would know where James was, or at least be able to contact him, but asking for help would defeat the purpose of doing this on her own.

As Fiona entered her house, she opened the bag of Michael's bloody clothes and personal items that she had taken from the hospital. She dug through, throwing away the torn shirt, and tossing the bloody pants and underwear into the laundry with some stain remover. She and Michael together had perfected the art of getting blood out of most fabrics.

The only two things left in the bag were Michael's sunglasses and cell phone. She was about to put them aside for safekeeping, when she realized that the phone in her hand was the key to finding James. She scrolled through the call log and saw the number labeled 'James.' Fiona nearly dialed then and there, but decided that getting some sleep would be a better move, so that she would be able to form a rational plan and not be killed before she could kill James Kendrick.

If Michael had been there Fiona knew he would have been against contacting James in such a bold way. But she had adopted this mission, so she would complete it in her own way. After all, she had been the one to kill Carla and Larry, not Michael. She had no problem with getting her hands dirty, especially for those she loved.

Fiona lay in her bed, exhausted from the long, emotional day. Then, just when she was on the cusp of sleep, she heard a beeping sound. She knew the unfamiliar tone wasn't coming from her phone, but when she saw that Michael's phone was lit up, she realized he must have gotten a text message. She suddenly felt wide awake and went over to grab the phone and read the message, hoping it would hold some clue as to where she could find James.

What she saw was even better than she had expected. The text was from James himself, and read: "Saw what happened on the roof. You did what had to be done. We can still change the world. Meet me at the West Key Marina in thirty and we can chat."

Fiona grinned to herself, hardly able to believe her luck. She quickly packed her favorite sniper rifle and got into her car, stopping in the parking lot of a marine shop next the the marina. She snuck around in the bushes, trying to find a spot which gave her a clear view of James.

Unfortunately, she was never able to find the right spot, because only minutes after getting into position, she felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her head.

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Please review! I'd like to know what you think!