As long as I'm posting stories I wrote a while ago but was never pleased with that are rotting in my vault, here's another one. This one is an outtake that picks up in 03x02 Where Mike is in Paige's room and tells her what happen to Lena and then holds her while she cries.

Mike feels like maybe this was his unfinished business that brought him back from the dead all along, to hold Paige while she cried. This was the only thing he'd been wanting, no needing, to do since he first discovered she was missing.

Now that the truth is out there. That she knows what happened to Lena, he feels like he can breath again. He can feel her chest heaving up and down with each sob, and thinks he should have done this a long time ago.

He holds her tight to his body, ignoring the pain in his abdomen. He needs to feel her heart racing against his chest, and her tears on his shoulder. She's back in his arms, and for the first time since she went missing, Mike feels hopeful. Closing his eyes, breathing in her scent and running his fingers comfortingly through her hair, he wishes time could stop right here.

It doesn't of course. It both slows down and speeds up at the same time, but neither of them seem to be able to pull away. It's like they're magnets that have been held apart for so long that now that they've crashed back together they won't let go. After a moment though, her sobs subside and her breathing slows, and Mike prepares himself for her next move, because he's unable to be the one to pull away first.

"Why are you doing this, Mike?" Paige's voice is muffled against his shoulder.

Mike smiles sadly to himself as he thinks about the best way to answer her question. On one hand, when he woke up in the hospital and found out he'd been given a second chance, he swore to himself he would learn from his mistakes and never lie to Paige again. On the other hand, he knows in his heart she can't handle the truth. Not yet. It's not fair to her for Mike to put that on her right now. Not while she's still getting over everything. He can't make this about him and his feelings. It needs to be about her.

"You know why." Mike admits, resisting the familiar urge to kiss her hairline. Pulling back just an inch from where he holds her tightly pressed to his body, he looks down into her eyes he says in a soft voice, "But we both know if I say it, you'll run even faster and Graceland needs you, Paige."

It's a half lie. Graceland would be fine without her, but Mike needs her here. He knows now is not the time to talk about the two of them. She's not ready. He'll bring it up another time. When they're in a better place.

She stares up at him with tears in her eyes. He knows he's taken her to the brink of what she can handle tonight, and even though he wants to take another step, to stay with her now that they've reached this tentative truce he knows he should walk away. He knows Paige, and she needs time to process things alone.

"I should get back to this." She says, stepping away from him shyly and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Let me help." Mike says, stepping forward. The last thing Mike wants to do is help her pack. He doesn't want to contribute to her leaving him. Yet he needs to help her, with whatever she'll allow. He can't stand to see her in so much pain, and he will do anything to make her life just a little easier. Even help her leave him.

"I'll take care of it. You shouldn't be lifting boxes. You should be in bed." She says, and the words should be innocent, but there's an underlying intimacy she didn't mean to be there.

Paige's eyes flit to her bed, which is covered in boxes, and then nervously back up to Mike's. She didn't mean for what she said to bring up memories of Mike in bed, but they hit her suddenly and as her eyes lock with Mike's she knows he can tell what she's thinking.

Embarrassed, she pushes the images of lovemaking and says with a forced nervous laugh, "I don't know when I accumulated so much shit. I don't even remember where half this stuff goes…"

The simple words spark hope in his heart that maybe she's changed her mind, and he can't help the intensity in his words. "I remember everything."

It's true, he remembers everything about this room. He remembers every picture, every book, every hushed secret and every beautiful sin that took place on that bed. The room falls silent. For a moment he just stares at her, and she stares back and he can't hide the look of longing. He sees the look in her eyes now though, and worries he's said too much. He longs to throw the boxes to the floor and wrap her up tight in her covers and hold her until dawn, but he knows it's impossible.

"Mike, I-" She begins with a shaky voice.

"I'm going to call it an early night." Mike cuts her off, even though he's been waiting for months for her to talk to him, "You should take a break, and go eat. Charlie probably won't let anyone else start without you."

She gives him a nod through her tears. He didn't want her to be alone, but knew his presence wasn't what she needed. Tonight was a victory and Mike needed to leave before he did something to ruin the small tender moment.

Giving her one last tender look, trying to memorize her in case this is their last moment alone together, Mike forces himself to head back to his room. He's done all he can for tonight. Now he just needs to give her space and hope for the best. For as social as she is, Mike knows she needs time to think. Paige processes things better alone. He prays he got through to her.

Mike goes to bed, but he doesn't sleep easily. The pills and the pain mix together so he feels an uneasy restlessness. He's never able to achieve any real rest, but he never feels truly awake.

His dreams blur with reality so he's not sure if when the door to his room opens gently, and he feels fingers gently run back through his hair pushing it away from his face if it's real. The cold plate of leftovers he finds sitting on his nightstand the next morning makes it clear that he wasn't alone all night.