Leaning over a pad of paper, Nikita dampened the sheet with her tears, blurring the words on the page. The ink which had made up a collage of emotions and words, now started to become swirls of blue, the words no longer visible, and the emotions no longer defined.

Placing down the pen and hanging her head in her hands, the tears continued to flow. Like a raging river, once started they would not stop. Only continued to voice the many emotions that would go unsaid. Her cries filled the room as her sobs racked her body. As if on its own accord, Nikita’s body slid off the stool and onto the floor, leaning against the kitchen cabinets for support.

Nikita was playing a tug of war with Section--the price was her soul--and they were winning. Before her freedom, Nikita prided herself on protecting the few innocents that she could and protecting her soul at all costs. Now it was different. Now things had changed. Somewhere along the line--between her freedom and the year in Section after that--Nikita slowly began to reform to Sections ways. A little at a time, she was becoming the operative Operations always wanted her to be.

She didn’t want to give up her soul and never knew until today that she had already given parts of it away. The mission was simple, Nikita was to retrieve a Scientist from Red Cell at his lab in Seattle, download his work to Section and destroy his lab. But of course, Sections mission’s were never simple. Getting the Scientist and downloading his work had been the easy part; destroying the lab had been more emotionally painful than Nikita had ever imagined. Walking out of the lab with Dr. Matthew and getting into the Sections van, Nikita turned toward the building and watched as his wife and child opened the door on the way to make a surprise visit. They were both so full of life, dressed in bright colored sun dresses--the little girl holding her mother’s hand and in the other a Father’s Day card made out of construction paper.

The charges were set and Section had to leave. Nikita watched as they walked into the building and out of sight. Slipping into the van, Nikita nodded to the driver to go and 15 seconds later the building exploded--destroying all evidence that Section had been there, and killing two innocent people.

Continuing to cry for the death of two innocent people, people she had killed, Nikita replayed the explosion over and over in her mind--never hearing the knock at her door or the sound of a key being inserted into the lock.

Slowly walking through the darkened apartment, blending in with the shadows, Michael followed the sound of anguished cries into the kitchen. Her cries had slowed, but the grief in her heart had not.

Kneeling before her, Michael gently fingered a strand of her hair, whispering gently to her, “Kita.”

Nikita’s eyes flew open at the sound of his concerned voice and his feather light touch. Sea green eyes met deep blue ones, already red from crying. No words were needed between the two. All they needed to know, they found in each other’s eyes. Michael looked down to see all the pain and self-hatred swimming in her eyes. Nikita gazed deeply into beautifully unguarded green eyes to find compassion, caring, and sympathy.

Letting his hand slide down from her shoulder, Michael grabbed Nikita’s arms and glided her into his warm embrace. Holding her tightly and running his hands over her back, hewhispered into her hair and kissed the top of her head. It hurt him to see Nikita, in so much pain.

Nikita’s hold on Michael tightened, acting as if he was a lifeline. Nikita didn’t want to let go, not yet, not now--she couldn’t! Nikita took the strength she needed from Michael’s embrace. In his arms Nikita felt safe, she felt as though nothing could ever hurt her as long as he was close, holding her tight.

Hearing Nikita’s cries die down and finally stop, Michael pulled back and stroked her cheek. Knowing she needed him near, Michael wouldn’t leave. He would stay tonight and give her his support. Still holding her close in his arms, cupping her face in his hands, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was gentle, a melding of the hearts, that was full of promise.

As Michael gathered Nikita into his arms and laid down on the bed, bringing her with him, they both closed their eyes and let the kiss deepen. Michael’s tongue traced the outline of Nikita’s mouth, parting her lips, his tongue darting in and out, tasting her mouth as she tasted his.

As Michael helped to get Nikita through her self-hatred and see that she still kept her soul, she helped to ease Michael’s suffering and allowed him the chance to trust and open up again. The night was spent showing each other in actions what they could not say in words. Both revealing the love they felt in their hearts through their actions and clearly reflected in their eyes--the windows to their souls.

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