"Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright
Round young virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild...."

The words of the old carol washed over Madeline as she sat in her office. It was Christmas Eve. Section was running on a skeleton crew, it seemed like even the bad guys had taken a break for the holidays. Operations had granted a rare leave of absence to all non-essential personnel and had told the cold ops they could go home too.

Even the most hardened operatives seemed to have an air of suppressed excitement about them. She'd always found it interesting that the people who had the most reason to be cynical about the goodness of man seemed to get into the spirit of the Christmas season the most. It was as if they were willing themselves to believe there was hope for mankind in general no matter how much brutality and inhumanity they saw in their everday lives.

"Madeline? You're still here?"

Nikita poked her head around the door. She was dressed for the season in a bright holiday sweater and leggings with miniature Christmas ornaments for earrings.

"Just finishing off paperwork Nikita. I thought you'd left already."

"Oh, I was just waiting for Walter and Birkhoff. We're going down the road for a drink."

Madeline smiled at her.

"Have fun. Don't let Birkhoff stay up to late. He's got the early shift tommorrow."

It was a running joke that Birkhoff always had the early shift. He was always around and never seemed to sleep.

"Oh, we just wanted to get him out of here for a while. Santa has to get his stocking done and this was the only way it could be done."

Nikita grinned. She and Walter had talked Michael into sneaking into Birkhoff's room and pinning the stocking to his pillow. It was full of the latest computer games and junk food and as a gag, a blow-up doll that Nikita had found in a shop.

******************

"What about you Madeline? What are you going to do?"

Nikita was curious. She'd known Madeline for four years now and still had no idea what she did with herself outside of Section. She knew that she had a home somewhere but that was the extent of it. Madeline was very good at deflecting queries into her personal life. Some of the older ops had made comments about a disappointment in love but those were just rumours, no one knew for sure. She never let anyone get close except for Operations and that relationship was cause for considerable speculation amongst the operatives. A few were convinced they were having a hot affair, others said they were actually married and some even joked that Birkhoff was their secret love child.

"I've got plans for dinner later."

Madeline didn't elaborate. Actually she didn't but didn't want to say so to Nikita. Christmas hadn't been one of her favorite holidays for a long time. Too much joy and emphasis on family and she was planning on hibernating for the next couple of days. She felt safer that way, not having to be out and around normal families. She'd once said to Nikita that they were all ghosts and that the outside world didn't really exist for them. It seemed the older she got, the more true that was.

"Sounds nice, have a good time."

Nikita had a twinkle in her eye. Madeline knew of all the speculation about her and Operations and it suited her at times like this to pretend that dinner was with him. They were close friends and had been lovers briefly but were now simply very good working partners.

"Nikita?? You ready for some fun sugar??"

Walter came barreling through the door, Birkhoff on his heels. He already had a nice little buzz on from eating the bourbon balls a new operative had snuck into the Section and anything female looked good to him at this point.

"Did you get that assignment done Walter?"

Nikita wanted to make sure Birkhoff's stocking was set before they left.

"Yeah, Michael took care of it on his way out."

"Michael's not going with you?"

That was a surprise to Madeline. She was pretty sure there was something going on between Nikita and Michael, she just hadn't been able to prove it yet.

"No, he must have had a hot date. He was being more mysterious than usual."

Nikita lied through her teeth. There was no way she was going to give Maddy any ammunition.

Walter snickered at this. Michael was always being mysterious about something. The only thing he wasn't mysterious about, at least to Walter, was the hot affair he and Nikita were involved in. Those two kids thought they'd kept it hidden but no one fooled him about something like that. He was just envious at the thought of them getting hot and sweaty together.

**************

Madeline watched them walk out the door laughing and joking together and felt a little left out. There was no one in Section that she really hung out with. She didn't like letting her guard down around the operatives and Operations could be really stuffy at times.

On an impulse, she decided to go downtown. It was still fairly early and she wasn''t ready for the quiet of her house. She did an automatic costume check on the way out the door. Her dark green silk dress would pass muster for dinner somewhere so she just redid her lipstick and fluffed up her hair.

A couple of hours later, going downtown didn't seem like such a good idea. She'd stopped in a restaurant meaning to eat but nothing really appealed so she settled for a couple glasses of wine instead. The wine had mellowed her out some, but had also loosened the reins on the melancholy she usually kept at bay. Watching the families walk by with excited children in tow and couples strolling hand in hand made her feel more of a ghost that she normally did.

There was music drifting through the air and she made her way down the sidewalk towards it. It was a small group of musicians with several singers playing the Messiah. People had gathered to listen and she stopped for a moment. She automatically scanned the crowd and paused as she spotted a familiar blonde head up in front of her. It was Nikita.

Madeline started to move forward to say hello and then froze as she saw Nikita turn to her companion and whisper something to him, kissing his ear as she did so.

"It's Michael! Why am I not surprised?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer leaning over to kiss her gently with a smile on his face. They nuzzled together for a moment, smiling into each other's eyes, lost to any onlookers and obviously in love and Madeline felt a pang of envy.

She should have been glad that she'd finally gotten the proof she'd been looking for that they were involved but all she felt was wistfullness and a touch of sadness. She hadn't felt that young in a long time. Suddenly she couldn't bear to look at them anymore and turned to go, half blinded by a mist across her eyes. Head down she started to move away and bumped into a solid body.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going..."

"Madeline??" an incredulous voice asked. She looked up into a face from the past.

*****************

"Paul?"

It had been fifteen long years since she'd seen that once dearly loved face. His dark blue eyes were still as blue but there was silver in his dark hair now. He was still one of the few men she knew that she had to look up to.

"Are you okay? You seem upset."

He'd always been able to read her and it seemed that some things would never change.

"I'm fine. Just a little bit startled. How are you?"

Madeline wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. She'd heard that he'd gotten married shortly after their breakup and she didn't want to hear how wonderful his life was.

Paul gave a wry smile.

"Things could be better but that's life. Who was that you were staring at? You seemed really preoccupied."

"Oh just a couple of my employees, I was surprised to see them together."

"You mean the beautiful blonde and her friend?" he laughed. "It seems like forever since I was that young and in love." He stopped laughing and looked at her. "in fact the last time I felt that way was when we were together."

"Paul..." she hesitated.

"It's okay Madeline. Water under the bridge and all that. Want to go for a drink?"

Madeline wasn't too sure if this was a good idea. Her philosophy had always been to let sleeping dogs lie and she didn't know if she wanted to relive old memories. Paul was still as sexy, if not more so than he had been as a young man. The character lines in his face now simply added to his appeal. Besides he was married and she definitely didn't want to go there.

"Isn't your wife with you?" she figured she'd get that out of the way up front. If she had to meet his wife, she wanted her armor firmly in place.

"Your sources have been letting you down Maddy. Sue and I were divorced quite a while ago." He took her arm as they started down the sidewalk. "it seems that three people in a bed isn't good for a marriage."

Madeline stopped dead in her tracks.

"What do you mean three people in a bed?"

*****************

"Come on Madeline. Let's not play games. I married her on the rebound and we both know it. It just took her a bit longer to realize it and I still haven't forgiven myself for hurting her that way."

He took her hand in his and looked into her face. She was as beautiful as the day he'd last seen her but there was now a layer of sadness behind those chocolate brown eyes. Paul's sources had kept him pretty well informed as to what she was up to nowadays but this meeting had been purely by chance. However, he wasn't one to question fate, he just intended to take advantage of it.

"Come on, my hotel is over this way. We can have a drink in my suite."

Madeline hesitated. This was more than she had bargained for. The last time she'd seen Paul, they'd had a vicious fight about the job that she'd been offered with the Section. He hadn't wanted her to take it and she'd been equally determined that she wasn't going to ride up his coat tails at the State Department. She'd been so hell bent on having her way that she hadn't even gone back to their apartment, she'd just sent movers to collect her things.

Their acrimonius breakup had taken her a long time to get over and it was one of the reasons that she was so adamant about her operatives getting involved with each other. She'd functionned on a bare bones level for quite a while and was still surprised to this day that she hadn't been cancelled for some of the decisions she'd made.

"I'm not sure Paul, I don't know if this is such a good idea."

"Relax Maddy. It's just a drink." he smiled down at her. "Besides it's freezing out here and we have a lot to catch up on."

****************

They crossed the street to a discreetly luxurious hotel and made their way up to his suite on the top floor. Madeline allowed him to take her coat and then crossed to the French doors to look out over the city lights below.

"Here you go." Paul handed her a glass as he came over and stood behind her.

"Calvados! You remember what I like to drink?" she took a sip and felt it warm a path down to her stomach.

"I remember a lot of things Maddy. Some bad but mostly good."

He placed an arm around her shoulders and drew her back against him, the heat from his body warming her from shoulder to hip.

"We sure were young and foolish weren't we? I look back at myself now and I can't believe I was stupid enough to give you an ultimatum like that."

Madeline looked down into her brandy and shook her head.

"It wasn't all you Paul. I seem to remember letting my temper get the best of me too. And once the words were said, I just didn't know how to take them back. And then it was too late."

She'd been devastated by the news of his marriage three months after their breakup. If it hadn't been for Marcus Wolfe's undemanding friendship at that point, she didn't know how she'd have survived that first year in Section.

"It must have been all the red in your hair." he trailed his fingers gently through it. "Didn't you say you had a lot of Irish blood in you?"

"And of course, you add in my Scots stubborness and it was a wonder we didn't kill each other."

He'd refused to admit any wrongdoing to himself at that point, instead telling himself he'd show her and married the first woman who'd have him. Thank God, he and Sue hadn't had any children, they'd hurt each other enough in the seven years they were married. After that, he'd drifted into several other relationships but no one ever affected him the way Madeline had and by then he knew enough not to marry them.

*****************

"What about you Maddy? Was there ever anyone else in your life?"

"There've been a few from time to time but nothing serious. The job just takes too much out of you and it's difficult to find someone who..." she stopped, momentarily lost for words.

"You mean understands what you do? The Section is a hard master isn't it? I think that was one of the reasons I didn't want you to take the job. I was afraid of what it would do to us. And then you made the choice for me."

He smiled at her surprised look.

"How do you know so much about the Section?" Madeline's guard went up. Very few people knew about the Section, much less what her job entailed.

"I'd better be honest with you. I'm George's top assistant now." "Yes, me. Who despised all the things spooks did, I know. LIfe has some weird twists doesn't it? I actually understand the decision you made now."

He leaned in closer and inhaled her subtle perfume.

"If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have done it differently."

Madeline sighed and turned her face back up to his. "Oh Paul, we can't change the past."

He rubbed his cheek against hers.

"We don't have to change the past Maddy. That's made us strong enough to deal with today. But, we can change tomorrow."

And then he kissed her, brushing his mouth gently back and forth against hers, feeling her relax into him and sigh.

********************

Two days later......

Madeline sat at her desk, staring off into space, lost in thought as she played with a fine gold chain around her neck.

"Madeline?"

Nikita's voice startled her and she jumped.

"Operations wants to see you."

Nikita surpressed a grin. This had to be a red letter day. The Ice Queen actually jumping. It was rumored that she had ice water in her veins so to startle her was really something. Some of the younger operatives swore she had eyes in the back of her head. She couldn't wait to tell Walter.

Madeline looked at her carefully. She hadn't forgotten seeing Nikita and Michael together, she just wasn't sure what she planned to do with the information.

"Did you have a good Christmas NIkita?"

"It wasn't bad, I made myself a great big dinner and lay around the house for two days."

Conveniently forgetting to mention that Michael had been lying around the house with her. The memory of waking up in his arms Christmas morning still warmed her heart. She had to keep herself from grabbing Maddy and waltzing her around her office, she was so happy at the moment. The glow deep in her eyes didn't escape Madeline's keen eyes.

"Hmmm, I'll have to check Michael's story next" she thought. She was sure she wouldn't get too much of a reaction out of him, he was too guarded. However, the things he didn't say were sometimes more revealing than the things he did.

"Tell Operations I'll be right there."

She watched Nikita bounce out of her office, high on life. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, the bond between them. It certainly seemed to have affected their teamwork. They were one of the best teams Section had, seeming to communicate without words at times.

********************

Madeline walked along the hallway to Operations office. She was well aware of the fact that most of the operatives called it the Perch as they felt like Operations was like a vulture hanging over them at times. She also knew that they called her office the Den in honor of feeling like Daniel in the lion's den when they were called in to see her. It suited her to foster that story, they were less likely to try and lie to her that way.

She walked into the Perch. There were several men in dark suits, typical bureaucratic types with Operations.

"You wanted to see me?"

Operations turned to her.

"Ah Madeline, I'm glad you're here. Let me introduce you...."

The rest of his words were lost in the roaring in Madeline's ears. She watched in disbelief as two men she hadn't noticed at first turned to her, polite smiles on their faces.

"This is George." It wasn't his real name. All the men in his job were called George, just as Operations was always called Operations.

George shook her hand with a smile, a genuine one this time.

"A pleasure to meet you at last Madeline. I've heard a lot of good things about you."

Madeline smiled back and made a polite rejoinder. She was fighting to maintain her control, feeling her spine turn to jelly.

"And his assistant, Paul Whittaker."

Madeline looked up into his eyes. They were calm and aloof though as he looked at her, there was a flicker of something.

She extended a hand and he shook it, the warmth of his grip momentarily tightening on hers.

Operations was speaking again and she forced herself to pay attention.

"George has decided he wants an overview of our operation here and he'd like you to show Paul around and give him the details. What's your schedule like for the next couple of weeks?"

She thought rapidly.

"I have some recruit evaluations due but I can have Michael handle them. He can do the abeyance decisions as well.

That's about it, unless something unexpected crops up."

"Good, that's settled then. I look forward to working with you Paul." Operations and George moved away.

****************

"Shall we?"

Paul's voice broke into her reverie. She looked at him and blinked. He was standing there patiently, waiting for her to precede him out the door. The others had left and they were the only ones left in the Perch.

"Of course, let me take you to my office. A lot of the information you'll need is there."

Madeline walked with him along the hallway, aware of the curious looks from operatives nearby. As they passed Birkhoff's station, she saw Nikita and Michael come out of Michael's office.

"Is that who I think it is?" Paul asked. She'd forgotten about him seeing them together.

"Yes, that is Michael, one of our top operatives and mission leaders. Nikita is his material."

Paul's mouth twitched ever so slightly.

"Oh is that what they're calling it these days?"

"How do they work together? Any problems?"

"No, they're one of our best teams. They have a remarkable success rate together."

"I'm surprised Operations tolerates the relationship. I'd have thought he'd have split them up immediately."

"He doesn't know. I only just got confirmation of it myself."

"Only now? You're slipping Madeline. You used to be able to tell even before people realised themselves." he smiled down at her.

Madeline caught her breath for a moment. The smile lit up his whole face and she couldn't help but smile back.

Nikita watched them from across the room as they walked into Madeline's office.

"Who is that man with Madeline?" she asked Michael who was standing just behind her. He wasn't her type, too old for her, but she could certainly appreciate a good looking man when she saw one.

"That must be one of George's people. I heard he was coming by today." Michael moved in a little closer so she could feel the heat from his body. "You like him? Should I be jealous?" he whispered softly.

Nikita leaned back a tiny bit so their bodies were just barely touching.

"No, I was just wondering about their body language when they were walking together. Did you see how close he was in her space? She didn't seem to notice it either."

Nikita's mind was going with the possibilites. "I wonder....."

***********************

Epilogue

The doors to Madeline's office hisssed shut behind them as they walked into the room. She engaged the lock and turned with a frown on her face.

"What are you doing here Paul? Did you know about this visit in advance?"

He moved over to her and traced his thumb along her forehead, rubbing the frown away.

"No, I didn't. I haven't been in the office for several days and George sprang this on me first thing this morning. Does it bother you having to work with me like this?"

She gazed into his eyes, trying to read the truth there.

"No, it doesn't. I just wonder if you can handle what it is I do here."

He ran his hands gently up her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"I can handle anything I need to. Just don't shut me out is all I ask."

She placed her hands on his chest, feeling the warmth of him through his clothes. He looked into her eyes and leaning in, kissed her with a sweetness that almost brought tears to her eyes. She slid her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, feeling his arms wrap around her and hold her close.

"Mmmmm..." he broke the kiss and rested his face in her hair. "I needed that, you left too early this morning and I didn't get to kiss you awake this time."

The End.....I think...however I like this guy and think Maddy needs some love in her life too....so who knows...

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