ATTENTION: Stories marked with an * may contain material which would be better appreciated by those over 18. Parental Discretion is advised. This is your responsibility, not ours. End of Series Spoiler "I lied." "I know." *** She exhaled. For the first time in months she exhaled...released a shaky, pent-up breath from deep inside her chest into the cold, austere space surrounding them. However, she was anything but cold. In this moment, in this breath of time cold was no longer a concept in her vocabulary, but a mere flutter of a memory quickly fading to black. With her arms wrapped tight around his flushed body; his head resting against her smooth, white chest; his moist breath caressing her sweaty skin, she only felt a deep, bone penetrating warmth. The kind that began as a mere ball of heat in the core of her body, which then rapidly spilled out into every section, every fiber, every tissue of her being. She had finally found home. The edge, that she only vaguely realized she had been teetering on, receded ..."I know." The two sweetest, most heady words ever spoken...better than any declaration of love because they were love...and trust...and commitment all rolled into one acknowledgement. With those two words he rebuked her claims from that day in the forest when she foolishly, yet with the best of intentions, invalidated their six-year relationship in order to nobly save his life as he had done once for her four years earlier. And now they had completed the circle with his return to Section and with an intense, passionate, long-desired consummation. A joining that surpassed the events of her return four years earlier because now only truth existed between her and her lover, an element sorely lacking previously. They now walked the same path, as equals who had learned the bitterest of lessons from their mistakes and who now sought to assure themselves that the past would never be repeated. As these thoughts flowed unheeded through her peaceful mind, Nikita's languid body registered none of her mental activities, only the pleasurable sensation of the rise and fall of Michael's chest as he succumbed to slumber in her loving arms. A few tears still seeped from her moist eyes, an expression of the overwhelming relief soaring through her blood and of the satisfaction of a sated passion. Despite being bone-tired, she found herself unable to sleep, merely content to cradle her lover within the protective space of her body as he continued to sleep. Content to replay over and over in her mind the events begun the moment he had whispered his knowledge of her lie and then taken her hand in his, gentle and loving as he reverently re-memorized her body and soul. From the moment he threw her down on the floor of the White Room as she tried to attack him from behind during his introduction of himself as her trainer, passion had sparkled, shimmered and burned between them. A passion tainted with an indescribable amount of pain and suffering, until today. With every layer of clothing shed during this morning's lovemaking, a layer of pain disappeared as well, exposing a core of pure love and passion...painfully forged and righteously earned. They had both now been to hell and back and after such a trip, details become inconsequential. Life would never be a fairytale for them, but neither would anyone be able to destroy their bond. A truth proven over and over again as their enemies, and even their allies, tested their relationship only to be defeated each time. They had stood up to life and won. The rest of the story was theirs to write. BACK TO AUTHOR'S K-L LFN STORYBOARD ARCHIVES MAIN PAGE LFN LINKS PAGE To send suggestions or comments to Kathleen.