"What about your father?" John whispered out as Mia pulled away. She looked away and then looked into John's eyes.

"He is going to be tough... but I'm not willing to give you up... you are the other half of me... Someone will have to understand that!" Mia declared out and John smiled. He felt the same way.

They passed the point of no return. Now it was no longer a partially causal encounter. They were lovers, they were mates, and they felt as if they were married in their hearts. John groaned as Mia kissed him again. He wrapped his arms around Mia, knowing that again, she was going to show how much she loved him and John was willing allowing it to happen. He never felt love like this before and he was sure that he would never feel it again like this.

~~

"Hello, love," Michael stated as his word woke Nikita's body. She shifted and reached out for him immediately. She felt his hug like it was forever there. It was what she had craved this entire time and she wanted it to never end.

"I'm sorry that I was a bad mother, Michael... I didn't want to disappoint you... or the children..." Nikita started to cry out, feeling the words that she hadn't been able to state to Leanor. The insecurities where what Leanor knew them to be, but nothing could be done until Nikita admitted them herself. Now Michael had the duty of putting Nikita back together again.

"No, Nikita... You aren't a bad mother... You are the best mother in the entire world..." Michael stated out as he rubbed at Nikita's face. She tried to shake her head back and forth, but that didn't happen. Michael's hands stopped her protest.

"It's a silly notion, Nikita... You love your children and that is all that I expect from you... I love you, Nikita..." Michael issued out, knowing that Nikita knew all of this, but that sometimes that knowledge got misplaced. Nikita reached for him, to hug him again.

"I never want you to let go of me again..." Nikita stated at the tears were heard in her voice. Michael held onto her Nikita, allowing his respiration to slow down, trying to coax Nikita's own breathing to slow, to calm her down.

"Nikita... I'm always here for you.. even when I can't hold you... But that isn't what is important.. We are going away..." Michael gently informed as he settled down on the bed with Nikita. He felt her move closer to his body and he smiled gently.

"Away?" Nikita's voiced broke into the silent air. It sounded frightened, which was not what Michael, wanted.

"Yes... just you and me.... For a long time... just you and me..." Michael soothed the worries away. He felt Nikita's body relax and for a second he believed her to be asleep, just from being near him. Michael turned his head and saw the blue eyes searching the walls and sighed.

"I like the sound of that..." Nikita admitted and Michael smiled. He did like the sound of that. It had been a long time since it had just been the two of them. Too long.

"So... no worries, my love.... Let me take care of you..." Michael stated as he pressed a kiss to Nikita's forehead and slowly closed his own eyes. Nikita smiled contently.

She loved the feeling of her husband.

*

The lightwood of the floor only made the hotel room look so much brighter and bigger. The open spaces with little portals of comfort and softness scattered the rooms, making the hotel room appear to be a discover zone.

It was a place of discovery.

Michael was rediscovering his wife, Nikita, and Nikita was rediscovering her husband, Michael.

That first day contained nothing but sleep for the couple, Michael's arms draped around Nikita's body, holding her tightly, allowing her to listen to his heartbeat, allowing Nikita to sleep without the threat of nightmares, and allowing Nikita to know that he was right there with her. It was those hours that healed Nikita more than any traditional psychotherapy or any other assorted therapy could have healed Nikita, and with a speed that was unmatched.

Now, on the second day, the movement began the shifting of Michael and Nikita back into the married couple they once were and the lovers that they would always be. It wasn't overt sexual action that occurred, it was the little things, those little touches and details that showed Nikita how much Michael cared for her and how far he was willing to go to be with her.

"Mmm... that feels good..." Nikita lightly whispered as Michael rubbed at the long muscles of her back, long neglected and long forgotten. Michael lightly smiled as he saw the naked skin, not feeling the lust that one would think would be present with the massage, but rather a basic feeling, that Nikita was his and he could forever mark his wife with his touch. His hands moved against the muscles as she stretched out on the pale green couch, that almost seemed like a bed itself.

"I'm glad.... When was the last time I did this?" Michael questioned as he bent down and kissed the little rise of Nikita's neck, and then soothing the lingering wetness away with a few strokes of his fingers. There was a silence, but not a silence like that of days gone by, that would have worried Michael. This silence was golden; it was more precious than any rare gems in the world, just not as precious as his wife was. Nothing could equal the value of Nikita in Michael's eyes.

"It's been a while..." Nikita finally muttered as Michael's fingers started to slid down the line of her back, still, not sexual in nature. It was like both partners knew that now was the time to heal that simple and basic touch was drawing the two beings closer together than they had ever been. Now was the time that Nikita was only Nikita and Michael was only Michael. It was also the time that they had together, which in itself was rare and few days between in the past years.

"Mmm... I think it was on an anniversary..." Michael whispered slowly, trying to find out the exact time was. The fact that he didn't know himself told him that he needed to pay attention to the little details more often, that a simple touch to Nikita's bare back could be in itself, sustaining the marriage between the two that never wanted to separate, and in fact, the two that would die if cut off from one another too long.

"Maybe the night Mia got hurt..." Nikita slowly whispered back, her voice muffled by the pillow that she spoke into, but the words were clear. Michael nodded his head and increased the skill of his hands, not wanting Nikita to dwell on the bad things.

"I love the feel of your skin, Nikita..." Michael whispered out as he bent down again, and kissed the raise in her back, licking his tongue lightly over the surface, feeling the skin of her body bubble with a chill that was unique to his touch and his touch alone.

"I love when you do this, Michael..." Nikita mustered out with a slight moan from his moving hands. Michael shifted slightly, not directly leaning over Nikita. He pulled his hands down to her arms and looked at her turned head, with the hair almost covering her eyes. He wasn't shocked to see the vivid blue staring at him. He moved his hands slowly to her forehead and smiled as he picked the locks off of her forehead.

"We never had our honeymoon..." Michael whispered and Nikita smiled. She thought back to that night, the words that were spoken and the simple nature of it all. How he made her feel as whole as he did now, making her know that he was only going to love her as his wife for the rest of life, and even after life, he would fight to love her in the next realm.

"I didn't need one... .I just need you," Nikita simplified as she looked at Michael and smiled with heaviness in her eyes. He swiped his hands over the beautiful eyes that reflected the love he had for Nikita back at him. They made Michael know that all the love he had for Nikita was equaled in his lover's body, that she contained the same amount of love for him.

"We forget the simple things, Nikita.... We shouldn't do that..." Michael stated as he licked his lips. Slowly his head lowered towards her head, their hairs starting to mingle together, mixing as they did in their children. Nikita smiled and licked her own lips.

"We won't any longer..." Nikita promised Michael and she closed her eyes. She felt the subtle touch of his skin of his lips to her lips, feeling the closeness and tenderness that she had only found with Michael. No matter how many years had passed and no matter how many things occurred to Nikita, their love was as new as the day they first knew and defined that love. Nothing aged their love; it was brand new and ready to glow again.

"I know.... I know I've neglected you..." Michael started to say, feeling the need to tell Nikita what he felt. His heart ached once he knew what Nikita had been feeling, just knowing that for one moment in time that Nikita felt that Michael blamed her for something that was beyond her control. He didn't want that to hurt her now and Michael wanted to be sure that it didn't occur again.

"No... we've neglected each other, Michael..." Nikita quickly shared the blame as her hand reached out and took Michael's. Her fingers gliding over the known territory, gliding over what was familiar. Nikita smiled as she looked into Michael's eyes, seeing them sparkle back at her as they always had.

"I was wrong to think that you would send me away because I was bad..." Nikita whispered and Michael shook his head, not allowing his eyes off of Nikita's eyes. Michael wanted to kiss and make it all better, but knew that they both needed to hear the words and know the words.

"You weren't bad, Nikita... I just try to protect too much... without telling you why..." Michael responded with his own soft-spoken words. Nikita smiled and leaned back to touch his lips with hers. She loved the sweetness that lingered over the surface of his lips and how the simple brushing of his lips against her brought a delightful rush over her body from lips to toes.

"I love you, my Michael," Nikita stated as their noses touched and mated, brushing from side to side, finding simple delight in the touch and the movement.

"I love you, my Nikita..." Michael echoed back and wrapped his arms around her neck. He loved the simple touches. It was the simple touches that made his love for Nikita grow, knowing how appreciative Nikita was to be able to have the simple touches of affection and to know that she was his.

Nothing would ever change that.

*

The ivory silk sheets slid over Nikita's legs as Michael settled her long and lanky body out. He looked down at her, now with a lust that he had always had for Nikita. There was an ache to make the connection deep within her, to make their bodies complete in a way they always are when joined together.

Slow down, Michael warned himself as he allowed his hands to linger on the green silk nightgown that hugged at Nikita's curves, making her even more beautiful than what he remembered of her. If anything, Michael thought that Nikita's beauty has grown with age, seeing a gracefulness and elegance to her body instead of aging. She was perfect and the only woman that could turn his mind to mush with just the sight of her in a nightgown.

"Mmm... that feels good..." Nikita softly moaned as she opened her eyes and looked up at Michael, stopping his hand as he ran down the outside of Nikita's thigh. Michael stared into her eyes, telling himself that he still had to slow down, that he had to cherish her some more before he could think of his own urges and desires.

It was apparent what Nikita wanted as she took her hand that stopped his hand and moved it to the inside of her thigh. Michael swallowed as he felt the heat and the warmth that was there, and looked into Nikita's eyes. She would accept all of his advances now and it was only Michael's opinion of what she needed and wanted that was going to lead what this sexual foray was going to be like.

"I'm glad it does.... I want to make you feel good everywhere..." Michael mentioned as he looked at Nikita, dropping his head slowly to look at her closer. She pulled her hand away from Michael's hand, knowing that he would not move his hand from her thigh. She pulled away the silk, pulling it up around her waist and Nikita smiled.

"Some say that sex gets better with age..." Nikita stated as she coyly tilted her head to the side, allowing her smile to beam up at Michael, like a search light, finding what was lost. Michael moved his hands only a few hairs up her thigh and Nikita bucked her hips upward.

She was on fire.

"I'm sure your going to prove that too me..." Michael stated as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. He raised his other hand to paw at the sleeves of the nightgown, pushing the silk until he revealed her breasts. Michael grinned and started to circle his hands around the flesh that Nikita wanted massaged now.

"But I think that making love is most important..." Michael said as he licked his lips. He finally dropped his head down to her face, rubbing a kiss down her forehead and onto her nose. Nikita tilted her head backwards, finding his lips there, ready to ravish her mouth, as she wanted.

"Everything with you is making love, Michael..." Nikita breathless groaned, showing her agitation in Michael's pausing and waiting technique. She continued to buck her hips as Michael's hand ran further up her leg and the other hand succeeded in ripping at the silk nightgown, that laid in scraps surrounding Nikita, opening and exposing her body to Michael.

"Good... that is all I ever want to do with you.... I would stay connected and within you all the time if I had a choice, Nikita.... You complete me..." Michael passionately spoke as he leaned his head to the side and nibbled at her neck. Nikita arched her back, groaning in pleasure, shocked at how well Michael was doing with so little touch.

Michael saw Nikita's look and he started to move above her, straddling her body and leaning down to kiss her still. His own black pajama bottoms were still around his waist, but his arousal was pronounced and visible.

"You complete me, Michael... you heal me..." Nikita whispered out and Michael leaned down, almost covering her body with his.

"Michael... please..." Nikita begged out and Michael smiled into her mouth. He felt her trembling. He moved his mouth down her neck and started to lick at the delicious flesh of her breasts, tasting the perspiration that was tinged with sweetness that only indicated what more Nikita had to offer him.

"In time, my Nikita..." Michael moaned out as he turned his head and pulled at the peak of her breast, surrounding it carefully with his lips, not nipping at it with his teeth. In ways it almost reminded Nikita of Aubrey when he suckled at her breast after he was born, but this was so much more. Michael rolled his tongue around the hardness, making it extend and grow longer, causing Nikita's back to arch more, the pleasure twisting around Nikita's breast and running in a direct line to the center of her legs.

"Michael.... Please.... I need you..." Nikita moaned out, one to always want Michael with her, inside of her, when she plunged.

"In time... in time..." Michael muttered as he allowed his lips to slip away from her breast. He started to crawl down the bed, his lips and mouth leaving a wet path as his mouth started to encounter the bucking hips, that only continued with a more dramatic pitch and roll as his lips entered the furry blond hairs that marked the entrance to Nikita's core.

"You don't have too..." Nikita moaned out, not knowing if she could take this gratifying pleasure any further without plunging in the bliss that had been on the edge from the moment Michael's hands touched her.

"I must..." Michael declared as he looked up over Nikita's twitching body and smiled as his lips lowered. His eyes connected with Nikita's, giving her the look of undying love, for all of eternity.

~~

The house was quiet except for the music pounding from upstairs. Walter looked around as he carried the brown bags of groceries into the house, knowing that Aubrey was at school and that Danielle was with Madeline. That only left one person in the house, but Walter was sure that it was two people.

"MIA!" Walter called out loudly, not wanting to walk up the stairs. Yesterday was a bad day for Walter. He didn't know what he had walked into when he entered the dining room. He blinked his eyes and turned the other way. He knew yesterday what Nikita felt like when she walked in on her daughter.

"LOOK YOU TWO BUNNIES!" Walter huffed as he screamed up the stairs. He didn't like what he knew and that he couldn't do anything about it. He was sure that Michael would cream him if Michael ever found out that Walter was sort of sanctioning the actions.

But Mia was an adult and Walter was sure that she was truly in love. She wasn't that rebellious teenager that flaunted her men around, almost doing them wherever her parents could have found her. That girl was gone, and was replaced with a woman of great character. She knew that Michael didn't like John in her life, so she didn't flaunt it.

Yet, it was getting careless.

Walter swallowed and dropped his head. He hoped that it wasn't too careless. That could be a mess of problems for everyone.

"Yeah, Walter..." Mia stated as she walked to the top of the stairs with a robe covering her body. Her hair was in disheveled and Walter looked slightly away.

"What if I was your father?" Walter questioned and Mia laughed.

"The benefits of going with a Section One operative... he can shimmy down the drainpipe without a sound," Mia quipped and Walter narrowed his eyes. Mia looked and sunk to the top step.

"Why does it have to be so hard, Walter? Will my dad ever let me love him?" Mia questioned and Walter laughed. Mia was almost exactly her mother's child. Walter started up a few stairs and stopped. The image of the grown up Mia was definitely one to see as it was clear what she had been pulled from doing.

"Mia... You know... Your mother loved your father when they weren't allowed.... He can't stop you from loving John. I'm almost sure that you already love him," Walter explained and Mia dropped her head as her cheeks blushed.

"Don't be embarrassed, Mia. If this is the man you want... you got to be ready for all that you may face..." Walter warned and Mia lifted her head and smiled. Walter smiled back as he saw the love on Mia's face.

"You know, Walter... he heals me sometimes," Mia spoke out and Walter nodded his head once more. It was like Mia was trying to convince him that her love was real. He didn't need to be convinced, he saw it in her eyes, and it was the same look that Nikita had and continued to have with Michael.

"And Mia... that is a gift that rarely comes once in a lifetime... That is the type of relationship your father and mother have..." Walter informed and Mia nodded her head and looked to her hands.

"Thanks, Walter..." Mia stated and Walter smiled happily. She stood up and turned around. Walter sighed and walked down the stairs. Maybe it was time for him to invest in headphones so he could cook without thinking about the squeak that was coming from Mia's room.

Walter turned and walked down the stairs, thinking of the wonderful time Michael and Nikita must be having. He was sure they were taking long walks on the beach for sure.

~~

"More... Michael..." Nikita gasped as her lips rolled to the left and Michael lifted his head. His eyes sparkled as his hands rolled up to her stomach. Michael started to kiss back up her stomach in the same path of the long forgotten path downward.

"Are you sure?" Michael teased as his lips licked underneath her breasts that glistened with a wetness that only enticed Michael to suck and lick some more. Nikita was beyond many words at this point as her body still felt like the electricity was rolling in all over body, especially from the location of Michael's lips.

"More.... God, yes, Michael..." Nikita moaned out as she bucked her hips, connecting her rolling hips with Michael's stomach. Her leg slightly moved, parting even more in width and she groaned. The searing hot hardness of his arousal was pressed against her, as if it was chiseled out of granite just for her pleasure.

"I love you, Nikita..." Michael stated as he lapped at the tips of her breasts again, showing the attention that brought her to the roaring start to begin with and to allow her body to continue to surge with pleasure and the need for more sexual attention.

"I love you, Michael..." Nikita moaned out as she opened her eyes and found his eyes staring at her as his mouth trapped her breast with a moist massage that was unlike anything that Nikita felt before. The intensity of his mouth's embraced tripled as his green eyes connected with Nikita's. The force of the connection bounced all of Nikita's muscles to alert and slid the hardness that Nikita sought to impale herself on even closer to her center.

"God, Michael... please..." Nikita moaned out and Michael lifted his mouth off of the breast. His lips moved quickly to take her mouth, both of their eyes open, staring into one another, unable and unwilling to separate that connection.

"Positive?" Michael questioned again as he lifted his head to look down at the excursion wet tendrils of Nikita's hair almost curling along the edges of her face. Michael licked at her cheek and her neck, waiting for the response, feeling her body reacting with the suggestion, knowing what she wanted.

"Be one with me, Michael..." Nikita moaned out and Michael adjusted himself and used his hands to part Nikita's long and firm legs even more. He almost closed his eyes as he eased in, feeling the glove of home fit around him, staring down at the woman he loved more than anything did.

Together they moved, but the urgency that was in Nikita's moaning and begging voice before was gone. The connection of Michael moving within Nikita in the long strokes was all that they needed and all that they longed for. They moved like dancers in a ballet, with long and drawn out moves, each move more beautiful and graceful than the ones before. They slowly rolled in the wetness of each other's arms, leaving the combination of sweat and tears on the ivory sheets behind.

"Oh, Michael..." Nikita groaned as her body tensed, but still waited. She wanted Michael to be with her as they continued. She would not rush him and she waited, feeling the edge of the bed by her shoulder, wanting to continue rolling and finally with a push, they didn't plunge off the edge of sexual bliss, they plunged off the edge of the bed, landing on Michael's back and a change in textures that caused Michael to buck his hips deeper in.

"Recreate me, Michael... Recreate me!" Nikita screamed out passionately, feeling all of the troubles and worries fade away as the vision of the room spun and her body burst into a song of pleasure as Michael pulsed into her, drenching the fire that would never stop burning.

*

Michael's hands wrapped around Nikita's stomach as he held her to the large overstuffed chair in the corner of the bedroom. They looked out the window, finding time just to hold one another and feel the other's heart beating, barely noticing how they were matched perfectly.

"I like this," Nikita stated as she slowly raised her hands to push at her hair. Michael leaned down and nuzzled his nose and mouth and into Nikita's long neck. Nikita giggled lightly and Michael smiled into her neck before looking out the window that Nikita was staring out of.

"I do too," Michael responded as he wanted to squeeze Nikita tighter, but knew not to push the puck. He tapped his fingers lightly against Nikita's stomach, feeling the warmth of her body with the pads of his fingertips, even through the shirt that she wore. "I just know that I won't lose you when I have my arms around you... I never want to let go..."

"I'm not leaving you..." Nikita stated as she turned her head and looked into Michael's eyes. He lifted his head and frowned lightly. He didn't want to start this territory right now and he swallowed. Hopefully it wouldn't last long, as Michael wanted to focus on the good and not the bad.

"You almost did, Nikita... I almost lost you to the badness..." Michael commented and Nikita tilted her head to the side. She placed her fingers to his lips and swallowed. She dropped her head and allowed herself to look out the window, wondering what she could say.

"I was lost... but I was always yours... You'll never get rid of me, Michael..." Nikita declared and promised in one breath. She wanted it to be clear that no matter what, if she was in Michael's arms or out of Michael's arms, that she was only his and only belonged to him. It didn't matter who would try to change that or if Nikita would regress, it wouldn't matter. Nikita could only love Michael.

"Can we just sit here and be happy this time, Michael? I am..." Nikita questioned after some long periods of awkward silence followed Nikita's promise. The tension was release as Michael pressed his lips to Nikita, knowing that she spoke the truth and that the reverse was true for him also.

Michael's hands strummed at Nikita's stomach lightly, in a pattern that was nothing by a private rhythm selected by Michael and his love for Nikita. He felt Nikita relax deeper into his arms and that wave of pride and worth swelled within him again. The worth that Michael had when he held Nikita was something that couldn't be described and Michael was unsure that it did the feeling justice to qualify it as a feeling of worth. It was something so much more.

Nikita was just amazed by the tenderness and love that Michael expressed by just holding her in his arms as such. For a long time, things had been tense between the two and Nikita didn't even realized how much she missed the times like this one, where Michael would sit with her and hold her for no other reason than just to show his love for his wife. It was something that Nikita rarely had in her entire life, but had done with her own children. It was something that Nikita never expected to get back, but with Michael holding her now, it made up for all the times that Nikita even thought about it, or all the times that Michael could have held her instead of reading the local newspaper. Nikita found happiness in his arms unlike anything else she knew.

"You know, Nikita.... There are things about you that I don't even know still... and how long have we been together?" Michael stated as he turned his head and looked at Nikita open eyes. He saw that Nikita didn't believe his words and Michael hated to admit that he knew it to be true.

"Michael... You've got to know..." Nikita stated and Michael looked to the window as he released his hands from around her waist and grabbed her hands with his. He looked at them and almost blushed with the embarrassment of what he had admitted. He wished he knew the small details about his wife, but it seemed that they had a difficult time knowing the big things about each other that the small details had gotten neglected.

"I don't know your favorite color," Michael stated, as he looked at the hands, unable to look into Nikita's eyes.

"Now, that is easy!" Nikita exclaimed, but she saw how Michael neglected eye contact. "Guess."

"Guess?"

"Yes, guess my favorite color, Michael." Nikita demanded and Michael smiled and looked around. Finally seeing that Nikita really meant it. He knew from her eyes also that she wouldn't be upset if he was wrong, which he knew in his heart would happen, no matter how good of a guess he could manage.

"I think your favorite color is baby pink... because you dressed Mia in it a lot," Michael stated and Nikita started to laugh softly. She looked up and Michael knew that he was wrong. Her fingers slid out of his hands as she reached for his face. She lightly allowed her fingers to cross his eyes and smiled.

"Green... Emerald green," Nikita spoke and Michael dropped his head, now feeling the heat of his colored cheeks. Nikita looked at Michael. "I know your favorite color."

"You do?"

"Yes... It is that shade that is right in between purple and blue... not quite either one, but definitely has shades of both," Nikita quickly declared and Michael felt his mouth drop slightly. He was immediately trying to shut the mouth as Nikita reached to touch his chin.

"It's ok, Michael... I just know these things..." Nikita stated with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Michael lifted his eyebrows, never having seen something like this before. He didn't like it that Nikita knew these things about him, but he didn't.

"Go ahead, Michael... Quiz me..." Nikita stated and Michael swallowed and looked at Nikita. She was playfully challenging him, but he also knew that she needed to prove that she did know these things. What Michael knew would be exposed would be that he didn't know the same things about Nikita.

"What is my favorite food?"

"That's easy... you like Fig Newtons the best," Nikita said with a slight smile crossing her confident face. Michael nodded his head as he thought about what he would say Nikita's favorite food was. He blinked his eyes as he realized Nikita wanted another question.

"What is my lucky number?"

"2"

"What is my favorite song?"

"Ah.. Now that is a trick... Some would think that your favorite song is Saving the Best for Last... but it isn't," Nikita said and Michael looked at Nikita. He thought he would have stumped her on this one.

"It isn't?"

"No... You're favorite song is The Prayer... by that skinny singer and the opera singer.... You don't want the operatives to know that you are partial to opera.. it undermines your credibility," Nikita spoke out and Michael smiled in reaction to being stunned. Michael looked at Nikita's neck and rubbed his fingers against the surface and swallowed.

"The most important person in my life?"

"Me." Nikita declared as she leaned forward and kissed his lips. His fingers wrapped around Nikita's neck and held her there, feeling the pleasure of kissing her mouth and knowing the sweetness that came out of her mouth. She was stunning and everything that Michael believed he would never be allowed to have.

"Ok... now you tell me what my favorite food is," Nikita demanded and Michael pulled his head away from Nikita. Again, her eyes told Michael all of the facts that he needed to know. He should at least attempt a guess if not manage a correct answer.

"Pasta."

"No, you're wrong."

"Mmm...I know..Oreos."

"Wrong... that's Birkoff."

"Give me a hint?" Michael questioned as he dropped his head and raised his eyes. Nikita tilted and swallowed, seeing the puppy eyes that she rarely saw from Michael. She had seen them a few times in bed, but never in a setting like this one.

"Its in the family of ice cream... and very specific," Nikita announced and Michael's eyebrows almost curled. He didn't even know that it was ice cream. Nikita tilted her head and smiled, as she knew that Michael know it either. "It's Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby Ice Cream, Michael."

"Oh..." Michael stated as he nodded his head. He turned his head, hoping that he would find something to pull Nikita's attention away from what she wanted to talk about. Nikita used her fingers to draw his face back to look at her.

"What is my lucky number?"

"7?"

"No."

"4?"

"Not even close, Michael."

"18?"

"Mmmm... one of those numbers are right..."

"Come on, Nikita... I don't know!"

"My lucky number is 88," Nikita announced and Michael shook his head. He studied Nikita's eyes, knowing that often lucky numbers had reasons behind them. Nikita looked to her hands, knowing that Michael wasn't about to ask her why.

"Michael... when I felt my mother... it was after the 88th boyfriend of that year... I counted them..." Nikita stated and Michael nodded his head. It was a sick reason behind a lucky number, but then it was uniquely Nikita.

"What is my favorite song?"

"Don't worry be happy?"

"Michael!"

"Ok... Mmm.. Angel?"

"No.. give it a thought, Michael..."

"I am Nikita... Is it A Whole New World?"

"It's not a Disney song, Michael..."

"That doesn't narrow it down a lot!"

"Michael!"

"I don't know, Nikita..."

"My favorite song is I'll Be Home for Christmas." Nikita whispered out and Michael hugged her, knowing that it was hard for her to think about that. Michael looked at Nikita and lightly smiled.

"But I know the next answer!" Michael declared and Nikita tilted her head to the side.

"I'm the most important person in your life!" Michael declared and Nikita laughed, finding her smile glowing and growing as Michael's hands started to run under her shirt.

"I think you are trying to change the topic..." Nikita gasped out as she brushed a kiss against his lips. Nikita smiled and placed her hands over his.

"Is it working?" Michael questioned with his eyes glistening with desire that had grown during their playful but yet serious conversation.

"I think so..."

"GOOD!"

*

The coffee cup twirled in Mia's hand as she looked across the table at her man. She smiled lightly; finding how just touching him wasn't enough. She wished that every morning she could wake up in his arms and know that he was hers and she was his. Nothing right now was stable, but John made the worries go away.

Today, Mia found herself questioning everything. She wasn't sure what to think about, finding it too hard to think about what seemed like the relationship she wanted for the rest of her life, but knowing what her father would do. She sought out questions to it and Walter tried to explain it, but it made no sense at all.

"What do older people do when they go away on vacation, John?" Mia questioned as she tilted her head to the side and swallowed. John blinked his eyes and cleared his throat.

"You are calling your parents older?" John questioned and Mia smiled and looked at her cup.

"Well... yes..." Mia admitted with drawn out words. John shook his head as he looked at Mia. He would never see Michael and Nikita as being old. He didn't even see that with them.

"Mia... actually, they are quite young... I'm sure they are enjoying the pleasure of being without their kids around..." John said slowly, knowing that Mia would take his comments as he meant it. He saw the connection between Michael and Nikita, he grew up inside of Section One seeing the sexual connection and hearing the rumors and bits of tape that he had seen.

"They aren't doing that... My dad is healing her... They are probably taking walks..." Mia stated as she picked up the cup of coffee and placed it near her lips. John blinked his eyes, not believing that this was what Mia was thinking.

"You think that they are alone.. in a hotel room.. far away from here... and all they are doing is talking?" John questioned, finding Mia's thinking impossible. There were some things that were well known and John was sure that Mia understood something about the chemistry between her parents.

"They can't do it as much as we do... right?" Mia questioned and John dropped his head and cleared his throat. John lifted his head and looked into Mia's eyes.

"Let's not compare ourselves, Mia..." John warned, but there was a glint in her eyes before John even finished the statement. She placed the coffee cup on the table and stood up, extending her legs and allowing the short skirt she wore ride up some.

"Mmm... I don't think they would do it on the kitchen chair..." Mia slowly smiled as she lingered her fingers over John's shoulders. She looked at him and straddled her legs. John pushed his hands to her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"We aren't going to do this just because you think your parents haven't done it... I only make love to you because I love you, Mia... I am not with you to prove a point..." John stated out, making it clear. For moments he was afraid that Mia was just using him to prove a point with her parents. He felt his heart stop until Mia looked at him with the eyes that he grew to love more than life.

"John... I never felt this way... I can't even describe it... I thought I was a whole person... Until I met you..." Mia whispered as her eyes misted. She could stop the tears as John lifted his hands to her face, leaning up to kiss her lips tenderly.

"Mia... I thought I knew what love was... I learned it from watching your parents... and I met you... and at first I thought you were a brat... but now... I love everything about you... and now that I will do anything to be with you..." John declared and Mia nodded her head as finally his lips touched hers.

~~

"What are you doing, Michael?" Nikita questioned as Michael picked her body up and placed her on the table that was on the balcony of the hotel room that they were one. It was after he placed a towel on the surface and he studied her body carefully.

"Mmmm... you need sunscreen..." Michael spoke out and Nikita narrowed her eyes. There was only a slight sliver of the balcony that wasn't in the shade. Michael reached out and touched her shirt and pushed at it.

"Where is your bathing suit?"

"What bathing suit?" Nikita flirted and Michael swallowed and smiled. There were sometimes that Nikita surprised him. Although in the past Nikita would have done as she did this time, not wearing a bathing suit, and for the matter of the fact, nothing else, Michael didn't expect it now. It was good when his wife took him by surprised; it made his love and desire to have her grow so much more.

"Mmm... tease..."

"Only Walter is allowed to call me that," Nikita spoke out and Michael laughed for a second and narrowed his passion filled eyes towards Nikita's. He parted his mouth to speak and Nikita claimed it with her own hot and juicy wet mouth, as if she was trying to nurse off of his tongue.

Michael's hands started to push up the long material of the dress she wore over her naked body, knowing that he would find nothing underneath but the flesh he couldn't get enough of. His hands moved much quicker than what he had expected.

The plan was to take Nikita out to the balcony and give her a massage with the sunscreen. It was not to make love in those moments, but fate turned against him. Michael moaned as Nikita continued to captivatingly assaulted his mouth with an intensity that seemed to be growing with each second and with each connection of their tongues.

The open air did nothing to stop their movements, exposed to the world. Nikita would have moved as she did in those moments, pulling all material off of her body had their been an audience. What mattered was that Michael was paying full attention to her boiling body. Nikita swallowed slowly and licked her lips.

"I can't wait..." Nikita spoke out and Michael swallowed as he picked her up. Nikita's naked legs wrapped around Michael's still clothed waist, pushing her hot center against the raging hardness of his arousal. Nikita leaned her head back, moaning with just that slight touch, aching to move him inside of her in that moment.

"Mmm.... Clothes... clothes..." Michael muttered out as he tilted his head, but continued to allow Nikita to possess his mouth. Michael groaned as he finally found a wall to press Nikita against so he could use his hands to find his pants. His shirt clung to her naked breasts, but Michael had no time to pull the material off of his chest. There was an urgency to do this now and not to wait. He barely was able to unbutton and unzip the pants, finding the need to have Nikita growing past anything he had felt before.

"Now... I need you, Michael..." Nikita moaned and Michael growled, moving his hands in order to quickly join them, Nikita sighing in relief before pushing her hips down hard on Michael.

"Mmm.. Nikita..." Michael moaned out as he pushed away from the wall and used his hands to help guide Nikita in a motion that continued to grow and build. Michael had no concept of where they were, as he turned in a circle and suddenly Nikita's back was pressed against the sturdy and tall railing of the balcony. He pressed and surged into her, knowing that nothing was going to stop them now.

Her hips seemed to spread even wider, giving access to Michael he never felt before. All the times they had made love, over the thousands and thousands of times they had coupled and mated, each time was different. It never felt the same to Michael and it never felt the same for Nikita. Each time, they both rediscovered a new meaning for pleasure and climax. Each time, they swore that it couldn't get better, but the next time it only proved to be better.

This time Nikita felt the tears flowing to her checks and she couldn't stop them. Something deep within her compelled happiness and an overwhelmed feeling that neither Nikita nor Michael could explain later on. It was all that Michael could do to continue, he wanted to plunge and plunge until the end of time.

Time didn't matter.

The fact that they were out in the open, only three floors up didn't matter.

Only the connection of his surging and searing hot hardness in her glove that got remolded each time Michael connected with her meant anything.

The here and now. Finally, Michael and Nikita found out what it meant. All the other times they claimed that's what they lived, but they truly didn't. Now, they found what the here and now could do.

The here and now created an animal urge to press against the railing and press the wet and glistening groins together. The here and now created a man that knew his woman and a woman that knew her man, but only the touch and the physical rubbing of their parts.

"OH!" Nikita screamed out loudly. Michael pulled his head down and bit down into her neck, marking her deeply like he hadn't done before. Nikita shuddered as Michael continued to buck, knowing that she would continue to squeeze and squeeze. He would hold for Nikita's next climax, and they continued.

They didn't notice the parents covering the children's eyes as they walked to the hotel in a hurry.

*

"The air is so nice here," Nikita softly commented as she squeezed her hand tighter into Michael's as they strolled down the dark beach, finding the night a time for the two of them to find the sands empty and still. There were no children running around and no volleyballs being directed in their path constantly. The soft ocean breeze pressed against their bodies, wrapping the long skirt of Nikita's dress back past her like she was walking with a trail on her dress.

"It's the ocean, Nikita," Michael commented and Nikita dropped her head slightly as she looked out towards the vast darkness where the ocean was. All that could be heard was the waves that continued to break against the beach and the shore, but the line of water wasn't visible, and couldn't be seen, yet it was out there, somewhere.

"I was going to attribute it to you, Michael," Nikita spoke as she turned and leaned her head onto Michael's shoulder, feeling at peace. She took a long breath in, knowing that tomorrow; they would pack their bags and head out of Virginia and back to their family and home. It wasn't that Nikita didn't want to go home, she didn't want to lose these moments with Michael. Michael silently vowed to himself not to let Nikita go so long without his simple touches and the fundamental healing of his kisses and hugs. Yet, in this night, Nikita needed to know that, as something told her to find out.

"What's wrong Nikita?" Michael questioned; sensing that something was different. He didn't want her mind to linger on tomorrow, as he wanted to spend that last day as being one and not thinking ahead. He didn't even want to think about the past 11 days. Michael's only focus was on the now, these moments with Nikita and how to make memories that would last forever.

"I don't know if it is something that is wrong... something is different..." Nikita spoke out with confusion laced with each and every single word. Michael turned and stopped on the beach. He wrapped his hands around her waist and cinched her body closer to his, hoping that by his touch he could stop the vibration he had with Nikita. Also like Nikita, he didn't know if something was wrong or just different.

"Different, how?" Michael finally inquired, seeking the information, attempting to give meaning to those things that Nikita couldn't. He leaned in and saw Nikita's eyes and he smiled.

Michael couldn't explain it, he just smiled. That was the only thing that made him smile, was looking at Nikita. That feeling of something wrong turned into something different and that feeling had instantly transformed into a feeling of something being right. It all was over when Nikita giggled and wrapped her arms around Michael and brushed her lips against his.

"Whatever it was... It's gone..." Nikita spoke and Michael smiled and kissed Nikita again, once again, finding the pleasure in the simple movements and the simple affectionate kisses rather than the passionate kisses.

"I hope it is gone..." Michael responded and Nikita turned and pulled Michael's hand, moving them back down the beach. Michael jogged a few steps and picked Nikita up into the air.

It was like when they first were back together, before Aubrey joined their life. It was that simple again, knowing that nothing Michael could do would hurt Nikita, knowing that the love was growing stronger and more pronounce. Nikita giggled as her legs swung around and floated so simply in the air.

"Oh, Michael..." Nikita gasped as he settled her feet back into the sand and Nikita leaned onto him, feeling slightly dizzy from the swirling that he had made Nikita's body do. She wrapped her hands tightly around his neck and pressed kisses to his neck.

"It's like my love for you is expanding with every single second I spend with you..." Nikita settled as she looked into Michael's eyes and how the moonlight bounced in the depths of the green that she admired so much and loved beyond what she knew of.

"It's like our love is new again... and I want it to be special like this all the time between us," Michael spoke back and Nikita smiled. She started to move her hands against Michael's back and Michael leaned back.

"What is making it so different, Michael? I don't understand this.... I feel like a giddy teenager with all the insight of someone older than Walter!" Nikita exclaimed and Michael laughed at the silly statement, but didn't laugh at the feeling.

"I like it," Michael simply stated, which caused Nikita to squeal in laughter again, the only other noise other than the roaring ocean that seemed to be getting louder in their ears, indicating that the edge of the water was soon not far off.

"Nikita... why are we heading towards the water?" Michael questioned, veering off of the topic of their erratic feelings and emotions. Nikita shrugged her shoulders playfully and looked around.

"Just hold me some more..." Nikita whispered and Michael leaned in and pressed his head into her shoulder as they swayed from side to side, finding the music that was for them only in the sound of the crashing waves.

~~

"The moon looks so big tonight..." Mia stated as she looked out the window of John's apartment. His arms were around her body, feeling the sooth silk of her skin against his, not wanting to let go, ever. This was the way John believed his life could never be like, but it was perfect in those moments.

"Mmm... I think it is your imagination," John muttered as he kissed her earlobe and then gently pulled at it. Mia slightly turned towards him, but not enough to keep her eyes away from the moon. In fact, John groaned with desire as he saw the moon in his love's eyes. It made her look like an angel that had been placed in his bed just for him.

"John... seriously... sometimes the moon is bigger.. and when it is, the important stuff happens..." Mia whispered out as her bare legs rubbed against his legs, her feet lightly ticklish from the fine hairs that lined his legs.

"Important stuff? Like this?" John questioned as he lowered his hands from around her chest, down her stomach and then even further down.

"Mmm... this could be included..." Mia spoke with a bare whispered as she parted her legs, feeling the lengths of his fingers trace her as if they were meant to be there. She moaned and leaned against John. Slowly the sheets that had been separating their chests was pulled away and flesh against flesh was pushed together.

"More..." Mia whispered into John's ear and then she tugged the earlobe in a similar fashion that John had completed with her ear. John groaned once again, not able to hold back any more.

"Mia.... You know what you are playing with..." John warned as he gasped. Her hands were so small, but now felt so big and so perfect. His hips started to move against his will, knowing that the primal urges were reacting, urging him on to mate.

He needed to mate.

"I know exactly what I'm doing..... Don't I?" Mia playfully commented as she stopped moving her hand, just allowing the warmth of her hand to transfer to John. She felt the tremors in his back and smiled, knowing that she knew him too much.

"Mia...." John growled and Mia smiled and moved her hand slightly. She leaned down and nipped at his chin. John pulled back as she bit harder, afraid of what Walter and Birkoff would think if he entered Section One in the morning with a mark on his chin from Mia.

"This is how you make me feel...." Mia whispered as she slowly licked his lips with her tongue and then moved away, allowing him to think he was going to be kissed, but teasing. John turned and flipped Mia in one movement, unable to take the sexual teasing any further.

"Mia.... Please... love..." John whispered out, barely able to contain himself from ravishing her as she was asking him to do, begging him to do just that. John was never one to rush. He wanted to draw it out, knowing that ever second he was allowed to caress Mia's skin and body was one second more than he ever expected to get in his life. He realized that at any given time, that this could be the last time he touched her, and rushing was something that he did not want to do.

He loved Mia.

He didn't know if Mia knew how much and how deeply he loved her. She was pushing him for what she needed and what John needed was for her to understand the love and the need for her that was growing inside of him with every contact with Mia, not just flesh to flesh, even if it was only ear to ear.

He loved Mia.

"OH YES!" Mia moaned out, feeling that her ride to completion was just starting and that her love would give it to her, as she would demand it. John felt the chains of constraint fall to the wayside. He was hers, and Mia would get him to do whatever she wanted, simple because he couldn't deny her anything. Yes, he was able to control her and stop her moods and get her to treat her parents respectful, but in this setting, as he was settled within her, he was at her mercy.

Because he loved her and he wouldn't deny her. Ever.

~~

Michael moved and placed his hands on Nikita's shoulders, pushing her down towards the wet sand. Although it was getting late into the season, the weather was extremely mild, almost hot. Nikita sighed as she felt the water rush to her legs and Nikita reached her hand up to Michael, to bring him sitting down behind her.

They had frolicked in the water some, once Nikita's toes felt the coolness. Michael had tried to pull her away before they both got too wet, but the second wave crashed into her calves and her legs started to kick before Michael could succeed in leaving the beach dry and without too much sand on their bodies.

"I love it here... with you.... I could be sitting on three feet of snow... and I would still love it..." Nikita moaned as she started to push her feet into the wet sand, giggling silently at the feeling, but Michael couldn't see the smile that crossed her face. Michael rubbed his hands down her arms and groaned.

It was sensory overload and Michael was shorting out. His desire was growing and this position, on the sand was making it worse. He wanted the evening stroll on the beach to be about love and commitment. For moments Michael struggled with the fact that lust was totally tied to both of them. Yet, as he sat there in the sand, his mind rolled away from him and Nikita couldn't help but feel the reaction of such thoughts.

"I don't care where we are... I want you..." Michael growled out, trying to sound tender, trying to match Nikita's mood and emotions, but neglecting to know that Nikita's mind wasn't as innocent at that moment as he thought.

"Michael... this sand feels so good..." Nikita whispered out, drawling out the words purposely, feeling the instant reaction to her words with the pressing hardness that rubbed at her back.

"The wet sand?" Michael questioned with his voice cracking with the words. Nikita turned and looked at him. She pulled at the dress and revealed that once again, she neglected the normal and traditional undergarments.

"Rub it into my skin..." Nikita groaned out as she leaned down onto the sand, exposing her breasts to the moonlight. The light lap of the incoming wave sprayed Nikita's glowing skin with a dampness that sang out to Michael's lips. He trembled and ached to move to her, but paused as he knew that they had been seen that time on the balcony.

"Michael... it feels so good..." Nikita whispered as she lifted her hands filled with the wet sand and playfully dropped it onto her skin, coating the surface with the course substance. Michael looked at her and his hands moved instantly.

The feeling was delightful, not like anything Michael had felt before with his fingers. It made her breasts feel more sooth and the sand, didn't distract from anything. It moved Michael on, urging him to continue quickly. Soon he found his own clothing gone and tossed to the side.

Together they rolled and rolled, just finding pleasure of feeling the wet sand on their skin and each other's hands. There were no beds to fall off of and nothing stopping the rolling. Continuing and continuing as Michael's hands placed more and more sand in between them, finding that the friction was heightening every sensation he may ever have.

The waves were now constantly rushing against their wet bodies, soaking and drenching the parts that ached to join. Nikita wrapped her arms around Michael's neck and arched towards him, wanting to be one, wanting to be more than one.

Something had changed, something made that time so much more than it seemed. The wet sand only added to the feeling of newness that seemed to be growing. All the times that Nikita thought that Michael recreated her by making love to her, this was like they had never made love before, like it was the first time they connected and joined.

"Michael..." Nikita sobbed out with tears, not knowing what was coming over her body. She was happy, beyond of anything that she knew. The last time she felt this complete and this loved by Michael was when Aubrey was placed in her arms, after some 22 hours of labor. Michael didn't know what occurred, finding her tears being washed down her cheek and blending with the water that continued to splash over their hot and smoldering bodies.

"Am I hurting you?" Michael rushed out as he tried to roll off of her and pull away, afraid of the damage he may have caused. Her hands held him tightly to her and Nikita only wrapped her legs and squeezed him tighter.

"Love me, Michael..." Nikita moaned out as she tilted her head back, her hair mixed with the wet sand that moved and gave away to their bodies. Michael rubbed his hands to her hair and rubbed her head as he looked for her eyes, seeing them closed.

"Look at me, Nikita..." Michael demanded as he flipped their bodies, knowing that placing her on top would ease his worries of hurting her. Nikita opened her eyes a slit, finding it hard to keep them open with the tremendous passion and lust surging through her. She pushed her body back, arching as much as she could, accepting Michael all the way and then some.

"I love you, Michael..." Nikita moaned out as she looked down at Michael. He was not passively positioned on the bed of sand, he was rocking in a flow that was like the smooth waves that moved to the beach and then he crashed his hips into her, like the breaking of the waves. He was the water that rolled her hips.

"Nikita... you are all that I want... I love you..." Michael groaned out as suddenly his shoulders moved down against the sand. He blinked his eyes, afraid to find that the image of his Nikita, riding on his love would disappear. The wetness of the salty water ran down her every curve and each little round droplet was collecting moonlight and sparkling, making Nikita look like she was bathed and carved out of a diamond.

The tears that had once hurt Michael and frightened him were explained in his mind as he felt them on his face now. That feeling that something was different continued, but it did not stop him. He knew that he had to continue. They were something else than human, at least that's what both felt. Something supernatural threw their bodies against each other, continuous, stringing the high plateaus of climax over and over again, Nikita squeezing and Michael releasing.

Both bodies rocked slowly as the waves seemed to have slowed and eventually ceased. Nikita leaned her head down, feeling the gritty sand between their bodies but not bothered by it. Some thousand feet down the beach, from the direction they started at, where their clothes, now wet with the ocean water, but that didn't matter.

Daylight and the sun would be the first reminders of their naked states, several hours away. For now, they were on their bed of sand, being one, as they were meant to be at that moment and meant to be forever.

*

Mia flipped through her magazine as the late afternoon sun shifted through the window and into the living room. Her parents had arrived back, as they had called from the airport. Mia, in a way, was excited to see her parents. She never thought she would feel that way when she was sixteen, but now, she knew and almost understood parts of her parents.

The fact was, the house was filled with people, all waiting for Michael and Nikita to arrive home. Most were in the kitchen, fixing a cake of sorts. It used to bother Mia whenever they made a big deal about them coming back from a vacation, but now it was just part of her family's social life. For her father and mother to get time together, away from everyone and from Section, just to be them, was a big event.

The car pulled up and Mia turned her head. She looked out the window as her hands folded the magazine. She looked out and saw her mother, but it was like she was a different woman. All the time she spent joking with John that her mother was older, Mia knew that John was correct. She looked so young when she reached out and waited for Michael to wrap his arm around her body. He leaned down and kissed her neck softly.

The little bits of affection made Mia tingle. They were things that John couldn't do with her while her parents were around. It was going to tear her apart. Mia was sure she could explain everything to her mother and find that her mother understands the relationship. The problem is her father. Mia didn't see how she could make her father respect John as he did respect him inside of Section One. He was the same man and Mia didn't understand why that fact seemed to get lost in the travel home.

"MOM!" Mia exclaimed as the door opened. She moved quickly and found herself in a hug that she wanted the entire week. It had been some time since Mia saw her mother, especially since Nikita had to go and stay with Leanor for sometime.

Once one family member got into the hug, everyone surged into the room. Nikita looked to Michael and slightly rolled her head from side to side. Sometimes it was nice to have everyone there when you arrived back but there were other times, like this time, that Michael and Nikita wanted the pleasure and ability to just go to their room, together.

"Nikita!" Danielle cried out as she ran into the room. Nikita bent down, pushing Madeline out of the way. She giggled as the young girl leapt into her arms and smiled as Nikita rubbed her back. It was all good.

"Madeline and Leanor want me to go to school...." Danielle announced and Nikita blinked her eyes. She looked at Madeline as a solemn look crossed her face. Madeline dropped her head slightly and Nikita stood up.

"Now? So close to Christmas? Or how about after Christmas?" Nikita questioned and Danielle laughed and danced around in circle.

"I don't care. I just want to go!" Danielle cheered out and Nikita smiled as she watched the little girl turn and dance down the hallway, circling around Operations and Walter as they stood in the hallway debating. Nikita looked at Madeline and Michael wrapped his arms around Nikita carefully.

"I need to discuss this with you, Nikita..." Madeline stated and Nikita looked to Michael and blinked her eyes.

"And?" Nikita questioned, showing that she was not going to break away from Michael's touch. Madeline looked to Nikita and tilted her head to the side. One moment, Madeline felt that she needed to tell Nikita the most important news, but something stopped Madeline's words. She looked at Nikita and squinted her eyes.

"Why is everyone giving me that look?" Nikita questioned as she turned hr head and stared into Michael's eyes. Nikita had suggested that he had been doing the same thing to her, which he had dismissed. Then he had seen it on the plane with the attendants and now it was clear that Madeline was looking at Nikita in that way that neither of them understood.

"Is something different?" Madeline inquired and Nikita and Michael stepped back a bit, finding themselves against the door again. Nikita rubbed at her arms and found that now everyone was staring at her.

"What? Do I still have sand in my hair?" Nikita questioned as she looked up at Michael. She never felt this way before. She was happy, but everyone was looking at her like she had grown another head. At least she knew that Michael was finally seeing what she had sensed. He rubbed her neck softly and then kissed it.

"I think that they are just noticing how light your hair got since we were at the beach," Michael explained and everyone sensed that this topic was going to go nowhere. Michael and Nikita waited as everyone broke up, Mia strolling into the dinning room, mumbling something about sour cream and onion potato chips.

"Madeline... what is this about Leanor?" Nikita spoke up before Madeline could get too far. Madeline stopped and reached for Nikita's hands. Nikita allowed one to pull away from Michael's touch as Madeline seemed to be gathering her strength to tell Nikita all what had happened while they were gone.

"Leanor asked to be pulled back inside of Section..." Madeline slowly admitted and Nikita jumped further into Michael's body. He hadn't even heard of this and was shocked.

"Did Lee Hung find her? Did he make her do this? What about her family?" Nikita snapped quickly and Madeline was paused again. Again, she couldn't shake the feeling that something changed Nikita. She shook her head and swallowed lightly.

"Nikita... it was an accident... But Leanor's family... her daughter and her twin granddaughters... they were killed in an accident... She asked to be brought in before the funeral and I had to honor her request," Madeline stated and Nikita turned around.

Michael felt her teas and closed his eyes. He had hoped to allow Leanor to stay on the outside. Now she was hiding from what happened to her daughter and grandchildren by coming back inside of Section One. She had returned, but for the wrong reasons. Michael bent his head down gently and looked at Nikita's face. She was so hurt by the news and she had met the little girls that had died.

"I have to see her," Nikita whispered from Michael's shoulder. He knew that he would not deny Nikita that and he looked around. He rubbed his fingers across her neck and swallowed.

"Do you want to get something to eat, first? You didn't eat on the plane..." Michael commented and Nikita allowed her head to swing from side to side, indicating that her only worry was to get to see Leanor. Michael nodded his head as he understood.

Madeline had departed, moving amongst the ranks of who was in the house. Michael and Nikita stayed there at the door for sometime, Michael allowing Nikita to work out the need to cry and the need to become strong in order to support Leanor. It was some time before Michael and Nikita silently slipped out, almost not noticed.

But Mia saw them leave and then she left and followed.

~~

Leanor sat in the quarters that she was given and saw Nikita's body at the door. Again.

She loved Nikita and knew that Nikita felt as if she was helping her, but it had been a week of seeing Nikita walking into her quarters and talking about what happened. The truth was, Leanor hurt still. It would hurt forever, but it was Nikita's constant reminder of what happened to her, that made it worse. And Leanor was afraid of what to say to Nikita, knowing that Nikita was just as fragile, if not more fragile than she was.

"Hello, Leanor..." Nikita spoke as she entered and closed the door. Leanor blinked her eyes, hearing something more in Nikita's voice on this day. It wasn't the worry or even the pity that Leanor had been hearing.

"Nikita... are you all right?" Leanor questioned and Nikita smiled gently and rubbed a hand over her face. She looked tired. Really tired.

"Just busy with a mission to hopefully get Lee Hung, finally.... And I couldn't sleep..." Nikita stated and Leanor nodded her head, finding the worry for Nikita a perfect way to forget about her worries.

"Then why are you here with me? Go get some sleep." Leanor snapped, hoping that her short orders would be followed. Nikita tilted her head to the side and leaned against the wall. Leanor wondered why Nikita wasn't going to sit down, something was just wrong and Leanor hoped that it didn't show on her face.

"I can't... you know when I get worried I get a sour stomach..." Nikita spoke out and Leanor nodded her head. It was something that always told Leanor that something more was going on with Nikita, even when she couldn't even see Nikita.

"Is there something more wrong?" Leanor questioned and finally Nikita stepped forward towards the chair and looked at Leanor. Leanor felt Nikita's cold hands touch her as Nikita pulled them and rubbed them. Then Nikita froze, her eyes staring at the hands, like she wanted to talk but something stopped her.

"This isn't a time for you to counsel me..." Nikita finally whispered and Leanor blinked her eyes consecutively. Nikita dropped Leanor's hand and there was a loud sigh from both of them. This game for Leanor was getting old.

"Look, Nikita... My daughter died and my granddaughters died and it is going to hurt a long time.... But I found that I have a family here... and I don't want to be disconnected from them and I want to start to live again... Please, let me be part of your family... I need that," Leanor passionate spoke. She didn't think her words even got to Nikita until she saw the litter of tears that sparkled down Nikita's face.

"I want you to be part of my family... sometimes I just can't be there for everyone..." Nikita whispered out as she started to rub her hands over her arms, as if she was trying to warm her body up. Leanor leaned forward and reached for Nikita's face.

"Nikita... what is going on? This can't be all about Lee Hung," Leanor said firmly, knowing and sensing that Nikita was hiding something, but then Leanor stopped. Finally, Leanor was sure that Nikita wasn't exactly what was going on herself.

"This isn't about Lee Hung... we are going to get that man someday and he is going to be mine to deal with," Nikita declared with hateful words. Their strength sent a chill down Leanor's body, and she knew exactly that Nikita meant every single word and she meant the hate that she felt.

"Is this about Mia and John?" Leanor questioned and tilted her head to the side. Yes, Mia was seeing Leanor about her relationship with John and how much in love with John she was, but this wasn't violating Mia's confidence. Leanor could see that there were problems with Mia and John. Mia just happened to give Leanor the context that Michael was strongly against the relationship. All Leanor could do is tell Mia to make sure she loved the man before she did anything too drastic.

"I don't know... I'm confused about that... I want her to be happy... but I know what Michael wants and he can't see..." Nikita said as she suddenly broke down, dropping her head and finally pulling it away. Leanor rubbed her hands, knowing that even this admittance wasn't what was wrong with Nikita. It was difficult to know that something was wrong, but not be able to even think what it was.

"What can't he see, Nikita?" Leanor questioned and Nikita lifted her head with a sweet smile on her face.

"He can't see that Mia is just like me... and her loving John is just like me loving him... I don't want to do what Madeline and Operations did to me and Michael... to Mia..." Nikita whispered out and Leanor nodded her head. She reached for Nikita's hands and rubbed them. The simple touch gave Nikita the support to stop her tears.

Silence followed those words from Nikita. Slowly her mind adjusted, knowing that she wouldn't be Madeline and Operations to Mia. She didn't even need to hear Leanor say the words, she just needed to admit it and move on. Expressing the worry was almost the entire battle.

"Is that all that is going on?" Leanor softly inquired and Nikita shrugged her shoulders. She looked to Leanor and pulled up to her standing height.

"I don't know, Leanor.. it's a weird feeling... Like something is different..." Nikita murmured as she looked around the room. Now Leanor stood to look at Nikita better. Her eyes showed that she didn't know what she was saying either, that identify what the feeling was would be impossible.

"Physical or emotional?" Leanor questioned and Nikita shrugged her shoulders. Leanor smiled and reached out and placed her hand on Nikita's shoulder.

"I'm sure it will pass..." Leanor comforted Nikita. She waited as Nikita nodded her head. Leanor smiled and watched Nikita move away. She turned and saw the picture of her daughter and granddaughters. She missed them, but now, she might be able to move on.

It was amazing what concern for another human being, particularly Nikita, could do to a person.

~~

"I said that the profile is too dangerous!" Nikita shouted and John leaned back on his heels as he stared at Nikita. She held the panel in her hand and was pacing back and forth.

"I was told to get Lee Hung. This is the way!" John informed in a strong voice that didn't raise in volume but did raise in intensity.

"This way? You want to kill yourself? That's what will happen!" Nikita shouted as she moved to her desk and slammed the panel down. She shook her head back and forth as she continued to erratically move.

"Then we may lose our window," John added and Nikita stopped. He listened to Nikita's nervous foot tapping up and down, as she stared at him.

'Then we lose the window. It's not worth losing you." Nikita finally assessed as being her final decision. John sighed and looked around the office as he looked to Nikita.

"Is that an order?"

"Yes," Nikita snapped, making sure to give John the evidence of her order if he wanted it to be so. Her mind was so jumbled and when she saw the profile, she just knew not to allow it to happen. It had been a long time since Nikita trusted that gut instinct, but with this overwhelming feeling of something being different, she just couldn't deny it.

"Nikita... you look shaky... Have you eaten today?" John questioned and Nikita blinked her eyes. She looked down to her watch and stopped. She had been in her office for some eight hours and didn't even know it. She even had to look at the calendar to figure out what day it was. It wasn't like herself to lose track of the days.

"I had some crackers..." Nikita stated as she turned her head away. John looked at Nikita and then lowered his head. He had a crying Mia about three days ago saying that something was wrong with her mother and that no one knew what it was. She complained about how Nikita kept on saying that something was different, but she wasn't doing anything about it.

"Nikita... how long as this been going on?" John questioned as he leveled his head off. Mia said that she couldn't talk to her mother about it, but he saw that something had to be done. Nikita was usually easy to predict and he was sure that Nikita was going to turn down the profile, but he was sure that it would have been done calmly.

"What, John? What are you talking about?" Nikita snapped. He only continued to stare into Nikita's eyes and she shrugged lightly.

"I don't know John... It's not always like this..." Nikita tried to play it off and John only blinked his eyes. He knew Nikita to be a better liar than the crap she had just fed him there.

"I've known you for a while, Nikita... Something is going on...It's usually worse than this," John informed Nikita.

"Please, John... I don't want to hear about it..."

"Well.. maybe you do!"

"John.. I hear it from Michael, Madeline, Aubrey, Mia, Leanor, Paul, and Walter! Do you think that you adding your voice in is going to change or make me suddenly know what is going on?" Nikita shouted and John blinked his eyes. Nikita did have a significant point.

"Fine... but you do want to know what is going on?" John questioned and Nikita froze and looked at him. He reached out and looked at Nikita. She was so much like the injured woman he had recovered from Lee Hung and he respected her so much.

"Sometimes I'm afraid..." Nikita whispered.

"Afraid that the cancer is back?"

"Yes... but there is nothing... and I have to hold onto the belief,"

"But it is hard?