Why were most small towns' perfect squares? Why did they have four streets running horizontally and four streets running vertically across the surface of the land? Why did they use that little piece in the center of the town to plant trees and to build a white gazebo? Why were they filled with happy people that hummed as they walked the streets, not having to worry about speeding cars or honking horns?

Vernsville, Pa, in the heart of Pennsylvania's diary region, where the outskirts of the small bustling town, turned into fields and fields of nothing but the black and white dotted cows, producing enough milk to supply the entire state. A town that always had the faint knowledge of what was on the outskirts of town, by the wind direction and the passing smell when the wind got too strong.

The town quarter, as the Vernsvillians would called it, was a bit different, but not by much. They had the gazebo and the trees that bloomed fragrant flowers all about. They had the landscaping that was donated by one of the two competing Catholic churches in the town. Yet, they had a monument too. Monument of the guy named Vern, the man who founded Vernsville, not in the 1800's, but in the 1970's. The man is still alive, and he is still a businessman. And he doesn't live in Vernsville. He never did.

Maybe this town had a bit more than other small towns. It had it's own high school, Vernsville Junior and Senior High School, along with it's own public library, Vernsville Public Library. They even had stoplights, and not just stop signs. It made their little town a bit more high up in the categories of towns, they had four stop lights.

Every single house in the town, no matter how far you were away from the town quarter, had a perfect white picket fence, as they were mandatory and you were fined a hundred dollars if you did not maintain yours. The original picket fence around the houses were erected by no one else, but that Vern guy that didn't live in the town.

The general store doubled as a post office. The little restaurant turned into a "Café" on the weekends, trying to keep the teenagers from seeking the luxuries of bigger towns, or even the cities. There was even a gas station, although it was under regulation to be kept very clean, and no pressure hose was used to run over to signal that you were there, it made too much noise. They still had attendants come out and fill your car up and check your oil. That was Vernsville, Pa.

Main Street was the street that ran north of the town quarter and was the road that was connected to a small highway number of sorts, Route 999, or something like that. You had a good hour drive before you could hit a major highway, like the turnpike, to find an escape out of the town.

Main Street had all the things that one would need. That was were the general store was, the doctor was, the restaurant, the gas station, the library, and the high school were all located on. Verns Street ran south of the town quarter and held mostly the upper-class families of Vernsville.

It was odd to walk down the sidewalk of Main Street, as it was like walking in an old movie of sorts. It was not what people thought about when they thought of a town in Pennsylvania, or in fact, any town in the United States. It was so small and so good-natured, that an outside found their stomach flipping about in horror. Some found it to be exactly what they needed in their life, but most, found it unbearable. The folks in this town were born here and staying here. It was that first generation that was born in Vernsville that now was pushing the strollers down the streets, keeping their family inside of Vernsville. It was the first time since it was created that there was mention of building a new street for some new houses. That was major development.

There were some famous people of the town. There was a writer of children's stories that lived over on Fourth Street and she was known for reading her unpublished stories to the children to get feedback. There was the mayor, who has been mayor since the town was formed who lives on Verns Street. And then there was the high school student that got to experience life, as a model. She lived on First Street, in one of the smallest houses in the town.

She wasn't just a model thought. With a 4.0 GPA and a 1600 on her SAT's at age 12, she was a mega star of Vernsville that was being nice and helping the town out. Last year, when the 24 inches of snow hit the town, she had the entire town plowed out with her own money. Too bad she neglected to tell them that she was needed for much more important business that dealt with biological warfare. Nope, she needed to go to a fashion show in New York, and not one person disbelieved her.

She had been pictured with a lot of men in the gossip newspapers but all in the town of Vernsville thought her to be the virgin of the fashion industry. They must not have heard about Rick Azure, one of the common ones to be leading Vernsville mega star around.

She didn't know what love was yet, she was still young, barely 19. She wasn't innocent, but she didn't know love. Yet, she was smart enough to know what she was doing was wrong and needed to be hidden. Maybe that was the reason why she never left that small house. No one knew how long she had been working for the organization, could have been since she was 12 or maybe 15, or rather, it could have been when she was 10, when the organization formed.

That was the woman that one man was told to get too, to get her fingerprints without her knowing. Section One never played things like this so discretely, so unobtrusive. It didn't feel right, but then field missions for Birkoff never felt right.

He was the computer expert that came into town to computerize the library's card catalogue. Birkoff could just see the boring days of being stuck in the library stretching out over him as he walked down Main Street, going back to his house for the time being, with the gallon of milk in a bag with the Fruit Loops, his breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

He had seen pictures of the woman they wanted him to swoon. Her name was Samantha Jennings, All-America Girl, who just happened to have a fascination with numerous viruses so deadly it could wipe out a little town like Vernsville out in an hour tops.

Birkoff the sworn computer nerd and the fashion model, not a likely couple, but Birkoff shook his head. If he had to try, he had to try. But he wasn't going to get himself in a panic because the girl didn't like him. That was expected and if Madeline all of sudden believed Birkoff to have the charms of Michael along with the looks of Michael, then Madeline needed to be put in a straight jacket and medicated.

*

Birkoff had heard the horror stories from Nikita about Mrs. Papappas. That was Nikita's busy body from the town she was in. Mrs. Papappas walked into the house like Nikita totally needed help all the time, that Nikita couldn't do anything by herself. The woman was a religious fanatic, and Birkoff didn't know how Nikita could have handled her. Birkoff even further told himself that he would not put up with a person like that, when Michael told him that he too, had to deal with Mrs. Papappas.

Michael and Nikita both giggled when they thought of Mrs. Papappas, but Birkoff didn't know why they did so. He knew the mushy way they made Mrs. Papappas believe that they left, he had handled to send movers to gather the two houses worth of furniture and say that they were being delivered to Las Vegas. It was a big lie. Instead, the furniture was rearranged and most of it ended up in Birkoff's three-story abode.

The first floor had a huge country like kitchen, which he didn't have the luxury of having a glass table in. It was like Madeline didn't want Birkoff to have an easy way in this mission. There was a large living room, which was connected to the kitchen with a moderate size dinning room. Birkoff didn't know why he had such a large house, but he did. Madeline explained at the town was even paying for Birkoff to live in the house.

The second floor had one bedroom, which had no furniture in it at all. It had a desk, as Michael's and Nikita's furniture just didn't fill the house. But Birkoff didn't know why the second bed didn't come to this house. He was confused, but did not question. Madeline didn't make him unpack, so he was pleased to lose some of the manual labor of the mission he thought he would have been forced to do.

On the second floor was a private library, with a heavy lock on it. There were even some first edition books in there, and Birkoff knew they must have come from Madeline's private collection. He had explored the room and that was the room he set up his computers, knowing that he would be needing them to escape from the torture of this mission.

Finishing out the second floor was a huge bathroom. The only full bathroom in the entire house. He had a shower and a whirlpool. Yet, from what Nikita had whispered to Walter when she briefly was inside of Section before Michael escorted her back home, Nikita had a huge one in her house that Michael supposively put in himself. Birkoff wasn't sure about that claim, he never thought Michael was much of a handy man. A Frenchman that liked to primp and glide around the hallways of Section One, so proper, that to think he was in jeans and playing with wet cement, did not fit Michael at all.

The third floor was one huge bedroom. There was even a skylight that covered the ceiling above where the bed was placed. Birkoff guessed that it was suppose to make it look romantic of sorts, but he hated it. What if there was a thunderstorm... every single bolt would be viewable from the skylight. Plus, if Section was suddenly under attack, it gave terrorists a great way to grab Birkoff quickly.

Birkoff was not impressed with the house. It was going to be too much work to keep it clean, and he hated to clean. He was worried about how he would keep up until he was leaving the house. He was a bachelor, they are supposed to be messy and disorganized. He wasn't going to worry about it. He had to worry about swooning a 19 year old that was a model off of her feet and get her fingerprints. Madeline made it difficult, so Birkoff couldn't pull the luck that Nikita had had.

What Birkoff was impressed with was the Vernsville Public Library. He hadn't expected a large collection, as it was a library that the man named Verns had built and started. Yet, it seemed that as it the man actually liked to read, and felt that everyone should read. The collection was supposively very immense when the library was first opened in the month of April, 1976. There was even a picture of Verns on the steps of the Library hanging in the doorway of the proud building. The collection only continued to grow through the years, and although the funding from Verns ended some ten years ago, the books continued to amass, and was going to be a rather large job for Birkoff.

"Are you the computer guy?" A boy about nine years old asked as Birkoff stood at the desk, waiting for a librarian to walk over and introduce herself. She was busy with a small girl with some old books. Birkoff nodded his head and turned his head away, never a man to like young children.

"That's great.... I can't wait until we get our next computer that won't happen until we move the library into a bigger building... I'm in charge of the fundraising." The boy proudly said and Birkoff dropped his head and looked at the boy.

"YOU?" Birkoff questioned and he laughed happily.

"Don't worry... I'm a senior in high school.. And I am taking a year off before going to college." The boy said and Birkoff smiled and looked around.

"You could take a whole decade off." Birkoff smartly remarked. The boy laughed and extended his hand.

"Eric Jennings." The boy said and Birkoff raised his eyebrows. Of course he would become a friend with the little brother of the girl he was suppose to impress and swoon. Birkoff swallowed and shook the boy's hand.

"Seymour Birkoff." Birkoff replied and the boy wrinkled his eyebrows up and Birkoff rolled his eyes. He had spent three hours arguing with Madeline that he needed to change his name on this mission, that it was just going to be a hassle. Of course, Birkoff's name has been a challenge since Birkoff entered Section One at the age of thirteen. He hated the name and could not believe that they made him keep a name that was not really conducive to missions.

"Just call me Birkoff." Birkoff said and Eric nodded his brown hair up and down as he looked over to find the librarian walking towards Birkoff. She was an older woman and Birkoff put up his defensives, afraid that she would end up being his Mrs. Papappas.

"Hello.... I'm Gertrude Warner..." the older woman said and Birkoff shook her head and swallowed.

"Seymour Birkoff." Birkoff said.

"Call him, Birkoff." Eric chipped in quickly and Birkoff looked down to the smart boy and smiled. He kind of reminded him of himself when he was young. He was starting to like Eric all ready. Gertrude started to walk away from the desk that Birkoff was standing at, moving without a word. Birkoff looked around and saw the books that he passed, each shelf seemed to be packed tightly, with no extra room to spare. As he turned the corner, he saw that there was even an expansion of the library. It was a very pretty building.

"The computer room is coming up..." Eric whispered next to Birkoff. Birkoff smiled and looked down to the boy.

"Am I to think that you want to use it?" Birkoff questioned and the boy smiled.

"How did you know?" he smiled back at Birkoff. Birkoff sighed and swallowed.

"Well... let me see what they have me on... and if I'm going to be on it all the time... I can see what I can do to get you on my private computers." Birkoff said and the boy froze against the shelves. Birkoff turned and looked at him, afraid that he had said something.

"You have more than one computer?" Eric questioned and Birkoff nodded his head as Eric licked his lips. Birkoff felt like he had just told the boy that aliens had landed in the middle of the town quarter with the stunned look on his face.

"The only person in town that has a computer is my sister... COOL!" He exclaimed and Birkoff nodded his head and turned to look at Gertrude as she was pounding her foot on the heavy carpet, up and down, upset that Birkoff had stopped following her. Birkoff rolled his eyes and moved quickly to the room she was pointing at.

"I'm going to have to play with the system some before I can set up the program..." Birkoff said and Gertrude only bent her head and left the room, pulling Eric out by the collar. Birkoff sighed, not liking when a young boy like that got treated as such. Sure, he was graduating from high school, but he was still only nine years old. Birkoff shook his head and flicked the computer on and sighed. It was going to be torture for him to work with the low running and low functioning computer. Pentium I... and Birkoff cringed.

"So... what do you think of the computer?" Eric whispered as he tiptoed back into the room with Birkoff. Birkoff rolled his eyes and looked at Eric. He pulled a chair up and looked at the equipment. Birkoff could tell that he had very little exposure to advance networks like this.

"What college are you looking at?" Birkoff questioned and Eric smiled.

"Yale, Harvard, or Oxford." Eric replied and Birkoff snorted. All the colleges he had been offered full scholarships to when he was Eric's age too. Too bad his parents started to sell off his intelligence to the highest bidder.

"Well... this computer here... doesn't exist in Yale, Harvard, and Oxford... it is like comparing the hamburger to the Big Mac!" Birkoff said and Eric laughed loudly. Birkoff shook his head and began to show Eric some ins and outs of the computer.

*

Birkoff walked down the street as he heard the pounding feet behind him. Birkoff turned his head and smiled as Eric ran quickly down the street with not a care in the world. Just like a young boy should and Birkoff smiled. He wished that he had the opportunities like that when he was Eric's age. Birkoff never knew a friend of his own age since he was two, when his parents discovered his immense talents.

"Birkoff! Birkoff!" Eric screamed and Birkoff stopped and waved to the boy. The boy ran and slapped Birkoff's hand hard. Birkoff shook it as he dropped it to his side. Eric heaved a couple deep breathes in order to gain composure over his body and smiled at Birkoff.

"I talked to Gertrude." Eric said as he made an exaggeration on the librarian's name, as she was a real pain in the neck. She had pulled Eric out of the computer room three times, citing that only Birkoff was to be in there. Birkoff argued that once he had the computer set up and filled with all the books that someone was going to need to know how to use it. Gertrude told Birkoff that it was going to take him a long time to enter all of the books into the system and that she was sure that it was best that Eric leaves him alone.

"Ok, so what did the cranky old witch have to say to you?" Birkoff said and Eric sighed and looked around.

"She told me that I can help you with the books from outside the computer room, that I am not allow to touch the computer, and that if my fundraising hurts from my 'exposure' to you, that she will physically remove me from the library to her house to get the work done." Eric said quickly. He had lifted his hands when he said exposure and Birkoff laughed heartily. Gertrude was a piece of work in Birkoff's book and was just thankful she wasn't like Nikita's Mrs. Papappas.

"I don't want you to help me if you have other work to do. Plus, you won't be learning anything from the computer." Birkoff said. He looked around, as he also knew that there was another reason why it was best that Eric didn't help him all the time. He was going to bring in one of his little computer toys and hook it up to the computer, so all he would have to do is snap an image of the cover page and the entire entry would be written. The job that Gertrude believe was going to take him months, with his little toy, would take a week or two tops.

"I know... but the fundraising is all set up... And you know..." Eric said and Birkoff smiled and nodded his head. The boy was a genius that was bored out of his mind, and Birkoff knew that feeling too. If Eric was interested in helping Birkoff, then he should be pleased with the compliment. Birkoff could think of a very few people that he would have wanted to work with when he was Eric's age.

"Yeah... I know... but I want you to learn about the computers... Hey... maybe if you do this... I'll let you come over on the weekends... and use that spare computer of mine... It will blow your mind away!" Birkoff said and Eric happily smiled and Birkoff grinned also. At first when the boy took a liking to Birkoff, Birkoff dreaded being latched to a kid all the time. Now, Eric was a cool boy and he needed to be cherished. Birkoff hoped that he could help Eric deal with being a genius, because it wasn't as easy as it appeared to be.

"Great! That means on the weekends when my sister takes over the library, I won't have to see her!" Eric happily laughed. Birkoff turned his head and began to walk as he stared at Eric. He looked up to the sky and swallowed, knowing deep inside that he didn't want to use this boy, but that he was going to have too, because he wasn't Michael.

"Your sister, the model?" Birkoff questioned and Eric nodded his head.

"Yep... That's her..." Eric said sarcastically and Birkoff laughed. Eric was a boy after his heart and Birkoff wished that Eric were his own little brother. Birkoff never had a chance at a family. Once his parents had discovered that he was more than just smart, they turned their entire life into Birkoff's life. The money that came into the house wasn't from his father's job or his mother's job; it was Birkoff's money. They just kept playing companies and organizations against each other, selling Birkoff to the highest bidder. Birkoff wonders how much his parents took when they sold him to Section One, a file that Section One still didn't know that Birkoff had found years ago.

"Why would she take over the library?" Birkoff questioned and Eric laughed and grabbed Birkoff's hand.

"She is kind of like me... Really smart... But not as smart as I am!" Eric said and Birkoff looked around and then lowered his head. He was at his house and he sat down at the stairs that led to his front door. Eric was still bouncing around.

"Oh... and you know this..." Birkoff said and Eric playfully slugged Birkoff lightly in the shoulder. Birkoff nodded his head, seeing that Eric was really well adjusted, unlike so many other childhood geniuses that he knew. It seemed as if Eric's parents weren't destroying him with their own greed.

"Yeah... my parents made a bet with her that she couldn't read all of the original books in the collection of the library... so every weekend she goes to the library and reads and reads. Some of the books in the original collection are so out of date, but she reads them." Eric said and Birkoff nodded his head. Something in what Eric was telling him just didn't sound right. Birkoff pushed the thought off, as he knew what Samantha Jennings was. She was a woman who had extremely high talents in mutations of viruses, dangerous ones at that. Of course Eric, her brother wouldn't know of what she did, or what she seemed to be glad to be doing.

Birkoff raised his head as car honked from the street. Birkoff was stunned as Eric pulled him from the stairs and towards the car. There was Samantha in the car, smiling at Eric.

"I was suppose to pick you up at the library." Samantha scolded Eric and he rolled his eyes as he placed his hands on the rolled down window.

"I want you to meet Birkoff." Eric said and Samantha raised an eyebrow and looked at the strange man. She didn't know what to think of him. She knew he was the computer nerd that the town had hired to fix the obsolete library computer, and he did fit the mental image that she did have of him.

"That's a strange first name." Samantha said as she extended a hand off of the steering wheel. Birkoff smiled and shook her hand lightly.

"Actually, it's my last. I'm Seymour Birkoff." Birkoff said and Samantha smiled and laughed lightly.

"Stay with using the last name!" She commented with a brilliant smile that made Birkoff's heart flutter a little. He started the mental battle in his mind, knowing that he could not fall in love with Samantha, that she wouldn't do it back to him. He had to remind himself that all he needed to do was to get Samantha to somehow give him a good set of fingerprints on something, and that didn't mean that he had to seduce her into bed to do it. Yet, his mind jumped at the thought that he might have to do that. Birkoff smiled, as he knew that Walter would be so proud of him if he did get that far.

"Well... don't let Eric use you too much. He is smart and he likes to get things over others." Samantha said and Birkoff smiled and looked over his shoulder and then leaned down on the rolled down window.

"Actually... he is just a childhood genius... there are a few of them in the town.. And I find it odd that three of them are in this little town called Vernsville." Birkoff said and Samantha smiled and licked her lips.

"I should have known. I can usually peg the childhood genius four miles away." Samantha joked and Birkoff laughed loudly.

"So, when did you graduate high school?" Samantha asked and Birkoff blushed and looked at Samantha.

"I never went to school... I was too smart..." Birkoff said and Samantha shook her head and looked to Eric as he stood next to Birkoff. She could tell that this was what the little boy wanted to happen. She didn't understand Eric any longer.

"Eric... get in... I have to go into the city tonight... and mom and dad are in Philly." Samantha said and Eric rolled his eyes as Birkoff stepped away from the door.

"Who are we going to see, the boyfriend who likes to call me boy or the boyfriend who likes to smoke joints?" Eric questioned and Birkoff looked around and stepped back to his sidewalk. He waved good-bye to the moving car and was pleased to see that Eric waved to him and was upset, as Samantha did nothing.

This mission was going to be hard.

*

Birkoff felt like he was stuck in hell. The air conditioning on the library had broken, and he found out quickly, that Gertrude was an old woman with an old attitude. Birkoff fanned at his body as he looked around the room, feeling no circulation. Birkoff swallowed and turned off the computer. He didn't want to chance that the old technology, running with his new little toy, would over heat and crash. He wasn't about to lose the books that he had gotten.

"You get back into that room, Birkoff. We aren't paying you to waltz around the library!" Gertrude yelled as Birkoff stepped out of the room. Birkoff looked behind his shoulder and then moved to Gertrude. For the past two hours they had been having this argument, and Birkoff was allowing Gertrude to get over on him. He was not one for fights, and that wasn't something that Section put in him. His parents gave that to him. His parents fought every night, and it wasn't just yelling some words back and forth. Birkoff's mother was a large woman and she would physically beat up his father.

It is difficult to think about that sort of relationship existing, where the mother was beating the father. All of the television shows showed and still show the father beating the mother. Birkoff had been thinking of that relationship more, seeing how his father was like him, small and fragile. Birkoff's mother sought out the spotlight. At the beginning, Birkoff was sure that it was his mother that drove him to the academic houses to be poked and prodded. Yet, Birkoff's father found that the money had its advantages, he could go find other women. But his parents fought and Birkoff would just listen to them so they didn't fight with him.

"The computer is going to die in this heat. I need to get some water and then I'll see if it cold down." Birkoff said and Gertrude pulled out a sheet of paper and pointed her finger to it. Birkoff closed his eyes and swallowed.

Nikita had been giving in power-assertiveness training for a couple months now, on and off. It was part of Nikita's plan to make Birkoff back into a normal person, like that was possible. He had only used little parts of it, but when it came to his computers, the people stepped back, even Operations. Nikita taught Birkoff that he could speak up with his voice, with forcefulness because he is smart. Now if Birkoff weren't smart, he would have to be more careful what he said, because the person he could be talking to would be smarter. Smarts always won over muscles, although muscles could cause more damage.

"In this memo... AND I QUOTE... 'Mr. Seymour Birkoff will be joining the Vernsville Public Library to set up the computer system we have been waiting for. His schedule will run 7:30 to 6, Monday to Friday." I suggest you get back there and work, or I'll report you." Gertrude said as she narrowed her eyes and looked at Birkoff.

Birkoff had guessed that the look that Gertrude was giving him had scared everyone else in the town, but it didn't touch some of the stares that Birkoff got every day, day in and day out. It didn't touch Operations' red face, 'Why isn't this done face?', and Madeline's content smile that made Birkoff's skin roll backwards. Those were the stares that Birkoff was afraid of. Michael. Now if he looked at Birkoff, then he was scared. Michael always meant business. You could even hear his stare over the phone line.

"If I recall correctly, the same memo states that I will be in charge of setting up and overseeing the technology. Computers aren't meant to run in buildings that are three hundred degrees. I think you should worry about getting the air conditioning fixed and not about me leaving the building." Birkoff said firmly as he looked at Gertrude. He knew he was right as she looked at the memo and dropped it to her desk. She picked up the phone and pointed to Birkoff.

"You stand right there, boy... I'm going to call Mr. Verns." Gertrude said and Birkoff rolled his eyes.

"You aren't going to get through to Mr. Verns. No one does." Birkoff said and Gertrude punched the numbers as she continued to point at Birkoff. Birkoff stood there shaking his head as Eric ran into the library and looked at Gertrude and then Birkoff.

"Computer is down..." Birkoff said and Eric shook his head.

"SHUT UP, COMPUTER NERD!" Gertrude growled out and Birkoff rolled his eyes and looked to Eric. Eric smiled and walked over to the little desk that Gertrude had limited him to work at.

"You read the medical journals for fun, right, Eric?" Birkoff questioned and Gertrude rolled her eyes and stared at Birkoff. Birkoff knew that he was making her upset, but that was the point. Eric nodded his head and laughed.

"Yeah... They are so easy to get through and all that.... I don't know why I want to go Pre-Med... I think it is for research money and stuff." Eric replied and Birkoff nodded his head. He had a feeling that Eric was being pushed to go Pre-Med by his parents and probably Samantha. Birkoff wanted to talk to Eric about that, but this was not the time.

"Well.. Did you read the article that spoke about the levels of tau protein and beta-amyloid42?" Birkoff questioned and Eric dropped his head, knowing where Birkoff was going with this. He would have never said anything like what Birkoff was going to say. Birkoff had opened a new world of playfulness for Eric and he might never go back to the meek little boy that Gertrude loved.

Birkoff was sure that Gertrude liked Eric because he was a robot that his parents and sister made. It was not part of the mission profile, but Birkoff felt as if he had to help Eric. If Samantha went bad and working with biological warfare, wouldn't it make sense to make sure that Eric went into what he wanted to do and not what Samantha wanted to go into? Birkoff's presence had slowly worked at the shell that Eric had, and he was slowly starting to do things that boys his age did. Birkoff would remember that first time Eric came over to his house and played a computer game. Birkoff knew he was hooked, and that it might be good for the boy.

"Well...I think Gertrude has high levels of the tau protein and low levels of beta-amyloid42." Birkoff said and Eric started to laugh loudly and Gertrude turned her head and stared at Eric.

"What did he just say about me?" Gertrude demanded as she stared at Eric with the stare that Birkoff found funny. Birkoff saw thought that Eric was afraid of her, but still trying to help Birkoff out here. Birkoff knew he was a smart boy and couldn't wait until Eric came back with something to Gertrude.

"I wonder if she has any neurofibrillary tangles or beta-amyloid plaques, Birkoff?" Eric said and Birkoff sadly nodded his head as he looked at Gertrude as her face turned red.

"It's quite possible... I think that if that is the case that she would have to seek treatment with Cholinesterase inhibition... with either use of tacrine or donepezil." Birkoff said and Eric nodded his head and sighed.

"I know those.... My husband's oldest brother is on them... now why is he on them..." Gertrude said and Birkoff smirked and Eric shook his head.

"But that wouldn't stop her cognitive decline... and I don't think that it will help the damage that has already been done." Eric said and Gertrude looked away and then looked to Birkoff and then Eric.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE I HAVE ALZHEIMER'S!" Gertrude yelled and Birkoff laughed and looked to Eric.

"Are you sure we were talking about that?" Birkoff questioned and Gertrude narrowed her eyes and then looked at Eric.

"Can you be sure?" Eric responded and Gertrude slammed the phone down and sighed loudly.

"Go home, Birkoff... and be glad that I do not permanently detach you from Eric! You should not ruin his innocent and perfectly good mind!" Gertrude said and Birkoff nodded his head and moved out of the room.

"AND I'M GOING TO DOCK YOUR PAY!" Gertrude said and Birkoff turned around on the stairs and smiled at Gertrude.

"I'm pay on salary... You can't." Birkoff said as he turned and walked away from the library. He dropped his head walked down the street, glad to finally find a breeze and air that he could breath without feeling like he was going to die in.

Birkoff turned the corner and ran straight into Samantha. Birkoff fell to the ground and looked up and then dropped his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry..." Birkoff said as he picked himself up off the ground and brushed at his pants. Samantha smiled and laughed softly.

"I was going in to see you in the library... I have a computer question..." Samantha said and Birkoff turned and looked at Samantha and nodded his head.

"Well.. It feels like the library was boiling and the computer went down... so I wouldn't go in there unless you brought a swimming suit, because you will be swimming in sweat." Birkoff said and Samantha nodded her head up and down.

"I couldn't tell... since your hair is so short..." Samantha said as she reached forward and touched Birkoff's head. She smiled and looked at him as she rolled her hands back and forth.

"What is the problem?" Birkoff questioned and Samantha sighed and swallowed.

"Usually I am really good at my computer... but I was inserting a new zip drive and I can't get the computer to recognize that the new drive is there." Samantha said and Birkoff nodded his head and looked to his hands. Maybe this was the opening that he needed finally. Eric was good, but he didn't really want to use the boy to find a way to Samantha.

"I can't tell you out loud what to do.. And there might be forty steps... Can I see the computer... You can bring it to my house..." Birkoff said and Samantha laughed and looked around.

"Why don't you come to mine?" Samantha said and Birkoff appeared to be thinking for a while. "I can pay you... what ever is fair."

"No.... I don't need pay... technically I'm still 'on the clock' and it shouldn't take long... How about now?" Birkoff questioned and Samantha smiled and started to move back to the car she arrived in.

"Where is your car?" Samantha asked and Birkoff looked around and sighed.

"This town is so small, I walked." Birkoff said and Samantha laughed as she opened the door and looked to Birkoff.

"Get in." Samantha ordered and Birkoff slid in and relaxed against the cool leather, suddenly not thinking just about the mission, but about how cute Samantha was.

*

Walter was laughing with tears rolling down his face. He couldn't help it, even if he was being watched as he worked at his bench inside of Section One. It was just too much fun to listen to Birkoff complaining about the mission he was stuck on. Walter was sure that if he had the mission, he would have had the girl eating her food out of his hands the first day and would have been back inside of Section for a week now. Birkoff just didn't know how to run with some of the subtle signals.

"It's been two and a half weeks, Walter... She doesn't like me!" Birkoff said and Walter started to laugh again. He found it hard that someone didn't like Birkoff. Only other computer nerds hated, Birkoff... and the guy that tried to kill Birkoff, but Birkoff was really a sweat heart. That was probably the reason why Madeline pushed him out on this mission, because Birkoff was the innocent looking computer nerd who had more sugar than an entire warehouse filled with M & M's.

"You were to her place?" Walter questioned and Birkoff sighed as he walked around the upstairs bedroom. He had played that day over and over again in his mind. It hurt what had happened, as Birkoff then first realized that he had fallen for Samantha.

"Yes... in the computer room...while Samantha played with her boyfriend in the room next to me." Birkoff tensely said out with clenched teeth. It only causes to throw Walter back into more giggles that burst through his face. He was really trying not to laugh at Birkoff, but this was too easy. Birkoff was just being so easy to pick on.

"So... did she have a good time with that guy?" Walter questioned and Birkoff dropped to his bed.

"Hey! I know that I can't be the guy. I don't even want to pretend that I'm as good as Michael... I have as much finesse as Michael's little finger nail!" Birkoff cried out and Walter shook his head. He wondered where this new fascination and comparing to Michael had occurred. It was bothersome, as Birkoff never seemed to have a bad body image of himself. Yet, with thoughts like this, Birkoff was going to get no where in this mission.

"You don't have to be Michael.... You don't want to be French, Birkoff.... You have to be yourself." Walter said and Birkoff sighed and rolled onto his back on the bed. He looked at the skylight and closed his eyes.

"I'm failing in this mission, Walter. I need help. I don't know what I am doing." Birkoff said and Walter nodded his head. He had figured as much. It really did sound like Birkoff was hard up in plans. For a boy that was so smart, put him in a situation where it called for personal relationships and he ran away with his tail in between his legs.

"Ok... We have to think about this... How to make Samantha notice you... Do you remember the bet we had about Michael and Nikita? When Nikita was going out with that guy that did a stint as a torture twin?" Walter questioned.

"Yes... How could I forget that? I thought Michael was ready to tie Nikita up and knock some sense into her. I won a hundred bucks off of you... knowing Michael wouldn't let it happen long." Birkoff said and Walter nodded his head. He hoped he was taking the right approach in helping Birkoff. He knew that he couldn't tell Birkoff straight out what to do, because Madeline would find out and cause Walter all kinds of problems. Yet, Walter could nudge him in the right direction.

"And do you know why Michael acted the way he did?" Walter asked and Birkoff sat up in the bed and laughed.

"Walter... He killed that guy!" Birkoff said and Walter closed his eyes and sighed. It was an extreme case, but the guy had slapped Nikita too, but Birkoff didn't know that, and if he didn't know that, Walter wasn't going to tell him that now, it would lose the point of this entire ordeal.

"I know, Birkoff... but why did he kill that guy?" Walter said slowly, wishing Birkoff had some common sense some times. Walter walked to the hallway and looked around, glad to see that Madeline wasn't out and about, looking for someone to bother and that Operations was in a conversation with some operatives in his office.

"Because he was jealous as hell!" Birkoff responded and Walter nodded, thankful that Birkoff at least caught that little point.

"Yes. Now, how can that help you?" Walter said as he tapped his fingers on the desk. Birkoff paused as he moved around the bedroom. His stomach was growling, but Birkoff knew he ate the last of his Fruit Loops and would have to wait till morning to go buy more for the next day. He looked out the window to the night sky and sighed.

"I can make Samantha jealous." Birkoff finally said, but then he dropped heavily into the chair. "But there is no one here that Samantha would be jealous seeing me with."

Walter rolled his eyes and sat down at his bench. Why did they send Birkoff out on this mission? Walter was doing more of the planning for this mission than what he wanted to be doing. Now, he knew that by the end of this entire conversation, that he was going to be up all night in order to help his friend out. Yet, it was better than leaving Birkoff to his own devices, because then, most likely, he would never see Birkoff again. Birkoff just wasn't meant to be out on the field and Walter was sure that Madeline knew that he would help the little guy out with the mission.

"Birkoff... we can send someone in..." Walter said and Birkoff clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Who?"

"Nikita."

"Isn't she still bruised? How do we make her a threat to Samantha? Will Michael allow it?" Birkoff questioned rapidly and Walter smirked and snorted. It was just like Birkoff, question everything at once so that Walter couldn't possibly answer all of the questions.

"I think she is still bruised... but she can wear clothing to make it less apparent Birkoff. She still isn't doing missions around here." Walter said and Birkoff swallowed on his end.

"Have you seen here?" Birkoff asked and Walter dropped his head as he ran his teeth across the surface of his bottom lip.

"Yes... she was doing well. She would help you on this." Walter said, as he knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Walter of course, had enlisted Nikita's help on writing the jealous mission plan for Birkoff a few days ago, when Birkoff was talking about having to use the little brother, Eric to get to Samantha. Birkoff hadn't had a clue and probably wouldn't have a clue, about how much detail was already done on this mission.

"Michael is going to kill me for needing her..." Birkoff said and Walter smiled and looked up at the ceiling. That was the impression Walter had from Michael when he opened the door to Nikita's apartment, that was why Walter had held back all of his smart remarks about Michael opening Nikita's door like a butler. But, in the process of planning, Michael provided to be an invaluable source, and although Birkoff didn't know it... Michael was going to be the way to give Samantha the go ahead to go to Birkoff. It was a complicated plan, and Birkoff was just along for the ride now.

"No... I have some ideas written down... I'm going to send them to your e-mail account." Walter said as he looked at his hands. He had already sent it a while ago, before Birkoff called.

"So how do we make Samantha jealous of Nikita. Nikita isn't that much prettier than her." Birkoff said and Walter felt the smile spread across his face. Birkoff sometimes did a great job hiding the fact he really liked Nikita and he had a firm crush on the woman that was Michael's.

Birkoff didn't know that, Walter had to remind himself. Walter didn't know for sure what was going on between Michael and Nikita, but he had seen it with the way Michael was around Nikita when she was sick. He woke her up with a kiss, as fairytale-ish it appeared it worked. And the vibrations that were happening when he walked into Nikita's apartment were tensioned filled, and Walter wondered what exactly was going on. He wasn't going to be brash about asking Nikita, as he knew that she would try to protect whatever little kind of relationship that was going on. But Walter was certain that for now, Nikita only had eyes for Michael. Birkoff would have to learn to deal with that. By the end of this mission, he might be able to accept that.

"You are going to be at the library tomorrow?" Walter questioned and Birkoff sighed.

"Of course, 7:30." Birkoff said and Walter smiled. He knew that the young man was having a hard time with Gertrude. About four days ago they had along conversation about Gertrude. Walter had worked some magic for Birkoff and got a letter written from Verns sent to Birkoff. Gertrude was under a little bit more of control, but Birkoff still had rude comments from her.

"Can you get rid of her during the afternoon?" Walter questioned and Birkoff smiled.

"Of course... I'm going to need some more floppy disks for the computer and the drive is some three hours to get them, round trip." Birkoff said and Walter smiled. If it came to Birkoff's computers, he was a strong man, and sooner or later Birkoff was going to start fighting for his life like he did for his computers.

"Ok... I'm going to FedEx you some materials... you want to intercept the new magazines that come to the library in the morning and placed the ones I send you for them. I'm sure that Samantha will enjoy them." Walter said and Birkoff nodded his head, not exactly sure what Walter was speaking about.

"Ok... well.. I have to go Walter..." Birkoff said and Walter snapped the phone down, shaking his head and laughing. Birkoff didn't know how lucky he was to have friends that cared for him. Walter smirked as he thought about it, Birkoff didn't even know that Michael was concerned about the mission. Walter started to laugh as he went back to work on a few guns.

*

"Eric, will you just look at her? I think she came down from heaven or something because she is perfect!" Samantha exclaimed as Birkoff walked into the library on the following Saturday. Eric walked to the magazine and smiled broadly. He liked it when his sister felt this way. He never wanted his sister to think that she was the prettiest woman in the whole world, it was bad enough she was the prettiest in the town.

"Wow... I say she is a 100 on the scale from one to ten!" Eric jabbed at Samantha as her eyes filled with tears. Birkoff never noticed how emotional Samantha was about things and Birkoff dropped his head as he pulled picture out and looked at it. It was him and Nikita. It was even a real picture of them together. He knew that Samantha was going to be mad.

The picture was an innocent one, taken in a small carnival that entered the city near Section One headquarters. Nikita told him how she never went to a carnival as a child, because her mother never had the money. Birkoff never had been to one, so together they went to discover what they missed in their childhood. Nikita squealed in delight as the older woman painted the delicate rose on her face and later, Birkoff closed his eyes as Nikita spun him around in one of the carnival rides. Together they had their first tastes of a carnival's cotton candy and shaven ice. In that carnival, their were cut outs for people to have their pictures taken behind, but Birkoff and Nikita coaxed the person just to take one of them together. He smiled at the brother and sister and did as asked.

"Look at her thighs!" Samantha cried out as she flipped through the pages. Birkoff lifted his head and looked over Eric as he smiled and laughed.

"Hey... she doesn't have cottage cheese thighs!" Eric happily said. He stepped back and ducked as Samantha tried to backhand her younger brother for the comment. He stepped to Birkoff and smiled at him.

"Who is the model, Samantha?" Birkoff questioned as he rubbed the picture. He knew the answer, as he was the one that placed the new magazines in Gertrude's stack. Samantha dropped the magazine and shook her head as tears rolled out of her eyes.

"The perfect Australian beauty, Nikita." Samantha spat out as she slammed her hand down on the magazine. She pulled the next magazine and was face to face with another photo of the woman that she instantly hated.

"Nikita? NO!" Birkoff said as he stepped forward and grabbed at the magazine. He knew Samantha was staring at him as flipped through the pages with a smile on his face. Samantha grabbed the magazine away from Birkoff and snarled.

"This isn't a nasty magazine, Birkoff." Samantha said and Birkoff shook his head as he placed the picture down on the table. Samantha was still staring at Birkoff until he tapped his finger on top of the photo repeatedly.

"I know Nikita! She looks great!" Birkoff said and Samantha's face dropped to a shade of white that did not look healthy. She grabbed the photograph and her mouth dropped as she saw the smiling couple in the hectic environment. Samantha started to drop the photograph as Eric picked it up.

"Birkoff? You know a real model?" Eric questioned and Birkoff smiled and then slowly laughed as he picked the other magazine up and looked at the pictures of Nikita. They were really well done. Birkoff flipped through them as he slowly sat down.

"Yeah... She wasn't that famous last year... I met her.. In Europe." Birkoff said and Samantha's face dropped again as she sunk to a chair across from Birkoff. He could feel the jealousy radiating off of Samantha as he sighed.

"Where in Europe? And why were you in Europe?" Samantha said and Birkoff sighed and dropped his head to his hands and smiled like he was happily reliving the memories that he forgotten. Too bad they were all created just a mere four hours ago.

"I think it was Venice... I was on vacation... Yeah.. Venice.. And she ran right into me.. And I almost fell into the water..." Birkoff said softly as he traced Nikita's picture, acutely aware that Nikita was a beautiful woman. He turned and looked to Samantha.

"We had so much fun... carnival time in Venice... You have to do it if you ever have the chance..." Birkoff said and Samantha stood up and snapped the magazines up as Gertrude walked to the table.

"What is going on? You don't work on Saturdays." Gertrude said as she stared at Birkoff. Samantha blinked her eyes; not believing that Gertrude didn't like Birkoff, because Gertrude, no matter how gruff she was, liked almost anyone. Birkoff lifted his head and sighed, hating that he had to run into Gertrude again.

"Don't you ever have a day off?" Birkoff questioned and Samantha looked at Birkoff in shock. He was full of surprises today. He knew and fondly thought about the model that Samantha had determined she hated and he was standing up to Gertrude. She didn't think Birkoff was that kind of man thought of him being weak and puny.

"Sundays." Gertrude dryly replied and Samantha rolled her eyes. She knew that Gertrude lived in the library and shook her head.

"Birkoff... did you read the report about hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy?" Eric questioned and Birkoff nodded his head.

"Yes... it mentioned asymmetric septal hypertrophy." Birkoff replied and Gertrude narrowed her eyes and studied the two boys as they talked. She rubbed her teeth together and growled internally.

"You are talking about Alzheimer's again!" Gertrude said and Samantha shook her head, as she didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that she wasn't going to skip this conversation.

"Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and asymmetric septal hypertrophy are the same thing and also are called idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. Why are you discussing this?" Samantha said and Birkoff smiled and Eric and raised an eyebrow. Eric started the conversation about conditions that are well known to cardiac surgeons, but not to the consumer public.

"I was just thinking that some of the symptoms like angina pectoris are commonly seen in difficult jobs, were stress is high and the settings are too quite. One might want to seek treatments like propranolol in all people that work in those types of jobs. What do you think Gertrude? You would fit this bill." Eric said and Birkoff and Samantha started to laugh loudly as Gertrude turned red with anger. Samantha knew that something was going to happen, and was surprised when Gertrude threw a book at Birkoff.

"YOU ARE A BAD MAN! YOU ARE DISTROYING A INNOCENT BOY!" Gertrude said firmly as Birkoff rubbed his head where the book his head. Birkoff sighed and stood up.

"Look... I just came in for some floppy disks. I see you have a problem with understanding differences and those who have a bit more intelligence that you do, but you shouldn't throw books around like a three-year-old. Now, I know you would throw the person out of the library that threw the book, but since you are the one that threw it and you are the librarian, I'm going to leave you to your little fit." Birkoff said as he started to walk down the hallway to gather what he had come into the library for.

"Gertrude... he is a nice man." Samantha said and Eric looked at Samantha with hope.

"He knows that Nikita chic." Gertrude said, as she saw that Samantha was starting to get the notion of liking Birkoff. Yet, the mentioning of Nikita brought Samantha back. She couldn't believe that Birkoff was in this little town when he knew someone as big as Nikita, the next supermodel.

"Why do you always have to ruin a good thought?" Samantha said as she dropped her head to her hands and Eric rolled his eyes. He had been waiting for Samantha to finally see someone who was nice, and not a man with a lot of money and a heavy drug problem. He wanted to see Samantha with a man that was her age and not a man that was twice her age. He wanted to have a big brother and he wanted that big brother to be Birkoff and no one else. Birkoff was cool and he was neat. He had lots of stories and knew a lot. Eric admired Birkoff, he was doing what he wanted to do, and not what he was being forced into doing.

"I got the disks.. I will leave you alone, Gertrude... Wouldn't want to be the one to cause you to have a heart attack or a stroke? I don't want to be known as the person who killed you.. But if someone did kill you, it would have to be a person meaner than you." Birkoff snapped as he stalked out of the library, never having met someone like Gertrude in his life. He hated her with a passion, even more than how he hated Madeline at the moment.

Michael would have never allowed Gertrude to hate him. He would have charmed his butt up to Gertrude somehow. Michael never had people hating him. They always seemed to crave him, wanting to possess him. Birkoff didn't have that and that meant he had a half of a life. He stormed down the stairs and slammed the door. So what if Samantha now saw Nikita, it didn't matter. Gertrude was turning the young woman against Birkoff.

*

Eric found it odd that Samantha was walking down the street with him. He did not attempt to understand it, as she never seemed to expose anything of the true self to anyone. The modeling thing that she loved, wasn't something that she could do full time. Some people believed she did do it full time, but Eric knew that it wasn't the case. He knew soon that he would be trapped like Samantha.

His parents must have made him, just in order to make another genius. He was born some ten years after Samantha, just after she started to work with a place that she didn't talk about, but Eric knew about. There was very little conversation about what she did, but Eric knew it wasn't modeling.

The last time Samantha walked with him, it was when he was sending in the applications to college. She was telling him that he would have to find a way to pay for school, even though he was guaranteed a full scholarship. She was saying how he was just better off listening to his parents and doing as they said. Eric didn't like the comments as Samantha seemed sad to be doing so, and so, Eric made the decision to take some time off. He wanted to be like any other kid. He never learned how to hit a baseball, and if that were all that he learned in his year off, it would be a dream come true.

"You like Birkoff, don't you?" Samantha questioned softly and Eric nodded his head up and down as he looked at some of the kids rolling down the street on roller blades. That was something else that he wanted to do too. He wanted to be able to roll down the street and not worry about being late in getting to the library so Gertrude yells at him. He wanted to be part of the sun, wind, and air. He wanted to roll free, as he was sure that it felt like being a bird.

"He is really cool, and really smart, and he is doing what he wants to do." Eric said and Samantha nodded her head as she pushed back her hair. She looked around and then grabbed Eric.

"What does he think about me?" Samantha questioned and Eric looked at Samantha in shock. Slowly, the dawning started to fill his young mind. He was smart, but some still forgot that he was only nine... almost ten and didn't understand personal relationships like they assumed he did. Eric nodded his head and smiled.

In his dreams of late, he saw his sister hooking up with Birkoff. Yes, he was a small man and didn't look like the other men that Samantha dated. But, Birkoff was real, and Eric could tell if Samantha just allowed Birkoff access to her, that he would start to change her. Birkoff was still a child at heart, and Samantha had that robbed away from her. She was an adult now, and wasn't under constant control of her parents. If Birkoff changed her, showed her that she could still have a child's heart, then Eric might get something back that he lost when he was five, a older sister who liked him for being him and not an older sister who liked him because he was smart.

"I don't know... But I do think he would like you Samantha if you wouldn't be a clone of Gertrude when you are in the library. Birkoff does his own thing and you should try it." Eric said bluntly, sick of being the one beating around the bush. Samantha smiled and started to turn the corner, knowing the library was only two blocks away.

"So you wouldn't mind me seeing Birkoff? And I mean just for one date?" Samantha questioned and Eric laughed.

"What damage could be done in one date? Mom and Dad already showed him the naked pictures of me in the pool and the potty training pictures." Eric remarked and Samantha smiled at her younger brother. That sight that had been rare for many years now in Eric's eyes. He loved his sister, but he didn't love her when she was pretending to be a robot.

"Is this because he knows that Nikita girl?" Eric questioned and Samantha blushed, unable to hide her true motives behind this. Eric nudged Samantha's side until she nodded her head up and down. Eric turned his head and looked across the street.

"What is a limo doing in town?" Eric exclaimed as he started to run towards the library, as the long black limo was parked right across from the library. Samantha hurried too, wondering if Gertrude finally one the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes as she entered each and every time.

"NIKITA! It is so great to see you!" Birkoff exclaimed as he ran out of the office and grabbed up to Nikita's arms. The blonde smiled and hugged Birkoff. Slowly she pulled away and placed a kiss on Birkoff's lips that lingered for some time as Samantha straightened her clothing. Here was the Nikita that she had seen in the magazine, standing inside of the Vernsville Public Library.

"What till Mr. Verns hears this! Such a famous model... A pretty model with our computer expert!" Gertrude exclaimed as she took pictures of Nikita holding Birkoff happily. He held his arm around her waist and smiled at her. He stroked her hair back and giggled.

"What are you doing here, Nikita?" Birkoff questioned and Nikita straightened her outfit. It was a solid black dress with long sleeves and a long skirt, but it hugged her body tightly and the only thing it did show was the low cut chest area and the fact that it hugged each and every perfect curve.

"I'm shooting a movie a few towns over and I got bored." Nikita said and Birkoff glowed as he kissed her cheeks.

"You are shooting a movie? I didn't hear about that." Birkoff said and Nikita laughed.

"That's because you were moving here when I called from Amsterdam, Birkoff. You really should get a cell phone to get rid of that problem. I never know where you are!" Nikita exclaimed and Birkoff dropped his head as Eric approached.

"I never know where you are..." Birkoff said and he jumped as he saw Eric sneaking closer and closer. He looked away from Nikita and saw Samantha staring intently at Nikita with disgust on her face. Birkoff turned and grabbed Eric.

"This here is Eric Jennings and he is the best boy around this town. He helps me with this new project." Birkoff said and Nikita smiled and shook Eric's hand. The little boy looked to his hand and stepped back, swearing in his mind that he would never wash his hand again.

"You are a natural with kids..." Nikita giggled as she dropped her head from her much taller body onto Birkoff's shoulder and Birkoff looked up at Nikita and smiled. He shook his head and looked to Eric.

"Well, Eric is a genius so we think alike." Birkoff said and Eric nodded his head up and down as he continued to stare at Nikita's body, thinking that she looks better in person than on the magazine cover. Samantha had always told Eric that they airbrushed the photographs, but Eric could tell they didn't need to do that with Nikita. She was perfect.

"Yes... and they make rude comments about me." Gertrude piped in and Birkoff dropped his head as Nikita pulled away from him and looked at him with a shocked face. Innocent and sweet Birkoff making comments about other people just didn't fit Birkoff's bill. Nikita knew that Gertrude must be a real witch for her to be saying that Birkoff was saying rude things. Nikita though, smiled at Gertrude and pulled Birkoff's ear.

"I'm just going to have to teach him a lesson or two. He still doesn't know how to play well with others." Nikita commented with a giggle that she had been practicing. She could see Birkoff staring holes into her with the laugh, her perfect attempt at the blonde airhead giggle that Birkoff swore Nikita couldn't do. There it was and Nikita smiled and kissed Birkoff tenderly.

"I can play with you." Birkoff commented and Nikita slapped Birkoff as Samantha cleared her throat and stepped forward. Birkoff pulled his hands off of Nikita and reached for Samantha.

"Nikita... this is Samantha Jennings, Eric's older sister." Birkoff said and Nikita smiled and nodded her head.

"Are you six years older?" Nikita questioned and Samantha dropped her head.

"She is 19, Nikita." Birkoff supplied as he was going to have to talk to Nikita about that comment. It was extremely low for even Nikita.

"Sorry... You look so young." Nikita said and Samantha nervously giggled.

"I've always been told the opposite." Samantha said as she looked at Nikita's perfect body again. She was ready to run off to the plastic surgeon to look just like Nikita. She hated this. She wanted Birkoff now and now Birkoff wasn't hers. Samantha knew it was not fair at all.

"Nikita... you might know her... Samantha is a model too." Birkoff said and Nikita laughed and then looked to Birkoff.

"Oh... you weren't joking! Samantha what do you model, underwear for the newspaper ads for a local department store?" Nikita questioned and Samantha swallowed and dropped her head.

"I've done some magazines..." Samantha said and Gertrude started to flutter around.

"But she never had a cover, Nikita! You look so pretty!" Gertrude said and Nikita kissed the top of Birkoff's head and signed the magazine quickly.

"Birkoff... can we go somewhere... I don't have much time tonight to be with you...." Nikita said and Birkoff nodded his head and walked out of the library. He knew that he was being watched but that Samantha and Eric weren't too close.

"Nikita, you were rude." Birkoff said and Nikita smiled and kissed Birkoff's head again.

"Makes her hate me more and makes her think that she is better for you." Nikita firmly said and then she started to laugh loudly. Birkoff swallowed and knew that his nerves were going to be shot before the night was over. Nikita was always too much to handle and he would thank Walter for this plan.

*

Nikita was settling her body down on the couch as she stretched her arms over her head. The late afternoon and early evening were spent in the town being very a public display. Nikita didn't mind it, as she was just glad to be somewhere that wasn't her apartment. It had been a long several weeks with hardly any visitors and Michael. Nikita wasn't going to complain about the attention from Michael, although she thought most of it was just Madeline's orders. Still, almost every night Michael would come over to her apartment and teach Nikita a new card game and promptly beat her every hand.

Nikita had pulled out of the dress she had been wearing and slid into jogging pants and a T-shirt while Birkoff was moving around the house, Nikita was sure that truly he was checking his e-mail. Nikita saw Samantha following them during the day and she was sure that the young girl was still outside, hoping that Nikita got into the limo quickly and left.

"Nikita... would you like something to drink?" Birkoff questioned as he entered the living room and looked at her. That was when he stopped and looked at her arm. He had forgotten that Nikita was still technically hurt. The bruise just seemed stubborn and was only lightly starting to fade. Nikita had said no to his request, but he couldn't draw his eyes away from the bruise.

"Birkoff.... Can you look at something else?" Nikita questioned as she ran her good hand across the arm, acutely aware of his stares. Birkoff shook his head and moved to the other end of the couch.

"That mission was wrong, Nikita... I didn't know what they were doing to you..." Birkoff said and Nikita turned her head to the right and stared at Birkoff.

"It wasn't your fault, Birkoff." Nikita calmly stated, as she knew and believed that to be true. Michael was having enough problems accepting the missions had been connected and that they had played him as much as they played Nikita. On the nights that Nikita would have a nightmare, Michael wouldn't be able to stand it and Nikita's worries often shifted from the nightmare to keeping Michael calmed down.

"Was it bad? The injuries? The mission? Jumping?" Birkoff questioned and Nikita sighed and lightly trembled, as she hadn't thought about it as Birkoff was placing it in.

"The bruises don't hurt anymore... they just aren't fading. Walter thinks it was the chemical that is causing it, doing something to my normal body chemistry. The mission was bad but jumping, I'm use to it, but I regret that I got my foot caught." Nikita said and Birkoff nodded his head and turned very quiet. He didn't want to pry into Nikita's life, but he felt the need.

Birkoff stood up and walked towards the kitchen and Nikita sighed. She knew that Birkoff had questions and that it was going to be a long night if he didn't just ask them. The boy was too easy to read for Nikita and he was curious as hell. Yes, curiosity did kill the cat, but Birkoff wasn't a cat. He was always in other's business.

"Birkoff?" Nikita called out and he poked his head out to look at Nikita. Nikita smiled at him and rubbed her chin softly.

"You like this Samantha right?" Nikita asked and Birkoff dropped his head and started to turn red. Nikita swallowed and blinked her eyes. It was just going to make this mission much harder for Birkoff. Birkoff rubbed his hands together and walked back to the couch that he had been sitting on.

"Yes... she is everything... and she is so much like..." Birkoff said and then stopped as he looked at Nikita and realized that he couldn't tell Nikita that he liked Samantha so much because Samantha reminded him of her. That would not be right.

"Nevermind..." Birkoff said as he shook his head and Nikita leaned her head back on the couch and Birkoff studied her eyes. She seemed different. Of course the mission and being near a religious fanatic like Mrs. Papappas might do something to a girl, Nikita didn't seem to be changed in that way. She was relaxed, and anyone who knew Nikita knew that relaxation was a state that seemed to always be far away from Nikita.

"Nikita... Is there something going on that I should know about?" Birkoff questioned as he tilted his head to he side and looked at Nikita. She turned her eyes towards Birkoff and smiled brilliantly in a teasing manner.

"I thought you were the computer genius and the man who found out everything? Why don't you tell me if there is something you should know about?" Nikita teased Birkoff as her hand reached out and nudge Birkoff in a playful manner that was all about their relationship.

Nikita remembered the day they went to some sort of Party World, a place for children to have birthday parties and to run around strung up on cheese. Nikita shared a pizza with Birkoff, with extra cheese, and then played a few games. It was when they were leaving that Birkoff suddenly grabbed Nikita and pulled her into the area with all the plastic balls. Nikita giggled hard as the children stared at them and Nikita attacked Birkoff by tickling him. He retaliated by throwing the plastic brightly colored balls at Nikita. Needless to say, neither of them were welcomed back there.

"Something happened between you and Michael, didn't it?" Birkoff questioned and Nikita blinked her eyes and stared at the wall. Her emotions were so conflicted as here she was with Birkoff, a man that had a sworn crush on her for years. She didn't want to ruin their relationship by telling him all about Michael, making Michael evil in Birkoff's eyes. Yet, if she didn't tell Birkoff about her and Michael, Birkoff might get hurt that she lied and Nikita might lose her best friend over all this nonsense.

The reality of the situation was that Nikita was dying to tell anyone about what happened between her and Michael. She had played it over and over again in her mind that she needed to speak about it to make sure that it was real and that it did happen. She needed to hear her own mouth repeat what happened in order to see if it sounded like the true Michael had done so or if Section One had found a way to get Michael to manipulate her again. She knew deep in her hear that Michael did everything because he was Michael, but Nikita needed to verify that that was the case. Now she had her opportunity and Nikita hoped that Birkoff would learn to be quiet, because in the past he had not been quiet.

"He said the words, Birkoff." Nikita softly revealed as her fingers idly played with her lips as she said her statement. Birkoff blinked his eyes and studied Nikita, suddenly feeling stupid for the first time in a long time.

"What words?"

"I love you." Nikita bluntly stated and she watched as Birkoff's eyes doubled in size. Nikita smiled as she moved her hand to her neck.

"On the mission?" Birkoff questioned instantly. He also felt protective of Nikita. He didn't want Nikita to get things that were said on a mission mixed up with the reality of the situation. Anything said on a mission had to be looked at carefully.