The violinist slowly drifted away from the corner table with the soft candles that were waning on the last flickers of light. The clattering of other table's dishes and silverware went unnoticed, as Birkoff stared at his Alsena, who he met almost two years ago, during the most turbulent time that Birkoff could have found himself in.

She had been his preserver, helping him float through that time with relative easiness. At times, Birkoff felt guilty for holding onto her and allowing her to guide him out of the trouble that seemed to follow everyone else in his life.

But it was so easy and it was so clear that this operative, soon had Birkoff's heart tighter than he thought that someone could have it.

Alsena was his love. His one and only true love.

"Dinner was wonderful, Seymour. It was great to get out," Alsena commented and Birkoff smiled. He was the only one would call him that name these days. It made him feel so much older and mature, which was the truth.

Her red hair twirled together in large spiral curls, framing her slightly freckled face. She was an image of an angel that only got rivaled by the image of Maralah.

That thought made Birkoff sigh.

He had been waiting for this night for many weeks, finding a night which Nikita was coherent enough to watch after Maralah, even though their apartments connected, often Birkoff wouldn't leave Nikita alone with her own daughter, and a night that Birkoff didn't have to run a mission.

"It's a special night Alsena," Birkoff whispered as he reached around the candle that highlighted his love's face perfectly. He felt his heart race as he held onto her hand and gently slide out of his seat. He pulled out the box and opened it up so Alsena could see the ring that was nestled in the red velvet inside.

"Alsena, you are the only woman for my heart and I want to spend the rest of time with you. Alsena, will you marry me?" Birkoff proposed as he struggled to keep the tears from rolling out of his eyes. He watched the brilliant gasp come from his lover and other half of him. He knew the answer before she even reached for the ring or even said.

"Yes!" Alsena finally verbalized as her entire body trembled. Birkoff smiled as he pulled the ring out and placed it on her long fingers. She looked at Birkoff and kissed him several times over, until both were quite breathless.

"I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to ask," Alsena stated nervously as she continued to stare down at her ring. Birkoff smiled, although the comment didn't bring forth a laugh.

This was the best decision for Birkoff and for Alsena. He didn't want to think about what this would do with Maralah and especially to Nikita. Birkoff continued to smile at Alsena, but she quickly caught onto his own concerns.

She never minded about the relationship between Maralah and Birkoff. Birkoff was the one that cared for the girl most often.

Especially when Michael left for parts unknown.

Nikita moved in next door to Birkoff's apartment, which he was already sharing with Maralah. But it didn't mean that Nikita took an active part in Maralah's life. Often, it was tooth and nail with Nikita. She would function perfectly fine in the high stress missions, often placing herself in extreme danger, but once she was home, she shut herself off.

No one could get to her. No one really seemed to try any longer.

"Does Nikita know?" Alsena questioned, sensing that this wasn't going to be an easy task to accomplish. They may be engaged, but Alsena never could image what would happen between the night that she got engaged and the night that she got married.

With Nikita, no one could predict what would happen.

"She knows that I love you terribly," Birkoff commented as he dropped his head. He knew that this was not going to go over well with Nikita.

"What about Maralah?" Alsena questioned and Birkoff nervously swallowed. These were all questions that he had thought about for months as he held the ring for Alsena. Questions that often stopped him from asking Alsena sooner. Birkoff had hoped that all of this would pass, but he soon figured out that it wasn't going to pass.

"With Michael gone... and Nikita... as she is... I hope you don't mind being a stepmother," Birkoff whispered, although he knew that Alsena loved Maralah and would never hate Maralah for what was going on with her own parents.

Of course, still to this day, Maralah would viciously declare that Birkoff was her father and no one else was her father.

"I don't mind, Seymour," Alsena stated carefully as she grabbed his hand. She saw how difficult this was for him to make this decision. It was what was best for them. Alsena knew that for months now Madeline had been pushing for this.

But there would be repercussions.

"I don't think I'm going to tell her right away... wait for a good day," Birkoff stated and Alsena nodded her head in agreement. It was always best to tell Nikita things of this nature on what was declared as a good day.

There weren't many of them.

"Sometimes I don't think she will have another good day, Seymour," Alsena commented and Birkoff swallowed. He couldn't think that way. He wouldn't allow himself to think that way.

He knew that old Nikita. He knew how much she had overcome and he couldn't think that this was going to be the final straw in her fragile sanity, but often, it looked and appeared as if it was.

"I understand where she is coming from... I was born inside of Section One... Nikita was born to a mother that didn't know how to love... only knew how to abuse... She was born a half a person... " Birkoff started to explain as his eyes filled with tears. He would often find his dreams filled with Nikita yelling at him for betraying her.

"Seymour... we don't have to talk about this tonight," Alsena offered and Birkoff shook his head. The conversation was started and now he needed to speak.

"Alsena... you filled a part of me that I couldn't fix.... you gave me love that made me feel happy and whole... Nikita had that with Michael... He was the other half of her... But they always pushed them too far," Birkoff whispered as he dropped his head.

At times he found it hard that Michael had actually took a position in another Section and left. Without a word. Only days after Maralah declared whom she was going to live with and Nikita made the hardest decision of her life.

It wasn't that Birkoff didn't feel sorry for Michael. Hell, Birkoff felt it to the core of his body. Michael showed his love for Maralah all the time and she should have been able to accept him. Michael had the right to hurt.

But so did Nikita.

Instead, Nikita tried to deny it all for days, especially when Michael had left. Although she had made the decision that Maralah was whom she had to be with, her heart was forever with Michael. She may have been able to function with Michael just being inside of Section One. But when he up and left, to spare himself his own pain, he did something much more dangerous.

He made Nikita a half a person again.

"Seymour... we all feel for Nikita... but operatives like me... we don't know that old Nikita that you see in your eyes... We see an operative that takes the biggest risks, who has a daughter, and can't see how lucky she is," Alsena stated and Birkoff shook his head back and forth.

"Then they haven't met Walter," Birkoff vehemently stated as he closed his eyes. This was supposed to be the happiness night of his life, but he was sure that it was going to shot back some repercussions that he wasn't prepared for.

Walter had given his blessing to Birkoff, knowing that everyone had to do what was best for themselves. Walter wasn't always around Section One these days. He was off for a couple days to god knows were and then would come back. The old supportive Walter that used to be there for Nikita had found the situation impossible to live with day in and day out and found himself escaping.

Birkoff once followed him, wishing for a miracle, like Walter supplying Michael with information about Nikita. Instead, he was only going out to meet with Calantha. Birkoff guessed it was something physical between the two and left quickly.

"I know... his stories of her... and what she has been through... to think that Section One used to be that way," Alsena stated and Birkoff blinked his eyes. Alsena had been trained at the very end of Operations' life. She had only been a regular operative for three weeks when Nikita pulled the trigger that killed the tyrant. She was naïve and didn't know what Section One was capable. She found it hard that just over two years ago, Birkoff wouldn't have been able to ask for her hand in marriage.

Birkoff's thoughts were cut off short when the music changed and the lights started to come up. Birkoff looked around and noticed that they were the last ones left. Alsena blushed, embarrassed that she had allowed her engagement to Birkoff that she had been waiting for get overshadowed by Nikita.

But it was nothing new and Alsena was sure that it wouldn't change.

"I guess we should get back to the apartment and I should get into my pj's," Alsena stated as she stood up and looked at Birkoff. Birkoff took her hand and kissed the ring.

God it felt good to know that she was finally being branded his. His wife to be.

"We aren't going home," Birkoff whispered as he started to tug lightly at Alsena's hand. Alsena arched an eyebrow and stared at Birkoff. She lightly smirked as Birkoff smiled and looked up and down her body.

At times he was just so boyishly charming that he made her feel like a teenager all over again.

"Where are we going? I sure hope you aren't planning to make out in the car, Seymour," Alsena slightly chided and Birkoff smirked and then laughed.

"I have more style than that... I was thinking... of a charming hotel not far from here... That we should check out their honeymoon suite... and take it for a test drive," Birkoff offered as he slowly wiggled his eyebrows up and down, knowing that the fission between the two of them was growing quickly.

"I like that...." Alsena stated as she pulled her coat out of Birkoff's hand quickly and pulled it over her body, showing Birkoff that she meant business right now.

They stowed away into the night air and Alsena looked around and wrapped her arms into Birkoff's.

"You aren't going to call Nikita and check in?" Alsena questioned and Birkoff looked to Alsena. He knew that he should. With ways things went with Nikita, one never knew what could happen.

But it was nighttime and all Nikita had to do was make sure that Maralah went to bed.

Birkoff prayed that Nikita was able to do that.

*

Section One was a beacon of hurrying operatives, fluttering from one side to another. One team was going out while another mission was going haywire.

And then there was Nikita's mission.

Birkoff didn't want to think about that as he sat down at his computer. Currently, they didn't know anything about Nikita's mission. They had gone off profile before Birkoff arrived in the morning, holding Alsena's hand until someone started to fill in Birkoff about what was going on with Nikita.

Quickly Alsena disappeared and Birkoff found himself in the middle of the mess.

Where Nikita was now with forty operatives, no one knew.

Birkoff looked around and tried to get the other missions ready to leave. Although no one wanted to admit it, they were all hoping to hear back about Nikita's mission, the wild and crazy woman had an image of always doing the impossible.

Birkoff was starting to wonder if sometime she was going to fail.

Birkoff looked up as Madeline walked down the hallway. She was smiling and apparently had talked to Alsena. She had been one of the biggest forces telling Birkoff to do what was right for him. If it was not for Madeline, Birkoff was sure that he wouldn't have even bought a ring by now.

Last night was perfect and it was too short. There was no Maralah able to walk in at any moment and there was no worrying about the woman next door. It was Birkoff and Alsena sleeping intertwined in each other's body on the softest bed in the world. Neither one wanted to wake up and face Section One. They both wanted to run away, almost like Michael did, and not face another day of the grind that they both had become accustomed too.

"Congratulations, Birkoff. I'm happy for you," Madeline stated right off the bat. That bothered Birkoff, sure that Madeline was going to address other things on her mind. Birkoff looked up at Madeline and smiled.

"Thank you," Birkoff stated as Madeline pulled a chair up close to Birkoff and sat down next to him. This had all of Birkoff's hairs on edge. This was not atypical Madeline behavior.

"Did you happen to see Maralah today to tell her?" Madeline prodded and Birkoff felt his heart begin to accelerate. Something was wrong and Birkoff was afraid to answer Madeline. The nice events of the night were going to be shattered into shards and that was not what Birkoff wanted.

"No, Madeline. I came straight in from the hotel..." Birkoff replied as he looked at Madeline's eyes. He could anticipate that Madeline had more to question him about. "Why do you want to know?"

"Ah... you may want to talk to Maralah," Madeline gently stated and Birkoff stared at her once more. There was a lot more going on than what Madeline was telling. There was only one topic that would have Madeline act this way.

"What happened?" Birkoff immediately questioned. There was no reason to linger on other chit-chat. Birkoff looked at his computer as a couple operatives started to flutter in, dragging in equipment.

"Last night... Nikita woke up and went a bit berserk," Madeline treaded around the topic slightly. Birkoff slapped his hands on the keyboard and turned to stare into Madeline's eyes.

"A bit berserk? You are planning on telling me what happened, specifically. Right?" Birkoff hissed out and Madeline blinked her eyes. Birkoff had matured so quickly in these past two years.

"Nikita woke up... and decided that it was time to cut her hair..." Madeline stated as she shrugged her shoulders. Birkoff closed his eyes. He could only image that damage that Nikita could have inflicted to her hair that had by now almost reached her buttocks.

"How did Maralah handle it?" Birkoff questioned and Madeline nodded her head slightly. She was in thought and almost smiling.

"Calmly. She called me as Nikita started to storm around the house for scissors. Evidentially she started to use the scissors that were part of a Swiss Army Knife," Madeline revealed and Birkoff dropped his head.

A nine year old shouldn't have to be going through this. It was like Maralah was babysitting her mother.

"And how was Maralah this morning?" Birkoff questioned, knowing that after Madeline got there, that she took over the situation. It may have given Maralah enough time to get scared about what happened.

"She is really taking it in stride, realizing that sometimes her mother loses it and it has nothing to do with her. You should be proud of her," Madeline commented and Birkoff closed his eyes.

Michael should be proud of her, but he wasn't around.

"I don't know what to do with her anymore, Madeline... If she comes back this time..." Birkoff stated as he stared blankly at the computer. Madeline reached over and touched Birkoff's hands, soothing him immediately.

"She is ok, Birkoff. I had communications with just Nikita," Madeline revealed and Birkoff carefully tried to judge Madeline on what was going on. It appeared as if she knew some more than what Birkoff did. But she didn't know it all. And with most missions with Nikita, it was highly unlikely that they would ever find out all of what happened.

"Just Nikita? Didn't five vans go?" Birkoff questioned and that questioned caused Madeline to roll her eyes. What Nikita did was almost inexcusable and would have been grounds for cancellation, but that was with the old Section.

"She destroyed communications between the vans and me... she kept her communications open long enough to tell me that they were heading back in. I don't know where they are, Birkoff," Madeline stated sharply and Birkoff shook his head.

Out of control didn't describe Nikita well enough at this point. But what made it more difficult was that Nikita was still coming back with completed missions.

"What did she do?" Birkoff questioned and Madeline shrugged her shoulders. She was going to try to extract the information from Davenport. He had been assigned on this mission and hopefully he would be able to judge what was going on.

"I'm still trying to figure out how Nikita got off the mountain in Switzerland, Birkoff. One minute we knew that she was up top and then she was in the mission van. I can't get answers from her," Madeline explained as she allowed the frustration out of her voice. Birkoff dropped his head. If Madeline was getting concerned and frustrated, this might not bode well for Nikita.

"Does this mean that Nikita is heading towards Abeyance?" Birkoff whispered the question. He looked at Madeline and sat in the silence. He was almost afraid for Madeline to respond.

"I could never put Nikita in abeyance... but I'm going to have to do something soon... I could pull her off the missions and medicate her," Madeline stated as she looked at her hands and the desk.

"Sometimes I think the missions are what keeps her from totally losing it at the house, Madeline," Birkoff quickly pointed out. Madeline looked to Birkoff and sighed.

"It might not be a problem much longer Birkoff... I've heard rumors from Oversight," Madeline stated and Birkoff arched an eyebrow, something that he had picked up from Maralah and Nikita over his time with them.

"You don't listen to rumors, Madeline. You must be placing a lot of hope on this rumor," Birkoff dryly stated, trying to keep the conversation going. He wasn't going to get anywhere if Madeline was going to close him off to the information that she had now.

"I heard Michael's mission is over and he might be on his way back," Madeline stated and Birkoff caught his breath. This was good news, but then it could be bad. One never knew what Nikita felt when Michael left. It was clear that she couldn't function properly without him, but Birkoff wasn't sure if Nikita understood what Michael left. If she felt that he left because of her, this could be ugly.

"I can't take this!" Madeline declared as she dropped her head down to the desk. Birkoff looked at Madeline and swallowed. He looked over the way and saw Walter pacing back and forth. It appeared as if Walter had heard the rumor too. Birkoff ached to walk over to Walter, when something stopped him.

Rather someone.

Nikita arrived with her blonde hair hacked in hundreds of different lengths, most of them still down underneath her shoulders, but she had hacked away and created some severe bangs. She was storming down the hallway, carrying a ton of equipment. She stopped outside of Walter's station and started to toss piece by piece to Walter.

"Hell, Sugar! You trying to kill me?" Walter shouted and Madeline groaned as she continued to keep her head down. Birkoff looked around as the rest of the team started to arrive. Nikita would pull their equipment out of their hands and continued to toss it into Walter. Walter was trying to do the best not to drop the equipment. Madeline slowly looked up before dropping her head back down.

"Will someone stop that woman?" Davenport's voice echoed down the hallway, showing that he had the final straw with what happened on the mission. His large and muscular body appeared in the hallway and Birkoff looked around.

"Oh shut up, Dav. You don't know a good mission if it would hit you," Nikita commented as she threw the last gun in her hand and stormed off down the hallway. Birkoff slowly stood up to see if he could see where Nikita was going, but she was as gone as quickly as she had appeared.

"I'm never going out on a mission with that psycho again," Davenport informed the entire area of operatives as he started to move towards Birkoff. Most of the operatives were nodding their heads up and down in agreement in support of Davenport's comment.

Madeline popped her head up, surprising Davenport. "Wasn't it successful?"

"Yes... but if it would have gone wrong, we wouldn't have known until we were all dead!" Davenport loudly retorted, showing the anger for the situation that Nikita had placed them in. Madeline rolled her eyes slightly. Unfortunately, she could almost not blame Davenport for his reaction.

"What do you think should be done?" Madeline questioned as she tilted her head to the side. Birkoff slowly sat back down, seeing that Madeline was taking the situation over once again. For that, Birkoff was thankful.

"I think I should go down to Psych, get a damn straight jacket with about fifty locks, wrap her damn thin arms into it and drag her down for some serious medication!" Davenport shouted back, not caring that Madeline had the power of Section One at the moment. He wanted Madeline to be quite clear that he didn't like the situation and felt that Nikita was out of control.

"That's a bit extreme, Davenport. She still achieved closure on this mission," Madeline pointed out. It caused Davenport to turn around in a sarcastic circle, showing that he was sure that Madeline was taking Nikita's side on this and not listening to him.

"How long are you going to baby her? How many more missions are just going to dive off of the computer screen and lose all contact? How many more missions is Nikita going to lead that are going to go off like a misfiring firework and explode in a busy crowd? SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE!" Davenport shouted and then slumped his head. He knew when he had finished that he didn't need to be yelling.

Madeline slowly circled around Birkoff's station. Davenport was expressing the opinions of all of Section and it was important for Madeline to understand that dynamic between Nikita and rest of the operatives. She already knew that some, like Alsena, thought that she had been given a special dream and she wasn't using it to the fullest. Then there were the operatives like Davenport, who were sure that Nikita was insane.

They might not be far off.

"Davenport, I need you to keep the communication between you and Nikita open. She is going through a depression now," Madeline started too calmly explained. She was going to send Davenport after Nikita once she found out what he did know. Davenport leaned his head back and shook it slightly.

"I hate Michael. He did this," Davenport hissed, exposing his other anger of the situation. Madeline pressed her lips together. This all could get very interesting.

"I was going to debrief you in the other room... but why don't we do it here..." Madeline offered as she looked around. Nikita's problems were a very open subject for all of Section One and Davenport didn't even flinch at the thought of doing this here.

"I don't know much, Madeline. One minute, Nikita is hollering for a retreat and the next minute, the man has her in his hands and pulling her towards his office," Davenport stated and Madeline nodded her head. It was a different approach. A bit extreme.

"I don't know what happened in that room... Nikita came out too calm... I think that she may have... you know.. seduced..." Davenport stated and Madeline immediately started to shake her head. That didn't match this target. This target was never about sex and lust.

"No... the man is into abuse... and Nikita has always been the perfect submissive... She lured him into beating her and laid in wait until she had the opening... Probably snapped his neck?" Madeline commented and Davenport nodded his head. He didn't know how Madeline could just guess at what happened. It almost made him feel that Madeline knew more of what was going on with Nikita than she was letting on.

"Yeah.. snapped..." Davenport commented, finding himself at a lost for further words.

"Did you see when she came out of the office?" Madeline questioned, asking the question that indicated her primary concern. Was Nikita hurt?

"She didn't come out of the door.... She reported back to the teams when she had exited through the outside window. By the time that we confirmed that he was dead and got the disks, Nikita had retreated to the vans and destroyed communications," Davenport quickly informed Madeline. Madeline simply nodded her head.

"Are we going to have Calantha called in?" Birkoff questioned as he looked around. Whenever Nikita had any sort of impact to her head, Madeline and Calantha would have Calantha check Nikita out, just in case. It was a bit extreme and it felt that Nikita's head was becoming the primary target of impact of late.

"I don't know if she got hit in the face. It didn't look like it..." Davenport stated as he looked to Madeline. Madeline frowned lightly and then looked at Davenport.

"I'll need you to find out, Davenport. Don't take Nikita's word for it," Madeline stated and Davenport nodded his head. He had done this before. Nikita should have learned by now that it was just best to come clean, but she never did.

"DAMN! This gun is ruined!" Walter shouted as he threw a gun down to the ground. It must have been one of the ones that Nikita had tossed in his direction.

"I'm going to see if I can help Walter first," Davenport informed the duo as he started to cross the hallway. He always tried to make up for things that Nikita had caused to happen. Walter used to be the best support for Nikita, but this new Nikita, took her anger out on everyone.

"How can things get worse?" Madeline posed the question to Birkoff. They stood there in silence until Birkoff's intercom buzzed.

"Birkoff, is Madeline there?" the guard from the entrance questioned. Madeline looked to Birkoff and took a deep breath.

"Yes. Continue," Madeline snapped, feeling a pounding headache coming on.

"Michael has arrived," the guard reported and Madeline dropped her head.

Now it was officially worse. Madeline could only hope that she could keep Nikita from seeing Michael right now. She was just a bit too volatile for Madeline's hopes and dreams for the situation.

"Madeline?" The guard questioned and Madeline opened her eyes. She blinked several times and cleared her throat.

"Yes? Is there more?" Madeline questioned with a razor sharp voice. Birkoff raised his eyebrows. Things weren't going good thus far, Birkoff didn't know if anything else could make this worse.

"Michael isn't alone," the guard reported and Madeline sunk back into her chair. Her hands trembled as she placed them next to Birkoff's keyboard.

"What do you mean?" Madeline questioned, trying not to let her fear drip into her voice.

"Madeline, he brought his woman with him," The guard reported.

Madeline dropped her head to the keyboard once again.

*

Birkoff nervously looked down the hallway. He was sure that the guard was wrong. There was no way that Michael just stopped loving Nikita. Nikita still wore his rings. They loved each other and Birkoff couldn't allow another woman to destroy that.

Birkoff didn't even want to think about what would happen if Nikita found out about this right now. No one knew where she had run off too.

The long black hair was the first feature that Birkoff noticed. It swirled down around her lower back, and then Birkoff started to look up at the woman. She had chocolate eyes and a bigger chest than Nikita. But other than that, she looked almost exactly like Nikita. She was the same height as Nikita.

And she was hanging her arm around Michael as he came to a halt in the middle of the hallway, looking around.

"Stay here, Sonora," Michael stated in sharp words as he started to peel himself out of the woman's long arms. She smiled and then reached out for Michael. She turned him around and pulled him into an elaborate kiss.

Michael acted indifferent when he pulled away and walked towards Birkoff. Birkoff blinked his eyes. He couldn't believe that he was seeing this. He needed to find out who this Sonora was.

"Birkoff, you should have a file on Sonora in your mail. She is starting training here, today," Michael stated as he reached the computers. Birkoff looked to Michael and swallowed. He didn't want to say anything rude at all.

"Michael... I'm tired... I can't wait for my massage like you gave me the other night after we were at the club..." Sonora loudly whined from her position. Walter slammed a few guns down and left the area with a rush. It was clear that Walter saw this has a horrible mistake.

"Am I taking it that you are staying in a room with Sonora?" Birkoff hissed out at Michael, unable to check in his reaction any longer. Michael only blinked his eyes, almost showing sadness and then sighed.

"She is a talented Valentine Operative, Birkoff. She feels that it gives her power to appear to be attached to me. I brought her here to gain other training... She can be very useful to Section One," Michael stated and Birkoff arched his eyebrow. It almost sounded like Michael was trying to replace Nikita, with another very pretty woman.

"And in the meantime she is practicing her Valentine skills on you?" Birkoff questioned and Michael stepped away. Michael felt that there was no reason for this attack and there was no reason for him to have to answer the questions.

"You brought a bimbo!" Nikita's voice echoed down the hallway and Birkoff closed his eyes. He wanted to drop underneath his desk and let Michael and Nikita to have it out. Birkoff watched as Nikita appeared from the opposite hallway, with her hands on her hips, still in her mission gear.

"Look who is speaking," Sonora immediately stated, staring at Nikita like she was an alien who was about to attack. It was clear what Sonora wanted and whom she was willing to kill to get that man.

"Nikita..." Michael whispered and Birkoff's mouth dropped open. Michael was seeing what Nikita looked like. He didn't know the half of it, and his voice already expressed regret for everything.

"That is Nikita? She isn't pretty," Sonora commented and Michael snapped his head to the woman. He glared at her and she rolled her eyes. "Well I know why she doesn't do Valentine work. She doesn't even know that her hair is all messed up."

"That's probably the smartest thing that you've ever said in your life," Nikita snapped back as she narrowed her eyes. Birkoff shook his head. He looked around, hoping that the troops were coming to save him from the mess that was going to happen. There was no doubt that Nikita was about to lose it.

"Nikita... Davenport was looking for you," Birkoff called out, trying to get Nikita's attention elsewhere. She didn't even turn her head to look at Birkoff. Birkoff didn't even know if Nikita heard him.

"So... Michael..." Nikita hissed out as she tossed her head from side to side. "Does she spread her legs better than I can?"

"Nikita... that is uncalled for," Michael immediately reacted, but it was clear that Michael was taken back. Nikita was never one to talk this crudely in front of an entire audience. She wasn't one to jump to wild conclusions.

"So this is who you want over your family? Or didn't I give you a good enough child? Did I mar your perfect genes and you needed to get someone else better?" Nikita questioned and Michael blinked his eyes. This was all new to Birkoff. He looked around, starting to pray that Madeline came to the rescue. They never allowed operatives to fight in the middle of Section One like this.

"Nikita... Are you ok?" Michael questioned as he inched forward. He saw the wild look in her eyes. It was clear that she had just come in from a mission and it hadn't gone well. He hadn't been able to access files on Nikita while he was on his own mission.

"She is a raving lunatic," Sonora stated out bitterly as she wrapped her arm around Michael's shoulder. She was draping her entire body over Michael.

"And you are Section whore! I know I'd rather be a lunatic!" Nikita shouted and Michael glared at Nikita. He was at a lost for words. He didn't know how to stop what was going around.

"Well... at least I get to have fun with his body... I know you weren't woman enough to satisfy a real man like my Michael," Sonora bragged as she leaned her head closer to Michael and licked at his neck before biting into it.

"Sonora, stop it," Michael hissed as he glared at the woman. She smirked and looked at Nikita.

"He is so hard to please... But I can do that. You can't... please him.. Ni-ki-ta..." Sonora stated, pushing Nikita's buttons. Birkoff dropped down to his chair and pressed his panic button for Madeline's help. If Sonora continued, Nikita was going to walk into Walter's station and blow her to pieces.

And maybe include Michael with that.

"Isn't Nikita a bastardized name, Michael?" Sonora questioned and Michael glared at her and then looked at Nikita.

"It's Russian," Michael commented quickly. It was clear that Michael had enough of Sonora at the moment.

"For a man, right?" Sonora questioned and Nikita slammed her foot to the ground. Everyone stopped and stared at Nikita.

"I don't care what you think of my name you damn bimbo who is only alive to be some living orifice to gratify this toad of a man!" Nikita yelled as she moved closer to Michael. He could see the anger in her eyes and he was scared.

"Nikita... We need to talk about this later..." Michael stated calmly. Birkoff couldn't believe that Michael was remaining calm about this.

"See... I'm going to translate that for you, Ni-ki-ta.... That means that Michael wants to take me to his office, throw me over his desk and make love to me in a place that you will never have Michael..." Sonora gloated as she smiled at Nikita and started to twirl her hair with her fingertips. Birkoff couldn't believe that this woman had survived Section this long. She sure didn't make friends.

"Damn you Michael to hell! We aren't talking! You are never going to get close to me again you bastard. Go take your black haired version of me and screw the hell out of her!" Nikita yelled as she turned and stormed out of the area as Madeline rounded the corner with Davenport.

Everyone watched as Davenport did the 180 and followed after Nikita, knowing that he still had to find out if Nikita had been hit in the face.

"Birkoff... Why don't you take Ms. Sonora to a ready room? They will be staying the night inside of Section," Madeline stated and Birkoff stood up and stared at Madeline. He was sure that Madeline had gone insane now.

"But Madeline... Nikita is staying inside of Section... Maybe they should stay in a hotel room..." Birkoff quickly countered. He was glad that he was not going to be staying the night inside of Section One. Nikita had a vicious evil streak of later. She gets even.

"Birkoff... take Sonora to a ready room," Madeline raised her voice. Birkoff dropped his head and scurried as Madeline had ordered. Sonora tried to reach out for Michael, probably trying to place another kiss on Michael before leaving.

Michael watched Sonora and Birkoff leave and then looked in the direction that Nikita had gone off too.

"What was that?" Michael questioned and Madeline narrowed her eyes. She wanted to ask the same thing to Michael. He could have handled Sonora a lot easier than allowing the sexual displays that she was thriving on.

"That is the aftermath of a bad mission and you leaving. Welcome back to hell," Madeline dryly commented and Michael's eyes opened up wide, realizing that it was probably worse than it appeared. Madeline looked around the area and started to walk towards Walter's area. There were guns still there as Walter had been trying to sort out which ones Nikita almost destroyed.

"You've been gone for two years, Michael.... I don't know what is the proper way to thank you for the pleasure I have had for these two years... The white room doesn't even give enough torture to compare to what Birkoff, Maralah, Walter, Calantha, and I have been living with!" Madeline hissed as she narrowed her eyes. Madeline was rarely a spiteful woman and it only happened with extreme situations.

Michael chilled.

"I don't know what happened, Madeline. When I left, I had talk to Nikita saying I needed time..." Michael stated and Madeline looked around the area.

"Time to find another woman to bed? What did you really think you were going to do when you brought her in here?" Madeline hissed and Michael's face paled.

"She isn't anything to me. She is an operative that was not being used fully. She is here to retrieve further training," Michael tried to explain to Madeline. Madeline narrowed her eyes and looked around.

"Training? Is that what you call that kiss?" Madeline hissed and Michael rolled his eyes. If he knew that Nikita was going to be coming down the hallway, he would have made sure that it never happened.

"Sonora did that by herself. We have had dinner together a few times and I've been able to talk to her... That's all that has gone on between us," Michael stated firmly. Madeline looked into Michael's eyes and sighed.

She didn't know what to think any longer.

"And what is Nikita to you? Do you even love her? Have you even thought about her?" Madeline inquired firmly. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. There was no room to hesitate and Michael blinked his eyes as the tears started to form.

"I love her, Madeline... Even this crazed version. I wanted to hug her and kiss her... I didn't expect this," Michael declared and Madeline snorted. She didn't believe that Michael was that stupid.

"You left her after she made the hardest decision of her life, Michael," Madeline snapped quickly as she pounded her fists to the desk.

"You think it was easy for me, Madeline. Nikita turned me away for her daughter who didn't even want her mother!" Michael hollered and Madeline leaned her head back.

She wanted to cry.

"Fine, Michael. Do whatever you want. Just keep Sonora away from Nikita," Madeline stated firmly. She didn't see how she was going to be able to help this situation at all.

"That's impossible. Sonora is going to be placed on Nikita's team for training purposes," Michael stated and Madeline rolled her eyes.

"As if I don't have enough problems with Nikita's missions!" Madeline hollered as Michael narrowed his eyes. Birkoff was just walking back in the area as Madeline just left. Birkoff looked to Michael as he stared around.

"I feel like I'm in the twilight zone," Michael stated dryly as he looked to Birkoff. Birkoff stared at Michael and said nothing. Michael had only been here for a few minutes. Birkoff had been here for two years.

"I don't know why you are staring at me," Birkoff stated as he sat down at the computer and Michael leaned his head back. It was clear that Birkoff was holding a grudge against Michael also.

"I'm looking for information. Unlike what everyone is assuming around here, I care deeply for Nikita and I want to help," Michael notified Birkoff quickly. He needed the information and Birkoff was the one that was going to be able to give it.

"I'll send the files to your computer. It should be interesting reading," Birkoff sarcastically stated. Michael's eyes saddened and Birkoff leaned his head back. He couldn't do this much longer. Someone had to help Nikita and Birkoff no longer cared who was doing the helping.

Michael stood there. He appeared to be in utter shock. Nikita looked bad, but Birkoff was almost sure that Michael didn't know the depths of how bad it was. Even if they got Michael away from Sonora, Michael might not be enough to save Nikita.

"How is Maralah?" Michael whispered out and Birkoff tilted his head to the side. Birkoff pressed his lips together and looked at Michael. He was tempted to have Michael ask Nikita that, but Birkoff knew when not to push it. Michael looked like he was near tears.

Things weren't all right with Michael either.

"She asks about you... especially of late," Birkoff commented as he felt his heart rate finally starting to slow down, albeit slowly.

"But as Mike, right?" Michael questioned and Birkoff dropped his head. He didn't need to answer that question for Michael. Michael knew before he even asked the question the answer. In a way, Michael was just torturing himself by asking.

"She is growing up, Michael. It won't be long," Birkoff commented as he lifted his head. Birkoff knew that sooner or later, Maralah was going to face the truth herself. Quicker if Nikita continued down this same path.

"I better find Sonora," Michael quickly announced as he pushed away from Birkoff and trudged off down the hallway.

~~

Davenport looked into the room. Nikita had been there for ten minutes. She just needed time to cool off, but Davenport wasn't sure how long was going to be sufficient for Nikita. Each time, it got to be longer and longer.

But this time was different.

Nikita was crying.

Davenport inched the door open and looked in. Nikita didn't even move her head. She now was allowing the pain show from her body. She was stiffly sitting in the chair, indicating that she probably got beaten in her back at least, if not thrown to the ground.

"How are you feeling?" Davenport questioned as he entered entirely and closed the door behind himself. Nikita lifted her head and looked at Davenport.

"Can you kill that whore?" Nikita questioned and Davenport dropped his head. He stared at Nikita and cleared his throat.

"She is an operative, Nikita. She is here to train with your team," Davenport stated and Nikita shook her head back and forth. The tears rolled down her face, creating a path on her cheeks.

"How could he do this to me?" Nikita questioned and Davenport moved closer to Nikita. He pulled out a washcloth and reached out for Nikita's face. He wiped at the tears and with it, the makeup that Nikita had skillfully placed over her face.

The bruises started to appear along with the swelling. Davenport had his answer.

But he was going to stay. Nikita needed someone right now.

"She is a Valentine operative, Nikita. She knows how to play men and she knows how to get on the nerves of the men's women... It could be nothing," Davenport calmly tried to explain to Nikita. She lifted her head and looked at Davenport.

"I hate, Davenport... I truly do... I have hated him for a long time," Nikita stated and Davenport swallowed back his gasp. He didn't believe that Nikita could hate him and he wanted to make sure what was going on.

"Why do still wear the rings then?" Davenport questioned as he pointed to the hand. Nikita looked at the hand and began to cry again.

"Because I still love him... no matter how big of a bastard he is... But he hurt me this time..." Nikita stated as she placed her hand up and rubbed at her temple lightly back and forth.

"You got hit in the face, Nikita... It would have been easier if you just told us," Davenport stated as he stood up and pulled out the aspirin that she was allowed to have. Nikita turned her head to the side and pushed Davenport's hand to the side.

"I know the drill," Nikita dryly commented and Davenport just nodded his head up and down. Nikita did know the drill.

"I just want to be alone..." Nikita continued and Davenport swallowed. Nikita was alone too much these days, but he sure wasn't going to say that.

"I'll tell Calantha where you are," Davenport whispered as he stepped out of the room.

And found Michael standing there, staring in.

*

Alsena soon found out that her engagement to Birkoff was not news to anyone in Section One. They would hug her and laugh with her, but the news was of a more explosive nature. All day she had been hearing about Nikita's new haircut and then heard about what had happened when Michael arrived back with a woman known as Sonora.

Alsena immediately started to pull the information on who Sonora was and started the task to sort through it. Thus far, Alsena only knew that this wasn't going to be pretty.

Then Birkoff asked her to take over his computer while he led Calantha to Nikita for treatment. The day that had started off so nicely had drastically turned for the worse.

"Hey Alsena. Where is my dad?" Maralah questioned as she walked towards her. Alsena blinked and looked up at Walter. She was surprised that Walter had even found the time to calm down himself in order to pick Maralah up from the 3rd grade.

The girl had blossomed in the time that Alsena had the pleasure of interacting with her everyday. But there had been some bad times, like the one mission that Nikita didn't appear from for four days. She was definitely a girl who was growing up too soon in Alsena's mind.

"Your dad is taking Calantha to your mother," Alsena stated and Maralah allowed a large sigh out as she sat down on the floor. She folded her leg and looked up at Alsena.

"That means that she is staying here tonight. Why does she always get hit in the head?" Maralah questioned and Alsena just shrugged her shoulders. There was a reason why this time, it appeared that it was the best way to neutralize the situation, but that wasn't something to tell Maralah.

"It happens, Maralah," Alsena stated and Maralah rolled her eyes. She looked around the area, seeing that everyone was whispering. That wasn't a normal behavior.

"So I can go see her in her room?" Maralah questioned and Alsena felt all the air being sucked out of her chest. The reason why Birkoff was taking Calantha to find Nikita was because Nikita was not in her room. In fact, no one knew where she was at the moment.

"You know... your mother is walking around... I don't think you want to go there yet," Alsena stated and Maralah sat up straight. She could sense when she was being lied too and this was one of those times. She didn't like it, but understood that it was probably best that she stayed right where she was until Alsena told her that it was ok for her to go to the room.

"Did something else happen?" Maralah questioned as she pulled out some thread to entertain herself with. Alsena looked down as the girl tangled the string around in a complicated cat's cradle and then looked up herself.

She didn't look like a 9 year old.

"Ah... Michael came home... He brought a friend," Alsena stated and watched for Maralah's reaction.

"Mike?" Maralah questioned and Alsena nodded her head up and down. It was clear that Maralah was processing those words and what it meant.

"I miss him," Maralah commented and Alsena nodded her head. She understood that clearly. For many years he was her Uncle Mike. It was terrible that something like the truth could hurt not only one person but many. Right now, the truth was hurting all of Section One.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to see him now. He is going to be getting an apartment," Alsena stated. That had been another one of her tasks. Not one that she enjoyed however.

No matter what Michael told Madeline and Nikita about Sonora, no one was going to believe it because he stated that he needed to live with Sonora. In ways, Alsena was sure that it was so that Nikita didn't kill her the first change that she got. But still, it only made Michael more of a liar.

"Is he going to live with mom?" Maralah questioned and Alsena dropped her head.

"No, Maralah. He has a friend that he is going to be living with," Alsena commented as she lifted her head and saw Michael standing in the distance, next to Walter. He was staring at his daughter, swallowing harshly.

Maralah looked over her shoulder and jumped. The truth that Nikita had told her two years ago didn't seem as important as actually seeing an important person that she hadn't seen in two years. Maralah started to immediately run to Michael, extending her arms to the man that had dropped down lightly to open his own arms.

"Uncle Mike! Mike! Mike!" Maralah shouted happily until she leapt into Michael's arms and felt him pick her up into a tight hug.

Michael cried. His daughter had grown up so much in the two years that he had been gone. In his dreams, there would be Nikita and Maralah. Always together, always asking for him to come back. Nikita wouldn't have anything to do with him and Maralah still felt that Michael was the uncle.

Would she ever accept him as the father?

"You have grown so much," Michael whispered as he pressed a kiss to her head. He settled Maralah back down to the grown and smiled at her. She was getting tall like Nikita. Her face was starting to grow to be more like Nikita also. But he also realized how much Maralah looked like him. It had to have been torturous for Nikita to stare at this face everyday and know that he was somewhere else.

A small bell started to ring from the computers, stopping Michael from saying anything to Maralah. He looked to Walter and felt his stomach flip over.

"I have a bad feeling about that," Michael whispered as he looked to Walter. He bent down to Maralah and touched her hair once more. It felt just like Nikita's had. "I want you to go to your mother's room, ok?"

Maralah nodded her head and started off. Michael stood up straight and looked at Walter as Alsena turned the bell off.

"What do you think it is, Michael?" Walter questioned and Michael started to look around. At least, hopefully Nikita didn't have a gun.

"I think Nikita found Sonora," Michael stated as he moved quickly out of the area. Alsena rolled her eyes; sure that this wasn't a good sign.

~~

Sonora smiled as she pushed the bell. As soon as she saw Nikita's outline in the light of the hallway, she started to press it. It would have most of Section One running towards her. It would make Nikita look like the stalker that Sonora definitely wanted Nikita to appear like.

The door opened and Nikita stood there. She didn't know anything about the alarm and the act that Sonora was giving.

"Why are you here?" Nikita questioned and Sonora blinked her eyes. That wasn't what she had expected to hear from Nikita. However, Sonora knew that she could make the answer work in her direction. Nikita was so close to the brink of insanity it would take much to push her off the edge and reclaim what was left.

Michael, the husband and Maralah, the daughter.

Sonora wanted what Nikita had.

"I'm here because Michael asked me to come to keep him some company. Because he loves me and he wants to marry me," Sonora stated and Nikita started to shake her head back and forth. It was slowly at first and then the motion got more hectic and sporadic.

"He doesn't love you... He can't," Nikita stated firmly and Sonora sat up and pulled off her shirt to the side, exposing a rather large love bit.

"Do I need to get his dental records to match this?" Sonora questioned and Nikita started to cry.

"He is the other part of me... He wouldn't do that to me..." Nikita declared with a weak voice.

"He left you, Nikita... He came and found me... and when he was able to leave and come back to you... He brought me with him..." Sonora stated and Nikita shook her head back and forth.

"You are just a Section whore!" Nikita shouted as she slammed her hands against the wall.

"We all are. You just don' t know it....." Sonora informed Nikita. She shook her head back and forth. Sonora smile and stood up.

"Why did you have Maralah? It wasn't because you loved Michael and had a child.... It was because you are a Section whore who spread her legs when Madeline wanted her to... and had a bastard child.... And your daughter is going to be as screwed up as you!" Sonora gloated as she smugly smiled. She turned her back on Nikita and Nikita jumped to action.

"YOU NEVER CALL MY DAUGHTER THAT!" Nikita shouted and Sonora dropped to the bed, starting to scream for help. She already knew than an alarm had gone out.

This was working out too perfect for her.

"You can't take it from me! He was mine! He hurt me!" Nikita shouted as she tried to pull at her hair, but she felt the pain in her head. It happened from time to time and Nikita blinked back her tears.

Michael had stopped at the doorway, knowing immediately that more was going on here than Nikita beating up Sonora for no reason. Michael knew too well that Sonora was good at manipulating people to appear one way while the truth was hidden.

For a long time while Michael was out on the mission, Sonora did her best job of being his friend. Still now, Michael had to wonder if some of that friendship existed. She listened to his pain of what happened between himself and Nikita. She listened to how much he missed his daughter.

He couldn't help but think that she was using that information to push Nikita's buttons.

"What's going on?" Birkoff shouted from down the hallway as Walter moved into the room to start pulling at Nikita.

"She is crazy! She tried to kill me!" Sonora cried out as she lifted her head. Michael stood there silently, watching the acting. She was going to be going out on missions with Nikita. It would be the perfect opportunity for Nikita to do something to her. If Nikita wanted to hurt her for those reasons only, she would have been smarter.

"It's been a long day, Sonora," Michael dryly commented as he watched Walter continue to struggle to pull Nikita out of the room. He turned slightly to see Calantha standing there, staring at him. It was clear that she was not pleased to see him right now.

"She tried to kill me, Michael! She came into this room and thought that the bruise on my neck was from you.... and then she threw me down to the bed.. .and started to punch me!" Sonora cried out and Michael blinked his eyes as Nikita stopped struggling.

It was too good of a ploy and Michael pushed his hand out to stop Nikita from charging Sonora once again.

"YOU SAID THAT IT WAS! YOU SAID MY DAUGHTER WAS A BASTARD! YOU... YOU... DAMN BITCH!" Nikita hissed out.

Those were the last words for Nikita as she started to fall, holding her head. Calantha moved forward and pulled Nikita all the way out of the room, quickly making it clear that this was probably just a stress headache, but that she didn't want to take any chances.

"Clean yourself up," Michael stated as he blinked his eyes coldly. He wanted to get downstairs and access the videos and find out what really happened. Neither woman would ever tell the entire truth to Michael and it was just better to find the video.

"I don't want to stay here. Can't we find a nice hotel for the night?" Sonora whispered as she continued to wipe at her face. Michael looked around the hallway and looked at Sonora.

"I'm sure you would love for us to go to the honeymoon suite," Michael commented with a tinge of hate on his voice. He felt like he was a pawn in this entire mess.

"That would be nice. Anywhere," Sonora smiled out and Michael shook his head.

"Too bad. We stay here," Michael stated as he stepped away and closed the door on her face.

~~

Maralah stared into her mother's room. She wasn't sleeping like Calantha hoped that she would. Her mother was crying and crying.

Birkoff walked up to Maralah and touched her shoulder slightly. She looked up at her dad and looked back at her mother. Things weren't right. So much had happened in the past two days.

"Tell me what happened last night," Birkoff whispered as he settled down on the floor behind her, settled Maralah down into his lap. He was sure that this was going to be a long story.

"Dad... it was bad," Maralah commented and Birkoff nodded his head. He kissed her head and draped his hands around Maralah's body and hugged her.

"I know, darling. But it will make you feel better to talk about it. What happened?" Birkoff prodded. He would have left her alone, but he needed to know what was going on with Nikita. Everyone was asking and everyone was trying to assume things. No one had the answers.

"She just woke up... I heard her in the bathroom... shouting about her hair..." Maralah stated and Birkoff nodded his head as he rubbed at Maralah's back slightly. She leaned back and closed her eyes only for a second. She opened her own eyes and stared at her mother.

"Then what?" Birkoff questioned and she took a deep breath.

"My mom ran down the stairs... looking for scissors... She was yelling and I was trying to tell her..." Maralah explained with a pained voice. She looked to the side and swallowed. "She found some with a knife... and started to walk around as she cut at the hair... I called Madeline..."

"You were very brave. I am so proud of you," Birkoff commented, but there was no response from Maralah. She continued to stare out towards her mother.

"Why does she cry all the time?" Maralah questioned and Birkoff swallowed. It was such a difficult question to even listen to, let alone answer.

"When Michael left... it took part of her, Maralah... She loved him so much," Birkoff commented and Maralah turned in Birkoff's lap. He could see her own pain and confusion of the situation.

"He is really my father, isn't he?" Maralah questioned and Birkoff nodded his head up and down. This was the first time that this topic had come up since that night. Madeline suggested that it was best that Maralah brought it up. Birkoff stroked her hair back and kissed her forehead slightly.

"It doesn't mean that I don't love you, Maralah. I care about you as if you were my daughter," Birkoff explained and Maralah started to cry. She dropped her head as her bottom lip quivered like Nikita's did when she was trying to stop the tears.

"Then why hasn't he been with my mother? Why did he leave?" Maralah questioned and Birkoff looked at Maralah. It was so difficult to explain.

"Because your mother decided to stay with you... She had to pick between him and you... And she chose you..." Birkoff tried to explain. It sounded simple, but it was so confusing.

"Then why does she cry so much? She made the decision!" Maralah cried out and Birkoff hugged her for a long time. He rocked back and forth and held her for several minutes until her moans were no longer audible.

"Because either way she was going to lose someone that she loved deeply.... You know that movie that we watched the other night... the one with the girl... and the boy..." Birkoff stated and Maralah lifted her head.

"Matilda?" Maralah questioned and Birkoff shook his head as he picked her hand and held it comfortably in his hand. He just needed to hold her now and Birkoff was sure that she was glad that she was being held.

"The other movie... with the funeral home..." Birkoff stated and Maralah smiled. "My Girl."

"Yeah...My Girl... Well.. you remember when the boy dies... how sad the girl is..." Birkoff stated and Maralah nodded her head up and down. Birkoff smiled. "Well... she cried so much because she loved him so much.... That he had become a part of her that she couldn't think of living without..."

"But Mike is alive," Maralah quickly stated and Birkoff nodded his head. This much was true. Birkoff shut his eyes and swallowed.

"But when she made that decision... part of her died... And that is what makes her so sad... And what makes her cry all the time... Is that she can't seem to get him back... It's what love does to you, Maralah. You love someone so much, that you image them with you day and night... and when they aren't there... It all changes," Birkoff stated carefully and slowly.

"Kind of like when we thought that mom wasn't ever going to get better?" Maralah questioned and Birkoff nodded his head.

"But love made her better... and we can only hope... that love will make this better," Birkoff stated and Maralah nodded her head firmly.

It would get better. Maralah was positive.

*

Nikita looked down the hallway, with part of her mind telling her to go on and don't worry. Another part of Nikita told her to find a way to bring everyone back.

Even if that everyone included the wonderful and considerate Sonora.

"Birkoff... what are my options?" Nikita questioned as she pressed herself against the wall. She had already lost one operative, but he would live. Now, Sonora had gone off profile had was off somewhere with the bad people. Nikita could read out where she was and had long lost the ability to guess where Sonora was. Nikita was sure that if she were nearby, she would have heard Sonora's non-stop mouth. Unless it was occupied with other things.

"Nikita, stay on profile," Birkoff replied back and Nikita looked at her team as they looked at her. They were talented enough to get the computer disks, but they needed the code. The code was back with Sonora and the man who took her off.

"I've been off profile since Sonora walked into my van, Birkoff! Give me something that I can use," Nikita hissed back. She was about to make the full retreat out, make sure her team was safe and go back in and do what was needed.

But why waste time?

"Nikita, she isn't worth it," Birkoff dryly stated and Nikita looked back down the hallway. Sonora was down there somewhere and Nikita felt mildly worried about leaving her behind. She almost felt guilty too.

This was Sonora's first field mission. Of course she didn't listen to her, and of course she didn't take Michael's advice, but Nikita didn't want to see her die. Especially if she meant something to Michael.

Nikita was willing to accept that rest of her life was going to be filled with pain, but didn't see why others had to be included in that same pain. If Michael found someone, she would help Michael keep that someone.

Nikita was just mildly peeved that it was Sonora.

"Birkoff, I'm going to go back. Either you are going to help me or you aren't," Nikita stated out firmly as she handed over the equipment for the disks to the operative closest to her. Nikita made the hand movement for them to continue. They only blinked for a few seconds before going on with the mission. These members of the team had worked with Nikita for several months now. They knew that Nikita was always bound to go off profile. They were glad that she was just doing it herself this time.

"Nikita, you are off profile. I need you to go with the team," Birkoff stated and Nikita rolled her eyes. She wanted to know what happened to the Birkoff of old that would have helped her through this. Nikita looked down the hallway and quickly moved to where she saw the ladder. If she got up, she may be able to pick up on the sounds of Sonora better.

Nikita didn't know what Sonora had in mind when she went back to see the man. It was in the profile to get in, get the disks, and then go back for the man. She tipped him off and he grabbed her up, hurrying to the other side of the building. He was a man that was known for two things, sex and torture.

"Nikita... I am going to ask you once more, please go back to being on profile. I will have to notify Madeline," Birkoff stated out. It was standard procedure and Nikita started to climb up the ladder. Birkoff probably knew exactly where Sonora was and would have made this so much easier.

"Oh go tell Madeline to get the stick out of her butt and to get back to the real world, Birkoff," Nikita hissed as she made it to the top of the small structure. She looked around and saw the lights off in the distance.

"Nikita... what are you going to do?" Birkoff questioned, pulling out the templates of the blueprints of the building. She was on a level with beams and catwalks.

"I'm going to do what is right. I'm going to become a gymnast," Nikita stated as she flipped the channel off, closing off Birkoff from her. It was for the best. Nikita carefully stepped up and started to move along the first beam, mentally planning her path to the room that Nikita knew that Sonora was now in.

It wasn't that hard.

~~

Walter tapped on Michael's office before entering. Michael lifted his tired head and stared at Walter for a long second before turning his computer off.

"Watching something interesting?" Walter questioned as he leaned forward and tried to look at the computer that he knew was blank. Michael pressed his lips together as he threaded his hands through his hair.

"You are the only one around here that isn't treating me like the plague," Michael commented and Walter nodded his head. He had sensed this too, but couldn't blame the people. Birkoff had to have been the most messed up in this whole ordeal, outside of Michael, Nikita, and Maralah.

"I don't like what you are doing... shacking up with Ms. Valentine operative is almost as bad as if you would have stayed with Madeline, Michael. It isn't doing sugar any good. But hell, you've been hurt too," Walter commented and Michael dropped his head. He didn't know if he was coming or going right now.

He had just viewed the most recent 48 hours of Nikita's missions. Not one had gone as planned. They hadn't failed either. They just were like catfights with no rules. Michael didn't like it. It wasn't Nikita's style.

"I've been watching mission tape," Michael finally commented as he raised his head and saw Walter still staring. It was clear that Walter was here for a purpose. Walter merely rolled his eyes and patted Michael's hand.

"At the beginning of this spell... Nikita would go off profile for the stupidest reasons... A man down that only had a foot injury... or a cat in the area... Stupid reasons..." Walter started to explain. He saw that Michael hadn't seen those images.

"Madeline started to create missions that were meant for Nikita, meant to go off profile and Nikita performed each time," Walter stated and Michael shook his head. It sounded too much like what Operations had done for Madeline.

"But she is off profile right now for probably the stupidest reason of them all," Walter stated and Michael jerked his head up. He knew who was out on this mission and had hoped that all would be fine.

"Why?" Michael questioned as his voice quivered. He knew that he didn't want to hear this answer as he began to stand up, knowing that he was going to pull himself into this mission very quickly.

"She is going to save your easy ride girl. For no damn reason!" Walter shouted, allowing out the anger that he did have for Sonora.

"What?" Michael questioned as he stopped at his door and stared at Walter. This was not what Michael had expected. He had told Sonora specifically to stay on profile. He had to wonder how Sonora was going to try to turn this back around on Nikita.

"I'm telling you Michael, if my sugar gets hurt because she is going back to save this girl because Nikita thinks that you love her, I will hurt you myself," Walter growled and Michael almost slumped against the doorway.

This wasn't good.

Instead Michael walked towards Birkoff and placed his hands down on the desktop.

"I have no communications with Sonora, Michael," Birkoff hissed sharply as he typed at his computer. Michael rolled his eyes. It was pitiful that these people really believed the act that Sonora was giving them.

"I want to know about Nikita," Michael stated as he leaned in closer and Birkoff rolled his eyes. He had probably said this line about a million times in the past two years.

"Nikita is off profile with no communications," Birkoff stated and Michael glared at Birkoff. The computer expert had the gull to turn away from Michael and to continue with what he was working on. Yes, there were other operatives to worry about, but Michael didn't care about them.

"Have you tried to talk to her?" Michael questioned and Birkoff looked at Michael. It was clear that Birkoff had dealt with many of these situations before.

"I tried to get her to stay on profile, Michael," Birkoff stated.

"Can I talk with her?" Michael questioned and Walter shook his head as he stood off in the distance.

"She is walking on three inch beams, Michael. Do you want to break her concentration?" Birkoff hissed and Michael leaned his head back. Never had he been the brunt of such hatred inside of Section One.

"Sit down. Get some popcorn. This is going to be dramatic again," Birkoff sarcastically remarked. Michael looked around and was surprised. Most of the operatives sitting at the computers were doing exactly what Birkoff had suggested. And they weren't watching the operative that Birkoff was directing. They were watching Nikita's progress.

~~

It would have been easy if Nikita hadn't been spotted on the last catwalk. But she had got free from the shower of bullets without a single hit. She called herself lucky. Plus, with the gunfire, her operatives would have to start to move towards the room that she was just outside of.

Oh, and she killed all of the guards.

Nikita looked at the hallway that she was planning on dropping down into. she looked down both ways before she used her powerful arms to roll herself off of the catwalk and to hang about six feet up from the ground.

Nikita dropped and rolled safely, barely making any noise at all.

The noise from the room picked up. It was clear that right now that it was about a little slap here and there and a lot of verbal abuse. Nikita inched her way around the room and looked at the door.

It was the only way in and out of the room. There was no other way to escape the room. Nikita looked around and then slammed in the door.

The man jumped and moved towards Nikita.

Everything went quickly as Nikita fought against the man. She quickly had him momentarily stunned and then went to free Sonora.

"Why?" Sonora questioned and Nikita lifted her head to answer.

That was a mistake.

The man attacked back, brandishing something into Nikita's side and back. Nikita gasped and then grabbed the man's shoulders. It was an effort to heave him over, but she had no other choice.

"Get out of here. You don't want to see this," Nikita hollered to Sonora as she placed her foot on the man's neck.

"Are you ok?" Sonora questioned and Nikita nodded her head.

Of course, Nikita didn't know if she was ok.

"The code," Nikita hissed and the man shook his head against Nikita's foot. His air was being cut off and Nikita rolled her eyes.

"I can always do this the hard way. Keep you alive, drag you in, torture you more than you have ever tortured a lady, and then kill you. Or I can just kill you now," Nikita stated to the man, giving him the options. The man looked at Nikita and then relaxed his muscles.

"Jack89521Silver," The man stated and Nikita lifted her fingers to the communications device. She wondered who was going to win the bet this time. It was probably 6 to 1 odds that she would kill Sonora.

"Birkoff... the code is Jack89521Silver," Nikita reported, hearing the slamming of hands on the computer and then quick typing.

"Right. Come in, Nikita," Birkoff replied and Nikita picked her foot up and then slammed it hard into the neck, snapping the neck and killing the life without one second to hold on.

*

The hallways were buzzing with medical personnel. Nikita only rolled her eyes as she stepped off of the van. The entire trip had been a long theatrical performance done up by Sonora herself.

Not once did she even thank Nikita for saving her.

Nikita watched as Michael rushed down the hallway, flanked by everyone else. Birkoff looked around and didn't even connect his eyes with Nikita. Nikita merely looked back into the van to watch as the operatives came in to download the computers. Nikita wanted to have the disks with the cameras. She wanted to know the truth of what that man did to Sonora.

"Michael... it was so awful... He just grabbed me... and I hurt!" Sonora cried out as she reached her hands out for Michael. Michael found himself standing there with Sonora draped in his arms.

"We should get you to medical, Sonora," Michael softly stated and she shook her head from side to side. Nikita blinked her eyes and looked in Michael's direction.

"She refused medication for the pain. I did offer it," Nikita remarked and Michael lifted his head. He tried to study how Nikita was, but for once, she was calmly standing there.

"I'm allergic to some kinds.... I don't know that she wasn't trying to kill me," Sonora snapped, but then grabbed her head.

The poor girl had gotten smacked around some. Nothing to bad. She would have a couple black eyes, but not too black. Nikita didn't think that too much damage was done.

Nikita stared as Michael started to stroke her hair back, caring for Sonora in a way that used to be reserved for her. No one even came towards her to ask her about herself. There was no customary question about hitting her head. There was nothing.

They were all watching Sonora and Michael. Michael was taking care of wiping the blood away and declaring that she wasn't hurt that badly and probably would be back in the swing of things in a day or two. Nikita felt the tears in her eyes and looked back to the operatives. They were still fiddling with the disks.

"I tried to get her to put ice on it," Nikita commented, but no one looked towards her. Nikita dropped her head.

Separated. Nikita pulled at her gun and felt a slight twinge in her side. Nothing that she hadn't felt before. She was going to look down at her side, see what was going on, but the operatives finally came out of the room.

"I'll take them," Nikita stated as she reached her hand out. She looked to the disks and then looked at Michael.

"I felt like I couldn't ask for help in the van, Michael... Why did you send me out with the wild woman?" Sonora questioned loudly. That questioned made Madeline turn away and storm down the hallway. Birkoff seemed to be standing there, agreeing with Sonora. Nikita picked up the arm that seemed not to be hurting and wiped at her own tears.

"Because that wild woman saved your life when she was told not too," Nikita hissed as she walked towards Sonora. She glared at the woman that meekly held onto Michael as if she was a child. Nikita looked to Michael and turned down the hallway

Nikita couldn't hold the tears back as she walked down the hallway. She couldn't hold back the tiredness that was now pouring over her body. Nikita leaned her head back and tried to roll it away.

It didn't work. Something was on fire, but now Nikita felt more of the pain of seeing Michael care for Sonora. Knowing at this moment, she mattered so much more than she did. Knowing that if she had that decision back, that she would still put herself through this torture and save Sonora.

"Hey, Walter," Nikita commented as she entered the area and settled the gun down on the table. Walter lifted his eyes and dropped his hands from the protective stance that he had taken. He had gotten extremely use to Nikita's violent way of returning weapons.

"Hey, Sugar," Walter returned as he reached out and touched her hand. She felt icy cold and Walter looked around. "You ok?"

"I have some work to do," Nikita stated and Walter held onto that hand as she tried to pull away.

"Is that all? You look perplexed," Walter stated and Nikita looked at Walter. She was so tempted to give into his offer to cry. He had always been there for her in the past and it was so tempted.

But then she closed her eyes and saw how Michael just minutes ago tenderly brushed Sonora's hair off of her face. A gesture that Nikita used to think was purely for herself.

"I was just returning equipment before going to view these tapes..." Nikita commented and Walter frowned.

"Well you gave me the gun... Where is the vest?" Walter questioned and Nikita smiled and stepped away, succeeding in pulling her hand away from Walter's.

"Remember, I didn't wear it. You only had one in stock and I gave it to Sonora," Nikita stated as she looked out to the hallway. She looked more haunted than she had in a long while.

"Oh.. yeah... Did you hit your head, sugar? You seem dazed," Walter questioned as he walked closer to Nikita. Nikita in returned moved further into the hallway.

"No... I just did a summersault. Nothing else," Nikita stated as she pulled at the disks and tapped them lightly in her hand. It was a clear signal that she wanted to get to her office.

"Maybe you need some downtime, sugar. You look like you need a hot shower and a good night's sleep," Walter stated and Nikita grinned slightly. Walter could tell that it was taking a lot of effort for Nikita to pull that smile out.

He may have been able to get Nikita to speak more and to talk more, had Michael not picked that time to walk down the hallway with the moaning Sonora.