Disclaimer: The characters from La Femme Nikita don't belong to me. Don't sue. All you'll get is this computer, and it's obsolete anyway. All of the other characters are my own. I don't steal...my stuff's better than what you'd come up with anyway. :-)

Note: Second in the "Circle of the Gifted" Series. Sequel to "Elemental, My dear Section". The first was set during the time Michael and Nikita are together, compliments of Michael's leverage over Operations with Adrian. It splits off from there. You might want to read the first one before reading this.

*italics*

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

Chapter one ___________

Madeline stared at her screen. Closing her eyes, she shook her head to clear it.

That just couldn't be right.

She looked again and groaned.

It was still there.

Madeline reached over and hit the com button to Operations office.

"Yes?"

"We have a problem. Do you have time to come down here?" She was looking at the screen again, with her head tilted and eyes crossed in an effort to make the numbers be different.

It wasn't working.

"Sure. Five minutes."

Madeline squinted at the screen, and her eyebrows furrowed. She did *not* want to show this to Paul. She didn't even want to be looking at it herself.

Then the numbers started changing.

Madeline's eyes got very wide as she watched it happen...

A three turned to a one. A six turned to a two.

She suddenly realized what she'd done and quickly closed her eyes.

She spent the next five seconds willing them to be as they really were. When she opened her eyes, they were back.

She sighed in relief.

She was really going to have to watch that. Wishful thinking was one thing, but she kept inadvertently making things *happen*. It'd been happening for the last month.

She'd talked to Nikita about it, who said she should talk to Lalia.

Madeline had agreed, but hadn't figured out a way to get there yet.

But she knew she was going to have to. This was really starting to get annoying.

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

Chapter two ___________

When Operations walked into Madeline's office, she was still frowning at her computer.

"I don't like this. These should only be half as high, if that."

She turned the screen so he could see.

"When did we get these?" Operations scrolled down the page and stopped halfway. "Thirty-seven in Bolivia?" When he looked up, his eyes were piercing. "How did we lose so many people?"

Madeline shook her head. "I have no idea. I thought we only lost ten in the explosion, but according to that, we lost fifteen." Her hand went to the back of her neck...recently, there'd been a spot there that killed.

"What's that?" Paul stood up and walked around behind her. "Did something happen?" He slid his hand under hers and started rubbing.

"No, just stress. It's fine." She reached back and placed her hand on his. Turning her head, she met his eyes. "I'm *fine*."

Paul smiled back, but he wasn't convinced. Ever since she came back from that Red Cell prison, she'd been slightly different.

Not anything he could put his finger on, and yet still, it was there. She seemed almost jumpy. Not quite, not enough for him to really worry. Most likely, no one else had even noticed.

But it was definitely there.

He was starting to think that the Red Cell operatives did something to her. The very idea made him livid.

Of course, it could just be him. Paul kept waking up seeing the expression that had crossed Lalia's face just before he signed off that night.

He really wished he hadn't hurt her like that. What he did in the first place was bad enough, but....

"Paul?" Madeline's voice broke in. "Paul, are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking how we're going to replace all that personnel. We'll have to step up recruitment."

Madeline smiled. "We'll survive. We always do."

"Yes, we do." He kissed the back of her neck. "*We* do."

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

Chapter three (S for suggestive - and I'm sorry TRs! Nikita and Michael this time.) ___________

Michael rolled over and bumped Nikita's nose. She wrinkled it and pushed him...not realizing how close to the edge he was.

He hit the floor with a thud.

"What'd you do that for?" Michael's eyes were still closed when he climbed back into bed. He pulled her close and snuggled her. "Did I do something wrong last night?"

"No, wrong would not be the word I'd use." She smiled up at his unshaven face...he was falling back asleep, so she pinched him. "Hey, stay with me here!"

"All the abuse. Pushing, pinching." His eyes wide open, he started tickling her.

"Hey!" Nikita squirmed to get away, but she never could match his muscles. "Stop it! Let go!" She was laughing and trying to tuck herself into a ball, but it wasn't working.

"Oh, so you can dish it, but can't take it!?" He held her with one arm and tickled her legs with the other.

"You aren't getting out of this one that easily!" His hand wrapped around her waist and his other started to roam up the inside of her thighs, still tickling.

She squealed.

And his phone rang.

Michael stopped tickling but didn't let go. Instead, he reached over with one hand to get his cell phone. Nikita twisted around and started kissing his chin.

"Hello?" He smiled...Nikita was working her way down his neck and chest, her hands roaming even farther..

"Alright." Michael hung up, and stopped Nikita's progression with his now free hand.

"What?" She actually pouted, and Michael felt a little bad for stopping so abruptly.

"I'm sorry. But we have to go."

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

Chapter four ___________

"Hey, Walter." Nikita flashed a smile at him. He was bent over a gun, doing something odd to the barrel. She sat down on a stool and hunched over, watching him work.

"Hey Sugar. Hey, did you ever get a chance to see if that forty-five was any good?"

Nikita shook her head. "No time. So.." She looked over her shoulder at Operations in his office. "what's all the fuss? Madeline wants to see us, without him?"

Walter looked up at Operations before answering. "Yeah. It has to do with someone's sister...though, as I understand it," Walter looked her in the eye, "Madeline doesn't know that?"

Again Nikita's head shook. "No. I guess she didn't want to give Madeline too much to work with all at once. Though, they seemed to get along really well."

"Hey Sugar, no one can replace you with Lalia."

Nikita's head shot up. "Have you been talking to Michael?"

"Nah, I can see it in your eyes. But you should relax. They're just friends. Even if they're close friends, they both think of *you* as a daughter."

Nikita's smiled just a little. "Thanks, Walter."

"See ya later Sugar." Walter flashed another grin before he disappeared into the gun racks.

**

Madeline was still not looking at them.

Nikita and Michael had been sitting in front of Madeline's desk for almost ten minutes, but she was still sitting there, almost growling at her computer screen..

If she was Lalia, she'd be swearing at it by now.

Nikita didn't laugh, but it was an effort. Ever since they'd come back from the Circle caverns, she'd been struck by how much the two were alike.

"Madeline?" She almost whispered it. Didn't want the woman to jump a mile!

"Yes. I know you're here, and I'm sorry. Just...one....more....minute....." She scrolled down a little farther on the page and shaking her head she looked up.

"Sorry. Ok, here's the thing."

"I have got to get back to the Circle caverns, and I think I have a way. But I need you two to run some interference if I'm gone too long. If this works, it should work for both of you as well. We just have to make sure to keep each other in the loop."

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

Chapter five ___________

"George sent me a message." Madeline was standing in the doorway to the observation room.

"What did he want?" Operations was typing furiously and didn't look up. He was *sure* he'd just seen Lalia's login. What the hell is she doing in the Section computer *now*?

"He want's to see me." Madeline came over behind him. "Is something wrong?"

"What does he want to see you about?" He didn't look up, but his hands slowed down a bit.

Madeline reached over and hit the button to darken the observation window. "He didn't say. He just said he wanted me to spend more time at Oversight."

*Then* he looked up.

"He wants to steal you." He turned around to face her.

Madeline smiled and reached up to straighten his jacket collar. "He does. But he won't. I'll make sure to spend enough time there that he doesn't need to."

Operations nodded. "Ok." A smile started to spread across his face. "This could work to our advantage." His head tilted. "I wasn't supposed to know about the meetings, was I?"

"No."

"Then I don't."

Madeline smiled, but it faded quickly. "He said something about Michael and Nikita, too. Not this time, but there were some definite insinuations."

Operations mouth turned down. "He wants my best operatives?"

"It makes sense. After the incident with Red Cell." Madeline was slowly brushing off invisible lint specks from the front of his shirt and running her hands down his arms.

"And I can't very well say no, if it's just meetings, now can I?" He closed his eyes. "I'll just have to make sure that they're considered essential to Section. I'll use them more, and make obnoxious noise when he pulls them." Paul smiled. "He won't steal anyone I need that badly."

Madeline kissed his chin and slid her arms around him, under his jacket. "I have four hours until the plane comes. He wants to meet somewhere off the continent."

Paul's face became dark again. "He's taking you away overnight?"

Madeline gave a small laugh. "So I guess we'd better make this count."

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

Chapter six ___________

"Lalia?" She looked up. Jack was standing in her doorway, holding a large explosive.

"What's up, and why is that in my office?" She eyed the explosive. The last thing she needed was for something to blow up in here. Her office was a mess as it was.

"What?" Jack looked down at his hands. "Oh, this. It's a dud. We've got fourteen of them in reserve. I wanted to know if I could cannibalize them for parts."

"Of course." Lalia's eyebrows furrowed. "You know you don't have to ask to do that. That's your area."

"Yeah, well, I wanted to ask you something else too..."

"Yes?" It sounded more impatient than she meant it to.

Stress, she guessed. Ever since Nikita left again, everything seemed to press just a little bit harder.

"Umm...Michael?"

"What about him?" Lalia was only half listening. She'd already gone back to her computer.

"Nikita's in love with him, isn't she? She seemed to be. And he seemed to be in love with her.....or at least in lust." Jack's eyes closed as he said it. This was obviously hard for him, and Lalia would have seen it if she'd looked up.

But she didn't, and she didn't know to be careful with her answer. "Yeah, they're definitely in love. Really deeply, too. I think it's about time. Her one night stands were getting rather frightening don't you think?"

"Yeah."

Jack waited a minute and looked down at his hands. "You know, I don't think I should be training Michael anymore. He really doesn't need it anyway, and I think....I just don't think I should be doing it anymore."

Lalia's eyes closed but she didn't raise her head. "Oh..."

She winced. "Ok. That's fine. I'll take care of it if he needs any help."

"Thanks." He left.

Lalia counted to fifteen before she looked up at the doorway. She shoved away from her desk, crossed her legs and covered her eyes.

"Shit."

That just did *not* help.

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

Chapter seven ___________

Madeline stepped off the plane and closed her eyes.

She hadn't really had a chance to appreciate the island the night they'd left the Circle and headed for Red Cell.

That was only two months ago. It seemed so much longer....

When Madeline opened her eyes she waited a few more minutes for her plane to take off again, and then headed for the path that went over the hill and led to the cavern entrances.

She remembered thinking that the caverns must have an amazing history because they were so old.

Now, as she climbed stone steps hand-set literally *into* the side of the hill, she realized that she'd never found out what that history was.

Of course, she hadn't done a lot of things.

The hidden hollow with the entrance started to come into site. Yes, there was the garden, and the stone benches...

And Lalia!

Madeline smiled. She hadn't realized how much she missed Lalia until that moment. But the girl was almost....addicting.

"Lalia! What are you doing out *here*?"

Lalia looked down at herself and then back at her book. "I appear to be reading."

Madeline's grin got uncharacteristically wide. "You were waiting for me! How did you know I was coming?"

Lalia never moved her eyes from her book. "You had Nikita send the message from "George". She used Section Eleven to transmit, with my login. A copy of it was routed to my computer."

Lalia's face actually lit with welcome when she finally looked up. "It's really nice to have you back, you know that? Lets go inside." They headed for the cavern entrance, still a short walk away.

Madeline couldn't help but notice that Ireland was just a haze from the island. And that some of these roses were taller than she was, even in heels.

"Are these grown using magic?" She stopped to smell one. Heaven!

"Nope. In fact, most of them grow wild here. The original seeds were brought with the Circle founders, and planted here. The rest just spread." Lalia almost laughed...Madeline looked like she was going to faint. "They do have magical properties though, so, " she took the flower from Madeline's hand, "you might not want to inhale with them quite so close to your face."

Madeline closed her eyes and breathed in the clean air, waiting for her head to clear. "What do they do to you?" She swayed a little, but caught herself.

Lalia picked a rose. "They serve a lot of functions in spells and such, but when you smell a red rose fresh like that, it heightens all your erotic senses." She didn't quite manage to stifle her laughter when Madeline almost fell again. "You might want to sit down. It should wear off in a minute or two, but until then you'll probably be a little dizzy."

Lalia led her to a bench and Madeline sank onto it, her eyes still closed. She opened them to see Lalia smelling a yellow rose with a stem longer than her arm.

"What happens when you smell the yellow?" She watched Lalia drop the rose, and saw it take hold and sprout.

"The yellow are rejuvenating. That's how they take root so fast." She smiled at Madeline's expression. "That's one of the reasons we're so long lived. Not from smelling roses, but because of the properties in magic itself. Whenever we use it, we're drawing it in and welcoming it into our bodies. These roses don't have the properties themselves naturally. The magic that comes from the caverns below has changed them over the years until each color has it's own distinctive function."

Lalia bent over and picked a daisy at her feet. "When we use magic, it heightens all our senses. Pain, pleasure, life, death. Everything is brighter and louder. It keeps us aware of the world around us."

Madeline's hand went to the back of her neck. That spot always hurt the most after she inadvertently made something happen. "Can magic reflect our feelings about the things we do?"

"Absolutely. It's how we control ourselves and our Gifts. Control them and keep them from controlling us."

Madeline nodded. "So, when I accidentally change something that I don't mean to, my neck hurts."

Lalia's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that why you came? You're accidentally setting your Gift off?"

Madeline nodded again.

"Aha...." Lalia smiled. "Ok. Well, I think we can fix that."

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

Chapter eight (Kind of short. Just an interlude, really.) ___________

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Nikita groaned.

"Dan, this is ridiculous. I just have a bump on the head. I'm *fine*!"

"How many fingers, Nikita?" He waved his hand in front of her face. "I won't stop asking 'till you answer."

Nikita let out a long sigh. "Four."

"Yes. See? That wasn't so bad." He turned to Operations. "She *is* fine, but I'd let her rest for a few days." Nikita shot him a dark look and he hurried on "A few days, just in case. But she really is fine."

Dan glanced out at the panoramic view of Section as he left the room.

"Really, I'm fine. Why the big concern suddenly?"

Operations folded his hands in front of him. "I have some information that George is going to try and bring you and Michael to Oversight."

Nikita stared at him. "Why?"

"What happened with Red Cell was....impressive, to say the least. It got some attention."

Nikita shook her head. "I don't want to go to Oversight. How do we stop it?"

Operations smiled. "By showing him how much you're needed here." He walked over to his console and pushed a few keys. A small pad slipped out.

"We'll start with elevating your status." He handed her the pad. "This has all the information about the upcoming Tel Aviv mission. You're familiar with it?"

Nikita nodded and glanced through the information on the pad.

"Good. It's a level five-led mission. You're leading it."

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

Chapter nine ___________

Madeline eyed an odd and unstable balance of bricks at the other end of the Inner Circle high impact training room.

"Ok, here's the idea." Lalia was circling the bricks as she talked, adjusting them as she went. "You move these from this arrangement to a simple pyramid, and then you move them back. Try to get *this arrangement* exactly when you move them back. It's called a spatial memory. It helps you learn control."

"And that's really all my problem is? Control?" Madeline shifted feet and tilted her head. This was a complicated concept.

"Pretty much. That's why we make such an effort to recruit all and any Gifted as soon as the Gift becomes apparent. It gets out of control and comes out through your emotions. Things start *happening*, without the Gifted even knowing it." Lalia smiled reassuringly.

"Just give it a try."

Madeline didn't make a move.

"Don't get nervous. If you screw up, we'll just do it again." Lalia came over and stood next to Madeline. "Ok?" She put her arm around Madeline's waist. "One brick at a time. Just go slow. It'll be done before you even know it." She gave a slight squeeze and removed her arm, so Madeline could concentrate.

Lalia pushed her hair out of her face and folded her arms. "Any time. Relax and go for it."

Madeline closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then she opened her eyes, and they narrowed.

One by one the bricks started to move and shift.

**

"Try it again." Lalia was sitting Indian style in a chair behind Madeline, rubbing her temples. She'd just reassembled the brick arrangement for the seventh time. "And stop trying to move like a bat out of hell. *Slowly*. Slow down."

Madeline rolled her head to loosen her neck and started rubbing that same sore spot. "Right. Slow."

She sighed and her eyes narrowed. The top brick lifted, hovered for a minute, and fell, breaking in two pieces.

"Ugh!!" Madeline sank into a chair next to Lalia. "I'm dead. It's no use. I'm not even sure I'm still here."

Lalia flashed a weak smile. "A minute ago, you said you were fine. What happened?"

"I lied." Madeline was rubbing her neck with both hands and wishing Paul was there. His hands would feel so good right now....

"Ok, lets stop for the day. We can try again tomorrow. You'll probably do better in the morning, anyway, after a nights sleep." Lalia looked at her watch and groaned. They'd missed dinner. There was no *way* Serge would still be in the kitchen.

"What if I don't? I can't stay away from Section too long. Paul will get...it's just not a good idea." Madeline was glaring at the broken brick.

Lalia's eyes glanced at Madeline, but her head didn't move.

"If you don't get it right tomorrow, you'll just come back and try again. You said you'd set up a system to leave Section regularly, if not often, right?"

Madeline nodded. "Actually, the more often, the more convincing."

"Ok, then, we'll get this eventually. You're just pushing too hard. You have to relax." Lalia stood up. "And now, I go to bed and collapse. I suggest you do the same."

Madeline closed her eyes and smiled as Lalia walked past. Then she stood up, and glared at the bricks one last time before leaving.

Behind her, the broken brick reassembled itself.

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

Chapter ten ___________

"I think we should go over the Circle Ethics today." Lalia was leaning against the doorjamb of Madeline's room.

Madeline's eyes were focused on the screen of a laptop computer she'd brought with her.

"What?" Madeline pried her eyes from the computer screen. "I thought we were going to try the bricks again."

Lalia gave a half grin. "I'm not so sure you need it. That brick isn't broken anymore, and *I* didn't do that..."

Madeline shook her head. "If I fixed it, it wasn't on purpose."

"Ok, well, we should go over the ethics anyway. I got something in this morning, and they may come up sooner than I thought." Lalia came over and sat down on the couch next to Madeline.

"So, here are the rules. They aren't hard, and there aren't many."

Madeline nodded, closed her computer lid and sat back. "Ok."

"Number one. Always be true to yourself."

Madeline nodded again. "Simple enough."

"Number two. A Savior never makes the first move in a fight or battle. You wait for them to move."

Madeline's eyebrows furrowed and her mouth turned down. "But, with the Red Cell situation..."

"Red Cell moved first by stealing Section One's directory. Section One is an independent organization, and" Lalia almost choked on the words "as such is not answerable to our ethical code. *But*, we do support them, and we have a large interest in them. So, we moved in answer to the attacks."

Madeline closed her eyes and smiled. "Ok. I understand." She opened one eye and glanced at Lalia. "That's the rule that causes problems, isn't it?"

Lalia smirked. "Caught that right away, did you?"

"Ok, rule number three, and the last one. The wellbeing of life outweighs all other rules."

Madeline's eyes snapped open. "Wait..."

"Yeah. If life itself is somehow in danger, screw the rules. If everyone dies, the ethical code won't mean much anyway."

"Ok. That makes sense." Madeline's eyes closed again, and she settled back into the couch. "So....what is there about the code you haven't told me."

"Aha. Therein lay the complications." Lalia smiled. "These rules are applied as you yourself see fit. There is no overseeing eye that makes sure you follow them. The idea is that we all trust each other to use magic only when it's correct."

Madeline sat up straight. "These only apply to magic itself." She wasn't asking. It was a realization.

"That's right. We only govern your Gift. Not you. You made your own decisions about life without us before, and we will never impose on that."

Madeline relaxed a bit...that was the one thing she'd been worried about.

But Lalia wasn't finished. "However, there is a code of conduct when dealing with other Saviors."

"OK..."

"You cannot deal with the Gifted the way you deal with the rest of the world. You do not impose your will on them, nor they on you, and honesty is required at all times...well, not full honesty. We aren't requiring you to tell us everything that ever happens. But you do not *lie* to a Gifted, and they will not lie to you."

"And this rule does not apply to those that reject their Gift."

"What?" Madeline's eyebrows furrowed again. "Who...?"

"It doesn't matter." Lalia shook her head. "If they reject the Gift, they reject us, and cannot expect us to treat them as we would our own. And there are some. There are always a few."

Madeline nodded. "Ok. I understand."

She was relaxed again. So she couldn't lie to the Gifted.

That didn't include Paul.

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

Chapter eleven (Kinda short.) ___________

"Michael!" Nikita closed his office door behind her and sat down. "We need to talk."

"Ok." Michael pulled the remote from his drawer and soundproofed the room. "What's wrong?"

"Operations thinks George want's to bring us to Oversight."

"Why does he think that?" Michael was looking at her with that simple stare that made her go weak at the knees. Nikita shifted slightly under the gaze.

No, no time for that now. Stop it!

She smiled. "That was Madeline's idea to get us into the Circle caverns. If Operations thinks George wants to steal us, he can't really stop him. So, we'll go "meet" with George as often as he'd need us, and convince Operations that, this way, we stay with Section." Nikita frowned. "It's had an unforeseen side effect, though."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Operations promoted you to level five."

"Yes. You knew it would happen?"

Michael nodded slightly. "It was coming anyway. He just moved the date up, in reaction. What's your first mission?"

Nikita looked down at her hands. "Tel Aviv."

"Tel Aviv." Michael glanced out his window at Operations office, empty. "He has a lot of faith in you."

"I hope I live up to it."

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

Chapter twelve ___________

Paul was herding people across the rock bridge. Another tremor hit, and he pushed the last woman across.

"Go! Head for the entrance and don't look back." He turned down a second passageway looking for Lalia.

Where the hell did she *go*? That girl was always disappearing.

The ground shook again, and rocks fell, just missing his head.

"Paul!!"

Paul ran back through the tunnel towards her voice. When he got to the end he looked down...the rock bridge had sheered off.

Lalia was stranded on a very narrow ledge ten feet down. She was hugging the cliff, trying to climb back up, but her twelve-year-old arms weren't strong enough.

"Lalia!!" Paul dropped on his stomach, wormed his way to the edge and stretched his hand down. "Here! Look up."

Lalia reached for him, but lost her balance. She had to clutch at the rock to keep from falling. She sniffled, shaking her head. A piece of rock fell from under her left foot and she screamed.

"PAUL!!!"

He wanted desperately to use magic to pull her up, but these caves were being abandoned as an outpost for the very reason that magic was making them unstable. He couldn't risk it. Only one thing had to go wrong for him to lose her.

That was *not* a thought he could bear. So he just looked down helplessly, trying to think of a way to get her back up.

Then he felt something behind him. He turned and saw a large piece of rock sticking up from the floor. Only about a foot away, and part of the ground.

And stable.

"Lalia! I'm going to hang over and pull you up!" He crossed his ankles behind the rock and slowly started inching over the cliff. Soon he was bent at the waist, hanging over the edge. He reached down with both hands.

"You have to let go of the cliff!"

Lalia's face was covered in tears, but she let go and quickly clasped his hand.

At the shift in weight, the ledge she'd been on broke away. Lalia screamed and grabbed both his arms.

Paul pulled her up and over the edge, and held her. He was crying, and they just sat there, while he rocked her. She was still holding on for life. She was holding on so tightly....

And then he woke up.

He sat in the bed and looked around. He was in his apartment in Section, used for short rests when he didn't have time to go home.

Operations shook his head and dropped it into his hands.

Now he was dreaming about his *childhood*, for gods sake?

Well, no, that wasn't quite right.

He was dreaming about *Lalia's* childhood.

And that was just so much worse.

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

Chapter thirteen (A mission interlude) ___________

Nikita was standing in the street bargaining with a vendor. The parade marched on behind her, and as she paid what was roughly three dollars for an apple, three gunshots were heard.

Everyone hit the ground, including Nikita. But *she* rolled towards the vendors cart and hit a hidden button underneath the back left wheel.

A building three blocks away exploded.

Nikita stood when everyone else did and walked towards the van that was parked three streets down.

No one had even noticed that in the confusion of the explosion, the shooter had been killed.

It was just as well they hadn't noticed. There would have been riots....the shooter was an Israeli Officer, and the shots had been a simple demonstration of a new firearm.

At least, as far as anyone had known.

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

Chapter fourteen ___________

"Am I bothering you?" Operations dropped off the step into Madeline's office and sat down.

She looked up and smiled. "Of course not. What can I do for you?"

"I promoted Nikita. She led the Tel Aviv mission."

Madeline leaned back in her chair. "Yes, I remember, we decided to do that. How did she do?"

His eyebrow lifted. "She did surprisingly well."

"I think you're underestimating her. She's...more than she appears."

Operations smiled and stood up. "I guess we'll see. George must think so." He moved to the door and stopped, turning around. "What did he want to talk to you about?"

Madeline smiled. "Promoting me. I turned him down, but he's going to keep asking."

Operations nodded and turned back to the door. "Well, we knew he would."

** Back in his office, Operations searched the computer files for Lalia's login. He didn't even know why he was doing it, but lately....

Well, lately he'd felt better knowing she'd been in the Section computers.

And that *was* bothering him...but.....

"There she is!" Operations jumped. He hadn't realized he was talking out loud.

But then he just smiled. There was her login: "Elemental".

And a transmission...the destination was blocked, but that was fine. Even Paul knew she had to have at least one person inside Section. What about Berkoff? She'd be to worried to leave it just with him, knowing he didn't want to communicate at all. So that was fine. But the signal originated...

It originated at the caverns. For some reason, that surprised him.

Then he realized that it wasn't surprise he was feeling.

He was homesick.

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

Chapter fifteen ___________

"Is he *looking* for me??" Lalia watched her connection being terminated. The signal was coming from Paul's office.

She could easily have hacked in again...but she was more interested in *why* he was being so persistent. He knew that with Berkoff inside Section, she would have at least one person to watch him, and she'd *have* to communicate with them.

Of course, just now, he'd let her send the message to Walter *first*.

Interesting.

Lalia pushed away from her desk, stood up and stretched. She'd been sitting at the computer straight on since this morning when Madeline left.

Looking at her watch, she realized that she'd missed dinner two nights in a row.

Serge was going to kill her!

Lalia locked her office door and headed for the elevator to go to bed, but halfway there, she stopped.

She stared ahead of her.

"Paul?!"

The astral projection turned at her voice and promptly vanished.

If it *had* been an astral projection, and not the result of two days without regular meals and too much work. Her father had always warned her about that...she tended to get so caught up in what she was doing, she forgot simple, everyday functions.

Lalia closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I need to eat." She decided to wake Serge up and beg him to make something for her. He never could resist someone truly hungry.

"And some mint tea. I have *got* to clear my mind."

Lalia did an about face and headed down the hall the other way, to the stairs that led to Serge's loft. She turned the corner and didn't see the figure return once she was out of sight.

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

Chapter sixteen (Very short) ___________

Madeline was literally counting the cracks in the ceiling.

Though, this was *not* what she wanted to be doing right now. She wanted to be at Paul's right now, but she hadn't approached Paul this evening because he'd had an air about him that said "stay away"...even around her.

And he hadn't approached her.

So, here she was, wide awake because she'd made the mistake, despite Lalia's warnings, of meditating just before she went to bed.

Madeline sat up and looked down at herself. Black nightgown, rather provocative. Wasted. She was lying here in a negligee, alone. Now, how much sense did that make?

She *should* go over to Paul's. If she went now, waking him up, he'd.....

She had no idea what he'd do. She'd never done it. Well, that was odd; they'd known each other so long, and she had never knocked on his door in the middle of night for sex?

Well no. And there's why, right there. Who does things like that? Weak women do that. And Madeline was *not* weak.

She lay back down and started counting again. She'd lost her place, so she started over.

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

Chapter seventeen ___________

"Jack?" Lalia knocked on the door again. She looked at her watch.

Eleven o'clock. Late, even by Circle standards. She knocked again.

"Jack! Come on, if you sleep much longer, you'll miss Serge's lunch special. You already missed breakfast!"

She knocked again, harder. "Get up and open the door. I need to talk to you today. Preferably before it's *tomorrow*."

The door opened. Jack appeared after a minute, unshaven and bleary-eyed. Lalia had intended to scream at him, but right then she was having trouble forgetting just how amazing he'd been in bed. That unshaved look always brought out his Redford-like features....not that when they'd been together, Robert Redford had even been born yet.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to deal with it, and started talking. "Are you *trying* to destroy yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Jack rubbed his eyes and looked at Lalia. She'd always been so beautiful....he couldn't really blame her, but the thought had crossed his mind last night that if she'd said yes when he asked, he wouldn't be going through this.

But she hadn't and they had become very close friends. She was almost a sister at this point. And because of that, thought maybe not directly, the woman he was in love with now was in love with another man.

"What are you doing?" Lalia was whispering.

That got his attention.

"I'm...." He closed his eyes. "I don't know. I just..." His eyes were getting wet. Damn.

Lalia stepped forward and put her arms around him. "Ok. That's fine." She held tightly.

Like she had that day in the German caves with Paul.

Wow. Why was she thinking about that *now*? That was almost....god, that was literally four hundred years ago. What was she doing thinking about that *today*?

Jack held her. He tried to get control of himself, but it didn't work. Lalia started inching forward, so if he started crying, they wouldn't be out in the hallway for the Inner Circle to see on their way to lunch. She just barely got him into his room and the door shut behind them before he lost control.

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

Chapter eighteen ___________

"George called Nikita in today." Madeline was talking to Paul via the com screens.

"Did he? That was fast. He isn't trying to hide his agenda, is he?" Operations closed his eyes. "Ok, well, she can't say no, but she's already told me that she doesn't want to move to Oversight. We can stall him, before actually turning him down, if we just let her go while making a loud enough noise."

Operations eyes opened and he smiled. "Did he say anything about Michael?"

"No." Madeline shook her head. "Not a word. But he did to me when I was there, so..."

"So we'd better be ready. Right." He turned away from the screen, and Madeline heard Berkoff's voice behind him. He faced her again holding a pad. "We have new intel from Tel Aviv." He smiled. "Right on the mark."

Madeline called up the information on her computer. "The demonstration?"

"It wasn't. We were right, it was an assassination attempt. I'm still impressed though...Nikita pushed the button, killing three innocent people in that building, so we could kill someone we weren't sure was guilty." His grin was almost a smirk. "She's come a long way."

Madeline smiled. "She has. I was impressed as well...but I do think she's come farther than you know. I think..." Her voice faded out. She wasn't quite sure how to word it.

"Yes?" Operations was giving Madeline his full attention. She wasn't usually at a loss for words; at least, she had never been since he'd known her.

"I think she may surprise you." Madeline smile. Close enough.

"I think you're right."

Operations didn't say anything for a minute, and Madeline was just reaching over to turn off her screen when he did speak.

"Would you like to have dinner tonight?"

Madeline's smile spread. "I would love to."

"I have to meet with Section Nine's head this evening, so why don't we meet at Le Petit Comptoir around ten?"

"That sounds lovely." Madeline turned off her screen and sat there glowing. She was anxious to try something with a red rose she'd brought back with her from the Circle island, and this was perfect. She had stopped this morning at a small scents shop and asked them to make a perfume from the petals.

Lalia had said that the roses weren't as potent once they'd been cut, and even less when they weren't fresh.

"So, it should be just the right strength tonight."

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

Chapter nineteen ___________

Paul was stopping somewhere before he came back to Madeline's, and she took the extra time to finish some preparations.

Dinner had been wonderful. Paul had seemed...well, distracted, but he always was when something was wrong, and as far as he knew, what with the "situation" with George, something was definitely wrong.

But none of that would stay in his head very long if Madeline had anything to do with it.

She *had* checked with Lalia before deciding to bring a rose back. Madeline had had a feeling that casting a love spell was not exactly ethical. But Lalia had explained that there was a difference in casting a spell to force someone against their will, and using a magical tool to enhance an already agreed to experience.

So Madeline had no qualms at all when she lightly sprayed her sheets with the perfume she'd picked up on the way home.

The woman in the store had apologized, but said that with just the one rose, they hadn't been able to make a lot of perfume. There was, in fact, barely an eighth of an ounce in the bottle she'd handed to Madeline.

But it was enough. Madeline remembered the effect just one sniff in the garden had had.

This was plenty.

She'd just finished turning down the sheets when Paul came in.

He smiled and, handing her a bouquet of white roses (her favorite), he kissed her behind her ear. "This is for being so distracted at dinner."

She closed her eyes and smelled them. Not the same effect of the roses on the Island, but still beautiful...

Wait....

Madeline swayed a bit. These *were* the same as the ones on the Island.

Or close....as if grown by someone with not as much power as the caverns held, but with a definite Gift.

Paul was Gifted!

And he didn't even know it.

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

Chapter twenty (very short) ___________

Berkoff double checked. There was that same login...and Operations pushed it from the system.

Berkoff had noticed that login name, "Elemental", when he'd been going through the system after the Red Cell scare, because that had been the person to warn them. Section Eleven.

That was interesting enough, but what was more interesting was the discovery that the same person had apparently been in the Section computers before. But when Berkoff brought it up to Operations, he'd been told to leave it alone.

And now, the same person had been in the system again. Operations had seen it, and instead of pushing it out immediately or even leaving it alone, he'd waited for the person to send his or her message, and *then* pushed them out.

And he hadn't tried to trace where the message was going once he saw it was blocked. He'd just traced where it came from.

And *there* was the interesting part.

According to the signal, it came from just off the coast of Ireland.

But, where the signal started, was just water. There hadn't even been a *ship* out there. And every map said the same thing. Nothing.

But Operations had been satisfied with that answer, and hadn't looked any farther.

And that did not make sense.

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

Chapter twenty-one ___________

"I think I need someone to hit me over the head."

Nikita was staring at her menu, trying to decide between the white wine or the red. The waiter had already taken their orders.

Lalia propped her chin in her hand. "Nikita, if it's that hard a decision, just let me order."

"No, no. Not that." Nikita dropped her menu. "Though, I think I will let you order. I mean...well, I've been walking around in a funk for almost two weeks now."

"A *funk*....good, that's nice and vague." Lalia made a face. "I don't suppose you could be a teensy bit more specific?"

While Nikita mulled over her answer, Lalia called the waiter over and ordered two glasses, and a bottle of Castarede Armagnac, 1890. Nikita looked up sharply. "Brandy? *Before* dinner?"

"When last I checked, it wasn't against any law to have brandy before and with dinner rather than after. A "funk", in my experience, requires something stronger than wine, and Serge just got in a case. I think we could use some. I doubt we'll drink a whole bottle," Lalia smirked "but it's an excuse for me to steal it into my stash."

"Like you need an excuse? If you ask him, he'll just hand you a bottle." Nikita accepted the glass from the waiter and watched him pour.

"I already imposed on him once this week." Lalia sipped her brandy and set her glass down. "I was so hungry I was *seeing* things, so I woke him up at three am." She smiled. "He made gazpacho for me."

Nikita snickered. "How long did he make you beg for *that*?"

Lalia looked a little sheepish. "About ten minutes."

They stopped talking while the waiter set their plates down.

"So," Lalia talked while she cut her steak. "..what exactly is the funk about?"

Nikita bit her lip. "I'm not sure *exactly*. But I know in general terms. Walter brought it up, and I know he was trying to reassure me, but, I mean, if *he* saw it, not that I'm saying it's true, it's really just a feeling, but it seems like it. Not that I'm accusing you! But....."

"Nikita, you might try actually saying what's bothering you. I have a better chance of fixing it if I actually know the problem."

Nikita closed her eyes and spoke very quickly. "I feel like Madeline might be replacing me with you."

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

Chapter twenty-two ___________

"Oh, Nikita." Lalia put her fork down and took Nikita's hand. "I *raised* you. You're the closest thing to a daughter I'm ever likely to have. No one is going to replace you. Why would you even think that?" Lalia closed her eyes and made another face. "Wow. That was kinda fraught, wasn't it?"

"Well.." Nikita looked down at her hands. "..it just seemed to me that you and Madeline were spending a lot of time together, and..."

"She's a new member of the Inner Circle. I even admit to really liking her, and I would like her to become a close friend. But you're my daughter, and a friend is all she'll ever be." Lalia winced. "Ok, now I just sound like a walking cliche."

Nikita laughed, but it was strained. "Ok, cliche or not, are you sure? Because, to be honest, it is scaring me a little."

"When we brought Michael into the Circle, you spent as much time as possible with him, training and explaining. Huh, that rhymed. Ok, and you also know that Madeline doesn't feel comfortable talking to you about these things for the simple reason that in Section, she out-ranks you. Right?"

Nikita nodded. "Right. Which is fine, but...."

"But nothing. If she doesn't ask you, who is she going to ask? Michael? He's really still learning himself." Lalia tilted her head...Nikita's face had contorted at that. "He is doing ok, isn't he?"

"He's doing great. He barely needs me at all these days."

Lalia's eyes closed. "Ah...you're feeling unneeded?" Nikita nodded.

"Ok, well, I was going to tell you anyway, and this seems as good a time as any." She stopped to take a sip of brandy. She needed it. "Ok. Jack..."

"Hi!" Jack came up from behind Lalia and smiled at Nikita. "Mind if I join you?" He looked around the room. "There doesn't seem to be any place else for me to sit."

Nikita grinned. "Like I'd let you eat alone, anyway?"

Lalia sighed, very quietly.

Ok...guess not.

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