Chapter One
Seymour sat staring at his computer screen. It had been a long time since he had last seen her picture and it as much too long. For years he had been far too scared to try to look her up or to try to go and see her. He had been afraid of who may find out about her. Even after Percy's death and Amanda's departure, there was still a lingering fear. He knew it was illogical and she would be safe now, but he still could not bring himself to look her up.
Her hair was shorter than it was the last time that he had seen her. Then again, she had been a lot younger then. Her hair was also a shade of strawberry blond, but naturally she was more of a dirty blond. Even though her clothes were different and her hair had changed, he had immediately recognized her face. She had grown a lot since he had seen her lost, but her face didn't lie. He laughed when he realized that she might be about the same height as he was, if not taller, and her hair was shorter than his. He smiled to himself at the thought. She would probably be just as surprised at what he looked like now- if she remembered what he looked like and if she could get over the shock that he wasn't actually dead.
Now, even though he had avoided looking for her because of a fear for her safety, she was in danger. There was no sign of how Amanda had found her or if Amanda even knew who it was that she had. All he knew was that she was in trouble and he was going to have to come clean to Michael, Nikita, Ryan and everyone else. He looked back at the pictures- the terror and shock in Kaylin's eyes as Amanda grabbed her. It would be worth it to finally tell them about her, if it meant rescuing her from Amanda's grasp.
Rubbing his temples, his eyes glossed over the surveillance photos again, watching the scene unfold through the chronological photos as Amanda grabbed her. Kaylin was completely innocent and had no idea what was going on. He knew he had to get her out; he had to protect her, before his fear caused her more pain. He chastised himself for waiting so long to look into her; for being so afraid of getting her into trouble. His fear and lack of action had the completely opposite effect- now she was in more danger than if he had just taken the chance and told everyone about her. This whole situation was going to be trying. He had deep feelings for Kaylin and he could not stand that she could be hurt. It was going to be difficult to admit to everyone that he had this secret person in his life, but he hoped they would understand that he had done it; he had kept her a secret to protect her safety.
Standing up suddenly, Birkhoff hit the print button on the computer screen. Normally he would not have wasted the paper, but now that he had a recent picture of her, he wanted to keep it around. It had been such a long time since he had seen her, he wanted to have her picture to look at all the time, since for the time being it was safe for her to do so. Normally he would never have wasted the paper, he prided himself on keeping Division paperless, but this was a unique situation. Grabbing the paper off of the printer, Birkhoff headed to Operations. As he got there, his eyes caught the screens in shock, seeing that they all had versions of the pictures Birkhoff had in his hand. "We need to find out who that girl is and what Amanda wants with her." He heard Michael directing the technical team.
Slowly approaching Michael at the front of the room, as he got close enough, he finally called to Michael, "Hey Michael, can I talk to you?"
"Yeah." Michael responded.
"In Ryan's office?" Birkhoff added, not wanting to admit his secret in front of everyone.
Michael gave Birkhoff a confused look, but followed Birkhoff towards Ryan's office. Birkhoff knocked on the door, and Ryan answered pretty quickly, since he wasn't overseeing any current missions- yet. "Hey, what's going on guys?" Ryan greeted them as he opened the door.
"I have some information about the girl Amanda abducted." Birkhoff told him
"Come in." Ryan looked confused since Birkhoff had not yet briefed about the search for her yet.
Once Birkhoff and Michael were in the room, Ryan shut the door behind them and shut the blinds to his office for privacy. "So what do you know, or I should ask, what did you find out about her?" Ryan asked.
"There's something that I have never told anyone." Birkhoff started off with a deep breath.
Both Michael and Ryan frowned. Birkhoff knew that secrets around here rarely meant good news when they came out. "What's going on Seymour?" Michael asked.
"I recognized her when I came across her picture." Birkhoff explained.
"Recognized her how?" Michael tried to get more information. "From a mission?"
"Not exactly." He replied, taking a nervous breath.
Michael could tell whatever Birkhoff was about to tell them must be big. It wasn't very often that Birkhoff was this lost for words. "What's going on Birkhoff?" Ryan asked demandingly.
"I know her." Birkhoff finally reported.
"You know her?" Michael was shocked by Birkhoff's confession. Birkhoff was socially awkward and wasn't a very good liar, so Michael was curious what was going on. "How long?"
"A very long time." He replied.
Michael was even more confused that Birkhoff had kept a secret from them for what he had professed was a very long time. "Who is she?" Michael asked.
"Kaylin Wilder." He replied. "Previously Kaylin Birkhoff, my little sister."
