Nikita does not belong to me. I only wish it did.

Anyway this is going to be a Malex story so be forewarned if you happen to not like that particular pairing. Also this is set after 1x16 Echoes and I will be tweaking a few things which will be that Amanda never recommended Alex for cancellation and that Michael never figured out where Nikita is.

Well finally on with the show...or story I should say.

Alex was glad to be home, after that mission and Amanda's "testing" afterwards the felt like somebody had pounded her on the head repeatedly with a sledgehammer. The first thing that she did was grab a glass of water and take some aspirin to hopefully alleviate her headache. She had barely begun to sit down when there was knocking on her door. Momentarily she considered pretending that she wasn't home, but she didn't want to take the chance on it being Michael and having him break down the door. Resigning herself to the fact that it was probably Michael wanting to talk to her about the mission she was surprised to see Nathan when she opened the door.

Startled all she could think of to say was, oh, hi. Nathan smiled at her and said well you were gone for a few days with no word so I came over to see how you were doing. Alex managed to smile back at him and said oh well they needed me on this important trip and it was really short notice so I'm sorry to have worried you. Nathan just shook his head and smiled and said no worries anyway how about dinner tonight. Alex frowned and said well it was a long trip..., Nathan cut in before she could finish and said no problem I can come over here and cook something for you. She nodded and him and said how about seven o'clock. He was positively beaming by then and said well see you then and turned to go back to his apartment. As she closed the door she couldn't help noticing that she had felt disappointed that Michael hadn't been the one at the door. Shaking away her confusion she decided to go and lay down until she had to get ready for dinner.

Seven O'clock

Alex woke up when she heard a knock at the door and looked at the time gasping when she saw that it was just after seven. She hadn't meant to sleep that long but she must have been more tired than she thought she was. Opening the door she smiled when she saw Nathan standing there with some groceries. After inviting him in she asked what he would be making. Laughing he said well have you ever had chicken stir fry.

Despite her still pounding head she decided to watch him cook to see if she could possibly learn anything. That was the one thing about division, taught you all these things but they never really taught anything that you would really use all the time, normal things.

As Alex was lost in her thoughts she suddenly heard a knock on the door and stood to answer it. Nathan frowned and asked her if she thought that he should make more stir fry. Half listening she said that it would be a good idea just in case and went to open the door. When she saw Birkhoff standing on the other side she was completely speechless and gestured for him to come in. Finally managing to gather herself she said what are you doing here. Birkhoff looked at Nathan who was watching him and said well Michael wanted to come check on you because you had a really bad day at work, but they sent him on another assignment so he asked me to come over and make sure you were doing okay. Alex said just a really bad headache, other than that I'm fine. Frowning he said well sorry I can't do anything about that, besides if I give you the wrong thing Michael might actually kill me and I shudder to think of all the imaginative ways he might think of to accomplish that. Turning to leave he said well I should get going they'll want me back at the office. Alex nodded and he left.

Thankfully Nathan didn't even ask who Birkhoff was and acted as if he hadn't hear anything.

That night as she lay in bed she her mind kept going back to when Michael rescued her from Vlad, his words repeating over and over in her head, It's okay I've got you now, It's okay. The feeling of safety with his arms around her continued to tease at the edges of her mind even as she drifted off to sleep.

AN: Okay well that's what I've got for chapter one. Please review and let me know what you think.