Long shot

Verse: Nikita

Genre: Humour/Romance/Friendship/angst

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Alex/Birkhoff

Song: Listening to A little less sixteen candles and a little more 'touch me'. :)

Summary: he was the resident geek, genius and smart ass. It was a long shot really but Birkhoff was the one to try.

Geek

he saw it in her face the first time he saw her; just like other recruits, he was the geek to them all and despite the power he really had in Division they still ignored him when they could get away with and ridiculed him. Alex looked at him like a geek and he was fine with that; more then fine because he was still the genius and the one person they would never (nearly) cancel was him.

She was hot but he had seen so many like her go through that he just accepted her as easy on the eyes, maybe a little reserved memory for alone time and that was it.

Until of course she was an agent and some where along the line she grew into her own with computers. Like really grew into her own; he knew she was holding back and he shouted at her several times he was sure she could do it.

"No" his answer was always final with agents, apart from Michael and Nikita when she was still stalking around Division and even when she wasn't. But with Alex spinning innocently from side to side in that chair, he guessed he would have to be firm.

"Do you even know how awesome this is; this is more then you little agent brain can take" he argues and he would give it to her, when she rolled her eyes she knew what she was doing. But he was sitting firm.

It was OK for him to play Graphic games (not video games) while waiting for some feed back from a mission or just waiting for a mission, but she was an agent and she was meant to be learning.

"Please; I can kill a man at least twenty different ways, thirty two if I have objects around me, you think I can't handle a little video game" she exclaimed turning those doe eyes on him and he refused to fall for that. He had seen her in action, luring men to their demise whilst on a mission.

It was hard but he would do it, because after all he was Birkhoff.

"Lets get that little statement correct. I've been an agent longer, I know thirty five different ways to kill someone and make sure it never comes back to me" Lie but he was on a roll.

"And this isn't a video game; it's a graphic game. You don't point and shoot, sweetheart, you have to plan your moves, know where your going all the while remembering what buttons to push and in what order this is over your head" that smirk was because he was pretty sure that was down right the best 'shut 'em up' answers he had delivered in a few weeks.

However the way Alex raised her eyebrows Birkhoff's delivering could use some tweaking.

"Let me beat you and then we can discuss how this goes over my head" Alex challenged and if Birkhoff hadn't been insulted by the fact that she might win he would have seen it for what it was. Tossing her a controller, he didn't even smirk when she grinned.

This was death con five in Birkhoff's books and that meant business.

And an hour later, with Alex flexing her fingers and Birkhoff doing a strange winning dance, Birkhoff still knew his business and that includes knowing agents are no good at graphic games.

"Suck em, I rule, oh hell yeah do I ever" Birkhoff's gloating only caused Alex to stare up at him before shaking her head.

Smirking she watched as the resident geek enjoyed his victory and was actually acting like a (questionable) normal person.

"To think I could ever be beaten by an agent, I'm like god when it comes to this" Birkhoff's exclamations only gained a giggle from Alex who stood and stretched her muscles.

"You are such a geek" in a fraction of a second Birkhoff spun round and glared at Alex, he had forgotten that he was in fact just that. The Division geek who was only turned to when they needed him. Michael was friendly at the best because he had no one else to turn to.

But before Birkhoff could return to his defensive mode he saw it. The smile lighting Alex's face and the expression she wore; as though being a geek wasn't something bad nor different. If anything she looked amused by his actions and that was a first in a long time.

Sure people looked at him in amusement but that was always with an underlying look of pity; as though being used for Division was something to be proud of. Because he was stuck running the whole thing made him less.

"Just because I lost this time doesn't mean I'm going to next time and I will bring it" Alex warned, that small smile still tugging at the corner of her lips. Birkhoff could only watch dumbfounded as Alex stretched once more before glancing at the time.

"Next week, me and you geek and I will prove to you I can kick your ass thirty nine different ways on this graphic game" she ordered, that smile brightening as Birkhoff nodded at her.

Watching her flounce out of the room Birkhoff shook his head; she wasn't different from any of the other hot recruits who came through.

He wouldn't let her be different because that would only lead to bad things.

But if he was a little less grumpy it wasn't because she thought it was alright being a geek it was because he knew he was the ruler of Graphic games.

Genius

If god was in the details then Birkhoff had to be god. That was the only theory that proved it self right again and again.

It was the reason why, if he had been in charge of this mission, Alex wouldn't be fighting for her life.

"Idiot" Birkhoff growled at one of the other techs, who was smart enough to duck his head and attempt to fade in the background. For now however Birkhoff had more pressing issues at hand; like how to get Alex out of a locked building that was designed to cause problems for anyone helping her and her death.

"Birkhoff" Alex's small voice echoed throughout him and he didn't like how the pressure was mounting. They weren't really friends, at least not the usual type. They played graphic games and they riled each other up but they weren't friends.

Expect maybe they were but Birkhoff worked hard against that; if not for just him (a lot for him) but for her too. Despite becoming a rather good agent there was still too many things about Alex that raised a hell of a lot of questions.

And even if Michael didn't say it out loud, Birkhoff did. Alex was eerily like Nikita and they all knew how that ended.

"Yeah shut up I'm working my magic" Birkhoff snapped and if he smirked at her snort he didn't care. Even being a good agent didn't mean they were the best when trapped. In fact Birkhoff knew enough about Alex to know she didn't like being in tight places.

"Well work it quicker, I'm running out of corridors" he heard it in her voice then and it pushed him to work quicker and glare harder at his stupid worker.

He would talk to Percy about getting him people who were able to do their jobs right, expendable or not agents were hard to come by lately.

"Hey sweetheart you want my job? No didn't think so; so shut up focus on the bad guys asses your going to kick and let me work" Birkhoff snapped and was grateful when he didn't hear anything back from Alex.

The other techs knew not to question anything Birkhoff said and this was no different. Most of the time he would tell agents to shut up and carry on like they weren't talking.

"Up ahead, a door opening now for you" Birkhoff ordered, this was just a little opening and there was still a good dozen getting in his way. Someone within the building was throwing up blocks every time Birkhoff broke through. It didn't matter though because as good as those guys were they weren't as good as Birkhoff.

"Dead ends; Birkhoff?" Alex was trusting him now and he knew where he was going, hell if it wasn't for the panic in her voice he would have gloated about doing this blind folded.

"There's a duct; this Noob didn't even think about these. Dumbass" Birkhoff declared but when he was met with silence and Alex frozen position he frowned.

"You hear me; a duct, right a head of you" Birkhoff repeated becoming annoyed now because not moving meant guards would close in on her and he couldn't hold them back.

"It's small" Alex whispered and Birkhoff twitched, he had heard about her incident while still training. He wasn't called a genius for no reason. Small places and Alex never mixed well.

"Yeah well, it's bigger on then the inside" Birkhoff snapped already working on sealing three guards heading her way.

"What" the panic was getting to her and she wasn't even in the duct yet, he didn't know if he could pull this off for much longer if she was going to turn into a sitting duck.

"Dr. Who; his TARDIS, bigger on the inside. God, you Noob. Besides I'm going to be in your ear the whole time" Birkhoff grunted and bit back the smile when Alex started to move towards the duct.

"Geek" she muttered, kicking the duct covering out of the way. Laughing to himself Birkhoff watched as Alex steadied her self and hurried into the duct. She paused and Birkhoff leaned forward.

"Move; crawl, your still a new agent so it's like being a baby again. Crawl!" Birkhoff urged hearing the shuddering breaths from Alex who stumbled forward. After several minutes, a several times going off direction Birkhoff figured her out.

"Left"

"Right"

"opening to the right; don't go through it"

he was leading her blindfolded but he was leading her and she trusted him enough to do what he said. After another five tense moments, the room filled with nothing but Birkhoff's directions, moonlight flooded the screen.

"Alex wait" Birkhoff ordered causing Alex to swallow a quick breath.

"I can hear them"

"Yeah; well you got that scanner" Birkhoff questioned before seeing appear on the screen.

"Lay it down and they get your ass out of there" he ordered watching once more as Alex did just what he said. As soon as she was out Birkhoff went to work, snapping at the keyboard never once lifting his fingers far from the keys.

"Birkhoff?" her voice filled him and his fingers stilled only for a fraction of a second before he slammed his finger down on the enter button and a weird buzzing sound filled the room.

"Birkhoff" it was distorted now but he heard the chuckle in her tone, the awe and he lent back knowing his work was untarnished.

"Agents on route to escort you home; talk about being a gentleman!" Birkhoff let out a breath and glared at his workers who quickly scurried under his scrutiny.

"Birkhoff... ing connect... but... say... you're a Genius" Birkhoff looked back to the screen and smiled brightly to himself. It wasn't like she was stating something he didn't already know.

"Already know that sunshine" he declared and he did but it was nice to know that someone said it because they meant it and not because they felt they had to say because they had their asses saved by him. If she was standing by his side he knew she would have said it if it had been another agent.

So they weren't friends in the usual sense but they got each other and in Division that was something.

Smart Ass

Birkhoff was a genius, a geek and a hell of a smart ass but even he was having a hard time trying to figure this one out.

He took to pacing Operations but it got him scared looks and in his mood that just pissed him off more then usual. Then again people didn't usually see their resident genius dressed up in a dress suit, pulling his hair out. Even his can of red bull laid un touched and that was more unheard of then the suit.

Percy decided that it was time for him to return to the field. And yes it was this one time and after nearly being caught he strongly guessed it would be twenty years before he was allowed out there again. But that didn't matter because it was how they avoided nearly being caught that was rolling through his mind over and over again.

Alex was his partner and that didn't bother him; because they had really become friends, albeit hidden, and it was easy to act like they got along. Due to the paranoid nature of the target, nothing electronic got through the security detail. Meaning that everything from phones to Ipods would be tested. Birkhoff needed to be on site for this to work and for once, even if only a cover, he got the hot chick on his arm.

Once inside Alex dragged him to the toilet under the pretence of whatever anyone thought to think; namely he was getting some considering his smirk. Once in there he enabled the chip in her necklace and used his phone to transfer the information back to Operations.

It was simple and Alex was a natural; she spotted Michael before Birkhoff did and that wasn't because he kept looking at the stunning dress Alex had been shoved into.

It was all going fine until Alex had to make the download. Playing the dizzy woman got her where she needed to go but after ten minutes and noticing Michael looking antsy, Birkhoff went off in search of the agent. Finding her staring at the dead body of a guard made his stomach recoil. Her doe eyes lifted to his face and she looked so lost that in that moment Birkhoff didn't feel so smart.

If he was he would have made it all go away and she would be smiling, rolling her eyes or calling him a geek before laughing. He barked an order at her, throwing his jacket to her to cover her ripped dress from the fight and quickly hid the body as best as he could. This room wasn't covered by cameras, a dumb-ass move but something that worked in their favour.

Getting his mind back in to gear he allowed Alex to cling to him for a few seconds before messing her hair up and loosening his own shirt and tie.

they weaved their way back to the main party when they heard the guards, fearing what was going to happen Birkhoff panicked.

It was what Alex did next that got him confused and resulted in him pacing Operations like a caged tiger. Shoving him against the wall she pressed her whole body against him and kissed him.

And one of the things confusing him was the fact that it wasn't a 'distract guards' move but something else, something she put everything into. Deepening the kiss when Birkhoff understood where she was going. If she minded his hands getting a little free and easy under his jacket, she didn't seem to care. The guards moved them along with that knowing look before looking for their dead partner.

Alex acted her part well, clinging to his arm as they made their exit, followed by Michael and once out of danger she just smiled at him and thanked him.

Not that he would admit it out loud but he felt he should be thanking her, he had been kissed before but never, not in reality, been kissed like that.

The reason he was pacing was because there was something tugging at the back of his mind, something he couldn't smart ass his way out of. Beneath those pink lips was something Alex was hiding and in that moment it felt like she couldn't hide it any more.

If his workers were scared before they were that relieved when he stalked out of Operations. Birkhoff was grumpy most days but this night they swore he was going to kill one of them and not even bat an eyelid.

Driving like the devil was on his tail, he reached Alexis place in record time but it still took him twenty minutes of gripping the steering wheel then forcing himself to let before he managed to knock on her door.

If she was surprised by his late night visit she didn't show it; instead it actually seemed she was happy to see him.

"I want my jacket back" he snapped and for a moment he was sure he saw a flinch from the woman before him.

"Why? It's Amanda's" the slight tilt of her lips as he pushed past her in to her place made him bit back his own.

"cause I like it and I don't want it smelling all chicky, Amanda said I could keep the suit. And baby I rock this suit" he finished by spinning and smirking at her while pointing to himself. Alex on her part just shook her head and closed the door.

"Smart ass" she muttered, forcing him to stare at her and lose his smirk.

"I thought I was a geek and genius" he questioned, she simply folded her arms and shrugged. With a tilt of her head she smiled at him.

"Geek, Genius or Smart ass, what ever fits. Your not an easy man to label" she offered before flouncing towards the kitchen.

Licking his lips he simply watched her, the memory of her pressed against him rocketing back to his mind.

"And that's all you got; thought you were smarter than that" he snipped causing her to still before spinning and looking at him.

Pinning him with a raised eyebrow, she couldn't stop the smirk playing across her lips. And Birkhoff couldn't stop the hard swallow working his way down his throat.

"Well, considering present company, I'm still pretty smart" the darting of eyes and the licking of her lips made him question his sanity at this moment.

"I mean if your friends with me, that is?" it wasn't a statement and he knew she didn't mean it to be. It was easy between them, so easy that he wondered if this was it was like back in the start for him and Michael.

No; they had Nikita between them. Even back then she liked to play them off against each other, her middle finger to the system.

"I guess I rub off on people; don't make you a genius sunshine" he snapped and relaxed since that kiss. It hurt knowing she was playing her part well, but he was Birkhoff after all and he could act with the best of them.

"Heaven forbid I steal the spotlight from your over inflated ego!" she snipped with a smile causing him to smirk.

"Don't make you a smart ass either" he orders before slumping into a chair and dragging his hands across his face.

He heard her moving around him, forcing him to close his eyes and listen. He could pretend they were just two friends, hanging out and bantering together like they had done it for years.

A beep forced his eyes open and he saw her frowning at a text message with his jacket in her hand.

"Division?" he questioned, a frown etching his forehead because nothing happened at Division he didn't know about. Unless of course he was being tested or threaten with cancellation.

The frown melted from her face as she looked at him and shook her head, quickly switching her phone off and tossing it on to the table.

"no; wrong number" she assured moving over to him, holding the jacket out like it was a peace offering.

"I can get that sorted; make sure no one gets your number" he offers and that is as close as he can get to being nice, after all he wasn't the genius for nothing.

"No I kinder like reading them; when and if I get them. Nice knowing someone is having a normal life" she admits in that wistful tone.

And as he grabs his jacket, he decides it's a long shot but hell if he wasn't going to try. Standing he smirks at the shock and disappointment all rolled into one of her face before throwing his jacket down and kissing her. The pink lips quickly attempted to dominate and he chuckled until she nipped at his lower lip.

Division would have his ass, hers as well, and he could already see the look Michael would give them both. Percy would smoothly tell him about the rules before putting the bullets into their heads.

As he desperately threaded his fingers into her hair, he pushed away the thought that they would just put the bullet into her head and make him watch.

Make him remember that he belonged to them and despite how good this felt, it was fleeting.

"Wait" he didn't know how to detach himself from her and a part of him was thankful she did, because the moment his dark eyes saw her puffy pink lips he wanted to forget about Division for ever.

"Just give me five minutes" the way her eyes peered up at him through her eye lashes he guessed he would have given her five hundred years.

"To freshen up" she ordered before biting her lip and lowering her eyes to his chest.

"Just stay here" she questioned and his only answer was to nod, trying hard not to recapture her lips for longer when she pressed a swift kiss to his lips.

Dragging his hands across his face once more he curses everything; starting from Division and ending with Alex.

She was just another agent, another hot agent and he was still the geek and controller of Operations. He shouldn't be standing there waiting for her to return, he should be high tailing it out of there, praying no one ever found out.

But he stood there, waiting because despite being a long shot, if anyone was or should take it, it would be him. As his dark eyes raked across the room he saw the phone. Biting his lip hard, he counted to twenty before he quickly scooped it up and switched it back on.

Scrolling through the messages he found the last one and for all his smarts and snarky retorts he couldn't think up one right now.

'Don't get close to him- N'

it could have meant a lot of things, she could have been telling the truth and this was a wrong number but something deep down in him tugged at his loyalty to Division and saving his own life.

This was one hell of a long shot; for him it was so much longer but switching the phone off and scrubbing at his face, he knew that he was the one take it. And when she returned calling him towards the bedroom, he knew whatever came the next morning he was smart enough to take it.

Had to take it.

The End