Hi guys!

Another little one-shot for you! Thanks to a guest review on my other 'True Believer missing scene' I've decided to do another one-shot on that episode. Said reviewer hinted at other scenarios that might have been missed out in the original episode, like this one. Just how did Alex and Nikita get out of a maximum security prison, when the plan was to leave undercover?

It's my little take on how that might have happened. If you haven't already, you might want to read through my other one-shot too, No Looking Back, as that was a sort of 'missed scene' from the same episode. If anyone wants any other scenarios between Nikita and Alex written from different episodes, just drop me a PM and I'll see what I can do!

Remember, sorry for any mistakes, I beta for myself and I'm not a native English speaker...

Enjoy.

Breaking Free

"Alex – Alex look at me!"

Nikita couldn't help but hear the panic, being replayed back to her in her own voice as she spoke. Shock coursed through her veins, causing her heartbeat to quicken in tempo and sending irrational thoughts through her usually-rational head.

She pressed down on her partners shoulder as much as she dared, expecting to see some flicker of discomfort from the younger girl before her. Alex's expression was a readable form of shock and fear mixed together, her baby blue eyes staring desperately forwards – yet not focusing on anything in particular.

Nikita tried her hardest to ignore the horrible feeling of Alex's blood flowing from beneath her fingertips as she struggled to get the flow under control. It was made worse by the fact that her hands were still bound together by cuffs, handcuffs that she herself had put on as part of her cover. Even though they were only lightly bound, easily fixed by a quick wiggle of her hands, she was unwilling to take the pressure of Alex's wound to shake them off. The bullet had travelled through Alex's right shoulder, just missing the sleeveless bullet-proof vest that she had donned as a prison operative. As far as Nikita could see, it was a through-and-through, but with the amount of blood that was currently running from her partner, it looked as if it might have nicked something major. Her own prison uniform was already stained an awful shade of crimson.

"Alex! Alex look at me, please!" She repeated, her shock quickly turning to desperation as Alex gave her no inclination that she had heard or acknowledged her request. Nikita shook her lightly, trying to get her attention without maiming her further, causing even more damage. She had been here before, shock could overtake the body completely and she needed Alex to focus. With this level of blood-loss occurring, it was going to be hard to keep the younger girl conscious until Michael and the others could get to them.

They weren't far away, they had been waiting to rendezvous and change vehicles when her and Alex had managed to get Mia out of the prison in the back of a prison van. The plan was to sneak out, completely undetected. That seemed to be completely out of the question now.

She released a breath she had been unaware she was holding in when Alex turned her expression to meet her own eyes, their gaze coming back to life. The young Russian quickly acknowledged the pain of the situation, wriggling against the pressure Nikita was applying against her wounded shoulder.

"Alex, I need you to stay with me alright?" Nikita half-whispered, trying her hardest to swallow the lump forming in her throat. Un-shed tears threatened to spill from her eyes as Alex nodded, unable to form any words to speak, yet giving her a hauntingly helpless expression.

"Here, I need you to put pressure on this for a second, just until I can shake these cuffs." Nikita stated and Alex raised a shaking hand to press against her own maimed shoulder as Nikita lifted hers to allow her access to the wound. She gently pressed Alex's hand down harder, before quickly writhing her hands free of their restraints. She then hastily returned one to it's original position, squeezing Alex's hand down, half for need and half for reassurance.

"Niki, Michael's on the way, ETA ten minutes." Instead of Sonia's voice gracing her communications device, it was Birkhoff's relaxing tone.

"Helps on the way Alex." She reassured, taking a minute to brush her hand down Alex's paling cheek, ignoring the streak of crimson she left behind, the sight making her stomach churn. Alex closed her eyes briefly at the touch, yet forced them open again seconds after. She needed to stay focused. Scanning the expression on the assassin's face carefully – she noticed Nikita looked terrified.

"How bad is it?" she coughed, her words not forming quite as they should.

"You're going to be fine Alex." Nikita reassured, more for herself than the young Russian. She scanned her body once more, cursing the thick prison shirt that Alex was wearing. She was unable to apply as much pressure as she required against the girls skin.

"Alex, we need to take this off..." She whispered, fumbling with the front clips of Alex's vest with shaking fingers. She cursed herself more. She could stare down the barrel of a loaded gun without so much as a moments hesitation or a shaking hand, yet right now trying to stay calm enough to undo the front of a shirt was unbelievably hard.

"Niki, you need to move, we've got talk over the radio. Someone's logged shots being fired, you've got security coming in from the north!" Birkhoff's desperate voice rang around her head like wildfire.

"Shit.. Alex cant move!" She hissed, looking over her shoulder at the way they had just exited the prison with Mia. They were too exposed here, they would be easy targets for any firearms. They already had one bullet hole – they did not need another.

"It's alright..." Alex whispered, motioning for Nikita to help her off the floor. Even with a gunshot wound, it was amazing just how versatile she could be. Nikita nodded her understanding, moving swiftly to Alex's good side. Carefully, she lifted Alex's un-maimed arm around her own shoulders, gently hauling the other girl to her feet. She didn't miss the uncomfortable shift that Alex gave her, trying not to move her shoulder too far, nor the sharp intake of breath through the younger girl's teeth at the movement.

"I'm sorry Alex, I need you to be strong for me..." Nikita whispered, her voice choking up. She had told the other girl that many times before, usually when they found themselves in a life-or-death situation or when one of them was hurt. Alex nodded, her knees weak beneath her body. Nikita had to support a little more of her weight as she swayed forwards.

Alex cringed as she pulled her injured arm forwards, freeing it from the bulletproof vest and letting the clothing drop down onto the floor behind her, landing it unceremoniously into the small pool of blood that she had left where she'd slumped.

Nikita found herself feeling queasy at the sight, before looking back up to where Alex re-clutched her shoulder, stemming the blood flow once more. Now that she was free of the vest, Nikita could see a dark stain of crimson staining half of her prison-guard shirt.

"Birkhoff, what's our status?" Nikita asked, touching a finger to her earpiece as she gently coaxed Alex forwards.

"You've got guards coming in from the rear, your best bets going to be forwards, out into vehicle lock-down. Michael will rendezvous with you there, ETA six-minutes." Birkhoff was as calm and collected as ever and Nikita could hear the dulcet tones of him tapping away on his keyboard frantically. He couldn't see the situation down here, otherwise Nikita would have challenged him to stay so chilled.

"Wont that put us outside, in plain view of front security? If they've radioed in, the guards will be expecting us to walk right out that door." Nikita hissed, tightening her hold on Alex as the girl stumbled forwards clumsily.

"You're going to have to be quick. There's a few more vans outside, one parked right near the entrance to your hanger, they should be able to provide a little cover until Michael and the others can get to you. The compounds locked, but our vehicle should be strong enough to break down the gates." Birkhoff advised quickly, perhaps becoming a little concerned about the situation himself. This was going to be a matter of perfect timing if they hoped to get out in one piece. Getting a seriously injured Alex into the back of a Division van at speed was going to be tricky.

"How's she doing?" he asked quickly, concern tingling in his tone of voice. Alex was a part of this big, dysfunctional family – a big part.

"Not good." Nikita whispered, through the effort of keeping her partner upright. She turned back to the other girl, hastily looking behind them for guards.

"Are you ready for this?" Nikita asked, stopping them just outside the door leading to the vehicle compound. This was going to be a challenge, they would be completely exposed for a few seconds. As soon as she opened this door, prison security would know exactly where they were and they would be subjected to open fire. Her own cover didn't help, she was still dressed as a prisoner.

"Do I have a choice?" Alex panted, trying to flash her mentor a small smile, turning into somewhat of a grimace as pain shot through her shoulder and down her arm.

"Easy Alex." Nikita whispered, pulling her closer and looping her arm securely around her waist for support. Every time she looked over the girls pale skin, she was reminded that six minutes would feel like an eternity to both of them.

She flinched at the sound of a heavily reinforced door being forced open behind them, hitting the wall with force. From inside, prison guards leaked out in single-tactical file. Four men, all with pistols drawn from their holsters.

"We've got to move!" She said desperately, kicking the door wide before them. She forced Alex forwards, the younger girl managing to collect her feet forwards unbelievably well, her shaking limbs forgotten momentarily by a small amount of adrenaline coursing through her. That, and the want for Nikita's own safety too.

The guards had picked up on their location quickly. Mia had fired enough shots to alert the whole country where they were. She had turned her aim on them without a backwards glance, even after they had sprung her from jail, given her freedom. Nikita hadn't even had time to acknowledge that Mia had picked up the guards weapon from his holster, not until Alex had shouted out and pushed her roughly backwards out the way, getting herself shot in the process.

She had saved her life, without fear of what would happen to her own. That bullet had been meant for her - now Alex was paying for it.

As they stepped quickly outside, Nikita had to allow her eyes to adjust to their surroundings, the hanger they had just exited was dimly lit and now sunlight beamed down upon them. Nikita forced her feet faster, shivering at the beacon they had just become. They may as well have walked out with targets strapped to their backs.

She found herself ducking in quick reflex as she heard a bullet being dispensed from a rifle's chamber. She felt it whizzing manically past her left ear, just shy of it's target.

"Alex over here, you can do it..." She encouraged, pulling the girl perhaps a little too roughly behind the nearest prison vehicle. It was just like the one that Mia had chosen as her get-away car. She sheltered them behind it's aluminium shell, hearing several rounds bounce off it's bulletproof surface. Here, they had a wall on the other side – perfect for temporary cover.

Nikita knew she had to disable the other guards somehow, before they could flush them back out into the open. She needed to do it in the cover of the hanger, where the security patrol out here wouldn't be able to get any aim on her.

She pressed Alex's back against the cool metal of the van, letting her slide gently to the floor.

"Wait here." she whispered, placing a reassuring hand on Alex's good shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze for support.

"I'm not going anywhere Nikita..." Alex stated, meeting the older woman's hazel eyes with her swimming blue ones. She could feel her limbs shaking, her battered body protesting against the hammer it was receiving.

Nikita nodded, before turning away and pressing her own back against the vehicle. Peering around the corner, her eyes met with her target. There were three marksmen, guarding the nearest prison defence wall. Several shots were instantly fired and she had to use the van as cover again, taking in a deep breath.

Forcing her suddenly unwilling legs forwards, she left the safety of her cover quickly, hurling herself back through the door and into darkness once more.

She felt like jumping straight back out again as she realised that one of the pursuing guards was a little closer than she had anticipated – well, at least she had the element of surprise.

He didn't even get a chance to pull the trigger as her eyes instantly adjusted and she went into fight mode, knocking his aim sideways and turning him 180 degrees until she had one arm snaked around his throat and one hand on the weapon he was forced to let go of. He had become the perfect body shield and she felt a little more confident with the cool metal of a pistol in her hands.

The man in-front of her grunted as bullets rained down on him from his colleagues, they were desperately aiming to hit his captor. Nikita knew he was dead when his body became limp, hanging heavy against her hold. She blinked as she quickly pulled the trigger multiple times, aiming true at the remaining prison guards.

With a flash of relief, two fell to their knees as she released the last bullet in the pistol's clip at the remaining guard, hitting in squarely in the leg and plummeting him to the floor a few metres from where she stood.

As fast as lightning, she disposed of both the body and her now useless firearm, launching herself forwards to kick his own weapon from his hands. He grasped out, desperately trying to get a hold of the assassin's legs in panic as she sidestepped around him, getting a firm hold of his neck. With no hesitation, she yanked it sideways roughly, not even flinching at the sickening crunch of bone snapping beneath flesh. He went lifeless in her hold and she dropped him forwards, face down on the cold concrete floor. She scooped up his weapon quickly, gracefully straightening herself up.

"Nikita, hold on, were getting you out of there!" Michael's voice came confidently through her comm and she breathed a sigh of relief at his words. She could hear the closeness of returning fire as he spoke and she knew they must be speeding through the prisons security posts, shooting as they went.

She had to get back to Alex.

"Michael, thank god. Alex, she..." she didn't care how feeble she sounded, not to him. The truth was, she felt like bursting into uncontrollable sobs, the only thing stopping her was the knowledge that she needed to stay strong – for Alex.

"I know..." Michael whispered, cutting her off. She could have her little guilt trip later, right now she needed to focus on getting herself and Alex out alive.

She spun around to voices behind her, her relief disappearing at the sight of more guards entering the hanger. She cursed, running forwards, back towards Alex and aiming blindly behind her as she went.

"Michael, I need you here now!" she shouted as more bullets rained down upon her, narrowly missing her fleeing back. She reached Alex within seconds, ducking her head back down and waiting for the bullets to be deflected.

Momentarily, she forgot they even existed. Panic filled her senses as she looked down upon her partner. Alex was slumped dejectedly to one side, her arm laying limp across her lap and her eyes fixed shut. Her skin was unbelievably white and until Nikita placed a hand to her chest, shaking her roughly, anyone would have overlooked the steady rising and falling of her chest.

"Alex!" she shouted, shaking her harder. For a moment, she almost forgot to breathe, until Alex's eyes flickered open gently and she murmured something that Nikita couldn't quite hear.

"Don't you do this to me, Alex, you've got to stay with me you hear?" Nikita couldn't fight the sob that choked up her voice as she carefully placed her hand under Alex's chin, raising her face until she was looking gently into her eyes.

"You're not dying for me... You hear me? Not today!"

In the distance, she could hear the screeching of tyres and she forced herself to tear her eyes away from her partners, searching for the cause of the sound. Her heart lightened a little when she saw a Division-grade armoured van speeding towards them. Instead of backing off the breaks, the van accelerated and Nikita found herself crossing her fingers, willing its titanium shell to break down the gates as Birkoff had planned.

She pulled Alex to her feet once more, her arm back around her shoulders. Even as she stood, Alex's knees buckled, almost plummeting them both back down to the floor.

"Easy, whoa!" Nikita said quickly, lowering her back down. She looked up to the sight of the van breaking through the compound gates. The metal structures flew inwards effortlessly as the bars on the front of the vehicle collided with them, only jerking its momentum a little. Hitting the brakes, she could see Michael behind the wheel, effortlessly steering the vehicle into a well-timed skid, shunting it just slightly into the prison van and giving Nikita and Alex a clear run for the side. She was amazed at quite how easy it seemed to be breaking in to a prison.

Nikita hauled Alex to her feet once more, her muscles protesting as she took nearly all of the Russian's weight, staggering them both towards the van as it's doors flew open and Sean jumped cleanly out the side.

"Sean! Take her..." she shouted, ducking down as the glass in the van next to her shattered, a bullet passing cleanly through it.

Sean scooped Alex into his arms effortlessly, his muscles perfectly designed for such lifting.

"Quickly, lets go!" Michael shouted, aiming his gun through the passenger side window, firing pointlessly at the marksmen. They were too far out of reach. Following Sean, Nikita threw herself into the truck, slamming the door shut behind them desperately. Michael took the que and Nikita had to steady herself as he stepped on the accelerator, the van's wheels scatting the ground before they managed to move it's metal bulk forwards.

Nikita could hear bullets pinging off it's metal body as Michael carefully steered them away from the compound, heading back through the barriers he had already broken down. She quickly helped Sean lower Alex to the floor, placing her hands back across the younger girl's shoulder. The bleeding had slowed a little, but it was still pouring from her partner at an alarming rate and Alex was anything but coherent.

"Are you alright?" Michael asked, addressing Nikita. He knew what the answer would be, he just needed to know.

"I'm fine, we need to get her back, ASAP!" she shouted, grateful for the gauze that Sean had just handed her, raiding the medical kit located in a specialised compartment of the van. Every Division vehicle came fitted with one as standard.

The rest of the prison passed in a blur, Nikita neither wanted to, nor had any need to pull her eyes away from Alex and she kept them fixated and focused on what she was doing. She could hear Sean speaking in a low tone, his hand clutching Alex's on the other side. Nikita shrugged off her blood-stained jacket top, ignoring that her arms and hands were also soaked in crimson. She reached a hand up to Alex's forehead, gently knocking the cap off her partners head and letting it rest on the other girls skin. The other, she had pressing the little piece of blood-soaked gauze as tight as she could to Alex's shoulder.

"Alex, please, just please... hang on." she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

Alex gave her a weak smile, before giving Sean's hand a small squeeze. It was amazing how much nothing hurt now, not with the people she loved right here, watching over her. The urge to simply let her eyes fall close was so tempting, yet she had made Nikita a promise that she would stay with her. She knew that if she closed them, they would probably never open again.

"Nikita..." she whispered, her voice almost too small to hear. She ignored the swilling sensation as Michael threw the van hard into every corner. She heard his voice as he radioed in, asking for a crash team and the medics to be ready for them when they arrived. Instead, she just focused on the face above her, the face of her mentor.

She knew, after all of this, if it came to it – she would do it all again. She was glad it was her here, not the one person that meant so much to her.

Nikita lowered her ear to Alex's lips, trying to catch what she was trying to say. She was scared, scared at how unfocused Alex's eyes were becoming, scared at the laboured rise and fall of the other girls chest as her breathing became shallow. This was too close, she was too close to losing her. She couldn't lose her, she just couldn't.

"What is it?" she whispered, tracing Alex's hairline gently with her thumb. She caught the small smile that Alex gave her, before her lips parted to gently whisper something in her ear, something she had said just a few minutes earlier. Something, she never wanted to hear from her again...

"I need you to stay strong – for me..."