Disclaimer: I don't own any of the actual characters of LFN…this is all in good fun…

Summary: There is a new operative in Section and she's anything but typical. She's younger than her peers, but just as lethal. More importantly she is the key to some of Section's darkest secrets. Will Nikita be able to figure her out?

Timeline: Takes place during Season 2 roughly after "New Regime" – it will not follow the series directly, but aspects of certain episodes will be worked into the script.

A/N: Thanks for those of you who did review and anyone who read…I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3: It Is…

"This is very good," Madeline told Charlotte between bites of the stir fry the teenager had prepared. It was the evening following the Herrick mission and the two were having dinner together in Charlotte's quarters as Operations had suggested. "Is it one of your own recipes?"

"Thank you, and yes." She took a sip of her drink. "I threw it together from what I had on hand. I was actually worried it would be a disaster."

"I doubt that. I am sure you could salvage it."

"Probably." Charlotte smiled. "If not, I could always call Christopher and beg him to prepare something."

"It's always wise to have an alternate plan."

"Yes, it is."

As they ate, they fell into a silence that an outsider would perceive as awkward. In reality, it was just a rhythm of the relationship between the two of them. Madeline and Charlotte didn't frequently dine together, but they had spent enough time together over the years that there was no need to fill silence with idle chatter.

After a few minutes, Madeline broke the silence. "What does Ramsey have you working on this week?"

Ramsey was the operative in charge of Charlotte's academic lessons. Although she never attended a traditional school, Charlotte was tutored in a variety of subjects to balance the technical training she received through Section – currently she was on Russian Literature, untranslated of course. "I just finished reading Zamyatin's We and am working on an comparative essay with other works."

"Is 1984 one of them?" Madeline guessed, knowing that We shared many themes on state power and cultural conditioning with Orwell's classic anti-utopian novel.

"We discussed that, but I chose to look at the influence of Tergenev's Fathers and Sons and Dostoevsky's 'The Grand Inquisitor' and The Brothers Karamazov on Zamyatin's work."

"What conclusions have you drawn so far?"

"I'm not quite at that stage yet," Charlotte admitted. "But I am looking at the role of passion versus complacency and the impact of free will on society and the governing body."

"It sounds interesting. I look forward to reading the final paper."

"I'll be sure to send you a copy," Charlotte said, even though she knew that Madeline received all of her work through Ramsey's debrief. Although Madeline was removed from this aspect of her tutelage, Charlotte knew that Madeline influenced her readings – everything she studied somehow related back to Section and its role in the global community.

They finished their meal and Charlotte was about to offer Madeline some dessert – a carrot cake she had made a couple days before – when the panel on the table began beeping. After Charlotte punched in a code, a small screen rose up from the table and revealed Nikita waiting outside the door. With Madeline's nod of assent, Charlotte pressed the button that allowed the door to slide open.

"Hi," Charlotte greeted with a smile.

"Hey Charlotte," Nikita said as she walked in. When she saw Madeline seated at the table, she added hastily, "Hello Madeline."

"Hello Nikita," Madeline greeted calmly. She set her napkin on the table and stood up. "Thank you for dinner, Charlotte."

Charlotte stood up as well. "You're welcome."

"I'll see you tomorrow – 6 AM."

"6 AM," the young operative confirmed professionally. "Have a good evening."

"You too," Madeline said, and then looked at Nikita. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Nikita waited until Madeline had left until she asked Charlotte, "Is that normal?"

"What?"

"Madeline – in your quarters."

"I guess." Charlotte shrugged as she began clearing the table. "It's not like she's in here all the time, but we have dinner every now and then."

"What do you talk about?"

"Stuff."

Nikita grabbed the glasses that were left on the table and followed Charlotte into the surprisingly roomy kitchen that was attached to her quarters. "What kind of stuff?"

"The latest gossip around Section – you know, who's hooking up with whom," she said casually, as she placed the dishes in the sink."

"What?" Nikita stood frozen in place and Charlotte had to forcibly take the glasses out of her hands and place them in the sink. "You're kidding."

"Of course I am." Charlotte snickered. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

She gestured at the frying pan on the stove. "Want stir fry?"

"Sure," Nikita didn't fall for Charlotte's attempt to change the subject. "So what do you talk about?"

Charlotte turned on the stove and began stirring the semi-warm ingredients. "Current events, my studies – nothing that scintillating."

Nikita leaned against the counter and watched Charlotte for a few minutes before saying. "I still think it's weird."

"It's really more of a practicality. Until recently, I wasn't cleared to interact with most operatives, so Madeline would eat with me occasionally, so I could develop social skills," she explained as she transferred the stir fry onto a plate with some rice. "Plus, I'm one hell of a cook."

"Really?"

She set the plate down in front of her. "Try it."

Nikita took a bit. "This is good – really good."

"See." Charlotte smiled confidently. "Just wait until you get to dessert."

With her head supported by pillows, Charlotte sat in her bed with her eyes closed. The last thirty-six hours had been interesting to say the least. She had a training session with Madeline – in the White Room. This wasn't a frequent aspect of her lessons at Section, but it was a necessary one. And no matter how much it may bother her, Charlotte understood the necessity. Nevertheless, Charlotte was thrilled when she woke up in Medical and Madeline told her that she had completed the exercise and exceeded her expectations – most importantly, she was finished with this aspect of training.

Even now, as she laid alone her in her room, too tired to lift her head from the pillows, Charlotte was happy. She had surprised Madeline with her fortitude and Charlotte felt proud of that accomplishment. Besides, she didn't feel that terrible – between the meds she was given and the IV with saline that Medical had insisted she have back in her room – Charlotte merely felt exhausted and that was a small price to pay considering what was at stake.

The small panel on her nightstand beeped, letting Charlotte know that someone was at the door. Knowing it was someone with her lunch, she keyed in the code that allowed the door to slide open. She was surprised to see Nikita walk in carrying the tray of food.

"Hey Nikita." Charlotte struggled to sit up straighter. She managed to raise her shoulders a few inches and decided that was good enough. Pointing at the nightstand, she continued, "You can just set that there."

"Sure." Nikita set down the tray and sat on the edge of the bed. "What happened?"

"Nothing – I'm fine."

"You have an IV."

"I got sick –flu or something." She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "The IV is just a precaution – Medical's concerned about dehydration."

"You got dehydrated in the first 24 hours?" Nikita asked, sounding skeptical.

"Yes."

"So you started feeling sick after I left last night?"

"The next day."

"Before or after your meeting with Madeline?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Before Madeline left, she mentioned it."

"Oh, okay." Charlotte swallowed, wondering where Nikita was going with this line of questioning. "Before – we rescheduled."

"Then what was Madeline doing all morning?"

"What?"

"She was unavailable all day."

"What does that have to do with me? Madeline doesn't run her schedule by me."

"I'm just curious about what you're not telling me."

Nikita reached forward and touched her friend's forehead, expecting to find it warm. Charlotte jerked back in response.

"What the hell?" Charlotte said with a glare.

"You're not feverish."

"Yeah, my fever broke."

"Yet your still on an IV." Nikita shook her head. "Something about this doesn't add up."

"I have a virus."

Her eyes narrowed in on Charlotte's forearms, which showed faint ligature marks on her wrists, but she didn't say anything about them. "So you spent all day in your quarters?"

"Yes."

"You never left?"

"Other than a couple of hours in Medical, no."

"Then what happened to your wrists?"

Charlotte looked down at the marks and closed her eyes. She should have realized what Nikita was doing before the older operative trapped her in a corner, but Charlotte was too exhausted to anticipate it. She also knew that damage control was necessary but she didn't feel like strategizing at the moment, so she asked simply, "What do you want me to say?"

"I want the truth, Charlotte. Where you on a mission?"

"No."

"Then this happened in Section."

"Yes," Charlotte said evenly. "It was resistance training."

"With Madeline."

"Yes."

"In the White Room?" Nikita got no response from Charlotte, which she took as a yes. "What did she do to you?"

"That doesn't matter."

"So you're lying in bed with an IV in your arm for something that doesn't matter?"

"I'm in this bed as an unfortunate side effect of necessary training."

"Necessary?" Nikita couldn't keep the outrage from her voice. "You're sixteen, Charlotte, you're still a child."

"Exactly." Charlotte folded her arms, refusing to wince at the pain it caused her. "I'm sixteen, which makes me a target on every mission in which I participate. People assume that because of my age I'm more likely to break. I need to be prepared to handle that."

Nikita shook her head, not believing what Charlotte was saying. It was one thing for Section to train their operatives in combat, but torturing them to build up a tolerance to pane was inhumane. She was about to speak her mind when Charlotte spoke first.

"I'm tired, Nikita," she said honestly. "Could we finish this discussion later?"

"Sure." Nikita stood up and headed for the door. "Enjoy your lunch."

A/N: Let me know what you think….I love the feedback!