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Running a hand through her loose waves Alicia clambered out of the elevator and into her dark apartment. She was dead tired, wanting nothing more than to kick off her heels and climb into bed. It was nearing two in the morning by the time she finally managed to drag herself away from Division. The fault was entirely Michael's, but she didn't feel any ill feelings towards him for it. If anything she was as grateful as she was tired.

The clothes Amanda had sent for were waiting in her room as promised, along with a purse. Alicia knew better than to assume it was just a fashion accessory and the moment she lifted it from the bed she knew she was right. Inside was tablet along with a handful of necessary accessories. One glance at the device and she deduced that this was what held the information on new assignment. Following up on Amanda's suggestion that she wait until tomorrow to look over the information, Alicia happily set it aside and stripped of her field clothes.

She'd just pulled on the new navy blue dress that Amanda had given her, it wasn't one from her closet at home, when the knock on the door came. She'd expected it was Samson coming to harass her some more, and she called out permission to enter. Only it hadn't been the soon to be Agent, no- it had been Michael. With his usual cool attitude and smoky voice he let himself into her room, closing the door gently behind him as he asked her about her injury. For being part of such a dangerous agency she couldn't help but feel miffed that everyone seemed to be commenting on the small scratch. Her frustrations dissipated quickly though. Before she had time to let his worry get to her he'd started talking.

Like Amanda, Michael had known nothing about the Operation she had been sent on. While he'd watched it all from the Command Center, only after having been paged by Percy he added, he was just as surprised as she'd been by what was in store. It was clear from the way he had his hands in that impeccable black on black suit he often donned that he was still frustrated over the situation. After a few more words, assuring her that he would never send her in blindly like that, Alicia realized the man was shaken. While he was unable to show it or even voice the concern he held for the Agent under his watch, she picked up on the signs easily.

It was for that reason that it came to be she was soon back in the field clothes and in a position she never thought she'd be in again; training in Division. Neither of them wanted Alicia to have the problem of being disarmed so easily on and being forced into hand to hand combat when it could be avoided, and so they'd somehow wound up in the otherwise empty firearms course. For hours the two went at it, going through countless simulations and actions. Michael had removed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his dark dress shirt, the top two buttons undone as he ran over everything he could teach her. Back and forth they went; Alicia turning corners and getting the drop on Michael, and he in turn disarming her every chance he got.

By the time she'd gotten a proud smile from Michael and his approval at her improvement they'd realized what time it was. Time had gone quickly, but it had taken its toll on both of them. The pair had agreed they'd had more than enough practice for the night and so shuffled off from the training room. He'd escorted her back to her old room, waiting outside in the hall as she changed so as not to put her in a position to explain what she was doing on the recruit floor. Worn out from the long day they'd retired to the parking garage to go their separate ways. He left her with the teasing warning he wasn't through with her yet, and while she was no longer a recruit, she could count on a test to make sure she'd gotten it right.

Alicia was glad for his help, and beyond thankful that he was her mentor. She couldn't have asked for a better trainer. Michael was a man who didn't just do his job, but did it well. He looked out for his recruits to the best of his ability and the ones that were assigned to him after becoming Agents were lucky in Alicia's opinion. Though training with him had sapped the rest of her energy, she at least had peace of mind. Next time she wouldn't let anyone get the drop on her so easily. While Michael had reminded her that it was only natural that sometimes the opponent would have the upper hand, he also assured her that training would reduce the chances of that happening.

The day wasn't over for Alicia yet. As tired as she was she knew that the assignment Amanda had given her raised as many problems as it did opportunities. She stripped of the navy heels, setting them beside the door, before striding across the hardwood floors. Flipping on the lights in the living room, she made her way to the couch only to sink into it. This is going to be fun, she thought dryly, allowing her eyes to close as she tilted back her head. For a few minutes she sat like that, relaxing her body and going through the plan in her mind.

She eased open her eyes as she pulled out her phone, looking down the device. It was hard to believe that just a few months ago she'd never owned a cell phone before, and now she was typing out a message to her top secret boyfriend. He is my boyfriend, she wondered idly, right? They'd never actually gone over what their relationship was. All she knew was that they had a relationship. Having never been in one before she wasn't exactly sure what the proper titles would be. After all, they weren't in normal circumstances.

Normal or not, she still felt bad about texting him so early in the morning. But this wasn't something she could put off. Until she took every precaution necessary she wouldn't be able to talk to Birkhoff in person. That was maddening considering everything she had to tell him. Without quick fingers she typed out a message to the man, confident in the fact that this means of communications wouldn't be traceable. Birkhoff had assured her that any communication to his personal line was secure. If he said it then it was true. It was as simple as that.

Just got back from D.She typed out, Lots to talk about when it's safe. Need a favor. After pressing send she set the phone aside, pulling the purse Amanda had given her into her lap. After removing all of its contents, she examined every inch of the purse with nimble fingers. Just as she was breathing a sigh of relief under the knowledge that it wasn't bugged her phone trilled.

"I really need to change that ringtone," she muttered before snatching the phone back up.

It didn't surprise her entirely that Birkhoff was still up. Tell me about it, I'm going crazy over here. What can I do ya for babe? She read his message with a smile. Though Birkhoff was the type of man to use pet names quite frequently, she couldn't help but feel a little buzz whenever he did. It seemed so much more personal when he used them with her, and she liked to believe that it was because that was indeed the case.

Check the camera feeds for my apartment. I know you've got at least one eye in here. Her request was simple enough.

He didn't waste any time in replying. What am I looking for?

Anyone coming in or going out. She informed him, glad that he hadn't even asked why. It was reassuring to know that he didn't need a reason behind being assigned work.

He had enough on his hands to keep him busy for a lifetime, and yet at the mention of her needing him to do something he didn't hesitate when he read over her message. Back in his apartment Birkhoff read over the text, the video feed from her apartment already up on his screen. What's got her worried? He wondered, fingers poised on the keys as he waited for the search to finish. She was right, Division did have a camera in her apartment. There was only one and it was integrated into the keypad that controlled the elevator.

From its position on the wall it didn't provide much of a view of the apartment, of which he was glad. While he usually handled anything to do with checking in on Agents, he knew that he wasn't always the one who did so. The camera only showed the entrance to her apartment, consisting of a partial view on her kitchen and a sliver of her living room. It was enough to let Division know if she had anyone up into her apartment, but it didn't provide a view on any of the areas that she'd actually reside in. As much as he would have loved to be able to peek in on her to see what she was doing he was thankful that he couldn't. It meant no one else could either.

The scan was quickly over and he went over any of the movement that the cameras had picked up on. He'd kept the search open to include the elevator, the lobby which he knew Alicia had never so much as stepped foot in, and the parking garage for good measure. "God," he shook his head as he watched one of the tenants with his finger in his nose as he rode the elevator up, "sometimes I hate my job."

Treating Alicia's request with the same thoroughness as a Division assignment, he went the extra mile. After a few gulps of the energy drink at his side, he returned his fingers to the keys and was back at work. It didn't take long to go through all of the feeds and judge all of the activity normal going back all the way to when Alicia had left her apartment that morning. His work wasn't done though, and so he didn't pick back up his phone until he was satisfied that none of the feeds had been altered. He knew exactly what to look for after all; he changed them every time he visited her.

When Alicia received his text she breathed a sigh of relief. All good in the hood. Mind telling me what's up?

If Birkhoff hadn't found anything than that meant she was in the clear. Well, it at least meant her apartment was safe. The same couldn't be said for the tablet beside her on the couch. Amanda had given her the assignment to get close to Birkhoff, and she hadn't been able to stop the worry that came with that. It wasn't that farfetched to believe the woman would bug the tablet, or even her apartment, so she could listen in on the progress Alicia was making. While she now had an excuse to be seen with Birkhoff, and even be openly close with him, that didn't mean Amanda could know everything. Assignment or no assignment, what she had with Seymour wasn't something she'd allow Division to get their claws into. She owed them her life, but they couldn't own her happiness.

The moment Alicia's reply came through Birkhoff was on his feet, downing the rest of the energy with one hand as he pulled his laptop carrying case over his shoulder with the other. Worried about a bug problem. He paused at his screen long enough to adjust the feeds to assure that once more he would be an invisible man as well as a shut in who was spending his day off in his apartment.

About time, he mused as he climbed into the one non-Division issued vehicle he kept at his department, me being a loner for so long is finally paying off. If for some weird reason anyone decided to check in on him they'd see he was at his apartment and move on to the next task. There would be nothing odd about him staying in all day. He could have even left it so his tracker said he was stationary in his apartment and no one would think twice. Despite the fact that he actually did spend as much time out and about as he could when he managed to get a break from Division, everyone seemed to believe otherwise.

Birkhoff wasn't an idiot like everyone seemed to think he was. He heard what was said about him. When the recruits would whisper under their breath it was nothing he hadn't been hearing for years. He's a virgin, he lives in Division because the outside world scares him, he sleeps in a car shaped bed… they were all petty rumors. While he couldn't help but chastise any of the recruits who were stupid enough to let him overhear, he knew that it didn't do anything to stop it from carrying on behind his back. At first it had bother him, in a way it still did, but he didn't let it get to him too much. He knew that regardless of what was said he was smarter than all of them combined. Birkhoff's genius was something they could never comprehend, and what people didn't understand they instead found fault in.

But Alicia had never treated him like the others. She'd never looked down on him; in fact she always seemed to regard him with respect. While at first he had believed her smiles to be nothing more than her default expression, he'd even once suspected them to be patronizing, he knew that wasn't the case. He'd known from the moment she'd flashed that smile up at the camera during her first Operation as a recruit. There was truth behind that smile of hers, and the truth was that she appreciated him for who he was. After that he suddenly became aware of how she'd stick up for him when Samson would make some biting comment, and it had been the only thing that kept him from putting the oaf in his place. Birkhoff had hated how the recruit looked at her, but when he saw how upset Samson got when Alicia would defend him he'd taken immense pleasure in it.

Still, when the beautiful young woman met him at the elevator with a surprised smile he couldn't believe how lucky he'd gotten. "Did someone call an exterminator?" he greeted her with a playful smile.

For a moment Alicia stared at him wide eyed. Birkhoff always managed to surprise her one way or another and now was no different. As glad as she was to see him, she didn't bother to hide the worry from her eyes. "You shouldn't be here," she whispered, eyes darting towards the living room. She'd been in the middle of working on dismantling the tablet when the ping of someone accessing her floor had made her jump to her feet.

"Relax," he easily assured her, stepping from the elevator, "I've got us covered sweetheart." The door closed behind him, and he took in her in with a sweep of his eyes. Before she could open her mouth to say something, he could tell from her expression she was about to, Birkhoff gave her another smile. "Signal scrambler," he patted the computer bag that hung from his shoulder, "never leave home without it."

At his words she could feel herself unwinding. "Of course you don't," she shook her head with a smile.

"It's good you're playing it safe though. Usually I'm the only one doing the thinking," he laughed, running a hand over his hair. One more look at her and he picked up on the tired matt to her usually sparkling eyes. While it was almost three in the morning, he knew there was more to it than that. Especially considering she'd contacted him only half an hour ago with the unusual request to check for unwanted guests popping into her apartment. "What has you so riled up?" Birkhoff asked, voice a mix of curiosity and concern. As much as he wanted to find out what she'd been doing all day he was focused on her current state of exhaustion.

Knowing he'd follow, she started back towards the living room. "A lot happened today," she sighed, ruffling her hair distractedly. The second they were at the couch she looked down at the scene before her. The laptop Birkhoff had given her was up and running, a diagram up on the screen. Beside it was the tablet, the main panel removed and the other in the process of being stripped away in a similar fashion. When Birkhoff's eyes met hers, she knew what he was wondering. "Amanda gave it to me. I may just be paranoid," she sighed, "but I think it could be bugged."

Not needing to hear anymore he was on the couch in a matter of seconds, setting his computer bag beside him on the couch as he leaned towards the project she had going on. "Tweezers?" he asked, picking up the tool she'd been using to get into the tablet.

"It was all I could find," Alicia let out a tired laugh. "I didn't want to wait until morning," she explained, "so I had to improvise. I figured now would be the time to do it. If it is bugged then it wouldn't be weird for me to be silent at this hour."

He nodded, eyes dancing over the screen she had pulled up. It was a diagram to the tablet she had been in the process of dismantling. "And they say beauty can't have brains," Birkhoff teased, looking up at her with pride in his eyes. While she hadn't exactly been doing rocket science, he was pleasantly surprised to see she'd made progress on her own. He'd never had a reason to teach a class on how to pull apart a tablet, but she had been managing well on her own.

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "They may be right yet," Alicia quipped, "I've been at this or half an hour and haven't even gotten to the main circuits yet."

"But you knew to look inside the device," he pointed out, patting the couch beside him, "that's more than I can say for most of my students."

Alicia happily joined him on the couch, watching as he pulled his laptop case into his lap and began to open it up. "Amanda's too smart to just integrate it into a program, though I did look for that first," she admitted.

He flashed a grin over at her, before pushing her laptop over on the coffee table to make room for his own. "You can close that down," he informed her, "I won't be needing it."

"Of course you wouldn't," she gave a little weak smile as she leaned forward to exit out of all the windows she had opened. Just getting to the information had been a pain. Trying to find a diagram of the circuitry wasn't exactly easy. It wasn't like the company was about to show all their competitors exactly what made their device tick, and she'd had to resort to the usual question she asked when working with electronics: What would Birkhoff do?

"Hey," his hand on her knee pulled her from the tired train of thought, "what's got you so blue? It's not like you."

She met his navy eyes, startled to realize he was wearing his glasses. "You've got your glasses on," she couldn't stop from making the observation out loud, "I've never seen you wear them outside of Division."

Birkhoff laughed, caught off guard by the comment. "I don't like wearing my contacts when I don't have to," he explained, amused that she had brought it up.

They shared in a smile for a moment before he gave her a look that reminded her of the question he'd asked. "I'm just exhausted," she sighed, running her hand through the waves of her hair once more. "It was a long day. There's a lot going on in my mind right now," Alicia sighed again. That was the understatement of the year. Between today's mission, her lapse of sanity during the final kill, Amanda's unexpected assignment and all of the techniques Michael had been drilling with she felt like she was going to self destruct.

Sensing just how tired she was, he leaned in, stealing a quick kiss. "Never fear, Birkhoff's here," he smiled into her green eyes. "I've got this handled," he turned back to the equipment he was pulling from his tote, "so don't you worry. In the meantime just relax and breathe."

Alicia watched as he set up his laptop, pulling out tools that she knew were to work on the tablet. It didn't surprise her to see how well prepared he was. She'd noticed the tote was larger than required to carry just his laptop, and evidently it was to hold an array of gear capable of dissecting technical equipment. When he pulled out the power cord she was already on her feet, hand out to take the cord from him. "I can get that for you," she smiled down at him. He handed it forth, and she crossed the room, plugging it into the outlet. "Do you want something to drink?" she asked, seeing as she was already up.

"That'd be great," he nodded, focused on the laptop he was typing commands into, "anything with caffeine. Coffee works if you have it."

Pleased that she could do better than coffee she sauntered into the kitchen, pulling an energy drink from the refrigerator. She'd stocked the bottom shelf with an array of the cans just for him. Admittedly she'd acquired a bit of a liking for them as well. It was tempting to grab a can for herself, but she knew if she did that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep. Though, with Birkhoff being there, she didn't know if she would anyway. It didn't seem fair to have him up and working on a problem that wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for her. It would be pointless to fight him over it though, and soon she was back on the couch, sidling up beside him.

"How about a shot of taurine," she handed over the can with a sleepy smile, "that good enough for you?"

"Babe," he shook his head with amazement, "sometimes I think you're a mind reader you know me so well."

She laughed, not understanding the man. Here he was, already in the process of picking apart the tablet, and he was praising her over knowing his energy drink preferences? "Nothing so glamorous," she shook her head, "I just pay attention."

"So do I, and it doesn't take a genius to see you're tired," he looked up from what he was working on to give her a soft smile. "Why don't you slip into something more comfortable? This may take a little while," his eyes turned back down to the hardware he was picking at with his tools, "when it comes to the dragon lady one can never be too cautious."

As Alicia got to her feet she couldn't help but give an amused chuckle. "Dragon lady?"

"That's what I call her, though don't tell her that," Birkhoff warned good-humoredly, "she'd have me quarter marshaled before you could even say Deathstar."

She was already halfway to her room when she quipped back, "No promises."

Drawing his eyes away from the components he was picking at, he couldn't resist looking over at her as she slipped into her bedroom. "Nothing too sexy," he called out with a smirk, "or I'll never get any work done." He could hear her laugh, and grinned as he got back to what he was doing.

When he'd sensed her worry through the texts he hadn't so much as hesitated before heading over to her apartment. He had no idea what would be waiting for him there, and hadn't started to worry she may be sleeping until he'd pulled into the parking garage. One perk of owning the swag building was he didn't have to worry about not finding a spot. Now, as he focused on the task at hand, he was glad he'd come. Finding out his suspicions that she was under a lot of stress were correct had initially worried him, but now that he knew he could help to ease her mind he felt pleased. Unlike with any of his jobs at Division he was actually glad to be up at the wee hours of the morning tinkering with technology.

He was even more satisfied at his decision she Alicia rejoined him on the couch, stretching out with a little yawn as she got comfortable. "Have I told you you're amazing lately?" she asked, emerald eyes sparkling as she looked up with him. She'd laid on her back, head resting just beside his thigh, and looking down at her he was tempted to lean down and kiss her. He would have if it wasn't for the fact his lap was occupied with the exposed inner workings of the tablet. Any shift in movement and he risked damaging the equipment.

"Hmm," he pretended to think, "no, I don't think you have."

The soft laugh he got in reply made him grin. "You're amazing Seymour," she whispered.

The warm feeling he always got when she called him by his first name, paired with the sentence, was enough to put him on cloud nine. If this was the thanks he got for doing some simple bug hunting then he couldn't wait for the opportunity to do something truly impressive for her. "Careful, I may get a big head with talk like that," he teased.

"I mean it. I don't know what I'd do without you. Probably go crazy," her eyes fluttered closed as she exhaled a slow breath. "I owe Division my life, which is a heavy feeling. I mean, how does someone earn something like that?" she asked lightly.

Birkhoff hesitated, surprised at her worry. Amanda had run her ragged with missions the moment she made Agent, and Alicia had completed every one successfully. She'd never so much as questioned her orders, and had done nothing but prove herself since day one. It was clear that she was a rising star as Amanda so annoyingly referred to her as. If anyone had nothing to worry about it was her. "I'd say you're doing a damn good job," he reassured her.

"I've just got my fingers crossed hoping that I'll be able to keep pleasing them, you know? I'm walking on a tightrope and the only thing keeping me up is the fact I can put on a good show. It's tiring," she admitted, "always wearing some mask of emotion. The only time I can be free is when I'm with you, and really I owe Division for that too."

He stopped what he was doing, looking down at Alicia beside him. Her eyes were closed, hair billowing out around her on the couch. If he hadn't been listening to what she said, he'd say she looked peaceful; almost like an angel. "I know exactly what you mean," his voice came out soft. And he did. If it hadn't been for Division then he'd never had been so lucky as to meet her. But, at the same time he was selfishly happy that it was his program that found her, he couldn't help but wish things were different. He shook that dangerous thought from his mind. "But you shouldn't worry so much. You're giving Division your all," Birkhoff turned his eyes back to the hardware, "anyone can see that."

"Yeah, well it's the least I can do all things considered," she sighed.

"What were you doing there today anyways?" he couldn't help but ask. It had been bothering him all day. When he'd checked in to see what she was up to he'd been surprised to see her tracker showed her location as Division.

"I was called in for an Op."

Birkhoff looked back down at her surprised at the news. "I didn't think you have anything lined up," his brow furrowed. She wasn't on any lists of active Ops, he knew that for a fact. It had been the first thing he'd looked into when he'd seen where she was. "Didn't Amanda give you some time off?"

Alicia nodded sleepily. It wasn't a surprise that Birkhoff hadn't known about her being activated. If he had then he would have called her to let her know. It'd become a bit of a habit of his, giving her details on the missions before she'd go in. He always kept an eye out for her, as he'd promised, and was always on the up and up about any Operations going on. "Yeah," she acknowledged, "but it wasn't Amanda who called me in; it was Percy."

"What?" he asked, hands stilling as he focused down on her. This was news to him, and not good news. "Why would Percy call you in," he wondered out loud, "he has favorites he always uses."

"It was a test," Alicia answered without hesitation.

This only upset him all the more. "He didn't call me in," he muttered under his breath. What would he want with Alicia? He wondered, trying to

contain the worry. When Percy was involved it was never good, especially when it was one of his pet projects. "I take it you passed," Birkhoff pushed his glasses back into place as he turned back to focus his anger on the device. The second he finished with it he would open up Division's servers and hack into the recording of the mission that she'd been sent on. He had to see for himself just what Percy was testing her on.

"Barely," she nodded softly.

He barely heard her over the thoughts racing through his mind. No wonder she was so worn out, his eyes flickered down towards her. He hadn't even realized how much time had passed, and found she was already asleep. Something he'd always been good at was taking his emotions and turning them instead to productivity. Now was a perfect example, and he set aside the reassembled tablet. He didn't even bother starting it up to make sure it worked; he knew it would.

She'd rolled onto her side, head nuzzled up against his thigh. Without thinking he reached down, brushing the hair from her face as he gazed at her. It was hard to believe that just a few months ago he'd been barking out orders at her without so much as a glance her way. And now here she was, sleeping beside him so soundly. Her guard was down completely, and when he slipped his arms beneath her to lift her from the couch she didn't wake. Instead she let out a little breathy sound, snuggling into him as he stood, holding her in his arms.

For a long minute he just held her, looking down at the young woman in her arms. While he knew he was stronger than he looked he couldn't help but marvel at how light she was. If he didn't know better he'd say she was made just for him. The way she felt in his arms, her heat slowly mixing with his, he wished he could stay like this forever. But he knew that he couldn't, and so he carried her towards the bedroom. As much as he loved having her beside him he didn't want to chance her waking to the sounds of the Op he was about to watch.

Leaning back, he used his chest to support her as he pushed the blankets aside on her bed before softly setting her down. After pulling the covers over her he stepped back, looking down at her as she rolled over, getting comfortable in the large bed. Running a hand through his shaggy brown hair her turned and left, gently easing the door closed behind him with one last look at her.

Alicia woke with a start, sitting up quickly in her bed, hands propping her up. Her eyes scanned the room once, then twice, before she realized where she was. My bedroom, she let out a sigh of relief. She knew she fell asleep on the couch beside Seymour, and waking up somewhere else had caused her to panic. The initial thought had been Division. That wasn't the case however and she realized what must have happened. He carried me to bed, a little smile flittered onto her lips at how sweet of him that was. For a computer nerd he sure was smooth.

With a stretch she climbed from bed, ambling straight into the bathroom. She showered, wincing a little as the hot water ran over the wound on her stomach. The pain was minimal though, and after applying the ointment and changing the butterfly bandages she was good as new. Dressing in a pair of designer jeans and a shirt that had an empire waist, the soft fabric nice and loose over her poor stomach, she stepped out of the walk in closet shaking her head. "Yeah," she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, "I'm never going to get used to this."

She was so caught up in trying to wrap her head around the fact that all of this stuff was hers that when she walked into the living room she didn't see Birkhoff on the couch. "Morning sunshine," he chimed out.

Startled, she looked to him with eyes wide. "I thought you went home!" she exclaimed, a hand darting up to rest over her racing heart. One look at the three energy drink cans on the coffee table beside his computer and she realized not only had he stayed, but he'd been up all night. "What time is it?" she asked, eyes moving from the table to the man on her couch.

"Seven," Birkhoff responded, running a hand through his hair, "you're up early."

"And you didn't sleep," she quipped back, striding into the room.

"I couldn't," he responded slowly, looking up at her. She'd come to a stop just near the edge of the couch and before she could ask why he demanded, "Show me."

Alicia blinked, confused at his suddenly stern tone. "Show you what?" she asked, bewildered.

Birkhoff clenched his teeth, trying to refrain from losing control. He knew that he wasn't mad at her, he was mad at the situation. Mix that with having no sleep and the cocktail of caffeine, sugar and taurine that was pulsing through his veins and he was edgy. "You know what," he tried to keep his voice cool as he stared up at her.

Her hand lifted her shirt without a second thought. It was almost as though she could sense what his irritation about, and she pieced it together before she'd even realized it. She'd fallen asleep after talking about the Op she'd been on, and Birkhoff wasn't the type of man who could contain his curiosity. The look on his face as he took in her wound made her feel guilty at his concern. "It's just a scratch," she repeated the words it seemed like she'd said so many times now, "it doesn't hurt."

His eyes scanned over it a few more times, and she waited with baited breath. When he finally let out a sigh of relief and reached out to take her free hand, she let him pull her closer. "It looked worse on screen," he commented, running his fingers gently over her skin. He traced the diagonal path of her scar, just below the actual wound.

"I was playing it up," she breathed, watching the path of finger. His touch was featherlight, and it almost tickled as he went. "I had to sell the act so he'd underestimate me," she explained. It must have scared him, she realized, seeing me like that. She knew that she was a convincing actress, and the determination at trying to act like it hadn't hurt must have seemed real to Birkhoff.

"You're sure it doesn't hurt?" he asked, eyes flickering up to meet hers. When she nodded he didn't look convinced. "Not at all?" he pushed.

Alicia felt silly, and looked away. "Okay, so it stings," she admitted. "But honestly Birkhoff I'm-"

The sensation of his lips touching center of the wound startled her into silence, eyes snapping down to look at him in surprise. He let his lips linger for a second before pulling back, smirking up at her. "You got quiet quick," he said playfully. The blush he was rewarded with nearly stopped his heart. While he knew he'd been breaking through to her, she had stopped feeling the need to mask her emotions around him, he'd never seen such a lovely expression before. When her lips opened to make some sort of a comment he shut her up once more. This time his lips touched where the red gash started, just above her right hip bone. Barely brushing his lips against the cut he followed its path up and across her abs with soft kisses. When he reached the end he drew back, a smirk on his face as he looked up to her. "All better," he teased.

She didn't know what to say, her cheeks still burning red. No one had ever treated her the way that he was, and she'd never do anything but put on a mask to play a part if they had. But Seymour wasn't just anyone. And the butterfly bandages seemed to be in her stomach rather than on it as they fluttered in her tummy. All she could do was release the shirt she'd been clutching in her hand, feeling once more like a little schoolgirl when it came to Birkhoff. She looked away out of embarrassment, only for her eyes to fall on the tablet that sat on the table. "You put it back together," she realized, quickly.

He laughed at her change in subject, deciding to let her off the hook for now. She'd warned him that it was her first relationship and to be honest, he was beyond glad for that. "Of course," he grinned, pulling gently on her hand, "I wasn't going to leave it to you and your tweezers."

While she may not have relationship experience she did with men, and she knew what he'd been hinting towards. Happily obliging his unspoken request she climbed into his lap. It wasn't hard to get comfortable, and the pair seemed to fit together perfectly. "So what did you find?" she asked, picking the device from the table and turning it over in her hands.

Birkhoff deftly snatched it from her, turning the device on. "There's good news and bad news," he informed her, "so what do you want first?"

"The bad," she responded without need to think it over. When he gave her a surprised look at her fast response she just shrugged. "If you get the good first then the bad ruins it," she explained her philosophy behind it, "but if you get it afterwards it just puts things in perspective."

He just shook his head, marveling at how lucky he was. I could get used to this, he slipped his free arm around her waist, careful to avoid the injury. "Okay so the bad news: this baby has a tracker in it," he handed it back to her.

"That's not so bad," she breathed a sigh of relief. If it was bugged then she would have had to find some way to disable it every time she wanted to talk to Birkhoff. While it wouldn't have been difficult per say, it would have been yet another precaution to take. Amanda hadn't said anything about needing to bring the tablet with her where ever she went, and so it could easily be left at home when rendezvousing with Seymour. "So what's the good?" she asked, a weight already lifted from her shoulders.

"There's no bug," Birkhoff established with a little nod. "So the scrambler is off, and both you and your tablet agree you are at your apartment. And Amanda," he grinned, "is none the wiser." He watched as she stared down at the device in her hand. The screen was on, and a few icons displayed, but she didn't do anything with it. "So," he couldn't contain his curiosity, "what's on that anyways?" She took a deep breath, preparing herself to fill him in, only to be cut short. "Wait-" he stopped her, "more importantly; what the hell happened on that Operation?"

Alicia looked back at him, the tablet lowering to rest in her lap momentarily forgotten. "I thought you watched it?" she asked.

"I did," he confirmed with a brisk nod, "not that there was much to watch." He reached around her, leaning forward to type on his computer. She settled into his lap, back pressed to his front as she let him work around her. It was oddly cozy the way his arms boxed her in and his chin rested on her shoulder so he could see the screen. "Whatever incompetent bonehead they had running this Op," he growled, "couldn't even do his job right."

She realized what he must be referring to and sighed. "Yeah, they lost visual on us for a good ten minutes."

"Not only that," he fumed, "but they only accessed the mainframe. If I'd been there you never would have gotten hurt." He pulled up the operation file on his screen, bringing the video to full screen. "There's no reason they shouldn't have been able to pinpoint all of the guards. They had radios on them god damnit. Two minutes and I'd have them pinpointed exactly," he pointed deftly to one of the guards, "it was fucking amateur hour in there."

Alicia felt odd watching her and Roan on the screen, their figures darting through the trees towards the estate. "Wow," she breathed, shaking her head, "so this is what it looks like being up in Ops."

"Normally," he muttered, "it looks much better." As if proving his point the screen changed quickly, the image disappearing just as Roan and Alicia took their position by the doors. Instead a map that looked like a blueprint showed up on the screen. "See," he growled, jabbing his finger towards the screen, "fucking useless." She watched, listening to the chatter coming from the speakers. It was like being in the Op all over again, hearing the fellow agents and the people back in Operations but not being able to see who was speaking. She vaguely picked up on Percy barking commands in the background, something she hadn't noticed during the commotion on the field.

"That's when I knew for sure you weren't in the Command Center, even if you weren't on the Op," she admitted, watching the little blips that displayed the agents moving around on the screen. "When the cameras went down and stayed down all I kept thinking was: if Birkhoff was here this wouldn't be happening."

"Damn straight," he growled, placing a chaste kiss on her neck before shifting to fast forward the video. "Twenty two minutes," Birkhoff scoffed as he noted the time it took for the visual to reappear on the screen, "it took me less time to hack into Percy's file to get this useless video."

Alicia watched with wide eyes as she followed herself on the screen. She and Roan had just turned the corner to come face to face with a guard. "Is that really what I look like?" she marveled, watching as she engaged the man. "It's like an action movie," she breathed, "like some assassin flick that shows on a Friday night."

Birkhoff laughed, moving his face to look down and over at her. "You do realize you're an assassin," he mused, "employed by a secret group of the government, right?"

She laughed, shaking her head as she realized he was right. "Well when you put it like that," she teased, "I guess my life is a little like a movie plot." She would have turned to grin at him, but instead she was absorbed with watching Roan. At the time she hadn't realized that he'd just stood back and watched her take care of the guard, stepping up just as she killed the man as though they were a well oiled unit. He could have stepped in, but he'd seen that she had it handled and had let her do her thing.

They both watched in silence as on screen Alicia followed Roan down the hall. As she knew they would the three guards appeared and once more she was stunned to see herself. On the screen she looked so graceful and deadly it almost shocked her. When she saw herself being cut she winced reflexively. Nevertheless, she and Roan moved so fluently together that it was almost eerie. In the narrow hall they could have easily caught one another with their attacks. But they hadn't, and instead moved in perfect coordination as though they'd always worked together. When Roan's cool voice gave her the simple one word order of Go Birkhoff jumped beneath her.

"There!" Birkhoff exclaimed, pointing towards the screen. "Right there," he jabbed his finger again for emphasis, "just what the hell was that?" She didn't understand why he seemed so astonished, even as she heard the surprised barking of Percy clearly in the background. Before she could ask though, he was already explaining. "Since when does the terminator handle the henchmen and let someone else proceed to the boss level?"

Alicia gave a little chuckle at his question. "He knew I could handle it," she responded easily, "when the cameras weren't up we worked really well together. I think he trusts me."

"Trusts you?" he asked, flabbergasted. Birkhoff had been with Division long enough to Roan was a death machine. As many whispers came from the recruits about Birkhoff being a nerd, an equal amount were about how Roan had virtually no soul. "Just what is in that smile of yours anyways," he asked, remembering how he'd seen Roan's lips actually twitch upwards in her presence, "fairy dust?"

While she would have liked to flash him one of those fairy dust smiles, she found herself drawn into the image on the screen. It was almost surreal to hear herself speaking through the speakers as she lied to the man who had the gun pointed at her. I give a good performance, she mused, being able to see firsthand the way her movements had looked, I'll give myself that. "God," she breathed, "no wonder he underestimated me. I really do look like some crazy street girl."

"How did you know he wouldn't shoot you?" Birkhoff asked, looking down towards Alicia in his lap.

"I didn't," she admitted. "I just went with the only course of action I could come up with. To be honest I thought at any moment the guards would be shooting in the hall and the gig would be up," Alicia recalled the worry she'd felt, even as she watched her convincing performance on the screen. "What happened with that anyways?" she asked, knowing if anyone could tell her it would be Birkhoff.

"Roan took them out," he filled her in. He'd watched the Op from every angle the moment he'd gotten his hands on it. "He was outside the door waiting right about. . ." he paused, watching the screen, "now." On the monitor Alicia had just started to engage the man with the wild punches she'd used to lure him away from the gun he'd set on the end table. "Didn't even try the door handle," he shook his head, "just gave you time to work your magic."

"Told you he trusts me," she teased, nudging him with her shoulder which was already up against his chest.

They both watched in silence as she engaged the primary objective in real combat. It lasted a good five minutes, even though it had only felt like a few heartbeats to Alicia. It was like a well choreographed dance, the two of them moving in almost perfect unison. When she struck he blocked, when he struck she blocked. Then there was the kick, a move she'd learned from Michael, which had followed her flawless fake. The man dodged it in a way that one could only do if they'd been trained for that specific move. There was a pause as the pair were visibly taken aback followed by Alicia's voice. "You're Division," she breathed, the Agent's voice clearly mirroring hers in the background.

Instantly Percy's voice was tearing through the speakers. Alicia knew what came next, but it still floored her to watch as she proceeded to kill the rogue Division Agent who happened to be her primary target. Birkhoff closed the window the moment she stepped away from the lifeless body. For a long time he was quiet, and Alicia was as well as she just stared blankly at the screen. Watching herself she didn't know whether to be pleased or shocked that it had appeared as though she had kept her head during the kill. If anything, the calm expression she wore as she'd climbed from him had looked like Roan's personal flavor of impassive.

"If I was there," Birkhoff's voice came, "I never would have let you go in without knowing." The cold edge to his tone caused her to peel her eyes from the blank screen, turning to meet his awaiting gaze. "I didn't recognize the Agent," he rumbled, "but I would have looked further into the target. I would have told you."

She gave a small smile, nodding her head. Alicia knew he spoke the truth. "Percy didn't want me to know," she informed him in a soft voice, "it was supposed to come as a shock."

"Why would he send you on a suicide mission? You're-"

"It wasn't," she cut his growl short. She hated seeing him so upset. "That's why Roan was there; to make the final kill. He was the only one who knew the primary objective's covert status. Michael said," Alicia took a little breath before continuing, "Michael said that the test was to see how I reacted when the man recognized Roan before cancelling him. I was never the one who was supposed to do it."

Birkhoff couldn't contain his rage at that piece of information. He could almost feel the fire in his eyes as he scowled. "Micheal-"

"-didn't know," Alicia finished for him quickly, cutting his poisonous tone short. "He came to me after I was done in medical. He assured me he'd never send me in blind," she calmed him down, "and that it'll never happen again."

One look in her emerald eyes and he knew that she was telling the truth. He let a slow breath out through his teeth, wrapping his arms around her waist to bury his head into her neck. "Did he happen to tell you what Percy wanted?" his lips moved against her skin as he asked.

"No," she took a little breath as she prepared herself, "because Amanda already had." Her night had been plagued with dreams of Birkhoff finding out she was sent to spy on him before she had the chance to tell him. It had been terrible.

"Amanda?" he asked, drawing his head away from her neck to look down at her. "Amanda was in on it too?" Birkhoff growled. "Why was I the only one left out?"

It took her a second to decide how to tell him. "Okay, do you want the bad news first, or the good news?"

"Bad," he answered without hesitation. Birkhoff snuck in a quick peck, smiling wryly afterwards. "I liked your reasons," he gave a little shrug.

"Okay, but remember-" she warned, "it will be followed by good."

He rolled his eyes at this. "I figured that part out," he couldn't help but scoff.

Alicia nodded her head, rounding up the words in her mind before starting. "I was given a new assignment," she started off with the basics, "by Amanda. She told me that you and Nikita were. . . close. And, well, she thinks that you may have divulged certain information that aided in her betrayal."

She'd barely gotten the words out before he jumped in. "She thinks I'm a traitor?! It's her fault that Nikita left," he snapped. "I'm the only thing keeping Division together. If it wasn't for me-"

"Seymour!" Alicia cut him off, turning in his lap so she could face him. "Amanda didn't put it like that. Trust me, that was my initial reaction too," she calmed him down, resting a hand on his chest. She met his eyes, waiting to see if he was going to let her continue. When he gave a little nod she knew she had the go ahead to continue on. "She seems to believe that you may have been tricked into giving the information. That Nikita," she hated saying the woman's name, "somehow worked it out of you without you knowing what she'd do with it."

"So she thinks I'm an idiot," he grimaced. "How would I have made it in Division this long if I dropped vital information to every hot recruit that came through my door?" Hearing Amanda's opinion on the whole thing was like a slap to the face. He'd devoted his life to his work ever since he was first drafted, as he liked to call it. There wasn't a day that went by that he wasn't doing something or another for work. In fact, he'd put in time every single day since the first day he was made the head of the IT department. And sure, he may have leaked a little information he shouldn't have during the six years they worked together, but it was never anything that would have suggested leaving Division. Alicia's patient green eyes on him drew his attention from the angry thoughts, and he realized he'd glossed over something. "Wait, what does this have to do with you?"

He watched as she swallowed, looking apprehensive to continue on. "I've been assigned to spy on you so to say," her eyes flickered away, "to gain your trust and see if you'll give me anything that could potentially be used to betray Division."

The way she avoided his eyes, confirmed his suspicions the moment they formed. "She never even considered I'd say no," he demanded angrily, "did she?" First the dragon lady calls him a traitor, and then she has the audacity to try to prove it with a pretty face? Because I'm a computer nerd, he fumed, I'm obviously going to go after everything with two legs! That witch, I would have rather she just spit fire. It was impossible to hide the fury he was feeling, even when she finally met his eyes. "Why you?" he demanded.

"I-" Alicia backed away a little at the rage written all over his face, "I asked her why she thought you'd trust me," she mumbled. "She said-"

He stopped her before she could continue. "I didn't mean it like that," Birkhoff apologized, reaching up to tuck a strand of her auburn hair back behind her ear. One look at the expression she wore and he'd realized that she'd taken his question the wrong way. It hadn't even occurred to him when he'd said it that she could take it personally. Surely she had to realize that everyone would agree she was out of his league.

"Why did you decide to trust me?" she asked softly, truly curious. It had been something she was wondering for a long time. At the same time he considered her too good for him, she believed it to be visa versa.

Those wide green eyes of hers nearly broke his heart, and he let out a breath to clear the anger he had been brewing for Amanda. It wasn't Alicia's fault that the woman was a pain in his ass. So he decided the best way to rectify the situation to tell the truth. "You remember that little stunt you pulled," he asked, "where you snuck out of bed?" She nodded. "Why did you do it?"

"I wanted to find out what you were hiding from me," she replied slowly, not sure how her question had led to his.

"Right," he nodded, "but instead of just talking to me when you saw me next you crept into the lab at night. Why?"

Brows furrowed she gave him a puzzled look. "I couldn't just ask you normally. Either you were teasing me, or it was something you weren't supposed to tell me," she explained, still not understanding where he was going with this. "If it was something you could get in trouble for telling me I didn't want to risk someone hearing me ask in the first place. If they knew you had even mentioned it Amanda might-" she paused, changing her train of thought, "Well, I knew Amanda seemed to have some vendetta against you. I didn't want to leave anything to chance."

"You put yourself at risk to try and keep me from taking any," Seymour smiled giving his a head a little shake. "I don't think anyone's ever done that before, not for me."

She blinked in surprise at this being his reason. "My sneaking around," she stared at him in disbelief, "is what made you trust me?"

"Well, that and you're a total babe," he teased. When she laughed he relaxed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, so bad news is Amanda thinks I'm a loose lipped horn dog," Birkhoff had to roll his eyes at this. "What's the good news?"

"Amanda doesn't expect you to just spill the beans," Alicia was happy to get to this part, "she expects it to take time. She doesn't just want me to spy on you, she expects me to win you over." She leaned forward picking up the abandoned tablet. "You wanted to know what's on here," she held it up, "well, it's full of information on you. I haven't looked at it yet, but I'd bet Alfred it contains where you go when you're not at work."

Birkhoff caught on fast. "If your assignment is me, then that means Amanda will expect to see you with me," he breathed the revelation out loud, "It would be more suspicious for us not to be together than for us to be together." He could hardly believe his ears. It almost seemed too good to be true. "But we all know Division's Lesson One," he muttered, shaking his head, "she can't expect me to start a relationship with you."

"Yeah, I brought that up to her. She said that while relationships are forbidden you're well aware that relations aren't," Alicia felt a little embarrassed to put it like that, but she didn't know how else to. Unfortunately it seemed Amanda had phrased it the best way possible. "And apparently she's going to have a talk with you," she shrugged, still not sure quite what Amanda had in mind, "one that will make it so you won't be able to resist- her words."

For a long minute he stared at her, taking in her face. "You know," he grinned, pulling her in closer, "I think your good news trumps mine."

"For once being Amanda's pet is actually paying off," she beamed at him. After a second her smile fell a little bit. "That's what they're calling me now, you know. When I was on the Op it was pretty clear I'm not a very popular person. They all thought I was just some innocent little face, good only for being Amanda's number one floozy for hire," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Watch yourself," he growled playfully, placing a firm kiss on her lips before pulling back, "that's my girl you're talking about." Alicia laughed, the sound warming his heart. He had never dreamt he would get so lucky, especially not thanks to Division. The assignment changed everything. Suddenly, it seemed like maybe his cloud did have a silver lining. Rather, a platinum one. Alicia was something special, a mystery that he planned to solve. And now, now he had the means to do it. He scanned over her face, taking in her sparkling emerald eyes, before realizing something. "You told me about the assignment," he observed, "even after hearing Amanda's reason for it."

"You may manipulate the system, but you're no traitor Seymour. I never doubted you for a second," she answered his unasked question. His eyes had already asked it for him. "You've devoted your life to Division. Even if you somehow did give this Nikita an idea for how to successfully go rouge," she shrugged, "I know it was never your intention. Amanda won't find any dirt where there's none to be found, and seeing as I don't plan on going anywhere there won't be any information to incriminate you."

Birkhoff didn't hesitate to pull her into a kiss, strong arms holding his flush against his body. He didn't think he'd ever get enough of this happy feeling. It was as new to him as Alicia was to relationships. A thought sparked and he pulled back, grinning down into her beautiful face. "Do you know what this means?" he asked, without any intention of waiting for her answer. "I can take you out and show you off," his eyes twinkled at the idea of it. "How would you like to go on a date with the Shadow Walker?"

She couldn't contain her happiness, seeing past his playfulness and instead focusing on the excitement in those navy eyes of his. The one thing she'd been most excited about upon receiving the assignment just happened to be the first Birkhoff brought up. "I'd love to," she couldn't resist running her fingers through his hair as she stared straight into his eyes. "You know, I could get used to this whole dating a genius thing."