A/N: Thank you for reviewing. Just like with all of my fics, you can read the unedited adult (MA) version over at AO3. If you need a link feel free to send me a private message. Ascension will soon be moving from rated T to rated M here at FF.

Enjoy! :)

Rachel turned off the car and stared a long moment before exiting the vehicle. She closed the door of the car and tried to paint on a convincing smile. Dinner away from Division, away from the little table in her kitchen. This was supposed to be a good thing and Nikita and Michael were doing their best being more than friends. They were family, and family stuck together through the good times and the bad. She sighed and went to knock on the door. She grinned slightly at the two spies and their ideas of picket fence lifestyles.

Nikita opened the door with a smile. She was wearing a light green t-shirt that stretched in all the best ways and was practically bouncing to see that Rachel actually showed up. "Hey. Everyone else is here. Hope you're hungry."

"Starving." She drew off her black leather jacket. "Everyone?" she asked hesitantly. Damn it. She used to be able to smell a set up. This was going to be awkward and annoying. She handed over her jacket with a deep sense of foreboding. This could get really ugly.

"Birkhoff, Sonia. They arrived first. The Nerd is currently making Michael crazy in the other room." Nikita put the jacket up with a smile. She turned back and motioned toward the well lit room to the left where the sounds of conversation were drifting from. Based on the overwhelming quantity of conversation tagged with Seymour's less than dulcet tones, Michael must be losing his mind by now.

"Who else?" she asked suddenly nervous. Rachel knew there had to be a who else here. There was definitely a single friend for the single friend vibe for this dinner party. Ah, there it was again. The smell of set up.

"Me," came from the doorway, from which emerged sounds of sizzling and smells of food seduction. Damn, Rachel knew that voice.

Rachel turned to find Caitlin grinning. She turned back to Nikita glaring. It was bad enough they played with her emotional life but to use a woman she had to work with? A woman she had broken it off with in the past? A past that still left a lot of question marks swirling through her head. She was so not going to growl, well maybe a little. Her shoulders tightened as she found the words to yell at Nikita.

Caitlin laughed. "You set me up blah blah blah. I already yelled at her. She swears dessert is worth it."

Rachel sighed. "We will be talking about this Nikita." came out in a whisper.

Nikita smiled broadly. "I hope so." She sniffed. "Food calling. Go make nice... Help yourself to a drink." She scooted off quickly.

"If I didn't know better, I would say she was making the quick getaway." Rachel muttered darkly.

Caitlin snagged Rachel's arm and drew her through the doorway on the left. She tugged her silk shell slightly. "I didn't know," she confided to her field partner and friend. She was trying to get Rachel on a date but not this.

Rachel frowned. "I'm not blaming you. I'm blaming the Nikita-Michael Love Machine. Damn it. Why can't they just leave well enough alone already."

"They can't help wanting to see everyone happy. They have seen miserable and they've seen happy and now they just fiddle with people trying to share the good bits." Caitlin shrugged eloquently. "Enjoy the ride."

Rachel snorted. Michael looked up from where he was trying to read a bar manual as Seymour talked about Star Trek as a blueprint for a society. "What'll you have?" he asked brightly. His eyes darted to Birkhoff and back. "And please, a long bar order would be fine."

Caitlin laughed. "White wine is fine. Seymour? Where's Sonia?"

Birkhoff waved his hands. "I told her that Borg were not in any way shape or form sexy and she ran off to help chop veggies or something."

Rachel stole a maraschino cherry. "How could you say that? Seven of Nine is hot." She dropped a cherry stem onto her tongue and tied it into a knot with nary a thought.
Caitlin's eyes widened as she dropped the knotted stem onto a coaster and chewed on the cherry.

He looked at her. He looked at the kitchen. He looked back panicky. "You think she thinks Seven is hot?" Birkhoff went pale. "Is she gay? She can't be gay, she gave me sex. I mean there was that thing with the tongue and the... oh god... is sonia gay?"

Rachel laughed. "Relax Birkhoff, she is probably into Locutus." She dropped her hand onto his shoulder.

"Old guy sex? She wants old guy sex?" Birkhoff looked freaked out and slightly nauseous.

Caitlin slapped his shoulder again. "Go talk to her big guy."

Birkhoff scuttled out.

Michael smiled brightly. "Thank you Rachel."

Caitlin shook her head. "I lost that conversation about three words in."

Rachel's brow rose as she turned to look at Caitlin. "You don't know Seven of Nine?"

The other woman shrugged with a wry smile. "Sorry?"

"You should be. Three of the sexiest women and four of the best drinking games ever came out of Star Trek." She pointed at the wine bottle sitting on top of the bar. Michael poured with a grin. "You so need to vegetate more woman. Isn't that like part of the whole sitting on your ass in front of the computer lifestyle that Operations affords?"

Caitlin shrugged. "I went CSI and Criminal Minds myself, oh but I do like Chicago Fire. You should watch it sometime."

Rachel snorted. "And they think we should hook up."

Michael choked on his coffee. "Maybe I should go check on the food," he managed after the coughing faded.

Rachel and Caitlin smiled at one another as he left. Rachel shook her head. "Think we can torture them all through dinner?"

Caitlin laughed. "The way you're going, they are in for a long supper."

Nikita came out hands on her hips. "Which one of you is going to tell me why the Nerd is shaking like a leaf?"

Rachel and Caitlin looked at each other and burst out laughing. Rachel squeezed out a "Borg sex" between gales of laughter as they made their way past her to the food.