This story is written for entertainment purposes only. If you're under age, scram. And BTW, children's Internet use should be monitored by their parents, not me.

Options

When a ten-acre Super Fund site, contaminated by lead poisoning and Amanda and Ari's treacherous schemes, explodes, damage control becomes the final chapter and this one was being written without Ryan Fletcher's footnotes.

Eleven hours had passed since the battery plant had been incinerated. The spin-doctors were earning their inflated salaries, creating layers of explanations, crafted specifically to the entity asking the question. The Executive Offices in Washington, DC had the cleanest version of the truth, and from then on it became a food chain of answers. Regional, State, County, and local authorities were all spoon fed a modified version.

Cable news stations had their own inside connections, they were selectively and seductively leaked the information they needed to give an excited shout out to Breaking News. The destruction was a military exercise that had gone awry. They were testing drones and a series of errors caused the missiles to be live instead of those used on practice missions. It would be the top story until the next natural catastrophe, government scandal or celebrity bad girl behavior took its place.

Somewhere out there, in a space between reality and lies the two vans had pulled off into a State Park about forty miles from where the battery plant had been located. It was in the early morning hours and the passengers in each of the vehicles got out under each other's watchful eyes.

On one side of an invisible line were Evan and Tess and a shattered Catherine. They did their best to shield her from the other side, which consisted of Nikita, Michael, Alex and Sean. Someplace in no man's land, Lubov did her best to disappear, but she would not be forgotten.

Michael circled one of the vans, pacing as he spoke. "That's the official story? He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Who the hell is going to believe that?" He scowled into the phone. "Do you actually think we can drop off two police detectives and a medical examiner in the middle of Manhattan, no questions asked? And what about Lubov?" He shook his head at the Russian woman who sat quietly away from the others.

Nikita watched as he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously, and finally his face grew taught with hatred. "Yes, Amanda and Ari are still a problem." He blinked his eyes slowly, "It's only a matter of time and that is a promise." He bristled with frustration, not willing to accept defeat, yet again.

He snapped his phone closed and crossed his arms and looked at the battered and weary individuals in front of him.

"We're being directed to a government seized property, about twenty five miles from here, where we will be extracted." He looked directly at Evan, Tess and Catherine with a grim expression. "You'll be coming with us. Once debriefed, you'll be given... options."

Options? What the hell is that supposed to mean Tess thought to herself. She gave a sideways glance at Evan who was equally irritated by the remark.

"Who are these people?" Evan asked, eyeing Michael and Nikita. "I recognized that man, Sean Pierce, but who are the others?"

"I could never make any of this up, and it's crazy enough for an exposé in Mother Jones Magazine or an outline for a JJ Abrams movie." Tess answered with more than a hint of sarcasm. "These guys are from the government, but they're top secret and no one knows about them."

"Except for us." Evan shook his head. "What I wouldn't give for a pint and a stack of bodies to autopsy."

The group from the NYPD huddled together on a bench waiting to be loaded up and taken to parts unknown. They were sleep deprived and on information overload, and now that any imminent danger had passed, they felt wary, not fully understanding what they had gotten themselves into.

Cat had remained silent until now. "Thank you." She looked over at Tess and Evan, her eyes glistening with emotion. "Thank you for not giving up on me."

Tess leaned toward her and gave her a gentle shoulder bump. "We stick together, watch each other's backs, that's what partners do."

"I know you've put up with a lot and I owe you." Cat said uncomfortably.

"We have to have a serious talk and its time to come clean. I think it needs to be over drinks, lot of drinks." She had a hard time hiding her feelings. They were equal parts of betrayal and of relief.

Cat looked like she wanted to speak, but she pressed her lips together in a stony expression.

"I know, it's complicated." Tess said under her breath. "I just didn't know how complicated."

Evan seized the moment to speak to her. "Cat, whatever has happened, whatever this creature..."

"His name is Vincent!" Cat abruptly stopped him. "He's not a creature, he's a man who is more than deserving of all of our help. He's saved my life more than once and if you value our friendship, you'll remember that." There was fire in her eyes and an icy cadence to her voice.

"Take it easy. We're with you." Tess tried her best to diffuse the situation. She gave Evan a cautious look.

Cat took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Evan. You tried to protect and help me and I know it seems I'm turning on you, but I'm not. Please try and understand, I'm tired and frustrated and..." She looked away, fighting back her tears.

Everything about her squeezed Evan's heart into a reality check. "Cat, I'll always be here for you." He whispered so quietly, she barely heard him.

"You always have and I'm so grateful for your friendship. I'm sorry if it hasn't been enough, I never meant to disappoint you."

Evan might have been in love, but he wasn't a fool. Escaping death and sitting amongst a group of covert spies had been a wake up call, but Cat's words cut deep.

Alex watched out of the corner of her eye and listened. Intensity radiated from them and she realized they were all the same. People. Struggling with misconceptions, deciphering feelings, and wanting things that might never be. She might be incredibly tough, she had killed a dozen men and saved ten times that many lives, but when it came to matters of the heart, they were all alike. Vulnerable.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Sonya came on their Com units. "Birkhoff's been running real time satellite images and we've found something, not quite sure what to make of it, but it's worth investigating. Hang on."

Alex turned her back to Catherine and whispered, "You think it's Vincent and J.T.?" She looked over her shoulder at Cat keeping her voice low so they would not hear. Tess' had looped her arm through Cat's protectively.

"Either that or it's Smokey and Yogi..." Birkhoff added. "There is something you can do."

Alex listened and rushed over to Cat with a serious look of optimism and urgency.

"Detective Chandler, I don't want to give you any false hope, but Birkhoff, our guy in Ops has picked up thermal imaging of two bodies about twenty miles from the battery plant. They're sending a team to pick them up. If it is Vincent and J.T. can you tell us anything that would make them trust our agents? Something only you would know about."

Catherine's eyes grew wide and her voice shook. "Tell him fire escape. Tell him that Catherine wants to meet him on my fire escape."

Changing it up

Medical went into overdrive when an influx of agents and their rescued personnel arrived at Division. Bumps and bruises were checked and treated. Cuts were cleaned and held together with butterfly band aids and pupils were checked with pen lights. Luckily no one had been seriously injured and the agents were each given a visitor to debrief.

They took them to separate quarters where they gathered as much information as possible without it feeling like an interrogation. It was a who, what, where, when and how kind of give and take. Everyone was impressed with the courage and tenacity the NYPD detectives and their medical examiner had shown, and they in turn learned the covert government operatives meant them no harm.

After a long shower and a new set of recruit training clothes, Tess and Nikita shared a simple meal and a bottle of Cabernet and did their best to put the other at ease. The inability to define their relationship initially made it awkward, but that's where the wine helped.

"I feel like I shouldn't be here." Tess admitted

"No, I'm glad, we're glad you're here and..."

"That's not exactly what I mean. I shouldn't be here, seeing any of this, waiting for Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne to walk through that door, telling me I can never go home again."

Nikita smiled. "Neither of them have clearance to be here."

Tess let out a stilted laugh. "Seriously? Spy humor?"

Nikita knew Tess wasn't buying the we're all one big happy family routine. "Ryan is working it out. You aren't our prisoner, we have an obligation to build you a plausible cover story. You will be able to go home and resume your lives, but we have to make sure everyone is on the same page. We have to be on the same side."

"Your side?" Tess had a glum and wary look on her face.

"The right side." Nikita said solemnly.

Tess wasn't sure what to make of her. She knew this secret organization could cause her to permanently disappear and there would be nothing anyone could do about it, but she also sensed that she could trust Nikita.

"Come on, follow me." Nikita stood up and opened the door. "Operations has news for us."

Tess followed her out and back into the depths of the building. She felt slightly intimidated by the activity, the noise and the purpose. The room was sleek and high tech, just like their agents. She saw Alex and Sean standing close, their heads together deep in conversation. Than she saw Cat, who had a look of relief on her face.

Cat looked over at the two women. "It was J.T. and Vincent."

They had explained to her that both men were fine. They would be debriefed and she would be allowed to see them. Catherine found it hard to sit still and wait patiently. When the door opened, she practically jumped J.T. when he walked in.

"J.T.? Where is he? Is he all right?"

He looked at her with mock indignation. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was a little harried almost getting blown to smithereens and spending eight hours in the woods being hunted down by government assassins, but no biggie. Thanks for asking."

Catherine looked up at him slightly embarrassed but mostly anxious. "J.T.?"

He took pity on her. "He's about the best he's been in ten years. See for yourself."

He stepped aside and Catherine saw Vincent walk through the door. He still had an aura of uncertainty and doubt around him, but he stood tall and looked strong. The color was back in his face and when he looked up and saw Catherine, it was with clarity and any hint of insecurity vanished. In it's place was a look of joy and relief.

Vincent took her into his arms. "Catherine..." He said breathlessly. "It's like I just woke up from a horrible nightmare, but you're really here."

Catherine clung to him burying her face in his neck. "Yes. I'm here and I'm so glad to see you."

He released her from his grasp. It didn't take heightened senses for them to feel each other's hearts beating and the euphoria that made them both tingle with apprehension. He looked down at her and kissed her so gently, she couldn't imagine anything sweeter.

"You're really okay?" Catherine asked tentatively.

He smirked at her. "We're naming our first child J.T." His eyes sparkled with excitement. "His antidote worked. We don't now for sure what's happened, and we need to run some tests, but I'm so much better and more importantly, I'm in control."

She laughed. "If it's a girl, I'm not naming her John Thomas." She threw her arms around his neck and held him close.

"I want you to always be part of my life. We've been through the worst, it's time we got a break. I love you." He kissed her again, this time a little more urgently.

She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Vincent, I want the same and you know, I love you."

She pulled him down and their lips met again. This time it was slow and unrelenting. Sighs of pleasure filled the room as they devoured each other's soul through a kiss. It left them breathless and when they parted the intensity of their feelings left them both trembling.

"I'm still here..." J.T. announced. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really honored but a little disturbed at the baby name and this is about as touching as it gets, but you know that third wheel thing? I'd really like to give you some privacy," he jiggled the door handle "but, I can't get out.