A/N: Get ready for more flashbacks! They're my way of adding "deleted scenes". Which I seriously hope there's some of Salex and Nalex, or really anything to with Alex (she's my favorite) on the season 3 dvd. :)

Burning Bridges: Chapter 21

Whoever said, your whole life flashes before your eyes in a near death experience was wrong. Or maybe it just depends. During that split second you have to react before an impact… before you even realize what is happening… there's a theory. The brain is desperately trying to remember previous experiences from similar situations in hopes of finding something worth remembering… something worth holding onto that will miraculously save you from this impeding doom.

For Sean, he didn't see his entire life flash before his eyes. He only saw the important things... the things he loves. He saw Alex. Their entire life together. All the good. All the bad. All the little things that she had forgotten… he was remembering…

"Hey, there you are!" Sean finds Alex sitting high up in the rafters of the barn, staring out the top story window. "What are you doing up there?"

Alex looks down at him and smiles. "Hey." She balances herself on one of the beams and jumps down onto an extended platform. Her movements so graceful, like an angel.

Sean stared at her, amused. "Show off." She was always doing stunts like this. "Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy on that arm? You know, after breaking it so many times, I would think you'd learn by now."

Alex laughs. "Not really." She winks at him and walks over to a wooden railing. "Doc said I could get my cast off today, so it's cool if you wanna join me?" She says, nodding her head towards a ladder. God she looked so beautiful. Sean stared up at the ladder, a blinding white light shined in his face. A glare from the cracks in the wooden frame of the barn. "What are you waiting for?"

"Alex…" Sean moaned as a bystander shined a bright light in his face.

"Are you alright?" A girl asks. She puts away her flashlight.

"Alex?" Sean turns his head in a daze.

"No, my name is Marissa… uh, hey don't move." The girl tells him. "What's your name?"

"Sean." He replies, weakly. He closed his eyes again, feeling a little light headed.

"HEY!" Marissa panics. "STAY WITH ME!"

Alex watches as he makes his way up to her. "Hiding again, I assume?" Sean teases her as he climbs onto the loft.

"No." Alex glares at him. "I'm not always hiding."

"Well, it seems like you're hiding from me." Sean eyes her.

Alex turns her head away, slightly blushing. "I am not."

"Whatever you say, sneaky sneak." Sean smirks at her.

Alex rolls her eyes and walks over to a window. "I just come here to think sometimes." She says, gazing out into the deserted farmland. "It's very peaceful and quiet."

"SEAN!" Marissa's voice wakes him. "Oh thank God, don't scare me like that!" She shouts at him.

"What happen?" Sean looks at Marissa.

"This car… it just came out of no where." Marissa replies."I was just walking with my boyfriend… his name is Chris by the way, he went to get help… and the next thing we knew, some jerk cuts across the street and slams into you." Marissa looks at Sean. "Then he just drives off! I tried to get a license plate number but there wasn't one."

"No license?" Sean frowns. That was very strange. "Did you call 911?" Sean asks.

"Yeah, we did." Marissa replies. "Wait what are you doing?" She tries to stop him from unbuckling his seatbelt. "You shouldn't move."

"It's okay, I'm fine." Sean protests. He needed to get out of there. If the cops showed up, they would question who he is. And as far as the world knew, Sean Pierce was supposed to be dead.

"You're not fine!" Marissa yells at him. "My brother is an EMT and he told me some victims can go into shock after an accident."

"I have to go." Sean says. "I need to find Alex."

"Who's Alex?" Marissa questions.

Alex walks up to the rusty doors of her former apartment building. On the outside, aside from the old red brick walls, no one would suspect a girl of her apparent celebrity status would choose such a place to call home. But once she entered the lobby, the familiar setting only reminded her of home. She was home. Alex smiles, taking in the sight.

"Alex?" A former neighbor greeted her. Alex turned to look at her confused. "Wait, are you pretending to be that Russian heiress again?" The girl laughs. "You two could be twins, I swear. I always have to do a double take whenever I run into you, neighbor. Did you hear, she's in town today?"

"You caught me!" Alex laughs, playing along. "No." She shakes her head. "I uh, I seemed to have lost my key."

"Oh why don't you use that spare you're always hiding."

"The spare?" Alex looks at her confused.

"Yeah the one you told me about in case of emergencies like this."

"Oh…" Alex brings a hand up to her head. She looks at the girl and frowns.

"Are you okay?" Her neighbor looks at her funny. "You don't really seem like yourself."

"Uh, this might seem strange, but can you show me where I hid the key?" Alex says. "I've been busy lately... got distracted. I've seemed to have forgotten where I put it."

"Yeah, no problem." She replies. The girl starts to lead Alex toward the apartment she shared with Sean. "So where's Sean?" She asks.

"She's the love of my life." Sean tells Marissa. His thoughts returning to Alex...

"Ah, is this like your fortress of solitude?" Sean smirks.

"My what?" Alex turns to look at him confused.

"Superman?"

"Ohhh." Alex laughs. "Duh." Sean gives her a look. "Hey, don't judge me." She glares at him. "My father trained me in survival instincts, not comic books as a kid."

"Superman is an icon." Sean argues. "Everyone knows him. You don't even need to read the comics."

"I know who Captain America is." Alex winks at him.

"It's Lieutenant Commander." Sean glares at her. She was always calling him Captain America. "That's not even funny anymore."

"Geez, now look who needs to lighten up." Alex walks over a pile of cushions she had stashed in a corner.

"If anything, I should be Batman." Sean comments.

"Nah, that's Michael." Alex says, sitting down.

"Yeah, he does have the voice." Sean laughs.

"That's what-" Alex stops herself, not wanting to mention her last boyfriend. "He does, doesn't he?" She awkwardly laughs. "So what are you doing here anyway?" Alex looks up at Sean. "Nikita need me for something?"

"No." Sean replies. He hesitates for a second, becoming nervous. Alex was oblivious though. She sat and stared at him, waiting for more. "She uh, she's with Michael… they're busy renovating Division still." Sean continues. "Ryan wants to get this giant round table thingy installed where Amanda's office used to be. Right in the middle of Ops."

"Oh, that's going to be cool." Alex says. "Bet Birkhoff is having fun with all the new tech."

Sean laughs. "Yeah. He and Sonya seem to be having fun… if you know what I mean."

"Oh my gosh! I knew it!" Alex exclaims. "They're totally together!"

Sean casually walks over to Alex and sits down beside her on the cushions. "So… uh, speaking of people being together... I uh, I wanted to-"

"Hey, when do you think one of the Dirty Thirty will pop up on Birkhoff's radar?" Alex suddenly asks. "There's thirty of them right?"

"Yeah that's why Nikita calls them dirty. She liked that it rhymed." Sean laughs. "But uh, back to what I was trying to-"

"I can't wait for one of them to pop up." Alex interrupts again. "The sooner we catch them all, the sooner Division can be shut down for good."

"That's great… but Alex, I-"

"Oh crap, I should get going." Alex looks at her watch. "I said I would meet Dr. Lester after his lunch break." She scurries down the ladder. "I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay…" Sean says as she cracks him a smile. On that note, Alex slides open a false wall in the barn and hops into the hidden elevator. "I was getting there…" Sean says to himself as Alex disappears.

"What do you mean Alex disappeared?" Nikita questions Birkhoff. She and Michael had just arrived at the airport, scouting Smith. "I thought we were tracking her."

"Her tracker just went offline." Birkhoff says too quickly. "But that's not all. I lost Sean too!"

"Hold on, slow down. What happen to Sean?"

"I'm telling you, something is going on. First Alex and now Sean… it's gotta be Amanda." Birkhoff says, jumping to conclusions.

"Birkhoff-"

"Wait, wait, wait. I got something!" Birkhoff exclaims. "Local P.D. There's a dispatch, reporting an accident on corner of Prospect and Pearl street…"

"An accident?" Michael questions. He lowers his scope and whispers to Nikita, "I don't see Smith. Do you?"

"No." Nikita whispers back. "Nerd, what's going on?"

"Sean? SEAN?" Birkhoff tries to get his com back online.

"Sean?" Alex questions.

"Your boyfriend?" Her friend looks at Alex with a new wave of suspicion. "I saw him earlier today with Michael and his fiancée…" She considers testing Alex. "I always forget her name..."

"Nikita?" Alex asks.

"Yeah! Nikita." She smiles. Alex got the answer right. She figured her friend was just having an off day. "I don't know how I can't remember that." The girl continues to play along. "It's not a name you hear everyday."

"Ha." Alex laughs. "It's okay, I have trouble remembering things too."

"Just like this." The girl reaches behind a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall next to unit 305. "Here you go." She hands Alex the key.

"Thanks." Alex smiles at her. She wished she could remember her name. It would be too awkward to ask now. Her friend was already suspicious of her forgetfulness.

"Don't lose this one too." The girl replies. "I gotta go now, but don't be a stranger." She nods her head toward the apartment across the hall. "You and Sean should come over sometime whenever you feel better. Sean said something about you not feeling well before?"

"Oh yeah…" Alex tries to remain neutral. "That's right." She had to keep playing along. "I've just been working so hard lately... there's a lot of pressure. You know how stress can give you headaches sometimes? I just feel like my mind is scrabbling to get all this work done, and now it's making me lose track-

"Of all the little things?"

"Yeah." Alex looks at her amazed. "That's exactly what Sean says too..."

"He's so worried about you all the time. I think it's adorable. You're lucky to have such a great guy."

Alex smiles at her. She was right. "Anyway, I'm fine though."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's not a big deal, I just need to relax... get my mind off of work."

"Okay well get better soon." The girl replies.

"All better?" Sean walks up to Alex in medical. He hovers by the door as she turns to smile at him.

"Yup." Alex says jumping off the medical bed. She walks up to him and shows off her arm. "Good as new."

"She's the one." Sean smiles as he summarizes his story to Marissa in one sentence. "She's always been the one. I have to find her." He says.

Marissa stops him from moving too much. He winces in pain, fumbling for the seatbelt again. "As much as I love chivalry and you being some white knight riding off into the sunset searching for his one true love... I'm not letting you go anywhere until a doctor clears you!" She warns him. "Like, I don't think you realize-" She looks him up and down, "You're bleeding. You could have a broken arm or something."

Sean laughs, thinking about Alex again. "I'm going to start a pool. Lets see how long you'll last before you break it again."

"Hey!" Alex glares at him. "I don't always break my arm." She walks past him, out the door.

"This is the third time, Alex…" Sean follows her down the hall.

"I can't help it." Alex says as they walk away from medical. "I punch with my right. Want me to demonstrate?"

"You can't hit me." Sean teases.

Alex stops walking and stares at him. Hands on her hips. "Are you challenging me?"

"I'm not going to fight you, Alex." Sean starts to walk again.

"Because you're scared I'll beat you?" Alex follows him toward Ops.

"No..."

"Because I'm a girl?" Alex asks.

"No, it's not like that…"

"Then why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you." Sean says. "And I don't mean that in any dominating way…"

"Then what do you mean?" Alex glares at him.

"I mean, I don't want to hurt you, ever."

Birkhoff frowns at the sight of Sean's mangled car on his computer. "Ouch." Birkhoff comments. "I found Sean's car. He looks hurt."

"Michael, I don't like the sound of this…" Nikita nudges him. "Maybe we should go back and check on him."

"This is what Amanda wants." Michael says. "She wants to split us all up."

"This looks serious." Nikita looks at the live video feed Birkhoff sent to her smartphone. "How bout you go check on Sean and I'll stay and look out for Smith."

"Wait, Nikita, look!" Michael shouts. He spots Smith walking through airport security.

"Nerd, we gotta go…" Nikita frowns. She turns to face Michael, "Okay, real quick, once we get Smith, I'll deal with him and you go get Sean."

"Deal." Michael nods. "Birkhoff, tell us when you find Alex."

"I have to tell her." Sean mumbles.

"Tell her what?" Marissa asks.

"That I'm never giving up," Sean gazes down the street. Siren sounds could be heard in the distance. "I'm never going to leave, until she says yes."

"Aww, that's so romantic." Marissa gushes.

"Mar!" Her boyfriend shouts.

"Chris! Over here." She turns to look at Sean. "I'll be right back." She says. "Don't move!"

"I called your brother too. He's coming." Chris tells her.

"Coop?"

"No, the other one. Are you crazy? Yeah Coop." Chris jokes. He looks toward Sean's car. "So he's awake?"

"Yeah, oh my gosh Chris, you have to meet this guy. He's trying to find this girl name Alex. I think he's going to propose to her."

"Wow." Alex says amazed as she steps into her old apartment. She looks around feeling dazed, like she had just stepped into an alternate universe. "This isn't real."

Alex shakes her head when she spots a photo of herself, framed and sitting next to a plant that looked like it hadn't been watered in days. She walks over to the plant and picks up the picture frame. Running her fingers along the glass. Studying the image of this happy girl she barely recognized.

Alex looked at herself sadly, trying to remember when this was photo was taken. She couldn't remember though. It pained her, she was trying so hard. Frustrated, Alex sets the photo down. She tried to look away but her eyes kept going back to it. Each time, the happy girl in the candid photo would appear as if she was mocking her. Overwhelmed by the image, Alex flips it face down.

"Alex…" Sean calls out her name in agony. He unbuckles his seatbelt and falls out of the car. Blood dripping from his hands as he lands on broken glass. "Ugh." He groans in pain, picking himself off the ground.

Sean looks over at Marissa and her boyfriend talking. As if they were in slow motion, the world around him seemed to stop. He could hear the siren sounds in the distance. His vision becoming blurry. He felt like he was going to collapse again. But now was his only chance. The siren sounds becoming clearer as they approached his location. He had to make a run for it. Sean quickly reaches back into the car, finding his glock and stuffing it in the back of his pants. He then grabs his phone and bolts down the street.

"Hey, watch it man!" Bystanders shout as he bumps into them.

With heavy breathing, Sean stumbles. Trying to catch his breath. Blood staining his face from his hand as he tries to adjust his eyes. But he kept running.

"Hey!" He could hear Marissa's voice shouting after him, "Where'd he go?"

"I guess he went to find Alex." Chris replies.

Alex walked into the bedroom, opening drawers, looking for anything that could possibly lead to more memories. She was hoping she might stumble across a diary of some sorts but that sounded ridiculous. She didn't feel like the type of person who would write things down. "This is useless." Alex complains. She sits down on her hardwood floor and lowers herself onto her back, exhausted, staring up at the ceiling and wanting to give up. Alex sighs, closing her eyes for just a second…

"Alex?" Nikita walks into her bedroom. She looks at the girl lying on the ground and laughs. "What are you doing? You look ridiculous."

Alex pops her head up to see Nikita standing by the door. "Ugh." She falls back into her resting position. "Yoga is not for me."

"You're not even doing it right." Nikita laughs.

"I've tried everything, Nikita." Alex sits up and glares at her. "I even tried mediating… with Birkhoff."

"Ha ha, yeah you've told me plenty of times." Nikita walks over to Alex and sits down beside her.

"I have to put emphasis on it." Alex laughs. "It was that horrible."

Alex jolts awake. "Nikita." She pants, looking around the room. She was remembering this conversation...

They share a smile. Nikita suddenly sighs and gives Alex a serious look. "So, tell me, how are you? I know we never really had a chance to talk after…" She drifts off, thinking about Michael's hand.

"Why this?" Alex questions to herself. Why was she thinking about Nikita all of a sudden.

Alex looks at her sadly. "I know you have a lot going on too."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I care any less about you." Nikita reaches over and touches her hand.

Alex smiled at the thought. Nikita was always such a great friend to her. She felt bad for pushing her away at the hotel.

Alex sighs and looks away, not wanting to talk about it. "Hey." Nikita says, trying to get her attention. "Remember what I said?"

"There's a reason why I started medicating again… I know." Alex looks at Nikita. "I just don't know why… any reason I come up with, it just sounds stupid."

"Okay, well let me ask you something." Nikita looks her in the eyes. "When did you start using again?"

"Uh, it was after I got shot… I told you…"

"No, the exact moment… what was going through your mind?"

"Nikita..."

"You have to talk about it Alex. You can't keep pushing your feelings aside. It's the only way to really understand why." Alex takes a deep breath and stands up. She walks over to her dresser and stares at the necklace Sean had given her for her birthday. Nikita spots the dangling "A" and smiles. She stands up and walks over to her friend. "Alex." Nikita continues. "What do you want?"

"Michael!" Nikita shouts through her com. She hurdles over packed bags and makes her way through a maze of passengers lined up to board their flights.

"I got him!" Michael races after Smith in the middle of a busy airport lobby. Bystanders watch as the action unfolds. Witnesses on edge, paranoid this was going to be another deadly terrorist attack on our nation. "Cut him off." Michael directs a flow of security guards following him.

Nikita makes eye contact with Smith as he bolts toward an exit door. She quickly runs after him. "Stop!" She shouts, holding up a fake FBI badge. "It's over." She points her gun at him.

"Nikita… I've heard so much about you." Smith taunts her. He drops his package and quickly knocks the gun out of Nikita's hand. She counters with a punch to his face.

"And I've heard nothing about you." Nikita replies. "Guess that means you're not worth my time."

"Then why are you going after me?" He tries to attack her.

"Because you're the one going after my friends!" Nikita rushes toward him, climbing up his body to wrap her legs around him and use the force of his own weight to pull him down on the ground with her.

"Nice move." Smith comments. He struggles under her headlock.

"Thanks, it's like a signature of mine."

"You wanna know what a signature of mine is?" Smith asks. Before Nikita could respond, he pulls out a hidden knife under his sleeve and stabs her in the leg, causing her to release him from her grasp.

"Michael!" Nikita shouts as Smith tries to get away.

Michael catches up to them and blocks Smith's path. "We have you surrounded." He points a gun at Smith.

Smith freezes. "Hands!" Nikita exclaims, getting up. "Drop your package." Smith obeys. Nikita steps aside as airport security puts him in handcuffs.

Michael walks up to Nikita. "Are you okay?" He frowns at the sight of blood on Nikita's leg.

"Flesh wound." Nikita says. "If I can handle the little cut Alex gave me, I can handle this one too."

Michael shakes his head. "You two get hurt way too much."

"At least I haven't broken my arm three times." Nikita jokes. Her face then turns serious. "Okay, I can handle Smith now. You go find Sean."

Stealing a pair of sunglasses off a local restaurant's patio table and a coat off someone else's chair, Sean disguises himself from wandering eyes. He stumbles down the street in pain. Blood soaking through his new clothes. Marissa was right, he shouldn't have moved. But he had to find Alex again. Even if he was going to bleed out, he had to see her one last time. Sean wanders into an alleyway to catch his breath for a second. He takes out his phone, hoping it would still work. He powers it on.

Instantly, Birkhoff gets an alert. "Sean!?" He calls.

"Birkhoff." Sean pants. "You find Alex yet?" He says, getting straight to the point.

"Forget about Alex!" Birkhoff exclaims. "Are you okay?"

"Listen." Sean says in a hurry. "I need you to give Nikita a message for me."

"What is it?"

Suddenly, Sean hears footsteps behind him. "You just won't die, will you?" A voice taunts him.

"Smith."

A/N: WHAT? Smith!? How is he in two places at once? Any guesses? Thoughts? Flashbacks ideas? Don't be scared to review!