Set during 4x06 "Canceled" after Ryan earns his Star on the CIA wall but before the team is off on their own adventures. The team finds out about Sam and Alex- M rating for the topic and language.
"You did fucking what?" Michael's shout startled Nikita awake. She was kind of grateful for that, however. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Neither had Alex beside her. The two women had crashed on the sofa in one of the houses they were assigned at the Marine base, completely exhausted. They hadn't had the chance to rest since the start of their final run at Amanda. Since everything was over, they could finally be at peace. Or so they thought.
"Relax, man. We're both consenting adults. It's no big deal," Sam tried to sound easy going, yet he was still tense. Despite their grogginess, Nikita's and Alex's curiosity spiked. What the hell had occurred while they were sleeping. Shouldn't they have passed all the drama with Amanda locked up, the doubles taken care of, and their pardons and new lives being established. Considering it was their team they were thinking about, that would probably never be the case.
"No big deal? She's a kid. And you tried to kill all of us," Michael was getting more heated by the moment. That was enough for Nikita to finally push off the couch and investigate. Alex was right behind her, though less awake. She was still trying to get her bearings when they stumbled into the kitchen. It was right around dinner time, but the food the team was thinking about ordering had become abandoned. The argument had taken precedence.
How it all started wasn't that important. Michael, Sam, Sonya, and Birkhoff had gathered in the kitchen to leave Alex and Nikita alone as they slept. They were going to wake them soon after they had gotten dinner, when the fight erupted. It wasn't much of a fight, more of a screaming match. One Sam thought he could win with low blows, "Hey, I turned around and helped you. Or do you want to conveniently forget that just so you could hate me?"
"Why are you yelling?" Matching the tone in the room, Nikita cut off her boyfriend before he could harshly respond. Michael and Sam had been at one another's throats since they met. It wouldn't help anyone to delve into that long history of trying to one up the other at the moment. They should just move on, settle whatever it was, and eat. Her growling stomach would be appreciative of that.
"Sam and Alex fucked on the plane," However, once Birkhoff explained the situation, Nikita didn't care about food or peace. She turned to Alex, eyes wide. Blush was creeping up the young woman's cheeks, yet she was ignoring it with a glare directed at Sam. Apparently, that was meant to be a secret kept between them. But the cat was so disastrously out of the bag then.
"When the fuck was this?" Nikita demanded. She wasn't angry like Michael for some reason was. She was simply shocked. She would've never guessed Alex and Sam would sleep together- and on their airplane base no less. There had to be an explanation for it. Or, at least some way to make sense of it.
"Before you called about Ryan," Sheepishly, Alex explained. Silence filled the kitchen then. They had just said 'goodbye' to him that morning. They watched the CIA honor him with a star for his acts of service- without him, the team never would've captured Amanda. His death still stung. Just a mention of it had them still, forget what they were even doing. That kind of silence overcame the family as they remembered other loved ones' deaths as well. It was a pain that took forever to heal.
"And you weren't going to say anything?" Yet they had gotten better at finding some way to push forward and move on. Eventually, Nikita wondered when Alex would've told her about her and Sam. Obviously with Ryan's death and Amanda's capture, more important things were on her mind. But she at least could've said something afterwards.
If she had, maybe Michael and Sam wouldn't have been so willing to throw fists. The two continued to glare at one another, which made Nikita wonder what had been said before she woke up. Knowing them, it was possibly a crude, biting remark that shouldn't have been revisited. Fortunately, Alex answering the question helped to keep pushing the conversation along, "It was a mistake. A heat of the moment thing."
"You didn't say that at the time," Whether or not Sam said that earnestly or just to be an asshole was unclear. But he did glance at Alex in confusion. Her bitterness towards him over sharing what they had done lowered. Instead, she was filled with a cross between annoyance and sympathy. She didn't want to hurt feelings, just set the record straight.
"Yeah, but I did right after," Alex clarified. Sure, in the moment she regrettably enjoyed her time with Sam. However, she knew it was a big mistake. They shouldn't have had sex in that plane. They shouldn't have had sex in general. That was a mistake she was going to have to pay for. Maybe that uncomfortable conversation with her team could be her retribution. It was definitely awkward enough.
"Shut up. No one wants to hear from you," Immediately, Michael put an end to whatever Sam might've responded. He didn't want to hear another asinine or douchey comment. In fact, that whole conversation should've just been over with. He had berated Sam, Nikita got answers, and Alex seemed to have been done with it all. That was it, end of the discussion, time to eat.
"Why are you so protective of her? It's not like she's your daughter," Sam had no self-preservation, however. He simply had to dig at Michael in a way he knew that hurt. It could be explained away as him defending himself after being yelled at. He had come a long way in regards to his relationship with the team; he wasn't their enemy anymore. But he was still contentious. A fact that did not go over well with Michael.
"Whoa. Hey. Maybe he's just weirded out about the age difference. And, well, you don't have the best record when it comes to our trust," Nikita stepped in between Michael and Sam, knowing far too well how terrible things could escalate. The team didn't need to start ripping each others' heads off since they finally had their freedom. They could actually relax and breathe for once. They didn't need to fight anymore.
"It's not like there isn't an age difference between the rest of you," With a frustrated huff, Sam kept arguing. He had a point. Michael and Nikita and Birkhoff and Sonya (though they were just wisely and silently watching from the sidelines) had age differences between them. Though, it wasn't as great as Sam and Alex. The other couples were at least born within the same decade.
"Not that big," Although it was a quiet mumble so he could continue to stay out of the overall argument, Birkhoff still had to say it. He wasn't a fan of Sam and Alex sleeping together either. It seemed so strange with everything else that had been going on. But, honestly, who was he to judge. He was aware that there was more to the story than what he knew.
Alex could explain it then. She could go over her thoughts and emotions at the time, and go into detail about what had made her decide to fuck Sam. Yet, she didn't have to. It wasn't her team's business why she did it. They could simply know that it had happened, and that she had moved on. That was all that was to it, "It's fine. It was consensual. I kissed him first."
"You did fucking what?" Nikita wasn't proud of it, but she shrieked. She was increasingly shocked and confused the more she knew about what had happened. Alex initiating it made far less sense than the fact that she and Sam had had sex. Nikita definitely needed to hear the explanation then. Something more had to have happened than only her being attracted to him- as weird as that thought on its own was.
"You kissed Sam?" In the same boat as his girlfriend, Michael was bewildered. He had no idea anything had been brewing between the two. Owen and Alex might've bonded over butterflies and changing who they were. But Sam wasn't Owen. Well, according to Nikita, a part of him was. Except that wasn't the point. The point was that nothing made sense.
"Oh, like you never fucked someone you shouldn't have," Alex was getting fed up. She already admitted to her mistake. Why weren't they moving on and ordering dinner. That was why Sam shouldn't have said something in the first place. Whatever they had done was meaningless. Their family didn't need to know or be involved. Enough guilt and shame was eating away at her, she didn't need more.
"No. Because I don't think with my vagina," That was a boldfaced lie, but Nikita shouted it anyway. At least she only thought that way around her boyfriend, not with a man who had tried to kill her and everyone she loved. Well, she and Michael did fight a lot before they got together, hurting each other in so many ways. But it wasn't about them. It was about Alex and Sam, and the fact that them having sex was insane.
"And that's my cue to leave. See you guys later," Mock waving, Birkhoff attempted to leave the house. He wanted Sonya to come with him, but she remained firmly in her spot. She enjoyed watching all of that shit unfold. After dealing with Sam in India, she wanted something stupid like that to happen to him. No way would she stop witnessing that, not even if her boyfriend was desperate to leave the awkwardness.
"Fine. Then you've never had a rebound," Alex continued as if Birkhoff never spoke. She had realized what fucking Sam was the second it was over. Her emotions were high and she needed to burn them off with an action that allowed her not to think. Honestly, she was a little grateful she had just had sex instead of doing anything else. There were tons of other self-destructive behaviors she could've done. Sex with an asshole wasn't that bad.
"A rebound? You put all your focus in a rebound then," Sam was undoubtedly being a douchebag that time. He continued to be in defensive mode with all the talk of how terrible having sex with him was. Though, he didn't have to take it that far. He should've let it go and helped Alex out a little bit. Digging a deeper hole for himself must've been his default.
"Shut the fuck up," Michael snapped. He didn't even want to know Alex and Sam had hooked up in the first place. The details only made it worse. And the way Sam degraded her with his comments and tore at him, pissed Michael off. Alex might've been insulting as well, but at least he deserved it. She, on the other hand, only deserved respect.
"We were talking about Sean and Emily. How could sex be anything but a rebound after that?" Ignoring Michael, Alex focused entirely on Sam. She didn't think she had to explain her actions to him. He had been there, after all; he should've understood her the most. With all those painful memories and survival's guilt resurfacing, how could the sex afterwards be anything but a rebounded mistake. Using him like that was terrible, but it was the best solution to her pain.
Silence fell over the room once more. Gently, Nikita ran a comforting hand along her best friend's bicep. Her shock and bewilderment vanished with that explanation. Alex had never been the best at coping. Although she didn't relapse again, she continued to fall into destructive behaviors. Attacking that gang wasn't her only outburst. And there was a possibility for more if she didn't seek help, "Alex, there's better ways to grieve than just fucking the pain away."
"What, like shooting up? Or just shooting people?" The words left her mouth before she could stop them. That wasn't fair of Alex at all. She was just sick of being the center of attention. She was aware of her bad choices, her team didn't need to remind her. Yet her reply stung. Nikita pulled away from her. She had to take them back instantly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Alright. That's it. We're going to sit down, and we're going to talk. Birkhoff, get back here," Michael called for Birkhoff who had managed to sneak off into the other room. Not only was it time they finally ate, the team was also long overdue for an actual conversation. They had jumped from mission to mission for far too long. They needed to sit down and talk to each other like the family they were. No one could argue with that.
"I don't want to hear your girlfriend say 'vagina' again," However, Birkhoff could slowly return to the kitchen and beg for Nikita to stop. He had no problem with the word. And he definitely didn't have a problem with the anatomy. He'd simply rather not hear his friend talk about hers or anyone else's vagina. That was too much for him to take.
"Fiancée," Rolling their eyes, Michael and Nikita corrected. The couple was more annoyed about Birkhoff's comment than having to set him straight about their relationship. Yet, after correcting so many people in the past, it got exhausting. The team didn't know about their engagement, though- at least, their second engagement. They knew the two had reconciled after their separation, but not that they were back to being engaged. That changed things.
"You're engaged again?" Sonya finally spoke up. A brilliant grin broke across her face, echoed by Alex and Birkhoff- even Sam smiled a little. That topic was far better than two of them hooking up. It was more hopeful, and perfectly reflected the happily ever after they had within their grasp. The fighting was over, and they could start living.
"When did that happen?" It was Alex's turn to demand. Nikita didn't have her ring back on, so it must've been recent. Michael probably hadn't had the chance to give it to her with the whole hunting down Amanda thing and mourning Ryan's death. But nothing could stop them then. She could wear her ring once again, and they could finally get married (thank God for that).
"Uh. In bed," Nikita spared a glance at Michael, shrugging. She didn't want to get into how it happened while they were having sex before the call about Ryan. They had already traveled down that path, it was best to avoid it. Besides, the least she could do was take some of the teasing away from Alex. She and her fiancé could be in the spotlight for a moment.
"What happened to not thinking with your vagina?" Already quick with a response, Alex threw Nikita's words back at her. She knew it was more than a spur of the moment decision while in bed together. Michael and Nikita had had marriage in their future for about as long as she knew them. It was still fun to tease them for their rashness and insane situations, though. Especially after she just got so much shit from them.
"There's a difference between getting engaged, and having rebound sex with Sam," Despite Birkhoff's groan over hearing 'vagina' again, Nikita kept going. Her tone was light, but there was still some bite to it. Alex wasn't off the hook in talking about what happened with Sam. She still needed to heal- they all did.
It was such a blessing that the family had the time and freedom to do just that. They could talk and heal and move past the hell they had escaped. That was the point of their happily ever afters. It wasn't only about dispelling evil from the world. It was also about being able to be happy with their loved ones- including the ones they had lost but would keep in their hearts forever. The talking would take a second to get to, however. First, Sam had to defend himself, "Why am I the one being shit on for that? She fucked me too."
"Well, let's see. You worked with Amanda. You tried to kill us. You're way older than her. And you're a dick," Michael listed off easily. He could've kept going, but a warning look from Nikita stopped him. The team was supposed to be talking and healing (and eating). He could fight Sam later- because that, no doubt, would still happen.
"Hey. Let's get back to that talking thing. It's not like we have anything else to do, right," Nikita gained her family's attention with a grin. Michael, Alex, Birkhoff, Sonya, and Sam matched her smile. As strange as it still was to think about, they had time. There was nothing more vital or detrimental for them to do than heal and work towards their brilliant futures. It might've started off on a horrible foot, but they would reach their peace and happiness together.