A/N: I am blown away by the response to this story! It's nice to know there are still fans of Nikita after all these years!

Division 10PM-Two days after Ryan and Nikita's conversation

The moment he walked into his and Nikita's room, Ryan found himself pinned to a wall, Nikita's gun at his head.

"You want to bring your gun to bed?" He asked, and she glared.

"Don't try to be cute. When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you about what? And can you please lower the gun?" He asked, and she laughed coldly.

"It's frustrating isn't it? Having a gun to your head. I'll ask you again. When were you going to tell me? Dinner? Desert? Or maybe after we made love again. I hear betrayal makes great pillow talk."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, and she glared.

"I'm talking about the team of Spec Ops boys running a training mission in a staging area that is a perfect replica of this facility! I'm talking about the fact that you sold all of us out! Or are you going to sit there and tell me that the government got the plans for this place from someone else?"

"No. I won't tell you that. I gave them the plans. It was the only way I could convince the President not to send in the kill squads right away. I was doing my job. I was protecting us all, protecting you."

"Bullshit!" She yelled, shoving him away from the wall. Ryan fell back onto the bed, looking up at the woman he loved. She still had her weapon aimed at him. There were tears in her eyes.

"Bullshit. This wasn't about protection. This was about control, compartmentalization. Don't become them. You promised me you wouldn't become them. Now look at you."

"Nikita I-"

"NO! You lied! To everyone! You lied to me!"

"I was doing my job! The job, if you recall, that you asked me to do! Tell me, what should I have done? Tell the President to go to hell? Maybe I should have told three-hundred highly trained assassins that the government will only let them live as long as they have a gun to their heads? Think for a minute Nikita! This place is being held together by promises and a bit of faith. We have thirty assassins out there. What do you think would happen with an extra three-hundred?"

"You don't get it, do you Ryan? For such a smart guy, you can be pretty dense at times. I don't care! I don't care that you didn't tell everyone! I care that you didn't tell me! We are supposed to be partners in everything. Everything. If I can't trust you to be honest with me about the job, what can I trust you with? How do I know there's not someone else?"

Ryan sat up, feeling his heart shatter as he saw the look in her eyes. A look of pain and betrayal that tore at his soul. He suddenly wished he was back in Amanda's tender mercies. The pain of torture at her hands would pale in comparison to the pain he felt as he looked at Nikita. The woman who had risked life and limb to save him time and again. The woman who had trusted him with the keys to Division because she believed in him. The woman he loved more than life itself.

Ryan slowly sat up, looking her dead in the eye.

"Nikita, there is no one else. I swear to you. And yes, I kept this from you because I thought it was the right thing to do. I was wrong. I made a mistake. It will never happen again. If you can't trust that, then please put a bullet in my head right now. I would rather die, than love the rest of my life knowing that you can't trust me."

The next instant Nikita's gun fell to the floor, cold steel clattering on tile as she ran over and embraced Ryan.

"Are we okay?" He asked, running his hand up and down her back. It was the first words either one of them had spoken in hours. Their lovemaking had been intense, raw, full of pain, regret and apologies.

"We aren't….But we'll get there. Never lie to me again Ryan. Lie to anyone else, but don't you ever lie to me."

"As you wish." He replied, and she smiled.

"Do you want to hear about the conversation I had with the President and Commander Danforth this afternoon? I hear secret meetings about rogue black-ops groups make for good pillow talk." He said, and she laughed.

The White House-10 Hours Earlier

"Madame President, the best way to deal with this is to contain the situation. I-"

"Absolutely not! Madame President, with all due respect we have gotten results. Let us do what you asked us to do."

"What you've done is make a hell of a mess that we now have to clean up. Now I know you're just an analyst, so let me spell it out for you. There are whispers of a black ops group that may have been responsible for two different incidences in the last month. We can't have a third and dead men tell no tales."

"Madame President-"

"ENOUGH! Fletcher's saying he can hide the goods and Danforth is telling you to keep your dick in your pants. We all understand each other. But Fletcher...I don't want another word about Division or I call the SEAL's."

"Understood. Just one more thing."

Ryan turned and punched Danforth in the face, sending him to the floor. Then he had his hands around Danforth's neck, trapping him in a headlock.

"Fletcher, let him go!" The President yelled, but Ryan ignored her.

"Boy, you'd best do as she-"

"First off, I'm not your boy. Secondly, your file needs some updating. I'm not just an analyst. I've killed bad men, and have ordered them killed. I am the one having to fix the mess you idiots started when you let Percy create that hellhole. You know, Percy may have been a bastard, but he had a good point when it came to the black boxes. It's why I've opened a new file. I've recorded our interactions Commander Danforth. Every conversation we've ever had. If I die, if my people die...If we are so much as touched, my best operative gets a message and uploads the contents of those conversations to every media outlet on the planet. Then she'll come and kill you. So tread lightly. I'll be in touch." He said, releasing Danforth and nodding to the President. Then he walked out of the Oval Office.

"Ryan, do you know what you've done?" She asked, and he nodded.

"I've taken care of my people. The box is in my office. It'll only work for me….and for you. You're the only one I trust with this."

Nikita kissed him softly, and no words were spoken for a long while.