Things were actually quiet over the next week. Michael and Nikita took a few days off to continue talking and rebuilding their relationship. Sean and Alex reunited, and she caught him up on everything he had missed. Birkhoff and Sonya enjoyed every moment they could together. And Ryan contemplated the President's four blue files. Despite the team's opinion on them, he was tempted to open them up and create missions around the intel. They couldn't have been too atrocious. Surely they had done worse as rogues. Maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world if they did those four tasks. Division might end sooner.
Birkhoff didn't believe anything good would come from the blue files, no matter what Ryan argued. The hacker had been in Division too long to see anything good come from the government. They had to stick to doing their own thing. They'd handle their own problems, and that was it. The government had other agencies they could rely on. If they were worried about the legality of it, well, then that had never stopped them before. Division wasn't full of the only agents that acted illegally for the government. Those on high just found it easier to put it all on them. After all, they were just criminals and castaways.
Michael was sort of neutral about the blue files. He didn't think Division should take orders. They should focus on the Dirty Thirties and Amanda and go home once things were cleaned up. But he also didn't distrust the government like Birkhoff did. Michael had worked for the military and the CIA. He could see the merits of completing the blue files' missions- of doing things others couldn't. It'd help make the world a safer and better place for everyone. Wouldn't they want to go home to a peaceful world once they escaped Division for good.
Nikita surprised everyone by returning from her time off to agree with Ryan. She had been against the files when she had left. Yet after a few days of rest, relaxation, and time to think, she had changed her mind. Well, she somewhat agreed with Ryan, and she had somewhat changed her mind. She didn't trust the President. After her experience in foster care and Division, she'd probably never trust a governmental agency. However, she knew that they had to do those missions. Not all of Division, but definitely the team. Someone had to do the unpleasant jobs that saved the world. Since they had done it before as rogues, they could do it again.
Although Nikita was convinced that the team of former rogues had to keep shouldering all the responsibility and keep protecting others, Birkhoff couldn't be swayed. Michael and Ryan easily backed Nikita up. Yet Birkhoff still stood his ground. They had all agreed to no kill missions- no government assignments- and that was final. Kosovo couldn't change their minds. They needed to stay on mission so everyone would be free. The hacker knew Alex and Sean would agree with him. The two just weren't there that particular morning to support him. He just hoped that, wherever they were, being gone from Division was worth it.
"You know, you never told me what this means," Sean lovingly traced Alex's butterfly tattoo at the top of her spine. The couple had woken up a while ago, but they had refused to leave the bed. It was so comfortable just lying in each other's arms, swapping kisses and sharing caresses. The two spoke rarely and softly. They were more focused on touch than sound. But, eventually, Sean had to break their bubble. He had always wondered about Alex's butterfly tattoo. During their peaceful morning together, he had the perfect opportunity to ask her about it. He didn't waste a moment in taking it.
"Really? And you wanna know about it before you leave? So you have me in your mind forever?" Alex tried to keep her voice light and breezy. She hated talking about Sean's deployment; she hated thinking about him being in danger while he was far away from her. Yes, he could take care of himself. And he had a whole team of highly skilled soldiers watching out for him. But Alex was still so worried. She knew she shouldn't let her anxiety control her, and she couldn't let it affect Sean. It was just hard to stay okay. Those moments with her boyfriend helped, though. She could always feel happy with him.
"You know it," Sean smiled as he kissed Alex's butterfly. Her tense muscles instantly relaxed. She hummed in contentment, and he just had to give her another kiss. The two had briefly talked about their tattoos before. She had been dismissive about her other tattoos, expressing that his Seal one was far more interesting anyway. Her butterfly was ignored completely- she just shrugged and moved on. He knew there was a story there. But he could wait for her to be ready to talk about it. It'd be more meaningful if she opened up on her own.
"Maybe later. Let's just sleep," She wasn't deflecting. She was just tired. Alex needed as much energy as possible to talk about the story behind her butterfly tattoo. It was her only tattoo that actually had a story behind it. She wanted to share it with Sean; she wanted to share everything about her life with him. After all, he shared everything with her. Talking about the brothel and the girls she had left behind was just a lot. She'd rather do that when she wasn't tired and battling her anxiety. The perfect headspace was required to deal with her painful past.
As Alex turned in Sean's arms to tuck her head into the crook of his neck, his shoulders tensed. He could've easily relaxed with his girlfriend and gone back to sleep. But her words made him freeze. The two didn't have as much time as she thought they did. Sean had recently been given the date he was to deploy. The couple had a limited amount of time left together. As wonderful as sleeping in each other's arms was, he didn't want to waste a single second. They should spend every moment together, laughing, talking, and smiling. They had to enjoy the most of what they had left, "You know, I don't have all the time in the world. I deploy in two weeks."
"Two weeks? I thought it'd be longer than that," Alex jolted away from Sean. She had just started dozing off again, curled against his warm, sturdy chest. But when he finally told her when he was leaving her, she jolted wide awake. Two weeks. She had believed they had a lot longer than that together; it'd be months before he was swept away to some unknown location, and their communication had to be scheduled. Two weeks was barely anytime to adjust to and accept the idea that he'd be gone. Fourteen days meant nothing. It was too fast.
"The military has a very specific time table," Sean attempted to joke. It didn't land well. Alex sat up in bed, a pout on her lips. He doubted the expression was just about when he was leaving. Ever since he had first mentioned that he would be deployed soon, she hadn't been happy. She expressed some concerns about it. But otherwise, she tried not to make him worry. Her silence had the opposite effect, however. Sean didn't want all her thoughts trapped in her head. Gently, he sat next to her and cupped her cheek in his hand. He caressed her soft skin until she looked at him, and asked, "Hey. What is it?"
"I don't know, I guess I just thought we'd be fighting this war together forever," Ducking her head, Alex shrugged sheepishly. The two had been in that fight for well over a year together. They might not have started it, but they were going to end it. They were going to ensure their friends and the agents trapped in Division had identities again. They were going to clear everyone's names from every wrong doing they were forced to do. And they were going to start their happily ever after. That'd all changed with him returning to the Seals. She knew it'd happen eventually, just not so soon- not when the war was nowhere close to being over.
"Well hopefully not forever," Again, Sean attempted to joke. He smiled, and she rolled her eyes. Obviously, that wasn't what she meant. She didn't want the war to go on forever. Yet she did want them together forever. He wanted that too. However, just because he would be with the Seals didn't mean he wouldn't be with her. The two would be in a relationship- in love- forever. Alex would never have to worry about that. Sean would never leave, leave her. He'd just do another job than her, "This is just what I have to do. I dedicated my whole life to being a Seal. I can't just walk away from that. It's who I am."
"Yeah. I know," Alex sighed. She could never make Sean give up his passions for her. He loved being a Seal. It was his purpose in life. He always had to help people, just like she had to. How they did it simply had to differ from that point on. While Alex hung her head, Sean ever so gently lifted her chin. He made certain that her blue eyes looked into his hazel, then he smiled. She couldn't help but smile in return. There was no need to stay upset. Things would work out for the couple. They simply had to stay optimistic.
Although Alex smiled brightly at Sean, he continued to think she had doubts about the whole situation. He wanted to battle all her fears. Nothing could go unsaid between them. The two needed to be on solid ground when he deployed. It'd make things a hell of a lot easier, and their absence wouldn't be so painful. Besides, they'd be back in each other's arms in no time at all. Nothing could break them apart for long. They were stronger than that- their love was stronger than that. Sean was absolutely sure of that. He simply had to ensure that Alex was as well, "This has nothing to do with us."
"I know that too," Alex chuckled softly. She pulled Sean to her for a quick, reassuring kiss. However, the instant the couple's lips touched, they exploded in passion. Their easy morning dissolved into a heated makeout session. Greedy hands pulled each other even closer, and gentle touches turned teasing. The couple was well aware of how they felt for one another. So they didn't need the easy and soft affections. They were so in love, they needed to ignite every inch of themselves- they needed to be so close they were inseparable.
Both of their burner phones began to ring. Both of them were ignored. Sean and Alex settled into bed, continuing to kiss passionately and let their hands roam. They were off duty that morning. Whatever problems Division ran into could be dealt without them for a few hours. There were plenty of agents, and the team could handle themselves just fine. It would be alright. However, the phones just kept ringing. As distracting as kissing her boyfriend was, Alex couldn't take it anymore. Sean whined as she left him, but she didn't care. She just had to tell whoever it was to stop calling. Unfortunately, Nikita's annoyed voice spoke first, "Guess who's back."
"Amanda," Alex grumbled, forcing Sean to sit up in bed next to her. There was only one person left alive who could make Nikita that pissed off and annoyed. And there was only one person left alive the team would frantically call each other about. Amanda had resurfaced. Whatever she had been planning finally reared its ugly head. Hopefully, the team could get ahead of it that time. The bitch wouldn't succeed in torturing innocents or Division. The team would finally find a way to stop her, and they wouldn't even have to worry about the blue files. It would all be over once the bitch died.