Nikita's cellphone buzzed on the coffee table. She had haphazardly thrown it there as she poured through Division files and logs. She believed those could help in the mole hunt; though, it hadn't gotten her far. She considered giving up for the night and just mindlessly watching TV until she fell asleep. Her phone changed her mind though. She reached for it, hoping the text was from Michael. They had texted sporadically while he was gone- mostly small declarations of love. But maybe that time he was telling her he was coming home. Nikita hopefully opened her phone and excitedly read the text. Once she did, however, her hope was quickly stolen.

It was just Sean. He hadn't texted Nikita an update on what he was doing or an apology for what he had done. His message was only a picture. Nikita had it open before she could truly think about it. Although it was a somewhat blurry photograph, as if it were taken in a hurry, she could clearly see it was a captured moment of her nephew showing her niece how to play with her baby toys. It was a sweet picture, and a moment that would be remembered for a while. However, Nikita had no idea how she was supposed to respond to it.

The picture was the first communication between Sean and Nikita since he had stormed out of Division. Obviously, he still thought of her if he sent her an update on their niece and nephew. But did he still believe in the words he had yelled at her. Did he still hate her for what she did to their parents. Nikita didn't want to know, nor did she want the thought in her mind. So, she deleted the text. And while she was on her phone, she decided to call the other person struggling as much as she was. They could both distract each other, "Hey, Alex. You okay?"

"About the explosion in Medical? Yeah definitely. About maybe being killed by the President? Definitely not," Alex admitted flippantly. Although she didn't want to actually talk about what was going on, she was glad Nikita had called. She didn't want to sit around her apartment alone with her thoughts. Amanda's mole and the constant threat of death was too much to think about. It was too much to talk about. Those things should be saved for Division and the team's hectic missions. Home was where they were supposed to relax. It was difficult to do alone, but thankfully they were never truly alone.

"Knowledge is power until it puts a target on your back," With a deep sigh, Nikita deflated against the couch cushions. The President might be able to hide some agents in prison if she decided to destroy Division, but not everyone was stolen from prison. Everyone was ghosts who knew too much, however. Nikita and Ryan had already been victims of people trying to wipe away those who had learned too much. It'd be easy for the government to do it again. Clean Sweep had been the preview of that. Division didn't only have moles and Dirty Thirties to worry about. They had people against them from all around.

"How many times are you gonna be killed before that lesson sticks?" Instead of letting the anxiety catch up to her, Alex joked darkly. Talking to her best friend was supposed to be a distraction, so why not poke fun of their hell. If they found the twisted humor in it all, then maybe some of their stress could be lessened. Alex already felt better venting her anxiety and frustrations in a cruel joke. She suspected Nikita had the same reaction when she scoffed. Only they could dig out the ridiculousness in their shit. They might as well play into it.

"Says the resurrected heiress," Nikita smirked as she replied. Alex couldn't talk about Nikita's fake death at the hands of powerful people when she went through something similar. Well, not that similar. But corruption surrounded both their pasts and their families. Neither could taunt the other for it without dragging themselves. Though, no one else could really make fun of them for their 'deaths' either. The two women had gone through the shared hell, so they could make all the jokes they wanted. Even if they were horrible.

"Please. That was just for money and power. You got the lamer motive," Correcting Nikita, Alex fought her small laughter. Trauma couldn't be compared. What was terrible was always going to be terrible; the notion of someone having it worse was damaging. Pain was pain no matter what. However, that being said, Alex could totally tease Nikita about her fake death. After all, it was faked because she had seen something she shouldn't have. Alex was going to be killed just because Semak wanted power. That seemed more dramatic- though, she was saved, and Nikita was given up by her own mother. Regardless, the young women beat the rogue there.

Scoffing again, Nikita wished Alex could've seen her eye roll. She'd admit that the young heiress had had a shitty experience, yet not during that conversation. Both wanted a distraction from their problems and to make light of serious situations. So why not just taunt the shit they had been through. It was dark, and it could lead to darker thoughts. But, honestly, who cared. They were always surrounded by morose thoughts. At least making fun of themselves let them see some sort of light. It was better than nothing, "You really wanna do this right now?"

"Yeah. Let's go," Alex allowed herself to laugh that time. She and Nikita were being absolutely ridiculous. Yet, that was where all the fun was. They should have a moment where they could just be stupid. They weren't allowed those moments in Division. Being stupid could easily get them or someone they loved killed. But making silly jokes at home was fun and somewhat innocent. It was freeing. Neither had to think or consider the consequences. They just got to be carefree, normal idiots.

"Hold on. Someone's at the door," Unfortunately, Nikita's laughter stopped abruptly. Footsteps padded in the hall just outside her apartment, and something jangled in the lock. Alex told her to keep her on the line. If something happened, she wanted to know about it. Then, she could rush right over and help her best friend. Nikita didn't argue. She stalked towards the door, reaching for the nearby lamp to use as an improvised weapon. Ready for a fight, her muscles tensed. However, once she looked through the peephole, she instantly relaxed. Nikita put down the lamp just as her fiancé unlocked the door and stepped inside with a huge smile, "Michael!"

Upon seeing her fiancé's wonderful grin, Nikita latched her lips to his. She didn't care that the door was still open and Alex was still on the phone. She just wanted Michael. He chuckled into their kiss. But he didn't separate from it. He dropped his bag, locked the door, and removed his shoes and jacket all around their kiss. After finding hidden documents in Markov's office, he and Ryan decided to end the mission early. Division had what they needed. Michael could go home and surprise his fiancée. And it was a great surprise, even with Alex overhearing them on the phone, "Hang up the phone, weirdo."

"You could've hung up, sicko," Nikita rolled her eyes and bit into the cellphone. She hung up the call and tossed her phone onto the couch. Michael laughed, but it was soon interrupted by another, deeper kiss. Clutching his shirt tightly, she dragged him with her. She wanted to take him straight to the bedroom. Yet he managed to redirect her to the couch. As he collapsed on the cushions, she crashed into his lap. She was unrelenting with her kisses and touches. He couldn't stop her- not that he really wanted to.

"You wanna debrief?" Slipping his hands underneath Nikita's t-shirt, Michael teased against her lips. He wasn't entirely serious. Yes, he had to share how he completed the Markov op. He had debriefed with Ryan over the phone as he waited for his plane. But he didn't want to go over everything just yet with his fiancée. He was perfectly fine making out with her on the couch, their hips slowly grinding. There was a lot of time to make up for. Their texts could hardly cover the aches of being separated.

"No," Nikita roughly ripped off Michael's tie and began to work on the buttons of his dress shirt. The weird hyper-realistic mask and wig was long gone; they were burned with the rest of the evidence that linked Division to Markov. However, Nikita still felt the need to hastily remove the clothes Michael had worn as a part of his disguise. She didn't want any reminders of Markov or the dangers her fiancé had faced while undercover. She just wanted to welcome him home the best way she could. The stress and danger were gone. It could just be them again.

Her phone vibrating on the couch was a distraction, however. At least to Michael it was. Nikita was really good at ignoring it. She unbuckled his belt while she kissed him passionately. He wanted nothing more than to keep grinding his hips against hers. But her phone kept stealing his attention. What if it was important. Alex could've been calling back with news on their mole. Or maybe Birkhoff cracked something on his computer. Or Ryan had a new hit on a Dirty Thirty. A chirping cellphone couldn't be ignored. Except, when Michael broke away from the kiss to check the messages, he saw that it was only Sean, "Wait. Sean's been texting you?"

"Ignore it. It's just pictures of Riley and Lexi," Grabbing the phone from his hand, Nikita chucked it across the room. It had survived missions- that shouldn't have broken it. She didn't have to worry about her cellphone anymore. She could just focus on shutting her fiancé up with a fierce kiss. It appeared to work for a moment. He didn't ask about her niece and nephew, nor did he breathe a word about Sean. He matched the fever of her kiss, pulling off her t-shirt (that he finally noticed was actually his). She scrambled to her feet and yanked him along with her.

Pants falling around ankles, the engaged couple tumbled down the hall to their bedroom. They kicked off their clothes as best as they could while their hands and lips traveled across their heated bodies. Nikita was beyond determined to get Michael in bed, and to stay in bed the rest of the night. She wanted nothing else but to be with him. Although he felt the same, he also felt like he should address the text messages. He couldn't sit back while the siblings' relationship was strained. He knew how much their family meant to them. It wouldn't be good for the two to be fighting for long, "So. You guys should talk. See what's going on. Ask him to come back."

"He's going back to the Seals anyway. It doesn't matter," Frustrated, Nikita roughly pulled Michael's lips back to hers. She didn't want to talk about Sean. She hadn't before, and she definitely didn't want to then. Besides, what did it matter if he was returning to Division or not. He was always going to return to the Seals at some point. He was never going to stay with them. He had made it perfectly clear that he was not a part of the team. Once he had received what he wanted- or didn't want- he was gone. Fighting for him to come back was pointless.

"Nikita, he's your brother. It always matters," Gently putting a stop to Nikita's intensity, Michael tried to reason with her. He also didn't think it was the right time for that conversation; however, he couldn't let his fiancée think that about her brother. He wished she'd just tell him what exactly happened between her and Sean. Then, he could truly understand her and help with whatever was going on. He didn't like seeing her so upset. She should be happy in every way possible. She couldn't keep losing her family.

"Michael. Just stop talking. I haven't seen you in ten days, so please. I missed you," Although her statement started out strong and commanding, Nikita faltered by the end of it. Her fiancé had been gone for too long. They had been separated before and for longer. But not since they had been so close, not when she was so worried about his safety. If something were to have happened to him, there would've been nothing she could've done to help. Nikita already felt helpless when it came to her family. She didn't want to feel like that with Michael too.

"I missed you too," Softly, Michael tucked his fiancée's hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek. They had to talk. The completion of the Markov mission, her brother, the President's stipulation, their future, it all had to be discussed. Yet it could wait. There were ten days of little communication and stressful situations to atone for. The engaged couple should just kiss. She should just be gently lifted in his arms and carried to their bedroom. There were always going to be things Michael and Nikita had to do. But they could take a break from them at times. They were allowed to be normal and actually relax.


Birkhoff dramatically slammed his head on his desk. He was able to delete Markov's videos without further issues. Alright, fine, he knocked out the Wi-Fi for an entire country to make it happen. But the cryptograph had been wonderful in taking out that threat. When it came to the mole hunt, however, the advanced technology wasn't any better than his own system. He was no closer to decrypting the messages than he was ten-plus days ago. It was frustrating. It was annoying. He felt absolutely helpless, "Kill me."

"No can do. But I can help you," Sonya snarked. Birkhoff jerked upright at the sound of her voice. He hadn't heard her enter his hacking area. She must've come by to ask him a question, or something. Whatever it was, she ignored it to focus on his distress. She pulled an extra chair over to his computer system and studied his monitors. Too late, he thought that he should stop her. But he was glad he didn't. After a second, she was able to give him the most helpful suggestion yet, "Have you tried rotating servers?"

Immediately, Birkhoff used Shadownet combined with the cryptograph's data to rotate the servers as he ran the decryption software. He let Sonya help. Maybe he shouldn't involve anyone outside of his team in the mole hunt. It was sensitive information. But Sonya was an excellent hacker and a huge help. He needed her. He needed her in a computer sense, that was. Though, he wouldn't mind her company also. Having him by his side was already greatly beneficial, "You have any more ideas?"

"Sure. But you gotta buy me dinner first," As she typed, Sonya flashed Birkhoff a sly grin. He chuckled. That, he could do without a problem. Food and drinks could also help him when he had to break the news to her about a mole. Except, that wasn't what occupied his mind at the moment. It was just her. And him. And the amazing work they could do together to bring their team hope.