This chapter is dedicated to:

Andraya TheLat

Since she was the only one kind enough to write a review. I love you mate, and this one is for you. I hope you like it!

Chapter 6

Alex awoke by Nikita's voice.

"You've been passed out for the last couple of hours. You know, it doesn't have to be like this." Nikita walked back and forth, arms crossed. "I didn't mean to hurt you that bad. I'm sorry."Alex shook her head lightly and notices that she was bandaged. "I patched you up while you were unconscious. Oh, just so you know, we've changed location. Feels so much safer, right?" Alex groaned, she didn't feel like talking to this bitch and she didn't want to be here. Her head hurt and so many more parts, she felt like she was actually dying. She blinked her eyes a few time, trying to gain focus. "Hmm, seems like you have a concussion too." Nikita sat down on a chair in front of her. "Sorry, again." She said and sighed.

"Alex, are you alright?"

Michael's worried voice rang in her head, making her headache worse. "We haven't been able to reach you for hours, but Birkhoff told me your pulse just increased so that means you're awake and alive." She licked her lips and felt the irony taste of her own blood.

"Yeah." She mumbled, feelings as if her throat had dried out.

"Alex? Can you hear me?" Michael's voice again, if possible, he sounded even more worried. Alex took a deep breath and made herself speak louder.

"Yeah." She said, biting back when she felt her wounds going up. Nikita suddenly smiled towards her.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you, I actually found a way to get that microphone out of you while you were out. Good, huh? Now no one can listen in on us girls talking." Alex cursed silently, wishing for this woman's death.

"Alex! Answer me!" Michael suddenly shouted, making her heart jump. "Birkhoff, why isn't she answering me? You told me she'd awoken, that her pulse was normal again." Now she was the one listening in on their conversation.

"I don't know! Her microphone is online so she should be able to answer you." Birkhoff answered, she heard the clattering of a keyboard. "Maybe Niki found a way to take them out without killing her?" Birkhoff sighed, he sounded so tired. Alex met Nikita's eyes.

"Why do you need me?" Alex said, trying to focus.

"I need someone on the inside, someone I can count on." Alex snorted loudly.

"Well you can count me out." She noticed that her speech was kind of blurry and she sighed. "Just let me go, please. I just want to get back home." Nikita laughed at her.

"Home? Division isn't home." Alex shook her head.

"My apartment. I want to be with my boyfriend, Ethan." Alex lied, she had used her neighbor as a cover a lot of times before, it's not like it was any different this time. Nikita suddenly looked shocked and very sad.

"You have a boyfriend outside division?" Alex nodded and a not so faked tear fell down her cheek, she actually was crying, finally releasing the pain. "Do they know about him?" Alex shook her head.

"No, I haven't dared to tell Amanda about him. After all, relationships are forbidden on the inside." Alex let her head fall down, she didn't have the energy to keep the façade up for long. "Please, just let me go home." She glanced up to see Nikita standing there with a devastating look.

"Don't ever let Division find out about him, okay? They'll kill him if they do." Alex let her head hang, feeling dead anyway. She heard Nikita rise and walk up behind her. Suddenly she was free, she fell to the floor with a loud thump. Alex carefully massaged her swollen wrists, there was barely any skin left on them.

"Thank you." She whispered before Nikita knocked her out again.

Birkhoff's POV

Birkhoff shouted for Michael. Michael soon stormed into the OP's room.

"What?" He said while trying to catch his breath.

"Her signals back online! She's in the graveyard, near her tombstone." Birkhoff said happily. Michael rushed out of the room leaving a very tired Birkhoff alone. He smiled with delight, 18 hours she had been off the radar and finally she was back. He stumbled back into his room, barely keeping his eyes open. He flew down on his bed, going out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He awoke a few hours later when Michael walked into his room.

"Percy wants you to reinstall the microphone again." Birkhoff yawned loudly and sat up, scratching his head as he did so.

"Yeah, I'm coming." He hurried away to the emergency room with his laptop and the new chip in his hands. As soon as he entered the room he felt relief as he watched Alex sleep with her back to him. He sat the laptop down on the bench and walked around the bed. His hands flew over his mouth as he saw her swollen face. He barely recognized her. She was beaten to a pulp. Her nose was broken, her eyebrow had been cracked, and she had a deep wound in her forehead and not to talk about her cheeks, a split lip and swollen eyes. Her throat was full of dried blood. He could feel tears slowly filling his eyes but he bit them back. How the hell could Niki have done this to her? She was just a girl! He could feel how his love for Niki slowly turned into hatred the more he stared at Alex's injuries. He clasped his fists.

"She's lost a lot of blood, poor girl. I hardly understand how she held on that long. What you can see on her face isn't all. She has two broken ribs and a concussion. And her whole body is bruised." The doctor gently lifted her arm. "Just look at her wrists, you can see that she struggled to get out of whatever it was that held her to her place." There was blood on them, the skin looked like it had been torned off. "I can't even begin to imagine the pain she must have felt, is feeling." Birkhoff nodded, feeling a bit sick and speechless at the moment. He would get her, he wanted revenge for this.

Birkhoff silently helped the doctor install the chip and get it to work. The doctor walked away after giving her the last check up. Birkhoff rattled away on the computer, refusing to leave her alone. Not before long he heard her stir. He turned around and smiled slightly towards her.

"Morning, sunshine." She blinked a few times before smiling back at him. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "How do you feel?" She tried to sit up but he stopped her. "no, Alex. That's a bad idea." He whispered sweetly. She smiled again, her hand reaching for her throat and she tried to clear it. "Do you want water, is that it?" She nodded slightly and he helped her up, giving her the mug that stood on the nightstand. She drank it all, coughed a few times before giving it back tom him.

"Thanks." She groaned painfully as he helped her lay down again and he cursed loudly.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" She chuckled lowly.

"Sweetie, I'm hurting all over." He looked at her with a pained face. "No, don't give me that pained look." Birkhoff raised an eyebrow.

"What pained look?" He took a step back, suddenly feeling quite unsure. Amanda stepped into the room to check on Alex.

"Good, you're up." She said coldly, grabbing a chair and sitting down. "We need to go through what happened with Nikita, Alex." Alex nodded, reaching for Birkhoff. He turned towards her and she pointed at her throat. He bit his lip hard, he hated that he had to lie, be his usual self.

"What am I, your lapdog?" He rolled his eyes. "Come on." Alex continued to stare at him, her eyes showing hurt. "Fine." He picked the mug up and walked over to the crane. He refilled the mug with water. Amanda coughed loudly and he felt a need to hurry back with the water, so he did. He helped Alex to sit up and gave her the water. He was just about to help her down again when she spoke.

"I want to sit." She said, Birkhoff nodded at her. He propped her up with pillows and gave her the mug before joining his laptop at the desk.

There was a metallic sound as Alex but down the mug on the nightstand.

"What happened?" Amanda asked in her steel voice.

"Well, the hacker and his guards started fighting with me and I was knocked out from behind. I woke up in a place with Nikita. She said she needed me to be her inside person, when I started to describe the place to Birkhoff she knocked me out. Oh, did I mention the part where she tortured me?" Alex shouted the last part, which made Birkhoff jump in his chair, he sneaked her a peek and she just stared at Amanda with hatred. Good girl Birkhoff thought. Amanda scribbled something in her book.

"And then?" This time Birkhoff turned around completely to watch. Alex looked shocked.

"Come on! I almost died and as soo-" She didn't even get to finish her sentence before her hands flew over her mouth. Birkhoff stared at her in shock.

"She's going to throw up, Birkhoff." Amanda said coldly and shifted in her chair. Birkhoff flew for the gag bag, he gave it to Alex whom emptied her stomach inside it. Amanda stood up abruptly. "We'll continue this later, Alex." She said and left them alone. Birkhoff grabbed one of the towels and gently wiped her mouth.

"Why are you so kind to me, Birkhoff?" Alex said. Birkhoff stared at her.

"Are you serious? After you seduced me like that, don't you think that I would start to care for you?" Alex flashed a smile before biting together.

"Ouch, shouldn't have done that." He watched as blood slowly started to run down her chin, he dipped the towel into the mug and then slowly pressed it against her lips. His smile disappearing.

"I'm so sorry, Alex." She shook her head.

"Don't." Her voice sounded muffled from the towel.

"You could have died, you nearly did." She shook her head again.

"Just don't. I chose to meet up with the guy. And if it's anyone's fault it's Percy's." She said. He raised an eyebrow questioning. "Well, he started everything. Though I can't really blame him, cause if he hadn't started Division, I would never have met you." She raised her hand to softly stroke his chin. Birkhoff shivered from her gentle and caring touch. He smiled softly towards her, his hand catching hers.

"I wish we didn't have to act in front of the others." He whispered as he leaned close to her. "I really wish we could show everyone the truth." Alex looked as though she was trying to smile.

"Oh, sweetie. I also wish for that but you know the rule. You know what happens." He nodded hastily.

"God, I missed you so much! Why did you have to run away with him? You would have been alright if you'd only stayed."

"That's true, but if I hadn't gone you would never have showed your feelings like this." He laughed painfully.

"That may be true." She smiled against him.

"I'm tired now, Birkhoff." He nodded and stroked her hair.

"I'll go then." He stood up and started to walk away when something grabbed his hand and pulled him back. He turned to look at Alex.

"Please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone. I'm so afraid that she'll come after me again, I don't want that. Please, just stay." He voice sounded shaky and full of panic. He leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

"I'll watch over you, don't you worry."

Well don't worry guys, your torture is soon to be over since this is one of the last chapters. I don't know how many more I'll write. I was actually planning on doing like 10 more, but I don't really feel like it. I think there will be like 3 more chapters or so, but I hope you'll like the ending that coming on! Who knows, I'm not one of those who likes to write kind endings!

So I have summer vacation, I've started training and I'm working up a tan! What are you doing?