Set sometime in season 2. The rogues recover post-mission.
Most post-mission recoveries for the rogues were a nightmare. They had to clean themselves and their weapons, take stock of injuries and equipment, and take care of themselves and each other without the luxuries of Medical or a mess hall. But that post-mission took the cake. Michael, Nikita, and Alex had been tired even before the mission. Afterwards, they were exhausted. They were also bloody, broken, beaten, bruised, and all other letters that began with a B. Recovery was hell. But putting it off was an even worse hell.
The three rogue agents had to work together to clean and mend bloody wounds; they also helped each other as much as they could with showering and changing clothes. Thankfully, Birkhoff took over the weapon cleaning and equipment inventory. He usually avoided that kind of work. But the agents were too messed up to bother with that sort of thing. So he actually helped out while Michael, Nikita, and Alex completely focused on stitching, bandaging, scrubbing, and finally resting.
Michael collapsed on the couch with a wince. Ever since his fight with the Guardian, his lower back consistently gave him problems. He twinged it again on that mission, and he was already frustrated with how long it'd take for the pain to go away. Nikita helped him where she could. She came over and gently rubbed IcyHot on his back. Then she gave him an icepack and some ibuprofen, and she helped him settle into a comfortable position against the cushions. She also gave him a kiss on the forehead for good measure. He smiled softly as she promised, "When you're less stiff, I'll guide you through some stretches that'll help ease the pain."
When he nodded, Nikita limped around the couch to somewhat clean up their mess. She had twisted (practically sprained) both her knee and ankle on the mission. She had already slipped a brace over her knee, but she had only wrapped an icepack around her ankle with an ace bandage- the injury Michael knew was the worst one. He pulled her back to him, despite the seize of muscles in his back, and forced her to collapse on the couch with him. She had done enough to help take care of him and Alex. It was time someone took care of her, "Sit down."
As soon as Nikita's ass hit the cushions, Michael pulled her feet into his lap. He passed her ibuprofen, applied IcyHot to her knee and ankle, and adjusted the icepack, ace bandage, and brace so it'd do a better job of helping her muscles. She had remained upright as he began to take care of her. But when he started to massage her sore feet (and after she accidentally kicked him in the already bruised thigh out of reflex to the discomfort) she laid back with a heavy sigh.
Alex yawned as she joined the couple in the livingroom, upsetting her dislocated shoulder held in a sling. She just popped some ibuprofen and adjusted the icepack to deal with it. She also focused on Michael and Nikita to distract herself. She knew Nikita's torn and tired muscles mostly stemmed from the types of shoes she wore on missions. Watching Michael then deal with the aftermath of that made her chuckle. She stole a pillow from the couch and collapsed on the floor in front of the couple, smirking, "You can't wear sneakers on a mission?"
Glancing at Alex on the floor, Nikita copied her smirk. The young woman relaxed her tied muscles on the hardwood, rested her head on the pillow, and used her good hand to play with the strands of her hair that wouldn't stay in the bun. Although it had been terrifying when a knife grazed her forehead, resulting in an even more terrifying wound that had to be stitched, the fact that her hair was cut in the process was kind of funny. Nikita couldn't help but laugh at it, "You can't tie your hair back for a mission?"
Adjusting the icepack so it'd lay on her shoulder as she laid on the ground, Alex sighed. She deserved that quip. If she had just thrown her hair up in a bun beforehand, she wouldn't have been dealing with awkwardly cut strands of hair then. She needed a serious haircut to fix the problem- and a pack of hair ties to bring around with her. Hopefully, though, it wouldn't be anything too drastic, "Do you think I can pull off bangs?"
"No," Nikita responded bluntly. Fortunately, Alex didn't need bangs to fix her hair. With her heiress money and connections, she could have a professional hair stylist do wonders to the mess. There were also tons of styles she could choose from that'd leave hair looking more beautiful than ever, "But you can pull off layers."
"That's something I'd have to go to the salon for, huh," Alex grumbled. She liked getting her hair done. She simply hated coming up with lies to excuse how her hair got messed up in the first place. With some broken strands of hair, she could possibly just say it was a curling iron incident or whatever. She'd just have to be more awake to pass the lie off, which meant she had to wait until the next day before anything was done.
"Yeah. But I could help trim it up," Nikita offered around a yawn. When she could keep her eyes open (Michael massaging her feet and calves seriously wasn't helping) she'd grab the hair trimming scissors and do what she could for Alex's hair. Alex agreed to the idea; she simply voiced that it could wait for when she was willing to sit up.
Silence washed over the livingroom for a moment. Nikita began to doze on the couch, and Alex considered allowing herself to sleep on the floor. Unfortunately, just as her eyes slipped closed, pain rolled through her lower abdomen. Alex winced and pulled her legs up to curl into a ball. Nikita startled awake at the sound. And Michael tried to reach for her, but his back kept him anchored to the couch. The best he could do was ask, "You okay?"
"Yeah. It's just a different kind of cramp," Groaning, Alex complained. What was even worse than dealing with injuries post-mission was dealing with menstruation cramps while trying to be a superspy. Her body just would not let her rest. Blood and pain were everywhere.
"There's Midol and a heating pad in the kitchen," Fruitlessly rubbing sleep from her eyes, Nikita informed Alex. She'd offer to get up and grab it for her, but after laying down, she was certain her knee and ankle wouldn't let her walk again that night. Michael also wasn't an option; his back would never let him get off the couch without major help. Alex was left on her own. Luckily, most of her injuries were above her waist. She could walk around just fine.
"Do you think IcyHot would work for period cramps?" Pushing herself up off the floor, Alex wondered. She should probably try the muscle pain relief cream on her shoulder. But she was curious to know if it'd do anything for menstruation cramps. Michael and Nikita had no answers for her. So she just shrugged with her good shoulder, "I'm gonna try it."
As Alex took more pain relief pills and threw the heating pad in the microwave, Birkhoff joined her in the kitchen. He had finished with the weapons and equipment, and after his furious typing during the mission, his right hand was killing him. He needed some relief. All the ibuprofen and IcyHot were in the livingroom, but he'd grab that in a second. His only focus was on some ice for his still healing hand. When he opened the freezer, however, there were none. The agents had taken them all, "Do we seriously not have any more icepacks?"
"There should be some frozen peas," Nikita called in response. The rogues had thought that three icepacks would've been enough, but they were clearly wrong. That was something they should probably fix when they replaced all the medical supplies they took from their various first-aid kits. Until then, they at least had frozen vegetables to utilize.
"There's only frozen chickpeas," After searching the scant freezer, Birkhoff called back. The rogues had to get better at grocery buying. Yes, takeout was easier and more convenient. But they hardly even had freezer food they could keep and store for months. It was a struggle they shouldn't have had.
"It'll do the same fucking thing, Nerd," Nikita huffed. She didn't even know why she had to tell Birkhoff that. Anything frozen would help whatever injury he wanted to ice. The peas had only been a suggestion.
"You're cranky post-mission," As he grabbed the frozen bag of food and placed it on his hand, Birkhoff grumbled. He joined Nikita and Michael in the livingroom, taking some ibuprofen and some IcyHot and collapsing in one of the chairs. He received a glare from Nikita and an eye roll from Michael as he moved. Yet he ignored them. He stood by what he said. Everytime Nikita returned from a mission, she was always a bit meaner than normal. That was probably her exhaustion and stress talking. Except, it was still an attitude she should adjust.
"Oh my God. It's like we got our asses kicked or something," Alex defended Nikita with harsh sarcasm. She pressed the burning hot heating pad against her lower abdomen and resumed her position on the floor. The ice she replaced on her shoulder and the heat on her stomach was honestly a fairly relaxing feeling. She could melt away into the floor. But not without taking another dig at Birkhoff first, "Why are you even complaining?"
"Contrary to popular belief, I work my ass off on missions too," Birkhoff was annoyed. Yes, the rogue agents suffered more injuries. Although they had been successful on that mission, they were severely beat to hell. But Birkhoff didn't have an easier time on missions. Sitting behind a computer didn't mean all his troubles went away. He still performed all kinds of drastic feats. He was still stressed over the fate of the mission. And, sometimes, he still suffered near-fatal injuries.
Noticing Birkhoff flexing and stretching his right hand under the bag of frozen chickpeas, Michael quickly understood where his frustrations came from. The cast had been removed, yet he continued to suffer the effects of Amanda smashing his hand. A pang of sympathy coursed through Michael, "Your hand still hurts?"
"Yeah," Birkhoff sighed. Most of the pain had faded. But after extensive work typing, hacking, and cleaning, the recently healed bones, tendons, and muscles protested. A part of him worried that he'd never truly heal from the injury; it was going to be something he lived with the rest of his life. He simply hoped it became more manageable.
Silence washed over the room once more. There wasn't much the rogues could express in response besides sympathetic smiles. After that, they were left with awkward silence. Alex didn't want to deal with that for long, so she looked for a way to change the subject. Zeroing in on the food Birkhoff had grabbed from the freezer, Alex decided to ask how it had even gotten there in the first place, "Who's even eating chickpeas anyway?"
"I gotta get my protein from somewhere," Nikita shrugged. Although she couldn't remember when she had bought the frozen chickpeas, she knew they were a good supplement to her diet. She just had to cook more food at home to be able to use them.
"How hard is it to be vegetarian and rogue?" Curious, Alex wondered. There were a lot of things that were difficult to obtain as a rogue agent- like proper medical care. However, she had never heard Nikita complain about food, even with her strict diet.
"Not that hard. It helps that there are tons of options out there now for vegetarians," Nikita admitted. To be fair, she had to do a lot of research at times to find the right replacement food or dietary supplement. But it was no more difficult than everything else she did. In fact, there were times when it had been easier.
Glancing down at his girlfriend, Michael thought about when she had first become a vegetarian. It had happened right as she graduated from Division recruit to agent, almost like she had planned to switch to that diet as soon as she had been able. He wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. Nikita was staunchly committed to her choice. The fact that she had stuck to it all those years, especially when things had been rough, was amazing, "How long have you wanted to be vegetarian?"
"Since I was a kid. Just never had the freedom to be picky about my diet until I was a Division agent," It was weird to think that she had had freedom in Division, yet in some small part, Nikita had. Growing up and running away, she could only eat what was given to her or what she could scrounge up; there had been no real choice. But when she had become an agent, she finally had the means to change her diet. Once she did, she never looked back.
"Have you ever thought about going vegan?" Alex couldn't help but wonder. She figured Nikita was already mostly vegan- she had already cut out most animal products from her diet. Why couldn't she just commit completely. If anyone could, it'd be her. She had the discipline and knowledge for it.
"Yeah. But I might just have to have a little more freedom to pull that off," Nikita admitted. She had read up on veganism. But that lifestyle required a lot of stability. And the one thing she absolutely lacked was stability.
Birkhoff started to grow curious as well, but not about what Nikita was saying. He was curious as to why Alex was even asking her all those things. She wasn't a vegetarian, so why did it matter. Unless, she was looking for change, "Why? Are you thinking about it, Princess?"
"I don't know. I already prefer almond milk to regular. And I don't eat that much meat anyway. Thanks, in part, to my time with Nikita. I think I could make the switch," Alex confessed. Although Nikita hadn't forced her diet on Alex while they had lived together in the loft- in fact, she had encouraged Alex to eat whatever she had wanted- the young woman was influenced by the rogue. She enjoyed eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat. And in cases like drinking almond milk over regular milk, her body appreciated it too. Maybe she could one day become a vegetarian or something. It was at least worth considering and learning about.
"Marshmallow fluff isn't vegan," Smirking, Michael added. He was sure that Alex could change her diet if she really wanted to. But she'd never cut out fluffernutter sandwiches. He was pretty sure she loved those more than anyone on the team.
"I'll consider other dietary options," Reconsidering her idea, Alex realized that she needed to do a lot more research before changing her diet. Michael and Nikita couldn't help but laugh at her expense. She laughed along with them, though, knowing she was ridiculous.
The only one not laughing was Birkhoff. He was too perplexed to poke fun of Alex. What Michael had said about marshmallow fluff didn't make sense to him, especially in conjunction with what Nikita had told him the week before as she ate a loaded baked potato, "Wait. Marshmallow fluff isn't vegan, but bacon bits are?"
"They're soy, not bacon," Nikita informed Birkhoff. Most brands of bacon bits, specifically the one she had bought, were made of soy, not bacon. That made them perfect to sprinkle on salads and potatoes. That also made them perfect to shatter Birkhoff's entire world.
"You just broke his heart," Chuckling, Michael pointed out Birkhoff's crushed expression. In the hacker's defense, Michael also didn't know bacon bits were soy until Nikita had told him. But he hadn't been as upset about it as Birkhoff. The nerd was just so devastated by the fact that he wasn't eating as much bacon as he thought.
Although Nikita and Alex had been laughing with Michael, Alex's laughter soon grew into groans of pain. Her dull, rolling, menstrual cramps were back with a vengeance, and she squeezed her legs against her chest again. The pressure and remaining heat from the heating pad helped, yet it wasn't enough. Alex needed more relief, much more relief, "Are there any foods that help with cramps?"
"Chocolate. Orange juice. Bananas. Just avoid salt. That can make you more bloated," Nikita empathetically listed off the things Michael told her when she was suffering from cramps. Although she was always too hormonal and in too much pain to listen to her boyfriend's attempts to help her, maybe Alex would heed her advice. However, even if she did, none of those foods were in the safehouse.
"But I want french fries," Alex whined as the intense food craving washed over her. There was a chance that she wanted something so salty after sweating so much on the mission. But she really, really, really wanted to eat a whole bunch of fries and a whole bunch of other junk. It just seemed so perfect right then. Her growling stomach was dying for it.
"A big, greasy, bloody burger sounds so good right now," Stomach growling, Michael agreed with Alex about needing fast food. Something quick and hearty was absolutely needed post-mission. And the less they had to move to get it, the better. Based on Alex's and Birkhoff's resulting stomach growls, they were all for Michael's suggestion. The team of rogues needed some burgers and fries stat.
"Oh. Royce's Diner has such good veggie burgers," Mouth already watering at the thought of such a delicious meal, Nikita gave the perfect suggestion of where the team could grab food from. The only problem was how far it was away from the beach house.
"The question is: who's gonna make the run?" Michael almost grumbled as he asked. Not only were the rogues far too beaten up to leave the safehouse, but Royce's Diner was also thirty minutes away from them- which meant it'd be a whole hour before they could have food. That was way too long for their empty stomachs and tired bodies. Despite how amazing burgers and fries sounded, the rogues needed something faster. And something that required less movement.
"We can ask Sean to grab it for us. He's usually on his way over to hang out with Alex, anyway," Lifting her head up to search for where she could've possibly dropped her phone, Nikita supplied. She hadn't meant to tease Alex with her comment- she was too tired to even try. She was just stating a fact. Her best friend glared at her anyway, however.
Alex was not in the mood to be teased for her friendship with Sean. She was too exhausted and too hungry and in too much pain to deal with that. It'd be easier to just eat at the safehouse in more ways than one, "Is there any food here?"
Sighing heavily, Birkhoff pushed himself out of the chair and moved back towards the kitchen. Before he got too far, he was handed the rogues' no-longer-frozen icepacks. He tossed them in the freezer for the three along with his bag of chickpeas. He then opened the door of the fridge and examined the scant amount of food they had left lying around, "Uh. There's leftover Chinese… oh, that's just rice. Umm… there's frozen pizza."
Soft grumbles followed the suggestion. None of them were really in the mood for pizza even if it was quick and available. There had to be better options. Especially since, as Michael pointed out, the pizza they had wasn't the best, "Yeah. But the pepperoni one has that disgusting fake cheese on it."
"Why?" Alex asked in bewilderment. Everyone in the safehouse ate dairy, especially cheese. So why was there a pizza without any. Had they bought it by accident. Or had one of them tried something and failed.
"Because somebody can't digest dairy," Nikita said pointedly to Birkhoff. Sure, the hacker could handle one or two slices of cheese pizza. But the stomach cramps he complained about after consuming more than just a little bit of dairy were concerning. As a result, Nikita was the one to force him to eat dairy free products. She couldn't have her nerd in pain. And she couldn't have him ignoring his lactose intolerance and destroying his body just for food.
"I watched you eat an entire pint of ice cream the other day," Confused, Alex questioned Birkhoff. If he really was lactose intolerant, would he have actually done that. Or had Alex misjudged how stupid and weird the hacker really was.
"And guess who had to give him his lactose pills as he was dying in the bathroom," Glaring at Birkhoff, Nikita shared. Birkhoff's lactose intolerance wasn't that bad. He only got cramps if he ate more dairy than he should have. Yet he ate more dairy than he should have too often. There was going to be a point where Nikita stopped helping him ease the pain, and she was just going to let him suffer his mistakes.
While Alex laughed at Birkhoff, he glared at Nikita. Unfortunately, his intimidation tactics never worked on her. He wouldn't be able to get her to back down. He could, however, go after her boyfriend. That could take the heat off him, and it could direct some attention to Michael and his disgust from earlier, "You know, Mikey. You're gonna have to get used to fake cheese and fake meat when you're living with Nikki for the rest of your life."
"I can still eat meat and cheese," Incredulous, Michael argued. Neither his nor Nikita's diet affected the other. They simply ate their own separate things- and had fun in the kitchen cooking those things together.
"I don't know why you're acting like my husband and I can't have different diets," Laying back on the couch, Nikita stifled a yawn. Just because she and Michael planned on being together forever didn't mean they had to become the same person. They could keep their individual likes and dislikes. They could do different things while still being madly in love.
Before Nikita could elaborate on that, she noticed that the safehouse had become eerily quiet. Peeling her eyes open, she glanced around to see what had happened. All she was met with were smirks, however. She opened her mouth to ask what that was about, but Michael cut her off. His voice was light, bright, and teasing as he asked, "Husband?"
Instantly, what Nikita had said clicked. She was so tired as she thought about her future with her boyfriend that she skipped through several steps of their relationship. But that was simply how she pictured their life to be once the war was over. The two of them would be married and happy and finally know peace. There was nothing wrong with that- was there, "I thought you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me."
"Yeah. I do," Chuckling, Michael beamed at his girlfriend. Whereas Alex and Birkhoff smirked at Nikita because they were ready to tease her for what she had said, Michael smirked at her because he couldn't believe she had thought about marriage between them. He had thought about that too; however, he had never brought the issue up with her. He hadn't known how she would take the idea. But knowing then that Nikita saw him as her future husband, Michael could start planning for her to be his future wife.
"Doesn't that mean marriage?" Nikita cautiously wondered. She and Michael should've had a conversation about what their future life together looked like earlier. They should've also not have had that conversation in front of Birkhoff and Alex. Yet the train had already left the station. The two were going to talk about marriage while their friends were close and prepared to tease them, while they were hungry and tired, and while they were beaten and broken. It wasn't the best time. But Nikita and Michael never did have great timing.
"It can if you want it to," Squeezing Nikita's foot, Michael's smile turned soft. He would absolutely marry her if she wanted to marry him. All she had to do was say the word, and he'd buy a ring and propose.
Nikita propped herself up on her elbows to better address her boyfriend. However, before she could say anything, Alex interrupted her. She couldn't let Michael and Nikita get too far in that conversation while they were heavily bandaged and could hardly move. Even if they were suffering from their post-mission anxieties of losing each other, they had to wait for a better moment to start their future together. That exhausted worn-out moment shouldn't have been their most memorable one, "Whoa. Hold on. If you two are gonna get engaged, it's gotta be a hell of a lot more romantic than this."
"And I'd much rather have food in my system if I'm gonna have to watch," Birkhoff couldn't help but chime in. He didn't think Michael and Nikita were going to finish that conversation right then and there. However, he did think that he had to annoy them. It was only fair after how much they had annoyed him.
"I thought you were looking for food," Slowly tearing her eyes away from Michael, Nikita snapped. She and her boyfriend were definitely going to finish their marriage conversation in the privacy of their bedroom. She wasn't going to let it go after that. But she would drop it for the moment so she could rest and eat. Once her mind and body could restart, Nikita would be able to pour her all into the serious discussion with her boyfriend. And she knew that once they were away from the others, Michael would be able to do the same.
"I am! The only other thing we have is canned soup and maybe enough stuff for grilled cheeses," Birkhoff quickly defended himself. He had continued to look for food, but there remained nothing for the team to eat. Post-mission, no one wanted soup, even if it was served with grilled cheese. They needed more.
Finally finding her cellphone mixed amongst discarded first-aid supplies, Nikita reached for it and dialed the number they should've called minutes earlier, "Hey, Sean. Are you on your way over here… Oh, perfect."
Upon hearing that Sean was in fact on his way over to the safehouse, Nikita smirked at Alex. The young woman groaned as the rogue continued her conversation, "Have you passed Royce's Diner yet… great, can you bring us something to eat… yes, we'll pay you back… okay, I'm gonna put the phone on speaker."
"Hey, guys. What do you want?" Once he was on speaker, Sean asked. He had received texts from Alex about the progress of the chaotic mission and the progress of the hellish recovery. Since things had seemed to calm down a bit, he decided to join the rogues in the safehouse and help them out wherever he could. His timing was impeccable. By bringing them their favorite food, he was their hero. And possibly the only thing to get them through the post-mission process.
"Burgers, fries, and shakes," Alex answered excitedly. In her hunger, she had added an additional item to their order. But no one world object to her. Milkshakes would be the perfect thing to cap off their meal. It would also give them the sugar rush needed to make it through the rest of the day before they could finally crash without messing up their sleep cycle.
"But no shake for Birkhoff, no matter what he says," Michael couldn't help but add. Nikita and Alex at least appreciated the joke. Birkhoff, on the other hand, glared as he finally moved back into the livingroom and collapsed back in his chair.
Not knowing what that comment was about, Sean just moved the conversation along. He gathered the orders for the burgers and the different ways the team wanted them prepared, and he got their different milkshake flavors. After he repeated everything back to them, and they were satisfied, Alex beamed. She owed him a lot more than money for bringing the team food. She wasn't certain that her thanks would cover it, yet she had to start somewhere, "Thank you so much for doing this."
"Hey. I get it. Post-mission recovery sucks," Sean waved off her gratitude. Although he'd love to accept the bright smile he knew was on Alex's lips, getting food for the team of rogues was no big deal. The diner was on his way, after all. And the team had been through enough that day. He'd do whatever he could to lift their burdens.
"We're lucky we have you," Sincerely, Alex replied. That should've been the end of the conversation. Nikita could hang up then and let Sean get their food. But she just had to say something under her breath to Michael about Sean and Alex getting lucky, and Alex just had to shriek in response once the words registered, "Shut up, Nikita!"
"What was that?" Sean asked half-concerned and half-amused. Only listening to the team through the phone definitely was interesting. However, he knew he was drastically missing information. Michael, Nikita, and Birkhoff were laughing too much for him to believe otherwise.
Blushing, Alex tried to excuse what had happened. She absolutely did not want to repeat what Nikita had snarked. But she also didn't want to leave Sean confused. After a stuttering moment, she settled on just changing the subject all together. There were still some things the rogues had to do around the safehouse. They should finish that up before they ate, "Nothing. We just need to clean."
"Why? He knows what we're like," The safehouse wasn't that much of a mess. The worst of it was just medical supplies left strewn about. Nikita was certain Sean would understand when he saw that. He was very familiar with the team and post-mission recoveries. Nothing would be shocking. Except for maybe some of their bloody injuries.
"That's not very housewife of you," Alex quickly taunted. Later, she'd find a better way to retaliate for what Nikita had said about her and Sean. But until then, she'd tease her best friend for her earlier slip of the tongue. It was effective enough for the moment.
"If you don't think Michael would be a househusband, you seriously don't understand their relationship," Smirking, Birkhoff added to the taunt. He instantly earned a goatee-of-intimidation glare, yet he was starting to grow immune to them. Michael couldn't make him take it back, especially since a part of it was true.
"You'd be my trophy husband?" Nudging her boyfriend with her foot, Nikita smiled. She couldn't see either one of them not working in the future. Though, she could see herself teasing Michael forever. And that was the far better option.
"Depends on how much money you make," Flashing his girlfriend a crooked smile, Michael decided to play along with Nikita. That honestly made him question what he and Nikita would do for money once they were free from their war. But that could be something they discussed when they privately continued their marriage conversation. Their future wasn't so close at hand that they had to seriously make detailed plans. However, the two could seriously consider where they saw themselves and how their happiness could unfold. It was something they had never really delved into before, yet that could change.
Laughing in disbelief, Sean could not comprehend what he was hearing. However, he soon determined that that didn't matter. He'd just bring the rogues their food and join in on their fun later, "You guys are so weird. I'll be there soon."
"Can't wait," Alex beamed once more. That time, Nikita did end the call. Except, various smirks shot the young woman's way. She ignored them all with an eye roll and a determined push off the floor, "Shut up and help me clean."
There was more humor in Alex's response that time. It helped to stir the others to join her in cleaning. However, Birkhoff wound up doing most of the cleaning again. Alex only managed to return her cold heating pad to the kitchen and to throw away some trash before she had to curl up in one of the chairs. Nikita and Michael couldn't move far from the couch, so they simply handed things for Birkhoff to put away or toss. He did so without complaint. He knew they were trying to push past their injuries and help. But they weren't superheroes. They were allowed to be a hindrance at times.
The rogues calmed down as they cleaned, exhaustion and pain washing over them. They got things as tidy as they could. Then, they collapsed against pillows and cushions and tried not to fall asleep. Fortunately, once Sean arrived with the food, they became lively again. The rogue agents were able to bounce back and have fun with one another. Their injuries remained persistently painful and annoying, specifically when they had to change some bandages and apply more ice. But the post-mission recovery process drastically improved with one another's company. They were alive and well, after all. How could anything be hellish when that was true.