I seriously come in peace.

I am so SO SORRY for this very late update. After my vacation I kinda injured my wrist so it was hard to type. Oh my God, I'm so sorry, you guys.

BUT! 200 reviews! Holy crap, I cannot thank everyone enough for the love you all are giving this story. It's just overwhelming, amazing, heartwarming, and all the other great adjectives out there. And if you're still with the story up to now, thank you so much!

Okay, so here we go with the update. And for those who are asking, yes, I am still continuing this story. It just took a bit of time to upload the chapter. Haha.

So… enjoy!

Chapter 11: Perfection

"Because it's time we had something that we all deserve – a future." – 2x05

Domestic bliss.

It was the only way Nikita could describe everything that's happened in the recent weeks.

She had everything she could ever hope for, ever envision in her wildest imaginations.

Her days would be spent with everyone in the household. Sometimes out in the patio or by the sea shore, enjoying Owen's delicious home-cooked meals, laughing at Birkhoff's antics, dodging away (albeit cheerfully and playfully) from Alex and her picture-happy fingers, watching proudly as Ilya grew into a more happier, lovelier child before their eyes each day.

At night, Nikita would relish the sweet hours she'd get to spend with Michael alone. Often with a continuation of the stolen kisses and touches they'd make during the earlier hours. She'd sigh in content knowing that it was the face of the man she loved she'd see last at night, and the first in the morning of the next day.

Everything was perfect.

… Well, almost.

The only problem of their little girl growing up was the fact that she was growing up.

Which also meant a whole lot of other things.

Nikita sighed, as if having to deal with the change in the sharing of responsibilities of raising Ilya with Michael wasn't enough.

Now things like their daughter's schooling finally had to be discussed.

Though that topic became a heated debate when it was brought up among the other adults in the household. Not only did Nikita have to adjust in her decision-making skills now that Michael was with them, but she also had put up with their friends.

It was difficult, having 5 very outspoken, overly-protective, and dangerous people who have different ideas for one child.

Sometimes, Nikita would just breathe deeply and think that raising Ilya was like having a custody battle with so many people.

Since Ilya was a pretty smart kid, they all weren't worried if she could manage school life. The whole conundrum was actually where.

Home-school was strongly recommended by Birkhoff and Owen.

Then again, outside teachers posed a certain danger to all of them if brought to their safe house.

"We could be Ilya's teachers." Owen offered, an excited grin starting to loom over his lips.

A certain gleam appeared in almost everyone's eyes at that idea.

But, reining them all back to reality, Nikita said that she didn't think anyone in the room can really qualify to be the young girl's instructors. An example of this, to prove her point, was that the 5-year-old knew a whole lot of Russian cuss words (courtesy of her Auntie Lex, thinking it would be funny surprise on Nikita's birthday) before she knew how to count to 20. Their priorities in education weren't exactly normal. So unless they wanted Ilya to know how to load a gun before she could learn to color within the lines of a coloring book, home-school was out of the question. Much to Birkhoff and Owen's dismay.

So as Alex went to check the list of all possible private and public schools in Barbados drawn up by Shadownet, Michael pulled Nikita to the side and suggested to her in a low voice, Max's school in London. It had excellent teachers and since half the students were children of diplomats and high-profile people, the school's security was as tight as a fortress.

Nikita wasn't sure at first, having no experience with the place. But she trusted Michael and his judgment. And if he recommended it, then it must be something worth looking into. Especially since it is for their daughter.

And, she mulled about, since it was in London, Michael would be able to see Max again. So it probably was a good idea.

Unfortunately, back at the table, the others didn't share the same sentiment when they were told about it.

"You mean St. John's Prep?"

"A prep school?"

"But that's in London!"

"Why?"

"That's so far!"

"Are we gonna have to move again?"

With Alex, Owen and Birkhoff talking at the same time, it was giving Nikita a headache.

But after some more discussion involving a whole lot of bickering, sighs, and eye rolls, they all finally came to an agreement that Michael and Nikita, as parents, have the last say about the education of their daughter.

Even if Birkhoff would be the one shouldering any expenses incurred with their decision.

It was definitely an experience for Nikita though. Never having had an ideal childhood herself, she found the whole thing entertaining because it was so foreign yet so normal. She never thought she'd ever be faced with this situation. Hell, she never even thought of herself as a mother. Ten years ago, she probably wouldn't care as much and instead would have been debating on what kind of firearm would look best when concealed in a fitted dress. Now, she was discussing on what would be best for her child's future.

Life is just unpredictable, she thought.

Feeling a warm hand squeeze her knee affectionately under the table, Nikita glanced up at Michael. He gave her a reassuring look so she smiled appreciatively back at him.

Thinking back, Nikita realized that no matter what happened in the past, she would never change it. Maybe she and Michael were meant to be broken in a way so that they would find and piece back each other together. Because of him and his love, she was saved all those years ago, that she found the strength to go on, that she is able to have this chance now… This new life. With their daughter.

It all started with him that she was able to see what made everything so worth it.

And that no matter what, she'll always have someone to live for.

I I

"Something's happening. And I can't let it go and I can't push it away." – 2x08

I I

"Okay, quit it, you two. As much as I love Bonnie and Clyde finally being together, can you guys keep it down? Or, better yet, get a room?"

Nikita let out a soft chuckle as she pressed her lips against Michael's before pushing up to look over the back of the couch with a threatening glint in her eyes.

Sitting on the chaise longue by the window, Birkhoff returned his friend's gaze with a rather patronizing expression. "Oh, don't give me that look, Nikki. Even Mikey's Goatee of Intimidation doesn't work. I know you won't hurt me."

The corner of her lip twitched. "Shut up, Nerd."

"In your dreams, Nikki."

Rolling her eyes and returning to her former position, Nikita snuggled close to the other warm body that occupied quite a bigger portion of the couch. Draping her arm across Michael's taut abdomen, she whispered, "Remind me where we were again?"

He grinned before pulling her on top of him, crushing their lips together for a quick kiss. Michael threaded his hands through Nikita's long, silky hair as she laughed softly, brushing her lips and nose lightly against his strong jaw. Her slow and easy breaths caressing his warm skin.

Ignoring the soft tap tap on the laptop's keyboard and Birkhoff's snide comments, they both entered their own little world, just enjoying the feeling of each other. This relaxing moment was their sort of reward after such a hectic week.

They've just arrived a few days ago from London after enrolling their daughter into St. John's Prep and finding a nondescript yet decent place for the three of them to live in. As promised, Birkhoff paid for everything with no questions asked. The only request he made though, was that with the use of his private jet, they'd fly back to Barbados during the weekends (Alex also agreed on that one because she said she'd need some female bonding time if she was going to look after two males during the rest of the week).

But, honestly, they just didn't want to admit that they were going to miss Michael and Nikita, and most especially Ilya.

During their stay in their new house in London, which was just a 20-minute drive away from Cassandra and Max's, Michael and Nikita also decided to drop by to see them. Ilya quickly bonded with Max (who had turned into quite a handsome young boy), which was a relief for all parents. But interestingly enough, or so Nikita amusingly thought, Ilya didn't warm up to the other woman as fast as her bubbly self usually did. It took a few more hours (and some bribery from Michael's part) before the little girl even allowed Cassandra to pick her up.

But there seemed to be a surprising, unexpected toll on Nikita when she saw Cassandra again. Her heart ached in her chest. Especially when she was watching silently as she and Michael were talking, catching up about Max. Nikita had forgotten how painfully beautiful the other woman was, and how Michael seemed to act protectively around her.

Even though she now knew that there was nothing going on between them, and that she even thought that they have become rather 'friends' on the phone, the sight of Cassandra Ovechkin just prickled at Nikita's feelings. She couldn't help it. Seeing her brought back some memories that Nikita did not want to think about, re-opened some wounds she thought that have already healed.

Maybe it still might take a while before the sight of the Belarusian wouldn't eat at Nikita's ego anymore. Maybe it still needed some getting used to.

But, apart from that, everything else was really happening. The life she had always wanted in her grasp. Nikita sometimes had to pinch herself to believe it.

Burying her face into Michael's neck, she breathed deeply as he lazily ran a hand up and down the slender slope of her back. Their breaths and heart beats synchronized as they were stretched out against one another.

"You know I love you, right?" Michael said softly while unconsciously toying with the hem of Nikita's tank top.

"Mm-hmm," she sighed, kissing the pulse point beneath his ear. Closing her eyes, she whispered back, "And I love you too."

Somewhere in the distance, Birkhoff groaned exasperatedly, "Oh, damn, here we go again."

But they didn't mind him (though Nikita's lips did curve slightly upward).

Michael continued as if hearing nothing, "And you know that you could always tell me anything."

"Mm-hmm…" Nikita trailed off, getting distracted and lost in the moment.

But a second later, she tensed up slightly. Nikita knew Michael well enough to catch that nearly-indiscernible inflection in his voice. Opening her eyes, she leaned away to gaze at him. An inquisitive expression appeared on her face as she questioned suspiciously, "What're you getting at, Michael?"

He hesitated at first, making Nikita's heart skip a beat. Then he sighed and shifted under her, pulling them both to a sit.

Nikita folded her long legs under her as she stared at Michael. Holding both her hands, he gazed back at her. There was this certain gleam in his eyes, she noticed, that she wasn't sure why it was there.

"When were you going to tell me?" he asked, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

Confusion crossed her beautiful features. "Tell you what?"

He smirked, taking her perplexed reaction for feigning innocence. "There's no point hiding it from me, Nikita. I saw the kit."

For a few seconds, Nikita didn't say anything. She was racking her brain for anything that could help her but nothing came. Tilting her head to one side, she said, "What are you talking about, Michael? What kit?"

Noticing her momentary pause and her bewildered look, Michael pulled back slightly. Any trace of the emerging smile disappeared as he took in her expression. A crease formed between his eyebrows, "You honestly have no idea?"

She shook her head. Gazing at him, her brown eyes were slightly wary.

"Last night," he explained, "when I threw the trash, I saw an opened pregnancy kit. I thought –"

"Whoa there," Nikita said, straightening up. "What?"

"Are you pregnant?" Michael interrogated, finally getting to the question he really wanted to ask.

Anyone would have noticed the hopeful and expectant tinge coloring his voice. And the slight twinkle in his green eyes.

It took a whole second for Nikita to grasp what Michael was saying. Then she exhaled the breath she had been unconsciously holding onto and closed her eyes briefly. Shaking her head softly, she told him, "No."

"Oh," he said, his expression falling. A rueful smile flitted through his lips, as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, okay. I just… Never mind."

"Hey," Nikita squeezed the hand she was still holding, encouragingly, "you could tell me anything."

"It's just…" he said, glancing into her eyes deeply. He sighed and chuckled inaudibly. "When I saw the kit, I thought you were pregnant again. I thought we were gonna have another child... I just got ahead of myself and got all excited."

Nikita got what Michael was trying to tell her. And it wrenched at her heart. She knew how he loved children. And how great of a father he was. Even if he wasn't exactly there for both Max and Ilya's younger years, he really tried his best to make up for it. So at the possibility of having another kid, Nikita knew that Michael immediately thought of it as his chance to do things right this time. Only…

"Wait, Michael," Nikita told him, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek to make him look at her. "It wasn't me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

She shook her head lightly. "I didn't take any pregnancy tests."

They both stared at each other for a few seconds, taking in what it meant. Then it was Michael who broke the silence first, "Then…?"

Nikita's eyes widened, "You don't think…?"

"Alex." Michael stated softly.

"Oh my God," Nikita whispered, her lips stretching into a disbelieving smile. She touched her lips with her slender fingers. Her mind was trying to wrap around the possibility of this piece of information. Recalling something, she expressed, "That's why she asked me yesterday how it felt when I was pregnant!"

Michael stared at her for a second and then said, "And you didn't think that was odd?"

"No," she laughed, shaking her head. "She's been asking me questions like that for some time now – I-I didn't think. Oh my God, Alex is pregnant."

"Wait, wait," Michael said quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He corrected her, "We don't know that yet."

"Oh, right." Nikita let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. She chuckled. "Look who's getting ahead now."

They both smiled at each other.

"Oh, don't worry, you're not getting ahead of yourselves."

Michael and Nikita looked over the back of the couch at Birkhoff. He was still typing on the laptop, not giving any care that his best friends were staring at him.

"What?" Nikita asked, her eyebrows knitting for a second. "How do you know?"

It took a few more seconds before they got his reply. When Birkhoff finally looked up from his laptop, he narrowed his eyes at the two people sitting by the sofa. "Who do you think was sent to buy the pregnancy tests?"

"Alex asked you?" Michael questioned, his voice failing miserably to hide his amusement.

Birkhoff threw Michael a dark look for stating the obvious. He then turned to Nikita and said, "She figured I had experience with those kinds of stuff because I bought them last time for you, Nikki."

Ignoring the annoyed undertone simmering in his voice, an excited tug loomed on Nikita's lips, "Well?"

"I don't. And I don't like that I'm sent around like some errand boy–"

Michael clucked his tongue. "Birkhoff, straight to the point – is Alex pregnant?"

The younger man sent another glare before answering, almost reluctantly, "Uhh, yeah."

Nikita's grin finally broke through. "Really?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Birkhoff rolled his eyes.

"Someone seems to be in a bad mood today," Michael commented.

"Well, gee, forgive me for not looking like I'm ready to break out into warm fuzzies like Nikki over there," Birkhoff replied, looking pointedly at Nikita. "I'm just not appreciating the fact that babies are starting to pop up faster than Christian Bale makes his movies. It's bad enough that I have to support all of you guys and your kid – do you know how much of my money all of you are hogging up? I never signed up to become some sugar daddy or a nursemaid, for God's sake."

Michael and Nikita glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

"Aww, Nerd." Nikita laughed, standing up and walking over to him. He was such a querulous person. But she still loved him. After everything they have all been through, it still amazed her that someone like Birkhoff existed in this world. And would be crazy enough to be their loyal friend. She ruffled up his hair and kissed the top of his head affectionately. "I might not say this all the time but thank you. For everything. Really."

"Whatever." He said, looking up to her with an apathetic expression.

"But no matter what you say, you know you'll always love us," Nikita chuckled, enjoying as she pointed out her friend's quirks. "And spend for us."

Birkhoff just grunted an unintelligible response to that and returned to what he was working on.

Nikita smiled. She stared at her friend then to Michael, who had stood up and was now casually leaning against the back of the couch. Strolling over to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face on his shoulder.

Alex was pregnant, she finally mused. Owen was going to be a father. Her friends were going to have a child of their own. Nikita had often teased them to make their own kid because they were always stealing Ilya whenever they had the chance. And now, they finally were going to have one.

Nikita still couldn't believe it. There was going to be another addition to her family. Another person to love. She found herself already loving the faceless baby she had quickly made up in her head. Her heart felt like it was already growing, making extra room.

Tears slowly began to form in her brown eyes.

"Hey," Michael said, as he felt the first few teardrops fall on his shirt. Pulling away, he curled an index finger under Nikita's chin and lifted her face to look at him, "why are you crying?"

"I'm just so happy," she laughed, wiping another stray tear that fell down her cheek. "Everything feels so surreal."

He cupped her face in his hands. "It's not. It just needs time to sink in, believe me."

Nikita sniffed.

"I guess it really is happening." She whispered, looking into his green eyes. "Alex and Owen… They're going to be great parents."

"They will be," Michael told her, kissing her forehead. He swept his thumb gently across her lower lip before he chuckled, "Just like you."

Nikita smiled. She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips lightly to his. "You are too, y'know."

Pulling each other into a tighter embrace, Nikita let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

It was finally sinking in.

She couldn't explain it.

She was contented, happy… perfect.

But it was never meant to last for long.

Not when their past would finally be catching up to them.

Not when everything was about to take a turn for the worse.

Not when an assault team was preparing to attack them in a matter of minutes.

Soooo?

Okay, so that wasn't much of a cliffhanger. But there's still more (and hopefully better) to come. Hahaha.

And Alex is pregnant. Nikita is happy-crying. I don't know, maybe it got slightly bit OOC up there. Oh well.

Thoughts, everyone? Let me know in the Reviews!

Things really are about to take a turn.

Hopefully, I'll be able to finish the next chapter really soon. I need inspiration. October 19 please come fast.

Oh, and thank you for reading!

xx Dani