Disclaimer: I own nothing. Never have and never will.
A/N: Hey guys! Again, thank you so much for the reviews! They made me really happy.
So…I admit it, this chapter was a little hard for me to write, I had a huge writer's block problem, so it's probably not my best, I'm sorry.
I believe that after the last episode, Nikita and Alex are bonding again, so here it goes, this chapter basically shows Nikita and Alex relationship, and I apologize in advance if you think they're out of character.
Ahh, it's not a slash, by the way.
I'm also writing this at 1:48am, so bear with me if there are many mistakes and you had to read some nonsense.
When you find any grammar coherence mistakes, you know what to do (:
Enjoy!
"You're worried" Birkhoff stated.
Nikita sighed "Yes, I am" she admitted "Aren't you?"
"I am…It's just Alex is a strong girl, you know. She's been through worse"
"I know…but I think this hit her really hard" Nikita bit on her thumb nail, distressed "I mean, her mother and the man who ordered her father's murder"
Birkhoff nodded his agreement "I know, and that's sick and disturbing… but you gotta admit she's been through a lot since a very young age. That somehow made her stronger"
Nikita shook her head "Yeah but…she's just nineteen. She tries to act all grown up but really, she's just kid" she sighed "I remember when I was her age. All I wanted was a sense of security, you know. And not having that…it's just not easy at all"
"Well, she's not completely alone" Birkhoff put a comforting hand on her shoulder "If you're that worried, go check on her"
"But what if she doesn't want to see anybody?"
"Then she'll say 'leave me alone', and you go away. Simple as that" he said matter-of-factly "Grab some towels as an excuse to knock on her door or something"
"You're right, I should go check on her" Nikita said getting up the couch.
Birkhoff nodded "And I should go to a grocery store. I bet you and Alex don't wanna live out of take-out food like me" he said getting up as well.
Nikita went upstairs as Birkhoff left. She grabbed a set of towels on the hallway closet and approached Alex's room.
Slowly, she knocked on the door.
"Alex?" she called in a concerned, low tone. The girl didn't answer, so she knocked again.
Still not getting a response from her, Nikita took a deep breath and touched the doorknob. Alex didn't exactly said she could come in, but she didn't asked her to go away either.
Hesitantly, Nikita pushed the door open a little, just enough to peek inside of the room and give the young girl a chance to send her away if she wished.
But Alex didn't say a word, so Nikita slowly walked into the room.
Alex was lying in bed hugging a pillow to her chest and resting her head against it. Her eyes looked up to her former trainer as she entered the room.
"Hey…" Nikita whispered "I brought you some towels in case you wanna take a shower. I'll bring you some of my clothes as well if you want."
"Thanks" she muttered "I appreciate it"
Alex didn't like to be seen in such a vulnerable state, but at that moment she didn't care. Besides, it was Nikita. In her present situation, Nikita was the closest thing to a friend she had.
Nikita placed the towels on the end of the bed; her eyes never leaving Alex. She looked so tired it was very unsettling for Nikita to see her like that.
"If you need anything, my room is in the end of the hallway, okay?" Nikita said in her gentlest tone.
Alex just nodded into her pillow and blew out a painful sigh.
"You okay?" Nikita asked, a new shadow of worry crossing her features.
The young girl squeezed her eyes shut, whimpering in discomfort "Yeah, I'm a little nauseous but I guess it's just jet-lag"
Out of instinct, Nikita approached her and pressed her palm to Alex's forehead "You have a fever" she said with a worried look.
Alex shuddered "It's nothing"
"Alex, you're burning up" she pushed Alex's hair off her face "Why don't you take a shower, it will make you feel better"
Alex shook her head "No…I'm so tired" she wept "I just wanna sleep"
"You'll sleep better if the fever is down. Come on" she said, helping her up "You go, and I'll bring you some clothes."
Alex sighed and gave Nikita a sad look, her lips trembling.
"Hey…" Nikita slowly approached her and uncertainly pulled the girl into a hug.
Alex laid her head on her sensei's shoulder and let the tears she had been holding back fall freely.
"All this time…m-my mother…I never knew…" she whined, unable to form a coherent sentence in between her sobs.
"I know, Alex…I know. It's not your fault" Nikita soothed her; tightening her hold on the girl.
Alex sniffled, and Nikita gently let go of her "You're gonna be fine, okay? You're the strongest person I know. You can get through this" she guaranteed, affectionately putting a strand of Alex's hair behind her ear.
Alex nodded her understanding and headed to the bathroom while Nikita went to her room and selected a few clothes from her closet.
She headed back to Alex's room and smiled to herself when she heard the shower running; at least her fever would lower. She placed the folded clothes on the bed and went to the kitchen.
"How's our little Anastasia doing?" Birkhoff asked as he walked in the kitchen, holding lots of groceries.
Nikita got three mugs and put them on the counter "Not so good" she admitted "She has a fever. It's probably emotional, but still" she sighed "I feel so bad for her"
Birkhoff started taking the groceries out of the paper bags "Well, you're doing what you can. I'm sure she'll be fine in a few days"
"I hope so" she said while looking into the cupboards "Do you have any tea?"
"On the top shelf" he said while putting the kettle on to boil "Do you think Sergei is coming after her?"
Nikita shook her head "I don't think so. If Alex stay away from them, I don't think he'll harm her. He wouldn't do that to Katya, Alex is still her daughter after all"
Birkhoff frowned "I don't know…from what you said, her mom is a little crazy. And they think Alex was brainwashed"
"Still, I don't think they'll hurt her…At least I hope not. The last thing she needs is another target on her back"
Birkhoff nodded "I hope you're right, Nikki. I hope you're right"
Nikita filled the three mugs with steaming hot tea and pushed one towards Birkhoff.
"I should take this to Alex" she said picking up the other mug "Do you have any non-narcotic painkillers?"
"There's Paracetamol on the bathroom cabinet"
"Thanks" Nikita said, heading upstairs. She got a couple of pills and headed to Alex's room.
The girl was sitting on the bed, struggling to hold the hair brush with her injured hand.
"Need any help?" Nikita asked, putting the cup of tea and the pills down on the nightstand.
Alex shook her head "No, it's okay. I can pretend to be left handed for a few minutes" she said holding the brush with her other hand, but failing to untangle the knots on the ends of her hair.
"Can I?" Nikita asked, seeing her trouble in the simple task of brushing her hair.
The girl handed her the brush and Nikita sat beside her on the bed.
Nikita started to slowly brush her hair, carefully trying to untangle the ends without hurting her.
"Do you think she knew it?" Alex suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
"Knew what?" Nikita asked, even though she was sure of what Alex was talking about.
"My mother" she clarified "Do you think she knew about Sergei's plan to kill my father and I?"
Nikita ran a hand through Alex's hair, trying to reassure her. She knew by the tone in the girl's voice she was trying to hold back her tears.
"I don't know" Nikita admitted "But your mother would never hurt you on purpose"
"Wouldn't she?" she questioned whit a sigh.
Nikita saw thick tears forming on her protégé's eyes and instinctively touched the girl's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Your mother really loves you, Alex" Nikita assured her; she refused to believe Katya would ever purposely hurt her only daughter.
One single tear ran down Alex's cheek, and she quickly wiped it, not wanting Nikita to see her crying.
Again, Nikita instinctively felt like comforting her, but was at a loss of words and actions when she heard the girl's whispered words.
"The way she loved my father?" Alex silently questioned.
"Alex…" Nikita started, but was silent again when she realized she didn't have any arguments; something that didn't usually happened to her "Don't think about that now, okay?" she advised, running the brush through the girl's long hair.
Alex just nodded, and they fell silent again.
Nikita finished brushing Alex's hair and put the brush down "There you go" she said with a comforting smile.
"Thanks" Alex said with a thankful look.
"There's chamomile tea" Nikita pointed to the mug on the nightstand "and an analgesic. It will help you sleep"
Alex sat in the middle of the bed and reached for the pills and the cup of tea. She took the pills and drowned them down with the tea.
"How's your head?" Nikita asked, looking at the cut on her forehead.
"It's a little sore, but I had worse" Alex said, and Nikita smiled at how Alex sounded so much like her.
The girl put the tea cup down on the nightstand and sank into her pillows.
"Are you going to be okay?" Nikita asked, worried.
Alex nodded "Yeah, I guess so"
"You sure?" Nikita asked, sitting on the bed.
Alex let out a humorless laugh "No"
Ethereally, Nikita brushed a few strands of Alex's hair off her face "You're going to be okay, Alex. We'll figure things out, I promise" she said, her hand still stroking the young girl's hair in an attempt to soothe her "Now rest, okay?" she said, kissing the girl's forehead.
Alex nodded and closed her eyes.
Nikita was heading out the door when Alex called her again.
"Nikita?" she called, and the former Division agent turned around and looked at her "Thank you"
Nikita smiled "That's what I'm here for"
A/N: So, I think Nikita and Alex have a big sister- little sister connection, but sometimes I also think they have a mother-daughter thing, and that's what I tried to portrait here. Again, I'm sorry if it's out of character. I blame my writer's block.
Thanks for reading and please, leave me a review telling me your opinion.
~R.