Disclaimer: I own nothing. And never will.

A/N: Hey guys :) Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I'm so glad you guys are sticking with me through this story. I couldn't have made it without your support.

So, this chapter was a challenge for me. I started with one idea, and finished it with a totally different thing from what I had planned.

So this is really not my best, so I apologize in advance.

Grammar coherence mistakes, you know the drill.

Enjoy!

Michael sat in the end of the stairs that led from the house down to the beach and silently looked around, spotting Nikita only a few feet away from him.

Though he did want to check to see how she was holding up he refrained from doing so knowing she probably wanted some time to herself. He knew how her past was a very sensible subject for her and he didn't want to aggravate her distress.

For several minutes, he just sat there looking over her from a distance, like some sort of guardian angel. He watched as she walked towards the water, taking deep breaths. He watched as she paced around in circles, trying to control her tears. He watched as she kicked the sand in an attempt to take out her anger.

But when she finally sat down on the cold sand and pulled her knees up to her chest, Michael got up from his spot on the stairs and walked towards his beautiful broken girl, sitting by her side.

She briefly looked up at him with sad eyes before she folded her arms over her knees and rested her head on top of them. Realizing how sensitive she was, he thought about pulling her into a hug, but didn't know if it would be appropriate given their situation, so he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

For a long time, neither of them spoke anything. Silence was becoming a normal thing between them. It was an odd, but rather pleasant silence; though they couldn't bring themselves to talk much, at least they still had each other's company. So they remained in silence.

Silence which was broke when Michael realized she hadn't said a word in a long time, and he worried she might have gone into some sort of shock.

"Hey" he whispered, taking her out of her trance. She looked up at him, her beautiful brown eyes filled with melancholy. Nikita sighed heavily and a single tear streamed down her face.

"Come here" he said as he pulled her closer, not minding that they relationship status was still pretty messed up; she needed his comforting and he wouldn't deny it.

Nikita let him hold and buried her face into his neck. She was reaching a breaking point and needed a sense of safety to keep her from losing it completely. And Michael was the only one who could give her the sense of stability and the comforting she needed, regardless of how shaken up their relationship had been for the past few months.

Through it all, she knew he was the only one who could make her feel safe, and she was more than thankful that this hadn't changed, not matter how much both of them had screwed up.

Michael's soft voice tried to reassure her "We'll figure things out" he said, running his fingers through her raven hair "Don't over think this, it's not worth it. Just calm down, okay?"

Eventually, she did calmed down and he loosened his grip on her, giving her some space. She took a calming breath and looked at him.

"I feel so…betrayed" she wailed, swallowing her tears "Why does this things keep happening, Michael? It's just one thing after another, always making things harder for us. I can never catch a break, it never gets easier!" she cried "I'm just so tired; I want all of this to be over"

He gently stroked her hair, unconsciously thrilled to be able to affectionately touch her after so long.

"I know" he whispered "I want this to be over too, so we can move on with our lives. You just need to hang in there for a little bit more so we can make things right"

She shook her head, exhausted

"No" she whined "I'm too tired. It's Percy, and Amanda, and Gogol and now Carla…it's just too overwhelming. I can't do this anymore, Michael" she admitted, her voice thick with tears.

Michael tried to think about what to say to comfort her, but words failed him when the sobs started rocking her petite body.

Nikita hid her face on her hands failing to hold back her tears for much longer.

"Nikita, calm down…" he tried to sooth her "you'll make yourself sick"

But she didn't calm down, and Michael felt anguished to see her so broken. He drew her closer to him with her back against his chest, his arms closing tight around her.

She was startled at the sudden contact but he calmed her down, tightening his arms around her

"It's okay" he whispered "close your eyes"

"What?" she questioned, confused.

He gave her a small smile "Trust me, okay?" he loosed his grip a little so she'd be more comfortable "now close your eyes"

Nikita did as she was told and reluctantly closed her eyes, grasping his arm for a reassurance she didn't quite understand why she needed.

"Now, empty your mind" he coached her, his voice low and calm.

Nikita scoffed "If only it was this easy"

"At least try it" he added in a more serious tone.

She took a deep breath a tried to focus in anything but the chaos in her mind.

"Don't think about anything else but this moment, okay?" He instructed her, gently caressing her hand that still had a death grip on his arm "What do you feel?"

"I fell…" she sighed, unsure "the warm rays on sun on my skin?"

"What else?" he encouraged her.

"I can hear the sound of the waves, crashing in the shore. I can hear the birds chirping" she continued, and he smiled when he noticed her hand slowly release its hold on his arm.

"Now, go to a happy memory. Any memory" he instructed next.

Her mind hazed and took her back almost twenty years.

She was at a beach at the age of seven; her foster mom was sitting on the sand by her side. They were trying to build a sandcastle together and once they were done with their masterpiece, they walked hand in hand on the shore, picking up little shells that later they used to decorate they sandcastle.

Nikita smiled, feeling the soft sand and remembering one of the few happy moments she had while in foster care.

The memory vanished as a more recent one started forming in her head. It was from only a couple of years ago, when she first found Alex.

They were playing Jenga, game in which Alex sucked when she first met Nikita. The young girl would always make the tower fall down after only three turns.

But it didn't matter how much Alex sucked, it was their thing, their way of bonding with each other; they'd play almost every night after they were done with training.

One night, Alex managed to take four blocks from the tower, which was a milestone for her. The look of delight on the girl's face made Nikita smile as well. After she repeatedly squealed "I did it! I did it!" she threw herself at Nikita, hugging her tightly and accidentally knocking the tower down. Alex looked at the blocks scattered around the floor and suddenly seemed at the verge of tears. But instead, she burst into laughter, making Nikita laugh as well. They laughed so hard they were almost out of breath, and when they finally recomposed themselves, instead of re-starting the game, they decided to build a castle out of Jenga blocks.

Nikita chuckled at the memory.

"What's on your mind?" Michael asked, curious about what had made her laugh.

She slowly opened her eyes and shook her head, amused

"No big deal. Just Alex and I playing Jenga" she smiled "You told me to think about a happy memory, and I think the best memories I have are simple like that. Playing Jenga with a friend, or maybe the times Birkhoff flicked his peas at me from across the table, because he didn't want them of just to make me laugh. Or the nights we spent watching old movies in a motel room. These are good memories, I'll cherish them forever"

As she went on and on about her other many memories; some of when she was a little girl, some with Alex, some with Daniel, some Birkhoff, and even some from her recruit times. But mostly there were memories of them together.

She didn't exactly mention his name most of the times, but her remembered them too, so he knew who she was talking about. He thought it was kind of cute; the way she didn't even need to tell him she was talking about them, like if their connection was so strong these kinds of specifications were not necessary.

As she talked, he realized she melted into him, relaxing in his arms like if it was the most natural thing in the world.

She rested her head on his shoulder and slightly tilted her head so she could look at him.

"How did you learn to do that, by the way?" she questioned

"Do what?"

"This relaxing thing you just did to me" she clarified "It was the most peaceful moment I've had in months"

Michael looked down at his hands "When we moved to Yemen, Hayley started having night terrors" he said, and sighed at the memory of his daughter "Elizabeth and I tried everything, but had no luck. This technique was the only thing that made her calm down" he finally looked up at her "Apparently it still works" he gave her a sad smile.

Nikita turned around to fully look at him, and tenderly stroked his face "Thank you, I needed that" she said sincerely.

"Are you feeling any better?"

She nodded, smiling "Yeah, much better"

He gave her a cocky grin "I told you to trust me. I knew it was going to work"

She laughed, reaching for his hand.

"That's not the only thing you were right about" she laced her fingers with his "you were right before, too"

Michael gave her a confused look "What do you mean?"

"About Division" she clarified, her eyes meeting his "there was something good about it. It brought me to you"

A/N: Yeah, I know...it's a weird chapter. I'm so sorry. But I missed a more intimate Mikita moment. I know it sucked, though. I'll try to make it up for you on the next one :)

Anyway, leave me a review and tell me what you think.

Thank you so much for reading!

~Rose.