Hey guys! First of all, I hope you had a great Christmas and I wish you all the best of 2014. Secondly I want to thank all of you for reading this and supporting me, it means a lot to me! This is a slightly longer chapter than the others, but I hope you like it. I want to thank Nikalex and chpll1525 for their reviews and their suggestions for this chapter. I hope you like what I've done with your opinions! If any of you have a suggestion or anything, please let me know! I'd love to hear what you think. But let's continue with the story. Enjoy!

Michael woke from a tingling feeling throughout his entire body. He opened his eyes and saw Alex sprawled out over his chest. Her legs were curled up against his own. She was sleeping peacefully but he could see she was still emotionally exhausted. Slowly he pulled out his phone while trying to change his position without waking Alex. He checked his phone and saw he got two text messages. One was from Nikita and the other one from Sean. Nikita's message was predictable:

'Where are you? Ryan wants to talk about Amanda!'

Michael rolled his eyes. Lately, Amanda was the only thing Nikita could think about. He was curious though to see what Sean had to say.

'Thanks for the heads-up yesterday. Halfway to Europe right now. Keep an eye out for Alex, might be using again.'

Michael sighed. He had thought of it himself, but he had hoped he was mistaken. Now that Sean had noticed Alex' strange behaviour as well, he should probably look further into it. He decided to do it later today, not wanting to destroy Alex' peace right now. He had to wake her though, before Nikita would come looking for them. He gently shook her shoulder. She moved but didn't wake up. He smiled and shook her again, a little harder this time. 'Alex, wake up.' He said softly. It took Alex another minute to wake up. She looked up at him with sleepy eyes.

'Michael? What are you doing here?'

'Morning sleepyhead. I found you here yesterday, remember?'

Alex rubbed her eyes, smearing what was left of her make-up all over her face.

'What time is it?' She mumbled. Michael checked his watch before answering her.

'9:15. We should go before people start wondering where we are.'

Alex nodded and followed him out of the ventilation shaft. He offered her his hand to help her get out and together they walked in silence towards her room. Once they got there, Michael cleared his throat. 'I should go. Ryan and Nikita want to talk to me about some new tactics.'

'Have fun.' Alex winked.

Michael rolled his eyes and turned away with a smile.

Before he went to Ryan's office, he decided to pay a visit to the medical department. He hoped he would find no medicines missing, but he had to make sure for all of their sakes. When he arrived in Medical, he immediately walked over to the medicine storage. When he reached it, it looked like nothing was missing. However, when he took a closer look, he saw the bottles of Sobelex were not standing in straight lines as the rest of the medicines. He opened the door and looked in the back of the shelf. It looked like at least three bottles were missing. He cursed inwardly. It was standard protocol to immediately replace the medicines once someone had used them. So either someone had a real bad headache or Alex had been stealing Sobelex. He closed the door and slammed his fist against the glass. 'Damn it Alex!' He yelled. He had known for some time that she wasn't okay, but he thought they were getting closer lately. He had hoped dinner at his place had helped her but apparently not. He turned on his heels and walked out of Medical. He needed some fresh air. While he walked to the elevators, his phone rang. He pulled it out and saw Nikita's name on his screen. He immediately pressed the ignore button and continued his pace. Nikita and her Amanda plans could wait a little bit longer.

Half an hour later, Michael walked through a park nearby his apartment. He was still angry with Alex but he had calmed down a little bit. He pulled out his phone again and called Alex. She answered immediately.

'Hi.'

'Hi. It's me. Can you come to the park in front of my apartment? We need to talk.' Michael announced, not willing to give her a clue yet about what he wanted to discuss.

'Yeah, sure.' She answered with a confused voice. 'See you in half an hour.'

Michael didn't answer but just hung up and sat down on a park bench to wait.

Alex watched Michael turn around with a smile and walk away. She smiled as well and went into her room. When she saw her appearance in the mirror, she groaned. Her hair was a mess and her face was even worse. She grabbed some clothes on her way to the bathroom and started to look for a brush to tame her wild hair. She looked in her bag when she stumbled across the bottles with the Sobelex pills. She took one of them out and weighed it on her hand. She felt the urge to take another pill and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the need. She could do this. She didn't have to go down that rabbit hole again. All she had to do was to get rid off the pills and she would be fine. She didn't need those pills anymore. She had Nikita and Ryan and Birkhoff and lately she had gotten closer with Michael. Especially the latter would be so disappointed in her if he'd found out. Alex took a deep breath and rummaged in her bag for the other two bottles of Sobelex. When she found them, she stood up and walked over to the toilet. Slowly she opened the bottles and shook the pills into her hand. All she had to do was let go. Just one movement of her hand and it was done. She took another deep breath and turned her hand, watching the pills fall down into the toilet. Before she could change her mind, she flushed the toilet and turned away to take a shower. Once she felt the warm water on her body she relaxed and smiled, just a little proud of herself. Now all she had to do was to stay away from Medical so she wouldn't be tempted to get new pills. She knew it was easier said than done, but she had faith in herself. This time she would make it.

Ten minutes later, she was wrapped up in a fluffy towel and was lying on her bed. She was singing along with a song on the radio while she waited for her hair to dry. She knew she should probably go see whether Nikita needed her for a mission but she really didn't feel like it right now. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment when her cell phone decided to go off. She sighed and rolled over on her belly so she could reach her phone. She saw it was Michael, so she decided to answer it immediately.

'Hi.'

'Hi. It's me. Can you come to the park in front of my apartment? We need to talk.' She heard Michael say in a low voice. He sounded angry to be honest. Had she done something wrong?

'Yeah sure.' She answered confused. She didn't really want to go, but she did want to know why Michael was acting the way he was. 'See you in half an hour.'

Michael didn't answer and just hung up. Alex pulled her phone from her ear and stared at it for a couple of minutes. This was definitely weird, even for Michael. She stood up and quickly dried her hair with a towel in order to get dressed.

Five minutes later she walked to the garage, hoping to get a car without someone noticing. Unfortunately, she was not that lucky. Birkhoff was working on one of the car while the music was turned on to an almost impossible volume. Alex covered her ears and walked over the laptop to turn the music down. 'Hey, what are you doing?' Birkhoff crawled out from under the car with an annoyed look on his face. 'I was listening to that!'

'Yeah well, you can listen to it again when I'm gone.'

'Sure go ahead, why not.' Birkhoff mumbled annoyed.

Alex hesitated for a moment, confused by his behaviour. 'You okay?' She hesitantly asked.

'Yeah, I'm walking on sunshine!' He said sarcastically. 'Where do you think you're going?'

'Just need to get some fresh air.' She lied.

Birkhoff raised an eyebrow. 'Right.'

Alex ignored him and took one of the keys that were lying on the table. 'See ya.' She told him and quickly got into the car before he could ask more questions.'

Michael looked on his watch. She had about two minutes left before her half hour was up. He glanced up again in time to see Alex walking through the park, obviously searching for something, probably him. He sighed and got up, dreading the conversation that was about to unfold. He walked up to her until he stood right behind her.

'Hey.'

She whirled around. 'Michael! You scared me!'

'Sorry.' He just said.

'So. What's this all about?' She hesitantly asked.

Michael took a deep breath before he started. 'I know about the pills Alex. I've been to Medical and I've seen three bottles of Sobelex are missing. You took them.'

He could see how her eyes grew bigger with every word that came out of his mouth. She started to tear up. It broke his heart to see her like this but he knew he had to continue.

'Do you have any idea what you've done? You've put the whole team in danger. Nikita, Sean, Me. Hell, you could have been dead yourself Alex!'

Before he could continue, Alex took his hands in hers. 'Michael.' Her voice was thick with tears. 'I'm not using them anymore.'

Michael snorted. 'Really? Then how do you explain the three bottles of Sobelex missing?'

Alex looked down at their joined hands and bit her lip. 'I took them. I've been using them and I know it's wrong but I've quit. I promise!'

'Since when?'

It took her some time to answer that question. 'This morning. I had just thrown the pills away when you called.'

'You really expect me to believe that? No offense Alex, but you're a drug addict. How can I trust anything you say?'

She took another step towards him and looked into his eyes, silently begging him to listen. 'Because you know me, Michael. You've always had faith in me. From the moment we met in Division, you've been there for me. Please, just believe me. I promise I will never touch it again,'

He hesitated. He truly wanted to believe her but in his time at Division he had seen many drug addicts. He knew they would do anything to be able to keep using the drug. But then again, it was Alex. Of course she had lied to him in the past, especially when she was Nikita's mole in the old Division, but he had a feeling she wouldn't lie about something important like this. Sure, she would have kept it from him but she wouldn't lie straight in his face when he asked for the truth. Would she? He looked into her eyes and saw a young girl staring back at him, begging for another chance. He sighed and gently pulled his hands from her grasp only to wrap them around her and pull her close. 'I believe you. Promise me you will never keep such a thing from me again.' He felt her nod against his chest.

'Just don't tell Nikita, okay?' He heard her mumble against his chest.

'Why?'

'Cause she'd be so disappointed in me. She's go me of the drugs before and I don't want her to know that I failed.'

Michael felt his anger flaring up. Of course, he had been disappointed in Alex himself but he had never seen it as a failure. Nikita was supposed to be Alex' mentor, the person she could go to when she had any problems, not the person she was scared to admit her mistakes to. He pulled her at arms-length.

'Alex, you haven't failed. You might have slipped up, but everyone makes mistakes!'

Alex nodded but she didn't look convinced. 'Just don't tell her, please.'

Before he could answer, both of their cell phones rang. He pulled out his phone and saw it was Nikita. 'Well, that's her. Let's see what she wants.' He mumbled before pressing the green button, preparing himself for what would probably be a very annoyed Nikita.

When they arrived in Ryan's office, everyone was already there, including Sonya. They all had grim looks on their faces. When Michael closed the door, Birkhoff immediately started talking. 'Sonya is the mole. Amanda is forcing her to do so and if she doesn't spy on us, she'll get killed.' Michael had to admit this surprised him. He had never expected the mole to be someone so close to their inner circle. Of course, he had never expected Alex to be the mole in the old Division either.

'So what's the plan?' He asked, knowing that Nikita probably had a plan made already. Before anyone could answer him, Sonya spoke up from her place near the computers.

'Amanda is sending me a message. It's a link to some kind of encrypted advertisement we use to communicate. I'm decrypting it now.'

Everyone turned in time to see a picture of Alex pressed up to Michael's chest with his arms wrapped around her on the screen. Soon two other pictures followed, both of Alex and Michael standing close to each other. There was a short silence before Nikita commented sharply. 'What's this?'

Michael cleared his throat to win time. He knew these pictures seemed to tell another story than the truth and he was grateful Nikita hadn't jumped to the wrong conclusions immediately. Still, he had to come up with an explanation. Even though he hadn't promised Alex to keep her secret, he didn't want to push her into telling Nikita things she wasn't ready for. On the other hand, he had no idea how to explain the photograph without telling the truth or sounding ridiculous.

'Well, we ran into each other this morning.' Before he could continue, Alex interrupted.

'Michael. Stop.'

He turned around to look at her. She gave him a small smile and turned to Nikita.

'A couple of weeks ago, I've started using Sobelex for my arm. Michael suspected something so he confronted me. I've thrown the pills away today so I told Michael and he hugged me because he was relieved I was doing okay.'

Nikita raised her eyebrows.

'Okay? You call using Sobelex okay?'

Tears started to form in Alex her eyes.

'I told you, I'm done with them! I swear, I've used them because they helped. Without them I would never have gotten the cryptograph. You would have me benched.'

'Yeah, you're damn right I'd have you benched. Damn it, Alex!'

'Nikita!' Michael said sharply. Now wasn't the time for her to snap at Alex. The girl didn't deserve that.

Nikita immediately turned to Michael.

'No, you know what. You I can even understand less. How can you think she's doing okay? She's a drug addict. How can you trust anything she says right now. I can't believe you didn't come to me to tell me that one of our team members is putting everything in danger!'

Michael quickly stood next to Alex, seeing how her shoulders slumped in disappointment at Nikita's reaction. Even though he had said about the same thing to her, this felt different. He had chosen to believe her, Nikita obviously chose the other option.

'I didn't come to you because I thought we could handle it ourselves. You don't have to call the shots about everything. And as for believing Alex, I have faith in her. Maybe you should do the same.'

He saw how Nikita narrowed her eyes, but Birkhoff interrupted any further discussion.

'Guys, guys! Don't you see what's going on? This is exactly what Amanda wants. She wants us to turn against each other!'

Michael took a deep breath, realizing Birkhoff was right. Ryan broke the silence. 'So Amanda obviously thinks the two of you are having some kind of affair. Maybe we could use this to our advantage. Someone must be taking these pictures right? If we can find him, we might be able to trace him back to Amanda.'

Nikita nodded and turned to face Alex and Michael. 'Amanda thinks there's something between the two of you, let's give the lady what she wants.'

Alex was just putting on her make-up when she heard a knock on the door. 'Just a minute!' She called out and quickly pulled her hair up. After picking up her purse, she opened the door, revealing Michael standing in the hallway.

'Hey.' She said shyly.

'Hey beautiful.' He smiled at her. She returned the smile gratefully.

'So, you're ready for this? You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to.'

She shook her head. 'No, this is my fault. If I can make things right again by doing this, then I will.'

Michael nodded, not looking very surprised by her answer. 'Shall we then?'

He put his hand on her lower back as usual, guiding her. She was grateful that he tried to make this as less awkward as possible. Soon enough they reached the garage, where Nikita was waiting for them. Alex could tell by the way she looked at her, Nikita was still mad. There was no smile waiting for her this time. She felt a reassuring squeeze from Michael. She quickly met his eyes and hoped he could see how grateful she was.

'Ready? Let's go.' Nikita didn't wait for an answer but just got into the passenger side of the car.

Michael rolled his eyes at Alex before opening the back door for her. She giggled and got in quickly, not wanting to irritate Nikita even further. When she was seated, he got into the drivers side and soon they were on the way.

When they entered the club, they were immediately surrounded by a huge amount of sweaty, dancing bodies. Michael quickly pulled Alex through the crowd, searching for a slightly less busy place. Somewhere they could be seen without being to obvious. Soon enough they reached a couple of red sofas. He gestured for her to sit down and disappeared. Alex sat down and looked around. The place would work, she supposed. There was a balcony nearby, which gave the perfect view. Nikita would probably be in position a couple of minutes later.

'You're alone here?' A voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see a young man with brown hair and dark green eyes. She had to admit he was kind of hot. However, she didn't have time for this now. 'No, I'm with friends.' She answered coldly.

The guy smiled and sat down next to her. 'Well, I don't see any friends, do you?'

'Yeah well, they should be here any time now.'

'How about you tell me your name while were waiting?'

Alex suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Some guys were just unbelievable.

'Time's up now.'

She looked up to see Michael standing in front of her, two glasses in his hand, glancing irritated at the guy next to her. When the guy didn't get up, Michael put the glassed down and stood right in front of him. 'I said time's up.' He repeated. This time he used his, as Alex secretly called it, 'Division look'. To be honest, it was quite intimidating. Apparently the guy thought so as well, because he didn't give her as much as a wave before he disappeared. Alex grinned as Michael joined her on the couch, handing her a drink.

'No alcohol.'

'Thanks.' She said. Glad he had remembered from their dinner some days ago. God, it seemed rather months than days.

'Guys, I'm in place.' She heard Nikita through the piece in her ear.

'Copy that.' Michael mumbled, he shifted his weight and leaned back against the couch, not looking at Alex. Not that she was paying much attention to him either. She was very busy studying her nails.

Once again, Nikita's voice filled their ears. 'You guys are supposed to be having an affair not on the most awkward date ever.'

'Well, it is awkward. I'm on a date with my best friends boyfriend and her voice is in my head.' Alex retorted, earning a smile from Michael.

'Fiancée.' Nikita corrected. 'Now pretend you like each other. You know what, why don't we start with pretend you know each other.'

Alex saw Michael turning around to face her. She was pretty sure he could see how uncomfortable she was. It wasn't that she didn't like him or anything. It just really felt weird with Nikita's eyes on her back.

'So, I've been looking for some medication which aren't addictive but can help you with your arm.' Michael started.

'Thanks but no thanks.' She answered immediately. Michael raised his eyebrows questioningly. 'I'm probably benched now for life anyway.' She explained. 'So it's better not to use any if it's not helping me to get back in the field.' He nodded and changed the subject.

'Nikita, any sign of our guy?'

'Well, he came here for a show and you guys are giving him nothing. We need him to accomplish his mission, force him to exit.'

Michael raised his glass. 'What did you have in mind?'

'Kiss her.'

He choked on his drink while Alex couldn't help but shoot a shocked glance towards the balcony, knowing Nikita would be there somewhere.

'Are you joking?' Michael asked.

'Michael, jokes are funny. We're on a mission, okay? Be a good little spy and kiss her.'

Alex noticed the annoyed glance Michael shot upwards. She couldn't help but feel a little bit annoyed herself by Nikita's orders but she also understood why this had to be done. From the corner of her eye, she saw Michael putting down his glass and turning his body so that he was facing her completely. He put his arm around her shoulders, asking with his eyes whether it was okay. She nodded, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

They both leaned into each other before she turned away again. 'Sorry.' She laughed embarrassed. 'It's just when I felt this couldn't be more uncomfortable.'

'She takes it to a whole new level.' He finished for her with a small smile.

Before she knew it, suddenly his lips were on hers. It was just a gentle kiss, nothing special, but it felt like a hell lot more to her. His lips were softer than she had expected. She closed her eyes, deciding to let go and just go with it. Because even though it felt wrong it also felt good. It was nowhere near a mind-blowing kiss, but it was quite special in it's own way. Unfortunately, this was a mission so after a while she reluctantly pulled away. She slowly opened her eyes again to see Michael staring at her intently. If she didn't know better she would have sworn his eyes darted to her lips before landing back on her eyes again. She stared back until Nikita interrupted their little moment.

'I got him, I'm following him right now.'

'Copy that.' Maybe it was her imagination but Michaels voice seemed a little bit lower than usually. When he turned back to her, she couldn't help the blush that crept over her face.

'Ready to go?'

She nodded without looking at him and quickly followed him out of the club. Once they were outside she stopped for a moment, breathing in the cold, fresh air, hoping to clear her mind. Michael waited for her but didn't say anything. When she was ready to go, they walked over to the car and drove back to Division. During the ride, both of them kept quiet. Unfortunately it was a very uncomfortable silence, Nikita's description of her chase of their target was the only thing to be heard. Once they heard Nikita had got the guy, Alex sighed and leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes. Unwillingly, her mind wandered back to her kiss with Michael. Damn it, it was just a mission. She had kissed so many guys back in her days as a sex slave, why was this so different? He was her best friends fiancée for Gods sake!

'What are you thinking?' Michael finally broke the silence.

'Nothing.' She lied quickly.

She heard him sigh and then the car moved towards a parking lot and stopped. Reluctantly she moved away from the window to look at him.

'It doesn't look like nothing. You've been silent ever since we've come out of that club. Is it because we kissed?'

She didn't say anything but she felt the blush on her face as she looked down.

'Alex, it was a mission okay? You don't have to feel guilty or anything. Hell, Nikita was the one who suggested it.'

'I know, it just feels weird.'

'Yeah, tell me about it.' He chuckled, which broke the tension.

She smiled and put a strand of hair behind her ear. 'So we'll act like it never happened?' To be honest, she would never forget but it would be best for everyone if they could pretend nothing happened. He nodded in response.

'Deal. Now let's go home.' He said with a smile and started the car again.

'Michael!' He turned around at the sound of a very annoyed Nikita. He was preparing for their mission to take down Amanda, hopefully for good this time.

'What's going on?'

'Talk to Ryan! He won't let me go on this mission, thinking I'm too emotionally involved to do this right.' She practically yelled at him.

He quickly put down his bag and walked over to her, rubbing his hands soothingly over her arms. 'Hey, look at me. Maybe he's right. There has always been tension between you and Amanda and I know how much you want to take her down but maybe that's why you should stay here.'

'Great! So now you're on his side as well!' She said frustrated, throwing her hands in the air.

'You know there's only one side I'm one and that's yours. Always have been.' He stated simply. 'I just want what's best for you and honestly I think Ryan is right. Besides, you've chosen him as your boss, if you don't listen to him, no one else will either.'

Nikita sighed and ran a hand through her hair before leaning against his chest. 'I know, I just really want this to be over. I want that house on the beach.'

Michael smiled and rested his chin on her head. 'We'll get there eventually, but to get there we have to be careful. Which is why it is best if you stay here and help Birkhoff to save Sonya.'

She pulled back. 'What about you? You can't go after her on your own! She'll kill you!'

'Don't worry, I can ask Alex or Owen.'

'No, Owen is looking for clues to get his memory back. I think he's in the Middle-East right now. Alex is unstable because of the drugs, she can't help you either.'

'I'm sure she'll be fine.' He answered calmly.

'Michael, why do you keep protecting her? She's a drug addict.'

'And so were you, but I don't keep worrying about you having a fall-back.'

Nikita sighed. 'That's different. Alex has only thrown her pills away this morning. You can't expect her to be completely clean already.'

'I don't. I just think she needs to know that we have faith in her.'

She nodded. 'Maybe you're right. Just be careful, okay?'

He smiled. 'Always.'

She reached up and winded her arms around his neck, kissing him softly. He kissed her back, but couldn't help the thought of kissing Alex entering his mind. Quickly he pushed the thought away and focussed on the beautiful woman in his arms.

Alex was standing in the garage, making sure her gun was loaded in case she needed it to protect Sonya. She noticed Michael walking up behind her.

'I wish I could be going with you guys.' She said honestly. She knew it was important to draw out the other mole, but she felt like she could be more of use in the field. Besides, she really wanted to take down Amanda.

'As much as I want you to stay here, your wish just came true.' Michael answered.

She whirled around in surprise. 'What? I thought I was benched for life.'

'Yeah well, Ryan gave Nikita the order to stand down because she's too emotionally involved. Owen is away again, searching for clues about his past. Birkhoff will perform the operation on Sonya, which leaves you to come with me.'

'Thank you! I won't let you down, Michael. I promise.' She looked him in the eye, hoping he'd believe her.

'I know.' He answered and put a hand on her shoulder. 'Just be careful okay? You've got nothing to prove to anyone.'

She nodded and stepped away when she saw Nikita entering the room. She knew his hand on her shoulder meant nothing but after the pictures and then the kiss, she would understand if Nikita had doubts. It was better if Alex could get some distance between her and Michael. Nikita immediately walked over to Alex and pulled her into a hug.

'I know you've had a tough couple of weeks. Just be careful okay? And bring him home again.' She added the last part with a nod to Michael.

Alex smiled. 'I will. Thank you. For everything.'

Nikita nodded and winked. 'We'll talk when you get back.'

'Are you girls done?' Michael interrupted. 'Sorry, but we really have to get going.'

Both women nodded. Nikita quickly kissed him and then took a couple of steps back.

'Good luck!' She said and gave a quick wave before Michael and Alex got into the car, which would take them to the private plane.

Once they were in the plane, Alex finally allowed herself to relax. She had one hell of a day so she needed all the rest she could get. Suddenly she realised it had been an entire day since she had last taken her pills and she only felt the cravings now.

'You're okay?' Michael asked.

'Yeah, just mentally preparing the mission.' She answered easily and turned her head to look at him, pushing away the thought of the pills. 'What about you?' She realised all they had done the past couple of days was talking about her and all of her problems.

'I'm fine. I just hope this will be the end of it. I'm really looking forward to my retirement.'

Alex giggled. It sounded weird if you put it like that, but in a way Michael was right. If they would defeat Amanda, they could leave this part of their lives behind. In a way, it was their retirement. They had talked about it when she had been at his apartment for dinner, but now that they were on their way to finally get Amanda, it seemed much more real. She knew she wanted to do something for all the girls who were still sold as sex slaves when she was done with Amanda. What she didn't know was what her life would look like while doing that. Would the crew separate again? Somehow she couldn't imagine herself living alone in her own apartment without the endless bickering of Nikita and Birkhoff or Michaels reassuring, deep laugh. It was impossible to imagine her life without them, without her new family.

'Alex?'

'Sorry, I was just thinking.'

Michael smiled. 'Yeah, I got that. About what?'

'About what we will do when Amanda's gone. What will you and Nikita do?' She looked down embarrassed. She completely understood if those two wanted to get some privacy but she just didn't want to lose them

Michael sighed. 'Well, we've always talked about our house on a beach somewhere. I guess that's still on. Somewhere along the line we still have to get married and even though Nikita probably wants a small wedding, I want to make it special for her.'

She smiled. 'I'm sure she'll love it, whatever you decide.' It was silent for a while.

'So a house on the beach?' She asked slowly.

'Alex, what is it?' He sounded serious.

'It's just that I don't want to lose you guys! I just found my family and soon all of you will live your own lives and we will grow apart and suddenly we will only see each other on birthdays and stuff!' She bursted out.

'Hey, don't worry. Alex, look at me. I know how much Nikita cares about you. Do you really think she will let you out of her sight for more than a few days? Besides, no matter how hard you try, Birkhoff will always be able to find you so even if you wanted to, you'll never get rid of us.'

She smiled relieved. Deep inside she had known this of course but she hadn't been able to ignore the lingering doubt. 'Thanks.'

He returned the smile. 'No problem. Now you should get some rest. We'll be landing in one and a half hour.'

She nodded and closed her eyes, soon enough drifting away, dreaming of a huge house on the beach where they could all live happily ever after.

Michael looked out of the window and saw the lights of Quebec city beneath them. Alex was still fast asleep. He sighed and rubbed his temples. This was going to be a tough night. Despite everyone's hope of ending this tonight, he wasn't as positive. He honestly tried to be, but he knew Amanda long enough to know that the woman always had another trick. Somehow, he had the feeling this wouldn't be the end tonight. When the plane touched the ground, Alex woke up. She stretched like a cat and got up.

'You're coming?' She asked.

He nodded and followed her out of the plane towards their destination: Amanda.

Half an hour later, they were lying on the cold ground, trying to get a clear shot of Amanda in the house. Alex groaned.

'Can't get a clear shot.'

'Me neither. We'll have to get closer.'

'You can't!' Nikita's voice sounded in their ears. 'Sonya's chip is still active.'

'How long will it take to get it out?' He asked, nodding when Alex poked him to alert him of the sound of a starting engine.

'Five or six minutes.' Nikita answered.

'Damn it!' Michael got to his feet and pulled Alex along with him, running towards their car. He pushed her towards the driver's side. 'You drive!'

Alex just nodded and got in the car, probably realizing he was the better shutter. He hadn't even closed his door yet before she drove away.

'Alex, you can't get too close! Sonya's not clear yet.'

'We can't loose her! Not now.' She answered grimly.

He kept silent, watching the car in front of them intently. The next five minutes seemed like a century. Then he finally heard Nikita's voice. 'Sonya's clear. You're good to go.'

He immediately rolled down the window and started shooting at the car while Alex accelerated. When he saw something roll down towards them, it was too late already. He barely had the time to yell 'Grenade!' before the car got send flying into the air. The next thing he knew he was lying on the road with an unbearable pain going through his body. He hesitantly looked to his side and immediately closed his eyes at the sight. The car had crushed his hand. He couldn't move his hand. Panic surged through his body. Alex! Where was she? He tried to get up, but had to settle for raising his head instead.

'Michael!' Alex rushed to his side.

'My arm is stuck.' He told her, trying once again to move away from the car.

'No!' She shook her head and ran over to the car, trying with all her might to free him from it.

'Alex, look out!'

She immediately drew her gun and started shooting at the woman who had started walking towards them. Suddenly she threw her gun away again and walked towards Anne.

'Alex don't!' He yelled but she ignored him. He couldn't see anything so he started to push against the car once again. He could hear the two women fight but he couldn't do anything. He had seen the fire already so he knew he didn't have much time left. Desperately, he kept kicking at the car, hoping for some miracle. This couldn't be the end! He would not die because he was stuck beneath a damn car! He couldn't leave Nikita and Alex behind, he needed to see them one more time, he needed to hear Birkhoff bragging on about Shadownet. He needed to hear Sonya's calm voice and Ryan's tired smile. Hell, he even wanted to see Owen again! If he could only move his stupid hand! Suddenly, Alex was at his side again, shoving her full weight against the car.

'Alex, go!' He yelled at her. She didn't answer and just kept pushing the car and then tried to pull him away.

'Alex! Please, just go!'

'No, the tank will blow up soon!'

'I know, that's why I need you to go!' He said, hearing the panic in his own voice. It was bad enough that he had to die but he wouldn't let her die with him.

'No!' She yelled back angrily. 'I'm not leaving you here.'

He tried to push her away, but she stayed her ground.

'Alex, please! I love all of you! Just go and tell everyone that I love them and end this war without me!'

Tears streamed down her face but she shook her head. 'No, no.' She kept repeating herself. Suddenly she fell silent. When he looked at her, she had a strange look in her eyes.

'Alex…' He said, realization dawning on him when she looked at the knife on the ground.

She shook her head. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!' She mumbled and raised the knife in the air.

He turned his head so he could only see her eyes instead of the knife, preparing himself for the blow.

The last thing he knew was an endless sea of pain mixed with Alex' eyes, swimming with tears. Then it all went black.

I hope you liked it! Tell me what you think.