Set after 4x04 'Payoff': How the team gets to the military base and Mikita cuteness
Michael didn't think he would ever find himself sleeping in a cot on a plane again. This time, however, it was entirely for a different reason. The team was being transported to a military base. It wasn't a part of their plan. The US Marines were following their whole team apparently and when Sonya returned she led them straight to their location.
The team didn't know what was coming. Michael and Ryan, having more knowledge and experience, assumed they would have to go through some committee or interrogation process. They technically weren't being arrested so that was promising. After all, they did save the president and the country from disaster. They definitely weren't free, however, by any means. They were going to be held somewhere.
Michael couldn't fall asleep. There was too much on his mind. That wasn't the only reason he was awake, though. Sleeping on a plane like that was terrible. Military planes operated differently from normal ones so there was a lot of jolting around. He also couldn't take his guard down. There wasn't any immediate danger at the moment but that didn't mean they were safe.
The team was held in the back of the plane separate from everything. There were five cots for each of them to sleep while they travelled during the night. At least that was something. They weren't treated like total criminals. There was a commanding officer that barely explained to them what was going on and that was pretty much it. They were left alone.
Movement from the cot next to him brought Michael back. It was Nikita. He had made sure he was the one next to her. The last couple of days after the missile hit were a rollercoaster of emotions. Nikita and Michael finally sat down with each other and laid everything out. It was raw, painful and vulnerable but they got through it. They were able to start healing together and mend their relationship. The couple addressed past and current problems between them and promised each other to never push the other away and to always face things together. They couldn't repeat past mistakes. They had missed each other so much and they had a future so close ahead of them. Michael and Nikita had to fight for it.
Sadly, during all that time she had to deal with her injuries as well. Michael was constantly by her side, but there wasn't much he could do with her concussion. Her head still caused her trouble and she was often feeling very nauseous. The plane ride was probably making it worse, he guessed. Nikita's eyes were closed but Michael could see the tension and discomfort written on her face. She wasn't doing well.
"Hey" their cots were close enough for him to reach for her hand and intertwine their fingers. She squeezed his hand tight and looked at him. "Are you okay?" he whispered to not wake anyone that might be sleeping although he doubted it. He gave her a stern yet soft look. Nikita knew what it meant. He wouldn't take 'I'm fine' for an answer. She did promise him to always be completely honest and not bottle things up.
"I will vomit all over this plane" she groaned "And they will probably make that one over clean it up because they don't trust us. At least this time there would be a reason for his death stares." Even though she was feeling really sick Nikita never lost her ability to make jokes at any time. She nodded toward their guard while talking. He had been posted at the 'door' that led to the rest of the plane. When the team was brought in he looked as if he was ready to kill them right there. The team wasn't intimidated, however, they were able to joke about it. They had faced far worse things to ever worry about something like that.
Michael chuckled. The sound of his laugh and the feel of his thumb rubbing her hand gently made her smile as well. She was so happy and grateful that she had this back. Michael was her everything and she had felt so lost those last couple of months away from him. Even when they did reunite, the distance between them killed her inside. But now that was all over. Now, she could hold his hand, kiss him, laugh with him, look at him all she wanted. It brought her so much peace and joy.
Unfortunately, a jolt from the plane ruined her dreamy moment. She closed her eyes tightly trying not to be sick. Her head was also starting to hurt from the lack of sleep. Nikita was really struggling. She could usually endure all sorts of physical pain with no problem but she really hated feeling nauseous.
Michael hated this. If he could he would have taken away all the pain and discomfort from her in an instant. He had to think of something to do. And he did know what to do. He should have followed his natural instinct from the start when he first sensed her discomfort.
"Come here" he sat up and pulled her in his arms. She was confused at first, the headache was really making it hard to think. He wrapped her in his arms and they laid down together in his cot. She instantly curled against him. He unfolded the blanket that was at the end of the cot and wrapped her up to keep her warm.
He rubbed her back, played with her hair, caressed her face and laid loving kisses on her forehead and temple. Nikita beamed. They hadn't had a moment like that in so long. She remembered nights where she would have lots of anxiety and he would do the same thing. Back in their specious bed in their little home. Their fists home. Those memories felt like a lifetime ago.
Michael held her tight against him so she wouldn't feel the jolts of the plane as much. He tried to distract and ease her with his touches. It seemed to work. She was even returning his love. They didn't say anything for a long time. They were happy to just gaze into each other's eyes and cuddle. It expressed everything they needed to know.
"When did you start sleeping without a blanket?" Nikita chuckled. She had noticed the fact while they operated from their plane. She often tossed and turned in her bed and without meaning to, her eyes always searched for Michael. He never faced her direction so she had to settle for watching his back. That was actually better for her then. She could tell when he was awake because he couldn't sleep either. She could gaze at him without disturbing him. That is when she noticed that he never had a blanket on him. After they had their conversations he did join her in bed and she had forgotten about her observation from earlier. She always had the covers on her so when they curled into each other, he was tucked in as well.
"How do you know that?" Michael raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect that. Yes, right now he had her wrapped up in his blanket (that had been on the side). That was because she wasn't feeling well and he had her warmth. However, she was asking about this in general. He really had stopped sleeping with something on him the last couple of months. He just couldn't comprehend how she would know that.
Nikita broke eye contact and smiled shyly. "I might have been a creep and watched you sleep almost every night" Michael barely contained his laughter. Nikita shushed him because he was going to wake up everyone. He pulled her closer and kissed her hard. That caught Nikita off guard. A, because they weren't alone and Michael would have never made out with her if there was someone around. And B, right till that moment they had only shared small, innocent kisses avoiding their lips.
When they pulled away he had his own revelation "We are such fools" he chucked against her lips and stole another kiss. If only they had talked sooner. Both had clearly longed for each other in those moments. "You might have not been the only creep on the plane" Nikita's mouth fell open. "Wait, really?"
"Is it that shocking?" She had done it as well. Michael didn't understand why she was surprised.
"I didn't think you could look at me then without feeling hurt." That was what Nikita was shocked about. Her love for him never faded but she couldn't be sure about his love for her. She had left him and broke his heart. She understood why he kept his distance from her when they did reunite. Michael's smile fell. He had to let her know how much he cared for her no matter what.
"Was I hurting? Yes. Were you? Yes." he cradled her cheek and gazed into those golden-brown eyes with all the love he had for her "Did we love each other despite everything still? Yes." This time she was the one to passionately kiss him. He kissed her back just as eagerly. They had to control themselves, though. Their friends had endured enough of them being all over each other.
"You still haven't answered my question?" Nikita circled back to what started all of this. Michael chased after her for another kiss before answering. "It's just a weird association thing my brain made" he wanted to stop there but Nikita encouraged him to share more.
"It was weird not having you with me at night. I couldn't sleep. So I would just pretend as if I was taking a nap. No covers meant not actually going to bed. Which eased the fact that I was sleeping without you by my side" He didn't want to make her sad. They were together now and that was all that mattered.
She reached for her blanket on her cot and pulled it over him. "We are together now and no one could ever rip me away from you ever again" He brushed his forehead against hers and held her as close as possible. Whatever was coming their way they were going to get through it. They were in each other's arms again more devoted than ever.
They didn't sleep at all despite Nikita's efforts to make at least Michael drift off. He wanted to keep talking to her, making her laugh, kissing her. He could tell that it was helping her a lot. She didn't look like she was going to be sick anymore. Nikita was loving every second of it. He could always make her feel better.
On the other side of the 'room' were Birkhoff and Sonya's cots. Sonya was sleeping soundly. Birkhoff had succeeded in calming her down. She felt really bad for not realising she was being followed which led them to this situation. The team reassured her that it was absolutely not her fault. It was bound to happen. They did have to come forward at some point.
Birkhoff woke up from his friends' shenanigans. He turned to his side and wasn't surprised to see the two in one bed practically on top of each other. He would have made a quip about it or shushed them in normal circumstances, but he couldn't help the smile that crept upon his face.
He was so happy that those two crazies found each other again. He had to watch Michael (his best friend) suffer for so long without the ability to do anything. It got worse when Nikita came back. Birkhoff could see the looks they would throw at each other when the other wasn't looking. And yet they did nothing. A building had to be blown up to bring them together. It was in true Nikita and Michael style actually.
This was the last time, however. He could see the evident change in their dynamic in the past couple of days. He hoped it stayed like that. They were truly made for each other.
As happy as he was for them, though, he was not about to stick around for their make-out session. He was going to let it slide this time and not say anything, but he had to remind them somehow they weren't alone. He turned towards Sonya and huffed loudly.
The couple did hear him and got the message. Michael started laughing again. Nikita couldn't believe him. "Shh, love. There won't be another warning from him" she covered his mouth with her hand. He only kissed it away. It had been a long time since she last called him 'love' or any other term of endearment. That made him smile even brighter. The fact that it probably just slipped away meant they were on the right track. They had each other again and their relationship was going to be stronger than ever.
"We have to be quiet or I'm returning to my bed" She had no intentions of ever doing that but she thought the threat might work to settle him down. She loved being like that with him and she usually didn't care whether there were people around. That, however, was because he was the one that always did. Michael was always the one that had to settle her down rather than the other way around.
"I want to see you try" he husked over her lips. throwing her a daring look. She wasn't going to back down, of course. She tried pulling away but his hold was way too strong. Nikita tried to distract him, push him, tickle him. Nothing work. She could barely move. He smirked the whole time watching her try. He was holding her like his life depended on it and he wasn't going to let go.
She gave up and pouted her lips. He won this one. She didn't lose anything, though. Being in his arms was all she ever wanted. Michael, however, wanted to tease her as well. He loosened his hold, untangled his limbs from her and pulled away "Okay, if you want to leave that much" he was trying so hard not to laugh. The look on her face was priceless.
Nikita quickly pulled him back, whining "No, no come back. I didn't mean it" This time she was to one holding him tight and kissing him all over. He gave in instantly and they were back in their embrace from earlier. "Okay, shh quiet time" he whispered over her face. They should really let the others sleep at least.
The thing about quiet time, though, was that they could truly get lost in each other. Their eyes locked, his hands caressed her body gently, she rubbed his scruffy cheeks enjoying the tickle on her fingertips. They sneaked in an occasional kiss whenever they could. Michael and Nikita were truly in their own little world. The best one they had ever known.
Thank you for reading! In the show, they never addressed how the team got to the military base. The house at the end of 4x04 might have not even been a safe house, but I made it like that to fit the story. I read a comment somewhere that Sonya might have led the Marines to the team's location so I used it. Let me know your thoughts xx