Set sometime after 1x18: Alex finds out about Michael and Nikita. I already have a chapter on this but this second version of it couldn't leave my head.

Phone Call:

M: Hey.

N: Hey, is everything okay?

M: Yeah yeah I'm done for the day so I came over but didn't find you.

N: Oh, okay. I'm just finishing up a deal and I will be on my way shortly, but I'm like 2 hours away so you will have to wait for quite a while.

M: That's alright don't rush because of me I should have called.

N: No it's fine I just don't want you to have to sit and …wait actually I do have something that you could help me with.

M: Whatever you need.

N: Alex mentioned a possible op she was up for. I tried to piece it together but I don't have much. Everything is on the computer and I would love your input.

M: Okay. I'll get you everything by the time you're here.

N: Thank you. Gotta go.

M; See you soon bye.

Nikita hung up and just stared at her phone for a moment with a grin. She was still getting used to the idea of being in a relationship again. Let alone a relationship with Michael. That day had been one of his first full days back in Division since they got together (and since they spent a few days all over each other) and he was already back in her loft. He had probably not even stopped by his apartment.

It made Nikita feel this warmth and excitement on the inside. Some might call it butterflies. It made her giddy and she couldn't wait to get home. How was she supposed to act all tough now in front of this arms dealer. She chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes. The things Michael did to her.

Michael took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He had an idea of what possible mission Nikita might have been talking about. It was in the very early stages of preparation still so Michael gathered everything he knew and could find for Nikita. He was working on it for a good hour or so when he heard the front door being unlocked. It startled him a bit. Nikita had a tendency to speed but not that much to be able to cut her drive by an hour. He was writing something down and was about to turn around and greet his girl when he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being pulled out.

"Stay right there!" Alex spat out, aiming the gun at him. She was trembling with so much fear, panic and anger. She had come to talk to Nikita and seek some sort of comfort over her growing anxiety about Amanda. Instead, she found her handler (a Division agent and Percy's right-hand man) and her mentor was nowhere in sight. So many thoughts started running through her head. She had to find Nikita and make sure she was okay.

"Alex" Michael was screwed. Nikita had not yet told Alex about the new development in their relationship. She did however mention that Alex was going to have a hard time with it because of how close they were and the fact that she did not trust easily.

"Shut up and show me your hands!" She ordered. Alex was very confused and couldn't think straight. She was surprised at how well she was holding it together on the outside. She couldn't figure out how Michael was there and what he was doing on the computer. Why was he alone and what did he do to Nikita? Those questions were getting louder and louder in her head.

Michael complied. Alex was across the room so he didn't really have another option. Even if he was able to reach for his gun he wouldn't hurt her. His only hope was to wait and sit tight. This was the first time he hoped Nikita was speeding right now. "Alex, I can explain. If you only give me a chance I -'' Michael didn't have time to finish his sentence. A huge jolt went through his body and shook him and all of sudden everything was black.

Alex was able to get her hands on a taser gun and used it. She didn't have strong chances of fighting with Michael so she had to figure something else out. She couldn't shoot him either. She had to get information out of him. Luckily Nikita had all sorts of weapons hidden throughout the loft.

Michael fell to the ground unconscious. Alex took a few big breaths to calm down and sprung to action. She pulled Michael up to a chair and tied him up with whatever she could find including some random handcuffs she found, some chains and used duct tape for the rest. Once she made sure he wouldn't be able to get away she woke him up.

It took Michael a minute to focus and try to remember what happened. Alex was very nice to help him up with that and splashed a glass of water in his face. "Okay okay I'm awake" Michael coughed and tried to adjust. This whole thing took a very unexpected turn. He had to get a hold of the situation.

"Where is she? What did you do to her, huh?" Alex yelled and pulled at his collar. She had to find Nikita and they had to run. If Michael had found them there was a good chance Division was on their way probably. She couldn't leave without her best friend though. Never would she leave without her.

"Nothing I swear if you just listen -" Michael tried to explain again but Alex wasn't having it. "Where is she?! I won't ask again!" This time Alex pulled her gun out again and aimed it at his head. It truly hit Michael then that Nikita wasn't joking. Alex was ready to kill, torture and do whatever just to make sure Nikita was safe and okay.

"I don't know where she is but she knows I'm here. Call her and she'll tell you" Michael blurred out. He had to deescalate the situation. Nikita might come back a little too late to save him judging by the young agent's behaviour.

Alex stepped back confused. "What do you mean she knows you are here? How do you even know about this place?"

"The same way you do" Michael replied and tried to keep his tone calm and collected. He could see the wheels in her head turning. She was starting to listen.

Alex really didn't know what to think of his answer. What did that mean? Did he know that she is Nikita's mole and if he did that meant that he was implying that…no, no he had to be bluffing. And what if her calling Nikita resulted in Division finding where she is? What if she wasn't captured and Michael was just waiting for her here. So many 'what ifs'.

Alex moved to a corner of the room and opened a panel. She checked the jamming device Nikita had shown her that interfered with her tracker. It did not only work as a jamming device though. It could also detect different signals around. Alex had to make sure that when she called Nikita it wouldn't be traced. Only two trackers were showing and Alex did check Michael for bugs before she woke him up so it was safe for now.

Unfortunately for Michael, Nikita wasn't picking up. That got Alex even more worried. She slapped Michael and was more determined than ever "She always picks up when I call. How does that fit your little story?"

"You've got one hell of a right hand right there, Jesus' ' Michael should probably restrain from a comment like that but it took him by surprise. Nikita definitely trained Alex that was for sure.

"If you don't start talking I will-" Alex was interrupted before she could make her next threat by someone entering the room and gasping.

"Oh my god…" Nikita froze in place at the sight in front of her. Michael, her boyfriend, was tied up with a bunch of chains to a chair all wet with a bruise forming on his cheek. Almost on top of him was Alex, her best friend, with a gun pointed at his head.

As soon as Alex saw Nikita she ran to her. "Are you okay? We have to go. I don't know how much time we have."

"Alex, hey, hey calm down. Breathe. I'm okay. This is my fault.." How could she have been so stupid? She should have seen this coming and not let Michael be in the loft without her. Alex called most times when she was coming over but she still could have prevented this.

"What?" Alex thought she must have heard her wrong. She didn't understand what her mentor was talking about.

Nikita was being pulled apart in two directions. She had to explain to Alex immediately what was going on but she also wanted to rush to Michael's side to see if he was okay. At least there wasn't any visible blood or wound on him except for the bruise on his cheek.

Michael saw her looking over him so he mouthed that he was okay and nodded toward Alex. Nikita appreciated that and turned all her attention to Alex. She pulled the young woman to one corner of the room and made her sit down. She pulled another chair for herself to sit right in front of her and started.

"Look, Alex, I should have told you this sooner and I'm so sorry this scared you…"

"What is it?" Alex couldn't be patient at this moment.

"Remember when last week I went to Russia for something? Well... that something had to do with Michael and long story short he is on our side now." That was a very brief and broad explanation but Alex needed it. They can talk more about it later.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Alex exclaimed and quickly got to her feet. There was no way Michael was on their side. Alex was convinced it was a trap and Nikita just didn't see it.

"I know it sounds crazy, please..please just trust me" Nikita pleaded. She had so much more to tell her but she needed Alex to listen first.

"Nikita.." she plopped down on the chair with a sigh. "Why would he be on our side? Think about it. They are using him to get to you. It's a trap"

"It's not. And I know that because I know him and I know what led to him changing his mind. He opened his eyes and he is as determined as us to take Percy down" Nikita was also yet to mention that they were in a relationship. That would have really been a shock to her best friend's system.

"But still…" Alex wasn't convinced. It was understandable but Nikita really needed her to trust her. She couldn't have another situation like this happening in the future. "He and I are also together"

"Huh?" Alex's voice rang through the whole space. "What do you mean together?"

"Like in a relationship" Nikita locked her eyes with Alex's and hoped the sincerity of that fact was shown.

"Since when?" Alex just blurted out the first question she could come up with. She didn't know what to think anymore.

"It's a long story. You did ask me about it once and I didn't answer, remember?"

"Yeah but I thought... I don't know... not that" She had her suspicions in the back of her mind but she always thought she was being ridiculous and making things up. She saw it in her dream but that still didn't make it real.

"We weren't together in Division in any way but there were feelings involved. We have resolved everything now and I hope the three of us could discuss things without guns involved" Nikita wished for that more than anything.

Alex sighed and slumped in the chair more. "And you trust him? Like completely?"

"With my life" Nikita answered without hesitation.

" Really? Because a week ago he was still hunting you down and he is still leading a team assigned to capture and kill you" Alex couldn't comprehend how she could say that.

"And has he done any of those things? No. Even though he is perfectly capable of it." She had to make Alex believe her. It was understandable why it seemed out of nowhere for Alex. Nikita had kept that part of her Division time hidden. And she also never discussed her run-ins with Michael.

The young woman let those words sink in. Michael hadn't hurt Nikita as far as she knew. Every time he was very close to capturing her Nikita somehow slipped away. In fact, the one time she was caught by Division was because she tried to save her.

Nikita saw that this had an impact on Alex and continued in that direction to clear things up. Eventually, her best friend calmed down and trusted her judgement more.

"So I went kill mode on your… boyfriend?" It just hit Alex that she would have to deal with that now. It honestly felt like she was still in the dream Amanda had put her in. The idea of Nikita having a boyfriend now was weird. It had been only the two of them for so long and she also knew about Daniel. If Nikita really dived into a relationship with someone it must be serious then. At the same time, that boyfriend was Michael though. Her handler, head of operations of Division and the lead agent on the team assigned to kill Nikita.

"I did warn him. He'll be fine with it. Although I'm sure he will appreciate us freeing him right now" Nikita's words got Alex out of her thoughts. She looked over at Michael patiently waiting tied on that chair. She should have probably felt more bad about what she did to him but the shock outweighed any other feelings.

"Yeah okay. I'm sorry" Alex felt like she should at least apologise to Nikita about it. "Hey, no. It's my fault. I did train you to do all of this. Karma really is a bitch I guess." Nikita joked to lighten the mood. Of course, she wouldn't be mad at Alex. Nikita would also go ballistic if she thought someone had harmed her.

Both girls stood and walked over to Michael. Alex kept her distance and went over to the vanity while Nikita was by Michael's side in no time.

"Hi" He grinned sweetly at her and really wished he could wrap his arms around her to calm her down. He was okay and she didn't need to worry.

"Hey" Nikita leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Are you okay?" He nodded and turned to kiss the hand that was caressing his cheek. That made her smile and he was very pleased.

She leaned down to untie him and the smile quickly disappeared from her face. "Alex, from where did you take these?" Nikita very rarely used chains if she had to tie someone. Handcuffs yes but no more. She did have some chains on hand that helped with some wild improvisations but they were kept in a closet. She didn't think Alex knew about them. That concerned her. She did have a trunk in the corner of the room that had a bunch of random shit including stuff like that. If Alex had taken the chains from there Michael was going to be locked up for a while.

"The trunk. Why?" Alex had used whatever she could find in there. She wasn't thinking that she would have to free Michael. "Shit" Nikita cursed under her breath.

"Why what's the problem?" Micheal tried to catch Nikita's eyes for an answer but his movements were restricted. "Well I can get you out of these handcuffs but I would have to pick the locks on the chains and these locks are a nightmare" She explained.

"The keys should be somewhere around here, right?" Alex asked her mentor. She could go look and try to find them. "I have no idea. If they are not upstairs then they aren't here" With that Alex headed upstairs to try and find them. Some time alone to think would do her good as well.

Nikita had the keys to the handcuffs so she hurried and took them off. She stepped back to get her tools for the locks but Michael managed to reach for her hand and pull her back. "Hey, come here"

She happily did and instantly wrapped her arms around his neck. His looped around her waist while he softly asked "Are you okay?" Yes, he might have been the one tied up and 'tortured' but he sensed her anxiety. This wasn't the way she wanted to tell Alex and bring all of them together as a team.

She let out a big breath and chuckled "It could have gone worse but I also didn't want it to happen like that" She was more upset with herself than anything because she felt like she let Alex down by blindsiding her and also got Michael hurt.

"I know but don't beat yourself up over it. It's not worth it. It's going to be okay" Nikita couldn't help but smile at him. She just couldn't understand how someone could read her like a book and also know how to comfort her. She was supposed to be the one taking care of him at that moment but he put her first and wouldn't let her move away before she felt better."I am supposed to be the one comforting you, you know?" She chuckled and cradled his face.

"You are already doing that although I won't mind a kiss" Michael grinned at her and was rewarded with a sweet kiss. It felt way too short for him though so he whined for another one "One more"

She giggled and granted him one more. After breaking their kiss she brushed her lips on his red cheek and it took a lot of will to pull away from him but she had to start working on those locks.

"No keys here" Alex yelled from upstairs. Nikita knew she wouldn't find anything but it didn't hurt to go check just in case. She started with the locks hoping it wouldn't take as long and that Michael would be able to slip out of the rest of the chains.

Alex joined the couple downstairs and sat on a chair near them. It was silent for a while but eventually, they started talking. Nikita and Michael answered some of Alex's questions and cleared things up. The young agent felt more at ease and started accepting the fact that Michael was going to be a part of their team. Thinking about it actually, it was going to be nice having someone in Division who didn't feel like an enemy.

Nikita was able to free Michael fairly quickly despite the locks really being difficult to work with. They continued talking throughout the evening and Michael and Alex were starting to get to know each other better on another level. It was definitely a good start. By the end of the evening, Nikita felt so much better about everything. It was really going to be okay. She had the two most amazing people in the world by her side so she was ready to conquer it all.

Let me know your thoughts on this version. It might be a little bit too much but I thought it would make for great jokes between them down the line. I'm sorry the last updates haven't been as regular. I've been dealing with lots of anxiety the last few months and it has affected my motivation and drive to write. I'm slowly getting back to it. It's what makes me happy and I love sharing these little stories with you and reading your responses so thank you xx