Set sometime in season 3. Sean and Alex have a sweet early morning.

"Люблю…"

Nikita had once told Sean that if Alex was talking in her sleep, then she was well and truly out of it. She was completely dead to the world the second unconscious words tumbled passed her lips. Although Sean believed Nikita, he had only heard Alex talking in her sleep once. And even then, she quietly muttered and woke up soon after because she was cold. He hadn't witnessed the phenomenon Nikita had talked about until that morning. He woke as the sun rose to his girlfriend sleepily talking in Russian and smiling like a lovestruck idiot.

Usually, anything that disturbed his sleep made him grumpy- especially his alarm. But Alex happily babbling in her sleep made Sean grin. He couldn't be upset with her. She must've been having an amazing dream. After all, it made him smile dreamily as well.

"Я люблю… тебя…" Alex continued to mumble, the words broken up by little giggles. Honestly, her laughing in her sleep could be considered a little creepy. But she was just so adorable. She was relaxed and happy. Sean wanted to revel in it with her; though, he shouldn't wake her. He should just stare lovingly as she sighed, "Sean…"

The dreamy way she said his name combined with her sleepy giggles made him take out his phone and look up what she was saying. Sean had only the vaguest idea of how the Cyrillic alphabet worked, however, so he just typed in the sounds he heard. It took some digging around, but eventually he discovered what Alex was saying. He beamed, "Love you too, Alex."

Although the soft words didn't wake his girlfriend, Sean put his phone away and curled closer to her. She was so warm and serene, he couldn't help but lightly skim his fingers along her skin. She continued to mutter- her loving phrases soon sounding like nonsense- as he just caressed her. His fingers often drifted to her tattoos and scars they could reach. He was mesmerized by the permanent lines of her life. She had struggled and fought, but she always survived- always lived. It was remarkable. She was remarkable. Sean was lucky she had let him into her life. He could constantly be in awe of her strength and beauty.

So wrapped up in her, Sean didn't realize Alex stopped sleep-talking. He simply kept tenderly caressing her skin or gently playing with her hair, drinking all of her in. He thought he could spend forever doing that. Yet forever didn't last long. Soon, Alex's muscles tensed. Her beautiful blue eyes slowly peeled open, taking a second to adjust to the light. Sean instantly smiled at her. Once she registered his expression and where she was, she grinned sleepily. She stretched and collapsed into his side, "Morning."

"Morning. Surprised you can speak English this early," Wrapping his arms around her, Sean teased. From what he had gathered, Alex always spoke Russian in her sleep. But some mornings, she woke up so groggy she couldn't switch to English right away. Sean had suspected that to happen. Except, she must've had a more peaceful sleep than he had thought. Her dream probably had a hand in it.

"I'm smart," Alex mumbled, continuing to blink slowly. She didn't have the energy to keep her eyes open. She'd rather be half-asleep in her boyfriend's warmth than look at her surroundings. She could spend a couple minutes dozing. Her alarm hadn't gone off yet, after all.

"There's no doubt about that," Sean continued to chuckle. He couldn't help it. He loved those soft moments with Alex. There was no need for fake personalities to face the press, or badass strength and hardness to take down an enemy. The couple could simply be as silly and soft as they really were.

Alex didn't respond to the comment. She just burrowed into his side and hummed. Sean smiled. His fingers resumed tracing her skin, that time more focused on her back. He always loved tracing her butterfly tattoo. It was his favorite of hers. Yet that morning, his fingers kept going over the scar on her shoulder. The wound had healed greatly; there was hardly any evidence of it. He could still feel the exit wound of the bullet, however. He could still vividly remember what had happened.

Able to feel the sudden tenseness of Sean's muscles, Alex pulled away and looked at him concerned. He grinned as though it was nothing, but his fingers digging into her scar said otherwise. She shifted to see him better, gauge his serious expression, "What are you doing?"

"Your scar healed nicely," Sean admitted. The two were having a great morning. He shouldn't ruin it with morose thoughts from when she was shot. Grinning softly, Alex placed a sweet kiss on his lips. She was there. It was alright.

"Yours didn't," Sighing, Alex's fingers ran along the jagged scar on Sean's abdomen. Unlike her, he hadn't received the best medical care for his gunshot wound. Nikita did her best, but it wasn't like Division's medical skills. Yes, Sean was saved. Yet not without a nasty scar that continued to be stiff and harsh at times. Alex's gunshot wound was nothing compared to his. He didn't need to be worried about her.

"I've had worse," Sean shrugged it off. He had worse scars decorating his skin. And he had had worse injuries that kept him out of the field. A gunshot wound was nothing to him. Well, as long as he was the one being shot.

"Yeah. I know," Alex's fingers found the other scars peppered across Sean's muscular torso. A lot looked as though they came from an explosion. She hated the idea of that. She knew he was a Navy Seal, and she knew he had been on dangerous operations before Division. Except, she didn't like him facing constant near death experiences. It felt as though they had just found each other. She didn't want to lose him.

That was not how Sean wanted their morning to go. He wanted warmth and bliss, not pain and sorrow. That was just their lives, though. It was a strange mix of great joys and deep sorrows. They might as well learn to live with both facts, revel in the highs and lows together, "You can ask about them."

"Really?" Snapping out of her doze, Alex stopped tracing Sean's scars and sat upright. She had definitely not expected him to open up about past injuries. It was just something the team never did. They kept everything so buried- something Alex had learned when she lived with Nikita for a year, "Nikita never liked me asking about hers."

"Well, hers came from abuse, so that's understandable. Mine are just from war. And being an idiot," A lot of the information Sean had on Nikita's past came secondhand from the files he had read. But even then, he understood why she wouldn't talk about old scars. He was different, though. Although there was some darkness in his past, he wasn't afraid of it. He knew he was in a better place, especially since Alex was by his side.

"You can ask about mine. I'll talk about some of them," Alex shrugged shyly. It was only fair that she be open with Sean. However, there were still some things she wasn't ready to talk about. The memories just hurt too much.

"I won't force the ones you don't want to," Sitting up as well, Sean took Alex's hand in his and squeezed reassuringly. He was well aware of her slow process when it came to being open and vulnerable. Yet he'd be with her every small step of the way. He wouldn't rush her. After all, she always wound up in his arms eventually.

Instead of someone pointing out a scar and asking the story behind it, Sean and Alex offered the stories themselves. There was no need to pry; they were giving themselves up willingly. Sean started with the scars on his torso that Alex had grown so serious over. They were in fact from an explosion- an IED. It was by far the worst injury he had sustained. But he survived. And he was stronger than ever. There was no use fretting over it anymore.

The rest of their stories ranged from serious injuries from their wars, to silly tales from their childhood. Alex had a lot of little scars on her hands from forest survival with her father, and Sean had a weird looking one from falling while stupidly trying to do an ice skating trick. Their laughter about childhood accidents was sporadically replaced with somber silence when a more serious injury was discussed. Alex comforted Sean as he shared about a scar we received when his Seal partner was captured. And in return, he helped her talk about a rough Division mission. The two were there for their highs and lows. It was a comforting feeling.

Though, eventually, Sean and Alex just swapped goofy stories of their stupidest scars. He had a nasty one on his knee just from bumping it against the corner of his bed. And she had one on her chin from falling on the sidewalk. Nikita was with her for that one. They were walking to a tattoo parlor when some bike messengers clipped them. Although both women slammed into the ground, only Alex was permanently damaged, "Nikita's cut only became a scratch, which is so not fair. Cause now she fake pushes me in front of a biker when we see one."

"Asshole," Sean chuckled. Alex burst into laughter. As she collapsed in her giggles, he caught a glimpse of her butterfly tattoo. That must've been the tattoo she had gone to the parlor to get. Her others didn't seem as professionally done as that one. He wondered what had made her get the butterfly while she trained with Nikita for a year. No doubt the story behind it was deeply meaningful, "So you got this with Nikita?"

Taking his hand that traced her tattoo in hers, Alex focused on their interlocked fingers. She debated with herself about how much she wanted to share of her butterfly. Sean deserved to know everything about her. However, she was terrified of the sympathetic look he would give her. She didn't want him to pity her, or look at her any differently. He already gazed at her like she controlled the stars. But if he found out about everything that happened in the brothels, that might change. She never wanted it to change. So, she held back, "Nikita just brought me to the place. I always wanted to have a butterfly tattoo. I was just finally sober enough to get one."

"Why a butterfly?" Gently, Sean asked. He wouldn't mention her sobriety; the fact that Alex had even mentioned it was a feat unto itself. However, he wanted to keep scaling those petrified walls of hers. He wanted to know everything about her that he could.

"It's a new life," Alex gave simply. Sean appeared satisfied with the answer for the moment. Yet she knew it wasn't enough. Butterflies were so much more to her. She just couldn't open her mouth. She couldn't mention the brothels in front of him and have his loving expression morph into horror. So, like a coward, she changed the subject, poking at his own tattoos, "Any stories behind yours?"

"I'm in the Navy, and I'm basic," Sheepishly, Sean laughed. He only had his service tattoos to commemorate his team and the Seals. There was no deeper meaning behind them like Alex's. Besides, she was the one with the more powerful past.

Giggling with him, Alex ignored the look he was giving her. There he went again, deeming her more worthy than him. She wished she could've told him to knock it off. Yet their moment was quickly interrupted by her alarm chirping. Both sighed as he reached to turn it off. They had to finally get out of bed. They had to get ready and see what fresh hells were awaiting them in Division. Neither wanted to just yet. Sean and Alex wanted to stay cozy and warm together for a little while longer. However, her phone began to ring too. When she saw who it was, she scoffed good-naturedly, "Hey, asshole."

"Bitch, get in Division," Humor laced Nikita's voice. Whatever stressful situation she was calling about was lifted from her shoulders by her best friend's joke. Alex smiled proudly. That was at least one crisis averted.

"Want me to bring in breakfast?" Before Nikita could end the call, Alex asked. No doubt everyone would be stressed and tired over being called into Division too early. They shouldn't be hungry as well. The whole team should have a bright start to their day.

"Yes, please," Nikita agreed gratefully. They stayed on the line a minute longer to settle on a restaurant to order from. It shouldn't be anything too heavy, considering the missions they might rush into. But a light, healthy, and energetic breakfast would be perfect. Nikita decided she'd collect all the orders while Alex placed it and picked it up. That was reasonable to the young woman. It had been her idea, after all.

Once breakfast was dealt with, Alex dropped her phone on the bed and collapsed. She needed to get up and start her day. But she wanted to keep lying next to her boyfriend for just a second- just a minute, "Duty calls."

"I thought it was Nikita," Sean smirked. When Alex gave him an incredulous look for his quip, he couldn't help but laugh. She rolled her eyes and smacked him gently with a pillow. He just laughed harder.

"Idiot," Jumping out of bed, Alex threw the taunt over her shoulder. Sean didn't take the joke lying down. He chased her into the shower, where their laughter reverberated off the walls.