"It's something to think about. Kids and the life after this," Sean sat next to Nikita, startling her out of her thoughts. They were crashing at some sort of abandoned warehouse while Birkhoff was on the search for a new safehouse. As the siblings were going through their supplies and what they had to acquire, Michael was digging around on the computer. His emotions continued to be ragged after discovering Max was his son. Nikita did her best to comfort him, but they were rushing into unknown territory. What could any of them really do.

They could focus on attacking Division. That was as good a first step as any. They could also finally talk to Sean. Well, more Nikita than Birkhoff and Michael. The men got along fine, even beginning to joke around from time to time. The siblings simply had to work on their relationship. At least they were talking. The two told each other about themselves and what they had been doing for the past ten years. They didn't mention their family, though. They didn't think they could. It hurt too much. Nikita usually deflected the conversation off of her thoughts and feelings, like she did at the moment, "You think about kids?"

"Yeah. You don't?" Sean said it so nonchalantly. Maybe because it was easier for him. He had always seen kids as part of his future. It made sense to him. He held family in high regard, of course he was going to have one of his own some day. Nikita, on the other hand, was fairly certain she had only thought about kids twice. Once, for a brief moment, with Daniel (someone she still hadn't told her brother about). And once again, for an even longer moment, with Michael. Having kids wasn't a big deal to her. If it happened, it happened. Yet for Michael and Sean, it seemed immensely important.

"No. I'm surprised you have the time," Shrugging, Nikita kept the attention on Sean and his insane Seal life. She wasn't willing to dive into all of that. Her brother could; she'd just sit back and listen. One day, talking wouldn't be so hard for her. She'd be able to say everything she was thinking and feeling. She knew practice made perfect, but why not practice on other subjects. Kids, family, and a future she wasn't sure she'd live to could stay trapped in her throat.

Sean, however, stuttered. He turned his hazel eyes away from Nikita, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She bit her lip from making a comment on it. She was sure he'd open up to her in a second; she couldn't push him. She also didn't want to. A bad feeling crept in her stomach that he was about to tell her something hurtful. Not intentionally, but it was going to sting nonetheless, "Oh. Well… Jill has a son. His name's Riley- he's three. And uh… she's got another on the way."

"Oh. I didn't know. She's married?" Nikita swallowed. She had expected her siblings to continue living their lives. They'd mourn her, but they'd continue living their normal lives. Hell, she wanted that for them. Her siblings deserved to be happy. Knowing she wasn't a part of that, though, was painful. She should've deserved to be happy with them. Instead, she was constantly fighting for her life and for everyone she cared about.

"Remember Conner? They started dating before… They're married," Sean couldn't bring himself to mention Nikita's death. After a decade, he still couldn't. It was easier to let the sentence drop and move on. He'd remind his sister about Jill's boyfriend from college turned husband; that was simple, and it let Nikita nod along. The siblings were probably hurting themselves more by not talking about the difficult things. Yet they couldn't make themselves do it. Not at the moment. Not when they were reeling from a Division plant pretending to be Nikita's birth mom, while her adopted mom was trying to bring her down.

"Good. I liked him," She was able to make a comment about that. She had met Conner before everything went to hell. Jill really liked him, which made everyone like him as well. Nikita was glad that he stuck around through all the craziness. He was a good guy. She already knew Sean wasn't in a relationship; he had been too busy with the Navy and Oversight. But she wondered about Sandy. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. She had to know how her family was. The pain didn't matter, "What about Sandy?"

"Not married. But she and her girlfriend are really close," Sean admitted. A satisfied smile overcame Nikita as she muttered an 'I knew it'. The siblings collapsed in laughter. It wasn't all lost. If they could find the light amidst all of that darkness, they were going to be alright. That hope was something to hold onto.

"They become lawyers?" Nikita asked for more. Talking about her sisters wasn't as difficult as she had thought. Over the decade, she had trained herself not to care about her adopted mother. She had abandoned her to Percy and Division; Madeline didn't get to be in her heart. But Nikita couldn't stop loving her siblings and her dad. She got Sean back. Despite them living without her, she could get her sisters back as well. She'd have a new family, made up of siblings and her ragtag team. It'd be messy, but it'd also be perfect.

"Yeah. Took a year off after… but yeah. They're pretty good at it," He skipped over the mention of her death again. But he still managed to brag about Jill and Sandy. His sisters had accomplished great feats- that included Nikita. She was so brave and strong, fighting against the world. She also made such strong bonds with her friends and boyfriend. Sean had always looked up to her (not that he would ever give her the satisfaction of knowing that). He could only wish to be like her.

"Cool. You're not playing for the NFL, though," Nikita teased. At fifteen, that was his only focus; it was football or nothing. She couldn't really blame him, though. When she was a teenager, she mostly tried to prove herself a rebel who was too cool for anything. It was funny how quickly things could change. One instant they were taunting each other in their beat up old car on the way to school, the next they were growing up way too fast without one another.

The siblings both forced that thought away. Sean and Nikita could continue teasing each other, like old times. There was no need for them to be dragged down by the past anymore. They kept claiming there was a future ahead of them. Might as well actually start believing that. So Sean brought up Nikita's old joke from when they were kids, putting a new spin on it, "And you're not a doctor. But you did become your backup. You're a menace to society."

"Can't believe Madeline actually helped with that one," She was still kidding. Nikita's sarcasm had definitely grown more powerful after spending time with Michael, Birkhoff, and Alex. She could also rapidly come up with a biting remark after experiencing Amanda and Percy. Sean, however, hadn't quite picked up on all of her jokes. He thought she was being serious, back to her lividity of the situation. Moving closer to her, he tried to comfort her.

"She said she was trying to protect you," Sean was hesitant to bring up his conversation with their mother. Although Nikita might have been fine talking about themselves and their sisters, she hadn't mentioned their parents at all. He had half expected her to ask about their dad's death, but she kept avoiding it. In her defense, she wasn't able to heal like the rest of them. She had to push all of her feelings aside to survive in that hellhole.

She continued to push her feelings aside to survive in that war. Nikita needed to remain strong. She had to remain tall and unflappable for her team. Michael might've seen through her defense at times and knew the right words to say to calm her. And Alex and Birkhoff might've been able to make her relax with some quip of theirs. But Madeline was a subject that had no solution. It wasn't something she was willing to forgive, or forget. She'd push it down and move forward and never look back to her, "I don't care."

"So you'd rather be dead?" Sean blurted without thought. He wasn't seeing their mother's side of things- what she had done was wrong. But he understood the need to protect family no matter what. Nikita being away from them was awful, yet she was alive. She had friends and she had love. It wasn't all terrible.

Nikita remained silent, regardless. There were strange blessings that came from Division. There was Michael, Birkhoff, Alex, Owen, Ryan, and Daniel. But there were also so many terrible things taken from her. She focused on the positive most days; her team- friends- supported her. However, there were those days when there was only darkness. It had the potential to consume her whole. The thought of death wasn't far from her mind. Luckily, the nerd distracted her with a text of a safehouse he found, "It's Birkhoff. Ooh. A beach house."

Watching his sister hop over to her boyfriend, Sean didn't want to think anymore. He stared at Michael and Nikita while they talked. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew it was something serious and somehow light. Those two seemed to have their own language when it came to that sort of thing. They were a force to be reckoned with, that was for sure. They also were the only ones to get through to each other. Sean had been cautious of their relationship at first. However, they were happy and great for one another.

"Ryan," Nikita's shout drew Sean from his musings. He joined her and Michael to see what she was talking about. One of the computers they had set up pinged with some kind of notification. Whereas her brother and boyfriend were confused as to what it could've been, she hurriedly typed a command into the keyboard. Soon, the three of them were listening to a phone conversation.

"I thought he was in prison," Trying to catch up, Sean wondered. He thought he had their team figured out. Michael was Nikita's partner in every way, shape, and form. Birkhoff was their tech expert and comic relief. Ryan was their CIA guy who went to prison after helping stop a Division hit against the agency. Owen was out in the field, actively searching for black boxes as he detoxed from Division drugs. And Alex was once on their team, but her revenge mission had her all mixed up and confused. No one was blaming her for that. They all understood. Besides, she was the one who had tipped Birkhoff off about Anh. She might have been using Division to get to Semak, but she was still on their side.

"Yeah. It's one of the ways we set up communication. He wants to meet," The second the phone call between Ryan and his mother ended, Nikita concluded. Apparently, while he was still an analyst, they set up a code word to know something important was going down. He mentioned his brother Sam, and she was ready to rush off to him. Sean was confused, and asked what exactly was occurring. His sister could only shrug.

Michael brought everything into perspective by reminding Nikita of the danger still out there. As much as he wanted to go to Ryan as well, they needed to take precautions. There was a chance after Operation Sparrow Oversight had their eyes on the analyst. If they went in headfirst, they were going to get burned, "Division might be trouble."

"Did you ruin any ties with Oversight when you went after me?" It was so sudden, both Michael and Sean felt as though they had whiplash. Nikita was serious in her topic change, however. She generally wanted to know if her brother could go back to Oversight without problem. Her boyfriend caught onto her thoughts, and though he had his reservations, he didn't argue. It was a smart idea. And they were going to need as many advantages as possible.

"I think with Alex, but…" Sean continued to not understand what was occurring. Rolling her brown eyes, Nikita asked again if he had severed ties with Division or Oversight. Alex was a free agent, her and Sean's relationship didn't matter at that moment. He explained that all he had done was cuss out their mom. He could plausibly go back and act as if nothing had happened (the Division agents that swarmed the old safehouse were dead, so no one could argue against him). That was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Great. I need to know what Division's thinking. What better way than a mole," Said aloud, Michael sighed at Nikita's suggestion. Her and moles. But again, he wasn't going to say anything against it. She was usually right. Sean had to take a moment to accept if he was really ready for that or not. He could go rogue for his sister. But could he spy against their mother for her. Turned out, the answer was an easy yes.

"Fine. But only 'cause you asked so nicely," Sean relented. He couldn't say much against it. After all, he had agreed to help Nikita in any way possible. She smirked in satisfaction, and pulled him along with her to create a plan. Michael assisted with that, biting back his laughter. The siblings began to bicker as any brother and sister would do (she called him a dumbass boy scout again, making him whine in protest), and the agent couldn't stop himself from smiling. The team might have been broken by many different things. But with the friends and family they surrounded themselves with, they were rebuilt stronger than ever. They were going to survive.