"Sean, they got engaged last night. You know exactly what you're walking in on," Alex tried to warn him. She had been trying to warn him since he showed up at her doorstep with tea, a bagel, and a shiteating grin. Apparently, the excitement of Hong Kong wasn't enough for him. He wanted to burst into his sister's apartment and ruin whatever celebration she and her new fiancé were having. It was his right after fighting to get the engagement ring back, after all. Alex attempted to remind him that he didn't actually succeed in that. But Sean wouldn't listen.

He dragged her along with him to Michael's and Nikita's apartment. His bribe of more breakfast was only part of the reason she followed him. Alex still tried to get Sean to change his mind. They could celebrate the engagement with their friends later, preferably not the morning after, when the couple was no doubt making out- or worse. However, the Seal was on a mission. He was bound and determined to torture his sister. It was partially her fault anyway for giving him a spare key to her apartment, "Knock. Knock. I'm coming in."

"Sean Mason Pierce!" Immediately, Nikita screeched and scrambled off of her boyfriend's lap- her fiancé's lap. The recently engaged couple sat stock still on the couch, breathless; their lips were parted, their hair was mussed, and their skin seemed to be glowing. Nikita frantically tugged at the hem of the oversized shirt she was wearing, and Michael quickly placed a pillow firmly in his lap. Blushing, Alex turned her back to the couple. She had unfortunately walked in on them enough to know what was going on.

"I can't believe Icky Nikki is actually engaged. That's so exciting! I'm so happy for you," Sean, on the other hand, was completely undeterred. He knew exactly what he was doing, and what exactly he had ruined; he was just glad he didn't see anything that time. Crossing towards his sister, he attempted to pull her off the couch and wrap her in a tight embrace. She fought him off her, not in the mood for any of his antics. Again, he wasn't deterred. He got her to her feet and hugged her. Shouting, she shoved him away.

"Hey. Let me see the ring," Alex decided it was time to step in and diffuse the situation. Not only was Nikita going to kill her brother, but her shirt would ride up in the process, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Though, it was already kind of obvious. Sean finally averted his gaze, and Michael helped tug her shirt back down. While she crossed her right arm tightly over her chest, she gave her left hand to Alex. She had already seen the ring, but that didn't stop the young woman from gladly studying the diamonds instead of the scene around her, "Oh my God, it's beautiful on you! This is so amazing! You're gonna be married."

"I know! Though, I have to ask. Did you help Michael pick out the ring, or did you just plan my proposal?" Smiling brilliantly, Nikita allowed her excitement to replace her irritation. Being engaged to the person she loved most was a far more important and happy thought than her brother interrupting her private moment. Besides, she'd think of some way to pay him back. She'd probably teach him a phrase in Russian that'd piss Alex off. For the meantime, though, she excitedly pictured her engagement to Michael.

Flashing her fiancé a loving smile, Nikita's brown eyes shone gold. Michael had to beam back. Although Sean gagged in disgust, the two ignored him. That was what he deserved. If he was going to walk in on them, then he had to face the consequences. In a rare move, Michael decided to use PDA to annoy him further. He had his boxers on; the pillow was just in place as a precaution. He trusted himself enough then to stand, wrap his arms around his fiancée, and place a loving kiss to her crown, "I picked it out. They got over excited and planned on their own."

"Nothing but the best for my big sis," Sean shot his sister a snide grin. In response, she grabbed a pillow and chucked it at him. He wasn't given much time to dodge it. The zipper on the casing caught him right under the eye. No blood was drawn, but there would definitely be a bruise in the immediate future. Only Alex showed him any concern as he held his eye and complained. Nikita was more focused on adjusting her ring on her finger. It was slightly too big and would slide around from time to time. She had to do something to fix that.

"If I had helped, the ring would be the right size. But hey, we're going shopping today anyway. We can just swing by the jewelry store to get it resized," Alex noticed Nikita's struggle as she checked on Sean's cheek. The Seal was fine, he was just being a big baby around his sister. The more Alex hung out with the siblings when their antics were high, the more she learned how they must've been as kids- he was the baby boy while she was the mean older sister. It was actually kind of fun to witness from the outside. It was a sense of the normal family life she wanted to return to, once she was done helping others return there first.

Nodding eagerly, Nikita agreed to Alex's idea. She hurried to shower and change, ensuring her shirt stayed down. Alex beamed and moved to the kitchen to steal more food and tea. Michael should've followed Nikita to get ready for the day. Instead, he sighed, tidied the pillows on the couch, and put a cap on how much the young heiress was stealing from them. He also tossed an icepack to Sean to get him to stop complaining. Strangely enough, it worked. Michael just shook his head, "What about you, dumbass? You heading into Division with me?"

"Nah. Gotta do some paperwork shit at the base," Ignoring Nikita's taunting nickname that Michael had picked up on, Sean shrugged. As much as he'd love to continue torturing his sister and find some way to get back at Michael, he had to be responsible. Just because he was technically on leave didn't mean he could escape all of his Seal duties. His leave would be ending soon too. He'd have to spend less time with his team inside Division. He wasn't a big fan of that thought; he didn't want to leave them high and dry. But he still had loyalties to the Navy.

"Gotta be the boyscout again after all the hell you raised," Michael understood. It had been over a decade, yet he remembered what it was like in the Navy. He had been lucky to have Elizabeth and Hayley live on the base with him (Elizabeth was a photojournalist, so she could work wherever until they had a real home). Leaving his family and friends to be shipped out would've been difficult. But the Navy's orders couldn't be ignored, even if it was something as mundane as paperwork. Sean just had to enjoy all the time left he had with the team.

Eventually, Nikita and Michael switched spots in the bathroom. The siblings messed around some more, pulling Alex into their antics. She laughed the entire time. However, they all had to go about their days soon. When the four left the apartment and hit the street, they had to separate. Michael and Nikita did so with a kiss. Alex and Sean just gave each other affectionate smiles. The women practically ran off as they went shopping. The men were sluggish to head into work. Michael was met with paperwork too. At least he got out of it when Ryan got a hit on an op. He practically ran to fetch the nerd, "Birkhoff! Party time's over. Ryan's got new intel."

"Oh. Is it top secret like your engagement?" Turning off his music, Birkhoff huffed. Sure, whatever Ryan had was important. But he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to lay into Michael for a moment. The agent sighed and rolled his eyes. The hacker was undeterred, however. He had to make his point clear before more problems arose, "I'm just saying. When your obvious choice for Best Man is left out of the loop, it raises issues."

"What issues? And who said her brother won't be Best Man?" The second question was to just rile Birkhoff up. Michael was more than certain Nikita would want Sean as the flower girl, or ring bearer, or something like that. The two hadn't talked about their wedding, though. It wasn't actually on their minds. They were simply enjoying their engagement and the thoughts of spending their happily ever afters with one another. They were sure to talk about planning a wedding eventually. But that might just wait until after the Dirty Thirty was dealt with.

"First of all, that's just cruel. And B, trust issues. Like, did you not trust me to keep a secret?" Following Michael as he made his way back to the elevator, Birkhoff explained his irritation. Over the many years, he had watched Michael and Nikita flirt then fight then flirt again. He was owed updates on their relationship. He had been dragged into the drama enough to be invested. Also, he was the future groom's best friend. That couldn't be replaced all of a sudden by the future brother-in-law. Even if they were both Navy men and had a lot in common.

"I didn't even know when I was gonna ask her," Michael attempted to defend himself. It was a weak defense, even he knew that. He had had a vague idea of when he was going to ask Nikita to marry him- Sean and Alex had planned a proposal, after all. And he had made a decision to not tell Birkhoff about buying the ring and thinking about marriage with the woman he loved most. But it wasn't because he didn't trust the hacker. He simply wanted everything to be so perfect for her, he became a bit too controlling.

Birkhoff understood Michael's lack of planning. He might've had extensive plans and schemes for missions. But whenever it came to Nikita, the man was helpless. He could only follow his heart around her; it was a good thing the two were finally marrying. Birkhoff could also understand why Michael would consult his girlfriend's brother and best friend about an engagement. But he should've been consulted too. He knew the two of them just as well, "See, I could've assisted you in the planning phase. That's my thing. Not Sean's and Alex's."

"Are you seriously miffed I didn't check with you first?" Hiding his amused smile with annoyance, Michael wondered. He thought he was picking up a bit of a jealousy vibe from Birkhoff. Why else would he be so pissed about Sean. It wasn't as though Michael was replacing him with the Seal. The nerd was still his closest friend. God knew they had been through enough hell together. Of course they would call one another their best friends. Nikita would also easily call Birkhoff her second brother. That nerd was stuck in their lives forever.

"No, I'm mildly miffed you didn't check in with me afterwards. You know, I had to find out while I was deleting evidence files from the Honk Kong police. I had to see 'engagement ring' along the line items," Once they were on the elevator, Birkhoff huffed once more. He'd excuse the proposal planning- whatever. But finding out about his best friends' engagement through hacking was messed up. They owed him huge. Starting with why Michael didn't press the floor number for Ops, "We're not going to Ops? See, this is what I'm talking about."

While Birkhoff ranted more about trust and why he deserved to be Best Man, Michael smirked and texted Nikita. She and Alex had to return for the briefing with Ryan. The women were too engrossed with what was occurring at the jewelry store to check their phones, however. As Nikita sorrowfully contemplated leaving her engagement ring at the shop for a few days, the older saleswoman remarked about all the times she'd have to get her ring resized- especially when she was pregnant, which would happen sooner than she thought. Both young women paled at the thought. It wasn't until the old lady left, however, that Alex muttered, "What was that?"

"Some poor girl's mother-in-law," Nikita rolled her eyes. During the whole awkward conversation, she couldn't help but think of her mother. She remembered the comments (mostly made jokingly) about when the kids would marry and have babies of their own- their mom was tired of teenagers, she wanted babies to care for again. It was as annoying in the past as it was in the present with the saleswoman. No doubt, her mother would make the same teases once she heard about the engagement. That thought, though, made Nikita pause. She had to shake it off so she wouldn't ruin her perfectly happy day.

"It's not like you're thinking about that yet," Grinning softly, Alex nudged Nikita. That ripped the rogue out of her thoughts, but only for a brief moment. She focused on putting her claim ticket for her ring in her purse and jotting down the pickup date. She understood how Alex could picture babies. They were moving forward in relationships, they had bright futures ahead of them, they could reunite with family, and someone they knew just had a baby. Nikita just never really thought about that for herself. It was great that Alex could see that future, though.

"Or… ever…" Nikita believed walking away from the counter would signify that she wanted to walk away from the conversation. Alex didn't catch the hint, however. She chased after, wondering why the former rogue would say that she would never think about having kids. She did great with her, after all. Also, she loved her family more than anything- what baby wouldn't fit great into that. Nikita just kept shaking her head, however. She couldn't fit that role, "Alex, can you really see me as a mother?"

"Yeah. I'd think you'd be great at whatever you choose to do. Besides, it's not about what I picture. It's about what you and Michael picture," Alex smiled softly. Sure, she could easily see Nikita as a mother. She had been a mom to her, after all. But if that wasn't what she wanted, then Alex wouldn't push it. Besides, there were other things to focus on at the moment- such as planning a wedding and dealing with the Dirty Thirty. Hopefully, their continued war didn't interfere too much with the team's attempts to live normal lives.

Nikita had had the baby conversation before with Michael. It seemed as though everyone around her could picture her as a mother, except her. She didn't understand why. And it wasn't something she wanted to explore. That day had been filled with too many thoughts about mothers and motherhood. She'd rather do anything else than continue dwelling on those thoughts. Thankfully, her stomach growled, reminding her of the time. She had an easy out of the conversation, "I'm picturing lunch. You?"

"Alright. My treat, future Mrs… what is Michael's real last name anyway?" Alex thought she knew what Michael's last name was, and not the ones he used as covers or on fake IDs. Yet, she was starting to think that she never actually learned it. Nikita was going to tell her, but then her phone rang. She fished it out of her bag, and sure enough it was Michael. She didn't hesitate before answering. Apparently, the women would have to get their lunch to go, and they'd have to order for the whole team. They had a mission. Their normal life lost out to an op once again.