"Just hold on, Alex. Just stay with us," Nikita never let go of Alex. She kept her hands pressed into her shoulder, even when medics put a bandage in place. She didn't want to risk her losing any more blood. It was already so much. Somehow, both women were covered. Nikita didn't care, however. She just wanted the bleeding to stop. It never stopped. Alex simply got paler and paler, her eyes far too unfocused. The fact that she was still conscious was a miracle. She had to keep holding onto that strength. The bleeding had to stop, and she had to hold on.
"Stay with me, Alex," Sean had been by Alex's side since she had been rushed into Division. After he heard Nikita's distress call, he did everything he could to help prep Medical for her rushed arrival. He refused to leave anything up to chance with Alex. She had to be okay. He needed her to be as perfect as she always was. Sean would stay by her side every step of the way to ensure that. Although Nikita let Medical take Alex the rest of the way to the operating table, Sean wouldn't let go. He needed to see her be alright with his own eyes.
Eventually shuffling towards Ops, Nikita heard Birkhoff and Sonya arguing. She didn't care, though. Her thoughts were elsewhere. They stumbled between Alex and Mia. She was so concerned for her friend, and so furious with Division's new rogue. Alex was only trying to help Mia, but that had been ruined by a single bullet. Everything was ruined, making Nikita feel off. Something was wrong, besides what happened to Alex. There was something wrong with her. She felt weak, shaky, in pain, and just off. Her thoughts wouldn't settle enough to figure out why, however. She simply forced herself forward, even when Birkhoff gaped in concern, "Nikita…"
"You all did good. This is all Mia's fault. We're going to find her," Voice hollow, Nikita replied. Birkhoff's and Sonya's argument about who controlled what of the prison hack grew even worse after Alex was shot. The only thing to get the two to stop fighting was a bloody and pale Nikita stumbling through Ops. She needed them to take their attention off of her, however. It wasn't about her or her terrifying appearance. Medical had to focus on saving Alex, and Division had to focus on finding Mia. That bitch had to pay for what she had done. She couldn't turn against those that were trying to help her and expect to get away scot-free.
Anger clenched Nikita's jaw and set her gaze firmly ahead. Michael easily spotted it across Ops. He also noticed all the blood that coated her hands, arms, chest, and cheeks. That was far too much blood to have come from one person. If it had, then Alex's bullet wound was far worse than anyone could've thought; an artery must've been nicked or something. Or, Nikita had been hit too, and she was stubbornly walking it off. Michael didn't like either option, but he hoped it wasn't the latter. He rushed to his wife in a panic, nonetheless, "Are you okay?"
"I will be once I kill Mia," Steel coated Nikita's response. She was far from okay. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Yet she wouldn't allow herself to think about that. Alex was more important than her. Continuing her way to Ryan, Nikita brushed Michael off of her. If anyone had answers for her, it'd be the new director of Division. He had to be able to give her a course to set her murderous sights on. Mia didn't just disappear. She returned to her terrorist organization. The black ops group had to be doubly motivated to hunt her down. She was a threat and a bitch; Nikita was ready to put her down.
"How could she turn like that? She's supposed to be stopping the terrorists," However, Ryan didn't have any information for Nikita. He was just as shocked by Mia's actions as everybody else. He was sure that she wanted to bring the terrorist organization down, not join them. Even the intel Sean and Michael had gathered at the hockey arena didn't give them any clue as to what was happening. All they knew was that a Senator would be the target of the potential attack, but there was plenty of security around. That didn't tell them anything about why Mia deserted. She simply decided the terrorists weren't the villains anymore, Division was.
"I don't care. She shot Alex. I'm finding her and making her pay. So get me a lead while I clean up," Nikita seethed before stomping off towards the locker room. Who cared why Mia did anything. If she just escaped from Division, that would've been one thing; she could be treated as any other Dirty Thirty. But she shot Alex. She shot someone who only meant her well, and joined terrorists. Nikita didn't care about anything else Mia did or why she did it. Her only focus was on the one irredeemable fact that she tried to kill her best friend.
When Nikita stepped into the wash area of the locker room, she tried not to look at her skin or her clothes. She couldn't look at the deep, dark blood. Despite never being squeamish of blood before, the sight of Alex's blood staining her made her dizzy. She gripped the edge of the sink in order to get a hold of herself. Bile churned in her stomach, and her head spun. Nikita closed her eyes against the onslaught. It was only for a second, though. Because then she felt something weird between her legs. Her eyes snapped open and she hurriedly examined herself. Blood splashed in her underwear and trickled down her legs.
Spotting was common in the early stages of pregnancy. Nikita knew that, and had expected it to bombard her like her other annoying symptoms. But the blood spilling down her thighs wasn't light and worry free. It was heavy. Panic shot through her so quickly, she vomited in the sink. The stress, the shock, the fact that she hadn't truly rested, it all caught up to her in the worst ways. She didn't know what to do. She should go to the doctors', but Medical had to focus on Alex, and Nikita didn't have the time to go to a hospital. She had to stop Mia and the terrorist attack. She had to make sure no one else was shot like Alex.
Maybe if she relaxed it'd be okay. She could've been thinking the worst of it, or it was just some freak occasion. If she breathed, if she refocused, if she actually showered, she could be alright. Nikita really fucking hoped that'd be true. The hot water and steam helped her head and that off feeling she had been hit with. She also appeared to have stopped bleeding. However, watching hers and Alex's blood rinse off her and mix in the drain made her sick. She coughed and gagged violently, attempting to not vomit again. It was a losing battle.
Michael heard Nikita struggling outside the locker room. He only intended to bring her a change of clothes, destroy the bloody rags, then give her space to calm down. All that changed at hearing her pain as she showered. He dropped her clothes onto a bench and rushed to her side. Nikita didn't react to his sudden presence at the shower door. She was too focused on not vomiting or hyperventilating. It was surprising how fast an anxiety attack could sneak up on her. Too much was coming at her too fast. She couldn't get a grip. But Michael could grab her. He could wrap her in a towel and pull her out of the spray, "Nik. Nikita, talk to me."
"She shouldn't have gotten shot. That bullet was meant for me. I should've protected her," Shaking, Nikita admitted. There was far more she had to admit. She had to tell Michael about the bleeding; that wasn't something she could simply ignore. Her husband had to know things weren't right and that she possibly needed medical attention too- at least to check on the baby. But she couldn't bring herself to tell him. There was still far too much more for them to do. They couldn't be distracted. She also couldn't scare her husband.
"Alex knew what she was doing. And she's going to be fine. She'll be okay," Cradling her head, Michael gently caressed Nikita's cheeks with his thumbs. He didn't cease until she looked at him. Yes, the situation was horrible. Alex should never have gotten shot, and Nikita should never have been targeted. But it was alright at the moment. The team was prepared to go on the warpath. And Alex was out of surgery. They could bounce back; they could continue to win the day and save innocents. Not everything was lost.
It didn't take long for Alex to groggily shift in her cot in Medical. A few hours since she had been rushed to Division, and her mind was finally returning to her. Everything was slow and blurry, though. The first thing she was fully aware of was sharp, burning pain in her shoulder. It was one of the worst pains she had ever experienced- it was up there with going through withdrawal. The next thing she knew was luckily far easier to take. In fact, once she noticed him next to her, she smiled. Nothing mattered save him, including the bitter pain in her shoulder. She was just so glad he was the first person she saw when she returned to the world, "Sean."
"Alex! Oh thank God you're okay," Sean practically leapt out of his chair. He had pulled in a plastic chair to sit next to Alex and watch over her until she woke. He hadn't expected to doze off as well. Yet with his adrenaline gone, he felt drained. Not so much anymore, though. Excitement coursed through him. He was beyond relieved that she was awake and well. Except, he couldn't wrap her in a tight embrace like he wanted. Nor could she. She had to rest, "Don't move. You have a shattered collarbone and you lost a lot of blood."
"Are Nikita and the baby okay?" Squeezing her boyfriend's hands tightly instead, Alex demanded to know. The more she woke, the more she remembered what had occurred. She had been shot pushing Nikita out of Mia's line of fire. The new rogue was prepared to kill the former one over some cause she had been swept up in. Alex wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. She just knew she couldn't let Nikita get hurt. She had done so much for her, it was only fair she took a bullet for her. Alex had to protect her and her unborn child.
"She's angry, but they're fine. Everyone's okay. You're okay," Sean quickly assured her. Nikita's anger had been palpable. She hated whenever someone she loved was hurt (she wasn't alone in that feeling). Yet, Michael was there to comfort her. He could soothe her harsh emotions and talk to her about the baby. Alex didn't have to worry about her friend anymore. She was allowed to focus only on herself. She had to rest, recover, and realize the team could take it from there. They were all fine, especially knowing that she was too. She simply had to stay okay.
"I don't think Mia's evil. I just think she's lost," Finally able to recognize her feelings over the situation, Alex admitted. If Mia really was evil and malicious, she would've attempted to kill Alex and Nikita. She wouldn't have been content with only firing a few shots. Mia wanted to slow them down while she ran to something she thought was safe and sound. Division had never been that in the past; it was hard to believe it could be so in the future. They couldn't fault her for being scared. She just needed reassurance, a chance to see the life she could have. That meant the team couldn't go on a revenge mission. Mia should only be stopped, not killed.
"Okay. I'll tell the others. You just rest. You don't need to be a hero anymore. You just have to be Alex. Please, just be Alex," Although Sean didn't care about Mia or her motives- how could he when she had shot his girlfriend- he promised to pass the thought along. If it was important to Alex, then it was important to him. For the meantime, however, Alex had to give up playing the hero. That wasn't her role to play. There was a whole team of heroes that could save the world. She was allowed to focus on herself and her own happiness. Sean needed her to.
The Seal wound up texting Alex's thoughts to the others. He continued to refuse to leave her side, and he wouldn't let her interrupt her rest. The belief didn't necessarily help them track down Mia, yet they kept it in the back of their minds; they wouldn't dismiss Alex outright. The hackers were attempting to make it up to her for failing on the previous mission, after all. They knew if they found the terrorists, they'd find Mia. It took some time, but Birkhoff finally did just that. Using the Vimeo account he had previously hacked, he discovered a possible staging ground near the arena the terrorists might've used. They had them, "Found her."
"Alpha Team, gear up. You're on me," Instantly, Nikita gathered all the agents and weapons she could and took off. Michael's attempts to talk sense and rationality into her were ignored. She was going to create a rushed plan on the go, her only goal killing Mia; stopping the terrorists was just an afterthought. He couldn't let her do that. He was upset too, but they still had to think. It was the only way all of them could be safe. What happened to Alex was awful. There was no doubt about it. But Nikita shouldn't run into danger in order to right the wrong. More than anyone, she had to be careful. Otherwise, Alex's sacrifice would've meant nothing.
She was on a warpath, however. And so was Mia. Division found the terrorists in the hideout easily. They engaged and fought, yet it wasn't the easy victory it should've been. Their assailants were well trained, specifically their leader. Michael learned that the hard way as he poorly engaged in a knife fight. More was going on than Division originally thought. For the umpteenth time, though, Nikita didn't care. She didn't even care about Mia trying to sway her to the terrorists' side. She just wanted it to end.
Mia couldn't be killed, though. She was armed with a bomb- if she died so did everyone else. Even Nikita's anger couldn't allow that. But as she tried to think of a way around the situation, Mia's taunting speech began to affect her. She and Nikita weren't any different. They both fought for people they loved and causes they believed in. Why should one of them be punished while the other strived. They were both surrounded by pain and death, and trying to do more. And with those thought twisting words, Mia kicked Nikita out of a window.
Fortunately, she didn't fall far. Michael also ran right to her. He had her. But Nikita definitely had to go to Medical that time. She'd have to reveal her pregnancy to the Division doctors; she really needed an ultrasound to check on the baby. However, again, she wouldn't tell Michael. She didn't want to worry him. The thoughts in her head were worrisome enough. What if Mia was right. What if the only path in front of them was death. Despite being pregnant, she continued to rush into danger, not caring about her own safety. If she didn't change that, if she didn't change anything, was she any better than those she faced against. Probably not, "I'm fine."