Chapter 15

1 pm

Michael tried to carry Nikita into the house but she woke up before he could even take one step. Maybe she sensed she was home. "What happened?" She looked around disorientated. One minute they were driving and all of a sudden they were outside their front door. Michael chuckled "You fell asleep" Michael had driven around for a bit to give her the opportunity to rest. He knew that she would probably wake up when they stopped.

"Oh" Nikita was surprised. How was she able to fall asleep so fast and how did a 10-minute nap feel so good? "I feel like I slept for like hours" She rubbed her eyes "I should have naps in the car all the time"

"Those are good naps yes but it really has been an hour since we left the hospital. I just didn't want to wake you up" Michael admitted. He was glad she was getting the needed rest. She was stubborn and didn't sleep in the hospital since she woke up at 5 a.m.

Nikita cradled his face and gave him a kiss. And that's exactly why she was better off with him at home. Michael carried her to the conservatory and laid her on the couch. She loved that room since it was all gigantic windows. He opened up the glass doors so there was fresh air. Nikita hummed and was ready to go back to sleep but something stopped her.

"Michael?"

"Yes, baby"

"I want to take a shower. I am not falling asleep like this" She still felt gross and sticky from the night before. She wanted to wash off the previous night and the hospital smell.

"How about I give you a bath instead? I don't want you standing in the shower for too long." Michael would still get in the shower with her if she wanted to use the shower but that meant that they would have to be quick about it.

"Okay" Nikita didn't protest. She loved baths.

"Okay, let me go get the bags out of the car and then we'll go upstairs for a bath, yeah?"

"Mhmm"

"How are you feeling? Are you dizzy?" Michael didn't like her short answers. He had to check on her before he left the room.

"Yes, I'm just a bit sleepy"

"Okay, I'll be right back" Michael gave her a kiss and hurried back to the car. He unloaded everything as quickly as possible and tried to sort it somewhat out. He didn't want to deal with it later. All his focus had to be on Nikita. After he was done he went back to his love and took care of her.

He drew her a nice warm bath and played her some music. Then he really went to work. He washed her hair and gently massaged her scalp. Nikita loved it. It felt incredible after the last two days she had had. Her body was tense as well so he continued his message there. Nikita felt like a new woman. She didn't even want to get out of the bath.

"Come on, gorgeous. The water is getting cold" Michael didn't leave her alone though.

"Two more minutes," Nikita pleaded. She just felt so relaxed. "I'm counting them down" Michael went to retrieve her robe in the meantime.

After being graciously given 2 minutes by her husband, Nikita had to finally get out of the bath. She got some shorts from her drawer and a baggy T-shirt from his and was all set. Michael helped her get dressed and braided her hair for her. He loved to do that. He didn't exactly know why. It just calmed him and made him pleased that he was able to take care of her in every sense.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really"

"Okay, let's get you to bed then"

"Absolutely not. I am not sleeping the day away" She was no longer sleepy and it was probably better to stay awake so she could sleep for longer during the night. There were other ways to relax too.

"Fine, let's go watch something then" Nikira had to rest so if he couldn't get her to bed he'd think of other ways that she could stay still.

Nikita agreed and they headed downstairs. She settled on the couch in the conservatory again while Michael went to grab some things. "Here is a blanket, Ollie, your water bottle and do you want anything to snack on? It's been a few hours" She had to eat something no matter how small it was in order to recover as quickly as possible.

"I guess. Maybe some cereal? That sounds good" She still didn't have an appetite but she promised Michael she would listen to him so there were no protests..

"I'll bring you some right now"

"Oh, also, do we have some sprite left?" Despite the fact she had no desire to eat anything she still craved the fizzy drink.

Michael chuckled "Yes, I got a few packs the other night. You still have to drink water though"

To demonstrate how behaved she was she grabbed her water bottle and took a big sip. Michael laughed and made his way to the kitchen. He was so happy to see her already feeling better and being herself. It really was the right and best decision to bring her home.

Michael made her a bowl of her favourite cereal and brought her a can of Sprite. They cuddled up on the couch and watched cartoons for a few hours. Nikita saw Michael was struggling to stay awake so she gently ran her hands through his hair, kissed his temple and made him give in to sleep. He needed it as much as she did.

Nikita was then left on her own again with her thoughts. She had been thinking about a lot of things today. Trying to make a decision that was best for her family. It was hard. So many emotions were bubbling inside of her. Should she trust these people? What if she let them in and something bad happened? The last time someone claimed to be her parent she, Michael and Birkhoff almost lost their lives. Was it worth it?

Nikita had managed after all these years to build her own family that provided her with all the love and support that she could ever need. She didn't want to lose that under any circumstances. Especially now that she was pregnant. She wouldn't allow any chaos or family issues anywhere near her child. She didn't come this far to have everything fall apart.

5 pm

Michael woke up and instantly cursed himself. How could he fall asleep when he was supposed to be taking care of Nikita. He shot upright and desperately looked around for her. She wasn't next to him anymore.

"Relax, I just got up to use the bathroom" Nikita hadn't moved for hours. She only got up less than a minute ago and he was already awake.

"Are you okay? How long was I asleep for?" Michael looked around for his phone to check the time. Fuck. It had been two hours later. How had this happened?

"I am fine. I was next to you the whole time." She wasn't that sick. There was no need to watch over her like that.

"Uhm okay" Michael rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Once he did he noticed something different. Nikita was different. Something in her face, her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" He walked towards her and reached for her hand. Maybe she didn't feel well and didn't want him to worry or feel guilty about falling asleep.

"I have just been in my head a lot" While Michael was sleeping Nikita had come to a decision and now she needed to share it with Michael. This thing tore them apart enough. She wanted it done and over with. They had to focus on their family.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Michael absolutely wanted to talk about it but he knew better than to push her. She needed to be the one to come to him.

Nikita nodded and pulled him outside into the backyard. She needed a change of scenery and some sun. They sat down by the pool and Nikita sighed a big exhale. Michael patiently waited for her to start. He didn't agree with discussing it so soon and making a decision. Nikita was only discharged from the hospital that morning. She had to give herself some time. Knowing her though, Michael knew that was not going to be the case.

"I…I have been thinking a lot about what's going to happen next."

"Okay… No matter what you have decided, I will support it." She had to know that. He didn't care as long as she was happy. It was going to be hard but he was going to be by her side through all of it.

"Thank you." Nikita appreciated it because she wasn't sure how he was going to react. "I once believed in this fairytale of maybe something like that happening to my parents and that they are out there looking for me. I dreamed about how they would knock on the door one day and save me…but nobody was coming. Nobody ever came. I started to believe what everyone was saying. That my mother died when she gave birth and it was my fault, that my dad didn't want me probably because of it. I believed that I was worthless and other things that you are way too familiar with by now." Michael sat still and quiet, carefully listening. His heart was silently breaking. No child deserved that kind of fate. No person deserved that kind of fate.

Even though they had been married for 4 years already and together for almost a decade all together, Nikita still found it hard to talk about her childhood. Michael had no problem with that. It was completely understandable. It was hard for him to hear some of the things she had to endure at such a young age. He couldn't imagine what it must feel like for her to retell it and relive it again. He tried to be as patient and as understanding as possible. It was a long and hard process but he was always there. He is always going to be there for her.

"You know those were one of the first things I asked Richard when I believed he was my real father. If he blamed me for her death, if that was the reason he left me." Nikita's voice shook at the end. She had never shared that with anyone. Michael had no idea that she had talked to him in private. As far as he knew they brought him to the house, gave him space, they all went to bed and then in the middle of the night all hell broke loose. Then after everything had finished Nikita told him that Max was his son so they never had the chance to talk about how Nikita felt about being fooled so cruelly.

"He told me everything I wanted to hear, courtesy to Division. All of a sudden the fairytale was real…then it burned down in flames…forever" Nikita didn't want to think about that night. There was a part of her that still hadn't recovered. "I almost lost my actual family to some fucking illusion I had created in my head" She had almost lost Michael and Birkhoff because she believed that there was still someone out there. That there was a family out there waiting for her while she had a family already that would turn the world upside down for her. Nikita wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"Hey, don't. That was not your fault. I was there, Birkhoff was there. We all believed it was real." It broke Michael's heart that she still held herself accountable for that. Especially when she was the most hurt out of that experience. It was nobody's fault but Division's. It was a trap they unfortunately did not see.

Michael held her tight to him and kissed her crown "That wasn't your fault. We were taken advantage of but we survived. Together." He was going to repeat that until it stuck.

Nikita lifted her head from his shoulder and searched for his eyes. "I don't have parents. I don't want to have parents. I have a family and I'd like it to stay that way." Nikita was final about that. She wasn't going to risk getting hurt again or having her family get hurt. She wanted to focus on expanding her present family, not on destroying it by taking such risks.

Michael understood where she was coming from but he had to be honest with her. This thing felt different. It felt real. Birkhoff and Michael had made sure there was no repeat of Richard. If fear was the only thing stopping Nikita then maybe they had to talk about it more. "Do you fear that Anh and Edward are also not real? Is that the only reason? It's a valid reason, don't get me wrong. We will research into it again if you want."

"No, I…I just don't care and I don't want to care. Whether they are real or not. It doesn't matter. I don't want them as a part of my life. There is too much pain there…I don't want to deal with that again"

Michael nodded and pulled her back to him. As he promised, he was going to support her decision no matter what. It was her heart on the line."You won't have to. I'm right here. I'll take care of it"

They sat there for a while, silently holding each other. Nikita needed all the comfort and he was going to provide it. Michael did have to talk to her about what was going to happen next. "I will have to go and meet with them"

"Is it necessary? Just call, tell them we are not interested and hang up" Nikita didn't like the idea of Michael meeting with them again. It only dragged things out.

"If I do that they won't leave us alone. It will be fine. I don't want you to worry about it" Michael was going to end things for good and they could go back to how life used to be. Well with the exception of preparing to have a baby but that was a wonderful change to have.

"If you think that'd be better then okay" Nikita wouldn't argue about it. She trusted Michael's judgment.

"Are we keeping it a secret from everyone?" In his opinion, their family definitely had to know about this whole thing. Preferably before the surprise dinner on Friday.

"I mean, yeah it will be good to tell them but how. I don't want to have to retell what happened 50 times" Nikita knew she couldn't hide it. She had ended up in hospital because of the whole thing. Her family has to be at least informed in some sense.

"Group call?" Michael suggested hesitantly, hoping Nikita would agree. The family dinner on Friday was solely going to be about celebrating Nikita and the baby. Michael wouldn't let it be tainted by anything.

"Good luck with that" Nikita scoffed. She could count on one hand how many times family calls were successful and everyone was on at the same time.

"Don't lose faith in me that fast. Just say yes" Michael was already plotting all the "threatening" messages in his head to get everyone to join.

"Okay, if you think you can do it, go for it" Nikita didn't hate the idea. She wouldn't have to tell each person individually. It was going to be done and all over with just one phone call.

Michael looked at his phone for the time. If he sent the messages now he could get everyone on a call tomorrow. "Tomorrow we'll tell them"

The couple then slowly started preparing dinner. Nikita did look better and way more rested so Michael let her help him. They played some music, joked around and had a great time. Sonya and Birkhoff stopped by to see Nikita and drop off Archie.

The hackers had been worried sick for their friend and gave her the warmest and sweetest welcome. They brought her flowers, a huge basket of all her favourite snacks and most importantly her second favourite boy in the entire world. Archie was so excited to be back home.

"How are you feeling? Why did you leave the hospital so fast?" Sonya and Birkhoff bombarded her with questions before they could even sit down.

"Okay, okay, how about you guys go into the living room to sit and talk. I'll bring over drinks and snacks" Michael didn't want Nikita to get overwhelmed. She was still recovering from the series of panic attacks she had endured.

Sonya, Birkhoff and Nikita headed over to the living room, Archie following right behind them. "I'm feeling better. Way better than in the hospital. That's why we got home today." Michael had already updated the couple on what the doctor had said so they didn't need to ask about that.

"How do you feel about…" Sonya didn't know how to word it. It was all so crazy.

She was still in shock herself so she could only imagine what it was like for Nikita. To find out such big news this way was rough.

Nikita understood what Sonya wanted to know. She wasn't ready to talk about it quite yet. She had barely scratched the surface with Michael. She could however tell them about her decision as well. "I talked with Michael about it and I have decided not to pursue anything. He is going to contact them and tell them"

Sonya and Birkhoff were surprised. It was a very sore and delicate subject to Nikita but they were sure that she would want to know if Anh and Edward were her real parents. Birkhoff wanted to say something but held back. He was to blame for the fact that Nikita had to go to a hospital. Michael and Nikita might have made it up about it, but she and Birkhoff hadn't. Nikita didn't give him any reason to think that there was some strain on their friendship but he still felt guilty.

Sonya however had the freedom to say something "So what does that mean? Are you going to do a DNA test to see or.."

"No, I'm not doing anything. I'm honestly hoping to forget all about it after a few days" Nikita had expected that reaction. They had probably guessed that she would have been eager to learn about her parents or at least want to know who her real parents were. That was not going to be the case this time.

"So what happens now?" Sonya didn't feel like it was their place to comment on it more. It was something deeply personal to Nikita and whatever decision she made they had to support it. She nudged Birkhoff to do the same but she didn't have to. He was still staying silent.

"Michael said he'd deal with it for me." Nikita was so very thankful for that and she thought of something "He said he'll have to meet with them. Nerd, would you go with him?" She didn't want Michael going alone and since Birkhoff had already met Brian Miller and the Carters he was familiar with them.

Birkhoff was taken aback "You want us to go together?" So was she not mad at them?

"You don't want to?" Nikita hoped he would. She had no idea who these people really were. A second pair of eyes and ears for Michael was going to ease her worries.

"I mean…I…if you want me to yeah I can go with him" The hacker stammered an answer.

Nikita sensed something. He was being weird. "Sonya, could you go help Michael? He's been taking a long time"

Sonya got the hint straight away "Yeah, of course"

Nikita moved closer to her nerd. "Okay, what's going on?" They had known each other long enough. The hacker couldn't hide anything from her even if he wanted to.

"I'm sorry about all of this…I-"

"Stop" Yes, he took part in hiding all of this. He was with Michael through it all and if Nikita was honest with herself she did feel betrayed by him at first but after she talked to Michael that all changed. "I had a conversation with Michael. We talked about everything and it's all resolved now. I don't want you to torture yourself over it"

"Nikki you ended up in a hospital…" It was serious and he absolutely needed to apologize.

"And I am okay now. I forgave Michael. I forgive you. I understand why you did it. I don't want it to happen again and I know it won't. Simple as that." Nikita loved her family more than anything. She couldn't hold their love for her against them. She had done crazy things in the past out of love too.

Birkhoff was grateful for her and her words. He wanted to move on too and be by her side this time. "Come here" He reached and gave her a tight hug. "Barely pregnant and already acting more mature" He had to light up the conversation somehow now. Nikita chuckled "Shut up. I can't believe your luck of always finding out big news in the most absurd way"

"Yeah 'cause I'm dealing with you two" It was true whether it was finding out they were together, getting engaged, eloping or having a baby, Birkhoff was always bound to find out from everywhere else but not from the couple and not in normal circumstances.

Nikita rolled her eyes and laughed. "I wished I had seen your reaction" She had been looking forward to that so much. She was sure he was going to make some ridiculous comment or just pass out.

"Don't worry. I promise to have the best reaction on Friday" Birkhoff realized he screwed up big time when he saw Michael entering the room just as the sentence rolled out his mouth. That was one death stare.

"On Friday?" Nikita looked back at the others, questioning what was going on. "Why would you have a better reaction on Friday? What's Friday?"

More silence.

Birkhoff decided it was best to keep his mouth shut so that left Sonya and Michael to save the slip-up.

"Oh, we forgot to tell them, babe. She doesn't know" Sonya quickly came up with a plan.

"Tell us what?" Nikita was still in the dark. Why was no one saying anything clearly?

"I wanted to invite you guys for dinner on Friday to…destress, have some fun. Through all the chaos I forgot to ask you" They could work with that. Sonya could host the family dinner. That way Nikita will truly be surprised when she sees everyone, not just Sonya and Birkhoff.

Michael owed Sonya big time. That was a great save. He had gotten so scared that the one good thing they were planning was going to totally fail. "That sounds great. We haven't done that in a while. What do you say, Nik?"

Nikita was confused. Why was everyone so flustered over a dinner invitation? "Yeah okay. I mean we could have dinner now. Michael and I cooked more than enough for all of us" They had spontaneous dinner all the time. Nikita didn't understand why it had to be planned in advance or be on Friday.

"Yeah but me and Seymor have this thing tonight so we'll get going soon. We just stopped by to make sure you were okay" Sonya supplied an answer again. She couldn't quite come up with a full excuse but that was enough.

"It's probably for the better. You did get discharged today after all. You need to rest right now" Michael backed her up. It was true as well. She had to take it easy.

"Thing? You know what I don't want to know" Nikita gave up on her questions. Dinner on Friday it was. Michael, Birkhoff and Sonya sighed in relief. The surprise was still on.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I have been quite busy the last few weeks so this chapter took a while but I hope you enjoy it xx

Thank you for all your support for this story!