Chapter 20

Nikita and Michael got home late after a wonderful evening with their family. Nikita was exhausted but so happy and filled with love. The team made plans for the next day, which were even more exciting. They were going to continue the fun from this evening. Nowadays they don't see each other as often so they had to make the most of this spontaneous visit.

As Nikita was getting ready for bed though she couldn't stop replaying her conversation with Alex. After she got up and left they didn't talk one-on-one for the rest of the evening. Alex gave her space and Nikita appreciated it. Maybe she shouldn't have reacted like a child and run away. Alex didn't push her to talk. She was just concerned. And what she said about Michael…god why did that bug her so much? She wanted to believe he would be honest with her regardless of what had happened, but she knew her husband too well. She wanted to talk to him about it but there was no way to do so without talking about the Carters. Nikita didn't want them to invade her mind anymore. As much as she wanted to deny it she did shut down Michael every time he tried to bring it up.

"You done?" While she was staring herself down in the bathroom mirror, thinking everything over, she hadn't noticed that Michael had come up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid a kiss on her temple.

Nikita tried to shake her thoughts away by focusing on him "Almost. I'll be out in a sec" She smiled at his reflection and reached to caress his cheek. Instead of going back to their bedroom Michael tightened his arms around her and laid more kisses on her head. "I'll stay up a bit longer. I wanted to say good night"

"Don't forget that we have to get up early tomorrow" Nikita didn't think anything of it. Her only concern was that they had an early start to the day tomorrow.

"I won't be too long. You go rest. Good night" He gave her a long sweet kiss and headed downstairs to the study. Michael had managed to pull Birkhoff aside during the family dinner to discuss what they were going to do about the Carters. Michael was going to contact Brian Miller first and if he had to meet the Carters again Birkhoff was going to join him.

Now Michael had to reply to Brian Miller's numerous emails, texts and calls.

Hello Mr Miller,

I'm writing to you with an update. I have talked to Nikita and for the last few days, she has been deciding on what she wants to do next. She has heard everything from me and our friend and also looked through the file you gave us. She has reached a decision and it won't be one you'd agree with but there is no room for discussing it further. It's final. She doesn't want to meet with Mr and Mrs Carter or do a DNA test. She doesn't wish to find her real parents and that's a decision I hope you can respect. I understand the heartbreak of your clients but there is heartbreak on our end too. She is not comfortable with anything regarding the matter and that should be enough. As I said before I would support whatever decision she wants to make so my stand on the matter will be the same as hers.

We would also both appreciate it if there were no more spontaneous encounters from your side. Mr Carter came to our office the other day and met with Nikita. She didn't know who he was at the time. He didn't reveal himself either. I'm not sure what the intention was there but it wasn't right. Didn't help the situation when Nikita found out who he really was.

I am happy to meet with you in person again to settle everything.

I hope we can part ways on good terms.

Kind Regards,

Michael Mears-Bishop

Michael liked how it turned out. Polite but clear. Birkhoff advised him to do it like that first and then when they wished to meet that was when they would be more stern.

Michael thought that after writing the email and sending it he would feel better. Lighter maybe. This situation has been heaving him down for quite some time now. Instead of feeling peace though he felt something else. He couldn't put his finger on it. It just…something didn't feel right.

10th September, Saturday

Nikita got ready before Michael did and headed downstairs to prepare something to eat on the road. They had a bit of a drive to London. She was sure that she was going to sleep the whole way. She had had terrible nightmares yet again.

As she was going down the stairs she heard Michael calling to her from their bedroom. "What?" She heard none of it.

"Can you check if my phone is downstairs? I can't find it. I don't know where I put it.'' Michael couldn't even remember the last time he had it on him. He knew he had his phone in his pocket when they got home. He thought he had put it somewhere in the bedroom after that but there was no sign of it.

"Okay," Nikita continued her trek down the stairs and immediately went into the study. She couldn't fathom how he always managed to lose his phone when he put it in the same three spots every time.

Nikita spotted it from the door instantly. It was on the desk by his computer. She shook her head. Every time. "Found it" She shouted back and continued towards the kitchen. She was so tired and was in desperate need of a coffee but that was not going to be a good idea. She had to settle for a veggie shake or tea.

Michael joined her after he got ready. "Thank you" He gave her a kiss as she handed him the phone and his coffee. He was in a somewhat good mood. Little hours of sleep hardly ever affected him. That couldn't be said about his wife.

"Can you fill Archie's feeder? I tried and almost died." She wasn't sick anymore but she started to notice how certain smells started to affect her again. She knew it was the pregnancy symptom coming back. She had never had problems with the smell of Archie's food or other random smells she noticed yesterday.

Michael didn't answer. He was too entranced by whatever was on his phone.

Nikita frowned. She knew it was a text message or an email of some sort. Those were the only things that had him locked in like that.

"Is it Birkhoff? I have a missed call from him and he didn't pick up when I called him back" That was her assumption. It could only be someone from their family so early in the morning.

"Ughm…no" Michael needed a few seconds to read all the text messages he had received early this morning. They were from Brian Miller.

BM: Hello, Michael.

I received your email. Is it possible to meet today or tomorrow? It will be just me. I would appreciate it if you guys could consider coming together. I won't try to change your decision. I just want to hear you guys out and as you said settle everything.

Michael hadn't expected such a fast reply. He had sent the email late last night. How was Brian Miller already replying and wanting to meet? Michael hadn't even told Nikita yet. That had to change immediately.

"You know how I stayed up later last night"

"Yeah…" Nikita didn't like this.

"I spoke with Birkhoff after dinner and we decided to reach out to Brian Miller, the private investigator. I sent him an email last night and told him about your decision" Michael paused so she could take in that information before delivering the rest. He wasn't so worried about her reaction. She had given him the green light to contact the Carters and the investigator. They just hadn't talked about exactly when that was going to happen.

"Okay…that's…that's good" Nikita was glad Michael had taken that step so fast. Maybe he really did support her decision wholeheartedly. Or he just loved her beyond anything. The latter was definitely the one and she knew it. Was she going to pretend she didn't? Probably.

"He has replied to my email by text." He handed her the phone and showed her the email first then the messages. She was silent the whole time which had Michael thinking all sorts of things. He knew she wasn't going to agree to this meeting. He wasn't sure if he even wanted her to.

"I'm not doing that. How does he still not understand?" Michael had expressed several times through that email alone that she wasn't comfortable doing anything like that and this guy still ignored it. That irritated Nikita so much.

"It's okay. I promised you that I'll handle it. Don't worry about it." Michael was going to be way better at protecting her this time around. He was going to make sure that this would barely affect her.

Nikita sighed and tried to busy herself with packing her bag. "I'm not worried I just…"

"Want to forget the whole thing" Michael finished her thought. She had supplied as much and it wasn't hard to guess.

"Yeah"

"You won't remember it in a few weeks" By then they'll be focusing on a much happier occasion like what starting a family would be like.

"I sure hope so" She continued to pack and move around without looking in Michael's direction. He knew her well though and studied her carefully. He was worried about her. They hardly talked about the Carters and that situation. Nikita avoided it, wanted to forget it, and even erase it if possible. That was never the right approach. She needed to talk about it.

To his surprise, she stopped and looked at him for a second "Do you…does this bother you?"

"What do you mean?" Michael couldn't quite catch what she was asking him.

"My decision regarding them and everything" Nikita had waited to ask him that since last night. She didn't anticipate her conversation with Alex to cause such a stir in her mind. Her best friend's words about her husband continued to replay in her head.

"Bother is a strong word. Are you asking about my opinion?" He wasn't sure what she was looking for. She wanted to forget all about the Carters and now she was asking him about his thoughts on the matter. Michael was confused.

"Yes, and I want you to be honest." Nikita leaned her back on the counter and crossed her arms, preparing. She knew she would most likely not like what he was about to say.

"Apart from not telling you about the Carters immediately, I have always been honest with you about everything." He started. Michael was caught off guard so he didn't exactly have his thoughts straight. It took him a second. Nikita patiently waited. "I…I put this decision solely on you because it's your heart on the line. I will always be by your side and provide whatever you need but I don't know what it feels like to be in your shoes, to have gone through so much at a young age. I don't feel comfortable advising you on what to do in this situation. I could only provide support in whatever decision you make."

"I know that, but I want you to give me your opinion. What do you think about them? If you were in my place what would you do? If I wasn't your wife what would you advise me to do?" She knew Michael would go to the end of the world for her and back. She didn't doubt that for a second, however, he wasn't giving her what she wanted. He was holding back. Alex was right.

"You want to hear those things?" He was even more confused.

"Yes. You said you were always honest so just be honest" Nikita wanted to hear it so she could calm herself down. She was confident in her decision and she wanted Michael to be as well but she had to know what he thought.

"I don't think they're faking it. I think they genuinely believe that you are their lost daughter and there are some things that support it that I can't deny. They have been doing some sketchy things but I excuse that as their grief. I know how heavy it can be. To answer your other question, I think the DNA test would be a good idea. "

Nikita slowly nodded. You knew he would say that. She told herself and yet still felt a little hurt by hearing the words out loud.

"Nik?" Michael wanted her to say something. He wanted to know what was going on in that head of hers. "Why are you asking me about that?"

"Well…I just wanted to know. That's all." She couldn't understand why his words didn't sit right with her. She asked him and had a pretty good idea of what his answer would be.

"Now who's not being honest" Michael knew her better than anyone. She couldn't fool him.

"I am telling you the truth. I never gave you the opportunity to voice your opinion." Knowing what he thinks about the Carters wasn't going to change anything for Nikita. She was still set on her decision. She just wanted someone to see it the way she saw it. She hoped her husband would be that person but sadly not. It wasn't his fault. She barely talked about what it was like growing up. Her family knew that she was in an abusive home and had heard some traumatic stories from her childhood but that just scratched the surface. She didn't share what the day-to-day was like, what she was thinking back then. They didn't know that Nikita.

"You also never stopped me either" Michael was trying to figure out what Nikita was trying to say to him with no success. She wasn't letting him in.

"I know but…" She stopped herself. She didn't need to retell her conversations with Alex to her husband.

"But what?" Michael wasn't going to leave it at that.

"I just…I meant to ask you that and now I did. That's all" Nikita wanted to end this conversation and continue on with their morning as normal. She wanted to hang out with her family and not think about this whole thing anymore.

"Did you think that I wasn't being honest with you?" Nikita was closing off but Michael had to know that at least. Just the thought ran a chill down his spine.

"No, no of course not" She went up to him and took hold of his hand. She never doubted that he wasn't honest with her. She understood why he held back and she wasn't mad at him for it. He had always had her back and protected her.

"Okay, then what-" Her phone ringing cut Michael off and stole Nikita's attention from him.

"It's Birkhoff. They are probably preparing to leave already. We should get going" Nikita stepped away from Michael to go answer but he didn't let go of her hand and pulled her closer. "Before we go can I ask you for something?"

"Yeah, what?"

"When we get back home or in a few days whenever you feel like I want to sit down and properly talk. I know you and I know that there is a lot more under the surface that you won't share with me so please because I'm worried" He didn't want to tip toe around the subject anymore. If they were actually going to move on from it and try to forget it they had to talk first.

Nikita hated it when he pleaded with her like that because she could never say no to him. She took a breath and nodded. He had a point. There was a lot she wasn't sharing with him. Michael knew her better than she even knew herself so it was stupid to think he would let her just bottle everything up.

"Yeah?" He needed a verbal confirmation as well.

"Okay, yeah we can do that"

"Thank you" Michael brought her hand to his lips before letting it go. He was happy to leave it at that.

"Yes, Nerd." Nikita finally picked up her phone. "Okay, we are leaving in a few minutes as well. See you there. Bye"

"They're leaving before us? That's a first" Michael was surprised. Usually, Birkhoff and Sonya were the ones that were always late. Mostly because of Birkhoff.

Nikita chuckled "Ryan has stayed back with them instead of leaving with Alex that's why" The analyst was always on time so no wonder he had managed to quickly organize Sonya, Birkhoff and Sam to be on route on time.

"Oh, I would have paid to see their morning" Michael laughed. It was pretty early and they had had a bit of a late night so it was certain that Birkhoff and Sam were going to be in a mood for a while until they fully woke up.

"They can handle it for one morning. I'll go get my bag. Do you need anything from upstairs?"

"No. I'll fill Archie's feeder and we can go"

"Yeah, that chore is officially yours from now on" Nikita didn't even want to hear about or she would gag.

Michael laughed and happily accepted his fate.

Oh, what a time they were having. The team walked around London after Alex's meeting. They shopped a lot, ate a lot and most importantly laughed a lot. They all needed it. Their time all together didn't compare to anything else. It was truly the best time.

In the afternoon the sun came out so they decided to drive back to Brighton and enjoy a walk along the beach. Summer was truly ending here so they had to make the most of it. As they walked they divided into little groups. Alex and Sonya were upfront chatting away. The guys were at the back debating about something yet again while Nikita and Sam were walking somewhat in the middle of all that chaos.

Nikita took the chance to talk to Sam alone and hear how he has been. The past 6 months he had started distancing himself from the rest of them and Nikita didn't like that. Not that he was that close with them in the first place but he was with her so she knew something was up when his calls became less frequent. "So how have you been? Where from here?" Nikita didn't even know where he lived right now.

"Well…it's kind of complicated" Sam shared.

"Complicated?" That had Nikita even more curious. "How?"

"I've been in contact with this company here. It's like a security company and I think it would be a right fit for me. I'm waiting on an answer from them still so I'll stay here for a bit more and if not I guess back to New York it is"

That was the first time Nikita was hearing about any of this. Sam and a security company didn't sound right to her but at the same time, she knew that he would have a hard time staying away fromt their old life so she guessed it did make sense.

"Okay. That's good. If you feel like that's what you want to do I support it. For how long are you going to be staying here?" She was happy to hear that he was starting to shape up his new life. Out of all of them, he had the hardest time doing that.

"Probably about a week. It shouldn't take them long to get back to me"

"Where are you going to be staying? In London?" Maybe they could see each other more while he was here so that she could really figure out what was going on with him.

"Haven't decided yet. Probably somewhere closer to Brighton because the company's base is closer to here than London" Sam explained.

Nikita nodded. The wheels in her head started spinning. What if? But no. She had to talk to Michael first before saying anything. That wasn't a decision she could take without him so she waited for a bit until she could steal a few moments alone with her husband. Luckily everyone had gotten hungry again so they stopped at a cafe to grab a drink and a snack and continue on their walk.

While everyone was getting their orders Nikita pulled Michael outside of the cafe.

"You okay?" Michael asked as soon as she got him away from everyone.

"Yeah, yeah. I just need to ask you something"

"Okay, yeah" Nikita wasn't sure what he would think about her idea. He and Sam weren't the best of friends. Even calling them friends was a stretch. Nikita shared with her husband what Sam had told her then paused to let it sink in. Maybe he would reach the same idea she had.

"Okay…so your question is?" Or maybe not.

"How would you feel if I invited him to stay with us rather than go to a hotel or something" In her head it made total sense. Sam was family so why would he stay at a hotel and not with them. The issue here though was that Michael didn't trust Sam.

Michael had to pause. If he had to be honest he absolutely hated Nikita's idea, especially after what Sean and Birkhoff told him about Sam's weird behaviour. Michael had never trusted Sam and would probably never will. He had put Nikita in danger so many times for his own interest. Letting him into their home and when Nikita was pregnant was unsettling to Michael.

Nikita could sense his hesitation. She knew he wouldn't be on board at first.

"I know that you don't exactly like my idea. I understand but we should give him a chance. I feel like he needs to be around us more, Something is up with him and we need to find out what so we can help"

"Nik, I understand but what if he is acting weird because he has gotten himself mixed up in something again?" After talking with Sean and Birkhoff he was having his own suspicions about Sam.

"Do you know something I don't?" Nikita knew why she was having that feeling but why did he?

"Yes and no. I don't know what he has gotten into but most of us have noticed something different and that means it's probably true so…" Michael felt like that was enough of an argument to not let Sam too much into their space.

"Why does it have to be something illegal?" Nikita didn't see any grounds for such accusations. "What if he is struggling with something instead? That can also make you push people away" She had certainly done that with her loved ones.

Michael took a deep breath. Nikita had one of the biggest hearts there was. He loved her for it, but sometimes, it clouded her judgment. She had helped Sam so many times, and in the end, she was always getting hurt because of it. Michael had bit his tongue when he pushed her in front of a moving car, he even stopped himself from beating the shit out of him when he handed Nikita off to Amanda. He had done all of that because Nikita still cared about Sam. She was still seeing something good in him. Michael and the rest of the family were having trouble seeing it.

"Because it has never been him just struggling with something. There is always something else to it that gets people hurt. Gets you hurt" The last thing Michael wanted to do is fight with his wife about Sam.

Nikita was having a hard time arguing that. She couldn't blame Michael. He had witnessed all of Sam's fuck ups and watched her get hurt or captured because of it.

That was years ago, however. Nikita could prove that things have changed.

"Look, I hear you and I promise that I'll be smart about it. I just need you to trust me with this. One last time. If something happens that would be it" Nikita was sure that if Sam pulled something off again anyone would forgive him. But she didn't have to worry about that. She had faith in him.

Michael closed his eyes and exhaled. He really hated the idea and especially because there no stopping Nikita. If he said no now he knew she wouldn't force him to say yes. She would just find another way to help Sam. However, in order for Michael to keep Sam in check he needed to involved too.

"Okay" He sighed.

"Okay?" Nikita was surprised she got a positive answer that fast.

"He can stay with us but if I catch him doing something sketchy he's out" Michael would not mess around with his family.

"Okay" Nikita circled her arms around his waist and pecked his cheek. "Thank you. I really appreciate you doing this for me"

Michael pulled her closer and sneaked a kiss to her lips. Nikita giggled and kissed him back before returning to the cafe to offer to Sam to stay at their place.

Michael stood outside for a few minutes after her. He hoped this wasn't going to bite him later.

Thank you so much for reading! xx

I'm truly blown away that you guys are still reading this story and waiting for updates. That fills my heart with so much joy. I promise I haven't abandoned this story. It's constantly on my mind and I will deliver it to you guys.

Thank you again for all the love and support 3