Chapter 5

"Hey, just give me a second to grab my laptop and- what's wrong?" Michael answered Nikita's FaceTime and rushed to grab his laptop because his phone was dying. That's why he didn't pay much attention to his screen. Once he looked at her though he stopped in his tracks. "Have you been crying?" Nikita's eyes were puffy and red. There were no tears on her face but she couldn't fool Michael.

"God, do I look that bad?" She chuckled and went to the mirror in her room to check her appearance. Some time had passed. She assumed she looked fine when she decided to call Michael.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Michael had a million questions. He couldn't find a reason why she would be crying. She was supposed to be having so much fun with Sonya and Alex. What would have made her so upset?

"Uhm…I had a panic attack this evening" It was hard for Nikita to admit that to Michael. She didn't want him to worry when they were away from each other. She just felt off that day and in the evening it had escalated to a panic attack.

"I'm sorry, my love. You hadn't had one in a while." After they got their freedom Nikita began experiencing the after-effects of their war. She started dealing with lots of anxiety and panic attacks. Fortunately, she had her family by her side to support her and she got the help she needed. She learnt what her body and mind needed and her panic attacks were more rare nowadays.

"Do you know what triggered it?"

"Not really. I don't think it was anything in particular. I was feeling kind of down throughout the whole day and you know how that goes. One thing led to another…" Nikita avoided eye contact and instead decided to go to the bathroom to wash her face. She at least took her phone with her.

"Why didn't you call earlier?" Nikita absolutely hated having panic attacks when he wasn't around. Michael had become her comfort person through her horrible experience with anxiety. They got through it together. He was able to calm her down like nobody else could and make her feel safe.

"I didn't think I was actually going to have a panic attack. I was anxious then it hit me and I have been hiding out in my room since" She sighed deeply.

"The others don't know?" That wasn't good either. Michael wanted her to have someone by her side.

"I think Alex sensed I was on edge today so when I said I wasn't feeling well she didn't question it. She'll probably come looking for me soon though" Nikita had skipped dinner but she was sure her best friend would come barging in and feed her herself if she didn't come out soon.

"How are you now?" Michael tried to hide his worry as best as he could. Nikita hadn't had a panic attack in quite a while. There must be something significant that triggered it. He couldn't figure out what would cause her to have a panic attack while she was on vacation.

"Don't ask me that" Nikita groaned. She felt like shit and honestly, she just wanted to curl up in a ball in the dark and cry herself to sleep. As depressing as that sounded it would have done the trick to soothe her and drain her enough that she would be able to go to sleep.

"Take your drops. I packed them in your bag. They should help your body calm down" Nikita didn't need to say anything else. Michael could tell by just looking at her that she wasn't feeling well.

"When did you pack them?" Michael had helped her pack but she didn't remember him doing that.

"I double-checked that you got everything and I added a few things in case you were to need them" Michael's main love language was definitely acts of service so he couldn't help himself. He would take care of her even from 2000 miles away.

"I love you" Nikita rushed to get her herbal drops out of her medicine bag. The drops really helped her when she was feeling anxious.

"I love you. Now take them, have a shower maybe, breathe and I'll be here" Michael would take care of his girl and make sure she felt better by the end of the evening.

And he did succeed. Nikita took a shower and Michael was able to convince her to eat something. Then they talked and talked. He listened when she cried, made her laugh and was there for her through it all. They did some breathing exercises before bed and Michael read her some chapters of the book he was reading. That always helped her relax. Moments after he could hear her snoring through the phone. He marvelled at her angelic face. She looked so peaceful despite everything. He would do anything to protect her.

It took him a while to fall asleep. He had missed watching her sleep so that was distracting him nicely. Michael also couldn't help but think about the recently discovered news about her past. Supposedly. If it was true and she was this couple's lost daughter then hell was about to break loose in their life. Nikita wasn't going to take it well. More anxiety and panic attacks were coming her way and Michael absolutely hated it.

28th August, Sunday 5:00 am

Michael got tired of tossing and turning. He wanted to wait for Nikita to wake up to check on how she was feeling. It was already 7 am there but he had a feeling Nikita would not wake up soon. He was happy she was sleeping actually. She definitely needed it. He decided to end the video call and text her so she wouldn't worry or be too disappointed when she woke up without him on the phone.

{3 M: Good morning, my love! I'm sorry I didn't wait for you to wake up. I got up early. You needed to sleep in. Call me when you wake up xx

He sent the text and got out of bed. It was too early to do anything. It was also Sunday. There was no work to be done and he didn't have anywhere to go. House chores it was for the day. He tidied up the house, did some laundry and took Archie on an early morning walk. As he was getting back home his phone buzzed.

{3 N: Good morning! I slept in. We had plans to go to breakfast at this cafe and Alex dragged me out of bed last minute haha. I will call you when we get back xx

{3 M: How did you sleep?

{3 N: I had terrible nightmares before Alex woke me up. Other than that fine. Can we do this again tonight, please? I wouldn't have been able able to fall asleep otherwise.

{3 M: Okay something is wrong if you keep asking me that. OF COURSE, WE ARE DOING IT!

{3 N: Hahaha! I love you!

{3 M: I love you too! Now get a good breakfast in and I'll be waiting xx

When Michael got home he decided to tackle their home office. It definitely needed some organizing. As he was pulling things out of drawers and sorting them he found the flash drive. The flash drive Brian Miller had given him. For a few hours, Michael had completely forgotten about that mess. It was blissful but now he was taken back to reality. He put the flash drive back in the drawer and tried to continue as if he hadn't seen it. He and Birkhoff had agreed on contacting Brian Miller but they decided to wait and sleep on the information that they had gotten. Well, it was the next morning now and something had to be done. He texted Birkhoff.

M: I'll send him an email. Not really in the mood to talk to him right now.

B: With you on that. He will set up another meeting just so you know.

M: I know but It's not like we are going in blind anymore. We know what his angle is.

B: Let me know how it goes.

Michael got his laptop and started typing away. He combined all their personal findings and all their questions into that email and sent it. Hopefully, this guy was a workaholic and checked his emails on a Sunday. They were working on a tight schedule.

Fortunately for Michael Brian Miller was way more involved in his job than he probably should have and replied to his email that afternoon.

Hello Michael,

I'm pleased to see you have reached out. Of course, I will gladly answer all your questions but I have a better idea that I do hope you really consider. My clients - Anh and Edward Carter are interested in meeting you. It will be beneficial for both parties. They can tell you their story and you can ask all your questions. Please consider my proposition. They are ready to meet with you tomorrow if you would just agree.

Waiting for your reply,

Brian Miller

Fuck. Michael really didn't want to meet with them. It felt wrong. He knew it in his gut but what other choice did he have. Time was ticking. Nikita was flying back on Wednesday and he had to tell her then. But in order to do that he needed all the information he could get so he had to agree.

With the assistance of Brian Miller, Michael set up a meeting with Anh and Edward Carter for the next day. Hopefully, it was the right thing to do in the long run.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I appreciate you so very much xx

Note: This symbol {3 means a heart btw. I made it up because you can't really use emojis on here haha.