Guts Over Fear ◇ NIKITA

Long Time, No See

9 Years Later

Alys looked up as she heard limping footsteps coming in her direction, her green eyes widening as she watched Birkhoff drag himself into the medbay. "Fighting with Shadownet again?" she asked a little warily as she took in his bruised face. He gave her a less than pleased look before dropping into the examination chair.

"No, Nikita." Alys's eyes narrowed a bit at the name that she'd never forget before taking a moment to observe his injuries.

"What'd she do to you?" she asked softly as she carefully ran her gloved fingers over his bruised and swollen cheek. She had lost her accent to an American one after her time here.

"She hit me with a gun," Birkhoff almost whined. Alys couldn't help but scoff as she pulled his chin down so he'd open his mouth, checking for any internal damage. There were impressions of his teeth pressed into his cheek, no doubt from the impact, but his mouth looked fairly okay. She gently tilted his face around so she could get the light in at different angles and held a steady expression when she found a small hole drilled into one of his left molars.

It had been filled with something similarly colored to his enamel, but there was definately something there. "How does your mouth feel?" Alys asked instead as she moved to inspect the leg he was limping on. She had examined Seymour before, and he didn't have any fillings in that molar. But if Nikita had placed something there, she would leave it be. It's not her place to tamper with Nikita's plans, she'd leave that to Percy and Amanda.

"Like I've been pistol whipped in the face, Aly," Birkhoff pointed out moodily. The blonde rolled her eyes and gently pressed on his leg, continuing this motion down his leg and pausing only when he hissed. She carefully rolled his pant leg up his calf and examined the pale, bruised flesh.

"You have a sprain, but you should be fine. Take it easy for a few days." Alys moved away to collect some pain medication, her mind wandering to Nikita. If she were to plant anything on Birkhoff, it'd be a transmitter of some form. But, for both Nikita's and Birkhoff's sake, she'd keep her findings to herself. "Take one of these every six hours and you'll be nerding around in no time," she added as she turned back around and held out the meds. "She went easy on you."

Birkhoff finished pulling his pant leg down before accepting the pill bottle and giving her a soft smile. "Doesn't feel like she did," he lightly scoffed.

"You know Niki," Alys chuckled as he stood. "If she doesn't hurt you at least a little, she doesn't love you." She gave him a small, reminiscent smile. "Now stop hoarding up my medbay, there are people that actually need it."

"I'll make sure to tell Michael you're running low on test subjects," Birkhoff countered, causing the blonde's smile to grow.

Before he could get all the way out of the door, she made sure to add, "Be careful, Seymour." He looked back at her with a kind smile and a nod before limping over to the elevator. When the doors closed behind him, Alys dropped into her chair with a sigh. These days, Nikita often found her way into her mind. The fact that she was in open rebellion with the place that created her second life, that created Alys's, Birkhoff's, and everyone they knew didn't help.

Division.

Alys hated the word, ever since she first saw it on the Eye's screen. She taught herself to hate it, she knew that she had to the moment she was placed in this hell hole. Like Nikita, Alys wanted to roam free - she wanted her sweet escape. But this underground facility held her prisoner, the kill-chip in her neck ensured her loyalty. But not too long from now, she'd be able to escape to her Division-provided apartment. It was a small comfort, but it was something from her years of hard work.

◇

Alys sighed as she tossed her keys onto the counter and dropped her bag by the door, her body tensing when she saw the faint glow of one of her computer screens. Silently, she walked into her living room and saw that her securely password protected desktop computer had been logged in. At this point, she was holding her breath, able to hear the soft closing of a door. She quickly turned around, ready to put up a fight, but froze when she saw Nikita. "Hey," she cautiously greeted. "It's been a while."

Alys scoffed and allowed herself to breathe again. "Nikita..." She took a moment to match the name to the face again. She was older now, but she was clearly doing a lot better than she was when Alys first met her. "I want to hug you, but after what you did to Birkhoff..." A smile pulled on Nikita's cheeks and she walked forward, collecting the blonde in a tight hug.

Nikita didn't pull away for a silent moment, burying her face into the crook of Alys's neck, inhaling her scent. Alys used to feel safe in these arms - loved, but after Nikita left Alys felt all of that wash away slowly. It was before she had even left Division, but despite it all, Alys still loved her. "I've never seen Percy so flustered," Alys chuckled when they finally pulled away from each other. "You've been keeping him on his toes."

Nikita's smile faultered a bit and her expression turned guilty. "That's actually why I'm here." Alys took a deep breath and frowned.

"I know you put a transmitter in Birkhoff's tooth." Nikita's eyes widened and she grew a frown too.

"How?" she asked, her voice full of disbelief. An incredilous grin grew on Alys's lips and she shrugged.

"Guessed," she scoffed. "I only saw the filling."

"Clever girl," Nikita snickered, an endearing grin smoothing across her lips as she tilted her head.

"Complimenting me won't make me less upset about it, Niki. What am I supposed to do after you beat up my best friend?" Alys scolded, gaining a chuckle from Nikita as well.

"Slap me on the wrist and tell me not to do it again," she supplied.

"Will you, though? Who are you going after next - Michael?" Nikita grew serious and Alys sighed. "Nikita, I meant what I said," she informed with that same hard look, determined to get her point across.

"Nikita," Alys remprimanded softly, holding a gentle grip on her wrist. "I've seen you at your worst, and I'm not scared of you. You can't push me away." With a pained frown, Nikita pulled away from her, but that didn't cause the blonde any faulter. "I will always be there for you. No questions asked - well, some."

"I know," Nikita nodded. "I need you to keep quiet about Nerd's cavity."

"Of course," Alys agreed. "I didn't even tell Birkhoff." Nikita couldn't help a soft laugh, remembering the good days they'd shared sneaking around Division. "Is there anything else you need?"

"A kiss for good luck?" Nikita's face brightened, showing off her perfect teeth. Then as if to make her come off more adorable, she tilted her head and gave Alys those big brown doe eyes.

"Could I ever tell you no?" Alys chuckled, unable to shake the effect just being in Nikita's presence after all this time had on her. The thought of kissing her again made the blonde's brain flood with excitement, the longing she almost always felt sated, if just for a moment.

Alys temporarily lost herself for a moment when their lips finally met, the reality of the same soft lips she remembered moving against hers quickly reeling her in. She missed this more than she had realized, and when Nikita pulled away to press their foreheads together, she struggled to rein in her selfish wants to keep Nikita here. "Don't get yourself killed," Alys quietly whispered, opening her eyes.

When Nikita opened her eyes, Alys found herself falling for her all over again. "Where's the fun in that?" Nikita chuckled then turned around and walked away.

"I'm serious, Mears," Alys chatised after the assassin.

Nikita laughed as she walked over to the door, throwing one last look over her shoulder. "So am I. I miss your accent, Gordon," she tacked on before shutting the door. Alys scoffed and held her hand to her chest, unable to feel her breathing otherwise.