This story is for entertainment purposes only, I do not claim the characters as my own. Parents, it is your responsibility to monitor your children's internet use, not mine.

5. A Promise to Keep

Percy looked over at Amanda, he had poured himself a drink and swirled the amber liquid around in his glass, the ice cubes tinkling.

"What do you think? Are there any missing pieces, loose ends?"

Amanda looked up and took a breath, before meeting his eyes. "There are always missing pieces. Judging from the way Michael was behaving, I'd say Nikita is dead. He looked devastated."

"Will he recover? I've lost one prime agent, I can't really afford to loose Michael too."

"Roan was always a ticking time bomb, he lasted longer than any of us imagined, and Michael, I actually think this may be the best thing that could happen to Division. Michael may be better than ever, he was getting…. sentimental." She looked amused. "Now he'll get his focus back."

"Good! Nikita's taken up far too much of our time." What do you think about this new recruit, Thom?

"He has potential, we'll keep an eye on him, and his motivation, Alex."

Percy smirked and finished his drink. "You know they remind me of Michael & Nikita when they first came to us."

Amanda stood and smoothed her pencil skirt down and turned to leave. "Not to worry, we've been on this path before, it may feel like deja vu, but I assure you, it's not. I've got it handled.

Percy chuckled to himself, Amanda was really a piece of work.

Two days after Thom and Michael returned from Montreal, Alex took another turn at the computer and when the screen didn't tell her 'user offline' her relief was real.

"Sensei? Please answer me, are you okay?"

Alex had been worried enough that she considered trying to escape. So when Nikita replied, she was elated.

"Yes, okay, but I'll be out of commission for a while."

"I was so worried, Thom and Michael came back and they both looked like the mission had been a disaster, but then I heard it was successful. I thought you were dead."

Nikita had smiled when she replied. "I must be part cat. Someday I'll give you details. Good and bad."

"I hope the good outweighed the bad." Alex replied.

Nikita was thankful that Alex couldn't see her tears when she replied. "It did."

Amanda had told him once, "What happens in our lives is fleeting and one instance can forever change who you are." Michael never embraced Amanda's soft packaged pop psychology but in this case her words rang true and his broken heart proved the point. He was never one to wallow in self-pity, but self-recrimination was another story.

As ordered, he had taken a week off from Division, and with incredible self-will, he stopped himself from going back to Montreal to find her. He knew he was being watched and his presence placed her in danger, instead he spent his days calling in favors from people he had past dealings with. He searched for information on Nikita and Owen, hoping for a thread of news that would give him hope to hang on to, but nothing useful had surfaced and he could only pray she was still alive. He spent his nights thinking about her, and unlike many things in his life that he chose to forget, he remembered every second and every detail of their night together. These moments were permanently etched into his heart, and although he couldn't change his past, he realized a future is a precious idea. Somewhere inside of him, he knew she was still alive, he would find her and he promised himself they would be together, this wasn't over.

When his week of exile was up, he walked back into Division and made his rounds. He was relieved to find Percy and Amanda were off site attending meetings. He knew Nikita had changed him, she had restored some of his humanity and he could no longer be in denial, his love was not just a foolish by-product of loneliness. He feared Amanda would dig into his psyche and piss him off enough that Percy would start hassling him again, but than another part of him hoped they would see that he was different.

Michael entered Operations and was greeted in a familiar and annoying way.

"Yo Mike! Welcome back to the trenches. You enjoy your R & R, you look like crap for someone who's been off a week. Didn't you meet any babes out there?" Birkhoff half joked and fully hoped he had.

"Shut up Birkhoff." Michael didn't need to pretend he was disgusted with him, but it was comforting to know that some things had not changed.

"Did you hear about that agent that disappeared? Looks like he couldn't hack it, and got hacked up." Birkhoff muttered to himself and started typing on his keyboard.

"Seriously though… I got a really weird message for you while you were out. Even ShadowNet couldn't trace it." Birkhoff continued to type on his keyboard and toggled between screens. "Here, it came off of a DoD satellite. He opened a window on his screen and Michael read the words.

WE CAN'T GO BACK

His adrenaline spiked and a million questions ran through his head. He barely heard Birkhoff when he said, "Michael, I heard about Nikita. I'm sorry you had to do it."

Michael's heart raced, he acknowledged Birkhoff with a nod and turned and walked away. He stood a little taller and felt a little stronger and his resolve returned, because this wasn't over and he had a promise to keep.

Approximately three hundred miles north of Quebec, it had started to snow and thankfully the wood stove made the cabin feel warm and cozy. Owen brought Nikita a cup of tea and a magazine.

"It feels really good to be moving around. Thanks." She took the steaming cup from him and he handed her the magazine.

"Martha Stewart Living? Are you kidding me?"

"They were out of Covert Mission Digest, sorry." He hadn't laughed in a really long time and it felt almost strange.

"Besides my lame magazine choice, how are you feeling?" Owen still felt awkward, he was basically shy, and although they may have saved each others lives, they were virtually two strangers.

"I may not ever wear a bikini again, but otherwise, I'm fine." She smiled at him, a month had gone by and she felt strong.

With the help of the doctor who Owen had bribed, Nikita's life had been saved and as soon as she could be moved, he took her to a lake side cabin that he had found, the one he had hoped to share with Emily.

"Owen, you saved my life and I'll always be eternally grateful, but I can't stay here, I have other people I have to stay in touch with."

"Michael?" Owen looked lost and somehow Nikita felt responsible.

"That's complicated. I don't know what will happen, we're still on opposite sides of too many issues." Her voice was quiet, her words rehearsed, her speech broken. "There are others I care about, besides, I still have to skewer Percy on a few more things."

It hadn't bothered her that Owen brought Michael up, he was never far from her thoughts and she had realized something important. Now, when she thought of Daniel, it filled her with sadness, loss and guilt, but when she tried to remember him, to see him and to feel him in her heart, it was only Michael's face she saw, his voice she heard and his heart she felt because this time, her love wasn't based upon a lie, it was based on the truth.

"Nikita, there's one other thing you should know." Owen looked almost sheepish.

She asked for an explanation with a look.

"I made a copy of Percy's black box, and one of the items in it is in code, a cypher of sorts, but it tells where the other six black boxes are located.

~ End?

Author's Note:

I should let you know that my love for these two characters started with the series that started in the 90's called La Femme Nikita with Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis. I wasn't sure I'd like this present incarnation of the story, but I do, the premise still rocks and it's different enough that comparisons aren't necessary. Its definitely new and Nikita and Michael are HOT! (Birkhoff is the only character I have trouble with, in the old series he was portrayed in such a way that you couldn't help but like him.) Unfortunately, the show is on at the same time as one of my other favorite shows right now, Fringe, so I'm really torn, and ready to buy a TiVo.

This was by far the easiest fan fic I have ever written, the story came quickly and I knew what I wanted to happen almost immediately. I knew how I wanted to interpret the characters, except for Roan, so I made him up as I wrote, and unlucky for him, he got to be the fall guy. I also took liberties with Thom, I felt he needed a background, kind of a reason why he acts like a cute puppy in a den of pit-bulls.

I regret that this was Alex light, but having two story lines going at once is something I have yet to master. Alex is really cool and I love how she's like a super hero in training. Nikita in love with Daniel is just a plain obstacle in my view, so that had to be resolved. This was also Owen light, because it wasn't about them. He is kind of a good problem for Nikita, can't wait to see him turn up again. Michael is such a hottie. He's dark and glib, dysfunctional and sensitive, such an enigma, but you know he smells really good. Did I mention he's a hottie? Don't you love how smarmy Percy is and how scary Amanda is? I should have figured out a way to make Nikita more bad ass, but that's why I don't get the big bucks.. It's hard.

I chose to leave the smut out of this story, I'm no prude and have written stuff that I would NEVER show my grandmother, but I just couldn't bring myself to talk about body parts, sometimes it's not about those thing(ies)s. ;o)

A couple of you left me reviews but I couldn't send you a private message, so a shout out to you, thank you for reading this story and for your comments.

To those of you who added me as a story alert - you get a coffee date with Michael at Starbucks (whip cream included)

To those of you who added this to your favorite list - you get to meet Michael at Club Cherrier for cocktails.

To those of you who left me reviews - well you guys get a backrub from Michael!

;o)

I've been reading some really great Nikita Fan Fic, and I know there is more to come. I can't wait.

Thank you again and thank you for not flaming my ass in public.

Love,

Mochi