Hey Guys!

Finally, I present my last little 'True Believer' one shot. I've had a couple of requests for this scene actually, it seems everyone thought a write up of what happened after Nikita was thrown out of the window by Mia was in order.

I promise, after this I am going to get the next chapter of False Pretences updated for you all and would like to take the time to thank everybody who has reviewed all of my pieces, that goes for favourites and alerts too, you guys are all awesome.

This piece is a little bit shorter, a companion piece to 'No Looking Back' but I believe it's a sweet little scene and I've enjoyed writing it. I hope you guys all enjoy reading it too.

For MightyMillie: Thank you for the inspiration and ideas to write this scene, and my last little One-Shot, I hope you like this one just as much...

Enjoy.

X

Consequences

"I'm fine, Michael – honestly."

Alex's baby blue eyes gently began to focus, their image sharpening as she blinked in a couple of times, getting her bearings together.

The first feeling that washed through her was a strange sensation of tiredness, even though she had just woken up, it felt like she hadn't slept for days. The next feeling was one of an uncomfortable tingling, shooting from her shoulder to begin with but soon travelling down her right arm painfully, making her resist the urge to wriggle her fingers. The last time she did that, it hurt considerably. In fact, all her muscles were aching, even as she lay staring up at the ceiling and listening intently to the conversion she could hear coming her way.

She picked out Nikita's voice instantly and turned her head to where the older woman had been sitting a few hours ago. She had asked her to stay, more through fear of the assassin doing something she would regret about Mia. Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes as she gently pulled herself upright, wincing as she made herself more vertical. She figured that Nikita wouldn't have listened do her. Whenever Alex got hurt, especially if Nikita thought even just for a moment that it might be her fault, she could never sit still. Alex knew that she would have gone out looking for Mia, without thinking and through her guilt.

"You should be resting..." she heard Michael murmur, in his sort of annoyed tone that she had come to recognise, especially when Nikita was taking no disregard for her own safety. Something must have happened, something with Mia.

"I'm not resting, she shot Alex Michael..." Nikita stated, almost as if Michael didn't know what had happened. Her voice was bitter and Alex furrowed her brow in confusion... Just why were they having this conversation?

"Whoa, easy... Nikita, your not alright." Michaels tone was now littered with worry and Alex cursed the blank Division walls dividing her from what was going on outside.

"Come on, I'm getting you cleaned up..." he said quietly and Alex had to strain to hear his small sentence. She was expecting Nikita to answer with some kind of protest, but her heart skipped a beat when she heard no reply.

She had to know what was going on. Cringing, she managed to sit herself completely upright, glad that her arm was secured tightly in it's temporary sling. It didn't however, stop the shooting pain that travelled through her body. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the feeling and swung both legs downwards, a strange dizzy feeling flowing through her. She knew that she would be in trouble for this later, and that she really didn't ought to be on her feet yet, but she had to know what was going on.

She made the final bold move to stand up, her knees shaking and giving her a horrible feeling of insecurity. Grabbing the small utensils table next to her, she used its sturdy metal frame to help her adjust to being on her feet, keeping her upright until she felt steady enough to let go. Nikita had done something reckless, she just knew it. She couldn't help but worry about the assassin's motives at times, she always threw herself in head first for other people, without any concern for her own safety.

Yet she was the first one with a reckless behaviour lecture.

Alex knew it was just her concern for other people. Nikita had a good heart, better than anyone that she had ever known. She was always dependable, her motives might not always be right and she might not always make the right call but the thought was always there, behind her actions. She let her heart rule her head at times, it was her greatest strength, yet her greatest weakness all wound into one.

Alex stumbled forwards slightly, grasping the door frame to steady her shaking limbs. She was amazed at just how bad she was feeling, the blood loss she had experienced had really knocked her for six. She had experienced the pain of a gunshot before, back in a time that she never wanted to relive, when Nikita had shot her in the leg. It had all been for her, she knew that now. If Nikita hadn't have acted rash, Alex knew she would have wound up getting herself killed, Nikita had given her a breather from her revenge path, she had caused her to re-evaluate what was going on and had caused her to lay low until her injuries had healed.

She didn't blame her, not at all.

Grasping the door handle, she gently pressed it down until the latch clicked. Swinging it open, the smell of disinfectant made her nose curl as she walked her way out into the white-washed walls of Division's infirmary. Using the walls for stability, she made her way slowly down the corridor to the only open door, following the sound of it's occupants voices.

She paused to take a deep breath before she entered, trying to compose herself. She felt like hell, she didn't need to show it.

As her eyes fell upon the room before her, she momentarily forgot about her weakness. She was met with Michael, fussing over what looked to be a very battered and bruised Nikita. Michael was talking low, so much so that from her position she could quite catch his words. All she knew was, Nikita had a sort of dejected expression and her eyes were diverted towards the floor, she could only guess that Michael was giving her some kind of lecture on her recklessness.

"Nikita – what happened?" she asked quickly, closing her open mouth and finding her voice. She saw both sets of eyes veer quickly at herself as she alerted her presence.

"Alex! You shouldn't be out of bed!" Nikita was the first one to show her surprise, and the first one to act upon it. Alex didn't miss the stiffness that her mentor stood up with, she was holding one side of her body awkwardly, almost as if she was trying to make it lighter than the other. Alex knew that manoeuvre well, it was usually due to the pain of a few cracked ribs. Even as she walked over, Alex could see that the assassin wasn't exactly comfortable.

The young Russian shook her head as Nikita went to offer her support, instead, her eyes studied every inch of the woman before her. Several lacerations graced her face and arms, some of them looked deeper than others. All superficial perhaps, but evidence of some kind of scuffle. She was right then – Nikita had gone after Mia by herself. She felt a sudden flash of anger at the situation. She had just been shot to keep the older woman safe, she had made a sacrifice to see that Nikita didn't get hurt, or worse. Yet it seemed the assassin had deliberately gone back out to look for trouble.

Nikita couldn't help but notice Alex's eyes scanning her intently, trying to piece together a likely situation before she was told what happened. Nikita sighed, turning herself away from the girl before her and making her way stiffly back to sit down.

"What were you thinking?" Alex whispered, annoyance clear in her voice. She was amazed by her own tones, they mirrored Nikita's almost pitch perfectly. She was even more annoyed when the older woman didn't answer, she just looked up to Michael in a silent plea. He in turn, held his hands up in mock submission. The girls needed to sort this out by themselves, if there was one thing he'd learned, it was that he should never get involved in one of Alex and Nikita's arguments.

"Count me out." he said quickly, taking the opportunity to slip out past Alex, not missing the scornful look that he received in return.

"It was nothing to do with me," he added, claiming his innocence before she got mad at him too. "I'll leave you two to talk..."

Alex sighed as he shut the door behind her. With steadier legs, she forced herself forwards, to sit gently next to the older woman, still not dropping her gaze away from Nikita's form. She could almost see Nikita mentally wriggle away from her, knowing full well that she had gone against her own words earlier.

"I thought you said you'd stay..." Alex whispered, her voice a little lighter, yet holding a ring of disappointment. Nikita looked up, meeting her eyes with a guilty expression. She had promised that, in Alex's moment of need, that she would stay with her in the infirmary. She did stay, before the need to hunt down the woman that hurt her protégée became overpowering.

"Alex..." she began, before the younger girl cut her swiftly off.

"I get it, Nikita, I really do." Alex stated, running her good hand through her hair in frustration. "I get that you needed some kind of closure, that you felt the need to fix something that you thought you'd done wrong." It was hard for Alex to keep the anger from her voice as she spoke, when was Nikita going to wake up and stop letting the world lay heavy on her shoulders? She didn't need redemption, not now, so Alex wasn't quite sure why she kept taking herself down such a path.

"I even get why you felt the need to hunt Mia down, what drove you forwards. Nikita, I know that you care about me, I really do, you don't have to prove that to me. So why, why do you have to keep doing this to yourself? You're always the one that said, emotional closeness to any mission is one of the worst things you can do, yet you don't follow your own advice."

"Alex, what was I supposed to do? Sit here and pretend like nothing had happened?!" Nikita stood herself upright quickly, her frustration carrying her away from the younger girl. She got why Alex was worried about her, hell, she didn't know where she would have taken this herself if Mia hadn't shoved her out of a window. She even knew that Alex was right, she was reckless today. The girl before her had just been shot, to keep her safe, and she had gone out and put herself straight back in danger again.

What the hell was wrong with her?

"When is it going to end Nikita?" Alex whispered, her eyes following the assassin as she paced up and down.

"It never ends Alex!" she growled, more at herself than the girl before her. "It never ends, eventually, everyone I care about gets hurt. Alex, you got hurt because of me." she had to turn her body away, so that she couldn't look into the other girl's eyes, if she looked into those deep blue orbs, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears stinging her own eyes.

Alex sighed deeply, she thought they had been through this before. She didn't care about what happened to her, she just didn't want Nikita to spiral down this path, down the path of someone that had no hope, no concern for their own well-being. She didn't want her to beat herself up over this. Gingerly, she raised herself off the edge of the bed, walking until she was just behind the older woman and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She felt the assassin stiffen beneath her touch, trying to fight the emotions that she was feeling.

"Nikita, please. You need to let this go..." she whispered, walking just a little bit closer. Nikita was the strongest person she knew, but even she needed a little reassurance sometimes.

"How Alex? How can I let this go?" Nikita whispered, Alex noticed a small crack in her usually-strong voice.

"Because you're not alone here, you never were." Alex replied, managing a small smile as the older woman turned to face her, her hazel eyes swimming with tears.

"You have all of us, me, Michael – Birkhoff..." she added, "and we're not going anywhere, not any time soon."

She reached her good hand up, gently brushing across the bruise that was beginning to form on Nikita's cheek. The older woman reached up too, to take her hand in her own. Nikita returned a small half-smile, the image of what had happened still evident behind her eyes, yet suppressed a little by the moment.

She didn't get a chance to say anything else, as Alex pulled her forwards into a gentle hug, her anger forgotten. She returned it carefully, trying not to put any pressure on the younger girl's wound in any way. For a minute, she couldn't help but close her eyes, taking in the feeling of the girl before her. She had come so close to losing her, yet here she was, safely in her arms. She ran a hand through Alex's brown locks carefully, pulling away.

"Tell me what happened." Alex whispered, letting Nikita lead her gently back over to the bed. She noticed the same tiredness returning to her body that had been there earlier, nagging at her as they sat down. Nikita didn't let go of her hand for a minute, she kept it firmly held in her own.

"Mia, she shoved me out of a window." Nikita laughed bitterly. She noticed the shock flash across Alex face.

"How high was the window?!" the young Russian asked, keeping Nikita's gaze steady.

"About twenty-feet or so..." Nikita shrugged, waiting for fireworks again.

"Twenty feet?!" Alex stated, raising an eyebrow. How the hell did this woman do it?

"Yeah, I landed on a pallet of wood, quite lucky really, all I came away with is a few cuts and a couple of broken ribs." Nikita tried to make the situation seem lighter than it was with her words, but Alex raised a questioning eyebrow and she couldn't help but smile.

She liked the banter between the two of them. It was always nice to have someone like Alex that she could talk to. They had been through so much together already, she felt a closeness to the girl before her that she didn't share with anyone else – even Michael. They had their ups and downs, but Alex was always there, always. They never could stay mad at each other for long.

She didn't know what she would do without her.

"Anyway, you need to get back to bed. I haven't forgotten that you're supposed to be resting." she said quickly, giving Alex a stern look, to which the younger girl rolled her eyes at. Nikita laughed half heartedly, placing her hand on the other girl's knee and giving it a quick squeeze.

"Me, I wasn't the one that got shoved out of a window." Alex argued, her tone light-hearted. Nikita would always be just that – Nikita. She knew she would never change the other woman, no matter how much she tried. Sometimes it was just better to admit defeat and submit.

Nikita stood up, offering her hand down to Alex, waiting for the other girl to take her offer.

"Besides, it could have been worse." Nikita shrugged, as Alex took her hand and allowed herself be pulled gently to her feet. Swaying for a minute, she kept hold on Nikita's, more for comfort than stability.

"Oh yeah, hows that?" she asked curiously.

"I could have landed on the concrete." Nikita said, giving her a playful smile. Alex rolled her eyes at the motion, turning away to find her way back to her own room.

The woman before her was hopeless – she really was.