Tom was not going to allow Cassie to stay out in the woods without anyone. He stubbornly stood up and looked at Michael. Michael only stared at him and turned his head away. Tom through pain, walks back to where Nikita had found him. He knew it was only a matter of going into the dense foliage to find Cassie. Underneath some black bags, Cassie was, sleeping like a little child.
"Cass... Cassie..." Tom says as he winces in pain. Cassie opens her eyes like a child on Christmas morning. Tom smiles as she sits up.
Michael nods his head as he can tell that Tom had found Cassie. Michael is about to close his eyes and a cold shiver runs down his spine.
"Nikita?" Michael calls out and he looks around. He does not like the tropical forest. It held too many unknowns out there.
"Michael!" Nikita's voice cries out softly and Michael looks around at the pile of supplies. He smiles as he notices the small comm unit snuggled in the blanket that sat at his feet.
"Nikita." Michael says as he picks it up and watches Tom help Cassie back towards the area Nikita had cleared up.
"I have an animal." Nikita says.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Nikita screams, which can be heard from the unit and then through the woods.
Instant strength filled Michael's body as he grabbed some pieces of metal from the plane and heads towards the screams.
***
She had been searching for water, and that she had stayed close to the plane, but that was not the case. But she heard running water. If Michael and Tom were going into shock, water was going to be important.
That was when there was a noise behind her. She turned and only saw yellow eyes and fangs. That was sparked the message to Michael. She knew he could not stop the attack, but maybe, he could find her body.
The animal never gave Nikita a chance to identify it as it pounced on her body.
***
"Nikita." Michael calls out. The sun was fading quickly and if he did not find Nikita now, she would not survive the night. Michael stepped from behind a tree and saw a shaft of light coming from what Michael knew was Nikita's flashlight. Michael moved quickly, forgetting his own injuries.
He stopped as he came across the heap on the ground. He stared as he saw no movement. Her last scream may be the last thing he heard from the woman he loved, and the woman who was trying to take care of him.
Only slight relief flooded his body as Nikita's chest expanded, showing that she was still breathing.
Michael runs over to Nikita's body and checks to see how much damage had been done. He sees many cuts that may become infected if not treated properly and quickly.
Michael looks around for anything that may be of use to bandage her cuts after cleaning them with the water that she had found.
He sees nothing that is sterile enough to keep the wounds from becoming infected so he tears his shirt off and tears it into strips. Then he goes over and dips out some water to be used for cleansing.
After cleansing out her wounds and bandaging them up, he picks her up lightly and carries her back to the camp that she created.
When Tom and Cassie saw Michael walking towards them carrying Nikita, they rush over to help him with her. They both know that Michael was in no shape to be dealing with the load that Nikita was.
Cassie: What happened to her?
Michael: An animal attacked her. She should be fine but we have to make sure that she does not go into shock.
Tom: What kind of animal was it?
Michael: I don't know. It must not have been too fierce or she would be dead right now.
Cassie: Well, let's get her over by that fire and keep her warm.
With that, Michael, Tom and Cassie, all holding part of Nikita, carry her over by the fire and gently lay her down.
Nikita groans as she is deposited gently on the ground near the fire.
Tom and Cassie exchange worried looks as they see the wild look in Michael's eyes at the sight of the wounded Nikita.
Michael rises to his feet, although somewhat shakily, and looks for the water so he can give some to Nikita. Finding what he was looking for he grabbed the small container and hunched down next to her. Lifting her head gingerly he poured a small amount of the cool liquid into her mouth and watched as a few drops trickled down her cheek.
He laid her gently back down onto the ground near the fire and turned to find Tom and Cassie eyeing him warily. He stopped... momentarily forgetting who they were... and what they were even doing there.
Tom watched the curious play of emotions cross the face of the man who had practically kidnapped them in order to assist on this mission. He noticed the way Michael kept looking back over to where Nikita was lying and he looked to be mumbling to himself as well.
Tom looked at Cassie and made a hand motion pointing to his head and with a circular motion, indicating that he thought Michael was crazy. She snickered and turned away lest Michael see what they were up to.
Michael had no time for the officers any more. His main focus and goal was to tend to Nikita to the best of his abilities. Walking a short way off from them he pressed his comm unit and attempted to make a connection... if at all possible... with Section...
Under his breath he tried to establish a connection..... Michael: Birkoff...? Birkoff...? Anyone...? This is J44232N. Anyone copy...?
All Michael received was static...buzzing and scratching in his comm unit.
He removed the unit from his ear and placed it into the pocket of his pants. All at once he realized how isolated they were... and he began to shiver as the cool evening air made itself known against his bare skin.
Turning back towards the fire he took a place on the ground near Nikita and held his hands out towards the flames in an attempt to generate some warmth.
Cassie rose to her feet and crossed over to him. Kneeling down beside him she placed her hand against his brow and felt the fever that was beginning to rise.
Michael was slowly slipping into shock.
Cassie: Michael, you have to lay down or you're going to be very sick very soon.
Michael: I'm fine I have to take care of Nik...
Michael passes out and Cassie rushes to take his pulse...
Cassie: (sigh) He's just sleeping...passed out from exhaustion and that's a good thing, if he didn't he'd probably be in serious trouble. He probably wouldn't have gone to sleep with her (looking at Nikita) like that.
Tom: I'll look after her...
Cassie: Ohhhhh... I'm such a jerk... My cell... I have it!
Tom: Your what?
Cassie reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a very tiny cell phone...
Cassie: I just got it... It's actually pretty neat... I can send and receive mail too! But I wouldn't know who to call... It's not like we can call the local auto club, I guess we'll have to wait till Michael wakes up...
Tom: Well it won't hurt us to get some sleep either...But, one of us should stay up and take care of the two of them, and keep an eye out while the other sleeps.
Cassie: Good idea, you sleep first...remember I got some sleep (smiling).
Tom: Ok, but wake me if *anything* happens, ok?
Cassie: (Still Smiling) Yeah.
She loved him for caring so much for her...She knew now after all of this he did... Forget Michael... Besides there was no distracting him from Nikita, and she really cared for Tom. These people were ruthless, and anyway she'd probably never see them again... That is if they ever made it through this cheered.
Next morning Tom was up having taken Cassie’s place halfway through the night... It looked to be about 7 o'clock... Michael was stirring and Nikita had woken up about 20 min earlier and had stumbled against Tom's advice down to the water.
Nikita sat there with her feet in the warm early morning water thinking to herself.. 'This is such a beautiful place, and I'm here with the only person in my life whom I care about and it's the worst of situations... Am I damned to have life go this way always... We never get a break, and when we think we do well... Stuff like this happens... I'M CURSED!'
Back at the little camp Michael had woken up and being much better had taken Cassie’s cell phone and was making his way to his dear Nikita...He had been very worried about her...
Michael: Nikita...
Nikita: Michael. Are you all right? They said you were bad off last night...
Michael: Just worrying about you.
Michael sat down on the sand next to her... Flipped out the cell phone, and began to dial...
Back at Section, Birkoff hears a phone ringing. He turns and sees it is the secure line ... only to be used in extreme emergencies. He hits the intercom and informs Operations and Madeline about the incoming call and then answers "Yes." Michael, hearing Birkoff's voice, sighs with relief. "Birkoff, its Michael. We have a situation. You know Nikita and I was trailing Paul to the Caribbean. We have two innocents with us. Actually, they are police officers. Our plane crashed on a deserted island somewhere. I assume we are still in the general area of the Caribbean, but we have gone off course and I don't have a clue as to where we are. My clock has been removed and Nikita's was deactivated. You will have to try and reactive it in order to find us. The pilots are dead. Everyone else has sustained minor injuries, but I think we will be fine. You need to send another team to try and locate Paul. And you need to send someone to find us."
Michael paused and Operations took over the conversation. "Michael, what happened?" Michael looks around and then says "I'm not sure. The pilot told me they thought they heard an explosion right before we lost all engine power. I haven't had a chance to examine the wreckage for any possible explanation. We've all been pretty out of it for the last twelve hours. And there are wild animals around. Nikita was attacked." Madeline spoke up. "Michael, is Nikita all right? Does she need immediate medical attention?"
"She's okay now, Madeline. I wasn't sure last night, but she seems to be fine now. Just bites and scratches along with the injuries from the crash." Operations once again took control of the conversation. "Michael, you and Nikita need to do a thorough examination of the wreckage to find out what caused the explosion. I will send Delta team after Paul. Birkoff will try and get Nikita's clock working again. And you and I will have a discussion when you get back as to just why her clock isn't working in the first place. If you come up with any other information, call again. And don't tell those two cops anything more than you have to."
Michael closed the cell phone and glanced at Nikita. She had been sitting there listening to his end of the conversation. "So Michael, I guess we have to find out what happened to the plane, right? And we also have to keep what we find out a secret from Tom and Cassie. And I'm sure Operations wanted to know why my clock wasn't working." Michael actually smiled. It was a wonderful sight to Nikita. "Well, if you knew everything, why did I bother to call?" Nikita laughed and then they got up and headed back to the plane.
Tom and Cassie jumped up when they saw Michael and Nikita returning. Cassie was surprised. They were actually holding hands as they walked back. Tom spoke first. "So, what now? Did you reach anybody?" Michael looked to Tom then Cassie and back to Tom again. He really didn't want to say anything, so he remained quiet for a few seconds. Nikita waited. Michael was the leader here and it wasn't her place to give out the information. Cassie, however, was tired of waiting.
"So are you gonna tell us or do we have to guess? We are all stranded here together. It's actually YOUR fault we are here in the first place. So spill it or I might just shoot you!" Tom took Cassie's arm and tried to calm her down. "Cassie, that's not gonna help anything."
Michael sighed. She was right. It was mostly his fault that they were stuck here. "Our people are trying to locate us. They have sent another team after the target. Right now all you have to do is wait. Nikita and I are going to search the plane to try and find out why we crashed. You two just sit tight and keep a watch out for any more wild animals."
Cassie was getting angrier by the second and Tom knew it. He pulled her aside and said "Cass, you have to calm down. There's not much we can do about anything right now. Let's just keep our ears and eyes peeled and maybe we'll find out something whether they want us to or not. Once we get off this island then we'll see about those two."
Michael and Nikita had split up and were going over the plane as best they could. Michael tried to keep an eye on Nikita as well. He didn't want anything else happening to her. It wasn't an easy job because the plane had split into too many parts. Nikita had headed off to the wooded area to check out the tail section of the plane.
Michael was leaning down to examine an interesting piece of twisted metal and wiring when he heard Nikita scream. "Michael!!!! Help me!" Then there was dead silence. Tom and Cassie heard the scream as well. Michael bolted upright and headed in the direction of the scream calling out her name. "Ni-ki-ta! Where are you? What's wrong? Ki-ta ... answer me!" Just then he saw a very disturbing sight.
As soon as Michael had heard Nikita scream, he was in action. Running away from the center section of the plane, Michael headed in the direction in which he had seen Nikita disappear. Rounding the large section of the tail end of the plane, Michael stopped dead in his tracks...and drew in a quick breath.
Nikita was backed up against a very large tree. She was staring, with a look of sheer terror, at a very large, very mean looking tiger. The tiger roared loudly, and drew back its lips from it enormous teeth. When it did, Nikita shook in fear, and Michael heard her whimper slightly. Thinking he needed to distract the tiger, and fast, he started to move forward slowly. After only two steps, Michael was stopped by the pressure of someone’s hand on his shoulder. As he turned, and started to protest, he met face to face with Tom. Tom put his fingers to his lips, signaling Michael to remain quiet.
Standing there, facing each other, Tom and Michael were not aware of what was transpiring a few feet from their position. Then, as Tom glanced over Michael's shoulder, his eyes grew suddenly wide. Michael, seeing this reaction, turned and followed Tom's gaze.
A few feet from the men, and almost half way between them and the tiger, Cassie was slowly and diligently moving through the underbrush. She was advancing on Nikita's current position, and was trying to do it as quietly as possible. Tom started to move, in an effort to help or protect Cassie, but Michael only held him in place. Both men looked on, as they hoped and prayed that Cassie knew what she was doing.
Nikita, never breaking eye contact with the tiger, could see Cassie's progression out of the corner of her eye. The sweat was pouring down Nikita's face, and was running into her eyes. She wanted so bad to wipe it away, but she was afraid that any movement by her would be deemed as a reason for the tiger to attack. So she stood, completely still, sweating to beat the band, never once breaking eye contact with the beast.
After a few moments, Cassie got within five feet of the animal, and just stopped. Michael, not understanding what Cassie was up to, sworn under his breath. As Tom started to speak up, in defense of Cassie, both men looked at Cassie's next move, and smiled. Cassie, reaching in behind her back, slowly and quietly produced a handgun. Then, taking careful aim, and bracing her firing hand with her free hand, Cassie eyed the tiger down the barrel’s site. As she carefully placed her forefinger on the trigger, and began to gently squeeze, a loud whistle rang out.
As all the humans turned in the direction of the whistle, the tiger turned as well. Then, as if contemplating its next move, the tiger lowered its head, and bounded off into the jungle. After is was safely out of site, Michael ran to Nikita. Nikita, exhausted and weary, just slumped into Michael, his arms wrapped protectively around her. He pushed her hair back from her face, and kissed her repeatedly on the forehead. Then, remembering where they were, and who they were, he put on his best blank stare, and looked in Tom and Cassie's direction.
Tom and Cassie were standing off to the side, and were talking. "Good move, but next time, let me know the plan, okay?" Tom asked. Cassie smiled, "Okay, deal." Tom laughed, and pulled Cassie into his embrace, and hugged her as if he would never let her go.
Michael, after making sure that Nikita was okay, stood up, and walked over to Tom and Cassie. "Okay, any ideas on what just happened here?" he asked. Before Tom or Cassie either one could answer, they were interrupted by a new voice.
"That would be my doing," Paul said, as he stepped out of the jungle, directly behind Nikita. As Michael and Tom started to move towards Paul, he quickly reached out and latched onto Nikita, pulling her up against him roughly and securely. Then, placing a gun to her head, he smiled evilly. "I would suggest you rethink the current thought going through your little minds, or else my pet may just get that afternoon snack after all."
"Paul, I should have known you would turn up like a bad penny." Michael says as he takes stock of the situation. Looking at Nikita he makes sure that she is looking at him before he gives her a look that tells her to hang in there.
"Yup, that's me. The proverbial bad penny!!" Paul says as he laughs, still holding on to Nikita. "But then again I could say the same about you. Of all the places for you to crash that lovely little plane of yours it had to be on my island!! You'd think that you could have picked a better place."
Michael is trying to think fast and he was glad that he never gave out the phone number to the cell phone. Although he was sure that Birkoff would have no trouble getting it. Now he hoped that no one would call. Maybe he should have left it back with the rest of the supplies.
Nikita struggles a little in the hopes that Paul will loosen his grip on her some, but to no avail. If anything his grip tightened on her.
Paul continued to hold the gun to Nikita's head as he surveyed the sorry looking group assembled in front of him. An evil smile spread across his face as he shook his head. "So, now what do we do with all of you? This looks so cozy and homey. HA, and here you thought that you would have the island all to yourselves, but guess what? No such luck ladies and gentleman. Seeing as you have ruined my paradise I am going to ruin your little interlude."
"And what do you intend to do with us?" Cassie asks looking from one to the other in the group. "Kill us?"
"Not yet. I think I can find ways to keep myself entertained with you. Especially you my sweet." Paul says as he leers at Cassie.
Tom does not like where this may be heading and glares at Paul and then at Michael for getting them into this mess in the first place. They were lucky enough to have survived the crash in relatively good shape only to run into this mad man again.
"Cassie, don't talk to him. He's nothing but a ......" Tom starts to say before Michael interrupts him.
"Enough!!"
***
Meanwhile back at Section:
"Birkoff have you managed to get Nikita's clock working again or not? Let's get moving on this!!!" Operations yells over the intercom.
"Yes sir, I have just finished the final adjustments. It should becoming up on your screen now along with the co-ordinates."
Madeline and Operations look at the screen and pinpoint the location of the team. It is not the clearest of signals but it would do as far as getting a team in for the egress.
"Madeline we need to get this data to the rescue team en-route to the Caribbean now and get another team ready."
"I'm on it. I wonder what ever possessed Michael to disable her clock. We will need to reassess the location of where we insert them."
"Yes we do, but not right now Madeline! Let's get the secondary team ready and brief them."
Michael stared at Cassie and Tom. They were playing right into Paul's hands. He momentarily looked back to Paul.
"Now, I am going to walk away.. and take her with me. You are going to take that cell phone and tell the powers that be that I want a million dollars and freedom." Paul says as he takes the gun and hits Nikita over the head with it.
"They will give Nikita to you then." Michael says and Paul smiles.
"Well... Can you stand by and know what I am going to do to her. Her body is so beautiful. Yes... The animal attacked her.. But I am the animal that will hurt her the most." Paul says as he steps into the forest.
"I will be watching you.... My animals will be watching you... I will keep an eye... Maybe a hand or some other body part on your Nikita, Michael." Paul says and Cassie starts to move. Michael steps and stops her.
"Michael... are you just going to let her go?" Cassie asks and Michael blinks his eyes and turns towards the ocean.
"They have teams being sent in. Nikita is very skilled." Michael says and Cassie slaps him.
"Who the hell are you? The ice man?" Cassie screams and Tom takes her away from Michael.
"Cassie... he cares for her.... but this is some sort of psychopath he is dealing with." Tom says as Michael starts to walk towards the plane.
"I don't care! That man is going to rape her!" Cassie screams and Michael turns around.
"It is better that he rapes her. It will mean that his defenses will fall down in the afterglow." Michael coldly says as he takes the cell phone. Paul knew about it. Michael wondered what else Paul knew.
"Michael?" Birkoff answers. Michael walks a bit further away from Tom and Cassie.
"Paul is on the island. He has taken Nikita." Michael says and he hears Birkoff take in air sharply.
"Michael, are we looking at an emergency situation here?" Madeline asks and Michael closes his eyes.
"Do you think that Nikita will willingly give her body over to Paul?" Michael questions back. There are no other answers.
"Birkoff, I need data on how to befriend some wild animals." Michael says as he looks back to Cassie and Tom. He couldn't even worry about them. He knew Nikita.
***
Paul's stronghold…
Paul slaps at Nikita's face and then tears her face. He laughs as there is still no response.
"WAKE UP!" Paul screams as he starts to pull her hair. Nikita's eyes open and she sees five Paul's.
"Your Michael can't stop this now...." Paul says as he throws some water onto Nikita.
Once the water hits Nikita's face, she is wide-awake and fully alert. She looks around to see what can be used to get her out of this place he has brought her to. She sees several items of interest that could be used as long as she could get to them.
She sees Paul leering at her and starting to remove his belt buckle.
Paul: Are you ready?
Nikita: For what?
Paul: For me!
Nikita: Actually, it would be better if you allowed me to clean up and present myself in a better manner.
Paul: You don't expect me to fall for that do you?
Nikita: I don't expect you to fall for anything. I just want to freshen up a bit before we enjoy each other's company to the fullest extent. I will not run.
Paul: Why should I believe you?
Nikita: How about I prove it to you?
Nikita slowly gets up off of the cot she was thrown on and walks towards him. When she got within arms distance of him, she started rubbing his chest and running her fingers through his hair. Then she grabbed a fist-full of hair and yanked his head towards hers into a very passionate kiss that blew his mind away.
Nikita: Now wouldn't you rather have that than me screaming and fighting you?
Paul: Oh yes! Go, clean up!
Nikita walks over to the wash area and begins to hose herself down. She is trying to come up with a plan to get her out of there without having to actually make love to this creep. The only reason she got through that kiss was because she imagined it was Michael. If she had to, that's what she would do during the torture that she was about to endure.
After about 5 minutes, Nikita turned around. Her face was clean with the exception of the cuts and bruises that the animal caused her. She smiled at him brilliantly and walked in his direction slowly.
When she was in front of him, she reached over and started teasing him with her fingers.
Nikita: How badly do you want me?
Paul: BAD!
Nikita: Oh well, you'll just have to settle for this!
Nikita suddenly punches him in the nose several times to make him lose consciousness then kicks him where it hurts most.
Nikita: That'll teach you to mess with me!
Nikita quickly turned and left the tent. There were no other people in his camp so she had an easy exit back to Michael and the others.
Birkoff suddenly comes in over the phone that Michael and he are on: Michael, I am picking up movement to you're left about 175 yards away. I think.....
Michael, looking sick to his stomach because he knows that Nikita must surely have been raped by now: What is it Birkoff? Is it friend or foe? Birkoff?
Birkoff comes back on: Michael... it's Nikita. It's NIKITA! I am picking up her implant locator device.
Michael drops the phone and takes off in the direction that Birkoff had told him she was heading for.
Meanwhile: Cassie and Tom are watching in stunned silence as they see Michael take off like a mad man.
Cassie snuggling up next to Tom: Do you think that he has lost it?
Tom hugging her close: If he has, it was because this was the last straw. He feels for her what I feel for you. That kind of feeling can make a person do strange things.
Just then, they see WHY Michael was heading to the forested area in front of them.
Cassie: Look! It's Nikita...
Tom: Yeah it's Nikita. Let's go help Michael.
With that, both Cassie and Tom start to head on over to help Michael bring Nikita back to the site.
As Nikita stumbles towards Michael out of the underbrush, Michael breathes a sigh of relief. *She looks okay... maybe she didn't get raped after all...* he thought to himself.
As Nikita fell into his waiting arms she was shaking with uncontrollable sobbing. Michael held her and stroked her hair and breathed soft words of comfort into her ears.
Nikita began to quiet in his embrace and she drew back and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. She smiled at him weakly:
Nikita: Michael. Thanks. I'm okay. Honestly.
Michael just looked at her and reached his hand up and traced one of the cuts along her cheek. Closing his eyes briefly, he re-opened them and saw her smiling at him, almost mischievously:
Michael: What is it Nikita? Did he... Did he...?
Nikita just laid her finger on his lips to silence him and answered him:
Nikita: No, Michael. Paul did not rape or abuse me. I managed to surprise him and make good my escape. Only problem is....
Just as Nikita was about to clarify the *problem*.... Tom and Cassie emerged from the bushes and spied the two operatives, still standing in each other's arms.
Cassie looks at Tom and looks at Nikita. She grabs Tom's arm and looks at Nikita. Although her trembles had started to subside when Michael first held onto her, they were starting to pick up again.
"I don't think the warheads are here...." Nikita says to Michael softly and he looks at her. Her eyelids are fluttering.
"Nikita... what is wrong?" Michael asks and Nikita blinks her eyes hard and drastically grabs Michael's arms with all of her strength.
"Michael... I don't feel so well." Nikita finally admits and Michael's jaw tenses. He looks at Nikita and Cassie drops Tom's arm. Cassie moves to Michael as he holds onto Nikita. Cassie knew, along with Michael and Tom that Nikita was now drifting in and out of consciousness.
Michael swallows and looks at Nikita. There was still some information that he needed to know.
"Nikita.... Paul… Is he dead?" Michael asks and Cassie jumps from a sound in the forest. Nikita looks and Michael and winces. Michael frowns and softly touches her chin. "Nikita… Is Paul dead? Did you kill him?" Michael asks as Cassie gasps as a tiger steps closer to them. Michael starts to rock Nikita back and forth.
"I can't remember, Michael… I can't." Nikita says as she painfully shakes her head back in forth in pain. Michael pushes her hair back and sees the lump about the size of a half of a tennis ball. That was where Paul had knocked her over the head with the gun.
Michael pulls out the phone, no longer worrying if Cassie and Tom saw him. He dials the number with one hand as he holds onto Nikita.
"Birkoff... we need a team here now. How do we get rid of a tiger?" Michael asks.
"Is Nikita with you?" Birkoff asks and Michael strokes her hair softly.
"Yes. But I don't think we can chance returning all the way to Section with her injuries. She has a really bad head injury." Michael slowly says as Cassie and Tom start to back up.
"We are working on identities right now. A team is not too far." Madeline says as she clicks into the conversation.
Michael looks up and swallows as the tiger comes closer.
"Birkoff... We are about to become a meal for a tiger. How do we get rid of it?" Michael asks.
BANG!
"Like that." Gordon says as the tiger falls to the ground. Cassie and Tom stand defensively as they watch three men, dressed in black and carrying various guns move towards them.
"Good way." Michael comments and Cassie turns to Michael. She knew they were part of whoever Michael and Nikita were part of.
"Paul?" Michael asks and Gordon hands a gun over to the operative on his right.
"Dead." Gordon says as he bends down and looks at Nikita as she lies in Michael's arms. He brushes back the hair and shakes his head.
"The medic team is still a good ten minutes off." Gordon says as he looks at Cassie and Tom.
"Can we trust them?" the operative on the left asks Michael.
"They are fine. We may need their help, still." Michael says and Gordon walks further into forest to start communications.
"OUR HELP! STILL!" Cassie screams and Michael drops his head. Tom reaches for Cassie's hand.
"Cass... I think it is for Nikita that he is asking for help with." Tom whispers softly. Cassie looks at Tom but does not change her body posture.
"We would normally travel to our center to get medical treatment, but it might risk Nikita. We will need your help." Michael says and Cassie shakes her head.
"Our help!" Cassie screams and Michael looks at the operatives that still have guns pointed and ready to fire.
"We can still kill you." Michael says and Cassie turns around and stares at Michael.
"You wouldn't!" Cassie screams and Michael strokes Nikita's hair softly.
"Do you want to try me?" Michael asks.
Cassie walks down the hallway, with only slight bruises on her body. The hospital was quiet as she made her way to Tom's room. She was the only one who was not hospitalized, although she was sure that Michael would not be leaving Nikita's room anytime soon.
"Captain Lipshitz!" Cassie exclaims as she walks into the room. Her boss, Harry, turns and smiles at her.
"I heard quite a story from Tom. How is the government agent?" Harry asks and Cassie looks to Tom and looks away.
"Michael will be fine." Cassie says and Tom sits up in bed and stares at her. The cover story was that Michael and Nikita worked for the government and that there was a plane crash. Almost everything was included, except for Paul, and that Nikita had fallen against a rock.
"Nikita?" Tom asks and Cassie walks carefully.
"She has swelling in the brain. If it doesn't subside soon, they will have to find a way to relieve the pressure." Cassie says with a dropped head. Cassie turns and walks out of the room. She knew that Tom had an attachment for Nikita, at least on some level. Cassie didn't want to admit it, but the feisty blonde that had Michael's heart, had earned some sort of relationship with Cassie.
Cassie walked down the hall and into two bodies. She looked up at the brilliant dark hair of the woman, and the bandanna around the gray hair of the man.
"Sorry." Cassie says and Madeline nods her head and then she stops the woman.
"Maybe you can help us. I am looking for my son." Madeline says and Walter sighs and taps Madeline's shoulder.
"No, we are looking for my daughter!" Walter says and Cassie smiles politely.
"If you don't mind, I have to get back to my friends Michael and Nikita..."Cassie says and Madeline grabs her arm.
"That would be them!" Madeline says and Cassie stares up at Madeline in surprise.
Tom walks into the building and meets Cassie at the stairs. He wraps his arm around Cassie and lightly kisses her ear. They turn and look around to see if someone saw them. They knew the problems of a previous couple had when together on the force. Their experiences with Nikita and Michael had opened their eyes. They were sure that there was love in that relationship, but both almost knew that the conditions that they lived it were horrible and would make it difficult for Michael and Nikita.
"Are you thinking about them?" Tom asks Cassie and she nods her head slightly. It had been three weeks ago when Cassie showed the concerned Mother and Father to Nikita's bedroom. She noticed how stiff Michael was when his "mom" hugged him. The older man, thought, genuinely looked concerned when he stroked Nikita's blonde hair.
The next day, they were gone. No trace of them. They had just disappeared, and at the last check, the doctors were making plans on drilling holes in Nikita's skull to relieve the pressure.
"Let's go get some coffee!" Tom says as he turns Cassie around. He hoped that the beautiful day outside would cheer the woman up. They turned and walked back outside. They soon just began to walk together, not caring where it led them.
"Keep walking." A deep French accented voice says as two guns are placed on Tom's and Cassie's spines. Cassie turns and sees the brilliant blonde hair of Nikita's and just begins to hug her.
"Be careful. I still hurt." Nikita comments softly and Cassie pulls away. There were some scars from the scratches from the animal attack, and Cassie was sure that the blonde hair was still hiding the bump on her head.
"Hey! We were worried about you guys. Last thing we knew, they wanted to drill holes into her head!" Tom says and Nikita smiles.
"That's what is on the file. It never got that bad." Nikita says and Tom smiles and nods his head.
"What are you doing here? When the mother and father got here we started to worry." Cassie says and Nikita laughs.
"Yeah… My father... Ah… Well… We are actually on our way on vacation." Nikita says and Cassie turns her head.
"You two get vacations!" Cassie exclaims and Nikita looks at Michael and drops her head.
"More like a honeymoon." Michael comments softy and he smiles at Nikita. Cassie opens her eyes and looks at Tom.
"It will only be official in our hearts... but you can't let love get too faraway from you." Nikita says as she wraps her arm around Michael and kisses his lips softly. She squints into the sun and Michael nods his head.
"We must go." Michael says as he shakes Tom's hand. The thanks were expressed.
"Secret agents... getting married?" Cassie asks and Tom looks at Michael picks Nikita up in his arms and spins around.
"Why do I have a feeling that Nikita was closer to death than they are letting on?" Tom asks and Cassie looks at Nikita and Michael. She had the same feeling.
"Mission completed. How is Nikita?" Michael asks as he sets the blonde into the car and she pulls off her wig.
"She is doing fine, Michael. She is still asking for you." Birkoff says and Michael nods his head. It had been a murderous eight days of hell, watching Nikita stay on the brink of death. Then when she did awake, she started to dream. It was a long road to recovery that Madeline made sure was easier on Nikita by giving Tom and Cassie a happy ending to remember. IF things could only be so nice in Section.
