"It's the End of the World As We Know It"
	Section One Mai spent the next days with Davenport. Or training. When she was training she didn't have to think about anything. The only thing that was important was completing your objective - be it number of miles run, number of targets hit, whatever. She was able to focus on those tasks to the exclusion of everything else. Davenport often went with her, but once she'd gotten started she hardly even noticed his presence. She was most grateful for him at night. Her nightmares had returned after Operation's death. They weren't as severe as they had been and were much more disjointed. At least she didn't wake up thinking they were real or screaming in terror. Mostly she saw their faces, Martin's and Operation's, leering at her, laughing at her. Sometimes she fancied that they were reaching out from beyond the grave still trying to rip away everything that was hers. She'd wake with a start and find herself tucked against Davenport's chest, his skin warm against her face, his heartbeat steady and comforting. He barely woke up anymore, just nuzzled his face closer into her hair while murmuring what no doubt were meant to be comforting words - if he'd been awake enough to have them make sense. It wasn't the words anyway. It was just having him there. And feeling safe. She was in Section, not out in her exposed apartment. She knew what to do here, what was expected of her. She understood the rules. And now she had this incredible man. They still hadn't made love, which Mai thought must surely show an amazing amount of restraint on his part, but he didn't want her to feel pushed or threatened. And considering that even a month ago the thought of allowing a man - or anyone - to even hold her, much less sleep entwined with her every night, would have been unthinkable… It wouldn't be long though. They'd taken to snuggling together on the couch at the end of the day - just talking and being close, although honestly, Mai still mostly listened. She could feel the electricity between them and craved it even as it terrified her. Davenport was a physical man. He liked to touch; to stroke her hair, hold her hand, rub her feet or neck. At first, she'd tolerated it because it seemed to make him happy and she thought at least she could give him that much. But she came to want it for its own sake as well, came to want to feel his hands on her. And to wonder what it would be like to really feel them on her. Everywhere. For his part, Davenport was careful not to go too far. He could see the curiosity, the wanting, building inside of her. He knew if he just wanted sex with her he could have it at any time. She wouldn't deny him. But he wanted it to be more than just sex. He wanted *her* to want *him*. And he was willing to be very patient. That night they were sitting together on the couch. Mai was curled almost on his lap her head nestled into the curve of his neck. They sat there silently, just enjoying the closeness. Mai found herself idly stroking his neck, letting her fingers move along the curve of his ear. She leaned back a little to run her fingers across the smoothly shaved surface of his head and then down to his eyebrows. The heat in his eyes captivated her and her fingers faltered. "Don't stop." His voice was husky. "I…" She started to pull her hand back, but he caught it and replaced it. "Mai, this is the first time you've let yourself touch me. You have no idea what a turn on this is. Please, don't stop." Hesitantly, she let her fingers continue their exploration of his face. They slipped down over his strong cheekbones and down to his chin, then, daringly, she touched the softness of his upper lip. He groaned and his eyes closed tightly. She stroked the corner of his mouth and moved down to the lower lip, letting her fingers linger there, watching him as he reacted to her touch. His eyes opened and she thought she could lose herself in them. He moved forward slightly until there was barely a centimeter of air separating their lips. "Mai?" His breath feathered against her lips and she felt everything inside her tighten in a little spasm of pleasure. She waited, but he didn't move, just held himself there, almost touching, but not quite. After a moment, she closed the gap between them, letting her lips touch his ever so gently. He let her explore, let her taste him and touch him even though he had to clench his hands into fists at his side to stop himself from taking from her greedily. He let his lips soften against hers and nearly threw out all of his good intentions when her tongue slipped inside to touch his. He kissed her back, letting her take the kiss as deep as she wanted, feeling his heart begin to pound, feeling the ache that he knew he wasn't going to satisfy tonight. He let his head fall back on the couch, let her control what happened - and nearly came in his pants like a teenager when she moved to straddle him and pressed against that part of him that would have given anything to be inside of her. He let her torment both of them for a while, then broke off the kiss. Although it killed him he pulled away and gathered her into his arms, burying his face in her hair and stroking her, gentling her. He held her till both of their hearts had stopped racing, until they could both breathe again. Then he moved away enough to be able to look at her face. She was still flushed, looking a little dazed, drugged by the power of the experience. "It never… felt like that before," she said finally and he barely stopped himself from losing himself in her again. But he knew if he did he wouldn't stop until he'd truly made her his. "Why did you stop? I would have -" He put a finger gently on her lips to stop her. "I know. But I want your first time to be special. I want you to make the decision when you're not blinded by the heat of your first kiss." Her face fell. "It won't be my first time," she said dully. "I… You know…" He stopped her again. "It will be your first time. None of that counts. You didn't have any choice about any of that. You will with this. The first time we make love will be the only time that counts." He dropped a kiss on her forehead, then stood up. "Come on. It's been a long day, we'd better get to bed." There was a different tenor to their embrace as they slept that night. And for the first night since their return Mai had no nightmares. ******************************** The next morning Mai was called into a meeting with Joshua and three other men who didn't bother to introduce themselves. There was an open laptop on the center of the desk and although she couldn't see it clearly from her seat, there appeared to be a figure in it, no doubt watching the proceedings. "Section 1 is being restructured, starting today," Joshua stated simply to her. "New leaders will be appointed and although it still has a role to play in preventing terrorism, it will be more controlled by Oversight than has been the case in the past. A new agency is being commissioned under the umbrella of the Center. Their needs require operatives that can work individually, that have lived and functioned on the outside. It will be based in the States and work under a higher security level. We can't offer you any more details then that but you must choose to work with the new agency or...retire from Section One." Mai maintained her emotionless expression while her brain worked frantically. Leave Section? Live Outside? And retire from Section One. A pleasant euphemism for being cancelled. How would she ever manage outside? Oh God, and Davenport. What would happen to Dante? She couldn't begin to imagine leaving him now any more than she could imagine being able to live on her own Outside. She could feel the panic begin to rise in her, felt the sweat begin to form between her shoulder blades, felt her stomach begin to knot. "I'm not sure exactly what you mean," she said with as much calm as she could manage. "What exactly would be expected of me?" "Your abilities are a perfect match with the objectives of the new agency. Your job would be similar in many respects to what you do here," one of the anonymous men answered. "Except with a good deal more freedom," the military man added. Mai could barely hear the words over the racing of her heart. What an impossible choice. She knew there was no way she could manage to live on the Outside away from Section. More freedom? What a joke! She couldn't handle the freedom she had now, how would she ever manage with more and no familiar structure to fall back on. So… Live alone. Outside, where the nightmares controlled her life, where the fear was so great that she could barely manage to function. Leave everything she knew, much as she hated it. And leave the one thing that made her feel safe, that made her feel whole. Or choose death. She might have been able to manage if Dante was by her side, if she could count on his support to help her through. But without him… One of the men cleared his throat loudly and she looked back at them. All of them sitting there, waiting for her to answer as if this should have been the easiest thing in the world for someone to decide. "The choice is yours, Mai. Either join the new agency or be retired from Section," the computer voice announced. Mai swallowed hard, then looked up at them all. "I choose retirement." Joshua and the others looked stunned. "Are you sure -" Joshua began, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Michael entered the room, computer disk in hand. "If I might have a moment before you continue?" he said quietly. "Of course, " the voice from the computer answered. "Joshua, if you would escort Mai outside for a moment, please. Perhaps she could use the time to reconsider her answer." Joshua gestured for Mai to precede him out another door and turned on her as soon as it was closed behind him. "What the hell do you mean, you choose retirement? You understand that means they kill you, right? Why would anyone choose that? Do you know how much good you could do working for this other agency? How much more freedom you'd have?" "I've made my decision," Mai said quietly. Return