| Subject: Priority Mail 229 |
Author:
Nikita507
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Date Posted: Thursday, May 05, 06:49:09pm
In reply to:
Nikita507
's message, "Priority Mail 224+" on Sunday, May 01, 07:04:31pm
He was finally asleep and Nikita leaned against the brick of the building beside Michael’s apartment. She was exhausted after too many nights out on this very sidewalk, through no matter what weather, making sure that Michael didn’t do anything stupid.
Not that she would be able to get to him to stop his decision if he had made it too rapidly.
Nikita looked up and down the street. There had been two Section operatives out on the street the first two nights, but then they were gone. Either they had seen Nikita, which she was sure that they hadn’t, or they figured that Michael would only grieve badly for two days.
In fact, Michael had seemed to hold it a bit better the first two days, so Nikita had to wonder if that was the standard operating procedure in Section One or if Michael had somehow become aware of the watchers that they had assigned to him.
It was misty tonight and Nikita leaned back deeper into the building while trying to give her muscles some sort of break from the constant standing that she had endured. She wasn’t sure how much longer that she could continue this way, sneaking naps inside of Section when Michael was with others and could be observed.
Michael would never do anything drastic inside of Section.
Nikita felt the tear slip from her eye as she thought about how long Michael was going to be like this. She couldn’t expect it to be an easy thing to deal with, but other than the time that Michael had amnesia; she hadn’t seen Michael this vulnerable. She knew that she had to protect him. That was her job now. It was how she could survive. Without Michael, she wouldn’t be much longer on earth either.
“Sugar…” Walter’s voice whispered but Nikita jumped. She turned and saw him standing there, surprised that he was able to get so close to her without Nikita noticing. Walter shrugged his shoulders slightly. “I have a few tricks, Nikita.”
Nikita shoved her hands into her pockets. “What are you doing here?”
“Telling you that I got the shift tonight,” Walter announced as he turned and leaned against the wall. Nikita shook her head. “This isn’t your job.”
“It isn’t yours either,” Walter firmly spoke as he looked at Nikita. “He has no idea what you are willing to jeopardize for him… in ways, you are too good for him.”
“He is hurting,” Nikita’s voice cracked as she thought about the opportunity to get several hours of sleep. But then Nikita exhaled with a sharp gasp. She might be given the opportunity, but she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Not with Michael in his apartment and not with Walter watching him. Nikita trusted Walter, but not that much.
Walter stood there for a long time and rubbed his hands together before blowing into them. Nikita shook her head. “You are freezing, Walter. You don’t need to stay.”
“What if he doesn’t care for you as much as you care for him?” Walter asked the question that stabbed at Nikita’s heart. Nikita turned her head away. “I’m not doing this because I care for him.”
“Like hell,” Walter mumbled as he shook his head from side to side. “No one stands out here night after night to watch over a man who doesn’t care what happens to him.”
“Drop it,” Nikita directed Walter but he only snorted. “Sugar, that isn’t going to work with me…. So you might as well admit to me that something is going on between the two of you.”
“Does it look like something is happening between us?” Nikita snapped as she shook her head. “I’m here to keep him alive.”
“Sugar… what happened between you two? Why are you here?”
“I…” Nikita closed her eyes and then focused back on the window where she saw Michael waking back up. She had wished that he would sleep longer. He walked towards the window and she saw him staring out towards the road. But he wasn’t looking for something. He was just staring out to the world that he wanted to just get lost in.
“What happened between the two of you?” Walter questioned again. “More than him being your trainer… he did something more… means more…”
“As my trainer, he saved me many times.”
“And hurt you many times --- too many times,” Walter pointed out. Nikita swallowed hard and exhaled once more. “He is a five percenter, Walter. And I’m here because I need to make sure that he survives this… because he has the greatest pain right now… I can’t imagine how it would feel to have to give up a child,” Nikita rasped as she tilted her head and she watched as Michael turned his head.
For a split second, she was sure that he saw them standing there, but she knew that he couldn’t see them. They were well isolated and hidden in the shadows. Without infrared, he wouldn’t even know that anyone was standing where they were. Michael had once mentioned that his apartment still had areas where there could be a strategic attack plotted against him. So that was where Nikita took position.
“I hope to god you never have to learn about the pain he is in, Sugar… but you need some sleep…” Walter rasped. Nikita looked around before flipping her watch to set the timer. “You have two hours… I’ll sleep in the car.”
“I didn’t see your….” Walter started and then stopped. “Sugar… sometimes you do act too much like him… and it comes out at the oddest of times.”
Nikita wasn’t sure what to think about what Walter had said and decided not to respond. She walked away from Walter as Michael was turning away from the window. She wanted to go in there and just hold him, but knew that Michael would just turn her away.
Nikita jerked her head up from the metal bar that she had rested her head down, just waiting for Michael to wake up. Now she turned her head and saw that she had been touched by his hand. Michael’s face was ashen still and he stared at her with emerald eyes. “Kita… what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Nikita spoke as she pushed her arms so that she sat up. “How are you feeling?”
“Kita…” Michael whispered and Nikita leaned her head and crooked a smile, trying to play off what Michael may have been able to tell. “Yes, I’m Kita.”
“A flash?” Michael inquired and Nikita extended her hand and rub his face. “I’ve been waiting for you, Michael.”
“You should have gone home,” Michael declared and Nikita shook her head. “I had to make sure that Ellie kept you in one piece… well, I guess technically it was two pieces since they took one very inflamed appendix out.”
“I didn’t know I had one until I was on a trip to the ER with Adam for a school field trip… I thought they had removed it… and just forgot to ever mention it,” Michael rattled off as he easily remembered Nikita coming into the ER and asking him that. He was almost sure that she had been upset, but it wasn’t just about the appendix. He shifted and felt the pain ripple through his body. He groaned and Nikita stroked his face. “Be still, Michael… you just had surgery.”
“I want to go home,” Michael announced and Nikita shook her head from side to side, able to focus on Michael right now. “Ellie said that you will be here for a couple days…”
“It was just a laparoscopy,” Michael declared and Nikita chuckled. “It was still surgery, Michael.”
“You had your appendix out… and I had you training in 23 hours and fifteen minutes,” Michael dryly reminded Nikita. She pressed her lips together and swallowed. “What Madeline and Paul made you do in Section was wrong, Michael. I put an end to that. Even trainees got four days off from training when I was in charge… and you know MedLab had other tools…”
“I want to go home,” Michael firmly declared as he pushed up and shifted in the bed, despite the pain that he was in. “I need to go home.”
“No way, Michael,” Nikita shook her head and she watched as Michael yanked at the IV and pushed the button for the nurse. Nikita jumped to her feet. “That’s for your pain management.”
“All things I can do from home,” Michael hissed and Nikita turned to see two nursing rushing into the room.
And Ellie right behind.
At least they knew a doctor who could be around the house for when Michael signed himself out against medical advice.
Nikita may have been Operations at one point, but she wasn’t going to be able to stop Michael right now.
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