Ezra was sitting in his apartment together with his girlfriend of 1― years, Madelaine Sinclair. They had met during a trial where they both had to testify. The trial had gone very bad, ending with bloodshed. But out of their horrible ordeal they managed to create a relationship together.
A couple of weeks after Ezra, Madelaine, Nikita were all out of the hospital, they had been back testifying against Jones and his friends. Now the men were all going to spend between 25 years to life in prison.
"What's on your mind, honey?" Ezra asked, as Madelaine seemed a bit distant.
"Nothing." She smiled and snuggled closer to Ezra.
"I can see you're thinking of something. Tell me."
"I was just wondering how Nikita's doing. I haven't talked to her in a while."
"Call her then," Ezra said knowing that Madelaine and Nikita had become quite close after the trial, but after Chris had broken up with Nikita Madelaine had lost contact with her.
"I don't know, it's been 3― months since I last talked to her," Madelaine said.
"I'm actually quite curious why they broke up," Ezra said. "You can not get a single thing out of Mr. Larabee, so my hope is that Nikita will tell."
"Perhaps she doesn't want to talk about it," Madelaine said.
"I think you should call her anyway," Ezra said.
"Maybe I should," Madelaine said and kissed Ezra softly on the lips.
A few days later the phone rang in the apartment of Nikita Wilson. The blond woman walked up to the phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Nikita? It's Madelaine."
"Madelaine! Hi!" Nikita smiled happily. "How great to hear from you. How are you?"
"Just fine. You?"
"I'm okay," Nikita said.
"I was just wondering if you felt like joining me and Ezra for dinner tonight?" Madelaine asked.
"Sure that would be great. Is... Is Chris coming?" Nikita asked.
"No... Unless you want him to come?"
"No," Nikita said
"Okay then. I'm cooking so could you come over to Ezra's at around 7ish?"
"Sure. Oh! Are you two living together now?" Nikita asked.
"No, not yet. But I hope he'll ask me soon," Madelaine smiled.
"I hope so too, you make a great couple," Nikita said. "So I'll see you at 7 tonight then."
"I'm looking forward to it," Madelaine said and then they both hung up.
At 6.59pm Nikita stood outside of Ezra's front door. She knocked on the door and soon Ezra opened it. He was dressed in dark blue slacks, a white shirt and an apron that said 'Kiss the Cook.' Nikita giggled slightly at the apron as Ezra invited her in.
"You look great," Ezra said as he helped Nikita off with her coat.
"Thank you, so do you," Nikita smiled. "So... should I follow the orders?"
"Orders? What orders?" Ezra asked slightly confused.
"Your apron..," Nikita smiled.
"Oh! Well... I definitely think you should," Ezra laughed as Nikita leaned in and kissed Ezra on the cheek.
"Nikita, hi!" Madelaine came into the kitchen where they stood.
"Hi Maddy," Nikita said and the two friends hugged each other.
"You look great!" Madelaine said.
"Thank you, I love your dress," Nikita said.
"Thanks, Ezra actually bought it for me." Madelaine smiled.
"He did? Wow. Ezra, you have excellent taste," Nikita said.
"Why, thank you." Ezra grinned and hugged Madelaine from behind.
An hour and a half later they had eaten their dinner while talking about everything and anything.
"You're still working as a cop?" Madelaine asked.
"Yes I am. But I don't work in courtrooms anymore." Nikita smiled.
"I can certainly understand that," Ezra said knowing how badly injured Nikita was during the trial. "How is your shoulder?"
"Just fine, it hurts sometimes but I'm fine. Besides it's over a year ago," she said.
"That's good to hear," Ezra said with a small smile.
"So... You don't need to answer this but..," Madelaine began. "Why did you and Chris go your separate ways?"
"Well... I... I... We... Chris broke up with me," Nikita said. "We had this stupid fight and I said I wanted to be alone for a while. He left but came back 5 minutes later and broke up with me."
"What was your fight about?" Madelaine asked.
"He wanted me to stop working as a cop," Nikita said. "He was worried all the time."
"That's stupid!" Madelaine said. "Sorry, Ezra, I know he's your friend and all but that's stupid!"
"I agree," Ezra said. "Have you talked to him at all since?"
"No, I remember seeing him across the street once but he didn't see me."
"You miss him?" Ezra question was more of a statement.
"Yeah, I really do."
"Didn't he even want to stay friends with you?" Madelaine asked.
"No, he just stormed out after he dumped me and I haven't spoken to him since," Nikita said with a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry," Madelaine said and squeezed Nikita's hand.
Later that evening Ezra, Nikita and Madelaine all sat watching "Runaway Bride." They had talked for hours and then after clearing the table Ezra had suggested that they'd watch a movie. Madelaine suggested "Runaway Bride" since it was on TV and Ezra & Nikita had agreed.
When the movie had finished Madelaine had fallen asleep so Ezra carried her up to bed and after he had tucked her in, he went down to Nikita.
"Thank you for a great evening." She smiled.
"I hope we can do it again," Ezra said. "Madelaine has missed you... me too."
"I've missed you guys too," Nikita said. "Tell Maddy I'll call her."
"I will." Ezra smiled and kissed Nikita's cheek, then she left and Ezra headed to bed.
+ + + + + + +
A few days later Team 7 were all seated in the conference room of their ATF office, staring at a man called Brandon Roche. This man was the head of the FBI department heading up a case. He had just informed them that they were going undercover to try and catch a murderer. Three murders had taken place in a small community and their main suspects was a couple that lived within that community.
"What do you mean we have to go undercover?" Buck asked.
"Well," Roche started. "Chris and Josiah will move into two separate houses not too far from the Hortensens."
"Won't that be a bit weird. Two men moving in at the same time, alone in separate houses?" Chris asked.
"You're not moving in alone," Roche said.
"What!?" Josiah & Chris exclaimed in unison.
"Josiah will also be joined by JD." Travis said.
"Eh?" Was all JD managed to get out.
"You'll be posing as father and son."
"What?!"
"Excuse me," Ezra spoke up before anyone had the chance to say anything. "Why isn't this handled by your department in the FBI?"
"Everyone's busy trying to solve the series of murders taken place in New York."
"Oh yeah, the park killer," JD said.
"And why us?" Ezra asked.
"It's just outside Denver and you are the best at undercover work," Roche said.
"Will I be moving in alone?" Chris asked already dreading the answer.
"No, you'll be moving in with your wife."
"Wife? You mean I'm going undercover with a stranger and we have to pose as husband and wife?" Chris was not happy about this.
"That's the deal," Roche said. "She is a very talented police officer, well trained and she can handle herself in any kind of situation."
"Okay, when are we moving in?" Chris asked.
"Today actually," Roche said handing Chris a file. "You will be Christopher Richmond, she's Jennifer Richmond. In there you'll find your history together, learn it!"
"Yes, sir!" Chris mocked a salute in Roche's direction, receiving an angry glare back.
"What about us?" JD asked stepping between Chris and Roche. "Me and... dad?"
"Yes. What about me and my son?" Josiah said putting a fatherly arm around JD, causing Buck to burst out laughing.
"Josiah you'll be Mark Sullivan, JD you'll be Derek Sullivan," Roche said handing the two men a file each. "Your history, study it."
"We will," Josiah said.
"What about the rest of us?" Nathan asked after a while.
"You, Ezra, Vin and Buck will remain here. Occasionally coming in to visit. Buck you'll pose as Mark's younger brother, Michael. You'll be helping them to move in," Roche said.
"What do you mean occasionally?" Ezra asked.
"Well. Ezra I wanted to ask you if you and your girlfriend, Madelaine could pose as a married couple, visiting Christopher and Jennifer."
"I'm not sure Madelaine will be okay with that," Ezra said. "But I will ask her. You'll have your answer by tomorrow."
"Good. Vin you're posing as a friend of Derek's. Nathan you'll be delivering the mail."
"I'm a mailman?" Nathan said.
"Yes. But not every day, perhaps twice a week or so," Roche said.
"I think I can live with that." Nathan smiled.
"This is insane," Chris muttered under his breath.
"How come there are two available houses there?" JD asked after a while.
"One of the houses became available because of the fact that the couple in that house were murdered."
"And who will be living in that house?" Chris asked.
"JD and Josiah," Roche said. "The second house was just recently built so no one has moved in there before."
"So can we go home and pack some things first?" Josiah asked.
"Well, basic things, but no clothes."
"Why not?" Chris asked.
"Well, all black just doesn't fit into that community," Roche said carefully not wanting to aggravate Chris more.
"Okay," Chris sighed.
"But how can we get new clothes then?" JD asked.
"Well, leave your measurements to my secretary and we'll fix the clothes immediately," Roche said. "They'll be in moving boxes in your vans by the time you are ready to move in."
"How small is this community?" Josiah asked.
"Well, I think there's 400 people living there," Roche said.
"It's not that small then," JD noted.
"I guess not, but it's still too small to do surveillance if you're not undercover."
"I think this'll be fun!" JD said earning himself and angry glare from Chris.
A couple of hours later the three men had all packed their bags and read up on their history.
Christopher had apparently been married to this Jennifer Richmond for little over a year. They had met during a vacation 2 years ago and were still very much in love. Jennifer worked from home, while Christopher worked with a computer software company.
Mark Sullivan worked as an insurance salesman, his wife, Derek's mother, had died in a car accident 6 years ago. Derek had been unemployed since he finished school and he still lived with his dad because he couldn't afford to move away from home.
JD and Josiah climbed into the moving van, Josiah driving. Buck jumped in beside JD and they drove off, ready to move in.
After 30 minutes of driving Josiah stopped in front of a wooden house. They all jumped out of the van and walked up to the house, eyeing it.
"The house looks great," JD said with a smile.
"It does," Buck said.
"I must say I agree with you. I wonder if it looks as nice inside?" Josiah said.
"I guess we'd better start moving our stuff in," JD said and headed back to the van and grabbed two boxes and carried them into the house.
Within 10 minutes of carrying boxes a man approached them, he was in his mid forties, brown hair, brown eyes and he was dressed in black pants and a white shirt, with a tie.
"Hello," Josiah said as the man came up to him, JD & Buck just carried more boxes into the house.
"Hi there, I'm Jim Johnson. I see you are moving in," the man said.
"Yes, I am Mark Sullivan," Josiah said just as Buck & JD came out of the house again.
"Dad! We finished with the boxes," JD said playing his role well.
"This is my son Derek," Josiah said as JD came up to them.
"Hello," JD said and shook hands with Jim.
"And this is my brother Michael, he's just helping us move in."
"So you and your son are the ones moving in here. No wife?" Jim asked.
He's very curious. Josiah thought but said. "No, Cassie died 6 years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Jim said. "Well I just wanted to welcome you."
"Thank you," Josiah said and Jim walked away again.
"How curious was he!?" JD said as Jim walked out of hear sight.
"Very," Josiah said. "Where was Chris going to stay?"
"In that powder blue house over there." JD nodded towards the house. "His 'wife' moved in earlier today. Christopher is apparently coming with the rest of their stuff later tonight."
"She looks like one pretty lady," Buck noted as a blond, slim, woman came out of the house and sat down in the porch swing.
"Wait wait wait!" JD suddenly exclaimed. "Isn't that..."
"Nikita!" Josiah said.
"Oh God, Chris is going to explode," Buck sighed.
"Might be good for them. They haven't talked since they broke up," JD said.
"How would you know that?" Josiah asked.
"Well I talked to Madelaine yesterday and she had dinner with Nikita a few days ago," JD said. "Apparently Nikita misses Chris."
"Should we warn Chris?" Buck said.
"Well, perhaps we should, but it's already too late," Josiah said. "Here he comes."
"This will be interesting." JD smiled.
Chris stopped the small van in front of the powder blue house, and he immediately noticed the slim, blond woman on the porch swing, she was reading a book. As he got out of the van she looked up and Chris' heart just about stopped. Then he saw their main suspects, the Hortensens, staring at him. Chris put up a small smile and tried to hide the shock of seeing Nikita.
As Nikita looked up she saw Chris and she gasped. But she saw the Hortensens staring at him so she took a deep breath and made her way towards her 'husband.'
"Christopher!" She exclaimed and walked up to him and hugged him.
"Jennifer," Chris said and glanced sideways at the Hortensens who were still staring at them.
"We'd better kiss," Chris whispered quietly in Nikita's ear.
"Yeah." She nodded.
Chris cupped Nikita's cheek and captured her lips with his, kissing her softly. The two kissed for a while and when Chris released Nikita the Hortensens were making their way towards them.
"Hi," Mary Hortensen said, she was a short, red haired woman.
"Hello," Nikita said with a smile.
"We're the Hortensens, I'm Robert, this is my wife Mary," the tall, brown haired man said.
"I'm Christopher Richmond, this is my wife Jennifer," Chris said and the four all shook hands.
"So you're moving in?" Mary asked.
"Yes we are," Nikita said. "The house looked so fantastic so I just knew this would be perfect for us."
"Not as perfect as you, honey," Chris said wrapping an arm around Nikita's waist.
"You're so sweet." Nikita smiled kissing Chris' cheek.
"You newlyweds?" Robert asked.
"No, we married a year ago," Chris said.
"You look like you're very much in love," Mary said.
"That's because we are," Nikita said. "I suppose we should start unloading the van."
"Yeah, I think we should," Chris said.
"Welcome to the neighborhood," Robert said with a smile as the two headed back to their house.
Chris and Nikita both grabbed a box each carrying it into the house. As soon as Chris had closed the door behind them Nikita dropped the box on the nearest table.
"I'm getting out of here!" She exclaimed.
"So am I!" Chris said. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
"What are you doing here?!" Nikita asked back.
"I was assigned this from Roche of the FBI. I didn't know that you would be my wife!" Chris yelled.
"You think I knew about this?! If I did I never would have agreed. Never!" Nikita was furious.
"I'm calling Roche," Chris said grabbing the phone and storming upstairs into the bedroom.
Nikita took a few deep breaths and then she went out to unload the rest of the boxes. Even though she didn't intend on staying a second longer, she still needed to make it look like they were really moving in.
Upstairs Chris was pacing the room while he was waiting for Roche to answer the phone.
"Roche."
"Roche! It's Chris Larabee, what the hell do you think you're doing to me?" Chris was furious and he kicked a chair out of the way.
"What do you mean?" Roche asked confused.
"Nikita's my wife! Nikita!" Chris exclaimed. "I had to kiss her in front of the Hortensens!"
"Yeah, your girlfriend," Roche said.
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"But after the trial you two..."
"We broke up over a year ago!" Chris yelled.
"Oh..," Roche fell silent.
"You have to fix this! Now!"
"I can't. You've already made contact with the suspects. You can't just move out immediately," Roche said. "You have to try and make it work."
"What!?"
"You have to. We can't get you out of there," Roche said.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"You've made contact with them, they've seen you," Roche answered.
After Roche had said that all he heard was a click as Chris hung up the phone and put it down on the table. Chris then fell backwards on the double bed and covered his face with his hands. How the hell was he gonna do this. He had to live with his ex-girlfriend, posing as husband and wife. The fact that Nikita probably hated Chris didn't make it easier. Chris lay on the bed for 10 minutes calming down and then he got up and walked down to the kitchen were Nikita sat at the table sipping a glass of water.
"Nikita." Chris started as she looked up at him. "We have to make this work."
"Why? I'm out of here as soon as possible," she said.
"I just talked to Roche and he says we have to stay."
"What? Why?"
"They've already seen us," Chris said.
"We have to live here together?" Nikita asked as she took in the news.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Chris said.
"Oh my God," Nikita sighed.
"Can you handle this?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I can. You?"
"Of course. We're both professionals, right?!" Chris said and Nikita nodded. "Guess we'd better unpack then."
A few hours later it was past midnight and Nikita just hung her final items of clothing into one of the big closets. She was impressed with the size of the house, it had two floors and 7 rooms and a huge kitchen. Nikita had also found two big closets and she started to unpack her clothes in one of them, while Chris took the other.
"Kita," Chris said and it made Nikita shiver, Chris was the only one who called her that. "Sorry. I mean Nikita."
"Yes?"
"What about the sleeping arrangements? The bedroom is facing the Hortensens," Chris said.
"Well, we'll enter it together, act a bit, pull the blinds and then you sleep in the guestroom," Nikita said. "Good?"
"Yeah, sounds good," Chris said realizing that Nikita had solved every problem they had so far. "You're quick."
"What do you mean?"
"You solve every problem we have."
"Yeah, we'll I like solving problems." Nikita smiled.
"You're very smart," Chris said with a warm smile.
A couple of days later JD & Josiah had settled in the new house and JD was practically giddy with joy over the new house. He loved every inch of the house much because it was so big. JD was driving Josiah insane with his bouncing up and down everywhere in the house. The worst part of living with JD was the fact that he played music all the time and Josiah didn't like that kind of music. But Josiah enjoyed playing the role of JD's father, as much as JD enjoyed being fathered by Josiah.
A week later Chris and Nikita got along okay, but they stayed on their separate sides, only speaking to each other when necessary. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and both Nikita and Chris looked at the other somewhat confused. Chris went to open the door... outside Ezra and Madelaine stood.
"Hi!" Chris said
"Hey there, Christopher!" Ezra said shaking hands with Chris. "Nice to see you again."
"Yeah," Chris said understanding that Madelaine and Ezra were playing the roles of the married couple, since they both wore wedding bands on the fingers. "Why don't you come in."
As soon as Chris closed the door behind them Madelaine burst out laughing. Ezra grinned slightly as Chris glared at them.
"What?"
"You look so weird." Madelaine smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen you without your black clothes."
"I agree," Ezra said as he studied Chris' white shorts and multicolored t-shirt.
"It's part of Christopher's wardrobe," Chris said with a nauseous look on his face.
"You look very 'summery'." Madelaine smiled and kissed Chris on the cheek. "By the way we're Lisa and Peter Austin. We've been married for two years and we know you through your work."
"Thanks for the history." Chris smiled.
"How's it going with you and Nikita?" Ezra asked. "You two doing okay together?"
"She's a great actress I'll tell you that much," Chris said. "We get along just fine as soon as there are people around otherwise she doesn't really talk to me."
"Well, where is she?" Madelaine said.
"She's out back, trying to get a tan I assume," Chris said and opened the door to the back. "Honey, look who's here?"
"Oh my God!" Nikita exclaimed and rose from her seat in the sun and went up to Madelaine.
"Jennifer, how great to see you." Madelaine smiled and hugged her whispering. "I'm Lisa Austin. Ezra's my husband Peter."
"Lisa, it was so long ago." Nikita smiled.
"Well, we got your postcard notifying us that you had moved so we just had to visit," Ezra said hugging Nikita.
"You know you're always welcome here," Chris said. "Would you like something to drink, honey?"
"Yes, I'd love a cola with ice. Peter? Lisa?" Nikita smiled.
"Just some iced tea if you have any," Ezra said and Madelaine nodded in agreement.
"I'll be right back." Chris smiled.
"So how do you like it here in your new house?" Madelaine asked.
"It's really good. It's so big and roomy." Nikita smiled.
"And how are things between you and Chris?" Ezra lowered his voice when he posed the question.
"Awful, he doesn't speak with me. And I don't speak with him," Nikita whispered.
"How are the neighbors?" Madelaine asked.
"Just fine. They seem really nice," Nikita said knowing that the Hortensens were also out back.
"That's good. Is Christopher still working too much?" Ezra asked.
"He has gotten better. He's been home helping me fix everything here, settling in."
"That's good," Ezra said as Chris came out again, carrying a tray with four glasses.
"One iced tea for Peter and one for Lisa," Chris said handing them the two glasses. Then he turned to Nikita. "And one ice cold cola for my lovely wife."
"Thanks sweetie," Nikita said as she received the glass.
An hour later the four had gone inside and now they sat inside discussing the case. Ezra told them that he had been in contact with Roche and that Roche seemed happy about how things were going so far. Chris told them that he had talked with the couple a few times, they always seemed to show up as soon as he or Nikita were outside.
"They kind of freak me out a bit," Madelaine said. "I saw them staring at us when we got out of the car. "The woman looks like she could go insane any minute."
"I know," Nikita said. "She acts really nice but you see it in her eyes."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Chris went to open it. Outside Mary and Robert Hortensen stood with a smile on their faces. Chris smiled back and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Yes?" He said.
"We were just wondering if you would like to join us for a barbecue tomorrow evening?" Robert asked.
"Well, I..," Chris began but Mary interrupted him.
"It's the new family down the street that's having the barbecue. The Sullivan's I believe."
"Well, I'll ask Jennifer. Why don't you come in?" Chris asked.
"Sure," Robert said the two of them stepping in.
"We're all in the living room," Chris said.
"Hello Jennifer." Mary smiled when the two entered the living room followed by Chris.
"Hi Mary... Robert," Nikita said.
"Honey, the Sullivan's who live down the street is having a barbecue tomorrow. Mary and Robert wants to know if we want to come. What do you think?" Chris said.
"The Sullivan's?" Nikita said playing thoughtful. "It's the widower and the son, right?!"
"Yes. Yes it is," Robert said. "They want to get to know everyone so they have arranged a barbecue."
"That sounds very nice," Nikita said. "Of course we'll come."
"They said it would start at 6pm tomorrow," Mary said.
"We'll be there." Chris smiled as Ezra cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should introduce our friends."
"Oh how rude of us not to!" Nikita said. "This is Peter and Lisa Austin."
"Hello," Madelaine said.
"Hi, I'm Mary Hortensen and this is my husband Robert."
"Very nice to meet you," Ezra said while shaking hands with the two.
"So we'll see you at the barbecue tomorrow then," Robert said turning to Chris again.
"Definitely," Chris said. "It will be fun."
After that Chris walked the Hortensens to the door and as he closed it behind them he heard Madelaine exclaim 'yuk!' When Chris walked back into the living room Nikita sat giggling at Madelaine.
"What's up?" Chris asked.
"I think those two freaked me out more in 5 minutes than the whole Jones gang did," Madelaine said.
"Couldn't agree more there," Nikita said.
"So Josiah and JD's having a barbecue tomorrow," Chris said. "This will be interesting."
"It'll be so much fun seeing Josiah be JD's father," Nikita said. "How long are we going to be doing this undercover thing anyway?"
"Well, Roche said that we have to catch them in the act so to speak," Ezra said.
"So... what? We stalk them? How are we going to catch them?" Nikita said.
"Well... Roche is hoping that they'll attempt to kill you," Ezra said.
"What the hell do you mean?" Chris asked.
"Well that's what Roche said. You are the perfect victims, according to the profile."
"You have got to be kidding," Nikita said.
"No I am sorry to say but I am telling the truth," Ezra said an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm never going to be able to sleep again," Nikita said.
"We'll fix that," Chris said. "I take first watch, you sleep. I wake you, go to sleep, you keep watch or something like that."
"Okay," Nikita sighed.
"But you have to look like you're sleeping," Ezra said.
"One small problem," Chris said. "We're sleeping in separate bedrooms."
"Already!? You've only been married a year." Madelaine couldn't resist the joke. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Nikita smiled slightly. "I guess we'll start sharing the bedroom then."
"We will?" Chris said a bit shocked and Nikita nodded. "We will."
"This will be interesting," Madelaine said under her breath.
The next evening Christopher came home from work (Chris came home from the ATF office). As he came in the door he heard a melodic voice. Chris smiled to himself, he loved to hear Nikita sing, apparently she was in the shower because he heard the water running. Chris made some coffee and then he went to sit down in the porch swing out back. He sat sipping his coffee while thinking about the night's coming barbecue. Chris admitted to himself that he kind of liked playing husband and wife with Nikita. They didn't really talk during the day when no one was around, but as soon as there were people around Nikita was so sweet towards Chris. That's why he knew that he would love the barbecue tonight. He would be able to touch Nikita, talk sweetly to her, generally let all his feelings out.
Chris had been in touch with Roche during the day and Roche said that the Hortensens had to be caught in the act. Roche seemed very happy with Chris & Nikita's work as with JD and Josiah's. Nathan had reported that the Hortensens didn't get any personal mail, only junk mail and bills.
"Christopher I didn't realize you had come home." Nikita's soft voice said as she came out on the back porch carrying a cup of coffee. "Thank you for the coffee."
"Anything for you, dear," Chris said as Nikita sat down in the opposite chair. "Are you looking forward to tonight?"
"Yes, very much so. It will be fun to meet some new neighbors," Nikita said while mouthing that the Hortensens were out back as well.
"Yes, it definitely will," Chris said and checked his watch. "It's only 45 minutes left, should we go get changed?"
"Yes I suppose so, unless you want me to go in my bathrobe," Nikita giggled slightly.
"I wouldn't mind, but I'm not sure I want the other neighbors drooling over my beautiful wife."
30 minutes later Nikita stood fully dressed in the bathroom, putting on some make - up. She was in a black halter neck with a bare midriff. To that she wore a pair of tight black pants. She had decided not to put her hair up, like she usually did, so her blond hair flew freely around her face. When Nikita was finished she went downstairs where she found Chris, dressed in black shorts and a sky blue short-sleeved shirt. He also wore a pair of sunglasses on his head and Nikita couldn't help but notice how gorgeous and relaxed he looked.
Chris on the other hand had to fight back all kinds of feelings when he saw Nikita. He was so used to seeing her in her uniform or just jeans and a baggy shirt. When they had dated and he took her out to restaurants she always wore elegant but boring dresses. Chris was not used to seeing that much bare skin on Nikita, at least not when they were going out.
"Should we go?" Nikita asked grabbing the bottle of wine.
"Yes," Chris said getting up from the kitchen table. "Nikita?"
"Yes?"
"You look great," Chris said quietly.
"Thank you." She accepted the compliment with a warm smile.
The two made their way, hand in hand, to the house where Josiah and JD lived. When they knocked on the door it was opened by Buck, dressed in blue shorts and a white shirt.
"Hello!" He grinned. "Perhaps I should introduce myself. I'm Michael Sullivan, Mark's brother."
"We're Christopher and Jennifer Richmond." Chris smiled as they entered the house.
"Hi Buck," Nikita whispered giving Buck a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You look very shagadelic!" Buck laughed.
"Buck!" Nikita hissed but couldn't help laughing. "You've been watching way too much Austin Powers!"
"Maybe." He smiled. "Want to meet the rest of the family?"
"Definitely," Chris said as Buck led them out back.
Well there Chris immediately noticed Josiah, JD and Vin along with a couple of unknown faces. Nikita and Chris went up to Josiah and JD, Nikita handing Josiah the wine bottle.
"Hello there." Josiah smiled. "Welcome, I'm so glad you could come. I'm Mark Sullivan and this is my son Derek."
"Hello, I'm Jennifer Richmond and this is my husband Christopher." Nikita smiled shaking hands with them.
"This is my friend Todd." JD smiled as Vin extended his hand.
"Pleased to meet you," Chris said shaking hands with Vin as well.
"How very nice of you to bring a bottle of wine." Josiah smiled.
"Well it was the least we could do after you invited us here," Nikita said. "Can I help out with anything?"
"No, not really. But thank you for offering," Josiah said. "But please, have a seat and dinner will be ready soon.
Chris and Nikita went and sat down on a couple of chairs. Shortly thereafter Vin came and sat down beside them, chatting about the weather, the house and so on. Nikita understood that Vin and Chris really were relying information to each other. When she went out with Chris she never understood what they were talking about, they seemed to have a sort of code language sometimes. After a while the Hortensen couple came through the door. Mary immediately noticed Nikita and waved to her, Nikita waved back, already dreading having to talk to her. Nikita laid a hand on Chris' shoulder gaining his attention. Vin excused himself and went back to JD.
"What is it?" Chris asked.
"They're here," Nikita said. "I really don't feel like talking to them."
"I don't think it's possible to avoid them," Chris said with a small smile. "But I'm sure we can hold them off for a while. Perhaps Derek can talk them to death."
"How can we hold them off?" Nikita asked and then she realized what Chris was thinking. "I guess we have to become engulfed in each other."
"Yeah, you think you can handle it?" Chris said pulling Nikita closer.
"Yeah, since I have to," Nikita said her words hurting Chris deep inside. "Come here, my dear husband."
"Gladly," Chris said and the two met in a deep kiss.
As they finally separated Nikita saw that JD and Vin had started talking to the Hortensens
"Thank God." Nikita gave a relieved sigh. "I know we have to catch them and stuff but I just hate them so much, they're creepy."
"I know and I feel the same way," Chris said. "But eventually this will be all over and we get to go home."
"Yeah, I can't wait," Nikita sighed, not really wanting to leave her role as Chris' wife, she had come to like it alot.
A couple of hours later everyone had eaten and now Nikita sat chatting to Mary while Chris was talking to Robert. Nikita was hoping that Chris would come rescue her, because she was about to punch Mary. She had the weirdest opinions about everything and she was extremely curious about their house, asking if it they had an alarm. Nikita answered every question politely hoping for an exit, but Chris didn't seem to be able to get away from Robert.
Suddenly a slow song came on and shortly thereafter Buck came up to Nikita. He extended his hand and asked her politely if she wanted to dance. Nikita accepted immediately letting Buck lead her to the lawn where two other couples had taken up dancing. As Buck wrapped his arms around Nikita, he felt her relax almost resting her whole body against his.
"You okay?" He whispered.
"Yeah. It's just so difficult," Nikita answered. "Mary is the creepiest person ever. But if I suspect correctly it will be over soon."
"Why do you think that?" Buck asked.
"She started asking me all kinds of questions about the house. If we had an alarm, if we had backdoors etc."
"What the hell?" Buck was surprised. "How did she explain all her questions?"
"She said that they had a fire and that the backdoor had saved their lives. The alarm question she explained with the fact that they had been robbed once," Nikita said.
"They have never had the fire department there or the police for that matter," Buck said remembering all the records he had read while checking up on the Hortensens.
"I know, I've also checked," Nikita said. "So I assume she and Robert are going to kill us soon."
"You mean try to kill you," Buck said.
"Yeah." Nikita smiled.
"How are things between you and Christopher then?" Buck asked.
"Well between Christopher and Jennifer things are wonderful. But if you ask how it's between me and Chris..," Nikita said.
"I am," Buck added with a smile.
"Things are not well. We barely talk and I hate it," Nikita said.
"You still love him," Buck noted.
"Yeah I do." She sighed. "But he broke up with me, he was the one who left."
"Chris can do stupid things," Buck said. "But leaving is you is probably the most stupid thing he's ever done and ever will do."
"Yeah?" Nikita raised her head to look at Buck.
"Definitely. I think he still loves you too," Buck said.
"He's just acting, he's a very good actor I might add. Sometimes even I buy it," Nikita said.
"I don't think he's acting, he's not a good actor."
"Oh well, for now I have to settle with being his wife Jennifer."
"Well that's not so bad, is it, darlin'?" Buck grinned.
"No it isn't," Nikita giggled.
"Excuse me, Michael." A dark voice was heard and both Buck and Nikita turned to see Chris. "Can I borrow my wife for a while?"
"Of course." Buck smiled and whispered to Nikita. "Everything will be fine, darlin'."
"What did you want?" Nikita asked as Buck left.
"I wanted to dance with you," Chris said as he wrapped his arms around Nikita's waist. "I think they're gonna kill us soon."
"Yeah," Nikita said as she put her arms around Chris' neck resting her head against his chest.
"Robert has asked me all kinds of questions."
"Mary did the same with me," Nikita said. "I guess we'll both be extra careful from now on."
"Yeah."
Late that night Nikita and Chris were the last to leave the barbecue. After chatting some to JD, Vin, Josiah and Buck the two made their way back to the house. As they entered they noticed that the light was still on in the Hortensen house. Chris looked the door firmly behind him, checking the backdoor before he went upstairs to join Nikita in the bedroom. When he came in she had changed out of her outfit into a dark blue pajamas with golden stars on it.
Chris changed into his black and blue pajamas and crawled into bed where Nikita lay, reading a book.
"You okay?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" She said.
"Considering that we might me murdered tonight I was a bit worried," Chris said.
"I can take care of myself," Nikita said.
"I know that," Chris said. "Should we have some sort of a strategy in case..."
"We'll do what we have planned. We pretend like we're sleeping and when they're here we attack them," Nikita said like it was the easiest thing in the world.
"Sounds good," Chris said. "Do you have your gun nearby?"
"Yeah, it's under my pillow," Nikita said.
A couple of minutes later they turned out the lights but none of them were able to fall asleep. Instead they lay silently listening after any noise.
Little over an hour later Nikita heard something downstairs, she turned her head and she saw that Chris was awake as well, also hearing the noise. The two lay absolutely still breathing deeply, like they were asleep. After a while the bedroom door opened silently and Nikita saw Mary and Robert come. Mary was carrying a big kitchen knife, while Robert had an axe. Nikita had her hand under her pillow the gun in hand. When she saw Mary raise the knife to stab her Nikita jumped up and aimed it at Mary.
"Freeze," Nikita said in a cold voice, but Mary still lashed out with the knife, just missing Nikita.
"Give it up," Chris growled, he was also armed and Robert soon laid down his axe, surrendering.
"Mary, stop it," Robert pleaded to his wife.
"Yes, Mary, stop it. Otherwise I'll have no choice but to shoot you," Nikita said dodging every attempt by Mary to slash her.
Just as Chris put handcuffs on Robert Nikita didn't manage to evade the knife. A sharp pain laced through her left leg. Ignoring the pain she fired one shot taking Mary down. After she had checked that Mary was out and she removed the knife from Mary's hands, Nikita collapsed on the bed.
"Call the police," Nikita said. "And the paramedics."
"Already done," Chris said. "Roche told me about a button he had installed in case of an emergency. The police and paramedics will be here shortly."
"Good," Nikita said inspecting her bleeding leg. "I think I need to tie something around this."
"Let me," Chris said as he tore up a piece of sheet of the bed and tied around Nikita's leg. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Nikita said. "It doesn't hurt so bad. It's not as I've been shot."
"No. Not this time." Chris smiled slightly.
"She's insane you know," Robert suddenly spoke up.
"What?" Chris said turning to Robert.
"I didn't want to do this, she forced me." Robert was crying.
"Are you willing to testify against her?" Nikita asked.
"Yes I am," Robert said. "We've done so many bad things and she needs help. I want to get her that help."
"Good," Chris said and rose from kneeling in front of Nikita. "The police are here."
"Let's go," Nikita said.
"Oh no no no no, you stay here. Handcuff Mary while I take Robert down. I'll send up the paramedics," Chris said after checking again that Mary really was unconscious.
"Alright," Nikita said as Chris grabbed Robert to get him downstairs.
Suddenly Mary jumped up armed with a small knife and she stabbed Chris in the chest, and then she stabbed Robert as well. Nikita screamed in terror as she saw Chris and Robert collapse on the floor, both bleeding heavily from their chests. Nikita grabbed her gun and fired several shots against Mary, but she kept coming. Eventually Nikita fired one final shot aimed directly at Mary's head. She finally fell to the floor, dead, right in front of Nikita's feet. Nikita made her way over to Chris where he lay on the floor. She ripped his shirt open and saw that he had been stabbed in the vicinity of his heart. Nikita put her hands over the wound trying her best to stop the bleeding.
Suddenly the door was flung open and two police officers came in with their guns drawn. After them two paramedics came.
"Ms? Are you okay?" One of the paramedics asked Nikita.
"Yes, you have to help Chris." She pleaded, tears in her eyes.
"If you move out of the way ma'am we will," the paramedic said. "Ma'am you have to move out of the way."
"Nikita!" A new voice called out as Josiah and JD came in.
"Miss, you have to move if we are supposed to help him," the paramedic said again.
"I'll get her out of the way," Josiah said and simply lifted Nikita up in his arms.
"Carry her downstairs to the ambulance," the paramedic said. "She seems to be in shock."
"And bleeding!" JD exclaimed as he noticed Nikita's leg.
"She's tied a sheet around it, good," the paramedic said. "Get her to the other paramedics outside."
"Sure," Josiah said carrying the now crying Nikita downstairs.
"Is she okay?" JD asked as he followed them down.
"I think so," Josiah said. "Nikita? Nikita!"
"Yeah." Nikita's answer was a whisper.
"You got them. Both of them," Josiah said.
"She stabbed Chris," Nikita sobbed.
"He'll be okay," Josiah said as he carried her out the door to the waiting ambulance.
In the ambulance a paramedic checked on Nikita's leg and he told the waiting Josiah and JD that she needed stitches but that she would be just fine. Suddenly the paramedics came out carrying Chris on the stretcher. Chris was still unconscious and from what JD saw he was still bleeding.
As they pushed Chris into the other ambulance Nikita jumped off the ambulance she was sitting in.
"Woah! Where do you think you're going?" Josiah asked stopping her.
"I'm going with Chris," she said.
"Is that okay?" Josiah asked and the paramedics nodded. Josiah picked Nikita up and carried her over to the other ambulance.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Nikita asked the paramedic who was tending to Chris.
"I'm sure he will," the paramedic said and then went back to working on Chris.
As the ambulance pulled up at the hospital Chris was wheeled off before Nikita was able to make it out of the ambulance. Shortly thereafter a nurse came with a stretcher and Nikita got on it. The whole way to the exam room she hassled the nurse to find out about Chris.
Nikita was placed in a small room where she was given some pain relievers even though Nikita persisted that she wasn't in any pain. After a while a female doctor with black hair came in.
"Hello Ms. Wilson. I'm Dr. Howell, I will be stitching you up."
"How is Chris Larabee doing?" Nikita asked completely ignoring what the doctor said.
"Who?"
"Chris Larabee, Team 7 ATF, he came in here 20 minutes ago. He had been stabbed in the chest."
"I don't know." Dr. Howell said. "But as soon as I have stitched you up I will find out how he's doing. Okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," Nikita said leaning back on the bed.
20 minutes later Dr. Howell had put in the final stitch. She cleaned up after herself and then she went to check on Chris. Just as she had left the door was flung open and Madelaine and Ezra came into the room. When they saw Nikita conscious and sitting up they both breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Hi," Madelaine said and hugged Nikita. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Nikita said.
"We're so glad you're okay," Ezra said kissing Nikita's cheek. "Do you know anything about Chris?"
"No, but the doctor who stitched me up promised to find out whatever she could," Nikita said. "I'm so worried about him. He was stabbed in the chest."
"Oh my God," Madelaine said. "You saw him get stabbed?"
"Yes," she said the images flooding her mind again, she felt sick.
"Are you okay?" Ezra asked as he saw Nikita turn pale.
"I'll live," Nikita said suddenly noticing the blood on her hands, the doctor must have missed that. "Hmm."
What?" Madelaine asked.
"There's blood on my hands," Nikita said.
"Your blood?"
"No, it's Chris," Nikita said suddenly feeling dizzy she passed out.
"Get the doctor back in here!" Madelaine exclaimed as Ezra ran out, soon the doctor returned.
"She probably passed out from the blood loss," the doctor calmly explained. "But just to be sure we'll run a few tests."
"Did you manage to find out anything about Chris Larabee?" Ezra asked the doctor.
"Yes, he is in surgery as we speak, but I don't know anything more than that. I'm sorry," she said
"I'm sure you'll give us more information when you know more," Ezra said.
"Of course I will." The doctor smiled.
A few minutes later Nikita woke up again. The first thing she saw was Madelaine's worried face. Nikita smiled slightly and asked for some water.
"You okay?" Madelaine asked.
"I'm fine," Nikita said. "Chris?"
"We don't know anything yet," Ezra said.
"I'm sure he's fine," Madelaine said with an encouraging smile.
45 minutes later Nikita was sitting up in the hospital bed surrounded by Madelaine, Ezra, Josiah, JD, Buck, Vin and Nathan. All had arrived at the hospital as soon as Ezra had phoned them, waking them up. Josiah and JD had stayed in the community talking to the neighbors about the Hortensens, but none of the neighbors had suspected a thing.
After another 45 minutes an unknown doctor came in, smiling towards the 8 people staring questioningly at him.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Kellerquist. I am the doctor who operated on Mr. Larabee."
"How did it go?" Nikita asked.
"He made it through surgery. The knife barely missed his heart but it didn't hurt any of the major organs. I was told that someone tried to stop the bleeding on site," the doctor said.
"That was me," Nikita said.
"Then you probably saved his life." Dr. Kellerquist said. "He has sustained major blood loss but he would have died if you hadn't managed to put pressure on the wound."
"Will he be okay?" Vin asked.
"Yes, I believe so. He's in post op and he will be waking up within the hour."
"I want to see him," Nikita said swinging her legs over the bed, ready to get out of it.
"You will. But you can't walk over there," Buck said stopping her before she got out of the bed.
"Get me there then!" Nikita exclaimed.
"Okay," Buck said gently lifting Nikita off the bed and carrying her out of the room towards the post op area.
A couple of minutes later Buck put Nikita down in a chair beside the sedated Chris. She grabbed his hand and pulled it to her mouth, kissing it gently. The remaining 6 people came in after Nikita and Buck, they soon filled the entire room.
An hour later Chris started to stir and everyone inched closer to the bed. A while later his eyes fluttered open and he looked around the room.
"How are you feeling, pard?" Vin asked.
"Okay," Chris said with a small smile. "How did it go?"
"Well..," Josiah began. "Mary is dead and Robert is in a coma. He probably won't make it."
"Who killed Mary?" Chris asked.
"Nikita. She also saved your life," JD said.
"I did," Nikita said as Chris looked at her. "I had to shoot Mary after she stabbed you."
"Good," Chris sighed closing his eyes.
"I think we should leave Chris alone so he can rest," Nathan said and pushed everyone, except Nikita out of the room.
"They gone?" Chris asked as soon as the door closed.
"Yeah."
"How are you doing? I know she got you," Chris said.
"I'm stitched up, I'm fine. But I must admit 7 stitches is not that fun," Nikita said.
"I can understand that," Chris said. "I'm going to miss living with you."
"You are?"
"Yeah, I am. I miss you, Nikita."
"I miss you too," Nikita whispered taking Chris' outstretched hand.
"I was an idiot."
"Yeah you were."
"I'll stop being an idiot. But only if I can not be an idiot together with you."
"What?" Nikita giggled.
"I want you. I love you, Kita," Chris whispered.
"I love you too, Chris," Nikita said sitting down on the bed letting Chris pull her close.
"Thank you for saving my life."
"I would do it again even if you are an idiot." Nikita smiled leaning in kissing Chris softly.
The End
