Michael.

He looked a little older, his hair once again long and curling around his neck. He had a beard and was tanned. All I could do was stand there and stare at him, unable to believe that it was really him, Michael, and that he was standing right there in front of me.

Slowly he walked toward me, his gaze locked upon mine, and I felt a moment's panic. What if he wasn't the same anymore? What if we'd both changed over the past years? What if we found out that who we'd become was no longer who we once were? What if what we had was all in the past and we didn't -- or rather he didn't love me anymore?

I stood frozen still, unable to move as Michael drew slowly closer. I could see into his eyes, the questioning look in them as he searched my own gaze; hesitation, uncertainty. And then slowly it dawned on me that I was reading his thoughts, seeing into him just as I did when I knew him before. Despite my best efforts to be strong I found my eyes watering as he drew nearer still and reached up hesitantly to touch my face.

In the next moment I was in his arms, embraced tenderly by this man that I remembered and love so well. All my fears and doubts were vanquished as he ran his fingers through my hair and whispered in my ear, "I thought I'd lost you again."

His words, a throwback to an earlier time in our relationship, brought a smile of remembrance to my lips as I pulled back and looked at him. How glorious he looked to me, standing there and smiling at me with his eyes.

"Am I a possession to be lost?" I asked, raising one brow at him. But he knew I wasn't angry. How could I be when all that I had dreamed of for the past eight and a half years was standing before me? For the first time ever I really, really began to believe that Michael and I had a chance at a life together. Just thinking about it overwhelmed me with emotion.

Michael gathered me to him and folded his arms around me. God, how I've missed him; the feel of him, his scent, his quiet strength… All of it came rushing back to me and I felt my whole world shift. I felt complete again.

After a few minutes I pulled back again and looked around. "Where's Adam?"

"Papaeete."

That wasthirty minutesaway from where we were. "Is he with someone? Will he be alright?" The last time I'd seen Adam he was a young child of five. I knew he was now a teenager, but it is still difficult for me to reconcile that knowledge with the picture of Adam I have in my mind.

"Yes." Michael looked toward the house. "Let's go inside."

Our fingers remained linked as we entered the house. I didn't want to let him go and I don't think he wanted to let go either, but I'd be lying if I said that everything fell instantly back to the way it used to be with us. A lot of time had passed since we'd last seen each other and, despite our obvious joy at being together again, there was also a strange awkwardness between us now that the initial shock of our reunion was over.

I had so much to tell him, so much that I wanted to hear about him and his life for the past several years. But I didn't know where to start or even what to say. I pointed him to the living room as I went to take a quick shower and change. I returned several minutes later to find him standing at the window staring out at the ocean. He turned as I approached. I took a good long look at him, touched his face and his beard.

"How long have you had this look?"

One corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. "A couple of years."

His hands went to my hair and he stroked it gently. "It's long again."

I nodded. Then Michael held out his hand to me and I placed my hand in his. He led me to the couch and we sat down. For the next several minutes we sat there staring at each other and marveling that we were actually together in the same room.

"Why didn't you contact me?" he asked quietly.

All my noble reasoning for not going to him seemed almost silly now. I shook my head, letting him know that I didn't want to answer that particular question. He shifted and turned my face so that he could see my eyes.

"Did your feelings for me change?" he asked.

"No!" I drew back to stare at him in disbelief. But just as quickly hedrew me back to him, his hand reaching up to gently cup my face.

"Then how could you think my feelings for you would have changed?" he asked, proving that he could read me just as well now as he could back then. There was a look of sadness in his eyes and I realized suddenly the mistake I had made. Feeling ashamed, I lowered my gaze as I tried to explain.

"When we said goodbye at the station I wanted you to be happy, Michael. I didn't expect you to come back. I know you said you would some day but I didn't want to hold you to that promise. Adam's your son and he's always going to need you. And then when I was suddenly free of Section, I wanted to find you but years had passed and I had to consider that maybeyou'd found someone who…"

I didn't finish my sentence as Michael leaned over and placed his fingers over my lips, and then he kissed me. He took my breath away and all my reasoning as well. I found myself wondering how I could ever have thought Michael would put me out of his life. He's not that type of man. He doesn't love easily, I of all people know that having witnessed the torment he went through when he discovered that Simone was still alive, and then again when his time with Elena ended. It was only after he had overcome the guilt of his feelings to those two women, and to a certain extent to me, that he had been able to give me his heart completely. I should have known that as long as Michael knew I was alive he would not give his heart to any other.

"I'm sorry."

"Shh." He kissed me again. "We have another chance if you want it."

I smiled and kissed him back, showing him just how much I wanted it.

Chapter 8:

I would have been happy to stay there with Michael for the rest of the day but there were other matters we had to attend to, namely Adam. "Who is he with?" I asked, and Michael explained that he had rented two rooms at a hotel in Papeete. One for himself and the other for Adam and his friend Fetu.

"Fetu?" The name sounded Polynesian. I stared at Michael, noticing again his tanned skin and the lighter shaded streaks in his hair. "Michael, where do you live?"

He smiled slowly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Guess."

I didn't want to guess, I was too impatient for details about his life outside of Section. "Tell me," I said, taking hold of his hands.

He spread his fingers wide, palms facing up and holding my hands atop his. "Manihi," he answered, as I stared at him blankly. "It's part of the Tuamotu archipelago, about an hour and a half by air from Bora Bora."

My mouth dropped open in disbelief. "You're here in Tahiti?"

"In French Polynesia, yes."

I was astounded and at a loss for words. I had never imagined he would be so close to me all this time. For some reason I thought that he would have chosen to go north somewhere and settle on a farm or in a small community.

He appeared amused at my look of shock. "You once said you wanted to live on a secluded island."

"Yes but I didn't think that you'd… that I… that we'd end up picking the same place."

He tugged my hand gently, pulling me closer before leaning over to touch his forehead to mine. "I wanted a place that would remind me of you."

He explained that he worked as a security consultant for the one resort on the island of Manihi. Not that there was ever any real security threat since the island was so tiny and practically everyone on the island was related to or knew everyone else. The job though allowed Michael to know who was coming and going from the island.

"It's remote but beautiful," he said. "You told me that that was your dream."

I stared at him, a suspicion beginning to form in my mind. "You speak as if you knew I'd one day be here."

Michael didn't say anything. That, more than anything, convinced me that what I suspected was true. "You gave Walter that information, didn't you?"

He remained silent but I didn't need to hear his answer, I could see it in his eyes. It was all beginning to make sense now. "The Gemstone -- all that time Madeline and Paul thought George had it, but it was never recovered after his death. You had it and you gave it to Walter before you left Section."

Michael nodded once. "I planned to use it in case your father wouldn't let you leave with me. But then… things changed."

I knew what he was referring to -- that day on the bridge when he had been willing to give up his life in order to save his son. My father had given me an option to save both Michael and Adam if I would remain behind in Section.

"I couldn't ask you to break your word," Michael explained. "So I did the next best thing andsent Walter a copy of the disc."

Everything was clicking into place. "Walter used the codes to access the information he needed to make the disc he released to the public."

"Yes."

I sighed and looked away. "He could have set himself free with that information instead of spending his final years in Section."

Michael put his arm around me and held me. "He did what he thought was best, Nikita. I wasn't in a position to know what was going on with you anymore but Walter was. He promised to watch over you and protect you the best he could."

I began to cry as I thought of Walter. He deserved a much better life than the one he had.

"What about Adam?" I asked, as I wiped at my eyes. I was wondering how he would react to seeing me.

Michael was silent for several seconds, his thumb caressing the back of my hand. "He doesn't remember much from back then. He knows that his mother was killed in a car accident but he doesn't remember much about Elena. I don't talk to him about what happened to him when he was young and he's never mentioned it."

"Do you think his seeing me might trigger his memory?"

Michael shook his head. "I don't know. Perhaps."

I studied his face; the averted gaze, the way the muscles around his mouth tightened, and I knew that he was more than a little concerned about that possibility. He looked at me then, his fingers closing around mine.

"If that happens then we'll deal with it."

I nodded my agreement though I wasn't as sure inside. Even if Adam didn't remember me from the past, my sudden appearance would certainly seem odd to him.

"Where does he think you are right now, Michael?"

"Visiting an old friend."

I gave him a skeptical look. "Do you often come to Bora Bora to visit old friends?"

"I told him that someone I once knew long ago had moved here to Tahiti and that I wanted to look you up."

"Did you tell him your old friend was a woman?"

Silence.

I gave a small laugh and stared down at our joined hands. "Well tell me then how you would like to proceed. Shall I remain a good friend who lives here on Bora Bora whom you can stop by and visit whenever you can? Let's see, if Manihi is about 2 hours from here I suppose we can arrange for you to fly over on some business pretext once every few months? That would work, don't you think?"

"Be serious, Nikita."

"I am serious, Michael. I don't know how Adam will react to all of this or how you want to handle it. What role do you want me to be in your life? An old friend? Your long lost cousin…?"

"My wife."

I blinked and stared at him. It was strange hearing Michael say that, and stranger still to know that he was saying it to me. I've always thought of us as partners, friends, lovers… but not married. Maybe because the notion of him and me being married, really married and not some mission profile, would have been absurd in the Section world we once lived in. But we weren't in Section anymore I reminded myself. We were free…

"I don't know that I want to marry you, Michael. You have rotten luck with wives."

"Shall we live then in sin?" he asked, a smile forming in his eyes.

"That won't be as bad as some of the other things we've done in life."

Michael grew serious. "Marry me, Nikita. I've waited a long time to be able to say that to you."

I smiled and lifted my hand to his cheek. "Do I have to love, honor and obey?" I quipped, and Michael smiled back at me.

"You were never good at obeying, and Idon't wantyou paying honor to me."

"I guess that leaves only the love part," I answered. "I think I can manage that."

We agreed that I would come to dinner that night. Michael would introduce me to Adam and together we would gauge his reaction. We also agreed to stick as close to the truth of our past as possible. That is the truth as it had once been presented to Adam a long time ago. I insisted that Michael reveal to him before I showed up for dinner that I was a woman friend. Michael also disclosed that this was not the first time Adam was meeting me but that he had met me once before when his mother was still alive. Michael told me later that that bit of knowledge made Adam feel a little easier about meeting me.

They were waiting for me at their hotel restaurant when I arrived. There was Michael, Adam, and Adam's friend, Fetu. Michael stood as I entered and the two boys followed suit. My eyes were drawn to Adam and I couldn't believe how much he had grown. He was nearly as tall his father, his hair still jet black, his dark eyes large and beautiful like Elena's. I'd been nervous up to that point about how Adam would react to meeting me and about how I should act toward him, but the moment I laid eyes on him and saw his shy smile I felt some internal instinct that told me we would be alright.

The evening went better than I expected. Adam, I discovered, was still very much like the young boy I remembered; happy, quiet, and polite. He and Fetu were thrilled to be in Papaeete because it was such a big change from Manihi. I learned that Michael usually brought Adam and Fetu to Bora Bora once or twice a year but that otherwise they remained in Manihi.

"What do you like most about Papaeete?" I asked.

"The shops," Adam answered.

"And the girls," Fetu added, and they both laughed as Michael and I smiled at each other.

Later, after dinner was over and the boys had asked to be excused, Michael and I walked along the beach under the moonlight. "You've raised Adam to be a fine young man," I said to him.

"He's growing up," Michael answered, and I thought I detected a note of sadness in his voice.

"Are you afraid he'll want to leave?"

"All of the youngsters here do."

"That's understandable. They're curious about the world and want to see it for themselves."

Michael was silent for several long seconds, then he said quietly. "I'm afraid to let him go but I know that I have to."

I stopped and turned to face him. "Then we should prepare him, Michael. Let's help him so that when the time comes he'll be able to stand on his own."

"Does this mean you're accepting my proposal?"

"Was there ever any doubt?" I asked, smiling at him.

Conclusion

I remained on Bora Bora for another year because we wanted to give Adam time to adjust to me entering into their lives. Every month Michael and Adam would come to Papeete to spend a weekend and they would often bring Fetu. The boys became good friends with Ione and his other siblings. Tenia and Pelu have adopted them and Michael into their family as well and Adam loves having this extended network of family. I love seeing the contentment in Michael's eyes as he watches his son. Some months I flyover to Manihi and stay at the resort that Michael worked for. He was right; the island is beautiful and I fell in love with it immediately.

The week before Christmas I flew up to London to spend time with Monique. She had bought a flat in London and was working in a bookstore. She'd made new friends and was dating a young man whom she said "…wasn't all that cute, but made her laugh". For me that was what was most important. I missed not being with Michael and Adam for Christmas but I loved being able to spend time with Monique. We have had to overcome many obstacles in our own relationship as sisters but now that we are older and wiser, not to mention free from the influence of Section, we cherish the bond that we haveformed.

I didn't tell her that Michael and I were together at first but she guessed the truth. Monique said I had ajoy about me that she'd never seen before. "Either you've fallen in love with someone," she mused, "or Michael has found you." I smiled and said that maybe it was a little of both. Monique screamed –literally- and I couldn't help but laugh at her excitement. We were like two teenaged girls giggling as we talked of the men we loved, an experience I had never had the pleasure of having while growing up, and I loved it.

I also had a chance to contact O'Brien, not an easy task considering how busy he is. I've always felt guilty about the circumstances that forced him into Section and that ended his life in the free world. Speaking to him on the phone and learning that he had met someone and they were living together in New York (O'Brien was working at the United Nations and she was with the FBI) brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that he is doing well lessens the pain and sadness I feel when I think of Birkoff and Walter. They didn't make it out of Section, a regret that will stay with me until my dying day. But at least O'Brien made it out alive and is living life again.

When I returned home to Tahiti I was surprised and delighted to find a message from Adam on my answering machine. He asked if I was coming over to spend New Year's Eve with them. "We don't have any fireworks or stuff like that but it'll be nice to have you come over to visit if you can."

Michael and I have since then announced our engagement. We'll be married at the end of February. Adam shrugs his shoulders when people ask him how he feels about his father marrying after all this time. "Nikita makes him happy," he says. "If he's happy then I'm happy." He's only asked me once about his mother and I told him all that I remembered of Elena, that she was a sweet beautiful woman and of how he looked very much like her.

Nextsummer we plan to take Adam and Fetu up to Hawaii. Then later on in the year we want to take him to the continental U.S. I think he'll love learning to ski. Michael wants him to visit some of the universities while we're there. Our hope is that with enough exposure to the outside world Adam won't feel so trapped with his life here on Manihi. We want him to know that as he continues to grow he will have the freedom to come and go as he pleases but that this will always be his home and that his father and I will always welcome him with open arms.

As for Michael and me, we've found peace here on Manihi with each other. I still marvel that we're actually here and free of Section. We fly often to Bora Bora for day visits or the weekend to check on our house there and to see Teinia and Pelu and their family. On a recent trip Teinia said to me, "A good man who loves you and plenty babies is good life goal." I looked at her and wondered how she could know so much. "Have you told Michael?" she asked, and I laughed out loud.

"He knew before I did."

"Smart man that one," she said, and nodded her head. "And handsome too. No wonder you never like look at any other man. Smart girl. You two will make good parents and Adam will be happy to have a little brother or sister."

I laugh and look over to see Michael watching me. He smiles and holds out his hand to me, and I excuse myself from Teinia to go to him. Adam has gone with Ione and Patricia to meet up with their friends for a movie in town. Michael and I have a few hours to ourselves. Not surprisingly we end up at home in bed making love. Afterward as we lay in each other's arms and as I am falling asleep, Michael whispers to me, "I love you."

"Love you too," I tell him, snuggling closer. My last thought before drifting off to sleep is how grateful I am that Michael and I have been given this chance to start over again in life, and of what a very good life this is we have.

The End

((Hope you enjoyed this. Happy Valentine's day everyone!))