Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've just been really busy. I hope you like this. It will be the last chapter of the story.

Not long after Nikita slipped out of his room, Birkhoff fell into a restless sleep. His body desperately needed the rest and welcomed the sleep inducing medications that Nikita had given to him, but his mind wouldn't stop. It acted very similar to a movie stuck on repeat, annoying Birkhoff tremendously although he couldn't do anything about it.

As he drifted deeper into the grasp of all the medications, nightmares brought his recent past to the present.

He was sitting, or rather laying, in a dark room. The air smelled of alcohol and strong antiseptics, making his head spin even more. He blinked a few times to clear his vision completely and cringed at what came into sight.

He was laid out on a torture chair, his wrists and ankles bound to the hard leather by thick restraints. At his feet sat a small medal table covered in various forms of torture devices. The metal tools seemed to call his name because he knew just who they were meant for and who would be doing the torturing.

His flight instincts took over and Birkhoff pulled with all his strength against the restraints, but to no avail. His panic was ceased by the click a door. His head jerked around to meet the eyes of none other than Amanda. He tensed and clamped his teeth together, fear clawing painfully at his insides.

Amanda dismissed the two guards that attempted to follow her inside and silently made her way over to the small table, running her manicured hands over the various tools and contraptions. Seymour's green eyes followed her every move, unwilling to let her out of his sight. Finally, after what seemed like many long hours, she spoke.

"I can have the finest surgeons in Division medical fix that for you," she said blatantly, slipping on a pair of baby blue medical gloves. It was only then that Birkhoff looked at his right hand, which was covered in his own crimson blood. He couldn't feel his fingers and didn't even attempt to move them in fear of causing further damage. Instead, he snapped back at Amanda almost instantly.

"Aw, go to hell," he sighed out heavily, shifting his head from one side to the other.

She continued to casually straighten her gloves, her tone never faltering. "I know how important it is to your work," she stated, referring to his hand. "Just give me a location."

Seymour mustered up more strength to talk and glared daggers towards her. "You might as well ask me where Carmen Sandiego is, b***h, because I'm not giving up Nikki!" He put emphasis on 'not', making himself very clear. Nikita was his best friend, aside from Michael, and even though she could be a pain in the a** sometimes, he wouldn't be giving her up. Amanda would have to kill him, plain and simple.

She turned around slowly and tilted her head ever so slightly, appearing to look innocent yet giving of an air of complete menace and superiority. As she made her way towards Birkhoff, her heels clicked loudly against the marble floor. He continued to watch her, the tension rising between them.

"What?" he snarled, his breaths becoming deeper and more rapid.

She didn't say a word. Amanda only tilted her head the other way and watched him with fake blue eyes, agitating Birkhoff to the point of exploding.

"WHAT?" he yelled again, trying to lurch forward in his seat as he spoke. The restraints held him back and he retook his former position with a pained expression.

Amanda raised her right hand then, signaling with two fingers for a guard to come in. He pushed a second metal table towards Birkhoff, a threatening machine sitting on its surface. She grabbed an arm-like extension of the machine and stretched it towards Seymour's face while pressing a button to start the machine up.

"This cranial needle is designed to remove brain tumors," Amanda explained as she picked up a thin needle about as long as his own head. "I'm told patients love it," she continued, stepping closer to him. "Instead of taking a saw to your skull, the needle is simply inserted through the nose. Of course, those patients were unconscious during the procedure."

As Amanda spoke, Birkhoff unintentionally sunk deeper into his seat and refused to meet her eyes, afraid of what he might see in them. He knew she intended on using any means necessary to make him reveal Nikita's location and he had no intention of doing so.

"I'll be puncturing the Cerebral Spinal Membrane to access your Frontal Lobe where I'll administer this paralytic," Amanda continued, attaching the needle to the arm-like device of the machine. "Soon after, your most prized possession, your mind, will whither and die. Think of it as a reboot." Her tone was almost playful, as if she enjoyed administering this torture, which he knew she did.

"You're a psychopath," Birkhoff gurgled, shaking his head in disbelief. She stared at him carefully for a few seconds and then retreated to the metal table, where she grabbed a roll of duck tape and ripped off a piece. As she made her way back towards him, Seymour's heart began to race.

"You used to be such a selfish creature. Now you've mutated into something entirely different. You're a puzzle, Seymour, that I'm going to solve." She stuck the tape to his forehead and restrained his head, leaving him incapable of moving.

"Please, please, please, please don't do this! Please! I can help you! There are other black boxes that you need me to decrypt! I'm the engineer!" he choked out frantically, watching the needle as Amanda placed it under his nose.

"Tell me where she is," Amanda threatened, never faltering with the needle, moving it forward inch by inch, second by second.

Birkhoff breathed unevenly and let out small whimpers, his eyes wide with utter fear.

"What is it about Nikki, huh? Why are you so taken with her?" Amanda asked simply.

"Please don't do this-"

Amanda cut him off as she continued. "I mean, you must know Michael is first in line. She could never see you that way."

"Please don't do this..." he whimpered as he felt the needle enter his nasal passage and begin to slice through the tissue.

Birkhoff didn't want Nikita romantically. He supported Michael and Nikita's relationship fully. She was a friend and it was as simple as that. Although, he didn't expect Amanda to understand friendship.

"Stop, stop, stop, STOP!" he pleaded forcefully, the pain unbearable.

"STOP!" Seymour screamed as he shot up in bed, instantly causing his head to spin and his stomach to grow queasy. His took in ragged breaths, searching his bedroom for any signs of Amanda. When the doors to the bedroom slammed open, Birkhoff about jumped out of his skin. "Please don't-"

"Birkhoff, Birkhoff, it's me! It's Nikki!" Nikita reassured him, jogging to the side of his bed. She grabbed his flailing arms and forced him to lay back again, her eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay? What happened?" she asked without pause, searching the room for any kind of danger or threat.

Seymour collected himself and shook his head quickly, but that only worsened his headache, so he stopped. "No, it was- it was just a nightmare..." he trailed off, his words mumbling together. "Ple-please let me s-sit up," he stuttered.

Nikita released him instantly and sat down beside him on the bed, placing a calming hand on his left shoulder. "It's okay. It was only in your head. You're back at the safe house now. You're okay," she cooed, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

He looked sideways at her hand and suddenly collapsed against her, his eyes brimming with tears. She instantly wrapped her arms around his shaking form and rested her chin against his head, mumbling nonsense in order to calm him down.

They sat like that for a good thirty minutes, allowing Birkhoff to let everything out. Seeing her friend in such pain made her despise Amanda that much more, which was near to impossible. As Seymour's breathing slowed and his body quit shaking, Nikita drew back slightly and looked over him, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"You feel better?" she asked quietly, tilting her head to the side in order to look him in the eyes.

He nodded sheepishly, almost like a small child, and laid back against the pillows as he had been doing before. Nikita stood up from the bed, careful not to jostle him, and jogged into the closest bathroom where she wet a washcloth and returned to Birkhoff's side. She dabbed his forehead gently to get rid of the sweat he had worked up. He sighed contently, bringing a smile to Nikita's lips.

Seymour drifted back to sleep moments later and Nikita waited by his side in case of anymore nightmares. None came though, and after many minutes of calm silence, Nikita draped the comforter back over his limp form and slipped silently out of the room, sliding the doors closed behind her.

Nikita couldn't help but secretly cherish the moment she and Nerd had just shared. He had allowed her to see him in a moment of complete weakness and had relied on her for comfort. Perhaps a moment like this would never happen again, but it had definitely been an unconventional turning point in their friendship.

*Three Days Later*

Birkhoff sat in the living room of the safe house, half sinking into the soft cushions of the couch. He hadn't really spoken much to Nikita since his little breakdown, but she had been playing nurse nonetheless and he was beyond grateful.

On the glass table in front of him sat his laptop, which had ShadowNet on the screen. His right hand rested easily against the same leg, wrapped up tight in a white cast. He used his left hand to break up a bowl full of ice sitting beside the laptop, which he intended to use in a martini.

Nikita came in while he was doing so, carrying a small suitcase in her right hand. "Hey, don't forget to take your anti inflammatory, okay? And please don't miss a doctor's appointment," she begged, looking back towards him as she set her bag down.

"Copy that," he replied simply as his computer spoke as well. "Please repeat your command."

Birkhoff paused for a moment and raised his eyebrows at the device. "Go to hell," he snapped. "Why does this voice activated software sound just like Alex?" he asked as he continued to make his beverage.

Nikita began to pack a few more things as she spoke. "It's the shell program we used to communicate with." She turned towards him then, a playful smirk on her face. "You know... the one that took you three years and six months to find..." She crossed her arms and bobbed her head triumphantly.

"You give new meaning to the phrase 'insult to injury'," he replied, holding up his broken hand. She chuckled, but watched him work with his left hand with a guilty conscience.

"Hey Birkhoff..." she began, moving to sit down beside him on the couch. "You were right."

Wait, hold up, had Birkhoff just heard her correctly? Had she just admitted to being wrong? He withheld the urge to give her a snarky comeback.

"I flew too close to the sun on this one," she continued, her tone heavy. "I never thought it would be you that got burned."

He nodded once and then reached forward to grab his completed glass. "I'm a big boy. I knew what I was getting into. Still do..." he breathed, bringing the glass to his lips. As he attempted to set it down; however, his left hand wouldn't cease shaking. Nikita reached forward quickly and took the glass from him, giving him an understanding look.

"You okay?" she asked, leaning forward to set the glass down.

He stayed silent for a second and took a deep breath. "I almost gave you up in there," he said simply, remorse littering his voice.

Nikita watched him carefully, not able to believe that he was mad at himself. "But you didn't," she corrected him quickly.

"Thanks for coming back for me," he said in a shaky tone, not able to meet her eyes.

She smiled and commented, "You are so worth it. You rule, Nerd."

The nickname caused him to chuckle lightly. Nikita stood and placed a small kiss on the top of his head, trying to make him understand how much he meant to her. She moved back to her suitcase then, zipping it up smoothly.

"Packing up? Where ya goin'?" he asked, not really wanting her to leave.

"To find Owen. He's on the trail of another black box." She wouldn't ever stop working to take down Division. Especially not after this. "Anti Inflammatories," she reminded him as she glided up the stairs.

"Hey, wait," Birkhoff said suddenly, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"What is it?" she asked, evidently confused.

"Can we keep my little breakdown between you and me? I mean... it's just..." he attempted, not able to find words.

Nikita held up a finger to silence him and chuckled, nodding once. "It's our little secret, Nerd. No need to worry."

He smiled and let out a sigh of relief, watching Nikita as she gave him a little wink and vanished up the stairs.

Well, I hope you liked it! Again, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update! Let me know what you think! :)