Nikita

[NIKITA]

"Why'd she come that day?" Nikita asked. He needed answers, and now that he had stayed, he wasn't going to look back. Natalya looked at Nikita, knowing the young Pavlenko was doing so well.

She knew this was all a part of a plan, but she also knew he needed this.

Arya had told her that Nikita would come questioning and that she didn't have to lie. Maybe twist it a little, but Natalya didn't have to put herself in a place where she would probably lose Nikita. That wouldn't be fair, and she wasn't going to make her do that.

"To say goodbye," Natalya let out a sad scoff before adding, "She said she was going to be doing something, something that would make it all worse. Something that could make me hate her. Funny how that was the first time she called me her mother, y'know?

"Then she just left," Natalya said, her tone sad and somewhat lost. Sure, Arya had not been her child, but she had hoped that he would see more of her. She was already attached to the first honest person she saw around Nikita.

The first woman who wanted him but didn't want him in his state. The woman who was willing to walk on fire jets to see him get better.

Natalya wanted to say more than she should have, but she knew she had to trust Arya's team.

They would make things better.

"It's funny, right? The first time she saw me and was about to accept me was also the day she said goodbye. I mean, she shouldn't have shown up if she was going to leave. Goodbyes suck, y'know. I just hope she got what she wanted.

"I'll always be waiting for her. Maybe someday she will show up; I just hope she doesn't get herself in danger. I can't lose her too…sorry, I'm getting way too emotional here," Natalya apologized, and Nikta was at a loss for words.

How was he supposed to tell Natalya that he was holding her daughter? That there indeed was a chance that she'd bever come back home because she knew something Nikita needed to know? How was he supposed to comfort Nataya when he wasn't even sure of where to begin?

"I'll just… I'll go take a shower," Nikita said before paying Natalya's back softly and walking to his room. He never thought he would get Natalya to open up. While in his room, he called the Rostova legion to confirm what they had seen.

"Was she telling the truth?" Nikita asked Kyle. He needed a straight answer, and he didn't want to be given speculations, and they all knew that.

"Yes, sir, she was telling the truth. All of it," Dave said, making Nikita sigh frustratedly. He shouldn't have distrusted Natalya. The woman was on his side from the very be, and she had never changed sides, and now he had opened her wounds.

How the fuċk was he supposed to be sorry for that?

Defeatedly, Nikita walked into his shower to take a bath. He was somewhat relieved, though, and Natalya had been telling the truth. At least he knew he wasn't entirely alone and that he could trust Natalya, and he wasn't alone, and that right there mattered more than him having captured Arya.

***

Away from the Pavlenko estate, the media was going wild with the news of the crash. It was being televised everywhere, and this time, Nikita wasn't worried about anything, and he knew they would still continue to judge him.

He knew they would find more proof to think of him as an unstable doctor. They would do anything to make him leave, and maybe this would be enough to convince Liza that he wasn't ready to go to work.

The people of Todorov wouldn't accept him back in the operating rooms. He could tell that already. He needed to get better, and it seemed like the fates were on his side for the first time.

"Tell me you're okay, Niki, please, and if you lie, I will know," Carrie said once Nikita picked her call. She was still at Qiao's house and was watching the news, and she found it hard to stay calm when her best friend was being criticized everywhere.

Carrie wanted him to be okay. She didn't want to lose Nikita, and she cared way too much for the doctor.

Qiao could have said something, but he was still watching the scene of the crash. The footage from when his brother had started being reckless on the road. He could be sued, and his ȧssets could have been affected.

Maybe it was also good that the Pavlenko ȧssets were in different hands. 

"Hey, Carrie, I'm okay. It was just a crash. Besides, you can hear my voice well. There's nothing broken. I have already gotten an hour-long scolding from Natalya; please don't add more to my state, please," Nikta pleaded, and Carrie finally managed a laugh. She was glad that someone had done what she could have done.

"At last, finally, someone knows what to do with you. Will you give that woman a raise for me, eh? She's out here doing God's work on our behalf. Seriously though, what happened. The footage here is crazy, and it's almost like you wanted to die and all.

"Are you…Are you suicidal?" Carrie asked carefully, making Qiao give her the stink eye, but even he was worried. They knew Nikita could be saved, but they would lose him if his mental health continued being this compromised.

And that was too expensive a price for them to pay.

"Haha, real funny, Carrie. I'll be okay though, remember that I made a promise, one that I plan on keeping," Nikita said, and Carrie just sighed. The duo talked for a while about how their lives had become whack, even reminiscing the memory they had.

Now she could rely on what was important, the very reason Arya Knight was stuck in the human world and not with her people. Now she would be able to help Andrew and the boys without worrying about Nikita showing up with his suspicions.

They would be okay, eventually.

They had to be.