A/N: long chapter...here we go! Enjoy
Chapter 7
The next two weeks passed in relative calm for Jack and Sydney. Jack spent as much time with his daughter as possible. Her sense of trust in him was growing with each passing day. Jack was more relieved than he wanted to admit to find Sydney now feeling comfortable opening up to him more easily.
Sydney did still harbor bad feelings about the fact that her father wouldn't explain his reason for not coming to bring her back home. She was, however, coming to accept that she wasn't going to find out yet. She'd gotten to the point that she was just glad to be home, and getting to know her father again.
At the moment, Sydney was sitting awake in her room, even though it was nearly 4 am. She'd awakened nearly forty-five minutes ago, and was unable to get back to sleep. Finally, she gave up trying, getting out of bed to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
When Sydney came out into the living room, she was surprised to find her father asleep on the couch. She smiled to herself, gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, then turned to go into the kitchen. As she stood there moments later, glass in hand, her father began talking in his sleep.
“You can't mean that! How could you want to kill your own daughter? What kind of mother are you?"
Sydney nearly dropped her glass on the floor, but managed to place it on the countertop before fleeing back to her room. She stood perfectly still for a minute or two, trying to gather her racing thoughts enough to decide what to do next. She quickly got out of her pajamas and into her clothes, then went to look up Vaughn's number in the phone book. She was relieved to find it was listed. She wasted no time in picking up the phone and dialing it. The phone rang a handful of times, then was picked up. "Hello?"
“Michael?"
“Sydney? What is it, you sound upset."
“I am. I can't talk about it on the phone. Can I come there instead?"
"Of course you can." He gave Sydney his address and directions of how to get there. She set off on foot as soon as she'd hung up the phone.
On the way to Michael's house, Sydney had a lot of time to think. She didn't want to believe that what her father said was true. Deep down, she knew it was. It explained everything. Why Sydney had often had doubts about her mother's love. Why the mention of her father's name had caused so much anger and hatred to flash in her mother's eyes. Most of all, it explained why Jack himself had resisted telling her the truth. Sydney knew he'd tried to keep this from her because it would be very shocking to her.
Even with everything that had happened, Sydney had held on to the belief that her mother loved her, deep down. Now, any illusion of that was broken. Her mother had hated her, too. Enough to want to kill her rather than let her daddy take her back home where she belonged.
Sydney began to cry then, as she thought about what might happen when her mother was brought back to the United States. Sydney had no doubt it would happen. Just three weeks ago, she would have been relieved to see her, and would have wanted to go back to Russia with her. Now, she was terrified at the thought of seeing her mother again. Would she try to kill her now, because she'd been reunited with her father? Would she be forced to go back to Russia?
There were no answers for these questions racing around in Sydney's head, of course. Her mind was going in five directions at once. All she really knew was that she'd never been so frightened in her life, not even when she had first been taken away from her father. Thankfully, she had at last arrived at Michael's door. She knocked softly and waited. The door almost immediately opened.
Michael frowned when he saw that Sydney was crying. "Please, come in," he whispered gently.
She entered silently, wrapping her arms around herself. She stood just inside the door until Michael invited her to take a seat on the couch. She did, not looking him in the eyes.
"Now, please tell me. What happened?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I went out to the kitchen for a glass of water. Dad was asleep on the couch in the living room. He started talking in his sleep. He said... that Mom threatened to kill me if he tried to come take me home. I know it must be true, this is why he's been trying not to tell me why he never came for me. What did I ever do to her to deserve her wanting to kill me?" She began to cry harder now.
"You didn't do anything, Sydney. You were only a little girl. I think that... that she hated your father so much, she would have done anything to keep you from him. That's just a guess. Maybe one day you can ask her yourself."
Sydney shuddered, curling up on the end of the couch. "I hope I never have to see or talk to her again. She can't make me leave my father, either. Not again. She can try, but I won't go. I won't..." The rest of what Sydney said was lost in tears.
"Sydney, why don't I go call your father? The two of you need to talk about this."
"No, please, not yet. It's early, and he hasn't been sleeping well lately. I don't want to wake him. I shouldn't have come here either, and bothered you. I should go now."
"No, you shouldn't go anywhere. The last thing you need is to be alone. I'll stay up with you, until you feel better." Michael hesitated for a brief moment, then hugged Sydney tightly. She returned it, feeling extremely glad that she had a friend she could confide in.
*****
Jack awoke shortly after five. He had no idea what had awakened him so early. He rarely rose at such an hour, even when he had to work.
His first impulse was to look in on Sydney. She tended to have bad dreams on and off all night. When he opened her door just enough to peek inside, he found her bed was empty. His heart rose into his throat at the sight of it.
‘No, not again,' he thought.
'Sydney, where are you?'
As the possibilities of where Sydney could be-or how she came to be there-raced through Jack's mind, his worry mounted. His expertise in strategies barely helped him to control his growing panic. The little resolve that he had accomplished to hold on to almost disappeared when the phone rang.
Please let it be Sydney.
"Bristow."
"Sir, we have Derevko in custody and are en route to L.A. now. Kendall wants you to come to headquarters to talk to her. Our ETA is three and a half hours."
"Irina Derevko was captured that easily?" He found that hard to believe, his voice made that clearly evident.
"She didn't go without a fight. We, uh, lost one man, sir."
"I'll call Vaughn. We'll be there."
"Actually, I was just getting ready to call him myself, so-"
"I will call him."
With that, Jack hung up his phone and picked up his cell phone-his secure line-and held it as he sat down. He had just gotten Sydney back and now she was gone. But now, Laura was back. Only she was no longer the person he knew-or thought he knew. She was now a greater threat then ever before.
He would not let her get to Sydney. All the years he had missed with her needed to be made up. His little girl was missing again. This time, he was not going to let her suffer alone. He couldn't stop what she was remembering, but he was going to help her the best he could. He would find her and bring her home safely. Irina would never stand in his way again.
***
Vaughn sighed as he looked at Sydney's sleeping form on the couch. He stood, picking up a blanket and gently placed it over her. All she really needed right now was someone to reassure her that she would be okay. It felt good to know that she trusted him enough to talk to him.
It was almost 5:30. He felt that he needed to stay and watch her and be there when she woke up. However, he knew he had an hour before he needed to begin getting ready for work. He could certainly use the sleep.
So, he decided to do both. Grabbing another blanket, he settled in on the chair across from the couch where Sydney lay. Sleep was winning fast, not that there was much of a struggle. Michael shifted one last time and then welcomed sleep with open arms. At that inopportune moment, however, his phone rang. Groaning, he stood and walked across the room.
"Hello?"
"We have a situation," Jack Bristow's voice told him.
Right away, Michael's thoughts flew to the person sleeping on his couch. From what she had told him, he didn't think Jack knew Sydney was there.
Bracing himself for the worst, he replied, "What's going on?"
"They have Derevko in custody. They want us at headquarters in about three hours."
Michael took a deep breath. "That took less time then anyone thought it would."
"The intel that Sydney gave us was very accurate. They knew where to look."
"What about Sydney?" Vaughn asked, curious to hear what Jack would say.
"That's one reason I'm calling you now. Sydney's gone. I don't know if she left on her own, or if she went with someone. There's no sign of a break in. Plus, I think I would have heard something, and would have woken up."
"Okay. I think that you should come over here," Vaughn said as he glanced over at Sydney.
"I need you to help me find her. We don't have much time."
"I will. Just come over."
"Fine. I'm on my way."
"And Jack," he began.
"Yes?"
"You'll find her."
"I sure hope so."
After setting the phone back down on the counter, he walked back over to the chair and sat down. He had no idea what had possessed him not to tell Jack that Sydney was over at his place, he simply hadn't. Whatever happened now happened. He couldn't prevent it. Irina was back in the picture now. She would try to ruin more of Jack and Sydney's life. But one thing was sure, he certainly wasn't going to let her get close enough to him to ruin his again. If he knew anything at all about Jack Bristow, she wouldn't be let into Jack or Sydney's life again either.
A sudden noise disrupted his private musings. As he swiftly looked up, he noticed Sydney staring at him. Her eyes were still red rimmed and she looked tired, yet she managed a small smile that he returned.
"Hey. What time is it?"
"Almost six. Are you all right?"
"I guess so. My dad is probably worried."
"Oh, he's near panic, but he won't admit that."
"What do you mean?"
"He's on his way over here. He, um. doesn't know you are here."
"Oh. So he called you because he couldn't find me?"
"Yes, and something else."
"What?"
"Do you want me to tell you, or do you want to wait for him to tell you?"
"Is this something I should know? Because I want to know what's going on."
"You should know, you need to know. Sooner or later, you will know. The question is, should I be the one to tell you."
With a sigh of impatience, she buried her head in a pillow, which muffled her frustrated scream. She lifted her head and looked at him.
"Did you just scream?" He asked.
"Yes. When I was little, I used to do that all the time, so that mom wouldn't hear me. If did hear me, she figured I was being bad, and I got in trouble. I-" the look on Michael's face when she mentioned her mother made her stop her explanation. "Tell me, please," she faintly whispered.
"It's your mom."
Fear was highly noticeable in her eyes, and he hated seeing it there.
"What about her?"
"They have her in custody. She'll be in L.A. today."
She stared blankly at him for a few seconds before his words sunk in. Shock, disbelief, as well as fear showed in her eyes.
"Syd? Sydney?"
"No," came the whispered reply.
"Sydney-"
"No!" Her soft tone was now gone. "Not again. I'm not going this time, and she can't do anything to make me!"
"No one's going to make you go anywhere. She's going to be locked up. She can't get to you."
His words fell on deaf ears however, and Sydney stood and ran. She didn't know the layout of his apartment, but she still managed to find the small bathroom and lock herself in it before he could catch her. He knocked softly on the door, but to no avail.
"Sydney? Please open the door."
The only response he got from her was loud sobbing that came through the closed door. He couldn't even imagine what was going through her mind. After everything her mother had done, she had a reasonable right to be afraid.
Loud banging on the front door interrupted his thoughts. By the rapid rhythm of the knocking, he had a good guess as to who it was. When he opened the door, saw the panic ridden face, his suspicions were confirmed. Jack Bristow was at his door, and Vaughn still had no explanation as to why he hadn't told him Sydney was there. But there wasn't any time for that now.
"Come in Jack."
"We have to find Sydney. Now."
"She's here."
"What? Has she been here the whole time?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Come in, and I'll explain."
They walked in, and Vaughn continued down the hallway. He knocked on the door.
"Syd?"
There was still no reply, but her crying was quieter and less noticeable now.
"Why is she in there?" Jack's questions just kept coming.
"She knows about Irina."
"What about her? That she's here?"
"Yes, and what she did. Sydney heard you talking in your sleep. She knows why you didn't come. That's why she's here."
Jack didn't offer any reply, or excuse. With his silence, Vaughn once again knocked on the bathroom door.
"Syd, are you okay? Your dad is here. I think you should talk with him."
"I can't right now. I don't want to talk with anyone."
"Will you come out and listen, then? I have a story to tell you that you might want to hear."
"About what?"
"My dad. Something that you don't know."
"I don't know anything about your dad." The door opened and a tear stained face peered out at him. "Why should I know anything?"
"I think it will help you understand something a little bit more."
He looked to Jack for help, and with his short nod, he knew that the story he wanted to tell her was known by both of them. He held out his hand for her to take. When she hesitantly took it, a little hope grew. As she stepped out of the bathroom, she looked directly at Jack.
"I'm sorry I left. I heard you talking, and.... I guess I just got scared. I'm sorry I pressured you to tell me why you didn't come. I understand why you didn't tell me. Thanks for trying to protect me," as she said this, she broke away from Vaughn's hand and gave him a hug. The tears started to fall again. "Thank you, Daddy," she whispered in his ear.
"I love you, Sydney. Never forget that."
As she broke the hug, she turned and looked at Vaughn.
"You were going to tell me about your dad? Will I get to meet him?" As she watched his face fall, she knew she had made a mistake. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."
"It's okay, you didn't know. Actually, I was going to tell you about that, if you still want to hear it."
"About how he died?" She questioned blatantly.
"Yes, if you're sure you want to know."
"I would like to, if you don't mind. But if you don't want to, you don't have to."
"Sydney, are you sure?" Jack voiced his concern.
"Yes. Please?" Was her reply.
"Okay," Vaughn began. "My dad worked for the CIA. He had since before I was
born. He was recruited out of college. When I was 13, his best friend's daughter was kidnapped. Dad had worked with this man for almost as long as he had been with the CIA, and they were pretty close. I knew him, and had even met his daughter a few times. She was younger then me, very cute and so sweet. She could make anyone smile. I could tell that her dad really loved her a lot, even though I was only around them together a few times.
"When she disappeared, the man was devastated. My dad couldn't stand to see him like that, and decided to do something about it. After they had found the girl's location, he knew he needed to go. So, he went after her. He was so close, but before he could make it to her, they caught him."
" 'They'?"
"Yeah, 'they'-the people who worked for the kidnapper. The kidnapper was the girl's mother. She killed my father."
He looked up at Sydney, and with a few silent tears rolling down his cheeks told her, "He tried, Syd. He tried so hard. I'm so sorry that he didn't make it, I really am."
"What do you mean?"
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized what he was trying to tell her.
"Oh, Michael, no. He died because of me, didn't he? It's all my fault your dad isn't here. I'm so sorry," she cried. "How can you stand to look at me, or even talk to me?"
"Because it wasn't you that killed him. It was not your fault, Syd. I didn't want him to go. In fact, I begged him not to. He told me he had to go because he cared. So I guess 'love covers all sins'."
"I'm still so sorry," she whispered.
Turning to look at her father, anger and determination were evident and clear in her eyes. With a no nonsense tone, she fiercely told him, "I want to talk to her."
"Who?" Jack questioned, truly baffled.
"Mom. I want to talk to her."
:joker: 