Title: AGRACIANA (Familiar Face, book three)
Author: Nicole
Author's Note: The last story in my series that began with Mosemotsane and continued with Mysteria. Agraciana means "forgiveness."
Disclaimer: I don't own "Alias" or any of the characters in it, which, although it makes me sad, is a good thing because I would completely screw it up.
Classification / Genre: Adventure/Action
Summary: Sydney must come to terms with her vengeful sister and what she has learned about her past.
Rating: PG

****CHAPTER ONE****

Sydney paused in front of the CIA conference room, hugging herself desolately. She didn't want to go in there, didn't want to face the man who had called himself her father again-but when she nudged open the door with her foot and stepped inside, she found he wasn't there. Neither was Weiss. Just Vaughn, sitting at the table, looking through the files she had stolen from Sloane's office.

He looked up when she came in and closed the folder. The silence that followed seemed unbearable. Vaughn watched Sydney; she watched him. Neither could think of anything to say. Finally Vaughn looked down at the ground, raising a hand to knead his forehead agitatedly. "Syd, I'm sorry," he said.

As if those three words had startled her out of a daze, she crossed the room and sat down a few seats away from him. "He lied to me. Again." She struggled to keep her voice even.

"I know."

The tears welled up again and threatened to overflow. "*Sloane* is my father," she choked out, her voice taking on a note of hysteria.

"I know." Vaughn paused, then said, "Jack said you ran away."

She rubbed a hand across her eyes. "I couldn't take it, seeing him and knowing...I always idolized my mom. Then we found out about the codes, and her status as a KGB agent, and I thought she couldn't be any more horrible. But she is, she is...and the last shred of my family is gone," she sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. "Sloane...."

Vaughn reached over tentatively to touch her shoulder. "It takes more than blood to make a father," he said softly.

"It doesn't matter! He lied to me, they all lied to me! Every day my world shatters, and it's almost a relief because it means it can't get any worse, but then it *does.* I can't take it anymore."

Vaughn didn't reply immediately. He rubbed her shoulder soothingly, then said, "Sydney, it's three o'clock in the morning. You should get some sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up, I promise. You're going to get through this."

"I guess I have to, don't I. Otherwise the CIA will lose their precious double agent." She didn't even try to mask the bitterness in her voice as she raised her head. "You can't know what this feels like. Your dad was perfect. But he died anyway-did the agency even care? We're pawns to them, Vaughn. Maybe I'm just a pawn to you." She heard herself baiting him and couldn't stop. She wanted someone else to hurt like she was hurting.

She could feel the effort it took for him not to snap back. He took several deep breaths before replying and his voice was shaky when he did. "You know you're not a pawn to me. I know what you're doing. It's the same thing I did when my father died. I drove away some of my closest friends that way."

"You're not my goddam psychologist so stop acting like it. If you're saying that I'm driving you away, fine. I'm sure the CIA would love to assign me another handler."

He sighed. "No, I'm saying that I know you need someone to take your anger out on and I'm the closest person right now. I understand that. So say anything you want and tomorrow I promise I'll forget it all," he said evenly.

All her raging emotions drained out of her at once. She stared at him in surprise, horrified and ashamed.

Vaughn smiled crookedly. "You're right, I'm not a psychologist. I know the merits of reverse-psychology, though."

"Vaughn--"

"It's okay," he cut her off.

Sydney shook her head vehemently. "No it's not, you stuck around for hours on the off chance that I'd come back and all I can do is yell at you. You didn't deserve that."

"I told you, I understand. You've gone through a lot in these past few weeks. Now, what I want to know is if you'd look through the rest of this folder without me having to go hide behind a chair or something." When she nodded, he handed her the file marked "K.S." Kesi Sloane. Her sister.

Vaughn watched her warily while she went through the different papers and pictures, but there was nothing in there that she didn't expect. Birth certificates for Sydney and Kesi Sloane, pictures of a younger Arvin Sloane with a little girl who looked like herself, letters exchanged between a "darling daughter" and a father who was rarely home. A log of Kesi's progress after she was recruited to SD-6.

Sydney closed the folder wordlessly and handed it back to Vaughn. He stifled a yawn, then glanced at his watch. "Almost four. You'll be okay?"

She nodded. "I'll explain it to Francie somehow and go back to Tahoe first thing tomorrow morning."

"You can't let Sloane know you came back-"

"Or he'll kill me. I know," Sydney said soberly. "I'll call you when I get there."

"Thanks."

A brief smile flashed across her cut face. "Thank you for everything, Vaughn."

"Hold on a second. This is sounding too much like a good-bye for my taste," he replied, grinning. "You need sleep and so do I, or Devlin will have my head. Have a relaxing time in Tahoe."

"I'd better."

* * * *

"A security breach," Sloane repeated slowly, thumbing through the report on his desk. He looked at the security officer standing before him, who fidgeted under his disapproving gaze.

"Yes, sir," the officer stuttered. "It looked like Sydney Bristow, sir."

Sloane raised an eyebrow. "Sydney?"

"But my men didn't get a good look," the officer put in hastily. "It may not have been Miss Bristow."

"Whoever it was, she got away?" Sloane knew perfectly well that she had, but the officer deserved to squirm a little. It was the incompetence of his security team that had led to the loss of the files on Pennsylvania and Kesi. *If it was Sydney, I'll find out soon enough.*

"Yes, sir." He swallowed and looked down at his feet.

Sloane sighed loudly. "Very well. There's nothing we can do about it now. You are dismissed." The officer fled.

*I'll find out soon enough.*