Summary: Sequel to From Where She Came. Information from a Covenant defector leads Sydney to believe that Hope may still be alive and starts her on a path heading straight back to her past.

A/N: Well, here it is. After the conclusion of From Where She Came, I promised a sequel. I can only hope that it satisfies you all :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. The title of this fic comes from the song 'River' by Joni Mitchell.

Chapter One:
Make Things Interesting

PREVIOUSLY

Lauren Reed stared curiously at McKenas Cole. "What do you mean by another assignment?"

"It's long term," he replied.

"How long?"

"Veronica," Cole called out and seconds later a woman entered the room, balancing a small child on her hip.

Lauren found herself staring. "Is that…"

"Yes."

"But I thought—"

"You of all people should know that things are not always as they seem," Cole interrupted. "Now, we need a caregiver. Somebody to help her reach her full potential."

"And you want me?"

"Yes." Cole motioned to Veronica, who passed the child over to Lauren. "From what I heard, her name is Hope. That will need to be changed…I'll give you the honours."

Lauren swallowed hard, feeling daunted by the child's clear and unblinking eyes. "I'm not sure that—"

"The order has been given and this is something that you cannot fail at, Ms Reed. Because, from now on, the future of that child is in your hands."

2 ½ YEARS LATER

Sydney made her way down the deserted hallway, silently cursing the man- yes, it must have been a man- who invented high heels. Not only were they causing excruciating pain to the balls of her feet, they were making an absolute racket on the tiled floor.

So much for being stealth.

"Mountaineer," Vaughn's voice came over her comms. "Have you reached your destination?"

"Yes," Sydney replied, stopping at a locked door. "But I would have been here a little sooner had Op Tech put me in more comfortable shoes."

"Uh right…sorry," Marshall's voice joined in. "That was my idea…but you are in the basement of a nightclub and you did blend…hey, why have none of us ever asked what is it about these bad guys and nightclubs? Every second—"

"Marshall," Sydney but in. "The security code."

"Oh yeah…I…one second and…6424785," he finished.

"Got it- going radio silent."

"I'll hear from you on the other side," Vaughn replied. "Be careful."

With a small smile, Sydney pushed through the door and entered. The safe…

She stopped dead when she saw that she was not alone. It took a second for her to realize that she knew this other person.

"You again," Sydney said, taking a step forward.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

Sydney gave a nonchalant shrug as she took another step closer. Not so much as expecting, but more hoping not to run into any obstacles."

"Sorry to disappoint you," they said, nearing closer to Sydney.

"So are you going to tell me that your deal is?"

"And spoil all our fun?"

Sydney raised her eyebrows. "You never know, it may make things a little more interesting."

"For you, maybe," they said. "But the only way that you are getting anything from me is if you force it out."

"Be glad to," Sydney said, taking one last step and then extending her leg in a forceful kick.

But they were ready for it, swiftly blocking the blow, and returning with one of theirs. But Sydney, too, knew that it was coming. The two of them began to move as if choreographed dancers, stopping each other's moves so that not one hot was landed.

It was as if they knew other intimately and—

...BEEP BEEP BEEP...

Sydney was jolted wake by the incessant sound of the alarm. Groaning, she brought a hand up to her forehead. It was way too early to even begin trying to figure…

"Let me guess," Vaughn voice broke in from beside her. "You had the dream again?"

Rolling over onto her side, Sydney met his gaze and nodded. "Yup…me, fighting against my look-alike."

"You know," Vaughn started. "I am curious as to how a psychologist would analyse these dreams. What is your psyche trying to tell you?"

"Parents," Sydney said, sitting up. "Parents and childhood is what it always comes down to."

"Right…" Vaughn broke off with a sly grin. "Speaking of a different analysis, what was your alias in this one? Tell me, were you a flight attendant again?"

Expecting wither a whack from a pillow or an enticing smile, Vaughn was surprised when she threw back the covers and leapt out of the bed.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"My laptop," she replied. "I gotta find out the name of the barbarian who invented high heels."

"I'm going to have to get Marshall onto this," Sydney grumbled as they walked into the Rotunda about an hour later. It had been about two years ago when Vaughn made the decision to return to the CIA. He had quit because he hadn't been able to bear being there without Sydney. Since her return, he could no longer ignore the deep longing that had been lingering in the back of his mind. "I can't believe there was no one answer."

Vaughn grinned. "You are not going to let this go, are you?"

Sydney shook her head with a laugh. "Not until I get to wear tracksuit pants and runners on all ops."

"Well…" Vaughn trailed off, noticing an unfamiliar face up ahead, standing with Dixon and Weiss. "Who's that?"

Sydney shrugged. "No idea…but it looks as if we are about to find out," she added, seeing Dixon motion them over.

"Sydney, Vaughn," Dixon said as they approached. "This is Agent Lillian Wolfe. She had just transferred here from London. Lillian, this is Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn."

"Lilly, please. Lillian was my grandmother."

Sydney smiled warmly at her. "Welcome- I'm sure that you will love it here."

"Thank you," Lilly said, speaking with a clear and clipped accent. "I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to finally be here. I mean, I heard about this transfer months and months ago and have been waiting and…"

Sydney blinked, struggling to keep up with the speed at which Lilly was talking.

"And so—" Lilly cut short, her eyes falling on Sydney's left hand, in particular the diamond on her ring finger. "Oh my," she clasped the hand, getting a closer look. "That is absolutely divine!"

"Uh, thanks…" Sydney bit back a laugh, glancing up at Vaughn.

"Oh, just stunning," Lilly gushed. "So, when did it happen?"

"A month ago."

"Now that explains it- the newly engaged glow. My sister got married a few months ago. It was an absolute event. She had eight bridesmaids and the ceremony was in this centuries old church and when they said 'I do' there was a trumpet fanfare and then they travelled by horse and carriage to—"

"Um, Agent Wolfe," Dixon cut in. "We should probably keep going with the tour. There is a lot of work to be done around here."

"Oh yes, of course," Lilly gave a small wave as she headed off with Dixon.

"Well," Vaughn said. "She's…interesting."

Weiss gave a short nod, his eyes following the two figures walking away. "Yeah," he murmured. "Uh, I should get to work," he added, absentmindedly before walking off.

Vaughn turned back to Sydney, who had a slightly horrified expression on her face. "Syd? What's the matter?"

"The wedding…Lilly's sister…please tell me that the whole huge and massively overpriced do isn't your thing."

"Well," Vaughn replied with a straight face. "I should probably tell you that it is actually Delorme family tradition to have a week of celebrations."

Sydney stared at him for a few seconds before giving him a shove. "New rule- no joking about our nuptials when I am in a state."

"Define state," Vaughn replied with a grin.

"This," Sydney said, holding up a fist, "is a state."

"Right, got it. Oh, and for the record, that type of wedding would be my absolute nightmare."

Sydney's face broke into a smile. "I didn't need to ask, did I?"

"No, Agent Bristow, you didn't."

Lilly walked brusquely through the busy Rotunda before finding herself a quiet corner. It had been a whirlwind morning and this was the first chance that she at a moment alone.

Making sure that there was nobody within earshot, she pulled out a mobile phone, pressing the number six.

The other end answered in one ring. "Wolfe?"

"Yes. Calling to confirm that I am in place."

"Have you been introduced to the target?"

"Yes, I spoke with Bristow briefly this morning. The director also indicated that I am to be partnered with a good friend of her's- Eric Weiss. It looks as if I will become well acquainted with her."

"That is good news. I'll wait for your next update."

"Yes sir," Lilly replied and then terminated the call. Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she took a deep breath and then made her way back to the din. This new placement of her's was certainly going to make things interesting.