TITLE: Weakness

RATING: PG

SUMMARY: This takes place during A Dark Turn, yeah you know the bit, taking the tracker out and. Need I say more. So this is what I reckon happened after the scene ended! Purely Jack/Irina angsty stuff!

ARCHIVE: Anywhere, but please get permission first

SPOILERS: Yes, if you haven't seen A Dark Turn, well, your crazy but, it could be kinda spoiler-ish.

CATEGORY: Irina/Jack

DISCLAIMER: Sadly these aren't my characters; if they were I would have had Jack and Irina back together ages ago and I wouldn't have let Leno Olin outta my site!

FEEDBACK: Yes please, and lots of it :) You can review or email even, harms_marine@msn.com

AUTHER'S NOTE: After seeing A Dark Turn I have become the biggest Jack and Irina shipper! So I would like to say a big thanks to Phantom for letting me go on and on and on about them, coz I know you don't like Irina and Jack, so you actually listening to me means a lot! If there's any spelling and grammar mistakes, blame Phantom, coz that was her job. And this is for all the Lena fans out there to, oh how we hate JJ at the moment!

Anyways on with the fic! Please remember to review on your way out!

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It's the way you thrill me, then pull away.

The way you seem to kill me a little more each day.

And it's what you're thinking in your twisted mind

The way your body trembles when it's next to mine.

This pain I think about it everyday, it tells me I'm never gonna get away.

I know it's over, but I can't escape memories and how to face another day

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Irina landed on top of Jack as they fell back on the bed, Jack leaned up to capture her lips in a sweet filled kiss, his hands finding there way beneath her shirt, trailing lazy patterns across the small of her back. Irina shivered at the contact of his hands on her bare flesh.

Both of Irina's hands were on either side of Jacks shoulders, holding her weight up. Shifting her weight to one hand, the other reached for the hem of his shirt. His hands momentarily left her skin to help her with this task.

It could never be said that Irina Derevko and Jack Bristow never worked as a team.

Jack sat up as Irina pulled his shirt over his head, and then threw it behind her, forgotten almost instantly. Jack then reached up and undid the clasp that held her hair prisoner; as soon as it was free her long chestnut hair cascaded down her back and around her face. Jack ran a hand through it, his eyes never leaving hers.

"You are so beautiful," He whispered.

She had always captivated him with her beauty. Even for a woman her age, Irina could still get the attention of every man in a room when she entered. She looked very good for her age and Jack would willingly kill every man that looked at her with impure thoughts filtering their minds. When they were married he loved to wrap his arm around her waist possessively, showing everyone in that room that she was his, daring them to say other wise. Jack knew that Irina loved the attention.

Irina's breath caught in her throat, it had been so long since she had heard those words spill from his mouth, so long since he had caressed her hair like that, and god how she missed it. Being the most feared and known Russian spy had its ups, but running a large empire as she did, she got lonely, simple as that. No, it was simpler, she just longed to have Jack at her side as hers again. To touch her like this, to run his hands through her hair like now, just to be hers.

All through their marriage and even before, he had been obsessed with touching her face and playing with her hair, it was his thing, and even though she probably wouldn't admit it to Jack, she loved it. Jack would always run his fingers through her hair and tuck loose strains behind her ears.

After her 'death' she continued to tuck her hair behind her ears like Jack did, to try and remember him or at least hold onto him somehow. That's how she had picked up her trademark movement.

Jack continued to stare at her. Irina had no idea what to do or say, she was sure a few days ago he had wanted to kill her with his bare hands. But now he was in front of her, his fingers entwined in her hair, reminding Irina how much she missed him. As much as she tried to deny it over the years, Irina finally realised that she couldn't any more. Irina Derevko aka 'The Man' missed Jack Bristow and she would give anything to stay with him here forever.

Jacks hand cupped her face and his thumb caressed her cheek, then moved down over her lips, and she surprised him to some extent by kissing his thumb softly, her lips lingering there for a moment before pulling back.

Jacks lips soon replaced his thumb, starting another sweet tantalizing kiss. He pulled her back down on the bed with him, their lips never breaking contact. As they hit the bed again, Jack reached for the bottom of Irina's shirt, meeting her hands there. She pulled her top over her head, letting a pair of dog tags fall from their hiding spot.

Jack frowned slightly as he watched the dog tags dangle from her neck. Jack was sure the KGB didn't issue dog tags to their operatives, because that would defeat the purpose of being a spy, and keeping your identity a secret. He knew that Irina hadn't been in the military, so why would she be wearing them?

Irina looked down at what had captured Jacks attention so demandingly.

The Dog Tags

She smiled to herself; they had practically become a part of her body, her soul. The silencers around the metal tags made sure they stayed silent and would not alert anyone of their presence. It had been 15 years since she started wearing them, and she could count the number of times they had left her neck on one hand.

By further inspection Jack realised they weren't government issued. Government issued tags were stamped with plain cold writing, but these were engraved with a soft flowing script.

He went to reach for them but something stopped him. He looked back up at her, feeling as though he needed her permission to inspect them. This was the first time he had seen something so personal of Irina's. He had seen all of Laura's personal items, but as he had come to realise Irina wasn't Laura and Laura wasn't Irina, the only similarities between the two were their appearances.

"May I?" he asked.

She nodded silently, awaiting his reaction.

Jack reached up and caught the tags in his hand, the first one was engraved in Russian writing.

"Love is immortal," he read aloud.

Jack, slightly confused, reached for the second tag. This one was written in English and only had the word 'Sydney' engraved into it and the Date 17~4~75.

That was Sydney's birth date.

Jack really didn't know what to say about the inscriptions. All these years he had thought that Irina Derevko didn't give a damn about her daughter or anything else for a matter of fact, but here he was holding proof that she did.

Still holding the tags in his hand, he focused his gaze back on her, hoping she would share the story behind them.

Irina tilted her head in that off hand way that she did and held his gaze, her brown orbs fixed intensely on him.

"As much as you may think I'm a cold heartless killer and not trust me at all because of what I did to you, what I put you through, and I know you may never trust me again, but trust this, trust how much I missed Sydney. She is my little girl, no matter what happened because of my. occupation. My love for Sydney and."

She paused and reached up and turned the tag in his hand, revealing another name engraved into the cool metal. The word 'Jack' was softly engraved in English.

Irina took a deep breath then began again.

"My love for Sydney and you is immortal, it will never change, and it will never die, even if you both want nothing to do with me. I can't change what I did or who I am. These tags make me human, they are my weakness, but they are my strength." Irina gave a little laugh, " And everybody that has tried to take them off me or has, is dead. They are the only personal item I carry, except for my earrings.. but I gave them to Sydney before we left."

After she finished speaking Irina couldn't look at Jack, she looked everywhere else but at him. She had just practically poured her heart out to him and he was still silent. This was very dangerous. She had just given him all the power like a Christmas present, this was her weakness, he was her weakness.

Irina stole a glance at him. But she couldn't read his face, he was very good at masking his emotions, that's what made him a good spy. Irina knew this, but at the moment she wished we would say something, anything, even if he yelled. At least it would be a reaction.

All of a sudden Irina became self conscious of her actions and words, her mind screaming at her to get out of there. She scanned the floor for her shirt and when she spotted it she got off the bed and made to do a runner. But Jack caught her wrist, stopping her.

She turned and looked at him, her eyes pleading for him to let her go, she couldn't do this, she couldn't handle his rejection now. But something flared in his eyes, something she hadn't seen for a very long time, was it? No it couldn't be.

"Stay."

That one word brought Irina's resolve to a crumbling halt. The man she loved just asked her to stay. She'd seen it in his eyes, but really didn't think he would act upon it, she thought that there was just too much water under the bridge. Maybe she was wrong.

Jack couldn't comprehend the flood of emotions that were over whelming him right now. Irina had said she still loved him, but could he trust that? Something told him that this time she wasn't lying. That out of all the things she had said, that this was the one to believe, the one to trust. He had held the proof in his hands, how could he even try to ignore it.

He hadn't meant to be silent for so long, but he couldn't help it. This new declaration changed everything. Could he trust her? She was his weakness, the only thing that could hurt him beyond all physical pain.

When he had watched her begin to back away, he knew that this was the moment, his decision here would ultimately decide whether or not to let Irina Derevko back into his heart, whether he could trust her with his heart again.

When he caught her wrist, the only words he could utter, where, "Stay." So simple but that one word spoke volumes.

He wasn't ready to hand Irina his heart on a plate just yet, so instead of telling her how he felt, Jack decided he would show her. Show her how much he missed her, how much he loved her and how much he needed her.

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soo what did you guys think? Don't forget to review!!