FAMILY MATTERS

Eyghon

Author's notes: Takes place two months after the episode 'Before the flood'. Sydney, Nadia and Irina centric.

Summary: Sydney's world got rocked by the aftermath of Sovogda. Many issues are left unresolved in both her personal and professional life. Since the accident, she took over her father's job as Co Director of APO and has been ignoring Vaughn. For now, she's faced with a new challenge; she must help Irina find a cure for Nadia, but how far is she willing to go to save her sister?

Prologue

Sydney was walking to her car, handbag in one hand and a grocery bag in the other. She stopped in mid stride to fetch her ringing cell phone from her handbag.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Sydney."

"Mom," breathed Sydney, recognizing immediately the familiar voice. "Where are you?" It had been two months since they had last seen each other. Ever since finding her in that pit, Sydney had been worried about her. She was not in great physical condition, which made her very vulnerable. To top that, supposedly dead, she had no means of protection other than herself.

"That's why I was calling actually. To warn you I'm here. I need to see you."

"Uh…yeah, sure. I guess we could arrange that, but I'm kind of…shadowed at the moment."

"I know. See you soon darling." Irina hung up, her eyes never leaving Sydney. Her daughter looked warily around her before progressing toward the darkened parking lot. 'Smart girl', thought Irina, certain Sydney had sensed her presence and was pretending as though nothing was wrong, for the benefit of her watchdogs. Her heart warmed at the prospect of seeing her daughter face to face again. Their last encounter had been spoiled by the 'end of the world' situation. She hoped they could spend some real quality time with each other now.

Arvin Sloane was out of the picture, though Irina didn't know who really had him: CIA, NSC, DSR, APO…the possibilities were endless. She was back in the game, hence her knowledge of Arvin's current predicament among other things. Apparently, Jack letting her escape had cost him the post vacated by Sloane. Marcus Dixon had inherited it and was now acting as Director of APO. He had chosen Sydney as Co Director, the job Jack had before being demoted.

Irina was happy her daughter had taken the position. It meant no fieldwork, upping her daughter's chances of survival beyond the age of forty.

From what she had gathered, the CIA higher ups were happy with the way the secret division ran with two acting directors since its launch and had decided to keep it that way. Their only request was that Jack Bristow be kept out of any position of power within all American three lettered agencies. His career seemed doomed, even as a field agent, he was not trusted enough by his superiors to be sent on anything other than recon missions. He was too uncontrollable for their liking.

Since the Sloane debacle, the CIA didn't take kindly to its people having a hidden agenda. The next more logical choice in terms of experience in the field and years of serving was Agent Sydney Bristow, at Chase's dismay. The woman was convinced all agents part of the team intervening in Sovogda were accomplices of Irina Derevko's escape. Director Dixon and she seemed close; the man had convinced her to back off Sydney a little. Irina remembered she wanted to meet the man someday. He seemed quite invested in her daughter's life, for a long time.

The US government thought their little secret agency and its staff's identities were indeed, secrets, but they were dead wrong. In this business, 'secret' had no meaning whatsoever.

Though she was happy to see Sydney in her element, out of CIA custody that is, she was not the main reason Irina was in Los Angeles. Nadia was. Despite extensive research, threats and blackmail, she couldn't find any information on her youngest daughter's status. She hoped Sydney could enlighten her and would be willing to do so. Surely, her daughter wouldn't keep her in the dark, national security or not.

She was worried about both her daughters actually. Many things had happened since Sovogda. She wanted to know how Nadia was doing and how Sydney was coping with everything that had happened in both her personal and professional life since then.

Michael Vaughn was also out of the picture. It was Irina, who suggested he tell the truth, but she hadn't expected it to have such repercussions. She would have to talk to her daughter about this issue but wasn't in a hurry to find out what Sydney thought of her mother's role in this particular mess.

Sydney didn't see anything unusual as she approached her car but knew better than to trust appearances. Her mother was there, nearby. She could feel her eyes on her.

Two agents were waiting for her in a sedan parked on the other side of the street. They were APO personnel since Sydney was not officially CIA anymore. They were here under the pretense of being her bodyguards. Being Co-Director of APO warranted such measures, but she knew Chase asked them for a detailed weekly report of her activities. She didn't mind though. She had given up the illusion of privacy long ago. Chase could scrutinize her every move all she wanted, the young woman had nothing to hide.

Being part of a black ops division was great. Leading it was bliss. She had to report to a higher director of course, that being Chase, but she was free to do anything she pleased to get the job done, and she got to handpick her personnel among the finest agents America had to offer. Working alongside Dixon as an equal was an added bonus. They often were on the same page and got along well. Overall, they made the perfect team.

Sydney had been under surveillance ever since she and the rest of her team had come back from Sovogda without Irina Derevko. The agents had merely stopped trying to hide since she had taken over the position of Co Director. Her teammates were under surveillance as well but none of them really minded either. When they wanted privacy, it was always easy to ditch their tails, though they were scolded at for doing so the next day.

Sighing, she approached her SUV and used the remote control to unlock the doors. Even off duty, she was always on guard. An open door that was supposed to be locked was enough of a reason for her to draw her gun. One was never too careful enough in this line of work. Paranoia was not a flaw but a skill that could save your life.

Her mother's phone call had made her curious and nervous. She was expecting her to pop out of the bushes anytime now and it kept her on edge. If Irina was willing to take the risk to come to LA, it must be important business. She was confident the woman would find a way to see her face to face without compromising Sydney's position at APO but she was on the look out nonetheless.

She heard the satisfying 'clank' of the doors unlocking and dumped her groceries in the trunk. She glanced in her rear view mirror as she backed out of her parking space and saw nothing but darkness. Sighing, she checked that her fellow agents were on her tail and turned on the CD player. She then proceeded to make her way back home, still seemingly unaware of the woman lying in the back of her SUV.

TBC