Title: Silent Answers (1/1)
Author: Sam23
Email: sam23@samcole.de
Rating: PG
Summary: A simple question, a silent answer .. and the consequences that can rip a family apart.
Category: AU, angst, family
Spoilers: 3.14 "Blowback" - the question from Barnett and Sloane's answer as shown in the trailer for the episode
Ship: Jack/Irina (but really just a little)
Disclaimer: These wonderful characters don't belong to me and that's probably a good thing

A/N: Never ever watch a trailer again. The promo for "Blowback" taught me that *lol*. Anyway, after seeing it and realising what it suggested regarding Sydney's parents I just *had* to write something. It's probably not good, but now I feel at least a little better *sighs*. Oh and one more thing: English is not my native language and to make matters worse, I haven't written anything in ages, so I want to apologize in advance for any mistakes.

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Darkness. Utter and complete darkness. It was more of a feeling than anything else, because light from the kitchen cast a golden glow into the living-room, making it possible for her to take in her surroundings quite well. Yet still the feeling of darkness was as strong as it had been when she had entered the house a few seconds ago. Night had fallen many hours ago and the streets were quiet. Most residents of the area were asleep and the rest stuck in front of their tv-sets. No one had seen her enter the house. She had picked the lock within milli-seconds and had slipped into the corridor without making a sound – and without knowing what awaited her now that she was here.

She had a feeling though, what it might be: Him slumped on the sofa asleep from the combination of too much alcohol and too much pain. In fact she hoped that this was indeed going to be the sight she was about to see in a few seconds. Him asleep. And not dead. A bottle of whiskey on the table. And not a gun in his lifeless hand. He was strong. One of the strongest men she had ever known. But a lot of that strength had come from a simple fact, a biological disposition that men and animals shared alike: The necessity to protect their young. But that had been taken away from him not 24 hours ago.

She didn't know yet how he found out, only that he knew of Sloane's conversation with Barnett. "Are you telling me that Sydney Bristow is your daughter?" the words of Kane still echoed in her ear, while the image of Sloane's grinning, disgusting and happy face and the simple nod that had followed had burnt itself into her eyes.

She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath, trying to force anger and hatred back into their cage in the back of her head, so she could concentrate on the task ahead. She took another step forward, trying to and succeeding in not making a sound. A car went by on the road outside and she froze for a second. When the car had gone by, she took another step forward.

She had pictured this scenario ever since she left Rumania yesterday. Had tried to think of every possibility, every twist and turn her visit here could have. She had gone over the words she wanted to say a thousand times, knowing very well, that she could never ever expect Jack to believe even a single one of them. She had come here to tell him, to tell him everything. She had come here to – literally – put her life in his hands.

And she no one was more surprised by that then herself. 48 hours ago everything seemed to work as planned. Now, the plan and everything she had worked for seemed to fall apart. Because of a lie.

As always.

A lie that was supposed to protect her daughter. To make sure that nothing would happen to her. It had worked its magic all these years and it still did, but now she could see with her own eyes the consequences of her actions, as she spotted the two figures on the sofa in front of her.

He was asleep. Just as she had thought. But instead of an empty bottle or a gun or a case file or that fateful tape there was only one other thing near to him.

Her daughter.

Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks red, not from a fight, but from sheding a river of tears. Her face was disturbed and desperate even in her sleep, an exact mirror of the expression of his face. He held her sleeping daughter close, his arms wrapped protectively around her. She studied him, wondering what was going to happen now, wondering how she could ever explain this to him, seeing in both their faces that no explanation in the world would be enough to erase the pain a simple question and a silent answer had caused.

Tears forced their way into Irina's eyes as she realised that if she didn't find a way to convince Jack of the intention of her actions, she would be responsible for ripping apart the little family Sydney still had. A lie that was meant to protect her, had now probably severed the link to the one person who had been protecting her more fiercely and passionately than Irina had ever thought possible. A simple question and a silent answer were now depriving Sydney of the only parent she knew and trusted. Irina blinked as her own tears started to blur her vision. And then she saw it.

Jack was awake. And he was looking at her.

For the first time in her entire life, Irina Derevko felt a fear so deep it made her tremble. For the first time in her life she didn't know how to react. He just stared at her, his eyes burning with cold fury.

For the first time in her life Irina Derevko was sure she would die and that there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She wasn't even sure she wanted to prevent it. The words she had so carefully prepared slipped from her memory, her mouth, ready to speak a few seconds ago would not open. She wanted to tell him, that Sloane – after finding out she was KGB - had been black-mailing her and forcing her into sleeping with him. That when she had gotten pregnant, she deliberately led Sloane to believe that Sydney was his daughter in order to protect her. That she had done everything in her power to convince him of the fact that Sydney was the result of the most hateful night of her life. She wanted to tell Jack, that she had done all this to protect Sydney, to make sure, Sloane would watch out for Sydney, in case her real father could not. But she couldn't explain any of this. All she could do was looking into the deadly and powerful fury shining in the eyes of the man in front of her.

A sound broke the silence, a scream, turned into a quiet sigh by the power of sleep. The fury was extinguished in an instant, as he turned alarmed to the young woman in his arms to check if she was okay. Sydney stirred, her shoulders trembling, reacting so some nightmare haunting her. Jack's armed tightened around her and he whispered into her ear.

"Everything is okay, sweetheart, don't worry."

Sydney stirred again, this time uttering not a cry or a whisper, but a question.

"Dad?"

He kissed her forehead. "Yes, sweetheart, I am here, go back to sleep. Dad is here."

A small smile of relief surfaced on Sydney's face as she slowly drifted back into sleep. He looked at her for a few more seconds, making sure the nightmare hadn't returned, then looked up at the woman in the darkness. She returned the look, surprised that the fury she had seen only seconds ago was truly gone. Instead an expression of wonder and understanding appeared on his face. He looked at her, then back at Sydney and then back up.

"Jack, it's not true, I …", she started to whisper, but he just shook his head and smiled.

And suddenly she understood. It didn't matter anymore. As far as he was concerned Sydney was and would always be his daughter and nothing in the world could change it. There was no need for Irina to prove anthing to him anymore. But Sydney was a different matter. What if she believed Sloane? What if her faith wasn't as strong as Jack's? Irina looked at her daughter in fear.

"I'll tell her."

Jack simply said. She nodded, knowing that it had been a promise as well as a good-bye. It was time for her to go. She allowed herself one last long look into the face of their now peacefully sleeping daughter. Then she looked at him again. His expression had yet changed again, his eyes communication a silent message:

Take care of yourself.

When Irina Derevko stepped out into the street, she was glad that it had started raining. The moisture made it a little easier to deny the tears streaming down her face as she left her family yet again and headed back into the darkness.

The End

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