Bristow Residence
When he finally pulled the car into his garage, Jack noted it was just after four in the morning. With luck, no one would be stirring and he could safely lead Irina up to his room. If he could wake her up, that is. Even the sound of the garage door hadn't been enough to pull her out of sleep. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Mmmm. That was nice."
"Wake up, sleepyhead. We're home."
Irina looked around at the sterile garage. There were no boxes stored in the corner. No toys of Sydney scattered about. "I hate it already."
"You haven't seen it yet."
"The garage is too clean."
"You hate a messy garage."
"I just realized they have a certain charm."
"Let me make sure the coast is clear before you go in."
Irina nodded and dropped her backpack by the garage door. "Wait, Jack. I have a gift for Sydney." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the plush dog. "I just need a moment to put it under the tree."
"A Pound Puppy?" He shook his head. "She's been collecting these for the past year. How did you know?"
"I stole it from the cargo they had stored in that cabin. I checked to make sure it didn't have anything hidden inside."
He stared at her, then started to laugh.
"Shhh, Jack. You'll wake someone up."
He gave her a quick kiss. "Never a boring moment in this family."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
Jack opened the door and peeked down the hallway. No one stirred. As he walked down the hall, he noticed lights coming from the living room. His eyes quickly swept the room. Everything was quiet. Then, a sleepy murmur drew his attention to a dark corner of the room. Sydney had curled up in a rocking chair, a flimsy couch throw her only covering. Jack lifted her in his arms, careful not to wake her.
"Daddy?"
"Shhh, baby. Go back to sleep. Everything is going to be better soon. I promise."
"Is Mommy with you?"
Jack nearly dropped her.
"I wished for Mommy to be here for Christmas."
"That's a pretty big wish."
"I know. It was silly wishing for Mom…"
He kissed her and placed her gently on the bed. Irina tucked covers around her daughter and kissing her softly on the brow.
Once in the master bedroom, Jack growled at her. "What do you think you were doing? All we needed was for her to wake up and …"
"I haven't seen or touched my daughter in five years. If she woke up, then we'd just have to adjust our plans a little."
"Dmn it, Irina, …
"You know I'm right. Besides, I don't want to fight right now. I want to take a shower, with you preferably, and then I want to lie down on that lovely bed…"
"With me preferably?"
"Preferably," she said agreeably, her body tingling in anticipation of their night together. "And then I plan to eat one of these chocolate Santa's I found under the tree. Oddly enough, they were addressed to me from Sydney."
"She buys a box for you every year."
"And how does our daughter even know about my … fondness for the candy?"
"She doesn't. At least, not the whole story. That first Christmas after you…after you were gone, she opened up all your gifts. She remembered I'd had given you a box the year before and demanded to know why."
"Interesting. So what did you tell her?"
"I told her you loved them so much, you kept eating them, even when it wasn't Christmas. Pretty soon, you were getting fatter and fatter. At first, we thought it was because of the chocolate candy. Then we went to a doctor and found out we were having a baby. You had eaten so much of the candy, though; I told her I was afraid that instead of a baby we were going to have a chocolate Santa Claus. I was so relieved when we had a little girl instead; I decided to buy you the chocolates every Christmas as a reminder of the precious gift I was given. She loved the story, so ever since; she wraps a box of Santa chocolates for you and puts them under the tree."
Irina focused on the important part of the story. "You told her I was fat?"
"Big as a house."
"Jack, you know I'm going to make you pay for that remark?"
"Yes," he answered with mock meekness. "Which will it be: coal or switches?"
Laughing, she pulled him into the bathroom. "Neither. We're taking a shower…remember? And then," she said patting him on the belly, "and then, we'll talk about who is and isn't fat."
oooooooooo
Jack was measuring out pancake flour when the doorbell rang. Mrs. Jones had left only moments before. Had she forgotten something? Annoyed at the interruption, he opened the door.
"Did you forget your key?" Jack stopped. "Arvin?"
"Jack, I didn't realize you were back."
"What? I'm sorry. I didn't get home until four this morning and to tell you the truth, I was more concerned about getting home before Sydney woke up. I had planned to call later today." Jack opened the door and motioned for Sloane to enter. It wouldn't do to make the man suspicious.
"We were very concerned when you didn't make your flight home."
Sure you were, you bastard. "I was unavoidably detained."
"I can see that. Is there anything I can do? As you know, I'm pretty handy with a bottle of salve."
"Sydney took care of that earlier. I told her I was mugged, in case she mentions anything." Jack walked back to the kitchen and continued with his task. "So, was there something you needed from me?"
"When we didn't hear from you, Emily and I were a little concerned about Sydney being alone for Christmas. Emily thought it would be a good idea to bring her to our house. You know how much Emily loves children."
"Thank Emily for her thoughtfulness for me, but as you can see, I am indeed home."
"Dad, I'm ready to open my presents now. Oh." Sydney stopped short when she saw her father had company.
"Hello, Sydney. I've heard a lot about you."
"Sydney, I'd like you to meet my boss, Arvin Sloane. He just came by to wish us a Merry Christmas."
Sydney dutifully shook his hand. "I'll wait in the living room."
"She's a wonderful child, Jack. I'm glad your earlier neglect hasn't marred your relationship with her."
"I'm sure there's a compliment in there somewhere."
"I meant it in all sincerity. Well, now, I've got to go. Emily and I have tickets for a special production of the Nutcracker and I must go home to get ready." He paused, as if an idea just struck him. "I have a couple extra tickets. Perhaps you can bring Sydney? Emily would love to spend at least a little time with her."
"I appreciate the offer. Let me check with Sydney and see what she wants to do."
"Very well. Do you mind if I use your facilities while you ask her?"
"Second door on the right, just past the stairs. I'll be with Sydney when you're done."
Jack found his daughter sitting by the tree, surrounded by packages. He smiled as he watched her shake every gift in an effort to guess the contents of each package.
He hadn't been fooled by Arvin's bathroom ploy. It was such an unimaginative excuse; he was surprised the man had used it. He wasn't worried that Sloane would find evidence of Irina's presence. They had taken great care to remove anything incriminating before Jack had left the bedroom. Of course, Sloane opening the closet in the living room might prove a bit tricky.
"Dad, when are we going to open our presents?" Sydney demanded anxiously.
"After our guest leaves. We don't want to be rude."
"I wish he would hurry up and go."
A noise at the door alerted Jack to Sloane's return.
"I had no idea you had a penchant for bath's and candles, Jack."
"I beg your pardon?"
"The bathroom downstairs was a bit small and I get a little claustrophobic, so I used the one in your room instead."
"Oh, no." Sydney looked stricken. "I'm sorry, Dad. I forgot to empty the tub. And I guess I didn't remember to blow out the candles, either." She flushed and offered Sloane an embarrassed explanation. "Dad sometimes lets me use his bathtub because it's bigger than mine and I can light candles and take a bath like Mom used to."
Jack frowned at his daughter, "Sydney, you know better than to leave candles burning unattended."
"I'll go and take care of it right now."
Jack gave an exaggerated sigh. "Please. Before you burn the whole house down."
"Don't open any presents until I get back, Dad," Sydney yelled as she raced up the stairs.
"She grows more like her mother every day, Jack."
Jack ignored the jab. "Sydney said thank you for your offer, but she prefers to stay home today. Speaking of which, I know you need to be on your way. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be sure to call the office in a bit and let them know I'm back."
Jack walked Sloane to the door. "Oh, by the way Jack, I saw someone pulling out of your driveway just as I drove up. Whoever it was needs to slow down. She almost hit my car on her way out."
"That must have been Mrs. Jones, Sydney's nanny. She went to visit with her family for a few days during the holiday. I'll be sure to tell her to be more careful when she comes back." Jack wondered if Sloane was keeping a file listing all his parental inadequacies.
Sloane frowned, disapprovingly. "I do hope she doesn't drive that way with Sydney in the car."
Clever. He could see the file entry now. 'Allows daughter to ride with dangerous driver'. "According to the California Highway Patrol, she has an excellent driving record." Jack smiled benignly. "Enjoy your Christmas. I'll see you in two weeks." Jack closed the door with a satisfied grin. Game, set, match.
"Did you really tell Mrs. Jones she could go home for two weeks?" Sydney poked a fork into her pancakes. Two weeks without Mrs. Jones. And there was something different about her father. He seemed happy and relaxed. This was going to be her best Christmas ever.
"Yes, she's going to spend some time with her family." A very long time, he added to himself.
"And you are staying home?"
He nodded. "Sydney, you told me last night you wished to have your mother here for Christmas."
"You don't need to lecture me, Dad. I know she can't come back. It was just a silly wish."
"Sometimes silly things happen. What I'm going to tell you won't be easy for you to understand and there are lots of things I won't be able to tell you until you are older." Jack hadn't really thought through how he was going to explain how her mother wasn't really dead. He searched for something brilliant to say. When nothing came to mind, he decided to be as straightforward as possible. "I found out that your mother didn't die in the accident. Some people rescued her, but they took her away and she wasn't able to get back to us."
"Mom's alive." Sydney couldn't breathe. She must be dreaming. Maybe if she pinched herself? "Dad, can we go get her?"
"She's already here, she's waiting by the Christmas tree." Jack was surprised his daughter hadn't moved. "Sydney?"
"I'm afraid this is all a dream. If I don't move I won't wake up."
"It's not a dream, sweetheart. But I do think it is a miracle."
Sydney flew out of her chair and raced to the living room, Jack following behind.
"Mom?" Her mother held out her arms and Sydney threw herself in them.
One year later
"Dad, she's eating them again."
Jack shook his head ruefully. "I know, Sydney. I'm afraid this time we just might get a chocolate Santa instead of a baby."
Irina smirked. "It will serve you right if I did get pregnant again, Jack Bristow. I think you need to explain to your daughter that babies are not made simply by eating chocolate Santa's."
"But, Mom, you ate them last Christmas and then you started getting big, just like Dad said you would." Sydney watched as her mother moved her three-month-old brother to her shoulder and began gently rubbing his back. "I wouldn't mind a little sister."
Jack handed his wife another chocolate candy. "Now that Sloane is convinced we died in that airplane crash, we're safe enough." He lifted the sleeping baby from his mother's arms and laid him in the crib near the twinkling Christmas tree. "I think a little sister for Sydney and James is a great idea."
"Of course you would. You get to have all the fun. I have to do the hard part." Irina removed the foil wrapper on the Santa. "Speaking of hard parts…" Irina rolled her tongue across the candy. She smiled at Jack's immediate response. "On second thought, Sydney. Maybe babies are made by eating chocolate Santa's."
Fin
A/N - Vaughn is Hot ... The decision to have Jack capitulate a tad quicker than his current personna was a deliberate choice. I decided that Jack would not be quite so bitter after five years as he was after 20+ years. Between that, his weakened state, and Irina's logic, well ...he just couldn't resist.Good catch on your part. Thanks to those who took the time to review. Your comments are read and appreciated.