The buzz of the conference room silenced as the gavel pounded the table. Sydney felt strange, sandwiched as she was, between her parents. She supposed it only fitting, since she had been their only connection since her mother's return. Irina sat quietly to her right, with a stillness that seemed impenetrable. Her father, on her left, was equally quiet, wearing a cold mask of indifference she'd hoped was in the past. It wasn't until she reached down and grasped his hand that she felt his tension and the tight rein he was keeping on his emotions. She tightened her hold and when he finally glanced down at her, she gave him an encouraging smile. There was a barely perceptible change in his expression, as his eyes acknowledged her concern.

Somewhat reassured, Sydney looked to her mother. Perhaps Irina's stillness masked her own fears. Her mother's hands were shackled and they rested quietly in her lap. Sydney placed her hand on her mother's arm and knew Irina was hiding emotions every bit as deep as Jack. She heard the slight clatter of the handcuffs as her mother, still looking distantly forward, placed her other hand on Sydney's.

The gathering in the conference room was not large. There were five people seated on the podium, all robed. "Judges of some kind," Sydney thought, somewhat puzzled. Four men, including 'Uncle Mac' were seated on the right side of the room. She sensed, without knowing why, that they were all from the intelligence community. On her mother's side there appeared to be interested bystanders. She saw Devlin, Kendall, and Vaughn, plus a mix of maybe six more. No wonder her parents were a mass of nerves. There was a definite tension in the air, the thickness of it beginning to settle in the pit of her own stomach. She suddenly had a vision of herself as a little girl, excited that she finally was tall enough to experience her first rollercoaster ride.

"Can we sit in the front car, Daddy?" she asked breathlessly. Her father laughed and glanced at her mother. "Like mother, like daughter," she heard him say. They waited in the special line for the front car. She had grown a little restless with the wait and her father lifted her into his arms. "Daddy, you're tickling me!" Sydney giggled. Jack shook his head no and looked at her mother. Her mother smiled and reached out to tickle her again. "Mommy! Tickle me again."

"Here we are munchkin," her mother laughed. "Now remember, you sit in the middle, that way Daddy and I can both hold your hand." Her mother smiled at her father. "We can all be safe together."

She had felt safe, that day, sandwiched between her parents. When the rollercoaster mounted the first hill, she started to feel scared. Then she felt the warmth of their hands in hers, reassuring her with their presence.

The past two days had suddenly become her own roller coaster ride. The conversations with her mother, the reconciliation with her father, her talk just moments before with her mother. She went away from that meeting elated. She hadn't exactly been successful at worming the whole story of her father's visit to the campus out of her mother, but the expression on Irina's face as she remembered had been worth it. It had obviously been a very happy memory. Sydney hadn't realized the moment they'd shared was the peak of the coaster and now the train was headed steeply downward. Then she looked at her own hands, one held by each parent. She smiled as she realized it was her turn to make them feel safe again.