Rishka Derevko: I'm glad you thought it was hilarious. :-) I'm always so thrilled to hear that you love my story - thank you so much. :-) Thank you for thinking that about Irina's character *blush* - that's such a great compliment to get. I loved Irina's character too on the show, but not so much in season 5 when she was all evil. Jack was my allover favorite character. It's also a great compliment to get that my story had such an effect on you that it made you laugh so hard that you cried - thank you. *blush* Thank you and kudos and kisses to you too. :-)
SofiaBlackBristow: As always I'm so thrilled to hear you say you love my story - thank you so much. :-) Yes they are - for now. *devil* Kiss to you too. :-)
NOTE: Some of my friends and I have decided that we'd like to try and have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, so we'll be doing that tomorrow, and it'll be at my place. A friend of mine is helping with the food, and since we'll be getting together in the morning, I'm not sure I'll have the time to post a new chapter tomorrow. I don't know when people will leave because, so if it's too late or I'm too tired, I won't be posting a chapter. So you might as well not count on one.
Chapter 14
Once everyone got on the plane, Sydney and Nadia walked straight to the end of the plane, not comfortable being around their parents at the moment. Irina shook her head amused by their behavior and Vaughn and Eric shrugged with a grin on their faces and went to sit next to their wives. Jack was grateful that they chose to sit in the opposite end of the plane and sat down in the front of the plane relieved. Irina shook her head at him too, laughing a little bit, and he rolled his eyes at her. She then sat down next to him, kissed his cheek and snuggled up next to him. Soon all six of them were sleeping.
Hours later they all had to sit down together to go over the details one more time of what to tell Devlin and Chase of what had been going on while they were in Russia. It was uncomfortable for Jack, Sydney, and Nadia at first, but once they started going over the details one more time they started to feel less uncomfortable. It helped too that Vaughn and Eric weren't making comments, and that Irina wasn't implying anything either.
After they discussed the details, Irina told them the story behind the nickname. They were all shocked and appalled by what she told them, and after talking through it for awhile, they all agreed not to talk about it again.
When they came back to LA they went straight to APO. Dixon, Kendall, Marshall, Carrie, Devlin, and Chase were there to get a quick report of the mission in Russia. When Jack, Irina, Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric walked into the meeting room Marshall smiled broadly and waved at them.
"Hi guys. Welcome back. We've missed you a lot." He turned around at the others and smiled, but when he saw that Devlin and Chase weren't smiling, that Kendall and Dixon had a neutral expression on their faces, and that Carrie rolled her eyes at him, his smile faded a little and he got a little nervous and smiled apologetically at them. "Sorry." Then he turned to the others and shrugged still being a little nervous. "Well, I missed you." They all gave him a small smile and a nod and then sat down around the table. Devlin looked at Jack.
"We're all aware of what's been going on in Russia from your reports back to us. But you're absolutely sure that there was no sign of Sloane? No sign at all." Jack nodded.
"Yes, we're absolutely sure. There was no sign of him at all. We searched the area thoroughly, but there was nothing indicating he was there or ever had been there."
"So there was simply nothing there? There was nothing but forest?" Everyone looked at Jack, and Irina, Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric looked briefly at each other from the corners of their eyes. No one took notice of that other than Dixon. Jack shook his head.
"No, nothing at all. Nothing but trees and bushes." Devlin nodded.
"What about the radio signal? You were able to get through now and then at the coordinates for Sloane's supposed whereabouts. Any idea how that happened?"
"No, no idea. It was probably because the satellite was old, and that's why we lost the signal. That's at least our conclusion." Everyone looked around at Irina, Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric. They nodded agreeing with what Jack said. Devlin nodded back.
"Okay. Since there's nothing of importance to write in the report, you can all go home now. It's late anyway, and since I made you go on a pointless mission for so many days, I'm sure you all want to go home to your children. You can work on the report tomorrow." They all nodded.
"Thank you, but the mission wasn't pointless. We all want to catch Sloane, so if that means we have to go on missions and spend a few days to make sure he's there or not, then we're happy to do it." Devlin nodded back at Jack and smiled a little.
"We might not have caught Sloane this time, but I'm sure we will." They all nodded agreeing with that. He turned to Chase. "I have some other matters to discuss with you, which won't take long. We can talk about them on the way to the car." She nodded.
"Of course." She turned and looked at Dixon. "I'll be waiting by the car for you." He nodded.
"I won't be long." She gave him a slight smile and a polite nod to everyone else. Devlin smiled at everyone and the two of them left. Once they were out of sight Dixon looked at Jack. "So, off the record. What did you find in the forest?"
Kendall, Marshall, and Carrie looked at Dixon a little surprised, not thinking there was anything else in the forest other than what Jack had told them. They then turned their attention to Jack. Jack gave Dixon a small smile, giving him recognition for seeing that he hadn't told Devlin and everyone else the truth. Irina, Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric briefly looked at each other and smiled a little at how easily Dixon had called their bluff. Jack then turned to Irina giving her a nod and everyone turned their attention to her. She smiled.
"We found my uncle." Dixon, Kendall, Marshall, and Carrie all looked at her curiously. Kendall shook his head confused.
"Your uncle?"
"Yes, my uncle Dmitri." Marshall smiled excitedly.
"The guy, who built gadgets?"
"Yes, him."
Kendall was still a little confused.
"Wasn't he dead?"
"Katya, Sergei, and I thought he was. None of us had heard anything from him in years and neither had anyone else who we knew, knew of him. So we just assumed that he was dead."
"So your uncle just happened to live at the location for Sloane's supposed whereabouts? Or do you think it wasn't a coincidence?" Irina shook her head.
"No, it definitely was a coincident. My uncle has never had anything to do with Sloane. He's only heard of him, but never met him. And I doubt Sloane really knows of my uncle. Besides, if Sloane's behind sending us all the way to a forest in Russia, it would make no sense to send us to my uncle on purpose. My uncle would never hurt his family." They nodded.
"So, if it was a coincident, why didn't you just tell us that your uncle lived there when you reported back to us? I mean, if you didn't suspect your uncle to be working with Sloane, why didn't you just tell us that you had found your uncle?"
"Because technically, he's still a criminal. I don't really think he's much of a wanted criminal anymore, because he was always very discreet when working, but I had also no intention of selling out my own uncle, in case anyone wanted him caught. We never knew who else from the CIA would be listening, when we contacted you at APO, which is why we didn't tell you. But we were going to tell the four of you, when we got back." They nodded their understanding.
"So, what about the lost signal and the satellite? Was he behind that?" Irina nodded.
"Yes, he was. He didn't want anyone to find him. He jammed the radio signal, and thought that if people couldn't get a radio signal through within about thirty minutes of his cabin, no one would walk further into the forest, and thereby they wouldn't find his cabin. And he also jammed the satellite signal, so no one would come and check out the cabin." She laughed a little from the expressions on their faces and then nodded. "Yeah, my uncle is a little paranoid."
"So, I was right about the satellite." Marshall smiled a little, and Irina smiled back at him.
"Yes, you were." He smiled a little prouder. Jack looked around at them.
"The information regarding Irina's uncle doesn't leave this room. We'll include in the report what we explained to directors Devlin and Chase. Although he's not a threat to anyone, there's no reason to tell anyone about him and risk governments coming after him for the crimes he committed years ago. He was never dangerous, so his past criminal activities should stay in the past." They all agreed nodding and Dixon looked at Jack.
"You can be sure that the information won't leave this room." He nodded back and Irina gave him a smile. "Since there's nothing on Sloane and nothing else of importance happened, I suggest we do as Devlin says, and go home. I'm sure you're all anxious to see the kids again." They all smiled.
"Yes, we are." They all said their goodbyes to each other and left APO.
When Jack and Irina came home they smiled at each other when they saw the front door.
"It's good to be home."
"It sure is." They noticed the light in the living room. "It seems Sergei is still up."
"I'm glad. That way I can tell him about uncle Dmitri." They walked in and when Dmitri heard the front door open he walked out to the hall to meet them.
"Hi welcome home." He smiled at them, gave Irina a kiss on the cheek and a hug, and also gave Jack a hug.
"Thank you. How have the kids been?" Sergei smiled.
"They behaved themselves like they always do." Jack and Irina smiled proudly. "And they're sound asleep at the moment." They both nodded knowing that the triplets would be sleeping by now. "So, did you get Sloane? Was he there?"
"No, unfortunately he wasn't."
"I'm sorry to hear that. So there was nothing there? Nothing at all?"
"Actually uncle Dmitri was there." Sergei was stunned at what Irina told him.
"What?" She nodded. "He's still alive?" Irina let out a small laugh.
"Yes, it surprised me too."
"Wow." He shook his head in disbelief but then nodded. "So how is the old guy?" Jack chuckled.
"I don't think he'd like you calling him old." All three of the laughed.
"So he's still the same?" Irina nodded.
"Yes, he sure is. And he's still not thrilled about you not having given it a shot in the criminal world." Sergei laughed even more.
"Well, nice to see nothing's change. He's a crazy guy at times, but also very loveable." Irina nodded. "So I guess that's why you stayed for a few days, since Sloane wasn't there after all."
"Yes. I didn't really want to miss the opportunity to spend some time with him, now that we were there anyway, and we knew that Sloane wasn't there at all. Sure we wanted to come home to the kids sooner, but we were also a little prevented from doing so." Jack and Irina exchanged looks and smiled a little. Sergei saw them and looked a little puzzled at them.
"What do you mean?" Jack looked at him.
"I got to taste your uncle's homebrew, and I wasn't feeling too good the next day. Not well enough, so I could travel through a forest all day." Sergei stared a little wide eyed.
"He made you drink his homebrew?"
"I'm afraid he did." Sergei looked at Irina.
"Our uncle is still the protecting kind. He wanted to know of Jack's intentions with me, so he kept him tied up to a chair in the basement, and forced the alcohol down his throat at first." He shook his head and looked at Jack.
"Why were you tied to a chair in the first place?"
"Because we split up into two teams, so that we could check the area from two sides. Unfortunately, your uncle spotted Sydney, Nadia, and me before we spotted him, and he shot us with tranqs." Sergei's eyes widened a little.
"Michael, Eric, and I were checking the area from the other side, and although there was something familiar about the place, I couldn't place it. All six of us were supposed to meet up after a while, but when Jack and the girls didn't show up after a while, I went back to the cabin. When I got closer, I noticed the tree where I carved my own name years ago. I went to the basement, and told uncle, who they were. He wouldn't release Jack until he'd talk to him, and you know how uncle is. It's not exactly wise to go against him." Sergei shook his head and laughed a little bit.
"I'm sorry, Jack. It's not you I'm laughing at, but our crazy uncle."
"It's quite alright. Yeah, he's a bit crazy. He put the bottle to my mouth, and covered my nose, so I had no other choice than to swallow. He did that a few times, until the alcohol started to affect me, and then he untied me, and unfortunately I started to drink his homebrew voluntarily." Sergei shook his head. "His homebrew actually grows on you after you've had so much that you can no longer taste it. But it's not something I plan on enjoying in the future, if I get the opportunity." They all laughed.
"No, I don't blame you. No one should have to drink that stuff." They laughed again. "So was it simply a coincident that you were giving those coordinates or do you think there's something else behind it?" Jack and Irina shook their heads.
"It was a coincident. No one knew uncle was alive. Well, only a few of his friends, who live in the area, but that's it. And he and Sloane have also never worked together. Uncle knows of Sloane from what he's heard, but I doubt Sloane knows of our uncle. And if Sloane is the one, who sent us those coordinates, he wouldn't have known uncle was there, because uncle is the one who jammed the signal to the satellite, so it seems that the forest is deserted."
"So, you think Sloane is the one, who sent you the coordinates?"
"We don't really know who else it could've been. But we also don't know what his reasons would be for getting us out of the country. Nothing has been going on anywhere in the world while we've been away that would make him want us out of the country. No weapon deals, nothing involving money. There hasn't been any activity in Mongolia either at the cave where Rambaldi's tomb is buried."
"Well, if he's about to show himself, then I'm sure you'll catch him this time."
"Yeah that's what we're hoping." They all looked at each other nodding.
"It's getting late, and I'm sure you'd like to get some sleep. We can talk again tomorrow, and I can catch up on everything regarding uncle."
"Yes, we should get to bed. Are you staying or going home?"
"I'm staying. I don't really see the point in going home at this late hour."
"Good. Then we'll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Goodnight Sergei." She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Goodnight." He looked at Jack. "Goodnight Jack." Jack smiled back.
"Goodnight. See you in the morning."
They walked upstairs and went into Caitie's room first. They looked at her sleeping for a few seconds, gave her a kiss on the head, and moved on to Maddie's room. They did the same with her, and then moved on to Ethan's room and did the same. When they got into their own bedroom they got ready for bed and soon were under the covers. Irina sighed contently.
"It's good to be in our own bed again."
"It sure is." She got on top of Jack and kissed him passionately.
"So I know we told Sergei that we'd like some sleep, but I'm not really tired. Are you?" He smiled at her.
"Well technically, we didn't tell him we were going to sleep. You just agreed with him that we should go to bed."
"Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" She looked at him seductively.
"Yes, you did. And the answer to your question is no. I'm not tired." He caught her lips in another passionate kiss.
"Good, because I think we still need to make up for the last couple of days where we were fighting."
"Oh, I definitely think so too." They grinned at each other and kissed again, which led them to making love twice that night.
The next morning Jack and Irina got up and went to Ethan's bedroom. Irina gave him a kiss on his head, and stroked him gently on his head.
"Sweetheart, time to wake up. Time for school." Ethan slowly opened his eyes, and became fully awake when he saw his parents. He smiled broadly and hugged his mother first.
"Mommy, daddy, you're home." He then hugged his father and Jack gave him a kiss. "I missed you."
"We missed you too. Now time to get up."
"Okay." He got out of bed and Jack and Irina went to Maddie's room. Irina also kissed her and stroked her head gently.
"Sweetheart, it's time for school." Maddie woke up and smiled when she saw her parents. She then hugged both of them and Jack gave her a kiss.
"I'm glad you're home. I've missed you."
"We've missed you too." They smiled at each other again.
"We just need to wake up Caitie, and then we'll get started on breakfast, so you should get up." Maddie nodded and started to get out of bed as Jack and Irina left to wake up Caitie.
Once in Caitie's room, Irina woke her up the same way she'd woken up Ethan and Maddie.
"Sweetheart, time to wake up." Caitie slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw her parents.
"You're home." She hugged her mother and then hugged her father, and Jack gave her a kiss, like he'd done with his other children.
"Yes, we are."
"I've missed you. Ethan and Maddie missed you too." Jack and Irina smiled.
"Yeah, we know, and we missed all three of you terribly."
"Time to get up."
"Okay." Caitie got up as Jack and Irina left.
A short while later the triplets came downstairs, and Jack and Irina had breakfast ready. Sergei came down a few seconds later. Soon all six of them sat down to eat.
"So, did you three have fun while mommy and I were away?"
"Yes, we did."
"That's great to hear. You can tell us about it, when school is over. We'll be off work by then, so is there anywhere you'd like to go?" The triplets smiled looking at their parents. Then they looked at each other, and without saying anything to each other they looked back on their parents and answered simultaneously.
"The zoo." Jack, Irina, and Sergei laughed a little.
"The zoo sounds like a great idea. It's been awhile since we've been there." The triplets nodded.
"So, did you have a nice trip?" Jack and Irina looked at each other and then smiled. Irina looked back at Maddie.
"It had its nice moments." Jack and Irina looked at each other again and smiled again. Irina then looked back at the triplets. "We met uncle Dmitri. Remember I told you about him? Your grandfather's youngest brother?" They nodded.
"Wasn't he dead?"
"Katya, Sergei, and I thought he was, but apparently he wasn't."
"No, he was indeed very much alive." Irina looked over at Jack, who ran a hand over his head, and they shared a small laugh. Irina shook her head at him and then looked back at the kids.
"He lives very secluded, which is why we never knew he was alive."
"Will he come and visit us?"
"We asked him to, but he couldn't make that promise. He might though, one day."
"I hope he does."
"Yes, he should meet aunt Katya and uncle Sergei too, now that he met you again, mommy." Irina nodded.
"Yeah, I would like him to do that too." Sergei nodded.
"I'd like to meet him again. It's been years." He looked over at Irina. "I'm sure he'll come for a visit." She nodded back.
"Yeah, I hope so too."
"We all hope that." Irina looked over at Jack, who smiled lovingly at her. She smiled back the same way and then looked at the triplets.
"Your father and I can tell you more about uncle Dmitri this afternoon. We're off soon, so you should finish your breakfast." They nodded and everyone continued with breakfast.
At APO Jack, Irina, Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric wrote the report on the mission to Russia as they had explained it to Devlin and Chase. They had told Dixon, Kendall, Marshall, and Carrie more about Dmitri, but had left out the part where he got Jack drunk and how he interrogated him in the basement. That also included not telling them about Irina's nickname and about her and Jack arguing for most of their stay.
When the triplets got out of school, Jack and Irina picked them up and the five of them went to the zoo. They shared about their time away from each other, and the triplets eagerly talked about what they'd been doing with Sergei and how much fun they'd had. They had a great time at the zoo. Or at least most of them had a great time at the zoo for the entire stay. Jack had an unpleasant moment.
When they got home late in the afternoon the triplets went to their rooms to put their backpacks away. Luckily they had done all their homework for the next day, which meant that they were able to stay at the zoo longer. Jack and Irina went to the kitchen and he got a bottle of water out of the fridge. He grunted before taking a sip of the water.
"Damn goat." Irina laughed at him.
"Oh come on, sweetheart. It's not that bad." He rolled his eyes at her.
"See how you'd like it, if you were the one bitten on the butt by a goat." She laughed at him even more. "Why do goats always have to bite my butt?" She walked over to him and squeezed his butt.
"Goats have good taste. Speaking as someone who's bitten your butt several times, I know what I'm talking about." He rolled his eyes at her smiling, and she captured his lips in a passionate kiss. "You might as well realize that you have an adorable butt." He rolled his eyes again.
"Adorable, my a…" He looked at her and they laughed.
"Exactly." She gave his butt another squeeze. "And it's nice and firm too." He shook his head at her. She looked at him hungrily. "If you want, I can kiss it and make it better." He swallowed by the look in her eyes.
"I don't think that's such a good idea. The kids will be down soon." She leaned closer and whispered huskily in his ear.
"Then how about I kiss it later tonight, when the kids are tucked in their beds?" He swallowed as she started to suck on his earlobe.
"Bite it, kiss it, squeeze it. Do whatever you want with it. I don't think I'll have any arguments."
"Well then, Mr. Bristow. It seems you get to go to the zoo and the amusement park all in the same day." He moaned as she started to kiss his neck.
"Lucky me." She took his face in her hands and locked eyes with him.
"And lucky me." They smiled at each other and their lips crashed on each other in another passionate kiss.
They were still kissing when the triplets came back down. They didn't really pay attention to their parents, but started coloring on the clean sheets of paper that they brought down with them. When they broke the kiss they were both breathless. Jack looked at Irina hungrily.
"I think we'll be in for some wild ri…" He stopped talking when he noticed that the triplets were sitting at the table, and his face turned a little red. Irina who had her back turned to the triplets looked at him a little oddly from the expression on his face and turned to see the triplets. Her eyes shot up a little too in surprise that they were in the kitchen. She looked back at Jack. He leaned in closer and whispered so they wouldn't hear. "When did they come back down?" Irina shook her head.
"I don't know. I didn't hear them. I guess we were a little distracted." Jack chuckled a little.
"Yeah, I guess we were." She smiled back at him, gave him a quick kiss before they went over to the triplets.
"So what are the three of you drawing?" Maddie looked at her mother.
"I'm drawing a picture of daddy being bitten by a goat."
"Me too." Ethan grinned and Caitie nodded.
"That's also what I'm drawing." Irina laughed while Jack groaned slightly.
"We have to remember to put all three of the drawings on the fridge." Jack shook his head.
"No, we don't." They all laughed at him.
"But, daddy, it was funny that the goat bit you."
"And it was even more fun to see you run away from it." He rolled his eyes as Irina laughed harder.
"I'm glad you all think it's so funny." Ethan grinned at his father.
"We do, daddy. A lot." Jack shook his laughing along with the others.
"You're going to tease me all night, aren't you?" They all laughed.
"Of course, daddy." He shook his head smiling and he and Irina sat down next to the triplets for awhile.
The triplets and Irina had kept up the teasing for the rest of the evening. Shortly before it was their bedtime, Jack had gotten back at them, by tickling them all mercifully. They tickled him a bit too and the triplets helped Jack tickle Irina. When they tucked the triplets in bed and met up in the hall, Irina pushed Jack up against the wall and kissed him passionately, leaving them both breathless.
"How about you and I go to bed too, and I check and see if the goat left any teeth marks?"
"That sounds like a good idea. But what if the goat didn't leave any teeth marks?"
"Well, then I can remedy that." She winked at him and he let out a small laugh.
"I think I'll settle for a hickey."
"I can do that too." They kissed again.
"Then let's go to the amusement park." She grabbed him by his belt and they hurried to their bedroom.
A week and a half later at APO, Jack noticed Irina standing by the coffeemaker getting a cup of coffee to go. She was on her way out of the door to go to CIA headquarters to teach. The week and a half since coming home from Russia had been great. They'd spent a lot of time making up for the days they'd been fighting. At one time at work they'd even called each other by their titles, but this time Jack had made sure that no one else was around to hear them. As she walked toward the door he got another idea. He followed her and called out to her when she was at the door and there was no one else who could hear them.
"Excuse me." Irina heard the difference in Jack's voice, and thought he might be up to something. Going by instinct she played along.
"Yes?" He caught up to her and smiled sincerely.
"I couldn't help but notice you when you got a cup of coffee. I don't believe I've seen you around before. Are you new?" She smiled back at him and knew what he was up to.
"No, actually I've been working here for quite a few years now. Almost five." Jack smiled apologetically.
"Oh. I'm so sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner then. My name is Jack." He held out his hand and she shook it.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Irina."
"Irina. What a beautiful name." He caressed her hand with his thumb.
"Thank you. It's kind of you to say." She smiled sincerely, and pulled her hand back.
"I run this place along with two assistant directors, so I feel so ashamed that I haven't introduced myself sooner. I should know my staff better." She shrugged.
"It's a big place, with many important things to take care of. I'm sure you've been quite busy."
"Well yes, but that's still no excuse. Can I make it up to you? Perhaps take you out to dinner sometime?"
"That's a very kind offer, but I'm afraid I can't."
"Oh? May I ask why not?"
"Well first of all, I believe you're flirting with me and that there's a different reason for you wanting to take me to dinner then just making up for not introducing yourself sooner. Secondly and more importantly, I'm happily married." She held up her left hand with her wedding ring on. He smiled recognizing that she'd just turned the game around. He then nodded.
"I didn't realize. But I assure you, I have no other ulterior motive other than to make up for not introducing myself sooner."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, absolutely." She smiled sincerely at him.
"Even if that's the case, I still have to decline. I prefer to spend the evenings with my husband." He nodded. "From the looks of it, you're married too." She pointed at his wedding ring. He smiled back.
"Yes, I am."
"Are you happily married?"
"Oh yes, very much so."
"Then I'm sure your wife wouldn't want you to ask out other women, even if it's just to make up for not introducing yourself sooner." He let out a small laugh.
"No, she certainly wouldn't want that." They smiled at each other. "If you don't mind me saying, your husband is a very lucky man." She shook her head slightly.
"No, believe me, I'm the lucky one." They stood smiling at each other for a few seconds more. "If you'll excuse me, I need to be going. I have to teach a class."
"Of course. I won't stand in your way. Maybe we can have coffee some time here. That way I can get to know you better. I assure you it'll be on a completely professional level." She nodded.
"I think I can do that." She reached her hand out to him. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Jack." He shook it.
"You too, Irina." They shared another smile and she left.
Once she had gone, Jack laughed to himself a little. It hadn't gone they way he'd thought, but she'd played along and he could still work with it. He decided to stop by a flower shop on his way home, and tonight he would apologize to his wife for hitting on another woman. He smiled to himself all the way back to his office.
Hours later Irina went to pick up Ethan from soccer practice. She'd had a terrible day at headquarters. Her students had been absolutely incompetent and she had explained the same things over and over again. When she was done teaching, she thought she'd have plenty of time to look over their homework assignments, but instead Chase had given her some other work to do. She told her that she had to have it done in two hours, so Irina was forced to work faster than she normally did in order to accommodate Chase's wishes. That had started a headache. She had been looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon with the triplets until Jack got home, but since she hadn't had time to go over the homework assignments at headquarters, she had to take care of them when she got home. That would more than likely not only take the rest of the afternoon, but all evening too. She'd been able to take a quick glance at one of the assignments and noticed it was full of flaws, which led her to believe that going through the assignments would take longer than usual.
As she walked closer, she noticed Michelle and Carol. She rolled her eyes not really wanting to get anywhere near them. But then she thought that maybe those bimbos could actually cheer her up a little. It they ended up talking about Jack, she could always walk into view at the right moment, make a few remarks and shut them up. Deciding to go with that plan, she walked as close as she could get to them, while still staying in hiding.
"So, is Brad off flying again?" Carol nodded.
"Yeah, he'll be away for the rest of the week. How's Stan?" Michelle shook her head.
"Who cares. As long as he's not near me, I'm happy. But you know who I would love to have near me?"
"Who?"
"Jack Bristow." The women shared a laugh and Irina rolled her eyes at them.
"Oh yes, who wouldn't want him nearby. That muscular body of his drives me crazy."
"Yeah, me too." Irina couldn't help but shake her head at them. "And you know what?"
"No, tell me." Michelle licked her lips.
"He wants me." Irina had to put a hand over her mouth so they wouldn't hear her laughing. Carol grinned.
"He does?"
"Oh yes absolutely. It's all in his body language. I can tell he wants to run his hands allover me. He wants me badly." Irina's body was shaking with laughter. It had definitely been a good idea to hide and listen in on their conversation.
"Oh you're so lucky."
"Yes, I know."
"So, when do you think he'll make his move?" Michelle shrugged.
"I can't tell for sure, but it'll happen soon. Very soon."
"I guess he has to get rid of Irina first. That woman really clings to him way too much. No wonder he wants you. I never did understand what he saw in her in the first place. She obviously must have gotten her claws into him somehow. Jack's a smart man. I can't believe he would voluntarily want to be with her."
"Well, obviously she must have worked as a whore or something." Irina was about to make her presence known, but froze when she heard what Michelle said.
"You think?"
"Oh yes, it makes perfect sense. Why else would he be with her. Jack's a gentleman, and he would be with a woman of class, which Irina doesn't have. She's obviously tricked him in some kind of way to be with her."
"But don't they have two daughters, who are much older than the triplets?"
"I don't for one second believe that they're Jack's. She probably got pregnant by some client, and couldn't afford to get rid of them. I'm not even sure that the triplets are Jack's."
"But they look like him. Well, Ethan does and Caitie does too."
"Well then that would be the part where Irina tricked him. She probably had a hard time making ends meet, and Jack slept with her to give her money. She saw her way out of the gutter, got pregnant on purpose, and forced him to stay with her. Jack's too much of a gentleman to turn her down and to run out of his responsibility."
"But haven't they been married for about forty years or something like that?"
"I don't believe that either. I think it's just a story to make up for Irina's past. I doubt Jack wants people to know that he's married to a whore. So, they came up with a cover story where they pretend to have been married for that long, and he got Irina's daughters to call him dad." Carol shrugged.
"I guess that makes sense."
"Oh it makes perfect sense. I'm telling you that Irina worked as a whore when she met Jack."
"Poor Jack."
"Yes absolutely. That's why he wants me so badly. He wants away from that horrible wife of his and be with a real woman." They laughed and Michelle took Carol by the hands. "Come on. Let's get a cup of coffee from the vending machine, and we can talk about Jack some more." They left laughing.
Irina waited until they were completely gone to come out from her hiding. She wiped a tear from her eyes and sighed. Hiding out hadn't turned out to be the best idea after all. She stood gathering herself and a few seconds later Carrie arrived.
"Hi Irina." Irina turned and smiled at Carrie.
"Hi Carrie." She eyed Irina a little sensing that something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Irina shook her head.
"Oh it's nothing. My students were just really horrible today. Very incompetent. I had to explain the same things to them over and over again, and still they didn't understand. Then when I thought I'd have time to look through their assignments, Chase gave me some other work to do. She put a lot of pressure on me, and I didn't get time to look through the assignments. I have to do that when I get home, which will more than likely take the rest of the afternoon and evening. I had hoped to spend time with the triplets before Jack got home, but I doubt that'll happen. I'm just exhausted and have a bit of a headache." She didn't really want to tell Carrie what she'd just heard. Not that Carrie wouldn't be good to talk to, but she just didn't feel like talking about it at the moment. It was a bit too painful. Carrie nodded.
"Okay. I have some aspirins, if you want some." She smiled at Carrie.
"Thank you, but it's not that bad now. If it gets worse, I'll take some when I get home." Carrie nodded and spotted Mitchell and Ethan running towards them.
"Here come our boys." Irina turned and smiled when she saw Ethan.
"Hi mommy." He hugged her and Irina hugged him tightly, holding on to him for a few seconds more than usual. She gave him a kiss on the head.
"Hi sweetheart. Did you boys have a good practice?"
"Yes, we did."
"We're really looking forward to the upcoming game, aunt Irina." Irina smiled at Mitchell.
"That's good to hear. We're all looking forward to seeing you play." She looked back at Ethan. "We should get home. I have a lot of work to do, and we need to pick up your sisters on the way." He nodded.
"Okay mommy." He looked at Carrie and Mitchell. "Bye Mitchell, bye aunt Carrie." Mitchell waved.
"Bye Ethan. See you at work tomorrow, Irina." Irina smiled back at Carrie.
"Yes, see you tomorrow. Bye Mitchell."
"Bye."
When Irina and the triplets came home they all sat down at the table together. The triplets started on their homework, and Irina helped when they needed help while she also went through the assignments. When the triplets were done with their homework, they went upstairs so Irina could work in peace. It hadn't only been one assignment that had been full of flaws. They'd all been like that, and she was getting more and more tired and frustrated with every assignment she went through. Her headache was getting worse too. She knew Jack wouldn't be home until dinner time, so she had that to take care of too. When she started on dinner, she was only half through with the assignments.
Just before Jack walked in the front door, he smiled to himself. He was looking forward to continuing their little game from work this morning. When he walked inside he could smell dinner, and walked straight to the kitchen. He was happy to see that the triplets weren't there. That would make him able to carry out his plan sooner.
She hadn't noticed him walk into the kitchen, and therefore didn't notice his face shift from a grin to one of guilt. He on the other hand didn't know that she'd just spent the last ten minutes swearing in Russian.
"Irina." Surprised by the hesitation in his voice, and that he was home, she turned around to see him standing there with a huge bucket of flowers in his hand and a guilty expression on his face. She smiled at him.
"Hi, your home." She wanted nothing more than to just be held by him, and was just about to throw her arms around him when he shook his head. She was confused by his actions and still didn't understand the expression on his face. "Jack, what's wrong?"
"Uh, I did something today that I shouldn't have."
"Okay. What did you do?"
"Before I tell you, I want you to know how sorry I am. I didn't mean for it to happen. It sort of just did." She looked at him more confused. "There's no excuse for what I did, but I bought these for you." He handed her the flowers. "I know it's pathetic really for me to buy these for you, but it was all I could think of at the moment. Whatever I have to do to make it up to you, I'll do it." She nodded.
"Whatever you've done, I'm sure it's not that bad."
"No, it's bad." She got more and more confused.
"Sweetheart, you can tell me anything. Just tell me, and we'll move on from there." He nodded.
"I…I…." He shook his head and she looked at him confused and a little concerned.
"Jack?" He looked at her briefly but then looked down.
"I…I hit on another woman." He looked up after a few seconds, but the grin on his face quickly vanished when he saw the complete confused look on Irina's face. He got a little concerned and took her by the hand. "I'm talking about you. Remember this morning at APO before you left? We were pretending that we just met." She closed her eyes, nodding and ran a hand through her hair.
"Yes, I remember." He put his hands on her upper arms.
"You didn't actually think I was serious, did you?" She smiled at him.
"No, of course not. It's just that I've had an exhausting day, and I'm really tired now and on top of that I have a terrible headache." He pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back tightly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." She was still hugging him tightly and he wasn't convinced.
"Somehow I doubt it. There's more to this than just exhaustion." He kept her in his arms but looked at her now. "What's wrong?"
"Incompetent students and Chase. The students were hopeless, and after class, when I thought I would have time to go over their assignments, Chase gave me some work that I had to work on faster than usual. That just tired me out. I'd hoped to finish with the assignments before picking up the kids, but I never got a chance. I've spent all the time at home looking through the assignments, and will be doing that for the rest of the evening too. My students did just as horrible on the assignments as they did in class." He eyed her a little.
"There's something else. What is it?" She gave him a small smile and shook her head a little.
"I'll tell you later. Dinner is almost ready."
"Okay. But you'll tell me later." She nodded.
"Yes, I promise." He nodded and kissed her. She kissed him back eagerly and they stood kissing for a couple of minutes.
They were still kissing when Maddie came down.
"Mommy, is dinner ready soon? Hi daddy." Jack and Irina kept looking at each other and kissing.
"Hi sweetheart."
"Yes, dinner will be ready soon. We'll call you." Maddie nodded.
"Okay." She then left and they were still kissing. A few seconds later they broke for air again and Jack shook his head a little, laughing slightly.
"We're terrible parents. We can't even keep our hands off each other long enough to look at our daughter, when she comes and asks us something. And I should've gone upstairs and said hi." She shook her head laughing a little.
"Jack, you only got home a few minutes ago. And because I didn't pick up on the game from this morning, you were hearing about why I didn't." She gave him a kiss. "It didn't sound like Maddie was upset, and I'm sure she doesn't mind seeing her parents kissing. But why don't you go upstairs and spend time with them until dinner." She kissed him again.
"But what about dinner and the table?"
"I'll set the table and dinner is under control. I'll call when it's done." He gave her a quick kiss.
"Okay, if you say so." He smiled and headed upstairs.
He found the triplets in their playroom. He stood there just watching them for awhile until Caitie noticed him.
"Hi daddy." Ethan and Maddie looked up as well and smiled.
"Hi kids." He walked around giving them all a kiss and a hug before joining them on the floor. "I'm sorry I didn't come up here sooner, and Maddie I'm sorry that mommy and I didn't really pay attention to you downstairs a little while ago." They all smiled at him.
"You did pay attention to me, daddy." He smiled back.
"And it's okay, you didn't come here sooner. Maddie told us that you and mommy were kissing."
"We like to see you and mommy kissing." They grinned and Jack smiled a little shyly.
"Yeah?"
"Yes, because it means that you and mommy are in love. Not all parents are like that."
"Jeff's parents are not like you and mommy."
"No, they fight a lot." Jack looked around at them.
"Do they fight when you're at their place?" Caitie shrugged.
"Sometimes. Other times they don't talk at all."
"And sometimes they don't talk much to Jeff either." Jack put an arm around Ethan and hugged him.
"I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry for Jeff's sake." He motioned for Caitie and Maddie to come closer too, and when they did he hugged them too. "I love you. Very much." They smiled at him.
"We know, daddy."
"We love you too."
"Very much." They smiled at each other and hugged again. Seconds later they heard Irina calling that dinner was ready.
"Let's go."
Jack went to the bedroom to remove his tie and jacket while the triplets washed up. They met up in the hall and went downstairs together. The triplets walked over to their mother and hugged her.
"We love you, mommy."
"Very much." She smiled back at them.
"I love you too."
"We know."
They smiled at each other and the triplets walked over to sit at the table. Irina looked back at Jack who smiled at her. He then put his arm around her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her soundly on the lips. The triplets giggled and Irina looked from Jack to them and back to Jack again. He shrugged at her and when she wasn't looking he winked at the triplets.
After dinner Irina went back to looking over the assignments while Jack did the dishes. After he and the triplets played a cardboard game, while Irina was still busy with the assignments. When it was bedtime for the triplets Jack and Irina tugged them in together, and then Irina went back to the assignments. Two hours after that she came into the living room. Jack looked up at her from his book.
"All done?" She sighed deeply and ran her hands over her face.
"Yeah, finally."
"Good. Now take off your clothes and bra." She looked at him and let out a small laugh.
"Sweetheart, I'd love too, but I'm too tired tonight. I'm sorry." He shook his head laughing a little.
"No that's not what I meant. Well, it's not that I don't want to." She smiled back at him. He put the book on the table and picked up a bottle of massage oil. "I just thought you could use a massage." She smiled lovingly at him.
"A message sounds wonderful. Thank you." He nodded and she stripped out of her clothes and bra.
After twenty minutes of silence with Irina enjoying her massage, Jack broke the silence.
"So are you ready to tell me what else has been bothering you?" She sighed and nodded.
"It was something Blondie and one of the bimbos said." Jack nodded.
"Okay. So I know that you're referring to Michelle, and since you picked Ethan up from soccer practice, I'm assuming that the bimbo was Carol."
"Yeah, those are the ones."
"So, what happened?"
"Well, after an exhausting day at headquarters, I actually thought those bimbos could cheer me up. So when I saw them I decided to stay in hiding and listen in on their conversation. I thought that maybe they would talk about you, and if they did, I would then walk out from my hiding and shut them up." Jack smiled.
"I can see how that would cheer you up." She let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, exactly."
"But given your mood, I have a feeling that they were far from cheering you up."
"Yeah." Moments of silence went by without Irina saying anything.
"Irina, what did they say that made you so tense?" She took a couple of deep breaths.
"Well, they did start out by talking about your muscular body and how much they wanted to be near you. Then Michelle went on to say that your body language told her that you wanted her badly and wanted to run your hands allover her. She then told Carol that you would make your move soon." Jack shook his head.
"That's absurd. My body language doesn't say I want her. It never has and since she was rude to Caitie at parents' night in February, I've done what I can to avoid her."
"I know."
"So what happened after that? I can't believe that was what upset you."
"No that made me laugh."
"I bet."
"But then Carol went on to say that she didn't understand how I had gotten my claws into you, because as the smart man that you are, you wouldn't voluntarily want to be with me." She sighed and Jack caressed her back.
"And?"
"And then Michelle said that I must have been a whore in my past and tricked you to be with me." Jack stopped what he was doing.
"What?" Irina nodded.
"When Carol went on to say that Sydney and Nadia were our daughters, Michelle told her that she didn't believe that you were their father. She said that I probably got pregnant by a client and couldn't afford to get rid of them. She then said that you were probably not the father to the triplets either. But when Carol pointed out that Ethan looks a lot like you and that Caitie looks like you too, Michelle said that, that was probably how I tricked you into marrying me. That you slept with me out of pity and to give me money, but that I got pregnant on purpose, because I saw that as my way out of the gutter and that's how I forced you to be with me, because you were too much of a gentleman to run out on your responsibility." Jack shook his head frustrated.
"I don't believe it."
"Then when Carol pointed out that we'd been married for forty years, Michelle told her that she didn't believe that either. That it was probably a cover story, because you didn't want anyone to know that you married a whore. Also that Sydney and Nadia called you 'dad' to go along with the cover story, so that everyone would think that you're their father." She sighed. "Yeah, Michelle did a pretty good job at convincing Carol that I had worked as a whore prior to meeting you, and that you now wanted her, because you wanted to be with a real woman, and get away from your horrible wife." He lay down next to her and gathered her in his arms.
"I thought you never paid any attention to what they were saying. Especially Michelle."
"It just brought back memories from….you know." She didn't have to say Kashmir. He knew that, that's what she meant.
"I know." He caressed her back. "But it's not true. It never was. You know that."
"But still memories are memories. And they hurt like hell." She snuggled closer into his embrace and he kissed her forehead.
"Don't pay any attention to what they're saying. To hell with what they think. They're just jealous of you." He kissed her forehead again. "I know it's hard considering what they said and given your past, but please forget what they said. They mean nothing and so do their opinions."
"I know, but it's just a little hard." He nodded and held her closer. They stayed like that for another thirty minutes. Jack then kissed her forehead again and looked at her.
"Let's go to bed. Sleep will do you good." She nodded.
"Yeah, I'm almost falling asleep right here on the floor."
They got up off the floor, and while Jack went to set the alarm and turn off the lights, Irina put her shirt and pants back on. She met up with him in the hall and hand in hand they walked upstairs to their bedroom. Once under the covers they lay facing each other. Jack picked up her hand and kissed it.
"You know what I'm going to do at work tomorrow?" She shook her head.
"No, what?" He smiled.
"I'm going to hit on my wife." That earned him a big smile from Irina. She leaned in and kissed him.
"I love you, Jack."
"I love you too, Irina." They kissed again and she snuggled closer to him, wrapping her arms around him and using his chest as her pillow. He wrapped his arms around her too, and within long they were both sound asleep.
TBC