SofiaBlackBristow: Thank you so much for saying that *blush* - you're much too kind. :-) I'm glad that you love and think it's sweet that Jack and Irina have five children.
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Chapter 25
After Jack left, Sydney and Nadia did their best in comforting their mother, trying to reassure her that their father just needed to cool off, before he'd listen. When Sergei came back he explained what had happened with Jack, and that he'd just left. After spending the next two hours waiting for him to come back they all decided to go to bed, being exhausted from the day's events.
The next morning Irina woke up. She hadn't bothered with setting the alarm clock, because the triplets usually came into her room when they woke up, waking her. They always woke up early, and then slept with her for a few more hours. Exhausted, she looked over at her alarm clock through almost closed eyes, and was surprised to see that it was just after 9.00 a.m. She hadn't heard them come in. She turned back on her back with her eyes closed.
"You were sure quiet when you came in here this morning." When the triplets didn't respond, she touched the space next to her with her arm. Empty. She opened her eyes fully and looked at the space in the bed next to her. When she couldn't see them either, she looked around in her room. Nothing. She got out of bed, and put on a robe. She wanted to see where they were, but also thought it'd be best to get up anyway. She went to their bedroom, but they weren't there either. She went to feel one of the beds. It was cold. Next she checked their playroom. Also empty. Now she was getting a little worried. She went to Sergei's room and woke him up. "Sergei, have you seen the triplets?"
He was still tired, and only opened his eyes a little.
"No, I haven't. You just woke me, and they haven't been in here. If they had, believe me I'd know. Why?"
"Well, they didn't come into my bedroom, and they're not in their bedroom or the playroom. I'll just go look downstairs." Sergei just made a sound, and went back to sleep. "It's after 9.00. You should probably get up." All she got from him was another sound. She laughed a little.
She went downstairs and checked all the rooms. When she didn't find them in any of them, she started to panic. She opened the doors to the garden, but couldn't spot them anywhere. She couldn't spot them from the front door either, when she opened that one. She ran upstairs, and went to Jack's room. She thought they might've gone into his room. After having knocked a little without getting a respond, she opened the door, but there was no sign of Jack. The bed hadn't even been slept in. Now she panicked even more. She went to Sydney and Vaughn's room without knocking, and when she couldn't find them there, she went across the hall into Nadia and Eric's room. Nothing. She woke up Nadia.
"Sweetheart, have you seen your father or the triplets?" Both Nadia and Eric woke up, still sleepy.
"No, I haven't. Why?"
"I can't find them anywhere." She left their room, and went back across the hall to ask Sydney the same thing.
Nadia and Eric looked at each other, both a little puzzled. By the sound of Irina's voice, they thought it'd be best to get up. After having put their robes on they met Sydney and Vaughn in the hall, and saw that their mother was coming out of Sergei's room, heading downstairs quickly. They all stared at each other, and when Sergei came out of his room just as confused as they were, they all headed downstairs. They found Irina down in the hall, having just come from the direction of the kitchen.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"Your father is gone, and so are the triplets. He hasn't slept in his bed, and it's been a while since the triplets slept in theirs. I've looked everywhere in the house, and they're not here. I can't see them outside either."
"I'm sure they're around here somewhere."
"Are you sure about that, Nadia? Your father was furious when he left here last night. Who's to say he didn't come back here last night, taking the triplets with him? He could've taken them away from your mother to punish her." Sergei was a little angry, and worried about the triplets. Both Sydney and Nadia got mad at him.
"No, he would never do that, and don't you even think that. He might've thought once that mom was capable of putting a hit out on me, but he realized he was wrong, and he hasn't doubted her love for me or Nadia since. He wouldn't use us against her to hurt her. You might not like our father much at the moment, but don't you dare question his love for his children."
"He also knows how much we love mom, and yesterday he saw how much the triplets love her. He wouldn't take her children away from her." Sergei received angry looks from both of them.
"Well, how else do you explain them not being here?"
"I don't know, but why don't we all just look for them again? We'll search the house one more time, and take a thorough look outside."
"Nadia and I will look outside. Sergei you can help. The rest of you can look in here again." Nadia and Eric went to look outside, and Sydney and Vaughn started to look around inside. Sergei gave Irina a quick hug before heading outside to look and Irina started to look around inside again. After a while they all met up the living area near the front door. "Well, we looked and there's no sign of them outside."
"We can't find them in here either."
"Then he's obviously taken them."
"No, he hasn't. All his luggage is still here, and mom said that nothing was missing from their bedroom or their playroom. There's got to be an explanation." Just then the front door opened and the triplets came running inside. Irina went out to them immediately, hugging them tightly.
"Where have you been?" The triplets smiled broadly at her.
"We went to the playground with daddy."
"It was great, mommy. We were there really early, and had the entire playground to ourselves."
"And now we're going to help daddy make breakfast for everyone. Right, daddy." Irina looked up at Jack, who was carrying a big bag, stuffed with groceries. He was looking down on the triplets smiling.
"Right. And helping also means you each carry something to the kitchen." He took out a bag of bacon from his bag. "This is for you." Caitie took it and headed for the kitchen. "And this is for you." Maddie got to carry a bag with mushrooms, and headed to the kitchen. "And you get to carry this." He gave his son a bag of tomatoes, and then he headed for the kitchen. Jack stood back smiling in the direction the triplets went, and after a few seconds, he went over to Nadia and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, sweetheart." He did the same with Sydney, and then he too headed for the kitchen. Irina snapped out of her shock, and got angry.
"Jack, don't you ever pull a stunt like that again. Do you hear me? Not ever." She was ready for a fight, almost wanting one. But Jack just turned around slowly and spoke to her calmly.
"They're my children too, Irina. When I left here last night, I had every intention of going to town to get drunk, but when I got there I decided against it. Instead I walked around for a while, and on my way back here I found a playground. I spent a few hours there, before returning here. When I got back, I checked in on the triplets. I ended up staying there watching them sleep until they woke up in the morning. It was really early, so I asked if they wanted to go to the playground, which they did. We had planned on being back before any of you got up, and have breakfast ready, but we had so much fun that we lost track of time. I didn't have my phone with me, so we just decided to hurry up and get home as fast as we could. I'm sorry I made you all worry, but I will not apologize for spending time with my children." With that, he turned and walked to the kitchen. Everyone just looked in his direction, a little shocked. Except for Sydney, who was smiling.
"You used to do that with me." They all looked at Sydney, and she looked at her mother. "I haven't really thought about it before, but hearing it just now brought back the memories. It mostly happened when dad had returned home from his trips. I would sometimes be sleeping with you, on the night he returned. We would then sometimes get up really early the next morning and go to the playground. We'd have the entire place to ourselves, and I would have both of you to myself. I remember feeling like the luckiest kid in the world. When we got home, we'd make breakfast together, and we'd usually have a family day. It also happened sometimes, when you came home from a trip, and also on regular weekends." Irina smiled back at Sydney, remembering now those times too. Those had been special to her too, as they'd been to Sydney. She nodded at Sydney, and went over to hug her. Sydney then turned her attention to Nadia. "You want to help dad and our siblings with breakfast?" Nadia smiled, nodded and together with Sydney she went to the kitchen.
"I'll go and get Isabelle." Vaughn left, and Eric said he'd join the others in the kitchen. Irina and Sergei stood looking at each other for a moment. Irina shook her head.
"I really shouldn't have thought he'd taken them. I know better. He knows how much I love my children, and he would never hurt me by taking them away from me. I'm such an idiot. But for a brief moment I actually thought he'd done it." She put her face in her hands and shook her head again, letting go of her shock. Sergei walked over to her.
"He also thought you were capable of putting a hit out on Sydney. He should've known better too back then." Irina nodded a little. "At least you know now that both of you love your children more than anything, and that you know the other one wouldn't hurt them, or use them to hurt each other." Irina looked at him and gave him a small smile. "And I know now that Jack wouldn't hurt you by taking the children away from you. Maybe I jumped the gun a little by thinking he had taken them. I mean, he's CIA. He couldn't really get away with taking his own children and running, now that he'd gotten you a pardoning agreement. I just got scared." Irina stroked his cheek gently.
"You've been with them their whole lives. It's only natural that you love them so much, and got scared." He smiled at her.
"If you want, I don't have to go to Thailand. I can cancel, if you want me to stay here, and help you deal with Jack."
"No. Thank you, but no. You haven't been working since the triplets were born, and you've been looking forward to this, since you agreed to do it. It's sweet that you want to help with Jack and be here for me. But since I didn't tell Jack sooner about the triplets, I need to take the heat for it on my own. But I also have the girls. They'll look out for me, and be understanding about their father at the same time." He nodded and gave her a hug. "We should probably go to the kitchen, and check on breakfast.
Breakfast was well on the way when they got to the kitchen. The stove was big, so they were able to fry mushrooms and tomatoes, make pancakes using three pans, and make eggs at the same time. Irina enjoyed watching Jack with all five of their children, but he didn't make eye contact with her. She knew he was still angry with her, no matter how calm he'd been before walking to the kitchen.
When they sat down to eat breakfast, Jack and Irina ended up sitting across from each other, but he did everything he could to avoid looking her in the eyes. She looked over at him every chance she got, and he could feel her penetrating gaze. He had decided not to give her the time of day.
Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric looked around at each other. They could sense the tension between Jack and Irina. After too much silence, with only the triplets making a few comments Sydney finally spoke.
"So? What's on the agenda for today?" Irina took her eyes off of Jack, and turned her attention to Sydney.
"Not much really. Sergei is leaving 1.30 p.m. and before you arrived, I'd just imagined spending the day at home. But now that you're here, is there anything you'd like to do, after Sergei leaves?" They all looked around at each other. Except for Jack, who kept busy with eating his breakfast. Nadia shrugged.
"Not really. I guess we could go and see the city." Everyone nodded. "Would that be alright with you, dad?" Jack looked up at Nadia and gave her a small smile.
"Sure." He wasn't going to let his anger towards Irina get in the way of being nice to his children. He also knew that with the triplets around, he had to be polite towards Irina. Probably even smile a little.
"Okay then. Since everyone's onboard we can leave for the city when Sergei leaves." Everyone nodded at Irina, except for Jack, who once again returned to concentrate on his food.
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They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in the garden playing with the triplets. Sergei spent most of the time with them, while Jack sat back and enjoyed watching his children. He wasn't going to interfere with Sergei's time with the triplets, since he'd be out of town for a week, and since he was supposed to have spent yesterday alone with them and Irina. He could see how much they loved Sergei, and how much he loved them.
Sydney and Vaughn had gone inside to change Isabelle, Eric went to the bathroom, and Nadia walked around in the garden looking at the flowers, and also enjoying seeing her youngest siblings having fun. Irina walked outside and sat near Jack. He wasn't all that thrilled about it, she could tell.
"So, you're just not going to give me the time of day?" He didn't answer her, and Irina couldn't help but feel sad. "Jack, would you at least answer a simple question?" He still didn't answer her, so she decided just to talk to him, even if he didn't answer or look at her. "I am so sorry that I never told you about the triplets before. But I wanted to tell it to your face. I didn't think tha….." Jack stood up and walked to the triplets. He had no intention of listening to her. She wanted to call out to him, but knew that the triplets would hear her. She didn't want them to get in the middle of her situation with Jack. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, wondering if she'd ever get him to listen to her.
Nadia had seen the scene between her parents. She felt sad. If only her father would listen, but he was being too stubborn. She could understand how he felt, and also given their history. But still. If only he'd listen then maybe they could at least get along if nothing else. Eric walked over to her and could sense that she wasn't quite alright. He hugged from behind, and kissed her cheek.
"What's wrong?" She leaned into his embrace.
"Mom and dad. Well, mostly dad. He won't listen to her. I know he's every right to be upset, but he won't even speak to her. It's just so sad and frustrating to watch."
"He'll come around. I'm sure of it. He wouldn't have gone to all that trouble to get her a pardoning agreement, if he didn't care about her. Whether he cares about her more than just her being the mother of his children, I don't know. But he does care. He just needs time to cool off."
"I hope you're right." Eric gave her another kiss on the cheek, and then the triplets were running towards them.
"Uncle Sergei has to leave now, so are you two ready to leave too?"
"Yes, we are." Nadia smiled at her siblings, and Maddie and Ethan took her by the hand and walked with her to the house. Caitie took Eric by the hand and also walked to the house. Jack and Sergei stood back watching them, and then Jack started to walk to the house. Sergei watched as Jack walked right passed Irina without so much as looking at her. He shook his head frustrated at Jack.
Jack, Vaughn, and Eric loaded up Sergei's luggage into his car with the triplets watching, while Sydney and Nadia said goodbye to him.
"It's been great finally to meet you, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with you when I get back. And I apologize for this morning. I know now that your father wouldn't hurt your mother by taking her children away from her." He smiled sincerely at them. Sydney and Nadia looked at each other and knew that they couldn't really stay mad at him anymore. They returned his sincere smile.
"Apology accepted. We look forward to getting to know you better too." Nadia stepped forward and gave him a hug, and Sydney did the same after her.
"Bye, uncle Sergei. Have a great trip." He rolled his eyes at her.
"When you say it, it makes me feel so old." They all shared a laugh, and he moved on saying goodbye to Vaughn and Eric, who had joined them. He had one more bag that he brought down to the car himself. Jack was just finishing putting the last suitcase in, and the triplets had followed Vaughn and Eric a little while after they'd left the car. Jack reached out his hand to Sergei.
"Have a good trip." Sergei looked at him curiously. "Just because we argued last night, doesn't mean I can't be polite today. I have nothing against you, and I meant what I said last night. I really do appreciate you taking care of my children. Very much. You have a strong bond with them, and I'll never stand in the way of that." Jack gave him a sincere smile, and Sergei took his hand.
"I meant what I said last night too, Jack. Don't doubt Irina's feelings, and talk to her." Jack didn't display any emotion by Sergei's comment, and walked towards the house, while the triplets and Irina went to Sergei. He hugged the triplets and kissed them goodbye, telling them how much he'd miss them. He took Irina aside a little. "If you want me to stay, just say the word."
"Thank you, but no." He gave her a nod, and then they hugged goodbye. Sergei drove off, while everyone waved goodbye. The triplets ran up to the others, who'd been standing by the front door ready to leave, and Irina followed them.
"Daddy, you're riding in the car with us and mommy right?" Jack looked at his son. He didn't really want to ride in the same car with Irina, knowing he'd probably have to talk to her, and even more now that the triplets would be the only ones in the car with them. But he'd also expected it, and knew he wouldn't have to talk much to her about things he wasn't in the mood to discuss, with them there. He smiled at his son.
"Yes, I am." He looked around at everyone else. "Should we go?" Everyone nodded and they all headed to the cars.
On the way to the city, Jack talked with the triplets. Irina would make comments about the surroundings and he simply nodded. When they arrived at the parking lot, Jack couldn't get out of the car fast enough. He helped the triplets out with Irina and they were joined by the others.
Most of them had a lovely day. Jack still didn't pay any attention to Irina, only when he really had to. The triplets enjoyed their time out with their family, and Sydney and Nadia decided to enjoy the day too and not let their parents' situation bother them, even though it was hard. When they headed home they stopped at the grocery store to pick up things for dinner, and the car ride home for Jack and Irina was the same as before.
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When they were all preparing dinner Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, and Eric did the best they could to keep a conversation going, talking about every day stuff, and about the city. Jack joined in the conversation from time to time, helping with dinner, while also coloring with the triplets. The situation was the same throughout dinner, and the same after. Jack still didn't make eye contact with Irina. He tucked the triplets in again, and when they were asleep he joined the others downstairs in the living room. He didn't really participate in the conversation much, so after a while everyone didn't say anything. But after it had been quiet for a while Nadia decided to ask her mother something that she'd wanted to know since yesterday.
"Mom, are the triplets named after anyone?" Irina looked at Jack to see his reaction. She noticed he stiffened a little, and then she looked at Nadia. Both Sydney and Nadia had looked at their parents, and knew there must be something to their names. "Well, it's just that yesterday when they told dad their names, it looked like they sounded familiar to him." Irina looked at Jack again, but he just stared down into the coffee table. When he didn't say anything, Irina thought she might as well answer.
"Yes, they are, sweetheart. Your fath…" Jack stood up interrupting Irina from going on.
"I'm going to bed."
"What? Dad, you can't. Mom is just about to tell us how they got their names. Regardless of how upset you are, would you just please stay and listen to how they got their names? They're your children." Nadia couldn't believe how her father acted and neither could Sydney, who would've said something to him, if Nadia hadn't.
"I know, where they got their names from." He walked over and kissed both Sydney and Nadia goodnight, and said goodnight to Vaughn and Eric. He didn't bother saying goodnight to Irina, and just left the room. Sydney and Nadia shook their heads in disbelief, and they almost didn't want to say goodnight to their father. He was being too stubborn. Sydney turned her attention to her mother.
"I am so sorry about that. I can't believe he did that. I can to some degree understand that he's still angry, but he could at least talk to you. Or stay to hear about his own children, even if he knows." She shook her head again. Irina was hurt that Jack had left. She wanted to tell him how happy she was to give them those names. She thought at least that could be an icebreaker for them, but he had just left. She gave Sydney a nod and smiled at her. "So, tell us about their names." Irina smiled warmly.
"Maddie is named after Jack's mother, Caitie is named after his aunt, his mother's sister, and Ethan is named after his maternal grandfather." Sydney and Nadia's smiles grew wider, but they still couldn't believe that their father hadn't stayed to hear this. Irina continued. "You don't know this, but your grandfather was never home much. He often went to a bar to hang out with friends after a long day at work, and when your father was almost four years old, his father walked out on him and his mother." Sydney and Nadia looked at each other, and Vaughn and Eric looked at them too. Irina was a little curious of their looks. "You know about that?"
"Yes, sort of. Not that dad's father walked out on him, but that the only memories he has of him, is of him leaving." Irina couldn't believe what Sydney was telling her.
"Did your father tell you that? I mean, he's the only one who could tell you, but it doesn't really sound like something he would talk about?"
"Yes, he did tell us, but he wasn't really aware that he told us." Irina looked at them curiously. "We'll tell you about it later." Irina nodded.
"Okay. Well anyway, after his father left, his mother had a hard time making ends meet and raising a child alone, so her sister and father moved in with her. They all helped out with everything, and your father had a strong bond with all three of them. His grandfather became his father figure, teaching him a lot about life, and they loved each other so much. Unfortunately, he passed away when your father was only twelve. The loss of his grandfather made his relationship with his mother and aunt even stronger, even though it was as strong as it could possibly get. He loved them so much and they meant the world to him. If you had been a boy Sydney, we were going to name you Ethan." Sydney couldn't help but smile at that. "If we had any other daughters, we wanted to name them Madeleine and Caitlin. I thought I'd never have more girls or even children, because of the KGB, so I just played along with that idea. But I'm sure glad I did have more." Both Sydney and Nadia got a little teary eyed, and Vaughn and Eric smiled warmly at Irina.
"Did I ever meet our grandmother or dad's aunt? I don't remember."
"Yes, you did. Your grandmother passed away two months before we moved to LA, and your father's aunt passed away three months after we moved to LA. It was a hard time for your father, first losing his mother, then moving on top of that, and then losing his aunt. We visited them as often as we could when they were alive, and they came and visited us as often as they could. But unfortunately it wasn't quite as often as I wish it would've been. Both your grandmother and your father's aunt weren't feeling too well the last year of their lives, so they couldn't really visit that much, and your father was busy with his work. I wanted to honor the people, who had meant the world to your father, by naming the triplets after them. His mother and aunt meant a lot to me too, and since we'd already talked about giving those names to future children, it only seemed right to give those names to the triplets." Sydney and Nadia wiped their tears away. It had been quite emotional for them.
"So, if you had already thought about naming your second daughter Madeleine or Caitlin, why wasn't I given any of those names? Or didn't you have a chance to name me?" Nadia looked apologetically at her mother, not knowing if she'd offended her or said something she wasn't supposed to say. She was relieved when her mother smiled back at her.
"No, I named you. I gave you a name before they took you from me and I'm glad it wasn't changed. You're named after my mother." Nadia smiled broadly. "Not really knowing who your father was, I thought it'd be best to give you another name, and you looked like my mother when she was a baby." Sydney smiled too, and she and Nadia shared a look. They still wanted to know why their mother had thought Sloane was Nadia's father, but also knew that now was not the time to talk about it.
"So, I guess I'm the only child, who's not named after anyone in the family?"
"No, you actually got your name for two reasons. One of them being from a family member." Sydney looked at her mother curiously. "You're named after your aunt."
"You have another sister?"
"No, you're named after your father's sister."
"Dad doesn't have a sister."
"He did once." Everyone's eyes grew a bit wide. "I guess, I shouldn't really be the one to tell you this, but I will anyway. Your father had a sister, who died when she was nearly two years old. It was during the winter, and your father grew up near a lake. He'd gone down there with his sister and the neighbor, who told your grandmother, she'd watch them while she went to the store. When they were at the lake, a friend of the neighbor came down there, and she started talking to her friend, not paying any attention to your father or his sister. Your aunt walked out on the frozen lake, and your father tried to talk her out of it, but she ran too fast. He was about to go after her when the ice gave away under her. He ran back to the neighbor, who'd gone further away, and it took awhile for them to get back. When they did, they couldn't see your aunt anymore. The neighbor's friend had run home to call for help, but they arrived too late. She was too little to fight, and it didn't take her long to die. Your grandfather blamed your grandmother and your father for what happened. Their marriage was not the best at that time, but his daughter was his favorite child, so when she died, he just lost it, and walked out on his family two months later. When you were born, Sydney, we asked your grandmother if it'd be alright that we named you Sydney after her daughter, because both her and your father had loved her so much, and been devastated when she died. She was happy about that, and I think that only made her love you even more." Sydney and Nadia had cried even more after hearing that story. After a few minutes of silence, and after they'd dried their tears Sydney looked at her mother.
"You said there were two reasons for my name. What's the other?" Irina smiled at her, grinning a little.
"You were conceived in Sydney, Australia." Both Sydney's and Nadia's eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped. Eric burst out laughing, and Vaughn started out snickering a little before he too started laughing harder. "Your father and I thought it'd be a good way of honoring your aunt and the place you were conceived." Sydney closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Mom, I did not need to know about that." She turned her attention to Vaughn and Eric who were still laughing. "Would you two stop? It's not funny."
"Yes Syd, it is." They laughed a while longer, and Irina joined in a little seeing the looks on her daughters' faces. Nadia wasn't thrilled about hearing that either, even if it wasn't about her.
Outside the living room, Jack leaned against the wall. He hadn't gone to bed. He knew that she'd named the triplets after his mother, aunt, and grandfather, but he just couldn't bear to be there seeing her telling him in person. He couldn't believe that she'd been so unselfish, naming the triplets after members of his family, instead of giving them Russian names or some other names that was her choice. When she was Laura, she'd always cared so much about his mother and aunt, and wished that she could've met his grandfather. When he learned of her betrayal, he thought everything about her had been a lie, and it hurt him a great deal that she had only pretended to love his mother and aunt, when they had loved her so much. He felt she had used them. But knowing now that she'd named the triplets those names, he knew that she had really loved his family. He stood against the wall for a few more minutes, letting the tears fall freely from his eyes, before going to his bedroom unnoticed.
TBC