A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! It was so much fun hearing from all of you who are enjoying this story so much, and also very encouraging – one reason I felt inspired to update again so quickly. Also, I've had a great day and just felt like posting a new chapter. This one isn't so exciting, but I think the next one will be! Just a hint, Sark returns to Sydney's life.

Thanks again for all the reviews, and please, I hate to beg, but keep them coming!!!

……………

After a fitful night, Sydney leapt out of bed at six thirty, barely making it to the bathroom before getting sick. She slumped against the side of the bathtub and hugged her knees to her chest. Why is this happening to me? Sydney felt tears burning in her eyes but she fought the urge to surrender to her emotions. Where the hell have I been? She felt another wave of nausea flooding over her and miserably leaned over the toilet again.

"Sydney?" Weiss' comforting voice called out from the front door. "You weren't answering the door, so I let myself in…" He was wandering through the house now and she could hear him approaching the bathroom. She glanced at the open door and wanted to close it to prevent him from seeing her in this pitiful state, but it was too late. "Sydney! Are you okay?" He dropped to his knees beside her and quickly pulled her hair back away from her face as she continued to vomit into the toilet.

When she finished she sat back on her heels and glanced up at him with dull eyes. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this…"

Weiss shook his head. "Don't even think about it, Syd. Can I get you anything?" He stroked her back softly.

Her stomach growled with hunger and a pang of desperate craving overwhelmed her. She gave Weiss a half-smile and nodded. "I would love some grapes!"

"Grapes?" Weiss frowned. "Really?"

She nodded eagerly. "And ice cream!" Her eyes widened excitedly. "Yes! Double fudge brownie with caramel sauce and whip cream and chocolate chips…"

"Syd, don't you think it'd be better to start the day off with some breakfast?" He helped her stand and held his arm around her waist, guiding her back to the bedroom. "Why don't you lay down and I'll bring you some bacon and eggs."

Sydney's face contorted and she clamped her hand over her mouth, once again feeling sick. "No bacon…"

Weiss noted her expression and helped her lie down. "Right, no bacon! How about some pancakes?"

Sydney frowned as a horrible comprehension hit her. "Weiss…"

"Yea?"

"I think I need a favor from you."

"Okay?" He sat on the edge of her bed.

"First I need you to promise not to tell anyone." Sydney told him, making eye contact so he would see how serious she was.

"I swear not to tell a soul!" Weiss assured her.

Sydney clenched her bottom lip between her teeth before answering. "I need you to go to the drugstore for me."

"Okay, what for?"

"A pregnancy test."

………………

"Well?" Weiss waited on alert as Sydney stepped out of the bathroom after taking the test he had brought back for her.

"I don't know yet!" Sydney told him. She held up the pregnancy test stick. "It takes three minutes."

"Right." Weiss nodded. "Well, what should we do until then?"

Sydney started to pace the length of the hallway.

"Okay, pacing is good." Weiss leaned against the wall and watched her nervously twist a strand of her long hair around a finger on her right hand while she waved the stick around in her left.

"Weiss I need to get my memories back!" Sydney panicked. "I'm standing in my hallway waiting for the results of a pregnancy test and I don't have a clue who I would call the father if it turns out positive!"

Weiss shrugged. "We could run a DNA test on the baby." He stopped himself. "I mean, not that there is a baby or anything…" He realized that Sydney had locked her eyes on the test stick and the terror he saw in them told him all he needed to know.

"Weiss…" Sydney started to tremble. "I'm pregnant."

………………

"I can't do this Weiss." Sydney had been crying steadily for almost a solid hour and this was the first time she had managed to form understandable words.

"Do what exactly, Syd?" Weiss asked.

"Have a baby!" Sydney exclaimed, throwing up her hands in the air. "I don't know who the father is! I can't have an anonymous baby!"

"Well, it won't be anonymous. It'll be your baby…" Weiss tried.

Sydney was silent for a minute, but her sobs finally began to subside. "I have to get my memories back."

"I know." Weiss nodded in understanding. "Is there anything I can do?"

Sydney shrugged. "I wouldn't know where to start. I know there are some experiments I can have done to my brain, but I also know how dangerous they can be. I'm not sure I want to take that risk."

"Sydney, you're not allowed to take that risk." Weiss insisted. "Your father would agree."

"Weiss, you can't tell him!" Sydney exclaimed suddenly. "You can't say a word to my father about this."

"He would want to know."

Sydney nodded. "I know, but I can't tell him. I can't tell anyone until I know more. Do you have any idea what the CIA would want to do to me if they found out I was pregnant and I didn't know who the father was? It would bring up too many questions about the past couple of years, which obviously I couldn't answer…they'd subject me to interrogations…"

"They wouldn't…" Weiss tried to argue.

"They would." Sydney sighed. "Weiss, I've been held by the CIA before. They are already suspicious about my disappearance. If they thought I had been involved with someone who could be a danger to them…I can't risk it." Her voice caught on more incoming sobs.

"Alright, we won't tell anyone. I promise." Weiss wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to soothe her. "But we have to do something."

"I know." Sydney agreed.

"Tell me what you want me to do."

"For now, I just need to keep going to work and try to figure out where the hell I've been." Sydney sighed. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me Weiss. It means a lot…" Her eyes watered. "Since I've been back I feel like everyone's sort of afraid of me. They all seem to be keeping their distance…but you've been a loyal friend."

"And I'll keep on being loyal." Weiss grinned. "You can always count on me."

………………

"And we have no idea what the Covenant's endgame is?" Sydney was trying to wrap her mind around the latest intel that the CIA had found on their new nemesis organization. Their knowledge of the Covenant was ridiculously limited. Their violence was getting worse and the CIA was getting no closer to discovering who they were.

Dixon shook his head. "No. But we do know who the team is they hired for these jobs…Simon Walker…point man on the Damascus armory job in '99…and the 2002 break-in at Vector. Cold-blooded contract guy; only uses other freelancers. This time his team included Javier Perez, former Lieutenant in Cuban Special Forces; munitions expert and tactical advisor to the group. Avery Russet, acquisitions – vehicles, equipment, weapons. Finally, Laszlo Bogdan, security…deceased as of twenty minutes ago."

Sydney let out a small gasp and glanced across the table to Lauren. The two women had visited Bogdan at the hospital only an hour ago.

Dixon continued. "We know there's another heist in the works; Mr. Walker will need a replacement." He turned to Sydney.

"You want me to take Bogdan's place on their team?" She asked knowingly.

"Walker's already been picked up on Echelon. We know he's in the market." Lauren piped in.

"It's deep cover. The risks are obvious, but this is an opportunity. The Covenant will take possession of whatever the team steals. If you can place a tracking device on that, we believe it will lead us to their center of operations. Walker's in Sevilla; you'll go in as a freelance security expert." He handed Sydney a file containing all her information for the ops. "Vaughn and Weiss, you're on backup. Lauren, I want you to go see Sloane, have him use his contacts. Find out what they're after." He glanced back at Sydney. "You leave in two hours."

……………….

"Sydney, I don't think you should go." Weiss confronted her as she packed her small bag for the trip to Sevilla.

"Weiss, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine." Sydney smiled at him and continued to pack without hesitation.

"Syd, I know you're capable of handling a lot of. You're tough and smart and very talented, but now you're also three months pregnant."

"You don't have to keep reminding me about it." Sydney finished packing and sat down on the bed. "I can handle this mission." She smiled casually. "Now, when I start to show my pregnancy, then I'm going to have problems."

Weiss nodded. "Yea, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes, which actually shouldn't be too long from now." He sighed. "On this mission, though, I just want you to remember that you're not alone. Vaughn and I will be with you the whole time and if you feel there's something you can't handle on your own, just let us know." He checked his watch. "It's time to go. We're meeting Vaughn at the plane."

"Alright, just let me grab my jacket." Sydney moved to pick up her suitcase but Weiss quickly stopped her.

"Let me carry that for you." He grinned. "I know you can take care of yourself just fine Sydney, but don't forget that there's more than just you now." He motioned towards her stomach and she placed her hand on it automatically.

"Yes, but that's why I'm lucky to have a friend like you." Sydney smiled and followed Weiss out to the car that was waiting for them.