Two of the guards stationed outside of the cottage escorted Sydney back to the house while the other remained to watch over Vaughn. She could smell cooking odors wafting throughout the house once she stepped inside and realized that she was pretty ravenous herself.

But first things first. Sydney came to a stop outside of the library. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the closed door.

"Yes?" She heard Irina call from within.

Sydney inched open the heavy walnut door. "Excuse me, may I come in?" She stuck her head in through the crack.

Irina was sitting at the desk, reminiscing through Sydney's sixth-grade photo album and didn't bother to hide it. "Of course." She stood up from her chair as Sydney came in and closed the door behind her. "You have been to see your comrade?"

"Yes." Sydney replied, wincing inwardly at Irina's obvious attempt to display her Russian origins. "And I have an answer for you."

"I wasn't expecting one until we met for dinner." Her mother said placidly.

"I know, but like you said earlier, there's no point in dragging it out." Sydney paused for dramatic effect. "I've decided to accept your offer. I will stay here and work with you."

Irina's face broke out into a delighted smile. "Oh, Sydney, I am so pleased!" She started towards her daughter but then hung back, realizing that she had to take it slow with Sydney. Her daughter held on to her grudges for dear life and Irina knew it would take some time to break down her defenses to the point where she would accept her mother back into her life.

"I do have one stipulation, however." Sydney went on. "It concerns the man who was with me at the warehouse." She gave her mother an anxious look. "Can I tell you about him? About what he means to me?" Sydney's bottom lip quivered quite convincingly.

Irina tried not to look thrilled that Sydney was willing to share a piece of her life with her. "I will listen to whatever you want to tell me, Sydney." She said, making her voice deliberately neutral.

"Well, the first thing I should do is tell you who he is." She began. "His name is Michael Vaughn and he is with the CIA."

"As Sergei suspected." Irina interjected.

"Yes." Sydney nodded. "He is--I mean, was--my handler."

Her mother gave her a look of surprise. "Your handler? That surprises me, Sydney. I did not think handlers went out into the field with their agents."

"Well, I'd say most of them probably don't." She admitted.

"But Mr. Vaughn is different?" Irina said perceptively.

Sydney's face visibly softened. "He's not like anyone I've ever known before." She said quietly. "He's put himself on the line for me more than once and he's gotten in trouble for it as well."

"Obviously he believes you are worth the hassle." Irina could see the subtle changes in her daughter's demeanor as she spoke about the man. It was clearly evident how she felt about him.

"Yes." Sydney nodded, a smile playing about her lips.

Irina noted the blissfully happy look on Sydney's face and it touched a part of her she had thought was buried too deep to reach. "I think I understand, Sydney."

"Do you?" Sydney gave her mother a questioning look.

"You're in love with him." It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes, I am." Her reply was clear and unwavering.

"And he loves you back?"

She nodded. "That's why I want to ask you for a favor."

Irina was well aware of the lengths to which a person like Sydney would go to save another person's life. Sydney was loyal beyond question and faithful without a doubt and Irina knew she would say or do anything to spare another from certain pain and suffering. But in this instance, Irina sensed that this was not a trick. Sydney was truly speaking from her heart because she deeply loved this man.

"What is it you want?"

"I need to know what you're planning to do with him."

Irina saw no point in denying it. "Sydney, he was a security breach. We deal with intruders in only one way."

"Well, I'm asking you to spare his life." Sydney met her mother's gaze. "For me."

Irina arched one eyebrow. "You are asking me to trust a man I know nothing about?"

"He's no threat to you, Mom." Sydney played it as if the word just slipped out, but it was calculatingly deliberate. "All I ask is that you extend the same offer to him that you did to me."

Her mother gave her a faintly suspicious look. "Why would an agent of the U.S. government want to turn against his own country?"

"You could ask me the same question." She countered.

"You and I have familial ties, Sydney." Irina replied coolly. "This man has no reason to turn traitor."

"Michael's presence here is unofficial and unsanctioned by the CIA." Sydney said quietly. "Once they find out what he's done, his career with them is over. He has nothing to go back to."

"Plus he does not want to leave you." Her mother added unnecessarily.

"No." She admitted. "Mom, I thought Michael had died in the warehouse and that nearly killed me because I thought I would never get the chance to tell him how I felt about him."

"Now we have a second chance and we don't want to waste it." Sydney glanced at her mother to see if she was buying her story. Not that it wasn't the truth, but it would help if Irina felt sorry for the two star-crossed lovers. "We never said anything to each other before about how we felt because we both knew it would be an impossible situation. It was hard enough trying to keep our business meetings a secret, but if we added clandestine romantic trysts into the mix, it just would have been too risky."

"But if we stayed here with you, we could have the life we want." Sydney gave her mother a pleading look. "Michael and I could be together and we wouldn't have to be afraid of the wrong people finding out." 

"So that's your real reason for agreeing to work with me?" Irina felt a modicum of hurt that she had not even been a consideration in Sydney's decision.

"I know that's not what you want to hear, but you can't expect me to welcome you back into my life as if you'd never left." Sydney was careful not to sound accusing or embittered. "A lot of resentment has been built up over the years and it's going to take some time to break down that wall."

"I suppose you're right." Irina conceded. "About your Michael. He has been trained in the field?"

"He doesn't have as much as experience as I do, but we have worked together in the past and he always watches my back." Sydney said truthfully. "You know I can't do everything myself, Mom. There are going to be times when I need a partner and I trust Michael implicitly."

Irina looked thoughtful as she considered Sydney's request. "I would have to talk to Mr. Vaughn before I would allow him to join the organization." She finally decided. "For now, we will let him recover from his experience at the warehouse and then we will take it from there."

Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mom." She said, feeling something almost akin to warmth for Irina. "Since you are going to let him stay, would you allow him to be moved into the house?"

"I--yes, of course." Irina capitulated with only a slight hesitation. "I will have one of the maids prepare a room."

"I would appreciate that." Sydney smiled. "He's still feeling quite weak and I would like to be nearby to take care of him."

"As you wish, Sydney." Irina said quietly. "Now why don't you go wash for dinner and I will have Mr. Vaughn brought up from the guest cottage, all right?"

"Okay. Thank you." She gave her mother a nod and left the room.

Irina crossed the room over to the phone, but before she could press a button, her son ducked his head in through the open door.

"Mother, I just saw Sydney leaving." Sark stepped into the library. "Has she given you her answer?"

"Yes." She put on a big smile for her son. "Sydney has agreed to join us."

Sark kept his face determinedly bland. He was not happy to hear that news, if only because of how it would affect him. "That's wonderful." He said, putting on what he hoped was a believably enthusiastic smile.

"Yes, it is." Irina said happily. "Sergei, I was just about to call you. I want you to have someone remove the lock from Sydney's bedroom door."

He nodded. "It will be done before she retires for the evening."

Irina smiled approvingly. "Next, I want Sydney's friend to be moved from the guest cottage to the suite at the end of the hall from you."

"What?" Sark said sharply. "I thought we were going to get rid of him."

"No." Irina said firmly. "It turns out that your sister cares a great deal for this man and I will do nothing to jeopardize her happiness."

"So you're letting him move into the house?" Sark gave his mother an incredulous look. "How do you know we can trust him?"

"We don't, so we must let him prove himself." His mother replied. "You know the cottage is not wired for video or sound, Sergei. It is much more advantageous for us that he be allowed every amenity we can offer."

A ghost of a smirk appeared at his lips. "So you don't trust her as much as you appear to, do you?"

"Trust must be earned, Sergei." Irina said bluntly, not rising to his bait. "I will give Sydney and her friend every opportunity to display their allegiance to us, but if betrayal is what is in their hearts, then they will both be dealt with accordingly."

"Including Sydney?"

"Including Sydney."

To be continued…

Author's Note: You might be noticing that the action is slowing down.  As I said in my new summary line, it won't be easy for Sydney and Vaughn to get away from Irina and what I'm planning for the next few chapters is a mix of drama and romance rather than a quick action-packed escape leading to everyone safe and sound back home.  I hope you stick with me and let me know how I'm doing because your feedback is very important to me!

P.S. to Corinne: Somehow I knew your S/V shipperness would pick out Vaughn in his underwear from Chapter 5! (grin)  Seriously, I hope you don't feel as if you have to always mention something specific in your reviews.  I like hearing if something strikes a chord, but I'm not expecting you to take notes! (still grinning) 

And as far as this turning into an epic saga, yeah, it's looking as if I won't make my Season 2 premiere conclusion date.  I just have a lot of ideas and tying it all together takes time.  Oh, well, if everyone is still enjoying it by the end, that'll be enough for me.

See ya later!