Their flight to Rome was scheduled for late the next evening. It wasn't an ideal situation but when they factored in the time differences, the length of the flight and the fact that Taipei to Rome wasn't exactly a popular tourist route, the only flight available was one that would have them arriving in Rome shortly after noon the next day.

Because they would be spending over eighteen hours on the plane and Irina did not want them tired and jet-lagged for their mission, she was reluctantly allowing them to spend the night and then go ahead with their assignment the next day. Irina was taking a risk giving them those extra hours; she would have preferred for them to do the job the minute they arrived in Rome, but she couldn't take a chance that their weary bodies and minds might lead to slip-ups, which could result in their being caught. Sydney and Vaughn were grateful for the extra time because it would give them a chance to put their own plans into motion.

They were going undercover as Amélie and François Chabert of Paris, France. They chose to pose as French tourists because they could converse fluently in the language and they both did credible enough accents (Vaughn sounded and spoke like a Frenchman as opposed to sounding like an American speaking French) that their nationalities would not be questioned. Irina had not wanted them to be American tourists because she didn't want too much attention to be drawn to their true identities. If someone was going to report a suspicious-looking couple to the authorities, they were going to report a suspicious-looking French couple, not a suspicious-looking American couple.

Irina's connections in Rome had already secured the use of the van, various explosives and the necessary equipment in order for them to get into the vault. If all went well, the only time-consuming activity would be locating the portrait and they already had the inventory number, thanks to some discreet computer-hacking. Once they found the painting, it would just be a matter of going out the same way they came in without getting caught.

Of course, Sydney and Vaughn weren't planning on actually going through with their act of thievery if they could help it. Their main objective was to escape from Irina, not pilfer works of art. It all depended on whether or not they could contact the right people.

Irina rode with them in the limo to the airport, giving them last-minute instructions. Sydney was unusually quiet, wondering to herself if this would be the last time she would see her mother. She was surprised at how much that thought dismayed her.

She wished she could tell Vaughn how she was feeling, but something inside of her stopped her every time she tried to introduce the subject into their conversation. Sydney didn't like keeping things from him--she hated it, really, because that was the one thing that had always set him apart from everyone else in her life--but she just didn't know if he would be able to comprehend how conflicted she was feeling. Would he be open-minded enough to understand that she could care for--maybe even love--her mother while still hating the things she had done?

"Sydney?" Irina's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She met her mother's gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, Sydney could see Vaughn looking at her, a concerned expression on his face.

"Here's your ring." Irina was holding a simple, highly polished gold band in the palm of her hand.

"My ring?" She repeated blankly, making no move to take it.

"Your wedding ring." Her mother gave her a strange look. "You and Michael are supposed to be married, remember?"

"Oh, right." Sydney felt a flush creep into her cheeks. Get a grip, Syd! It's not real. It's just cheap gold-plated metal. "Thank you." She unobtrusively slipped the ring onto her finger. She couldn't help but sneak a peek at Vaughn's hand to see if he was wearing his ring (he was). It looked the same as hers except a little wider and a little bolder. It looked good on him.

Sydney had hoped that Irina would drop them off at the curb and then go on her way, but no such luck. Airport security wasn't as tight in foreign countries as it was in the U.S. and so Irina waited while they checked in, went through the security checkpoint with them and then was able to make it as far as the waiting area to see them off. Sydney wondered to herself if her mother was babysitting them so closely because she was afraid they would bolt the minute they were out of her sight.

The three of them sat there in uncomfortable plastic seats, not speaking, as they waited for their flight to be called. Irina seemed down all of a sudden after being so animated during the drive over and Vaughn was anxious to get going. Sydney was just plain tense.

Finally, after what seemed an interminable wait (actually only half an hour), a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Attention passengers, Flight 809 from Taipei to Rome, Italy will be boarding in five minutes at Gate 25. At this time, we would like to board first-class and business-class passengers only." The woman announced in lightly accented English. She then went on to repeat the message in a number of different languages.

"Well, that's us." Vaughn practically leapt out of his chair. Irina stood up reluctantly and Sydney followed suit.

"So it is." Irina said. She went over to Vaughn and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Good luck in Rome, Michael. I know you will do everything in your power to ensure our success."

"Of course, Irina." He said, the picture of earnestness. "I'll also look out for Sydney just as I promised."

She smiled. "I know you will." She kissed him lightly on both cheeks, European-style. Off to the side, Sydney winced for him.

"Well, I'll go get in line and let you two say goodbye." Vaughn gave them a brief parting smile and then picked up his and Sydney's bags.

Irina turned to face her daughter. "So this is goodbye." She said, a wistful note in her voice. Her eyes were bright, but no tears fell from her eyes.

"It's only for a couple of days, Mom." Sydney reminded her, trying to remain unmoved.

"That doesn't matter." Irina shook her head. "I would still feel this way even if it was only for a couple of hours. I guess it all goes back so many years ago to the first time I had to say goodbye to you."

"I thought that would be the last time I ever saw you and I would never get to know the woman you would eventually grow up to be." Her mother suddenly folded her into a fierce embrace. "I am very proud of the person you've become, Sydney. You are strong and intelligent and determined and I wish I could take credit for any of it, but I know that would be foolish. You became who you are without any help from me and I will always regret that."

Sydney squeezed her eyes tight, willing herself not to cry. "Thank you, Mom." She uttered, her voice cracking.

Irina brushed a kiss against her cheek and Sydney felt a dampness on her face. As her mother let go of her, she saw Irina wipe away a tear. "I will expect to see you in Moscow in a few days." She said briskly, seemingly in control of her emotions once more.

"All right." Sydney nodded.

The loudspeaker suddenly crackled. "Attention passengers, we are now ready to board Flight 809 from Taipei to Rome, Italy at Gate 25. At this time, we would like to board our first-class and business-class passengers only."

"You'd better go." Irina said, her chin up and her posture erect. You would never know to look at her that a little part of her was dying inside at the thought of having to say goodbye to her daughter once again.

"Okay." Sydney said. She wanted to say something more, but at the same time, there was nothing more to say. In keeping with the spirit of their mission, all she could think of was "Ciao."

Her mother gave her a little smile. "Ciao."

Sydney left her mother and did not look back. Vaughn took her hand as she joined him.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a low voice.

"I will be." She let out a tremulous sigh. "I just didn't expect it to affect me so much."

Vaughn squeezed her hand comfortingly as the line moved forward.

Irina had sprung for business-class seats so they would at least be comfortable during the very long flight. They would have one stopover for refueling, but they would not be allowed to get off the plane. Irina was making sure that they would not be able to ditch her before they got to Rome.

About ninety minutes into the flight, the lights were dimmed in the cabin as everyone settled down to try and get some sleep. Judging by the number of people in the waiting area at the airport, the plane was probably only half-full and the business-class section had more empty seats than filled. Sydney and Vaughn were seated in the first row, but there was no one beside them or behind them, so they were able to talk in complete privacy as long as they kept their voices low.

Sydney had been pretty quiet ever since the plane took off and Vaughn let her be. Even though he was glad to finally be rid of Irina, he knew Sydney would have a harder time dealing with it. No matter how much she griped and groused about her mother, there was still a bond between them and he was astute enough to realize it. He wouldn't nag or criticize her for feeling the way she did; he would just be there for her if she wanted to talk about it.

"Michael?" Sydney spoke for the first time since leaving Taipei.

"Yes?" He turned his head to look at her.

She turned her body sideways in her seat. They had put their chairs into a reclining position in order to afford themselves a more comfortable sleeping arrangement, but they both knew that it was impossible to get a really good night's rest on an airplane.

"What's our game plan when we get to Rome?" She asked. Leaving her mother behind meant some of the feelings got left behind, too, and she was able to focus now on the matter at hand. "Do you want to try and call Devlin at the airport or do you want to wait until we get to the hotel?"

"Well, I'd like to get in touch with him as soon as we can, but I'm just not sure we should do it the moment we step off the plane."

"Are you still worried that Irina might have someone watching us?"

Vaughn hesitated. "I just think she's placing an awful lot of trust in us on our first mission."

Sydney was convinced that he was being nervous for nothing. "Michael, I'm her daughter!" She chided him. "If she can't trust me, who can she trust?"

"Are you conveniently forgetting that she can't trust you?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"But she doesn't know that!" She waved her hand in a blasé manner. "I believe she has complete faith in us that we'll do everything exactly as she planned and then meet her in Moscow two days from now." Sydney said with absolute conviction.

"Well, I wish I shared your positive attitude, but just to be on the safe side, I think we should wait until we get to the hotel." Vaughn replied warily. "There's just too many people inside an airport and I don't want to cause a scene. If Irina has someone there watching us and we do something not according to the plan, I don't think I want to know what they'd do to us."

"I suppose you're right." Sydney agreed. "At least the hotel room will be private."

"Oh, you just reminded me that I need to do something." Vaughn stood up and stepped into the aisle to open the overhead compartment. Sydney watched as he took out his black overnight bag and then closed the compartment again. When he sat back down, he proceeded to unzip his bag and take out a plastic-wrapped packet and a new leather wallet.

"Irina gave these to me in the car." He explained. "They're 'François Chabert's' phony ID and credit cards. I should put everything in the wallet now so that it'll all be there when we check in."

"Yeah, it's a dead giveaway that something's fishy if you carry your credit cards wrapped up in a plastic bag." Sydney deadpanned as Vaughn took everything out of the packet. "Oh, my God, she even gave you a photo of us to put in your wallet!" She picked up the photo to stare at it, knowing exactly when it had been shot. Irina had asked Sark to show her how to use her digital camera one evening and to test out her newly learned skills, she had snapped several photos of her and Vaughn. Now Sydney wondered if it had all been a set-up just to get their pictures taken.

"What's the big deal about that?"

"It's just so incredibly…anal that she would go into detail like that." She shook her head. "'François' isn't even real!"

"Yeah, but we are and if you're going for realism, it's normal to carry around photographs of your loved ones in your wallet." Vaughn looked amused. "It's a nice picture." He commented, looking over her shoulder. "But then you could never take a bad photo, dear." He added with a teasing grin.

"Could you sound more insincere with your flattery?" Sydney rolled her eyes at him, pretending to be affronted. "I, on the other hand, can say with complete and total honesty that you look incredibly handsome." She handed him the photo, planting a kiss on his cheek as she did so.

"And I believe you." Vaughn said with a straight face. He waited a beat and then looked at her sideways. "See, Syd, that's how you accept a compliment. You don't question it. You just take people at their word." A ghost of a smile played about his lips.

"Oh, please!" She groaned softly while he chuckled.

"Okay, all done." Vaughn's brand-new wallet lay full and stuffed on the tray table in front of them. He shoved the now-empty plastic bag into his overnight bag and when his hand came out, he placed what he was holding on the tray table next to the wallet. "Oh, before I forget, this is for you." Vaughn said offhandedly as he zipped up his bag and then stepped out into the aisle again to put it back into the overhead compartment.

Sydney became very still and her breath caught in her throat. She had to swallow several times before she could speak.

"What is that?"

To be continued…

Author's Note: Okay, come on, any guesses?  Actually, I don't think it's that difficult to figure out.

P.S. This is just the beginning of the fluff. Major fluff to come later.