Keeping The Faith

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias, nor am I in any way associated with any member of the crew or cast of the show, or rep of ABC.

WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED FOR EPISODE 2.5 "THE INDICATOR," TURN BACK NOW. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. You have been warned.

Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. However, there are certain comments in the reviews that I must address:

a) A question was asked about the spoilers in my story, and I'd just like to inform all of you, for future reference, that most of my spoiler information will not include fully detailed conversations. This dialogue is my own. All I am going on for this particular part of the story is that Jack is behind this whole spy school thing, and Sydney says some really cruel things to Vaughn about saying her father was the person who had the building blown up in Madagascar. Also, if you do not wish to know what happens in future episodes, no matter how minor the spoilers will be (and I will indicate if they are minor or major), I highly suggest that you don't read on. All chapters will not have spoilers, but most of them will, and that's why the warnings are there. When I do include real dialogue from the show I will be fully sure to let you know in my warning.

b) I would also like to clear up this whole thing about Crying Vaughn. I am fully aware, being a Vartan Ho (shout-out to that last reviewer!) and all, that it is not in Vaughn's 'character' to cry. However, other than the fact that we are not yet 100% familiar with Vaughn's character yet, I was not implying that he was actually crying. I said 'eyes filled with tears.' We've seen Vaughn tear up before (i.e. the train station scene in Almost Thirty Years), and I think that if Sydney said something harsh to him regarding his father, he wouldn't exactly be doing cartwheels around the warehouse. No matter how much we'd like to see that. We know that his father is a very sensitive subject for Vaughn, and I think that is someone said something like Sydney did, he would get very upset. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that there is a difference between crying and tearing up, and that this is my interpretation of what I would personally like to see happen. If you don't enjoy this fic, that's totally cool with me. You can feel free to get your jollies somewhere else.

She stepped outside the warehouse and took a deep breath of air. She put her hand against her forehead and ran it down her face. She couldn't believe it.

What can't you believe? she thought to herself. The lying jerk deserved it!

She let out a regretful sigh. It was a harsh accusation.

Well, he shouldn't have lied about Dad! she argued. She struggled with herself not to walk back into the warehouse and apologize to him. Don't turn back, damn it. Don't turn back!

She turned around and began walking. She halted to a stop when she saw him, sitting with his back to her, in a chair. She bit her lip and shook her head. She turned back again and jogged home.

He heard her shoes. He cocked his head the tiniest bit, waiting to see if she would come back. Then the sound of running thwarted his hopes.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Vaughn cursed to himself as he wondered what could have possessed Sydney to go off like that.

Well, it isn't really a convincing truth... he admitted. But she should know that I wouldn't lie to her...especially about something like this.

She trudged through the front door. That jog had done her good. She'd forgotten her troubles for the moment. After silently shutting the door, she turned and gasped.

"Francie!"

Francie raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Where'd you go, Syd? It's like, 1:30 in the morning."

Her conversation with Vaughn floated back to the top of her head. She licked her lips and looked at the ground. "I, uh..." her voice cracked.

Francie's dubious expression melted into a face of concern. She rushed over to Sydney and put her arm around her. "Oh, honey, what's the matter?" she asked, leading Sydney to the couch.

"Nothing, it's nothing..." Sydney lied, sniffling.

"Don't you lie to me, girl, I know you," Francie said, rubbing Sydney's shoulder. "Now, what's wrong?"

"Really, Francie, it's nothing," Sydney said again. "I just couldn't sleep, so I took a little run."

"Well, then, why do you look like you're about to burst into tears?"

Sydney laughed. "I don't know," she replied. "I don't know."

"Okay...are you sure everything's okay?" Francie asked skeptically.

Sydney nodded. "Oh, yeah, everything's fine. I'm sorry I woke you up."

Francie waved her hand. "Oh, that's alright, I probably would have woken up anyway."

Sydney smiled. They both stood up and hugged.

"Night, Syd," Francie whispered.

"Night," Sydney replied, releasing her. Francie walked back to her room as Sydney switched off the lights and went to her own room.

He walked into his house, not bothering to be quiet. He slammed his door shut, by force of habit, and locked it. He looked down and smiled a large smile. He got down on his knees.

"Hey, pup," he said playfully, rubbing his dog's ears. "What have you been up to, huh? Good dog."

He got up and walked to the kitchen, with Donovan following close behind. He quickly paused when he passed the picture on the mantle of his six-year old self and his father. Entering the kitchen, he poured water into a kettle and turned on the stove. He looked down at his dog, who was looking grimly at him.

"What?" Vaughn demanded. "I know I said I'd be back in twenty minutes, but something came up."

Donovan continued to stare.

"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that, you know I didn't do it on purpose." Vaughn rolled his eyes. He pulled open the cupboard and pulled out a box of biscuits. Donovan immediately stood on his hind legs, scratching at his owner, his tail wagging hard. Vaughn dropped his hand and Donovan greedily grabbed the biscuit out of Vaughn's hand.

"You're so selfish," Vaughn called after the dog as he happily ran into the other room. He sighed, thinking about Sydney. Could she be right? He knew that Jack was responsible for making children into spies and blowing up the building of course, but could she be right about his feelings? Was he upset with Jack because he had wanted revenge on Irina Derevko?

No, that's impossible. I'm upset because Jack Bristow didn't give his own daughter a chance to grow up to be what she wanted to be. I'm upset because Sydney did not choose to be a spy, she was generated to be one. I'm upset because Jack Bristow almost killed his daughter in the process of sabotaging his wife. Well, former wife. What he did was wrong. That's why I'm upset.

'My mother is a traitor of this country. She works for the enemy, and she cannot be trusted. I made that mistake. Twice. Against my father's advice. And she tried to kill me. Both of us. Or maybe that's why you're upset. My father took Irina Derevko away before you could get your revenge on her for killing your father.'

That's why she had said. And it was like a knife to the chest. Why couldn't Sydney see that he was just trying to help her save herself from excess pain in the heart? Was she really that blind? The kettle whistled, snapping Vaughn out of his thoughts. He switched off the stove and made himself a cup of coffee. He took the cup and walked into the living room. He lay down on the couch and turned on the TV, surfing the channels. Donovan walked over and jumped onto the couch with him. The dog licked his face, and Vaughn laughed, Donovan away. Donovan stopped and settled down next to Vaughn, resting his head on his ribs. After a few moments, both of them fell asleep. And he hadn't even drunk his coffee.