Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews I received last chapter and for all
the chapters! I'm coming to the end with this story and it will be
completed after the next chapter. This is my longest chapter yet so I hope
you like it! As always, please review, especially if you'd like to see a
sequel!
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias are owned by ABC and all those that make them.
**Sydney POV**
The week began very slowly. Monday seemed to drag on forever as I was forced to sit around in boring meetings at both SD-6 and the CIA. My father and Vaughn still seemed skeptical at me, but I just acted normally and allowed them to judge for themselves. Sloane seemed normal at SD-6, so I'm hoping he doesn't suspect anything. Monday night I sat around and watched TV, Francie was occupied as usual with the restaurant and Will had a new girlfriend that seemed to keep him busy.
I was sitting at my couch enjoying Nick at Night when my phone rang, not just my normal phone or cell phone, but the one Andrew and I had as our private line. It made me happy to just see it ring.
"Hello?" I ask.
"Hello, love, how are you?" he asks me.
"Bored, waiting, sitting around," I reply.
"I know, it's rough, guess where I'm at right now?" he questions me.
"Hm.. I wish you were with me," I sadly reply.
I hear the doorbell ring and gasp over the phone.
"Are you.." I can only squeak out.
"Why don't you answer the door? It's rude to keep your guests waiting, isn't it?" he says over the phone.
"Alright," I say cautiously and walk over to the door and open it. There before me, Andrew stood with a dozen or so roses.
I hug him and quickly pull him inside.
"Is it safe for you to be here?" I ask him.
"Safe enough," he replies.
I stop a second, "I love you."
"Sydney, I love you more than humanly possible," he replies and we lean in and kiss. We pull apart and I realize my cell phone is still on.
"Oops, forgot about that," I reply and giggle.
"You want to sit down?" he asks.
"Lets, but first let me put these flowers in a vase," I answer.
I walk over to the kitchen and place them in a vase that Francie had. I knew she wouldn't mind. It would be weird without her around, to think in a week I'll disappear and she'll be heartbroken.
We walk into the family room and take a seat on the couch. We snuggle together and just stay quiet for a minute.
"Why'd you come?" I ask to break the silence.
"Well, my team is moving in on Wednesday, so we had to get prepped," he replies.
"Oh, okay," I say.
"Did, you, go to the doctor?" he asks very reluctantly. One thing I've learned about Andrew is that he gets straight to the point, and he was defiantly showing some resistance in asking that question.
"Not yet, that reminds me, I should make an appointment," I reply.
"Get it for Wednesday between 9-12," he tells me.
"Oh, okay, good idea, that way I don't have to be at work," I say.
"Exactly, on Thursday, I'll meet you at a location that I will leave in an envelope that will be delivered here if all goes well on Wednesday," he informs me, in his action mode.
"Sounds like a plan," I answer.
"Did, did you tell your father anything today?" he asks.
"Not particularly, he was being cold to me, just like he used to be a few years ago," I reply. I sigh and he notices.
"Are you okay, Sydney?" he asks and places his hand on my cheek.
"I just want it all to end, you know," I reply to him.
I start to slowly cry and he holds me and rubs my back while we just sit there, but we are both startled when we hear the sound of the door opening.
"Sydney!" Francie calls from the door and I glance up at Sark and we slightly pull ourselves away from each other.
"In here, Francie," I reply.
"Who'd you get the flowers..uh.hi!" she says reluctantly as she walks in and sees Andrew and I rather cozy on the couch.
"Francie, this is my friend, Andrew," I introduce the two. Hopefully Will wouldn't figure out by calling him Andrew.
"Pleasure's all mine," he tells her. He can be sweet.
"I got off early tonight and I thought we could do something, but I guess your busy Sydney," Francie says with a cold tone.
"No, of course not, you want to play a game or something with us?" I ask her and throw a pleading look over at Andrew, who looked actually happy.
"Are you sure? I mean, it looked like I was ruining something special here," she says. Francie, I gotta love you for that.
"We're positive," he responds.
"All right, but let me get changed and I'll be right back," she says and goes into her bedroom.
Once she was out of earshot, I say, "You don't mind?"
"Not at all, dear, I want to be a part of your life in every way, and I know how much it pains you that we're going to leave your friends behind, so I want to let you have every moment you can left with them," he says.
"Wow, I love you," I can only reply.
"What are we going to play?" he asks me.
"Well, I think today's choice will be a personal favorite of mine, the Game of Life," I reply.
"Oh really?" he smiles back.
"Yes, I'm sure of it now," I reply.
I go over to the cupboard with the games and pull it out and bring it over to the coffee table. I start to get the pieces out and he just sits there and is watching.
"Well, aren't you going to help me?" I finally ask him.
"I'd rather sit and watch," he replies.
"Fine, be that way," I reply in my sarcastic tone, one that had developed immensely with the depth of our relationship.
Francie walks back in and comes over to the couch and sits in one of the chairs just as I was finished setting the game up.
"Life?" she asks.
"I thought it was a fitting choice," I reply and quickly glance over at Andrew.
"Sounds good to me," she says.
We begin the game and Francie still hasn't started her twenty questions process with Andrew yet. I was just waiting for her to begin, and around the third roll, she started with the questions as it was my turn.
"So, Andrew, do you work with Sydney?" she asks him first.
"I suppose you could say that," he replies.
"Your accent, are you from England or something?" she then asks.
"Used to be, born in Ireland actually," he answers.
"Where do you live now?" her next question asks.
"Well, I guess I'd have to say it depends, part of the time I live in northern California, but I might be moving to something more permanent soon," he answers.
"Uh, Francie, your turn," I tell her and pass her the dice. She looks down at my hand and it occurs to me that I had forgotten to take off my engagement ring while she was in the bedroom.
"OH MY GOSH! Sydney! Where did you get that ring?" she asks.
Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now, I thought.
"I gave it to her," Andrew quickly responds.
"Really? It's beautiful," she can only reply.
"Just as beautiful as you are, my love," he responds to me and places a kiss on my hand.
"Are you two dating or something?" she asks.
"Well, not technically," I reply.
"What's that supposed to mean? Does your employers not let people date at the bank or something?" she asks.
"In a weird way, I guess you could say that's true," I reply. Gosh, I hate lying to Francie, but my only leverage is I didn't want her involved like Will was.
He gives me a squeeze of the hand and it's his turn to go. He rolls the dice and lands on a baby boy. We both look over at each other for a second and smile.
"OOOH! First baby of the game! Good job Andrew," Francie tells him. He smiles back at her kindly.
We continue the game until I finally reach the end and retire as they call it. Retiring sounds like the perfect thing right now and was going to be happening so shortly.
"It's getting late," Andrew says.
"Oh, it is, isn't it?" Francie replies.
I walk him to the door and Francie walks close behind and then into the kitchen. "It was nice meeting you, Andrew."
"And you the same, Francie," he tells her.
I open the door and we walk out onto the front stoop. Not exactly the best place to be standing, considering SD-6 could be watching and see me with Sark on my front stoop. Probably be shot for that.
"I had a really great time," he tells me.
"I'm glad you stopped by," I reply.
He leans in and kisses me, "You know that we'll make it through this and then the world will be ours to venture."
"I know," I say before kissing him one last time. "You should probably go, but I'll see you in a few days."
"Goodbye, Sydney," he says and quietly walks around the block where he parked his car, for safety of course. I watch him walk away until I can't see him any longer and he turns around and gives me one last smile.
I walk in the door and quietly shut it behind me. Now it was time for Francie's firing squad part two.
"Why didn't you ever talk about him before?" she asks me right away.
"Well, we weren't getting that close, and we didn't really want to commit yet, so I didn't see the use," I lie to her with all the courage I can.
"You couldn't keep from telling me about that hunk?" she says.
"I know, he's cute, isn't he?" I reply and smile.
"Wow, you've got it bad for him, don't you?" she then says.
"I think I do."
Tuesday went by even slower than Monday and I was stuck at home, again. This time, I had no excitement due to the fact Francie had to stay later at work and Andrew never showed up, even though I wasn't expecting him to. I did go for a run after work and caught up on some laundry and made myself a gourmet feast for dinner. It was all I could do to curve my boredom.
I got an appointment with the doctor, tomorrow at 10 am. I was kind of nervous to go, but honestly, wouldn't be sad if I had a baby. We were getting married and starting a family would certainly be fitting.
I was getting ready to go to bed around 9 and actually get a full night's sleep when I hear the doorbell ring. Part of me wanting it to be Andrew, whisking me away to Tahiti, but when I opened the door, only the cold, blank stare of my father received me.
"Hey, dad," I welcome him and allow him to enter the house.
"Hello, Sydney," he replies.
"Is something wrong?" I ask him.
"I thought we could talk," he says.
"Okay," I reply and take us into the dining room and we both sit down at the table.
"You know, when I first heard a report that you had been seen kissing Mr. Sark, I had never thought it to be true. So, I investigated a little more and was able to find you two. I know I seemed to be a little mad, but honestly, you have to understand, it doesn't look that good to the people at the CIA," he tells me.
"Screw um," I reply.
"Not the best idea for you right now, but Sydney, what I do want you to know is that, if he makes you happy, and you are happy, then that's fine with me."
I could believe it. "Really. dad?"
I start to cry and we both stand up and share a hug.
"Dad, I'm going to tell you something only because I think I can trust you, and you have to promise me not to say a word to anyone, or else I think he would actually kill you," I start.
"Okay," he replies skeptically.
"Tomorrow, Sark is destroying SD-6. He's sending his team in and stealing all the worthy Rambaldi artifacts, killing Sloane, and ushering all the innocent people at that horrible place out before he blows the place to pieces, and the only reason I'm telling you this, is so that you don't go to work tomorrow and get caught up in it all," I told him.
He just stays still for a moment and looks down before looking me straight in the eyes and saying, "Why?"
"And if your wondering, he's going to turn in all the artifacts to the CIA," I add.
"Sydney, you must know why?" he asks again.
I sigh, and then begin, "It's been a long term project of his for two years and I have a feeling he's wanted to get the job done ever since we've started dating."
"Are you sure he's not pulling your string?"
"Oh trust me, he's not."
He looks down for a moment, unsure where to take our conversation and something makes him peek his head up.
"Where did you get that ring? From him?" he asks.
"Well, I've been meaning to tell you, but we're getting married," I inform him.
"Married? Sydney, I think you're making a bad mistake here," he starts protesting.
"No, really, Dad, I know perfectly well what I'm getting into here. This is not you and mom," I scorn him.
"Alright, I'm going to try to stay calm, and accept that this is what is making you happy, then so be it."
"Thank you for that, dad," I tell him.
"Alright, so I should be going now," he says and stands up.
I walk him to the door and say, "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone at the CIA, not even Vaughn."
"Alright," he says, admitting defeat.
"Dad, I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always love you and I forgive you for everything that's happened between us in the past, and I will always love you."
"Sydney," he says before we share one last embrace and he walks quietly out the door. It may be the last time I see him.
Tomorrow, the past two days have gone by so slowly it seems like it would never come. Now, I'm just a few short hours away from feeling victory.
~~One more chapter to go and it's done! Please tell me what you'd think of a sequel or anything in a review~~ Masquerade
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias are owned by ABC and all those that make them.
**Sydney POV**
The week began very slowly. Monday seemed to drag on forever as I was forced to sit around in boring meetings at both SD-6 and the CIA. My father and Vaughn still seemed skeptical at me, but I just acted normally and allowed them to judge for themselves. Sloane seemed normal at SD-6, so I'm hoping he doesn't suspect anything. Monday night I sat around and watched TV, Francie was occupied as usual with the restaurant and Will had a new girlfriend that seemed to keep him busy.
I was sitting at my couch enjoying Nick at Night when my phone rang, not just my normal phone or cell phone, but the one Andrew and I had as our private line. It made me happy to just see it ring.
"Hello?" I ask.
"Hello, love, how are you?" he asks me.
"Bored, waiting, sitting around," I reply.
"I know, it's rough, guess where I'm at right now?" he questions me.
"Hm.. I wish you were with me," I sadly reply.
I hear the doorbell ring and gasp over the phone.
"Are you.." I can only squeak out.
"Why don't you answer the door? It's rude to keep your guests waiting, isn't it?" he says over the phone.
"Alright," I say cautiously and walk over to the door and open it. There before me, Andrew stood with a dozen or so roses.
I hug him and quickly pull him inside.
"Is it safe for you to be here?" I ask him.
"Safe enough," he replies.
I stop a second, "I love you."
"Sydney, I love you more than humanly possible," he replies and we lean in and kiss. We pull apart and I realize my cell phone is still on.
"Oops, forgot about that," I reply and giggle.
"You want to sit down?" he asks.
"Lets, but first let me put these flowers in a vase," I answer.
I walk over to the kitchen and place them in a vase that Francie had. I knew she wouldn't mind. It would be weird without her around, to think in a week I'll disappear and she'll be heartbroken.
We walk into the family room and take a seat on the couch. We snuggle together and just stay quiet for a minute.
"Why'd you come?" I ask to break the silence.
"Well, my team is moving in on Wednesday, so we had to get prepped," he replies.
"Oh, okay," I say.
"Did, you, go to the doctor?" he asks very reluctantly. One thing I've learned about Andrew is that he gets straight to the point, and he was defiantly showing some resistance in asking that question.
"Not yet, that reminds me, I should make an appointment," I reply.
"Get it for Wednesday between 9-12," he tells me.
"Oh, okay, good idea, that way I don't have to be at work," I say.
"Exactly, on Thursday, I'll meet you at a location that I will leave in an envelope that will be delivered here if all goes well on Wednesday," he informs me, in his action mode.
"Sounds like a plan," I answer.
"Did, did you tell your father anything today?" he asks.
"Not particularly, he was being cold to me, just like he used to be a few years ago," I reply. I sigh and he notices.
"Are you okay, Sydney?" he asks and places his hand on my cheek.
"I just want it all to end, you know," I reply to him.
I start to slowly cry and he holds me and rubs my back while we just sit there, but we are both startled when we hear the sound of the door opening.
"Sydney!" Francie calls from the door and I glance up at Sark and we slightly pull ourselves away from each other.
"In here, Francie," I reply.
"Who'd you get the flowers..uh.hi!" she says reluctantly as she walks in and sees Andrew and I rather cozy on the couch.
"Francie, this is my friend, Andrew," I introduce the two. Hopefully Will wouldn't figure out by calling him Andrew.
"Pleasure's all mine," he tells her. He can be sweet.
"I got off early tonight and I thought we could do something, but I guess your busy Sydney," Francie says with a cold tone.
"No, of course not, you want to play a game or something with us?" I ask her and throw a pleading look over at Andrew, who looked actually happy.
"Are you sure? I mean, it looked like I was ruining something special here," she says. Francie, I gotta love you for that.
"We're positive," he responds.
"All right, but let me get changed and I'll be right back," she says and goes into her bedroom.
Once she was out of earshot, I say, "You don't mind?"
"Not at all, dear, I want to be a part of your life in every way, and I know how much it pains you that we're going to leave your friends behind, so I want to let you have every moment you can left with them," he says.
"Wow, I love you," I can only reply.
"What are we going to play?" he asks me.
"Well, I think today's choice will be a personal favorite of mine, the Game of Life," I reply.
"Oh really?" he smiles back.
"Yes, I'm sure of it now," I reply.
I go over to the cupboard with the games and pull it out and bring it over to the coffee table. I start to get the pieces out and he just sits there and is watching.
"Well, aren't you going to help me?" I finally ask him.
"I'd rather sit and watch," he replies.
"Fine, be that way," I reply in my sarcastic tone, one that had developed immensely with the depth of our relationship.
Francie walks back in and comes over to the couch and sits in one of the chairs just as I was finished setting the game up.
"Life?" she asks.
"I thought it was a fitting choice," I reply and quickly glance over at Andrew.
"Sounds good to me," she says.
We begin the game and Francie still hasn't started her twenty questions process with Andrew yet. I was just waiting for her to begin, and around the third roll, she started with the questions as it was my turn.
"So, Andrew, do you work with Sydney?" she asks him first.
"I suppose you could say that," he replies.
"Your accent, are you from England or something?" she then asks.
"Used to be, born in Ireland actually," he answers.
"Where do you live now?" her next question asks.
"Well, I guess I'd have to say it depends, part of the time I live in northern California, but I might be moving to something more permanent soon," he answers.
"Uh, Francie, your turn," I tell her and pass her the dice. She looks down at my hand and it occurs to me that I had forgotten to take off my engagement ring while she was in the bedroom.
"OH MY GOSH! Sydney! Where did you get that ring?" she asks.
Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now, I thought.
"I gave it to her," Andrew quickly responds.
"Really? It's beautiful," she can only reply.
"Just as beautiful as you are, my love," he responds to me and places a kiss on my hand.
"Are you two dating or something?" she asks.
"Well, not technically," I reply.
"What's that supposed to mean? Does your employers not let people date at the bank or something?" she asks.
"In a weird way, I guess you could say that's true," I reply. Gosh, I hate lying to Francie, but my only leverage is I didn't want her involved like Will was.
He gives me a squeeze of the hand and it's his turn to go. He rolls the dice and lands on a baby boy. We both look over at each other for a second and smile.
"OOOH! First baby of the game! Good job Andrew," Francie tells him. He smiles back at her kindly.
We continue the game until I finally reach the end and retire as they call it. Retiring sounds like the perfect thing right now and was going to be happening so shortly.
"It's getting late," Andrew says.
"Oh, it is, isn't it?" Francie replies.
I walk him to the door and Francie walks close behind and then into the kitchen. "It was nice meeting you, Andrew."
"And you the same, Francie," he tells her.
I open the door and we walk out onto the front stoop. Not exactly the best place to be standing, considering SD-6 could be watching and see me with Sark on my front stoop. Probably be shot for that.
"I had a really great time," he tells me.
"I'm glad you stopped by," I reply.
He leans in and kisses me, "You know that we'll make it through this and then the world will be ours to venture."
"I know," I say before kissing him one last time. "You should probably go, but I'll see you in a few days."
"Goodbye, Sydney," he says and quietly walks around the block where he parked his car, for safety of course. I watch him walk away until I can't see him any longer and he turns around and gives me one last smile.
I walk in the door and quietly shut it behind me. Now it was time for Francie's firing squad part two.
"Why didn't you ever talk about him before?" she asks me right away.
"Well, we weren't getting that close, and we didn't really want to commit yet, so I didn't see the use," I lie to her with all the courage I can.
"You couldn't keep from telling me about that hunk?" she says.
"I know, he's cute, isn't he?" I reply and smile.
"Wow, you've got it bad for him, don't you?" she then says.
"I think I do."
Tuesday went by even slower than Monday and I was stuck at home, again. This time, I had no excitement due to the fact Francie had to stay later at work and Andrew never showed up, even though I wasn't expecting him to. I did go for a run after work and caught up on some laundry and made myself a gourmet feast for dinner. It was all I could do to curve my boredom.
I got an appointment with the doctor, tomorrow at 10 am. I was kind of nervous to go, but honestly, wouldn't be sad if I had a baby. We were getting married and starting a family would certainly be fitting.
I was getting ready to go to bed around 9 and actually get a full night's sleep when I hear the doorbell ring. Part of me wanting it to be Andrew, whisking me away to Tahiti, but when I opened the door, only the cold, blank stare of my father received me.
"Hey, dad," I welcome him and allow him to enter the house.
"Hello, Sydney," he replies.
"Is something wrong?" I ask him.
"I thought we could talk," he says.
"Okay," I reply and take us into the dining room and we both sit down at the table.
"You know, when I first heard a report that you had been seen kissing Mr. Sark, I had never thought it to be true. So, I investigated a little more and was able to find you two. I know I seemed to be a little mad, but honestly, you have to understand, it doesn't look that good to the people at the CIA," he tells me.
"Screw um," I reply.
"Not the best idea for you right now, but Sydney, what I do want you to know is that, if he makes you happy, and you are happy, then that's fine with me."
I could believe it. "Really. dad?"
I start to cry and we both stand up and share a hug.
"Dad, I'm going to tell you something only because I think I can trust you, and you have to promise me not to say a word to anyone, or else I think he would actually kill you," I start.
"Okay," he replies skeptically.
"Tomorrow, Sark is destroying SD-6. He's sending his team in and stealing all the worthy Rambaldi artifacts, killing Sloane, and ushering all the innocent people at that horrible place out before he blows the place to pieces, and the only reason I'm telling you this, is so that you don't go to work tomorrow and get caught up in it all," I told him.
He just stays still for a moment and looks down before looking me straight in the eyes and saying, "Why?"
"And if your wondering, he's going to turn in all the artifacts to the CIA," I add.
"Sydney, you must know why?" he asks again.
I sigh, and then begin, "It's been a long term project of his for two years and I have a feeling he's wanted to get the job done ever since we've started dating."
"Are you sure he's not pulling your string?"
"Oh trust me, he's not."
He looks down for a moment, unsure where to take our conversation and something makes him peek his head up.
"Where did you get that ring? From him?" he asks.
"Well, I've been meaning to tell you, but we're getting married," I inform him.
"Married? Sydney, I think you're making a bad mistake here," he starts protesting.
"No, really, Dad, I know perfectly well what I'm getting into here. This is not you and mom," I scorn him.
"Alright, I'm going to try to stay calm, and accept that this is what is making you happy, then so be it."
"Thank you for that, dad," I tell him.
"Alright, so I should be going now," he says and stands up.
I walk him to the door and say, "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone at the CIA, not even Vaughn."
"Alright," he says, admitting defeat.
"Dad, I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always love you and I forgive you for everything that's happened between us in the past, and I will always love you."
"Sydney," he says before we share one last embrace and he walks quietly out the door. It may be the last time I see him.
Tomorrow, the past two days have gone by so slowly it seems like it would never come. Now, I'm just a few short hours away from feeling victory.
~~One more chapter to go and it's done! Please tell me what you'd think of a sequel or anything in a review~~ Masquerade