Chapter Ten
Irina smiled, "Jack," she opened the door to let him in and noticed the two others standing with him.
She stopped dead as she saw Sydney. "Sydney?" she asked.
"Mom," Sydney replied, hugging her.
"Vaughn's on his way," Jack said, entering the house.
"Who is this?" asked Irina.
"Mom," Sydney started. "This is my daughter, Ambria."
Irina smiled. "You should have told Vaughn that he has a daughter." Sydney swallowed the tears that were threatening to fall. "She's not Vaughn's daughter." her voice trailed off and the tears spilled over.
Jack finished for her, "She's Sark's."
Irina gasped quietly, but silently nodded, putting an arm around Sydney and letting her cry.
The doorbell rang. "It's Vaughn," said Jack, going to answer it.
"I can't do this," Sydney turned and locked herself in the bathroom, leaving Irina alone with her granddaughter.
Ambria climbed on the couch and crawled next to Irina and laid her head against her. Jack led Vaughn into the room. Vaughn smiled and said, "Irina, is she yours? I had no idea. It makes me wonder though, what we saw on the cameras during your interrogations and what you two were actually doing when Jack questioned you."
"Ha, very funny," she replied sarcastically. Vaughn had slowly begun to trust Irina again, even though she had killed his father.
"Where is she?" Jack looked at Irina, who flicked her eyes in the direction of the closed bathroom door. Jack nodded.
"What did I miss?" asked Vaughn.
Irina disentangled herself from Ambria and headed for the bathroom. She tried the door. It was locked. She took a bobby pin from her hair and started picking the lock with it. She opened the door and went inside.
"Vaughn's here," she said quietly.
Sydney looked up and nodded, her eyes red and puffy. "Does Vaughn know about Ambria?"
"No. He was giving me grief about her being mine and your father's and wanted to know what actually went on when he questioned me."
Sydney laughed quietly and wiped at her eyes one more time. She left the bathroom and saw Vaughn with his back too her, facing Jack.
Jack stopped talking and Vaughn turned around.
"Syd-Sydney?" he coughed out.
"Hi, Vaughn," she said quietly. She sat down next to Jack. "I guess that I sort of owe everyone an explanation of what's happened over the years."
"You're alive," breathed Vaughn. He wanted to forget these last two years and kiss her, but he noticed the ring on her finger. Screw her marriage, he thought and almost got up to kiss her.
She sighed and began her story. "I guess that it all kind of started when Vaughn and I went to a hockey game and Sark found us. Sark told us that Sloane had discovered that I was a double-agent and was going to kill me, and Vaughn. We went into hiding. The next day, Sark offered to take me to work so that Sloane couldn't link Vaughn and I to the CIA. That was when he told me that Sloane knew where we were and was sending in a team of assassins to kill us. In order to protect that the people that I love, Sark.asked me to marry him." She took a breath and paused before continuing. "I said yes."
When Vaughn heard those three words, he looked at the little girl sleeping peacefully by Jack. He knew that that had to be Sydney, and Sark's daughter.
"Sark- Andrew and I decided that in order to make it harder for Sloane to track us, we would have a child." She stopped as she saw the cold look in Vaughn's eyes that was directed at her daughter. "I always thought that he was running from something too, but I never knew what. I never really thought about it that often," she continued. "Ambria is my little girl." She saw Vaughn look at her.
"A day didn't go by when I didn't think of you," she said to Vaughn. "I learned to love Andrew, and he knows that I actually had to learn to love him, that I didn't when we first married. He knew that when he proposed, that my heart belonged then, and still does- to you, Vaughn."
He looked at her and said, "If this is all you called me out here for, then I have to be getting back to work." Sydney nodded. She knew that they could never go back to the way that they had been.
Vaughn stood to leave. "Sydney," he said, "Alice and I are going out again. We've been going out for a while now. I don't feel the same way about you anymore." He turned and left.
"I don't know what to do," she confessed to her parents after he had left. "I suppose that I love Andrew, but I'm his wife, I have to. I'm going to love Vaughn until the day that I die, regardless of who I am married to and regardless of if he hates me and my daughter."
"He doesn't hate Ambria," said Irina.
"Mom, it was how he looked at her when I told him that I had married Sark."
Jack stood. "Sydney, we have to get back to the CIA. They can probably use your help. You need to take your mind off this and go back to work. Irina, can you take care of Ambria?"
She nodded and Sydney thanked her.
"You and Mom have managed to patch your relationship," she noted as they drove.
"Yeah," he said absentmindedly.
***
Sydney got out of the car and saw Alice and Vaughn talking. There was a little boy attached to Alice's leg. She walked by and heard bits of their conversation.
"Just because we broke up doesn't mean that you don't have to help support your son," Alice snapped.
"Alice, I have a job, one that takes up my entire life. I am willing to pay child support, but I cannot take care of a child. My job requires sacrifices and this is one that I am willing to make. I'm sorry." He walked away. Sydney ran after him.
"How dare you," she said, causing him to turn around.
"How dare I what?"
"You get in a huff at me for having a child, but you don't bother telling me that you have a son."
"It never came up. Plus, you were supposedly dead. You married Sark for God's sake Sydney! What was I supposed to say, "Oh, congratulations Sydney on marring a mad psychopath and by the way, I have a son?" Is that what you wanted me to say?"
"You are the father of Alice's child! You get all upset at me for mothering Sark's child, but yet you expect me to be peachy-keen with you and Alice? I've never really liked her, she doesn't like me."
"You were dead!"
"What was I supposed to do? What did you want me to do? Call you up and be like, "Oh, Vaughn, I'm not dead, I married Andrew Sark and guess what, I'm pregnant!" Is that what you wanted?"
"You could have said no to having a child!"
"I'll show you the tape of what Sloane did to Dad and Francie. Francie and Dad were tortured for information about me and where you worked. They almost died, Vaughn. If SD-6 had found you, you were the next to be tortured. I married Sark and "died," dropped off the face of the earth to protect you! Don't you get it?"
"You had Sark's child!"
"Obviously you don't get it, Vaughn." She wanted to throw something in there about being all looks and no brains, but decided against it. "You're living in the past. Forget it!" She turned and ran.
***
Nice going Syd, she sarcastically congratulated herself mentally. You've turned this who thing into a soap opera! She wiped her eyes again and opened the bathroom door, ready to face her next CIA challenge: telling Kendall.
Telling Kendall, she thought, this is going to be fun. I hope, she added as she walked, that I don't have to face Vaughn. Please God, don't let me have to face Vaughn.
Irina smiled, "Jack," she opened the door to let him in and noticed the two others standing with him.
She stopped dead as she saw Sydney. "Sydney?" she asked.
"Mom," Sydney replied, hugging her.
"Vaughn's on his way," Jack said, entering the house.
"Who is this?" asked Irina.
"Mom," Sydney started. "This is my daughter, Ambria."
Irina smiled. "You should have told Vaughn that he has a daughter." Sydney swallowed the tears that were threatening to fall. "She's not Vaughn's daughter." her voice trailed off and the tears spilled over.
Jack finished for her, "She's Sark's."
Irina gasped quietly, but silently nodded, putting an arm around Sydney and letting her cry.
The doorbell rang. "It's Vaughn," said Jack, going to answer it.
"I can't do this," Sydney turned and locked herself in the bathroom, leaving Irina alone with her granddaughter.
Ambria climbed on the couch and crawled next to Irina and laid her head against her. Jack led Vaughn into the room. Vaughn smiled and said, "Irina, is she yours? I had no idea. It makes me wonder though, what we saw on the cameras during your interrogations and what you two were actually doing when Jack questioned you."
"Ha, very funny," she replied sarcastically. Vaughn had slowly begun to trust Irina again, even though she had killed his father.
"Where is she?" Jack looked at Irina, who flicked her eyes in the direction of the closed bathroom door. Jack nodded.
"What did I miss?" asked Vaughn.
Irina disentangled herself from Ambria and headed for the bathroom. She tried the door. It was locked. She took a bobby pin from her hair and started picking the lock with it. She opened the door and went inside.
"Vaughn's here," she said quietly.
Sydney looked up and nodded, her eyes red and puffy. "Does Vaughn know about Ambria?"
"No. He was giving me grief about her being mine and your father's and wanted to know what actually went on when he questioned me."
Sydney laughed quietly and wiped at her eyes one more time. She left the bathroom and saw Vaughn with his back too her, facing Jack.
Jack stopped talking and Vaughn turned around.
"Syd-Sydney?" he coughed out.
"Hi, Vaughn," she said quietly. She sat down next to Jack. "I guess that I sort of owe everyone an explanation of what's happened over the years."
"You're alive," breathed Vaughn. He wanted to forget these last two years and kiss her, but he noticed the ring on her finger. Screw her marriage, he thought and almost got up to kiss her.
She sighed and began her story. "I guess that it all kind of started when Vaughn and I went to a hockey game and Sark found us. Sark told us that Sloane had discovered that I was a double-agent and was going to kill me, and Vaughn. We went into hiding. The next day, Sark offered to take me to work so that Sloane couldn't link Vaughn and I to the CIA. That was when he told me that Sloane knew where we were and was sending in a team of assassins to kill us. In order to protect that the people that I love, Sark.asked me to marry him." She took a breath and paused before continuing. "I said yes."
When Vaughn heard those three words, he looked at the little girl sleeping peacefully by Jack. He knew that that had to be Sydney, and Sark's daughter.
"Sark- Andrew and I decided that in order to make it harder for Sloane to track us, we would have a child." She stopped as she saw the cold look in Vaughn's eyes that was directed at her daughter. "I always thought that he was running from something too, but I never knew what. I never really thought about it that often," she continued. "Ambria is my little girl." She saw Vaughn look at her.
"A day didn't go by when I didn't think of you," she said to Vaughn. "I learned to love Andrew, and he knows that I actually had to learn to love him, that I didn't when we first married. He knew that when he proposed, that my heart belonged then, and still does- to you, Vaughn."
He looked at her and said, "If this is all you called me out here for, then I have to be getting back to work." Sydney nodded. She knew that they could never go back to the way that they had been.
Vaughn stood to leave. "Sydney," he said, "Alice and I are going out again. We've been going out for a while now. I don't feel the same way about you anymore." He turned and left.
"I don't know what to do," she confessed to her parents after he had left. "I suppose that I love Andrew, but I'm his wife, I have to. I'm going to love Vaughn until the day that I die, regardless of who I am married to and regardless of if he hates me and my daughter."
"He doesn't hate Ambria," said Irina.
"Mom, it was how he looked at her when I told him that I had married Sark."
Jack stood. "Sydney, we have to get back to the CIA. They can probably use your help. You need to take your mind off this and go back to work. Irina, can you take care of Ambria?"
She nodded and Sydney thanked her.
"You and Mom have managed to patch your relationship," she noted as they drove.
"Yeah," he said absentmindedly.
***
Sydney got out of the car and saw Alice and Vaughn talking. There was a little boy attached to Alice's leg. She walked by and heard bits of their conversation.
"Just because we broke up doesn't mean that you don't have to help support your son," Alice snapped.
"Alice, I have a job, one that takes up my entire life. I am willing to pay child support, but I cannot take care of a child. My job requires sacrifices and this is one that I am willing to make. I'm sorry." He walked away. Sydney ran after him.
"How dare you," she said, causing him to turn around.
"How dare I what?"
"You get in a huff at me for having a child, but you don't bother telling me that you have a son."
"It never came up. Plus, you were supposedly dead. You married Sark for God's sake Sydney! What was I supposed to say, "Oh, congratulations Sydney on marring a mad psychopath and by the way, I have a son?" Is that what you wanted me to say?"
"You are the father of Alice's child! You get all upset at me for mothering Sark's child, but yet you expect me to be peachy-keen with you and Alice? I've never really liked her, she doesn't like me."
"You were dead!"
"What was I supposed to do? What did you want me to do? Call you up and be like, "Oh, Vaughn, I'm not dead, I married Andrew Sark and guess what, I'm pregnant!" Is that what you wanted?"
"You could have said no to having a child!"
"I'll show you the tape of what Sloane did to Dad and Francie. Francie and Dad were tortured for information about me and where you worked. They almost died, Vaughn. If SD-6 had found you, you were the next to be tortured. I married Sark and "died," dropped off the face of the earth to protect you! Don't you get it?"
"You had Sark's child!"
"Obviously you don't get it, Vaughn." She wanted to throw something in there about being all looks and no brains, but decided against it. "You're living in the past. Forget it!" She turned and ran.
***
Nice going Syd, she sarcastically congratulated herself mentally. You've turned this who thing into a soap opera! She wiped her eyes again and opened the bathroom door, ready to face her next CIA challenge: telling Kendall.
Telling Kendall, she thought, this is going to be fun. I hope, she added as she walked, that I don't have to face Vaughn. Please God, don't let me have to face Vaughn.