A/N – God, I'm soooooo sorry about the wait. (Hope you all will forgive me), but I've had a cold… then a fever… then I got this serious case of writer's block. Sorry again.
Song is "Thank You" – by Dido
Ok, here's some info that people need to know, cause like before in the other version of this story, people got confused, so… yeah. We are now in the present time, though not in the present show story-line (understand?). Sydney works for SD-6, she already found out about the CIA and is now a double-agent. She found out because her friend David (Francie's brother) was killed because he was a reporter who found out too much. (Sorta the Danny story-line except Sydney didn't tell him). Danny is still Sydney's fiancé, she never told him about the CIA thing. Vaughn is dating Alice (very easy to understand.) Everyone knows about Rambaldi, and Sark is in this story and everyone knows about him too.
Oh, and if I didn't say this before, Jackie is four years younger then all of them.
My tea's gone cold I'm
wondering why I
Got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
And I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey
But your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad
It's not so bad
"What's wrong?" Jackie put the pictures, she'd been holding, down on Will's desk. He had a far away look on his face, a box next to his foot.
"Oh, they just want me to clean out… David's desk." He stared at the desk, then looked down to the box. "It just feels weird."
"I know." Jackie muttered. Hell, she'd lost more then friends. She'd lost her father when she was only two, and her mother when she was ten. "You want some help? Maybe that'll take your mind off it for a bit…" She suggested with a shudder. She never thought she'd actually be nice to Will, she was only working with him anyway.
"Yeah, I'd like that." Will stood up, picking the box up with him. Jackie grabbed another small one from a nearby table, then followed him.
As Will picked up the picture frames and the pencil holders, Jackie opened one of the drawers. Filing through the drawer, she threw all the pens and pencils into a pile. "What'd he do, stack up early?" She muttered so that Will couldn't hear her. That drawer was a mess. Besides the pens and pencils, there were five pads, a tape recorder and about fifteen blank tapes.
Just to make sure they were blank, Jackie stuck the first tape into the recorder. Will looked up and watched as he threw more pens into Jackie's box.
"David! Don't you dare!" Francie's laugh came through loud and clear.
"Aww, come on, Sydney'll do it." Will almost choked when he heard David's voice, laughing and jokingly yelling.
"No I won't!" Will could tell Sydney hadn't been in the same room as all of them.
"Crap, I left his thing-"
The tape ended with a beep, Jackie pushed stop then went to the next one.
On and on the next few minutes went. Will was just piling notebooks into a box, while Jackie listened to some of the tapes, just trying to see if she could picture David's face next to his voice.
"McNeil wasn't ready to give information just yet, but maybe in my next visit, I'll be able to get more. My last visit, yesterday, October 2nd 2002, failed, but-"
Jackie stopped the tape, but Will took it from her. "That was a week before he was killed." Will muttered. "I didn't know he was working on a story…" Will pondered this, before putting the tape in his pocket.
"Well, he sure was into it." Jackie muttered as she pulled out a thick folder labeled 'McNeil'. "It seems that Mr. McNeil let out some info…"
Will took the folder from her and thumbed through it, looking at all the key words. "I'm gonna hold on to some of this. It's not like Sydney and Francie are gonna want it." He muttered, not really talking to Jackie, more to himself, as he threw it over to his desk. "If there's anything else, can you please give it to me?"
"Sure." Jackie sighed exasperated. She looked over to him and watched as he threw things in the boxes, pausing each second to run his hand through his hair. "Are you okay?" She finally asked.
Will looked at her, surprised by the concern in her voice. "Yeah… I'm-" He stopped. "I'm as good as I'll get." He muttered throwing another notebook into the box next to him. "It's just – David was Francie's brother, but he was a brother to me and Sydney, though not by blood. It's just strange to clean out his desk, and know that he's not going to come and get this stuff."
"Yeah, I felt the same way after my mom died." Jackie paused and took a breath, remembering the feeling of being in her mother's room the day after she'd died. "I remember walking into my mother's room and expecting her to be sitting there, reading those stupid, mushy romance novels she loved and drinking hot chocolate." Jackie smiled and threw more things into the box. "Then, when, Michael and I had to pack up her things… it all seemed too real. Putting all her pictures into boxes and all her romance novels and then taping them up."
Will watched Jackie sit in the chair of the desk, and sigh. He did the same, and sat down too, watching her closely.
"I cried… Michael wanted to, I could tell." Jackie paused again; it was getting harder to speak for her. It was as if her mom had died all over again. "Too many feelings go into someone dying. All the sadness, and depression. The worry for others, the hurt, pain, and even anger."
Will looked a bit startled. "Anger? Why would you be angry?"
"Because, depending on who you are, everything can just get thrown on you all at once. Imagine, I was ten years old, my mother died, and I was just angry at her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Jackie took another breath and continued, "Then I have to pack up all her things with my older brother who hasn't said a word to me since she died. Then in just days, I'm pulled from my house – my life – and thrown into a new school, with new people, new everything." Jackie frowned, then smirked as she added. "I didn't even get to keep my puppy."
Will laughed with Jackie. "That god damn dog, Donovan. He's a menace. I swear, one day Francie is going to just let him run away."
"Really, maybe I'll have to steal him away from you." Jackie actually smiled sincerely.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you smile since you came here." Will stood up and went back to cleaning out the desk, but his eyes were still sparkling with laughter.
"I think it is the first time I've smiled since I came here." Jackie watched Will put things away for a minute then started to close the boxes that were done. Maybe this won't be so bad. She thought.
I drank too much last
night
Got bills to pay
My head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today
I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there
They'll all imply
That I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad
It's not so bad and
"Hey." Sydney walked into the cage, and leaned back onto it. Michael was sitting on the chair, next to the desk; he'd been waiting for about ten minutes, just trying to think about anything except the hug from last week.
"Hi." He whirled the chair around, playing almost, and then picked up the folder from the desk. "You know, these counter missions… actually these missions… always seem so easy when written down on paper."
Sydney laughed and shrugged. "Well, that's on paper. Try actually doing the mission and you'll see what it's like for the spy."
Michael smiled up at her and then went back to the papers. "Well, you're going to Spain… a party. Have you noticed that a lot of places you go, it's always a party?"
"Yeah, too bad I never actually get to enjoy them… not that I would." She played with her necklace as she leaned on the cage. "Plus, like French in high school, Spanish isn't exactly an expertise of mine."
"Are any languages your expertise?" He laughed, and his eyes danced as she thought of her languages.
"English, obviously, Russian and Italian." Sydney grinned and nodded at the paper. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Well… you're supposed to get this book about Rambaldi. No one knows who wrote it and it's the only one. So, since you can't exactly take pictures of all the pages in that amount of time, there will be a CIA agent nearby and he'll take the book from you." He paused, looking up at Sydney, making sure she understood. "Problem is, we can't exactly make a fake book. So, you'll have to tell Dixon that you failed… either you couldn't get the safe open, or some other much better explanation since I'm not the spy here." He sighed and threw the folder on the table.
"Yeah, I can probably just trip the alarm on purpose and run." Sydney smiled, though she was being completely serious.
Michael just smiled back and sighed again.
"Sark is gonna be there." Sydney told him.
"Ah, yeah, Sark. Don't really like him all that much." Michael nodded slowly and coughed. "Sorry, trying to get rid of this cold I have." He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out cough drops. "Cherry." He and Sydney laughed.
Sydney pulled on her necklace and stopped leaning on the cage. "That it?"
He nodded. "Yeah…"
"Ok. I'll see you when I get back." She started to leave, but Michael called her back.
"Listen, Jackie has been telling me that she and Will are finally getting along, though she won't tell me how. And she's been hinting, mind you, just hinting, that she might ask everyone to dinner. Everyone being me, you, Francie and Will… including all significant others." He paused and sighed. "Just wanted to warn you, in case Francie, or Will, says something about it."
"Okay, thanks." Sydney left quickly.
He watched her walk away and then grabbed his jacket.
I want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you
Is having the best day of my life
Sydney pushed her hair behind her ear as she made her way up the steps of the mansion. "This place is huge." She whispered, knowing that Dixon, wherever he was, could hear her.
"I know, I'm at the back of it, and it's… well, like you said, it's huge." They both laughed. "You ready?"
"Always." Her hair fell back in front of her face as she opened the door slowly. The inside looked even bigger then the outside. It looked as if you could fit fifty of the CIA's safe houses in that one ballroom. People were dancing to the fast-paced music. Wishing that she could dance like that, Sydney made her way over to get a drink.
"Vino, por favor." She told the bartender, then watched as he went to get her drink.
"Wine, Syd?" Dixon's voice sounded in her ear. "I hardly think this is the time." His voice had a teasing edge to it. Just like when he was talking about her 'glow'…
"I feel like I have one of those little angels on my left shoulder… that's you… and then on my right shoulder I'm sitting dressed in a devil suit…" Sydney giggled and took her drink from the bartender, making sure to whisper so that only Dixon could hear her.
"You didn't drink anything before did you?" Dixon was smiling on the other end.
"Shut up." Sydney laughed again and made her way through the crowd, careful with her drink. At one point someone dancing bumped into her, "Cuidadoso…" Sydney muttered. Her hand flew up to grab her necklace, which she felt slip. Moving out of the crowd, the necklace slipped into her hand.
"What happened?" Dixon asked with a worried voice.
"Nothing, the clasp to my necklace broke." Sydney sighed, wishing she had taken it off before she got on the plane.
"That silver chain that you always wear?" He asked softly.
"Yeah, that's the one." Her voice showed her disappointment that it was broken. "I'll just have to fix it when we get back." She slid the necklace into her purse and moved back into the crowd, leaving her drink on one of the tables.
As she moved towards one of the stair cases, Dixon questioned her. "What's so special about that necklace, Syd? You seem to love it an awful lot." He didn't sound as if he was mocking her and her jewelry, just that he was confused.
"It's nothing… I just happen to like that kind of plain silver chain…" Sydney sighed and climbed the steps slowly, careful in shoes like hers. Plus, her shirt and dress weren't exactly the kind of ones she liked to kick ass in.
The long, dark, dark blue sleeves didn't cover her shoulders. Small, silver gems decorated the top edge of the shirt, and the bottom edge. The skirt fit snug on her waist and had the same gems on the top and bottom.
"I'm not liking this dress." Sydney muttered as she made her way through the halls, searching for the right room, meanwhile making sure no one was coming towards or behind her.
Dixon just laughed and typed something on the lap top in front of him. "The room should be coming up soon." He was still trying to stop snickering, but he couldn't help it.
Sydney continued her trek through the halls, meanwhile continuing her complaint in good humor. "Do you think I could put in a suggestion… you know like one of those little cards that you put your name on. It would say, Sydney Bristow, suggest number one; let me choose my own outfits. Or at least choose ones that I can move easily in when having to do a back flip."
"Is there more, or do I have to go radio silent just so I can stop laughing." Dixon stifled his next laugh.
"I'll stop… cause here's the room. Finally." She opened the door slowly, checking to see if anyone was there. "No one." She stepped inside.
Push the door
I'm home at last
And I'm soaking through and through
Then you handed me a towel
And all I see is you
And even if my house falls down now
I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me and
"It's weird." Jackie muttered as she and Will sat in one of the plastic booths in McDonalds. She'd been thinking about those McNeil files almost all day and now that she and Will were finally out of the office, she could tell him what she thought. But first she took a bit out of her quarter pounder as Will pondered what she'd said.
"What's weird?" Will took a sip of his milk shake. "The fact that McDonalds makes so much money, yet they still can't get better seats… or the fact that-" He paused and looked over to Jackie. There was a small glob of ketchup on the side of her mouth. "Or the fact that you can't eat a burger without getting ketchup all over you." He laughed and threw a napkin at her.
The thoughts of David and McNeil slipped from her mind as Jackie wiped the ketchup and smiled, "Better?"
"Much." Will rolled a fry in salt then popped it in his mouth. "What is it with you and ketchup anyway?"
Jackie didn't answer right away, she just took a sip of her coke and continued to eat. "I love ketchup." She finally said. "It tastes good with pretty much everything. Especially if you're a McDonald's lover."
The casual conversation seemed to end right there, very quickly too. The silence was overwhelming and Will was glad to be able to watch two kids play with their Star Wars toys.
"When did you decide to become a journalist?" Jackie broke their silence and took Will's eyes away from the little girl who just snatched her brother's toy away.
"I don't know." He shrugged. "I was always the curious one. Always asking questions." He paused for a second, smiling at a thought, then continued. "My friends always told me I was going to get into a career that involved that, and I guess… I did." He smiled again and shoved two French fries into his mouth.
As he swallowed, Jackie took the time to think of when she first met Will. To her, he'd just been arrogant and egotistical… but he was Michael's friends. And she wasn't allowed to 'hate' him… just 'not like' him.
"What about you? When did you decide on photography?" Will asked as he crumpled the paper from his burger.
"I guess cause I always liked being the first one to see things. Hell, I just liked to see things. And it's not just newspaper stuff, I like to take pictures of people and nature and stuff." Jackie stopped and crumpled her paper too; she pushed the napkin into a corner of her French fry holder.
"How come you never have any of those pictures with you?" Will asked softly.
"I don't have the time anymore, you know?" Jackie looked up at Will and smiled as she and him stood up. "Working just has me struggling for any friend time… let alone any me time."
"Well, I hope you find time soon. You're a good photographer and I'd love to see pictures that don't involve work." Will spoke to her in a friendly voice, no longer the regular, normal, work person voice.
"Thanks." Jackie smiled as he opened the door for her and they walked out of the fast-food place.
"So, you were saying before – way before – that something was weird… what was it?" Will asked as they made their way to his car. They'd drove there from work, so now they had to drive back so Jackie could get her car.
Jackie thought about McNeil and David… all the files, all the recordings…
"It's nothing." She smiled and climbed in.
I want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you
Is having the best day of my life
Sydney stepped into the room, taking in the décor.
Blue. This person really, really liked blue. The walls were a light blue, while the carpet was a dark blue. The bedspread was a kind of a sapphire colors, and the nightstand; as disgusting as it might be; was a deep cyan.
Sydney shuddered in disgust as she entered the room more. Little colors, such as dark green, light green, yellow, and blacks; they didn't stand out. But Sydney could easily tell where the safe was hidden.
"Let me guess Dixon. It's behind the red painting of the sunset?" She walked over to it as she heard Dixon give her a 'yes'. But in her head, not her ear, Marshall was going over the two gadgets she'd have to use.
"Okay, so this guy, he's got a major thing with the color blue. I'm telling you, his obsession is even bigger then my aunts obsession with the discovery channel… you know that's sorta how I got into that channel, they've got this fascinating- Oh, right, sorry, well, anyway, there's this painting, like I said before, he's got this obsession with blue, right? So, to get behind the painting, you need something blue because there is a color sensor in the space between the painting and the wall and your fingers aren't blue, thankfully… it's actually quite amazing, because there's this chip inside the sensor- oh, right, sorry ,off topic again."
Sydney smiled at the thought. Looking around, she noticed that there was nothing blue that was small enough to fit behind there. Sighing, she did the only thing she could think of. Reaching down, she snatched the bottom of her skirt and ripped a piece off.
Quickly and thoroughly amused, she slid it behind the painting. There were three quick beeps, then the painting swung forward slowly.
Sydney pushed it out of the way and took out her code-descrambler, letting it click onto the safe. "Dixon, I'm going radio silent."
"Okay Syd, be careful."
Sydney hit the switch and made sure Dixon couldn't hear her opening the safe. At first look, the safe looked empty and dusty, but Sydney reached a hand inside and felt towards the back. Finally, her hand hit the book and pulled it out. It was pretty small, but all the same, people didn't know a lot about Rambaldi. Smiling, she slid it into her purse and closed the safe.
She pushed the frame back into place and tried to think of if she should trip the alarm then run. She hadn't been caught yet, and those were accidents. Finally, she just took a silver gem off her dress and held it under the picture. All of a sudden, a loud, annoying beeping sound started.
"Dixon?" Sydney whispered as she rushed out of the room, making sure that he could hear her again. "I must of hit an alarm. I couldn't get the book."
"Okay, Syd. I'll meet you outside in the back." Dixon sounded a little worried.
"Okay." Sydney looked around as she rushed down the hallway, looking for a way out that didn't have guards. She saw the CIA agent and rushed over to him.
"Excúse me, este partido es asombroso." Sydney let the Spanish slip off her tongue.
"Asombroso como hogar." Was her reply, which meant; yes, he's the CIA agent.
So, she handed him the book and made her way to the stairs, but she heard the clink of metal on the floor. Looking down, she noticed her necklace had fallen out of her purse. When she went to pick it up, she saw it was on the edge of the staircase, below the banister and hanging off slightly.
Reaching slowly, she touched it, but lost her footing and accidentally pushed it off. With a worried look on her face, she watched as it fell next to the feet of a blonde in a suit. She even watched - though she noticed that there were loud voices talking of the safe being open - as the man picked it up and examined it closely. Then he looked up and Sydney ducked out of view.
Sark.
"Shit." She muttered and made her way down the staircase and out the door. As much as she wanted her necklace back, she couldn't just ask Sark for it.
"Hey." Dixon said as she climbed into the car. "How'd getting out go?" He asked as they pulled onto the road.
"Fine…" Sydney sighed and leaned back, a pained expression crossed her face and Dixon couldn't help but notice it.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing… I just-" She paused and pictured the moment that Michael had given her the necklace. Then seeing Sark holding it and looking up, almost seeing her. "I just dropped my necklace off the stairs… and Sark sorta found it."
"Well, don't think about that. It's not like he's gonna recognize it was yours." Dixon risked a glance towards her then back to the road. "You can get a new one when we get back. One exactly the same."
"Yeah." Sydney leaned back and looked at the scenery passing by. "Exactly the same."
---I'll always love him.---
I want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you
Is having the best day of my life
A/N – I just sat down today and just started typing… I hope you all like this chapter. Tell me… there will be much more Michael (I promise you that). I just wanted to get that Sydney loses the necklace… and Will and Jackie becoming 'friends'… ok. Thanks for waiting. I'm still really sorry.