Chapter Eighteen: Dirty Little Secrets

Irina paused at the door to her daughter's apartment, smoothing the front of her suit jacket. Mission accomplished, she thought with a smile of satisfaction. That morning, she was sure that she had driven Michael Vaughn to his breaking point. And the things he would do while he was there would be enough to keep him and Sydney apart long after she learned the truth about his disappearance.

"Grammy!"

Irina smiled as the little girl flung open the door. She had always had a soft spot for Jack, her precious firstborn grandchild, but Emily was such a sweetheart. She looked so much like her mother, though Irina predicted she would grow to be even lovelier than Sydney. "Hello, darling," she cooed, crouching down to envelope the child in a hug. "You look like you're in a happy mood."

"Mommy stayed home all day, Grammy," the little girl said, her face flushed with excitement. "And she picked me up from school, and she took me to the park, and now she's making hamburgers for dinner."

"It sounds like you had a great day, sweetheart." Irina pasted a smile on her face, but she wondered why Sydney had decided to take the day off work. She wondered even more when she saw Jack, sitting on the couch with a Social Studies textbook open in front of him. "Jack, are you doing homework? Before dinner?"

"Oh. Yeah." The boy actually looked a little embarrassed. "Mom rented a movie, but she said I had to finish my homework before we could watch it, so--"

"Oh, Mom." Sydney appeared in the doorway of the room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her flushed, happy expression mirrored that of her daughter's. "You're back."

"Yes, dear," Irina responded, regarding her curiously. What had taken place here, in her absence?

"Well, great. I made an extra hamburger, if you want to eat with us."

"Sure," Irina said slowly, drawing the syllable out. "Maybe we could talk for a minute first."

"Oh. Of course," Sydney said with a shrug. "Jack, Emily, wash up, okay? Dinner's almost ready."

The children obediently scrambled out of the room, leaving Irina to gaze after them with wonder. "What--"

"Oh, Mom!" Sydney bubbled, surprising her by rushing into her arms for a hug. "Things are so amazing, I can hardly believe it!"

"What happened, Sydney?" Irina asked, bewildered.

"Nothing much." Sydney pulled away from her, her wide grin nearly splitting her face. "I just took control of my life back, that's all."

Irina opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but Sydney was already rushing forward.

"I ended things with Sark," she said, executing a little twirl.

Irina nodded. She hadn't imagined that she'd continue sleeping with him after learning that Michael might still be alive. "You didn't tell him--"

"I didn't tell him anything," Sydney assured her. "And that bastard actually tried to threaten me, do you believe it?" she questioned, a sour frown crossing her pretty face.

"Of course I believe it," Irina said with a slight smile.

"Oh, and Mom, Jack and I finally talked, really talked for the first time in the last year." Sydney's smile returned to her face as quickly as it had left it. "I really think things are going to be okay with us. I've done a lot of things that will be pretty hard to forgive, but I really think it's possible."

Irina knew exactly what she was thinking: if it was possible for Jack to forgive her, it just might be possible for Michael to do the same. Irina smiled. The question was really whether Sydney would be able to forgive Michael for what he would inevitably do.

"I hope you don't mind I took the day off, Mom," Sydney continued. "I was actually thinking about taking the whole next week, if you don't mind. The kids will be in school, but it was really nice today, picking them up, being home early enough to fix dinner."

"Of course I don't mind, dear," Irina said, eyeing her quizzically. "But I'm surprised you would want to do that. I thought you'd want to put all your energy into finding Michael."

A troubled expression crossed Sydney's face. "Right after I went back to work at the Organization, after Michael-- after I believed he had died," she said, her voice soft. "Sark said something to me--" she bit her lower lip, shaking her head. "He said that I had always tried so hard to be good for Michael, and that doing so had always kept me from being the leader I could have been."

Irina studied her expression, wondering where she was going with this.

"The thing was, I did try hard to be good for Michael, but doing so didn't hold me back," Sydney continued. "It made me be my best, or at least, made me want to try to be my best. I lost that, in the last year," she said, face and voice full of regret. "But I'm ready to try again, Mom. I just want things to be wonderful around here, by the time he comes back." A soft smile parted her lips. "Maybe then he won't find the things I've done so hard to forgive."

"Maybe not," Irina agreed. She wasn't just humoring her-- Sydney was right, Michael probably would have had an easier time forgiving her indiscretions if he came back to find his wife and children the way he'd left them. In fact, he probably would have forgiven her, and forgiven her quickly.

If Irina hadn't clued him in to Sydney's dirty little secrets a little earlier than planned.