AN: Thanks to everyone for their wonderful reviews. A lot of you had good guesses for who the person in Vaughn's apartment was, but only one person got it right. Kudos to Ryanne for getting it right. Enjoy the chapter and please review!!

Thanks to my great beta, Michelle!

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Chapter 14

Vaughn's POV

"Aren't you going to say hi?"

"Maman? What are you doing here?" He couldn't believe his mother was here. How did she even get a key?

"Is it a crime to want to visit my son?" Brigitte Vaughn had the worst timing. Vaughn knew what this was about. It was the same thing every time. Why hasn't he gotten married yet? When was she going to have grandchildren? He sighed.

"Maman please, could we do this some other time?"

"I'm not getting any younger, Michael. I want to see grandchildren before I die. Besides, what's this I hear about you breaking up with Alice?" Vaughn raised his eyebrow in surprise. How did she know about that? He certainly hadn't told her. She must have noticed his confused expression, because she quickly gave an explanation.

"Alice was here earlier to drop off some of your stuff. I had come here at the same time as her so she just gave me the key she still had. We got to talking and she told me that you broke up with her. She didn't seem that sad about it though."

Vaughn rolled his eyes. "That's probably because our relationship was going nowhere."

"What do you mean? I thought you two made a wonderful couple."

"Maman, Alice is a nice girl, but even you can see that she isn't right for me."

Brigitte sighed. "Then who is, Michael?" Vaughn knew the answer to that. It was one of the only things he did know for sure these days even if the answer did presented many complications to his life. His mother must have noticed something was wrong because she immediately started studying him intently.

"Is there someone else?" Vaughn sighed. For an agent, he wasn't very good at keeping secrets.

"There is someone, but it will never work out."

"Michael, one of the most important things I learned was that love is not easy. There are always obstacles, but you learn to work through them."

"Trust me, Maman. These issues would be very hard to work through."

"Why, Michael? Who is this girl?" Vaughn figured that if he just kept moving around the answer, she would just bug him more about it so he decided he would tell her.

"Do you remember Sydney Bristow?"

"Sydney, the girl you were friends with in high school?"

"Yes, her. A couple of weeks ago, I was assigned as her handler."

"She's a double agent? That sweet girl?" He had told his mother awhile back about the extent of his work. She wasn't exactly happy to hear about it, but she was glad he wasn't working in the field too much anymore.

"Yes, she is. I think I may be in love with her."

"So what's the problem?" Vaughn almost laughed.

"There are many problems with this. First of all, we would get killed if we were ever seen in public together. Second of all, it's against protocol. Last, but not least, her mother killed Dad." He said the last part so quietly, he wasn't sure she had heard him.

"Seeing her in private is still better than nothing, Michael and breaking the rules for love is worth it at times. What was that last problem?"

Vaughn sighed. "You might want to sit down, Maman."

Brigitte looked curiously at him and sat down on the couch. He sat down across from her and took a deep breath.

"Her mother killed Dad." Vaughn studied his mother's face, looking for any kind of reaction. Shock flashed across her face and then sadness.

"How could a girl like her have a mother who would be that evil?"

"I'm not sure, Maman. It shouldn't matter though. It's not like Sydney killed him. She can't be responsible for her mother's actions."

"Michael, I can't give you an opinion on this. I'm sure you understand why. It would be wrong of me to do so."

He nodded. "You know, Michael, I think I'm going to go to my hotel now. You need some time by yourself to think."

"You weren't going to stay here, Maman?" She smiled at him.

"No, you need your space. I will see you later." Wearily, Vaughn walked her to the door and locked it behind her.

He sat back down on the couch and started thinking about the dilemma he was in. If they tried this, would it ever work out? What if something happened to Sydney again? He didn't think he could live with himself if it ended up being his fault. He didn't even know why he was worrying so much about this. Sydney hadn't even told him whether or not she wanted to try to have a relationship.

Just then the phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Vaughn, this is Jack Bristow. Kendall has called a meeting involving new information on Irina Derevko and it's important that you come."

"Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up the phone after he heard the click on the other side of the line. Great. As if he didn't have enough on his mind, he now had to go to a meeting involving new information on the woman who murdered his father and who happens to be Sydney's mother. Could his life get more complicated?

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Sydney's POV

She walked slowly towards the room where the meeting was being held. She had been informed that the meeting involved new information on her mother. Didn't they know enough about her already? Why should they have to hear more about the bad deeds she's done? Sydney sighed and walked into the conference room. Everyone else was already there. She locked eyes with Vaughn's emerald ones. His eyes seemed more tired than usual, but they looked understanding as well. It was like he was trying to tell her that he didn't blame her for her mother's actions. She was frankly relieved.

Taking a seat across from Vaughn, she turned to Kendall and waited for him to begin.

"As most of you may know, Irina Derevko's whereabouts and deeds have been made known to us just recently. Jack Bristow has been keeping tabs on her for many years. Although I disagreed with him keeping this from the CIA, I agreed to let him conduct a search for Derevko in hopes to capture her. She has been found. Unfortunately and fortunately, she will be no help nor harm for anyone anymore. When Jack reached her safehouse, he found her already murdered. Her body had been dumped in the lake outside the safehouse. For the next couple of months, we will be collecting whatever we can from the places she ran her organization from in hopes to gain any useful information we can. That is all."