Chapter Thirty-two: Before the Game is Over

Sydney rose uncertainly from her seat on the plane later that day, casting a glance to the seat beside her, where Michael slept, his mouth open rather unattractively, she supposed, though she found it hard to see him as anything but adorable. She gave him a light kiss on the forehead before she moved up to the seat in front of her, slipping in beside her father. As predicted, he was wide awake.

"Hey," she said softly.

Her father nodded a greeting. "I thought you might doze off like everyone else." Across the aisle, Jack and Keith were sleeping as soundly as Michael.

"I slept okay last night," Sydney said with a shrug. "I thought Mike did, too, but he must be really zonked, he hardly ever sleeps on planes."

"Well, the two of you have had a lot on your minds," her father said, running a hand back through his gray hair. It had been gray since he was in his mid-forties, Sydney noted, and she'd never really thought it made him look old. He'd always been handsome, distinguished. Now, though, that he was past seventy, he was finally starting to show his age. It was a hard thing to witness; Sydney had always thought her big, strong daddy invincible against little things like aging.

"I really appreciate you coming with us, Dad," Sydney told him.

Jack shook his head as if to say, It's nothing. "You were right, Sydney," he said, his voice soft, regretful. "I could have made more of an effort to be part of your life this past decade."

Sydney shook her head. "I understand why you didn't."

"Of course you do," Jack said quietly. "Your mother betrayed me, I spent a decade wondering if you'd done the same--"

"Dad--" Sydney tried to interrupt, but her father would have none of it.

"But still," Jack continued. "I cheated myself out of knowing the only grandchildren I'll ever have, and I'm sorry for that. When this is all over--"

"If this is all over," Sydney corrected.

"When." Jack said firmly. "When this is over, when we finally catch Derevko and Sloane, maybe I can talk to the CIA about ending your and Michael's exile to the island. You could come back to LA."

"Dad, Michael and I don't want to leave the island." It was true. The island may have been a prison of sorts, but she and Michael had made a real home there. She didn't want to leave. "You could come stay with us," Sydney suggested.

"Maybe."

Sydney knew that the maybe was a no, that when-- if-- this was all over, things would go back precisely to the way things had been before. Her and Michael on the island, her father somewhere else. It made her more than a little sad, but she had resigned herself to believing that this was the way it had to be.

"So I'm still not sure why you wanted Keith to come with us," Sydney said, stealing a glance across the aisle at her daughter's boyfriend. Poor kid. When he'd started dating Emily, he'd undoubtedly expected holding hands at the movies, walks on the beach, late night make out sections. Now, he was on a plane ready to do battle with her evil grandmother.

Her father hesitated before answering. "Sydney, I have no doubt that we'll eventually beat Derevko," he finally said. "But I'm prepared for the possibility that she might have you and Michael in custody for at least a little while, and--"

"--And you want someone from the island to know what happened to us," Sydney interjected. "Got it."

The two were silent for a moment before Sydney spoke again. "Dad."

"Yes, Sydney."

Now it was Sydney's turn to hesitate. "You talked about catching Derevko and Sloane, but Dad-- you need to know that getting Emily back is all I care about. I learned a long time ago that battling the two of them is nothing but futile."

Jack's features darkened. "No, Sydney. Trying to beat Derevko and Sloane is difficult, and it may seem endless. But it's not futile."

Sydney opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure of what to say.

"Look, Sydney," Jack said, the picture of earnest determination. "A decade ago you took down Derevko's organization, and that was an amazing accomplishment. Your only mistake was thinking that the battle was over."

"Dad--"

"I know, I know," Jack said hurriedly. "You didn't want to spend your life fighting, you wanted to have a normal life with your husband and children."

Sydney knew he wanted to say more. He didn't have to. She knew what he meant. Yes, maybe she could have the normal life she'd always dreamed of.

But that didn't mean she could give up before the game was truly over.