Disclaimer: Don't Own. Don't Sue. Do Review.

A/N: Wow, thanks for all of the reviews. Ryanne, zara, Sarkie47, Crystal Raven, Maea, jen, sbmvper4echother, abercrombieprep, april, Rachel, ARWVB, Beth, zrodezina: you guys rock!!! Special thanks to my beta, Maea, and for the parts she added to help the story flow. :O) I better mentioned now that this is not connected to 'The Telling'. In England we haven't got the second season yet (unless you have sky, which I'm sadly lacking :o( ), so any events which are connected to season 2, I've gotten from transcripts. I'd only read half way through the season, then decided that I could wait (which is a very had thing to stick to!). Just thought I should clear that up. Any who, here's the next chapter. R&R and enjoy!! - Bex

'Bitter are the tears of a child: Sweeten them. Deep are the thoughts of a child: Quiet them. Sharp is the grief of a child: Take it from them. Soft is the heart of a child: Do not harden it.' - Pamela Glenconner

~*~*~*~*~

He glared at her. Sydney was chained to the seat opposite him in the back of the van, holding his gaze with her own. Shock still ran through his system as he thought about her children, wondering who the father could be. Was it him? He doubted it. As tempted as he was to ask, he wasn't going to. She might get the impression that he gave a damn about her life or still had some lingering feeling for her. He knew that he didn't.

She shifted slightly in her seat, chains rattled with every movement. Sydney let out a sigh and raised her chained arms as much as she could.

"They're a bit tight. Think you can loosen them?" She asked.

Vaughn still glared at her, wanting to hurt her like she hurt him. To let her know what the past seven years had been like for him. But Weiss stepped in before he could.

"I believe that's not negotiable," Weiss replied coolly.

Vaughn was glad that Weiss was there with him. He didn't know whether his friend had requested it to support him or the CIA had ordered it to stop Vaughn from trying to kill her. He didn't care. He thought for a moment about Will, wondering how he would react to Sydney's return. Will had lost two women he'd loved one after the other, had a nervous breakdown and left the country without any warning or an explanation as to where he was headed. Without any goodbyes. Just like he'd almost done. Vaughn choked back a bitter laugh as he though how he shouldn't be here either.

The van began to slow as they approached their destination. He saw Sydney's face change slightly, but he couldn't make out her expression under her mask.

"Can you please remove my chains before we go in? I don't want to scare my children," She asked in a soft tone, which was the nearest thing they'd probably ever hear to a request.

Weiss looked at Vaughn for confirmation. The other man just gave a small nod, then took out a gun and pointed it directly at her head.

"If you try anything," he warned, his voice a low growl, "even if it's so much as breathing wrong, you'll be going back with a bullet in your head. Weiss, take off her chains."

They, along with two other agents, marched her into the building, a gun pressed to the small of her back. It was a cheap apartment block, run down and guaranteed to have neighbours who wouldn't ask questions. She stopped outside a battered door on the fourth floor. Number 47.

'How ironic,' Vaughn thought dryly.

She rapped loudly on the door.

"Who...who is it?" A voice called from the inside.

The voice was definitely female. It was drenched in a thick Russian accent and fear.

"Tatiana, it's me. Open up," Sydney replied, her tone no smoother.

The door opened slowly, a female warily peering out into the darkened corridor. After confirming who it was, she opened the door allowing the agents in the hallway to see her completely. She had long raven black hair, straight at the top then curling towards the bottom. Her eyes were a dark chestnut, her lips a deep scarlet and skin was snow-white. She couldn't have been any older than 26. A look of relief flooded her face and a smile brightened her features as she wrapped her arms around Sydney in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Sydney, we were so worried," She told her, then stepped back to study the strangers. "Are these..."

"Yes they are," Sydney confirmed. "Can we come in now?"

"Of course. Of course."

Following the young woman in, Vaughn covertly placed his gun back in his shoulder holster. As she securely shut and locked the door behind the group, he took the opportunity to survey the surroundings. The apartment was small and left a lot to be desired.

"MAMA!" an excited voice squealed from the bedroom.

A small girl ran out and Sydney knelt down to hug her. She had long wavy brown hair, her mother's brown eyes and perfect innocents. She was the image Vaughn had about what Sydney may have looked like as a child. A boy followed her out. He had short blond hair and ice blue eyes. Eyes that were exactly the same as his father's. Both of them were around seven years old. A pair of twins.

The boy hugged his mother, his suspicious eyes never once leaving the strangers. He muttered something hurriedly in Russian.

"Alec, we're in America now, so we speak in English," She reminded him gently.

"Dad said Americans don't speak English, only bad English," He replied.

His mother gave him a bittersweet smile.

"Dad's not coming back is he?" the girl asked quietly.

Sydney just shook her head and hugged them both tightly. Vaughn watched the thing he'd always wanted; a family with Sydney. He pushed those thoughts away, fully aware that her son was glaring at them cautiously.

"Who are these people, mama?" He asked, his eyes not once leaving them.

"These are..." She paused for a moment, thinking about the right word, "They're friends. This is Mr. Michael Vaughn, Mr. Eric Weiss...um...."

She stuttered, not knowing the names of the other two agents.

"This is Rob Creek and Adam Geller," Weiss saved her.

She gave him a grateful smile. Sydney's gaze flickered between her two precious children, noticing her daughter looked reassured, but her son still regarded them with guarded suspicion. He moved slightly, putting himself in between the three females and the strangers. It was almost as if he was preparing to defend them. It made Vaughn's stomach knot slightly over how much this boy reminded him of his father.

"Gentlemen, this is my son Alec and my daughter Katia," Sydney introduced.

"Hi," Katia said shyly, whilst her brother remained silent.

Sydney turned back to her children, "They are going to be looking after you and Tatiana. We're going to go with them to the place you'll be staying for a while."

"What about you, mama? Aren't you staying with us?" Katia asked, worry in her voiced.

She shook her head, "No, sweetie. I have to stay somewhere else."

"But mama..." Katia began to protest.

"It'll be ok sweetheart. Alec and Tatiana are going to be staying with you. Everything will be ok. I promise."

She stroked both of their cheeks and kissed their heads. As she attempted to stand up, her son tugged on her arm.

"We're not going now are we?" Alec asked.

"We are."

"But we haven't seen you in ages. Can you at least finish the story you were telling us," He pleaded, his sister nodding in agreement.

Sydney looked at Vaughn. He gave her a brief nod and she turned back to her children smiling. They let out a small cheer and the three of them sat down on the falling apart couch, Sydney sandwiched in the middle.

"Where was I?" She asked her children.

"Persephone had just been kidnapped by Hades to be his bride and her mother went to see Zeus, to see if he would help her get her daughter back," Katia reminded.

"Yeah, and Zeus said he would bring her back, just as long as she hadn't eaten any food from the Underworld. Because anyone who eats food from the Underworld must stay there forever," Alec added.

"That's right. Ok. Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger god, down to the Underworld to order Hades to let Persephone go. But poor Persephone had grown more and more hungry and the food Hades had offered looked more and more tempting..."

Vaughn let Sydney words fade away. He watched her and her children snuggled together on the couch, looking so perfect. It reminded him of what he had once wanted. What another man once had. It reminded him of what might have been.

~*~*~*~*~

The twins' faces lit up when they walked into the safe house. They looked at the comfortable living room, then ran and checked out the bedrooms and bathroom.

"Wow! There's a TV, loads of different films to watch and a games console," Alec announced happily.

"Cool," Katia squealed before running over to turn it on.

"Oh no, hold on you guys. It's bed time," Sydney ordered.

"Oh but mama," They moaned in unison.

"Come on. You heard your mother," Tatiana reinforced.

"But, Tatiana, we're not tired," Katia insisted unconvincingly as she yawned.

"Yeah right. Come on trouble, I'll help you change."

She picked up one of their bags and herded them into a small bedroom to the right of the living room. Sydney sat down on the couch, her smile transforming back into her mask. Vaughn noticed this, curiously wondering why she only allowed herself to act human around her children.

"How old is Tatiana?" Weiss asked, breaking the silence.

Sydney gave him an unreadable look.

"She's almost 25."

"How did she get involved in this?"

"Her last employer was a rival of my mother's. He treated her very badly, like she was an object rather then a human. I was sent to," She paused for a moment, choosing her word, "terminate him and I offered her a job for me. I gave her protection and a home and she took it."

Sitting on the plush couch, clearly lost in her own private thoughts; she looked away from the two men, allowing another silence to settle. It was only broken a few minutes later when Tatiana returned.

"They're in bed," She announced. "Teeth brushed, faces washed and tucked in. They want to see you."

"Thank you," Sydney replied before walking into the dim bedroom.

"Mama, will you still be here when we wake up?" Katia asked in a hushed tone, almost frightened.

"No, sweetheart," She replied, her voice soothing.

"When will you be back?" Alec asked this time.

"I'm not sure. Soon," She lied to protect them, "Soon. In the mean time, listen and do what Mr. Vaughn and Mr. Weiss tell you. And be good for Tatiana, ok?"

"Yes, mama," they promised together.

"Night my beautiful Katia," She whispered and kissed her head. "I love you."

"Night, mama. I love you too," Katia yawned.

"Night my strong Alec, I need you to be brave and take care of your sister for me. I love you," She repeated to her son, kissing him also on the head.

"Night, mama. I love you too. Don't worry, I promised dad that I would always protect you and Katia, so you better be back soon," He whispered.

Sydney felt a surge of pain run through her heart, but she didn't let it show. Instead she stroked his hair, sadly thinking about how much he was beginning to resemble his father, the way she would always remember him. She watched her children till she was sure that they were asleep. She wiped a tear from her face, not knowing when she would see them again. If she would see them again.

Regaining her composure and placing her mask back on, she walked into the other room.

"Take good care of them, Tatiana." It was not hard to hear the pleading tone of her voice, despite her best attempts to cover it. "And remind them that I love them."

"I will," Tatiana promised, embracing Sydney. "Everyday."

She returned the awkward hug, and then broke away. Without another word, the agents marched her out of the safe house. When they were outside, they placed her chains back on and lead her back into the van. Her final destination: away from her children and back to her glass cage.

A/N: So what do you think? I love to hear you feedback and opinions, so go ahead and give them to me. :o)