D: Not mine. Don't I wish, I would have NOT written a certain
someone.MARRIED!!! So, don't sue. Got nada.
An: Here's an update, I know it's quite later than expected. I blame it on finale shock, rather nasty tantrums, and long moments of denial and drowning myself in ff.net fics to try and recover. It's working a little. But doing this fic sure helps, so here's the next chapter. Hopefully it'll help you forget that DAMN ring!! An: +"."+ means person is speaking in Russian.
{#}
Suddenly the guards took steps back and raised their hidden guns, taking out the CIA agents beside Irina. You could hear very faintly, choppers that seemed to be closing in to the pueblo. Jack and Vaughn busted around the wall, taking the two guards out. Jack grabbed Irina and they all piled behind the opening gate's walls.
"NO! No, no, no! Not HERE! This is my HOME! This...BLOODshed doesn't touch here!" Irina screamed, tears falling. Sydney and Vaughn gaped. They just witnessed Irina's breaking point.
Family.
"This is your pueblo you told me about?" Jack asked breathlessly. She only nodded, wiping her tears off and setting her jaw.
"They WON'T have it. I WON'T let them. M-my PARENTS! And grandparents! Aunts and Uncles! From at least 4 generations back, Jack!! They're ALL here!" Irina said, her voice trembling.
"How BIG is this place? They're all buried here?" Vaughn asked. Irina thought briefly.
"About 300 acres or so. And yes. Up on the hill top plains, next to our church." Irina said.
"I believe they're coming. We need to get in there. Whatever you were going to get. Now that you cover's blown before you even made it through the gates." Sydney pointed out.
"This wasn't supposed to go this way. She was just supposed to make an appearance." Eric commented working overtime to accommodate the new situation.
"They stepped WAY over bounds." Jack said as he led them through the gates and up the path to the main homestead.
It was gorgeous. Sydney couldn't believe how big it was. It must have stretched out over a ½ acre alone, just the house structure! Off to the right, off a little in the distance, you could see a huge barn with horses stalled around it and chickens bustling about.
"Mom, who runs the pueblo while you're gone?" Sydney asked as they crept into the house.
"The workers. The one's who are practically like family here. They go back generations as well. Right now it's Misha and Tatyana. They're in the main house. Sashenka is in the barn room. And Yeva and Bohdana are at the church cottage flat." Irina listed off as she got tenser and tenser. Jack could see her fists getting tighter.
"Irina. Ease up. You're about to snap." Jack offered softly, resting his hand on her elbow lightly.
"Ease up?!? Jackson David Bristow, I am currently CREEPING around my OWN family home where some IDIOTS of that little..TROLL..are lurking about! Not to mention that I can't FIND my hands that are almost like FAMILY to me! Once you've been in a situation like this and been CALM throughout it, back OFF!" She chewed out. Vaughn's mouth was almost completely wide open at this interaction. Sydney smirked from the dumbfounded look on her father's face. Eric mumbled in the earpiece.
"God I'd hate to see her in child labor." And you could see Vaughn nod his head in agreement.
"Okay..maybe they were escorted off the land. We'll find them." Jack said after he blinked past the sense of de-ja-vous and back to reality.
Just then you could hear muffled voices and pounding from somewhere below the kitchen's dining area.
"The cellar!" Irina chirped, running through the swing doors into the massive kitchen. She sprinted to the corner of the room, just below the breakfast nook and ripped back the multi-colored rug. There, she felt for the hidden latch and yanked open the door.
+"Misha?! Tatyana?! You down there? Yeva? Bohdana? It's me..Angel. Please answer me!"+ Irina called in Russian.
Suddenly an elderly man poked his head up, blinking in the light.
"Misha!" Irina called happily, immediately pulling him up. Vaughn and Jack jumped over to help. Next was Tatyana, who hugged and kissed Irina like a grandmother. Then Yeva and Bohdana, who were a few years younger than Irina's age. With...
+"Whose this?"+ Irina said as a little girl around 5 years old was handed to her.
+"That's Alanah Yeva. Our little miracle. Our daughter."+ Bohdana said, kissing her little girl's nose as Irina handed her back.
+"You had a baby?! After all those years of trying?! That's wonderful!"+ Irina said, tickling the little girl's cheek. Then Irina noticed one of her hands missing.
"Sashenka?!" Irina said, rushing past everyone and down the hall. Sydney followed with Vaughn close behind. Jack stayed with the hands there. Irina led Sydney and Vaughn through hallways, past bedrooms, a library, a den, out a side door into a sun room patio through a vegetable garden and across a short hill, spreading the chickens about, running into the barn. Sydney was trying to catch up and talk some sense into her mother.
"Mom!! There..could be..more..IDIOTS!" Sydney tried yelling, desperate to get her mother to stop to think just a moment. But Irina kept going into the barn where she slid to a halt.
+"Sashenka?! Where are you?! Sashenka!? It's Angel..do you hear me?"+ Irina yelled desperately as Vaughn and Sydney watched her look all about, the horses looking on interested. Then she heard a familiar cough.
+"Dear child, stop squealing like a lost lamb, I'm right here in Alexi's stall."+ a voice, old but kind, spoke out. She rushed over to a big black stallion's stall, kissed his velvet nose, then shooed him away and opened it to produce an elder man a little slow when moving but with bright green/gray eyes.
+"Sashenka. My you SCARED me when I didn't find you with the others."+ Irina said hugging him after she closed the stall door behind him.
+"Alexi's looking older in his years. Still the mighty protector I take it, since you hid there knowing he wouldn't let any strangers pass by him to get to you."+ Irina pointed out, taking his arm to help him to Sydney and Vaughn.
+"Yes, gonna have a son or daughter any day now, we expect. See the looker in the last stall? She's a beauty, isn't she?"+ he said, pointing to a gorgeous Dapple Gray.
+"And who are these two young ones..so suited up?"+ Sashenka asked, nodding to Vaughn and Sydney. Irina eyed them and shook her head no.
"I'll tell them who you are all at once. It's...been a few years since I've been here last...and I left on a little shaky terms." Irina told Sydney. She just nodded and smiled kindly at the man.
+"I'm Sydney. This is V-...Michael."+ Sydney said nicely.
+"Oh, she speaks Russian..and she looks remarkably like you Angel..but we'll hear all about it soon enough, yes?"+ Sashenka said, winking at Sydney who could only blush.
They made their way back to the main house, Vaughn and Sydney checking out the perimeter, looking for any more of Sloane's men. Once back inside, Irina found everyone waiting around the kitchen; Tatyana passing out glasses of water, and Alanah in...Jack's lap, giggling as she played with his face. Jack sat smiling and playing away with this little girl, lost in their own world. Sydney just gazed on, totally shocked.
"This day just gets weirder and weirder with your parents Syd." Vaughn commented in her ear.
"TELL me about it!" Sydney quipped back.
"Eric, are there anymore of Sloane's men about?" Vaughn checked.
"Nope. All clear. Donald's and Whitikar are alive and well too. The gunshots didn't penetrate the vests but Donalds is having a tough time breathing and Whitikar was out for a moment or two." Eric relayed.
"Get them to the hospital. We're good here. Don't come back without them." Vaughn said.
"Sure thing, man. Semper Fi. Be back soon." Eric commented in the comm before disconnecting and going to cellular phone mode of communication. Jack, Vaughn, Sydney, and Irina pulled out their com links then too. Well, Alanah had already yanked Jacks out but he couldn't be mad.
+"My daughter LOVE'S him! She became instantly attracted to him."+ Bohdana said, smiling as he sat watching them.
+"Yeah, must have been contagious. Same thing happened to me a time ago."+ Irina said, eyeing Jack a moment before she moved on. Jack set the little girl down, getting serious.
"We don't have a lot of time Irina. We heard choppers out earlier." Jack reminded.
"What are they waiting for?" Sydney wondered, taking a drink of water that was offered. Vaughn pulled a chair out gentlemanly for her to sit before he too sat down.
"They're waiting. To see if we have back up." Jack stated, eyeing Irina.
"They won't get their chance, will they Jack?" Irina challenged her voice getting anxious. He shook his head.
"They're on stand by Irina. But we still don't know exactly where Sloane's at. One could be closer than the other." Jack explained, trying not to have her panic. She nodded understanding and took action. She turned to Misha, smiling.
+"I guess I owe you all an explanation. These are agents of the US, where I've been for the past few months. This is Michael Vaughn..and this is Jack Bristow, my ex-husband. And this...is Sydney. Our daughter."+ Irina explained, seeing all the eyebrows raise. Sydney couldn't help but blush.
"They never knew about your family?" Vaughn asked curiously.
"They knew I came and went..they knew I had married..that something happened where I 'lost' it all..they never asked. And I never told. For their safety and my own family's. I just couldn't tell, something I hold so close I couldn't share it with these people who are like family to me." Irina said with watery eyes, trying to make Jack and Sydney understand.
"Irina...we must go." Jack said getting up.
"Yes.okay. I'll get what I came for and explain to them to keep quiet. They always do anyways." Irina said turning to her workers. She explained quickly and they nodded, understanding. Then she took off down the hall, with Sydney following close behind.
"I wanted to show you this place. A place of my past, my REAL past. Part of who I was.. Still am. And it's yours too. From the moment you were born. And it always will be." Irina revealed as she made her way into the hall that led to the bedrooms. They entered what appeared to be the largest of all the bedrooms..excluding the master suite.
"This was your room." Sydney said, looking all about.
"Yes." Irina answered, watching her daughter gaze about with big exploring eyes. She reached out, running her hand gently along the dresser bureau and picked up a picture of an older couple holding a young girl of about 10 in their arms.
"Are these...my grandparents?" Sydney said in a whisper, smiling. Irina nodded from her place near the back wall. Sydney smiled at the photo.
"Keep it baby." Irina said from over her shoulder as she felt along the wall with her hands.
"Oh no. I couldn't." Sydney said, shaking her head.
"Go ahead. I was the only child here. They've got tons of photos of the three of us together. It's yours." Irina said, concentrating until she found the latch and opened the hidden partition to reveal a small safe. She quickly spun the dial and opened it, smiling as she saw the worn leathery envelope with the small wooden antique music box. She wrapped the box up in a thick cloth from a drawer and placed that and the envelope into her shoulder bag. She re-closed the safe, set the wall back and turned to Sydney.
"Let's go." She said, taking Sydney's free hand and hurrying back to the kitchen.
"We just got a call. There's some rouge choppers coming. Our guys will intercept them, but it'll be a close call. We're 10 minutes away and they're about 5. We need to move." Jack announced.
"Jack. They WON'T touch my home, right?" Irina said with a warning tone. Jack eyed her warily, then answered lowly.
"I don't know." He said, gathering up his things, nodding towards the workers, especially the little girl, and ushered Sydney and Vaughn out. Irina turned to her 'family' and smiled, hugging all of them quickly.
+"I love you all. I miss you terribly, but I must go. Trouble is coming, but we've got backup to keep you safe. I'll see you all again, promise. And it's lovely meeting you, little girl. Bye now. Take care of my pueblo."+ she said in a soft voice, then took off with Jack following her.
As they were making their way out, they saw Sloane's men advancing.
"He'll be wise not to upset Derevko by even TOUCHING her family home." Vaughn said to Eric, who had just gotten to the pickup point after getting back from the hospital. They had climbed in and took off, just to see the CIA back-up chase off Sloane's threat. Irina exhaled wearily, smiling pleasingly at Jack. Mission accomplished in her eyes.
"You were flirting with that girl, Jack." Irina purred out teasingly a little while later. Jack just harrumphed and rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly.
"What?! Who? How old was this 'girl'?" Weiss asked, ears perking up. Vaughn smirked and Sydney grinned.
"Like..5 years old. She had him wrapped around her little finger in a minute flat." Sydney giggled. Weiss chuckled at that as Jack could only shrug. Irina just laughed.
"They've tried for so long to have a child. I thought they'd never have children. What an adorable miracle she was." Irina said to no one in particular. They got home late that night, the two injured agents coming home by an army medic airplane. Irina was placed back into custody, but with her belongings. She was allowed to keep them, but she had to reveal what she had extracted from Russia.
So, about a day after they got back, she had Sydney and Jack brought in to go over the belongings. They sat around the table once again as Irina pulled open the envelope.
"These are documents, official documents of practically everything in my life." Irina started off. She pulled out a stack of different papers, in different stages of ware.
"This is my citizenship certificate." She first said, slipping out a paper. Sydney, wide eyed at everything, gently took it. She gazed over it, then her brow furrowed.
"Why do you have this and not a birth certificate? And why is your birth date in quotations?" Sydney asked confused. Irina smiled.
"Your very observant. I was going to get to that in a minute..well, it's like this because that's my guessed birth date." Irina said softly, catching both their stares.
{#}
An: there it is!! Did I leave it at a sort of cliffhanger? At least it will keep you scratching your heads a little bit. PLEASE review and tell me what you think or if you have any questions or ideas. Thanx!
An: Here's an update, I know it's quite later than expected. I blame it on finale shock, rather nasty tantrums, and long moments of denial and drowning myself in ff.net fics to try and recover. It's working a little. But doing this fic sure helps, so here's the next chapter. Hopefully it'll help you forget that DAMN ring!! An: +"."+ means person is speaking in Russian.
{#}
Suddenly the guards took steps back and raised their hidden guns, taking out the CIA agents beside Irina. You could hear very faintly, choppers that seemed to be closing in to the pueblo. Jack and Vaughn busted around the wall, taking the two guards out. Jack grabbed Irina and they all piled behind the opening gate's walls.
"NO! No, no, no! Not HERE! This is my HOME! This...BLOODshed doesn't touch here!" Irina screamed, tears falling. Sydney and Vaughn gaped. They just witnessed Irina's breaking point.
Family.
"This is your pueblo you told me about?" Jack asked breathlessly. She only nodded, wiping her tears off and setting her jaw.
"They WON'T have it. I WON'T let them. M-my PARENTS! And grandparents! Aunts and Uncles! From at least 4 generations back, Jack!! They're ALL here!" Irina said, her voice trembling.
"How BIG is this place? They're all buried here?" Vaughn asked. Irina thought briefly.
"About 300 acres or so. And yes. Up on the hill top plains, next to our church." Irina said.
"I believe they're coming. We need to get in there. Whatever you were going to get. Now that you cover's blown before you even made it through the gates." Sydney pointed out.
"This wasn't supposed to go this way. She was just supposed to make an appearance." Eric commented working overtime to accommodate the new situation.
"They stepped WAY over bounds." Jack said as he led them through the gates and up the path to the main homestead.
It was gorgeous. Sydney couldn't believe how big it was. It must have stretched out over a ½ acre alone, just the house structure! Off to the right, off a little in the distance, you could see a huge barn with horses stalled around it and chickens bustling about.
"Mom, who runs the pueblo while you're gone?" Sydney asked as they crept into the house.
"The workers. The one's who are practically like family here. They go back generations as well. Right now it's Misha and Tatyana. They're in the main house. Sashenka is in the barn room. And Yeva and Bohdana are at the church cottage flat." Irina listed off as she got tenser and tenser. Jack could see her fists getting tighter.
"Irina. Ease up. You're about to snap." Jack offered softly, resting his hand on her elbow lightly.
"Ease up?!? Jackson David Bristow, I am currently CREEPING around my OWN family home where some IDIOTS of that little..TROLL..are lurking about! Not to mention that I can't FIND my hands that are almost like FAMILY to me! Once you've been in a situation like this and been CALM throughout it, back OFF!" She chewed out. Vaughn's mouth was almost completely wide open at this interaction. Sydney smirked from the dumbfounded look on her father's face. Eric mumbled in the earpiece.
"God I'd hate to see her in child labor." And you could see Vaughn nod his head in agreement.
"Okay..maybe they were escorted off the land. We'll find them." Jack said after he blinked past the sense of de-ja-vous and back to reality.
Just then you could hear muffled voices and pounding from somewhere below the kitchen's dining area.
"The cellar!" Irina chirped, running through the swing doors into the massive kitchen. She sprinted to the corner of the room, just below the breakfast nook and ripped back the multi-colored rug. There, she felt for the hidden latch and yanked open the door.
+"Misha?! Tatyana?! You down there? Yeva? Bohdana? It's me..Angel. Please answer me!"+ Irina called in Russian.
Suddenly an elderly man poked his head up, blinking in the light.
"Misha!" Irina called happily, immediately pulling him up. Vaughn and Jack jumped over to help. Next was Tatyana, who hugged and kissed Irina like a grandmother. Then Yeva and Bohdana, who were a few years younger than Irina's age. With...
+"Whose this?"+ Irina said as a little girl around 5 years old was handed to her.
+"That's Alanah Yeva. Our little miracle. Our daughter."+ Bohdana said, kissing her little girl's nose as Irina handed her back.
+"You had a baby?! After all those years of trying?! That's wonderful!"+ Irina said, tickling the little girl's cheek. Then Irina noticed one of her hands missing.
"Sashenka?!" Irina said, rushing past everyone and down the hall. Sydney followed with Vaughn close behind. Jack stayed with the hands there. Irina led Sydney and Vaughn through hallways, past bedrooms, a library, a den, out a side door into a sun room patio through a vegetable garden and across a short hill, spreading the chickens about, running into the barn. Sydney was trying to catch up and talk some sense into her mother.
"Mom!! There..could be..more..IDIOTS!" Sydney tried yelling, desperate to get her mother to stop to think just a moment. But Irina kept going into the barn where she slid to a halt.
+"Sashenka?! Where are you?! Sashenka!? It's Angel..do you hear me?"+ Irina yelled desperately as Vaughn and Sydney watched her look all about, the horses looking on interested. Then she heard a familiar cough.
+"Dear child, stop squealing like a lost lamb, I'm right here in Alexi's stall."+ a voice, old but kind, spoke out. She rushed over to a big black stallion's stall, kissed his velvet nose, then shooed him away and opened it to produce an elder man a little slow when moving but with bright green/gray eyes.
+"Sashenka. My you SCARED me when I didn't find you with the others."+ Irina said hugging him after she closed the stall door behind him.
+"Alexi's looking older in his years. Still the mighty protector I take it, since you hid there knowing he wouldn't let any strangers pass by him to get to you."+ Irina pointed out, taking his arm to help him to Sydney and Vaughn.
+"Yes, gonna have a son or daughter any day now, we expect. See the looker in the last stall? She's a beauty, isn't she?"+ he said, pointing to a gorgeous Dapple Gray.
+"And who are these two young ones..so suited up?"+ Sashenka asked, nodding to Vaughn and Sydney. Irina eyed them and shook her head no.
"I'll tell them who you are all at once. It's...been a few years since I've been here last...and I left on a little shaky terms." Irina told Sydney. She just nodded and smiled kindly at the man.
+"I'm Sydney. This is V-...Michael."+ Sydney said nicely.
+"Oh, she speaks Russian..and she looks remarkably like you Angel..but we'll hear all about it soon enough, yes?"+ Sashenka said, winking at Sydney who could only blush.
They made their way back to the main house, Vaughn and Sydney checking out the perimeter, looking for any more of Sloane's men. Once back inside, Irina found everyone waiting around the kitchen; Tatyana passing out glasses of water, and Alanah in...Jack's lap, giggling as she played with his face. Jack sat smiling and playing away with this little girl, lost in their own world. Sydney just gazed on, totally shocked.
"This day just gets weirder and weirder with your parents Syd." Vaughn commented in her ear.
"TELL me about it!" Sydney quipped back.
"Eric, are there anymore of Sloane's men about?" Vaughn checked.
"Nope. All clear. Donald's and Whitikar are alive and well too. The gunshots didn't penetrate the vests but Donalds is having a tough time breathing and Whitikar was out for a moment or two." Eric relayed.
"Get them to the hospital. We're good here. Don't come back without them." Vaughn said.
"Sure thing, man. Semper Fi. Be back soon." Eric commented in the comm before disconnecting and going to cellular phone mode of communication. Jack, Vaughn, Sydney, and Irina pulled out their com links then too. Well, Alanah had already yanked Jacks out but he couldn't be mad.
+"My daughter LOVE'S him! She became instantly attracted to him."+ Bohdana said, smiling as he sat watching them.
+"Yeah, must have been contagious. Same thing happened to me a time ago."+ Irina said, eyeing Jack a moment before she moved on. Jack set the little girl down, getting serious.
"We don't have a lot of time Irina. We heard choppers out earlier." Jack reminded.
"What are they waiting for?" Sydney wondered, taking a drink of water that was offered. Vaughn pulled a chair out gentlemanly for her to sit before he too sat down.
"They're waiting. To see if we have back up." Jack stated, eyeing Irina.
"They won't get their chance, will they Jack?" Irina challenged her voice getting anxious. He shook his head.
"They're on stand by Irina. But we still don't know exactly where Sloane's at. One could be closer than the other." Jack explained, trying not to have her panic. She nodded understanding and took action. She turned to Misha, smiling.
+"I guess I owe you all an explanation. These are agents of the US, where I've been for the past few months. This is Michael Vaughn..and this is Jack Bristow, my ex-husband. And this...is Sydney. Our daughter."+ Irina explained, seeing all the eyebrows raise. Sydney couldn't help but blush.
"They never knew about your family?" Vaughn asked curiously.
"They knew I came and went..they knew I had married..that something happened where I 'lost' it all..they never asked. And I never told. For their safety and my own family's. I just couldn't tell, something I hold so close I couldn't share it with these people who are like family to me." Irina said with watery eyes, trying to make Jack and Sydney understand.
"Irina...we must go." Jack said getting up.
"Yes.okay. I'll get what I came for and explain to them to keep quiet. They always do anyways." Irina said turning to her workers. She explained quickly and they nodded, understanding. Then she took off down the hall, with Sydney following close behind.
"I wanted to show you this place. A place of my past, my REAL past. Part of who I was.. Still am. And it's yours too. From the moment you were born. And it always will be." Irina revealed as she made her way into the hall that led to the bedrooms. They entered what appeared to be the largest of all the bedrooms..excluding the master suite.
"This was your room." Sydney said, looking all about.
"Yes." Irina answered, watching her daughter gaze about with big exploring eyes. She reached out, running her hand gently along the dresser bureau and picked up a picture of an older couple holding a young girl of about 10 in their arms.
"Are these...my grandparents?" Sydney said in a whisper, smiling. Irina nodded from her place near the back wall. Sydney smiled at the photo.
"Keep it baby." Irina said from over her shoulder as she felt along the wall with her hands.
"Oh no. I couldn't." Sydney said, shaking her head.
"Go ahead. I was the only child here. They've got tons of photos of the three of us together. It's yours." Irina said, concentrating until she found the latch and opened the hidden partition to reveal a small safe. She quickly spun the dial and opened it, smiling as she saw the worn leathery envelope with the small wooden antique music box. She wrapped the box up in a thick cloth from a drawer and placed that and the envelope into her shoulder bag. She re-closed the safe, set the wall back and turned to Sydney.
"Let's go." She said, taking Sydney's free hand and hurrying back to the kitchen.
"We just got a call. There's some rouge choppers coming. Our guys will intercept them, but it'll be a close call. We're 10 minutes away and they're about 5. We need to move." Jack announced.
"Jack. They WON'T touch my home, right?" Irina said with a warning tone. Jack eyed her warily, then answered lowly.
"I don't know." He said, gathering up his things, nodding towards the workers, especially the little girl, and ushered Sydney and Vaughn out. Irina turned to her 'family' and smiled, hugging all of them quickly.
+"I love you all. I miss you terribly, but I must go. Trouble is coming, but we've got backup to keep you safe. I'll see you all again, promise. And it's lovely meeting you, little girl. Bye now. Take care of my pueblo."+ she said in a soft voice, then took off with Jack following her.
As they were making their way out, they saw Sloane's men advancing.
"He'll be wise not to upset Derevko by even TOUCHING her family home." Vaughn said to Eric, who had just gotten to the pickup point after getting back from the hospital. They had climbed in and took off, just to see the CIA back-up chase off Sloane's threat. Irina exhaled wearily, smiling pleasingly at Jack. Mission accomplished in her eyes.
"You were flirting with that girl, Jack." Irina purred out teasingly a little while later. Jack just harrumphed and rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly.
"What?! Who? How old was this 'girl'?" Weiss asked, ears perking up. Vaughn smirked and Sydney grinned.
"Like..5 years old. She had him wrapped around her little finger in a minute flat." Sydney giggled. Weiss chuckled at that as Jack could only shrug. Irina just laughed.
"They've tried for so long to have a child. I thought they'd never have children. What an adorable miracle she was." Irina said to no one in particular. They got home late that night, the two injured agents coming home by an army medic airplane. Irina was placed back into custody, but with her belongings. She was allowed to keep them, but she had to reveal what she had extracted from Russia.
So, about a day after they got back, she had Sydney and Jack brought in to go over the belongings. They sat around the table once again as Irina pulled open the envelope.
"These are documents, official documents of practically everything in my life." Irina started off. She pulled out a stack of different papers, in different stages of ware.
"This is my citizenship certificate." She first said, slipping out a paper. Sydney, wide eyed at everything, gently took it. She gazed over it, then her brow furrowed.
"Why do you have this and not a birth certificate? And why is your birth date in quotations?" Sydney asked confused. Irina smiled.
"Your very observant. I was going to get to that in a minute..well, it's like this because that's my guessed birth date." Irina said softly, catching both their stares.
{#}
An: there it is!! Did I leave it at a sort of cliffhanger? At least it will keep you scratching your heads a little bit. PLEASE review and tell me what you think or if you have any questions or ideas. Thanx!
