TITLE: Dissonance
AUTHOR: Lillian
RATING: PG for Chapters 1 & 2, eventually NC-17
SUMMARY: The Telling aftermath
SPOILERS: All the way through season two, post-episode for The Telling.
DISCLAIMER: The characters all belong to JJ, in whom I trust until September. If I owned them, I wouldn't be working a 2nd job.
A/N: A friend wrote a fic post Telling and it inspired my own bit of madness. Second chapter. This is my first non-humorous fan fiction that I've written all by myself. Thanks Liz for beta-reading this for me and helping me hash out the storyline. Did I mention I'm nervous about posting this? Thank you for the kind feedback so far.
Chapter 2
Sydney loosened herself from her father's embrace. Leaning back she saw her father's tears and knew this wasn't the same man she'd rescued from Sloane in Mexico City. The Jack Bristow she'd known would never have allowed her to see such raw emotion.
"I've never seen you cry before, Dad," Syd commented as she wiped a tear away from Jack's cheek. "Not when Mom supposedly died, not when you've been tortured, never."
"Let's just say the opportunities for soul-searching have been plentiful the past 2 years, Sydney. I've come to certain realizations about myself, about you, about your mother…" Jack let the last word drift off as he composed himself.
Sydney almost missed seeing Jack's control slip back into place, it was that fast. Some things hadn't changed.
She wanted to ask about Irina but she was more interested in her father at the moment. "How are you, Dad? Are you ok?"
Jack gave a short laugh as he moved to sit in the chair by Sydney's bed. "I'm fine, sweetheart. Now that I know you're alive, I'm fine."
Sydney's eyes, still keen and observant, looked over her father's face. She noted that the lines around his eyes were deeper, his gray hair she had always thought so distinguished was showing more white.
"Have I passed scrutiny?" Jack asked ruefully. He knew what his daughter was doing, and he was glad of it. It meant her mental state was better than he had expected, that her senses were still sharp.
"It's been a difficult time for you, hasn't it? I'm sorry for that." Syd told him, smoothing the bed sheet as she spoke. "I wish…" Her voice dropped off because she didn't know where to start with what she wished. There were so many things. Her father not to have been through so much pain, her mother to just be her mother, Vaughn.
Jack briefly placed his hand over his daughter's and said, "Sydney, I'm here to drive you to the CIA to begin your de-briefing. I wanted to be the one to see you in Hong Kong but Vaughn was closer."
Sydney let her face fill with her love for her father. She didn't want him to see her anguish over Vaughn. That pain was hers alone. "I just need to get dressed, Dad. I'll only be a minute."
Jack nodded as he got up from his chair. "I'll be waiting outside, Sydney."
Sydney went into the bathroom to clean herself up. After putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Sydney tied her running shoes and went outside to her father.
Jack still drove a black Lincoln and Sydney teased him about having the same car, even though she knew it was a later model. He surprised Sydney and himself by smiling at her casual needling.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Sydney?"
"What happened to Mom?"
Jack knew that Sydney wouldn't have been able to wait to find out about her mother. He'd surmised she would have asked first thing.
Since this car was his, and not the CIA's, Jack only paused a moment before answering his daughter's question. "She's been in hiding for the past year." Jack took his time with his next revelation. "The CIA doesn't know where she is - and I haven't told them." He cast a sidelong glance at Sydney as his words sank in.
Sydney considered the information and then zeroed in on the most important part, in her mind. "Was she really trying to help take down Sloane?"
Jack's words were measured, thoughtful. "Yes, she helped defeat Sloane. In fact, she was the one who killed him." He held back the fact that he and Irina were slowly getting to know each other again, that he was helping her to evade the US authorities.
"But she told me that I was the only one who could defeat Sloane, that she wasn't the one in Rambaldi's prophesy. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's dead. It's just one more thing that doesn't make any sense."
They pulled up to the CIA's offices and got out of Jack's car. He walked her into the building and told her Dr. Barnett was waiting in her office for Sydney.
"I'll take you back to the safe house later, Sydney, after you've finished here for the day." Jack gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as he turned to walk away. Sydney took a deep breath and entered the psychologist's office.
AUTHOR: Lillian
RATING: PG for Chapters 1 & 2, eventually NC-17
SUMMARY: The Telling aftermath
SPOILERS: All the way through season two, post-episode for The Telling.
DISCLAIMER: The characters all belong to JJ, in whom I trust until September. If I owned them, I wouldn't be working a 2nd job.
A/N: A friend wrote a fic post Telling and it inspired my own bit of madness. Second chapter. This is my first non-humorous fan fiction that I've written all by myself. Thanks Liz for beta-reading this for me and helping me hash out the storyline. Did I mention I'm nervous about posting this? Thank you for the kind feedback so far.
Chapter 2
Sydney loosened herself from her father's embrace. Leaning back she saw her father's tears and knew this wasn't the same man she'd rescued from Sloane in Mexico City. The Jack Bristow she'd known would never have allowed her to see such raw emotion.
"I've never seen you cry before, Dad," Syd commented as she wiped a tear away from Jack's cheek. "Not when Mom supposedly died, not when you've been tortured, never."
"Let's just say the opportunities for soul-searching have been plentiful the past 2 years, Sydney. I've come to certain realizations about myself, about you, about your mother…" Jack let the last word drift off as he composed himself.
Sydney almost missed seeing Jack's control slip back into place, it was that fast. Some things hadn't changed.
She wanted to ask about Irina but she was more interested in her father at the moment. "How are you, Dad? Are you ok?"
Jack gave a short laugh as he moved to sit in the chair by Sydney's bed. "I'm fine, sweetheart. Now that I know you're alive, I'm fine."
Sydney's eyes, still keen and observant, looked over her father's face. She noted that the lines around his eyes were deeper, his gray hair she had always thought so distinguished was showing more white.
"Have I passed scrutiny?" Jack asked ruefully. He knew what his daughter was doing, and he was glad of it. It meant her mental state was better than he had expected, that her senses were still sharp.
"It's been a difficult time for you, hasn't it? I'm sorry for that." Syd told him, smoothing the bed sheet as she spoke. "I wish…" Her voice dropped off because she didn't know where to start with what she wished. There were so many things. Her father not to have been through so much pain, her mother to just be her mother, Vaughn.
Jack briefly placed his hand over his daughter's and said, "Sydney, I'm here to drive you to the CIA to begin your de-briefing. I wanted to be the one to see you in Hong Kong but Vaughn was closer."
Sydney let her face fill with her love for her father. She didn't want him to see her anguish over Vaughn. That pain was hers alone. "I just need to get dressed, Dad. I'll only be a minute."
Jack nodded as he got up from his chair. "I'll be waiting outside, Sydney."
Sydney went into the bathroom to clean herself up. After putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Sydney tied her running shoes and went outside to her father.
Jack still drove a black Lincoln and Sydney teased him about having the same car, even though she knew it was a later model. He surprised Sydney and himself by smiling at her casual needling.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Sydney?"
"What happened to Mom?"
Jack knew that Sydney wouldn't have been able to wait to find out about her mother. He'd surmised she would have asked first thing.
Since this car was his, and not the CIA's, Jack only paused a moment before answering his daughter's question. "She's been in hiding for the past year." Jack took his time with his next revelation. "The CIA doesn't know where she is - and I haven't told them." He cast a sidelong glance at Sydney as his words sank in.
Sydney considered the information and then zeroed in on the most important part, in her mind. "Was she really trying to help take down Sloane?"
Jack's words were measured, thoughtful. "Yes, she helped defeat Sloane. In fact, she was the one who killed him." He held back the fact that he and Irina were slowly getting to know each other again, that he was helping her to evade the US authorities.
"But she told me that I was the only one who could defeat Sloane, that she wasn't the one in Rambaldi's prophesy. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's dead. It's just one more thing that doesn't make any sense."
They pulled up to the CIA's offices and got out of Jack's car. He walked her into the building and told her Dr. Barnett was waiting in her office for Sydney.
"I'll take you back to the safe house later, Sydney, after you've finished here for the day." Jack gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as he turned to walk away. Sydney took a deep breath and entered the psychologist's office.