TITLE: Dissonance - Chapter 8
AUTHOR: Lillian
RATING: G
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. This is my first non-humorous fan fiction that I've written all by myself.
Chapter 8
Sydney set her coffee down on the table and took a seat in the CIA Briefing room. It had been 2 weeks since Vaughn had saved her from Sloane. She beamed as Vaughn took his place beside her and she gripped his hand under the table. She still wasn't sure what had happened to her. She'd only been released from the hospital a couple days ago. She was staying with Vaughn while she salvaged what she could from her the rubble that used to be her apartment.
Vaughn grinned back at Sydney. He had never been so happy as he was when Sydney had woken up in the hospital. He'd been so afraid he'd lost her. He was never letting her go again. Sydney didn't know it yet, but Vaughn had plans for them. He didn't want to scare her by asking her to marry him right away - that could wait for now. But he did plan to talk to her about finding a house where they could live together. He was fine with renting, if that was what she wanted, but he'd rather they bought one. The thought of both of their names on a deed made his smile grow even wider.
Syd and Vaughn were so wrapped up in each other, they didn't hear Weiss enter the briefing room.
"If your grins get any bigger, your heads are going to split in half."
"You're just jealous, Weiss." Vaughn teased his friend.
Sydney's only response was to turn toward Weiss and stick out her tongue. Weiss couldn't help but laugh.
They toned down the levity as Director Kendall entered the room, followed closely by Jack, Marshall, and Dixon. Jack took a seat on the other side of Sydney and the corners of his mouth lifted as he lowered himself into the chair. Sydney gave her father an affectionate peck on the cheek to show she understood what he was trying to say with that small smile.
"Let's begin." Director Kendall stood at the front of the room, that consistently dour look on his face. "First of all, welcome back Agent Bristow. Thank you for coming in during your leave."
Sydney nodded in acknowledgment, silently wishing Kendall would get on with it. She squeezed Vaughn's hand under the table and felt him squeeze hers back in response.
Kendall continued, "As you all know, Agent Bristow had been kidnapped by Arvin Sloane. Agents Vaughn and Dixon rescued her from Sloane's hideout near El Remate, Guatemala. She was attached to some sort of device. Marshall, you've had some time to examine it. Tell us what you've found."
Marshall stood up and nervously fingered the pen he was holding. "Well, based on reports from Assistant Director Bristow, Agent Vaughn, Agent Dixon, and Sydney - glad to see you back, by the way, Sydney, err I mean Agent Bristow. Yeah, um, anyway, based on their reports and from investigating the device, we believe it's a Rambaldi invention called The Telling. I'd say the Italian name but it'd probably end up sounding like what Carrie and I had for dinner last night. Um, I mean Agent Bowman and I."
"Marshall, get on with it," Kendall barked as he glared at Marshall.
"Right, sorry. Ok. This device," Marshall explained as he pointed to a picture of the machine Sydney had been hooked up to, "Doesn't predict the future, as we think Mr. Sloane believed. It reads a person's subconscious thoughts, their fears, their desires, whatever. It does this by using a combination of electrical impulses to specific spots on the subject's body and by the subject being injected with a glycol based chemical mixture that makes him, or her," with this Marshall gestured toward Sydney, "more susceptible to the machine."
"Does the machine record the subject's subconscious thoughts?" Sydney asked, trying to hide her growing trepidation. She let go of Vaughn's hand because she didn't want him to feel how nervous the idea made her. She covered releasing his hand by tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"Not that I could find but I'm still investigating. What I can't figure out is why Sloane had Sydney hooked up in the first place? Didn't he believe she, err you I mean, um, were the woman on page 47 and the one spoken about in his prophecy? Why didn't he just kill you? I mean, I'm glad he didn't but." Marshall trailed off, looking at Sydney then Jack then over to Vaughn.
Jack spoke up in response to Marshall's question. "From what I've been able to discern from various intel sources, Sloane wanted to test the machine on someone before he used it on himself. He believed the machine would tell the future. He did intend to kill Sydney if she survived the machine."
After discussing a few more details of the machine, the meeting broke up. Sydney told Vaughn she'd meet him outside in a few minutes.
"Dad, do you have a minute?"
"Yes, of course, Sydney." Jack waited with his usual stoic expression on his face.
"There are so many things I've been wondering about but more than anything, I." Sydney paused as she gathered the courage she needed to speak. "How did you know where to find me?" Sydney tilted her head slightly sideways as she waited for her father to answer.
"Your mother told me about Sloane's hideout in Guatemala." Jack paused a moment as if her were trying out the taste of saying 'your mother' to Sydney. "Sark provided us with the code to the keypad lock."
Sydney's eyes widened at the mention of Sark. With everything that had happened in the past couple weeks, she'd forgotten he was in CIA custody. She hoped her father thought the reaction was because of her mother.
"Is she safe?" Sydney's voice was subdued and full of pain as she asked about Irina.
"I think so. She hasn't told me where she is." Jack's left eye squinted almost imperceptibly as he answered Sydney's question.
He can lie to everyone else, but not to me, Sydney thought, observing her father's unconscious tic. Another time, she might have pursued it, might have pushed him into a stony silence or even an argument. Not anymore. If her father needed to keep Irina's whereabouts a secret, she could accept that.
"Will you tell her thank you from me?" Sydney asked, looking knowingly into her father's eyes. "And that," Sydney faltered for a moment, "please tell her I love her." Sydney swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall.
Jack gazed at his daughter with a newfound respect. She knows I'm lying, he thought, but she's letting it go. "I will, sweetheart, I will." Jack wasn't a man prone to showing his emotions but it was more than he could do to resist folding his daughter into a strong embrace. For a few seconds, he allowed the love he felt for Sydney to swell from his heart.
He heard Sydney sigh into his shoulder as she hugged him back.
"I love you, too, Dad."
AUTHOR: Lillian
RATING: G
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. This is my first non-humorous fan fiction that I've written all by myself.
Chapter 8
Sydney set her coffee down on the table and took a seat in the CIA Briefing room. It had been 2 weeks since Vaughn had saved her from Sloane. She beamed as Vaughn took his place beside her and she gripped his hand under the table. She still wasn't sure what had happened to her. She'd only been released from the hospital a couple days ago. She was staying with Vaughn while she salvaged what she could from her the rubble that used to be her apartment.
Vaughn grinned back at Sydney. He had never been so happy as he was when Sydney had woken up in the hospital. He'd been so afraid he'd lost her. He was never letting her go again. Sydney didn't know it yet, but Vaughn had plans for them. He didn't want to scare her by asking her to marry him right away - that could wait for now. But he did plan to talk to her about finding a house where they could live together. He was fine with renting, if that was what she wanted, but he'd rather they bought one. The thought of both of their names on a deed made his smile grow even wider.
Syd and Vaughn were so wrapped up in each other, they didn't hear Weiss enter the briefing room.
"If your grins get any bigger, your heads are going to split in half."
"You're just jealous, Weiss." Vaughn teased his friend.
Sydney's only response was to turn toward Weiss and stick out her tongue. Weiss couldn't help but laugh.
They toned down the levity as Director Kendall entered the room, followed closely by Jack, Marshall, and Dixon. Jack took a seat on the other side of Sydney and the corners of his mouth lifted as he lowered himself into the chair. Sydney gave her father an affectionate peck on the cheek to show she understood what he was trying to say with that small smile.
"Let's begin." Director Kendall stood at the front of the room, that consistently dour look on his face. "First of all, welcome back Agent Bristow. Thank you for coming in during your leave."
Sydney nodded in acknowledgment, silently wishing Kendall would get on with it. She squeezed Vaughn's hand under the table and felt him squeeze hers back in response.
Kendall continued, "As you all know, Agent Bristow had been kidnapped by Arvin Sloane. Agents Vaughn and Dixon rescued her from Sloane's hideout near El Remate, Guatemala. She was attached to some sort of device. Marshall, you've had some time to examine it. Tell us what you've found."
Marshall stood up and nervously fingered the pen he was holding. "Well, based on reports from Assistant Director Bristow, Agent Vaughn, Agent Dixon, and Sydney - glad to see you back, by the way, Sydney, err I mean Agent Bristow. Yeah, um, anyway, based on their reports and from investigating the device, we believe it's a Rambaldi invention called The Telling. I'd say the Italian name but it'd probably end up sounding like what Carrie and I had for dinner last night. Um, I mean Agent Bowman and I."
"Marshall, get on with it," Kendall barked as he glared at Marshall.
"Right, sorry. Ok. This device," Marshall explained as he pointed to a picture of the machine Sydney had been hooked up to, "Doesn't predict the future, as we think Mr. Sloane believed. It reads a person's subconscious thoughts, their fears, their desires, whatever. It does this by using a combination of electrical impulses to specific spots on the subject's body and by the subject being injected with a glycol based chemical mixture that makes him, or her," with this Marshall gestured toward Sydney, "more susceptible to the machine."
"Does the machine record the subject's subconscious thoughts?" Sydney asked, trying to hide her growing trepidation. She let go of Vaughn's hand because she didn't want him to feel how nervous the idea made her. She covered releasing his hand by tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"Not that I could find but I'm still investigating. What I can't figure out is why Sloane had Sydney hooked up in the first place? Didn't he believe she, err you I mean, um, were the woman on page 47 and the one spoken about in his prophecy? Why didn't he just kill you? I mean, I'm glad he didn't but." Marshall trailed off, looking at Sydney then Jack then over to Vaughn.
Jack spoke up in response to Marshall's question. "From what I've been able to discern from various intel sources, Sloane wanted to test the machine on someone before he used it on himself. He believed the machine would tell the future. He did intend to kill Sydney if she survived the machine."
After discussing a few more details of the machine, the meeting broke up. Sydney told Vaughn she'd meet him outside in a few minutes.
"Dad, do you have a minute?"
"Yes, of course, Sydney." Jack waited with his usual stoic expression on his face.
"There are so many things I've been wondering about but more than anything, I." Sydney paused as she gathered the courage she needed to speak. "How did you know where to find me?" Sydney tilted her head slightly sideways as she waited for her father to answer.
"Your mother told me about Sloane's hideout in Guatemala." Jack paused a moment as if her were trying out the taste of saying 'your mother' to Sydney. "Sark provided us with the code to the keypad lock."
Sydney's eyes widened at the mention of Sark. With everything that had happened in the past couple weeks, she'd forgotten he was in CIA custody. She hoped her father thought the reaction was because of her mother.
"Is she safe?" Sydney's voice was subdued and full of pain as she asked about Irina.
"I think so. She hasn't told me where she is." Jack's left eye squinted almost imperceptibly as he answered Sydney's question.
He can lie to everyone else, but not to me, Sydney thought, observing her father's unconscious tic. Another time, she might have pursued it, might have pushed him into a stony silence or even an argument. Not anymore. If her father needed to keep Irina's whereabouts a secret, she could accept that.
"Will you tell her thank you from me?" Sydney asked, looking knowingly into her father's eyes. "And that," Sydney faltered for a moment, "please tell her I love her." Sydney swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall.
Jack gazed at his daughter with a newfound respect. She knows I'm lying, he thought, but she's letting it go. "I will, sweetheart, I will." Jack wasn't a man prone to showing his emotions but it was more than he could do to resist folding his daughter into a strong embrace. For a few seconds, he allowed the love he felt for Sydney to swell from his heart.
He heard Sydney sigh into his shoulder as she hugged him back.
"I love you, too, Dad."