At home that night, Sydney, Francie, and Will shared an easy dinner before settling down to watch 'Young Frankenstein'- one of Will's favorite movies. He retired around midnight, about an hour after the movie ended, leaving Sydney and Francie alone to talk.
"So what's up with Michael?" Francie questioned suddenly. Sydney looked at her in surprise, wondering if Francie had read her mind. She couldn't stop the blush that covered her face. Francie raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, you can't say nothing. Not with that kind of reaction." Sydney looked away.
"Well, um… we sorta… ok, we kissed." With that out, Sydney brought her gaze back up, brushing back a strand of hair in the process.
"Really? When?" Sydney's mind raced, trying to come up with an answer. She still couldn't tell Francie about SD-6 and the CIA. So she said the first thing that came to mind.
"On a bank trip."
"I see. So what next?"
"Well, he's out of the country for a year…"
"How come?"
"He needs some special training so he can get a promotion at the bank."
"And he can't get that training here?"
"Well, part of it is out of country experience."
"So you won't see him for a whole year?"
"He's going to try to come back for a visit in six months."
"I hope he makes it."
"Thanks," Sydney said with a smile.
"I'm going to bed now too. Sleep well," Francie yawned
"You too," Sydney replied. As Francie disappeared into her room, Sydney frowned slightly. Francie didn't seem quite herself. She spent a few more minutes on the couch, pondering this, before finally going to bed herself.
The next day at work, Sydney decided it was time to have a talk with Kendall. After setting her belongings at her desk, she went in search of him. It was in his office that she confronted him.
"It's been well over a week since SD-6 and the Alliance fell. In that time, I have done nothing but paperwork. I'm a trained field agent, not a paper pusher. When are you going to give me another mission?"
"Agent Bristow, I never imagined you would miss having your life threatened on a regular basis."
"First of all, neither did I. Second of all, my life is always going to be threatened as long as Sloane is free. And third, don't change the subject."
"Fine. You want to know why you haven't been sent out? I'll tell you: we thought it was in your own best interests. After SD-" Sydney cut him off.
"Wait, wait: who is encompassed in this 'we' you mentioned?" Kendall said nothing, and Sydney sighed.
"My father."
"And Agent Vaughn."
"What? Vaughn's in on it too?"
"We all felt it would be best for you to have some time to recuperate. What happened was a life changing event, you can't just expect to be sent out on some other mission the day after the Alliance falls."
"You're absolutely right. However, I should have had some say in the matter, or at least been informed of this decision! Besides, it's been ten days now, I think I've had plenty of time to 'recuperate,' as you put it."
"Fine. If that's how you feel, I'll see to it that you get sent on a mission as soon as possible." Not entirely sure what to say, Sydney nodded and turned to leave the room. She was on her way back to her desk when she realized she hadn't been down to see her mother in almost two weeks. She quickly changed course and headed down the long hallway.
Irina looked up from her meditation as her daughter appeared in front of her cell. Sydney smiled apologetically.
"I know it's been a while, things have been really hectic. I'm sorry." Irina shook her head.
"Don't apologize. I'm grateful you take the time to visit at all."
"Can I take it you've heard about SD-6?"
"Yes. Your father came to see me a few days ago.
"Did he tell you about Vaughn?" Irina frowned slightly.
"No. Is he alright?"
"Yeah. He's just… in Spain for a year." Irina seemed surprised by that information.
"How did that happen?" Sydney explained as much as she could, and Irina listened carefully before commenting.
"Perhaps you'll have a mission to Spain sometime before that six month mark." Sydney grinned impishly.
"Well, that's what I'm hoping…" Irina laughed.
"Take care of yourself Sydney."
"You too mom. I won't be gone as long next time." With an enigmatic smile on her lips, Irina watched her daughter walk down the hall. As she reached the end, Sydney turned back and waved before continuing on her way.
She didn't see or hear from Kendall at all that day. It was a full week before he called her in to give her a new assignment. Her father and Weiss were also on hand, and Marshall put in his first official CIA appearance.
"This is going to be a simple mission. You're going in, retrieving a disk, and getting out. Weiss will be accompanying you, and Jack will be on comms on this end. Any questions?" Sydney picked up the folder in front of her and looked over the mission specs briefly. Kendall turned his attention to the tech genius.
"Marshall?"
"Ok. Well, this is my first day, and I'm a bit nervous. Of course, Mr. Kendall isn't quite as scary as Mr. Sloane- he always gave me that evil eye of his, you know what I mean?- but, uh, it's still intimidating. Anyway, what we have here is nothing all that special, it's just your basic glass cutting laser disguised as a hairclip…" he went on to explain how to operate the device, and five minutes later, Kendall cut him off with a brisk "thank you." Marshall sat down and smiled at Sydney, who returned the look. Kendall spoke one last time before exiting the conference room.
"You leave tomorrow morning."
This was done a few days ago, but ff.net wouldn't let me upload. *sigh* Ah well. More updates very soon!
Jade: Hehe, a holiday from angst… randomness rocks! Ooh, alliteration…
andy: Yes, sporks are grrrrrreat! I don't know that I'll actually have the W/V convo in here, since this is Syd focused, but I might…
Lor: No, I don't think I'll be doing anything other than Syd/Weiss friendship.
Kiki: Hmm, my fics are rarely called cute… gee, I wonder why… thanks!
Ryanne: So are you for Sark appearing, or against? I haven't decided on him either way yet…
chicken: Oh, no no, I love sporks! I have a bit of an unhealthy (according to some) fixation on them…
tennischickGGEA: LOL there might be some Vaughn coming up… maybe, possibly… hee.
nana: The sporks are infamous? What fun! Sporkerific!
Egyptian Kat: Hehe… I'm well versed in the usage of sporks… though I would certainly like to hear the story you mentioned. And yeah, I think Vaughn needs some sporks too…
