CHAPTER TWELVE – FAMILY DINNER

When the cab arrived at the airfield, Jack looked down at his daughter.  Once they had left the alley, Sydney's strength had failed.  Her tears returned full force and Jack pulled her into another embrace and allowed her to cling to him until she fell into a restless sleep.

"Sydney…" Jack reached a hand up and smoothed the hair back from her forehead.  "Sydney," he said again softly into her ear, "Wake up… we're here."

She gradually blinked her eyes opened and looked up at her father.  "Hi, Dad…" she gave him a sleepy smile for a moment before she recalled where they were… and why.

When he saw her face darken, he gave her shoulders a light squeeze, "Let's go home… okay?"

"Okay," Sydney replied as she sat up and opened the door.  While Jack paid the driver and pulled his briefcase from the seat, she shut the door behind her and stretched.  While she eased her tired muscles, she saw the small private jet the CIA had procured for her trip home.

Home… The word had lost its meaning for Sydney.  Home used to be with Francie… but Francie wouldn't be there.  Francie… This should never have happened to you.  It's all my fault.  But the real thing that concerned Sydney was that it wasn't Francie that meant home, anymore… it was Vaughn.  And that only made her guilt intensify.

Jack was watching Sydney's reverie with concern.  There was so much he still needed to tell her… about Sloane and the prophecy… but he wasn't sure she could handle it right now.  Basics first, he thought, Sleep… food… then information. 

"Come on, Sydney.  The plane is waiting."  Jack smiled softly as she looked at him for a moment, then started walking toward the plane.

Sydney entered the cabin first, immediately collapsing on one of the large, cushioned benches.  Jack nodded briefly to the pilot when he boarded, and the captain started the engines as Jack secured the door.  By the time he turned back into the cabin Sydney was fast asleep, curled up on the bench, hands clutching the pillow under her head.

Jack studied his daughter with a blank face.  He silently moved across to a chair where he could watch her until she woke.

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"Erik, can you come here, please?"

Vargas heard his wife's call while he was pulling a dark blue tie from his closet.  He heaved a sigh, threw the tie around the open collar of his shirt, and turned to walk back through the door.

As he entered the bedroom, he saw his wife sitting at her vanity, head tilted while she finished putting on an earring.

When she saw him enter the room, Jie smiled up at her husband and reached up to touch the sleeveless shoulder of her black dress.  "Can you zip me?"

Vargas paused, staring at the beautiful woman before him.  She was looking at him with such love… patiently waiting for her doting husband to assist her.  She bashfully lowered her eyelashes for a moment before inquiring, "What is it?"

Vargas shook his head, moving around the bed to the small bench where Jie sat.  As he leaned down to gently raise the zipper up the back of her dress, Vargas placed a small kiss on the side of his wife's neck.  "You.  You look beautiful."

Jie stood, brushing her hands over the shoulders of his suit jacket.  "You are looking pretty good, too."  She gently buttoned his collar button, then moved on to his tie.  Vargas smiled at her look of intense concentration as she firmly knotted the Italian silk.

When she patted his chest indicated she was finished, he leaned forward, dropping a soft kiss on her forehead.  "Are you ready to go?"  He glanced at his watch, "Your father doesn't like it when we're late."

"Of course… just let me grab my bag."  After she retrieved her small black clutch from the pillow, Jie returned to his side.  Vargas placed his hand on the small of her back and the two walked down the hall and out the front door.

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Kin En Kai and Erik Vargas sat at the table, eating their food silently while their wives discussed a shopping trip scheduled for the next day.  The two never discussed work in front of Jie or her mother.  Outside of work or Jie, the two men had very little to discuss.

Vargas watched Jie as she spoke in rapid Chinese to her mother.  She was describing some sort of new shoe style she "needed" to buy.  She was constantly buying new things.  Vargas didn't begrudge her spending money… she needed something to do with her day.  What he didn't like was when she bought him gifts - which she was always doing – it felt too… personal.  Luckily for him, it sounded as if this shopping expedition would be purely for the women and "this season." 

While Vargas watched Jie, her father watched him.  En Kai had watched the tapes from the holding cell that morning.  At first, everything seemed ordinary… the girl slept, Vargas took her to clean up, he brought her back, and then she slept.  It had seemed simple enough… everything corresponded to Vargas's information.

However, one thing had stood out when En Kai listened to the audio feed.  When Vargas explained the situation with Miss Bristow, he said that she believed him to be someone called "Michael."  En Kai had also caught the name Michael when she was crying to her father in the holding cell.

However, when Vargas first showed himself to her in the holding cell, she called him something else.  Not Michael, Erik, or Vargas…  Von…?  What could that mean?  A name… a place…?

The women stood up from the table and Jie spoke, interrupting En Kai's contemplation.  "Baba, thank you for dinner.  We have to go.  Mother and I have a big day planned for tomorrow.  We're going to take the jet to the mainland, if that's alright."

En Kai stood and crossed the room to where Vargas was helping Jie with her coat.  "Jie," he answered her with a kiss on her cheek, "You know I can never refuse you anything.  Have fun with your mother."

En Kai wrapped an arm around his wife's waist as they followed the younger couple to the front door.  As they were saying their goodbyes from the doorway, En Kai called out.

"Erik, I need to meet with you first thing in the morning."

Vargas paused, turning back to face his employer.  He nodded briefly, then continued with Jie out to the car.

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Sydney awoke with a deep breath, inhaling the scent of hot food.  When she opened her eyes, she saw a rolling cart stopped in front of her covered with oatmeal, bread, and fresh fruit.  Her face stretched into a wide smile and she pushed herself into a sitting position.

As she crossed her legs, she noticed her father in a chair opposite her with his eyes closed.  Her movement did not go unnoticed, and Jack's eyes opened immediately.

"Hi."

"Hi.  What's all this?" she asked, gesturing to the cart.

Jack sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.  "I thought you might be hungry.  Does anything look good?"  He refrained from admitting to his concern over her weight loss, deciding instead to see if she would eat on her own.

"Mmmm… yeah," Sydney perused the selection and picked up a banana.  She quickly removed the deep golden peel and devoured the fruit in an instant.  Jack sat back with a satisfied expression when Sydney poured some maple syrup on the oatmeal and began swirling it with her spoon.

Sydney was ravenous, but part of the reason she was stuffing herself was so she didn't need to speak.  She had so many questions, but didn't know where to begin.

Jack was content with silence until Sydney was ready.

She finally stopped a spoonful midair and spoke, "So… how have you been?"

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A/N:  Thanks again, guys, for the reviews!  I promise I'll work harder at writing & spend less time at reading them wink, wink.