The next day, Sydney woke up with plenty of things to think about as she got ready. First of all, she was in her father and mother's apartment, one that they had for when they came to visit LA. She took a few moments to look around the apartment and was overjoyed to find new pictures of her parents together; in the park, on a bench together, at a ceremony where they renewed their vows, and on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. She also noticed pictures from her childhood; walking hand in hand with her father at an amusement park, 'cooking' with her mother, and being embraced by both her mother and father in front of their first house.
As Sydney stepped into the shower, she loathed the fact that she was going back to work. Sure, it had been two years since she had worked for the CIA, but did she really have to do what they wanted her to? Apparently Dixon now had Kendall's job, which she was so thankful for; Kendall had always been an inconsiderate idiot. She wasn't sure what was going on with Marshall, or even Weiss for that matter. When her and Weiss had been together last night, they had not talked about ANYTHING or ANYONE related to work.
When Sydney was finished getting ready, she stepped outside into her car, and was off the CIA offices. She was not sure if Vaughn would be there, and knew she should not care if he was or not. As she pulled into the CIA parking lot, she took a few deep breaths, and walked into the building with her head held high. She felt everyone's eyes on her, but kept staring straight ahead. She wondered what they were saying about her, but quickly shook the thought when she noticed Weiss approaching her.
"Syd...I need to talk to you." Weiss said, as he pulled her into a very familiar place.
"Eric, this is the flirting corner. Are you...?"
"No" he cut her off. He tried to look serious, but they both burst out laughing.
"Look, I'm sorry that...he called yesterday...you shouldn't have left."
"Eric, I left because I had to get home, it was getting late."
"Yeah, whatever Bristow. We're going to be talking about Vaughn sooner or later you know," Eric shuddered at the look on her face at just the mention of his name.
"I know Eric...but not today, okay? Please," she pleaded quietly.
"Okay...change of subject, you are looking at your partner for your first mission."
Sydney's eyes lit up, "Seriously?"
"Yes, isn't that awesome? They're finally giving me a chance."
"I'm just glad it's with you and not..." her voice trailed off.
"I understand." With that they left the flirting corner, and Weiss began explaining the mission to her, and what their objective was. At that moment, Marshall stepped into Sydney's line of vision, and his face broke out into a smile when he saw her. She ran over to him and hugged him.
"God, Syd, I can't believe you're here, I mean obviously, you're here because you're right in front of me, which oh my God, I just..."
"Marshall," she interrupted, "I've missed you too." She smiled and hugged him again, and at this noticed the picture on his desk.
"Marshall," she squealed, pointing at the picture. He looked and smiled.
"Yeah, me a father I know...I can't even believe she agreed to marry me."
"Oh my God, I'm so happy for you! Carrie is awesome."
"I know, she's great, we're happy," his voice lowered, when he realized that she wasn't. Sydney realized what he was thinking, and eased his mind.
"It's okay, Marshall. I'm ok." she looked into his eyes, trying to make herself sound convincing. At that moment though, Vaughn walked into the offices, and caught her eye. She sighed. There was no way she'd be able to lie now.
*****
Miles away, a mysterious voice could be heard talking into a cellular phone.
"Yes, she's home, exactly as you planned,"
Another voice, "Don't screw this up."
"I won't. You know I have my own reasons for doing this."
"As do I. Follow them to Dublin, intercept they information and return immediately to your station. I'll arrange a pick-up."
"They'll never know I was gone," with that, a phone was slammed shut, and a traitor smiled.