THE FINAL INSTALLMENT! AHH! Thanks for all your support! ENJOY!
Though Alexander Sark had many other things to accomplish, Friday was his movie night with Anna. On this night, they pretended they lived a normal existence. They made popcorn, watched comedies and dramas, and would talk about all sorts of issues.
Today they watched in silence. It seemed that sometimes they ran out of things to say - she had been with him since Eric's passing. She had quit the CIA, as promised, and now worked for her father as his Executive Assitant. Though a desk job bored her, her entire spy life was not gone - she trained with her dad nearly every day, to keep her instincts sharp and him in shape. After all, Mr. Sark was not so young anymore...and he was convinced that his girl wasn't through saving the day just yet.
As they watched the movie, they were surprised when the doorbell rang. They shared a confused glance. All their coworkers knew about 'Movie Night'...who could it possibly be? Anna walked out of the room, walking through two corridors to reach the front door. She opened it, first noticing the stormy weather, then taking in the appearance of the woman who stood before her.
"Mom?" she asked.
"Hi honey," Sydney said, embracing her daughter, "I'm so glad to see you."
"Me too. Mom, what are you doing here? Did you come to see me? Cause you could've called..."
"Actually Anna, is your dad around?"
Anna was bewildered, "Um, yeah...but you could have called him mother."
"I know honey, but I need to speak with him in person."
"Okay...are you alright? Is everything okay?"
"Yes, honey, I'm fine."
They walked into the house together, and Anna took her mother's coat to a nearby closet. Sydney heard footsteps approaching and held her breath.
"Anna, who is it honey?" Sark asked as he came into view. He stopped when he saw Sydney's dripping wet form. "Sydney? What are you doing here? You're soaked. Anna, go make your mother some hot cocoa. Sydney, follow me." He took here hand and led her into his office. He did not notice her gasp at the familiarity of the room - nor did he know she recalled being here before.
He started to move papers and folders off the couch, but paused when he noticed Sydney staring at the fireplace, her back to him. She remained still, lost in a dreamlike state. He was hesitant to interrupt her reverie.
"Sydney? What's wrong?" he whispered, sitting on the couch. She remained still for a moment longer, and then turned to him.
"You used to build fires for me when I was pregnant. You always got too warm, but you lit the fire for me because you knew I was always cold," she said, barely a whisper. His eyes grew wide.
"What?" he asked. He had heard her...he had heard every word; but he needed a confirmation. She stepped over the couch, and sat down next to him, placing one hand on the back of couch, touching his neck.
"And on this couch, you put your hand on my stomach," she began, taking his hand and placing it on her belly, "And you asked me if Anna could hear my voice. And I said yes," she finished, looking him directly in the eyes. Despite the darkness of the room, she could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. She looked over at the desk.
"And on that desk, we..." she began, blushing slightly.
"I remember Sydney," he said, interrupting her thought. She smirked, trying to hide her embarrassment. She glanced over the window.
"When it would snow, you would sit on your office chair, I would sit on your lap, and we would watch it fall. We would sip on hot chocolate, and Anna would sit in here with us sometimes," she said, standing up to walk over to the window. Sark stood up, following. They shared a glance.
"Sydney..."
"Alex..." they both began.
Anna walked into the room, noticing the strange look in both of her parent's eyes.
"Hey guys, am I interrupting something here?"
They both smiled, glancing to Anna. Sark started to speak, but Sydney silenced him. She walked over to her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Anna...I love you so much," she said, tears falling down her cheeks.
"I know mom," Anna said, rolling her eyes a bit.
"No, I don't think you do. I realized, a while ago, that it must hurt you...knowing that I couldn't remember having you...that I couldn't remember you as a baby," she spoke. Anna's eyes grew wide, but in them was the look of understanding.
"Mom, I understand...I always have," Anna said. Sydney led her daughter to the couch, on which they both sat down. Sydney was silent for a moment, and then smiled at her girl.
"When you were born Anna, the pain was so unbearable. You were born two weeks late, so almost immediately after my water broke, you were here. You were anxious to get out, I think," Sydney said, chuckling softly. Anna looked at her in disbelief. Sydney smiled, continuing.
"You screamed so loudly when you came out, and when your dad and I held you, we were so amazed by you. You had a full head of light brown hair, and these wide blue eyes, much like your dad's. You held up a little fist in the air, as if to say, 'hey, I'm here, deal with me!' We laughed and laughed...and now that I think about it, you've always been that way...'deal with me'" Sydney chuckled again, but her face became serious when she saw her daughter's tears.
"Oh my gosh, mom, you remember. For how long?"
"Since last night, honey. I'm so sorry that I ever forgot," Sydney said, tears falling down her own cheeks.
"So you remember everything? Even daddy?" Anna asked tentatively.
Sydney looked at Sark, "Even your father."
Anna smiled, "And?" Sark started to answer that one.
"Anna..." he began.
"Alex," Sydney stated, "She has a right to know what is going on," she looked to her daughter, "now that I remember everything, I remember something else," Sydney looked at Sark for support, to which he nodded. Anna waited in anticipation, as Sydney pulled something out of her pocket.
A gold wedding band.
"Your wedding band? What does that have to do with this?" Anna asked, somewhat impatiently.
"This isn't the wedding band I received from Eric," Sydney said. Sark gasped, his mind racing. How had she gotten it back? Sydney saw the look on his face, and answered the question for him.
"I found this wedding band in Sloane's old office in LA," she said, "this wedding band was given to me by your father," she said to Anna, handing her the golden band. Anna looked at her in amazement.
Her parents had been married. She examined the band, turning it over in her hands. Glancing on the inside of the band, she noticed an inscription. She looked at it closely, and read it aloud,
"Despite all odds," it read, quite simply, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Mom..."she spoke quietly, "What are you saying here?"
"Anna, sweetie, I loved Eric Weiss. I loved him with all my heart. But I had forgotten that long ago, I gave my heart away, completely, to your father," Sydney said, glancing over at Sark, who was now leaning against the bookshelf that contained Sydney's favorite books. Sydney stood up, taking the ring from Anna, and stood in front of Sark. She spoke again to Anna.
"And, if he'll have me back, I want to be his wife again," she said. Anna gasped, and Sark's eyes welled up with tears. They all waited for his answer. He didn't though; he only walked over to his desk, and reached into the top drawer. He pulled out a box, opened it tentatively, and removed his own golden wedding band. Sydney smiled through tears. He stepped back to Sydney, placing his band in her hands, and took hers in his own hand.
He smiled at her, and in one simple motion, he had placed her ring back on her finger. She smiled, and taking his, made the same motion. They held onto each other's hands for a moment, before embracing one another tightly. Sark openly sobbed, perhaps for the first time since that night that Sloane had taken his love away from him. Sydney sobbed as well, and soon Anna was right there with them, joining the embrace.
Anna took a moment to laugh at the situation, and Sydney and Alexander joined in. Yes, dysfunctional as they were, this was a beautiful moment. They really had achieved victory against all odds.
As they all stood there, Anna pointed out the window. The rain had stopped, and in it's place, snow was falling softly to the ground. Sydney and Alexander exchanged a meaningful glance. To them, it wasn't just the end of the storm that had been the last twenty years. It was the beginning of something new and the promise of more nights like this one, with light snow falling and sipping hot cocoa in front of a warm, crackling fire.
THE END
I might make a small sequel, in which Sydney and Sark tell Phillip and Michael about their marriage. Haven't made up my mind yet...maybe some response will help me make up my mind...wink wink.