A/N - I want to thank everyone who read this story. I hope you enjoyed
it. I have a special thank you for everyone who left a review. They were
very kind. I hope you all have a wonder, safe and prosperous 2004.
Epilogue
A month after returning from Maryland, Jack left for Bangkok. He was following up on lead regarding the whereabouts of Arvin Sloan. At the same time, Sydney headed to Kazakhstan to follow up on a lead regarding Irina. Although there was evidence that their prey had been in both countries, they were both unsuccessful in finalizing their mission.
Jack and Sydney both abandoned their search, so that they could returned to the United States and attend Carolyn's daughter's wedding. They arrived the morning of the wedding. Jack originally rejected his father's invitation to stay at his home, but he changed his mind based on Sydney's prodding.
The two men were dressed and ready to leave for the ceremony. Don sat down and started to read the paper, while they waited for Sydney. Jack paced the floor and continuously called up the stairs and asked Sydney what was taking her so long.
Don told him that the more he called for her, the longer it was going to take for her to get ready. Reluctantly, Jack sat down and joined his father in reading the paper. After two minutes he stood up to call for her again. He sat back down, when he he heard her walking down the stairs.
They stood up and smiled when Sydney entered the room. She was wearing a soft violet chiffon dress, with off the shoulder sleeves. "I'm ready," she said. Neither man moved.
"What is it?" she asked, checking her dress to make sure everything was in place.
"I see trouble ahead." Don said.
"Why?" Sydney asked.
"Well," Don said, pretending to be in deep thought, "I'm not really good with protocol, but if I'm not mistaken, the bride is suppose to be he center of attention at her wedding, not one of her guests."
"Oh Grandfather, stop that." Sydney said, blushing.
"I'm afraid he's right, Sydney." Jack said, agreeing with his fathers observation.
Still blushing, Sydney said, "Come on you two, we're going to be late."
Jack asked her if she had a wrap, as it was getting cool outside. She told them that she did not, as she forgot to pack her shawl.
Don excused himself and said he would be right back. He went to the basement and returned carrying a sealed garment bag.
"I know this is really old, but your grandmother always wore it when we went to anything fancy." Don said, handing Sydney the bag that he brought up from the basement.
Sydney unsealed the garment bag and found a beautiful white brocade shawl. She told her grandfather that she would love to wear it, for the evening. She promised that she would have it cleaned and resealed for him.
Don told her that she could keep, if she wanted. She kissed him and asked him to help her put it on. While he was helping her, she told him that she would love to keep it.
At the wedding reception it was clear that Don and Jack's prediction was correct. Sydney did steal center stage from the bride. She managed to dance almost every dance, with a different dance partner. She danced with both of Sara's son's as well as her grandson's. She had a hard time remembering who her other partners were. They all claimed to be relatives or longtime family friends. She even danced with her grandfather.
In between dances she kept an eye out for her father. She wanted to make sure he was handling the event and the crowd, without any problems. At first Jack sat next to Don and made no attempt to socialize. As the evening wore on he became more relaxed. Sydney was able to relax and enjoy the festivities once she saw her father walking around and visiting with people who he clearly had known from his past.
Shortly after the bride and groom left, the band announce that they were going to play their final song. Sydney was sitting with a cousin and her husband, when Jack walked up to her and said, "Do you think you can handle one more dance?"
Sydney cocked her head as if to say she didn't understand his question. He held his hand out to her and asked, "would you care to dance?"
She looked down at his hand and for a splint second she wasn't sure what he wanted. She quickly realized what was happening. She turned to the couple she had been talking to and said, "would you excuse me, please." She took her father's hand and allowed him to guide her to the dance floor.
Jack held her right hand in his left. He placed his other arm around her waist. After a few steps on the dance floor, he called out to her, "Sydney! You're trying to lead."
She realized that she was leading, but it was only because she wasn't sure if Jack knew how to dance. Everything was going so smoothly; she just didn't want the evening to end badly because of a poorly executed dance.
"Just relax," he said. "I promise I won't step on your toes."
"Ok," she answered as she allowed him to take over. It wasn't long before she realized he was a very capable dancer. "Dad," she asked, "where did you learn to dance like this?"
He didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he wrapped his arm more securely around her waist and held her hand a little tighter. When he did answer her, he simply said, "your mother."
"Oh," was her reply. A short time later she asked, "Dad, do you miss her?"
He answered her by holding her a little closer to him. Sydney laid her head against his shoulder and quietly said, "so do I."
Soon the song and the reception was over. Although they planned on spending two days in Maryland, they left the next day as there was a sure lead on Irina's current location.
Don and Sara were disappointed to see them leave so quickly, but they were glad that Jack was keeping his word and was calling them at least once a week.
Two months after the wedding, Jack was in his office. Sydney entered and closed the door behind her. He turned off the computer file that he viewing. By the look on her face and the way she closed the door, it was clear that she was there to deliver bad news.
"Carolyn called." she said. "They noticed that Grandfather didn't go for coffee this morning, so they went over and checked on him. He died in his sleep."
Jack pulled in few favors. He had his mother's body exhumed. He had her remains cremated with his father's. He then received special permission to have his parent's ashes buried in Sean's grave.
Jack originally wanted a private service, but the men at the VFW asked if hey could attend, and he said yes.
Jack was surprised to see the amount of people who attended the service. The men from the VFW serviced as Color Guards. They were also allowed to administer the 21-gun salute.
Jack wasn't surprised to see Michael Vaughn, accompanying Sydney to the funeral. He was, however, surprised that Ben Devlin attended the service as well as the current Director of the CIA, from Washington, DC.
The men from the VFW recognized the CIA Director. They wondered why he was there and why he seemed to know Jack Bristow so well.
Jack made sure that he personally thanked everyone for attending the service. The guests included Paul Faust and Sammy Acker, the two men who had approached him and his father at the bar, the night he first returned home. Jack offered the men his hand and an apology. He said he would understand if they didn't want to shake his hand. They shook it without hesitation. They told him that they shouldn't have intruded and that they understood that coming home can be hard.
After the ceremony, Jack returned to Los Angles. When he entered his apartment, he noticed that someone had slid a white sheet of paper under his door. It was a handwritten note. The note read, 'Sorry for your loss.' It was signed with the letter I. Jack read the note and said, to himself, "Damn it Irina, where the hell are you." He then placed the note in his private safe.
The next morning he was awaken by a phone call from Vaughn. "Have you heard from Sydney?" he asked.
"No," he said as he sat up quickly. He knew that Vaughn and Sydney were together. Why was he asking him, where she was?
Vaughn told him, "I woke up this morning and she was gone."
The End!
A/N - This story was written after the end of season 2 and before the beginning of season 3. I ended it here because that is the last thing we were shown. At the time, we did not know that Sydney was killed in a house fire, following her fight with Allison.
Epilogue
A month after returning from Maryland, Jack left for Bangkok. He was following up on lead regarding the whereabouts of Arvin Sloan. At the same time, Sydney headed to Kazakhstan to follow up on a lead regarding Irina. Although there was evidence that their prey had been in both countries, they were both unsuccessful in finalizing their mission.
Jack and Sydney both abandoned their search, so that they could returned to the United States and attend Carolyn's daughter's wedding. They arrived the morning of the wedding. Jack originally rejected his father's invitation to stay at his home, but he changed his mind based on Sydney's prodding.
The two men were dressed and ready to leave for the ceremony. Don sat down and started to read the paper, while they waited for Sydney. Jack paced the floor and continuously called up the stairs and asked Sydney what was taking her so long.
Don told him that the more he called for her, the longer it was going to take for her to get ready. Reluctantly, Jack sat down and joined his father in reading the paper. After two minutes he stood up to call for her again. He sat back down, when he he heard her walking down the stairs.
They stood up and smiled when Sydney entered the room. She was wearing a soft violet chiffon dress, with off the shoulder sleeves. "I'm ready," she said. Neither man moved.
"What is it?" she asked, checking her dress to make sure everything was in place.
"I see trouble ahead." Don said.
"Why?" Sydney asked.
"Well," Don said, pretending to be in deep thought, "I'm not really good with protocol, but if I'm not mistaken, the bride is suppose to be he center of attention at her wedding, not one of her guests."
"Oh Grandfather, stop that." Sydney said, blushing.
"I'm afraid he's right, Sydney." Jack said, agreeing with his fathers observation.
Still blushing, Sydney said, "Come on you two, we're going to be late."
Jack asked her if she had a wrap, as it was getting cool outside. She told them that she did not, as she forgot to pack her shawl.
Don excused himself and said he would be right back. He went to the basement and returned carrying a sealed garment bag.
"I know this is really old, but your grandmother always wore it when we went to anything fancy." Don said, handing Sydney the bag that he brought up from the basement.
Sydney unsealed the garment bag and found a beautiful white brocade shawl. She told her grandfather that she would love to wear it, for the evening. She promised that she would have it cleaned and resealed for him.
Don told her that she could keep, if she wanted. She kissed him and asked him to help her put it on. While he was helping her, she told him that she would love to keep it.
At the wedding reception it was clear that Don and Jack's prediction was correct. Sydney did steal center stage from the bride. She managed to dance almost every dance, with a different dance partner. She danced with both of Sara's son's as well as her grandson's. She had a hard time remembering who her other partners were. They all claimed to be relatives or longtime family friends. She even danced with her grandfather.
In between dances she kept an eye out for her father. She wanted to make sure he was handling the event and the crowd, without any problems. At first Jack sat next to Don and made no attempt to socialize. As the evening wore on he became more relaxed. Sydney was able to relax and enjoy the festivities once she saw her father walking around and visiting with people who he clearly had known from his past.
Shortly after the bride and groom left, the band announce that they were going to play their final song. Sydney was sitting with a cousin and her husband, when Jack walked up to her and said, "Do you think you can handle one more dance?"
Sydney cocked her head as if to say she didn't understand his question. He held his hand out to her and asked, "would you care to dance?"
She looked down at his hand and for a splint second she wasn't sure what he wanted. She quickly realized what was happening. She turned to the couple she had been talking to and said, "would you excuse me, please." She took her father's hand and allowed him to guide her to the dance floor.
Jack held her right hand in his left. He placed his other arm around her waist. After a few steps on the dance floor, he called out to her, "Sydney! You're trying to lead."
She realized that she was leading, but it was only because she wasn't sure if Jack knew how to dance. Everything was going so smoothly; she just didn't want the evening to end badly because of a poorly executed dance.
"Just relax," he said. "I promise I won't step on your toes."
"Ok," she answered as she allowed him to take over. It wasn't long before she realized he was a very capable dancer. "Dad," she asked, "where did you learn to dance like this?"
He didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he wrapped his arm more securely around her waist and held her hand a little tighter. When he did answer her, he simply said, "your mother."
"Oh," was her reply. A short time later she asked, "Dad, do you miss her?"
He answered her by holding her a little closer to him. Sydney laid her head against his shoulder and quietly said, "so do I."
Soon the song and the reception was over. Although they planned on spending two days in Maryland, they left the next day as there was a sure lead on Irina's current location.
Don and Sara were disappointed to see them leave so quickly, but they were glad that Jack was keeping his word and was calling them at least once a week.
Two months after the wedding, Jack was in his office. Sydney entered and closed the door behind her. He turned off the computer file that he viewing. By the look on her face and the way she closed the door, it was clear that she was there to deliver bad news.
"Carolyn called." she said. "They noticed that Grandfather didn't go for coffee this morning, so they went over and checked on him. He died in his sleep."
Jack pulled in few favors. He had his mother's body exhumed. He had her remains cremated with his father's. He then received special permission to have his parent's ashes buried in Sean's grave.
Jack originally wanted a private service, but the men at the VFW asked if hey could attend, and he said yes.
Jack was surprised to see the amount of people who attended the service. The men from the VFW serviced as Color Guards. They were also allowed to administer the 21-gun salute.
Jack wasn't surprised to see Michael Vaughn, accompanying Sydney to the funeral. He was, however, surprised that Ben Devlin attended the service as well as the current Director of the CIA, from Washington, DC.
The men from the VFW recognized the CIA Director. They wondered why he was there and why he seemed to know Jack Bristow so well.
Jack made sure that he personally thanked everyone for attending the service. The guests included Paul Faust and Sammy Acker, the two men who had approached him and his father at the bar, the night he first returned home. Jack offered the men his hand and an apology. He said he would understand if they didn't want to shake his hand. They shook it without hesitation. They told him that they shouldn't have intruded and that they understood that coming home can be hard.
After the ceremony, Jack returned to Los Angles. When he entered his apartment, he noticed that someone had slid a white sheet of paper under his door. It was a handwritten note. The note read, 'Sorry for your loss.' It was signed with the letter I. Jack read the note and said, to himself, "Damn it Irina, where the hell are you." He then placed the note in his private safe.
The next morning he was awaken by a phone call from Vaughn. "Have you heard from Sydney?" he asked.
"No," he said as he sat up quickly. He knew that Vaughn and Sydney were together. Why was he asking him, where she was?
Vaughn told him, "I woke up this morning and she was gone."
The End!
A/N - This story was written after the end of season 2 and before the beginning of season 3. I ended it here because that is the last thing we were shown. At the time, we did not know that Sydney was killed in a house fire, following her fight with Allison.