Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, or anything else related to
Alias and I'm certainly not making any money off of the whatsoever.
Author's note: Just to clear one thing up here. I am an S/V shipper, but this story won't include them as a couple or Vaughn at all. This story focuses on the Spyfam.
Part III
Los Angeles Airport, Early Afternoon, Christmas Eve
Sydney Bristow waited patiently in the holiday lines at the Los Angeles airport. She knew that she wasn't expected in the office until after Christmas, but she would still probably go in later. She would also have to talk to her father about her trip to Budapest. She knew that he had worked with Irina during the time that she was gone, but somehow she got the feeling that she was missing something. Of course, Sydney thought idly as she pulled her single suitcase off of the conveyer belt and headed towards the airport exit, it always felt that way these days.
Lost in the whirlwind of contradictory and troubled thoughts that usually followed a visit with her mother, Sydney was too distracted to think about the surprise Irina had promised. Her spy training, still in full force despite her present preoccupation with the past few months and in particular the past few days, brought a distant sound to her ears. It immediately caught her attention, although she wasn't sure yet why it had. From the small snippets of sound that she could hear it sounded like a man singing Christmas carols, not at all unusual for the airport at this time of year.
Still something about that voice was achingly familiar. She searched her memory for any connection or sign of recognition as she changed directions and headed towards the mystery voice. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered around the singer, blocking him from her view as she got closer. Features blurred by a large red Santa suit, recognition and disbelief at the identity of the man still hit her as she reached the edge of the crowd.
"Dad," she whispered in complete and total disbelief. More slowly she made her way to the front of the crowd and saw Jack Bristow not only singing, but from what she could tell smiling convincingly, if a bit painfully and wearing a Santa suit. Once she managed to close her mouth- several long moments after her jaw dropped in shock- it was all she could do not to start laughing hysterically. The image was almost too ridiculous for her to process.
She watched him for a moment and then relaxed, settling back to watch him. She couldn't contain her laughter any longer when he burst into a rendition of "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer," after someone requested it. After she managed to calm down a moment later she found a seat on a bench out of Jack's line of sight. As she listened to her father singe and add in the occasional "Ho-ho-ho" or "Merry Christmas" between songs, she realized that this was the happiest she had been in quite some time. She hadn't really laughed like that since... since the last time she had gone out partying with Will and Francie. She pushed back the thought of her past. Sydney didn't want to dwell on that right now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Jack might not know that she was there yet, but she was enjoying seeing the lighter side of her father. It was moments like this that reminded her of the good times she had had with her father. For the first time in years, she was remembering her childhood without being consumed with anger at her mother or feeling a sense of betrayal. As she listened to Jack sing, she could remember her mother bundling her five year old self up to go out caroling with her parents.
Sydney could still see the way that Irina had practically glowed around Jack. Back then seeing her parent's hold hands, kiss freely-without any tension, reservations or C4 necklaces- or show their love for one another in a thousand little ways had been the height of normalcy. That Christmas had been their last with Laura and it had always been one of Sydney's favorite memories. Maybe she would even mention it to her father later. Usually she wouldn't have even considered it, but he had been so different since she had returned, in a good way. Besides her very brief chat with Irina had left her no clearer on what had happened between her parents during her missing two years than the brief comments that her father had made.
Her cell phone rang, loudly cutting into her musings about her parents. She flipped it open quickly, expecting it to be someone from the office. Weiss was the only person, other than her father who would call her for social reasons and Eric was currently on the East Coast, visiting his family for the holidays.
"Bristow," she answered automatically, even as she grimaced. She was happy and she wasn't ready for work to intrude again.
"Hello, Sydney." Irina's relaxed voice, full of amusement, greeted her rather than the urgent voice of the agent that she had been expecting. "Did you like your surprise?"
"Mom, what are you-Dad!? That was you?" Her disbelief was plain in her voice. First her father's odd behavior and now if she was right, the even odder explanation that Irina was about to give her. Only in her family, Sydney thought ruefully. Or in a loony bin, noted the tiny voice in the back of her head that often gave mental voice to her more cynical thoughts. "How did you convince, Dad?" Sydney asked softly, settling back on the bench again, doing the only thing that she could by accepting the surrealness of her current conversation with her mother. She had things she wanted to say to Irina and questions that had to be asked, but for the moment she just wanted to have a somewhat normal talk with her mom.
She heard Irina laugh. "Jack lost a bet to me. Those were the conditions that I set for him if he lost. It's actually for a local children's charity that Jack has been known to contribute to," Irina explained to Sydney's surprise. "It gave Jack one less excuse to try and get out of it. Besides," Irina said seriously, "I thought you could use some cheering up after your trip."
Sydney couldn't contain a giggle that probably made her sound ten or fifteen years younger than she really was, at that. "Seeing Dad in a Santa suit will certainly do that. I wish you could see him, Mom," Sydney said and was surprised to find that she actually meant it. She had been hostile or at best ambivalent towards Irina at first, the day before. Now, maybe it was seeing her father like this or remembering what Irina had said to her a long time ago in a deserted ice rink, but she realized that she was actually glad to be talking to her mother.
That thought also brought another one to the front of her mind. It was a thought that she had only vaguely considered a few times since she realized that her mother was alive. At first she had dismissed it as the height of insanity, but now, the way Jack and Irina were acting, she was beginning to wonder. "You know, Mom," Sydney said slowly, trying to keep her sudden rush of adrenaline- whether from joy or fear she wasn't sure-from her voice, "I think Dad might like it if you were here, too."
Irina didn't even comment on the non-sequitor. She simply ignored the whole thing. If she hadn't known better she would have thought that she hadn't even spoken aloud. "Oh, don't worry, Sweetheart, did you really think I would go to all of this trouble for nothing?" Sydney didn't have time to respond or even repeat what she had said as Irina kept talking. "When you see Jack, tell him I said hello. He should be done in a few minutes."
Sydney bit back another laugh, "Sure, Mom." Irina's silence and complete dismissal of what she had said, said more to her than any lengthy denial or confirmation. She was just about to ask Irina another question, when Irina spoke up quickly.
"I have to go Sydney, but we'll talk again soon." With a rushed, "Merry Christmas," Irina quickly hung up.
====================================================================
Jack Bristow silently cursed Irina. He cursed silently, because if he cursed out loud at that moment he would've had to interrupt the Chrismas carol that he was singing. Really, he admitted to himself, he should have known better than to use the threat of involving Katya to persuade Irina to help him. His wife could be a very cruel woman when she wanted to. Forcing him to humiliate himself like this in a large public place was just like her. He was also certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that Irina had someone here watching him. Not to make sure that he would follow through with it- she knew that he wouldn't try to get out of honoring their bet- but to take pictures for posterity and possibly blackmail.
Jack just hoped that none of his professional rivals or enemies came by while he was doing this. It would be much harder to intimidate someone or threaten them into cooperation when they were laughing at the image of him in a Santa suit, not that he couldn't manage, of course.
He started feeling a little bit better as the crowd began to thin. It was starting to get late in the day and people were heading home to their families, after a long day of traveling, or running off to catch their flight. Jack grimaced at the thought of all of those happy families. In the past, he and Sydney had rarely fit that description. Jack had to admit though, that this year he was, for the first time in decades, looking forward to Christmas. More specifically he was looking forward to spending it with Sydney.
He tried to remember when he had last spent the holidays with his daughter. The number, when he came up with it, surprised him so badly that he almost stopped singing in the middle of one song. He knew that he hadn't been the best father to Sydney, but he hadn't realized how much he hadn't been there for her. He had spent the Christmas after Laura's "Death" in solitary. By the time he got out of solitary, he had changed and so had Sydney. The next year he was gone on a mission in South Africa, for Sloane. The years after that he and Sydney had still exchanged the obligatory gifts, but they had never been at the same place at the same time, for the holidays. She would be away at boarding school and unable to come home or he would be working.
The sudden dose of ghosts of Christmas past brought back his normal grim mood. He noticed that only a few people were left from the crowd- an older couple standing off to the side, nibbling on what looked and smelled like a gingerbread man and a young woman, who was mostly obscured from his sight by the large poinsettia plant that was between him and the bench that she was sitting on. He finished his current carol and then stopped singing.
Mustering as much dignity as he could he turned and started to walk away. The sooner he could get out of this the better. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he stiffened, even in the more or less friendly turf of Los Angeles he was still expecting to feel a gun barrel press into his spine at any moment.
"Dad?"
For one instant he relaxed and then he remembered what he was wearing. "Sydney," he said coolly, trying to maintain his usual look of stony indifference. Jack saw her struggling to conceal her amusement and failing horribly. She was grinning wildly and her eyes were sparkling with mischief. He was struck by the way that she looked. His daughter looked almost carefree. It was good to see her forget about Michael Vaughn and her missing two years for a moment.
"So, uh, Dad, I like your new suit."
Surprising even himself, Jack smiled. If seeing him look ridiculous cheered Sydney up, then it was well worth the rest of the humiliation that he was experiencing. He might even have to thank Irina. Of course, that might be going a bit too far. "It's a new look I've been considering," Jack added with total deadpan seriousness.
"You should show it off around the office sometime," Sydney commented, trying to control her wide smile.
Jack visibly grimaced just at the thought of being seen like this by Eric Weiss, Michael Vaughn or any of his other colleagues. At least he could have the morbid satisfaction of knowing that there was no chance of Robert Lindsey seeing or hearing about this.
"So, Dad," Sydney said, once again surprising Jack by linking her arm through his as they moved towards the exit, "Have you heard from Mom recently?"
Tbc.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this fic.
Author's note: Just to clear one thing up here. I am an S/V shipper, but this story won't include them as a couple or Vaughn at all. This story focuses on the Spyfam.
Part III
Los Angeles Airport, Early Afternoon, Christmas Eve
Sydney Bristow waited patiently in the holiday lines at the Los Angeles airport. She knew that she wasn't expected in the office until after Christmas, but she would still probably go in later. She would also have to talk to her father about her trip to Budapest. She knew that he had worked with Irina during the time that she was gone, but somehow she got the feeling that she was missing something. Of course, Sydney thought idly as she pulled her single suitcase off of the conveyer belt and headed towards the airport exit, it always felt that way these days.
Lost in the whirlwind of contradictory and troubled thoughts that usually followed a visit with her mother, Sydney was too distracted to think about the surprise Irina had promised. Her spy training, still in full force despite her present preoccupation with the past few months and in particular the past few days, brought a distant sound to her ears. It immediately caught her attention, although she wasn't sure yet why it had. From the small snippets of sound that she could hear it sounded like a man singing Christmas carols, not at all unusual for the airport at this time of year.
Still something about that voice was achingly familiar. She searched her memory for any connection or sign of recognition as she changed directions and headed towards the mystery voice. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered around the singer, blocking him from her view as she got closer. Features blurred by a large red Santa suit, recognition and disbelief at the identity of the man still hit her as she reached the edge of the crowd.
"Dad," she whispered in complete and total disbelief. More slowly she made her way to the front of the crowd and saw Jack Bristow not only singing, but from what she could tell smiling convincingly, if a bit painfully and wearing a Santa suit. Once she managed to close her mouth- several long moments after her jaw dropped in shock- it was all she could do not to start laughing hysterically. The image was almost too ridiculous for her to process.
She watched him for a moment and then relaxed, settling back to watch him. She couldn't contain her laughter any longer when he burst into a rendition of "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer," after someone requested it. After she managed to calm down a moment later she found a seat on a bench out of Jack's line of sight. As she listened to her father singe and add in the occasional "Ho-ho-ho" or "Merry Christmas" between songs, she realized that this was the happiest she had been in quite some time. She hadn't really laughed like that since... since the last time she had gone out partying with Will and Francie. She pushed back the thought of her past. Sydney didn't want to dwell on that right now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Jack might not know that she was there yet, but she was enjoying seeing the lighter side of her father. It was moments like this that reminded her of the good times she had had with her father. For the first time in years, she was remembering her childhood without being consumed with anger at her mother or feeling a sense of betrayal. As she listened to Jack sing, she could remember her mother bundling her five year old self up to go out caroling with her parents.
Sydney could still see the way that Irina had practically glowed around Jack. Back then seeing her parent's hold hands, kiss freely-without any tension, reservations or C4 necklaces- or show their love for one another in a thousand little ways had been the height of normalcy. That Christmas had been their last with Laura and it had always been one of Sydney's favorite memories. Maybe she would even mention it to her father later. Usually she wouldn't have even considered it, but he had been so different since she had returned, in a good way. Besides her very brief chat with Irina had left her no clearer on what had happened between her parents during her missing two years than the brief comments that her father had made.
Her cell phone rang, loudly cutting into her musings about her parents. She flipped it open quickly, expecting it to be someone from the office. Weiss was the only person, other than her father who would call her for social reasons and Eric was currently on the East Coast, visiting his family for the holidays.
"Bristow," she answered automatically, even as she grimaced. She was happy and she wasn't ready for work to intrude again.
"Hello, Sydney." Irina's relaxed voice, full of amusement, greeted her rather than the urgent voice of the agent that she had been expecting. "Did you like your surprise?"
"Mom, what are you-Dad!? That was you?" Her disbelief was plain in her voice. First her father's odd behavior and now if she was right, the even odder explanation that Irina was about to give her. Only in her family, Sydney thought ruefully. Or in a loony bin, noted the tiny voice in the back of her head that often gave mental voice to her more cynical thoughts. "How did you convince, Dad?" Sydney asked softly, settling back on the bench again, doing the only thing that she could by accepting the surrealness of her current conversation with her mother. She had things she wanted to say to Irina and questions that had to be asked, but for the moment she just wanted to have a somewhat normal talk with her mom.
She heard Irina laugh. "Jack lost a bet to me. Those were the conditions that I set for him if he lost. It's actually for a local children's charity that Jack has been known to contribute to," Irina explained to Sydney's surprise. "It gave Jack one less excuse to try and get out of it. Besides," Irina said seriously, "I thought you could use some cheering up after your trip."
Sydney couldn't contain a giggle that probably made her sound ten or fifteen years younger than she really was, at that. "Seeing Dad in a Santa suit will certainly do that. I wish you could see him, Mom," Sydney said and was surprised to find that she actually meant it. She had been hostile or at best ambivalent towards Irina at first, the day before. Now, maybe it was seeing her father like this or remembering what Irina had said to her a long time ago in a deserted ice rink, but she realized that she was actually glad to be talking to her mother.
That thought also brought another one to the front of her mind. It was a thought that she had only vaguely considered a few times since she realized that her mother was alive. At first she had dismissed it as the height of insanity, but now, the way Jack and Irina were acting, she was beginning to wonder. "You know, Mom," Sydney said slowly, trying to keep her sudden rush of adrenaline- whether from joy or fear she wasn't sure-from her voice, "I think Dad might like it if you were here, too."
Irina didn't even comment on the non-sequitor. She simply ignored the whole thing. If she hadn't known better she would have thought that she hadn't even spoken aloud. "Oh, don't worry, Sweetheart, did you really think I would go to all of this trouble for nothing?" Sydney didn't have time to respond or even repeat what she had said as Irina kept talking. "When you see Jack, tell him I said hello. He should be done in a few minutes."
Sydney bit back another laugh, "Sure, Mom." Irina's silence and complete dismissal of what she had said, said more to her than any lengthy denial or confirmation. She was just about to ask Irina another question, when Irina spoke up quickly.
"I have to go Sydney, but we'll talk again soon." With a rushed, "Merry Christmas," Irina quickly hung up.
====================================================================
Jack Bristow silently cursed Irina. He cursed silently, because if he cursed out loud at that moment he would've had to interrupt the Chrismas carol that he was singing. Really, he admitted to himself, he should have known better than to use the threat of involving Katya to persuade Irina to help him. His wife could be a very cruel woman when she wanted to. Forcing him to humiliate himself like this in a large public place was just like her. He was also certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that Irina had someone here watching him. Not to make sure that he would follow through with it- she knew that he wouldn't try to get out of honoring their bet- but to take pictures for posterity and possibly blackmail.
Jack just hoped that none of his professional rivals or enemies came by while he was doing this. It would be much harder to intimidate someone or threaten them into cooperation when they were laughing at the image of him in a Santa suit, not that he couldn't manage, of course.
He started feeling a little bit better as the crowd began to thin. It was starting to get late in the day and people were heading home to their families, after a long day of traveling, or running off to catch their flight. Jack grimaced at the thought of all of those happy families. In the past, he and Sydney had rarely fit that description. Jack had to admit though, that this year he was, for the first time in decades, looking forward to Christmas. More specifically he was looking forward to spending it with Sydney.
He tried to remember when he had last spent the holidays with his daughter. The number, when he came up with it, surprised him so badly that he almost stopped singing in the middle of one song. He knew that he hadn't been the best father to Sydney, but he hadn't realized how much he hadn't been there for her. He had spent the Christmas after Laura's "Death" in solitary. By the time he got out of solitary, he had changed and so had Sydney. The next year he was gone on a mission in South Africa, for Sloane. The years after that he and Sydney had still exchanged the obligatory gifts, but they had never been at the same place at the same time, for the holidays. She would be away at boarding school and unable to come home or he would be working.
The sudden dose of ghosts of Christmas past brought back his normal grim mood. He noticed that only a few people were left from the crowd- an older couple standing off to the side, nibbling on what looked and smelled like a gingerbread man and a young woman, who was mostly obscured from his sight by the large poinsettia plant that was between him and the bench that she was sitting on. He finished his current carol and then stopped singing.
Mustering as much dignity as he could he turned and started to walk away. The sooner he could get out of this the better. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he stiffened, even in the more or less friendly turf of Los Angeles he was still expecting to feel a gun barrel press into his spine at any moment.
"Dad?"
For one instant he relaxed and then he remembered what he was wearing. "Sydney," he said coolly, trying to maintain his usual look of stony indifference. Jack saw her struggling to conceal her amusement and failing horribly. She was grinning wildly and her eyes were sparkling with mischief. He was struck by the way that she looked. His daughter looked almost carefree. It was good to see her forget about Michael Vaughn and her missing two years for a moment.
"So, uh, Dad, I like your new suit."
Surprising even himself, Jack smiled. If seeing him look ridiculous cheered Sydney up, then it was well worth the rest of the humiliation that he was experiencing. He might even have to thank Irina. Of course, that might be going a bit too far. "It's a new look I've been considering," Jack added with total deadpan seriousness.
"You should show it off around the office sometime," Sydney commented, trying to control her wide smile.
Jack visibly grimaced just at the thought of being seen like this by Eric Weiss, Michael Vaughn or any of his other colleagues. At least he could have the morbid satisfaction of knowing that there was no chance of Robert Lindsey seeing or hearing about this.
"So, Dad," Sydney said, once again surprising Jack by linking her arm through his as they moved towards the exit, "Have you heard from Mom recently?"
Tbc.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this fic.