Disclaimer: See all of the previous chapters
Part IV
Los Angeles 9:30 PM Christmas Eve
Jack Bristow shrugged off his jacket as he walked into his house. He had dropped Sydney off at her apartment almost half an hour ago, after she had reminded him that she would be over early the next morning to cook Christmas dinner. Jack allowed himself an amused smile as he remembered their conversation as they left the airport. Sydney had been openly curious, asking for information about the time after her apparent death. She had even gone so far as to drop several well disguised questions about what had happened between he and Irina while she was missing. He had skirted around her questions almost as easily as she had asked them, but when the topic of his time in solitary suddenly came up, he almost wished that they hadn't left her previous line of questioning.
Sydney had immediately stopped asking questions and gone silent- something he had almost been hoping for mere moments ago. The totally blank expression that she had almost instantly adopted, reminded Jack eerily of his own customary expression. They had ridden in silence for several long moments before Sydney had turned her head to face him.
"Dad," she whispered softly and he could hear the guilt in her voice. "Dad, I-" Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her stiffen, as she looked over at him, "I guess this is the second time that you've ended up in solitary for a woman that you love."
He could hear the bitterness in her voice. Without hesitation, Jack reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Sydney, you aren't responsible for my imprisonment any more than I was responsible for your disappearance." Privately, Jack didn't really agree with that statement. He had spent the last two years thinking of hundreds of things that he could have done, measures that he could have set up that would have kept her safe, but this made his point much better. "I made the choice to work with Irina and in the end I faced the consequences of those actions."
Sydney had almost seemed to accept that and he had hoped that she truly would in time. Her empathy and her sense of personal responsibility for all of the bad things that happened to people that she cared about, could be two of her greatest faults as an agent.
Pushing away thoughts of the ride home, Jack sighed and walked into his living room, moving towards the phone and the Chinese takeout menu that he knew was right next to it. He froze as he took one step into his living room. Something was wrong. Very slowly without making a sound, Jack reached for his gun. Once it was in his hand, he carefully surveyed his living room, moving towards the couch, the only place in the room where someone larger than a child could be effectively hidden from his view.
Jack saw the blood before he saw the body.
Tbc.
I know, leaving you with a cliff hangar like that was evil. What can I say? Anyway leave a review and let me know what you think. Come back tomorrow night for the next post.
Part IV
Los Angeles 9:30 PM Christmas Eve
Jack Bristow shrugged off his jacket as he walked into his house. He had dropped Sydney off at her apartment almost half an hour ago, after she had reminded him that she would be over early the next morning to cook Christmas dinner. Jack allowed himself an amused smile as he remembered their conversation as they left the airport. Sydney had been openly curious, asking for information about the time after her apparent death. She had even gone so far as to drop several well disguised questions about what had happened between he and Irina while she was missing. He had skirted around her questions almost as easily as she had asked them, but when the topic of his time in solitary suddenly came up, he almost wished that they hadn't left her previous line of questioning.
Sydney had immediately stopped asking questions and gone silent- something he had almost been hoping for mere moments ago. The totally blank expression that she had almost instantly adopted, reminded Jack eerily of his own customary expression. They had ridden in silence for several long moments before Sydney had turned her head to face him.
"Dad," she whispered softly and he could hear the guilt in her voice. "Dad, I-" Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her stiffen, as she looked over at him, "I guess this is the second time that you've ended up in solitary for a woman that you love."
He could hear the bitterness in her voice. Without hesitation, Jack reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Sydney, you aren't responsible for my imprisonment any more than I was responsible for your disappearance." Privately, Jack didn't really agree with that statement. He had spent the last two years thinking of hundreds of things that he could have done, measures that he could have set up that would have kept her safe, but this made his point much better. "I made the choice to work with Irina and in the end I faced the consequences of those actions."
Sydney had almost seemed to accept that and he had hoped that she truly would in time. Her empathy and her sense of personal responsibility for all of the bad things that happened to people that she cared about, could be two of her greatest faults as an agent.
Pushing away thoughts of the ride home, Jack sighed and walked into his living room, moving towards the phone and the Chinese takeout menu that he knew was right next to it. He froze as he took one step into his living room. Something was wrong. Very slowly without making a sound, Jack reached for his gun. Once it was in his hand, he carefully surveyed his living room, moving towards the couch, the only place in the room where someone larger than a child could be effectively hidden from his view.
Jack saw the blood before he saw the body.
Tbc.
I know, leaving you with a cliff hangar like that was evil. What can I say? Anyway leave a review and let me know what you think. Come back tomorrow night for the next post.