"She had your memories erased Sydney. She had two years completely wiped from your memory."
*****
Jack Bristow came thrashing into the debrief room, slamming the door behind him. Vaughn, Lauren, Dixon, Weiss and Will all jumped at the sound. Jack immediately sauntered over to Will, pulling him up by the collar of his shirt. Vaughn and Weiss stood up, but halted when Jack's voice echoed through the room.
"Where the hell is my daughter Mr. Tippin?" he demanded, his face red.
"Jack...Mr. Bristow...I don't..." Will began, trying to catch a breath.
"You don't know, Mr. Tippin? Is that what you're trying to say? You were supposed to protect her!" he yelled. He released Will, sending him flying toward the table. Jack turned around slowly, his back to the rest of the agents in the room. He took a deep breath, sighing loudly.
"Jack, we're going to find Sydney. We have people working on it. All we can do is wait," Vaughn said, to which Jack turned around abruptly.
"Wait, Mr. Vaughn? Wait?! When you have a daughter, you will understand that waiting is not enough! I want her found, or I will pull together all my own resources and find her myself," he hissed in Vaughn's face. He stood for a moment, before turning to hastily exit the room.
"Well," Will's voice broke the silence, as he straightened his shirt, "He's got anger issues."
Weiss snorted, but the rest of the room was silent.
*****
Sydney stepped back from Sark as his words sank in. She placed a hand over her mouth, muffling her next words.
"She what?" she whispered.
"She had..." Sark began.
"I heard you," Sydney raised her other hand, signaling him to stop, "I just can't believe it." She turned around, her back facing him, hiding the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.
"Sydney," he said, stepping over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She didn't seem to notice, as she began to speak again.
"I don't get it. I don't get her at all. Why wouldn't she want me to remember what happened? I could have provided valuable intel to the CIA!" she yelled, turning to face him, her eyes angry.
"Sydney, I've been working for your mother for years, and I've never understood her motives. She knows what she's doing..." he began, stepping forward to touch her again. She stepped back again, her nostrils flaring.
"She knows what she's doing?" she yelled.
"Yes! It's all a part of the plan...though I'm not sure..." he began.
"Screw the plan! She had no right to do this to me!" Sydney yelled, "You let her do this to me! How could you do this?"
She pulled back her left arm, punching him in the jaw, which sent him flying onto the bed. He rubbed his jaw in shock, but stopped when she pounced on top of him, straddling him with her legs. She sat over his abdominal area, screaming and throwing punches at his entire upper body.
Tears ran down her face as her punches began losing power, and his own eyes filled with tears at the sight of her breakdown.
"How could you?" she yelled, slapping him across the face, his chest, his abdomen. He let her. She needed to do this. She needed to take it out on someone, anyone...
"Sydney!" he yelled finally, grabbing her arms, which she tried to resist, but he did not let her. He lowered her onto his lap, sitting up to hug her tightly.
"Don't touch me!" she yelled, sobbing into his arms, struggling to push him away.
"Shh," he said, as he stroked her hair. Her sobs decreased, as did the struggle to escape his embrace. He kissed her hairline, trying to ignore the close proximity between them. His legs were draped over the side of the bed, her legs entwined with his own. He held her tightly, his hands combing through her hair. Her sobs subsided, and she breathed in slowly.
"I'm so scared," she whispered, pulling back to look at him, her face inches from his own.
"I know. I'm sorry that you found out like..." he began, but the rest of his sentence was unheard, as her lips closed over his own. He, forgetting their present situation, responded with urgency, placing his hands on her face, allowing the kiss to deepen. She rubbed her hands over his chest, his back, and finally over his hair, pushing him down onto the bed. She got lost in the familiarity of his touch, of his scent, of the taste of him...
Suddenly, he was pulling away.
No, her mind screamed.
"Sydney," he gasped, "We can't do this. You're upset. I'm not going to take advantage of you." She gasped, standing up slowly, straightening the dress she had been wearing for two days. Embarrassment crept up her neck and face, as she turned red.
"That's what you said before," she said, her eyes puffy and red as she stared at him.
"When?" he asked, sitting up.
"In the hallway," she whispered, turning away from him. He stood up, not allowing her to run. Not anymore.
"Sydney, we have to deal with this," he said.
"I don't want to talk about what just happened," she said, her eyes averting from his gaze.
"Frankly, neither do I," he said, sighing loudly, "I mean, we have to deal with all that happened to you...to us. We have to find out the truth." She wiped tears off her face, still unable to meet his eyes. She stared out the window.
"How do we do that?" she asked.
"There's only one person who can help us now," he said quietly, turning to follow her gaze. The city looked beautiful as the sun set over the mountains.
"Who?" she asked. He hesitated, his eyes remaining on the setting sun.
"Your mother."
*****
Jack Bristow sat in the darkness of his living room, staring out the window. He could not help but imagine where his daughter was. Sark had obviously taken her into his custody. But what had he done with her? Was she in the hands of the Covenant, or was Sark using her for his own twisted desires?
He was brought out of his reverie when his cell phone rang. He reached for it on the nearby coffee table, and his eyes filled with confusion when he didn't recognize the number. He opened the phone slowly.
"Hello?" he asked cautiously.
"Dad?" Sydney's voice came, and his eyes widened as he sat up in his chair.
"Sydney, sweetheart? Is it really you?" he asked, relief flooding through him.
"Yes dad. It's me. I'm okay," she said, sighing.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm..." her voice trailed off, and Jack recognized a voice in the background.
"Where did he take you Sydney?" he demanded, his voice rising.
"I'm with Sark, dad. We're going to see mom," she answered, her voice flat.
"Sydney, what are you talking about? You're not going on some pleasure trip with that bastard. You're coming home!" he yelled.
"Dad, believe me, this is anything but a pleasure trip," she said, and Jack heard Sark chuckle softly, "Sark was taken by the Covenant too."
Jack paused. So, she knew.
"Why didn't you tell me that he was taken out of CIA custody?" she asked quietly. Jack switched the phone to his other ear, a movement that could be attributed to his nervousness.
"I wasn't authorized..." Jack began.
"Not authorized to tell me? Dad, I'm your daughter. I deserved to know that he was taken by the Covenant," she said, interrupting him.
"Sydney, we didn't even know where he was until he came back to the CIA..."Jack began.
"Wait, what? He what?" Sydney asked, looking in Sark's direction.
"A week before you resurfaced, Sark turned himself into the CIA," Jack answered.
"You what?" Sydney yelled, obviously at Sark. Jack listened as he heard muffled sounds, and then a new voice.
"Mr.Bristow," Sark said. Jack could almost hear a smirk.
"Sark, what are doing with my daughter?" he demanded.
"I'm helping her. We're going to pay a visit to Derevko. She's the only one who can help us now..." he began.
"You bring Sydney home, this instant Sark, oh so help me, I will..." Jack began.
"What? Kill me? It's not like I haven't heard that one before Jack. We appreciate your concern, but we're adults, and we're going whether you like it or not," Sark answered.
"Sark..." he said, cut off by the sound of the dial tone.
"Bastard," he muttered, as he dialed Dixon's office.
