Sydney looked up at Julian in horror. This had not been how she had planned to tell her father that was carrying an assassin's child. She sighed. She could always rely on Julian to be forthright when it came to how he was feeling.
Jack and Vaughn's eyes widened as they absorbed this new information. Sydney, pregnant? With Sark's child? This was a nightmare.
"You're not serious," Vaughn stated, looking at Sydney, green eyes displaying confusion. Sydney nodded.
"I am serious," she said, and Jack shook his head, "I love Julian, and he loves me, and this baby! He's going to take care of us."
"Yeah, he'll take care of you alright," Vaughn said, and Sydney stepped forward, punching him in the face. Jack struggled to support the man as he feel backwards. Jack looked up at her in surprise, as did Vaughn and Julian.
"Like you took care of me Vaughn? You believed I was dead. You gave up on me. Julian risked his life, going back into the Covenant to save me. Don't ever insult the man I love again...is that understood?" she spat, glaring up at him. He only nodded, as Jack helped him to his feet. Silence permeated through the room for several moments, until Sydney spoke again.
"If you both love me, as I believe you do, then please, just help us. I'm not asking that you support our union, or support the fact that we're having a child. I do ask, that you respect Julian, and that you respect me, and our love for one another," Sydney said. The two men only nodded, suddenly feeling defeated. Sydney stepped back, positioning herself next to her fiance, and slid her arm around his waist. He draped his arm around her shoulder, and smiled down at her. She glanced at her father again.
"So when are the others arriving? And by the way, not a word of my pregnancy until everyone has gathered together. This is something that we need to break to all of them gently," Sydney said.
"Yeah, because that's exactly how we were told," Jack said, and Sydney and Julian sighed again. Hopefully things could only get better...
*****
Vaughn, Sydney, Jack and Julian all sat in silence until Irina Derevko made an appearance. Vaughn, having the history he had with the woman, made no effort to be civil. Jack's reaction has been surprising. When she had entered the room, he left his seat, running to embrace the woman that had been his wife, in reality, for over thirty years. Almost immediately after this reunion of sorts, Will and Eric had arrived, embracing Sydney, grateful that she was safe, even if it was in the arms of a man they equally loathed.
Sydney smiled graciously when Julian had offered to make dinner for all their guests, but cringed when Vaughn had offered to help. She knew, from experience, that Vaughn could indeed cook a decent meal. However, she knew that this kindness was a mask to cover the interrogation that was inevitable. He was going to harass Julian. After Julian and Vaughn had left the room, she turned to sit back in her place of the couch, and Will sat down where Julian had previously sat, draping his arm around Sydney's shoulders.
"I'm so glad you're alright," he said, smiling at her. She smiled genuinely, more than pleased to be reunited with her best friend. Weiss took a seat on the other side of her, not wanting to interrupt the reunion that was occuring between Jack and Irina on the couch on the opposite side of the room.
"So, what's going on, Syd? Why'd you want us all here?" Will asked, and Weiss nodded. Sydney sighed, smiling.
"I'll tell you what I told my dad and Vaughn. I want to wait to tell everything until everyone has gathered together."
"Alright," Weiss said, "So tell us."
"As you all know, Julian, the man you know as Sark, was also in the Covenant's custody during my missing years. We were tricked into believing we were two completely different people, we carried out missions, etc..." she trailed off. Weiss and Will nodded for her to continue.
"Anyway, Julian ran into my mother while he was on one of these missions. She snapped him out of his trance, and then he returned to the Covenant, to rescue me, and to snap me out of being Julia. Later, my mother had my memories erased, so they could never be extracted in the case of incarceration, and a day later I was back in the hands of the CIA," Sydney said. Weiss and Will exchanged a glance.
"Wow," Will said, his eyes widening. Weiss nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, wow..." Weiss said.
"That's not all," Sydney said, rolling her eyes, "Julian and I are getting married," she said, and both of them gasped.
"Wait, what? Sydney he tortured me in Taipei not too long ago..." Will answered.
"Yeah, not to mention that he's an arrogant, British as..." Weiss began.
"Stop," Sydney said, putting up her hand, "I love him and he loves me. That is all you need to know. He saved me...he risked his life. We're very much alike," she finished. Will and Weiss exchanged a glance. Will looked at his old friend suspiciously.
"Why do I get the feeling that there's more to this story?" Will asked. Sydney laughed.
"You've always been smart, Will. There is. Wait until the others get here. Then you'll know what you need to know."
As Sydney finished saying this, she looked up, and saw Lauren Reed and Dixon standing in the doorway. She stood up immediately, rushing to embrace Dixon. He squeezed her tightly, pulling away to look at her.
"Hey partner," he said, smiling.
"Hey. It's good to see you," she said, and he released her. Sydney looked over to Lauren, who stared at her awkwardly. Sydney decided what she needed to do right away. Lauren extended a hand to her, and Sydney shook it immediately, and then, surprisingly, pulled Vaughn's wife into a short embrace. Releasing her almost immediately, Sydney smiled at the woman.
"Lauren, thank you for coming. I really appreciate it," Sydney said genuinely, and Lauren returned her smile.
"Anytime," Lauren said, glad that the tension was broken. Perhaps they could become friends. Lauren glanced around the room, and then eyed Sydney again.
"Where's Michael?" she asked. Sydney smiled.
"He's in the kitchen with Julian....Sark..." Sydney said, trailing off.
"That's dangerous," Lauren said, and Sydney smirked.
"I was thinking the same thing. Why don't we go check on them, make sure everything's okay?" Sydney suggested.
"Sure," Lauren said, and after the girls notified the others as to where they were going, they headed toward the kitchen.
*****
Julian loved cooking. It was his secret hobby, really. If it had ever been made public knowledge that the ruthless assassin known as 'Sark' enjoyed spending time in the kitchen, his reputation would have been destroyed. Oh well, he thought. That was my old life.
Now, he had a new life ahead of him. One with Sydney Bristow. It still amazed him that things had happened so fast. He had really thought that she would be hostile toward him for the rest of her days. Obviously, he was wrong.
Now he was standing in a kitchen with CIA agent Michael Vaughn, a man, he knew, would love nothing more than to kick his ass at this very moment. Whether it was because Julian had been responsible for so many deaths, or his sudden connection to Sydney, he was unsure. Either way, this cooking experience was awkward.
At first, Vaughn had only communicated with him through the usage of monosyllabic grunts, which Julian had been very annoyed with. As they toiled, the green-eyed (both physically and metaphorically, it seemed) agent began to warm up to the idea of working with him. Julian couldn't help but smile when Vaughn finally got to the reason he had offered his services in the first place.
"So, Sark...sorry, Julian...." Vaughn began.
"So, Vaughn...why don't you dispense with the pleasantries. I know the only reason you're in this room with me is to interrogate me. Please, proceed," Julian said. Vaughn scowled.
"I just want to know that you're not lying. That you won't hurt her. That you'll take care of her," Vaughn said suddenly. Julian looked up, finding the man's eyes directly on him.
"Like you did, Mr. Vaughn?" Julian asked, and Vaughn looked down at the table before them. Vaughn sighed.
"She's right. I gave up on her. I moved on too quickly," Vaughn stated.
"So you don't love your wife?" Julian asked. Vaughn was angered by the deeply personal question, but answered nonetheless.
"I do love Lauren. She's an incredible woman. She's not..." Vaughn trailed off.
"She's not Sydney," Julian answered. Vaughn nodded in agreement.
"Yes," he said, his eyes searing Julian's. Julian sighed.
"I know a little something about that," Julian said, and Vaughn looked at him questioningly. "When I returned to the Covenant, and I had to turn Julia Thorne back into Sydney, I realized something I had never taken the time to notice before..."Julian trailed off, and Vaughn nodded for him to continue.
"Julia threw herself at me. It was shameless, really. Now, to any other man, that might have been pleasing, but to me, it wasn't. This woman had Sydney's face, Sydney's body...everything....but she wasn't Sydney. Not even close. Andrew James loved Julia. I am, was, and have always been, in love with Sydney Bristow. She's tough. She never makes things easy for me. But, I love the challenge. And I love her," he finished, and Vaughn nodded, realizing the man was telling the truth.
"That's all I needed to know," Vaughn said, and they returned to their work.
Moments later, the kitchen door opened, and Sydney came in, followed closely by Lauren. Both women were smiling widely, and Vaughn was glad to see that they seemed to be getting along famously.
"Hi honey," Lauren said, as she stepped to the side of her husband, kissing him quickly on the lips.
"Hey," he said. He watched as Sydney did the same to Julian, only their kiss lingered for a few moments.
"What was that for?" Julian asked as she pulled away from him, and she only smiled. She looked at both men, and smirked.
"Is everything alright in here?" she asked, marveling at the meal they were creating. Julian and Vaughn both nodded.
"Mr. Vaughn and I have reached...an understanding," Julian said, and Vaughn nodded in agreement.
"Good. Lauren and I are going to join the others," Sydney said.
"Okay. Dinner will be served in about twenty minutes," Julian said, and Sydney smiled again, leaning in to kiss him on the mouth. When she pulled away, she giggled quietly.
"Looks good sweetie," she said, and followed Lauren out of the kitchen. Vaughn smiled in his wife's direction once more, and then looked over at Julian, whose eyes remained on the door even after it had shut behind the two women. Vaughn smirked, remembering that look all too well.
"You've got it bad," he said simply, and returned his eyes to the carrots he was chopping. Julian's eyes returned to the chicken, and he sighed.
"Tell me about it," he said, rolling his eyes.
