"Where the hell have you been, Sark?" Irina yelled as soon as he entered her office. "You disappeared off of the face of the earth for forty-eight hours. No call, no warning."

"I'm sorry if I was too busy saving your daughter's life to keep you informed of my every bloody move, Irina," he snarled at her. "I'm in no mood to put up with your crap."

"That's bullshit and you know it, Andrew. Kaylee has been safe and sound in Los Angeles the whole time you disappeared. So don't try to feed me lies about where you've been. You agreed to be in my employment again, and the same rules apply now as did then."

Sark looked at her in disgust. "You may forget sometimes, but you do have two daughters. Both of them seem to need my help in one way or another. I was with Sydney this whole time. Simon Walker tried to kidnap her again. He would have succeeded too if I hadn't been there to save her. So instead of yelling at me, you should be thanking me."

"You expect me to believe that Sydney actually allowed you to help her? You should have stuck with the Kaylee story."

"I'm telling you the truth. And yes, Sydney allowed me to help her. She didn't have much of a choice. She was stranded one hundred and twenty kilometers into the desert with a broken wrist and the worst concussion I've ever seen. If I weren't there with her, she would have died." Sark sat down in one of the chairs in Irina's office. "I'm not going to try to convince you that I'm telling the truth anymore. I know you'll check out whatever story I tell you. Go ahead. It's the truth."

"At least you're still thinking rational." Irina shut the laptop she had been working on. "You felt the need to interrupt my work. Obviously there is something you were dying to talk to me about. Something that better be damn important."

"It is," Sark said plastering his trademark smirk on his face. "I've come to tell you thanks but no thanks. I won't be rejoining your organization. But thanks for the information on Kaylee being alive. It was extremely helpful."

"Stop!" Irina yelled as he made his way to the door. "You can't just walk out. It doesn't work that way. I want an explanation about the change of heart, and I want it now."

"Sydney and I spent ten hours walking through the desert. We got to talking. Made me think a few things through. The most important thing to me right now is convincing Kaylee that I'm worthy of her taking me back. And I think the only way I can do that is to get out of this whole world. She's not going to want to raise a two-year-old with a man who's constantly putting her in danger."

"What do you mean she has a two-year-old to raise?" she asked.

"Don't tell me the incompetent CIA has pulled the wool over your eyes for two years. You didn't know that Kaylee had a son?"

"I kept constant surveillance on her. I would have known if she were pregnant."

Sark smirked. "You obviously didn't have very good employees working on that surveillance thing. She had a son with Will Tippin. You remember him, right? He was the man she was living in Wisconsin with."

"Don't treat me like an idiot, Sark."

"You're the one that didn't even know you were a grandmother." He knew that the grandma comment would really get under her skin and wasn't surprised when she sneered at him.

"This changes everything. I need you here with me to work through this mess. You can't just abandon the work we've been doing for the past seven years."

"I can and I will. Kaylee means more to me now than the Rambaldi prophecies. I told her once that I would give up everything for her. That's still true. I can't do this anymore."

"You owe me your life, Andrew. I saved you on that day nine years ago on the streets of South Croyden. You would be dead without me and you know it. So don't be ungrateful."

"Talk about the debt I owe you all you want. It's not going to make me stay. If you ever cared about me, you would just let me go do what I have to."

Irina sighed and decided to try another tactic. "She's happy in her little life with Will Tippin. You really shouldn't try to change that. It won't make her want you anymore. I gave you the chance to talk with her. Clearly you blew it because instead of being with Kaylee, you were off in Egypt looking after her sister. That was your only chance to make her choose you over Tippin. There's nothing for you there."

"I will never, ever believe that. I'm not going to stop fighting for her. I'd die before I'd give up. That was something you taught me. Perseverance. Just like the lie you've been keeping up for the past twenty-four years. I know you better than anyone with the exception of Kaylee. I know how much you really care for Jack Bristow. All your plans that you wanted me to believe were for the good of the organization? Those were all your sly ways of keeping both your daughters safe and keeping Jack Bristow in your life. You love him, Irina. Why don't you just tell him that? You could have a happy life."

"I will not have this conversation with you, Andrew," she said sharply, turning away from his gaze. The look on her face softened slightly as she turned back towards him. "There's nothing I can do to get you to stay here?"

"Nothing."

"Then go, Andrew. You will always be welcome back at my side, though. In case things don't pan out. And thanks for the information on my grandson. What did you say his name was?"

"I didn't," Sark said as he left her office. He didn't want to hand her any more information than he already had. There had to be a good reason why Kaylee would not have told her mother about Grayson's existence. He hoped that he hadn't hurt her in any way by revealing the truth.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Sydney's thoughts on the flight back to L.A. were all focused on Sark and the things he had confessed to her in Cairo. She was beginning to realize that she had grown to respect him. She could understand where he was coming from when he talked about his love for her sister. The same feelings and doubts were running through her brain when it came to Michael Vaughn. Every day she became more confused with that situation.

"Are you ready, Syd?" Weiss asked her. While she had been daydreaming, it seemed the plane had landed and Weiss had gotten her bag out of the overhead bin.

"I think so." Sydney took Weiss's arm for support. The doctors in Egypt had cleared her to travel, but they informed her that the journey would probably take its toll on her. She wasn't surprised to realize they were right. She did feel pretty weak.

"What happened between you and Vaughn in that hospital?" Weiss asked as he led her off the plane. "He's been acting pretty distracted ever since you woke up."

"I said something I shouldn't have. I made a mistake." She shrugged her shoulders.

"What did you say to make him act so strange?"

"I told him that I loved him." Sydney winced at the thought of Weiss's reaction. She wasn't disappointed when he screamed what loudly. "I know, I know. I just couldn't help it. He was talking about how much he was concerned for me when I disappeared, and then he was saying how the two years I was missing almost destroyed him. I couldn't help it."

"Sydney, he's married. You can't interfere with that. You're too good a person to be a home wrecker."

"Very funny, Weiss. I know that I can't interfere with his marriage. Which is why I pushed him away when we were kissing." She slapped her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant to tell Weiss that part of the story.

"You kissed him?!? Sydney, you can't be doing that. You have no idea how important his marriage is."

"Honestly, Weiss, I can't imagine how important it is for him. I mean, he told me that he loved me. His marriage can't be that significant to him if he is still willing to admit that he wants me."

"This marriage is extremely important. You don't even know how important it is to the CIA that he stays happy with Lauren."

Sydney looked at him in confusion. "Why would his marriage be important to the CIA?"

Weiss was bailed out on having to answer her question by a screaming two year old who came running straight into Sydney's legs. He latched on to her right one and squeezed.

"Grayson, you know you're not supposed to run off from mommy's side," Kaylee called as she struggled to catch up to where her son was. "Hey, Sydney. I thought we'd come surprise you." She pulled her sister into a hard hug taking care not to smoosh her child in the process. "I was so worried about you when Vaughn called me to say that you were missing. I was afraid I would have to wait another two years to see you again."

"No such luck," Sydney said with a laugh. She tried to remember what she had been about to ask Weiss, but Grayson's screaming that he didn't want to let go of Aunt Sydney's leg was breaking her concentration. She scooped him up into her arms. "And how are you doing, kid?"

"He's a terror," Kaylee said. "I can't control him anymore." Kaylee turned her attention to Weiss. "I have it from here, Eric. You go in to the office. I know you have loads of work to do. Reports on why Sydney was allowed to almost be captured."

"I think she was threatening me in a covert way there. You need to keep control of your sister," Weiss joke. He gave Sydney a quick hug and kissed Grayson on the head lightly. "I'll see you later, right?"

"Absolutely," Sydney smiled.

"So what happened?" Kaylee asked as they began walking to where she had parked her car.

"Standard stuff. Someone tried to kill me again. I got saved. Had to walk through the desert to get to the nearest city. Ended up in the hospital. And here I am."

"So, Vaughn saved you, huh?" Kaylee wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "How'd that go?"

"Vaughn didn't save me, Sis." Sydney paused wondering if she should really be telling Kaylee the details of her rescue. Figuring she was going to find out sooner or later from someone, Sydney decided to tell her who exactly had saved her. "It was Sark who saved me."

"What was Sark doing in Egypt? Heck, what was he doing in a position to save you? And why did he save you?"

"I'm not really sure. He gave me a few good reasons that I mostly believe, but I'm still confused about the whole thing. I never imagined that he'd chose to save me." Sydney smiled wickedly at her sister. "I guess he really cares for you a lot."

"What do I have to do with any of this?"

"He was trying to make an effort to call a truce with me. For your sake, sister dear."

"A truce? Between you two?" Kaylee shook her head. "It'll never happen."

"I don't know. He's not that bad a guy," Sydney said. She pointed at a red convertible that was a couple rows away. "Is that your car?"

"Yes, that's my car. And don't try to change the subject. I want to know who you are and what you did with the real Sydney. She would never admit to liking Sark unless he was holding a gun to her head. What have you done with her?"

"Very funny, little one." Sydney placed Grayson in his car seat. "Let's just say that I had plenty of time to see what really makes him tick while we were trekking through the desert. And it turns out he's actually a lot more like me than I thought. Granted, he's exactly like you. But I'm willing to admit that he and I have our similarities."

"Scorned lovers and all?" Kaylee said. She wanted to turn the conversation back to the subject of Vaughn. "How is Michael doing these days?"

"I don't know." Sydney placed her hand on where her sister's hand was preparing to turn the key in the ignition. "He told me he loved me. Which confuses the hell out of me."

"A married man's not supposed to do that," Kaylee stated.

"Don't I know it. There's something seriously wrong with him and who he's become these past two years. I can't put my finger on it."

"No. Putting your finger on it would definitely make you the other woman."

"Kaylee! That is so inappropriate it's not even funny," Sydney shrieked.

"Then why are you laughing?"

Sydney smiled at her sister as Kaylee started the car and pulled out of her parking space. "I don't know what's going on with him. All I know is that I still love him as much as I did when I disappeared. And those feelings aren't going away any time soon."

"It's a curse the women of our bloodline are forced to bear. Face it. We're doomed to be unlucky in love for the rest of our lives."

"I don't know about that. You seem to have a pretty good beau in Will," Sydney said with a sly smile.

"I told you that Will and I are not romantically involved. When are you going to believe me?"

"In... oh... about a million years. He likes you, Kaylee. I may have been gone for two years, but I can still read what my best friend is feeling." Sydney felt the cell phone in her pocket vibrate. "Hold on a second. Hello? Vaughn. What's the matter? Um, okay. I'll be in as soon as my sister can drive us there."

"What was that all about?" Kaylee asked.

"I'm not really sure. Vaughn just said something about them making headway on trying to figure out where I've been and what I've been doing for the past two years. You wouldn't mind dropping me off at the CIA headquarters."

Kaylee sighed. "You know, I'm not an agent of this government. So you'd really think they wouldn't let me know where their secret lair is. But I guess the U.S. government was never really that smart."

"The things Mom taught you," Sydney said shaking her head.

Kaylee laughed and accelerated as she pulled the car onto the highway. "Mom also taught me how to drive."

"Should I be afraid?' Sydney joked.

"Very."