Chapter 12: Reunion
"Come on, you have to have liked at least one of these places," Sydney said. She and Kate had looked at half a dozen apartment complexes, but Kate hadn't settled on anything. Now they were in Sydney's car on their way to Jack's house; they were both shying away from discussing their mother.
Kate shrugged. "I really liked your building, actually. It must be nice to live so close to the ocean." She sounded slightly wistful.
"So call and make an appointment to sign a lease. You can't live in that hotel forever."
Kate didn't say anything. Sydney looked over and saw that she had a pensive look on her face and was biting her lower lip. Realization dawned. "You're not staying, are you?" she said softly. "You're going to go with Mom."
"If she'll take me." There was silence for a moment. "I looked for her, tried to contact her when I first left the Covenant. But I couldn't find her; there were rumors going around that she was dead. So I went with the next best option." She looked at Sydney. "I couldn't help wondering, when I first met you…I mean, you look so much like her…that's the real reason I came here."
"But you don't have to leave now."
"I told Dixon I wanted to take down the Covenant. That's the truth. And the CIA is never going to get that accomplished; they've got too many things that they're trying to do."
"We took down the Alliance," Sydney pointed out.
"Only because someone on the inside fed you exactly what you needed," Kate countered.
Sydney didn't have a response for that. "We're almost there," she said instead.
***
"They're here," Jack called when he saw Sydney's car pull into the driveway. He went to the front door and waited; when Sydney knocked, he opened it. "Hi," he said, ushering them in and closing the door. "Your mom's in the kitchen." He pointed the way.
The girls looked at each other. "You go first," Sydney said.
Kate nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the kitchen. Irina heard her enter and turn, and they just stared at each other for a moment. "Mama," Kate whispered.
"Tatiana," Irina said. She crossed the kitchen and pulled her daughter into a hug. "Oh, baby, I thought you were dead," she said in Russian. "I missed you so much."
Tatiana answered, also in Russian, "I missed you too, Mama."
Irina pulled back and held Tatiana at arm's length. "You look so much like your father," she said. "But I seem to remember your eyes being brown."
Tatiana smiled. "Contacts," she said. "And hair dye; my hair's the same color as yours."
Irina smiled briefly, but then her face grew serious again. "What happened to you? Who raised you?"
"Project Medea."
Irina frowned. "Of course. I should have guessed."
"Sydney's waiting to see you. And she and Papa haven't heard the whole story of what happened to me, either. Maybe I can tell all of you at the same time."
Irina nodded. She slipped out into the hall; as soon as he saw her, Jack made himself scarce. "Sydney."
"Mom." They hugged. "Thanks for looking for me."
Irina paused for a moment as her mind made the transition from Russian to English. "Of course I looked for you. I'm just glad you're back."
Sydney pulled away. "How come you never told me I had a sister?"
"The same reasons I didn't tell your father. I thought she was dead, and the time never seemed right."
Sydney noticed the bruise on her mother's temple for the first time and gestured toward it. "Sorry about that," she said. "I didn't know who you were when I hit you."
"Oh, that was you?" Irina said. "I was wondering how I got knocked out without getting captured or killed."
Sydney grinned. "We hid you in a shed."
Just then, Tatiana opened the kitchen door. Through it, they could hear the oven timer. "Um, I think the food's done," Tatiana said in English. "I don't know how to do anything with food except eat it…"
Irina laughed as she went into the kitchen and removed a casserole from the oven. Sydney sniffed the air. "You used to make this when I was little," she said.
"It was one of your favorites," Irina answered. "And one of your father's favorites. Would you go tell him dinner's ready, Sydney?"
"Sure."
Sydney returned with Jack in moments, and shortly afterwards the four Bristows sat down together for their first-ever family dinner.
Next: Find out how the Spy Babies got their names.