Sydney filled Vaughn in on all that had happened with David. He agreed instantly that this was what they had to do.

"The thing is, Vaughn, we can't let the CIA know about this. The second they hear we're working with someone they were tracking and trying to kill a few months ago, they'll stop us."

"I know. Look, I still have that key your father gave me to his storage facility. We can get most of what we need from there." Sydney smiled.

"Vaughn, that's brilliant." Vaughn was very proud of himself. "When do you get out?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Sydney was quiet for a while. Vaughn could see by the look in her eyes, however, that she was making a plan. He took this time to close his eyes and rest a bit.

When they got back from Palermo, he had been brought right to the hospital. Test after test was run and his wound was stitched up again. After that, they had him walk around for a while to make sure no damage had been done. He slept for maybe two hours and then Weiss called him to tell him that Sydney was going to Wittenberg. After that, he couldn't sleep. Whenever Sydney was on missions, even recently, he didn't sleep. So, he spent that time thinking or channel surfing the hospital's 10 channels.

Finally, Sydney looked back up and nodded.

"I'm going to go home and get working with David. You know, set up who we're going to contact and maybe even start planning what to do next. Tomorrow morning, we'll both come pick you up. We'll go to your house so you can pack up and then we'll get on our way. We can't give the CIA any time to contact us or we'll never get away." Vaughn nodded.

"Sounds great."

"Are you sure you're going to be able to do this?"

"Syd, you never have to ask me that. If it has to do with you, I will be able to do anything." Sydney's eyes clouded over as tears threatened to fall. She stood and walked right up to his bed.

"I love you." She said. With that, she leaned down and kissed him. They lingered as long as they could, but finally Sydney and Vaughn broke apart.

"I love you, too." Vaughn's smile was so large that Sydney thought her heart would break. After standing there for a moment more, Sydney turned and walked out.

After a quick drive home, Sydney slipped her key into the front door and walked in. She removed her shoes and coat and then walked to the family room where David was sitting on the couch.

"David?" She called to him, but he didn't turn. "David?" She walked to his side and saw that he was looking at a picture. It had severe fold lines from being opened and refolded multiple times. "Who is she?"

"Marie. She was my girlfriend. When they came after me, she got shot. She's dead." Sydney felt her heart break for him. "She helped me escape the first time, when I didn't know who I was. She protected me. And then she got pegged instead of me."

"I am so sorry, David. I know how it is to lose someone."

"Really? Who'd you lose?"

"My fiancé, Danny. I told him about my working for SD-6 and Arvin Sloane had him killed. I walked in to find him shot and lying in the bathtub."

"Wow, we really do have a lot in common." Sydney gave him an odd look.

"Why does that surprise you?"

"It doesn't. It's just that I was told that we did and now I really know we do."

"Who said we did?"

"Oh, nobody."

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Jack opened his eyes slowly. He was not in the bank in Wittenberg. He was lying on a bed with a very soft pillow under his head. There was a fire in the fireplace in front of him. This was definitely not the bank. He sat up gradually to look around. But he didn't get the chance.

"It's about time. With your resistance to sedatives, I thought you would have been up an hour or two ago." He was very confused at this point. Though he couldn't see the woman's face, he knew her voice. He saw her outline come to him and sit on the bed next to him. "Hello Jack."

"Irina?"

"You knew I'd be back. I've just been biding my time."

"Why did you hide Nadia?"

"Hide her? Jack, I didn't even know her! I wasn't ready to reveal her to the CIA if I hadn't even met her. She was my daughter!"

"You could have told me that. Instead, you just terminated the account and left me asking questions."

"Don't you turn this on me, Jack! I just picked you up off of a vault floor after you pissed off your only daughter." Jack couldn't respond. She was right, of course she was right.

"I'm sorry." Irina was stunned. Jack Bristow barely ever apologized for his actions.

"I'm going to help you. I've sent someone I've discovered to go to Sydney. He knows that I am her mother."

"They're going to take down the Covenant?"

"I know just enough to get them near the top. It's taken quite a bit of favors, but I have the roadmap almost set."

"Favors?" Irina sighed.

"I've used sources from the CIA, former KGB, K-Directorate, on the run Alliance members; anyone I could get my hands on." There was something she wasn't telling him, but Jack couldn't tell what.

"Who else?"

"Before Sydney and Vaughn went missing in North Korea, I had one of my workers contact Sloane for information. Sloane somehow got the guy to confess to working for me. He began contacting me through multiple channels. I didn't respond. He just kept coming. When you told me Sydney was captured, I knew Katya was the one to get the job done. I also knew that if she asked a favor of you, you would do it to save Sydney. So, I told her to have Sloane taken care of. Only at the last minute did I realize that he would be an asset to finding Nadia. That's why Katya told you at the last moment to not do it. But, she called him and told him to back off, albeit against my will. He stopped, though. He went back to obsessing over my daughters." There was a fire in Irina's eyes that gave Jack a quick shiver. Irina saw him shake for a second and smiled. "Don't worry, Jack. By the time I'm done, Sloane will no longer be a problem, the Covenant will be no more, and Sydney will trust you again."

"That sounds almost like a dream."

"It will be real. I promise. And I always keep my promises." Jack tried to hide a yawn, but Irina saw it. "Rest, Jack. When you wake up we'll get back to work." She began to turn away.

"Irina?" She turned back. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because, things need to be made right again. Sloane needs to be jailed for the pain he has caused. The Covenant needs to be stopped for the things they are doing right now. And you need to have your daughter understand you. Once that's done, I can finally stop." Jack was stunned.

"You're going to get out of the intelligence world?"

"Yes. I think I'm going to go back to the CIA. Maybe negotiate a pardon. If Sloane could do it, so can I. I might even move back to Los Angeles." She looked hopeful as she spoke. She had the same hope that Jack was secretly feeling, too. She stood and walked to the door.

"Irina?" She turned one last time. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Now, sleep." She left the room and went to her own. Once inside, she fell onto her bed and allowed her hidden tears to reveal themselves. She finally had a chance to make everything right. She was helping her daughter, again. She was taking down Sloane, again. And, she was connecting with her ex-husband, again. Her eyes closed and she let a huge smile set itself on her face. "Finally." Irina whispered into the night.

About an hour later, Irina began to prepare for bed. She changed into sweatpants and a simple top and began to turn down her bed. Then, she heard a knock at the door. She moved softly and opened the door. Jack stood there, looking a bit groggy.

"Jack, what's wrong?"

"I never said thank you." Irina laughed.

"You never need to." Jack cracked a rare smile and looked at Irina as if for the first time. She was so different from when he had last seen her almost two year ago. But, some things hadn't changed, like his feelings for her. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her. It was gentile and sweet, just like it had been the last time they had been together. "Jack?" Irina whispered.

"Yes?"

"I never told you thank you."

"For what?"

"Trusting me again." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "But Jack?"

"Yes?" He laughed at her incessant questions.

"Don't let the CIA know you're working with me again. I couldn't stand to have you locked up for another year."

AN: Ok, so, yeah, sappy. This chapter was kind of a filler, but all this needed to be told now so that I can get on to the REALLY good stuff. If you can't tell, I am a big J/I fan and I miss Spymommy like anything. Next chapter should be up sooner because now that my muse has come out of hiding (Dang thing was eating pizza and laughing at me) and gotten back to work, the ball is finally rolling. Just wait, there's some great stuff coming up!! Please review!