"Aunt Sydie?"
"Yes, sweetie Aunt Syd's here. Listen to me very carefully Ana. Don't be scared. Aunt Sydie's gonna get you out of there. If that mean man hurts you, you just tell Aunt Sydie. Can you be a brave girl for me?" Sydney asked, trying to sound calm and comforting to the little girl.
"Yes Aunt Sydie," the little girl answered with a sniffle.
"Okay, tell the man that you're done,"
"Hi there Aunt Sydie!" came the voice of McKennas Cole. This was where Sark decided to jump in.
"You don't speak to her. You speak to me," he said. "Let Ana go. This has nothing to do with her."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Jules," Cole said. "She's just as valuable to me as you two are. Hell, I just finished the ransom video."
"Ransom video?"
"They taped me being beat," Sydney said.
"I must say its one of my best. First the footage of Pigtails. Then we go to little Ana, and let me tell you, the camera loves that girl. Five hundred thousand dollars and nine Rambaldi artifacts and you three are home free," Cole said cheerfully.
"I want Ana here with us," Sydney demanded. "And let me tell you, you harm a hair on that girl's head and I swear I will kill you with my own hands, you son of a bitch."
"Don't worry, I'm more than willing to let Mini-Pigtails shack up with you two. However, Julian still has some information I want, don't ya Jules?"
"Irina's at her home outside of Moscow."
"But....."
"She's planning to meet with Katya and Nadia tomorrow at Zurich."
"Thanks so much, man." At the sound of the door opening they both looked over. A small girl was shoved into the room and the door was abruptly slammed behind her. The little girl was crying, but as Sydney ran over, she looked up in amazement.
"Aunt Sydie!" the four-year-old exclaimed with glee. She giggled and hugged her aunt.
"Yes, sweetie, I'm here."
"Who's that?" Ana asked, pointing at Sark.
"That's a very special friend of mine, Ana." She motioned for Sark to come nearer. He walked over and kneeled on the floor next to Sydney and her niece. "Ana, this is Julian. Julian, this is Ana." The little girl looked up at him with her huge brown eyes that so closely matched her aunt's.
"Hi," she said shyly.
"Hello there," he said. "I'm Julian. I think you and I could be very good friends. What do you say?" Ana looked at her aunt.
"I like him." she said. She climbed off Sydney's lap and onto Sark's. She put her arms around his neck, hugging him. He looked confused at first, but with a nod from Sydney, he returned the little girl's hug.
"How would you two like some dinner?" Sydney asked.
"Dinner! Dinner!" Ana said excitedly. "Can we have pelmeni and bliny?" (A/N These are Russian dishes. Pelmeni is minced meat with pastry and bliny is a dessert that resembles a pancake.)
"Yes, can we Syd?" Sark said with a smirk. Sydney laughed.
"Of course we can. I'll admit my pelmeni is nowhere as good as Irina's, but its not to bad." She headed for the kitchen and Ana followed her.
Two hours later, the dinner had been eaten and the dishes cleared and cleaned. Sydney opened the hall closet in search of something to dress Ana in. She found a small white nightgown just her neice's size.
"Ana! I found something!" she called downstairs. She heard the quick pitter patter of small feet on the stairs, followed by much heavier, slower footsteps. Sydney held up the nightgown for her niece's inspection.
"Its bootiful!" she exclaimed. "I'll look like a princess!"
"All right, off to bed with you," Syd said. She took Ana into the room across from her and Sark's and got her dressed for bed. "We'll take a bath tomorrow." she said. Ana climbed into bed.
"Where's Papa?" she asked. "I miss him. Grandmamma to." Sydney looked at her niece, not quite knowing what to say.
"Your papa can't be here, Ana, but I'm sure he really wants to be. Your grandmamma to. Sit up and I'll brush your hair." Sydney reached for the brush on the nightstand. She began to brush Ana's waist length curly blond hair. "My mama, your grandmamma, used to do this for me when I was little." After she'd brushed a hundred strokes, she said, "All right, time to go to sleep munchkin." Ana lied down.
"Aunt Sydie?" she said.
"Yes?"
"Will you sing to me? The song Papa always sings." Sydney looked down at her and began to sing. Minutes later the girl was sound asleep. Only then did she notice Sark standing in the doorway.
"That was the song you sang the other night. With the piano," he said.
"I didn't sleep well one night a few years ago. It was the summer I met Alexei and Sergei. Alexei sang it to me." She got up and walked to him. He put her arm around her as she turned back to look at the little girl in that large bed. "I can't believe she got drug into this," she said. "It will ruin her life."
"Sydney, if there's one thing I've learned from you and your mother, it's the fact that Derevko women don't let people ruin their lives." Sydney smiled at that. "I never asked, but what's their last name? Derevko or Bliscavca?"
"Derevko," She turned in his arms to face him. "Come on, lets go to bed Mr. Lazarey," she said with a smirk, greatly resembling his own"
"I don't know of anything I'd like more, Ms. Bristow," he answered as he swept her up into his arms and carried her across the hall.
A/N: This is my first fic guys, so any feedback would be absolutely wonderful. Advice pointers, criticism, good or bad I can use it.