Title: Skeletons in the closet

Summary: Sydney faces her past at SD-6.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Alias related, only the characters you don't know.

Spoiler: 3:17 'The frame' and before, AU after that.

Rating: PG-13

Chapter Fourteen

When Sydney woke up she was confused. She was lying in bed with the covers over her and her clothes on the floor. Something was missing though. Then it hit her. "Lauren." She called out. "Lauren?" Lauren emerged from the front room wearing a dressing gown.

"What is it?" She asked as she sat down on the bed and Sydney hugged her closely.

"I thought you'd…I woke up and you weren't there…" Sydney cried into her shoulder and Lauren held her until she was calm again.

"I need to go see Danny, so you wait here and I'll be straight back." Sydney nodded in compliance and lay back down, watching Lauren dress.

"Danny." Lauren entered his room and found him still in bed. "Daniel, we need to talk." He sat up grumpily and groaned.
"Can't it wait?" He sighed.

"It's Sydney she…" Danny sat up at the mention of Sydney's name. "Last night we were together and this morning she was in tears because I wasn't there. I think we need to get her a doctor or some sort of medication. She's completely snapped, she was in tears..."

Danny sighed as he pulled on his trousers and grabbed a shirt. "We told her exactly what she did as Julia, she was in love with me and with you at the same time, she tortured Elliot, she let Vaughn be hurt…of course she'll be confused. We broke her, now we can fix her and we can have Sydney back with us. We just need to show her where her place is again. She's confused Lauren, she has a thousand and one problems right now and she's trying to deal with them on her own. We have to help her."

Lauren nodded and returned to her room to find Sydney gone. "Sydney?" She called out, but received no reply. "Syd?" She explored the upstairs of the house but couldn't find her.

Sydney opened the cell door and found Vaughn and her father asleep on the two beds in the small damp room. "Get up." She hissed and her father stirred first.

"Sydney…I knew you wouldn't have turned…" Vaughn woke up and looked to Sydney.

"They don't know I'm here. Elliot's in the next room." She threw Jack the key. "Go now."

They rushed out of the room and Jack tried to take hold of Sydney's arm, but she pulled away from him. "Leave!" She snapped. "Now!" Vaughn opened Elliot's cell and went in to bring her out. She stared coldly at Sydney and Sydney scowled. "Go."

Vaughn looked desperately at Jack and handed Elliot to him. "I'll catch up." He assured them as they made their way out of the basement. "Sydney, you have to come with us."

"Why? So you can arrest me? I can sit in that little cell that mom sat in and let you all come in and visit me like some animal in a zoo? None of you are on my side…not you, not Dad…Elliot hates me. Who can blame her? I'm evil. I guess I can't help it, having mom and dad as parents…just go now…please, before they catch you."

"Sydney…" He tried to touch her arm but she thumped him in the chest and pushed him away.

"NO! I don't care about any of you. I don't love you I never did…Danny's my fiancé…till death do us part…please just go." She slumped to the floor and curled up in a ball, rocking herself for comfort.

Vaughn had no choice. He left quickly and found Jack and Elliot nearby in the woods that Elliot had ran through for her freedom. Vaughn's eyes stung from the sour tears that plagued his vision and he shook his head at Jack. "She's confused…she needs help."

"We can't help from here." Jack argued. "We'll get to a phone, get back up and come back to get her. She's my daughter Vaughn, I'm won't give up on her."

Lauren went back in to her room and noticed her set of keys to the cells missing. "Oh no." She rushed downstairs and shouted to Danny. They both ran to the cells with their guns ready and found Sydney slumped on the floor rocking backwards and forwards with the doors to the two cells wide open.

"You betrayed us!" Lauren snapped aiming her gun at Sydney. "You used us…"

"Lauren…she's still here." Danny interrupted as he got down on his knees beside Sydney. "Why did you let them go Sydney?"

Sydney shook her head and began to cry. "I don't know. I can't think. There are too many thoughts. Vaughn…he left me…he's supposed to look after me, he's my handler…why did daddy leave too? He doesn't love me since mommy died…Danny we have to start planning. There's so much to do before the wedding…" Danny grabbed her arms and shook her.

"Sydney!" He snapped. "I need you to calm down. We're going to go upstairs and pack. Then we need to leave before the CIA comes. We need to get you to a doctor, ok?"

Sydney shook her head and clung to him. "I can't go to a doctor. Sloane has them all in his pocket. They know you know. I have to protect you…"

"Ok." Danny agreed. "You can protect me by coming upstairs with me and letting me give you something to help calm you down, ok?" Sydney nodded and he scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs.

When Vaughn and Jack stormed the house with a swat team including Weiss and Zac they found the house cleaned out completely and no trace that anyone had been there in weeks. There was no trace of Sydney and Vaughn smashed a nearby vase in anger. "She's gone! We've lost her again!"

Jack stood by Elliot's hospital bed as the nurse finished fussing over her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I shouldn't be here. I'm fine, it's just a couple of bruised ribs…and a lot of bad memories."

Jack sat down on the edge of the bed and fidgeted with his hands. "We went back…"

"They're gone?" Jack nodded and sighed.

"I've lost her again. She's in pretty bad shape. It's like she's just snapped."

"I told her what she did to me as Julia…that's when she flipped." Jack shook his head and held Elliot's hand.

"She hasn't been right since she came back. With everything that's happened in her life it's surprising she lasted this long. It's not your fault Elliot."

"Then why do I feel so bad?" She choked through tears. "I love her so much, but I can never forget what she did to me as Julia." Jack held on to her hand as his own tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Right now she needs us to be strong Elliot. We have to get her back. And I won't rest until I have my daughter back, then we can try and help her through this."

"What if there's no way through?"