DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters and brand names, except for the original ones, so don't sue. I am merely an obsessed ALIAS and CSI fan who prefers writing fanfiction than study for her tests. Thank you and have a nice day.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"You really enjoy watching that TV show, huh?" Agent Michelson asked Ana. They were watching CSI: Crime Scene Investigations on DVD.

"Yeah. I like it. It's… fun to watch." Ana answered and smiled at her. Agent Michelson smiled back.

Agent Spicah Michelson is a young woman in her mid twenties with short, wavy black hair and chinky, hazel-colored eyes. She's a bit shorter than Ana but appears to be a formidable opponent. She was a fresh graduate from UCLA when the CIA approached her. She accepted their offer immediately.

"Where did you get the DVD?" Ana asked while discreetly looking at her watch. It is nearing lunchtime.

"Oh, Agent Weiss lent it to me." Agent Michelson replied and looked at her young ward. She was a bit disappointed when she was first appointed as the girl's "guardian" but Ana was fun to be with. She can watch Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents and CSI with her and then switch channels and watch wrestling with Agent Barone, who is another agent inside the safe house.

"Agent Weiss is nice, isn't he?" Ana said. She saw the agent's cheek redden a bit. Ana smiled and then looked at the television. Her favorite "couple" in the show is checking something in their crime scene.

"Yes, he's nice." Agent Michelson answered. She has a slight crush on Weiss but he doesn't seem to notice. "Uh… what do you want to eat for lunch?" She asked, changing the topic.

"Anything would be nice." Ana answered, acting like she's very fascinated by the scene. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the agent smiling a bit.

"Okay. I'll just go out, ask Barone what can be a nice, healthy lunch he can suggest for a growing seventeen year old." She said and stood up. She went out of the living room and into the surveillance room of the house.

"Hey, Barone. Can you suggest something to eat?" She asked an attractive, thirty-something, curly haired man sitting on one of the chairs, doing a crossword puzzle.

"I dunno. You said something about healthy. I don't know any healthy food. I eat junk." He answered and looked at Michelson with his clear blue eyes. "What about a veggie burger?" he asked.

Spicah shrugged and sat down next to him. "Really, Shane. She's been eating veggie burgers for three straight days. Suggest other kinds of food."

"Check the directory." He answered. Spicah rolled her eyes and took the directory below the desk. She looked for a decent restaurant, chose food and then asked another one of the agents with them to buy the food.

After a few minutes, Spicah noticed the volume of the television was turned down. She took a look at the circuit television and began scanning for Ana.

"Shane, where's Ana?" she suddenly asked. Her colleague looked up from the puzzle and scanned the CCTV's. He can't see her.

"Oh sh-t." Shane exclaimed and hurriedly stood up. "Spicah, check outside. I think she's gone again."

-x-x-x-

Dixon walked up to the desk of Jack Bristow. His head is buried in a pile of papers and he appeared to be oblivious to the world around him.

He cleared his throat. Jack didn't seem to notice him.

"Jack." He said. Jack looked up from the documents.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Ana's missing from the safe house. Again." Dixon answered, emphasizing on the word Again.

"Ana's been doing that for the past four weeks. What makes this escape so special? She's going to come back, anyway. She can't sleep in the streets." Jack said and resumed doing his work.

Ana will be found roaming around the park, playing chess or in the arcade, playing video games. Sometimes, the agents find her in the public library. Jack doesn't fear Ana slipping away from the country. How can she do that when her passport was confiscated by the CIA? And she doesn't have any money. Where would she go when the fun is all gone? Back to the safe house, of course.

Dixon cleared his throat once again. And for the second time, Jack looked up from his pile of papers.

"Ana's been missing for a week."

The apathetic gaze Jack was giving him quickly turned angry and a bit panicked.

"Why did you tell me just now?!" Jack furiously asked and stood up from his chair. There are undercurrents of destruction in his tone.

Dixon didn't answer his question and instead gave him an 'assurance'. "I've ordered the agents to scour the whole of California." He said.

Jack gave him a 'Bristow' glare and stalked off.

-x-x-x-

"I don't know why Director Dixon added me to the search party but I am so excited. Do you do this often?" Marshall asked Weiss as they entered a B&B at the edge of LA.

"No." Weiss answered and looked at Marshall. He looked extremely giddy. "Are you always like this when you're on a mission?"

"Yes." Marshall answered and looked around. The place looked deserted. They walked towards the front desk.

"Excuse me. We're looking for this girl. Have you seen her?" Weiss asked and showed him a picture of Ana, which Jack lent to them.

The man looked at the photo. He recognizes her. The girl came in almost four days ago, asking if she could stay for a while. She said she doesn't have any money but will clean the bathrooms to pay for her stay.

She was a good person. And she seemed too elegant to do that kind of chore but she pleaded with him and did an excellent job.

"Nah. Sorry…" He said and looked at Weiss and Marshall. "You two her relatives?" he asked.

"Uh, no. We're family friends." Marshall answered as he looked at the pen by the logbook. "Excuse me, but where did you get this…" he wasn't able to continue because he was interrupted by a guest.

"Excuse me, I'll be checking out?"

Weiss looked at the speaker. She was a tall woman, wearing a blue and white sweater and dark blue jeans. Her back is also blue and she's wearing a cap. They can't see her face because her back is slightly turned from them.

"Did you enjoy your stay, Ms. Demarco?"

"Oh, yes. My mother will like it here."

Weiss watched as she signed the logbook with her left hand and handed the manager her payment. He saw the manager's face widened in surprise.

"Uh… thank you Ms. Demarco. We hope to see you again."

"Thank you." she said and started to walk away from them.

"Is she your only guest here?" Marshall asked. Weiss didn't pay attention to Marshall and instead concentrated his gaze on the girl. She was nearing the front door.

'I know that walk…'

Weiss ran after her and took hold odd her wrist.

"Ana."

She stopped and turned to look at him. "Let go of my hand, Eric."

"Not until you tell me that you'll be coming back with us in the Rotunda."

Ana sighed. She then noticed Marshall talking to the manager. "I won't go back. I want to go home."

Weiss looked at her. Ana was wearing eyeglasses. "You're wearing glasses." He remarked.

"I want to go home." She said again.

"But you are home."

Ana made a face. "No I'm not. I'm not welcome here. Let me go." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked.

Ana looked at him. "Forget about it. Let go of my wrist, please." She said courteously.

Eric immediately dropped her hand. There was a hidden ferocity in her tone.

"Thank you. I'd better be going." Ana politely said and then walked out of the building.

"Wasn't that Ana?" Marshall asked when he reached Weiss' position. Weiss nodded his head and took his phone.

"Sir? I let her go."

-x-x-x-

"Syd, Dixon called. Weiss saw Ana ten miles from here." Vaughn said as he approached Sydney. They are in the train station. Sydney has a concerned look on her face. "Syd, we're going to find her." Vaughn said in a comforting tone.

Sydney looked up at him. "But what if we can't? What if something happens to her?"

"Syd. Ana could take care of herself. You know that. We just have to find her before she has the chance to prove that." Vaughn said.

Sydney looked at him and then to her watch. It is almost six pm.

They started to walk to their car, when suddenly, it began to rain hard.

"Oh god." Sydney remarked.

"We'd better hurry." Vaughn said and they started to run towards the car.

-x0x-x0x-x0x-

Heavy rain pounded the cement rooftop of the observatory. One might expect to see the rooftop deserted but a figure sitting at the edge of the building defied that thought.

She's getting drenched and she doesn't care. She can't believe the city looks so beautiful when it's raining. Her mother forbade her to walk in the rain since they live in a place where it rains almost everyday.

There are times when she loves the rain and times when she doesn't. When her mother got into labor with Jacob, it was raining then. She was so afraid when the doctors told them that complications had arisen and that they have to choose between saving the mother or the baby. She cried when she was asked that question. She told the doctor that she will not choose between her mother and her brother and instead ordered him to march inside the delivery room and save her mom and the baby.

The doctor listened to her. Ana smiled a bit. 'I want to have that sense of freedom again. To be able to tell people to back off and listen to what you've got to say.' She thought as she smoothed a wet tendril that escaped her ponytail.

"Arriana."

She stiffened when she heard Jack's booming voice. But Ana didn't look at him.

"Do you know what chaos you brought in the Rotunda?! Why did you leave?" Jack asked. His tone was a bit rougher than he intended.

The question made Ana stand up and look at him. Jack was holding a black umbrella.

"Why do you care if I leave? I have imagined that you jumped for joy when you heard I've gone." Ana snottily replied and crossed her arms in front of her.

"I have responsibility over you, Arriana. I'm your father." Jack answered.

"Father?" Ana asked sarcastically. "I hardly think you've earned the right to call yourself my father."

"Stop being such a spoiled brat!"

"I am NOT a spoiled brat!" Ana shouted angrily.

"Then stop acting like ONE!

Ana glared at him. "I am not acting like a spoiled brat." She said. "Stop acting like you're worried. It's so pretentious."

Jack gave her an ominous look that sent shivers to Ana's spine. He then took a step towards her.

Ana, totally forgetting that she's at the edge of the building, took a step back. It was too late when she realized that she's stepping back on air and lost her footing.

"ANA!" Jack exclaimed and rushed forward. He kneeled at the edge and looked down.

Ana had managed to get hold of the metal bar about three feet from the edge. But the hard beating of the rain might make her hands slip.

Jack leaned forward and reached for her hand. But he can't get to her.

"Ana, give me your hand."

"No."

"Give me your hand." Jack said as he stretched his arm. He wasn't even close to her fingers. 'Oh my god. Irina will kill me.' He thought as he tried to go reach for her.

"You'll let me fall." She said. She could hear the fear in her own voice. Ana tried to look up at Jack but the rain kept her from focusing. He'll let me fall. I want my mom…

"Ana listen to me. I will not let you fall. And that's a promise. Give me your hand." Jack said. Fear is starting to creep in. She doesn't trust me. Even in the rain, he can clearly see Ana's knuckles whitening.

Should I trust him? It was a hard issue to decide on. She doesn't trust people easily. But the survival instinct (and common sense) told her to take the chance and trust this man. 'Besides, if you die, you can haunt him and kill him in his sleep.'

She reached out, expecting that she's going to be left hanging like that. But Jack immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. Her hands are cold and shaking.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Jack asked in a gentle tone as he cupped her face.

Ana shook her head. "I can't breathe" she said and started to pat her pockets for her inhaler. She rarely has asthma attacks, but she always brings her medication, just in case.

She took two puffs and was relieved quickly. Ana was sitting on the ground for a few minutes, catching her breath when she realized that the rain isn't touching her. She looked up and saw Jack holding the umbrella.

Ana was going to say something when she sneezed three times.

"I think we'd better go in." Jack said. Ana, shivering, nodded her head and stood up. They walked towards the exit in silence.