DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the original ones, so don't sue. I am a poor student with nothing to spare. I have no money! Okay? Okay. Thank you and have a nice day.
A/N- Hello there… I appreciate all your reviews, they really help (they cheer me up :D) Let me just tell you that the end is near for this fic. I don't really know how many chapters are left, but a lot will happen. THE END IS NEAR. Hehe… I hope you like this chapter, leave a review. Thanks :D
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CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
"Ana, why can't Jacob come tomorrow again?" Sydney asked. She and Nadia are in the kitchen, cooking their dinner. It's Friday and it's their turn to host the dinner.
It's been a week since Nadia was discharged from the hospital and three days since they have been housemates. And so far, it's been fun. Extremely fun.
Ana, who is sitting cross-legged on the sofa, turned away from the wrestling match she is watching and looked at Sydney through the door.
"Well, dad said that mom said that Jacob is due for his flu shot and his booster shots and a couple more of shots. It's a doctor's appointment." She answered and watched her sisters cook. She tried to help them earlier but she burned the carrots.
"Wow, this is the first time I've actually seen a carrot burn." Nadia said to her, a bit amazed but at the same time amused. Sydney was laughing at that time and they decided that it would be best if she just taste test the food.
"Nadia, are you going to work with Sydney too?" Ana asked.
Nadia looked at Sydney. She knows that there was a request from the CIA to her agency that she be transferred. "I don't know, Ana. They haven't asked yet."
"Oh…" Ana said and then returned her attention back to the television. After a few minutes, she got bored watching two sweaty men grapple each other and switched channels.
She chanced upon a station where they were showing a girl playing a violin. Ana sat in the sofa, transfixed with the scene. She misses playing the violin. The last time she played was when she ran away from the safe house. As she watched the 'concert', Ana heard an incorrect note. Her lips automatically curled up to a smirk.
'I could do better. But then again, I have no violin. How could I prove that?' she asked herself as she sadly stared at the screen.
Her fingers began to twitch. Ana knows that frustration will come if she will not be able to play, so she switched channels.
Spongebob Squarepants replaced the violin concerto.
Unknown to Ana, Nadia saw her sadly staring in the television when she took something from her room.
"Did you see that?" Nadia quietly asked Sydney when she returned to the kitchen.
"See what?" Sydney replied in the same tone. She can hear the soup simmering.
"Ana seemed a bit sad when she saw a violin concerto. I never imagined Ana looking that sad." Nadia said and washed the utensils in the sink.
Sydney shrugged and then looked at Nadia. "I didn't see her face. But I'm guessing that she misses playing the violin. Aunt Katya said that she played the instrument and painted."
"Then why isn't she telling us?" Nadia asked. "We're family, aren't we?"
"Well, she's a bit like dad." Sydney answered. "She keeps everything to herself, but then again, she's like mom, too. So, once in a while you see the emotions brewing."
"Maybe she's just shy? Oh, I know, maybe we should ask dad to ask her what's wrong." Nadia said. Her sister smiled a bit, exposing the deep dimples in her cheeks.
"You're right. You ask dad to ask her."
Nadia made a face. "Unfair. Let's ask him together."
Sydney smiled and sprinkled basil leaves pot. A few minutes later, a delicious smell started to fill the kitchen.
"Ana, its taste testing time!"
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Jack coolly evaluated the panel of CIA bigwigs in front of him. Most of them were handpicked by the CIA director for this meeting and Jack knows their reputation as bulldozers, people who will get what they want, no matter what. The CIA director also managed to convince Ben Devlin to come with them. Dixon is also present in this meeting.
"All we want, Mr. Bristow, is your cooperation." One of them said.
Jack stared at him. The temper that is slowly creeping in is being hidden by the disdain in his face. And the twelve inch wide table will not hinder him from doing damage if the situation calls for it.
"Cooperation? Gentlemen, what you are asking me to do is to coerce my youngest daughter, a minor, in case you don't know, to work for the CIA. I doubt if I'll ever give you my cooperation in this matter." Jack answered and gave them a look that sends most people who receives the glare to rush towards the nearest exit. But the men weren't fazed.
"Agent Bristow, the fact that Arriana Giselle Derevko was Anya Ivanovnich and Gabrielle Rinaldi makes this case stronger. You will not be the one to coerce her to work for the CIA. Langley will. And if she refuses, the United States Government can easily send her to jail for all that she has done."
Jack glared at the speaker.
"Don't you think three Bristows in the CIA is too much?"
"You're forgetting Nadia Santos, Agent Bristow."
Jack slammed his fist on the table. "You are making a very big mistake." He hissed and stood up from his seat. "You don't know what you're doing."
"This conversation is not yet over, Bristow." One of them said.
"Talk to your daughters and explain to them the consequences. After that, give us their answers." Another one said. All of them, except for Devlin and Dixon are leaning at their seats, as if very relaxed confident with the matter.
Jack gave them a tight smile. "You do know who their mother is? If you do know who she is, then you'd also know that she doesn't give a damn about consequences!" he said and went out of the room.
Devlin and the others shook their heads. They were expecting his reaction.
'Jack, if you just know what Irina Derevko is doing… you will know that she does give a damn about the price of everything.'
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"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked Nadia and Ana. They are sitting in the kitchen of his house, discussing about their decision to join the CIA. Sydney decided not to be part of this meeting and instead stayed in Jack's study, reading.
"Especially, you Ana. Don't you want to go back to school?"
Ana shook her head. "No. School's boring."
Jack sighed and then looked at Nadia. "Do you really want to join the CIA, Nadia?"
"Yes, dad. I'm sure."
Both daughters watched as their father massage his temple. They both appreciate his concern about their decision but they miss the excitement they experience 'out there'. Ana misses lugging around weapons, as she did when she was Anya Ivanovnich; Nadia misses the satisfaction that comes when she knows that she's making the world safe.
Jack looked at their faces. They are so much like Irina in so many aspects, including their physical appearance and the stubbornness but they have a sparkle, a glint of Laura's personality he loved so much.
"Dad?" Both simultaneously said.
He blinked, clearing away the past from his mind and looked at their faces. His daughters are giving him consoling smiles.
"Dad, we're going to be okay." Ana said and looked at her sister. Nadia then stood up and went towards him. She leaned forward and gave him a hug.
Jack stiffened at first but he quickly eased up and returned the embrace.
"We're going to take care of Ana. That's a promise."
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(A week later)
Jack begrudgingly walked on the pathway to that leads to his house. The CIA just sent Ana and Nadia to a mission out of the country. He objected, citing that both of his daughters don't have sufficient CIA training.
"Come on, do you really believe what you're saying? One of your daughters was with the Argentine Intelligence while the other was an assassin slash cat burglar slash hacker. They have more than sufficient training!"
He lost the debate and the CIA sent Sydney, Vaughn and Weiss to assist in the operation in the Caribbean.
They are tasked to ID and apprehend a Covenant informant, an Italian national named Niccolo Averrati. It might seem like an easy task since he's only a small fish in the sea of Covenant affiliates, but Niccolo Averrati also moonlights as a weapons dealer and drug dealer and he has a lot of bodyguards.
'If something happens to them, I'll never be able to forgive myself. Hell, Irina doesn't even know! If something happens to them and she finds out, I'm marked for death.' Jack thought as he opened the front door.
He's not afraid of what Irina will do to him when she finds out. It's what she's going to withhold that he's afraid of. If she finds out that Nadia and Ana, especially Ana, are working for the CIA, she's going to forbid him to see Jacob.
'But then, our situation will be equal. She didn't tell me about Nadia's real relation to me. It's her fault.' He thought as he went inside the house and closed the front door.
While he took off his coat, Jack sensed something is different with the house. He quickly looked at his security system and found that it is still turned on. He was about to sigh in relief when he heard a squeaking noise coming from the living room.
Jack took his gun and cautiously walked towards the room.
When he took a peek, he saw that the lights are turned on and a dark haired child, wearing a blue overalls over a white shirt, wobbly walking around the sofa waving a toy. The toy is the one making the high-pitched noise.
'Jacob…' Jack thought smiling. The gun in his hands quickly vanished as he approached his son.
"Hey there, buddy." Jack happily greeted and lifted the baby. He carried him and gave Jacob a loud kiss.
His son giggled when he heard the sound and then showed to his father his toy.
"Wow. This is a nice toy." Jack said. He suddenly made a funny face which made the baby burst out in laughter. Jacob then reached for Jack's nose and squeezed it.
After a few minutes, Jack managed to tear his eyes away from his son and finally had the chance to acknowledge the person who brought Jacob to his house. She is sitting on the sofa, watching them.
"Hello, Jack. Aren't you going to ask how we got in?"