A/N: Hi everyone… Just wanted to let you know that I'm really enjoying the reviews! Keep 'em coming, because there's no way I can write without the reviews from you guys!!! Any suggestions are welcome too! Oh, and check out my other fics, Caught Up In Reality, which is finished and a whole bunch of you have probably already read, and Love and War, which is JI SV and only one chapter in. R&R!

Magnificent Lies
Time

Irina looked around at Jack's confused glare, (a combination that would have been funny if anyone had been paying attention to him,) and Sydney and Vaughn's surprised stares.

"What?" She asked, innocently, knowing exactly why she was getting this response. Sydney was the first to recompose herself enough to speak.

"You… You came back. Why?" She could have been free; it would have been easy to escape the grasp of the CIA and run away once she got out of Paris. It was so un-Irina, yet so Irina at the same time.

"Of course I came back. I only left to get him." She motioned to the man standing behind her. "But I knew there was no way Jack was going to just let me go by myself to get a former KGB operative I'd worked with before. It was the only way."

"And the note you left? I thought you were saying goodbye." Sydney asked. Everything made sense, except the letter.

"I was saying goodbye. There was no way to ensure that Volkov would still be loyal to the KGB, that he wouldn't turn on me. It could have been a trap." Irina explained, then her matter-of-fact tone turned lighter, a small smile creasing the features of her face. "Besides, I thought you might pay more attention to it if you thought I was gone." Jack cut in, seeing that the conversation was slowly making its way back to Sydney and Vaughn's relationship.

"You just walked right in there, no backup, no plan, and he agreed to come into CIA custody?" He asked incredulously. He had to admit to himself, though, he was impressed. Not many people could just walk up to someone they hadn't seen in who knows how long and get them to cooperate with the CIA. Unless it was a trap. He studied her, noting the somehow lifted mood, her firm, proud stance, and most of all, the way she acted almost… happy. This took almost ten years off her face, smoothing the wrinkles that had resulted from frustration, anger, worry, and deep thought over the years. The effect reminded him of Laura, the way she used to hold herself in much the same way and the bright eyes that had first attracted him to her. His thoughts, however, were cut off by Irina's response.

"He knows me and trusts me. He also is aware that SD-6 is looking for him, and decided that he would be better of in American custody, where he would have some rights, as opposed to SD-6, where he would most likely be tortured and killed." Irina stated, logically laying out the facts.

"I'll need to question him while we're here, plan out a way to get him back to the US without arousing suspicion from SD-6, and verify his identity." Jack said, thinking as he spoke. Irina caught his eye, a different expression on her face. "What?"

"He's agreed to undergo questioning while we're here, but under two conditions." She paused, noticing how Jack rocked back onto his heels, withdrawing from her as he realized he wouldn't be in full control of the situation. "One, I stay with him at all times. And two, he will only be questioned by Sydney." She could practically hear Jack's gears turning in his mind as he thought about it. On the one hand, leaving Irina and Volkov, two highly trained ex-KGB agents, in the same room with only Sydney seemed like a bad idea. They could easily take her hostage and use her to overthrow Jack. On the other hand, Irina had returned to the hotel room, where she had nothing to gain, as opposed to escaping with her old handler and wreaking havoc on the world with him. He opened his mouth, intending to refuse and handcuff them both before they could go anywhere, but Irina held his gaze. Suddenly he found himself looking past her usual barrier and searching deeper in her. There were no secrets there, no sly glances, just Irina. She looked like another person. He closed his mouth and swallowed, unable to drag his gaze away from her eyes.

"Okay." He heard himself say, then watched in shock as Sydney led the two of them into the bedroom to interrogate them, closing the door after giving Jack a reassuring smile.

Meanwhile Vaughn had watched the exchange in silence, wondering what was going on. In the back of his mind there was a little voice that kept on telling him that he was looking at the man who had killed his father- the man that he had sworn to kill as a young man of sixteen when his mother had told him the truth about his father's death. Or what they thought was the truth.

Jack turned to face him, at that moment realizing that he was alone with Vaughn.

"You never told me I knew Sydney before she came to the CIA." Vaughn stated, not quite ready to address the other things Jack hadn't told him. Not yet.

"You grew up together." Jack tried to smile. "Not many six year old boys would have wanted to spend time with a little girl, but when you thought no one was watching, you would go and play with her, whatever game she wanted." His smile became easier, more genuine as he remembered Sydney's childhood. Vaughn too, grinned as he tried to remember young Sydney, but he couldn't seem to find the memories. Both smiles faded as they slowly came back to reality.

Vaughn looked at Jack, really looked at him. He didn't look any different, but he wasn't the same. At least Vaughn didn't view him that way. He made more sense now. And, as odd as it was, Vaughn didn't hate him. He didn't even dislike him. He sympathized with him, of all things. He could finally relate to the father of the woman he loved. And somehow, that brought him closer to Sydney.

"Your father was a good man. A better man than I'll ever be." Jack said, as if reading Vaughn's mind. "Somehow, he never let work get in the way of his home life. He had a balance that I've never been able to achieve."

"Tell me about him." Vaughn asked. He had never really learned much about his father; his mother never wanted to talk about him, it was simply too hard, and his twin sisters were too young to remember much, even though they were a year older than him.

"He looked just like you. Same eyes, same nose. But your mouth is so like your mothers. He was a hard worker, but would never take on anything that might get in the way of his time spent with you. He loved hockey, and was teaching you to skate."

Jack continued on for some time, with Vaughn asking questions about the man he had never known. Finally Jack stopped, looking down at his hands.

"I know what it's like to lose a father. Mine died when I was eight. My mother remarried a few years later, but…" He looked up at Vaughn again. "I'm sorry I took your father away from you." Vaughn nodded, his head still full of the pictures Jack had painted for him.

"Thank you. It's just… It's going to be rough for a while."

"Truth takes time." Irina said from the bedroom doorway.

Okay, that's all for today, but I'll get the next chapter in as soon as I finish writing it. And reviews definitely speed up the writing process! hint hint Just press that lovely purple button of joy and write me a note!