Helloo ya'll!!!! Thanks for the ten reviews and welcome to the new readers, max_x25425 ( I think I got that right, if not, forgive me) and there was another one but I can't think right now but thanks for joining the group! I love you!!!!!!! And as always my reg's: sheeplover, alpineracer88, megvaugh2003, ms. Mv, pickynicky you all absolutely rock!!!!!!! Thanks for your support, just keep reviewing you five and you can expect an update! (5 is my minimum) I love ya'll! Talk to ya lataz,

Leo's l'il sista a.k.a Kristina Toffland

Part X (Part III) The Other Side of the Story Leo's l'il sista

"Sydney?" Irina repeated and her daughter nodded again. Oh god this wasn't happening. This couldn't be true.

"N~no! You're not my daughter! This is just Jack trying to torture me for all the pain I caused him! You're a clone, or you have plastic surgery, but you're not my daughter, you're not!" Irina screamed, cursing the heavens.

"It is me!" Sydney cooed, walking towards her. "I am your daughter."

"NO! DON'T COME CLOSE TO ME! Don't do this Jack! This is low, even for you! Sydney is dead, accept it! Let me move on!" she pleaded, screaming even louder that Michael had to look away not to cringe.

"Mother~~~"

"And stop calling me by that name! I left the organization, losing my daughter changed everything for me, stop this! Send me back to France! Let me wake up! Let me wake up!" she pleaded and pounded the desk, reaching total breakdown.

Sydney couldn't bear to watch. Another person who considered her a part of the past, and here she was ruining any normalcy her mother had reached by coming back.

Sydney shot her hurt-filled eyes at Vaughn, expecting him to tell her what to do. Michael was shocked himself so he wasn't much help.

Sydney glanced over at Irina, who'd finally settled down to some sobbing, her head buried in her arms.

"Mother, I'm here, I know you don't want me to be, but I am. Just look at me and you'll see, I'm real," she cajoled her mother and laid a hand onto her shoulder.

"I told you not to touch me!" Irina upbraided and got up with one swift motion and socked her daughter in the face, hard.

Sydney staggered back and Michael was quickly at her side. He looked at her face and saw Sydney eyes were rolling.

"Syd, are you all right?"

"I guess, I'm still alive," Sydney replied, wincing as Michael touched the bruise that was forming on her cheek.

"No joking, Syd," Michael chided her. " Let's get you some ice for that before it turns blue."

"No, it can wait," Sydney said firmly, and Michael found it hard to argue.

"Well, let's at least get you away from her. She's obviously in no shape to see you," Michael suggested, gently.

"No, she's my mother. And it's not like she hasn't used violence with me before," Sydney chuckled dryly, lifting herself up under Michael supervision.

Michael looked at Sydney. That had been a hard hit. He couldn't let Sydney try again, because if Irina hit Sydney again, he was going to knock her out.

Then an idea came to him.

"Syd, why don't you take a seat, let me handle this."

"You?" she scoffed, as though she thought Michael couldn't handle her mother.

"Yes, me. Your mother is just in denial. I couldn't believe it first either, when I first saw you. I think I should talk to her. I might be more convincing," Michael explained. " Besides, I don't want you getting hit again."

Sydney didn't trust this was going to work but she'd always trusted Vaughn, even with something as precious as her life. Sydney backed down and gave Michael the stage.

Michael cleared his throat and then took the seat next to Irina. Sydney was awed and worried about Vaughn's approach.

"Ms. Derevko?" he said softly.

"Agent Vaughn, was it?" she asked, curtly. "Have you taken that poor excuse of a clone back to the lab where she belongs?"

"Irina, you and I both know she is Sydney."

"I~~I know. At first glance, I thought she was but she's dead, Michael. Jack told me she's dead!"

"I couldn't believe it either. Imagine the shock I went through when Kendall told me Sydney had been found and that I was supposed to go over there and meet her, being her handler. I cried. I didn't want to believe it either!" Michael admitted, tears filling his eyes as the truth Sydney didn't even know, came pouring out. "But the moment I saw her and how she ran up to me, I knew it was our Sydney, my Sydney."

"But~~~Mr. Vaughn. I don't' know. This is crazy. It's absolutely impossible!" Irina protested, filled with so many emotions, not sure what to do."
"You have lived to today with guy instinct, am I wrong? You'd probably not be alive today if you didn't pay attention to what your senses were telling you," Michael reasoned. " What does you instincts telling you now?"

"That it is my daughter, but that she's dead, so it can't be. That giving into my want is going to open a door of pain I'll never be able to close again."

"Let me tell you this, Ms. Derevko. I went with my first feeling and it's proved true. The love of my life has returned to me," Michael said proudly. "And my true feelings have also come back to me," he thought to himself when he saw Sydney was looking at him in a mixture of wonder and pain.

Irina stared at Michael and saw something familiar. It was the look Michael had in his eyes.

It was love.

Just like when she had loved Jack and had changed her name to Ms. Bristow. Irina was very aware of how strong Michael's love for Sydney had been and how strong Sydney had fallen for the handsome agent.

If Vaughn knew it was Sydney, could it be?

Michael saw that Irina was once again, looking over at her daughter and rose from his seat.

"I think she believes you, now," Michael whispered. "I'm going to go and give you some time alone, you going to be okay?"

"Y~yes," Sydney replied, staring at her mother then pulled her eyes away for one moment to look directly at Michael. " Thank you for everything, Agent Vaughn."

"It's the least I can do, Syd," he smiled, then signaled to a guard to open the door and let himself out.

Sydney breathed and then sat down before her mother.

"Mother, are you okay now? Do you believe me?" she inquired, trying to hide her pain.

"I~~I don't' know. It's been so long. Everyday goes by so slowly. I've finally curbed some of my pain, I'm not sure if I can overcome it if you're a disappointment," she answered in a quivering voice.

"You shot at me before, I think I've been a disappointment before I disappeared," she shrugged.

Irina blinked hard. Every moment Sydney became much more real and she yearned to believe it that much more.

"I'm afraid to touch you because I think you're going to disappear, and this time, forever," Irina whispered, her hands trembling. "I can't bear that, Sydney. Never did I think I would say those words but it's amazing how much you realize you forgot to appreciate your daughter when she saw here, now that she's gone."

"I won't," Sydney promised and held out her hand. "Give me your hand, mom."

Irina hesitates so Sydney does a daring move and grabs her hand. Irina's face went into shock as though that contact with her daughter had opened something far more horrible than Pandora's box.

Irina covered her face with one hand, too scared to witness the gesture. But Sydney wasn't budging.

"It's done, Mother. I'm here, holding your bare skin and I haven't gone anywhere."

Irina listened and somehow found the strength to look at her daughter's face who was also on the brink of crying.

And at that moment, she knew.

"Oh,Oh Sydney!" she sobbed, and cupped her daughter's cheek with her hand and then proceeded to brushing the hair away from her forehead. "It really is you."

"Yes," Sydney murmured, the taste of salt filled her mouth as tears slid through her lips. "Yes, it's me, mother."

"Oh Sydney!' Irina wept, squeezing her daughter's hand tightly and then pulled her into her embrace and held onto her with all the strength in her being.

Sydney was in her arms again. She couldn't bear to stand still. Never did she think she would hold her baby in her arms again.

"Oh Sydney," she sniffed, pulling herself back after crying with her daughter for about twenty minutes. "Tell me, how did this happen?"

"I don't' know, I just woke up in a Hong Kong alley and then I went to the designated safehouse and Vaughn showed up."

"But that doesn't explain when you've been the past two years," Irina complained. "You couldn't have been in Hong Kong for two years, unless that is where you've been hiding out for the past two years," she said, uneasily.

"No, I~I don't know what happened to me," Sydney groaned, staring at the table.

"Oh~~~no, Sydney."

"Vaughn and I, we were supposed to go on a trip to Santa Barbara. We finally decided to do it after putting it off for so long with job-related schedule conflicts. But that night, I went home to pack and there was~~~a disturbance at my house. I got caught up in it. There was shooting involved. I remember getting shot at but I don't think it got me. I don't even remember blacking out," Sydney went on, trying to treat it like a case file, not her life. "The next thing I know is I wake up in a strange country and Michael tells me I've been missing for two years."

"Sydney~~~daughter of mine, I ~~~I don't know what to say. You've been through so much," Irina whimpered, putting her hand to her heart that had begun racing.

"Yeah," Sydney replied with a chuckle. "I guess I have."

"I've always known you were assertive and strong but, it really is a miracle that you made it back to us."

"Yeah, it seems that I escaped with only a scar," Sydney continued when her mother expressed that she was confused. "When I got back, I got a whole work up and the only thing that's different about me is that I have this scar of my abdomen. They've already poked it and pulled some samples from it but they don't know what happened. They have a few theories like something being implanted but the tests all conclude that's not the case," Sydney reported, clasping her hands under her chin. The two of them seemed to be more calm as they sat having this conversation. It almost seemed like things hadn't changed, except that Sydney and Irina seemed to actually be enjoying a mother and daughter relationship.

"The other they said was that my appendix may have been removed, but I have that and all my other organs are in tact and then~~~there's another one," Sydney looked very uneasy and reluctant as she said. "They think I may have been pregnant and that the scar was because of a c-section.

Irina's hand flew to her mouth in alarm.

"But the doctors said that's very unlikely. Michael and I, we were very careful," Sydney assured her.

"I hope to God that's not true. Because if Sloane is the one behind your disappearance~~~"

Sydney had already thought of that and every episode scared her. She knew exactly what kind of man Arvin Sloane was and she would never forgive herself if she'd let her precious child into his clutches.

"Does Michael know?"

"N~no, he doesn't. And it's going to stay that way," Sydney said firmly. "We're not going to know what really happened until I can remember anything. I'm undergoing therapy right now."

"That's good, But remember to take it slow. You're still recooperating. But having Michael on your side, I'm sure you think you can get through anything. He sure seems attentive, accompanying you to come see me. But then, he's the one who always going with you on your missions, right?" she gushed, smiling broadly.

Sydney stared at her mother for a long moment.

"It really looks that way, doesn't it?" Sydney said shyly, looking for a moment as though she was blissfully happy.

"Oh yes, two years apart has not burned out the fire of your love," Irina said, approvingly. "Michael must be amazing."

"Michael is amazing," Sydney agreed. "But we're not together anymore."

"Of course you are. I saw Michael the way you are with each other. He loves you, Sydney."

"How would you know what love is?" she wanted to spit out but decided against it. It was hard enough for her mother to believe she was here. "He may love me but it's hard to believe that now," Sydney murmured, a bit fed up with the whole deal. "Mom, he's married."

Irina wondered for a moment why Sydney wasn't happy and she herself not congratulatory.

Then it hit her. Michael wasn't married to Sydney. "He married someone else? Oh my God~~~"

"Believe me, it came as a shock to me too when I was told he was married, might have shocked me more than being gone for two years," Sydney replied, dryly. "But I'm good now. I'm already planning on moving on."

"That's very noble of you, Sydney," Irina responded, looking carefully at her daughter who was torn on the inside, but hid it well. "But are you sure that's what you want?"

"For cripes sake!" Sydney thought angrily. No! But nobody ever cared what she wanted. Not even her parents had given her a childhood she'd wanted! The only person who'd ever done that was Michael. He'd given her the unconditional love she'd craved her whole life.

"Yes," Sydney replied. "I do want to move on. I've already told him that I've accepted his new life without me, he knows I still care deeply about him but he's just really holding me back. He needs to either tell me he feels for me the way he did before and break off with Jess, or go on with her, and forget about me. He's trying to have it both ways, and my heart just can't take it. So I'm moving on. Kendall has offered me a mission and I'm taking it on."

"But Sydney, you're just recooperating! Are you sure you're ready?" Irina demanded, getting frustrated with worry.

"Yes, I can't stay in this rut forever. I need to re-establish my life and since I chose to continue in the CIA, I have to start doing my job again."

Irina understood what her daughter was trying to say but she didn't like it nonetheless. After all, Sydney had been abducted during her civilian life. For all she knew the abducter could still be looking for her now. This made her highly uneasy.

"W~what does your father think of this?" Irina demanded as though she believed Jack would care.

"He doesn't know. All he knows is that I've been offered a mission and that I have a choice to take it or not. He doesn't know where I'm going or what it entails, neither does Michael because he is no longer the Agent I answer to. I won't divulge the information to you either."

Irina wasn't surprised but Sydney's words cut to the bone. She looked at Sydney with fear in her eyes, but knew nothing she said could change Sydney's mind if it was made up. Had they been a closer mother and daughter. She might have gotten her daughter to at least take her into consideration.

"Well, Sydney, I'm sure you know you're capable of so I won't interfere even if I could."

Sydney was so touched by that comment that she became incoherent. She blinked hard to make sure it was her mother standing there.

"Just take care of yourself, next time you might not be very lucky," Irina reminded her tears burning behind her eyes as she pulled Sydney back into her arms.

"I will," she promised. "You don't have to tell me twice."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"God, what can be taking so long?" Michael complained, pacing a little bit away from the door.

"If Irina does anything to Sydney," Jack was cursing, arms folded, looking tense.

That wasn't helping Michael's nervous state.

"I thought I agreed to you going because I had your word that you were going to stay the whole time," Jack shot at Michael, very pissed.

"Ms. Derevko hasn't seen her daughter for two years, Agent Bristow. I think they should have some time alone," Michael reasoned but Jack was still not convinced. "We are in a CIA building I don't think Ms. Derekvo will try anything in this controlled environment. She was also checked for weaponry. She passed the metal detector."

"You don't know my ex-wife," Jack chided him, worry growing in his eyes. "Have you ever given thought to the possibility Irina has over- smarted the CIA and may have a metal is undetectable?"

No. Michael hadn't thought of that.

"But, like I said, Irina is in too much shock to act coherently," Michael protested, trying to gulp down the guilt that was steadily rising in his throat.

"All the more chance of her doing something incredibly stupid. She might shoot or strangle Sydney if she didn't buy your story and still thinks she's an imposter!"

Michael deliberately decided on completely shutting out Sydney's worried father. But evil thoughts preyed on the edges of his mind, as if to taunt him. Had it been a bad idea to leave them alone together? Was Sydney really in danger? He would never forgive himself if something happened to Sydney because he'd been stupid.

And nothing better happen to Sydney because he was going to tell her how he felt. And he was at the point he didn't want to wait any longer. He'd caused his soul-mate enough pain. It was time to let Sydney know how much he appreciated her and just how glad he was that she'd come back.

A bang was heard on the door.

Two guards standing by went to open the door. Out of it emerged Sydney, fine to what Michael could see.

"Sydney," Michael stammered but before he could go up to her, Jack did

"Sydney, did that woman hurt you?" he demanded, seriously.

"No, dad," Sydney replied, candidly, though there was a tell-tale bruise on her cheek.

"What about threats? Did she threaten you?"

"No, actually, for a daughter and mother conversation, I think it went pretty well," Sydney reported, matter-of-factly.

"As long as you're okay," Jack grumbled, relieved and squeezed her shoulders. "Is she still in there?"

"Yeah," Sydney replied. "Are you going in to see her?"

Jack nodded.

"Just keep in mind that she's been clean for two years and she didn't try to do away with me," Sydney told her father, kindly.

"Right, Sydney, why don't you get on outta here? Kendall is being very leanient with you."

"I've noticed," she chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Oh, father."

"Yes, Sydney?"

"Thanks for letting mom know I'm alive. I know it couldn't have been easy for you," Sydney said, with a hint of true gratefulness.

She gave him a little smile and then went over to Michael as Jack slipped through the door.

"Hi Vaughn," Sydney greeted, timidly when saw Vaughn was standing there. "Have you been waiting all this time?"

"It wasn't long but yes, I have."

"Long enough to worry you, I guess," Sydney teased.

"I didn't think Ms. Derevko would harm you and I'm just so glad I was right, other than the bruise, I mean." "Which reminds me, here," Michael said, handing her the bag.

"Oh thanks," Sydney replied and took the object from him and held it up again her cheek. The coolness was soothing.

Michael looked over at her countless times as they advanced down the hall. He was beginning to lose his nerve. He'd thought a proposal would be more nerve wracking, but then again, with Sydney, it might have been.

They approached the door that led out of the building and Michael held it open for her like a gentleman.

"Thanks Vaughn, but I think I can make it to the car by myself," Sydney informed him. "You should get back to work."

"Yeah, but first there's something I want to say to you," he announced and Sydney noticed he was blushing.

"Some other time, Vaughn. I have things I have to do," Sydney told him firmly.

"Sydney, this won't take long, just listen to me~~~" Michael said in almost a command.

Michael's cell was ringing.

"Excuse me," he said quickly then answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Michael, it's Jess. Where are you?"

"At work," he replied tonelessly.

"Look, I think we've both had time to calm down. Come on, Michael, come to me tonight, and hear what I have to say."

"Sorry Jess, not tonight," Michael told her apologetically. "Bye, Jess." He turned the cell off and shoved the phone into his pocket.

"Your wife?"

Michael nodded.

"I think you should go to her."

"No, I'm not ready."

"What do you mean, "you're not ready?" Sydney shot back. "She's your wife, in sickness and health, for better or worse."

"She might be but you don't understand because you weren't there. She's a jealous freak. I just wanted time away from her to think and she immediately assumes I would make a beeline to your door," Michael told her.

Which he would have done, had she not been living with a roommate or at Will's.

"Sorry about your husband and wife problems but I think I'm not in that league."

"Syd, I don't think we can be classified as a husband and wife. This whole thing was a mistake, I think we both know it," Michael complained, obviously wanting out.

"You two were joined in holy matrimony, you only think that because I came back and you feel sorry for me. But like I told you Vaughn, we're nothing. And for your wife's sake I think we shouldn't speak to each other unless it's work-related. I would never forgive myself if Jessica went insane because of me," Sydney replied, boarding the car.

"Syd, why won't you just let me finish what I have to say?" Michael pleaded, knocking on her window.

"Don't you understand, Vaughn? There's nothing to say," she concluded simply, rolling down her window. "Thanks for coming with me to meet my mother."

She gave Michael a small smile and then drove off.

"Soon," Sydney told herself. "Michael could go back to what he considers normal, and I can start finding mine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael sat down in chair and groaned, rubbing his chin feverishly.

"Mike, bud? How'd it go?" Weiss beamed, swerving in his chair to face his friend who had finally returned.

"Weiss, tell me. How am I supposed to admit my feelings to her, if she doesn't want to hear it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack was now sitting with Irina, letting her do the talking, he himself doing most of the observing.

They'd been sitting for twenty minutes and it seemed Michael was right. Irina had changed. Sydney's disappearance had obviously done something to her. Irina was acting like Sydney's mother.

Jack decided very quickly he needed to get away from her before he possibly started to feel sorry for her and heaven knew where that could lead. After all, he had loved this woman once upon a time.

"I have to go now, Ms. Derevko."

"Of course, always a pleasure Jack."

"Thank you for not harming our daughter," Jack replied, not able to return her kindness.

"I think losing your daughter for two years does something to you," Irina said slowly. "But Sydney doesn't seem to understand."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked curiously.

"Haven't you talked to her? She said Kendall gave her a mission and it looks like she's chosen to go," Irina murmured, looking helpless, very out of character.

"Oh god," Jack grimaced, realizing what Irina was talking about. It was the news he'd been dreading since her return. "What can our daughter be thinking?"

Okay, Part X is now complete and next will be Part XI!!!! Yeah!!!!! Sorry if my update was slow! But as always thanks for reading and please review!!!!! So Michael is ready to tell Sydney but Sydney is still intent on moving on! What is he going to do? Stay tuned! Sydney and Michael's relationship is going to take an unexpected turn! And that voice, who is that voice, since Irina has been cancelled out and Sloane is well.a man. ( if you haven't figured that out already.lol) Please read and review! I don't' write without feedback! See you next update! Lots of love,

Leo's l'il sista