Disclaimer: I don't own Alias.

Love and War
Tears

A silent tear slid down Irina's flawless cheek to land on her wrist. The CIA must have a whole drawer of confiscated wedding rings that they had taken from prisoners over the years. How ironic that they would choose this one to give to her.

Unless, she thought with a start, it hadn't just been an accident. Was Jack attempting to taunt her? Or send a message? Did he still have feelings for her?

Okay, she thought. Calm down. You're reading to far into this. It's a ring. Get over it. And with that she pushed the quickly snowballing thought to the back of her mind. It was unlike her to almost lose her composure over such a trivial thing. She chastised herself for the whole car ride, then, at the airport, occupied her mind with the task of making Jack uncomfortable.

The incident had piqued Sydney's interest, however. She had seen the whole thing; from the odd look on Jack's face as he slipped the ring on to the teardrop on Irina's hand moments later. Now, as she sat down in the plane next to Vaughn, she related what she had seen.

"Vaughn?" She asked. Vaughn was the only one in the group who didn't have an alias for this trip. Since he was relatively low profile, there was more risk in getting caught with fake passports than there was in someone recognizing him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think my parents have been acting strange lately?" She asked, gesturing to Jack and Irina, sitting stiffly next to each other across the aisle and a few seats ahead of them.

"Are they ever anything less than strange?" He laughed, getting a smile out of Sydney, or rather "Ella Ducat" her alias for the trip. "But yes, I did see the thing about the ring, if that's what you mean."

"It is. Any idea on what that's about?"

"No. I was hoping you would, actually." Sydney shook her head. A silence followed. Sydney wished she could talk about the mission ahead, but with the other passengers on the plane now, it was too dangerous. Truthfully, she was more apprehensive about this mission than any other. There were so many variables she couldn't control. Her mother, for one. God knew what her motives were. And then Jack, who couldn't be counted upon to act rationally where here Irina was concerned.

And then there was the artifact itself. If there really was an archive of the locations of every Rambaldi Artifact, surely it would be the most sought after document to date. They could run into competition from K-Directorate, Sark, or, worst of all, SD-6 or the Alliance. And what's more, three of the people she cared most about would be with her, in the same danger.

Vaughn glanced down at Sydney's hand on the armrest between them, and, as if reading her mind, gently slid his hand over hers, giving her a reassuring smile.

He knew exactly what Weiss would say, were he to witness this moment. You're crossinsg a line, man. Vaughn could practically hear the words inside his head. But the truth was, no matter what he said to Weiss, that he and Sydney were crossing a line. They both knew it; he would always see her as more than his asset, and he would always be more than her handler in her eyes. But there was nothing he could do. Every time he was near her, she seemed to turn his already-askew world upside down, and he couldn't tell if he was right side up or not.

It was this realization that, about a month ago, had spurred him to break up with Alice, this time for good. Alice could never incite these feelings in him, and they had never had the utter openness in communication that he had with Sydney. The only thing left unsaid between him and Sydney was their feelings regarding each other. No matter how many times they tried to bring the subject up, something would always interrupt them. It seemed they were doomed to live forever in anguish, both feeling, but never voicing, their thoughts.

So he had let Alice go. Gently, so as not to hurt her, but firmly enough to make it clear that the relationship was over. For good. He didn't want anyone but Sydney, and he couldn't continue to lead Alice on and pretend he loved her.

Vaughn drew out of his thoughts, and gently squeezed Sydney's hand.

Meanwhile, up in front, Irina had pulled out a makeup compact, and opened it to reveal a small mirror. Pretending to be checking her makeup in the reflection, she tilted it at an angle, aiming it towards Sydney and Vaughn, behind them. Since she had the window seat, she had to look through the crack between her seat and Jack's to see them. In the mirror, she could see Sydney's hand on the armrest, her knuckles white. Then another hand hesitantly came into view, slowly sliding over Sydney's. Immediately, the muscles in Sydney's hand relaxed, her hand returning to it's natural color . Irina smiled at the sight of Vaughn's hand encompassing her daughters, and a moment later, Sydney had turned her hand over, to twine her fingers between Vaughn's, causing Irina's smile to get bigger. She quietly closed her compact as she analyzed what she had seen. It always amazed her at how complicated things could become to some people, when an outsider looking in could see in an instant how simple things really were. It was all about perspective. Then again, what right did she have to be giving relationship advice. Hadn't her mind just been tumbling with possible explanations for the ring? Her smile faded as the thought resurfaced in her mind.

Jack, having been watching her the whole time, had instantly caught on to what she was doing, and very indiscreetly turned around in his seat to see what she had found so interesting, ignoring her abrupt tenseness. From his angle, he had a much better view of Sydney and Vaughn, one of the reasons he had taken the aisle seat in the first place.

At the sight of the two of them holding hands, his lips thinned, his face tinting red for a minute before he could recompose himself. He thought he heard Irina laugh softly, but he was too mad to respond to her. Instead, a few moments later, when Sydney got up to go to the restroom, he jumped on the opportunity and quietly stood to slide into the seat she had previously occupied, next to Vaughn.

"Agent Vaughn," he practically spat after sitting a moment. "You apparently lack the ability to pick up on the hints I have given you since the moment you met my daughter. The hints regarding your relationship with her."

"Actually, I found them quite clear." Vaughn retorted calmly, slowly raising his eyes to meet Jacks.

"Then you are obviously more stupid than I thought. I'll make it clear to you. Stay. Away. From. Sydney."

At that moment, Sydney came back from the restroom, glancing at them oddly as she walked past to sit next to Irina. Jack and Vaughn fell silent for a moment before continuing their argument in hushed voices.

"This is not over." Jack hissed.

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