I don't own Alias or any of it's characters.
A/N: Hey everyone, this story has been in my head for a long time, please let me know what you think. The more reviews I get the faster I'll update. Thanks for reading and enjoy.
Chapter One
Jack Bristow stood in silence looking out at the water that had helped his wife escape, behind him his friend and colleague William Vaughn walked toward him. Jack simply stood still as his friend told him the most recent news.
"The divers haven't found any bodies. It's quite possible that the currents took her body, we might never find her remains." he said. Jack stood silent. "Jack go home. You need to be with your daughter right now, this isn't helping you."
"You'll never find her remains because she's not dead." he finally said, his voice serious.
"Jack you don't know that." William answered.
"Yes I do. Irina isn't stupid, if she wanted to escape she would do so without any trouble and that's exactly what she's done. The CIA will never find her, she's far too smart for them." he said without taking his eyes off the water.
"Go home Jack." William said.
"William, I need you to watch over Sydney for some time." he said finally turning to look his friend in the eye.
"Why? What are you going to do?" William asked.
"It's in your best interest that you don't ask such questions." he said as he walked to his car and drove away. William simply stood there fearing that his friend was going to ruin everything he had worked for all these years.
One Month Later
"Daddy no!" Sydney yelled out as her nanny held her back.
"Sydney, it will only be for a little while, I promise I'll be back darling."
"NO! Don't leave me! Please daddy, don't leave me." she cried out. She had no idea, but her cries were like daggers to her father's heart.
"I love you darling. I'll be back as soon as I can." Jack said as he turned around and walked away. As he walked to his car he could still here Sydney's cries. He wanted to stay, he wanted to make sure that she was safe and happy but he couldn't do that with Irina Derevko threatening his child's safety. The moment she left, he knew that it wouldn't be the last of her. He still loved her, he couldn't deny that to himself but he loved his daughter even more and his greatest fear was that Irina would one day take her away from him. It was the reason why he had tested project Christmas on Sydney. He wanted to make sure that she could defend herself, that she would never be the victim of anyone, especially not of Irina.
As he drove away he could only hope that what he was doing was the right thing. It broke his heart to leave her, but it was all he could do to keep her safe.
Next Morning
She woke up feeling angry. She was angry that her father had left her when she needed him the most. She was angry that she didn't have her mother anymore and she was angry that she was so alone. Her train of thoughts was broken by the scent of chocolate chips and pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes were her favorite. Every Sunday morning her dad would make them for her and the sweet scent would wake her every morning. Her heart started raising with the thought that her father had returned for her.
"Daddy! Daddy!" she yelled happily as she ran down the stairs. She ran to the kitchen only to find that instead of her father a strange man and a young boy were preparing the chocolate chip pancakes. She stood there frozen staring at the two strangers in her home.
"Good morning Sydney. My name is William Vaughn and this is my son Michael." he said. She looked at the kind looking man and his son, the first thing she had noticed were his beautiful green eyes. They both stood there smiling.
"Good morning." she simply replied.
"I thought you might be feeling a bit lonely so I decided to bring you some company. Would you like some breakfast?" Will asked.
"I'm not hungry." she said as she ran back to her room in tears.
"Dad is she okay?" Michael asked.
"Michael, her mother just died and her father has left town. She's just feeling alone. Why don't you go talk to her, maybe you two should play a game." he told his son.
"I don't know." he answered.
"It's just a suggestion Michael." he said as he continued to make more pancakes.
Michael thought about what it would be like to lose his parents, he realized how sad the young girl must feel. He began to walk up the stairs being led by the young girl's cries.
Her door was slightly opened and he could see her lying on her bed face down crying as quietly as she could.
"Hi." he said as he entered the room. Sydney looked up, her eyes full of tears, and then simply put her face down again and continued to cry.
"My name is Michael, but everyone calls me Mike. Your name is Sydney right?" he asked. Sydney simply ignored him. "Do you like cartoons? I like cartoons. I like to play basketball too, but hockey is my favorite thing to play. Do you play hockey? Probably not, maybe one day I can show you how. Do you like to read? Do you even know how to read? Probably not. Are you in school? I'm in the third grade, I can read." he continued.
"I know how to read. My mom taught me." she finally answered. "And you talk a lot."
"You don't talk enough." he replied. "Why don't you come eat breakfast with us?"
"I told you I'm not hungry." she said.
"I can hear your stomach all the way over here." he said with a laugh. Sydney simply smiled. "Come on, let's go. Thing aren't going to get better just because you don't eat pancakes."
"I am a little hungry." she said. She finally stood up and dried her eyes and walked with Mike to the kitchen.
"It's Syd, by the way. Only my dad calls me Sydney." she said.
"Sydney, you're back. I'm glad to see you're feeling better." Will said when he saw his son and the young girl walk back into the kitchen.
"Dad, it's Syd, only her dad calls her Sydney." Michael said, Sydney simply smiled.
"My mistake, how many pancakes would you like Syd?" Will asked.
"Four, thank you." she said as she sat down.
"Me too." Michael said as he sat down next to her. Will served the kids a plate of pancakes and then sat down to join them.
"Sydney, how would you like to spend some time in my home. I don't feel right leaving you here with only your nanny. At least there you can play with Michael, and my wife could make sure that you get everything you need." Will asked.
"What if my dad comes back?" she asked.
"Of course your dad is coming back but you could be our guest in the meantime. My wife would really love it if you came and I know Michael would have a great time showing you how to play hockey. Just think about it, you'll have a great time." he said.
"I'll think about it." she said.
After breakfast Will took the kids to the zoo and then brought them back to her house. They had rented a few videos to watch for the rest of the night.
"Have you thought about what I asked you Syd?" Will asked.
"Yes, I have." she answered.
"You should come Syd, we'll have a lot of fun." Michael told her.
"Does my dad know?" she asked.
"Yes I mentioned it to him last night. He thought it was a great idea." Will answered.
"Well, if my dad is okay with it, then...um... I guess... it would be okay." she told him.
"You're going to have a great time Syd, don't worry about it. Why don't you go pack some things." he told her. "Michael you should go help her."
Both kids went to her room where they began to pack her things. Sydney packed her own clothes and asked Michael to get her toys for her.
"Which one?" he asked.
"The teddy bear." she told him as she continued to gather her clothes.
"There's like a ton of them." he told her.
"It's the little brown one." she told him.
"This one?" he asked holding up a little brown teddy bear.
"Yeah that one, my mom gave it to me for my birthday last year." she said.
"Is that everything?" he asked.
"Just two more things." she said. She walked to her night-stand and took out two pictures.
"What's that?" he asked her.
"This is me and mom and this is me and dad." she told him as she showed him the pictures. "Now we can go."
A Week Later
"How is she?" Jack asked.
"She's doing great Jack. She's having a great time here, but she misses you, she needs you. When are you coming back?" William asked.
"I don't know yet. I know you don't understand but I'm doing this for Sydney. Irina Derevko is a danger to Sydney. Perhaps not today but someday she'll come back into life and I won't allow that to happen." Jack said.
"Jack, I understand that you feel you need to protect Syd from Irina, but face it, you also want revenge. Irina won't hurt her own daughter, she loves her too much." William replied.
"Not enough to leave the KGB. Irina's loyalty is with the KGB, not with Sydney, I have to protect her even from her mother."
"What you have to do is be with her, she needs her father more than ever and you just leave. She's coming, we'll continue this later." William said and Syd came running down, followed by Michael. "Syd, it's your dad." Syd stopped dead in her tracks. She looked at Michael who gave her a reassuring look and she walked toward William and took the phone.
"Hello." she said.
"Hi sweetheart, how are you?" he asked.
"I'm okay. Daddy, when are you coming home?" she asked, tears streaming down her eyes.
"I don't know honey, but it won't be much longer. Daddy needs to take care of something but I promise I'll be back soon." he told her. "Have you been having a good time at Will's place?"
"Yes." she responded trying not to cry.
"I hear you and Michael are good friends." Jack said trying to get Sydney talking about something else.
"Yes, he's really nice to me. Daddy I miss you, please come back!" she cried out.
"Sweetheart I know you miss me but you have to be strong. I promise you that I'll come back. Sweetie I need to go now, but I'll call you as soon as I can. I love you." he said.
"I love you too daddy, please don't leave! Daddy! Daddy come back!" she kept crying. She turned to William and threw the phone on the ground. "He's gone!" she yelled and ran up to her room.
"Why did he leave her?" Michael who had just witnessed everything finally asked.
"He needed some time away, his wife's death was really hard on him. Why don't you go check on Syd." William said as he picked up the phone. Michael took his father's advice and went up to check on his new friend Syd.
"Syd?" he called out as he stood outside of her door. "Can I come in?" There was no answer, only soft cries that were barely audible from outside the room. He opened the door and saw Syd sitting on the floor crying over a picture she held in her hand. He couldn't see whose picture it was but he assumed that it was of her mother.
"I know you miss her Syd, and I know that you're sad because your dad isn't here but you have me and my dad and my mom. We'll always take care of you." he said as he sat next to her. It was then that he realized that the picture in her hand was not of her mother, it was of her father.
"I'm just so scared." she said.
"What are you scared of?" he asked.
"I'm scared that I'll lose him like I lost my mom." she told him.
"You won't lose him. He'll be back before you know it."
"I hope so." she said.
"Come on, let's go play." They both stood up and ran down to the living room. With that Syd left her fears behind and enjoyed the time spent with her new friend.
In a cell in Russia
Irina sat in her cell, thinking about the daughter and husband she had left behind. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone approaching. A man dressed in black suit walked toward her. His face looked a bit different, older, but she would have recognized him anywhere. He was her superior, the man who had given her orders to marry a CIA agent and steal information for the KGB.
"Irina, it's great to have you back."
"Cuvee, it's great seeing you too, but what's with the cell?" she asked.
"Ah, it's only a precaution. As soon as we get your psych tests back, you'll be released.." he said.
"And when exactly will that be, seeing as no one has conducted any tests." she said.
"Irina, don't be impatient. Besides, this is the test." he told her. Irina simply smiled and closed her eyes. Irina heard the sounds of a second man approaching. She opened her eyes and saw a guard hand Cuvee a phone. "One second darling, I have to take this." he said as he walked away. She couldn't hear what was being said which put her in distress. She watched him and finally after a few minutes he turned around and walked back toward her.
"Good news Irina. They've just told me that you've passed the test." Cuvee said to her.
"Does that mean that I'm free to go?" she asked.
"Free as a bird my darling. We'll be contacting you in a few days, we might need you soon, but for now rest my darling." Cuvee said. He signaled for the guard to open the door and left.
Irina left the KGB holding cell surprisingly sad. She missed her daughter more than she could bare and her husband too. She knew however that Jack would never forgive her for her betrayal but her darling Syd would. It was then that Irina decided what she would do. She was going to get her daughter back, no matter what.