Chapter Thirty Six
Jack pulled the car to a stop and looked over at Kat.
Her eyes met his. "He'll drive me back okay."
"Alright," he agreed. "I want you back within the hour, you still have to see Medical Services."
"I will," she nodded and got out of the car. "Thanks Jack." She waited until he'd pulled away before she walked to the bench
"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked slipping on his sunglasses.
"Looking for you."
"How'd you know this was where I would be?"
She shrugged, "I just knew." Kat sat down beside him. "What's going on Eric?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on Weiss, you've been avoiding me like the plague all day. Every time I try to talk to you, you've either ignored me or given me the brush off."
"Kat-"
"All I wanted to do was thank you." She looked at him expecting him to say something but he said nothing, and that hurt.
"Look I know things are complicated, the last week has been a complete nightmare but Eric, I thought we were friends. Was I wrong?"
"No, no, no," he said exasperated and stood up pacing the ground in front of her.
"Then what is it?" she cried out tears springing to her already red and swollen eyes.
"You were dead!" he screamed out with such rage it scared even him. It scared Kat too and he watched her shrink back onto the bench. "You were dead. I went to your funeral; I stuck you in the ground. Do you have any idea how hard that was? One minute you were there and the next you were gone, God- the things that I said-"
"I know," she interrupted him then spoke more softly. "I know. I heard everything you said."
"What? How?"
"Khasinau," she explained. "He wanted to make sure I believed that no one would be coming for me. He made me watch a video recording of the funeral. I heard everything that you said, for what it's worth, thank you."
Weiss didn't say anything for several minutes as he watched her crying in front of him. She hadn't even tried to hide it. She never had to try and hide it with him. "I watched them kill you Shiner. Melnikov put a gun to your head and he pulled the trigger, God-"
"I know," she whispered and reached out and took off his sunglasses revealing the red and swollen eyes that he had been hiding. "You grieved for me; you cried for me, I know. And I hate that you went through that." She thumbed away a tear that had sneaked its way out of his eye. "Eric, you're my friend. You're the best friend I've ever had. You never judge me. You don't have any expectations for me to live up to. I can just be me and if I could change what happened, I'd do it in an instant."
"When I saw you, lying there on that table, I swear I thought you were dead," he said. "I thought we were too late, and then you opened your eyes."
"I thought you were a dream," she confessed. "I dreamt it so many times that I couldn't decipher what was reality anymore. I dreamt you came for me. Sometimes it was Sydney or Mike or Will but mostly it was you. When you did come, I couldn't believe it was really happening."
"Why me?"
"I don't know," she shrugged kicking the dirt with the tip of her shoe. "Maybe you're my knight in shining armor," she teased. Weiss laughed along with her. "Seriously Eric, I don't know. When I thought of it, you were just the first person who came to mind the person who knew me best. You and Jack," she added hesitantly. "Does everyone know?"
"That he's your father?" he asked and then nodded in confirmation.
"Unreal huh," she sighed.
"Not really," he shook his head and nearly laughed seeing her shocked expression. "Come on Kat, you and Jack Bristow are like two peas in a pod, you're exactly alike. I'm surprised no one guessed it sooner."
"We are not," she protested.
"You are," Weiss continued. "You know Jack Bristow--I mean the guy is stone cold. Sometimes I'm surprised he actually has a heart beating in his chest, but he would do anything for Sydney and I mean anything. Kat when it happened, when we thought you were dead, he was pretty messed up. He blamed himself for not protecting you, before he found out you were alive, I thought he might lose it."
"Really?" she asked surprised.
"Really," he nodded. "I think one of the hardest things he did was trust your mother, but he did it because he knew that it would save you."
"I still can't believe she didn't have anything to do with it," she shook her head.
"Kat, I watched her. She didn't do one thing out of place the entire time she was with us. There's no way she was responsible for anything that happened to you."
"Maybe not directly," she sighed. "So, are you still angry with me?"
"I was never angry with you kid," Weiss sat down beside her. "I was angry at myself for believing that you were really gone. At first I didn't want to believe that you were gone. I should have stuck with that theory and I didn't. I was afraid of getting too close, I didn't want to loose you again."
"What else were you supposed to believe Eric.." Her voice trailed off.
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Kat, I got you this awesome yoyo I mean stellar. Awesome find, hot pink, the old wood, one of a kind-"
"Cool," she grinned. "So where is it?"
"Only one problem," he sighed. "I threw it into the Pacific."
"You threw into the Pacific?" she asked confused.
"Yeah, it's somewhere," he sighed pointing to the edge of the cliff.
"Well, it's the thought that counts," she laughed.
Weiss laughed, "only you." He grew silent for a moment. "In Russia, when you pulled that gun-"
"I know," she nodded. "When I saw her-I thought I'd missed."
"But you didn't."
"No," she shook her head. "But if I had missed and I'd hit her instead, lots of peoples lives would have been a hell of a lot easier."
"I wouldn't lie to you by telling you that wasn't true, but what about Sydney. How do you think she would have felt knowing that her mother was dead?"
"Doesn't matter anyway, I didn't miss. Eric, I killed a man," her voice was barely above a whisper and he had to lean in to hear.
"Kat, he was trying to kill you, kill her, it was self defense," he tried to reason with her.
"Still," she shook her head. "I ended his life. He had a family, a mother, a father, siblings, maybe even a wife and child, and I took all that away to save her." She looked at Weiss and he could see that she was crying again. "I'm not really sure I know how to deal with that."
"Just one day at a time Shiner," he squeezed her hand sympathetically. Viktor Melnikov had deserved what he'd gotten but Kat had ended his life and Weiss knew that she would carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life. "How's your leg?" he asked standing up.
"Better," she shrugged and used the cane for support to stand. "Come here," she said beckoning him towards her with her index finger. He approached her and leaned down far enough so she could kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Hey," Weiss frowned pulling back. "You play dead for nearly two weeks and all I get is a little peck on the cheek. "Come give me some sugar," he held out his arms.
It was all she needed and she flew into his arms. Weiss held her close blinking the tears from his eyes and cursed himself for the distance he'd created. "That's what I like," he said softly as she squeezed him tighter. "Lot's of sugar." As she squeezed him tight, he thought back to what she'd said about he being her best friend and he had to admit that she was right and the feeling was mutual. Whether it was circumstance or just who they were, both of them had felt a connection to each other. He'd told her things that he could never imagine telling another person. Secrets, fears, hopes and dreams, stuff he could never tell Vaughn, though they'd known each other for years. Who'd have ever thought that the one person he never had to hide from, the one person who accepted him for everything that he was, the one person who was his best friend, would be seventeen year old girl. "Lot's of sugar," he repeated with a smile and rubbed her back lightly.
Kat froze as his hand touched the bandage and one of the many large bruises nearly bringing tears of pain to her eyes.
"What's this?" he asked looking over her shoulder as he raised the back of her shirt and peaked under the large bandage that covered most of her lower back. "What the hell is this?" he asked leaning over to get a better look.
"Battle wound," she tried to joke wincing as his fingers came into contact with one of the welts. "Eric it's fine really," she sighed pulling her shirt down.
"The hell it is, you've had this the whole time?"
"Eric, I said it was fine alright, now leave it alone," she said drawing out her words to make a point.
"Okay," he nodded. "I should probably get you back anyway."
Kat checked her watch, "can't we stay just a little longer?" she asked sitting back down on the bench.
"Sure, a little while," he agreed and sat down beside her.
"Good," she was relieved. "I have to see medical services and Lindsey wants to grill me again when I get back." She stretched out her injured leg on the bench and rested her head on Weiss' shoulder. "Like he hasn't done it enough, same questions, he's going to get the same answers."
"Want me to sit in with Lindsey?" he asked putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Nah, I can handle him," she sighed sliding down against him and resting her head on his chest. "What would I do without you?" she murmured closing her eyes.
"Get a boyfriend," he teased moving her hair aside.
Kat cracked one eye open. "Nah, I've got my teddy bear," She grinned and lightly pinched his cheek, snuggling down against him. "We need to get you a girlfriend, is what we need to do."
"You know I think that new girl in analysis likes me. You know the tall blond, great legs."
"Her name is Mariah, she's married and she's 23, too young for you," Kat pointed out.
"How do you know?"
"Met her this morning."
"Great, thanks for sinking my hopes," he sighed. They were silent for several minutes before he spoke again. "Kat, you're my best friend too," he whispered.
"I know."
~ ~ ~
Sark stood on the balcony of his home in Italy sipping his wine slowly, hoping the red liquid would lull him to sleep. Since he'd arrived in Rome the night before, he'd been on edge. Something about Irina's daughter was bothering him. He'd seen her face and thought she was Sydney. Upon closer examination it was clear that she wasn't her sister.
Even now he marveled at the likeness. There were only four things that made the two girls stand apart. Her smaller stature and body structure. The darker dash of freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose and one that stood out just millimeters above her upper lip. Her lips were thinner more like her fathers and her eyes. She had her mother's eyes. Shades darker than Sydney's but with that coldness and piercing stare that could only have come from one woman. Irina Derevko.
He sensed there was more than just a family resemblance. There was a fire in her that hadn't been calmed yet. An unbreakable spirit that called out to him.
She impressed him.
She had no training but still she would not break. She would not give in to the physical torture she'd been subjected to. Melnikov hit her hard. He'd wanted her crying on the floor but she looked at him standing her ground with clear eyes and blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. She reminded him of someone he'd once known She reminded him of Sydney. Not the Sydney she was now. The one before her double agent status had begun to take its toll, the person she was before he'd replaced her best friend with Alison Doren.
In all the time he'd worked with Irina, she'd never mentioned a second daughter. She wouldn't tell him much about her and he didn't press Irina either. They both knew he would find out through his own vices. He had a mole within the CIA. A mole for The Covenant and he would contact him for information.
But not just yet.
Okay, you know the drill. Feedback and the quicker the next chapter comes E
Jack pulled the car to a stop and looked over at Kat.
Her eyes met his. "He'll drive me back okay."
"Alright," he agreed. "I want you back within the hour, you still have to see Medical Services."
"I will," she nodded and got out of the car. "Thanks Jack." She waited until he'd pulled away before she walked to the bench
"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked slipping on his sunglasses.
"Looking for you."
"How'd you know this was where I would be?"
She shrugged, "I just knew." Kat sat down beside him. "What's going on Eric?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on Weiss, you've been avoiding me like the plague all day. Every time I try to talk to you, you've either ignored me or given me the brush off."
"Kat-"
"All I wanted to do was thank you." She looked at him expecting him to say something but he said nothing, and that hurt.
"Look I know things are complicated, the last week has been a complete nightmare but Eric, I thought we were friends. Was I wrong?"
"No, no, no," he said exasperated and stood up pacing the ground in front of her.
"Then what is it?" she cried out tears springing to her already red and swollen eyes.
"You were dead!" he screamed out with such rage it scared even him. It scared Kat too and he watched her shrink back onto the bench. "You were dead. I went to your funeral; I stuck you in the ground. Do you have any idea how hard that was? One minute you were there and the next you were gone, God- the things that I said-"
"I know," she interrupted him then spoke more softly. "I know. I heard everything you said."
"What? How?"
"Khasinau," she explained. "He wanted to make sure I believed that no one would be coming for me. He made me watch a video recording of the funeral. I heard everything that you said, for what it's worth, thank you."
Weiss didn't say anything for several minutes as he watched her crying in front of him. She hadn't even tried to hide it. She never had to try and hide it with him. "I watched them kill you Shiner. Melnikov put a gun to your head and he pulled the trigger, God-"
"I know," she whispered and reached out and took off his sunglasses revealing the red and swollen eyes that he had been hiding. "You grieved for me; you cried for me, I know. And I hate that you went through that." She thumbed away a tear that had sneaked its way out of his eye. "Eric, you're my friend. You're the best friend I've ever had. You never judge me. You don't have any expectations for me to live up to. I can just be me and if I could change what happened, I'd do it in an instant."
"When I saw you, lying there on that table, I swear I thought you were dead," he said. "I thought we were too late, and then you opened your eyes."
"I thought you were a dream," she confessed. "I dreamt it so many times that I couldn't decipher what was reality anymore. I dreamt you came for me. Sometimes it was Sydney or Mike or Will but mostly it was you. When you did come, I couldn't believe it was really happening."
"Why me?"
"I don't know," she shrugged kicking the dirt with the tip of her shoe. "Maybe you're my knight in shining armor," she teased. Weiss laughed along with her. "Seriously Eric, I don't know. When I thought of it, you were just the first person who came to mind the person who knew me best. You and Jack," she added hesitantly. "Does everyone know?"
"That he's your father?" he asked and then nodded in confirmation.
"Unreal huh," she sighed.
"Not really," he shook his head and nearly laughed seeing her shocked expression. "Come on Kat, you and Jack Bristow are like two peas in a pod, you're exactly alike. I'm surprised no one guessed it sooner."
"We are not," she protested.
"You are," Weiss continued. "You know Jack Bristow--I mean the guy is stone cold. Sometimes I'm surprised he actually has a heart beating in his chest, but he would do anything for Sydney and I mean anything. Kat when it happened, when we thought you were dead, he was pretty messed up. He blamed himself for not protecting you, before he found out you were alive, I thought he might lose it."
"Really?" she asked surprised.
"Really," he nodded. "I think one of the hardest things he did was trust your mother, but he did it because he knew that it would save you."
"I still can't believe she didn't have anything to do with it," she shook her head.
"Kat, I watched her. She didn't do one thing out of place the entire time she was with us. There's no way she was responsible for anything that happened to you."
"Maybe not directly," she sighed. "So, are you still angry with me?"
"I was never angry with you kid," Weiss sat down beside her. "I was angry at myself for believing that you were really gone. At first I didn't want to believe that you were gone. I should have stuck with that theory and I didn't. I was afraid of getting too close, I didn't want to loose you again."
"What else were you supposed to believe Eric.." Her voice trailed off.
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Kat, I got you this awesome yoyo I mean stellar. Awesome find, hot pink, the old wood, one of a kind-"
"Cool," she grinned. "So where is it?"
"Only one problem," he sighed. "I threw it into the Pacific."
"You threw into the Pacific?" she asked confused.
"Yeah, it's somewhere," he sighed pointing to the edge of the cliff.
"Well, it's the thought that counts," she laughed.
Weiss laughed, "only you." He grew silent for a moment. "In Russia, when you pulled that gun-"
"I know," she nodded. "When I saw her-I thought I'd missed."
"But you didn't."
"No," she shook her head. "But if I had missed and I'd hit her instead, lots of peoples lives would have been a hell of a lot easier."
"I wouldn't lie to you by telling you that wasn't true, but what about Sydney. How do you think she would have felt knowing that her mother was dead?"
"Doesn't matter anyway, I didn't miss. Eric, I killed a man," her voice was barely above a whisper and he had to lean in to hear.
"Kat, he was trying to kill you, kill her, it was self defense," he tried to reason with her.
"Still," she shook her head. "I ended his life. He had a family, a mother, a father, siblings, maybe even a wife and child, and I took all that away to save her." She looked at Weiss and he could see that she was crying again. "I'm not really sure I know how to deal with that."
"Just one day at a time Shiner," he squeezed her hand sympathetically. Viktor Melnikov had deserved what he'd gotten but Kat had ended his life and Weiss knew that she would carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life. "How's your leg?" he asked standing up.
"Better," she shrugged and used the cane for support to stand. "Come here," she said beckoning him towards her with her index finger. He approached her and leaned down far enough so she could kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Hey," Weiss frowned pulling back. "You play dead for nearly two weeks and all I get is a little peck on the cheek. "Come give me some sugar," he held out his arms.
It was all she needed and she flew into his arms. Weiss held her close blinking the tears from his eyes and cursed himself for the distance he'd created. "That's what I like," he said softly as she squeezed him tighter. "Lot's of sugar." As she squeezed him tight, he thought back to what she'd said about he being her best friend and he had to admit that she was right and the feeling was mutual. Whether it was circumstance or just who they were, both of them had felt a connection to each other. He'd told her things that he could never imagine telling another person. Secrets, fears, hopes and dreams, stuff he could never tell Vaughn, though they'd known each other for years. Who'd have ever thought that the one person he never had to hide from, the one person who accepted him for everything that he was, the one person who was his best friend, would be seventeen year old girl. "Lot's of sugar," he repeated with a smile and rubbed her back lightly.
Kat froze as his hand touched the bandage and one of the many large bruises nearly bringing tears of pain to her eyes.
"What's this?" he asked looking over her shoulder as he raised the back of her shirt and peaked under the large bandage that covered most of her lower back. "What the hell is this?" he asked leaning over to get a better look.
"Battle wound," she tried to joke wincing as his fingers came into contact with one of the welts. "Eric it's fine really," she sighed pulling her shirt down.
"The hell it is, you've had this the whole time?"
"Eric, I said it was fine alright, now leave it alone," she said drawing out her words to make a point.
"Okay," he nodded. "I should probably get you back anyway."
Kat checked her watch, "can't we stay just a little longer?" she asked sitting back down on the bench.
"Sure, a little while," he agreed and sat down beside her.
"Good," she was relieved. "I have to see medical services and Lindsey wants to grill me again when I get back." She stretched out her injured leg on the bench and rested her head on Weiss' shoulder. "Like he hasn't done it enough, same questions, he's going to get the same answers."
"Want me to sit in with Lindsey?" he asked putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Nah, I can handle him," she sighed sliding down against him and resting her head on his chest. "What would I do without you?" she murmured closing her eyes.
"Get a boyfriend," he teased moving her hair aside.
Kat cracked one eye open. "Nah, I've got my teddy bear," She grinned and lightly pinched his cheek, snuggling down against him. "We need to get you a girlfriend, is what we need to do."
"You know I think that new girl in analysis likes me. You know the tall blond, great legs."
"Her name is Mariah, she's married and she's 23, too young for you," Kat pointed out.
"How do you know?"
"Met her this morning."
"Great, thanks for sinking my hopes," he sighed. They were silent for several minutes before he spoke again. "Kat, you're my best friend too," he whispered.
"I know."
~ ~ ~
Sark stood on the balcony of his home in Italy sipping his wine slowly, hoping the red liquid would lull him to sleep. Since he'd arrived in Rome the night before, he'd been on edge. Something about Irina's daughter was bothering him. He'd seen her face and thought she was Sydney. Upon closer examination it was clear that she wasn't her sister.
Even now he marveled at the likeness. There were only four things that made the two girls stand apart. Her smaller stature and body structure. The darker dash of freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose and one that stood out just millimeters above her upper lip. Her lips were thinner more like her fathers and her eyes. She had her mother's eyes. Shades darker than Sydney's but with that coldness and piercing stare that could only have come from one woman. Irina Derevko.
He sensed there was more than just a family resemblance. There was a fire in her that hadn't been calmed yet. An unbreakable spirit that called out to him.
She impressed him.
She had no training but still she would not break. She would not give in to the physical torture she'd been subjected to. Melnikov hit her hard. He'd wanted her crying on the floor but she looked at him standing her ground with clear eyes and blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. She reminded him of someone he'd once known She reminded him of Sydney. Not the Sydney she was now. The one before her double agent status had begun to take its toll, the person she was before he'd replaced her best friend with Alison Doren.
In all the time he'd worked with Irina, she'd never mentioned a second daughter. She wouldn't tell him much about her and he didn't press Irina either. They both knew he would find out through his own vices. He had a mole within the CIA. A mole for The Covenant and he would contact him for information.
But not just yet.
Okay, you know the drill. Feedback and the quicker the next chapter comes E