Hope Lazarey did not like Denver, Colorado. It was too cold and snowy. She would have much rather been in her last home in Las Vegas. That was fun. There were bright lights everywhere, and it always seemed to be Halloween. There was always some man dressing up like his wife. Her mom had told her not to talk to those people.

"Honey," Sydney said, watching her daughter stare out the window. "We're going to have cake in a few minutes. It's your favorite. Polka dot cake with chocolate icing. I mean, it's not everyday you turn six."

"I wish I were older," she said simply, still staring out the window.

Sydney sat down next to her daughter. "Why, honey?"

"Because then maybe Tyler would be nice to me."

"He's nice to you."

"Only when you or Daddy or his parents are around."

She pulled her daughter into her lap. "I think it has nothing to do with you, Hope. Boys aren't always fond of girls. It's also been really hard on the two of you. I mean, each one of you is all the other one has. Everything changes except the fact that you're together."

"He told me yesterday that soon you were going to let him stay in one place and that he wouldn't have to find a new home like the rest of us."

"We've talked about it. He's getting pretty big. He deserves to not move around a lot."

"I like moving around."

"I know you do, honey."

"Only I wish we didn't have to move to such a cold place."

"Is my kid complaining again?" Sark said from the doorway. "What did I tell you about complaining?"

"Only do it when wrapping someone around your finger," she recited. "How'd I do, Mommy?"

Sydney smiled at her husband. "You had me going."

Sark entered the room and scooped the little girl up into his arms. "Cake time," he called in a booming voice as he slung her onto his shoulder and made his way downstairs. Halfway down the stairs, his daughter wiggled out of his arms and went racing into the kitchen. Sydney reached out and touched Sark's upper arm softy to keep him from following.

"Is something wrong, Syd?" he asked, the worry evident on his face.

"No. I'm just doubting out decision to keep Hope so secluded. She hasn't had the normal benefits most girls have in growing up."

"She's not like most girls. Besides, she always says moving around a lot is what she wants to do."

Sydney smiled. "I think that might have a lot to do with the fact that Tyler Vaughn has to move everywhere that we do."

Their very rare alone time was interrupted by a call from the bottom of the stairs. "Are you coming?" their daughter yelled.

"Looks like she waited for us," Sark said with a laugh. He rushed down the stairs and swept her back up into his arms. "You know I'd never pass up cake. Especially when your mommy made it."

The three Vaughns were standing in the kitchen already, waiting, when the trio entered the room. Sark placed his daughter softly on the floor. She immediately cowered behind his legs. "Hi, Tyler," Hope said shyly, poking her head out slightly from behind her father.

Sydney tried her best to keep from laughing. It was clear to anyone watching that her little baby was currently experiencing her first crush. It would have been completely sweet if she wasn't still concerned about keeping the two of them emotionally detached from each other.

In the six years they had been moving around, not much progress had been made on deciphering Rambaldi's new mystery prophecy. They still didn't know what kind of confrontation the prophecy was referring to, and all four of the parents were still leery of their current position residing together under one roof. Keeping the two children together might be the biggest mistake they could be making.

On a good note, they had a lot of visitors in their various homes throughout the six years they had been shifting from place to place. Will and his sister were constantly coming in to take the place of either the two Lazareys or the Vaughns when they were needed for missions. Both couples were definitely a lot less involved in the spy world than they once had been, but sometimes situations would arise that only they were equipped to handle. Plus, as Hope's grandparents were always quick to point out, it was keeping them sane and keeping their contacts open.

On a sadder note, so much had changed in Sydney's life, and she hadn't been there to witness it. Her mother's black ops organization in the US government was a staple of their national security plan. It was pretty much the pinnacle that new agents strove to be a part of. For most, it was an urban myth, this deep secret organization that even most high-ranking officials in the US government didn't know about. But, still, she was constantly hearing stories from her father about the CIA rookies who thought they might someday be an agent of this secret sect. Jack said he didn't have the heart to let them know that Irina only wanted a handful of agents.

Her father was practically running the L.A. branch of CIA along with Dixon. Sydney had been proud when he finally told her he had accepted the responsibility of this position. He had been qualified to take it for so long. Now it seemed he had finally given up his loose cannon status and accepted the idea that he wasn't a young agent anymore. Another change at that branch was the fact Carrie and Marshall were now expecting their third child. Little Mitch and Casey would have a little brother in just a few months.

Her fellow agents in her mother's organization had spread themselves across the globe. Will had met the curator of the British Museum and was currently operating out of London. Her mother had him doing most of their European reconnaissance. Anna was situated in South America, working undercover with one of Columbia's drug lords.

She had missed witnessing all of that. Will and Amy kept her updated through phone calls and e-mails every week. The only event in her life she hadn't missed was Amy's wedding to Noah. She had told her father that there was no way she was going to not attend and he would just have to figure out a way to get her there without compromising anyone's security issues. Since he was Jack Bristow, that wasn't much of a problem.

Amy and Noah had reminded her of her own relationship with a spy working for the other side. Sark always liked to tease her that she had made an honest man out of the most despicable spy ever born. It was something she had failed to do when she loved Noah. Much to her delight, Amy Tippin seemed to be succeeding where she had failed.

While Sydney was reflecting back upon the last six years and all the things she had missed, Sark was busy watching his daughter blow out all six of her candles.

This little ball of energy had become his whole world. He would never have dreamed he would meet another female that he would love more than his wife, but he had. This little girl made him feel almost like a normal man.

He would never admit it, but he was scared to death about what this Rambaldi prophecy might hold for her future. He didn't want this old Italian nut to dictate Hope's life like he had done her mother's. It had torn Sydney in two more than once. He wouldn't let the same happen to his pride and joy.

Hope smiled up at her father, and he felt his heart melt. He probably would have scooped her up into his arms and hugged her as tightly as he could if his cell phone hadn't begun to ring in that exact moment. Looking down at the ID, he both smiled and frowned. "It's Irina," he said to everyone since they all seemed to have frozen at the sound of the intrusion. "Probably just calling to make sure her daughter didn't botch up the cake recipe." He winced as Sydney playfully punched him in the arm. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Julian," Irina said briskly as soon as he had walked into the other room and answered the call. "I can't explain, but I need you to get Sydney and Hope on the first plane out of Colorado this instance. Book seats on a flight to Seattle, Washington. Someone will meet you at the Sea-Tac airport. Don't argue with me on this one. Just do it."

Used to her spontaneously barking orders at him, he wasn't thrown off an inch. "Has there been a development?"

"Yes. You don't have time to talk to me about it."

"Okay. What about the Vaughns?"

"Leave them in Denver. Jack will be in contact with them soon."

Sark snapped the phone shut, took a quick deep breath, and ran back into the other room. All eyes were on him. "Well, Hope. Looks like Grandma was listening to you when you said you didn't want to stay in Denver. She wants us to move to Seattle, Washington."

"That's where we lived last year," Hope pointed out. It was odd. They never went back to the places they had already been.

"Now?" Sydney asked.

He nodded and turned to Vaughn. "Irina said that you need to stay here. It seemed important. Jack will be calling you soon to let you know what he can."

"They're separating us," Lauren said, the dread clear in her voice. "They figured something out."

Tyler threw his hands up into the air. "I guess this means that I'm not going to be allowed to stay in one place like you promised." Lauren just shot him a look. "You guys always go back on your promises," he screamed before running out of the room.

"Sometimes I really wish he were still a toddler," Vaughn said. "Lauren and I will deal with ironing out that situation while we wait for Jack to call. You two need to get out of here."

Sark nodded. "My guess is that our fears were right this whole time. Tyler and Hope shouldn't have been together."

Sydney ran upstairs with Lauren in tow to pack as quickly as possible. "I hate to just rush out of here. Hope and Tyler should have time to say goodbye."

Lauren threw a handful of Sark's clothes into the open suitcase on the bed. "I don't think there's much time. In fact, if they weren't supposed to be around one another, it might be best for everyone if they each just forget that the other existed."

"Good point." Sydney threw a few more clothes on top and zipped the case closed.

Sark popped his head into the door. "Hope's all packed. Confused and crying, but packed. Are you ready?"

Sydney grabbed the suitcase off the bed. "Ready." She pulled Lauren into a hug. "Goodbye."

Sark was standing at the bottom of the stairs with Hope in his arms and a suitcase in his free hand. Tyler and Vaughn were standing next to him with their typical worried faces on. Sydney quickly gave both men quick hugs. "Well, at least we had a little bit of fun with our dysfunctional family."

"That's an understatement," Vaughn said with a laugh. He put his hand on his son's shoulders. "Say goodbye, Ty."

"Goodbye," the young boy said. He really was turning out rather shy, Sydney thought as she shut the door behind her husband and daughter. He barely said two words in the same minute to her the whole six years they had been living together, excluding his little outburst in the kitchen when he realized he was going to be moving again. She had no idea where he had gotten this introversion. Definitely not her daughter.

Sighing, she slid into the driver's seat and checked her husband and daughter in the backseat by their reflection in the rearview mirror. This was definitely going to be a long day.