Thank you all so much for your feedback.

moshizzle de fizzle: This chapter and the next goes into some detail of what Francie was told.

ArodLoverus2001: Of course this fic will have S/V in it! I am a major S/V shipper, and so anything that I write will have something to do with them in it. What can I say? I am a hopeless romantic :)

Acetoorian: You get thrown by 'mum' too! I remember watching the episode The Frame (season three), and there was a scene between Lauren and her father. For some reason the scene felt weird to me, and then one day it clicked. Melissa George had said 'mum'. (Go Aussies!)

Chapter Four:
Midnight Comfort

Sydney felt a flash of anger seethe through her body. "Sloane got away?"

Vaughn nodded as he brushed a hand through his hair. "That's not all Syd."

"What?" Sydney asked warily

"You're father is still alive."

TWO YEARS EARLIER

"Hello Jack." The stream of light from the doorway blinded Jack Bristow's vision, but he'd know that voice anywhere.

Arvin Sloane proceeded into the dark and dank 'discussion' room where Jack was strapped tightly to a chair. "I'm very hurt, Jack. I thought we were friends and now I find out that you've been working against me the entire time. Tell me,when exactly did our friendship end?"

"When you recruited Sydney over my objection."

"Ah Sydney." Sloane smiled. "Where is she Jack? Safely hidden away by the CIA?"

Jack didn't answer, and only stared into Sloane's eyes.

"I've suspected for awhile that you and Sydney were disloyal, Jack. I set up the Server 47 scenario as a test. You and your daughter fell for it hook, line and sinker."

"You created the server?" Jack asked.

"I did and now that you have been compromised the CIA will certainly place Sydney under protection. And that is just where I want her."

"What?"

"I need her Jack. But my plans are far from complete. Now she is safe from the Alliance, hidden away until it is time." Sloane smiled. "Which means for the time being, you will be kept alive."

"Why?" Jack asked, his face characteristically passive, but inside he was shocked that Sloane hadn't ordered his immediate execution.

"Well, Sydney isn't going to come to me willingly is she, Jack?" Sloane said, inching his face closer. "When the time comes I will make sure that Sydney hears of your survival. And you know what that means."

"You son of a bitch."

Sloane laughed softly. "You and I both know that Sydney will come to rescue her father. And when she does, I'll be waiting."

PRESENT DAY

"Francie, are you ok?" Will asked, standing outside their bathroom door.

"Oh, I'm just great, Will. Besides the fact that you just told me that our best friend was never a banker, she was spy who lied to us for years. And you!" The bathroom door flew open. "You've been lying to me for the past two and a half years- Mr Analyst!"

"Francie, please."

"We are getting married, Will. People who are getting married are not supposed to keep secrets from each other."

"Even secrets that could get you killed?"

"What?"

"You didn't let me finish, Fran. These people she was working for, they're not exactly the nicest people in the world. They would kill anybody who found out about their existence."

"Then why did Syd tell you?"

"She didn't. I was looking into Danny's death and that's how I found out."

"They killed Danny?" Francie's eyes widened.

"Yes and they would have killed me. My drug habit was a fabrication to keep me alive."

"So why are you telling me this now?"

"Fran, Sydney is alive. She was never killed in that car accident."

Will had never seen so many emotions cross a face in such a small amount of time- shock, disbelief, relief, happiness and finally anger.

"You knew she was alive? You let me believe that my best friend was dead! Two years! Two years later and I'm still hurting over Sydney's death. How could you, William?"

"Hey," Will held up his hands in defence. "I only found out she was alive two months ago. I heard her name mentioned and I confronted Vaughn."

"Who's Vaughn?" Francie asked.

"He was Syd's handler. He was the one who brought you Sydney's necklace."

Francie remembered that day vividly, when she met the man that Sydney was so enamoured with. The man who seemed to care for Sydney a great deal. "So why couldn't you tell me when you found out the truth?"

"It wasn't safe Francie. Until the CIA had succeeded in bringing down the Alliance I wasn't going to risk your safety. Even if it meant keeping Sydney from you."

Francie's expression softened slightly. "Is she really alive?"

Will nodded, opening his arms and Francie's floodgates finally released.

Irina Derevko sensed that something was up. Even from the confinements of her cell she could feel the excitement and adrenaline in the air. She knew that there was only one thing that could bring about such an atmosphere.

She smiled. Things were finally falling into place.

"Do they have any leads on where my father actually is? Is the intel that he's alive accurate? Is it reliable? Where exactly did the CIA get this information? Why would Sloane not kill him?" Sydney paced her living room as she tried to organise the thoughts in her head out loud. Vaughn was getting slightly dizzy from just watching her.

"Syd, all I know is what Weiss told me, and I relayed it to you word for word."

"I have to get back to LA- now." She stopped pacing. "I need to find my father."

"We're booked on a flight back tomorrow."

"I am not waiting until tomorrow, Vaughn. I've spent the past two years believing that he was dead. I'm not wasting another second." Her brown eyes brimmed with tears again. "I need my dad."

"I know, Syd. But you are not going to be able to do anything tonight. The CIA will be doing a massive clean out of SD-6. By tomorrow, they will have organized whatever intel they gathered. You can start you search then."

"Well, what am I supposed to do until then?" Sydney asked. Vaughn went to answer but was stopped by a cat jumping up on his lap.

"You have a cat?" he asked, somewhat surprised. He had never imagined Sydney as a cat person.

"Yeah. Audrey needed some company." Sydney replied, walking over so she could pick Boyscout up off Vaughn's lap. "Come on, Boyscout, I'll get you some dinner, hey."

Vaughn felt a slight jolt at the cat's name. He stood and followed Sydney out to the kitchen, where she was crouched down, and pouring dry cat food into a small bowl.

"You named your cat Boyscout?"

Sydney straightened up and looked at Vaughn somewhat awkwardly. "Yeah," she smiled wryly. "The day I got him, it was floating around in my head for some reason."

"Well it's different," Vaughn grinned.

"I know. Georgie has asked me hundreds of times why I chose that for a name." Her face suddenly dropped. "Oh god. How am I going to explain to Georgie? I can't just up and leave tomorrow with out an explanation."

"Then go over there now."

"But what about you?"

"What about me? I can look after myself. Go now and while you're gone I'll make something for dinner."

"You sure?" Sydney asked, hesitantly.

"I'm sure. Besides it will give me some time to get to know my namesake." Vaughn answered, looking down at Boyscout who was brushing up against his legs.

Sydney laughed slightly. "Ok, Georgie's is the house on the right if you need anything."

She headed to the front door, and for the first time exited her house as Sydney Bristow.

"Hi!" Sydney looked apprehensively at the short, dark haired woman standing on her doorstep. "I'm Georgie Collins. My husband, Alec, and I live next door."

"I'm Audrey." Sydney stepped out and shut the door. "I would invite you in, but it's all boxes at the moment."

"That's fine." Georgie smiled widely. "I just wanted to welcome you to the neighbourhood."

"Thank-you."

"So where did you move from?"

Sydney shifted uncomfortably. Would she ever be able to escape lying to the people around her? "West Virginia."

"Oh." Georgie sensed that her new neighbour wanted to be left alone. "Well, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't. Thank-you."

Sydney watched Georgie walk off, a deep ache in her heart. So this is what her life was going to be like from now on- suspicion of anyone who approached her and having to think about every single word that came out of her mouth.

She felt a familiar prickle behind her eyes and ducked inside before the tears fell.

'Stop it,' she told herself. 'It's time to accept that you are no longer who you were. Sydney Bristow no longer exists.'

That thought only made the tears fall harder.

Sydney lay flat on her back, staring at her ceiling. It was ridiculous of her to think that she would be able to sleep tonight. The events of the day rolled continuously through her mind like some crazy movie making it impossible to clear her head in way for sleep.

She rolled over slightly as she thought about Georgie's reaction earlier that day. Sydney had been surprised that Georgie had believed her. The words that came out of her mouth sounded crazy even to her and she had been living them

Before she had left she had begged Georgie not to tell anyone else but Alec the truth. She didn't want the entire town of Tollston to know her personal and complex history. And while most members of the town couldn't shut up, Sydney knew that Georgie could be trusted.

After a few more minutes Sydney threw back her bedcovers in frustration. What was the point in lying around in bed if she wasn't going to sleep? She got up and padded quietly down the hall, not wanting to wake Vaughn who was camped out on a foldout couch in her spare room.

She shouldn't have worried.

"Syd?" Vaughn's voice called out softly as she went past the open door.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Sydney asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep. My mind is going at about a hundred miles an hour."

"Mine too. I was just going to make some tea. Want to join me?"

"Yeah."

"So what has been going on with you? And I mean you, not the CIA you." Sydney asked. She and Vaughn were once again seated on her couch, mugs in their hands.

"Well that is going to be hard. I've been letting myself get consumed by work lately."

"But what about Alice? Are you two still together?" Sydney inquired carefully.

Vaughn shook his head slowly. "The night you left, she left too."

"I'm sorry." Sydney said, sincerely. As much as she hated to admit it, Alice really did seem like a nice person.

"Don't be. The truth was Alice and I had been over for a long time." Vaughn paused, as he raised his mug to his lips. "We're still friends though."

"Well that's good." Sydney replied, unsure of what else she could say.

"What about you? I imagine Audrey didn't stay single for two years."

"Actually, she did. I went on the occasional date- usually at Georgie's insistance, but nothing ever eventuated." Sydney said. "And you?"

"I was so busy with work that it was never a priority." Vaughn chuckled. "Oh, Will did set me up with his sister. That was a complete disaster."

Sydney burst out laughing. She couldn't imagine an odder pair than Michael Vaughn and Amy Tippin. "What happened?"

Vaughn hesitated. How did he explain to Sydney that he'd spent the entire evening thinking of her? That Amy's bright red hair took him straight back to October 1st, when a battered and swollen Sydney Bristow had entered his life, changing it forever. He noticed Sydney eyeing him questioningly and snapped himself from his reverie.

"Oh, you know how blind dates can be," he answered, vaguely.

"You know," Sydney smiled nostalgically. "It was Amy's passport I used when I went to Taipei. She's the one to blame for that bozo hair."

Vaughn felt a lump in his throat and coughed in an attempt to clear it. "Yeah. I asked Will about it after."

Sydney's face suddenly broke into a grin. "This time tomorrow I will have seen him again. Francie too." Something suddenly occurred to her. "Vaughn."

"Yeah."

"What story did the CIA create to cover my disappearance?"

"They staged a car accident."

"So Will and Francie believed I was dead."

"Yeah. Will was told that you were killed on a mission- that story was circulated around the agency. I wanted to tell them the truth, but it was too dangerous."

Sydney nodded, feeling awful. She knew how it felt to lose somebody close, and it ripped her apart that she had caused Will and Francie to live through that.

"But they know now Syd. And my guess is that they're back in LA, waiting anxiously like children on Christmas Eve, for their best friend to come home."

Sydney couldn't help but smile. She couldn't wait to get back either.