AliasCSINYFriendsER: It's great that you picked up from that moment from Firebomb (the kneecap scene) because that was exactly what I was trying to emulate.
A/N: Hey all. I owe you all an apology. I forgot to put a warning on the previous chapter, telling you that this chapter will be the final one for the fic. So I guess I am warning you now (sorry). I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Seventeen:
Truth Takes Time
Then against her will, Sydney felt her eyes well up. As Vaughn wrapped his arms around her, Sydney began to sob. Her mother had betrayed the CIA. Betrayed her. And now as a result, the life of the sister she had never had the chance to know was in danger.
Vaughn held Sydney tight in his arms. Even given the escape of Irina and Sloane, he had never felt more grateful in his life. Sydney was alive and safe.
"Vaughn." Her voice was muffled.
"Yeah?"
"Take me home. Please."
Vaughn didn't reply. Over the top of Sydney's head he'd seen two agents walk in, accompanied by a third man. He raised his eyebrows questioningly and one of the agents held up a key card.
"We found it in Sloane's office."
"Syd." Vaughn said, gently separating himself from her.
"What?" she asked and Vaughn pointed over her shoulder. She turned around, quickly and felt a mixture of relief, elation and comfort when her eyes fell on whom Vaughn was pointing to.
"Dad!" She ran across the room to Jack, letting him wrap her in a fatherly embrace. "You're ok?"
"I'm fine."
Sydney pulled back, smiling through her tears. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, sweetheart. I missed you too." He ran a hand over her hair. "Come on, let's go home."
"This weekend?" Sydney said over the phone. "Of course I'll be there, Fran. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Well, you better not." Francie said, jokingly. "Otherwise I may just have to pick out a heinous maid of honour dress for you as payback."
"In that case, I'll definitely be there. It's the one downtown, near the florist, right?"
"Yeah Abigail's Bridal Boutique."
"Ok. Did you say 11.00?" Sydney asked, looking up as she heard a knock on her front door. "Sorry Fran, somebody is at the door. I gotta go, ok?"
"Ok. See you soon."
After placing the phone on her kitchen bench, Sydney walked across and opened the door. On the other side was Vaughn, a wide smile on his face.
"Hi." Sydney couldn't help but smile back. It still amazed her- the effect that Vaughn had on her. Even more so now.
"Hi," he replied, stepping through the doorframe and placing a gentle kiss on Sydney's lips. When they broke apart, Sydney reached past him and shut the door.
Then as she led them to the couch, she asked, "So, are you in trouble?"
Vaughn laughed softly and shook his head. "Not really. Kendall is hitting the roof over the fact the CIA lost your mother, Sloane and Sark, but given that he was the one who actually approved the op, he can't blame me entirely." He paused. "What about you?"
Sydney shrugged. "When dad and I got the Operations Centre, Kendall sent me straight home. I have to go in tomorrow for a 'talk'."
Vaughn looked closely at Sydney. There seemed to have been a slight change in her demeanour. "Syd, it's going to be ok. There is no way Kendall will do anything severe. You're one of the Agency's best agents, and he can't risk sidelining you. Especially now with Sloane loose."
Sydney shook her head. "I wasn't worried about that. I was just thinking…about my mother."
"Oh." Vaughn said softly, placing a hand over hers.
"I feel so stupid. I really believed that she was on our side." Sydney laughed in a self-deprecating manner. "I'm trained to see things, to know when people are deceiving me. Irina Derevko has been misleading me from the very start and I was completely blind to it."
"Syd, you are not stupid. She's your mother and nobody could blame you for wanting to believe her." Vaughn replied.
Sydney allowed herself a small smile. "Thank you."
Vaughn reached across and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Before he could remove his hand, Sydney brought up her own, placing it over Vaughn's, pressing her cheek into his palm.
Slowly Vaughn inched forward until their lips met. The kiss was slow, but intense and Sydney felt herself melting into Vaughn's arms.
She didn't care that her mother and Sloane had escaped. With her father home safe, and things with Vaughn finally moving forward, for the first time in two years she could allow herself to relax.
Pulling away from Vaughn's lips, Sydney began to undo his shirt buttons. The only sound she could hear was their slightly elevated breaths. That was until she felt Vaughn's lips graze her ear.
"I love you," he whispered, and the combination of those words and the sensation of his breath in her ear sent shivers down her spine.
Sydney tilted her head back slightly, so she could look into Vaughn's eyes. "I love you, too."
Vaughn's face broke into a wide grin and he fought the urge to jump up and down. How long had he been waiting to hear those words coming from her lips?
Sydney was thinking the same thing as she stood up and held a hand out to Vaughn. Taking it he allowed Sydney to lead him to her bedroom. When they got to the doorway, Vaughn stopped and wrapped her tightly in his arms.
Sydney leant up and pressed her lips into his. Vaughn gladly respond and it wasn't until their lungs were bursting that they broke apart.
"Hey Syd." Vaughn said, his voice husky.
"Yeah?"
"Can you promise me something?"
"What?"
"That you won't run away to some foreign country afterwards."
Sydney laughed, cupping Vaughn's face with her hands. "I promise."
"Good." Vaughn smiled and placed his lips on hers once again.
Irina spoke quietly, her eyes fixed upon the form of her sleeping daughter. "Has it been delivered?" she asked.
"Yes," the voice on the other end of the phone replied. "May I ask what the urgency was?"
"That is none of your concern." Irina replied shortly, hanging up the phone. Still gazing upon her daughter, she marvelled at what the future could bring for them.
When Vaughn opened his eyes the next morning he was looking straight into the eyes of Sydney Bristow's smiling face.
"Good morning," he said, opening his arms.
Sydney shifted across, allowing herself to be wrapped in his warm and secure embrace. "Good morning."
"I could get used to this." Vaughn commented, placing a kiss on the top of Sydney's head.
"Yeah, it's not a bad way to start off the day."
They fell into a comfortable silence, Vaughn's languid strokes down Sydney's back almost lulling her back to sleep. His voice, however, stopped her from completely dozing off.
"Syd."
"Hmm?"
"Are you ever going to go back to Tollston?" he asked.
"I'd been thinking about that." Sydney replied. "I would like to go back and say good-bye properly. Those people were my family and friends for two years. I don't think it would be right for me to just up and leave without a proper farewell to them all."
"Are you going to tell them the truth?"
Sydney shook her head slowly. "No. It would be impossible to ensure that everybody get the complete story and I refuse to be the main source of gossip for Tollston for the next ten years."
"Ten years?" Vaughn laughed. "I think that woman from the café would be talking about it until the day she dies."
"May? Yeah, you're probably right."
"So what are you going to tell them?"
"Well, Georgie told them all that Audrey left to care for a sick aunt. So, I was thinking, what if Audrey's poor old aunt died and left her an obscene amount of money, enabling her to go on a trip around the world that she had always dreamt of." Sydney paused. "That way, if Audrey is out of the country, they won't feel inclined to try and contact her."
"Sounds good. Just one question."
"What?"
"Will Audrey's 'old friend' Michael get to go on this trip?"
Sydney smiled. "Only if Audrey's 'old friend' Michael comes with her to Tollston to break the news."
Vaughn placed a gentle kiss on Sydney's forehead before whispering in her ear. "Audrey's 'old friend' Michael is not going to be anywhere but her side from this point on."
An hour later Sydney was up and in the kitchen making herself and Vaughn some coffee when she heard Boyscout banging against the front door. After opening the door and letting the cat in Sydney was slightly taken aback by the sight of a white envelope resting on the doormat, with the name Sydney Bristow printed neatly on it.
She picked it up and opened it as she headed back to the kitchen. However, when Sydney glanced at the signature of the bottom of the letter she froze.
It was from her mother.
Irina sat, pen in hand. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to explain herself. She had never expected to develop such a relationship with her daughter. That was never the plan.
Get in, do the job and get out. No strings attached.
But then, coming face to face with Sydney, hearing about her mission successes, seeing what an accomplished woman she had become, Irina couldn't help but respect and admire her.
Irina loved her daughter and she wanted Sydney to know it.
The coffees completely forgotten Sydney slumped down onto her couch. For a second she was tempted to burn the letter, without reading it. Why should she care about what her mother had to say? But then she thought that there might be some clue to where Irina had gone, so with a deep breath, Sydney started to read.
Dearest Sydney,
I ask only one thing and that is that you continue reading even after you know who has written this. What I have to say is important, and I hope you can put your resentment towards me aside, so you can understand my actions during these past years.
Sydney, when I turned myself into the CIA, it was always my intent to betray them- but never you. I thought it would be easy for me to got through my extraction as planned, but I was severely mistaken. Getting to know you, my daughter, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and it was difficult knowing that my recent actions would hurt you. But I had to go through with them.
It all has to do with Nadia, your sister. I had been searching for her for years, with all my attempts turning up fruitless. It was when I discovered that she was The Passenger that everything started to make sense. You see, Sydney, Rambaldi said that the only person who would be able to find the location of The Passenger was her father. Arvin Sloane.
And so I concocted my plan. I had no choice but to affiliate myself with Sloane. He was the only one who could find Nadia. He is also the one who would stop at nothing to know what Rambaldi knew. It was a risk, the chances of him hurting her were great, but there was no other option. I turned myself into the CIA for several purposes. You and your father were integral to the plan, and I needed to be there to create a diversion if the CIA caught wind of the existence of The Passenger. I did not need the American Government interfering with the search for my daughter.
It was always a plan for me to escape from the CIA the way I did. Sloane was always expecting me, but he believed that the two of us would form a partnership, and together with you and Nadia we would come to understand and know the true meaning of Rambaldi's work.
However, it was always my own persoanlplan to escape with Nadia, away from Sloane and anybody else who would be willing to hurt her. I desired to take you as well, Sydney, but I just couldn't. Nadia is alone, unprotected in this world. She needs me. You, Sydney, you are strong and loved and have a life. I want you to continue to thrive Sydney. You are an incredible person and you deserve nothing more than happiness.
I do not expect that you will willingly believe what I have written, but it is the truth. Through all the things that I have done, it was never an intention of mine to betray you.
Just remember, truth takes time.
Irina.
When Sydney didn't return with their coffees, Vaughn got up and walked out of the bedroom, a little concerned.
"Syd?"
She was seated on her couch, staring at a piece of paper in her hand, her face ashen.
"Syd, are you ok?" Vaughn asked, sitting beside her. Wordlessly she handed over the letter. As Vaughn read his expression was stoic and when he had finished, he folded the paper methodically and placed it on the coffee table. Then, without a word, he opened his arms and pulled Sydney in close.
"I don't know if I believe her." Sydney spoke up quietly. "I don't know if I can."
"Sydney, I think you should trust your mother on this one."
Sydney sat up and looked questioningly at Vaughn. "I can't understand how you, of all people, could say that. After what my mother did to your family…"
"Hey." Vaughn picked up her hand. "I'm not saying that Derevko is trustworthy, or that we should forgive her past and present crimes."
"Than why should I trust what she said in the letter?"
"Because she loves you, Sydney. And while she betrayed the CIA, she has not betrayed you personally."
Sydney lapsed into silence, the events since her homecoming running through her mind. While she understood what Vaughn was saying and wanted to believe that what her mother had written was sincere, she just couldn't. She was coming to realize that when it came to her mother, it was the safest thing to just distance herself completely.
"Syd?" Vaughn's voice broke through her thoughts. She looked up as he brushed a finger down her cheek.
With a smile she pulled him in for a long slow kiss. At least she could be sure about one thing in her life.
"Vaughn." Weiss nudged him and the two of them looked to where Sydney had just walked out of the conference room. Vaughn could gauge nothing from her expression.
Sydney spotted the two of them and walked across. As she neared them, she was unable to keep a straight face. As the smile grew bigger, Vaughn and Weiss let out sighs of relief.
"What happened?" Vaughn asked, using all his willpower not to sweep Sydney up in his arms right then and there.
"A huge slap on the wrist, with the threat that if I ever go behind the CIA's back again I will be thrown into my mother's jail cell." Sydney grimaced slightly when she said that. Kendall just had to bring up his mother, didn't he?
Weiss was shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you got off so lightly. If I didn't know any better I'd say that out illustrious director has a bit of a thing for you."
Sydney shuddered. "Weiss, don't." She held up her hand. "And I just didn't get off. I've been assigned to review a mountain of files that will take forever, but I'm still allowed in the field, so I guess I can't complain."
"I told you it would be ok." Vaughn smiled and risked a quick peck on her cheek.
"Oh god," Weiss said dramatically. "It's starting. I know what it going to happen. You two are going to turn this place into your own little love nest. I can see it now: Please knock before entering flirting corner to save embarrassment for both parties."
"Shut up Weiss." Vaughn said, grinning.
"Syd, Vaughn, Weiss." All three looked up to see Dixon. "Kendall wants us in debrief."
"What for?" Sydney asked.
"An op." Dixon stopped and smiled at her. "It'll be your first 'official' mission in two years."
As Sydney walked towards the conference room, with Vaughn, Weiss and Dixon by her side, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
Sydney Bristow was home.
THE END
A/N: I just wanted to thank everybody who reviewed, and/or read this fic, for your support. This was a challenge for me- I mean I was altering the outcome of quite possibly the best episode of Alias ever. But even though it was a challenge, it was also rewarding in so many ways.
So once again, I thank all of you so much, because if it weren't for the support you showed, it would be difficult to continue writing. Thank you.