Chapter Three

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Five Years Later

"Francie!" Sydney called to her roommate as she entered their apartment, "I'm back!"

Sydney had just gone on another "business trip" for SD-6 last week and was back two days early. She had thought that it would be a nice surprise until she had opened the door and seen the men's and women's clothing thrown all over the apartment. She didn't really understand what was going on until she heard groaning and bouncing bedsprings from the bedroom. She blushed and quickly rushed out of the house as soon as she heard Francie scream out Will's name.

She got back into her car and drove to the pier. She loved it here because she would always think of happier times when she was Julian's girl. She missed him. He was her first love. She regretted what had happened between them.

Flashback

Three years earlier

Sydney and Julian had been missing each other like crazy. It was the day before Christmas eve, and Sydney couldn't wait for Julian to arrive. She was waiting for him at the airport when she finally saw him coming through the gates. He dropped his bag at his side and she ran into his open arms, kissing him furiously, "I missed you so much Julian," she whispered.

"Syd, let's go to your place," he suggested.

They picked up his suitcase at the baggage claim and they drove back to her apartment. When they walked inside, Francie and Will were waiting for them. They greeted him with a large hug and Francie gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

When they were standing in the doorway to the kitchen Francie started giggling and Sydney didn't understand why she was, until Will pointed up to the ceiling. Sydney looked up and saw what they were looking at… Mistletoe. Julian dipped Sydney and kissed her passionately. Francie and Will laughed at them, called them sappy and left them alone.

Sydney and Julian went to her bedroom and dropped his things on the floor before Sydney shoved Julian against the wall forcefully placing kisses upon his burning skin. "I missed you, love," he whispered, "I've wanted you so bad."

She moaned when his lips began to suck on a pulse point on her neck. He turned her around and was pushing her against the wall. Playing with the waistband of his pants, he was trying to lift the hem of her shirt. He tugged it over her head and dropped it carelessly on the floor. She pushed him back a bit and tore off his button-down oxford shirt, then shoved him forcefully against the bed. They collapsed onto the bouncy mattress and were rolling around on top of the covers, groaning and pawing at each other's bodies, when they heard a knock at the door.

"Are you alright?" Francie asked amused, "It sounded like someone fell in there…"

Sydney got up and opened the door, not caring about her lack of shirt. Francie took one look at the two of them and told them that they would leave them alone in the apartment, so they could feel free to do… whatever.

They were fairly tame until they heard the front door close. When they heard that, Julian frantically tore off Sydney's bra. Cupping one of her breasts in his hand and massaging the other, Sydney moaned into his mouth and then undid his belt. Julian let go of her breasts with much protest from Sydney and took off his pants, placing them carefully across the back of a chair, "You haven't changed, you still do that," Sydney said breathlessly.

When he came back to her, he saw that she was no longer wearing any pants. Just her black lace g-string. "That's a sexy piece you're wearing," he whispered seductively.

"I wore it for you… I thought you might want to…" she moved to kiss his neck, but paused, "take it off," she whispered into his ear, licking his earlobe.

"But my hands are occupied, darling," he said as he massaged her clit. She arched her back and ground her hips into his hand, "So… good… that feels so… good Julian."

When he could feel that she was about to cum, he stopped his ministrations and she protested by pouting. She couldn't stay too mad though, because once he had stopped that, he tore the flimsy lace and tossed it aside. He quickly pinned her down on the bed and thrust himself into her. Their pace was frantic, from being separated for so long. Sydney grasped onto Julian's hips as she ground her hips into his. Julian groaned and thrust into her hard when he came, whispering her name over and over again. The feeling of him cumming inside of her triggered her own release.

They collapsed onto the bed in a sweaty heap of limbs. Their breathing heavy and frantic. "I missed you Julian," Sydney whispered.

"Syd, I missed you too…" Julian kissed her forehead and pushed off of her. They laid side-by-side on the bed with their fingers intertwined until they fell asleep.

End Flashback

The next morning was when it happened. Julian ended it. And it broke Sydney's heart.

Flashback

She woke up with Julian next to her and smiled. It was a perfect day. Julian was over, it was Christmas Eve and she had just been offered a job for the CIA! She couldn't tell Julian, but she knew that he would be proud of her for getting a great job with a "bank", so soon after high school.

Julian stirred, and Sydney kissed him softly. She was smiling, but he didn't' seem to return her happiness. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

He groaned and pushed her off of him. Sydney asked him what was wrong, again, but he didn't answer. She was about to leave the room and shower when he said, "Sydney, we need to talk."

She knew what was coming. She knew what those words always meant. It was over.

She tried to put on a brave face, "What is it, Julian?"

"I dropped out of Oxford…"

This was not at all what she had been expecting, "What? Why would you do that?"

"I got a job. I'm not supposed to tell you, but I have to. I can't keep something like this from you."

"Julian, what kind of job did you get? Are you a spy?" she said jokingly.

He blanched, "Um…"

"What?" she asked, "You're a spy?" she whispered harshly.

"MI6 offered me a job. I'm going undercover."

Sydney frowned, "For how long?" she asked.

"Indefinitely. I'm going to work for someone named Irina Derevko," he kissed Sydney's temple, "You can't tell this to anyone Sydney. You need to keep this secret."

Sydney nodded into his shoulder, "I know. I will."

"I love you Sydney, no matter what happens, know that. I will always love you."

"I love you too," she pulled back from him and looked into his eyes, "I have to tell you something."

"What is it, Syd?" he bit his lip, "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

"I don't want you getting hurt," she whispered. A tear slipped down her cheek and Julian watched it drop. "I'm working with the CIA."

"Oh," Julian stood and walked to the window, "When did that happen?"

"A few months ago… I was going to tell you last time you were here, but they told me they would kill you. I can't let you die Julian. That's why I think…"

"What, Sydney? What do you think?"

"We can't say here, they've got the place bugged–"

He interrupted her, "I think we should stop seeing each other," he blurted out.

Sydney turned to him, shocked, "What? What brought this on, Julian? A moment ago you were telling me that you love me, and now you're telling me you want to break up!" He wasn't saying anything which was making everything she was feeling worse. She walked over to him and began to pound her fists on his chest. "I hate you, you son of a bitch! I hate you!"

He was holding her against his chest, letting her pound away at his chest, watching helplessly as the tears ran down her cheeks. "I have to go, Sydney. I do love you."

He watched her slide onto the floor with her back against the wall. She was breaking. He hated himself for causing her so much pain, but he knew that this would be easier. If he was going to go undercover as "Mr Sark", he needed to leave her. It was to keep her safe.

"Please leave," she choked out, "Just get out."

He turned and left the room, leaving his bags behind.

End Flashback

She hadn't seen or heard from him since that day. It had been five years now. She wondered if he ever thought about her anymore, or if he even remembered her still. She knew that she thought about what could have been almost every single day.

It was now two months since Danny had died. She felt horrible that it hadn't affected her more than it had. She couldn't help but be a little happy that this now made it possible for her to find Julian again, but she still wanted revenge. SD-6 broke her heart and they needed to pay. But she didn't know how she would get back at them.

She turned around and was heading back to her car when she bumped into someone. She dropped her purse and her belongings were strewn out on the ground in front of them, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," Sydney apologized.

"Don't worry about it," his voice caused Sydney to stop moving, "Here," he placed her lipstick in her hand, "This fell out."

"Thank you," she whispered shakily. She stood and the man froze, taking off his sunglasses he smiled.

"Sydney? Sydney Bristow?" he asked.

She nodded, "Hello Julian."

"Oh my god," he ran his hand through his hair, a sign that he was nervous, "Um… how are you?"

"As good as can be expected," she gave a small, weak, smile.

He looked down at her hand and saw the engagement ring on her finger. He smiled sadly at her and spoke, "Congratulations," he said. She looked at him confused, "On the engagement."

She smiled and her eyes welled up with tears, "Thanks," she whispered.

He put his hand on her arm and stroked it softly, "What's wrong?" he asked her softly.

She pulled him into her and placed her head into the crook of his neck, "Do you still work for MI-6?" she whispered into his ear. He nodded softly and she continued, "I need your help."

She pulled back from him and sighed shakily, "Can we go some place and talk?" she asked softly. He nodded and they walked side-by-side to a small cafe overlooking the ocean.

They sat, watching the tide roll in, drinking their coffees, "This brings back memories," he said, "Good memories."

She smiled, "Yeah," our first date, she thought.

"So what do you need my help with?" he asked.

"My fiancée was killed two months ago," Julian's harsh intake of breath showed his shock and sadness for her.

"Oh my god, Sydney. That's horrible. What happened?" he reached forward and took her hand in his.

"I told him. I told him everything, and they found out. When they did, they killed him," there were tears running down her cheeks. The other customers were staring at them, but they didn't notice. Julian got up and took Sydney into his arms, clinging on to her. "I need to get revenge."

Julian nodded, "I'll help you, Syd," he whispered, "I'll help you."

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When they left the cafe, they drove to an abandoned warehouse downtown. They sat down on a couple of crates that were sitting around and began to talk about the past two years. The first thing out of Sydney's mouth was, "I can't forgive you for leaving me like that. Not yet."

He nodded and looked at her sadly, "If there was one thing that I could take back, it would be what I said to you that morning. I am truly sorry about that."

"I've moved on, but I still can't forget it. It really hurt me Julian. But nothing hurt as much as… well, I guess you want to know what happened," at his slow nod she continued. "I came back from a mission to find… the apartment was ransacked. It looked like there had been an earthquake or something. Then I saw the bathroom door open. I don't know what made me go in there, but… I saw him. I saw him in there," tears were running down her cheeks. Julian knew that he shouldn't touch her right now, so he sat watching her helplessly. "There was so much blood. He was wrapped in our shower curtain. The blood was everywhere."

Julian sat there shaking his head. He wanted to comfort her, but she wouldn't let him. The only thing he could do right now would be to help her get revenge.

"What was his name?" he asked.

"You knew him. It was Danny."

"Danny? That guy who was an ass to you back in high school? The boy who dumped you to become popular? Sydney, why would you do that!"

"Julian," she said calmly, "He changed. After the… prom… event, he was different. He treated me nicely. He was really sweet," she smiled while thinking about the past, "After what happened between us," she gestured to him, "He helped me through it. He was amazing. I don't know where I would be now if it wasn't for him."

He reached out and grasped her hand, "Sydney, we'll get them for this. They are going to pay."

She looked at him with teary eyes and smiled, "Thank you," she said to him.

"Have you heard of Mr Sark?"

She nodded, "Yes, I have. Why?"

"He's my undercover assignment."

"You're working with him?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Something like that," he chuckled lightly, "Sydney, I am him."

"What!" she screamed. She stood quickly and the force knocked over the crate she had been sitting on. "Why? How can you do all of those… things?"

"Sydney, this is why I had to end it! Don't you understand!" he grabbed hold of her arms and stopped her from pacing around the room, "I had to take this assignment because I can actually make a difference in the world. I'm working with MI-6 to take down 'The Man', and yes, I have to do bad things, but this woman is much, much worse."

"The man is a woman?" she asked.

"Yeah," Julian smirked, "Sydney, we can do this."

"You know, I could have protected myself. You didn't have to end it."

"I had to Sydney. There's so much you don't know."

"Then tell me."

"I can't," he shook his head, "I can't do that Sydney. But, I will contact you soon. You'll see," he turned and left the warehouse.

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Two weeks later Sydney had not heard from Julian once yet. She was worried, but hadn't heard about Mr Sark being killed in action or anything, so that alleviated her fears. It was now, that she found out about SD-6 not really being a part of the CIA. That it was a terrorist organization – the people that she thought she had been fighting.

She found out from her father and decided to join him as a double agent for the CIA. Julian finally contacted her a few nights after she joined the other agency.

"Sydney," she answered her phone.

"It's me," he said.

"You finally called. I've been waiting."

"Meet me across the street at the park in ten minutes."

She nodded, but then realized that he couldn't see her through the phone, "Sure."

He chuckled on the other end, "Your pause makes me think that you were nodding again. You always used to do that."

She laughed, "Yeah, see you soon," then hung up the phone.

Ten minutes later she was standing in the middle of the park, waiting for Julian or a sign from him. Finally, he spoke from behind a play structure. "Sydney, I heard about you joining the CIA."

"How could you… never mind. I don't want to know how you found that out."

"I have a contact there. MI-6, remember?"

"Right. You just pretend to be a terrorist. I forgot," she said sarcastically.

"You know what? Maybe this just wasn't a good idea. I think I'm going to go back to London," he turned and left, but Sydney ran after him and grabbed his arm. He saw her and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Please don't. Julian, I need you right now."

"I'm sorry."

Sydney looked down at her left hand and frowned, "I took it off today. Francie helped me get through it. I feel really naked without it on, but I have to get used to it now."

Julian just nodded, "I came to talk to you about what's going to happen now. I'm going to try and gain Sloane's trust, and you and I will, in time, bring down the Alliance."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"We're going to gut them from the inside-out."

"That's just made everything clear," she said sarcastically.

"I thought sarcasm was my thing dear," he said, "Well, you're going to work with the CIA, use their resources, pretend that you're the wonderful agent that you are. I'm going to get into SD-6, gain Sloane's trust and then, when the CIA is ready, we'll find the necessary information that we can use to bring them down."

"We'll need to come up with a more detailed plan soon, Julian. You have to tell me when you are going to join SD-6. I want to know ahead of time," he nodded.

"Also, since I have to come across as a terrorist, you have to pretend that you don't know me. And you have to pretend that you hate me… Do you think you can do that?"

She slapped his arm teasingly, "Of course I can do that."

"Good luck."

"I don't need you to wish me luck, you son of a bitch," she hissed.

Julian smiled and then shook her hand. "Anything you need to talk about? I'm here to listen to you."

"I actually do need to talk to you about something," Julian nodded. She paused and looked down to the ground, "I'm feeling something for my new handler; something that I feel guilty for feeling. I'm attracted to him. It's wrong of me because of Danny being gone for only three months. I shouldn't be doing this," she scolded herself. "Do you think it's too fast to be feeling something like this?"

"Sydney, you have to move on. It's just natural," he was disappointed that it wasn't him that she was feeling something for, because he still felt for her. Sure, he had other women since Sydney, but no one compared. He would always be in love with Sydney.

"You should go. We've been out here for a while."

They embraced awkwardly and said their goodbyes.

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Six months passed and Sydney was more infatuated with Vaughn than she had been before. She couldn't act on it because that would have been wrong. The CIA looked down upon that, and she couldn't forget the last two guys that she had dated. One broke up with her to try and "protect" her and the other ended up dead. She couldn't have another person she cared about ending up dead because of her.

She got a bi-monthly update from Julian stating that they were basically in the same place since they had started. She was a little pissed off that he had been avoiding her since she had told him about Danny and now Vaughn. She thought that he would be there for her, but he hadn't been. Their last phone call had been very cryptic. He said something about seeing her soon, but didn't say where or when, so she kept her eyes open at all times.

Sometimes she would wake up in the morning and think she could smell his scent, but she knew it wasn't true. She would get out of bed, forget about him and go to work. Every morning, the same thing.

Six months and three days had passed since she last saw him and she was getting angry with him. She went to bed in her pyjamas and fell asleep almost instantly. It was a deep sleep.

Julian opened her window and climbed into the room silently. He had been doing this once a month, just watching her sleep. He needed to be close to her. She didn't know, couldn't know. After they had broken up, he had hired someone to take photographs of her every once in a while. He needed to feel that she was safe, to know that she was happy. He had known about Danny. He hadn't known about the engagement, but he knew about their life together.

He did this whenever he found something new about their plans. This week had been bad. He had figured out what was going to happen. He wanted to tell her about Vaughn, but he couldn't. Not yet.

So he did what he did every time he watched her sleep. He kissed her forehead lightly, told her to sleep tight, and then whispered softly, confessing his love for her – a love that she would never know again. Then he climbed out her window into the dark night.

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Warsawa, Poland

Sydney walked down the street with her travel book and her backpack on her back. She looked around confused and stopped a Warsaw native, "Robi wy mówicie Angielski?" (Do you speak English?) she stuttered out, reading it straight from the book with horrible pronunciation.

The woman nodded, "Yes," she said with a strong Polish accent.

"Do you know where I can find the American Embassy?" Sydney asked.

The woman looked at her like she was crazy and pointed at the building in front of them, then walked off shaking her head.

Sydney put the guidebook back in her backpack and reached up to turn on her com. "Dixon I'm about to do the distraction, are you ready?"

"We're good, Syd."

She pulled out a large white piece of fabric from her bag and spray painted it with some red-spray paint. "NO MORE DEATH!" she screamed (in English) over and over again. "STOP THE WAR!"

Inside, Dixon was trying to get some Rambaldi papers from a storage unit in the basement of the American embassy, "Syd, we've got them. We're heading your way."

"Got that," she whispered. People began to yell curses at her, just on time, she thought. She began to yell at the mockers and when they started throwing things at her she huffed and packed her things up, leaving when Dixon came out of the building.

When they returned to the States, Sydney went straight to the SD-6 building after dropping off her bags at home. She walked into Sloane's office to drop off the artifact that Dixon had stolen and froze when she saw someone else in the room, "Agent Bristow," Sloane said, "Allow me to introduce you to Mr Sark."

Sydney held in her shock and shook his hand, nodding at him, "Pleased to meet you," she said gruffly.

"Same to you," he added.

"Mr Sark will be working with us for the next little while," Sloane said, "He will be your new partner."

Sydney turned quickly to Sloane, "What about Dixon?" she asked.

"Agent Dixon has been tasked to a lighter assignment."

"What? Why?" Sydney asked.

"He requested it."

Sydney shook her head and turned back to Julian, "You got a first name?" she asked him.

He shook his head and laughed, "That's a tale for another time," he answered.

Sydney turned and left the room. She saw Dixon at his desk and walked straight to him, "Dixon, why didn't you tell me that you requested a lighter assignment?" she asked hurt.

"Sloane asked me not to. I think it had something to do with testing betrayal or… I don't know. He just told me not to tell you."

"Well, I have a new partner now."

"I saw him. He's a pretty boy."

"He is. I think he's too cocky," Sydney smiled inside, really cocky… she thought.

"Well, watch your back."

"I will," she got off the edge of his desk and hugged him, "Thank you Dixon."

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The next week, they were off on their first mission as partners. They had to pose as newlyweds and it was scaring Sydney. She had found that she was over Michael, but she was feeling really attracted to Julian again. She didn't want to feel that again. She didn't want to get hurt by him again. She knew it would happen if she let him in again.

They were sitting on the plane, their private plane, when Julian came next to her and took a box out of his suit pocket. He opened it and Sydney saw the gleaming diamond lying on the satin cover. He took the ring out and slipped it on her finger, "Even if we're on a mission, I want you wearing the best," he kissed her palm, "You deserve the world Sydney, you always have."

Sydney blushed, "Julian, please," she pleaded with him.

"Please what?" he asked. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "Stop this?"

He kissed her neck and Sydney just sat there, doing nothing to stop him. He continued to suck on a pulse point on her neck. He kept moving his hand all over her body until her breathing became heavy. She kissed him roughly and tugged at his shirt, pulling it over his head.

"Syd, we shouldn't do this," he said breathlessly.

"You started it," she countered.

He lifted her skirt and moved his hand up the inside of her thigh. She gasped when his hand covered her most intimate place. He began to rub her clit softly and slowly and she started moving against his hand. She started undoing the buttons of her shirt and pulled it off. She lay down on the bed in her bra and skirt. "It's been too long Syd," he said.

She lifted her hips on the bed and he reached behind her, cupping her ass before undoing her skirt. He tugged it slowly down her body and she flipped them over when her skirt was lying on the floor. She tugged off his pants and saw his erection in front of her face. She grinned like a Cheshire cat and took him in her hand. She began to pump him and he groaned, his head flying back into the pillows when she licked the pre-cum off his cock. She was just about to take him into her mouth when they were interrupted by a voice over the intercom. Syd stood up and reached for her skirt, "Sir, we're about to land, we ask that you return to your seat and put on your seatbelts."

"That isn't going to happen again Julian, it was a mistake."

He nodded and dressed himself, both of them buckling up. He looked over at Sydney who looked like she was about to cry, "Syd, what's wrong?" he asked her softly.

"It's only been nine months. I shouldn't be doing this!"

"Sydney, you can't beat yourself up over that. You said it was a mistake and I'll accept that. I don't want you hurt again," he reached out to touch her shoulder when she wrenched her body away.

"Don't touch me," she pleaded, "Please don't touch me."

"Okay Syd."

"I'm sorry," she whispered and moved to another seat further away from him.

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