I'm sorry for how long it took me to put out this chapter, but Sark's reappearance on Alias finally prompted me to continue. Didn't David Anders just look yummy in that black motorcycle jacket? Mmmm, very yummy indeed. Lol.
I was re-reading what I had written already in this story and I noticed that when I first made mention of Chloe's husband I called him Derrick, and then later on, in the middle of the same chapter, I called him Devin. I have changed his name back to Derrick now, and I'm sorry for any confusion that that may have caused people. Anyway, enjoy this new chapter.
Chapter Five- Who's Ready to Play the Family Feud?
"Hurry up Chloe, we were supposed to be at your parents' house fifteen minutes ago." Derrick called into the bedroom where Chloe was getting ready.
"Sorry," she said, pulling on a pair of strappy black high-heels. "Guess I'm just slow today." Usually it was Chloe who was ready early and rushing the other members of her small family to get ready to go.
"Do you have Dad's present?" she asked, picking up her purse and cell-phone.
"Got it." Derrick held up a wrapped back.
"Okay then," she straightened her pink silk blouse, "let's go."
"Grandma!" Paris flung herself at her grandmother the second the older woman opened the door.
"It's good to see you too Paris." Sydney laughed as she knelt down to hug her.
"Hi mom." Chloe walked into the house and hugged her mother once she had disentangled herself from Paris.
"Hey sweetie." Sydney hugged her daughter.
"Mom." Derrick kissed Sydney on the cheek.
"I'm so happy you all could make it." Sydney smiled as the small family hung their jackets up. "Your dad and grandfather are in the living room."
Walking into the living room, Chloe looked at her parents and grandfather. They had all aged in the last ten years. Sydney and Vaughn were nearing their fifties, and Jack wasn't too far from his seventies. They were getting older, something that did not go unnoticed by Chloe.
"Hey dad," Chloe kissed Vaughn on his cheek then went to hug Jack. "Grandpa, how is retirement treating you?"
"It's horrible." Jack said shaking his head, "I can't believe I let Syd talk me into it."
"You were getting too old for the field dad, and there's no way you would have been happy behind a desk." Sydney admonished her father. Chloe smirked and settled onto the couch beside her husband. It felt good to be with her family, to talk with them and laugh with them. But she couldn't rid herself of the guilt she felt over keeping Sark's sudden reappearance a secret.
She felt Derrick's arm snake around her shoulders and had to fight off the urge to push it away. What was happening to her? She had never before felt this way, never wanted to be free of her husband's touch.
Chloe cast a quick look at her mother. Sydney knew every going on in the CIA, she had the highest priority clearance that one could get, she had to know Sark was no longer in prison. But did she know the reason why?
Chloe washed the dinner dishes as her mother dried and put them away. Derrick, Jack, and Vaughn were in the dining room, talking about random guy things, and Paris was in the living room eating a slice of cake and watching TV.
Rinsing off a cup, Chloe glanced at her mother. The kitchen was far enough away from the dining room that she could ask Sydney about Sark without Derrick overhearing, but did she really want to know the answers to her questions? If she said something, then Sydney would want to know how she knew that Sark was free and Chloe did not want to get into the discussion that was sure to follow if she told her mother that Sark had visited her. No, Chloe decided it was better to keep it all a secret.
The doorbell rang, startling Chloe slightly.
"I'll get it." Sydney called into the dining room as she put down the dishtowel and went into the living room. Chloe finished up with the last plate and dried it. When she turned to go back into the dining room, she saw Sark standing there, shaking hands with Derrick.
Sark didn't want to be here, he didn't want to face Sydney knowing full well that she probably knew that he had visited Chloe. She would lay into him about it, that much was certain, and Sark just wasn't up for another shouting match with her. His emotions were raw after seeing Chloe, and his heart and mind just weren't up for a fight. But Dixon had told him to come. Sark was leaving the next morning for part one of the Covenant take down, and Sydney had to brief him. But she wasn't answering her phone or her beeper and hadn't come in that day to work, so Sark was there, at her house, waiting.
Sydney answered the door not long after he rang the bell. Her face slipped into its calm and controlled mask that was always present when she spoke with Sark.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice low, cold, threatening.
"Dixon sent me," Sark replied, his own mask slipping over his face, "since you weren't answering your phone. I still need to be briefed on my mission. And this was the only time it could be done since you didn't come into the office today." Sydney glanced over her shoulder as if she were making sure that no one was watching.
"Okay," she said, "you can come in, but stay quiet, I'll do the talking." She stepped out of the way, and Sark entered the living room. His eyes instantly fell on a little blond girl, her face turned towards him, and her eyes wide with innocent curiosity. Sark's heart flipped inside his chest, this was the little girl from the picture, his daughter. If she was here, then so was Chloe, she had to be. His pulse quickened at the thought.
He smiled at the girl charmingly, trying to put a good impression of him into her mind. He wanted her to remember him. He wanted her to think of him, wonder who he was. He wanted her to ask Chloe about him, to learn the truth.
She smiled back and waved.
"Hi," she said, "I'm Paris."
"It's nice to meet you Paris." Sark knelt down in front of her, feeling Sydney's eyes bore into his back as he did so, "You have a very pretty name." She blushed.
"Thanks." she replied. "What's your name?"
"Julian." he said. Sydney cleared her throat loudly, causing Sark to turn and look at her. "I have to go," he said, looking back at Paris, "it was very nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too Mr. Julian." Paris smiled. Sark stood and began to follow Sydney. She stopped in front of the doorway. Looking past her, Sark could see Jack and Vaughn seated at the long table that sat in the room, and another man sat with them, the one from the picture, the man that Chloe had married. Sudden anger filled Sark as he looked at this man. This was the person who had stolen Chloe from him. Oh how he wanted to kill him.
"Whose your friend mom?" the man asked, his eyes catching Sark's gaze. Jack and Vaughn looked up to see who he was talking about, and their looks turned murderous when they caught sight of Sark.
"Julian Sark," he said, stepping past Sydney and shaking the man's hand, "I work with Mrs. Vaughn."
"Derrick Mitchell," he replied, "I'm Sydney's son-in-law." Sark nodded politely, all the while fighting the urge to break Derrick's hand, a hand that had touched Chloe. He fought to keep calm, but the urge to kill this man was strong.
"I see we have a guest." Chloe's voice sounded in Sark's ear. He turned to look at her, his gaze sweeping over her body quickly, drinking in every detail. She looked gorgeous standing there, her hair loose around her shoulders, and her lips turned up in a polite smile. But Sark could see that it was forced, everything about her was forced. From the way she stood, her hands clasped in front of her and her back perfectly straight, to the way she spoke.
"If I had known someone else was coming I would have made more coffee." She pretended not to know him, she pretended like he was another stranger that she was being nice to. But she did know him, she knew him more than anyone else had ever known him. Sark hurt as he looked at her, he wanted to kiss her, to take her away, to keep her as his own.
"I'm Chloe," she said, walking over to him and holding out a slim hand, the one with her wedding ring on it. Sark took her hand in his, familiar chills running down his spine. The cold metal of her wedding band felt like ice against his skin.
"Julian Sark." he replied. She dropped his hand, and all the warmth seeped out of Sark.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Sark." her tone was cold and formal.
"Well," Sydney spoke up, "Mr. Sark and I have some business to attend to. If you'll excuse us." Quickly, Sark was ushered out of the dining room and down the hall.
Chloe felt as if the earth had dropped from underneath her as she shook Sark's hand. His hand was warm, as it encompassed her own, and his grip was strong. She fought to control her breathing, her heart raced and flip-flopped inside of her chest. She felt as if she were going to faint just looking in his eyes. Guilt swept over her then, and she dropped his hand, instantly feeling the loss of contact. The need to feel him again filled her, but Chloe pushed it away. She was married to a man who loved her and who she loved very much, she should not be having these feelings for Sark, not anymore.
Relief filled her when Sydney finally led Sark out of the dining room, and Chloe sank into the empty chair beside her husband. Under the table her legs trembled, and Chloe had to keep her hands twisted together to keep them from shaking as well. The heady feeling that had swept her up when she saw Sark instantly vanished as she felt Derrick's arm loop around her shoulders. Chloe leaned into him instinctively, trying to feel the same emotions that she felt from just a simple handshake with Sark, but they weren't there. They used to be there, back when Sark was out of the picture, Chloe used to love Derrick, used to crave his affection like an addict craves another hit, but not anymore. Now she craved Sark. He was something she couldn't have, the piece of rich chocolate cake that a dieter craved. That thing that you always want, but it always out of reach. Chloe glanced up at her husband. He smiled and kissed her forehead lovingly, but that simple gesture didn't produce the same feeling and emotions it once had.
Sark listened absentmindedly as Sydney went over the assignment with him. He heard what she was saying, but it was just words, nothing more. His thoughts were consumed by Chloe, the way she looked, the way she smelled. It was all so familiar, as if nothing had ever changed. But things had changed. She was married now and no matter how much Sark wanted to forget that fact, it would not be ignored.
"Sark, are you even listening?" Sydney's voice was harsh, reprimanding, as if he were a child.
"Yes," he snarled, "I'm listening."
"Good," Sydney returned his unfriendly gaze with one of her own, "Now, Dixon told me that he was having a new tracker implanted beneath your skin, and Marshall reassures me that if you run into any trouble, the Covenant will not be able to detect it. Also, in case you happen to think of running, he's installed a small bomb on the tracker as well. So don't even think of going AWOL."
"I have no intention of running." Sark assured her.
"You did a decent job back there, pretending you didn't know Chloe." Sydney said after a brief silence. "You're both very good actors."
"Thank you." Sark replied icily.
"I guess that's all." Sydney looked down at the folder that she held in her hands, "you're free to go." Sark stood and buttoned his suit jacket. The CIA had been gracious enough to provide him with an all new wardrobe, one very similar to what he used to wear. Sark walked down the hall passed the dining room, where he said a quick good-bye, his heart dropping as he saw the way that Derrick held Chloe, through the living room, where he waved good-bye to Paris, and out the door.
Chloe walked into the kitchen after Sark left, a stack of dirty dessert dishes in her hands. She needed something to keep her mind busy, she couldn't just sit in the dining room and pretend that Sark hadn't just been there. Furiously scrubbing the plates, Chloe couldn't help but wonder why he had even come to the house.
Sydney walked into to the kitchen and placed a gentle hand on Chloe's shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder quickly, to make sure the men were talking.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
"I'm fine mom," Chloe continued to scrub at the plate, even though it was now clean, "what makes you think I wouldn't be fine?" Sydney gently pried the plate from Chloe's hands and placed it in the dish drainer. Something inside of Chloe snapped as she looked into her mom's sympathetic eyes.
"What was he even doing here?" she asked in a low whisper, "Why did the CIA release him? And why didn't you tell me?"
"One question at a time Chloe," Sydney laughed slightly. "Langley granted him a pardon in return for his helping us shut down the Covenant once and for all. Dixon assigned me as his handler. And I didn't tell you because I didn't want to upset you. You're doing good now Chloe, you have a family and you have a life, one that does not include Julian Sark."
Chloe dropped her eye to the floor. She was ashamed of keeping Sark's visit a secret. She felt as if she had to tell her mother. Drawing in a deep breath, she took the plunge.
"He came to see me, last night." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Sydney's eyes hardened.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because nothing happened. He came, we barely said two words to each other, and then he left."
"If he ever comes to see you again I want you to promise me you won't even speak to him Chloe."
"I can't do that mom," Chloe looked into her mother's eyes, tears welling inside of her own, "I can't promise that, I…I still love him." Sydney grabbed Chloe's shoulders tightly.
"You can't still have feelings for him Chloe, not after what he did to you."
"I know he never returned any of my letters, but I can't help the way I feel."
"Chloe, you have got to forget about Sark, forget that he ever existed in your life. The only thing that man is good for is pain. Don't you remember how much you suffered when he didn't return any of your letters?"
"Yes," Chloe said, tears streaming down her face, "but I can't just forget about him. Every time I look at Paris I'm reminded of him." Something donned on Chloe then. She had never told anybody about her letters to Sark. "How did you know about my letters?" She looked at her mother suspiciously. Sydney didn't so much as blink. "How did you know about the letters?" Chloe repeated, her voice firm and demanding. "Did Julian ever write me back?" Sydney remained silent. Anger towards her mother flooded Chloe and she wiped the tears from her eyes forcefully. "Where are they? Where are the letters?"
"I burned them." Sydney said, "It was for your own good. You couldn't spend the rest of your life pining after a man who you were never going to be able to see. What kind of life is that?"
"I can't believe you would do that to me!" Chloe cried. "I can't believe you would be so mean and heartless." Sydney glanced nervously over her shoulder. The men had fallen silent in the dining room and, even though they weren't watching the fight, anybody could tell that they were listening.
Chloe brushed past her mother and stormed into the dining room.
"We're going." She told Derrick. He looked at her confused. Chloe looked at her father and grandfather.
"Goodnight." she said, trying to read their expressions, trying to find out if they knew what Sydney had done. She couldn't tell.
"Chloe," Sydney came into the dining room.
"I have nothing to say to you." Chloe snapped. "Come on Paris, we're leaving." With that she marched into the living room, grabbed her coat, and stormed out the door.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed that nice long chapter and will review.
Marie: I garuntee you will like the ending to this story. I already know exactly what it's going to be and I must say, it's pretty good.
csk8-20: Sorry to dissapoint you, but Derrick is not having an affair, nor is Chloe going to leave him. After all, if she left him, what would I do to add drama to this story?
poe-baby, leah nichols, Joyca, HP-Magic, Triple Agent, Sarks-Girl-89, Masta D, Eyghon, M.B, Crazy-VampireSlayer, and Spymantha: Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story.