A/N: Okay, so I was told I don't need to apologize before each chapter but the fact is I am sorry. It is important to note that I do want to add onto the story; time is just difficult to achieve. So I am going to thank all those who reviewed and hope that people will keep reviewing. And upon jaka ray's request I will include summaries from previous chapters. Thank you all!

Here's the most updated thank yous to the reviewers:

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Previously on Alias: Sark has given the CIA 24 hours to hand over Nadia or he will blow up the hospital in Germany. Vaughn, Dixon, and Marshall are working on locating and figuring out how to possibly disarm the bombs. Irina Derevko gets a call that Nadia needs to be taken out of CIA custody. Irina raids the safe house and Nadia gets to meet her mother for the first time.

Chapter 25

"Alright, I think I got it," Marshall said tiredly, now in direct connection with Vaughn.

"You think?" Vaughn asked skeptically.

"Technically there's no way to be sure, until you test it, but I've done all I could possibly think of with the two hours of sleep that I enjoyed, not to blame you or anything, but Mitchell went to bed late." Vaughn rolled his eyes. Nothing was reassuring about Marshall's loftiness, but Vaughn did sympathize. Not only was Marshall a full-time agent, but now he was also a full-time dad, and that was incredibly draining. However, Vaughn prayed that Marshall's sleepy state would have no effect on his intellectual abilities.

"Alright, now tell me what we're looking at," Marshall said. There was a sound of slurping. Vaughn assumed that Marshall had just taken a sip of coffee.

"It's small, about an inch and a half wide," Vaughn said removing the device from the fire detector. The inside of the three-inch wide system had almost all of its insides removed save for a small red wire that attached to a battery pack in order to initiate the blinking red light that Sydney had noticed on the outside that told onlookers that the detector was functioning. In the middle of the detector there had been the small inch and a half bomb.

The outside of the bomb was smooth and gray. A quick counterclockwise turn had the top off. "There are at least four wires attached to a central unit. On the opposite side of the central unit is another unit. It looks to be some sort of chip where two wires divide off the central unit and are attached to this chip."

"Do you see an infrared transmitter connected to the chip?"

"Yes," Vaughn said, identifying the black plastic cover that was connected to the white platform the chip was connected to.

"Okay, I need you to try and locate a serial number on the chip, but do not disrupt the chip's connection with the bomb." Vaughn pulled out a magnifying glass. Dixon and Jack Bristow were standing against the wall monitoring and listening to Vaughn's conversation. Vaughn had pulled down the smoke detector and he had it disassembled on Sydney's meal tray. Sydney meanwhile, was also sitting up and watching Vaughn go to work.

He took the magnifying glass and ran it slowly over the chip. On the first sweep, he failed to see groves or indents that could have formed the outlines of numbers. On the second sweep, he was able to faintly make out six numbers.

"104023," Vaughn repeated out loud.

"Okay, give me a second to do a scan." Vaughn took this brief period of rest and turned his eyes to Sydney. Her eyes met his. She didn't look worried or afraid, but rather confident in that Vaughn knew what he was doing.

"Done," Marshall said, forcing Vaughn to turn his attention back to the bomb. "I've located 132 bombs throughout the building with the same chip design. Twenty of those were undetected before and are located in the basement."

"Are you sure that's all there are?"

"Well, that's the problem. There's no way to be sure unless we go around and open up every smoke detector in the building and happen to locate another set of chips with different serial numbers. That however, would require more CIA people than were there to locate them, unless of course you call in the German police and…"

"Marshall," Vaughn interrupted with slight aggravation. He had a feeling the caffeine was starting to kick in, and Marshall's digressions that were normally triggered by nervousness, were being triggered by adrenaline and coffee that were probably reacting with the strength of pep pills.

"Right…sorry. So, since the hospital also had limited manpower in putting up these detectors in the short amount of time that they appeared, my guess is that the amount of bombs we discovered makes sense," Marshall deducted.

Vaughn turned to Dixon. "Are you ready to do this, Sir?" Vaughn asked, waiting for confirmation. All eyes turned to Dixon. Marshall had explained the plan to Dixon earlier, so he was fully aware of the risks. If they were to fail, none of them would be around to tell anyone just what went wrong or take the blame for the deaths of hundreds of people residing in the hospital. But if it were a success, the Covenant would have no threat and no access to Nadia as a bargaining tool. This was Dixon's chance to change his mind and decide that this wasn't worth the risk and try and come up with another plan to keep the Covenant from getting their hands on Nadia.

There he was an ordinary man, in a day old wrinkled black suit. He had children, a car, a job, and a social life outside of work when he wasn't spending time with his kids, but the lives of so many other people were being put into his hands. People, that he didn't even know the names of, and probably never would, but people nonetheless whom he had the capability of changing the lives forever. An ordinary man who was no different from the man across the street who worked from nine to five and took his family out to eat every Saturday night, with no thought of work until Monday morning. Except Dixon, the ordinary man, was now faced with a decision, and like any other man, he could only hope it was the right one.

"Proceed," Dixon said nodding.

"Alright, Marshall. We're ready." Vaughn said. This was the time that Marshall was going to start transmitting the same number of frequencies as was being transmitted by the bombs, in order to trick the receiver into believing that all the bombs were still functioning and active, while the bombs would actually be deactivated. If it failed, all the bombs in the building would go off before anyone would have a chance to leave.

Vaughn heard fingers tapping rapidly over a keyboard. "Alright, here we go." Vaughn felt himself close his eyes as he anxiously waited for the loud resounding boom that would take all their lives as every bomb exploded simultaneously.

25252525

There are many thoughts that pass through a daughter's mind when she finally gets to meet a relative she has never known. Questions that forever have darkened her thoughts come to light and the curiosity intrigued by what little her sister had told her made her wonder even more what kind of mother she was. Neither she nor Sydney knew Nadia's story. Why it was Nadia who had been given up for adoption to be separated from the loving family she could have had.

"We've got to leave now," was the only response Irina gave her.

Nadia's wonderment suddenly disappeared as she realized exactly what her mother was saying.

"Where are we going?"

"You're not safe here."

"What do you mean?" Nadia demanded, her eyes searching her mother's.

"If I can find you, the Covenant can find you," Irina pointed out. "We need to leave now."

Nadia looked over her shoulder, back at the house. She had the choice of returning to the CIA house and waiting for answers that may or may not come. Answers about her life, her sister, her father, her mother…or to follow her mother and possible fill the void that she'd been missing for her whole life, a void that only a mother could fill.

Nadia turned to her mother and nodded. Slowly the two of them crept into the darkness, staying low, but moving swiftly and never speaking.

25252525

"Hello?" Marshall asked hesitantly wondering if the team was still alive.

Vaughn opened his eyes and found everything just as he had left it. Everyone was standing or sitting in the exact same place they had been in previously. Slowly he turned his focus down and took a look down at the bomb. Everything looked the same as it had been before. No alarms were going off or obscure lights blinking. They were alive.

"We're here," Vaughn said with a relieved glance at Sydney. "What's the situation?"

"Well, since we've successfully upset the frequencies, the bombs now must be disarmed," Marshall said.

"Any suggestions?" Vaughn asked.

"Well, I've been running a scan over the—the model, by using the serial number you gave me, and the model is very similar to the MRC112 model common in CIA training," Marshall explained.

"Great thanks, Marshall," Vaughn said as he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"We need to split up the team and disarm these bombs as quickly as possible," Dixon ordered, looking less tense than before. "We have fifteen hours to comply," Dixon announced, "and I want to make sure that when we don't comply there won't be any consequences."

Sydney closed her eyes slowly and whispered under breath so that no one else would hear her. "There's always consequences."

25252525

After leaving the CIA safe house, Irina and Nadia left the area and traveled into the country by car. The journey lasted only forty-five minutes, but the silence during the drive made it seem longer. It didn't seem appropriate to ask questions. Nadia wanted to make sure that they were in a secure location before she started asking her mother questions and since Nadia had so many, it took considerable effort her to remain quiet. Nadia also had the feeling from her mother's distracted presence that even if she had asked she wouldn't have gotten a straight answer.

The little black Ford Taurus stopped in front of a cozy little one-story house on a three-acre plot with woods on either side. It had a white fence border surrounded what looked like a cedar porch. The house itself was painted white and besides the top of a small chimney barely visible over the roof, there were no other distinguishing features of the house.

Irina stepped out of the car without a word, and Nadia followed her somewhat hesitantly inside. Once they reached the front door, Irina pulled out a key and used it to enter the house. Nadia entered in after her mother and stood in the doorway like a young child afraid to enter because she was overcome with curiosity and nervousness over the new surroundings. Irina meanwhile had disappeared into a room somewhere off to the left. Nadia slowly followed as if she was cautiously testing every step that her mother had created into the new room. She found herself standing in a small dining room, where a simple oak table took up the majority space of the room. A window that directed light from the front porch showed how dark it really was outside while a doorway to the left allowed a half circle of light to taint the room's darkness. Nadia followed the light and found herself along with her mother, in the kitchen.

Irina had just filled a teapot filled with water and placed it on the stove when Nadia entered. Nadia just stood there wondering how to begin, but her mother took care of the introductions.

"Nadia, I know you have questions," Irina said turning around, her brown hair shinning in the light, "and I want to answer them, but I want you to be aware of something." Irina took a seat at the small two-person table in the kitchen as they waited on the water for their tea and Nadia followed suit.

"I came after you, not only because I recently found out that the Covenant was after you, but because I love you." Irina let the words hang in the air. Nadia breathed in a shuttering breath as if striving not to cry.

"What happened? Why did you give me up?" Nadia finally asked with strength that her face did not reflect.

Irina looked deeply into Nadia's eyes with love, but also a guard as if she saw something in Nadia she wasn't proud to reminisce.

"Sydney was only three at the time," Irina began. "I'm sure she's told you about me and Jack." Nadia nodded. "At the time, the KGB was failing. The CIA was cracking down on them and had already apprehended at least five high leaders. One of my contacts informed me that my mission had been aborted a few months before. I knew I had no reason to stay, but I found it hard to leave. The life I had created with Jack, and little Sydney, I didn't want to leave it all behind." Irina said with a sad smile.

"I even thought about taking Sydney with me. I remember standing in the doorway and watching her sleep. I was the one who would change her life forever, Jack's life forever, but I knew I couldn't stay. I left that night and faked my death. I knew Jack would only believe that ruse for a short time, but it was important for me to take the down time and leave the country. Before I left however, I discovered that I was pregnant. I flew back to Russia intending to report to my superiors about my late return, but I was apprehended as soon as I arrived.

"My loyalties were questioned after being away from home for such an extended time. An investigation was conducted to find the truth, and in the mean time, I was kept in their custody. Three months into the investigation, I gave birth in my cell to you. November 14, 1980. I held you in my arms all night. I remember, you cried for ten straight minutes, and then, after I wrapped you in my blanket and held you next to me, you never uttered a word for the rest of the night. I woke up occasionally just to make sure you were breathing you were so quiet. The next morning," Irina said closing her eyes. "I had just finished feeding you and you were sleeping and I had fallen asleep too. I woke up to the sound of my cell door opening. I looked up and a KGB agent was there with a woman who had helped with the delivery. They held a gun to my head and I watched them lead you away." Irina stopped to stare at Nadia, who was in tears.

"When they released me two months later, my sister joined the Russian Secret Service to try and find you, but we never had any luck." Irina leaned across the table and cupped her daughter's face in her hand.

"You're so beautiful, Nadia. Nadia. The name suits you." Tears also began to darken Irina's face. "I never, ever would have given you up."

There were fleeting emotions. Words of warning that Sydney had given her about her mother flashed through her mind. Irina Derevko was a master of espionage. Every word she said could have been faked and timed with the accurate amount of tears to portray her emotions, but somewhere deep inside, Nadia couldn't believe that was true. Irina Derevko had just spoken the sincere words of a mother. She was telling the truth.

Nadia rose slowly and walked to the other side of the table. Irina remained sitting as Nadia wrapped her arms around her mother and gave her a long awaited hug. Somewhere in the background, the whistle of teakettle echoed with growing intensity to which there was no response.