Same Disclaimers Apply. A/N: I really apologize for not writing sooner and
I have a million reasons but I figure I'll just skip those and let you
read. Oh and please don't forget to review, this stories reviews seem to
pale in comparison to my others. SIMLES** ENJOY!!!!!!!!
SANTA MONICA
The late afternoon sun shifted in the sky, edging its way toward the horizon. The weather had been sunny and warm the entire weekend but now dark clouds waited in the distance. Sydney was packing while Vaughn finished in the bathroom. They spoke through the open door in raised voices.
"It looks like we're leaving just in time." Sydney commented.
"Yeah, although I would rather stay here through a storm than have to go back to work in L.A." The sink faucet ran behind his words.
"Me too, but we have jobs to get back to and I want to check up on Will and my Dad. He seemed a little distracted when we left and he actually took the weekend off." Sydney folded another item and placed it in the bag.
"I think he's just worried about what Sloane is going to do now that his machine has been assembled. And Will seems more than ready to leave the hospital." Vaughn chuckled at that.
"I know, it sounded like he was going to break something if he didn't get out of that bed when we talked today." Sydney smiled and glanced at the bathroom.
"Is there someone to stay with him while he's recuperating at home?" Vaughn asked.
"His sister is going to stay with him for a while. The CIA concocted a story about a home intruder; they informed Francie's family yesterday. I'm not looking forward to the mess I have to clean up at my apartment." Sydney kept her back to the bathroom door.
"The CIA had the apartment cleaned for you, so that's one less thing to worry about." Vaughn walked out of the bathroom to find Sydney's shoulders slumped and her head down. "Hey." He called to her and turned her around.
She had tears slowly sliding down her cheeks and a firm grip on her lower lips with her teeth. Vaughn took her in his arms and held her tight. She buried her face in the curve of his neck and continued to cry.
"Ssshh, hey." Vaughn was at a loss on how else to comfort the woman in his arms. She had gone the entire weekend with out tears or even a mention of pain. Sydney pulled back after a while and wiped the tears she could.
"I don't know if I can do this anymore Vaughn. I don't think I can face my best friend's family and tell them that their daughter is dead. We're not even giving them Francie to bury, but the person who killed her. She's dead because of me Vaughn and Will could have been." Sydney ranted evenly.
"I don't know what to tell you Syd. If you don't want to come back to the CIA then I respect that, you have to do what feels right for you. But I will say that leaving now would mean letting Sloane get away with everything. You deserve to be the one to take him down Sydney and you will. No matter what though, I'll be with you." Vaughn pulled her close again and kissed the side of her head. He placed both his hands on either side of her face and held it steady. "Remember, I love you." Vaughn then placed a small kiss on her lips.
Sydney smiled slightly and her eyes lit up. "I love you too." She kissed him this time. "And you're right, I won't rest until Sloane is either dead or in lock up."
"Come on, we've got a bit of a drive ahead of us and I know you want to visit Will." Vaughn moved away from her and began placing the last few items into their bags.
"Michael," Sydney said softly causing Vaughn to look sharply at her. "Promise me we'll come back here." She still held the tiny smile with traces of tears in her eyes.
"Promise." He said seriously.
ST. PETERSBURG - RUSSIA
Irina lay on a bed in her home with her shirt drawn up and stomach exposed. A woman stood beside and ran an ultrasound wand across her flesh. Both their heads were turned toward the small monitor clearly depicting a contrast of white, black, and grays.
"Everything looks good Irina. I don't see any reason to continue weekly ultrasounds." Her Russian accent bled obviously through her English. "Any falls or hits you may have taken have not damaged the baby." She wiped the gel off the wand then Irina's stomach.
"Thank you. I've been worried ever since I found out I was pregnant. This was not something I expected at my age." Irina sat up and readjusted her clothing.
"You would be surprised how many women get pregnant at or around fifty, thinking it is no longer likely. Menopause is being delayed longer in our society while puberty seems to arrive sooner. But I must tell you again that eventually you'll have to come in to the hospital to see me. I can not keep coming to your house to do your check ups, you're high risk as it is." The woman began putting her equipment away.
"What things can't you do here?" Irina asked.
"I can't do an amniocentesis here and I would recommend you get one." Irina waited for her to elaborate. "The risk of genetic mutations or anomalies rise with a woman's age. Unfortunately this child has a significant chance of being born with Downs Syndrome. I would just like to take every precaution with you." Irina got up and walked the doctor down the stairs, to the front door.
"I understand. Call me when you would like to set up the test and I'll be there. All I ask is that we keep this confidential. I would like you to perform the test with no one else in the room and no record of the sample being tested to appear in the hospital records." Irina's eyes pleaded with the woman.
"I'm sure I can manage that." The doctor smiled at her patient before leaving the house.
Irina shut the door and locked it. She was exhausted and it was barely late afternoon yet. She collapsed gently onto the living room couch and closed her eyes momentarily. The pregnancy was making her tired but more than that the lack of stimuli was creating a sense of lethargy. Irina rarely left the house and few people entered. She had done her best to keep herself well hidden and away from danger. The only contact she made, with anyone other than her trusted physician and the housekeepers, was with Jack.
She ran her syndicate through the wonders of technology from the study down the hall. She ran, swam and kick boxed to stay fit; she read books, watch more T.V. and movies than she had during the rest of her life and listened to new and old music. But much of the time she found her thoughts drifting to Jack and their night in Panama. Irina marveled at every variable that had to be in place in order to cause conception.
The odds of conceiving were low to begin with but she and Jack had picked one random night in twenty years to make love and the result seemed to have been fated. There was no other explanation for the child she carried; the child she had already fallen in love with.
Irina glanced at the large mantel clock and decided it was time for further action where Jack was concern. She picked up the phone and dialed his number from memory....
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SANTA MONICA
The late afternoon sun shifted in the sky, edging its way toward the horizon. The weather had been sunny and warm the entire weekend but now dark clouds waited in the distance. Sydney was packing while Vaughn finished in the bathroom. They spoke through the open door in raised voices.
"It looks like we're leaving just in time." Sydney commented.
"Yeah, although I would rather stay here through a storm than have to go back to work in L.A." The sink faucet ran behind his words.
"Me too, but we have jobs to get back to and I want to check up on Will and my Dad. He seemed a little distracted when we left and he actually took the weekend off." Sydney folded another item and placed it in the bag.
"I think he's just worried about what Sloane is going to do now that his machine has been assembled. And Will seems more than ready to leave the hospital." Vaughn chuckled at that.
"I know, it sounded like he was going to break something if he didn't get out of that bed when we talked today." Sydney smiled and glanced at the bathroom.
"Is there someone to stay with him while he's recuperating at home?" Vaughn asked.
"His sister is going to stay with him for a while. The CIA concocted a story about a home intruder; they informed Francie's family yesterday. I'm not looking forward to the mess I have to clean up at my apartment." Sydney kept her back to the bathroom door.
"The CIA had the apartment cleaned for you, so that's one less thing to worry about." Vaughn walked out of the bathroom to find Sydney's shoulders slumped and her head down. "Hey." He called to her and turned her around.
She had tears slowly sliding down her cheeks and a firm grip on her lower lips with her teeth. Vaughn took her in his arms and held her tight. She buried her face in the curve of his neck and continued to cry.
"Ssshh, hey." Vaughn was at a loss on how else to comfort the woman in his arms. She had gone the entire weekend with out tears or even a mention of pain. Sydney pulled back after a while and wiped the tears she could.
"I don't know if I can do this anymore Vaughn. I don't think I can face my best friend's family and tell them that their daughter is dead. We're not even giving them Francie to bury, but the person who killed her. She's dead because of me Vaughn and Will could have been." Sydney ranted evenly.
"I don't know what to tell you Syd. If you don't want to come back to the CIA then I respect that, you have to do what feels right for you. But I will say that leaving now would mean letting Sloane get away with everything. You deserve to be the one to take him down Sydney and you will. No matter what though, I'll be with you." Vaughn pulled her close again and kissed the side of her head. He placed both his hands on either side of her face and held it steady. "Remember, I love you." Vaughn then placed a small kiss on her lips.
Sydney smiled slightly and her eyes lit up. "I love you too." She kissed him this time. "And you're right, I won't rest until Sloane is either dead or in lock up."
"Come on, we've got a bit of a drive ahead of us and I know you want to visit Will." Vaughn moved away from her and began placing the last few items into their bags.
"Michael," Sydney said softly causing Vaughn to look sharply at her. "Promise me we'll come back here." She still held the tiny smile with traces of tears in her eyes.
"Promise." He said seriously.
ST. PETERSBURG - RUSSIA
Irina lay on a bed in her home with her shirt drawn up and stomach exposed. A woman stood beside and ran an ultrasound wand across her flesh. Both their heads were turned toward the small monitor clearly depicting a contrast of white, black, and grays.
"Everything looks good Irina. I don't see any reason to continue weekly ultrasounds." Her Russian accent bled obviously through her English. "Any falls or hits you may have taken have not damaged the baby." She wiped the gel off the wand then Irina's stomach.
"Thank you. I've been worried ever since I found out I was pregnant. This was not something I expected at my age." Irina sat up and readjusted her clothing.
"You would be surprised how many women get pregnant at or around fifty, thinking it is no longer likely. Menopause is being delayed longer in our society while puberty seems to arrive sooner. But I must tell you again that eventually you'll have to come in to the hospital to see me. I can not keep coming to your house to do your check ups, you're high risk as it is." The woman began putting her equipment away.
"What things can't you do here?" Irina asked.
"I can't do an amniocentesis here and I would recommend you get one." Irina waited for her to elaborate. "The risk of genetic mutations or anomalies rise with a woman's age. Unfortunately this child has a significant chance of being born with Downs Syndrome. I would just like to take every precaution with you." Irina got up and walked the doctor down the stairs, to the front door.
"I understand. Call me when you would like to set up the test and I'll be there. All I ask is that we keep this confidential. I would like you to perform the test with no one else in the room and no record of the sample being tested to appear in the hospital records." Irina's eyes pleaded with the woman.
"I'm sure I can manage that." The doctor smiled at her patient before leaving the house.
Irina shut the door and locked it. She was exhausted and it was barely late afternoon yet. She collapsed gently onto the living room couch and closed her eyes momentarily. The pregnancy was making her tired but more than that the lack of stimuli was creating a sense of lethargy. Irina rarely left the house and few people entered. She had done her best to keep herself well hidden and away from danger. The only contact she made, with anyone other than her trusted physician and the housekeepers, was with Jack.
She ran her syndicate through the wonders of technology from the study down the hall. She ran, swam and kick boxed to stay fit; she read books, watch more T.V. and movies than she had during the rest of her life and listened to new and old music. But much of the time she found her thoughts drifting to Jack and their night in Panama. Irina marveled at every variable that had to be in place in order to cause conception.
The odds of conceiving were low to begin with but she and Jack had picked one random night in twenty years to make love and the result seemed to have been fated. There was no other explanation for the child she carried; the child she had already fallen in love with.
Irina glanced at the large mantel clock and decided it was time for further action where Jack was concern. She picked up the phone and dialed his number from memory....
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