Set Me Up

by Brine224

JI reexperience pregnancy and parenthood some SV as well just for good measure

34. Chapter 34

SYROS, GREECE

Irina glanced up from the sandwich she was making to look at Jack when he arrived in the kitchen.

"How are you doing?" He stood beside her at the counter.

"Better now that our daughter no longer has a gun pointed at my head."

"It's unfortunate I didn't have a camera; that was definitely one for the Bristow family album." Jack's impish grin got him a glare from Irina.

"I took a mental note." She finished preparing her sandwich and began putting items away. "What is she doing now?"

"Likely debating with herself over whether to call Vaughn or not." He shrugged.

"We both know she won't call him. She'll come down in a little while, sulk and pout for most of the day before she lets loose her barrage of questions. Her methods haven't changed in the twenty years I've been absent." Irina replied smugly.

"I suppose we should carry on with our day as though she isn't here." Jack watched Irina stare at her food unfavorably.

"I'm not hungry any more. Do you want this?" She held out the sandwich to him.

"No thank you. Put it in the fridge for later; you'll be hungry again soon." Jack dodged the chunk of cheese she threw at him.

"Pregnant women have healthy appetites." Their voices echoed off the walls of the kitchen.

"I know. I'm just pleased to see you eating." Jack pulled Irina close to him. "I remember when you were pregnant with Sydney you had no appetite for a week or two."

"Not a time I like to remember." She said with a groan.

"Me either." Jack pulled her even closer.

"What?" She asked when she felt his arms tighten around her.

"Nothing, I just want to hold you close for a bit. I missed having you in my arms."

FLASHBACK

"Laura, where's my blue tie?" Jack called from the bedroom of their apartment.

"It's hanging over the arm of the chair." Her answer came from the office beside their room.

"Not that one." Jack shook his head to an invisible audience. "The one with the grey stripes."

"Check the hook on the back of the closet door." Her response was muffled by the sound of papers being shuffled.

Jack pulled open the door to the closet, finding the aforementioned tie hanging with innocent abandon.

"Found it." He called in way of thanks, and placed the tie in the suitcase on the bed and zipped it up.

"Here," Irina handed him at stack of paper over an inch thick. "Some light reading for your trip."

"Another two hundred pages? How long is your thesis now anyway?" Jack tried to hide the grimace at having to read and critic her work. He had thought he was helping her when he edited what she had given him to read the first time. Instead, that resulted in an uproarious fight and silence from her for three days. The second section she had given him to read was completed with no corrections at all, resulting in another fight that he was not being honest about her work and that his misplaced kindness would never earn her a PhD.

"Eight hundred pages." She smiled with pride. "I should have more for you to read when you get home."

"I'm only going to be gone for three days. Don't work too hard while I'm gone." Irina watched as he finished getting dressed for his trip.

"I've only got two lectures this week and their both prepared. Tutorials haven't started up again so I've got plenty of time to work without driving myself into the ground."

"When's your next check up?" Jack asked.

"Thursday. You're such a worrier Jack. I'm fine and so is the baby." She placed her hand on the five month swell of their child for emphasis.

"Where are you going this time?" Irina followed him to the front door to wait for the car to pick him up.

"Laos." He looked out the window, checking for the car. "We're working with the refugees to determine the situation in Cambodia and the impact it will have on Vietnam."

"Then you've got more than enough time on the flight to read the rest of my thesis." Her upturned lips rested on his in a quick kiss. "Is it dangerous?" Irina sobered suddenly.

"No, of course not." Jack's reply did nothing to calm the nervousness Irina had eventually conceded to during every operational departure.

"Well, be careful anyway. I don't plan on giving birth to this baby without you to scream at."

"Yes, that would be a travesty." Pulling her into a hug, Jack missed the unease in his wife's dark eyes. "I'll be back on Tuesday."

A honk sounded outside the building drawing the two apart. "That's you're car, you better go. I love you." She kissed him once more.

"Love you too. Tuesday." Jack picked up his suit and brief cases and left.

THE NEXT DAY

"Class next week will be spent discussing colloquial writing and their impacts on society. Remember to have The Bluest Eye read and notes completed. Have a pleasant afternoon everyone." Irina placed her lecture notes in her briefcase.

"Mrs. Bristow, I'm having difficulty pinning down the motivator of my protagonist for my term paper. Would you be able to run through my notes with me?"

Irina glanced up to find one of her young female students shifting nervously from foot to foot in front of her. Teaching a first year class hadn't been her first choice but she found herself pleased with the students' more energetic spirits and innocence in their writing.

"Patricia Scott, correct?" The girl nodded in agreement. "Ms. Scott, my office hours are as posted in the course syllabus and I will maintain those hours until the beginning of April when I begin my maternity leave. If you have any questions with regard to your term paper, you are welcome to stop by my office Wednesday afternoon."

"Thank you Professor." The girl scurried off.

Checking her watch, Irina realized the time and hurriedly wrapped her body in her coat.

She arrived at the hotel with a few minutes to spear before her meeting and after giving herself the once over, she climbed from the car. The occupant of the room was making noise as she approached the door, knocking thoughtfully against its surface. As soon as the door opened, she slipped inside.

"Hello Ms. Derevko." The other occupant spoke with a thinly veiled Russian accent. He was new and obviously not as well trained as their earlier agents.

"Sir." She nodded in his direction. "It's freezing in here." Her arms crossed in front of her defensively.

"The heating has been out for the entire day in the hotel. You're coat is better left on, if you intend to stay warm."

"Yes Sir." Irina turned her back to the man, sharing a secret smile with the window.

"Comrade Khasinau is interested to know what new information you have for us." He paused and thought for a moment. "It has been three months since you last reported to us."

"I brought with me theories Jack has been working on in relation to Project Christmas. They are all on this film." She pulled the film from her bag and handed it to her handler. "Jack told me about his last two missions; they were both successes. The first was in Romania at a factory along the boarder."

"We know of that incident. The damage has already been done to the munitions factory." He interrupted.

"The second was in North Korea on a search and seizure of two unexploded missiles off the Korean coast." Irina leaned against the room's desk while she relayed the stale information.

"What was in the missiles?"

"Agent Bristow wouldn't share that information with me. I have suspicions but then I'm sure our superiors have their own." She eyed the man knowingly.

"Da." His response straightened Irina's spine.

"I've never had the opportunity to conduct business with you Sir." The final word from her lips was spoken with bitterness. "The slight accent you possess means you obviously have only recently arrived in the country but that does not account for the fact that no agent would risk their careers by so blatantly disregarding the rules. When you are here in this country or even in this room, you do not speak in the native tongue. Slips such as those will surely find you dead."

"Of course." The man nearly sneered at her. "They were right when they said that you were a natural at this."

"Are we done here? I have a façade to maintain." Irina strode to the door before waiting for her handler's response.

"Jack Bristow left for what I assume to be an operation yesterday. Where did he go and why didn't you feel it was prudent you impart such information to me?" The man's easy smile turned sour.

Thinking quickly, Irina feed him a line. "The mission was sudden and Jack didn't seem too interested in talking about it before he left. I gave him a fairly large portion of my thesis to read while he's on the plane and he said he would have plenty of time to read it. Based on that comment and the clothes he took with him, I have narrowed down the places he is likely to go. I would guess Asia; likely Vietnam or Taiwan. I didn't feel it was 'prudent' because nothing is factual, merely conjecture on my part."

"Good work." Her handler made coded notes in a file, dismissing her. "Our next meeting will be in two months time, same day and location unless you hear differently from us."

"Thank you and goodbye Sir." After the door shut behind her, she allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief for making it out of that meeting with so few questions and little time spent. The handlers they were sending her continued to get dumber and inexperienced as the years passed, it often made her wonder what state the great Soviet Union truly found themselves in.

Tuesday came and went with no contact from Jack. Irina suppressed her worry in favour of pounding out page after page of her paper, determined to finish it before the arrival of the baby. But by Thursday morning, the two sleepless nights had begun to catch up with her, in spite of herself.

Irina's doctor noticed the difference in her patient immediately; the dark circles set off by the ashen colour of her face made her appear haggard.

"Mrs. Bristow, everything looks good here." He said after making a note in her file. "However I'm concerned that you aren't eating enough and you obviously aren't sleeping well."

Irina looked at her doctor, not trying to mask her fatigue. His white hair made him appear older than she assumed he was while his beard and glasses gave the comforting feeling of a grandfather figure.

"My husband is away on business; I find I have trouble sleeping when I'm alone at home." Her reply was met by an understanding nod by her doctor.

"Do you have someone to come and stay with you while Mr. Bristow is away? It may ease some of the tension you are harboring. I don't like to see my patients so uneasy."

"Thank you for your concern Dr. Holmes but Jack is due back any time now and he's requested fewer trips so he is here when the baby arrives." Irina's fingers pulled at each other in a desperate attempt to maintain her decorum in front of her doctor. The last thing she needed was for this man to declare her unstable.

"Alright, well I'd like you to make sure you're eating three meals a day and you should be trying to get as much sleep as possible whether it's during the day or at night." Dr. Holmes smiled at her reassuringly.

"I teach classes some days, but I promise to try sleeping more at night." Irina stood, smiling in return with as much false hope as she could.

"If it feels like too much let me know and I'll give you a doctor's note for work. I'm sure your students wouldn't mind a few days to catch up on the work they've been avoiding." This time the smile she sent him was a little more genuine. "I'll see you again in two months."

Irina nodded and left the office feeling better than when she had entered. But it didn't last long. At six, between trying to swallow mouthfuls of soup and deciding how to tie the third and forth sections of her paper together, the phone rang.

"Hello." She spoke after wrenching the receiver from the wall.

"I'm looking for Mrs. Bristow." The man on the other end told her.

"Speaking." Irina placed the phone between her ear and shoulder as she began searching through the cupboards for crackers of some kind.

"Mrs. Bristow, my name is Hubert Morrison. I work with your husband." Later, Irina would have claimed it wasn't his words but the way he said them that stopped her cold.

When he received no response from the other end of the phone, Hubert continued speaking.

"Mrs. Bristow, I regret to inform you that your husband missed his rendezvous to return to the states and has not made any contact with us for the passed four days. He is missing and presumed…"

"I would hope that you wouldn't presume anything where my husband is concerned." Her harsh voiced simmered with rage. "Next time I speak to you Mr. Morrison, you best be informing me that my husband has been found and is on his way home and I would expect you would have to decency to do it in person and not so cowardly over the phone." Irina hung up on the man.

Without the pretense of thought she picked up the knife on the counter, and hurled it across the room, skillfully imbedding the fine blade in the wood frame of the doorway. "You better get your ass back here Jack because if you think for a second that I'm going to have this baby without you, you aren't nearly as smart as I've given you credit for." She said to no one.

Four more days passed free of hunger, sleep and most importantly, word of Jack. On the forth day, Irina dragged herself from bed in order to attend her own lecture. Winter's dreary sky met her as she exited the building, solidifying her pitiful mood. Refusing to acknowledge her sadness and fear seemed only to anchor her anger at Jack for leaving her in the painful vacillation between hope and devastation.

"…and the oppression was apparent in her constant reference to blue eyes. The use of slang and colloquialisms by the author are to make the reader see the educational limits of the society the young girl grew up in. She wants to better herself by having blue eyes and rebel against the oppression. "

Irina nodded her head along to the student's interpretation, allowing her to finish before commenting on the answer. The student in question was known to nit-pick her teaching methods and had even had the gall to attempt to correct in the middle of the class.

"Thank you Tara." She paused, watching a self-satisfied grin settle over the girl's features. "At the beginning of the year I promised I would never tell you an interpretation of literature was wrong. I lied. While highly entertaining, you're answer was so completely off base that I have no choice but to bring it to the attention of the entire class Miss. Hardwick." The smile quickly fled from Tara's lips as Irina addressed her. Had it been any other day with any other circumstances she may not have been so harsh with the girl, but at her wit's end, Tara made a lovely target. "I'm not entirely sure you were reading the same book as us Miss. Hardwick; however, if you were, I suggest you read it again and this time ensure no one has spiked your drink before hand."

The class snickered not even trying to suppress their laughter. Leaning against the desk at the bottom of the lecture hall, Irina examined her students, taking careful notice of the outrage on Tara Hardwick's face.

"It is important to remember that the meaning you seek within literary works is not always buried. Toni Morrison was using colloquialisms to create the atmosphere in the story. It is unlikely that farmers and mill workers in the south who were provided the 'limited education' used the English language with grammatical perfection. Especially knowing that even many of you, haven't managed to accomplish that feat." She sighed at the lack of understanding on the faces in the room.

"Miss. Hardwick believes our young protagonist wishes to 'better herself'; can anyone tell me, at the most basic level, what Pecola wants?"

A boy in the second row bit his lip, seemingly gathering his courage before opening his mouth. "Blue Eyes."

"Pardon?" Irina looked at him.

"She wanted blue eyes." He repeated.

"Ah, Mr. Scott, thank you for disproving my theory that you had all fallen asleep with your eyes open." Irina paced slowly in front of the desk, mindful of how every eye drifted to her abdomen every few minutes. "Can anyone tell me what the blue eyes represent to the Pecola?" Silence. It seemed her students weren't even breathing audible today. "The blue eyes are a representation of the white race." Realization began to dawn in the eyes following her. "So Miss. Hardwick, is Pecola going to 'better herself' by becoming white?"

The gaze in the room quickly shifted to Tara who suddenly had a look of fear on her face. "That isn't what I meant when I said…"

"That's what I thought." Irina interrupted. "This class was supposed to focus on the language usage in the book; however, Miss Hardwick has opened an issue I believe we should discuss. Did Pecola decide one day that she wanted to be white or was there a catalyst?" Not response. "Come on, don't be shy now." Irina urged.

"The doll had blue eyes." Jenny Porter answered.

"Absolutely Miss Porter." Irina smiled; pleased she was getting some response from her class. "Pecola saw the doll as beautiful, luxurious and special, all attributes she wished others recognized in her. That is what the story is about ladies and gentlemen. But there is a deeper social meaning Miss. Hardwick." She nodded in the general direction of the student. "The commodification of culture: treating culture as a commodity; meaning the corporations dictating our cultural expectations. There was no doll available for Pecola to play with that had dark skin, dark hair and brown eyes; the company that made the doll was therefore only providing one option of what was acceptable as beautiful."

"Are you saying that our choices are dictated to us?" One of the young men in the class called out.

"I'm saying that this country has become dependent on its commodities to express social norms." She paused, trying to rearrange her thoughts and theory to help them understand. "Take soap for example: how many different kinds of soap do you find at the store?"

"Five or six." Irina wasn't sure where the answer came from. "But if there are five or six, we don't all buy the same one so we're different. Not only 1 soap is acceptable." The voice was located in the back corner as one of the male track runners.

"You're correct. You can go into the store and have your choice of many kinds of soap, but eventually you have to choose one because the option of going without soap is socially unacceptable." She loved the moment when it all seemed to click into place for the students. "It is merely a theory; I would ask that none of you attempt to disprove it my foregoing soap next week." She smiled disarmingly, getting a laugh from her students.

The door to the lecture hall opened to admit a sullen man in a dark suit. Irina's smile vanished and her lungs fought for another breath. The bell rang but the students remained seated, waiting for the final words from their teacher.

"Um…uh…remember to review all three short stories by Steinbeck, there will be a quiz on two next week and don't try to guess the questions and only read two. Have a good afternoon."

The stampede of bodies slowed at the door, examining the unknown man with wary interest; few of the male students hung by the doorway, not liking the look of the newcomer.

"Mrs. Bristow." The man addressed her. "That was quite the lecture."

"Hubert Morrison." She would have smiled had her heart not been halfway up her throat. The boys left, knowing the man was not a stranger to their professor. "You found him." She whispered.

"Yes." He gave nothing else away for which Irina was moments from injuring him.

"And is he…"

"He's being treated at Bethesda as we speak." Hubert interrupted.

"What happened?" She turned to her desk and rushed to put her things together.

"I'm affaid I'm not at liberty to-"

"I don't want particulars about where and how. I just want to know what is wrong with my husband." Her honeyed voice turned steely, stopping Hubert cold. Jack's wife was turning out to be more than formidable.

"A few knife wounds and one serious stab as well as a gun shot wound. The prognosis is good." He added as a second thought, watching her grab her belongings and turn to the door. "Where are you going?" He called after her.

"To see my husband." Her annoyed eye roll was hidden from the man with her turned back.

"Do you think that's a good idea in you condition?" He ran to catch up with her.

"I'm pregnant, not ill. Thank you for having the courteous to tell me in person." She offered before opening the door that lead to the parking lot.

"You sounded like you meant business on the phone and I didn't want to risk it." He cracked an uncomfortable smile.

BETHESDA HOSPITAL, MARYLAND

The nurse looked up as a stunning however hurried woman walked into the hospital. Her seeking eyes locked with the ones staring at her from behind the desk as she made her way over.

"Can I help-" The nurse could not finish her sentence for the woman was already speaking.

"I'm looking for my husband. He was brought in today, Jack Bristow." The woman's hands splayed out on the desk in front of the nurse as though offering a plea to give her the information quickly.

Looking up the name in her check-in book, the nurse figured she might as well get the protocols out of the way. "And you are?"

"Laura, his wife." The nurse looked up when she caught a slight breathlessness to the woman's words. Her once golden skin was ashen and drawn, as though there was effort in standing upright.

"Are you alright Ma'am?" The nurse began to stand from her seat to move to the woman.

"I'm fine I just need to….." She caught her breath enough to continue. "I'm feeling a little dizzy and my legs are shaky." Before either knew what had happened, the nurse was around the desk and to the woman's side, seating her and calling for a doctor. Laura's hands moved over her stomach, soothing the life inside.

"I don't need a doctor…. I just need to see my husband….please I don't-" Laura passed out at the admittance desk, it wouldn't be the first time someone had.

END FLASHBACK

"I didn't mean for you to be at my bedside when you got back." Irina smiled into Jack's shoulder, still held tightly in his arms.

"Stress accompanied by malnutrition and extreme fatigue." Jack quoted from memory. "I get back from a mission where I was shot and stabbed to find out my wife is in the same hospital. I was so anxious I'm surprised I didn't reopen my stitches trying to get to you."

"Oh poor Jack. It was a just a superficial gunshot wound and only a nick to your femoral artery."

"Just? If I remember correctly, which we both know I do, you were far more concerned at the time." Jack pulled her away from him slightly to look at her.

"Like you said I was stressed, fatigued and malnourished; I obviously wasn't thinking clearly." Irina smiled.

"Thank you for the concern." Jack's frown caused Irina's smile to broaden.

"I was only in that state because I was worried about you." She reassured needlessly.

"This is twice I've return to you either in hospital or recovering, please try to avoid the aforementioned conditions in the near future." Jack kissed her lovingly.

"I promise I'll try." They stepped away from each other to putter around the kitchen. "So, Sydney…" Irina began.

"Will experience a revelation over the next few days, the only question is whether she'll relax enough to enjoy it or have us committed." Jack finished.

"Oh, a padded cell could be fun if we were together." Both grinned at Irina's gutter bound thoughts.

"What's for dinner tonight?" Jack leaned against the counter, waiting for his question to be answered.

"Whatever you're cooking." Irina smiled brightly.

"Let's go out." The words were followed by his obvious grimace. "I'll go tell Sydney."

"Tell Sydney what?" Sydney appeared in the door way of the kitchen.

"That your father has decided he wants to go out for dinner. We'll go get dressed for dinner and leave in an hour." Irina spoke decisively.

"I think I'll stay here." Sydney nearly growled at her mother.

"Suit yourself." Irina left the kitchen, moving gracefully up the stairs.

"There isn't any point in you being here if you're not going to give her a chance Sydney." Jack set his face.

"I'm not here to give her a chance. I'm here to keep an eye on you; she is obviously drugging you or something equally as sadistic, to keep you here."

Jack let her words rush over him before replying. "I have given you orders as both your father and your superior; I have done things that affected you without your permission and I have disciplined you when you have not done what is asked of you. Today you are hearing my one and only plea; give your mother a chance Sydney, she will surprise you."

"Of that I have no doubt." Her brow furrowed and her eyes darkened.

"I'll not ask again. I just want you to know how important it is to me and although though she pretends not to let it faze her, it's important to your mother as well." Jack moved to leave the room.

"Fine, I'll come to dinner but it doesn't mean I want to listen to her lies." Sydney very nearly stomped her foot as a child would to make their point.

"Be ready in an hour. Your mother waits for no one." A tiny smile graced Jack's lips before the reality of dinner with his wife and their less than enthusiastic daughter sunk in. "I'll have to ask the staff to remove all the knives at the table." He muttered under his breath.

Dusk rolled in by eight, fighting a losing the battle with the black sky. Artificial light gleamed from the villa's master bedroom where Jack was threading a belt through his pant loops. He watched in amusement as Irina's largely pregnant form carefully maneuvered the bathroom, closet and makeup table.

"Irina, you don't have to rush. We'll get there when we get there." Jack called soothingly.

"I'm rushing because I'm hungry. Had you not distracted me, I would be ready to go."

"Your protests are coming an hour late Dear." Jack smiled indulgently. "Despite what you believe, I can keep my hands to myself where you're concerned."

"This says differently." Irina laid a hand on her bare stomach as she walked from the bathroom to the main area. The only garments covering her body were white Capri pants and a light blue satin bra, barely able to restrain her ample breasts. Grabbing a top off the bed, she caught her reflection in the mirror. "Pregnancy is the best thing to ever happen to my breast." She commented offhandedly, lifting the weightier mounds in either hand.

"And here I thought that was me." Jack stepped behind her, placing a quick kiss on her shoulder before continuing into the closet.

"Jack, put your ego away before it blinds me." Rolling her eyes, Irina pulled the top over her head. Its spaghetti straps and empire waist displayed her favorite new assets while doing its best to mask the greatness of her belly; its length falling two inches over the top of her pants.

"Stunning." Jack watched her from the doorway of the closet. "You wear pregnancy like most women where silk."

"How do I wear silk then?" Irina smiled seductively.

"That is a question for a time when you're not urgently hungry." They shared a sweet kiss before pulling back.

"Let's find grumpy and go." Her words got a low chuckle from Jack.

In the room across the hall, Sydney had found a dress her mother left out for her to wear. She waged an internal battle over whether put on a dress Irina Derevko owned or go for dinner in the cloths she had brought with her, none of which suited the climate. After staring at the bright blue and green sun dress for a long while, she pulled it on, finding it fit as though it had been made for her. She decided to stay in her room and wait for her dinner companions.

"Sydney, are you ready?" Jack knocked lightly.

"Yeah Dad." She answered and opened the door.

"You look lovely Sweetheart." Jack nodded with a hint of a smile.

"Uh…thanks Dad." Sydney's surprise at the compliment made Jack pause in regret that she was unused to hearing such things from him.

Walking down the stairs, Sydney wracked her brain trying to determine what was different about her father. Something in the way he walked was no longer as stilted or abrupt; he was relaxed for the first time since Sydney could remember.

"Alright, let's go." Irina picked up her shoulder purse and keys, walking out the door.

"Do you want me to drive?" Jack asked her. She inclined her head as though to think about it then tossed him the keys to the Mercedes.

"I suppose if Jordan and Kyle can drive my car you can too." Three car doors closed as they got into the roofless vehicle.

"You let the kids who were here earlier drive your car?" Sydney was still trying to get a handle on the events of the day and the subsequent situation she found herself.

"I didn't let them. They took it without asking."

"And you haven't shot them yet?" Sydney's response got a discrete eye roll from her mother.

"When I collapsed on the beach they figured the fastest way to get me to the hospital was by my own car. I'd rather buy them a car of their own than shoot them."

"Why did you collapse?" Sydney allowed her curiosity to rule for a moment, hoping to ignore the sudden increase in heart rate at hearing her mother had been taken to the hospital.

"Anemia and fatigue; I hadn't been sleeping well." Irina's answers were designed to ensure her daughter wouldn't think she had been searching for her sympathy.

"When was this?" Sydney didn't pay any attention to where they were headed, focusing on analyzing her mother's words instead.

"Last week." The rest of the drive was silent as Sydney could not seem to ask the multitude of questions she had pertaining to her mother's final answer.

Diesel wafted through the air as they parked on the pier of the town. They walked to a restaurant boosting seats across the road from the building, against the water. The noise of the busy port town effortlessly drowned out the silence of the Bristow's table.

With their orders taken and no other excuse to bury their heads in menus, Sydney felt suddenly exposed. It was a bazaar sensation to be seated at a table with two strangers who looked more familiar to her than anyone on the planet. She spent a few minutes staring at the boats as they rocked against the edge of the port, clinging to the few coherent thoughts she could muster.

"Are either of you going to explain or are we just going to sit here pretending nothing is unusual about this?" Sydney motioned to the table.

"This isn't anything unusual for your father and me Sydney." Irina looked at her daughter from the other side of the table.

"How long has this been going on? I mean the two of you." Sydney glanced sideways to check the surrounding tables.

"Since the two weeks I took vacation in July." Jack appeared unaffected by her questions.

"My mortification at the spectacle the two of you are putting on hasn't affected my mathematic skills. So either your little…freak show goes back farther or you've finally lost your mind Dad."

"Panama." Irina supplied for her daughter. "It was only one night and your father had less than noble intentions." Irina touched her chest. "But our actions had lasting affects."

Sydney's jaw clenched as she took in a centering breath through her nose. She didn't want to dwell on the intimidating picture her parents made, sitting united across from her.

"And how do you-"

Jack cut her off. "Paternity test." He avoided looking at Irina. "I'm not sure whether to be impressed with how highly you regard your mother's manipulative abilities or insulted with your implications that I'd be unable to recognize such a ploy."

"I don't know what to believe anymore. I feel like I'm loosing my mind while you two just sit there and act like we're a normal family."

"I don't think we're in danger of becoming normal Sweetheart." Irina allowed her lips to turn up for the first time that evening.

Sydney threw her mother a look between frustrated and disgusted, making the tentative smile on the older woman's lips disappear.

"Am I just supposed to forget that you've ripped apart countless lives, including my own. Because I can't do that. Every time I look at Vaughn I'm reminded of the destruction you're capable of."

"You've hesitated to call the CIA and report my location. Why is that?" Irina tilted her head a degree to the left.

"The same reason I didn't report your location when I saw you in Athens a few weeks ago." Sydney took a sip of the drink the server had just placed on the table while Jack and Irina shared a surprised glance. "I'm not sure what I should think about the two of you….doing what you…did in Panama."

"I'm more interested in learning why you didn't turn your mother in." Jack placed her on the defensive.

Sydney remained silent, weighing what she was going to say. "I suppose in some ways I felt sympathetic. I grew up not knowing my mother and I didn't want the guilt of allowing someone else to grow up that way." Sail boats rocking against the docks became the dominant sound at the table. "Aren't you a little old to be pregnant?"

"You would think. But it turns out your father is very virile." For a split second Sydney appeared as though she would vomit.

"Irina." Jack gave her a warning.

"So let me get this straight. You and Dad were…together in Panama before you betrayed us, for the second time. Then you find out you're pregnant and supposedly leave Sloane behind, retiring from the business and your organization." Sydney's sarcastic assumptions went unanswered while they waited for their server to leave their food.

"I never said I retired from my organization." Irina raised her eyebrows. "I had to relocate for my own safety but I still run my business."

"Then maybe you don't know this but Sloane is dismantling your holdings one by one." Sydney seemed to enjoy the thought.

"Sloane is doing exactly what I expected him to do." Irina said nothing further on the matter and no mount of coaxing could get her to respond to Sydney's questions.

"Is Yana back on the island?" Jack changed the subject.

"Yes. I see her tomorrow to check my iron levels." The couple carried on a conversation as though Sydney was not sitting with them.

"What about Helen and Peter?"

"They arrived back yesterday morning. I had tea with her; you should give Peter a call tomorrow." Irina looked back and forth between her plate and Jack.

"Who are Yana, Peter and Helen?" Sydney finally asked, never having liked when her parents were talking about something she didn't understand.

"Yana is my doctor and a friend from Russia." Irina shrugged.

"Peter and Helen are….friends of ours on the island. They recently got back from New York." Jack explained. "They have a home there." He added as an afterthought.

Sydney shook her head. "This is insane. Absolutely insane. This isn't happening. We're not sitting here talking about this right now. I-I've finally lost my mind. Or the two of you have or… or something."

The remainder of the meal stupefied Sydney as her parents continued their conversation, trying to include her every so often but earning only an incredulous stare from their child. Irina did her best to appear unaffected by Sydney's reaction to her relationship with Jack; however, the façade was beginning to wear on her already tired and frayed nerves.

"I think it's about time we headed home. You're still on restricted activity." Jack stood, holding Irina's chair out for her larger form.

"It has been an eventful day." She conceded with a wistful smile.

On the way home Sydney caught herself laughing at her parent's argument over what turn they had to take to return them to the house. Her father finally gave in to her mother's veteran knowledge of the landscape, pulling into the driveway a few minutes later.

The large wooden door to the house provided the gateway between fantasy and reality for Sydney, realizing she would be spending the night under the same roof as two people responsible for the majority of turmoil in her life.

"I'm not going to lie to Vaughn." Sydney said suddenly.

Her parents paused in the living room. "But you did lie to him before you came here. Or at least I assume, considering I haven't known Vaughn to let you man a personal crusade on your own. What did you tell him? That I invited you along?" There was no response from the guilty looking young woman. "You'll lie to Vaughn when it suits you but won't when it means the safety of your mother."

"I am not playing the bad guy here. You two have lied to me for the past seven months and would have continued had I not caught you." She paused, glaring at her mother. "And who or what could possibly put you in danger? I'm not worried," She addressed Irina. "You always manage to land on your feet… or at least your back. I'm sure there's no danger that a good fck wouldn't get you out of. But I suppose you've spread your legs one too many times and have cut off your nose to spite your face. I doubt many would be interested now." She gestured to Irina's stomach.

"Sydney-"

"Quiet Jack. I don't need anyone fighting my battles for me." Irina took a deep breath, clenching her jaw. "I'm sorry you feel your life has been a disaster Sydney and I will spend the rest of mine trying to make amends for the role I played but don't think for a second that it gives you the right to come into my home with your self-righteous attitude and insult me." With movement smoother than most, pregnant or not, Irina was in front of Sydney. "You listen to me; you've deluded yourself into believing humanity lives by the principles of black and white and right and wrong with you always on the side of right. Do not forget for a moment that I am still your mother and whether or not you feel I'm deserving of your respect on that account, I surely do on my merits as a woman with far more experience and understanding than you could ever hope to possess. I've put up with the subtle and not so subtle remarks that I owe you any more than my love and respect. I'm breaking the cycle; I will not continue to allow the guilt to dominate my life, so you can keep your tasteless comments to yourself unless you're positive you know what you're doing. If you want to fight like an adult than you best be prepared for the adults to begin fighting back. Go on believing what ever the hell you want little girl because I certainly don't need validation from someone as small as you."

Sydney felt a lump form in her throat and her cheeks flush as each word slid with razor like sharpness from her mother's mouth. A scolding by her mother had reduced her to a six year old girl, knowing she had taken one too many liberties with her mother's patience. But as quickly as the tirade had begun, it ended faster with Irina stalking up the stairs to the sanctuary of her bedroom. There was no slamming of the door, merely the calm following the preverbal storm. At least until Sydney looked in her father's direction.

"I don't think I've ever been so thankful your mother missed your teenaged years or disappointed in you." Jack's tone held none of his earlier good-humour. "Are you pleased with yourself Sydney? You finally got the fight you've been looking for all night."

"I wasn't-"

"Yes you were." Jack insisted, a twinge of defeat coloring his words. "You're mother is right; our guilt has given you too many opportunities to speak with no regard for the feelings of others."

"I can't believe you are accusing me of not being sensitive to other's feelings. You wouldn't know an emotion if it tried to strangle you." Sydney scoffed.

"Untrue." Jack's simple statement held an air of authority. "For a long time all my emotions did was strangle me." Sydney had no biting reply. "Goodnight Sydney."

"She's a parasite Dad; infecting every facet of our lives. She'll devour you once she's done."

"Well then in anticipation of my end, you should know that I'll always love you." Jack turned, heading upstairs before the wry smile claimed his lips.

The clock beside the bed hit 2:30, raising Irina's ire ever higher. Jack lay unbothered beside her as he had for the past three hours; it didn't seem fair. Releasing a final sigh of frustration, she conceded defeat, pulling herself from her soft prison of pillows and sheets.

A partial moon struggling to stay in the sky greeted Irina when she walked through the balcony doors of her bedroom. Words she and Sydney had exchanged earlier in the night raced a tumultuous stream of thought through her mind. Sydney had been out of line, of that she was sure but she was equally sure that she may have pushed her daughter one too many times in the other direction. The baby turned, kicked and tried to fine a comfortable spot, no doubt annoyed at being jostled awake.

For the first time in two decades the life she had dreamed of was within her grasp yet she seemed determined to sabotage the last chance at happiness she had been spared. Flicking the switch for the outdoor lights, cast a delicate illumination on the back yard.

Irina felt the difference in the atmosphere of the house before she heard it; the audible sounds of music being siphoned through the outside speakers.

I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smiles

Irina felt her lips turn up at the familiar foot steps coming her way.

And when I come to her that's where I belong
Yet I running to her like a river song

"What are you doing out here?" Jack asked in a whisper.

"Trying to get my thoughts to slow down." She spun to face him.

"Come here." He pulled her as close as he could, moving them both in time with the music.

She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She's got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come to her when the sun goes down
Take away my trouble, take away my grief
Take away my heartache, in the night like a thief

She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love

"We're going to wake Sydney." Irina protested.

"Sydney sleeps like the dead. What thoughts have you been trying to slow in the middle of the night?"

"The conclusion of our evening with our daughter. Psychoanalyzing my behavior. Wondering if I'll ever be a good enough mother in Sydney's estimation or if I'm even capable."

Sydney had been unable to get back to sleep after a nightmare saw her mother slitting her father's throat and tossing him over the edge of the hill they were residing on. The sound of movement in the house startled her still; by the time the first strains of music floated to her room she had already decided to investigate.

She didn't expect to see her mother wrapped up in her father's arms as they danced on the patio beside the pool. Both alternated between laughter and seriousness as their voices grew in volume to allow her to listen from her place in the shadows on the second story balcony.

Yeah I need her in the daytime
Yeah I need her in the night
Yeah I wanna throw my arms around her
And kiss and hug her, kiss and hug her tight

"Sydney just needs to suspend her disbelief long enough to allow you to explain. If she takes the time to listen, she'll find you aren't the bad ass you pretend to be."

"Don't let that get out; it would ruin my carefully constructed reputation." Irina scolded good naturedly.

"Have you come to a diagnoses?" Jack wondered aloud.

"Hhhmm?"

"Your psychoanalysis." He supplied.

Irina hummed in the back of her throat. "I am wary of happiness because the last time I became complacent within the realm of happiness it was taken from me. Textbook, I know but I suppose at least my psychosis can be normal even if I can't."

And when I'm returning from so far away
She gives me some sweet lovin' brighten up my day
And it make righteous, and it made me whole
And it made me mellow down to my soul

"You must be exhausted; you've stopped making sense." Jack kissed the side of her head. "Come back to bed Action."

"One more song. I don't want to waste the time we have together by sleeping."

She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love

"One more." Jack agreed.

As the first song ended and the second began, he turned her, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"I've finally been given the opportunity to speak to my daughter free from half-truths and misdirection and I get a paralyzing fear strangling the words in my throat. I'm scared Jack."

"You, scared?" He smiled against her neck.

"Yes and if you tell anyone I'll break both your legs." Jack squeezed her tighter, laughing aloud at her threat.

"I'd expect nothing less." Jack waited for Irina to answer his silent question.

"I can handle the loathing Sydney has for me because I tell myself that she doesn't know the truth." She took a breath.

Hey where did we go
Days when the rains came
Down in the hollow
Playin' a new game

"I'm afraid her feelings for me won't change once she has learned the truth and by then I'm out of excuses." Irina closed her eyes.

"You told me and I'd say we've made progress."

"Yeah but I could take or leave you so if you decided you still wanted to hate me it wasn't a catastrophe." She teased, prying her mind from its previous circuit of thought.

"You lured me out of bed to insult me; oh woe is me." Jack said dramatically.

"It's much too late for Shakespeare, Sweetheart." She placed a kissed on the edge of his lips. "I love you. And know that I given the choice I would never leave you."

Laughing and a running hey, hey
Skipping and a jumping
In the misty morning fog
With our hearts a thumpin'
And you, my brown eyed girl
You my brown eyed girl.

"Was it coincidence that this song was next or did you finesse the situation?" Irina smiled at the lyrics.

"Purely coincidence." Jack spun her away from him then back to his arms.

Whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow
Going down to the old mine
With a transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing
Hiding behind a rainbow's wall
Slipping and a sliding
All along the waterfall
With you, my brown eyed girl
You my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when
We used to sing
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-te-da
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-te-da

So hard to find my way
Now that I'm all on my own
I saw you just the other day
My, how you have grown
Cast my memory back there lord
Sometimes I'm overcome thinkin' 'bout it
Makin' love in the green grass
Behind the stadium
With you my brown eyed girl
You my brown eyed girl

Do you remember when
We used to sing
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Her parents danced with smiles etched into the granite of their faces; painting a picture she had never seen before. They laughed when her mother's stomach made for difficult maneuvering and kissed when they caught each other's eye. Sydney crept back to her room, resolving to hear her mother out in the morning.

TBC