ok & Five Stories Fallen: Thank you for your reviews.

Chapter Seven:
Seeds of Doubt

"Deal." Misha grinned as his mobile started to ring. "Sorry," he said, pulling it out of his bag. Glancing at the caller I.D his face darkened slightly. "Excuse me, Ana," he gave her a quick smile before walking a short distance away to answer the phone.

Ana felt slightly puzzled. Why couldn't he have taken the call in front of her, like he'd always done in the past? She tried to shake it off. After all, she trusted Misha.

"I'm sorry about that," Misha said when he returned a minute or so later.

"Who was it?" Ana asked, trying to sound casual.

"Uh, work," he replied, rubbing the nape of his nape.

"Oh, ok." Ana dropped the subject, but inside there was a feeling of suspicion forming in her stomach like a hard rock. Misha was lying through his teeth.

The only question was, what was he hiding?

"How are things at work?" Vaughn asked Sydney quietly while they were in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Ok," she said, glancing around to ensure that there were no prying eyes or ears around. "We've got a few leads…and there's one that I've got a real hunch about. A woman named Freya Gregersen."

"How'd you come across her?"

Sydney looked at him. "Through Lauren's interrogation transcripts."

Vaughn let out a hollow laugh. "That would be right- Lauren helping us again."

"Yeah, but at least this time you don't have to face her."

"True," Vaughn agreed. "But that doesn't make it any more ironic."

Sydney gave a small smile. "I know."

Billy walked, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. His surroundings were dark but this place was familiar to him. He had been here many times before.

His mind was screaming to turn back, but he couldn't. He could only move forwards. Any second now…

"Billy?" Ana stepped out of the shadows up ahead.

"Yeah, it's me…"he trailed off. Something was different. There was somebody else there. "Who's with you?" he asked, as he strained to look beyond Ana. However, he could only see the endless black.

"I can't tell you," Ana replied.

Billy let out a short laugh. "Oh, come on, Ana. Just tell me."

"You have to do it now, Ana."

Billy started slightly at the sound of the deep voice coming from the shadows.

"Do it now and it will all be over."

Billy stared at his sister. She did not seem surprised by this unknown voice. Instead, determination was written all over face.

"Ana," Billy spoke up. "What's going on?"

"You—"

"Don't talk to him, Ana," the voice said again. "Just do it."

"Ana—" Billy stopped short as Ana revealed a shiny pistol from behind her back. "Ana?

"This is how it's supposed to be, Billy," she whispered and then proceeded to squeeze the trigger...

Billy sat bolt upright in bed, the loud bang of the pistol discharging still ringing in his ears. Almost subconsciously, he clawed at his chest, half expecting to find bullet hole. There was, of course, nothing, but as usual the dream had been so vividit wouldn't have surprised him if something were there.

Bringing a hand up he rubbed the nape of his neck. The dream, while as real and unsettling as the others, had been different. Ana had never hurt him in them before, and it had always been just the two of them. The presence of the third person was rattling his nerves more than anything else. Who were they and why exactly were they egging Ana on?

Throwing off the covers, Billy walked towards his desk to repeat the process that he went through after one of the dreams. Picking up a pen, he ran a hand through his hair and started to write.

Ana was sitting in the library at uni, immersed by one of her texts, when she suddenly got the feeling that somebody was watching her. Trying to look inconspicuous, she glanced around and had to fight back a groan when she saw Adrian across the way.

Quickly, she averted her eyes back to the book in front of her. She did not need to get into a conversation with him now. She did not need to get into a conversation with him ever.

She had been reading for about five minutes when somebody came up behind her and startling her by grabbing her shoulders.

Whipping around in her seat, eyes narrowed, Ana saw that it was Misha. "What are you doing?" she hissed, mindful to keep her tone low.

He shot her his signature, charming smile. "I came over to say hi."

"Well, I'm kinda busy at the moment."

Misha's brow furrowed slightly. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine."

Misha let out a soft chuckle. "It doesn't sound like it. Come on, Anastasie," he joked, "give us a smile."

Ana shot him a look. "Don't."

"Hey," Misha said gently as he crouched down so that he was at her level. "Seriously Ana, what is going on?"

Ana let out a sigh as she closed her book and stood up. "Outside. I am not having a conversation in the middle of the library."

"Ok," Misha nodded and the two of them proceeded to exit the building. However, once outside in the bright sun, Ana did not speak and instead just continued to walk, looking as if she were miles away.

"Ana, have I done something wrong?" Misha asked.

She faced him directly. "I don't know," she replied. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Ana," Misha sounded confused. "I am not hiding anything—"

"Then who called you the other day?" Misha shot her a blank look. "When we were leaving Modern Lit. You walked off to take the call and then told me it was work." She paused. "I know that you lied. If it had been work, you wouldn't have had to take the call in private. So Misha, why did you lie?"

He drew in a deep breath. "Ok, you're right. It wasn't work. It was my sister."

Ana frowned. "That doesn't answer my question. Why did you not just tell me that it was your sister? You lied to my face, Misha."

Misha stopped in his footsteps. "I just didn't want to get into…there's some…stuff going on with my family at the moment. I didn't really want to get into it the other day."

Guilt washed over Ana. She couldn't believe that she had jumped to the worst conclusion so quickly. "Misha, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"It's ok, Ana," he said, clasping her hand as they started walking again. "I should probably tell you what's going on, anyway."

"No, you don't have to," Ana said.

"I want to." Misha paused for a few seconds. "It came out a few weeks ago that my sister was adopted."

Ana's eyebrows rose. "She didn't know?"

"No and neither did I. we had absolutely no idea until she had some blood tests. Her blood type…well, you get the picture."

"That's how she found out?"

Misha nodded. "And she's in a real bad way. She feels that she is not a real part of the family she's not our parents biological child."

Ana felt a slight twinge. Occasionally, usually when she was down, she experienced something similar to what Misha's sister was feeling. Feeling put out because of the circumstances surrounding her conception and the fact that she was not Vaughn's biological child. She never doubted that her parents loved her as much as Billy and Lexi, but she could not deny that sometimes she felt like an outsider in her own home.

"And mum and dad are refusing to talk to her about it. They just keep telling her 'We raised you, you are our child.' They can't see how much this is affecting her." He inhaled deeply. "And I can't blame her for reacting in the way she is- imagine finding out that your parents aren't really…" he trailed off, comprehension dawning on his face. "I am so sorry, Ana. It totally slipped my mind that—"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Ana replied lightly. "This is totally different. I've always known that dad isn't my biological father. My parents never hid the truth from me. I can't even begin to imagine what your sister might be going through.

"Yeah," Misha sighed and then shook his head. "How about we drop the subject?"

Ana nodded. "Ok."

"Because," Misha wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I have the feeling that we could both do with something lighter to focus on."

Ana couldn't agree more.

"How did I let you talk me into this, Jack?" Weiss grumbled as the two of them walked down the dank passage way.

"You're easily manipulated, Agent Weiss," Jack replied. "Why do you think I asked you and nobody else?"

Weiss frowned for a second. "Yeah, well…" he flashed his I.D at the waiting guard. "You are so going to owe me a beer after this."

"We'll see," Jack said as they came to a stop in front of the cell.

Time and imprisonment had not been kind to Lauren Reed. Her appearance was a stark difference to the fresh faced, elegant façade she had out on while working for the NSC. Nowadays she just looked tired, gaunt and old.

Surprise flickered across her face when she saw who was standing in front of her cell. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"We've come to ask you a question," Jack said.

"Don't expect an answer," Lauren shot back.

"Hey Lauren," Weiss spoke up. "We heard how much you appreciate your hour outside each day. It would be a real shame for you to lose that time."

Lauren scowled. "Fine, I'll give you your damn answer. What do you want to know?"

"Can you tell us anything about Freya Gregersen?" Jack asked.

"Freya?" Lauren eyebrows knitted together. "What do you want to know about Freya?"

"Anything you've got." Weiss replied.

"I only met her occasionally- when I had to receive orders from higher places. I guess you could say that she was a little like me." Lauren smirked. "People would look at her and think that she was just a harmless woman, when in fact she is capable of doing so much for the cause that she believes in."

"Is that all?" Jack pressed.

"Well," Lauren mused. "I don't know if this is relevant, but she was pregnant at the time."

"Pregnant? And working for the Covenant?" Weiss asked.

Lauren nodded. "Yes, and there was a rumour circulating that Sark was the father. They apparently got hot and heavy for a short while. The affair ended almost as soon as it began."

"Sark has fathered a child?" Weiss said, unable to keep the look of horror off his ace.

Lauren shrugged. "If the rumours were correct."

"Did you hear what happened to the child?" Jack asked.

"No," Lauren replied. "I was arrested before Freya gave birth." She ran a hand through her hair. "So, is that all you need?" she asked. "I'm not used to so much social interaction. I'm getting a little worn out, you see."

Jack glanced at Weiss. "This will be all for today."

"Good," Lauren sighed. "Don't hurry back though."

Jack and Weiss started to walk off when Lauren called out after them. "Oh, tell Michael and Sydney that I said hello."

They did not respond. The chances of them passing that message on were Buckley's to none.