SolitarySoldier: Thanks for that review. I am glad that you have been enjoying the fic.

Chapter Seventeen:
Aftermath

Chapter Seventeen:Aftermath

As Irina was wheeled out on a gurney, in a black body bag, Sydney could feel her throat constrict. Her mother had truly been on their side this time. Her final sacrifice had been proof of that.

It was as if a dark cloud had descended upon them. Ana and Billy had been spared this time. But what about all the times that were surely going to follow?

"This is never going to stop," she muttered.

Jack looked at her. "What?"

"Ana and Billy. They are alive and Elena may be dead, but what about when the next Rambaldi freak comes along and wants to see one of them kill the other? We are going to be fighting this battle for the rest of our lives, as will Ana and Billy."

"No, you won't," Jack replied. "Rambaldi's prophecy was realised tonight."

"How?"

"Elena, and others had obviously interpreted it too literally. If we read it at it's simplest form all it says is that when the Second Coming and her brother do battle, one will die at the hand of their sibling. It doesn't specify who…and one did die at the hand of her sibling tonight."

Sydney's eyes widened slightly, the image of Elena pumping a bullet into Irina's chest playing through her mind. "Mum," she breathed. What Jack was saying was true. For Rambaldi believers what had transpired that night would be enough to satisfy their fascination.

"It's over, Sydney," Jack said. "Irina saved you life as well as your children's. They're safe."

It was a strange feeling that washed over Sydney at that moment. Her life, for so long, had been filled with so much worry and concern for her children. Worried that they would be robbed of their lives prematurely. To hear those words, to hear somebody tell her it was over, and to be able to believe it…it was like relief, freedom and elation all wrapped into one.

And for once, she was not going to be robbed of it.

Due to the nature of the brainwashing that she had been subjected to, Ana was not able to go home for a few a days. She was admitted to a CIA hospital to undergo intensive treatment to reverse the damage that had been down.

It was completely successful, and Ana was as anxious to get home as ever. No more feelings of doubt, no feeling out of place and definitely no feeling that she had to kill Billy in order to be loved.

However, even though she had been given the all clear, when Ana was back home, it was obvious that she was not entirely back to her old self. She wasn't mad or angry, but there was something troubling her. It was like she was in some sort of a funk, a depression that she could not get out of.

It was apparent to all that she was struggling, and that, whatever was bothering her, she wasn't going to get through it alone.

"Vaughn, I think that you should talk to Ana," Sydney suggested as the two of them stacked the dishwasher one night.

"Me?" Vaughn sounded slightly surprised.

"Yes, you." Sydney said. "I think that you're the only one who can."

Vaughn's brow creased slightly. "Me?" he said again.

"Vaughn, think about this. Whatever is going on with Ana has nothing to do with Elena…well, maybe some of it. But she is able to talk to us about that stuff. I think what is really troubling her is Misha."

Vaughn felt his blood boil at the mere sound of his name.

"Ana loved him," Sydney continued. "She truly thought that he was special, that he might play a large role in her life. But he was lying to her, getting her to trust him so he could hand her over to Elena…do you see where I am heading with this?"

Vaughn nodded shortly.

"I can't even begin to imagine what that would feel like. You can." She placed a hand of his shoulder. "Go and talk to her. Your daughter needs you."

"Hey," Vaughn said from Ana's doorway. She looked up from where she was reading on her bed. "Can I come in?"

She nodded and then closed the book, placing it on her bedside table. "What's up?"

Vaughn sat down on the edge of her bed. "I thought that maybe we could talk."

Ana gave him a small smile. "No offence, dad, but I've kinda talked enough these past days."

"I know, but I don't want to talk about Elena or what happened between you and Billy."

Ana cocked her head. "Then what?"

"Misha."

Ana's expression visibly darkened. "What about him?"

"I was just wondering how you were. Everybody's been helping you deal with the abduction and all of that, but what happened before has been forgotten. And it shouldn't be."

"I don't…" Ana tucked a strand of hair behind her wear. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Vaughn replied. "I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to deal with it on your own. You shouldn't deal with it yourself." He paused. "That I know for sure."

Ana was silent for a few moments. "Dad."

"Yeah?"

"I know that our situations are completely different…I mean, you were married and I was only with Misha…"

"But he still tricked you," Vaughn said. "Tricked you into feeling something for his own agenda, and that is still going to hurt."

"I feel so stupid," Ana muttered. "I can't understand how I let this happen."

"This isn't your fault, Ana. You were preyed upon, your willingness to see the good in people exploited."

Ana let out a long sigh. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and mum only really told us the basic story. What you really experienced, I don't know. What did you do to help you deal?"

Vaughn shifted in his seat. "I isolated myself. I drank…and I am in no way recommending this as a course of action for you, but it seemed appealing to me. It was easier to numb what I was feeling, rather than face it. But it just prolonged my…it caused my anger to build and fester to a point where I snapped."

"What happened?"

"I burnt down our house."

Ana's jaw dropped as she let out a small, incredulous laugh. "You what?"

Vaughn gave her a sheepish smile. "I burnt down our house…along with all our memories inside."

Ana started at Vaughn, looking at him in an entirely different light. "That is…you really did that?" she asked, her tone sounding almost admiring.

Vaughn nodded. "It was after that I realised that maybe I should start facing my problems, rather than drinking them away."

"And it got easier?"

"Yes," Vaughn replied. "I promise you. It will."

"I hope so," Ana said quietly, bring her knees up and tucking them under her chin. "I'm scared, dad."

"What about?"

"That I am going to greet every new person I meet with suspicion." She looked at Vaughn. "I don't want to have to do that. How did you learn to trust again? To open up to another person?"

"I was lucky on that one. I didn't have to. I already trusted you mother, more than anything. That was the one thing that I was completely sure about."

Ana gave him a small smile. "Are we going to get into the whole clichéd 'she saved me' talk?"

"No," Vaughn have her a light and joking push. "But we are going to have a talk about that biting tongue of yours."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. It's just like your mother's."

Ana's smile widened at that thought. "It is, isn't it?" She paused. "Thank you."

Vaughn opened his arms, pulling Ana into a tight hug. "You don't have to thank me," he said. "I'm your dad. That's what I'm here for."

Leaving Ana's bedroom a short while later, Vaughn headed to his and Sydney's room.

"Syd?"

"In here," he voice came form the direction of their en suite. He walked in, and saw her lying in a bubble bath, her eyes closed. She opened them as he settled himself on the floor beside her. "How did it go?"

"I think our little girl is going to be fine."

Sydney let out a soft laugh. "Ana would kill you if she heard you saying that."

Vaughn grinned. "I won't tell her if you don't."

"Deal," Sydney replied.

"So," Vaughn started, "after the Misha discussion, we got talking on another topic."

"What am I getting a sudden sinking feeling in my stomach?"

"Tsk, tsk," Vaughn shook a finger good-naturedly. "You should have more faith in your daughter and husband."

"Ok fine," Sydney said. "What were you talking about?"

"We've decided that we need to go on a holiday. To, as a family, just get away."

Sydney's face broke into a grin. "You're right. I need to have more faith in you. I love it. Great idea. When do we leave?"

Vaughn let out a soft chuckle. "Well, if you can get off work, we were thinking about taking the whole summer. It's not that far away."

"I think I can manage that," Sydney said. "Now, don't tell me that you've already decided on our destination?"

"No," Vaughn said with a smile. "We figured we would decide as a family."

Sydney beckoned him with a finger. "Come here."

Vaughn leaned forward. "What?"

"I love you," she whispered, cupping his face with her hands.

"And I love you," he replied, as their lips pressed together.

A few days later Ana was out, taking Richie and Fonzie for a walk. Things were a little tense back at home. Lexi had just brought home her end of year report and Ana had to stop herself from laughing when Sydney had opened it. The same thing happened every year. While Lexi's grades were always excellent, it was the personal comments on her behaviour that always lead to her, Vaughn and Sydney's annual 'discussion'.

Lost in her thoughts, Ana stumbled slightly when Fonzie started pulling on his leash.

"Fonz!" Ana yanked it back. She looked up and saw what he was so eager about. Another dog on a leash, being lead by…

"Hey Ana." Adrian's face broke into a smile.

"Hey," Ana smiled back. She was surprised when the usual uneasy feeling she experienced around Adrian did not eventuate.

Adrian's gaze fell downward. "I take it this is Richie and The Fonz?"

"Yeah," Ana replied, almost absentmindedly. Why, all of a sudden, was she completely comfortable around Adrian? Nothing had changed since she just saw him…except that she had discovered the truth about Misha. Maybe…

"So, are you ok?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ana replied. Maybe her instincts hadn't been warning her off Adrian, it had been warning her off Misha. But she had just shifted them to Adrian, because in her mind, she could not comprehend any reason to fear Misha. That made sense, didn't it?

"I was just wondering. You kinda, well, disappeared for a bit there."

"Oh," Ana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I had…there was this family thing going on." she paused. That answer sounded so lame, even to her ears. "My, uh, grandmother died," she added. There, that sounded a little more plausible.

"I'm sorry," Adrian replied and he sounded genuinely sympathetic. "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok." Ana tried hard not to openly scrutinize Adrian. He seemed like a nice guy. Maybe he really was. He seemed like the type who would make a good friend and that was what Ana needed at the moment.

"Well, if you need to catch up on anything from uni, you're welcome to any of my notes."

"Thanks," Ana said as they fell into step beside one another. "So, what are your plans for the summer?"

"My parents and I are headed to Nice. My aunt and uncle love there and we haven't seen them for ages."

Ana let out a soft laugh. "Unbelievable."

"What?"

"My family is doing Europe for the summer. It'll be a pretty whirlwind tour, but we'll be in Nice for two weeks. My parents wanted an extended stay- they get all sappy about that city."

"Seriously?"

"Yup," Ana nodded. "Hey, maybe we should meet up. Grab a croissant."

"Sure…" Adrian frowned a little. "You don't think Misha would mind?"

Ana stiffened. "We're not together anymore."

"Oh…what did he do?"

Ana looked surprised. "What makes you think that it was him that did something?"

Adrian shrugged. "The look on your face? And besides, there was just something about that guy that rubbed me the wrong way."

Ana gave him a wry smile. "Have you been talking to me brother."

"No," Adrian replied, looking a little confused. "Why?"

"Let's just say that I was the last one to get that feeling about Misha…" she trailed off, swallowing hard. "Can we change the subject?"

"Sure," Adrian tugged slightly on Cha-Chi's leash. "So, Nice hey? So what else, besides a croissant?"

Ana smiled. "How about we just wing it while we are there?"

That night Sydney knocked on Jack's apartment door and waited patiently for him to answer. They hadn't had a chance to really talk since that night at the warehouse.

"Sydney?"

She stepped back as the door opened. "Hey," she said, holding up a bag. "I bought Chinese. Thought that we could do dinner."

Jack gave her a small smile as he stepped aside. "Come in."

A few minutes later that were seated at his small table. "So," Sydney asked, picking up her chopsticks, "how are you doing, dad?"

"I'm fine," he replied and Sydney just raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"Mum has been a part of your life for decades. How can you be 'fine'?"

"I just am," Jack replied bluntly. "It's not as if we had a real relationship anyway."

"That doesn't mean you didn't care."

Jack exhaled loudly. "What do you want me to say, Sydney?"

"What is really going on in that airtight vault of a mind you have. Come on, dad. Let me in for once."

"You know," Jack pointed a chopstick at her. "You are just a little too determined for your own good."

Sydney smiled. "And I wonder who I get that from?"

Jack sighed. "Look, I will miss her. I won't deny that. But I think that I am ok with the fact that she is gone, because it's my belief that she would be ok with the way she went."

"You think that she's happy that she's dead."

"No. The majority of us don't want to die but let's face it, if we had the chance, we'd like to have a say in the way we go. In our sleep, peaceful…whatever. Irina died, protecting you. Protecting her grandchildren. And, as well as that, she made the words of Rambaldi a reality. Can you imagine her wanting to go in any other way?"

A nostalgic look crossed Sydney's face. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"So, has the topic been covered to your satisfaction?" Jack asked lightly and Sydney nodded. "Ok then. How are Ana and Billy doing?"

"They're doing ok. It's going to take some considerable time before we can put all of this behind us, but we're getting there." She paused, taking a drink. "We've decided to get away for the summer, through. We're going to spend it in Europe."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Well, it seems like a good way to make a fresh start," Sydney said. "You're welcome to join us."

Jack gave her a small smile. "I think I'll leave the fresh start to you," he said. "I think that I'm a little old for one now."

Sydney let out a soft laugh. "Big power player at the CIA is pulling the old man card. You're disappointing me, dad."

Jack shrugged. "Somebody is going to have to look after Richie and The Fonz, because we all know that you can't trust Weiss not to overfeed them."

Sydney grinned. "Now, how can I argue with that?"

"Mum! Have you seen my jacket?"

"It won't close. Help me!"

"Just take some stuff out. Mum, my jacket!"

"When are we going?"

"I am not taking any clothes out…Dad!"

"Can we please go? I am sick of hearing these two—"

"BILLY!"

Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other from the confines of their bedroom.

"Whose idea was this holiday again?" she asked, zipping shut her carry-on bag.

"Mum." A breathless Ana appeared in the doorway. "Have you seen my blue jacket?"

"In the laundry," Sydney replied. "It needs ironing, though." As Ana turned away, Lexi and Billy came bursting in.

"Mum," Lexi started, "my suitcase won't close."

"When are we going?" Billy asked, simultaneously.

"Billy!" Lexi have him a shove. "I was talking."

"You were whining."

"I was not."

"Yes, you—"

They shut up as Vaughn let out an ear splitting whistle. "Ok," he clapped his hands together. "Lexi. Either sit on the case to close it, or remove some clothes. Billy, there is still hours until our flight, so sit tight, we are not leaving just yet."

"But—"

"No buts," Vaughn cut both of them off, and then pointed to the door. "Out."

Grumbling, both Billy and Lexi headed out and towards their bedrooms.

Sydney raised her eyebrows at Vaughn. "So…who's idea was this?"

Vaughn grinned. "Oh, come on, Syd. This is going to be great."

"And how do you come to that conclusion?" she asked, as the sound of rockmusic started up from the direction of Billy's room.

Vaughn held out his arms. "Look around. Listen to them all. Things haven't been this normal for ages."

Sydney fell silent as a slow smile formed upon her face. In the background she could hear Ana crashing around in the laundry cupboard, making the simple task of retrieving the iron a whole lot more complex than it needed to be. And then there was Billy and Lexi's continuing bickering, combined his loud music. Any second now one of them would be screaming out for her and Vaughn. The sounds of home. The sounds that she loved so much.

Vaughn took a few steps forward, wrapping his arms around her. "They're ok, and they're going to stay that way. We promised to keep them safe. We did it, Syd."

"I can't find the iron!"

"It still won't shut!"

"Mum, dad. Can we please just go!"

Sydney looked at him, a serene expression on her face. "Yeah, we did."

THE END

A/N: I want to thank everybdoy who showed me support during this fic. I'm not sure why but I feel really proud of this fic(as well as Prophesised), maybe even more so than my other fics. And while these two stories have not been as well recieved as my others, I have still enjoyed writing them immensely. So again, thank you to all that read, and especially those who reviewed. You are as much of my fics as me.
Thank you.