A/N: So, here's part two. It should please all you J/I shippers, because it takes place after Irina has begun her KGB mission in America, and she and Jack have been together for some time. WARNING: This chapter is most likely going to be EXTREMELY fluffy. xD

The Time She Fell in Love

Several years had past since the KGB first recruited her, but to Irina it felt like another lifetime. She had learned things that made her see the world in a completely different, darker way. She had seen things that cast a permanent chill over her heart. She had done things that had changed her as a person forever. But none of these things kept her from smiling as she felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrap around her waist.

"I thought I'd find you here." A voice murmured in her ear. Irina turned to face Jack Bristow, her boyfriend of a year and a half. He smiled at her knowingly. "You always go to the beach when you have something on your mind."

She returned his smile tenderly, leaning into his embrace and resting her head against his chest. "I was hoping you'd come. I missed you." She murmured, closing her eyes. Jack had nearly been buried in work for the past few days, and despite living together, they hadn't seen much of each other.

"Missed you too." Jack said, kissing her forehead. Then he draw away to look at her curiously. "Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?"

Irina opened her eyes again, and stared at him in the guarded way she had developed. She found it endearing that he could tell when something was troubling her, however much she tried to hide it. But of course, she could never tell him the truth. She could never tell him how she'd been sent to America by the KGB, with the sole purpose of seducing a CIA agent and learning every secret he had to offer. Jack Bristow happened to be that agent.

But she shrugged it off and smiled in spite of her thoughts. "I'm just tired. It's been a long week." To her surprise, Jack guiltily averted his gaze.

"I know," He sighed heavily, "I've been working a lot."

Irina studied him keenly. Jack, she noticed, was always quick to take the blame for his mistakes. He wasn't one to get defensive or make excuses…he was responsible, and she had to admit that she admired him for it.

Despite knowing that she'd eventually have to get around to finding out what the CIA had been keeping him so busy with, Irina allowed her expression to soften. Entwining her fingers with his, she simply replied, "Let's take a walk."

Looking slightly bemused, Jack followed her out onto the sandy shoreline. Irina slipped her shoes off, and he knew to do the same. It was something they did often one the evenings they both had free: walking barefoot along the beach, with the water washing up at their heels.

They walked together for awhile, each caught up in their own thoughts. Then, after a few minutes, Jack broke the silence.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something…" He said almost nervously. When Irina shot him an inquiring glance, he continued on. "I know we haven't spent a lot of time together lately. I've just…I've been so busy. But I meant it when I said I missed you." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction. "…I think we should get away from everything for awhile. A vacation, just the two of us." His pitch made, he looked at her in earnest.

There was a short pause as Irina looked up at him in surprise. She considered it for a moment before shaking her head, wearing a sad smile. "You have work, Jack." She knew she didn't need to remind him. "They'd never let you get away."

Jack frowned at this, indignant. "I'm about ready to say 'screw it'. I should be allowed to spend time with my girlfriend!" He growled, and Irina giggled.

"It's okay, you didn't ask for all this work. Your job's important too." She replied as lightly as she could manage. In truth, she was rather surprised at how tempted she had been by his idea. Hardly professional. She chided herself.

Jack still looked unsettled. "You shouldn't have to make excuses for me."

Irina gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It'll get easier." She said soothingly. "It always does. Even if it didn't, I'd still be here for you. You know that, right?" She was an expert at this, a master. Supporting Jack, allowing him to look to her for reassurance, set him up to subconsciously depend on her. Which was exactly what the KGB wanted.

Jack nodded, his own expression softening. They walked in their familiar, comfortable silence for a few moments longer. As the sun set, Jack looked out over the water casually. "I can think of one scenario where they'd have to let us get away." He mused.

Irina smirked, doubting this. "Oh really? What scenario would that be?" She challenged playfully.

"Our honeymoon."

The moment those two words left Jack's lips, Irina stopped dead. Her mind went blank as she stood there, trying to process what she'd just heard. "…What?"

Eyeing her nervously, Jack turned to face her. She watched in complete, utter shock as he knelt in front of her on the sandy beach ground. "I'm not sure how to say this…" He began, fidgeting with something in his pocket. "I know I should find some extravagant, romantic way of doing this—you deserve to have it spelled out in the sky or written in a full page ad in the newspaper, or something."

"Jack—" Irina began weakly, but Jack held up a hand.

"But I thought here…ever since I've met you, here has been the one place where we could go to be together. Some of the best memories I have are of you and me, here on this beach, just being together. If I could, I'd spend the rest of my life here on this beach with you." Jack murmured to her. "But seeing as that's not an option, I figured we could get at least half of it right." Finally, he pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a tiny black box, which he opened to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "Laura," He whispered, "Will you marry me?"

She couldn't think. She couldn't even breathe. All she could do was stare down at him, tearing up like some pathetic, emotional ditz. "Oh Jack…" Irina breathed, speaking without really thinking about a word she was saying. "I—you…you…you're pants are getting wet."

Jack looked down only to realize that the ocean waves were repeatedly soaking his pant legs. He looked back up at her with a wry smile. "I'm proposing to you, and you still can't think about anything but my pants?" He chuckled lightly.

Irina made a sound that was half a laugh, half a sob. "Jack…"

"Laura?"

When her alias slipped from his lips, Irina was reminded of exactly who she was and what she was supposed to be doing here. It hit her with the force of a speeding train, and it almost made her heart stop. It wasn't the fact that she'd almost agreed to marry him without a second thought that worried her. In fact, her long term assignment was to eventually marry Jack. Her KGB handler would be pleased.

What worried her was that her initial reaction hadn't been to mentally give an evil laugh. It had been to burst into tears, and very uncharacteristically. Until seconds ago, she hadn't given the KGB a single damn thought. She had been too overwhelmed by the sudden thrill that ran through her body and settled in her heart to remember her mission.

Oh god…she was falling in love with this man. And that was the very worst possible thing she could have ever done as a trained Russian spy.

She wanted to turn around and run far, far away from here, to hide from the world until she was so numb that she could ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again. But Irina knew that this was an opportunity to further her mission to get closer to Jack. She couldn't pass it up.

So instead, she fell into his arms, water be damned, and kissed him heatedly. "Yes." She murmured between kisses, "Yes, I will!"

They forgot the rest of the world as they sat together in the middle of the tide, locked in their passionate embrace, until at length Jack pulled away to speak. Irina rested her forehead against his as he whispered to her. "I love you."

She smiled helplessly. "I love you, too."

And what frightened Irina most of all, was that that was the truth.