LIKE OLD TIMES

"Falling in love consists merely in uncorking the imagination and bottling the common sense." -Helen Rowland

Siberian Forest, Russia (Elysium)

As Mammon paces around, Alec Derevko stands patiently at the portal entrance. He's got a neutral expression on his face, but it's Mammon that's looking nervous.

That's because he's deciding whether he'd accept Alec as trade for Nadia.

Mammon looks up to the sky, still pondering. "Nadia killed two people in debatable circumstances and stole from innocents. Yes, you raped an innocent woman, but your kills came in the name of duty, not out of malice. I'm not sure you're on equal footing here."

Alec raises a surprised eyebrow. This is not what he expected. He then composes himself and asks "Where would Nadia go if she went to Hell?"

Mammon gruffly replies "None of your business."

"Where would I go then?"

Mammon freezes for a second. "Why does it matter?"

"Would I go in a better or worse place than Nadia?"

Mammon smacks his lips and then chuckles. "Worse. Rapists automatically get a certain...priority."

"Then your decision should be easy."

Mammon lets out a sigh and turns away to pace some more. He still doesn't look sure which way he'll go.

In the meantime, it's not like Alec is rooting for Mammon to pick him over Nadia. But what he did with Alisa was the last time that he did something for his own selfish reasons on that level, and he feels it's selfish that he's in Elysium and he feels it'd be selfish if a family broke up because of his desire to stay in paradise.

Suddenly Mammon stops and turns to face Alec. "You have a deal."

Before Alec can react, Mammon's radio goes off. "Mammon, come in."

Mammon quickly snatches the radio from his hip and excitedly asks "What is it?"

"This is Purgatory Central Command. You asked to be notified if someone on your list arrives?"

"Yes. When can I claim Kelly Peyton?"

"We tried to reach you yesterday on her and you didn't pick up."

"I was detained. Answer my question."

"You can claim her with the other person that just arrived not a few moments ago."

Alec gulps. He's afraid it's Nadia. A bead of sweat falls down the middle of his face, his only visual sign of worry.

Mammon smirks at Alec as he asks "And who might that be?"

"Elena Derevko."

Mammon raises his eyebrows in shock and he gazes at his radio like he can't believe what he heard.

Alec also breathes out a sigh of relief. Behind him, a few assassins also breathe sighs of relief over the fact that they're not going to lose one of their own.

Mammon asks "How?"

"Multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Huh, that's funny…another person on your list actually was the one that did her in."

"Which one?"

Alec turns around and sees Milo Rambaldi and Laurent L'Andre have arrived, and it was Rambaldi that asked the question.

Mammon gets back on the radio. "Who?"

"Nadia Falk."

Laurent lets out an astonished "Wow."

Rambaldi cracks a full smile. "Just as I thought would happen."

Mammon gives Rambaldi an offended look, then talks back into his radio. "I will be down there shortly to collect Kelly and Elena. Over."

As Mammon puts his radio away, Rambaldi walks up to Alec and whispers "What you just tried to do was completely unnecessary."

Alec whispers back "No it wasn't. Not only would it keep a family intact, it'd answer the question on if I can trust Irina again. And what if you were wrong?"

"Every time I've had a vision, it's come true. This was no exception."

"You didn't tell me his was a vision. Besides, I still have not stopped serving the Falks. That was the agreement that you made with them for the sacrifices you forced upon to them. Remember?"

Rambaldi turns away and solemnly nods. "Indeed. I should have told you it was a vision. In the process, I foolishly ignored your undying sense of honor and duty."

Mammon interrupts the conversation, and he's in a very irritated mood. "What do you mean, Milo, when you say that you knew what would happen?"

Rambaldi steps forward and keeps his calm demeanor like he always does. "I can see pieces of the future, Mammon. I knew what would happen to Elena."

"You knew when we made our deal for Tom and Nadia!"

"Yes, I did."

"How do you have this power?"

Rambaldi shrugs. "It's complicated. I have never quite figured out why I have it, just that I have it."

Mammon lets out a sarcastic chuckle. "Most prophets are liars. I guess you're the rare exception."

"Do you understand why I didn't mention my ability before?"

"Yeah, because you wanted to take advantage of me!"

"Our deal is not unfair. You're getting more bodies than we are."

Mammon lets out a loud sigh. Technically, Rambaldi is correct. "Remind me not to play poker with you in the future."

Rambaldi cracks a quick smile. "I'm afraid I'm not a gambling man. But I assure you our dealings will be fair in the future."

Mammon reluctantly nods. Rambaldi gives off this sort of...innocence about him. It's a weird aura that he gives off that makes people think he's strange. Mammon looks back at the portal, then back at Rambaldi. "I guess one Derevko deserves another. Irina Derevko is officially your problem. We're releasing our claim on her."

Alec lowers his head and does something that no one would have ever thought he would have done if this were said outloud: He smiles. It's a small one, but it's enough for Laurent to look at him like he just saw a pig fly.

Meanwhile, Rambaldi asks "And what of Helen of Troy?"

"That will depend on the return of Arvin Sloane. Say, you haven't seen how that's going to unfold, have you?"

Rambaldi forms a wide smile on his face. "He will be in your possession shortly. I guarantee it."

West of Frolovo, Russia (Elysium)

Breathe in...one Mississippi.

Breathe out...two Mississippi.

The adrenaline of the moment is finally beginning to subside for Nadia as she goes through her calming breathing exercises that Tom taught her. She holds the gun on her lap as she continues to sit in the snow, staring at the blood-stained snow where Elena Derevko laid after her face was practically shot off by Nadia.

For the first time since Cesar Martinez broke the news to her that Elena had crossed the portal, Nadia feels a 500 pound gorilla has finally jumped off her back.

And she couldn't have done it without her mother, who's lying face-first in the snow a couple feet to the left of Elena's bloodspot.

Her mother...she lived up to her word. Irina is on her side. Everything that she said about how she felt about Nadia, everything that she said about wanting to be the person she wasn't allowed to be...it's all true.

She can trust her mother. And after this, hopefully everyone else she loves does, too.

But first, she needs to make sure she's alright.

Nadia tucks the gun into her pants and, with her good right arm, gets up to her feet. Gravity doesn't play very nice with her injured left shoulder, as she groans in pain when the arm droops. Nadia's favoring it heavily, keeping her arm across her lap. She reaches over with her right arm and feels the shoulder. She feels a noticeable gap between the shoulder and top of the left arm. A separated shoulder wouldn't have been so bad, but Nadia's convinced her arm's really dislocated.

Nadia staggers over to Irina and squats down beside her. "Mom?" No response. The fact that Irina hasn't disappeared surely means she isn't dead, just passed out from Elena's rear naked choke.

Nadia shakes Irina a little and again asks "Mom?" Again, no response.

At this point, Nadia goes back to a trick she learned in Argentine Intelligence. She reaches over and pinches Irina's nose closed. The idea is the sensation of not breathing may suddenly jar her awake.

It worked. Irina jolts awake when she finds she can't breathe. Nadia lets the nose go and steps back.

Irina winces and groans a little. Her jaw hurts from Elena clocking her. Her shin hurts from Elena kicking it. And her throat and her head hurts from being choked out by her sister. This is not the first time Elena has choked Irina unconscious...she can recall a few times in their childhood that Elena did that to her. It was one of Elena's favorite pastimes. Poor Katya...Elena liked torturing her the most because she was the small one and easiest to pick on.

Irina looks up at a beaten, but relieved Nadia and forgets about her pain.

Yeah, Elena got the best of her one more time. But this wasn't about her at all. This is about getting Nadia peace of mind.

Irina looks over at the blood-stained snow behind Nadia. She then looks around and realizes Elena's not around and that Nadia's alive. She also notices Elena's gun tucked into her pants.

Nadia did it.

The concerned mother in Irina comes out. "Are you alright?"

Nadia grabs her shoulder in pain. "I think my shoulder popped out..."

Irina gets up to her feet. Her shin doesn't hurt her as bad as she thought it would, which means it's mostly just a surface wound. She looks at the shoulder and says "Let me take a look at that."

Irina starts feeling the shoulder area. Nadia squeaks in pain when Irina feels the gap between the arm and shoulder, along with a noticeable bump on the back of Nadia's shoulder, which is a sign of dislocation. "Yeah, it's dislocated. Let me pop it back in."

"You've done this before?"

Irina chuckles. "Before I died, my right shoulder would still pop out every once in a while from an old injury. I had to teach myself how to reset it...I can't tell you how much it hurts when you don't do it right."

"Well, I hope you get it right this time."

"I will." Irina then sticks the ball of her left fist into Nadia's armpit. With her right hand, she carefully bends Nadia's arm inward slowly. Nadia grimaces as she can feel her arm grinding along her shoulder socket, looking for a point of entry.

Finally, with a noticeable pop, it clicks back into place.

Nadia collapses from the initial pain and falls into Irina's arms. She doesn't pass out, and within a couple seconds, starts to feel a wave of euphoria fall over her as much of the pain subsides. She thinks she feels better, so she goes to lift the arm, but a shot of pain causes her to howl a little.

Irina tells her "Don't do too much too soon. Your ligaments need some time to heal. We'll need to get you checked out and into a sling."

Nadia lets out a sigh and then looks back up at her mother. "Thank you."

"Oh, I've done that a thousand times..."

"No...for coming here and helping me. Thank you for being honest all along. Thank you...for being my mother." A tear falls down Nadia's cheek and she starts feeling emotional.

Irina smiles and says "Come here." The two then embrace in a tight hug. "Just like how it was planned, right? Me coming in with the diversion and you finishing the job!"

Nadia laughs, feeling a little less weepy. "No, not exactly. I don't know what I was thinking..."

"You wanted to kill that bitch for what she did to you in the past and what she tried to do to you last night."

"It almost worked...I sprung out of the snow pile and I was so close to driving that knife through her head..."

"But she knew you were coming. Like I warned you, she has a strange sixth sense that I couldn't understand. She's blinded by hate for me, which is why I suggested the diversion. I never could sneak up on her when we were growing up..."

Suddenly, Irina lets go of the hug and looks at the Derevko house. She starts remembering her childhood, which wasn't anything pleasant. Between the narcissistic Elena, the conniving Katya, a drunk father and a hapless mother, there's a lot of bad memories in that house.

Nadia asks "What's wrong?"

Irina pauses for a moment, still looking at the house. Then, she says "Operation Scorched Earth. That's what your husband was doing with Sloane's and Elena's houses, right?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll be right back. Don't come in after me."

Irina trots into the house. Soon, the sound of breaking glass is heard. Nadia wants to go in after her, but Irina was pretty insistent when she told her to stay back.

About a minute or two later, Nadia sees black smoke coming out of the other side of the house. Not long after, Irina comes running out.

A very concerned Nadia asks "Mom? What did you do?"

As she's jogging towards her, Irina says "I always hated this place growing up. I don't want anyone else to suffer the indignity of living here." Irina grabs a hold of Nadia's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here."

A frantic Nadia says "No! You can't!"

Too late. As the house started to smolder, they teleported away.

San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The ear-piercing scream of Nadia as she reappeared in her home was enough to stir the fear out of Tom, Mary, Thomas, Maria, and Emilio. All of them shoot up from their seats and look behind them to see Nadia dropped to one knee and clutching her injured shoulder with Irina wondering what the heck just happened.

Irina drops her gun on the ground while she scrambles to address Nadia's sudden burst of pain.

Tom sprints from around the table. "Nadia! What happened?"

Irina shakes her head "We just teleported from Russia..."

In between very pained breaths, Nadia says "You don't teleport someone when they're severely injured! Not only does it really hurt when they reappear, there's a chance it could cause complications in the recovery!"

"Why didn't you say something?"

Nadia flashes Irina an indignant look. She was about to say it before Irina whisked her away.

Tom kneels in front of Nadia, with the rest of the family gathering behind him. "Babe, are you alright?"

Nadia nods, but is still hurting something fierce. "I'll be alright I think. Elena ripped my shoulder out of its socket."

"Oh my...we have to pop it back in..."

"No! Mom did it already."

Tom looks up at Irina. He's got so many thoughts in his head, he can't stop them for the second or two it needs to say "thanks."

But Irina can read the expression on his face enough to know what he wants to say. "You don't have to mention it."

Nadia reaches out and puts her right hand on Tom's shoulder. "Tom, Mom saved me. She gave me the opening I needed to..." Nadia then looks over at Maria and Emilio. "Cover your ears, kids." The kids, both extremely concerned over Nadia's condition, do as they're told. Nadia then turns back to Tom. "She gave me the opening I needed to kill Elena. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for her."

A tear falls down Tom's cheek as he reaches over and gives Nadia a one-armed hug, trying to avoid Nadia's injured shoulder. He lets out a whimper as he lightly says "I love you, beautiful. I love you so much!" As he says all that, his arm starts to tremble.

Nadia closes her eyes. She knows why Tom's trembling. She didn't tell Tom of her quest and, in turn, gave him the scare of his life. She feels remorseful over that. Tom adores her so much, and she knows what she did wasn't nice to him at all. "I love you too, handsome. I'm here now."

"I've never been so afraid in my life! Why didn't you say anything?"

Before Nadia can answer, Irina asks "Do you have a sling here?"

Tom shakes his head as he backs off of the hug with Irina. "No...but I can get her a bed sheet!"

Thomas puts a hand on Tom's shoulder. "I'll get one. Stay here." Thomas then jogs down the hallway to get a sheet to act as a makeshift sling.

Meanwhile, Maria innocently asks "Can I stop covering my ears now?"

Tom and Nadia both say "Yes!" Maria and Emilio then lower their hands from their ears as Tom and Nadia both get up to their feet.

Mary then looks at Irina with a somber look. It was Mary's last second decision to give Irina the ammo clip with blanks in it. Her rationale was that, if Irina betrayed Nadia, then the blanks would give Nadia some time to escape. The way that everything was falling into place made it seem not only to her, but her husband, that it would be the perfect time for Irina to turn, with Irina creating a panic to get her a lethal gun back in her hands with Nadia, as the song goes, "just a little bit caught in the middle."

But Irina lived up to her word. Unlike the wave of relief that hit Nadia when she realized it a few minutes ago, a wave of remorse crashes onto Mary.

Mary tries to speak up "Irina, I think we should talk..."

Irina, looking neither agitated nor offended, cuts her off. "We will later on when we get a moment in private."

Nadia looks back and forth at Mary and Irina. "What's going on?"

Neither member of the famed Rambaldi Mother's Club responds.

Maria, meanwhile, is starting to connect the dots. Nadia's hair is a mess, with part of it in her pre-encounter bun and the rest frizzy and dropped from log shots to the skull. One of those log shots has caused a bruise to form near her right temple. And then there's the issue of the injured shoulder, as well as the fact that her father, her pillar of strength, was shaken to the core upon her return.

Something bad happened.

Maria walks up to Nadia and asks "Why did they hurt you?"

Nadia sighs and corrects her. "It was just one person..."

"WHY?"

"Maria, lower your voice..."

And that is when Maria unleashes the part of her that's a Falk. The Falk Rage bubbles to the surface in an impressive meltdown that continues to rise like a crescendo:

"WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY WON'T THEY LEAVE MY MOMMY ALONE? I LOVE YOU MOMMY! YOU'RE A GOOD MOMMY AND I JUST WANT THEM TO LEAVE YOU ALONE! LEAVE MY MOMMY ALOOOOOOOOONE!"

Maria grabs Nadia's legs and drops to the ground in the process, burying her head in Nadia's right leg as she starts bawling her eyes out.

This inspires Emilio to start crying. He staggers over to Nadia and hugs the leg that isn't being occupied by Maria right now.

Nadia's at a loss for words. Of all the things she dreaded by not being forthright with what she was doing, this was the most. And with this coming the day after Maria learned what happened to her, her father, and her grandmother, she realizes that her wounds today cut Maria very, very deep. Nadia hugs both of her kids back and squeezes them both tightly and sheds some tears herself.

Tom and Mary also look on somber at the two kids who just love their mother. Tom's so emotional, he can't even talk or really move.

Irina, meanwhile, keeps her composure, but seeing Maria react like that over her mother's plight troubles her. Irina never wanted any of this for Nadia because it would hurt her. But Nadia's life also has hurt others, including the person that it matters the most.

But Irina is an expert at diffusing situations like this. Even though she was able to switch off a lot of her emotions when it came to Jack and her family, the maternal instinct never went away. "Maria?"

Maria doesn't respond, preferring to bawl into Nadia's leg.

Irina walks over and squats down next to Maria. She calmly starts gently rubbing Maria's back, like a grandmother would to comfort her sobbing granddaughter. "Maria, look at me."

Maria finally looks back at Irina. She lets out a feeble "What?"

Irina glances up at Nadia, then back at Maria. "After today, no one is going to mess with your Mommy ever again. It's all over now."

Maria looks up to Nadia for confirmation, with tears still streaking down her face. Nadia smiles and says "It's true. We helped stop a very bad person who did bad things to us both."

Maria, apparently satisfied, stops crying and turns back to Irina. "You helped Mommy?"

Irina smiles a wide, closed smile and keeps rubbing Maria's back. "I sure did. Your Mommy means the world to me and I wanted to protect her."

Nadia smiles at Irina for saying what she meant to her. And with the question of whether she can be trusted answered definitively in her eyes, she decides it's time Maria knew something about Irina she's been holding back. "Maria, you know how I said that Irina was a good friend of mine?"

Maria looks up at Nadia. "Uh-huh!"

"Well, she's more than that to me, and she's more than that to you, too. She's your..."

"I got it!"

Thomas comes bounding from the hallway with a white bed sheet to give to Nadia as a sling. Irina takes the sheet from Thomas while Maria and Emilio step away from Nadia. As Nadia holds her left arm up just below her chest, Irina takes the sheet and wraps it up into a sling for her. Once it's tied, Irina asks "Is that too tight?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No, it's fine. This helps a lot."

"Good." Irina looks back at Tom. "Let's get her to the hospital."

Tom nods. "I'll drive."

Irina looks back at Nadia. "Are you sure you don't want me to teleport you there?"

Nadia gives Irina a playful scowl. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Nadia soon finds herself in a place where she's been all too often: a hospital room.

To rub salt in her wound, she's lying on a hospital bed with concerned people looking at her, and a doctor at the foot of the bed. She's been in this position too many times before.

Tom, Maria, and Emilio are to her right, with Irina, Thomas and Mary to her left. Her left arm is now in a proper sling, and there's a bandage near her right temple, where one of Elena's log shots caused a few scrapes.

The doctor addresses Nadia's family. "I have good news and bad news as far as Nadia's condition goes. The good news is that there's no ligament damage in Nadia's left shoulder." Much of the room, including Nadia, breathes a sigh of relief. The doctor continues. "Who was it that put the shoulder back in its place?"

Irina replies "That would be me."

"Oh, good..." The doctor freezes when he catches a glimpse of Irina's facial frostbite scars. "Good heavens, you should get those scars treated..."

"In time."

"If you wish...anyway, I wanted to commend you for setting the shoulder. It's back in there nice and snug."

"Will she have problems with it popping out?"

The doctor looks down at his clipboard and flips a page. "Not if she allows it to heal properly. As long as there is no strain put on that shoulder, she'll be fine."

Tom looks over at Nadia. "I'll take care of everything around the house. I want you to heal up."

Nadia sarcastically laughs. "Oh really? And who's going to cook? You?"

"I've improved over the years!"

Now it's Mary's turn to laugh. "I'll help you out there." As Tom rolls his eyes like a petulant child, Mary continues. "I'm sorry to say it, but you inherited your father's cooking skills."

On cue, Tom and Thomas both shout "Hey!" at Mary.

All three of then notice Nadia smiling and giggling, which was the desired effect of all that. Good humor can make any wound feel better, if for but a moment.

The doctor puts a damper on the levity by continuing. "Now, on to the bad news. We're going to have to keep Nadia here for observation. I'm afraid she's suffered a concussion caused by blunt force trauma to the head."

A concerned Tom asks "How long?"

"Overnight, just for precaution."

Tom looks down at his watch. "It's still early in the day. Can't you do your observing between now and sundown?"

The doctor sighs. "We'll see. You can visit with her for a while, but she's going to need some rest."

Irina shakes her head quickly. "Wait a second, can't Rambaldi just cure her wounds with that technique he does?"

The doctor shakes his head. "I'm aware of what you're referring to, but there is a risk of complications when you do that...I understand you teleported her while she was injured?"

Irina rolls her eyes. "Yes! I just wanted to get her home!"

"Well, it's a good thing you popped the shoulder back in first. When the body re-emerges from teleportation, sometimes it can interpret a wound as permanent."

Nadia points out "If it helps, my head didn't hurt any worse than it did before I was teleported. My shoulder's hurting the most."

"That is an encouraging sign. Anyway, I'll have her come back in for a followup in a couple weeks. If everything's sufficiently healed, she can go through the final healing with Rambaldi. Any other questions?"

No one has anything else to say.

"Alright. I'll be back in a while." The doctor smiles as he leaves the room.

As the doctor leaves, Mary turns to Irina with a look of trepidation. "I think we should have that talk."

Irina gives her a neutral look and nods. "Alright." Irina then looks back at Nadia and rubs her leg a bit. "I'll be right back."

Nadia, knowing what's coming, says "If it's any consolation...you both were a big help today."

Mary gives Nadia a funny look. It was her distrust of Irina that forced her to give Irina blanks in her gun. Given that Irina took Nadia's side in the end, it was a plan that nearly blew up in her face. She expected Nadia to make an enemy of her.

Nadia, with a sincere look on her face, says "That includes you, Mary."

As Mary digests what Nadia's saying, Irina nudges her on her arm. "Come on. We'll talk outside the room."

Mary nods and follows Irina out of the room.

There's a lot that Tom wants to ask about what happened, but he knows he can't do it around Maria and Emilio. "Hey Dad."

Thomas's eyes perk up. It still surprises him a little when he hears Tom, a man who hated the ground he walked on for all his life, call him "Dad" without anger in his voice. "What?"

"Why don't you take the kids down to the cafeteria and see if they want some ice cream or something."

Maria observantly points out "But Mommy has always said it's too early for ice cream!"

Tom looks at Nadia with a smirk. "Well, I think Mommy will let you slide today."

Nadia gives Tom a smirk in return and nods, then looks at Maria. "Just this once, munchkin. Go with your Grandpa."

Thomas walks around and extends his head. "Alright, hold my hand Emilio, and you hold Maria's hand."

Emilio obediently holds Maria's hand with his left and grabs Thomas's hand with his right hand. The three then venture out of the room, leaving just Tom and Nadia alone.

Tom asks Nadia "What happened with my mom and Irina?"

Nadia sighs and looks down. "The plan was to create a diversion. Elena hated Mom with a passion and Mom counted on keeping her attention while I jumped in. But I initiated everything today and Mom had to come bail me out. That includes going to Mary's for her gun."

"Right, and my mom gave her the gun! What's the problem?"

"The gun was filled with blanks."

Tom's face suddenly looks like he just swallowed a canary. "She did WHAT?"

Mary closes her eyes and hangs her head, hearing Tom get the news that she pulled a Judas on Irina. In her mind, Mary knows there's someone else that she has to explain herself to.

The two had just taken a seat outside of Nadia's hospital room. Irina's showing no signs of hostility or a grudge, but Mary's got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, knowing her plan was a near disaster.

Irina shifts her body to face Mary. "So why did you do it, Mary? Why did you switch out the ammo with blanks?"

Mary stares at the ground. "Because I wanted to give Nadia a chance if you betrayed her."

"I wasn't going to betray her, Mary. You know that..."

Mary flashes Irina a serious look on her face. "Did I? I know how you operate, Irina. I've studied you in action. You can be very convincing when you're trying to gain someone's trust. Look at what you did with Jack, a man who barely trusts his own shadow!"

"Jack was different. My feelings for him were legitimate, just like my feelings for Nadia and Sydney are legitimate."

Mary turns back away, not sure what to say now.

"Look at me, Mary, and tell me that the feelings you have for the ones you love aren't anything but genuine. Could you betray Tom? Eddie? Heck, even Karen?"

Mary shakes her head when Tom is mentioned. "Never. Not any of my kids, not even my husband."

"As I've said before, Mary, when you strip away our reputations and all the extras, and when you get right down to the basics...we're no different. I think that's why we got along so well all those years ago. And you know what?"

Mary gruffly says "What?"

"Look at me, Mary. I won't bite."

Mary looks up at Irina.

Irina smirks at Mary. "I'm not even upset with you."

"You should be."

"Mary, I can look beyond the cover of a book. For one, I know you view Nadia like a daughter, and you want to make sure she was protected. What you did actually made our mission a success! If it weren't for you giving me those blanks, I wouldn't have had a chance to knock Elena's loaded gun next to Nadia's head."

Mary raises her eyebrows a little. She hadn't thought of it like that. In fact, she didn't even realize Irina's the reason Nadia got the loaded gun in the first place.

"That's right. Elena shot at me, but just missed. When I smacked that gun out of her hand, I wanted it to land near Nadia. Honestly, I'm happy it turned out the way it did."

"You are?"

"Of course. I already had my retribution on Elena in Sovogda. But poor Nadia, I could have cheated her out of her chance to get retribution for what Elena has done to her. Now, even though we both are hurting in various degrees, Nadia has a clear conscience. And you did your job as much as I did mine. Thank you, Mary."

At this time, Irina extends her hand for a handshake. Mary studies it for a moment, then shakes it in return.

Irina smiles and says "Oh come on..." This is when Irina surprises Mary and gives her a hug. An aghast Mary doesn't return the hug at first, but then decides to when she realizes Irina is being sincere about her feelings of what happened.

Irina whispers into Mary's ear. "By the way, I wouldn't have given me the gun."

Mary laughs a little. "I wanted to believe you. But everything about that situation made perfect sense for you to screw us."

Irina chuckles. "I know where you're coming from. It all worked out in the end." Irina then lets go of the hug, and Mary does the same. "Listen, I want us to be friends. You've got a beautiful family here and I'd be honored if you could let me be a part of it. And not just for Nadia's sake, either. I want to be close with Maria."

Mary laughs again, this time a bit louder. "Oh, I think Maria would love having another 'Gramma' to spoil her."

Irina smiles. "It's not just that. You say that Maria looks a lot like Nadia did at her age, right?"

Mary nods. "Outside of the blue eyes and nose, she's a spitting image of her mother at that age."

"One of my biggest regrets was letting Nadia go and not watching her grow up. Maybe I can watch Maria grow up instead."

Mary gives Irina a smile and this time, she's the one that surprises the other with a hug. "Irina, after today, you're a part of this family. You've really redeemed yourself...as you said you would." Mary's honestly relieved Irina's not holding a grudge. After everything, she feels she can trust Irina.

Irina returns the hug and says "Thank you." But just then, she sees Jack Bristow running out of the elevator. The two lock eyes and Jack stops in his tracks when he spots Irina hugging Mary.

Jack asks "Is Nadia alright?"

Mary lets go of the hug and turns and spots Jack. Feeling a little out of place, she gets up and stammers "I...better go see...on the kids. I don't want Thomas giving them too much ice cream!" Mary then scurries off to the elevator.

Irina stands up and asks "How did you know I was..." Irina then stops and feels the back of her neck, where the tracking device is still implanted. "Oh, right."

Jack repeats in a more anxious tone "Is Nadia alright?"

Irina looks at the door in Nadia's room. "Elena dislocated her shoulder and gave her a concussion, but she'll be alright with some rest. The important thing is she is the one that killed Elena."

Jack exhales a deep breath, but still looks a little dissatisfied. "Good, I want to see her."

"As do we."

Jack looks behind him and sees Milo Rambaldi, Laurent L'Andre, and Alec Derevko have arrived.

Irina smiles. "Good, me and Nadia can fill everyone in at the same time."

Alec walks up to Irina. Everyone else watches to see what Alec is going to do, knowing their history.

Alec extends his hand for a handshake. "Irina, you did more than restore my honor today. You saved my life."

Irina cautiously returns the handshake. "I don't understand..."

Jack too seems mystified. "Me too."

Alec lets go of Irina's hand. His face looks humbled. "I was prepared to trade my life for Nadia's if it came to that."

A shocked Irina folds her arms. "What would make you do such a drastic thing?"

A few minutes later, Jack flings the door open to Nadia's room and startles Tom and Nadia in the process. Behind them, Irina, Rambaldi, Alec, and Laurent follow in.

Jack stares a dagger into Tom's eyes. "You were going to give yourself up to Mammon for Nadia's life?"

Nadia loudly gasps and looks over at Tom, who's hanging his head and trying to look invisible. Apparently he didn't fill in Nadia on that details. Nadia shouts "Tom!"

Tom slams his fist into the table next to him. "Dammit, I didn't want my kids growing up without their mother!"

Nadia shouts even louder "So you would have had them grow up without their father?"

Tom flashes Nadia a look. "When I grew up, I didn't have a mother and a mother was the thing I wanted most of all. Without you, I'd be a worthless wreck, just like my father was. I'd rather be burning in Hell and have my kids grow up with their mother than to have you burn in Hell and me left with a little girl who loves you more than anything asking me where Mommy went and why she was never coming back! Dammit, Maria's been through enough with all this bullshit that's gone on!"

Nadia closes her eyes and sinks into her pillow. "Tom, I wasn't going to die."

"Well, I didn't fully trust Irina and I sure didn't trust whatever it was my Mom had cooking. Look, when you died in Sloane's den, I would have given anything in the world to take your place, to have you and Maria live and me being rid from a world that no longer would have had a use for me. This time, I had a chance to make that choice. Well, that was until Alec showed up."

Nadia looks over at Alec. "You convinced him not to do it?"

Alec lets out a sigh. "I successfully convinced Mammon that I was the one to take instead."

Nadia buries her head in her right hand. "What the hell did I do to deserve this?"

"Be a good mother and a good wife."

Nadia slams her hand down. "Alec! I feel like I barely know you because you're always so...distant. And you were about to give up your life for me?"

Alec looks over at Tom and back at Nadia. "For one, because I serve you and the Falk family, and I will continue to serve. But there is much you don't know about me. Before I died, I committed one of the most selfish acts a man can do...I won't mention it here, but Irina can tell you sometime if it really gnaws at you. Because of that act, I don't have anyone to come home to. I have a son who hates me more than anything, and his mother also won't talk to me. And if I were to offer my life for yours, a family whose bonds are strong would remain intact. It's a trade I'd do in a heartbeat."

Nadia shakes her head remorsefully. "Now who feels selfish here..."

"Nadia, you did what you had to do, I did what I had to do, and Irina did what she had to do. And because we did those things, you have peace of mind from Elena and I..." Alec looks over at Irina, who has gone next to Nadia's side. "...I now trust Irina Derevko with my life."

Tom stands up. "After Nadia filled me in on what happened, I also trust Irina. I think she's the real deal."

Irina smiles at both Tom and Alec. "Thank you."

Jack remains somewhat in disbelief. "I need to know what happened."

At this point, Irina and Nadia give Jack the play-by-play on what happened. Jack stands at the end of Nadia's bed, absorbing everything.

Finally, they finish. Jack leans on Nadia's bed, digesting everything. "For almost two decades, the CIA lost track of Elena Derevko. She had completely gone off the grid and no one had even seen her in that time period. As it turns out, she had transformed herself into Nadia's orphan mother. Even after she revealed herself, she was very elusive until we caught up with her in Sovogda." Jack looks over at Nadia. "Even though you were too hasty in pursuing her..."

Nadia cuts him off. "Jack, it's hard for me to be rational when it comes to Elena. What she tried to do to me last night set me over the edge. I'm sorry..."

"No matter. She had to be stopped quickly. It sounds like you two had a good plan, and even with Nadia being too anxious, it was still executed well, save for Nadia's injuries."

Irina smirks and sarcastically says "Wow, a compliment from Jack."

Jack goes to say something smart in return, but pauses, remembering something from Nadia's story. "Are you alright, Irina?"

Irina dismissively shrugs. "I'm a little sore, but I'll live. I could never beat Elena in a one on one fight...guess I still can't."

Jack pauses for a moment, then stands up straight and says "Thank you, Irina. You were the difference in Nadia...and for that matter Alec's safety."

Irina smiles a sincere smile. "You're welcome."

Nadia then asks Jack "She saved my life, Dad. I know the history you two have, but when Mom says that she wants to be there for me and be the woman she always wanted to be...Dad, I believe her."

Jack studies Nadia's face for a moment, then studies Irina, who's got a different aura about her now. With Irina, you always had to wonder what was behind her cool and calm mask that she'd always wear. But now, Irina's actions, along with the touched look on her face from what Nadia just said to her, tells Jack that Irina has changed. It's as if Irina can be herself again. It's a sensation that Jack felt at times when they were married. She felt that Laura Bristow was a genuine and loving soul, and that Irina Derevko was some demon that possessed Laura's body and turned her into a devious and cunning adversary.

But as Jack reflects on Irina, he couldn't help but see the cracks in the post-Laura armor that Irina showed, namely when it came to Sydney, but also when she was around Jack. Jack could never see it because of the cloud of anger and distrust he had for her.

Now, the woman that he distrusted the most has been 100% honest since revealing herself to be turning on The Nine in an attempt to redeem herself.

Even Jack, a man whose cold chill rivals that of Laurent and Alec's at times, is starting to warm up to Irina again. With all but Arvin Sloane left, a man that Irina probably hates almost as much as she did Elena, Jack realizes that there's no hidden partnership anymore.

Irina is for real.

By now, Irina is starting to feel a little uncomfortable with all the staring. "Jack?"

Jack snaps out of it and says "Irina..."

He's cut off when Thomas, Mary, Maria, and Emilio walk back in the room. Maria runs over to Nadia's right and starts to climb the bed.

Nadia laughs and asks "Maria, what are you doing?"

"I want to make your shoulder all better!"

Meanwhile, Emilio starts playing with Nadia's bed controls. Tom gets up and quickly takes the remote from Emilio, which causes him to groan a bit.

Nadia looks back at Thomas, concerned at the kids sudden burst of energy. "How much ice cream did they eat?"

Thomas defensively says "I...may have let them have an extra scoop."

Nadia sighs and looks up at the ceiling. "It's a good thing our kids have their grandparents to keep them disciplined."

Mary laughs. "That's what we're here for!"

As Maria finally finishes her ascent on Mt. Nadia, Nadia herself looks over at Irina, then back at Maria. It's time Maria knew something about Irina.

But before she can say anything, Maria climbs on Nadia's lap and says "If I kiss your shoulder, will I make it all better?"

Nadia smiles and strokes some of Maria's hair back. "No, but I bet you can make the pain go away!" What Maria doesn't know is that Nadia's on painkillers already that make her shoulder pain virtually non-existent. In fact, those very painkillers are what's making her a little loopy and gregarious right now. But Maria's so sweet, she decides to let Maria indulge a little.

Maria stretches up and gives Nadia's shoulder a big smooch. She then innocently asks "Is the pain gone, Mommy?"

Nadia breathes in a deep, excited breath and exclaims "Yes! My shoulder feels so much better now, thank you!" She then hugs Maria with her good arm and gives her a big smooch on the cheek. Maria giggles, enjoying the affection she's getting from her mother, who's still around to give such affection.

Meanwhile, the person in the room who's most enjoying the interaction between mother and daughter is Irina. Not only is she enjoying Nadia in the act of being a warm and loving mother, she's going deeper than that.

She's imagining herself hugging and kissing a 5 year old Nadia in the same situation. It's a thought that makes her feel good inside...and makes her miss not being there for Nadia even more.

But now it's time to get serious. Nadia lets go of the one-armed hug and says "Maria, look at me."

Maria pops up and asks "What is it, Mommy?"

Nadia strokes some of Maria's hair back. "I was going to tell you something before we left the house about Irina. It's time you know the truth about her."

Maria looks up at Irina and tries to figure out what Nadia could be talking about.

Nadia continues. "She's more than a good friend to me, Maria. She's my mother."

Maria snaps back to Nadia. She excitedly says "Really? She's your Mommy?"

Nadia smiles back. "Yes she is. And you know what else that makes her, right?"

Before Maria can answer, Emilio starts running around the bed towards Irina. "We have another Gramma!"

Maria happily gasps and stands up on Nadia's lap, forgetting that she could be hurting her mother by doing this. She hops over Nadia's leg and, before Nadia can stop her, leaps off the bed into Irina's arms, shouting "WHEEE!" the whole way. Irina laughs when she catches Maria, then has to keep her balance when Emilio comes crashing into her leg with a hug.

With a laugh, Irina says "I don't think anyone has been this happy to see me in decades!"

Tom, who no longer feels leery about Irina interacting with his kids, asks Irina "You do know why you're getting mobbed with hugs right now, right?"

"Because they love their Grandma, of course!"

"No, because now they have another Grandma that will spoil them with ice cream!"

Mary laughs out loud and says "Yes! Thank you for taking some of the burden off of me, Irina!"

Irina, still clutching a hugging Maria, laughs and tells Maria "Hey, I bet you've never had homemade ice cream before!"

Emilio lets go of Irina's leg and asks "You mean, you can make ice cream all by yourself?"

"Yes! I'd love to show you two sometime!"

Tom chuckles. "Congrats. Those two won't leave you alone now."

Irina smiles at Tom. "I'm looking forward to it." Irina then looks back at Maria, who's just grinning with delight at Irina. "Look how pretty you are! You know, I heard a rumor about your Mommy from your Grandma Mary."

Maria looks back at Mary suspiciously, then back at Irina. "What did she say about Mommy?"

"She said that you look just like your Mommy did when she was your age." Irina then looks over at Mary. "And what else did you say about Nadia?"

Mary, with a smile, tells Maria "I thought your Mommy was the most beautiful and adorable little girl when she was your age."

Maria looks back over at Nadia and grins. After all, Maria wants to be like Nadia in every way imaginable.

Nadia smiles back at Maria. "But I was nowhere near as happy as you were. Maybe it was because I didn't have you in my life."

Maria starts to push away from Irina. Irina gets the hint and sets Maria back on the bed. Maria climbs back onto Nadia's lap and hugs her tightly. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Everyone in this room loves you."

Maria takes a look around. Tom loves her, there's no doubt there. Then there's Uncle Laurent, Milo Rambaldi, and Alec Derevko, who always have shown varying degrees of kindness to her. She doesn't know that it was Laurent that found her as a fetus and allowed Rambaldi to progress her age to a newborn age. Then there's her Grampa Thomas and Gramma Mary, and they love her to death. She then looks over at Emilio, who is the perfect big brother to her.

And then there's Irina. To Maria, Irina looks so much like Nadia, it's almost uncanny. But Irina also helped save Nadia's life and has been nothing but warm and kind to her. So Maria decides to reward her for all that. "I love you too, Gramma Irina!"

It's enough to almost make Irina choked up. "Such a sweet girl. I love you, too! And I look forward to getting to know you more!"

Right after she says that, Tom's brother Eddie Falk and Nadia's childhood friend Julieta Romero come into the hospital room. Nadia's face brightens up seeing them both. "Hey! Who told you I was here?"

Eddie points at Mary. "Mom, of course! You really think she'd keep something like this quiet from us?"

Julieta walks over to Nadia's right and gives Nadia a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!" She then whispers "Did you kill Elena?"

Nadia whispers back "Yes. It's done."

Julieta lets go of the hug and smiles at Nadia, as if to say she's happy she's gone, too. Elena never did her any wrong personally, but she did so much wrong to Nadia, she might as well had done it to herself.

Tom asks Eddie "You two came in together. What's up with that?"

Eddie nonchalantly says "Oh, I stayed at the orphanage last night. That place is becoming lonelier with all the kids that are being adopted."

Nadia raises her eyebrows as she looks at Julieta. "Really?"

Julieta giggles. "We had FIVE go home yesterday, Nadia! And it looks like 3 more will go home today. Your program is working!"

Nadia looks back at Rambaldi. "Well, it wasn't exactly my idea."

Rambaldi nods, acknowledging it was actually Paris of Troy that got the ball rolling on it right before sending Helen to summon The Nine and the cartel army in his attempt at a coup. That issue hasn't resolved itself yet.

But Rambaldi would rather address something else right now. He turns to Irina. "Miss Derevko, are you injured?"

Irina shakes her head. "A few bumps, but nothing major."

Rambaldi smiles. "Good. Come with me, I feel you have earned the right to have those scars removed from your face."

"But what about Sloane?"

"We know where he is and there is no longer any pretense about you and him having an alliance. Plus, I just spoke with Mammon. It seems you've been granted permanent entry in Elysium. I feel it's time you start looking like the rest of us."

Irina lets out a relieved breath. Nadia grabs Irina's arm and says "Good for you, Mom!" Irina looks back down at Nadia and gives her a hug. Then, she leaves the room with Rambaldi.

Almost right on cue, Owen Schroeder comes walking into the room. "Sorry I'm late, I haven't been here before and got myself lost, I'm afraid."

Julieta blushes and turns to Nadia. She loudly whispers "Oh my God, he's so cute!"

Eddie lets out an offended "Hey!"

Julieta quickly composes herself. "Oh, but not as cute as you, of course!"

Eddie gives Julieta a disconcerted look and rolls his eyes.

Owen smirks. "You have nothing to worry about with me, Eddie. I've got my eyes set on someone else."

Tom mouths "Jacqueline?" to Owen, who responds with a nod. Tom then mouths "wow" to no one in particular. What's going on there? Jacqueline Sloane isn't exactly a woman who's in the market right now, given her state of affairs. Tom then asks Owen "How did you know to come here?"

Owen replies "Jack gave me the heads-up. I wanted to come here and see how your darling is doing."

Nadia, who finds Owen's Irish accent and mannerisms amusing, smiles and says "I'll be alright."

"Hey, I heard someone's on the mend in here!"

That would be Chris Cooper, who comes bounding into the room with the rest of the Elysium Chapter of Storm Crew: Charlie O'Doyle, Luke Winter, Jacob Jackson, Eddie Alvarez, Jerome Thompson, and Matt Aguero.

Nadia laughs out loud. "Chris, I'll be fine!"

Chris laughs out loud as he looks at Tom. "Damn, that girl of yours is made of Teflon!"

At this point, Nadia starts looking around the room. If you add Rambaldi and Irina, there are 18 people that have been in this room that care about Nadia's wellbeing. When Nadia was viciously beaten by an Argentine officer before being sent to prison, only two people saw her in prison, and she killed them both later on (Elena and Roberto Fox). When Nadia was shot by Anna Espinosa, there were four that saw her and one of them lied about being her father. When Nadia was in a coma, the same four saw her plus Irina one time and Tom's friends Mike Walcott and David Marston a couple times.

But now, if Rambaldi and Irina were still here, she'd have 18 people in the room that care whether she lives or dies. This causes her to get a little emotional.

She lets out a sniffle, which causes Tom to lean over and asks "Hey, what's wrong?"

Nadia looks at Tom, and then at the rest in the room and says "I can't believe I have so many people here who care about me! This is just so...overwhelming!" Nadia then takes the time to wipe some tears that have fallen down her face.

"You're as much a part of this family as I am, Nadia. This is what family does for one another."

Everyone's attention turns to Edward Landry, Mary's father and Tom's grandfather, who came in with Violet Landry quietly after Storm Crew came in. The kind old man (as he's chosen to stay as) always tells it like it is.

Nadia happily laughs as she realizes there's now 20 people in this hospital who care about her. "Thank you! Thank you everyone!"

For the next few minutes, everyone has an upbeat and lively talk like nothing ever happened to Nadia. For the first time since The Nine crossed the portal, everyone can smile and take a load off. The conversation topics range from what's on television to old family stories.

But all of that would come to a screeching halt when Irina Derevko would re-enter the room.

It wasn't the Irina Derevko that everyone knew. In fact, you could argue that this wasn't Irina Derevko at all, but rather Laura Bristow.

Rambaldi walks in behind her. "Everyone, I'd like to re-introduce everyone to Irina Derevko, as she was in 1979."

Her long brown hair appears more vibrant and shiny as it falls down her left shoulder. Her frostbite scars are a distant memory as the young, vibrant, late 20s face of Irina shines through in radiance. Her clothes appear to be a little baggy, as it appears that she's acquired some more tone and shape to her body with the change. It's not that she was out of shape, but before she faked her death, she was in the best shape of her life.

Everyone in the room is absolutely stunned at what they're seeing. Irina looks absolutely gorgeous right now, even in her shoddy clothing.

Nadia's the first to say something. "Mom...you look great!"

Irina smiles, which makes her even more radiant. Her voice, which was always buttery smooth, sounds even more smooth and lively now. "Thank you, Nadia. I'm just trying to keep pace with you." Irina then winks at Nadia, who winks in return.

Mary, meanwhile, lets out a couple chuckles. "The last time I saw that face, I was running you down in the Russian woods. Remember?"

Irina clutches her shoulder, which Mary shot before she got away that fateful day. With a laugh, she says "How could I forget?"

The person that feels the most moved by Irina's new and improved look is Jack, who literally feels like he's been transported back in time. The last time he saw Irina like this, he still loved her, even though they were going through a rough patch that Irina induced to help make her KGB-forced separation from him easier to swallow. The internal emotions that Jack is feeling right now are so overwhelming, he has to turn his face away so everyone in the room can't see his tears.

The woman he loved has returned.

Irina looks over at Alec. "I saw that doctor outside and he had an impatient look on his face. I think it's time we head out of here."

Nadia sits up. "Mom, thank you for everything. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much."

Before Irina can respond, suddenly the entire room, save for an emotionally tangled Jack, chimes in with their own "thank yous".

Irina has won the faith of the entire room, although Jack remains a mystery. It's enough to make her feel very touched. "No. Thank you all for trusting me again. Take care, everyone." Irina gives Jack one last glance and sees he's still trying to hide. Irina lowers her head, and then walks out of the room with Alec.

Suddenly, Jack look up at Rambaldi and walks over to him.

Rambaldi calmly says "I was pleasantly surprised with how she turned out too..."

Jack insistently asks "Can I speak to you in private, please?"

Rambaldi smiles. "I believe I know where this is going." This time, Rambaldi grabs Jack's arm and teleports away with him.

Alec closes the door behind him and says "Irina, wait."

Irina stops and turns back to Alec. "What is it?"

Alec looks at the ground, then back up at Irina. "I wanted to thank you personally for all that you have done."

Irina puts a hand on Alec's shoulder. "Alec, I've never felt so rewarded for a deed I did than I do now. And it's not just because I helped Nadia get redemption on Elena, it's not because I brought Maria's Mommy back to her, and it's not because of how...unbelievable I feel now that I'm back to where I was so long ago." Irina pauses, then says "It's because I helped restore a good man's honor."

Alec shakes his head. "I'm not a good man."

"If you weren't a good man, I doubt that Rambaldi and Laurent would let you hang around with them anymore."

Alec sighs. "Loyalty can cure any indiscretion it would seem."

"Most bad men that I knew were loyal only to themselves. I know what you did to Alisa wasn't something you wanted to do. Desperation can make people do things that are beyond fathomable if things are normal. Take me, for instance. I could have killed Sydney. And I spent every day in Hell feeling regret for that, and I've held the regret for abandoning Sydney and Nadia for much longer than that. You did what you did because you thought I could be something, and I've worked to be the woman that I always should have been. I'm glad everyone else in there sees it, but I'm glad most of all that you can see it. I know you held a hate in your heart for me a long time, and that compounded the grief you felt over Alisa. But there is not one person in that room that thinks you're despicable. In fact, I know that Nadia owes you her life not just for what you did with Mammon, but for what you did last night. It's our actions that prove ourselves to people. But I just had to prove myself. You, you proved your worth long ago with your loyalty."

Alec digests that for a moment, and then nods agreeably. "I see what you're saying. I thank you anyway for what you've done."

Irina gives Alec a big smile. "And thank you for being loyal, especially to Nadia."

Alec bows his head. "I live to serve. Suppress Oppression and Promote Progress. I have lived by those words for centuries, and I intend on living by those words for centuries to come."

"I hope you live by those words with a smile on your face every now and then."

Alec chuckles, cracking a smile in the process. "I shall work on that."

Irina then looks over at the elevator. "You know, those kids sure seemed to like that ice cream in the cafeteria. Do you want to go grab a bite to eat? I just realized I haven't had breakfast yet."

Alec nods his head. "I could eat."

Alec and Irina head to the elevator. Alec presses the down button and the two patiently wait for the elevator.

"Irina."

Alec and Irina turn behind them and see Jack Bristow standing behind them. Only, like Irina just moments ago, it's not exactly Jack Bristow.

Jack's hair is jet black, his face looks younger and more vibrant, and he physically looks a little more muscular and lean.

Jack too has gone back to how he looked in 1979.

Irina puts her hand on her heart, which has gone aflutter. "Jack..." She can't find the rest of the words. She's completely smitten with him, like she was all those years ago.

Jack takes a deep breath. "I too felt like revisiting the past."

"You look so handsome..."

"And you look absolutely beautiful."

Irina lets out a sudden, flattered breath. Did Jack Bristow, of all people, just call her beautiful? When was the last time she heard THAT from him?

Jack turns to Alec. "Could you excuse us, please?"

Alec looks at Jack, then back at Irina, then back at Jack. He's not really sure what to say now except "Uh, sure." Alec then walks away towards Nadia's hospital room, knowing full well what's taking place.

The elevator door opens behind them. Irina hears it ding and, still entranced with Jack, tells him in an almost monotone voice "That's my elevator."

Jack, staring deeply into Irina's brown eyes, replies "Mine too."

And this is the moment when Jack lunges over and kisses Irina. He wraps his arms around her and starts kissing her passionately, like they were still in love. Irina does the exact same in return. The two stagger into the elevator, hugging, caressing, and making out all the way.

For Irina, she's got the love of her life back. She knew it was the longest of long shots that she could make him love her again, but she knew that the combination of saving Nadia along with her transforming back to the woman she was in 1979 would jar something loose in Jack that he may be clutching to. She had sensed Jack starting to warm up to her a lot more of late. Now, he's downright hot for her.

For Jack, he's got the woman he once loved back again in his arms. And it's literally the same woman that left him in 1979. Jack was always a little conflicted about Irina, and thought he had wrote her off completely with her antics Brussels, when she had Sydney dead to rights. But Jack saw that Irina was making a concerted effort to be this woman she always thought she should have been. And Irina was right: seeing her in her 1979 glory did shake something loose inside Jack. That's why he asked Rambaldi to take him back to 1979.

The elevator door closes behind them. The start to go down...until Jack hits the emergency stop with his foot. Irina doesn't even notice they've stopped...she's too busy making surrendering to the emotions she's feeling over being in love with Jack again.

The elevator would not move for some time. Finally, a security officer buzzed in through the speaker system and asked what was going on.

Jack and Irina didn't answer. Instead, in mid lip-lock, they returned to Jack's house to finish what they started.

It felt just like old times for them both.

END OF CHAPTER

Author note: The next chapter will be the last in this series.