I've been rewatching Mission: Impossible films recently due to Dead Reckoning in the theaters and am considering some Alias fics and this came to mind, since Alias is one of the best spy thriller series, even though there were some issues here and there.

Takes place in Season 5 and after Ghost Protocol and I think it'd make sense if Ethan and Sydney ever interacted before, if not for Sydney/Vaughn, which was the central love story of the show, I think Ethan and Sydney had a shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias or Mission: Impossible.

Jack Bristow, director of the APO (Authorized Personnel Only) division of CIA was in the briefing with the key members of the division.

"Moments ago, we received a field communication from Sydney." Jack said. "From the little we were able to decipher, it appears she's still being held in custody of Prophet Five, however, before we were able to resolve the entire transmission, someone deleted it. Someone at Langley."

Everyone looked uncomfortable, since the fact that Prophet Five had an inside man this high up the chain of command in CIA meant there was no telling who could they trust.

"Based on our current intelligence, we already have reason to believe that Prophet Five's network has infiltrated intelligence agencies of several foreign governments, it now appears they may have infiltrated our own. Someone within the CIA didn't want us to receive that message. It's standard protocol for all incoming signals Priority 3 and above to be automatically backed up on Echelon's comm archive. Unfortunately, the only way to gain access to this archive is within the premises itself. Not an easy task, given the security measures." Jack explained.

"Wait." Tom interrupted, realizing what was Jack up to. "Are you suggesting that we break into CIA headquarters?"

"Yes." Jack said bluntly.

"Wouldn't it be prudent to consider other possibilities? Maybe the message was purged accidentally." Dixon suggested.

"We could ask Langley for a copy of the archives." Sloane offered. "I could—"

"I appreciate your concerns, but at this point, we have no way of knowing how deep this conspiracy reaches, we can't risk tipping them off of our agenda. Effective of at this moment, all information relating to this task force and its activities is to be strictly compartmentalized even from the CIA itself." Jack said as everyone looked nervous, realizing that what they were about to do would may very well be treason, but they had to do something to save Sydney. "I understand what I'm asking all of you. An action of this kind could be considered treason. Given that, if anyone feels that they need to take a leave of absence, you're free to do so. No questions asked. But now is the time to speak up."

Rachel raised her hand.

"Rachel, I know you're new to this division and I understand if you don't want—"

"No, I actually have a proposition." Rachel said, interrupting Jack. "Back when I was in The Shed, I heard a rumor that one spy once managed to break into Langley to steal a NOC list."

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Do you realize what you're suggesting, Rachel?" Dixon demanded.

"I think that might actually be a good idea." Sloane said.

"That guy's a legend. If anyone can pull it off, it's him." Marshall said.

"It's your call, sir." Tom said as everyone turned to Jack, who considered for a moment before pulling out his phone.

Ethan Hunt was entering his apartment, when he saw a DVD player on his desk and he frowned. He didn't buy it. Which meant only one thing.

Ethan sat down and opened the player and pressed 'PLAY' as some laser shone on his face and on screen appeared 'IDENTITY CONFIRMED'

"Good evening, Mr. Hunt. IMF has received information that an agent of CIA's APO division, Sydney Bristow, has been abducted by a covert organization called Prophet Five, which has ties with several international intelligence agencies, such as MI6, SVR, CDC and apparently even Langley itself. She attempted to reach out for help to CIA, but her message was erased by someone within Langley. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to infiltrate Langley again and access the archives of Echelon, where the backup of Ms. Bristow's message is stored. You may select three members of your team with the cooperation of APO. As always, should you or any member of your team be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your action.

This message will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Mr. Hunt."

Ethan took a few moments before the player sparked and it began smoking as he processed the information. Sydney was in trouble. He had not seen her in years. One of his good friends and one of the best CIA agents. Last he had heard about her, she had gotten married and was currently expecting her first child. And a pregnant woman kidnapped, well, no way Sydney could escape alone. Ethan knew that he had to help her. But breaking into Langley? He pulled it off before, he could do it again.

Marshall and Dixon were in disguises, blending in with the tourists who were taking the tour with the guide.

"I'd like to welcome everyone into the CIA's new headquarters building here in Langley, Virginia, comprising of 1.1 million square feet of space and resting on 258 acres, this building was an expansion of the original structure completed in 1991. Asides from the obvious human presence, there are over 5,000 surveillance cameras that watch over every inch of the complex and chemical and biological weapons detection sensors that monitor the air quality as well as various other state-of-the-art technology that, well, if we told you, we'd have to kill you." The guide joked as everyone chuckled in amusement, though Marshall laughed out a bit too loudly.

Elsewhere, Ethan and Rachel were passing through the security checkpoint, with Ethan and Rachel posing as potential employees interviewing for new job.

"Hi. We have an appointment with the HR. William Cage. Senior Chief of Operations, I'm accompanying our applicant." Ethan said, lying.

"Emily Higgins. I'm here for the interview." Rachel said.

"Sure, I just need an ID." The guard said.

"Yeah, sure." Rachel said, playing her part of a nervous would-be employee as she scrambled through her purse. "Job interview, I'm a little nervous."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." The guard assured as she handed him her fake ID.

"Just take a deep breath." Ethan said.

"Please place your purse on the table." The guard said as Rachel complied and he began checking through its contents before pulling out her phone. "I'm sorry, ma'am. No camera phones allowed on the premises. You can pick it up on your way back down here."

He handed her the pass card.

"Right. Thanks." Rachel said as she smiled and she and Ethan walked off.

"Package is in position." Ethan said over his comms.

"Copy." Luther said from inside the van as he typed away. "Logging into the server now."

The phone emitted a barely visible red laser as the guard put it into the storage and walked out, not noticing the red light behind him.

"Tell me you've got access." Ethan said.

"You're clear to the server room, call us when you get there." Luther said as Ethan and Rachel approached the door with a security keypad and a card reader in place.

Rachel swiped in her pass card and the door did a 'click.' Knowing they were in, Rachel and Ethan opened the door and entered. But as they made their way around the corner, Rachel motioned for Ethan to stop as they pinned themselves to the wall.

"We're in the server room, guards are in position." Rachel said.

"Time for a distraction." Ethan whispered.

Marshall began his usual antics as he stammered something about figuring out the codes, while Dixon pulled out a sprayer and spread the liquid on the nearby detectors.

In the security room, on the monitors blared biohazard alert with 'ANTHRAX' in capital red letters and the guards triggered the alarm.

"Anthrax alert! All report to deck!"

Ethan and Rachel backed away deeper down the corridor as the guards ran past them.

"You ready?" Ethan asked, turning to Rachel, who nodded.

They made their way into the corridor and entered the server room.

"We're in." Rachel said as she tapped into her comms. "We need the server number for Syd's transmission."

"8-5-7-7." Jack said.

"Copy that." Ethan said as he and Rachel began checking the servers.

"I found it." Rachel said as she pulled out the laptop from the slot of the nearby server. "Pulling the archive now."

"Sydney's transmission is timestamped 9:55 A.M." Jack said.

"We don't see it here." Ethan said as he and Rachel went through the log. "There's no message in the server. How's that possible?"

"Someone must've purged the archive." Rachel realized.

"I might be able to recover the data from the hard drive." Benji suggested.

"OK. Hold on a second." Rachel said, shoving the laptop back into the server before pulling out the hard drive, only to realize it's attached to the server.

"Shit." Ethan swore.

"What?" Benji asked.

"The hard drive's patched into the security grid." Rachel sad.

"The moment we pull out the hard drive, we trip the alarm in Langley." Ethan said.

"Can we get past the lockdown?" Rachel asked.

"There's only one way to find out." Ethan said.

Rachel took several deep breaths in and out as she heard her heart beating faster and faster, slamming against her chest. This was exactly why she hated going out in the field, anything could go wrong, whereas behind computer she felt in control and while she was trained to work under extreme pressure, considering the stakes right now, she was having hard time to focus.

"Pull the hard drive, now!" Jack ordered.

"Rachel."

Rachel winced as she felt Ethan's hand on her shoulder as he looked at her with an assuring look.

"Look at me, Rachel. Don't worry. It's going to be OK. Just stay with me and I'll get us out of here. But I need you to keep it together. Can you do that? Take a deep breath." Ethan said, knowing she couldn't freak out right now.

Rachel sighed heavily, getting her breathing under control and feeling her heartbeat getting steady. She knew that panicking was not going to help. With a regained focus, she took a deep breath and looked at Ethan with a determined look and he smiled and nodded before she ripped off the cord from the hard drive and immediately, the alarm blared in the whole Langley.

"Ready?" Ethan asked and she nodded. "Come on." He ordered as she followed him down the maze of servers to the door before he gestured for Rachel to back away as they hid behind a server as a group of guards ran past them.

"Any ideas?" Rachel asked.

"Working on it. Luther, we need a way out." Ethan called over the comms.

"Stop. Turn around the corner and don't move." Luther instructed, seeing the guards on the security cameras trying to orient themselves in the maze of servers. "On my signal, run as quickly as possible to the doors at the far end. Do not stop. I'll get the door open right away."

"You heard that?" Ethan asked as he turned to Rachel, who nodded, even though she was still rattled, she managed to get ahold of herself. "Good."

"Now!" Luther ordered.

"Go!" Ethan yelled as he and Rachel ran quickly down the corridor and turned around the corner with the guards right behind them.

Rachel turned her shoulder and rammed into the door as it burst open and she and Ethan went out and Ethan kicked the door, shutting it behind them.

"Are you alright?" Ethan asked.

Rachel still breathed heavily, but she seemed to relax and calm down, being less panicking by the moment. "I'm fine. It's just… I'm the new girl in the division and I've been out in the field before, but…"

"First time under extreme pressure?" Ethan asked.

"Not really." Rachel said. "Though when I was beginning in the field, on one mission things were going well, right until my best friend almost botched it and tried to kill me, all because I realized that I'd been on the wrong side this whole time. She said it right to my face she would've felt bad about killing me before I defended myself and after that she said she'd enjoy it. I was lucky to make it out alive and accomplish the mission. And my first time in the field, things were going well, until they caught me and set off a bomb. All of my friends who worked with me in the department died in the explosion."

Ethan nodded, realizing that while Rachel was still a rookie and already trained for work under extreme situations and extreme pressure, she hadn't had enough experience yet to properly process them, not to mention her survivor's guilt as he held her by her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly. "It's never easy to lose friends. But remember that you're not alone, Rachel."

Rachel nodded appreciatively.

They returned to the van as Rachel briefed the group in. "They wiped the backups."

"Oh, that's no problem, I can recover the data." Benji assured.

"It won't be easy, if they went through all the trouble to delete the message, I don't think they will leave any traces behind." Rachel said.

"We have an inside man, he'll wipe out the surveillance footage, no one will know we were there." Dixon said.

After Benji went through the hard drive, he began to brief them in.

"I managed to get out the hard copies from the server. Authorization tag." Benji said, showing them the papers.

"A.B. prefix." Marshall read. "Whoever deleted Sydney's message…"

"…had Alpha Black clearance." Dixon said as everyone, save for Ethan and Rachel, who was still the newest member of the division, looked grim.

"What's Alpha Black clearance?" Rachel asked, her and Ethan looking confused.

"The highest level within CIA." Jack explained. "If Prophet 5 has ties to CIA's upper echelons, that would give them unlimited access to all classified operations, undercover agent rosters, our entire infrastructure."

"The good news is that whoever deleted Sydney's message had Alpha Black clearance." Marshall said.

"And I assume not everyone within CIA has it, which narrows down our list of suspects." Ethan realized and Jack, Marshall, Dixon and Sloane nodded.

"Just seven people in the entire agency." Marshall nodded. "All of them division directors."

"Me included." Jack said. "I have an idea how to identify our man and find my daughter."

After ordering a special meeting and identifying the traitor and interrogating him with some beating and bullets, they got the location of where Sydney was being held, they found out that Sydney was being kept on a cargo ship 'The Athena' in North Atlantic.

Ethan, Dixon and other members of Special Ops of CIA were in a chopper and found 'The Athena' as they began searching the ship for Sydney. Though soon enough, they found out that it had been abandoned before they saw what was an operation room, bloodied gauzes scattered on the table, with Sydney's pregnant stomach heaving up and down.

"Sydney." Ethan said as he neared her and shook her. "Syd."

"Ethan…" Sydney whispered with a smile.

"Been a long time. How are you doing?" Ethan asked.

"I… can't move." Sydney whispered weakly as Ethan reached for his comms.

"Dixon, I found her. Prepare a medevac." Ethan said before he held Sydney's hand. "You and the baby are now OK, Syd."

Sydney smiled weakly, appreciating his help.

After being hospitalized, Ethan visited Sydney as he left a bouquet of flowers at the desk.

"I talked to the doctor. Your baby will be fine." Ethan said.

"I knew that already." Sydney smiled.

"I heard about Vaughn." Ethan said as he looked at her in sympathy and she looked away. She had faked her husband's death to protect her family and she hated lying to everyone close to her. "But I know from experience not to believe the first thing I hear."

Sydney looked up at him in surprise.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Ethan said. "But, Sydney, Prophet 5 seems like a powerful organization."

"Ethan, I appreciate the offer but this is my fight. They went after my family and tried to kill the father of my child." Sydney said with a firm look. Ethan knew she was a tough woman, but considering her current pregnancy, he had to wonder how many threats she could handle alone.

"All I'm saying is that you don't have to do this alone. And if you need anything…"

Sydney nodded, not needing for Ethan to finish as she kissed him on his cheek appreciatively as they smiled at each other.

"Uncle Ethan better makes sure he doesn't give my baby any ideas." Sydney joked and Ethan raised his hands in surrender.

Been years since I watched Alias and I'm considering rewatching the show as I have some plot bunnies going on but I thought it'd be fun for Ethan to break into Langley again, LOL. Rachel wasn't really freaking out in the show, even though her experience in the field was very limited, but I thought it'd be fun for Ethan to have a bit supportive role here.

So, what do you guys think?

Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.

With regards

Bl4ckHunter