Author: Agent Flamingo (www.fanfiction.net)
Date first published: 13/04/04
Ships: S/V, J/I
Rating: PG- 13 to be safe
Disclaimer: I do not own Alias or any characters in it. JJ Abrams, Bad Robot,ABC and affilaites do. I own the characters here mentioned you dont recognise from the show. Please dont steal them.

Thinking is in Italics, Flashbacks in bold.



Chapter 1- Supermarket

Crash! Sydney Bristow turned around quickly to see what had happened, a large smile creeping onto her face when she surveyed the supermarket scene around her.

A small girl, with brown hair in bunches had slammed into a pile of tins, which had been precariously balanced a few moments before by one of the store assistants. She looked down at her 5-year-old daughter, waiting for her to tell her what had happened in the cute way she always did when she created trouble.

"I didn’t mean to mommy, Josh was chasing me and I accidentally ran into them." Syd raised her eyebrows and sighed, it wasn’t the first time that excuse had been made.

"Josh, will you please stop chasing your sister, you’re old enough to know better"

"But she provoked me Mom, she said that I'd been too bad and that Grandma Irina wouldn’t give me a Christmas present" the tall dark-haired boy complained

Syd glanced down at her 8-year-old son and said "You should know better Josh, stop letting her wind you up, Georgia, come over here and help me shop. We've got a lot to do and I don’t want to be thrown out of the store ok?"

" Ok!" She replied, "Who's coming to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's again, I forgot their names” she said sheepishly at the mock exasperated look her mother gave her

Sydney managed to finish the rest of the shopping trip within an hour, fielding as many random questions as she could about her family from her two youngest. She couldn’t tell them as much about their father's family, who would also be attending their mammoth Christmas dinner the next day at her parents, but she did her best.

"Well Grandma Irina's two sisters Katya and Yelena are coming with their families. Katya is coming with her husband Russell and her son, Julian. He is bringing his wife Mariana and their two kids, James and Christina."

"Mommy! Mommy! Will they play with me?" Georgia asked. Syd laughed

"I don’t know sweetheart, I've never met Julian's family, but from what I've heard from Katya they are pretty nice."

I hope they are, considering Sark is their father, I still cant get over the fact he has a family now... ugh, its enough to make me shudder... its just so weird.... I've never seen him act with love towards anyone...Well maybe towards his mother in the last few years, if he hadn't mellowed out slightly he certainly wouldn’t be coming

"I've never met Yelena, but she is bringing a husband and three kids with her, I think they are older than you sweetheart though. On your dad's side, we have Grandmere Celia coming, bringing her sister Stephanie and your Aunt Marie. Marie is bringing Pierre and John, do you remember them from our trip to France Josh?”

"Yep, Pierre is my age and John is Claudia’s age isn’t he?" He answered after a moment

"Yes, that’s right, and that’s just about everyone who's flying in to join us. If you count the three of us, Grandma Irina, Grandpa Jack, your father and Claudia then it makes 24 of us for dinner, which is why we are doing it at your Grandparents mansion, we can fit everyone around Grandma's two big tables."

"How come you don't know some of your family mommy, and why do you live so far away from them? Don’t you love them?" Georgia asked curiously.

"Because Grandma Irina came over here from Russia many years ago and met Grandpa Jack. I was born and brought up here in LA. Katya and Yelena stayed mostly in Russia and I didn’t meet Katya till about 12 years ago, just before I married your father. I have known my cousin Julian for about 15 years though, my mother, um, introduced us.”

Well its not like I can tell them the exact truth. "Oh, I met my cousin after he assassinated someone for my mothers terrorist organisation"

"He lives in Italy now with his new wife and kids, I still see him a few times a year but I've never had the chance to meet the others. C'mon, we had better get moving, I told your father to expect us home for dinner at six, and its already a quarter to."

After Syd got them strapped safely into the car and onto the road, she allowed herself a bit of time to think, a skill she had acquired to do whilst driving safely throughout her many experiences on the run from tails.

I can't believe we are really getting the whole family together in one place. I hope it wasn’t a bad idea. Mom promised she would be on her best behaviour with Vaughn's mom, they hadn't got on ever since Celia learned the truth about her killing her husband all those years ago. At least Celia accepts that is in the past, and that they are going to have to be polite to each other in front of the kids.

“HEY” A noise suddenly jolted Sydney out of her reverie; the kids were fighting again. “Guys, please stop doing that, we’re nearly home now” She sighed, and let her thoughts continue.

I cant help but wonder what Yelena is going to be like, I hope she is a good Derevko. It's going to be weird for her being around her family again, I hope she doesn’t blame me and dad for keeping Mom away so long. I wouldn’t blame her, according to Katya; Yelena worshipped her, and now she's out here permanently, remarried to dad, living a retired life. Well nearly, I know she still has her contacts, and that comes in pretty useful for us sometimes. I still can’t believe Dad is finally going to retire next year. I doubt it will be successful, he hates not being at work, he only agreed to leave so he could spend more time at home with my very bored mother.

Syd smiled at the thought, her mother could get extremely cranky when she was bored and Jack had seen it as a sign she needed to be kept occupied more frequently. He didn’t want her going back to her old ways, not after all the trouble he had gone to getting her a pardon and a job as a CIA informant.

Syd noticed she had reached their house, situated in the suburbs of LA only two blocks from the sea. She turned up the driveway and let the kids get out. She finished getting the shopping bags out of the trunk and turned towards the door, a smile quickly spreading across her face when she saw who was standing there. "Vaughn".

Chapter 2-Stress

Irina was stressed. Very stressed. And when she got this stressed she liked to clean, a lot. It was Christmas Eve and she hadn't been able to sleep the previous night. Well, she had fallen asleep in Jack's arms at around 1 am but she woke again three hours later, shivering and feeling like she wanted to be sick. She couldn’t remember feeling like this since she had first found out she was pregnant with Sydney over 40 years ago, and she hated it. Her husband couldn't believe it was possible to her to feel this bad, he had joked only that morning that she was the strongest 64 year old woman in the whole world, that however, was before she ran to the nearest bathroom to be sick. She knew why she was feeling this bad, and it wasn’t because it was Christmas, the most stressful time of the year for most Americans. She had actually come to enjoy Christmas shopping, it reminded her of the happy times when she was Laura Bristow, it gave her the chance to feel loved and part of a family. No, this Christmas was slightly different, and as she checked her watch she found it was four thirty in the afternoon, in two hours her sisters and their families would be arriving on a flight from Russia.

Two hours. Two Hours. Oh my God. I can't do this. What was I thinking

At this moment in time she was scrubbing out the kitchen cupboards, the cloth in her hands was about to fall to pieces she was scrubbing that hard. She had already cleaned the living room, the bathroom and the four guestrooms her family would be using.

Jack wont recognise this place when he gets back, he's gonna think I've gone mad.

She looked down at the remainder of the cloth and sighed, talking aloud to herself

"C'mon Irina, get a grip on yourself, they are only your family, nothing to get worked up about"

She checked her watch again. 2 hours and 30 minutes till the plane landed. She looked towards the phone, thinking she could call Sydney or Jack for reassurance. Her hands suddenly started to shake uncontrollably. She couldn’t believe this was happening, after all she had done in her years in intelligence, it was a meeting with her sister that she couldn’t cope with. She impulsively grabbed the cordless and dialled her daughters cell phone, willing her to pick up. After 7 rings and a lot of pacing up and down the kitchen floor she gave up, and then remembered that she told her she would be at the supermarket, doing the last minute shopping for the dinner. She more than likely had her hands full with her darling grandkids and couldn't get round to answering the call. She checked her watch again, only two minutes had passed since she last looked and it was driving her ever so slightly mad. She hadn't particularly wanted to call Jack at work, he took his job as Director way too seriously, but she desperately needed to hear her only confidante's voice. She picked up the phone again and hit the memory button for his office.

"Bristow" he answered briskly. Irina smirked; he was definitely in work mode

"Hey, its me. Can you talk?" she asked quietly, lodging the phone underneath her chin so she could make a cup of coffee with her free hands.

"Hey Sweetheart, of course I can, is something wrong?" He asked concerned, noticing the unusually high pitched ending to her sentence.

"Its stupid really, I guess I'm just slightly worried about Yelena's reaction later, you know, I haven't seen her face to face since I was 18. I haven't been in the same room as Yelena and Katya together for over 40 years. I just don’t know whether its gonna work. Jack, I don’t know what to do" she replied sheepishly.

"Its going to be fine sweetheart, You've been in contact with them, its not like you are complete strangers from another. You've worked with both Katya and Sark for many years, they aren't going to create a major fuss, especially not in front of their own families." He answered.

"But Yelena, I feel guilty about her. I left her with Mama and Papa; I didn’t stay to look out for her. I'm sure she is going to blame me for everything wrong with her life, she looked up to me Jack, and she trusted me. And I broke that trust, just like I have done with everyone I have loved at some point in my coloured life. She reminded him more timidly.

Jack was silent for a minute. "What time do they arrive at LAX? He asked.

"Seven ten" she replied nervously, checking her watch again."

"Right. Then I'm going to make a couple of quick phone calls, sort out procedure for tomorrow, and come home early. We can go to the airport together." He proclaimed.

"Really? You would do that? Thank you Jack. This means so much to me. I love you" She replied on a more happier note.

"I love you too sweetheart, I'll see you soon." He spoke lovingly

"Bye". As she hung up the phone she had a smile on her face. As long as she was in Jack's arms she felt safe. He was the only person she would allow to see her weaknesses, not that she had many of them. She still couldn’t believe how lucky she was that he had given her a second chance. She had missed him so much over the 30 years they were apart, and that night in Panama reminded Irina just how much. Then Sydney disappeared and they were working together, working towards a common goal that united them again. After Sydney's wedding to Vaughn they had a long talk outside the reception. Irina had planned on watching the whole ceremony undercover, but Jack pulled some strings and she found herself smiling on the front row, it was one of the happiest days of her life. She still welcomed the flashbacks.

"I Sydney Ann Bristow do take thee Michael Christopher Vaughn as my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. You are my guardian angel and I will and already do cherish every single day with you in my arms."

"I Michael Christopher Vaughn do take thee Sydney Ann Bristow as my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. You are my one and only and I will and already do cherish every single day with you in my arms."

Just thinking of the glow on her daughters face was enough to make her pangs of worry disappear. Her family was gradually pulling itself together again; they were each finding happiness after many years of despair and destruction

Then her thoughts wandered to a couple of hours after those eternal promises were proclaimed in front of an audience of friends. Irina had wandered outside for a breath of fresh air. She also needed some space to clear away the tears that had been threatening to fall ever since the couple kissed. She had just wiped away what she hoped was the last tear, she hated showing weakness in public for obvious reasons, when she heard a sudden movement behind her.

"Irina. What are you doing back here? And are my eyes deceiving me or are those tear stained eyes?"

"Always the subtle guy Jack." She smiled and turned to face her husband. They never did get that divorce or annulment. Either she was in CIA custody and they couldn’t let the world know she was alive by signing court papers, or she was in hiding and couldn’t appear with Jack in front of a judge to declare a false marriage.

"Aren't you going to answer my question" Jack asked with a twinkle in his eye

"You know very well I have been crying Jack, though I'm glad it was you that found me, it wouldn’t do for me to be seen like this in public" She replied with a mischievous grin. "I came out for some fresh air, how about you? Why are you lurking out here? I would have thought you would be sending your new son in law threatening glares!"

Jack laughed. "Nah, his mother is busy giving him a lecture, I'm keeping well out of his way"

Irina smiled, then felt her eyes welling up again, and quickly turned so Jack couldn’t see her face. Jack had already noticed though, and touched her shoulder, prompting her to turn back slightly.

"Hey," he murmured "what's wrong?"

"Its just what you said. About Vaughn's mother, she's always there watching out for him. It reminds me how I was not there for Sydney, how I stupidly left the life I loved so much because my superiors wanted me out. I wrecked our relationship Jack; I loved you so much. I know you find that hard to believe but I really did. I loved both of you so much it breaks my heart to see the happy relationship you have together."

Jack was silent throughout her speech, but then spoke up the minute she said that. "Our relationship wasn't always happy Irina, we had to learn to trust each other again, but no matter what I loved Sydney from the bottom of my heart, I didn’t care whether she hated me or not, I just wanted to be around for her if she needed me. And with you Irina, not a moment goes by when I don’t think about you. How much I miss you, how much I love you. I know it can never be the same, but we can at least be friends that talk in times of need if that's what you want."

"Jack, I want to be more than just friends. I want what I know you really want. I miss you and love you every day too. I want to be back in your arms. Will you take me back? I promise from here on in I will be good. I can dissolve my organisation, destroy my weaponry, however I might have to keep a few contacts, they always come in useful." She added the last part with a smirk. She looked up into Jacks usually calm eyes, finding they had started to glisten.

Jack smiled. " I think we can try again" He replied. Their hands came together, then their heads inclined towards each other as they leant in for a kiss.

Chapter 3-Yelena

"Ladies and Gentleman, please fasten you seatbelts, we will be arriving at Los Angeles International Airport shortly", a voice boomed out over the plane's intercom.

Yelena gulped. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for since she was 10. She was going to see her big sister at last. She suddenly felt a hand slide into hers, looking to her left she saw her husband smile at her.

"It's going to be okay Yelena, nothing to worry about. She has changed since she first joined the KGB; she no longer has her organisation. She has a family now." He muttered quietly in Russian.

"She may have a family but she also has a past. A past which looks upon the SVR negatively, you of all people know that well Dmitri". She whispered back in Russian whilst she looked around for her seatbelt and fastened the clasp. Her hands shaking slightly as she fiddled with it.

"You told me they knew about your involvement Yelena, how your sisters forgive you. Like I said, you have nothing to worry about." He whispered back towards her, trying to soothe her worries in the calm and collected way he always did.

"Yes", she answered frustratingly "But they don’t know about your particular involvement Dmitri, and they are less likely to forgive if they do find out. I don’t want to lose you, or the children."

She looked across the aisle to her three daughters, Anja 25, Leyna 22 and Imena 20, who even though they were old enough to stay at home on their own decided to visit their famous Aunt Irina after Katya had asked them if they wanted to spend Christmas with them. Suddenly she remembered that Katya and her new husband were a few rows back from them, so she craned her neck to see how they were doing. She smiled at the scene she saw. Katya was having an argument with Russell about something to do with her grandchildren, but she couldn’t quite make out what. She just loved watching Katya's facial expressions when she got like this. It reminded her of the times they had as children, arguing over toys.

"'LENA, How could you! It's my doll! MINE! Not yours! You took it and dropped it in a puddle! Now I'm gonna take something you love and break it! How about that precious Blanket you carry every where with you! It's going to be mine now." Ten year old Katya lunged towards a silently crying six year old Yelena but was suddenly halted when fourteen year old Irina jumped in between them, preventing Katya from tackling her little sister to the ground. Irina made them hug each other and apologise; she was always the peacemaker in those days.

Then Papa started drinking and mama got sick. Irina was made to join the KGB and Katya a few years later. Mama died, Papa got worse and I left home."

"You seem deep in thought Yelena. What are you thinking about?" Her husband broke through her thoughts.

"About when I left home .The Rekovoks took me in and saved me, gave me a good education. They were the best things that ever happened to me when I was younger. I became a good teacher, but I always thought something was missing, I wasn’t happy, and then two weeks before my 30th birthday you found me. You recruited me into this life. I'm thinking about how happy I am now, and how happy I was before Irina and Katya left." She replied with a sigh.

She went on "Things were so complicated back then weren't they? I had no one left, Irina and Katya had both turned terrible people and you came and found me at Serge Rekovoks, gave me a better life. About what I was saying earlier, I hope it didn't upset you. I would never blame you for my sisters hate towards me, you are the best thing that's ever happened in my life, and I could never live without you. I don’t care what their reaction is to you, your job, I love you for it, no matter what." She whispered into his ear, aware that people around them might be eavesdropping.

"Yelena, I don't know whether you have ever considered this, but they probably already know my job. I doubt a former head of an intelligence organisation and the Los Angeles Director of the CIA would let just anyone stay in their house, they have probably done background checks on me. They will already know I am Deputy Director of the SVR." He replied with a smirk.

"Whatever darling. Look, we've come to a stop." Yelena stated, trying to change the topic. Sure enough, an announcement came out of the speakers above their head "Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to Los Angeles, USA. The time is 19: 15 and the weather is a chilly 2 degrees Celsius"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"American Airlines flight 189 from Moscow has now arrived at Gate 5. I repeat American Airlines flight 189 from Moscow has now arrived at Gate 5."

Irina let out a small shriek at the announcement, scaring the hell out of Jack who had been busy surveying the airport, along with his two personal agents.

" Honey are you trying to give me a heart attack," he jokingly complained. She glared at him, grabbed his hand and led him towards the arrivals lounge.

She started observing the people filing out of the corridor, hoping Katya would come out first because she didn’t think she would recognise the others. She was in luck, her little sister was one of the first passengers through, and ran straight into Irina's arms when she spotted her.

"Irina! It's so good to see you again! It's been a long year! Happy Christmas! Meet Russell!" She spoke without taking a breath. Irina just laughed and hugged her straight back.

"I missed you too Katya. Looks like you made a good catch with Russell!" she retorted with a happy grin plastered all over her face.

The four of them laughed, Katya replying "I can't believe you just said that in front of Jack!"

"Don’t worry sweetie, he knows how you feel about him" Irina proclaimed with a grin. "Its nice to meet you Russell, I've heard so many good things about you, though I doubt you can say the same thing about me!"

Russell laughed, then proceeded to kiss Irina's proffered hand, before shaking Jack's. "It's not all bad! Its nice to meet both of you." Irina smirked and then caught a glance of a familiar figure standing quietly a few metres behind Russell.

"Yelena?" Tears started to form in her eyes as she looked directly at her sister, trying to comprehend whether it was really her.

It has to be, but she looks so different, so grown up

"Irina" her sister replied just as quietly, "Is it really you?"

She choked on her last few words, as her face had started to mirror her sisters and tears were rolling slowly down her cheeks. Then all of a sudden Irina opened up her arms and Yelena dashed into them. They hugged each other so tight that they started to have trouble breathing.

"I missed you so much baby", Irina murmured into her younger sisters hair.

"I missed you too 'Rina, I have prayed for you every day since I was 10, and in every prayer I asked God to one day return you to me. I can't believe it has finally happened, it's been so long." She murmured back.

"I'm so sorry baby. I didn’t want to leave you, but I had to, you know that right? I wouldn’t have left if I didn’t have to" Irina stressed quickly, putting her sister at arms length so she could get a better look at her.

"I know, but it was so hard. You left and Mama got bedridden. Katya left me looking after her when I was 14, It was awful sister, just awful. Papa spent all day at the pub or asleep, I left two years later when Mama died, I couldn’t stay there on my own anymore, and I couldn’t cope with him." She started to cry slightly at the memory, causing Irina to bring her closer again so she could wipe away her tears.

"I know baby. I'm sorry, we are both very sorry that we left you in that situation, I'm so sorry I left you with such an uncertain future. What happened when you left, where did you go? I never heard much about those few years of your life." Irina asked her sister gently.

"I went into hiding with some friends. I knew that by doing that you would have no way of contacting me to see how I was, but I had to do it to get away, it was my only chance. I worried about you everyday. I didn’t know whether you were still alive, all Papa had told me was that you and Katya went to work for the KGB. All I knew about them at the time was that they were bad, and that officers easily died." Yelena choked on tears with the last sentence, remembering how frightened she had been.

Irina groaned, and steadied her sister with her strong arms, she looked like she was going to faint. "I'm so sorry I couldn’t tell you how I was 'Lena, I wanted to but it wasn’t allowed. But know this, Katya and I worried about you all the time. We prayed for your safety, we so desperately wanted to protect you from Papa but we couldn't, there was nothing we could do. What did you do in hiding? It was a few years before you joined the SVR wasn’t it?"

Yelena nodded and went on to reply in whisper. "I was a teacher. I taught mathematics at a local school, under the name Yelena Rekovok so the KGB couldn't find me too. The Rekovoks were good people. They hated the KGB; they were so relieved when the Soviet Union fell. They were well-educated people and knew higher up's in the SVR. Apparently my whereabouts weren't unknown to them, so in '91 they recruited me." She glanced around quickly to check no one was listening. " It was when I worked for them I found the truth out about you Irina. About how you had been spying in America, how you and Katya were still thought to be alive"

I was so happy, yet so sad at the same time. My two heroes, they were the bad people

Irina nodded at this last sentence. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that, you know I taught as well?"

Yelena frowned. "No, when?"

" Here in America, it was my cover story. I was an English student and then became a Professor of English at UCLA. Sydney is actually qualified to be one as well." Irina explained.

"Sydney. Your daughter. Another aspect of your life in America. When do I get to meet this famous agent I have heard so much about? I trust she isn't quite like you, she wouldn’t work for the CIA otherwise. Is she much like her father?" Yelena asked, her eyes swivelling over towards Jack, who was standing awkwardly with the rest of the family a few feet away. They had moved so Irina could greet her long estranged sister more privately.

Irina laughed. "She is as stubborn as me and looks like me, but yes, she has many attributes of her father. Let me introduce you to Jack, and I want to meet your beautiful family." She grabbed her sister's hand and led her towards Jack.

"Jack, this is Yelena, Yelena this is the one guy in the world mad enough to love me for who I am."

They all laughed, "Its nice to meet you Jack, I have heard much about you from Katya, though I didn't know how much of it was true. It will be nice to find out what you are really like in person." Yelena proclaimed almost shyly, yet with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Hey! Don’t be like that! I wasn’t that bad Jack, I promise. Only a few white lies, just to make you seem more interesting, I never dreamed you would actually ever meet." Katya finished her sentence and then glared at her sister, putting a grin on both Jack and Yelena's faces.

"Its nice to meet you too Yelena. I hope we will get on regardless of whatever your devious sister has said about me." Jack answered, laughing whilst kissing her proffered hand.

"Now, if you'll allow me, let me make some introductions. Irina, Jack, this is my husband Dmitri. Dmitri, my eldest sister and her long suffering husband." Dmitri kissed Irina's and shaked Jack's hand.

"It's nice to meet you both. Thank you for inviting us to spend Christmas at your home" He replied.

Irina nodded and said "It's nice to meet you too, I do hope we will manage to keep our differences in opinion away from conversation for the next week. I want everybody to enjoy this holiday."

"I'm sure that can be arranged. I'm assuming you know of my job?" Dmitri asked.

Irina and Jack both nodded, Jack replying "We are well aware of your activities, and you will know of my position in the Agency so I would like to stress that I have arranged adequate protection to make sure we aren't a primary target."

"That is good to know, thank you. I'll let my wife carry on the introductions if that's ok with everybody." He replied.

Yelena took over the conversation again, and pulled towards her a tall girl, with long brown wavy hair and an extremely slim body. Speaking in both Russian and English she said, "This is my eldest, Anja. She is a model for a sports company.

"Hello. Its nice to meet you" she replied in Russian.

"Its nice to meet you too, Anja. You are beautiful just like your mother" Her Aunt Irina replied in the same language. Jack just stood beside Irina, smiling and nodding.

Next, a tall blonde stepped forward, declaring in English "Hello. I'm Leyna; I work in International Law, so unlike my sisters I speak English well. It is a pleasure to finally meet you after hearing tales of you throughout my life. Thank you for inviting us to stay."

"Its a pleasure Leyna, I'm sure you make a very good lawyer", Irina replied with a smile.

"And this is my youngest baby, Imena," Yelena proclaimed putting her arm around a shorter brunette.

"Hello" Imena replied with a shy smile. "Imena works with computers, doing analysis. She's very bright"; Her mother carried on proudly. "All my babies are".

"Of that I'm sure sister dear. As are all of mine and Katya's, but I'm pretty sure you will have heard of their work, it's not very secret in our world unfortunately." Irina replied with a smile.

"Let us move towards the car, we can carry on our conversation in the stretch limo that Jack so kindly hired. He gets kind of nervous in airports on busy holidays, too many criminals escaping the country in crowds and thousands of whining kids I believe."

"That's not true Irina, you know I like kids and it's my job to keep LA safe, hence I know the truth about criminal behaviour." He replied with a quick scowl.

"Sorry sweetheart, lets get you away from thinking about work and concentrating on relaxing for once." She replied with a grin, giving her sisters an exasperated look.

The visitors gathered their luggage from the carousel and headed towards the main entrance, ready to start their Christmas holidays at last.

Am I allowed to post here...? :unsure:

Anyway, wow Kate, that's pretty damn good! How long did it take you to work all that out? Great stuff :thumbsup:

Of course your allowed! In fact I welcome it very much :lol: Thank you Steve, I cant remember how long it took, it usually takes me a couple of hours to write a chapter and then I go back to it to edit it. I decided to post three chapters at a time, I think I have 13 for this on the web at the moment.

You're a much faster writer than I am, then :lol:

Chapter 4- Bonjour

"Mommy? Mommy? Are they ready yet?" Sydney glanced down towards her youngest daughter and sighed. "Sweetie, the cookies aren't going to be ready for a while yet, why don't you go and find something to do?"

"Like what?" Georgia replied, getting more impatient by the minute. "Are you sure they will be ready for bedtime? Santa might not give me any presents if I don't put them out with some milk and carrots for Rudolph! Mommy, I don’t want to make Santa mad."

"They will be ready an hour before bedtime, OK? Santa won't get mad, don’t worry. Go and see if Daddy needs any help getting the house ready for your grandmother's arrival. She will be here in the next half-hour, so you should wash your face and hands too. You know how she likes you to look clean." Sydney finished her sentence and then checked her watch. 8:00. She still couldn’t figure out why everybody had left it till the last possible moment to arrive in LA.

Her mother's family would have arrived an hour ago, Sark excluded as he was already in LA on business and had flown his family in that morning for a full day of sightseeing before taking them to Irina's. Sydney thought she had heard her mother say that they were arriving at around 8:30, therefore they were going to be having a late dinner.

Ah yes, Sydney remembered now, her father had complained he would be starving and couldn’t Sark just eat out. Irina had just rolled her eyes and told him to be nice, that Sark wants to do something fun for his family and that it wouldn’t matter if they were a little late eating. Sydney had then taken the opportunity to remind him that he sometimes doesn’t finish work till ten and ends up eating even later. Her father didn’t bother to reply, he just gave her a quick scowl causing both Irina and Sydney to burst out laughing, he really couldn’t take losing arguments, especially when it was with one of his girls.

Vaughn's family on the other hand was driving in across country from Florida, where his mother now lived. His aunt and his sister's family had been staying there for the past week, and Sydney was sure that Celia had found it a good time to back stab Irina in front of avid listeners. She didn't care though, as long as it wasn’t brought up in front of Georgia, Josh and Claudia it didn't bother her. She had grown to love her mother again, but she fully understood that Irina had caused some people too much pain for them to take her lightly.

"Aaargh, Daddy stop it! It tickles too much!" her daughters squealing suddenly broke into her thoughts and the next minute Georgia came running into the kitchen followed closely by laughing Vaughn.

"I told you I would get you to wash somehow, I'll stop if you promise to go and clean up" Vaughn proclaimed with a grin.

"But Daddy, Claudia is using the bathroom for her make up and she gets mad at me if I ask her to get out" She answered with a pout.

"Well give a message to your sister for me. Tell her to stop putting her make up on or she cant go to that concert she's been bugging us about. That should get her out." Vaughn grinned down at his youngest daughter "OK?"

"OK Daddy" Georgia shrieked before running back out of the door. Vaughn watched her retreat and then looked over at Sydney who was grinning madly.

"Hey, she been winding you up too?" She asked, moving over towards the dishwasher to unload the plates they had been using for dinner.

"Yeah, all thanks to you" He retorted, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She replied with a frown, gently placing the plates into the overhead pine cupboards that she had loved when she first viewed the house. Vaughn still couldn’t believe that was one of her main reasons for wanting to buy it.

"She told me it was you who sent her after me." Vaughn stated, moving behind his wife, before wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll have to get you back for that somehow"

"Yeah yeah, you know I can overpower you with the flick of a hand, your words don't scare me in the slightest. Sydney finished her sentence and turned around to kiss Vaughn on the lips. "Maybe in another life sweetie" She added with a laugh.

Vaughn pouted before replying" Whatever, lets just deal with this life at the moment OK? In less than 24 hours my family is going to be spending Christmas with yours, did you call the National Guard before you left work to warn them?"

"Ha Ha. Mom, Katya and Sark have promised to behave, and you told me your mother had, and besides the National Guard weren't interested so I warned the FBI instead." She replied back with a smirk.

Suddenly the doorbell rang so they moved through the living room towards the front door, only to find Claudia had opened it and was already fielding her Grandmere's persistent questions.

"Ah, ma petite Claudia, how are you my dear?" She shrieked, pulling her into a big hug and giving little room for her to breathe.

"I'm not so small now Grandmere, I'm eleven now" She replied quickly after she had pulled back slightly from Celia.

"Of course you are my dear, did you get the present I sent over?" her grandmother asked whilst carefully surveying her tall, brunette granddaughter, proud of how she had grown so beautiful. *Must be her French genes, everybody in my family is beautiful, and she certainly got her politeness from me. I doubt Sydney would be so nice if it wasn’t for that father of hers having some decency. She definitely didn't get it from that mother of hers*

"Yes Grandmere, I called you and thanked you remember?" Claudia reminded her, slightly annoyed as it had only been a month ago and she had spent over an hour on the phone to her talking about her favourite band, of which her present had been an album.

"Ah yes, I recall that now. Where is your father? Is he not going to help me with this luggage like a gentleman?" She asked, slightly miffed her beloved son had not yet been to greet her

"I'm right here maman" Vaughn called out quickly in French "I hope your journey was ok"

"It was fine thank you dear, now are you going to come and give you maman a hug and help with her luggage or are you just going to stand there doing nothing?" She rattled off in rapid French, as it was normal for them to converse in French with each other.

Vaughn immediately headed to the door, but not before asking his wife to avoid bursting out in laughter, she seemed pretty close to exploding after his mother had scolded him. Sydney just shrugged and ran into the next room to calm down slightly, on the pretence that she had to find her car keys to move their sedan's further up the drive so Marie could park the car more safely.

When she got back to the doorway she found that both Celia and Stephanie, who had jumped out of the car at the bottom of the drive, had finished hugging Vaughn and Claudia and had started on Josh and Georgia who had just made an appearance. A few minutes later, Marie and her kids had joined in with the hugging and Sydney was feeling slightly better about the dinner the next day, everyone seemed happy to see each other so far and Celia hadn't started cursing anyone yet. She automatically checked her watch to see how long it was until Christmas dinner. It was 8:30, and she suddenly realised that her mother would be sitting down for dinner with her two sister's for the first time in over 40 years, Along with the Directors of two rival intelligence agencies, a former assassin of intelligence organisation Directors and most of their families. Sydney gulped. Oh God

Conversations between Mariana and her kids, her husband and her mother in law are all Italian whereas all conversation between Dmitri and Yelena is in Russian

Chapter 5- Sark's Arrival

BEEP BEEP BEEEEP. It was the evening rush hour in Los Angeles and the roads were complete chaos as usual, even more busy in fact because it was Christmas Eve and everybody was doing their last minute errands before the shops shut for the holiday weekend.

Sark tapped his steering wheel impatiently, silently cursing himself for leaving it too late to drive across town. He looked across at the passenger seat to see his wife looking slightly pale, she had never been to LA before and even though she was used to city life in Italy, she wasn’t used to this. They had already had a couple of near run in's with other cars and Sark's driving wasn't exactly normal, he preferred speeding whenever possible.

No point in wasting time .

He looked into the back and found both of the kids napping, it had been a long, exciting day for them and they were so tired they could easily sleep through the noise. Suddenly the traffic started moving and Sark hit the accelerator once more, jolting his wife slightly forward, much to her annoyance.

" Julian! Must you do that, it doesn’t matter if we arrive late, I just want us to arrive in one piece" She complained in Italian, quickly readjusting the seatbelt that was now digging into her.

"Sweetheart, You drive like this too, don't try to deny it, I've seen you in action often enough" He replied, raising his eyebrows as if to emphasise his point.

"Yes, but we are on vacation now, I want to be able to relax, not worry about whether we are going to get into an accident. Please, can we drive more carefully?" She replied with puppy dog eyes that she knew immediately melted her husband's heart, no matter what mood he was in.

It worked, and Sark slowed down slightly, realising they wouldn’t be that late anyway. Mariana spoke up again "How far away is it your aunt lives?"

"About twenty minutes away, we should get there at twenty to if the traffic doesn’t get any more worse" He replied, with a glance at the clock on his dashboard.

"Great, I don't know how much more of this I can take. I don’t suppose you can run through the names of the people we will be staying with tonight could you? I think I zoned out when you told me last time" She replied with a sheepish grin.

Sark glared back at her, he knew very few people who would dare to insult him once in a sentence, never mind twice. "Oh, really? Well I guess I can tell you once more, but after that you're on your own if you forget a name. OK? He asked.

"Sure, whatever darling. Proceed" She replied with a wry grin.

"OK, well it's My Aunt Irina's house. She lives with my Uncle Jack" Sark takes a moment to grimace, unnoticed by Mariana, he still couldn’t believe he was related to that man.

"Mom and Russell are going to be there, along with Mom and Irina's youngest sister, my Aunt Yelena. Her husband is Dmitri and they have three daughters, Anja, Leyna and Imena. Everybody else is staying at my cousins across town." He finished his sentence and realised he was coming up to his turnoff, quickly changing lanes without much indication, much to the annoyance of drivers around him.

When he was safely on his target road he started to relax a little bit, trying to get into the holiday mood. He started flipping channels on the radio, coming across some Christmas songs that he had missed in Italy, and he started to sing along, much to Mariana's amusement as he seemed to be tone deaf. His singing woke up James and Christina and they started to complain.

"Papa, please stop singing, its embarrassing, what if people can hear you" Eight year old Christina proclaimed, putting her fingers in her ears.

Four-year-old James copied his big sister's actions, with a big grin on his face, he enjoyed these games. Sark just laughed, and started to sing louder and even more badly. In minutes they were all laughing so hard they were close to tears, barely noticing they had pulled onto Irina's street.

The car suddenly got quiet when Sark approached the driveway. James started to whimper slightly, he was always nervous meeting new people and this encounter was likely to be very overwhelming for him.

Christina couldn’t stop fiddling with her toys beside her, she much unlike James was very excited because she loved meeting family and could barely contain herself. I hope there is someone to play with, I can show them my new doll Daddy bought for me!

Mariana was nervous, she had never met Sark's family apart from his mother and stepfather, and she didn’t know much about the people they were to stay with. Well apart from his Aunt Irina of course, in her profession everybody knew about Irina Derevko, but she wasn’t aware that Sark was related to her until his mother had mentioned it a few weeks ago when Mariana had questioned her name. She had no idea what everybody else did for a living, and she wasn’t so sure she wanted to ask.

Sark, on the other hand wasn’t nervous at all, at least that's what he tried to convince himself. He had recently discovered that his Uncle Dmitri was Deputy Director of the SVR, and he didn’t know whether it would do well for the two of them to meet. After all, Sark had assassinated several leaders back in his days working for Irina and his Uncle was more than likely to know this, as well as about the many crimes he had committed on Russian soil.

Sark pulled the car to a stop, and stepped out of the door. He greeted the CIA agent standing at the door and opened up the back driver's side door, picking up James from his car seat. A couple of minutes later they were all out of the car, and alerted to their presence by the agent, Irina and Jack came to the door.

" Julian! You made it" Irina shouted.

"Of course I did! Sorry we are late; the traffic was pretty bad, Happy Christmas!" he replied to his aunt, kissing her on both cheeks and giving her a quick hug.

He turned to shake Jack's hand, "Thanks for inviting us, it was very kind of you" he added to his uncle, ever so slightly nervous that he took a small step back from him.

"Don't be silly Julian, of course we invited you, you're family aren't you?" Irina retorted, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"That hasn’t always been a good thing has it?" He replied with a grin.

"Well no, but it counts at the moment, its Christmas. Now are you going to introduce us to these beautiful people or are we going to have to become psychic?" She asked back with a grin to mirror Sark's.

"Sure" He replied "Sorry. This is Mariana, my wife, and these two are James and Christina. Mariana, kids, this is my Aunt Irina and Uncle Jack."

Hello's were exchanged quickly as the next minute Katya came running out of the house and pulled her son into her arms "Baby! You’re here! Where have you been, I was missing you. Happy Christmas!

He barely managed to squeeze out " Hey Mom, Sorry we're late, I missed you too" before she had moved onto hugging Mariana and the kids, Mariana's face instantly lighting up. Finally! Someone I know!

"Mariana, you look beautiful as usual", her mother in law exclaimed in Italian, "And my grandkids are still the most adorable things in the world I see".

Irina broke into the reunion at that moment "Guys, I hate to break this up but the dinner is going to go cold, can we go inside before Jack's stomach rumbling wakes up the neighbours?"

Everybody laughed and moved towards the dining room, looking forward to the food that awaited them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dmitri glanced around the large dining room, taking in all the exquisite detail that Irina had taken so much time over creating. Looking to the mantelpiece he came across three picture frames. One was of Irina and Jack, on what he assumed was their wedding day, he decided it must be the second time, when they renewed their vows, as they didn’t look young enough to be twenty. They however did look blissfully happy, as they did in the next picture frame he came across. This one had another couple in it though, and as far as he could make out from his position, three young kids. Could this be the daughter? Sydney? The third picture was of three young girls, the identity of all he knew immediately. For it was his wife with her two older sisters, Yelena must have been about 5 in that picture. She looked so happy in that environment; they were eating ice cream in a Moscow park as far as he could tell. Suddenly new voices broke through his thoughts and he turned his attention towards the door, immediately cursing the sight in front of him, for a familiar looking blond haired guy had just walked in, talking animatedly with Katya.

No. It can't be, Yelena would have said something. It can't be him, he wouldn’t get past the guards Jack has, he is an enemy of the CIA. It can't be Julian Sark; there's no way.
Lena, Dmitri, girls. Please allow me to introduce my son Julian, his wife Mariana and their kids, Christina and James.

Dmitri felt sick, sick and confused.

No. What is happening here? I don’t get it. Sark… Sark is her son? He's my nephew? That son of a bitch is related to me? Hang on a sec, does he know who I am? Surely he must, why on earth didn’t I think to bring any back up? I know Jack said he had backup, but he has just welcomed a terrorist into his home. Dammit

He glanced angrily over at his wife, not noticing how confused she looked at the situation herself. All he could think was

Why the hell didn’t she tell me? I cant be in the same vicinity as this…this man… surely she knows that? I could lose my job; I can't be seen socialising with a terrorist, especially one who is on the SVR's most wanted list. What the hell was she thinking not telling me?"
Dmitri was getting so furious he didn’t realise Katya was trying to get his attention.

"Dmitri? Dmitri? Is anyone there?" She asked loudly, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry Katya, I um just realised I had forgotten to do something important. It's nice to meet you Julian, and Mariana is it? He replied, quickly making up a lie. "Can I just talk to you a minute Lena?" He directed his words towards his wife as calmly as he could, trying to avoid letting his hostility towards the whole situation show.

"Sure sweetheart, we'll be back to the table in a minute guys, ok?" She said with a slight frown. What on earth did he forget that's so important that he takes me away from my family reunion. Honestly, men!

A few minutes later they were standing in what Yelena assumed to be the den, and she started to notice her husband's demeanour change. "D, What’s wrong? You seem really tense, what did you forget?" she asked curiously yet with a hint of fear, it wasn’t like him to get like this.

"Dammit Lena, I didn’t forget anything, except perhaps my brain. I should have known a Derevko wouldn’t give me the whole story" He replied angrily.

"What the hell exactly do you mean by that? What are you blaming me for? " She angrily replied back, confused at her husband.

" Julian Sark, You didn’t tell me that Sark would be here. Dammit Lena, why the hell didn’t you tell me. I could lose my job; we could lose our jobs if we are known to be socialising with that man. What were you thinking, that I would just go along with it when we met each other?" He retorted, and started to pace the length of the den.

"This is about Sark? I didn’t know that he was Katya's son! I found out the minute you did, and that was when he walked into the room with his mother. Yes, I knew Katya had a son called Julian, but so did you. I assumed his second name would be Derevko, she never told me of his father, said he was deceased and that he didn’t want to know of him. Obviously Katya had a fling with Andrian Lazarey, but I'm not going to go into that, I don’t really care. All I want Dmitri is to spend a Christmas with my whole family, and I'd prefer if you didn’t try to wreck it." She replied with her hands on her his, glaring annoyed at her husband.

He had calmed down slightly since hearing her first sentence, so the next words he spoke were much quieter and logical "But we could lose our jobs Lena. Do you want that too?"

Tears started to roll quickly down her face. She replied in a whisper "No, but I don’t want to leave D, please don’t make me leave. Can't we just stay and avoid speaking with him for the next week? Please Dmitri, please?"

"Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I should have thought it out a little bit more before I confronted you. Of course we can stay, I don't want you to have to separate from your sisters again, its just I don’t know whether I can cope being in the same house as that man. We can work something out though, I know we can. I'm going to have a word with Jack after dinner, he can explain to me why he allowed Sark into the house, he must have good reason, and maybe we can keep this from the Director and keep our jobs." He had taken his wife into his arms by this point and her tears were coming to a stop. They just stood there, wrapped around each other until Yelena realised dinner would be getting cold and Irina would be getting mad. " Cmon D, we better go eat." They walked off arm in arm towards the dining room, each wondering about what else they were going to have to confront during their weeklong stay.

Chapter 6- Xmas Eve

Sydney looked across the darkened room, making out the small shape of her daughter under the duvet, which was rising up and down gently with each breath she took. She sighed, it hadn't been easy getting Georgia to bed, she had been full of questions about Santa and ended up being too excited to sleep. A mug of warm milk seemed to have done the trick though, and now she was entering a deep slumber. She gently closed her door, and walked back down the hallway, bumping into Josh and Claudia on the way to their own rooms.

"Hey guys" she whispered quietly so as not to wake Georgia, "have you both washed and done your teeth". Josh nodded tiredly and gave his mother a quick hug before going into his room and closing the door.

He had reached that age where he didn't want to be tucked in anymore, he said it was because they woke him when he was drifting off. His parents however knew he had a habit of turning on his torch to read comic books for an hour before he fell asleep. Sometimes one of them would walk in to wake him in the morning and find his head on the latest magazine.

Claudia on the other hand preferred to listen to her Walkman for an hour, her parents constantly teased her about singing in her sleep. Instead of walking into her room she started pleading with her mother for more batteries, she had a habit of running out and then forgetting about it until bedtime the next night.

" Mom, I really really need a couple of batteries, you know I cant get to sleep without listening to my music first" she pleaded.

" But I don't have any sweetheart, I used the last ones for the fake Christmas tree in the kitchen" She replied with a shrug.

"Aww. Do you think Dad might have some?" She inquired, hopping from one foot to the other.

" He might. I'll tell you what, I'll go and ask him while you settle into bed, OK?" She answered, raising her eyebrows in anticipation of a reply.

"Ok Mom. Goodnight, and I love you." She hugged her mother and headed into her bedroom, whilst Sydney walked into the living room. Marie had just sent Pierre and John into the room she would be sharing with them, and was now quietly talking to her mother, brother and aunt about what happened last Christmas in France.

Vaughn looked around and saw his wife heading towards them. "Hey sweetheart, did you manage to get her to sleep yet?" he inquired with a slight grin, his youngest never failed to amuse him.

"Finally." She sighed. "The milk definitely worked. Claudia's desperate for some batteries, do you have any spare?"

Vaughn raised his eyebrows and sighed, "Why is it she always forgets? You were out shopping earlier weren't you? You could have got her some if she had bothered to ask. I'll just go and check."

He walked through into the kitchen and started rifling to cupboards similar to the ones Sydney had been using earlier. He came across a pack of eight AA batteries, perfect for getting her through the next month. He walked back towards the living room, where Marie was busy telling Sydney about what Pierre had got his brother for Christmas last year, the Barbie story as they liked to call it never failed to gain a few laughs.

It seemed Pierre had overheard John when he was telling friends how he wanted a 'Barbie girl'. He went out and bought him a Barbie doll as a present, thinking that's what he had been talking about. The look on John's face had been priceless when he took off the wrapping!

"Bingo. I'll give her these eight and we can get some more next week" He reported to his wife.

"Great, can you feed the fish as well? I kind of forgot!" She replied sheepishly.

"What am I? Your slave?" He asked with a mock glare.

"No, you're the one who agreed to get the fish, I said it was a bad idea and that no one would look after them, but Georgia got to you and you agreed. Now go feed the fish." She answered with her know it all smile that Vaughn couldn't disagree with for the life of him.

"Fine, fine. But if Nemo and Elmo die because you refused to help look after them, then I'm gonna give the job of explaining their death to Georgia to you." He replied back, a hint of sweet revenge in his voice.

"Whatever darling, Now go and let me hear stories of you as a child from your mom." She requested.

Vaughn gave another glare towards his family before heading out of the room. Syd watched his departure and then eagerly turned to Celia and Stephanie for tales she could get back at Vaughn with.

A few hours later Vaughn crept into his bedroom, assuming Syd would be fast asleep. He had just been filling up the kids' stockings and placing the remaining presents from 'Santa' under the tree, he had eaten up the cookie and gulped down the milk quickly. He had decided to place the carrots back into the fridge, knowing Georgia wouldn't notice the number of carrots in the fridge had grown overnight. She would however had noticed the cookie, seeing as she had eaten what was left of them.

He grinned to himself as he started yanking at his already loosened tie, part of the suit he had been wearing to work all day.

Why didn't I choose a job that gave me Christmas holidays? I must be mad .

He slung his trousers and shirt onto the dresser, he couldn't be bothered to put them in the laundry, all he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed, take Syd into his arms and fall asleep.

The shirt however missed the dresser and fell into the nearby wastepaper basket "Damn" he muttered "What the hell is wrong with my aim?"

Suddenly a voice came out of the darkness "I don't know, but you sure need to get some more practice in at the range. That was pathetic".

"Syd? You're awake? He asked startled, pulling back the duvet on his side of the bed and climbing into the warmth.

"Well I don't see anyone else talking, So I guess I am." She replied monotonously.

"Ha Ha, very funny." Vaughn answered sarcastically. "I thought you would be fast asleep by now" He stated, wrapping his arms around his beautiful wife.

"I couldn't sleep. Everytime I tried falling asleep I would get these images flying across my mind. I kinda freaked" she mumbled ashamedly, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, its ok" Vaughn replied, "What… what were they of?"

" I don't know how to explain it but I have this really bad feeling about tomorrow… something is going to happen… I just know it… and I don't like it." She answered timidly. "Vaughn, I'm scared. Are you sure we should be putting the kids through tomorrow?"

" Syd, I'm sure it's going to be fine, it's just the tiredness talking. You need some sleep, you are way too stressed to think straight at the moment, the family is going to get along fine, trust me." He replied.

"But what if they don't? I mean, it would affect the kids for the rest of their life. See, these dreams I've been having, some of them have been flashbacks to when I was young, when I had Christmas with Mom and Dad and Dad's family.

"I was 5, and really excited that year because Dad had promised me a pink pony for Christmas. I had been sent upstairs to do my teeth the night before Christmas Eve, but I had forgotten something, It was my teddy bear, so I went back downstairs to get it. I went quietly so my parents wouldn't hear me, but it wouldn't have mattered if I walked normally because when I reached the kitchen door my parents were in the middle of an argument. It seemed my mother had answered a phone call from Dad's mom and had invited her, her second husband, Dad's sister and Dad's stepbrother along with their families along for supper on Christmas day. Dad was furious, she hadn't asked him and he disliked his family so much he kept as well away from them as he could. He never got along with his stepdad or his stepbrother, his sister did though, and he got fed up being the one left out of all family decisions. He left home for university as soon as he could and rarely went back. Anyway, my grandmother called up out of the blue, wanting to reconnect apparently. For the rest of my life I will remember the look on Dad's face. He looked so lost and betrayed. I was so scared for him.

Christmas day came; I got my pony and waited anxiously for their arrival in the evening. To cut a long story short, they came, they argued really badly, and I got sent to my room, but not before hearing Dad tell his mother that he never ever wanted to see her face again. She reciprocated with the words 'Thank God, I have never been so embarrassed by anyone in my life, I should never have considered contacting you, I assumed you would have improved, but I was obviously very wrong. You will never make a good son like Steven, and I doubt you make a good family man either." My father was so mad by this point he screamed "Get Out and never come near me, my wife or my daughter again, you hear?"

A year later, I was told I would never see my mother again, these traumatic memories came back to haunt me and all I could think of was that Dad was the only person I had left in the world. I would never have a loving family for the rest of my life."
She finished recounting this tale with tears in her eyes. " Vaughn, this is why I wanted the family together in the first place, so the kids could see they have a family that will be around them if for whatever reason we cant be. But I cant help thinking everything will go drastically wrong, what if Yelena and Dmitri stir up arguments with Mom, Dad and Katya? What if Sark doesn't behave and Mom, Katya, Sark and I fall out? What if Celia can't hold in her hate for Mom and she falls out with us? I don't want the kids to think their family isn't loving Vaughn, please help me, please. She buries her head in his shoulder, her tears falling freely now.

Vaughn is slightly shocked at this outburst and puts his hand over her head, gently stroking her hair, trying desperately to say something to calm his suddenly hysterical wife down

"Sweetie, I had no idea you felt like this. Why didn't you tell me before? There is nothing to worry about, and if there is I promise to sort it. So will your parents, they feel so guilty that they couldn't give you the family you wanted that I'm sure they will make it up for the kids. We are not going to go anywhere anyway, ya hear? We dont do lots of fieldwork anymore, we should be fine, and even if we aren't, the kids have still got each other, and I'm sure if something did happen the CIA would keep them together. OK?" He glanced down at Syd, who lifted her head from his shoulder and nodded.

"Yep. I'll try to keep it together, I know you wouldn't say that unless you meant it, that's why I love you so much. Well for that and your ability to get me out of sticky situations. She smirked at her last sentence

"Hey! Is that the only reason? You didn't mention my personality, or my hockey skills, that's not fair!" He mocked

"Well maybe them too. But lets not forget you only love me because you are scared of what my parents might do to you if you don't" She replied, her tears replaced by a grin on her face.

"Yeah, but I think also because you are the CIA's top field agent and I can brag that you chose me as a husband to colleagues who go around thinking they are the best at everything." He replied, tilting his head to make it look like he was thinking hard. "Yep, that's definitely it!"

Sydney pulled up her pillow and pelted him with it, making him pin her down. "I wouldn't carry on doing that if I were you, the kids will get upset if you beat Santa up."

"Fine, whatever" she replied, adding "I love you" before readjusting her pillow and laying her head onto it.

"And I love you too" Vaughn replied, putting his arms around Sydney again and they slowly fell into six hours of dreamless sleep.

I'm so glad everyone here will get to read this too.

Great work Kate, you know I'm already a fan :lol:

Are you going to post up the Francie story too?

Thanks Karen :D I will be posting the Francie story at some point, and Iam working a new chapters of both of these fics at the mo you'll be pleased to know!

Very pleased :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Chapter 7- Christmas Morning- And so it begins...

"MOMMY, ITS CHRISTMAS!" Sydney jolted out of her sleep as her daughter yelled down her ear. Vaughn woke up beside her as quickly, and found Georgia was leaning over towards his ear.

"Sweetie! Don't do that! " Sydney complained, rubbing her ear slightly "You nearly gave me a heart attack"

"Sorry Mommy but its Christmas" She shrieked back, now bouncing on her parents bed, "And guess what?"

"What is it George?" Vaughn answered with a yawn

"Santa came! He brought presents for me! Do you want to see my stocking?" Without waiting for an answer she pulled her stocking up from the floor where she had discarded it when she came in the room, and proceeded to empty its contents onto her parents.

"Ow! George!" Vaughn replied after a video hit him hard in the stomach, "Do you think you could move that to the end of the bed? Mommy and I could do without being hurt today"

Georgia giggled at this "Sorry Daddy, Can I go open my other presents now? Please? Pretty please?"

"Not just yet sweetheart, wait until breakfast ok? When everyone's together, we can open them at the same time.

" 'K. When's breakfast" She inquired, looking straight into her fathers eyes pleadingly.

Vaughn looked over to his bedside clock; it read 5:30. "In a couple of hours, you woke up too early. How about we go and put the video you just threw at me on? That should give you something to do, and I'll tell you what, if you're good and give us a bit of peace you can have some chocolate before breakfast, OK?"

"Really?" she squealed excitedly, looking to her mother for confirmation.

"Yes, really. Now let Daddy put that video on and give us an hour, and we'll come and join you." Syd replied with a grin, happy to see her daughter so excited.

Georgia pulled her father out of bed and gave him just enough time to put a robe on over his blue boxers before leading him out of the room.

2 hours later…. " Daddy! Mommy! Wake up! Grandmere Celia says it's breakfast time now, its time to open presents".

Syd opened her eye blearily and sighed, "OK sweetie, Daddy and I just need a couple of minutes and we'll be there. Why don't you ask Grandmere to help you set the table?". Georgia ran out of the room, screaming that they would be there in a couple of minutes to anyone that was listening.

Syd looked over to Vaughn and grinned, "Happy Christmas Sweetie".

Vaughn smiled back, looking adoringly into her eyes, " Happy Christmas to you too!" He leaned over and kissed Syd on the lips. "Cmon, we better get to the kitchen before George winds up my mother, we need her to be in a good mood today remember?"

They both dragged themselves out of bed and pulled their robes on before heading down towards the kitchen and the chaos that awaited them….

Meanwhile, over at Irina and Jack's Mansion…

BEEP BEEP BEEP. "Ugh" Jack Bristow muttered before rolling over in bed and hammering his alarm clock, he recoiled in shock when he saw the time " 7:00! Why the hell did I set that for 7:00, Its Christmas, I shouldn't have set it at all! What was I thinking?"

"You didn't set it darling, I did." a voice carried over from the other side of the room.

"Irina? Why? What are you doing up so early? And why are you already dressed? Its Christmas Day for goodness sake, we can have a lie in." Jack replied, in shock at the sight of his wife ready to start the day.

"We have a lot to do, I want today to go perfectly, I need to get the cooking prepared before the others come over and besides, I'm not dressed for today yet, these are just what I'm wearing for breakfast!" She said, looking down at her favourite pair of navy blue sweats.

Jack shook his head in amusement "Nevermind, forget I asked."

"I will, now are you going to get out of bed to help me or are you going to make me cope with all this on my own?" Irina asked, bending down to kiss her husband on the lips, adding "Merry Christmas by the way".

Jack sighed and then burst out laughing; Irina was making a face to emphasise her helplessness. " I'm coming, I'm coming. I don't trust you with the oven anyway, something always seems to burn when you have been using it!" He smirked.

"Hey! That's not fair, just because I spent years microwaving as it was a convenience it doesn't mean I don't know how to work an oven." Irina retorted.

"Whatever" Jack answered before pulling himself up and kissing his wife on the lips "Merry Christmas Sweetheart, now lets get going shall we?"

A few hours later Irina was busy chopping up carrots at amazing speed, ready to mix them up with turnip and make vegetable mush. Jack was checking on the chicken that he had finally allowed Irina to put in the oven, but not before he had made sure it was on the right settings, he was fed up of eating overcooked meat. It was a good thing that he usually did the cooking and that when Irina did, she used the microwave. Dmitri, Yelena and their kids had gone on a drive around LA as they had never been there before, and Katya was with Russell, Sark, Mariana and the kids in the garden, playing with their new toys. Sark and Russell were improving their golf swing with the sets Katya had given them a few hours previously and Katya and Mariana were helping Christina and James play with their new puppies their parents had got them, luckily they would be flying privately back to Italy. Irina used this preparation time to gather her thoughts on the last few hours.

Wow, what an amazing Christmas this is. I can't believe I have finally got to see Yelena after all this time, I missed her so much. She has done so well considering everything we put her through at home; meeting Dmitri was the best thing that happened to her. Of course, it would be better if he wasn't SVR, but beggars cant be choosers as they say. And what was that between them last night? It looked like they had been arguing when they sat down at the table, I wonder if it had anything to do with Sark, they did seem somewhat shocked when Katya introduced him. Huh, he seemed pretty nervous himself actually, maybe he thought Dmitri would go crazy on him. Did they even speak at all? Irina frowned and turned to Jack. "Hey, I was just thinking, did you see Dmitri or Yelena talk to Sark at all last night? The air between them didn't seem that friendly to me."

"No, they didn't, it seems Dmitri is quite, annoyed, shall we say, that he wasn't informed Sark would be here. He came to see me last night and asked why I had willing allowed an enemy into the house, and he said had he known he certainly wouldn't have come." Jack answered with a grimace " Does he think I'm completely stupid? I may be CIA but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take logical security measures. If I thought Sark was a security threat at this moment in time then I wouldn't have let him in, simple as that."

" Sark's fine darling, don't worry about that. I don't see why Yelena didn't come to me and say something though, we grew pretty close again last night you know" Irina replied with another frown. "Oh Damn" she muttered under her breath, as she realised whilst she had been fretting she had started cutting up the chopping board as well.

"Yes, I'm well aware that you didn't stop chatting till about two in the morning with your sisters because a) you kept bursting into laughter and b ) when you came to bed you removed my part of the duvet. I was freezing thank you very much. I don't care about Sark anyway, I don't believe he would try anything with his family here, he does have some humanity. Have you considered Yelena kept it from you so you wouldn't get upset and think they were going to leave. I have a feeling she won the argument with Dmitri, I doubt they would be here otherwise." Jack answered; moving over towards the sink to make sure they had enough washed cutlery.

"You think their argument was bad? Irina asked whilst searching the many cupboards for another chopping board I know I have one somewhere dammit

" Well considering the mood Dmitri went into when you three ladies started gossiping to high heaven, he felt completely out of place, yet he didn't make any move to talk to Sark or Mariana all night. I was sitting there having two conversations at the same time, one in Italian and one in Russian, three when one of you wanted to ask me something random about the past. That implied to me Dmitri didn't want to communicate with Sark, and this he confirmed with his own words a few hours later. Yelena however kept on glaring over at Dmitri during her conversation with you, I think she was silently prodding him to talk to Sark as if they had already gone over the matter." Jack answered, now looking for a knife he had misplaced whilst drying the cutlery Where on earth did I put it? It's her favourite knife! It's the only one with the perfect balance for carving meat in her world. Ugh, she's gonna go crazy if I don't find it soon
" I hope they manage to find some conversation for over dinner, otherwise it's gonna be extremely uncomfortable, what with the Vaughns not being able to speak Russian, and not wanting to talk to me. Do you think we should maybe put Sark, his family, the Vaughns and our grandkids on one table and all of us on the other? I'm sure they will all find something to talk about in French." Irina asked, raising her eyebrows at her husband's behaviour Does he really think he put that knife in the cleaning cupboard? I can't believe he didn't notice me swipe it, as if I was going to let him look after it"Don't be silly Irina. The two tables are going to be put together, nobody is going to sit separately. I, uh, don't suppose you've seen any knives sitting around everywhere have you? He asked with a frown, he still couldn't figure out where he'd put it.

"Jaaack" Irina waved the knife she was using. "Are you looking for this?" She asked with a grin.

"Ah, yes. But how? When, did you take that? I could have sworn I was drying that only a few minutes ago." Jack frowned again

"You were, but I knew if I wanted to use it I would have to keep it in my possession, you are absolutely hopeless with putting things away, you shouldn't be allowed near the kitchen" Irina answered, still grinning.

" Somebody has to be in it to keep you out of it, I've lost count of the times we have had to repaint the ceiling or replace the oven" Jack retorted, grinning back.

Irina was just about to get into a tea towel fight when the doorbell rang "That'll be Yelena back, I'll go let them in.

One hour later Dmitri, Yelena, Anja, Leyna, Imena Katya, Russell, Mariana, James and Christina were sitting talking in the living room adjoining the kitchen when a shriek was heard so loud they nearly all jumped out of their seats "Grandma!".

The next minute Irina was being dragged out of the kitchen into the living room by a small girl with a big grin on her face, chattering at three times a normal persons speed. Suddenly she stopped when she saw 9 unfamiliar faces staring at her. Georgia had recognised her Aunt Katya but was so overcome with shyness that she hid behind Irina's leg. "Grandma, who are these people?" she asked meekly.

" Its OK sweetie, these are your family. Don't you remember your Aunt Katya?" Irina inquired gently.

"Yes, but I don't know who de other people are, mommy explained but I forgotted what she said.

" Forgotten, not forgotted George" Syd corrected from behind her father who was entering the room at that moment, "And don't worry about it sweetie, I don't know any of them either" This last sentence caused everyone to laugh, breaking some of the ice.

Immediately Katya jumped up and hugged Syd and Georgia, " Its so good to see you guys again, Happy Christmas!"

"Its good to see you as well Katya, I can't wait to meet this family of yours you and mom have been bragging about." Syd replied.

Just then Sark entered the room talking animatedly with Vaughn, Celia and Josh. Claudia followed close behind with Stephanie, Marie, Pierre and John, all discussing French superstars. Sark and Sydney stared at each other for a quick moment before a welcome hug. Syd saying "Hey you. Happy Christmas" before Sark replied with "Hey. Happy Christmas to you too. " Both had previously agreed beforehand that for the sake of their families they were going to act civil and loving rather than sarcastic and hating.

There followed a small awkward silence before Irina cut in, "Now let me make the introductions so we can all get to know each other better" these words sparking off first thought patterns in the minds of many of those present.

"Sydney, Michael, everybody, this is my youngest sister Yelena, her husband Dmitri and their three daughters…

Chapter 8- The Dinner Part One

"Grandma?" , Irina turned around at the sound of Claudia's voice floating through the kitchen door.

"Yes sweetie?" Irina answered before instinctively walking to the microwave when it beeped to remove the sauce.

"Grandpa and Daddy say the table is ready to be set, can me and Georgia and Christina set it? Please? Claudia pleaded, now standing half a metre behind Irina pouting.

"Sure you can, but get Mommy and Mariana to help you ok? And can you ask your grandfather if he is sure there are enough chairs out? I don't want it too look like we didn't want someone to be here" Irina asked

Well at least that's the conclusion Celia would come too given the chance to speak her mind. I noticed that look of disdain headed my way earlier, and I heard that unsavoury comment about me she whispered to her daughter, they don't call me a spy for nothing you know.

Irina had gone back to her cooking after Claudia had left the kitchen and was happily humming "Winter Wonderland" when the oven timer went off indicating the chicken was ready, and that in a few minutes everybody would be sitting down together in the same room sharing their Christmas.

Jack walked in at that moment "Hey, is that the chicken ready? Is it cooked?".

Irina scowled at this, and checking the bird declared it fine. " Can you go and call everybody and tell them to sit down? " She asked.

"Sure where are they?" Jack replied.

"Either in the garden, the den, the living room, the bathroom or the dining room, it depends on who's avoiding who really. " Irina smirked " This dinner is sure going to be interesting to say the least".

"You can say that again" Jack remarked before heading out of the room to gather everybody.

A few minutes later everyone was assembled in the dining room around the gigantic table,facing their first major problem, where everybody was going to sit.

"Mommy, I wanna sit with Claudy and Christy, I don't wanna sit near stinky Josh" Georgia whined, elbowing Josh.

"Well I don't want to sit anywhere near you either, I want to sit with Pierre and John so we can talk about cool cars" Josh smirked and nodded his head in sync with the two boys.

"Papa, Please may I sit near Georgia? She likes Barbie's too" Christina spoke, carefully choosing her English.

"Cmon Marie, lets sit at this end, so Irina can sit with her family at the other end" Celia subtlety hinted"

"I told John I would sit next to him, he gets very picky about his food and wants me to tell him what everything is" Marie sighed.

"Julian sweetheart, are you going to sit next to your mother and answer all her persistent questions? Katya asked her son with a twinkle in her eye.

"Sure, but I need to sit near Mariana and James too, they cant understand a word of English and Russian and need me to translate." He replied.

"Hey, Mariana speaks French doesn't't she? Why doesn't she sit next to Marie? Katya asked, raising her voice as the noise around them was getting unbearable.

"Because you want to sit near to Irina, and next to me, and Celia would prefer to be at the other end of the table from Irina with her family" Sark replied.

"Ah yes, how could I forget! " Katya grinned slightly to herself, however Celia caught this and started cursing under her breath "Well would you want to sit next to your husbands killer" Luckily the only person that heard this was Marie and she promptly told her mother to be quiet.

After another two minutes of heated debate Irina flipped and shouted "If you are not sitting down in the next 20 seconds then you won't be eating anything!"

This sudden outburst startled everybody into getting into the nearest chair, whilst the seating arrangement seemed OK from the outlook, with the Russian family at one end, the French family at the other and the Bristow- Vaughns dotted about the middle, there were two crucial mistakes. Katya had indeed ended up next to Sark, and he across from his wife, however Dmitri had ended up on the other side of him, causing a heavy amount of friction when they realised what had happened in the hurry. The other crucial mistake was that Irina was still standing up having been carrying the food, and the only place left at the table was beside her daughter, but directly opposite Celia Vaughn.

Irina slid into the seat, giving Sydney a quick smile "Sweetheart, I get to sit next to you, how lovely."

"It's great Mom, and this food looks great too. Dad and I were just saying how proud we are of you" Syd grinned and winked at her father who had ended up sitting across from her.

Irina just glared at the both of them, and turned away, only to find herself being glared at by Celia. " Why Celia, I don't believe we've had the chance to catch up, how is your Christmas going so far?" Irina asked sweetly

" As well as can be expected I suppose. The holidays are always hard without a loved one to share them with. Christmas was always William's favourite holiday, he did love to give and receive." Celia replied, her words meant to dig at Irina's conscious.

Look at her, all happy with Jack, she took that away from me, I want her to suffer as much as me. She had a second chance with her family, they didn't die, but William did, she took away my second chance and I'm never gonna let her forget it. never.

Irina accepted this dig with no expression whatsoever, however Stephanie was confused. " I thought Thanksgiving was Williams favourite holiday, it had more food, and he didn't need to find good presents for everybody. you always used to complain about it. Don't you remember Celia?

Celia went white and Irina smirked Ha, she didn't see that one coming, lets see her get out of this.

" I, uh, forgot to tell you it had changed. In the last year of his life he became more thankful of others, more loving, the last Christmas we spent together he must have spent thousands on his family alone. Celia replied, thinking Why the hell did I bring that up in front of Stephanie, she knows everything about me bar one secret, who William's killer is, she doesn't know I'm trying to take her on a guilt trip.
Irina had stopped smirking now, just glaring in exasperation, she had hoped they wouldn't bring up her old activities in front of the family, she had promised Sydney and hated to disappoint her. She glanced over at her husband and daughter to see how they were taking this, and the expression visible on Syd's face made her want to be sick. She looked so hurt, all she had wanted to do was spend a Christmas with her loving family, something that had been denied of her for over 30 years, and now her mothers actions were wrecking it.

Irina knew she had to do something to resolve the situation so she leaned over towards Celia and harshly started whispering " Will you please stop talking about your husbands death, you promised to not bring it up. And besides, I thought you had accepted my actions, William is to blame as well as me." Irina had whispered it so no one else but Celia and Jack could here it, only she hadn't counted on Stephanie leaning over towards Celia to get some cranberry sauce. She heard every word.

"WHAT?" She shrieked, causing the whole table to jump and turn to see what was brewing. She glared at them and lowered her voice, only those already listening and Marie heard the next conversation in fluent French.

"What did she just say Celia? Is she William's killer? Is that why you are being so bitchy towards her" Stephanie whispered angrily.

"Yes, she is. She worked for the bad guys and killed my husband so terribly they couldn't identify him." Directing her next sentence towards Irina she answered " I may believe he is partly to blame, and that you were just following orders, however it was your choice to kill him like that. That I can never forgive you for. I didn't even get to give him a final kiss, they were ordered to keep the casket closed."

Sydney, Marie and Stephanie flinched at this, Jack and Irina remained expressionless whilst Celia tried to prevent the tears building in her eyes from flowing down her cheeks. Stephanie however wasn't finished with her own verbal assault.

" Why the hell didn't you tell me CeCe? I take it Marie and Michel knew, but you tell me everything, why not something as important as this? How long have you known?" Stephanie inquired angrily, due to the amount of hurt she felt after being betrayed by her sister over something so major.

"Um, about 12 years. I found out after the wedding, Sydney and Michael had been having a mini argument about Irina and I couldn't understand why. I made them tell me. Marie already knew due to being one of Michel's confidants during his relationship with Sydney, they just couldn't bring themselves to tell me. I couldn't tell you Steph, I couldn't let you find out that I had allowed Michel to marry into the family of Williams murderer. I was terribly worried you would disown me, you always thought my loyalty to William was the most important part of my marriage, the institution you hold as most sacred. I couldn't do it Stephanie, I wanted to but I couldn't. I didn't want to lose you." The tears were flowing quite strongly now, and Celia quickly ran out of the door behind her in search of the nearest bathroom. Stephanie got up after a minute of quiet contemplation, trying to recover from the shock, and set off to find her sister and comfort her.

Irina and just sat there with a slightly open mouth, shocked herself by Celia's sisterly revelation. She had assumed Celia would have turned every family member bar Michael against her. After a minute she just shook her head slightly in wonder and concentrated on the food she had taken so long preparing, tuning into other people's conversations at the same time.

Chapter 9- The Dinner Part Two

The scraping back of Celia and Stephanie's chairs caused Sark to look up from his meal to see what was happening, he did love a bit of drama now and then and he had decided that this dinner was pretty boring as far as family get togethers go. He was sitting next to someone who was blatantly ignoring him, on the other side sat his mother who even though said she would talk to him, was more busy concentrating on her grandson and daughter in law opposite them. Sark continued to survey the table around him, trying to see whether anyone was as bored as he was. The kids seemed to be getting slightly wound up with each other, Irina looked bewildered, Sydney, Jack and Vaughn were whispering fiercely at each other before Vaughn got up and headed in the same direction as his mother, Sark thought it was probably to see if she was ok, though wondered ever so slightly why it wasn't her daughter going instead. He then realised that Marie didn't go because she was trying to keep the quickly escalating situation among the kids under control. He then glanced towards his more immediately family and his Russian cousins, noticing that the chestnut stuffing he had been craving was being passed to Imena on the other side of Dmitri.

Dammit, I can't reach. I'm going to have to ask Dmitri to pass me it. There is no way in hell I'm going to play his game if it means I don't get any of that stuffing. I remember its taste all too well from that Christmas the year Irina recruited me. On hearing I had never had a Christmas meal, she decided to put one together for those staying in her mansion at the time. Mmm. That was the best Christmas meal I ever had. I think she must of held someone hostage for that turkey, it was so big I didn't understand how they could have fit it in the oven to cook! Turkey… I wish there was some here, but Americans don't celebrate Christmas like Europeans, they prefer to make a bigger event out of thanksgiving than the birth of Christ, and they eat the turkey then. I wonder if they have any leftovers in the fridge? I could really do with a turkey sandwich and some stuffing on the side. Ah yes, stuffing, now all I have to do is get Dmitri's attention.Sark cleared his throat and leaned over towards Dmitri.

"Dmitri, Is it possible for you to pass the stuffing? Sark waited slightly impatiently for an answer and after two minutes decided to try again, a little louder this time.

"Dmitri? Dmitri? Can you please pass the stuffing? Dmitri?" He was really getting annoyed now; nobody ignored him and got away with it, even if he no longer worked at the very top of the business that they call espionage.

Dmitri's daughters were also getting confused at their father's rudeness; they had never seen him like this before, especially against a member of their family.

"Papa, Julian is talking to you, why won't you listen?" Leyna spoke in English, her voice full of confusion.

"Don't tell me who I can and cant talk to Leyna" Dmitri replied crossly in Russian.

Imena and Anja were now getting angry as well, they fully understood what their father was saying and couldn't stand him talking to their sister like that.

"Papa, Why are you being like that? Leyna hasn't done anything wrong!" Anja replied, followed by Imena saying " Yeah, its Christmas, this reunion was supposed to be happy, I don't know what's happening further down the table, but there's no reason to take things out on our cousin who you've never even met before."

"I don't need to have met him face to face to know he is trouble Imena, surely you can reason with that." Dmitri replied, still in Russian.

" No Papa, I cant. I have seen no evidence of him being bad, look at him, here with his family, there is no way I can reason with your view." Imena replied, gesturing at Mariana and James.

This of course caused confusion for Mariana, who could see trouble brewing and had a feeling she was somehow involved but she couldn't understand a word of the Russian. After all, her job as a SISDE analyst in Rome only required her to be fluent in Italian and French, though she could also speak Greek, Spanish, Portuguese and German as well. She turned to her husband with a frown on her face and started speaking in Italian to him.

"Julian, What is wrong? These relatives of yours seem to be angry and I have a feeling I am somehow involved?" She asked, glancing from him to his uncle and cousins.

" Its OK love, my Uncles anger is directed at me and his daughters can't understand why, they indicated your presence as a means of showing how good I am." He replied back in Italian, with a slight smirk on his face.

Anja and Imena didn't understand what was being said between the couple, however Leyna knew enough Italian to make out what was being said.

"You know why my father is being like this towards you?" She asked in Russian, for the benefit of her sisters. Katya and Yelena had now tuned into the conversation after hearing the raised voices so Katya took on interpreting for her daughter in law.

"Of course I do" Sark replied with a sigh, " I just wasn't expecting him to bring his views to a family dinner. He could have at least waited till this was over to bring up how terrible I am, well how terrible I used to be actually."

Dmitri snorted at this and caused Yelena, Katya and Mariana to glare at him. All three knew about Sark's previous activities to some extent, and all believed he had taken a backseat in his field of work.

"Once a terrorist and assassin, always a terrorist and assassin. I cant believe you think I would acknowledge you after what you have done to people in my country, as well as those all over the world. I could lose my job just for sitting here next to you" Dmitri retorted, slamming his knife and fork down on the table, suddenly overcome with anger at everybody within the room.

"WHAT?" Imena, Leyna and Anja shouted simultaneously, and this time it was the turn of the people at the other end of the table to jump and look around at everybody.

"What are you talking about Papa?" Anja asked meekly

"Your cousin Julian here used to kill people for a job, including Russians high up in the Government. He even had something to do with the death of his father, a Russian diplomat by the name of Andrian Lazarey." Dmitri looked towards Sark with a look that clearly said ' I detest you and will turn everyone against you'.

"DO NOT bring my father into this conversation. What he did to both my mother and myself was unforgivable; you will not be able to take me on any guilt trips by blaming me for his death. And yes, I did kill people, but its in the past, I work for the good guys now, I run a perfectly good intelligence organisation which works in conjunction with the CIA, MI5 and SISDE. If the SVR doesn't want my help then its up to them, they are the ones losing out." Sark retorted back.

" Don't ever expect us to ask you for help, we do not negotiate with terrorists. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." Dmitri got up and stormed out, leaving his daughters in shock behind him. Whist Yelena tried calming them down, Mariana tried to get to grips with the situation at hand.

"Julian?" Mariana said with a small voice. "Did you really kill your father? I thought you said he died when you were small?

He became silent for a quick moment before answering his wife. " Yes, I told you that because I believed for most of my life for it to be true. He left me and never came back. I lost all of my family until Irina recruited me to work for her, and through her I met my mother"

He felt Katya's hand on his shoulder and his hand reached up to hold it.

"But before I met my mother it was brought to my attention my father was still alive, he still didn't have a care in the world for me and I knew there were orders to kill him, I could have stopped them but I didn't try. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth before Mari, I just thought you would feel better not knowing."

"No, its OK, don't apologise. I should have put two and two together. I did look you up on our database and it mentioned Andrian Lazarey as your deceased rich father, but I didn't look into how he died. I guess if I had done I would have found out what had happened, and I wouldn't have had to question you just now. I'm sorry you both had to put up with such a man, I'm guessing he was one of the reasons for you not knowing each other for a long time?"

"Yes. It was only after the Covenant had killed him that I decided to do some research into my parenthood. One day a contact told me he had a year long relationship with a Yekaterina Derevko, of course I immediately set about tracking Irina down. She was hiding so well it was impossible, however I decided to watch Sydney and see how she got hold of her when she needed help. I caught her coming out of a bank in Wittengstein after a major fallout with her father, and typically she was mad at her mother as well. She knew she needed information from her and headed towards a Covenant medical facility where she believed Katya was being treated after fighting with her several hours previously. Katya of course didn't lead her to her mother, but by then I had realised Sydney had led me towards my possible mother. I used my Covenant clearance to get in the front door, unlike Sydney who had used the roof, and I went to the lab where they had been testing her blood amongst other things. I found suitable material and personnel to run a DNA test and in a few hours I was certain she was my mother. We were reunited a couple of days after the test, when she was released. We of course didn't share much trust at first, but over the next year we grew to be friends and then a few years later than that we felt like family again."

By the time Sark finished his explanation, those around him had tears in their eyes.

Katya was remembering when her son first approached her, how she felt at the time.

He was so beautiful, yet so strong. His independence gained from his years of abandonment shone through like a star at night. My baby, he had come home

Mariana was full of sympathy for her husband, she hated the thought of him being alone He must have thought nobody in the world loved him. Family is so important. Thank god he got the chance to find his mother, that he gained a family again.

Yelena and her daughters were crying for another reason, they knew how it felt to gain family they thought they had lost, or in the case of the girls, never had. They slowly began to accept Sark had changed if they hadn't already, as was the case of Yelena who had believed her sister when she first told her. She had instinctively known Katya wasn't lying by the look of love and proudness in her eyes.

Chapter 10- The Dinner Part Three

When Dmitri walked back into the room ten minutes later, things had calmed down a bit but not a lot. Celia, Stephanie and Vaughn had re-entered the room and were now sitting back down, avoiding the people around them. Stephanie couldn't bear to look Irina in the face and there was an awkward silence between Sydney and Vaughn, not knowing quite how to cope with their two warring mothers as they were expected to take sides. Celia had mellowed quite a bit though and could look Irina in the face without getting too furious, however she preferred to help her daughter with the kids.

What on earth is going on? She thought to herself. I'm sure they were all eating and talking happily before I left.

It seemed that seating all the kids together hadn't been a very good idea. They had picked up on the tension between their parents and as a result, Josh was being left out of conversation between Pierre and John, and couldn't speak to either of his sisters because he had wound them up too much.

I am not going to cry, I'm not going to look like a wuss in front of those two idiots. I can't cry, I just cant. I wish Mom was next to me, to talk to me and cheer me up.

Christina was near tears as she saw her father being shouted at down the other end of the table, and Georgia wasn't being much help asking her why. Claudia had taken an authoritative stance and was saying it was because he was bad, which just caused Christina to become even more inconsolable.

Papa isn't bad, Papa is good. These people are the bad people. Why did he bring me here? They don't like us. I wanna go home. Why won't Papa take me home? I want my Grandmama Donnatella to tell me happy stories, why couldn't we go see her at her villa, why did we have to come here. Why did Papa bring me here?

It seemed to Marie that the situation couldn't get much worse, but of course it did, and it started with one simple sentence.

Georgia was confused. Very confused. She couldn't figure out why everyone was shouting at each other so she took the decision to ask her older cousins.

"Pierre? Why is everyone angry with each other? Do they not like each other any more?" she asked with a frown, and tears welling up in her eyes.

"Of course they don't stupid. Your family are terrible people, its their fault everyone's mad" Pierre scoffed.

Josh took immediate insult to this and finally spoke up in defence of his family.

"Don't you dare call my sister stupid French boy. It's not her fault your family is pathetic and can't cope with problems."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Your grandmother upset mine, not the other way around. And your sister is stupid, both of them are, Claudia has no brains whereas Georgia is a little cry baby."

"I SAID DON'T INSULT MY SISTER" Everybody at the table jumped for the third time since they had sat down at the start of the meal, and Sydney had finally had enough.

I can't take this anymore. It ends right here. I'm not repeating what happened to me to my kids.

She looks over at Vaughn, blinking her thoughts quickly in Morse code. He nods in agreement; she thanks her lucky stars that she learnt Morse code more extensively after her father was captured when they worked for SD-6.

The noise levels started to rise again after a moment and Sydney jumps up and bangs her fist on the table, not too hard but hard enough to gain everyone's attention.

"Right, that's it I've had it. Kids, leave the room." No movement.

"Now." She said it so sharply that Claudia, Josh, Georgia, Pierre and John immediately pushed back their seats and walked quickly out of the room.

"This was supposed to be a happy family meal and it's turned into one big argument. The meal is over. Yelena, I was happy for you and your family to come here but I made it very clear I wanted no trouble, unfortunately it seems your husband did not agree to those terms and therefore I am going to have to say goodbye."

"Sydney? There is no way in hell I'm sending them out onto the streets at Christmas, they are my family for godssake" Irina replied with a frown

What the hell is she thinking? I only just got my sister back, I thought she understood

"You don't have to Mom. Vaughn and I are leaving with the kids, you can sort out your intra family problems however you like, but I won't be around for it." Sydney then turned to Celia, Stephanie and Marie.

"Before I ask you back to our home, I want you to understand some things. I will not in any way tolerate people insulting or upsetting my children in any way. Celia, I want you to apologise to my mother who went to the trouble of cooking this lovely meal, and I want the three of you to talk to Pierre and John and explain what they have said is unacceptable and that it is not true."

Celia opened her mouth to object but Sydney saw this and cut her off.

"Some of the stuff they did say may indeed have been true to some extent but I don't want either of them or my kids to know about it. It is in the past and it stays in the past. Will you agree to this? "

Celia is staring at Sydney with slight shock, yet manages to nod her head and mumbles " That's fine"

"Right then. We can leave now. Sark, it was good to see you and it was extremely nice to meet your family. I'm glad you found some happi…" Her words were cut off by a shriek and the words "Stop it, Please stop it". It sounded like Georgia and the adults suddenly became aware a fight was going on in the next room. Sydney raised her eyebrows "Vaughn, could you go and sort that out, I'll finish what I'm saying and I'll be out." Vaughn nodded "Right on it" and left the room quickly.

" Anyway Sark, I'm glad you found happiness and hopefully I'll see you on good terms soon. Katya, the same goes for you, give us a call next time you're in LA. Mom, Dad, I'll see you both sometime in the next week probably, and Yelena, maybe we'll see each other again some day. "

Sydney got up from the table, kissed both her parents on the cheek and walked out the door Celia had exited earlier. Once in the hallway she took a deep breath and willed the tears forming in her eyes to go away. She heard movement behind her and found Celia, Stephanie and Marie following behind her, and they came to a stop outside the den where Vaughn was telling off the kids. One look at Josh and Pierre explained whom the fight had been between, the black eye and bloody nose on Pierre and Josh's bloody lip said everything.

Marie rolled her eyes and pulled her sons out of the room, Georgia grasped Sydney's hand whilst Vaughn marched Josh out of the room and Claudia followed him. They were out of the house within the next two minutes, the kids were quite confused as to why they weren't going back into the room but knew better than to question their parents in the moods they were in. The ride back the house in the car was silent, Claudia sat in the passenger seat next to her father staring at the radio. She was too nervous to ask him if she could put in on, the wrinkles on his forehead were increasing every few minutes. Sydney sat in the back between Georgia and Josh, Georgia was taking a small nap whilst Syd treated her son's lip.

Poor kid. He really wanted a fun Christmas with his only cousins, and look what happens. Hopefully they aren't going to be like this for the rest of the week. I don't think I could cope with that. Oh God, Mom is going to kill me for leaving the dinner. She doesn't know my reasons, they probably think I repressed that memory. I wish I had.
In the other car however the noise levels were slightly louder. Stephanie was looking out of the window, trying to figure out how they would end up spending the rest of the day whilst Celia and Marie were patiently explaining to Pierre and John that they had got the wrong end of the stick, and that they weren't terrible people. Celia had been frantically trying to find a lie that they could utilise to cover the real reason she was mad at Irina. The kids had figured out it had something to do with their grandfather and Irina so in the end she told them it was because Irina and William had worked together as representatives from different companies. Unfortunately Irina's work deliberately got William into some trouble and the stress caused him to have a heart attack and he later died. She stressed that Irina's company was more to blame than Irina was, yet she used her to take out the blame on.

" I was wrong being like that towards her, but I was missing my William desperately. The reason Stephanie and I were upset was that I hadn't told her Irina was the one William had been working with, but we are fine now, aren't we Stephanie?"

Stephanie turned around at the mention of her name and nodded. " Yes" she replied "I'm sorry if our arguing upset you kids, I was just a little bit shocked, but I'm ok now, we're ok now."

Marie then spoke up "So will you two be able to play civilly with your cousins now? Neither you nor they have done anything wrong, you shouldn't be fighting with each other. Pierre, it would be nice if you apologise to Josh for upsetting him and giving him that lip. And if you apologise to his sisters as well for insulting them he may apologise to you for getting you in this state.

Pierre winced while his mother checked out his face but agreed to apologise. He didn't want to fall out with Josh, he and John had been planning to have lots of fun with him in LA, and he hadn't really meant what he said about Claudia and Georgia, he was angry and it was in the heat of the moment.

I hope this works, Sydney and Michel will be able to use this with their kids as well if they haven't already given an explanation. Oh dear, what if they already have said something different? We need to get to that house and fast….

Within ten minutes they had arrived at the house, and after everybody jumped out of the cars, they all set about making apologies. Pierre and John ran over to where Josh and Claudia were teasing Georgia for falling asleep and a couple of minutes later they were all smiling. Celia, Stephanie and Marie walked over to where Syd and Vaughn were standing and explained their cover story. It was agreed on as a good cover and Syd made a mental note to tell her kids it when they asked.

They started to head towards the door and entered the house. The kids went to the den and the adults were on their way to the kitchen when the phone started to ring in the hallway. Sydney doubled back whilst the others headed on, and this she became thankful for as she suddenly collapsed into the hall chair, in shock of the information she was receiving over the wire.

Chapter 11- Sixteen Years

Sixteen years. It had been sixteen years since she had first wanted to hear those four words. To most in the outside world, they would be thinking the opposite. They would be questioning why it had to happen. They would re-evaluate their beliefs, but she knew better. Her last twenty-three years had shown her the private side. She knew the truth; they were the ones in the dark.

The caller themselves didn't know the truth, she could tell from the tone of voice. They were sympathetic, upset, confused as to why something like that would happen to someone so good, so caring. She remembered feeling like that once, no twice, maybe even three times. Once, when she was six, and then twice when she was in her late twenties, though she knew better then.

She wanted to get up out of the hall chair, move into the kitchen and join in the laughter that was floating out of the room, but she couldn't move. She didn't know how she felt. Yes, she was happy that part of her life was finally over, but she was also sad at the same time.

She could remember vividly why she enjoyed that life twenty-three years ago, the caring part, where she felt wanted and felt she had a purpose to fill in the world. Of course that happiness ended, like most of the happiness in her world did at some point. Nothing was ever straightforward, something always got in the way of her having a normal life back then. It had become slightly better recently, her family was together again, as were she and Vaughn and now they had a family of their very own.

But she couldn't help but think back to the old days. To her carefree life with Francie and Will, to her great university course, and her new knowledge of the world. She was happy then too, discovering new things, especially love. She closed her eyes and leant back into the chair, remembering. First there was Noah, and that undeniable chemistry they had whenever they made contact. His goofy, mysterious grin and his inability to commit. Her immaturity in a dangerous yet thrilling world. She had to admit they made quite an unusual couple, but they were happy, and that wouldn't have happened if she hadn't made the call, accepted the job.

Of course he left, as everyone did in her life for a period of time. But he came back, but that wasn't until after Danny. Danny, the guy who turned her whole life upside down without even knowing it. Of course it didn't help he was dead at the time, but his death led to greater things. Firstly though, it led to hurt. One person she thought she could trust her life with turned out had been lying to her, and how did she find this out? From the one person she had replaced with him. Her ever so distant father, the one she thought had given up on her completely. But no, he had come back. Told her that her whole life was a lie, showed her the truth about the world, just like she thought she had found out seven years previously.

Through him of course she had met Vaughn. Her soulmate, the one she couldn't part with, the one who tortured her showing love to his wife. OK, so she was evil and Vaughn came back in the end, but for a while there her whole life was upside down again. And whose fault was it that the evil bitch had married her Vaughn in the first place, whose fault was it that she lost two years of her life? It was the Covenant's. And why did the Covenant exist? Milo Rambaldi, that's who. Thinking about it, most of her problems were related to that man, but, she thought hopefully, they were going to be reduced after this latest event.

She suddenly became aware of a noise, it sounded like someone calling, and then it got clearer. It was Vaughn, wondering where she was.

"Syd? Are you OK? Who was on the phone?"

She opened her eyes and sat up in the chair, leaning backwards on her hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just, got a little bit of a shock is all."

"Who was that on the phone?"

"It was a guy, Henry Greenski I think was his name. It's a Swiss name."

"Who is he? And why is he calling you on Christmas Day?"

"He had some news for me. He phrased it as bad news, but I don't think he knew the truth, at least it didn't seem like it." She tilted her head to the side, contemplating whether he knew.

"Syd? What did he say? You're not making any sense!" The amount of wrinkles on his forehead were increasing at an alarming rate.

"Ah, sorry. My thought patterns are all messed up to. I keep on jumping from one memory to another. Its like my whole life is flashing before me so I can analyse every little detail." She seems slightly distant during this last sentence, so Vaughn decides the only way he is going to find out what happened is to phrase his question clearly and loudly.

"Uh, Syd? Sweetie, still not making any sense. What.Did.He.Say?"

"Oh, sorry. He said… he said" She paused as her memory raced to recall the exact moment

"I'm so sorry to have to tell you this but you are second next of kin and I have instructions I must inform you directly if anything happens"

"What's happened?" You remember asking, bracing yourself for the answer, though you had suspicions as to what it might be, after all not just anyone would put you down as next of kin…
And then she remembered as clear as day, those four words spoken so solemnly she had to fight the urge to burst into a fit of giggles

"Arvin Sloane is dead"

Chapter 12- Of Ceilings and Allergies

Vaughn blinked a couple of times, trying to comprehend what he thought he had been told.

Did she just say Sloane's dead?

"What? How, When, Where?" He asked, still pretty shocked at the revelation.

"It was a couple of hours ago, in Switzerland." Syd paused for a moment before carrying on. "Henry said that he had been in the office, just finishing up an emergency meeting with his senior staff. There had been maintenance work going on the day before in the room above his office, apparently the ceiling had been weakened, and when someone walked across the floor above, the floor fell in. A large piece of roof lodged itself in his abdomen, he was screaming in pain and was having trouble breathing, so when the medics injected Morphine he couldn't say no, and he went into Anaphylactic shock. They tried for 30 minutes to revive him but he had gone. The injuries and the allergic reaction were too much for his body to cope with."

She shook her head slightly amused by the irony of it all. "You wouldn't have thought would you? That of all things it would be a ceiling and an allergy that killed Arvin Sloane, one of the greatest criminal masterminds of the 21st century"

Shame he knew me from the minute I was born, why the hell did my Dad have to be best friends with him of all people?Ah, how could I forget.. Rambaldi.
"I've gotta say this, I know I shouldn't cos you know he's dead and all, but shouldn't he have seen it coming? I thought he could see into the future" Vaughn grinned ever so slightly, and looking into Syd eyes he could tell she was pretty amused as well.

"Oh man, I'm gonna crack up. When did you become Weiss anyway? That's his kind of comment" She poked him playfully in the ribs

"He's taking a break, I think Jules has got some kind of influence over h