It Was For The Best.
Next chapter is here. Thank you for reading and commenting. It means a lot.
Sydney Derevko Bristow: I'm glad you thought it was hilarious. Thank you. Sorry, but I won't be writing about the honeymoon. The story ends at the wedding but feel free to dream.
Irina_Derevko_Bristow: Well, they have a lot to make up for. He's in love and happy, finally with the woman he loves - he lives in the moment a lot of the time. Yeah, they don't have it easy. What's BBF?
AliasMuse: Thank you very much. You're too kind.
Dlenafan: Glad you think so. Yeah, she needed to do that. Glad you liked that part. I had a lot of fun writing it. Maybe you do. :lol: Exactly she human. Good one. :lol: You'll find out.
TheDerevkoGirl: Glad I could make you laugh. Yeah it is. Yeah, none of them have any control. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Thank you. That's for Jack and Irina only. I won't be writing about that. But feel free to dream.
nicewoman: Sorry, but I won't be writing about the honeymoon. The first story ends at the wedding. But feel free to dream. You're welcome and thank you.
sleepy1t: Thank you. I'm glad I could make you laugh.
Chapter 44
The next morning Jack instinctively woke up around the time the triplets came to snuggle with him and Irina. He looked at the time, and sure enough, it was around the time, they usually came into the room. He thought he’d get out and stop them before they came into their room. Irina was only sleeping in her panties, and he thought she should also be allowed to sleep. He moved Irina gently out of his arms and got out as quietly as he could. He put on a robe, and got out in the hall, just as the triplets were near the bedroom.
“Good morning kids.” The triplets gave their father a hug.
“What are you doing out here daddy?”
“I was actually on my way to see you. You see, mommy is not feeling too well, and I think it’s best, if we let her sleep. So, why don’t I go and tuck you back in your own bed. Would that be alright with you?”
“Is mommy sick?”
“No, she’s not sick. But she’s just not feeling that well. She’ll feel better doing the day, I promise.”
“Okay daddy.” Jack smiled at them, and tucked them back in their own bed.
“Now why don’t I read you a story, so that you can fall back to sleep.” They nodded and it didn’t take them long to fall back to sleep. He gave them a kiss, checked on Nadia, before going back to his own room, and slept for a while longer.
When the alarm clock went off an hour later, Irina groaned out loud. “Please make it stop.” Jack laughed a little and turned off the alarm clock. He kissed her forehead gently.
“Good morning sweetheart.”
“My head is hurting a little. What’s possibly good about that?” He laughed a little.
“I take it you drank a lot last night?”
“Yeah, we probably did. I don’t remember much.” He laughed a little, and she put her hand to her head, suddenly remember something. “Jack, I didn’t by any chance try to take your pants off downstairs in the hall last night, when I got home, did I?”
“Yes, you did. You grabbed my belt several times, telling Mr. Fun to get up and come out and play. I think you scared Marshall quite a bit.” She looked at him, staring wide eyed as much as she could.
“I said that in front of Marshall?” He nodded and the memory came back to her. “Oh, god I did.” She snuggled into his shoulder. “I’m sorry Jack. I know you don’t like to have things like that indicated in front of other people.” He kissed her forehead.
“It’s okay. It was only in front of Marshall. Neither of us was comfortable with the situation, but I’m quite sure he won’t be blabbing. Oh, and apparently you won.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. Carrie threw up, and when you heard that, you threw your hands up in the air, and said you won.” Irina thought for a moment, and then let out a small laugh.
“I remember now. We were competing on who could hold their liquor. Sydney, Nadia, and Rachel had caved a long time ago, but neither Carrie nor I had thrown up yet. So, when she did that meant I won.” There was a small triumphant smile on Irina’s lips, and Jack smiled at that.
“That’s my girl. Though, I must say that I’m a bit disappointed with our daughters. They’re half Russians, so I thought that meant they could hold their liquor. Not to brag, but I’m quite capable of holding my liquor myself.” Irina smiled.
“Yes, you are. I guess the part of being able to hold ones liquor skipped a generation.” They laughed. Irina then suddenly remembered more from the evening, and snuggled a little more into Jack’s shoulder. He sensed, she was worried about something, or embarrassed. Something was definitely going on. He nudged her a little with his shoulder.
“What’s wrong Irina?” She looked up at him, and smiled at him apologetically.
“I just remembered other parts of the evening.”
“And?”
“I might’ve indicated and said other things about you and us.” He looked at her a little horrified.
“Like what exactly?”
“Oh I might’ve mentioned that having sex on the washing machine is quite pleasurable, that I’ve never faked an orgasm, that I like your strong hands touching me allover my body, that I love your tongue, that you’re amazing in bed and leave me satisfied every time, that you have a firm butt. Minor things like that.” He gaped and stared wide eyed at her.
“Minor? I would hardly call those things minor.” He groaned out loudly. “I can’t believe you said that in front of everyone. In front of our daughters.”
“I was complementing you. And I seriously doubt Sydney and Nadia will be mentioning any of it to anyone. And I’m sure Carrie and Rachel won’t be mentioning anything either. They might bring it up in front of Sydney and Nadia to tease them and make them uncomfortable, but they won’t be mentioning it in front of you.” He shook his head at her. She kissed his cheek and spoke sincerely. “I’m sorry Jack. It was girl’s night, and I just wanted to have some fun. Later I got too drunk to really have much control of what I was saying. I just can’t help the way you make me feel. I was not allowed to be honest about my feelings for you for so many years. And then there were the years when I wouldn’t admit it to you or anyone else. Now that I can tell the world how I feel about you, I want to shout it from the rooftops.” He looked at her and smiled a little.
“Couldn’t you just tell people, you love me, and leave it at that? I don’t think there’s a need to complement me like that.” She smiled at him and gently stroke his cheek.
“I can’t help but brag. You’re amazing in every way.” He blushed a little. She smiled more and kissed him.
“Well, just keep the bragging to a minimum in the future.” She nodded and he let out a small laugh. “Why don’t I take a shower and then go and make breakfast. You need some salty and fatty food when you’ve been drinking so much, so I’m going to make pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast. You can sleep for a little while longer. I’ll tell you when you need to hit the showers.” He gave her a kiss.
“See I was right. You are amazing.” She gave him a kiss, and he smiled at her. Then she looked up a little puzzled. “Where are the triplets?”
“I woke up before they got in here, and stopped them in the hall. I told them that you weren’t feeling well, and then I tucked them into their own bed. I might be sending one of them up to wake you, so you should probably put on a shirt.” He tossed her his shirt, and she sat up to put it on. She put a hand to her head, still not feeling too well. She lay back down and smiled at him.
“Another example of you being amazing.” He smiled at her again, before he headed to the bathroom.
When he got out of the bathroom Irina had fallen back to sleep. He smiled to himself and gave her a kiss before leaving. He woke up the triplets, and told them they could keep their pajamas on, and that Sergei could help them get dressed later. They went to the kitchen with him and he started on breakfast. Later he asked them to go and wake their mother quietly, and that they should get their mother to wake up Nadia.
They walked quietly into their parents’ room and went to their mother’s side, gently pulling at the covers. “Wake up mommy.” Irina slowly opened her eyes and turned around where she saw the triplets smiling at her. She smiled back.
“Good morning sweethearts.”
“Daddy said it’s time to get up.”
“Are you feeling better mommy?”
“A little bit, thank you. But I’ll feel better during the day.”
“Okay. Daddy said you should wake up Nadia.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. Why don’t you go back down to daddy, and I’ll get up.” They all nodded and Irina reluctantly got out of bed. She walked off to Nadia’s bedroom before taking a shower. She gently sat down on her bed, gently shaking her. “Sweetheart, time to get up. You father is up, and breakfast will be ready soon.” Nadia woke up, and instantly put a hand to her head.
“Who’s been using my head as a punching bag?” Irina smiled. “My head hurts.”
“I know. I’m not feeling too good myself. Why don’t you get up and take a nice shower, and then come and get breakfast. You father is making fatty and salty food. It’ll be good for you.”
“Do I have to go to work today?” Irina let out a small laugh.
“Yes, you do. I doubt your father will accept us staying home, just because we got drunk. Now get up. Come on quickly. The sooner you get up, the less painful it will be.”
“That’s a load of felgercarb mom. If I stay in bed and keep sleeping, I’ll be in less pain hours from now.” Irina gaped a little at her, and then smiled. Nadia smiled apologetically. “Sorry mom, but I really got a bad hangover.”
“It’s okay. Just get up.” She gave her a kiss on the forehead, but Nadia wasn’t moving. “Sweetheart, I’m not leaving until you’re on your way to the shower, and I really want to get some breakfast, so please get up.” Nadia got up reluctantly, and Irina went to her own bedroom a few seconds later. They both got out of their rooms at the same time and headed down to the kitchen together. Jack looked up at them and smiled.
“Perfect timing.” He walked over and gave Irina a kiss. “You’re looking a little better already.”
“Yeah, I feel a little better. I think the shower did wonders.” She went to the fridge to get the juice, when more memories from last night suddenly entered her mind. “Uh, Jack?” She motioned for him to join her. When he was beside her, she whispered. “Did I say something about wanting you to take me up against the fridge?” He smiled.
“Yes, you did.” She stared a little wide eyed at him. “We went to the kitchen, because I wanted to get you some aspirins, before you went to bed, and you thought I might want to take you up against the fridge. The thought didn’t cross my mind before, but I must say I got turned on by the idea, when you mentioned it.” He wiggled his eyes at her and she smiled.
“We’ll definitely have to do that some day then. And aspirins, yes I remember. I guess that’s also why I feel better than I probably would have, hadn’t I had them.” He nodded and she kissed him.
“Let me guess. Another example of me, being amazing?” She smiled.
“Absolutely.” She gave him another kiss before they sat down to eat. Maddie looked up at her parents as they sat down.
“I don’t think Nadia is feeling too good either.” Jack looked at Nadia and smiled, being amused by how hung over she was.
“No, I don’t think she does. How do you feel sweetheart?”
“Horrible.” He laughed a little.
“Yeah, I can see that. Have plenty of breakfast and drink lots of coffee.”
“Dad, I can’t eat a thing.”
“I know you probably can’t eat much now, but just eat some. It’ll make you feel better. You need the salt and the fat.” She gave him a small smile, not being able to do much else, and picked up her fork and started eating. Jack looked at the triplets. “Your sister will feel better later in the day.”
“Just like mommy?” Irina looked at them and smiled.
“Yeah, just like me.” The triplets nodded and kept on eating their breakfast.
At APO Jack couldn’t help but be amused at the sight of Sydney, Carrie, and Rachel. They looked just as bad as Nadia. Kendall looked around at the three of them too, as well as at Irina and Nadia. He walked up to Jack and looked out at them puzzled. “What’s up with them?” He turned to look at Jack and Jack looked at Kendall. He gave Kendall an amused smile.
“They’re all hung over.” Kendall stared a little wide eyed at Jack.
“They’re hung over?” Jack nodded.
“As you probably know, Irina had her party last night. Well, apparently they decided to play drinking games, and ended up getting really drunk.” Kendall stared a little more at Jack but then started laughing. Jack started to laugh too.
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re not sending them out on a mission, to a meeting or something. They can hardly hold themselves together. Well, Irina seems to be doing better than the others, but still. Should they even be here in their state?”
“They would be better off at home. But they’re the ones, who decided to get drunk, knowing they’d be going to work the day after. Therefore they’ll suffer the consequences.” Jack and Kendall shared another laugh and looked at the women.
“There’s certainly never a boring moment around this place.”
A while later Irina walked over to Vaughn. He had in a way not really been looking her in the eyes the entire day, and she didn’t really know why. “Michael do you have a minute?” Vaughn looked up at Irina and felt a little uncomfortable. He still wasn’t really able to look her in the eyes.
“Uh, I’m a little busy. So if you can make it quick.”
“Okay. It’s just that you seem to be a little uncomfortable around me, and you’re not really able to look me in the eyes. Have I done something to you? Did something happen yesterday, when you came home? I must admit I was drunk, and there are probably a lot I don’t remember.” Vaughn looked at her a little, trying his best to smile, so that she wouldn’t keep being suspicious.
“No, nothing happened. I’m just not used to seeing you or any of the rest of them that drunk. It took me by surprise, that’s all. And I’ve had to take care of Sydney and Rachel today, so….” He trailed off and smiled a little more.
“Are you sure?” Vaughn nodded.
“Yes, absolutely. Now if you’ll excuse me I should return to work.” She smiled and nodded, letting him leave. She still wasn’t convinced that there wasn’t something wrong. She noticed her daughters, Carrie, and Rachel by the coffee maker, and decided to get herself a cup of coffee and see if maybe one of them remembered something.
“Hi.” They all smiled through their hangover at Irina. She poured herself a cup of coffee, and then looked at Sydney. “Sydney do you know what’s wrong with Michael?” Sydney looked at her mother puzzled.
“No. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Vaughn. Why do you ask?”
“He’s just acting a little strange to me. It’s like he’s a little uncomfortable around me, and he won’t exactly look me in the eyes. I asked him about it, but he says there’s nothing wrong.” Sydney was puzzled by that. He hadn’t seemed much different to her. She spotted Eric walking over to them and decided maybe he knew something.
“Hello ladies. I take it, you’ll be drinking plenty of the coffee today, since you were all really wasted last night?” He couldn’t help but laugh. Nadia gave him a slight push.
“Please stop making jokes. My head hurts too much to shake it at you, and to roll my eyes at you.” He smiled at her, and gently kissed her forehead.
“Sorry. I’ll leave you all alone, and continue the teasing when you’re all feeling better. I just came to get a cup of coffee, while there’s still some left.” He poured himself a cup.
“Eric, do you know if there’s something wrong with Vaughn? Mom said he was acting a little strange, but I haven’t noticed anything.” Eric turned to look at Sydney, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Well, you did call him last night, and when you hung up, he did seem a bit strange. Almost a bit horrified. I asked him about it, but he said nothing was wrong. He said you were just drunk. After the phone call we went to your place.” She was still puzzled. “Well, I’ll leave you ladies alone.” After he left Sydney looked around at the others.
“I called Vaughn? When did I call him, I don’t remember?” The others shrugged, but after a couple of seconds realization dawned on Sydney, as the memories came back to her. She put a hand over her eyes and then rubbed her temple. “I remember now. I called him to thank him for being great in bed.” She looked at her mother. “I told him that you said I should tell him that.” Irina started to laugh a bit, remembering too that Sydney was on the phone with Vaughn, and having heard the conversation.
“That’s right. No wonder he can’t look me in the eyes.”
“Oh god.” Everyone looked at Nadia as she groaned.
“What is it Nadia?” Nadia looked at Sydney.
“I just remembered other details about last night.”
“Such as.”
“Such as what led you to call Vaughn.” Sydney looked at her puzzled, and Nadia grimaced when she realized she’d had to tell. “It all started with the drinking game, and the direction the game was headed. Mom wasn’t exactly shy about revealing details, and stuff about dad. She told us, she complements dad all the time. Please tell me you remember Syd, because I would rather forget all of this, and I don’t really want to continue.” Sydney looked at Nadia horrified, suddenly remembering the evening a lot better.
“Yes, I remember, and there’s no need to go on.” Irina and Carrie laughed. Rachel laughed a little too, but had apparently missed out on some fun. “Please stop laughing. It’s not funny.” Irina tried to stop her laughter, and tried her best to apologize with her eyes. Rachel stopped and kept hers to a snicker, while Carrie still laughed a bit more. Sydney turned to Carrie and gave her an amused glare. “How’s Tony The Tiger?” Carrie immediately stopped laughing and shut her eyes, while Irina, Nadia, and Rachel were laughing a little.
“Right, I told you that. And that was even before I got drunk. Okay, I’ll stop laughing.” Sydney turned to her mother.
“I think we should just leave Vaughn alone and not mention anything. He’ll be alright. I might talk to him, but the rest of you shouldn’t mention it.” They all nodded and decided that they’d keep their girl’s night to themselves.
The time before the wedding went on with planning the wedding and getting everything arranged at the place the wedding was being held. The inn had a small cottage right next to the inn, which was new to the place. It was reserved for special events, if people needed a bit more privacy. On the day of the wedding Irina, Sydney, Nadia, Maddie, and Caitie would get ready there, while the guys got themselves ready in one of the rooms inside the inn. At night Jack and Irina would be spending their wedding night in the cottage, and Sergei had arranged with the triplets that they would come snuggle with him.
A few days before the wedding Jack, Irina, and Kendall headed to the secret CIA operation facility. They were all needed there to help with some work, each of them needed for something different. Irina finished first, and she walked around a bit at the familiar surroundings. Not knowing when Jack and Kendall would be done, she decided there was a place she’d like to visit. She walked to the guard, who was guarding the cells. She noticed him and remembered him from her time in jail. She smiled at him, and he got up from his chair.
“Hi. It’s good to see you again.” He nodded.
“I take it, it’s better to see me from this side, then from the inside of the cell?” He smiled sincerely and she nodded. “What can I do for you agent Bristow?” She smiled sincerely back at him, enjoying to hear the name Bristow connected with her. What was equally enjoyable was hearing him referring to her as an agent. She knew that everyone at APO had accepted her and liked her, which was, what was most important to her. But she had to admit that the more people who would acknowledge her as an agent with the CIA and with the name Bristow, the happier she was, and she felt more accepted.
“I was wondering if there’s anyone locked up in the cells?”
“No, we don’t have anyone locked up.”
“Then would it be possible for me to see my old cell?” He stared at her, completely surprised by her request. She laughed a little. “Yeah, I know it’s probably a strange thing to ask, but it would just be a kind of closure for me. I’m not looking to get you into trouble or anything.” He let out a small laugh.
“I hardly think, I can get in trouble for showing an agent the cells.” She smiled broader at again hearing herself being referred to as an agent. “Sure, I’ll take you to your old cell.” They walked off towards the cells. Irina had a chill running through her when she heard the gates open. Although her time here had been nothing like Kashmir, she still had some bad memories from her time here. The guard opened the door to her cell. “Take all the time you need. Just close the door when you leave, and I’ll close down the gates, when you come back to my desk.” She smiled at him sincerely.
“Thank you.” He nodded and left. She walked around her old cell, and sat down on her old bunk for a while. She then walked around again a few minutes later. She stood with her back to the door lost in thought, and didn’t hear that someone had walked down the hall, and was now standing outside the cell.
“You know some people say that marriage is like prison. If you’d like to get a doze of reality, I’m sure we can arrange for you to spend the last couple of nights before your wedding in this cell.” She was a bit startled and turned around and found Kendall with a huge grin on his face. She couldn’t help but laugh.
“Thank you for the offer but I’ll pass. As I’m sure you remember, I’ve already spent quite a lot of time in here, and I have no intention on spending more time here.” She smiled more fondly. “And as for marriage being like a prison, I feel the exact opposite. I’m never felt freer than when I’m married and with my husband. The first years of my married life with Jack were amazing. However, the years we spent apart, were like being in prison. I was in a sense tied down, and couldn’t be honest about my feelings for him. I wasn’t free to talk about that. But now we’re together again, getting married, and I can tell the world how I feel about him, and I couldn’t be happier.” He smiled at her and nodded his understanding. “So what are you doing down here?”
“I saw one of the agents that you’d worked with, working on something else, so I figured you were done. I asked him where you were, but he didn’t know. I then looked around and the guard at the desk told me you were here. So I just came to check on you, to see if you were alright. Are you okay?” She smiled warmly at him.
“Yes, thank you. I’m fine. I just wanted to see the old place, to get some closure.” He nodded. “Have you heard anything on whether or not Katya has accepted the pardon?” He shook his head.
“No, I haven’t. I’m sorry.” She nodded and they both looked as they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Seconds later Jack stood next to Kendall. He looked at the two of them curiously.
“What’s going on?” Kendall put his hands up in defense.
“Now Jack, before you start jumping to conclusion or accusing me of anything, let me just say that I had nothing to do with Irina being down here. I finished my work, and noticed that she’d finished with hers, so I came looking for her. When I found out that she was down here, I just wanted to make sure she was alright.” Jack gave Kendall a small smile.
“I’m not jumping to conclusion or accusing you of anything. I was just curious as to why you were down here.”
“Oh. Sorry.” He looked at Jack and Irina a little apologetically. “I’ll just leave the two of you alone.” He walked away, and when he was completely gone, Irina shook her head at Jack.
“You did think, he had something to do with me being here.” He gave her a look that told her she was right. She laughed. “Jack, the man has change. You know that by now.” He smiled a little apologetically.
“Sorry, I’m just very protective of you.” She smiled lovingly at him and he returned the smiled and spoke softer. “Are you alright?” She nodded.
“Yeah. I just wanted to see my old cell to get some closure, and to know that I can walk out of here without being in chains, having guns pointed at me, and knowing that I won’t be returning.” He nodded his understanding.
“So, have you gotten closure?”
“Yes. My time here wasn’t that bad. I did have some nice moments, like strategizing with you and having more pleasant visits from you and Sydney. But then there was the first time I saw Sydney here and what she said to me. And then there was seeing you for the first time in more than twenty years. I’ll never forget the look on your face. It was nothing like I remembered you.” She got a bit emotional. “Jack, I’m so sorry for what I did to you that made you turn so cold and distant. I didn’t mean the things I said to you in the beginning. Our marriage was not an illusion, it was real. I just had to say that. I had to be cold and play my games, so that I could carry out my plan.” He walked into the cell and hugged her tightly.
“You don’t need to apologize anymore. We’ve been over this so many times, and I’ve forgiven you remember? I know that our marriage and your feelings were real.”
“Yeah, I know. But I just still can’t help feel the way I feel. You looked like you wanted to strangle me that first time, and I know that a part of you wanted to.” He took her face in her hands looking at her, and spoke honestly.
“Yes, I did. But I also wanted to take you in my arms, hug you, and kiss you. I thought that if I kissed you, I would know if you’d ever truly loved me or not.” She looked at him a little surprised and then smiled sincerely.
“If you had, I would have told you everything.” Now it was his turn to look at her surprised. “I had to pull out all my strength to be cold. All I wanted was to have your arms around me, but I was able to pull it off, because you were so cold too. But had you kissed me, I would’ve told you the truth.” The smiled at each other, shaking their heads a little.
“I guess in some ways it was a good thing, I didn’t kiss you. I know that maybe Sydney would never have disappeared, but who’s to say I would’ve believed you. You might still be in this cell, Rambaldi would still exist, and the triplets wouldn’t.” She smiled lovingly at him.
“Then in some ways it’s good you never kissed me. Though, I must admit I really wanted you to, when I saw you. I imagined how it would be.” He saw the desire in her eyes, and thought he’d play along.
“Oh really? Was it something like this?” He gave her a chaste kiss, barely touching her lips, and then grinned at her. She shook her head amused.
“No, try again.” He gave her another chaste kiss, this time touching her lips a little more. He grinned and she rolled her eyes at him. “No, try again.” This time he pressed his lips to hers, but without putting much into it. He grinned again, but now she gave him an un-amused glare. He tried again, this time opening his mouth a little, but pulled away when she was about to give him more access.
“How was that? Better?” He grinned at her, while she gave him an annoyed look.
“No. This is how I wanted you to kiss me.” She grabbed a hold of his jacket, and crashed her lips onto his, kissing him passionately and deeply. They backed up against the glass wall, and she pinned him against the wall, while they continued kissing. After a few moments they both needed air. They smiled at each other.
“Okay, let me try.” Jack grabbed a hold of Irina’s jacket, pulling her to him, turned them around pinning her to the wall, and kissed her the same way. After a few moments they needed air again.
“You’re a fast learner.” The grinned and kissed the same way again. Jack let go of her jacket, and instead ran his hands up along her sides. She put her hands on his back, running them up and down, with one running through his hair, and another squeezing his butt at one time. A few moments later they needed air again. “You know one of the things that got me through the nights, was imagining making love to you. I thought about all the times we did it, in the beginning of our marriage, but this cell made me fantasize. I thought about you taking me up against this glass wall.” Jack smiled at her.
“I had that fantasy too.” She was surprised to hear that, but then smiled at him, and kissed him passionately again. “The glass is kind of cold, so I guess in some ways, it would be like making love against the fridge.” She laughed.
“I think you’re right. Speaking of the fridge. That was fun. When can we do that again?” They looked at each other hungrily.
“I don’t know. The wedding is only a few days away, so I think we’ll have to wait until after the honeymoon. The last time we were lucky that we got home from work earlier than expected, and knew for a fact that we had a couple of hours before anyone else got home. I doubt we’ll be so lucky during the next couple of days. But I promise, we’ll get lucky plenty.” She licked her lips at the sound of that, and they kissed passionately for a few minutes more. Five minutes later they walked out as if nothing had happened. However they noticed that everyone was looking at them a little strange. Everyone had looked a little strange when they arrived, because this was the first time Irina was there as a CIA agent, and not as an enemy. But this was a different kind of strange. The saw Kendall who looked at them amused.
“Why is everyone looking at us so strangely?” He shook his head at them.
“Just because there’s no one in the cells, doesn’t mean that the security cameras aren’t on.” Jack and Irina stared wide eyed at Kendall. Jack got embarrassed while Irina grinned a little. They looked around at everyone, who all immediately looked away, but who all tried to hide a grin. “Yeah, I don’t think your death glares will help so much in the future with this bunch.” That made Irina grin a little more, while Jack closed his eyes shut. Kendall grinned too. “Come on. I think we better get out of here.”
The day before the wedding Jack, Irina, and the triplets were in the living room, when they heard Sydney and Nadia walk through the front door. “It’s time.” The triplets got off the couch quickly leaving Jack and Irina to look at each other puzzled. Deciding to see what was up, they got off the couch too, and headed for the hall.
“Hi girls. It’s time for what?”
“For you to leave mom. Go upstairs and pack whatever you think you might need for the night, and then let’s go.” Jack and Irina both looked curiously at their oldest daughters.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s tradition. The bride and groom aren’t allowed to see each other, a certain amount of time before the wedding. We’re here to pick you up. You’ll be spending the night with Nadia, Maddie, Caitie, Carrie, Rachel, and me at my place. We’ll take you to the inn tomorrow, while the boys will take dad and Ethan. You two are not allowed to see each other until the ceremony. Now let’s go.” Sydney grabbed her mother by her one arm, and was about to take her upstairs, when Jack quickly grabbed her other arm holding her back.
“Your mother’s not going anywhere. She’s staying her.” Sydney tried pulling her mother to her.
“No dad, she’s coming with us.”
“Well, I say she’s not.” They were pulling Irina from side to side.
“What about me? Do I get a say in this, or are you just going to pull me from side to side, until I break into two?”
“You heard your mother, let her go.” Irina shook her head at Jack.
“Jack. That’s not what I said. Now would you just let me go, both of you?” Jack and Sydney looked at each other, and let go of Irina at the same time. “Thank you.” Sydney looked at her mother.
“Mom, we’ll pack a few things for you. Everything you need for the wedding is at the inn already, so you’ll really only need something to sleep in tonight, and something to wear to the inn tomorrow. So why don’t you just say goodbye to dad, because you won’t be seeing him until tomorrow. We’ll pack something for Maddie and Caitie. They can help us.”
“Can I help too?” Nadia smiled at her brother.
“Yes, you most certainly can.” He smiled and the triplets headed upstairs. “You wanted to renew your vows, so you have to deal with everything a wedding includes. You had your parties, and this is another tradition. Now say your goodbyes, because we’re leaving soon.” Sydney and Nadia headed upstairs, and left Jack looking at them annoyed, while Irina was amused. She put her arms around Jack’s neck.
“It is tradition Jack.”
“I don’t care about tradition. I don’t want to be without you. I can’t sleep properly without you next to me, and neither can you when I’m not next to you.” She smiled lovingly at him, and gave him a soft kiss.
“I know sweetheart. Believe me, I’d rather spend the night with you. But the girls really want to make this special for us. I know you might not think of it as special, but they’re being sweet. Let’s just humor them. We’ll only be away from each other for one night, and then we have the rest of our lives, where we’re together every single night. Not to mention, we get a whole week with no interruptions, when we’re on our honeymoon.” She kissed him again, and the kiss deepened.
“I still don’t like it, but I have a feeling I won’t have any choice. But just how much time do we have?” He looked at her hungrily, and she knew what he meant. She laughed shaking her head.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we have time for that.” He looked disappointed and she shook her head again laughing. “I’m going to miss you too, tonight.” She stroke his cheek with her hand and then kissed him passionately and deeply. They were still kissing when the others came back down.
“Okay, all set. We’re leaving.” Jack groaned and reluctantly let go of Irina. Jack went over to say goodbye to Maddie and Caitie, while Irina said goodbye to Ethan and just checked her bag.
“Daddy, I put Fluffy in your bed, so that you’ll have someone to snuggle with, now that you won’t have mommy.” Jack gave Caitie a big hug and a kiss.
“Thank you sweetheart.” He looked at Sydney and Nadia. “At least one of my daughters understands.” They rolled their eyes at him. He gave Maddie a big hug and kiss too, and they ran out to the car. “Ethan, why don’t you go outside and join your sisters, and then you and I can wave goodbye to everyone.”
“Okay daddy.” Jack waited for Ethan to be out of sight. He then grabbed Irina, kissing her passionately and deeply, pinning her against the open front door, running his hands allover her body, right in front of Sydney and Nadia. They gaped at him, groaned and shut their eyes. Jack would not normally have done that in front of them, but he thought he would do it now, since they were taking Irina away from him. When they broke the kiss, they were completely out of breath. She grinned at him, shaking her head. “I just wanted you to remember my strong hands and amazing tongue.” Sydney and Nadia groaned even more by hearing that, and headed for the car.
“And you wanted to make our daughters uncomfortable.” He laughed.
“Yeah that too.” She smiled at him and then took his face in her hands and gave him one last lingering kiss.
“Bye Mr. Bristow.”
“Bye Mrs. Bristow.” They walked out to the car hand in hand. Irina gave Ethan one last kiss and hug, and Jack one final kiss, before she got in the car. Jack and Ethan waved goodbye until they couldn’t see the car anymore. Jack picked up his son. “Well, it seems it’s just you and me buddy. How about you get to decide everything for the rest of the day? Anything you want to do, we’ll do.”
“Really daddy?” Ethan was excited about that.
“Absolutely. Everything is your choice. So, what do you want to do?”
“There’s a three hour Tom and Jerry marathon starting in a few minutes. Could we watch that?” He smiled broadly at his son.
“It’s your choice, so cartoons it is.” They walked back inside house smiling.
About an hour later the doorbell rang and Jack went out to see who it was. He looked surprised when he saw Sergei, Vaughn, Eric, Marcus, Marshall, Mitchell, Kendall, and Will standing there. “Hi Jack.” They were about to step into the house, when Jack put up his arm preventing them.
“What are you all doing here?”
“Sydney and Nadia sent us. They’re having a girl’s night. As you know Carrie and Rachel are there too. Sydney and Nadia then thought that all us guys should keep you and Ethan company. They decided that they’d all drive to the inn together tomorrow, and thought that we guys should do the same. Which means, we’re all staying here tonight.”
“You’re what?” Jack couldn’t quite believe what Eric was telling him.
“Look, it was Sydney and Nadia’s idea. They said that if we all slept here, it would be sort of bonding”
“Bonding?”
“Their word, not ours. Look, just humor them, and we’ll all be happy.”
“I already humored them, when I let them take my wife.” He looked at Sergei, who gave him a grin. Jack rolled his eyes. “Fine, since you’re all here anyway.” He let them all into the hall.
“Great. We brought some beers and cards and other stuff. We’ll have a great time.”
“I’m sure we will, because I’ve let my son be in charge of the day. I didn’t expect you, so I told him we’d do anything he wants to do. I have no intention on going back on my word.” They all nodded.
“Okay that’s fine. So, what’s on the agenda?”
“We’ll be watching a Tom and Jerry marathon for the next two hours.” He all smirked at them. They all nodded, most of them not feeling too excited. Marshall on the other hand was.
“Can I just say that’s awesome? I love Tom and Jerry. Come on Mitch.” They all stared at Marshall as he left with his son, being more excited about the cartoon than Mitchell. They all laughed a little. Jack looked at the others for their reaction.
“Yeah. Tom and Jerry. Awesome.” Eric gave two thumbs up. He wasn’t too excited about the cartoons, but wasn’t upset. Vaughn smiled a little and nodded.
“I used to watch cartoons with the triplets all the time. I don’t mind one bit.” Sergei smiled sincerely.
“I used to watch cartoons with Stephen and Robin all the time too. It’ll be fun watching cartoons again.”
“Where are your children?”
“Staying overnight with friends. I’m picking them up tomorrow on my way to the inn.” Jack nodded smiling, and then turned to Kendall.
“I’ve watched a little with my nephews. Tom and Jerry are funny.” Kendall smiled, looking a little forward to watching cartoons.
“How do you feel about the cartoons Will?” Will gave Jack a smile.
“Hey, I’m just really happy to be part of your wedding. I’ll gladly watch cartoons.” He gave Will a nod.
“Good. Then let’s go.” The all walked into the living room, finding Ethan, Marshall, and Mitchell laughing their heads off. Jack sat down next to his son. “It seems that your sisters Sydney and Nadia, have sent the boys over to hang out with us. I hope that’s alright?”
“Of course daddy. Does that mean no more cartoons?” Jack smiled at his son, giving him a kiss.
“No, it doesn’t. I told you that you were in charge of the day, and that’s not going to change. We’ll do anything you want to do.” Ethan smiled at his father, giving him a hug, and for the next two hours the guys watched cartoons.
A couple of hours later Jack walked out to the kitchen and picked up the phone. There was no signal, and he couldn’t understand why. Just then Vaughn walked out. “There’s no point in trying to call Irina. We’ve unplugged all the phones, and took your cell phone. No one will be answering the phone at our place, and I’m sure Sydney and Nadia took away Irina’s phone. So even if you plug in the phones, there’ll be no point in trying to call Irina.” Jack glared at Vaughn. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m just following orders. Your daughters said there could be absolutely no communication between you and Irina. You might be scary Jack, but you’ve passed that quality on to your daughters.” A small proud smile escaped Jack’s lips. Vaughn smiled back. “Look, if you occupy your time with something else, the time will pass faster. And before you know it, you’ll see Irina again.” Jack gave Vaughn a small smile.
“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” Vaughn nodded and left as Kendall entered the kitchen.
“Eric said something about beer?”
“I believe they put them in the fridge. Help yourself.”
“Thank you.” Kendall opened the fridge and took out some. “You want one?” Jack nodded, and Kendall got out a few more. “You seem a bit down. What’s wrong?” Jack looked at Kendall a little oddly, which he didn’t see, since he had his face in the fridge now.
“Uh, nothing really. I’m not allowed to use the phone to call Irina.”
“I’d let you use my, except it’s at home.”
“You left your cell phone at home?” Jack gave Kendall a puzzled look.
“Yeah. I like to be off work sometimes. I know that I should probably be accessible all day and night, in case there’s something urgent, with the job that I have. But I just don’t think anything major will happen that needs my immediate attention, since your wedding is tomorrow, and we have the backup at APO that we need, so that we can all attend the wedding.” Jack smiled.
“You’ve got a point. Thanks for the offer, but I could just plug the phones in again, except it won’t do any good. Sydney and Nadia won’t be answering their phones, and they’ve no doubt taken Irina’s cell phone, or not brought it with them.”
“Well, then there’s not really much you could do anyway. You just have to find some way to pass the time.” Jack nodded. “You’ve got adorable children by the way. I know I haven’t met Maddie and Caitie yet, but Ethan is quite adorable, and on the pictures your daughters seem adorable too. And Ethan’s very sweet and polite.” Jack smiled proudly.
“It’s kind of you to say, but I haven’t really had much part in their upbringing so far. Neither has Irina. I think most of the praise goes to Sergei.”
“They still got your genes Jack. Irina’s too.” Kendall smiled sincerely at Jack, and Jack returned the smile and was surprised too, by Kendall’s comment. Kendall saw that and let out a small laugh. “Come on. Let’s join the others.” They grabbed the beer and headed off to join the others.
They ended up having a pleasant day and evening. Ethan hadn’t had many plans for the evening, but he and Mitchell stayed up for as long as they wanted, though Mitchell had fallen asleep earlier, and was put in one of the guest rooms. It was now late and everyone decided it was time to turn in. “Daddy?” Jack picked up his son.
“Yes.”
“Can we all have a snuggle party?” Jack looked at his son surprised and a little horrified. Everyone else was a little skeptical of what that meant.
“What do you mean?”
“I just thought it would be fun, if we all snuggled together in one bed. Can we do that please?” Jack stared a little wide eyed at his son, and everyone else did the same. Ethan got a little sad with the expression in his father’s eyes, which Jack instantly noticed. He had no desire to get into the same bed with any of the guys, but he also didn’t want to disappoint his son. And he had promised that they’d do anything Ethan wanted.
“Sure. We’ll have a snuggle party.” He looked around at everyone, giving them a glare telling them to go along with the idea. Everyone stared a little wide eyed. “We’ll have a snuggle party, won’t we guys?” The tone in Jack’s voice gave just enough away, to let them know he meant business, but not so that Ethan would think that they were being pressured. They could only nod. Ethan smile grew wide.
“Thank you daddy.” Ethan gave his father a kiss on the cheek.
“Let’s get ready for bed.” He turned around to look at everyone else. “We’ll use the guestroom and the end of the hall next to the triplets’ room.” Sergei nodded, knowing which room Jack was referring to. Jack had no intention of sleeping with all the guys in the same bed that he and Irina slept in.
Everyone stared wide eyed at each other. No one wanted to snuggle next to each other, but they also didn’t want to disappoint Ethan, knowing that the first few years of his life hadn’t been easy, since he hadn’t had his parents around much. They too got ready for bed. Vaughn and Eric brushed their teeth at the same time.
“I love Ethan, and would do practically anything for him. But this is a little extreme. I don’t want to snuggle with anyone. You’re the only one I’d sleep that close to.” Vaughn looked a little horrified at Eric.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You better keep you hands to yourself Weiss, and keep them over the covers.” Eric couldn’t resist teasing Vaughn.
“Oh come on Vaughn. We’re friends.” He put an arm around Vaughn. “Come on. Give me a little sugar.” Eric motioned for Vaughn to give him a kiss on his cheek, but Vaughn got out of Eric’s embrace.
“Get off of me man.” Eric laughed, and Vaughn shook his head at him. “Seriously. Keep your hands to yourself.” Vaughn left the bathroom and Eric laughed. Eric shook his head.
“Gosh, I wish I was Mitchell right now.”
They all got under the covers, adjusting themselves as best as they could. Jack was sleeping with his head up at the headboard. He had Ethan snuggled close to his chest, on the edge of the bed. Sergei was on Jack’s other side. He had Marshall next to him, and Marshall had Kendall next to him, who slept on the other edge of the bed. Vaughn, Eric, Dixon, and Will were sleeping with their heads at the footboard. They had put some cushions between them, covering their lower parts, so things wouldn’t be more awkward than they already were.
Ethan had asked his father to tell him a bedtime story and sing him a song, which Jack did. He wasn’t quite thrilled with the singing part with everyone else there, but he again didn’t want to disappoint his son. As soon as he’d finished they all heard that Marshall was snoring a little. Jack rolled his eyes as he was sure everyone else was doing. They others tried to go to sleep, which proved successfully for most of them, even though they were not sleeping comfortably. Three hours passed and Jack was still awake. Ethan had been awake for a little while, without Jack realizing it.
“Daddy?” Jack was a little surprised when he heard Ethan whisper.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“You can’t sleep?” Jack kissed his son’s head.
“No, not really.”
“We can go and sleep in your bed if you want? You need a good night’s sleep.” Jack was relieved to hear his son say that.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, daddy.”
“Okay. Let’s do that. But we have to be quiet, so that we won’t wake the others.” Jack got Ethan out of bed as quietly as he could, and then got out himself without making too much movement. He was successful as no one woke up. He picked up his son and they walked off to Jack’s bedroom. When they were under the covers there, they snuggled closer together. Jack had turned on a small lamp by the bed and looked at his son one last time before turning it off. “Are you sure, you’re okay with us sleeping in here? I know you wanted a snuggle party.” Ethan grinned.
“I never wanted a snuggle party, daddy.” Jack looked dumbfounded at his son. “You said we could do anything I wanted, so I just wanted to see if you would agree to a snuggle party.” Ethan started to laugh more, and Jack started to laugh too, when he realized he’d been played by a three-year-old.
“Oh, I’ll give you something to laugh about.” He started to tickle his son mercifully, and continued to do that for several minutes. When he stopped and the laughter had died down, he turned off the light, and kissed his son. “Goodnight sweetheart.”
“Goodnight daddy.”
It didn’t take long for Ethan to fall asleep but Jack was still wide awake. He tried to fall asleep, but it didn’t do him any good. He got out of bed some time later without waking Ethan and headed downstairs. He walked around the house looking at pictures of him and Irina, and with the children. When he got to the mantle he stopped to look at the picture there. It was the picture taken at their seventh wedding anniversary at the cave on the beach. The picture that had played a big part in him and Irina getting back together. He picked it up and smiled, already thinking that they could go to the cave next year to celebrate their anniversary. He looked at it for a while longer, and then proceeded to walk around looking at other pictures, before heading to the kitchen.
He noticed the lights were on and saw Dixon drinking a glass of orange juice. Dixon looked at Jack when he noticed him and smiled. “Hi Jack. Couldn’t sleep?” Jack smiled back.
“No, not really.” He got a glass and poured himself some orange juice, and sat opposite of Dixon.
“So, where are you and Ethan sleeping? I noticed you weren’t in bed when I got up.”
“Ethan noticed I couldn’t sleep, and thought I’d sleep better in my own bed.” Dixon nodded. Jack laughed a little. “About the snuggle party. Ethan never wanted that. But since I’d told him we could do anything he wanted, he wanted to see if he could get me to agree to a snuggle party.” Dixon stared a little at Jack but then laughed.
“He sure got the Derevko genes.” They both laughed more at that.
They talked for a little while longer before heading back to bed. When they were just about to leave the kitchen Jack turned to Dixon. “You don’t have to go back and sleep with them. I’ll take you to one of the other guestrooms.”
“Thanks Jack. I had thought of just sleeping on the couch. But that was before you got here. A bed without anyone else in it, is definitely better.” He nodded and they headed upstairs. They walked past the room the others were sleeping in. Dixon had left the door a little open, and they heard Marshall call out Carrie a little. Jack and Dixon stuck their heads in, and saw that Marshall put an arm around Kendall, and that Kendall snuggled closer to Marshall. Jack and Dixon turned to each other, closed the door quickly, and got far away from the door. When they were sure the others couldn’t hear them, they broke out laughing. They shook their heads at the image.
“How on earth am I supposed to get any sleep now, with that image in my head?” They laughed a little more, before Jack showed Dixon the guestroom. They said their goodnights, and Jack walked back to his own bedroom.
He stood by the edge of the bed looking down on his sleeping son, and then picked up Fluffy. He looked at the teddy bear. This had also played apart in getting him and Irina back together. If he hadn’t checked in on the triplets, and if Caitie hadn’t needed her bear, he would never have gone to Irina’s room to get it, and would never have seen the picture. He would like to think that regardless of these events, he and Irina would still have gotten back together some day. But he was also certain that the events had only helped speed things along, which led them to renewing their vows. He looked at the bear one last time and got back under the covers. Ethan snuggled closer to his father in his sleep. With his son on one side, and the bear on the other, Jack closed his eyes to see if he would be able to get a couple of hours of sleep. If he could pass the time with sleep, then he would be occupied, and it wouldn’t be long before he saw Irina again.
TBC