a reunion huh??!!!
between who??!!!!
time to find out!
OK, since I am like, super pathetic, and I really like this next part, I'm doing an extra post tonight before I go to bed... I hope you all enjoy this. It's kind of the start to a HUGE turn in the story.
AND i know this part is REALLY far-fetched, and could never happen in real life, but remember in the original story, Jolie was raised to be a super genius... so this kid can like, do anything. Just go with it, ok?
Thanks for reading and please review!
Recap:
“Sweetie, I would always tell you things you need to know.”
Chapter 7:
While Sydney was down in the kitchen making dinner, Jolie took the opportunity to use a camera toy that Marshall had given her. It looked like a pen, and worked like a pen, but it was also a small camera. Jolie placed the camera on her mom’s nightstand, next to the picture of her dad that Sydney kept talking to all the time, and left the room. She went back to her room and turned on a small controller that had a viewer on it. The screen showed her mom’s bed.
“Perfect, it works.” Jolie smiled to herself and knew she’d be spying on her mom tonight.
After getting Jolie ready for bed, Sydney retired to her room and pulled the encrypted address out of her pocket. She sat down on the bed and stared at the paper for a few minutes, mumbling to herself. Then she picked up the pen that was on her nightstand and started making notes.
Meanwhile, Jolie was watching from her room and carefully listening to what her mother was mumbling. She got a clear view of the encryption when Sydney picked up the camera pen to take some notes.
At the same time, both Vaughn women realized what the address was. Jolie went to write it down quickly while Sydney ripped up the paper and flushed it down the toilet. Jolie happened to glance back at the controller and saw her mom was getting ready to exit the room.
“Shoot! She’s coming to check on me.” Jolie quickly turned off the controller and hid it and the paper in a drawer. She hopped into bed and shut her eyes, hoping she could fake sleep.
Sydney quietly entered her daughter’s room and gently sat at the edge of the bed, staring at her daughter for a few minutes. She sighed.
“I wish it could be different,” she whispered and stroked her daughter’s silky hair. She leaned down and kissed her cheek.
As soon as she left, Jolie opened her eyes. “I’m going to find my daddy.”
><><><
Jolie accompanied Sydney to APO the next day as well, instead of spending the day with her best friend. Sydney thought she was just being clingy but Jolie had specific goals for the day. Her first stop of the morning was to try and con Marshall into making her a fake passport and ID.
“Hi Marshall! How’s Mitchell doing?”
“Oh, hey, Jolie! He’s great. Just great. What’s going on? You at APO today again?”
“Yeah…cause it is SOOOO much fun,” she said, pretending to be sarcastic. “Hey, you are the one who makes all the fake ID’s and passports, right?”
“Yep! That’s me.”
“That is SO COOL. I want a fake ID. Can you show me how you make them? Can we make one for me for fun? Please?”
“Why would you want that?”
“I dunno. It looks fun. Come on, Marshall… what’s the harm?” Jolie tried her puppy dog face, which broke him like a record.
“All right. Sure, it only takes a few minutes anyway. But don’t tell anyone I am doing this for you, okay?”
“Promise. This is so much fun!”
“Okay, so here is how I do it…” Marshall began to walk Jolie through the steps of making a fake ID and passport. She carefully noted every detail into her brain. When they were done, Marshall deleted the alias he created. “I’m sorry I really can’t print these out for you and everything.”
“No problem! It was fun to watch.”
“Actually, I have to make one for your aunt right now. Why don’t you stick around?”
“Sounds great.” Again, Jolie watched the process, and how everything got printed and put together. She made a mental note to come back when Marshall was out to lunch or at a meeting and make her ID.
At 10:45, Jolie got her chance. Jack called everyone into a meeting and Jolie knew she had at least a half hour. She crept out of Sydney’s office where she was supposedly reading and slipped unnoticed into Marshall’s area. Working swiftly, she created her alias and promptly deleted everything once it was printed out.
“Hello, Katie Miller,” she whispered to herself, pleased with the incredibly common name she created. Back in her mom’s office, she pondered how to go about purchasing airline tickets. She couldn’t use her mom’s credit card and any flights made on behalf of APO would raise suspicion. Finally, it hit her. Her grandmother had given her a secret credit card to hold onto for any emergency that could ever come up. Sydney didn’t know about it, and it would take a few weeks for the statement to get back to Irina.
“Bingo.” Jolie hopped onto the computer and proceeded to look up various flights. She decided to fly on American Airlines and first go from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and then onto Houston. From Houston she’d take a plane to Belize. She then called American and using a voice modulator to sound more grown up, explained there was a young child who was going to meet relatives in several cities before meeting her uncle in Belize. The American Airlines employee was very helpful and booked the flight pattern. A special note was entered into the computer that the six year old was flying alone with permission of the parent.
Jolie thanked the woman and hung up smiling. In three days, she would be with her dad again. She loved being a genius.
><><><
Two Days Later
Jolie fussed about in her room, deciding what clothes to bring and which of the fun little toys Marshall kept giving her she needed. Finally placing everything in her large backpack, she called a cab company to come pick her up in the morning to take her to the train station where she would take the subway to the airport, knowing she’d barely be noticed on the subway. She checked to make sure she had the petty cash she had “borrowed” from the APO supplies and her fake identification. After writing a note to leave for her mother, Jolie put on her pajamas and got ready for bed like it was any normal night.
Leaving her room, she went to find her mom. “Mommy?”
“Down in the living room,” she heard Sydney call. Jolie headed downstairs and found her mom curled on the couch with Scout. She went over and snuggled into her mom’s lap as best she could since Sydney’s stomach was huge. Sydney wrapped her arms around her daughter and smiled down at her. “Hey. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to spend some time with you.”
Sydney gave her a look. “Uh huh…okay, you got ready for bed without me telling you to and you are being all cute and cuddly. What did you do?”
Jolie giggled. “Nothing, I promise.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Look into my eyes, Mommy. You can always tell when I am lying.” Jolie stared right at her mom.
Sydney laughed. “Okay, whatever. Want to watch some TV with me?”
Jolie nodded and curled up against her mom. A half hour later, she was sound asleep and Sydney sighed. “Okay, let’s see if I can manage to carry you upstairs.”
Sydney started to try and stand up with her daughter in her arms but her jerky movements caused Jolie to wake up.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” she mumbled, sleepily.
“Oh, shhh…honey, I was trying to stand up to carry you upstairs since you fell asleep.”
“Don’t do that, Mom. You’ll hurt yourself. I can go up myself.” Jolie pulled herself off her mom’s lap. Sydney took the little girl’s hand and led her upstairs, tucking her into her bed.
“Sweet dreams, little one. I love you.”
Jolie looked up at her mom and yawned, causing Sydney to smile. “I love you too, Mommy.” She reached up for a hug and Sydney obliged, kissing her daughter’s face a few times as well. Jolie smiled and shut her eyes.
As soon as Sydney left the room, Jolie sat up and set her alarm clock to go off at 4:00 in the morning since the cab was coming at 4:30.
~~~
4:00 a.m. came and Jolie was up in a flash. She quietly washed her face in the bathroom and got dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and grabbed a zippered sweatshirt. Sneaking down to the kitchen, she helped herself to a few donuts and grabbed some granola bars and a bottle of water to take with her.
Grabbing her backpack and the note, she made her way downstairs and left the note where her mom would find it. She slipped out of the door and walked to the edge of the driveway so the cab wouldn’t honk when it arrived. It showed up right on time and Jolie was soon on her way to finding her father.
“You by yourself, kid?” The cab driver asked the little girl huddling in the backseat.
“For now. But I’m going to be with my Daddy.”
The driver smiled and thought about his own little girl, tucked away in her bed at this hour of the morning.
“Well, you have a good time with him.”
“Oh, I will.” Jolie said with a big smile, and hoped she was right that he was still alive and praying he would give her answers as to why he’d stayed away.
~~~
Sydney woke up around 9:00 a.m., surprised she had slept that late as she was usually woken up earlier by her daughter making noise somewhere in the house. Pulling herself out of bed, she walked down the hallway, only to find Jolie’s room empty. Calling her name, Sydney headed downstairs. She checked the kitchen and living room before spotting the note on the hallway table.
“
I went on my own mission. Be back soon. I love you.”
Sydney ran to get her phone and called her father. “Did you send Jolie on a mission?” she asked as soon as Jack picked up the phone.
“
A mission? What are you talking about?”
Sydney explained the note she found to which Jack had no answer. After calling Nadia to see if she knew anything, Jack called everyone into APO to figure out where and why Jolie had decided to disappear.
They all concluded she had done this voluntarily but had no idea where she could have wanted to go.
“Do you think she found out about Vaughn?” Sydney asked Jack, pulling him aside.
“How? We were so careful, weren’t we?”
“I’m worried, Dad. She’s a smart kid but she is only six. So many things could happen to her...”
“We’ll find her.”
><><><
Many hours later
It was around 9:30 p.m. when Jolie finally arrived at the resort in Belize. “Okay, I’m here. Now how do I find my Dad?” she asked herself, yawning. She headed into the reception area and sat down in a dark corner to think about how she would find him. She knew he wouldn’t be staying under his name. Luck was on her side, however, as two of the receptionists apparently loved to gossip.
“Maria, have you seen the new guy who moved into the residential suites? Quirin Bernhard? He’s CUTE.”
“Ah, he just got here like two days ago, right? Is he the one who spent the past few nights at the bar, sulking over something?”
“Yeah. More like brooding. He doesn’t talk much.”
“Maybe he lost someone.”
“Maybe he is just mysterious. Have you seen his eyes? Bright green!” Jolie’s ears perked up. They HAD to be talking about her dad.
“Is he in the bar now?”
“Yeah. Oh, wait! No – look! He’s coming!”
“Hi, Mr. Bernhard,” the two women said, smiling.
Jolie turned to stare in their direction. She saw the man smile at the two receptionists and gasped at what she saw. “
Daddy…” she whispered out loud. He had a lot more facial hair than she had ever seen on him but it was her father. Tears started to form in her eyes out of happiness and frustration that she lost four months of her life with him. Feelings of anger then washed over her when she realized how certain people lied to her about her dad being dead, but anger wasn’t important now. Getting to him was, so she pushed those thoughts aside and carefully followed him down the hall to the elevators.
The elevator doors opened and Vaughn stepped in. Jolie stayed out of sight until the last second and then flung herself into the elevator right before the doors closed.
Vaughn turned to stare at the person who jumped onto the elevator and turned pale when he saw who it was. Staring up at him was his precious little girl, looking tired and worn out, but with a look of amazement on her face.
“Daddy?” she asked, timidly.
Vaughn put his finger to his lips. “I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong person,’ he said, winking at her. When they reached his floor, he walked out of the elevator. “Why don’t you come with me and I can call the front desk and help you find your dad?” Taking the small girl by her hand, he led her down the hall and into his suite.
As soon as the door closed, Vaughn turned to look at his daughter who was standing against the door. “What are you doing here?” He asked with panic in his voice. “Did someone send you? How did you get here?” How did you know I was…”
“Alive?” she finished. “I didn’t…but I overheard Mommy and Grandpa say you were moved a few days ago so I dug around to find the information and left to come find you myself.”
“YOU CAME BY YOURSELF?” Vaughn yelled, causing Jolie to tremble against the door. He saw he was scaring his daughter and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, honey. Come here.” He knelt down and opened his arms. Jolie stared at him doubtfully for a second but then rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“DADDY!” She cried, tears streaming out of her eyes and onto his shirt. “Daddy…Daddy…” she kept saying over and over.
Vaughn rubbed her back and picked her up. “
I didn’t think I’d ever get to hold her so soon…” he thought to himself, enjoying his reunion with his daughter, despite fearing for her safety and his own life. “Shhh, princess. It’s okay, I’m here. I’m here.” He kept rubbing her back while walking around the suite.
Ten minutes later she calmed down and Vaughn forced her to tell him how she got there. Jolie poured out the whole story of spying on Sydney to get the address, tricking Marshall into showing her how to make an ID, stealing money for travel, booking plane tickets and sneaking out of the house.
“Mommy doesn’t know where you are?” Vaughn asked, horrified. “Oh, this is not good. This is NOT good. Jolie, honey, I know you were mad and confused about what you overheard but you should not have done this. You could have put all of our lives in jeopardy and your Mom is probably on the verge of having a heart attack right now, which will not be good for the baby.”
Jolie’s lips trembled a little. “I just wanted to be with you again, Daddy…” she said in a small voice, looking up at him.
Vaughn’s heart melted when he stared into that little face and he couldn’t stay too mad. “Oh, princess. I know.”
“Why did you guys fake everything?”
Vaughn sighed, and recalled how Sydney told him how upset Jolie had been after his “death.” He knew she didn’t speak or eat for days. Finally he told her the entire story and why he went into hiding.
“You could have trusted me not to tell, you know.”
“I know, Jo. But we needed you to believe I was really dead in case any of our enemies kidnapped you and tried to torture you for information. If you didn’t know anything, you would have been safe, and that is all we cared about.” Jolie put her head on Vaughn’s chest. He looked down at the miniature version of Sydney and realized just how much his girls meant to him. He hugged Jolie tightly. “I have to contact your mother.”
“She’s going to be so mad at me. How did you guys speak all this time?”
Vaughn explained they were using a comm system that was placed in everyday objects. They could speak directly or leave recordings for the other to get later.
“So THAT’S why Mommy was always talking to a picture of you,” Jolie said. “I knew something was weird about that picture.” She smiled widely and Vaughn finally saw her missing teeth. He smiled back.
“I heard the times you would talk to me sometimes as well when you had accidentally pushed the button when you picked up the picture. I loved hearing your voice.” Then something snapped in Vaughn’s mind. “Although, I think we need to have a serious talk about your language skills. I definitely did not enjoy when you called me an asshole over the phone. Where did you learn that word?”
Jolie looked puzzled for a minute. “That was YOU calling us on your birthday?” Vaughn nodded. “I thought it was a stalker! I was so scared.”
“Well, you definitely didn’t show it. Tell me…where did you learn that word?”
“My lips are sealed.” Jolie said with a smile. “I am not talking.”
“We’ll see about that,” Vaughn said, tickling his little girl and reveling in the sound of her happy giggles. He had missed that. “Well, I better not hear you using those words ever again.”
“Okay! Okay! Stop!” Jolie gasped between giggles. Vaughn stopped and pulled her close again.
“Oh, I’ve missed you. Okay, listen, you’ve had a long, long day. Go change your clothes and wash your face while I contact your mom.”
“Okay…tell her not to kill me, please?”
Vaughn shook his head and pointed toward the other room. Jolie went, and he decided this warranted a cell phone call rather than using the comm.
~~~
Sydney was frantically pacing APO, trying not to stress out too much and cause harm to the baby. She heard her cell go off and ran to her desk.
“Caller unknown?” She said out loud, glancing at the caller ID. “Hello?”
“
It’s me.”
Sydney sighed and slid into her chair. “This is not a…”
“
She’s here.”
“WHAT?”
Vaughn quickly filled Sydney in on the details he had and said it appeared both he and Jolie were safe and no one had followed her.
“I am going to kill her. Seriously. How could she think about pulling a stunt like this? I really hope this other baby is NOT as smart as our daughter because I can not handle two children with the ability to disappear like a professional.”
Vaughn chuckled. “
I already gave her a stern talking to.”
“Oh, please. She has you wrapped around her little finger…you probably tried to yell, and then she cried, and then you consoled her.”
“
Well, yes, but I did tell her she could have put all our lives in danger. How are we handling this? Should we make arrangements to send her back? She can’t stay here, you know.”
“I know. Let me talk to my Dad. I have to see if we’ll send someone to get her or have her travel alone again. Hmm…call me in the morning? 7:00 a.m. your time. We’ll have a plan by then.”
“
Okay.”
Sydney paused. “Where is she?”
“
Getting ready to go to sleep. Do you want to talk to her?”
“No. I’m so mad I’ll just yell and I don’t want to do that right now. I do understand why she did what she did. If I were her, I probably would have also.”
“
Understandable. I should get off the phone though. Sweetheart, I miss you.”
“Me too. I love you.”
“
I love you too.” Sydney heard the phone click and sat for a second before calling her dad.
“Dad?”
><><><
Vaughn hung up the phone and went into the bathroom where Jolie was finishing up. He stood in the doorway and marveled at how, in just over five months, she had gotten taller and even more beautiful.
“How mad is Mommy?” Jolie asked, turning to him.
“Plenty. I have to call in the morning and find out the plan to get you back home. You can NOT stay here you know, and I will probably get moved again.”
Jolie hung her head. “I know. I’m sorry.” She looked up at him. “But I just HAD to see you again.”
Vaughn went over and picked her up, bringing her into the bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed. “You need some sleep.”
A small hand gripped onto his shirt. “Stay with me, Daddy?”
Vaughn kissed his little girl. “Sure. Let me go change and I’ll be right back.” Vaughn went to change out of the dress pants and shirt he had on and slid into lacrosse shorts and a t-shirt. He sat down on the bed and took his little girl in his arms, lying down against the pillows.
“Okay, just shut your eyes. I love you, my little princess.”
“I love you more than the world, Daddy.” Jolie mumbled before drifting into a deep sleep.
Vaughn looked at the little angel in his arms and was happy she took such a risk to get to him, because having her in his life again for just one night was worth it.
><><><
Jack was fuming. He had summoned his team back to APO at 10:30 that evening after Sydney told him what Jolie had done.
Flashback
“Dad?” he heard as his picked up the phone in his office.
“Have you heard anything?”
“Yes…um… I’m going to come tell you in person but you should call the team and get them back here.”
“All right.”
A few minutes later he had made his phone calls and Sydney appeared in his office. She sat down in the chair opposite him and finally told him what her daughter did.
“Is she INSANE? She is going to be in big trouble when I get my hands on her…” Jack started screaming as soon as Sydney was finished.
“Dad, calm down. We need a plan…”
Rachel, Tom, Dixon, Marshall, Weiss and Nadia all filed into the conference room at 11:00 p.m., wondering what had developed. They all knew Jolie had disappeared from earlier in the day after Sydney found the note. All were apprehensive at what had been found out since then.
Sydney and Jack came into the room and shut the door, activating an anti-eves dropping device at the same time. They took deep breaths and looked at each other.
Finally Sydney spoke. “We have something we have to share with you all and this is of the highest security clearance and none of you are to speak of this or acknowledge that you know any of this at all. It is for the safety of my whole family and if any of this information gets leaked out, it will be considered treason. Before we start, we all need you to initial and fingerprint these documents.” Sydney passed out a confidentiality clause to each of them and everyone quickly complied.
After gathering the papers, Sydney spoke again. “I’ll just come out and say it. Michael Vaughn, my husband, is alive.” Marshall, Weiss, Nadia and Dixon all looked shocked while Tom and Rachel, who weren’t around during the funeral, looked puzzled.
“Excuse me…what?” Weiss broke in.
Sydney shot him a sympathetic look and continued to fill everyone in on what happened in Rome and why they faked Vaughn’s death and how he had been in hiding ever since for his safety. She explained that he was the reason she had been pushing herself to bring down Prophet Five so fast.
Then Jack broke in and explained that Jolie had found out and she took it upon herself to find her father and she was with him right now. Nadia sighed with relief upon hearing her niece was all right.
“Tom and Rachel, since you are the least known among all of us, we are sending you on a plane to Belize immediately and you will pose as a young married couple with a child. The child is obviously Jolie, who you will call Karen, and she will meet you in the restaurant during breakfast. You will then bring her back here.” The two youngest agents nodded. “I know I don’t need to remind you that you are privileged to be part of such knowledge and this mission as young new agents and if any of this information gets leaked, you will be put in jail. This is not only a professional matter, it is personal. This is my family whose lives are at stake.” Jack continued, causing the two agents to squirm in their seats. “That’s all. Wheels up in an hour. Get going.”
Tom and Rachel quickly fled to get ready and Jack held the other agents for a minute longer.
“I’m really sorry, everyone,” Sydney said. “We didn’t want to keep this secret from you but the less people who knew, the safer it would be.” She braced herself for her family and friends to yell and be mad at the situation. Instead, she was greeted with silence for a few minutes.
“Sydney, I think I speak for the team when I say we understand the situation and are relieved to know that Vaughn is alive and well and will be returning to us one day.’ Dixon spoke and the rest of the agents nodded in agreement.
Sydney sighed with relief. “Thank you.” She hugged Nadia who had come up next to her.
Jack smiled at the scene. “All right everyone, let’s help Tom and Rachel get going and you may all go home afterwards.”
Sydney went over to hug her dad. “Please don’t be too tough on Jolie when she gets back. She just wanted to see her father.”
Jack rubbed Sydney’s back and thought for a minute. “She’s not getting off easy but maybe I’ll lay off the torture devices.” He grinned down at his beautiful daughter, who smirked back at him. “Go home and rest, Sydney. You need it, and so does the baby.” She nodded in agreement and left, saying she’d be there early in the morning to call Vaughn. Jack shook his head, worrying that she was pushing herself too hard but knowing he couldn’t stop her.
><><><
Vaughn woke up at 6:30 and sat in bed staring at his little angel who was still in a very deep sleep. He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek, knowing it would be the last time for more months to come.
A few minutes before seven he slipped out of bed and took a different cell phone than the one he used the previous night out to the terrace to call Sydney.
“
Hello?” he heard, after dialing the number.
“Morning, beautiful.”
She chuckled. “
I wish. I look like a whale.”
“I’m sure you look like a gorgeous whale then.”
“
Thanks,” she responded, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“So what’s the plan?”
Sydney filled him in on Tom and Rachel, who were going as Seth and Debbie Brown, on vacation with their daughter Karen. He was to guide her toward the restaurant where she would find her “parents.” She said Jolie knew both of them and would be fine. He was told to leave her backpack at the front desk where “Seth” would later pick it up.
“Sounds easy enough. What about me?”
“
We’re working on a new location for you. By the way, we filled in the team about the situation and everyone sends their best and can’t wait until you’re back.”
“I miss everyone. Tell Weiss he’s getting his ass kicked for teaching my baby words like ‘asshole’.”
Sydney laughed. “
Okay. How is she?”
“Still asleep. But otherwise, fine.”
“
All right. We should get off the phone. Bring her to breakfast at 10:00 a.m.”
“Will do. I love you.”
“
I love you too. Stay safe.” Sydney hung up her phone.
Vaughn went back inside and saw Jolie stirring. “Daddy?” she asked, looking around.
He was at her side in a flash. “I’m right here, honey.” She greeted him with a huge smile.
Then she turned serious. “So when am I leaving?” Vaughn told her the breakfast plan and she looked at the clock. “That’s less than three hours I have with you,” she whined.
“Jo, think of it as three hours you have with me instead of none at all if I really was dead. Come on, go take a quick shower and we’ll have some fun before you go.”
Jolie jumped out of bed and took a very fast shower. She threw on a pair of jean Capri pants and a tank top and Vaughn pulled her hair into a pony-tail. They ordered some room service and hung around on the terrace, talking and laughing. Finally, it was 9:50 a.m.
“Princess, we have to go. Please put all of your things in your bag.” Vaughn was greeted with a sad look but Jolie went to do what she knew she had to. Taking her by the hand a minute later, he picked up her bag and they walked down toward the restaurant area.
They stopped behind a large hedge. “Baby…I have to go drop your bag off at the front desk. You need to go inside and find Tom and Rachel. I’ll try to swing by the table if I can in a little while.” Vaughn dropped the bag and knelt down to his daughter’s level. “Sweetie, I’m not going to lie and say I am not mad at what you have done, because I am, but I am really happy I got to see you and now that you know, we can communicate as well. Okay? And I’ll be back before you know it.”
Jolie nodded sadly. “I love you, Daddy. Stay safe and come home soon.” She threw her arms around him and covered his face in kisses.
Vaughn held her tightly for a few minutes and finally pushed her away and told her to go. He watched her walk off and brushed a few tears out of his eye before heading to the front desk.
~~~
Jolie slipped into the restaurant and spotted Rachel and Tom in the back right corner. She made her way over to them.
“Oh, there she is!” she heard Rachel cry out and saw her get up and head towards her. “Sweetie, you’ve been in the bathroom for a long time. We were worried.”
“Sorry?” Jolie said with a slight attitude, letting Rachel take her by the hand. She sat down at the table and picked at the chocolate muffin that had been ordered for her.
“You okay, Karen?” Tom asked her, noticing how sad she looked. Jolie nodded in response and looked down at her plate. Tom and Rachel exchanged glances and Rachel put her hand on Jolie’s arm and smiled.
“It’s okay.”
Jolie gave her a half smile and continued to pick at the muffin. A few minutes later, a man approached their table.
“Excuse me, I believe your little girl dropped this when she left the restroom area.”
Jolie looked up and saw her dad standing next to the table, holding out a small stuffed dolphin. She grinned broadly and took the stuffed animal from him.
Tom and Rachel looked at each other. Finally Tom spoke. “Thank you, sir. She can be so forgetful sometimes. I’m Seth Brown, and this is my wife Debbie and our daughter Karen.”
“Quirin Bernhard, nice to meet you,’ Vaughn said, shaking Tom’s hand. Then he went over to Jolie and put a hand on her shoulder. “You take care of that, young lady. You don’t want to lose it in case it is from someone special.”
“No, I don’t. Thank you so much,” Jolie responded, her green eyes sparkling in a way that Tom and Rachel had never seen before. “Can I give you a hug?”
Vaughn glanced at Tom and Rachel who shrugged, and knelt down. “Of course.”
Jolie slid off her chair and gently hugged her father. “Thanks again,” she said, pulling back quickly like she knew she should.
Vaughn stood up. “Well, you all have a nice day now.”
“Bye, thanks again,” Rachel called after him. She turned to Jolie and whispered, “Is that him?”
Jolie nodded, still looking radiantly happy as she watched her father walk out of the restaurant. Tom and Rachel smiled at each other, enjoying the sight of this happy little girl.
Minutes later they paid the bill and left the restaurant, grabbing Jolie’s bag from the desk along the way. Then they headed to the airport to wait for their direct flight home.
~~~
“We have the package,” Tom was saying into his cell phone while they were in the airport. “Our flight is in a half hour.” He clicked his cell phone shut and went to stand by Rachel who was holding the sleepy six-year-old in her arms. Jolie was still very much worn out from her big adventure the day before, and upset about leaving her father again.
“Rachel?” A sleepy voice mumbled into her ear.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“Why do you think these bad people want my Daddy so badly?”
Rachel stroked Jolie’s head for a minute before answering. “Maybe he has information that people want. Or maybe he is the key to unlocking whatever Prophet Five is after.”
“I wish they would just stop. I want my Dad back.”
“I know, I know. One day he will be back.” Rachel shot Tom a look and he came over and took Jolie from her.
“Hey kid,” he said. “We’re gonna help your mom however we can to end this, okay?”
“Okay,” the little girl whispered, putting her head on his shoulder. Tom held her tightly and they all boarded the plane.
><><><
After landing in Los Angeles, Tom, Rachel and Jolie headed right for APO. Rachel noticed the little girl was a little squirmy and had a look on her face like she was going to be sick.
“Jolie, are you okay?”
The little girl glanced up at Rachel. “I’m scared. Mommy and Grandpa are going to be really mad and yell, a lot.”
“Just hold your ground, kid,” Tom said. “Look them straight in the eye and say ‘Well, you lied to me!’ Stick up for your decisions.”
“Tom!” Rachel admonished him.
“What? The kid shouldn’t take felgercarb for what she did. She was lied to.”
“She’s six.”
“So?”
Rachel sighed. “Jolie, it will be okay.”
Jolie glanced toward Tom and saw him wink at her through the rearview mirror. She smiled.
When they got to APO, Nadia ran over to them and grabbed her niece. “Don’t ever disappear like that again!” She said, covering her with kisses. Sydney followed and told Nadia to take Jolie into her office and wait there.
“I take it everything went well?” She asked the younger agents.
“As far as we know. At least this went better than trying to locate Curtis in Madrid a few days ago. That was a royal disaster. Anyway, here is her bag.” Tom said, handing over the backpack.
“Thank you.”
“We met him,’ Rachel broke in. Sydney raised an eyebrow. “He came over to the table and pretended Jolie dropped something so he could give her a gift goodbye. He seems really nice and Jolie lit up when he was there. I’ve never seen her so happy before. Her eyes were sparkling.”
Sydney sighed. “Jolie and Vaughn were incredibly close. They bonded right away when we found her and she had him completely wrapped around her finger.” Sydney lost herself in thought for a minute.
Flashback:
On the way home from Kolomna, Russia, Sydney found Jolie & Vaughn cuddled together, fast asleep. She stood silently, watching the two of them sleep for a few minutes before walking over to where they were sitting. She gently put her hand on Vaughn’s arm. He jolted awake.
“Shh.” Sydney put a finger on his lips. Vaughn looked confused for a second and then realized Jolie was asleep on his lap and a smile formed on his face.
Sydney went to pick her up but he shook his head.
“Leave her,” he whispered. “I like feeling like a dad.”
Snapping out of her daydreams, she kept talking. “ It was adorable but Jolie never was the same after we told her he died. I mean, she’d smile and laugh around us since then but never quite like she used to be. Despite what she did, I am relieved she knows the truth. Maybe she’ll slowly start acting like herself again. Anyway, thank you both for a job well done and bringing her home safely.” With a nod, she walked away toward her office.
~~~
Nadia was sitting in Sydney’s office, holding her niece tightly and listening to her story of how she found out about her dad and how she got to him and what she did when she got there.
Nadia was amazed at how this little six-year-old pulled this off, but was incredibly disappointed in her niece for even doing it. Yet, she understood.
“Sweetie, I probably would have done the same thing to find Irina if I had had the resources you have when I was younger. I can’t blame you too much. But I am going to warn you that Mommy and Grandpa are very, very angry.”
“I know. I’m probably going to be grounded for life,” Jolie said sadly. As she was saying that, Sydney walked into the office and simply plucked her off Nadia’s lap, took her by the hand and led her into Jack’s office.
TBC...
at how well written it is and wonderfuly written, I cannot wait for the next update and thanks for the pm.
