Dear Anna
Author: Sierra (AliasSydney502)
Genre: S/V
Summary: Sydney Bristow's got a bad rep, but can Michael Vaughn see through it and save her from herself?
Disclaimer: Based on the movie Dear Frankie, with a better ending, and Alias-ized. Sydney, Vaughn, etc are properties of JJ Abrams and ABC. Not mine, unfortunately.
Thank You: To my awesome betas Mary and Laura. You girls rule!
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Chapters 1-6 // Chapters 7-11
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Chapter 1
Dear Dad,
Did you know something? We're moving again. Mom says it's time. She says it's definitely the last time, but she says that every single time! Aunt Nadia says if there is a next time they'll have to carry her out in a box and mom says 'don't tempt her'. Thanks for the new book, this might be the best yet. Mom says she’ll buy me a new shelf soon. Hope to hear from you soon.
Lots of love,
Anna
Twelve year old Anna Marie Bristow folded the piece of paper and placed it into an envelope. She wrote the same address she had been writing for six years on the outside and licked the flap. Holding it in place to let the glue dry, she couldn’t help but smile.
Writing to her dad was always the one thing she could take with her, every time they moved. She couldn’t wait to read his reply. She set the letter on the table, and began packing her stuff once more.
“Where are we going this time mom?” Anna asked, placing her beloved stuffed elephant in the box. She was used to packing up and leaving town on a day’s notice. She didn’t understand why they left, but she never questioned her mother.
“Just down to Fuery.” Sydney answered, wrapping mugs in newspaper for safekeeping. “Did you write your father again?” She asked, looking at the envelope left on the table.
“Yeah. I hope he sends me another book.” She replied excitedly. It had become a habit in their letters for him to send a book and she would write back telling him about it. He always encouraged her to read anything she could get her hands on and she did. She knew he liked hearing about all the books she read.
“He will.” Sydney said confidently.
“How do you know?” Anna asked, pausing in her work to stare at her mother.
“Well, he always does, doesn’t he?” Sydney smiled at her daughter. “You’re going to need another shelf soon.” She commented on the number of books her daughter had. Anna always liked to display her books on a shelf that was becoming quite full.
“What part of France?” Anna asked, dropping the topic and reverting back to her original question.
“It’s right on the coast. You’ll love it.” Sydney assured, remembering the brochure she found on the town. It was directly on the coast of the English Channel, and was said to be very beautiful. There was also a dock close by called Port Howat with plenty of ships coming and going.
“Are we going to stay there, for good?” Anna pleaded with her mother.
“We’ll just have to see.”
Chapter 2
“Hey munchkin, you all packed?” Nadia asked of her niece.
“Yup.” Anna answered, taking her final box of books to the car and loading it into the back. She climbed into the front seat with her mother and aunt, ready to set off on another journey.
***
They pulled up to their new home many hours later, exhausted from the trip. It was twilight, and they couldn’t see very far off to the water, but enough to know it was there. The cool breeze swept over the land, assuring the small family that they were somewhere new that was full of possibilities.
“Let’s get to bed, we have a big day tomorrow.” Sydney ushered Anna inside and up to the small room that she would call her own. Tucking her daughter under the covers, she left a kiss on her forehead and went back downstairs to unpack what they could.
Sydney found the letter Anna wrote on the dashboard, waiting to be mailed. She placed it atop the box she was carrying in, setting them on the dining room table.
“Nadia, I’m tired, I’m gonna head up to bed.” Sydney hugged her sister, retiring upstairs to get some sleep before facing the next new day.
***
A week passed, Sydney had found a decent job at a local coffee shop, Anna started in her new school, and all were happy. Anna’s first letter got mailed as well as another, after she started school.
Dad,
Guess what? From my window, you can see the sea. It’s really beautiful. We do geography at school, dad. I’m really good at it. Mrs. Mackenzie gave me two gold stars.
I made a friend here too. Her name’s Claire, and she’s horrible at geography. Talk to you soon.
Love from your daughter,
Anna
Anna sat in class, reading the assigned material with the rest of the students. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Claire handing her a folded piece of paper. She took it and opened it quietly, so the teacher wouldn’t hear.
For the rest of the day she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.
***
While Anna was at school, Sydney got on a bus headed towards Normandy. After a hour long bus ride, she got off the bus in a small business district. She went down to the local post office and walked inside.
“Name?” The teller asked.
“Bristow, 647.” She answered, telling him the box number as well.
“Take a seat and I’ll get right on it.” The man said with a smile. Sydney sat down in one of the chairs across from the window, patiently waiting for the old man to find her mail. He returned moments later, handing her two letters.
“Thanks.” She replied and left the post office to find someplace quiet. She followed the sidewalk a few meters before she came upon a bookstore. The owner immediately recognized her.
“I was wondering when you’d be back.” He smiled and took a novel from the shelf behind the counter. “I got a good one for ya. She’ll love it.”
“Thanks.” Sydney said quietly, paying for the book and wandering off to find a table to sit at.
Dear Anna,
Glad to hear you made some new friends in France. It’s a very pretty city, I’m sure. How was that last book I sent you? I hope you enjoyed it, I can’t wait to hear about it. We’ll be docking at the Cape soon, and I can’t wait to get a look around. I hear it’s magical this time of year.
The sea out here is such a clear blue, just like the stone in your mom’s engagement ring. Ask her about it and she’ll tell you. I better go now, it’s my turn on watch. Be good for your mom.
Sydney wrote, making her handwriting look different than her normal style. She hated having to lie to her daughter, but she had to protect her from the truth. She knew she should stop, but she didn’t feel that Anna was ready for that yet. Rather, Sydney wasn’t ready for that yet.
She didn’t want to crush her daughter’s hope, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell her the truth. Finishing the letter off with ‘Lots of love, Dad’ she had to force herself not to remember the horrible man that was Anna’s real father. He didn’t deserve their love. He didn’t deserve anything after the way he treated her.
Sydney had told Anna that her dad was working on a ship. The ‘Sancta Marina’ traveled all over the world, exploring all the wonderful places Earth had to offer. Anna was proud of her father, thinking he was being brave and traveling the seas.
What she didn’t know, couldn’t hurt her, right?
Chapter 3
“Mom! Look!!” Anna yelled as she entered the house. She had been in Fuery for a few weeks already and was already top in the class at Geography. Sydney saw that Anna had a newspaper clipping in her hands.
“What is it Anna?” Sydney asked curiously. Anna shoved the paper to her mother, bouncing around the kitchen table excitedly. Sydney looked down and as she saw that the title of the article was ‘Sancta Marina Docks at Fuery’, her heart dropped.
She found the name on a postage stamp; she didn’t know it was a real ship.
Dear Dad,
Sorry I haven’t written in a few days, I’ve been busy. You must be busy too though, having to change course like that. I can’t wait to see you though.
I know you’re only three days away, so if you don’t get this that’s ok. If you can’t come to see me, I’ll understand. It’s been a long time and you’ve probably changed. I know I have. I’m 4’8 and have brown hair, just like mom.
~Anna
Now Anna was eager to finally meet her father and when they docked, she would soon find out she had been lied to. Sydney felt her perfect little world come caving in on her and her one mistake. Anna would surely be crushed and never speak to Sydney again.
“Can we go on Saturday?!” Anna asked, pleading with her chocolate brown eyes.
“We’ll see. He might not even be allowed leave time.” Sydney didn’t want to disappoint her daughter. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to tell her for a bit longer. She wasn’t ready to crush her little girl’s dreams. “Go do your homework, I have to talk to Aunt Nadia.”
“Okay!” Anna squealed, bouncing off to her room. She hadn’t been this happy in a long time. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last.
“What’s going on in here?” Nadia asked, hearing noise in the kitchen that was louder than normal.
“You should look at this.” Sydney handed her the newspaper clipping and Nadia looked over it carefully.
“Is that what I think it is?” She asked, looking back up at Sydney. She nodded sadly and sat down at the kitchen table. “I knew something like this was going to happen. I told you, didn't I? What are we going to do?” Nadia questioned, sitting down across form Sydney at the table.
“Move?” She suggested seriously.
“Sydney, listen, you can’t keep running, you’ve got to face this sometime. Tell Anna the truth. She should know what her dad was. Then maybe she'd stop wishing for him.” Nadia looked Sydney in the eye. “Have you forgotten what it was like?”
“No, I haven’t.” Sydney looked away. “But it’s over now. It’s over and done with. Danny’s dead.” She defended.
“Danny’s not dead. I check that paper every week. I know he’s not.” Nadia retorted. “He could walk in through that door any minute now and take what’s his.”
“No, he won’t.” Sydney refused to believe what her sister was saying.
“How do you know that?” Nadia knew her sister was just deluding herself.
“I just know it.” Sydney admitted. “I just can’t tell her.”
“Sydney, I’m your sister and I love you, but you’re wrong.” Nadia stated, getting up and pouring herself more tea. Nadia had often wondered why this charade had lasted as long as it had. It was pure coincidence that there was actually a ship called the Sancta Marina and it was going to be docking in their city. “She doesn’t need lies and a letter. She needs her dad.” Nadia pointed out.
“I know.” Sydney replied sadly.
“Well, what are you gonna do when her father doesn’t come walking off that ship, ready to greet her with open arms?” She asked, hating that Sydney had to lie to Anna about her father.
“I don’t know.” Sydney sighed, dropping her head to the table.
Chapter 4
Sydney quickly took Nadia’s dinner plate, encouraging Anna to hurry up with hers.
“Hey, I wasn’t done with that!” Nadia said, setting down the paper she was reading.
“Well, hurry up. I haven’t got all day.” Sydney said, busying herself about the kitchen while she waited.
“Where are you going?” Nadia asked as she watched her sister grab her coat and purse and walk towards the door.
“Out.” Sydney responded vaguely. Nadia wondered what she was doing; not once had she gone anywhere but her job or the post office for the past few weeks. Sighing, she returned to her paper, pausing when she went over the classifieds.
There, in bold print, were the words “Missing: Sydney Bristow”. Nadia wrapped up the paper and found her way outside to a phone booth. She couldn’t make a call with Anna in the house, she would surely hear.
She dialed the number printed on the page, waiting for someone to pick up.
“Go away.” Nadia said harshly. “Just go away and leave us alone. For god’s sake, just leave us alone.” She pleaded.
***
Sydney tentatively entered the crowded bar, receiving looks from the male patrons. There were obviously not many women who came into this bar at this time of night. She took a seat at the bar, ordering a beer. The waitress looked at her strangely.
“I hope you’re not working, we don’t do that here.” She said harshly, thinking Sydney was trying to find a male ‘friend’ for the night. Sydney was appalled and quickly got up from her stool. What was she doing there anyway? She suddenly felt like the whore she had been accused of being. She didn’t even know what she was doing.
Quickly leaving the bar, Sydney ran towards the park above the docks. It overlooked all the ships coming and going. She sat down on a bench and felt tears falling down her cheeks. She had no idea how long she sat there, simply crying about all the things happening in her life.
Anna’s dad.
The letters.
The lies.
Being so alone.
Finally around the morning light, she felt someone’s hands on her shoulders. She looked up to find her friend and boss Francie Calfo and her boyfriend watching her with concerned eyes.
“Let’s get you home.” Francie said softly, ushering Sydney back to her home for a cup of tea. Sydney was lucky to have found a friend like Francie.
***
Francie stared at her friend and co-worker, worried about finding her crying in the park in the early morning. Before she could speak, Sydney did.
“I bet you’re dying to know what I was doing.” Sydney said quietly.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.” Francie answered, not wanting to force a confession.
“I was looking for a man.” Sydney said slowly. She needed help, and maybe Francie could help solve her problem. “No past, no present, no future. I was looking for a man to be Anna’s dad.”
Chapter 5
“Just for a day, one single day and I was gonna pay him to do it.” Sydney finished, then telling her about how she was writing letters to Anna from her ‘daddy’. She concluded with finding out about the Sancta Marina docking there that weekend.
“I might be able to help you…” Francie said as she took her order notebook and wrote down a date and location, promising to send someone to meet her there.
***
Sydney sat in the lounge-style restaurant, scanning the booths for what might be the stranger Francie set her up with. A group of people were noisily talking in one booth, and another contained a single balding man looked to be in his late 40’s. She hoped it wasn’t him. She would never be able to pass an older man off as Anna’s father. She needed someone around her own age.
As if her prayers had been answered, a handsome man in a black leather jacket sat down across from her. His sparkling green eyes captivated her.
“Sydney Bristow?” He asked, and she loved the way her name sounded so sweet off his lips.
“Yes.” She nodded, pulling out a box full of letters and two pictures.
“No past, no present, no future. That’s what Francie said you wanted, right?” He looked at her questioning.
“Right.” Sydney agreed, opening the box and reaching inside. The stranger watched her intently and she suddenly became aware of how crazy she sounded, looking for a man to pretend to be her daughter’s father for a day. “I know I’m gonna sound like a really awful mother, but over the years, my daughter’s been sending letters to her ‘daddy’ and I’ve been writing back.” She held out the two pictures for him to see.
“That’s Anna when she was a baby,” Sydney pointed to one picture, then the other. “And that’s her now.” She informed him.
“I know it sounds terrible to keep it up for so long, but you have to understand, I just can’t bare to crush her like that.” Sydney sighed, feeling nervous to be revealing her deepest secret to a complete stranger. She didn’t know if she could trust him of not. “Here’s one that I wrote.” She added one to the pile.
He looked through the envelopes, finally pausing on the last one, written back to Anna.
“These are postmarked from Europe,” The stranger pointed out the postage on the letter. “How does she not figure it out?”
“I told her there’s a central mail depot for the ship. She doesn’t question it. I made it up, I’ve been making it up for years.” He seemed to consider her answer. “I don't have much, but, I'll pay you what I can.”
He picked up the photo of a baby Anna, and paused. “What time do you want me to be there?”
“Around ten will be fine.” Sydney left the letters on the table for him, wrapping up their conversation. “Francie says you’re only here for a week?”
“Set sail next Monday.” He answered, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Oh, that fits perfectly. Anna’s dad works on a ship. But I guess you’ll find that out in the letters.” She told him, standing and putting on her coat. He stood as well, placing the letters and pictures back into the box. “It must be some life, seeing all those different places.” She commented.
“You should know... you've been writing from them for years.” He replied leaving the restaurant with the box under his arm.
Chapter 6
You could cut the tension with a knife the air was so thick. The minute the stranger walked into the house, Sydney was immediately nervous. What happened if Anna didn’t believe this was her father? What if she got too attached? What if… what was his name? She didn’t even know the name of the stranger she was trusting her daughter with.
“What did you say your name was?” She asked him as he sat at her kitchen table, glancing around the room and taking in his surroundings.
“What’s Anna’s father’s name?” He replied.
“Depends on who you ask.” Nadia sneered, turning the page in the paper she was reading.
“Danny.” Sydney said softly, looking down at her hands. Anna had gone out earlier, and Sydney thought she would be back by ten. Maybe she had gone down to see her father when he got off the ship. “If she's not back in five minutes, I'm going to the docks myself.”
“How do you know that's where she is?” Nadia asked.
“Where would you go if it was you?” Sydney replied, distressed. She didn’t want to look like a bad mother in front of him.
“She won't go on that ship.” He said suddenly, leaning on his elbows on the table.
“How do you know what she would do? You haven’t even met her.” Nadia said harshly. She wasn’t happy with what her sister was trying to do. If she had her way, that kid would know exactly who her father was and what he did to her family.
“She doesn't want to spoil the surprise. If I was a betting man,” He explained, and Nadia glared at him. As far as she was concerned, he could be some creep off the streets that her niece was going to be spending the day with. “Which I'm not,” He corrected. “I'd put money on it.”
Nadia rolled her eyes and went back to reading. Sydney looked out the window, finally spying her daughter walking towards the house.
“There she is.” Sydney sighed, opening the door. “Anna, I have a surprise for you.” She said, covering her daughter’s eyes with one hand and leading her into the kitchen. The stranger stood up, pulling something from his pocket. Nadia looked on, a disapproving look upon her face. “Anna, this is your daddy.” She uncovered the child’s eyes, watching as she took in the man before her. An awkward silence followed, broken only when the stranger spoke.
“I got you something…” He said unsurely, handing her the wrapped box. She took it carefully, setting it on the table and opening it. She turned the novel over in her hands and read the back quickly.
“How’d you know?” Anna asked, setting the book back down and looking up at him curiously.
“From your letters.” He answered, hoping that was the correct response. Apparently, it was.
“Daddy!” Anna squealed and ran into his arms. She held onto him tightly, like she would never let go. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gently hugged Anna back. He didn’t want Sydney to think he was being overly feely with her daughter. “Can we go down to get some food, mom?” Anna asked as she pulled back from him.
“Sure sweetie.” Sydney said as her daughter pulled the man out the door. She gave him a grateful smile and sat down at the table across from Nadia. “That went well.” She sighed.
Nadia ignored her, still reading through her paper. “I think I’m gonna start reading a different paper.” She said and closed it quickly. Sydney eyed her sister cautiously. Nadia had been on edge for a few days, but she didn’t know what was bothering her. “You want some whiskey?” Nadia asked, already standing to retrieve it from the cabinet.
“What are we celebrating?” Sydney questioned.
“We’re not celebrating, I just need some.” She sighed, pouring two glasses. She gulped hers down quickly, reopening the paper and sliding it over to her sister. “You need to look at this.” Nadia handed Sydney the paper with the missing ad and she covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh no.”
Chapters 7-11