Nothing to Write Home About: Bad Habit

And nothing I do is good enough for you
- Crucify, Tori Amos

Sydney wasn't a bitch.

She wasn't. While she was fully capable of embodying that word completely, deep down, she was decent.

But her mind was swimming, and she was aching already, she didn't want the fate of another life assigned to her. There had been so much of that, and every day she was becoming more and more a killer like her mother.

"Anna Espinosa is dead."

Marina took that in, studying her with that same calm, defining stare that befitted a Derevko woman. "How can you be so sure?"

Sydney licked her lips, haunted by the knowing glare. Glancing away, she forced herself to take a breath, and found herself setting eyes upon Lena.

The Polish friend of Marina's wore a stiff posture, eyes rimmed with unshed tears, on the verge of falling apart.

"Anna Espinosa," she began methodically, "Is an international terrorist. She's not a random kidnapper."

"Exactly my point," Marina murmured, pushing off her chair and plucking a manila envelope from the mahogany dresser. "These were taken from the surveillance cameras from the Cambias flat. They were wired to Lena not too long ago."

Sydney took them, exhaling as she ran her fingernail under the clasp and shook the pictures into her palm, studying them.

"You sound as if you know her," Lena observed.

"We do," Sydney admitted, eyes on the photo, taking in the familiar, albeit fuzzy, image of the beautiful brown skinned woman smirking up at the camera. "In that nemesis-hate-your-guts kinda way."

"She's being smug," Marina continued. "I don't believe a kidnapping is all there is to this, and that worries me. If that were all it was, then Miss Montgomery could pay the ransom and that would be that-"

"Except that wouldn't be it," Sydney agreed, eyes closing now, mind suddenly locked into a quick fastforward of the events, shaping before her - the black and white grainy images replaced by vivid colors, a very much alive Anna glancing back to glare, challenge in her seductive gaze. "By paying the ransom the Kane girl is just asking for it to happen again."

She opened her eyes, studied Marina, read the same questions directed at her.

Lena caught her attention, disrupting her train of thought. "You think Bianca is not out of danger?"

"I think that this is just the beginning," Sydney confirmed, matter-of-fact, firm. She didn't wait to see the emotion cloud Lena's face, instead, turning back to her cousin, nodding her head slightly to get her away from the Polish woman.

Marina's almost smirk didn't bother her. No one knew her like her cousin, and while that bothered her sometimes, she knew Marina would never exploit that as a weakness. Sydney didn't want to take the case, but there was something that glimmered in Marina's eyes that tugged at her.

And she and Anna Espinosa had a meeting that was a long time coming.

"I understand your reasons for not wanting the CIA involved," she began in a low tone, eyes downcast, arms crossed, "But you have to let me at least inform my father. At least the crack team is authorized not to report their actions - this wouldn't be a vigilante mission. I'm on thin ice as it is."

"Of course," Marina agreed immediately. "I would never ask you to do this alone. We could use the crack team on this-"

"No," Sydney said, shaking her head almost minutely. "No, not Vaughn, and not Weiss."

Marina's eyes darkened, eyebrow quirking in response.

"Right now we have the advantage," Sydney explained, tone a soft whisper. "Anna has no idea either of us are involved - the more of us are in the city the easier it is for her to figure that out. Knowing her, she's got to have at least one man watching Bianca." Taking a moment to sort her thoughts, she continued, "She doesn't know Shane - and we could use one more person to help with this. At least until we figure out what's really going on."

Marina always had a habit of looking at her oddly whenever she brought up Shane - it was almost as if Marina was searching for something, a glint of what might have been. Sydney simply stared back.

"I'm asking her because she's my partner and I trust her," she said easily, answering the unspoken question.

Another minute stare, and Marina finally accepted that. "Then go," she said, louder, stepping away from her to include Lena. "You and I will fly to Paris," she said immediately. "Sydney will meet us there."

"You called Lena?"

Lena had once told her that she was a tower of strength.

At the moment she felt precariously tilted. She didn't look at Maggie. At the moment she wasn't sure she could take the look that she knew would be on her best friend's face.

Whatever they were, whatever they were trying to be, Maggie's insecurity when it came to her beautiful ex-girlfriend was always understood.

She didn't care. Her eyes closed and all she could see was Miranda, her beautiful baby girl.

Tightening her hold on Maggie's legs, she let herself stay in Maggie's embrace just a second longer, take her refuge while she could get it, even as she could feel Maggie's finger stiffen away from her head.

Forcing herself up, she turned in Maggie's embrace, made herself look into Maggie's betrayed face, and with her curiously numb heart, explain as well as she could.

"She has connections." Maggie's eyes darted away, and already Bianca could see the wall coming, the haze of insecurity and mistrust that always sent Maggie running. "Maggie," she began, wrapping fingers around wrists. "I had to. She promised she'd help. I didn't know what else to do."

"So you called Lena," Maggie replied, gaze on the floor, on the bed, on anything but Bianca.

"She's already on her way." The silence became awkward, intense, and Bianca's mind was already whirling with things that had to be done now, in this chaos, her broken in world. But still, she stayed with Maggie, fingers clasped tightly around her wrists, unable to go. "Maggie..."

Instantly, she remembered - a flash of a moment, just the day before, waking up to find perfect peace, in the form of this woman and her child, sleeping soundly beside her.

It came back, the panic that thudded her way into her heart, making her arms shake and her vision to blur.

"I gotta go call Megan," she said thickly. "Pull the ransom money together, and call off work-" Impulsively, she brushed her lips across Maggie's cheek, pushing to her feet, stumbling backwards at the look of dazed confusion on Maggie's face.

It was all just too much, and still, she wanted to badly just to crash down on that floor, bury herself in Maggie's arms, knowing that just like before, Maggie would keep her safe.

She couldn't - so she turned and left, never looking back, afraid if she did, she wouldn't have the strength to do any of this.

Shane McCutcheon knew she had to stop being surprised at anything Sydney Bristow did.

Too many times, she had been taken unawares by the unpredictable actions of the Derevko women, always rambunctious and unruly, leaving her spinning in their wake.

And still, they never ceased to leave her planted on her ass, knocking her out of a haze of much needed sleep with the annoying sound of the cell phone.

Her response was automatic, still half asleep when she dug under the covers and pulled it to her, voice deeper and more gravely than usual. "McCutcheon."

"It's me," she heard, breathless and fast. "I need you on a plane in twenty minutes. My Dad's already on his way. He'll brief you."

Shane blinked, still trying to register what the hell was happening. "Where the hell are you?"

"Paris."

Shane let that sink in, before she just shook her head and closed her eyes. "He better be bringing coffee," she muttered, snapping the phone shut, nearly falling out of her bed.

Fucking Derevkos.

"How protected is Bianca Montgomery?"

When her question was answered by silence, Marina looked up from her notebook, discovered Lena looking at her hesitantly.

"You don't know?"

Lena bit her lip lightly, staring out the cab window at the buildings whizzing by. "It is complicated with Bianca and I."

Marina wore a distanced frown, flipping rapidly through the photos. "Because you loved her?" Lena didn't answer that. "Because you love her still?"

To that, Lena only hardened. Marina understood her pain. While her love for Jenny had been locked away in a part of her she did not touch, if it was her Jenny in trouble...

Marina took the moment to study the photos, fingering her way through the hurriedly put together file to stare into the window of this woman's life. She eyed them with the mentality of a thief, exploiting what she could.

"Who is this?" she replied, tapping a finger nail against a figure lying in the corner of the grainy black and white screen.

Lena craned her neck, glanced down at the image, and said nothing.

"Lena."

"Maggie," she snapped. "Maggie Stone. She is Bianca's best friend."

"How close?" Marina asked.

"Close enough."

Marina studied the image. "She was the only one there wasn't she? Why would someone who has lost so much already leave anyone so exposed?"

"Pardon me?" Lena's tone was vehement, defensive.

"There are no guards, no protection - a security system is nothing."

"Bianca does not-"

"Bianca must face the reality - she is no longer in a small town. This is Paris, and this?" she added, holding up the still, "Is asking a thief to come in."

Lena's eyes were cool liquid. "Bianca does not think like we do."

"Bianca has known too much evil not to at least suspect it."

"You act as if having faith is a fault."

Marina shook her head, managing a smile. "One thing she has in her favor," she admitted. "She is a Kane. It has protected her - not just anyone would do this to a Kane."

"And there is a reason why," Lena countered. "There are consequences for things such as this. A child, Marina. She took a child."

Marina came to a picture of Bianca and her child, clipped hurriedly from an old newspaper. Studying the child, Marina lost her smile.

"It's like a honeymoon."

The minute the words were out of her mouth, Maggie felt like an idiot. Of course, feeling like an idiot was something that came very easily around Bianca.

Bianca had grown into herself - from the tall, gangly, awkward teenager who burst into her arms thinking she was her dead twin sister (and scaring the hell out of her in the process), to the captivatingly gorgeous head of Cambias Industries.

Maggie often wondered how Bianca did it, how she managed to look more beautiful and more elegant every single day, leaving Maggie behind in an undignified mess.

Much of this had to do with that fact that around Bianca, Maggie tended to blurt first, think later, and often, such exchanges ended with Bianca looking at her pretty much the same way she was looking at her now, with this odd, flabbergasted expression, staring at her with her deep dark eyes like any minute, she expected Maggie to grow a second head.

"Well... what I mean..." Maggie's cheeks were now furiously red, as she scooted up, nearly dropping Miranda on her head as she juggled the child, bobbing on the soft downy mattress. "Well, I meant -" Bianca's eyes were now glittering, mouth pulling into pure amusement, and at the expression, Maggie deflated, her dignity now completely lost. "You know what I mean," she muttered.

Awkward moments rife with sexual tension - that was Maggie Stone's life in Paris, and it was still the happiest she had ever remembered being.

Bianca smiled again, and finally took pity on her. Reaching over to trace a finger down Miranda's soft little cheek, she agreed, "It is like a honeymoon. All fun in the sun. We haven't hit an iceberg yet."

"Long walks down the avenue. And the shopping. The shopping is killer," Maggie said. "It's totally a honeymoon. Well, okay," she said in afterthought, "Except for the non stop seee...x."

And she did it again.

Awkward Moment Rife With Sexual Tension, three billion and 2.

Bianca looked startled, but it was almost like she was used to them now, because she only smiled again, the same resigned one, and this time, Maggie couldn't help but smile back.

"Have you noticed that lately, we've been..." she bowed her head, did a twiddle with her fingers.

"Having trouble having any sort of conversation without it eluding to something else?" Bianca finished, laughter staining her tone.

"YES!" Maggie shook her head in bewilderment. "I mean, I've heard of sexual tension, but this?" Bianca's smiled faded slightly. "What?"

"No, I just..." Bianca's cheeks tinted red. "I didn't expect you to admit that... that's what it was."

"Oh." Honestly, it was a little surprising to Maggie, too. She glanced down at Miranda's little arms, held the baby as she precariously jumped up and down on the bed, giggling between them. "That's what this is, right?"

"It is for me."

"Yeah..." Sucking in her breath, Maggie found herself ragged, "I mean, look at you."

Bianca was perfect, and her modesty just made it worse. Or better, depending on how you looked at the situation.

"So... uh..." Her gaze was now studiously on Miranda, her heart pitter pattering oddly, and she was nearly faint as she approached, "So... if it's real then why haven't we..."

"Maggie."

"I mean, are we waiting until we just can't take it anymore? Are we going to rip each other's clothes off in the throes of passion? Are we going to be standing in the pouring rain declaring our love - which? By the way? I totally don’t recommend because I catch a cold really easily-"

Bianca was openly laughing now, falling back on her elbows in her bed. "You're insane," she wheezed.

No, she was in love. Maggie smiled, hugging Miranda to her, basking in their honeymoon.

The honeymoon was defiantly over - crashed and burned and mangled, and now, just the memory twisted Maggie's heart, caged her in and frightened her with her turmoil.

Someone had priced Miranda's life at sixty million dollars.

Maggie couldn't do a thing about it. She had no money. She had no contacts. In Pine Valley, she had been Bianca's protector, guarding her from despair.

Here, she couldn't even do that.

She wore a bruise in nearly the exact same place that Jonathan had smacked her, and in her mind, she replayed the moment over and over.

The door rattled, the doorbell echoed in the flat, and she shoved off the stairs, staring at it with hope and dread, neither emotion able to overpower the other.

Glancing toward the closed office door, she took in a haggard breath, made her way to the doorway, and prepared herself for the next stage in hell.

And still, if it meant bringing back Miranda safe and sound, she'd take it.

Reaching the wooden barrier, Maggie never stopped to brace herself - too impatient, she snapped the handle and pulled to the woman that frightened her more than anyone in the world.

"Hi, Lena."

Shane had been on a plane for six hours, and still, she looked like she had just fallen out of bed after a long night of partying.

Watching her partner ambling down the stairs, wincing in the sunlight and fumbling for her sunglasses, struggling to make it down the airplane's steep steps without falling flat on her face, Sydney allowed herself one affectionate smile.

Spotting her, Shane ruffled her already scruffy hair with her fingers, nodding with a narrowed glare against the sun, moving into a walk beside her.

"Didn't expect Paris, did you?" Sydney asked, fighting a smile at Shane's morose frown.

Taking the small coffee Sydney held out for her, Shane grimaced. "What the fuck kind of trouble did Marina get herself into this time?."

"I know it's surprising," Sydney agreed, plucking the files Shane held out of her hands. "But I think this time she's actually being a Good Samaritan."

"Hell had to freeze over sometime," Shane muttered, as if in afterthought. "Fuck, Syd - this woman you had me look up? She's a fucking kid. 21 years old."

"I know," Sydney said, eyes on the cement below them.

"Endured that much shit for her baby to be taken again? I don’t mean to judge, but Anna Espinosa is a world class ass."

"That one you don't have to tell me. What do you have for me," Sydney asked, getting down to business, taking longer strides now that Shane had had a chance to gulp down the coffee.

"Much as I could get," Shane responded immediately. "Full dossiers of Bianca Montgomery and the entire Kane clan, not to mention piecing together a shitload of history, and some info on that chick of hers-" she tapped at the face of a pretty blonde girl. "Maggie Stone."

"Girlfriend? Partner?"

"They're the ambiguously gay duo. No one's really sure," Shane said, fighting a smirk, eyes hidden by her black glasses. "You know what they say - Paris is for lovers."

That was enough to drain the color from her cheeks slightly, but Shane didn't seem to notice the uncomfortable moment, the sidelong glance that caused an odd heat in Sydney's groin.

"Right," she said, recovering neatly. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, actually. Checked out Cambias Industries - turns out the dude that Bianca inherited all of it from? Michael the ass?"

"The rapist," Sydney said, a bad taste in her mouth at the word. "Yeah."

"He was a shady guy. Into a couple things that weren't exactly kosher."

Sydney glanced up, steps faltering. "You're saying that maybe this kidnapping has something to do with where Bianca works?"

Shane shrugged, throwing her arms out to her side. "You said it, I didn't. Anna isn't a kidnapper."

"Shit," Sydney sighed. "This is just getting more complicated."

"It gets better."

Sydney stared at her quizzically. "How so?"

Shane shoved her hands in her pockets, tottering back on her heels as she tried to explain this. "Michael Cambias? Turns out he was a collector of supernatural relics. And guess who made a couple of those hidden in his forgotten collection trapped in the Cambias Vaults."

Sydney's eyes widened, her stomach dropping. "Don't say it."

Shane nodded. "Fucker was a big fan of Rambaldi."