The Weekend

Author: Janet (SkyGirl5)

Genre: S/V, AU

Summary: What if Vaughn had caught up to Sydney at the end of "The Counteragent?" (Episode 2.07)

Disclaimer: Sydney, Vaughn, etc are properties of JJ Abrams and ABC.

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Chapters 1-10 // Chapters 11 - 20 + Epilogue

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Chapter 1

Vaughn was unnerved after his visit with Irina, then again, when wasn’t he? The things she had said... they couldn’t be taken at face value, of course. She was a wicked person, who clearly had ulterior motives. But, could her daughter’s happiness have been one of them?

Vaughn shook it off, he couldn’t think about the fact that Irina Derevko, the woman who killed his father, might have actually had a valid point about something. He needed to go see Sydney. He needed to thank her, after all she had saved his life for, what was it? The hundredth time? Well, maybe not quite that many. There was Cap Ferrat and this, and others too, but the most important life saver of all was that she was Sydney, his Sydney, in his life every day, the reason he got out of bed.

He needed to thank her, but this time, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to their encounter. Sydney had met Alice. Alice had told him this. Well, Alice had said she met Rita, but Vaughn knew what that meant. It meant he felt sick to his stomach. What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t have Sydney, what was there to do? He knew what he wanted to do, but there was protocol and their lives were at stake. Perhaps Weiss would have called him an idiot, had he been there, though it was hard to say since Weiss tended to run hot and cold on the ‘Sydney issue’. Vaughn couldn’t disagree; he was an idiot. A stupid, stupid idiot who was about to shove his stupid foot further into his mouth.

He pushed open the doors and immediately she saw him and smiled. “Hi,” she sighed as she walked over to him.

His heart jumped slightly, as it always did upon hearing her voice. It also ached because he saw she was crying. “Hi,” he sighed back. She took a step forward and put her arms around his neck, sighing a ragged breath into his shoulder, thankful that he was safe again. “Thank you,” Vaughn told her, knowing that no words could ever express his indebted gratitude to her for simply existing. She pulled back and gave him one of her soft, perfect smiles.

“I heard about Sark,” Vaughn told her, having heard the entire thing from Jack, who was less than thrilled.

“Sloane actually brought Sark to the Alliance and presented him as their new ally.”

“How did that go over?”

“Apparently, Sark was a big hit. And thanks to me, Sloane’s standing has never been higher,” she said bitterly, almost in a self-loathing way.

No, thanks to me, Vaughn thought as he dropped his eyes to the floor. “I heard you met Alice....,” he began. This was the part of their conversation he was dreading.

Sydney nodded slowly. “She seems nice.”

“Yeah, she is,” he said. “She’s a good person. We have a lot of history, we’re trying to.... you know we broke up,” he said, trying to formulate some semblance of an explanation but knowing that from the look in her eyes, there was no possible words that could placate her.

“Yeah, you mentioned that.”

“Yeah. A couple of months later, we saw each other at a friends and-”

“You don’t have to explain,” she interrupted him. Honestly, she didn’t want to hear it; she didn’t want to know anything about him and her.

“No, I know, but I want to. If things were the other way around...”

“Seriously,” she said. “Don’t explain.” Vaughn’s heart broke at the expression on her face, but what as was there to do? “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she told him before turning and walking away. In that moment, it took all his self-control not to follow her. But then he realized, why wasn’t he following her?

Maybe Irina was right, a thought he positively loathed, but maybe she was. Sydney was out there hurting, thinking he didn’t care; thinking that he cared more about Alice than her, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. The truth was Alice was just there. She was just a way for him to fool himself into thinking that he could live without Sydney; without them together. Sydney was hurting and he was miserable without her. Suddenly, that no longer made sense to him. Sure, there was the Alliance, sure there was Sloane, sure if they were seen outside the CIA they would be shot dead on the spot, but they were there, standing there together a moment ago, why couldn’t they be together then. Surely if a woman like Irina Derevko could see it, it had to be true. When Irina had asked him if he loved Sydney, his heart had jumped up into his throat. The truth was, he did love her, he had loved her for quite some time, and it was time that he told her.

He took a few steps forward to go after her, but was intercepted by Kendall. Vaughn ignored him and walked as quickly as he could after Sydney, hoping that she hadn’t already disappeared like she usually did. He saw a mass of brown hair float around a corner and practically broke into a run. The only reason he didn’t call out her name frantically was that he was trying to act at least somewhat low-key. Finally, he turned into a deserted hall and saw her up ahead. “Syd! Sydney!” he called out to her, still power-walking in her direction.

She stopped and turned. “Yeah Vaughn?”

Suddenly he was standing there, two feet away from her, and he had absolutely no idea what to say. All his intentions of a nice, romantic speech lost, he decided to go with his gut. Taking a step forward, he shot his hands to her hips and smashed his lips into hers. She was so stunned she didn’t even respond. Not exactly the first kiss he had been hoping for. He went to pull back and attempt some verbal damage control, but she didn’t let him. She finally kissed him back and held him there for a second before stepping back and looking confused and almost terrified. “Vaughn,” she uttered his name in a breathy way. “Wha- what are you...,” she stammered.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, rubbing his infamously wrinkled brow. “I just wanted to kiss you... I’ve wanted to kiss you forever.”

The corners of her lips turned up slightly as she blushed and looked down at her feet. “Vaughn... you have Alice... I mean you just said-”

“I know,” he sighed as he returned his hand to her hips, pulling her a few inches closer. “And I swear I’m going to break up with her the moment I let go of you, which might be in a second or never depending on your reaction to what I’m about to say,” he told her. She looked up at him, curious. He took a deep breath and decided to go for broke as he blurted out, “I love you, Syd.”

Sydney choked out a breath, clearly not expecting him to have admitted that. She looked around and tried to back away as she breathed heavily, but he wouldn’t let her move. She couldn’t quite fathom how long she had wanted to hear him say that, but standing in the middle of a hallway at the CIA headquarters wasn’t exactly the place of love profession she had imagined. “Vaughn... I.. you can’t...,” she stammered.

“Sydney,” he breathed as he brought one hand up and stroked her cheek. She shut her eyes and leaned into his hand, deciding not to care about where they were. “I know, I know it’s insane and I know that there is Sloane and the Alliance and the CIA security cameras that probably saw me kissing you and I’m going to be court marshaled at any moment now but.... god, I love you. And being sick... almost dying has taught me that life is too short to deny this or try to hide this... or.....,” he let his voice drift off.

“Vaughn,” Sydney began, but paused, not knowing what she was going to say. She looked up at him and into his green eyes, the eyes she had dreamt of many lonely nights, the eyes she loved and she gave in. “Can... can we go somewhere that’s not here? I mean... I know we can’t but.... can we?” she asked recklessly.

He cracked a small smile. “I might have to put you in my trunk again.”

Sydney couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s okay.”

“Okay,” he said, holding out his hand. She took it, laced her fingers through his and followed him willingly to wherever he was taking her.



Chapter 2

“So, um, you were serious about the whole trunk thing?” Sydney asked when they arrived at the back end of Vaughn’s vehicle, which was parked in the CIA underground garage.

“Yeah, kinda.” He cringed. “You could lay across the back seat, but the windows aren’t tinted and you’d be seen... then people would probably get suspicious.”

“As opposed to when they wouldn’t get suspicious when you cram a woman in your trunk along with your hockey equipment?” she raised an eyebrow.

He laughed. “Well... right, but they won’t see it. That’s why we’re in the garage,” he said as he looked around the empty area. “Here, I’ll take these out,” he pulled out his sticks and then opened the back door to his car and tossed them inside. Sydney looked warily down into the trunk. “You don’t have to go... we could...”

“No, I’ll go,” she sighed as she sat down in the trunk, swung her legs over the edge and curled up. “This has so many levels of wrong,” she laughed as Vaughn slammed the lid.

“Yes... do you feel like you’re in the mob?” he asked.

“Only if you say the phrase ‘sleepin’ with the fishes’,” came her muffled response.

Vaughn shook his head, laughed, and then climbed into the driver’s side before starting the engine. He had barely pulled out of the garage when his cell rang. Without looking at the ID, he answered it, “Vaughn.”

“Vaughn, do you ever wash your hockey stuff?” Sydney asked.

He laughed. “Of course I wash it.”

“It smells.”

“It doesn’t smell that bad,” he told her.

“Oh yeah, wanna switch places?” she challenged.

“Not really,” he laughed. “I wouldn’t do well riding in the trunk.”

“Unlike me. I revel in it. Seriously, I should start living in a trunk.”

“Like a hobo?”

“Yes, exactly like a hobo.” She laughed. “From spy to hobo.”

“Not exactly a lateral career move,” Vaughn sighed.

“Not summuch, no. Hey Vaughn? Where are we going?” she asked curiously.

“Don’t like surprises?”

“No, I’m trying to figure out how much time I'll have to breathe the toxic air.”

Vaughn grumbled. “Do you want me to pull over so you can breathe precious, clean air, princess?”

“No,” she laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m done now.”

“Good. Hey Syd, I have to make a phone call. I’ll call you right back, okay?”

“Okay,” she sighed before snapping her phone shut. In Vaughn’s trunk, it was pitch black and random things kept bumping into her; things she felt she was better off not knowing what they were. For a moment, she almost started laughing hysterically at her insane situation. She was in the trunk of Vaughn’s car going God knows where and doing the exact thing that gave Sloane the right to put a bullet in her head. Her life was absurd and she was simply adding to it, but when Vaughn had said those three perfect words to her, she knew in that moment she would follow him to the ends of the earth (not that she wouldn’t have before). She loved him too and she had to tell him, but not when she was in the trunk of his car.

After about five minutes that seem liked much longer, her phone rang and she looked at the ID before answering. “Hey,” she sighed.

“Hey, still okay back there?”

“Just peachy. What’d she say?” Sydney asked knowingly.

“What’d who say?”

“Alice.”

Vaughn sighed and shook his head. He loved that about her. “Actually, I left a message on the machine... I hope she gets it.”

“Michael Vaughn!” Sydney gasped in utter shock.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He laughed. “She.... took it well, I suppose... considering.”

“Yeah,” Sydney sighed as she began to pick at the carpet lining the back of his trunk.

They were silent a few minutes before Vaughn said, “We’re nearly there now,” desperate to break the silence.

“Oh yeah?” Sydney asked hopefully.

“Yeah, less than ten minutes,” he told her.

“Okay good,” she sighed with relief. Vaughn was right, ten minutes later, the arrived at their destination and he hung up. Inside the trunk, Sydney could hear the sound of a garage door shutting.

“Okay, we’re safe,” Vaughn sighed as he popped the trunk open and held out his hand to help Sydney out.

“Where are we?” she asked as she got out and stretched.

“My house,” he smiled. She smiled back. “I apologize in advance for Donovan... there’s really just no excuse for him,” Vaughn sighed as he walked over to the house door and unlocked it.

“What’s wrong with him?” Sydney laughed.

“You’ll see,” he sighed as he went inside. Immediately Donovan began barking. “Shut up, shut up!” Vaughn scolded him as he went around to all the windows and began pulling the blinds. Meanwhile, Sydney observed her surroundings and found that Vaughn’s house wasn’t exactly what she had imagined, but very, very close. It was mildly cluttered, full of hockey memorabilia and not too big, but not tiny either. It was perfect and it made her grin.

She was jolted from her observations by the clicking of claws on the hardwood floor and a dog barking at her feet. “Oh god Vaughn, what did you do to him?!” Sydney gasped at the very rotund pet.

“I didn’t do anything. It was ERIC!” Vaughn groaned. “He stuffed him full of so much food that he gained like a hundred pounds and he’s too much of a slob to lose them... so I’m stuck with a whale of a dog.”

“But he’s cuuuute.” Sydney laughed as she scratched some of Donovan’s fat rolls.

“Yeah, somethin’ like that,” Vaughn sighed as he leaned up against the doorframe to his kitchen, only a foot a way from Sydney, just staring down at her in disbelief. Sydney Bristow was in his kitchen, something he never thought was possible. “So...” he said almost awkwardly.

She stood up from petting Donovan and smiled. “Wanna give me a tour?”

“Sure, but there’s not much to tour... this is the kitchen... there’s the family room... I have an office back there that doubles as a guest room when Eric crashes here... and then the bathroom and my room,” he detailed as he pointed to all different ends of his house.

Sydney walked cautiously over to the room he had labeled his bedroom. She stood in the doorway for a moment before walking all the way inside. It was a decent size with a queen size bed, a TV up on a chest of drawers and a small chair by the window. “Oh, is this your mom?” Sydney asked as she picked up a photograph next to the TV.

“Yeah,” he laughed softly from his position in the doorway. “It was taken when I was eleven.”

“I can see that.” Sydney laughed at the blonde, bright green-eyed adorable boy in the picture. “I- I’m sorry, I’m like... going through all your stuff,” she sighed as she put the photo frame back and walked closer towards the door.

“It’s okay... I’ve got nothing to hide.” He smiled. “Well... maybe a gun or two but they won’t freak you out.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. Then, she caught sight of a pile of his laundry by the closet and blushed softly, completely in amazement that she was in Michael Vaughn’s bedroom, a place she never thought she’d be. She glanced over at him and he was looking at her with such admiration that she couldn’t help herself from closing the distance between them and kissing him fully. Vaughn responded by slipping his hands underneath her suit jacket and rubbing her back as he pulled her closer.

At the perfect moment, Sydney broke their kiss and nuzzled her face against his, keeping her eyes closed. Kissing him was a thousand times better than she had dreamt it would be; the chills were better, the feel of their bodies together was better, even the feel of his stubble against her face (which usually annoyed her) was amazing. “Oh, this is so unfair!” she choked out as she clung to him. “I just want to be with you... can’t they all just go away for a day! Just one day!”

“Syd, shh it’s okay,” Vaughn sighed as he continued to rub her back. “We’re here now and we’re safe here.”

“I know but... we can’t say here forever,” she sighed as though she was just realizing it then.

“No,” he laughed softly, “we can’t. But.... but we can stay here until Monday morning, the whole weekend, just us.”

Sydney pulled her head back and looked at him hopefully. “Really?”

“Yeah, really... if you want to.”

Sydney nodded. “I want to.”

“Okay,” he smiled. She grinned a massive dimpled grin, kissed him quickly and then gave him a tight hug, knowing that the next two days would probably be the best of her entire life.



Chapter 3

“Okay... okay so... I’m staying here,” Sydney sighed as she broke from Vaughn’s embrace and began to pace his hallway. “OH! Francie... I have to call her or she’ll freak!” Sydney exclaimed as she pulled her phone from her pocket.

“Wait, wait,” Vaughn said, grabbing her hand. “They can GPS track your cell phone.”

“Oh,” Sydney cringed. “Doesn’t that take at least five seconds though?”

“Uh... yes, but can you call her in under five seconds?” he asked.

With a determined look on her face, Sydney opened her phone and dialed. “Fran, it’s me. Gotta fly. See you Monday,” she said before hanging up with a grin.

Vaughn couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “You’re insane.”

“But I did it!” she said proudly.

“Yes, yes you did,” he laughed as he rubbed her shoulders.

“Oh it’s hot in here,” Sydney sighed as she shrugged off her suit jacket. It was only when she began to fold it up that she realized the same thing Vaughn had a moment earlier. “Clothes...,” she said sadly.

“Well, um.... you could wear something of mine,” he suggested hopefully. “Unless you don’t want to,” he added quieter.

“I’d love to wear your clothes,” she said excitedly with a tiny, giddy jump.

“Aw, you’re adorable,” he smiled at her. She beamed. “Come on... oh I think I got it! Last year for Christmas my aunt from France sent me these pj’s and she must be getting senile or something because I’m pretty sure they’re like... children’s,” he laughed as he began digging in the drawers of his bureau.

“And you didn’t throw them away?” Sydney asked.

He shrugged. “Forgot. Here they are,” he said as he pulled out a royal blue plaid button up shirt and drawstring pants. Sydney looked at them strangely. “I know, they’re hideous.”

“Just checking,” she laughed as she took them like an over-excited child grabs a present on Christmas morning. Then, she skipped off to the bathroom. Vaughn laughed and shook his head, combing through his hair with his fingers, not exactly sure what he had just gotten himself into. Then he took off his own suit jacket and changed into more comfortable track pants and a t-shirt.

“Do they fit?” he yelled to Sydney.

“Yeah, the pants are a bit short... they only come to my mid-calf,” she told him.

“Isn’t that the style now?” Vaughn asked, recalling the many women walking around the streets of LA with similar pants.

“Yeah, but on me they look retarded.”

“I doubt that,” he told her.

“Look,” she sighed when she came out of the bathroom. Vaughn turned and burst out laughing, for it looked like she had outgrown her pants with her long limbs, but was wearing them anyway. “See,” she frowned.

“It’s not that bad,” he told her.

“But you’re laughing.”

“Not at you,” he smiled.

She folded her arms over her chest. “Liar.” He just smiled, walked over to her and kissed her. “Vaughn,” she giggled.

“Hmm?” he sighed as he kissed her cheeks and nose.

“Are we going to do this for the next forty-eight hours?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“Just checking...,” she sighed before guiding his lips to hers with her hand at the back of his head. Vaughn wrapped his arms around her back and lifted her off the ground slightly while they kissed. Sydney giggled and wrapped her arms and legs around him, feeling happier than she had been in all her life combined. Once Vaughn was holding her firmly, he slowly backed his way to the sofa, making sure not to run into anything. As soon as he kicked the couch with one of his feet he dumped her down onto it and she squealed.

“Kissing you is so much better than I imagined,” he sighed as he sat down on the sofa beside her. She smiled, nodded and kissed him again.

“Vaughn...,” she sighed, then kissed him once more. She looked directly into his eyes and said, “I love you.”

Vaughn’s heart nearly beat right out of his chest. He had never heard anything more amazing in his life. He shut his eyes and sighed as he laid his head back against the sofa. Sydney crawled into his lap facing him and ran her hands through his hair and down around his face. “What’s the matter?” she asked quietly.

He smiled. “Nothing. For once, nothing is the matter,” he told her as he lifted his head and looked at her. “Being alive has never been better.”

“You being alive has never been better to me either,” she sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder, curling up in his lap as she did so. He put his arms around her and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

“Hey Syd, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

Vaughn took a deep breath before asking the question that had been plaguing him for two days. “Why did you have Sloane killed for me? Or attempt to anyway.”

Sydney took a deep breath and snuggled closer to him. “Because when I saw you lying in that hospital bed, I knew that if I lost you, I’d lose any sanity I had left.... and I’d lose myself too.”

“Syd,” he sighed as he kissed her head again and moved one of his hands from around her back to cupping her face. The moment his fingers brushed her cheek he felt the subtle moistness of a tear. “Syd?” he questioned this time.

She buried her face in his neck, breathing in the scent of his ‘oh so perfectly Vaughn’ cologne. “I loved you and I couldn’t lose you. I did what I had to.”

“Oh Syd...,” he sighed again into her hair.

“You know when I first figured it out?” she asked quietly as her fingers played with the frayed edge of the neckline of his t-shirt.

“Figured out what?” he asked

“That I loved you.”

“Oh,” he laughed softly. “When?”

“Taipei. When that door shut behind me...,” she sighed and shook her head slightly. “It was like my world slammed shut.”

Michael sighed and nuzzled his face into her head. He had no idea she felt that way, but having her admit it, when he knew that she didn’t exactly wear her heart on her sleeve meant the world to him.

She lifted her head and looked at him. “What about you?”

“Me?” he asked with a grin. “Oh, well you had me from the beginning. You see I have a thing for women with red hair who need dental work.”

Sydney’s eyes opened wide and she let out a loud barkish laugh. “Oh yeah, I’m sure I was a sight.”

“You’re always a beautiful sight,” he told her.

Sydney blushed again and tried to fight goose bumps from appearing all over her arms. “How can you do that?” she asked in disbelief.

“Do what?”

“Say the most perfect thing.”

Michael smiled, picked up her hand and kissed the back of it while slipping his fingers in hers. “I have perfect inspiration.” Sydney couldn’t help but giggle girlishly.



Chapter 4

“So... it's getting kinda late.” Vaughn sighed as he glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was almost six and he and Sydney had been sitting on the couch holding each other for over an hour. “Want me to make us dinner?”

Sydney looked up as a grin spread across her face. “You can cook?”

“Uh... yes...,” he said unsurely.

“Oh my God!” she squealed.

“Um, have you never eaten before?” he asked with a slight laugh.

“Noo, no! I just love it when guys cook since I’m usually such a disaster.” She grinned.

“Okay then... come on, you can help or watch or... whatever,” he shrugged as he gently slid her off his lap so he could stand. “Man Bristow, you were crushing me.” He groaned as he stretched. She looked slightly sad but he just lifted her chin up with his index finger and smiled. “The good kind of crushing.”

“Is there a good kind?” she laughed.

“Of course, I just said there was,” he winked. “Come on... this can be like our first date... sorta.”

“First date? That implies there will be more,” she said as she followed him to the kitchen and nearly tripped over Donovan.

“Of course there will be,” he smiled. “You know... once our lives aren’t threatened.”

“Uh huh... and how many will there be?” she asked.

He shrugged as he searched through his refrigerator. “Forever is too long to count.”

The implication of forever sent Sydney’s heart rate soaring even higher than it already was. “So Iron Chef, what’s for dinner?”

“Dunno, but you’re lucky I just went to the store yesterday,” he told her. “Sooo options, but keep in mind whatever we don’t have now, we have tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she laughed.

“So... either pasta with alfredo sauce or veal parmigian,” he told her.

“Vaughn!” she said in disbelief. “Those are like... meals!”

“As... opposed... to...?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing, I just thought you were going to open a can of soup and heat it up.” She laughed.

“Uh no,” he said firmly. “So which one do you want?”

“Alfredo pasta,” she smiled.

“Pasta it is then. I even have fresh garlic for it.”

“Shut up, you do not!” she laughed.

He grinned and picked up a clove to show her. “Do to.”

“You’re too much, you know that? Where’d you learn how to cook anyway?” she asked.

“My mom and her mother. They’d spend like hours in the kitchen making all this food for everyone of my French relatives and I just... picked it up.” He shrugged.

“French relatives, hmm? So what’s with the Italian food?” she asked.

“They lived near Italy and my grandfather was Italian,” he explained to her.

She smiled, walked over and leaned against the counter next to where he was preparing the ingredients for their dinner. “Tell me more,” she requested.

“Umm,” he laughed softly. “They own a vineyard, not surprising since it’s France. My mother grew up there, came to America for school, but went back until she met my father. He was on a mission in France and they bumped into each other.”

“They just bumped into each other while he was on a mission?” Sydney laughed.

“Well... not exactly,” he smiled. “From what I understand he was doing a simple dead-drop mission and decided to do some sight seeing afterwards. He and my mom ran into each other while he was admiring the vineyard... they had a weekend fling and she followed him back to America.”

“That’s so romantic.” Sydney smiled.

“I know.” He smiled.

“What happened next? You?” she asked with a grin.

He laughed. “Almost. They dated for six months, married and then had me. And then we went back to France... of course I don’t remember because I was like three months old... but for some reason my mom’s parents didn’t like my father.”

“Why?” Sydney asked as she took the knife he was using and began to help him chop the garlic.

“They hated Americans simply because they were American.” He sighed. “So... I didn’t get back until after my father had died. But after that we went every summer and they liked me because I was half-French!” he said with a twinge of French accent at the end.

Sydney cracked a smile, but on the inside felt incredibly guilty. After all, it was almost her fault that he didn’t have a father. “Vaughn, we need to talk abou-”

“No, we don’t,” he said firmly.

“But-”

“No Syd,” he cut her off. “We don’t. She did what she did and it’s in the past and we can’t change it. It has nothing to do with us right here.... not exactly anyway,” he sighed.

Sydney looked up at him. “What do you mean not exactly?”

“Nothing,” Vaughn said evasively while staring intently at the cutting board.

“Vaughn.” Sydney set her knife down and stared at him; he avoided eye contact with her. “You went to see her didn’t you? For the antidote? What did she say to you?”

Vaughn shrugged noncommittally but Sydney kept staring him down with her infamous look until he was thoroughly uncomfortable. “She asked me if I loved you, okay?” he submitted.

“She did WHAT?!” Sydney gasped in disbelief. Vaughn nodded. “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing... I just gave her some line about rules and protocol,” he told her.

“Oh...,” Sydney said, feeling completely unnerved. She couldn’t help but wonder why her mother had asked that. Surely she had no concern for Sydney’s happiness.... or did she?

“Can you boil some water?” Vaughn asked, purposely directing their conversation back to the food preparation.

“Uh yeah... where are the pots?” she asked. He pointed under the stove and she opened the drawer. “So tell me more about summers in France.”

“Ohh I dunno... just regular stuff... crazy family... working in the vineyard... scoping out hot French babes, you know,” he winked.

She laughed. “Lots of those, were there?”

“Millions. Too bad none of them liked me.” He sighed.

“Oh now, I do not believe that,” Sydney said. “How could they not like that adorable little blonde boy in the picture?” she asked, referring to the picture in his room she had seen earlier.

“Oh he was cute... but once he hit puberty it was ugly.”

“Uh oh,” Sydney laughed.

“Yeah.” He shivered.

“Well, you definitely grew out of it.” She smiled.

“Thanks,” he laughed. “You can put the pasta in the water once it’s boiling. I’m nearly done with the sauce.”

“Okay... wow, that was fast... and fun.”

He looked over at her. “You sound surprised.”

“I am. Usually cooking is painful to me. Fran does the cooking in our house.”

“Ah yes,” Michael nodded. “Would you mind setting the table?”

“Nope, just point me to the silverware. I can set like nobody’s business,” she grinned. He laughed.

~*~

Though dinner they talked more about Vaughn’s childhood in France and Sydney’s own less-than-thrilling childhood with her father. Once they ate and Sydney had praised Vaughn endlessly for his amazing meal, they settled in on the couch to watch a movie on TV. During the movie, they kept looking over at each other in disbelief, but every time they caught the other’s eye, they’d look away quickly. “Stop that,” Sydney giggled finally.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. I need to keep making sure you’re really here,” he told her.

“I know what you mean.” She sighed as she swung her legs into his lap. “I never thought this would come.”

“I know,” he sighed as he put his arms around her. Around ten, when the movie ended, Vaughn noticed that Sydney was fast asleep in his arms. For a moment, he just watched her, mesmerized by the angelic look she had and the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bed, where he tucked her in. He placed a kiss on her forehead and rested his lips there for a moment before he started to walk away, but Sydney caught his hand as she stirred.

“No... stay,” she mumbled.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” he whispered. He quickly left the bedroom and let Donovan back inside. Then, he made sure all the doors were locked and secure before shutting off all the lights to the house. Finally, he returned to the bedroom and checked the gun in his bedside drawer to make sure it was loaded and ready if he needed it. He noticed that Sydney had scooted to the middle of the bed to make room for him. He slipped in beside her and tucked his arm around her waist as he kissed her neck softly. “Goodnight Sydney.”

She snuggled back up against his chest. “’night Vaughn.”



Chapter 5

The next morning, Sydney awoke in a panic, thinking that the previous day had all been an amazing dream. But, the moment she felt the strong arm around her waist, she sighed with relief. It hadn’t been a dream. She was really in Vaughn’s bed. Life was really that perfect.

She sighed as she rolled over and saw that Vaughn was propped up on his elbow watching her. He smiled. She smiled back and nuzzled her face into his chest, breathing in the scent of his clothes deeply. “It wasn’t a dream...,” she sighed.

“No,” he whispered. “And you’re really cute when you drool.”

She gasped in offense. “I do not drool!”

“Yes you do,” he laughed.

Quickly she wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand. “Do not,” she insisted. He laughed softly and she felt the vibrations in his chest and snuggled closer. “Monday will never come, right?”

“If only...”

Sydney grumbled and rolled over. “What time is it? Ohh, it's almost ten... I guess we should get up.”

“Maybe... I have to walk Donovan anyway... otherwise he’ll grow roots and I’ll never get him off the kitchen floor.”

Sydney laughed. “That could be bad.”

“Maybe,” Michael laughed back.

“Can I use your shower?” she smiled.

“Of course, I’ll get you clean towels before I go,” he told her as he slid out of bed. Sydney reluctantly released her grasp on his arm and stretched before crawling out of bed herself.

~*~

“Wh-what are you doing?” Vaughn asked with confusion when he came home from his walk with Donovan and found Sydney in his laundry room.

“Folding your laundry,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Um.... why?” he asked.

“Because it was just sitting in the dryer wrinkling and I wanted to use the dryer so....,” she shrugged.

“Okay then,” he laughed as he bent over to release Donovan from his leash. Then, he went to investigate what Sydney was doing to his clothing. “What is this?! Where did you learn to fold?!” he asked as he examined his oddly folded t-shirts and boxers.

She shrugged. “My father taught me how he liked his things folded and....”

“My underwear is folded the same way as Jack Bristow’s...,” Vaughn shivered.

Sydney laughed. “Well, my father doesn’t wear boxers... at least he didn’t back when I was doing his laundry.”

Vaughn closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “That’s more information that I ever needed in my life, Syd.”

“Sorry,” she laughed harder. “But now your stuff is clean and folded.” She smiled as she piled up the perfectly folded clothes and held them out to him.

“I might just have to keep you around as my maid, Bristow,” Vaughn smiled.

“Maid? Uh-uh, no way. I don’t clean.”

“You don’t clean but you fold?” he questioned.

She nodded. “Folding is clean clothes.”

“Ah I see, you have a problem with dirt.”

“Yes.” She grimaced.

“Well then, whatever you do, don’t go anywhere near Weiss’s place,” Vaughn told her seriously.

“I’ll keep that in mind.... so, how was your walk?” she asked.

“Eh, you know, I practically had to drag Donovan after the first ten feet.”

“Right,” she laughed.

“Ok, I’m going to go take a shower. Back in ten,” he said before kissing her quickly and then disappearing into the bathroom. Sydney walked into the kitchen and saw that Donovan was sitting in front of his empty bowls looking as though he was about to die.

“Aw, you want some water, buddy?” Sydney laughed at his patheticness as she picked up one of his bowls and ran it under the sink.

After putting the bowl down, she went to the couch and began leafing through one of Vaughn’s hockey magazines, not really reading anything, simply leafing. “Interesting reading?” Vaughn asked her when he came out of the bathroom.

Sydney jumped and laughed. “You scared me!”

“Sorry... but it’s part of being a spy. Stealth.” He winked. She rolled her eyes. “Besides, if you were a good spy I wouldn’t have scared you.”

“IF?!” she raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize I needed to be on high alert in your sitting room.”

“You don’t and you’re an amazing spy... as well as an amazing person,” he grinned as he leaned over the couch. Sydney sat up and kissed him.

“Right back atcha.” She smiled.

“Right, so you wanna-” but he was interrupted by his doorbell ringing. Both of them froze in panic.

“Are you expecting someone?!” Sydney whispered.

“No.... go into the bedroom,” he told her quietly. Sydney quickly obeyed and shut the door behind her, debating on whether or not she should retrieve Vaughn’s gun from the bedside drawer. “Maman...,” she heard him when he opened the door.

She sighed with relief for a moment before she realized she was about to meet Vaughn’s mother for the first time wearing his clothes and coming out of his bedroom. Panicking, she shed her clothes and quickly threw her work suit back on.

“Maman, what are you doing here?” Vaughn asked nervously when he opened the door to his home.

“Can’t a mother visit her son for no reason? Especially when he’s just come out of the hospital,” his mother said pointedly as she gave him a look.

Vaughn groaned. “How did you find out about that?”

“No matter,” his mother waved her hand as she shoved her way past him. “Goodness Michael, it’s a tomb in here. Open some blinds or-”

“NO!” Vaughn shouted as he dove for the blind she was about to open. Amelia looked at him as if he was insane. “Okay um... there’s someone I want you to meet...,” he began cautiously. Then, as if on cue, Sydney poked her head out of the bedroom. “This is Sydney.”

His mother spun around and gasped as Sydney, who was blushing furiously and practically dying of nerves. “You’re Sydney? The Sydney?!”

Sydney was stunned. “You... you know who I am?!” she asked in disbelief.

“Oh yes, of course! Michael’s told me all about you.” She smiled at Sydney, and then turned to her son. “Michael you’re right, she is gorgeous.”

Sydney turned bright pink. “Maman,” Michael laughed as he blushed as well. “Don’t embarrass me.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m just... confused. How is she here?” his mother asked.

“Very, very long story,” Vaughn sighed. Then he turned to Sydney to explain, sensing her confusion. “She knows everything – about SD-6, the CIA, your double status, everything.”

“Oh,” Sydney nodded slightly, feeling much less lost.

“Well.... I came to take Michael to lunch but I wouldn’t want to intrude,” she told them.

“Oh no, please don’t leave on my account,” Sydney told her. Vaughn looked slightly panicky.

“Well if you insist.” She smiled. “Michael, be a dear and run out to get us lunch so Sydney and I can chat.”

“NO! Absolutely not. I’m not leaving you alone with her,” Vaughn said firmly.

His mother smiled innocently. “Why on earth not?”

“Because I can’t subject Sydney to that sort of torture. You think an interrogation is bad – you haven’t met her,” Vaughn added to Sydney; she laughed quietly.

“I am insulted!” his mother gasped.

“Mamaaaaaan,” he groaned. She glared.

“It’s okay; go,” Sydney told him with a laugh.

“You sure?”

“Yes, go,” Sydney told him.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll be as fast as I can. Be good,” he told his mother. Then, he kissed Sydney’s cheek before grabbing his keys and wallet and leaving.



Chapter 6

“So... are you going to tell me how you’re able to be here? Or will I have to use my secret sources?” Vaughn’s mother smiled at her once her son had left.

“No, Mrs. Vaughn-”

“Please,” she interrupted. “Call me Amelia.”

“Okay, Amelia,” Sydney laughed as she made her way to the couch. “Actually... it’s kind of ridiculous... I got in the trunk of his car.”

Amelia burst out laughing. “Why on earth did you do that?”

“Well.... it was... I don’t know,” Sydney laughed finally. “I don’t know... I don’t know...,” she shook her head. “He... he told me he loved me,” she said as if she was still in disbelief before looking up at Amelia rather shyly.

Amelia just nodded knowingly. “He’s loved you for a long time. He didn’t tell me that, of course, I simply figured it out.”

“Yeah, I know... I’ve loved him too,” she admitted quietly.

Amelia nodded again. “At least this explains the blinds,” she gestured towards the windows.

Sydney nodded. “We... we can’t be seen together... it’s just so stupid!” she sighed as she put her face in her hands. “It’s times like this I wish it had never started.”

“But if it had never started, you wouldn’t have met my son,” Amelia told her. Sydney laughed slightly and shrugged in agreement. “Michael tells me some things. Of course, the CIA has no idea... I’d be a security risk to them, but who am I going to tell? The ladies at my club would have me committed if I started talking about spies and other assorted tales.”

“Right,” Sydney laughed. “The sad part is... I’m so far in that I can’t even imagine a life without spying.... I mean, my father’s almost my partner in all this and my mother-” Sydney stopped talking immediately, horrified at her slip. The absolute last thing she needed to reveal or discuss at her first meeting with Vaughn’s mother was the woman who murdered her husband.

Amelia cleared her throat. “I know all about your mother, Sydney.”

Sydney slid a few inches away from her on the couch, feeling absolutely horrible. “You... you do?” she asked cautiously, immediately looking away.

“Yes, I do.”

Sydney covered her face with her hands. “Oh my god, I am so, so sorry,” she began almost frantically. It was bad enough having that conversation with Vaughn, a conversation they never really even had, simply avoided, but with Amelia....

“Sydney, Sydney it’s alright,” Amelia told her calmly as she covered one of Sydney’s trembling hands with a steady one of her own.

“How can it possibly be alright?!”

“Because it’s not your fault. You didn’t choose her as a parent. You were probably only five years old at the time and surely couldn’t control her actions. It is not your fault. It simply is,” Amelia told her.

“But..... but she’s... she’s my mother and nothing can ever change that. I mean, she can go away, she could die but she’d still be... related to me and...,” Sydney sighed as she shook her head.

“Sydney, if I’ve learned one thing, it’s not to let the things I can’t change eat away at me. I couldn’t change the fact that my family hated my American husband, so I had to just deal with it the best I could; continue to live my life, knowing that I was better off with him,” Amelia said, which only increased Sydney’s feeling of guilt. “You... live with this. But it’s in the past... and maybe fifteen years ago I would have felt differently. Maybe even five or ten years ago, but age gives you some wisdom and perspective.

“The perspective I have now is that I’ve never seen my son happier,” Amelia told her. Sydney looked over at her. “And you want to know something else? Yes, what your mother did was a horrible thing and perhaps we will never get the answers to the questions we so desperately want to ask, but... she also gave something we couldn’t have gotten from anyone else.”

Sydney sat up straight, entirely curious as to what Amelia was talking about. A small, knowing smile crept across Amelia’s face. “Everyone has a father, even if, for some, it’s just a short period of time. But finding your soul mate is a rare, rare gift.”

Sydney couldn’t have spoken if she wanted to. She had no words at all to form a response to Amelia’s statement. Not only did Amelia not hate her, but she thought she was her son’s soul mate. Truthfully, Sydney had never really thought about the concept of ‘soul mates,’ at least not in the sense of real life. It only happened in movies. But there was her... and there was Vaughn.... and there was the way she loved him, and the way that they had been brought together under the most unusual of circumstances and there was the fact that if they were seen together they were both dead, but yet there she was, risking her life, but having the time of her life in his house, so maybe they were soul mates.

“So Sydney tell me,” Amelia began after a few minutes of silence between them. “Have you ever been to France?”

~*~

By the time Vaughn arrived home, Sydney and Amelia were practically in tears from their laughter. Amelia had been sharing with Sydney many amusing childhood stories about Michael and Sydney couldn’t get enough. “What’s... going on...?” Vaughn asked them suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Sydney sighed as she reached for a tissue to dab her eyes.

“Maman what did you tell her?!” he asked accusingly.

“Oh nothing. Just a few stories here and there,” she smiled.

“Yeah,” Sydney said as she got up from the couch and walked over to Michael. “Like the one about when you were two and you’d rip off your diaper and run around the house holding-” she was cut off by Vaughn clamping his hand over her mouth as he turned bright pink.

He turned to his mother and glared. “Je vous déteste,” he growled.

“Non,” Amelia laughed. “Tu m’amies.”

Meanwhile, Sydney was giggling wildly as she pushed his hand away. “You’re so cute,” she pinched one of his cheeks. He glared at her, too.

“You’re all ganging up against me,” he whimpered as he returned to the groceries he had left in the kitchen.

“Of course not,” Amelia smiled. “We were just sharing stories.”

“Oh, right, sure,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m sure Sydney told you many stories about her diapers when she was two.”

She shrugged. “I don’t have any. My father never told me anything, but then again, I doubt he knew any.”

“So unfair,” Vaughn shook his head.

“I’ll tell you about the time in seventh grade when people made fun of my big dorky glasses.” Sydney smiled at him.

“Whatever,” he groaned. “Let’s just eat.”



Chapter 7

During lunch, Amelia continued to tell stories about Vaughn, though they were somewhat less embarrassing. Sydney, sympathizing with the fact that he was turning pink every other minute, offered a few of her own rather embarrassing moments, which made him feel slightly better.

“Well, I should be going. I wouldn’t want to infringe on any more of your precious time. Sydney, chere, it was lovely to meet you and I hope we can have lunch again sometime soon,” Amelia said as she pulled Sydney into a warm hug.

“Me too,” Sydney told her.

After releasing Sydney from their embrace, Amelia turned to her son and hugged him as well. “I want you to marry this one,” she told him quietly, but loudly enough for Sydney to hear. Both Sydney and Vaughn turned slightly rosy. “Au revoir!” she called before walking out the door.

Vaughn shut it tightly behind her and locked it as he slammed his forehead into the back of the door. “I’m going to go die now.”

“Nooo, don’t die,” Sydney told him with a laugh.

“I never realized just how embarrassing she was until now.” He groaned.

“Eh, it’s ok. I’d much rather have a mom that tells a few embarrassing stories that the one who....,” she let her voice drift off. Then, cleared her throat before continuing. “Anyway, your mom is great; she’s amazing and I’m really, really glad I got to meet her.”

“I’m glad you got to meet her too,” he smiled as he walked over to her and slipped his arms around her waist. “And you’re right, she is an amazing person.”

“Mhmm, so you tell her everything, huh?” Sydney asked.

“Yeah... but please, don’t tell Kendall. He’d have my head for that.”

Sydney laughed softly. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Good,” he smiled. “Yeah... you know, it’s just nice to be able to tell someone about it, about anything. Someone who isn’t involved in it all, which is kinda a lost cause most of the time, since we’re not supposed to tell anybody and most people wouldn’t believe us anyway,” he laughed.

“I know what you mean,” Sydney sighed. “Before... I mean, I had you, but you weren’t always there... now, at least I have Will. Of course, that’s not the same either because he doesn’t understand any of it.... he just thinks we should all be committed.” Sydney laughed softly.

“Well some days I’d have to agree with that.”

“Like now?” she laughed softly, thinking about how reckless they were being.

“No, not now. I think this is the most sane thing we ever did... and if doing this means we have to face the consequences then... at least I know that I’d never, ever regret being here with you,” he sighed as he kissed the top of her head. Sydney wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face in his chest, knowing that she agreed with him one hundred percent.

“So,” she sighed a moment later. “How about I change back into my pj’s- or rather, your pj's and.... do something.”

“Like what?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Dunno, we’ll think of something,” she winked before disappearing into his bedroom. A moment later, she returned, buttoning up her pj top.

“So what do you want to- OH MY GOD!” he gasped when he turned and saw her.

“What?” she asked with confusion.

“You’re... you weren’t... buttoned,” he stammered as he looked away.

Sydney looked down at herself and then back up at him with a smirk. “Does my bra scare you, Vaughn?”

“No, of course not,” he said causally as he walked away from her. “I just didn’t expect to see it....”

“Uh huh... well, it’s covered now so it’s safe to turn around,” she told him once she had finished buttoning the top two buttons. He turned around looking slightly flushed. “My, my, we are shy, aren’t we?” she teased.

“You wouldn’t be thinking that if you were in my head right now...,” he sighed. Sydney smiled softly as a slight rose color crept into her cheeks. “So, uh, what are we going to do? We could... play a game,” he suggested, half joking.

“A game?” she laughed.

“Yeah, like... Monopoly... Pictionary... Scrabble..,” he listed the games that popped into his head.

Sydney stifled a giggle. “Do you have Pictionary?”

“Ummm no,” he laughed as he walked over to the cabinet under his TV. “I have... hmm, a deck of cards, magazines...”

“Vaughn, why the hell do you have Candyland?” Sydney asked as she looked over his shoulder.

“What? I do?” he asked. She pointed towards the white box with pink letters at the bottom of a stack of other things. “Huh... that’s weird... oh, you know, it must have come with the box of stuff my mom gave me. I just shoved it all in here.”

“Oh,” she laughed. “Let’s play...I mean, if you want.”

“Sure, why not, I haven’t played since I was like... eight,” he sighed as he tried to pull out the trapped box. Once it was out, he handed it to Sydney. She walked over to an empty space on his floor and sat down with the board game. Donovan walked over and flopped down beside her.

“Aww, he’s going to play too.”

“Or he’ll eat the pieces,” Vaughn rolled his eyes. Sydney laughed as she took the lid off the game and pulled out the board. With it, fluttered a tiny scrap of paper.

“What this?” she asked as she picked it up and turned it over.

“Lemme see,” Vaughn held out his hand. She gave it to him and he stared at it silently for a moment.

“Vaughn?”

“It’s... it’s my dad’s writing,” he said in a quiet voice. Sydney watched intently as he stared at it and traced his fingers over it. “Instructions for the game,” he laughed softly. “I remember... I was putting it away, but I must have forgotten the instructions and they got lost and I was so upset because I didn’t think you could play without them.... so my dad wrote them up for me.”

Sydney smiled at him, thankful that she was able to see that side of him, but still partly hating herself. Vaughn carefully put the hand written-instructions on his coffee table where he wouldn’t lose them, then smiled at Sydney. “Let’s play.”

~*~

“You know.... I think we should make this interesting... put a little wager on it,” Sydney suggested halfway through the game when she was quite obviously in the lead.

“Oh you would say that, wouldn’t you?” Vaughn mumbled. She grinned. “Okay Bristow, if I win you have to cook dinner tonight, under my instruction of course.”

“Alright,” she nodded. “And if – I mean when I win, you have to give me a massage.”

A sly grin crossed his face. “What kind of massage?” he asked in a deep voice.

“Vaughn!” Sydney squealed.

“Okay, okay, deal.”

~*~

“I can’t believe I lost...,” Sydney sighed sadly.

Vaughn beamed. “Those are the breaks, kid. Just face it: I’m a better Candyland player than you.”

“Well... I guess that’s alright since I’m better at everything else,” she said casually.

He gaped at her. “Excuse me!” he gasped. She began to giggle. “You are most certainly not better at everything else. I believe in this relationship you’re the one that’s lacking, missy.”

“Oh am I?” she asked.

“You are,” he nodded. “And we’re about to prove that when you attempt to make dinner.”

“Fine,” she sighed.



Chapter 8

“So.... what do I do?” Sydney asked helplessly as she went into Vaughn’s kitchen.

“Oh yeah, you’re better than me,” he laughed.

She punched his shoulder. “Shut up, Vaughn.”

“Jeez, that hurt,” he groaned as he rubbed his shoulder. “Okay, just wash your hands and I’ll get us some wine.”

“To drink or cook with?” Sydney asked as she cranked on the faucet handle.

“Drink.”

“Trying to get me wasted are you?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh man, you foiled my plan,” he groaned sarcastically. She grinned. “Alright, I’ll pour you a glass and then go sit over there to shout out instructions.”

“Because I am your slave?” she asked.

“Exactly. You said it, not me,” he smiled. She smacked him again. “Jeez, what’d I do to you?”

“You made me cook,” she pouted.

“Hey, you lost the game,” he defended. Sydney grumbled as she went to the fridge and began to pull out ingredients.

“Umm, is it just me, or is there a lot more stuff in here than before?” she asked.

“Yeah, when I got lunch, I also got some more groceries.... and ingredients to make crêpes tomorrow.”

Sydney’s face lit up. “You’re going to make crêpes?”

He nodded. “Strawberry ones.”

“Ohh, I love you, Vaughn,” Sydney sighed.

He laughed. “You love me? Or the crêpes?”

“Well, I don’t know yet. I haven’t tasted them,” she winked. He laughed. Sydney continued to gather ingredients as they both sipped their wine. “You’re kidding me! You want to make the sauce from scratch?! You’re nuts.”

“Good lord, you complain a lot.” He laughed. “Besides, that’s the way the sauce is good.”

“No, it’s just as good from a jar. In fact, it’s better because you don’t have to do any work.” She smiled.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll just do it,” he groaned as he took the tomatoes she was holding and walked over to the cutting board. Sydney sighed, feeling awful.

“I’m sorry Vaughn, I’ll complain less.” She sighed.

“’sokay,” he shrugged.

“No, no it’s not ok. I want to help. I’ll do something and I won’t complain, I promise,” she smiled.

“Okay, you can chop onions,” he instructed. She looked hesitant. He stopped cutting and gave her a questioning glance.

“Well... it’s just... my eyes get all watery...”

Vaughn laughed. “Bristow, you are high maintenance, but I love it.”

“ME?!” she gasped indignantly.

“Yes you,” he smiled as he poked her nose with a tomato juice covered finger. “I love it. You’re so un... super-spy like.”

“Uh... thanks?” she responded with more of a question than a statement.

“You’re welcome,” he grinned. “Now cut the onions.”

~*~

“Okay.... so I might have been wrong about the jar sauce versus the homemade kind,” Sydney admitted as she piled more onto her plate.

“Uh huh.... so I assume you won’t be complaining in the future then?” he raised an eyebrow.

She blushed slightly. “No..... I’ll only complain because you can’t make me dinner every day.”

“Well, keep in mind, I don’t cook like this every day. Cooking takes time and, unfortunately, I don’t have that much extra time when I’m flying halfway around the world to rescue some crazy girl in a red wig... or blue wig, whatever the case may be,” he sighed.

“Excuse me!” she gasped. “When have you ever had to do that?!” He gave her a look. She gave him one right back; a harsher one.

“Okay, okay we’ve both done our fair share of saving.”

“Exactly,” she smiled.

For the rest of dinner, they had less hostile conversation, and then they did the dishes together while flicking soap suds at one another. After they cleaned up the soap mess they had made, Sydney insisted on doing more of Vaughn’s laundry, much to his protest. However, she insisted that since she was imposing on his hospitality, it was the least she could do.

“Syd, you’re not imposing,” he assured her. “I brought you here, remember?”

“Well yeah, but not for the whole weekend,” she sighed.

He walked up behind her and locked his arms around her waist. “If it was up to me, you’d never leave,” he whispered. She smiled. “Besides, I love this... us being just us... Sydney and Michael,” he sighed as he nipped at the back of her neck.

She giggled, “Vaughn!”

“See, you need to start calling me Michael,” he told her. She shook her head defiantly. “Why not?”

“Because you’re Vaughn,” she smiled.

He shook his head and laughed. “Fine. When you’re done there you can come and sit on the couch and I’ll give you a back rub.”

“But I lost the bet.”

“I know,” he smiled.

Sydney finished the laundry quickly and then practically skipped to the couch, eager to collect her back rub. “Where do you want me to sit?” she asked him.

“Lay on your stomach here,” he instructed as he pointed to the couch. She did as she was told and then he sat down beside her and began kneading her spine.

“Good god...,” she moaned with relaxation. “This should be your job forever.”

He chuckled. “Personal masseuse to Sydney Bristow?”

“Yes... I’d pay you.”

“Excellent.” He laughed. After about ten minutes, she fell asleep and Vaughn stopped massaging. He sat down on the floor next to the couch and simply watched her. Even though it had been over twenty-four hours, he still couldn’t believe she was actually there, asleep on his couch.

A while later, she awoke and breathed in deep as she pushed herself up with her hands and looked around sleepily. “Hey,” Vaughn sighed.

“How long was I asleep?” she asked with a yawn.

“Only about fifteen minutes,” he told her with a smile.

“Oh,” she laughed softly. Then, she sat up and made room for him on the couch. “Come up here please,” she requested. Vaughn slid off the floor and up onto the couch, where Sydney promptly crawled into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. “Thanks for my back rub. It was the best one I ever had.”

He laughed softly. “You’re welcome.”

“Hey Vaughn, is Miracle your favorite movie?” she asked a moment later.

“Wow, that was random.”

“Well... I was just thinking about movies... and I was wondering which one was your favorite.” She shrugged.

“Well... it's one of my favorites... I guess I don’t have a favorite favorite... what about you?” he asked.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” she told him.

“Really? Sappy romantic comedies? I can’t see it.” He smiled.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What did you think my favorite movie would be?”

“Ummm, I dunno... something with killing?” he suggested.

“Vaughn, how many women do you know who enjoy killing movies?” she asked him.

“Not many,” he laughed.

“Exactly. Besides, I like the escape of romantic comedies. They don’t have any bad guys.” She sighed. He nodded in agreement. She definitely had a point. They had enough bad guys in real life to deal with. Who needs them created on the fictional screen?!

They had been sitting on the couch, absentmindedly paying attention to the TV for about twenty minutes before they turned their attention on each other’s lips. Soon Sydney was laying full out on the sofa once more with Vaughn half-on-top of her, half-beside her as they kissed. Almost out of nowhere, she started to giggle wildly. “What are you doing?” Vaughn asked, almost annoyed.

“You’re tickling me!” she whined helplessly. Vaughn looked down at noticed that his fingers were resting against the skin on her stomach and a wicked grin crossed his face. “Vaughn don’t!” Sydney warned, but it was too late, he was already tickling her mercilessly. “No no! Stop!! Stop!!” she squealed.

“Jeez Bristow, how do your survive torture if you’re this ticklish? All they’d have to do is get out a feather,” he taunted.

“I’m usually not ticklish,” she insisted. He looked unconvinced. “It’s true!”

“So it’s just me then? I’m the only one who can tickle you?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Apparently.”

“Excellent. I love power,” he grinned. She rolled her eyes.



Chapter 9

“Okay, this is seriously just painful,” Vaughn groaned at the crappy made-for-TV movie they had been watching. He grabbed the remote and flicked it off. “Wanna go to bed?” he asked. She just shrugged and nodded before getting off the couch and walking towards the bathroom, but before she could, Vaughn bounded off the couch ran past her and slammed the bathroom door shut with himself inside.

“What the hell was that?” Sydney laughed.

“I have no idea,” he laughed back. “But now I’m in here and you’re not.”

“I could just walk in,” she said with her arms folded over her chest.

“You could...,” he said casually as he turned on the faucet water. With a determined look on her face, Sydney put her hand on the door handle. She left it there for a solid two minutes before giving up and grumbling to herself. She heard him snickering inside.

“What’s your problem?” she asked.

“You can’t do it.” He laughed.

“Well... I just don’t think this is the time or place to... you know,” she mumbled.

“Watch me brush my teeth?” he offered with a smirk, even though she couldn’t see him. He knew exactly what she meant; he just enjoyed messing with her.

“No...”

“Wash my face? Shave? Ohhh no, I get it. You’re afraid of naked people,” he teased.

“Vaughn!” she squealed.

“It’s ok, Syd. That is a legitimate fear.”

“You’re horrible.” She shook her head.

“Seriously, what would you do if I walked out of here naked?” he asked.

Sydney was thankful that the door was closed so he couldn’t see her bright pink face. “Nothing...”

“Uh huh,” he said causally. Then, just to see her reaction, he quickly whipped open the door. She quickly gasped and covered her eyes. Vaughn burst out laughing. “Good lord, I’m fully clothed.”

“You’re being mean!” she pouted.

“Mean? Me? Never.” He grinned.

~*~

After Sydney took her turn in the bathroom, she went into the bedroom and found Vaughn already laying down, staring up at the ceiling. “Is it weird that this isn’t weird?” she asked as she crawled into the opposite side of the bed.

“What isn’t?” he asked as he turned off the lamp beside them.

“This, us, in the same bed,” Sydney sighed as she curled up beside him with her head on his chest.

“Nah, it feels right.” He sighed as he put an arm around her.

“It does. Hey Vaughn, can I ask you something?” she asked quietly.

“Mmhmm.”

“Do you think... will it ever end?”

At first, his brow furrowed; he didn’t know what she meant. Then, slowly, he understood. “SD-6 will end Sydney, so will the Alliance. They will end. We’re so close.... but, I’m afraid there will always be another bad guy.”

Sydney nodded slowly, knowing this to be true. “What made you join the CIA?”

“Well,” he laughed softly. “As cliché as it sounds, I wanted to be like my dad. When I was younger, I’d always ask him where he was going and he’d never tell me. I remember I didn’t understand because I was only five or six and he was going on missions.... he and my mom always told me that he would be back as soon as he could, but I always asked to go and he’d tell me ‘maybe you can when you’re older’ so.... I guess I just... I dunno,” he laughed softly.

“That’s cute.” Sydney sighed. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Sure.”

“What would you have done if I slapped you after you kissed me on Friday?” she asked.

Vaughn laughed. “Did you think about slapping me?” he asked.

“Nooo, definitely not. I was just curious.”

“I don’t know... probably gone off and shot myself.”

“Oh no!” she laughed.

“Well... I don’t know what I would have done.” He sighed.

“It’s good I didn’t slap you then.”

“Right,” he rolled his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Vaughn thought for a moment. Truthfully he didn’t have a question planned, but he didn’t want their conversation to end either. “Um, can you juggle?”

Sydney laughed, propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him. His face was barely visible in the dimly lit bedroom, but she could tell he was smiling. “What kind of random ass question is that Vaughn?”

“No idea.” He laughed. “Just answer it.”

“No, I cannot juggle,” she said as she laid her head back down on his chest. “Can you?”

“No,” he laughed. “Okay wait, wait, I’ve got a better one. If you could, would you choose to live a normal life, where you didn’t know that spies or SD-6 or all the millions of other bad guys existed, or would you continue to live the one you had?”

Sydney thought seriously about it for a moment. But would trading all of the bad be worth the good? “No,” she said finally. “I wouldn’t. This life...it’s full of horrible things.... but if I didn’t have it, then I wouldn’t have you,” she told him honestly.

Vaughn was touched and hugged her a little bit tighter in response. “What if you had me in that life too?” he continued his question.

Again, she thought. “Still no, I think. I’d rather be part of the solution.”

“Mmhmm,” he sighed. “You tired?”

“Not really. I had that nap. Did you ever have one of those nights where you talked all night Vaughn?” Sydney asked him.

Vaughn rolled over onto his side and they both adjusted so that their faces were only inches apart on the same pillow. “No, only girls do that.”

“Nu-uh,” she defended.

He laughed. “This reminds me of when my mom used to tell me bedtime stories.”

“Did she?”

“Yep, all the time. Especially after my dad was gone,” he told her.

“What kinds of stories?”

“I dunno... I don’t really remember anymore.... well, there was this one... it was about a girl named Nydney,” he said with a grin.

Sydney burst out laughing. “Nydney?! Are you kidding me?!”

“No, her name was Nydney and she was... a princess, the most beautiful princess ever.”

“Uh huh,” she encouraged with a grin. “Did she have a prince named... Haughn?”

“Yes,” he laughed. “But there was an evil wizard named... Bloane.”

“Bloane?!” Sydney laughed. “At least you’re rhyming skills are better than your creative writing ones.”

“Alright Miss Smartie Pants English major, you try making up a story then,” he challenged.

“Okay,” she sighed as she rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. “So, Nydney and... what was it?”

“Haughn,” he told her.

“Yes, Nydney and Haughn were from different kingdoms and they couldn’t be together, but they kept meeting in secret. They would ride their horses far into the forest and lay in the grass and talk for hours. They fell in love, but the evil wizard Bloane found out.”

“Oh no!” Vaughn gasped in fake horror.

“When Bloane found out, they knew they couldn’t see each other again until he was destroyed, but they spent one last weekend together, locked up alone in a high tower.”

“What happened that weekend?” Vaughn asked in an almost suggestive way.

Sydney turned her head to the side and looked at him. “They fell in love all over again.”

Vaughn smiled, leaned over and kissed her. Then he pulled back and stroked her face, knowing that he too had fallen in love all over again and now loved her more than he ever thought possible.

Sydney sighed and nuzzled her face into his hand. “I don’t want tomorrow to come.”

“Why?” he whispered.

“It’s the last day we have here,” she said sadly.

“I know. How about one last question?” he asked. She nodded against his hand and snuggled back up against him. “Tell me something you’d never tell anyone else,” he suggested bravely, not sure if she’d react positively, knowing that she wasn’t one to reveal weakness of any sort.

Sydney sighed and pondered his statement. What could she reveal? What was there to reveal that she hadn’t shared with Francie? Something CIA related perhaps, but he already knew so much. Finally, she decided to admit a recently discovered truth; something she had never thought possible. “Last night was the first night since I joined the CIA that I wasn’t afraid to go to sleep,” she admitted. Truthfully, she was always on edge, convinced her cover would be blown and men would storm her house to kill her, just like they had killed Danny. Even when trying to rest in her bed, she was always on high alert, ready to bolt up and grab the gun stashed underneath her bed, but not with Vaughn; she knew he would protect her.

Vaughn sighed into her hair and kissed her head softly. He almost laughed at the fact that the same was true for him as well. He too was worried for her safety. He took a deep breath and decided to admit something of his own, but chose his words carefully. “A few weeks ago, I went into a jewelry store and started looking at engagement rings, but I never had any intentions of proposing to Alice,” he finished almost with a whisper. When he had gone in that store, it was after seeing an interesting necklace displayed in their window, a necklace he had purchased for Sydney and intended on giving her the following day, but while he was there, he saw the rings. When he scanned through them, in his mind and heart, he had pictured Sydney. He was thinking about what her reaction would be to one of them.

At the time, he had thought himself crazy, after all, he and Sydney were miles from a romantic relationship, but after that weekend, he knew that his gut had been right. Sydney was the one for him.

Out of all the things, all the moments, all the admissions between them that weekend, that was the one that got her the most. She shut her eyes tight and let a few tears slide down her face. Then, she snuggled up to him as he pulled the blanket up around them. Not another word was spoken; not another word was needed.



Chapter 10

The next morning, Sydney awoke feeling slightly more sad than before. She didn’t want to return to real life, ever. She wanted to stay with Vaughn, but she knew that she couldn’t. Sometime in the middle of the night, she had awoken and obsessed over what Vaughn had said to her while she listened to the sounds of him breathing. She argued back and forth with herself, trying to decide if he had really meant what she thought he meant. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why he’d want to marry her, but she managed to push the thought from her mind so that she could enjoy the rest of their weekend. “Hey,” she sighed when she saw his eyes flutter open.

“Hi,” he smiled.

“I don’t want to get out of bed ever,” she told him.

He laughed softly. “But what about the crêpes?”

“OH! I forgot about them,” she smiled. “But we can wait a bit, right?”

“Sure.... wanna watch some TV?” he asked. She nodded. He rolled over and reached for the remote on his nightstand before flicking on the TV. As soon as the sound came into focus, Sydney gasped.

“Oh my god, is that porn?! Vaughn you have porn on your TV!” she screeched.

“WHAT?!” he panicked. Then, noting the suspicious sounding music, he began to sweat as he frantically tried to change the channel or turn it off.

“Porn!” she laughed hysterically. “That’s so gross and so funny.”

“No! Not porn!!” he insisted, but she reached for the remote anyway. He held it high above his head and she scrabbled after it, practically straddling him and reaching up high for the remote. As a result, she failed to notice that she had shoved her chest in his face in the process. “Uhh...,” he mumbled.

Once she noticed what had happened, she gasped and moved quickly as she clamped her hand over her face, which was turning pink. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

A smug grin crossed his face. “I wasn’t complaining.”

She elbowed him playfully and then sat up against the headboard as Vaughn flipped through the TV channels. “Francie and I watched a porno once,” she began casually. “It was really funny in a somewhat scarring way.... I’ll never look at a copier the same way again.”

Vaughn turned his head and positively gaped at her. Sydney burst out laughing. “Sydney Bristow you dirty, dirty girl.”

“Hey!” she whined. “You were the one with porn in your bedroom.”

“I was not!” he defended. “That was just on the TV... maybe I left it on HBO or something.”

“Yes, I’m sure HBO plays porn at nine a.m. on a Sunday,” Sydney rolled her eyes.

“You never know,” he said. Sydney just rolled her eyes and ignored him.

They fell back into silence as they watched an old movie on TV for half an hour. Then, Sydney turned to Vaughn and noticed a small smile on his face. “Whatcha thinkin’ bout?” she asked.

“Getting a copier for the bedroom,” he deadpanned.

Sydney burst out laughing and practically collapsed down across the bed while Vaughn smiled proudly. “Vaughn, you’re horrible,” Sydney laughed.

“Nah,” he grinned. “Actually I was thinking about something else.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Wanna know what it is?” She nodded. He slid off the bed and walked over to the top drawer of his dresser. He pulled out a long, narrow rectangular box and brought it with him over to the bed. Once he had crawled back inside, he handed it to her.

She took it with a look of confusion. “What’s this?”

“Open it and see,” he smiled. She opened the box and gasped slightly when she saw the necklace inside. It was a silver heart pendant with a tiny emerald jewel in the center on a silver chain. Sydney looked up to Vaughn for an explanation. “I saw it and I thought of you,” he said simply.

“You cannot possibly be serious,” she said in total disbelief. How could he be that perfect?

“Oh but I am,” he smiled as he lifted the necklace out of the box. He opened the clasp and secured it around her neck before locking it once more. “Perfect,” he smiled.

Sydney shot her hand up to the necklace and she wrapped her fingers around the pendant. She wasn’t quite sure how, but somehow, she felt safer. She leaned in and gave him a long kiss. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course,” he smiled as he brushed his index finger against her nose softly. “Want me to start making the crêpes?” he asked; she nodded. Then, he kissed her quickly before sliding out of bed.

Sydney showered quickly and walked into the kitchen just as he was finishing up the crêpes. “Mmm, smells soooooo good,” she sighed.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Would you mind cutting up strawberries while I take a quick shower?”

“Nope, go ahead,” she smiled at him before walking over to the counter and grabbing a knife to cut up the strawberries.

Sydney could hardly wait until Vaughn was out of the shower to eat the crêpes. She was practically drooling over them, waiting for him. Thankfully, his shower was very quick and he laughed softly when he returned. “Hungry?”

“Well... it is after noon and we haven’t eaten yet,” she told him.

“True... man, how’d it get to be that late?” he wondered. She shrugged while grinning broadly. “Okay, okay, crêpes time.”

“YAY!” she squealed with a giddy jump and a clap of her hands.

“Too cute,” Vaughn commented as he helped her carry the strawberries and crêpes to the table. “And...,” he smiled as he pulled whipped cream out of the fridge. “Just in case you want some.”

“Excellent,” she grinned. Then she sat down at the table and immediately began piling strawberries onto her crêpe. When she took a bite, she ‘mmm-ed’ loudly. “This must be the food they serve in heaven.”

Vaughn laughed. “It can’t be that good.”

“Ohhh but it is,” she sighed. “So, did your mom’s family teach you to make these?”

“Yep and a bunch of other pastries... that I forget how to make so don’t even bother asking,” he added in anticipation of her baking requests.

She blushed softly and looked down at her crêpe. “Sorry, I just find it insanely sexy when guys cook.”

“Really?” he asked, intrigued. She simply nodded. “Well then... I’m going to ask my mother for a few recipes.”

“You don’t have to,” she told him, feeling slightly bad.

“Well, you won’t think I’m sexy if I don’t cook.”

“Impossible,” she assured him. “You’d always be sexy Vaughn.”

“Really?” he asked, surprised and almost proud that time.

“Yeah,” she laughed. “Very sexy.”

He nodded slowly and ate a few more bites of his crêpe before saying, “Brown-eyed girls with dimples are insanely sexy, too.” Sydney blushed.

After finishing off most of the crêpes, Sydney was putting the rest of the strawberries away when Vaughn came up to her and put a dot of whipped cream on one of her dimples. She gaped at him incredulously. “Hey Syd, you have something on your face,” he told her, his face amazingly straight.

“Oh do I?” she asked causally. “Hmm,” she sighed as she wiped the whipped cream off with her finger and wiped it on his nose. “Vaughn, is that something on your nose?!” she gasped.

“Oh you’re hilarious,” he said dully.

“You started it.” She smiled as she snatched the whipped cream from him and squirted some in her mouth. “Mmmm creamy,” she mumbled through her full mouth.

“You’re insane,” he laughed. She shook her head furiously, and then went to squirt some again, but her finger slipped and it accidentally sprayed Vaughn in the face.

Sydney gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“Like hell you are,” he grumbled.

“Nooo, it was such an accident!” she insisted, but, of course, he didn’t believe her. He took the can back and held it menacingly. “Vaughn... Vaughn don’t.” She backed away from him.

“Don’t what?” he smiled as he backed her into a corner of the kitchen.

“Don’t use whipped cream as a weapon,” she said. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. “What?”

“I just have this mental image of us arming ourselves with cans of whipped cream instead of guns!” he managed as he was practically doubled over with laughter.

Sydney joined him in his hysterics. “Can you imagine the look on Kendall’s face?!”

“Oh man... I’m going to have to talk Weiss into that when he comes back!” Vaughn laughed.

“You should, but don’t forget to take pictures! Oh here, let me get this,” Sydney sighed as she grabbed a paper towel and wiped the whipped cream from his cheek and nose.

“Thanks, but I think you missed a spot,” he told her.

“Where?”

In one swift motion, he brought the can up and squirted it quickly, covering her entire face. “There,” he laughed. “Oh my god, you’re a freak!!” he laughed at her wide-eyed, mouth agape expression.

“I cannot believe you just did that,” she groaned as she wiped her own face with the paper towel.

“Here let me,” he sighed as he took a new paper towel and began to clean up the mess he had made.

“I’m sticky,” she whined.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “But you taste good.” She laughed, leaned up and kissed him softly. She pulled back and he kissed her again, this time holding her longer. Before either of them realized it, Sydney’s legs were around his waist, her arms were around his neck and they were clumsily making their way to his bedroom. It was only when she landed with a soft thud on Vaughn’s mattress did Sydney have an attack of conscious. It wasn’t surprising that they had ended up there, tugging at each other’s clothing. She was surprised that it hadn’t happened earlier, but there were still issues to discuss.

“Vaughn wait,” she sighed breathlessly.

Vaughn stopped kissing her and leaned his forehead up against hers, his eyes shut and his breathing heavy. He knew that was coming.

“We need to...”

“I know,” he sighed.

“Okay.... okay,” she sighed as she tried to sit up and clear her mind so she could attempt rational thought. “The way I see it.... we have three options. First.... we could stop. We could stop this... and wait... wait until Sloane is gone and we can be together... which is what we probably should do. Second, we could do this once, just once as the perfect end to the perfect weekend...and then.... just not until the alliance is gone. Third.... we could do this... and keep doing this, sneaking around, risking our lives every moment we’re together...,” she listed, not even sure she was making any sense.

“We’re already risking our lives enough, I think,” he sighed sadly.

“I know,” she nodded.

He looked up at her and stared into her eyes for a moment, both of them already knowing the answer. “No regrets; no consequences; no tomorrows, just us.”

“Just us,” she repeated.

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Chapters 11 - 20 + Epilogue