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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11

They had agreed upon option number two, ‘just once’, and both were determined to make that one time last forever. They spent time memorizing each other’s scars and freckles, knowing that in their life, things could change in an instant and one of them could disappear; be lost forever. Finally, they collapsed in the entanglement of their sheets, contentedly lying in each other’s arms, drifting off to sleep.

They slept for a little over an hour before they woke to find their heads sharing one pillow. They didn’t speak, but shared soft smiles and a few kisses occasionally. Finally, Sydney spoke as she traced the tattoo on his arm, which she was shocked to see when he took off his shirt. “What is this?” she asked quietly.

“Just a symbol for strength and honesty, with a few designs and stuff.”

“Designs and stuff?” she asked with a slight laugh. “If it’s permanently inked on your arm I’d hope you know what it was. When’d you get it, anyway?”

“High school, during my rebel phase,” he told her.

“Rebel?” she raised an eyebrow. “Surely not Mr. ‘I follow protocol to a T.’”

He laughed. “Yeah well, I was 17... angry at the world, you know. It lasted about a week.”

“A week,” she laughed. “You’re a goody-goody Vaughn.”

“Oh yeah, like you aren’t,” he challenged.

“I never said I wasn’t,” she smiled. He rolled his eyes. “Hey, Vaughn?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

He smiled, brushed her cheek with his fingers and kissed her. “I love you too, so much Syd,” he sighed with his forehead against hers. A moment later, his phone rang and he groaned as he groped for it on the nightstand. “It’s Weiss.”

“Take it,” Sydney told him.

Vaughn nodded and flipped open the phone. “Hey man, how are ya?”

“You have to get me out of here,” Weiss groaned. “The food is awful.”

“Sorry man, I’ll bring you a burger tomorrow at lunch, but you know you can’t leave for another week or so.”

“Whyyyyyyyyy?!” he whined.

“You were shot in the neck...,” he rolled his eyes and Sydney giggled. Unfortunately, her face was close to the phone.

“DUDE,” Eric hissed. “Are you in bed with Alice?!”

“No,” Vaughn said firmly.

“Dude, it’s the middle of the afternoon on a SUNDAY, I mean Jesus.”

“Eric,” Vaughn grunted through gritted teeth.

“I mean, I know you have those issues with Syd... but you just got out of the hospital too, you know!”

“I’m hanging up,” Vaughn said before closing his phone. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. How is he?” Sydney asked with concern.

“Driving me and the entire hospital nuts. It will be sooooo nice when they release him.” He sighed.

“Yeah, poor guy,” Sydney said sympathetically. “Do we have to get out of bed?”

“Nah,” he shook his head.

“Okay,” she sighed before snuggling her body up against his once more. “This was the best weekend of my life, Vaughn.”

“Well yeah,” he said suggestively.

She elbowed him. “I’m serious.”

“I know you are and I couldn’t agree more. We’re gonna make it Syd,” he assured her.

“I know,” she smiled.

Twenty minutes later, Sydney slid from bed and collected her, or rather Vaughn’s, clothes from the floor so she could redress. “Stop!” she giggled with a blush when she noticed Vaughn grinning at her.

“Can’t help it. You’re too beautiful.” He smiled. She blushed deeper before picking up his all his clothes and tossing them out into the hallway. “What the hell was that?” he laughed.

“I’m forcing you to be the eye candy you’re meant to be,” she grinned.

“Awful...,” he muttered as he shook his head at her.

~*~

While Vaughn was walking Donovan shortly before dinner, Sydney found a spare piece of paper and scribbled him a note that she intended on leaving him the following morning when she left. She dreaded the mere thought of leaving. How could she go back to a real life world of horror, when she was perfectly content in the oasis she and Vaughn had created that weekend? Dwelling on it brought tears to her eyes, so she forced the thought from her mind and settled her mind on the wonderful memories she and Vaughn had created earlier that afternoon.

When Vaughn returned, Sydney was waiting, leaning up against the doorframe of the kitchen, fingering her necklace. “Hello beautiful,” he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled immediately. “How was your walk?”

“Well... you know Donnie... he doesn’t walk so much as lumber.”

“Aww Donnie, is he making fun of you?” Sydney baby-talked the dog at her feet while she scratched his ears.

“It’s not making fun when it’s the truth,” Vaughn grumbled.

“Right,” she laughed. Then, she stood and wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t want it to be tomorrow.”

“Neither do I,” he sighed into her neck. “Come on... I’ll make dinner.”

“And more crêpes?” she asked hopefully.

“And more crêpes,” he laughed.

~*~

“Noo noo, no, no,” Sydney whined when Vaughn turned off the TV at ten-thirty that evening. “Can’t be time for bed yet.”

“Syd,” he laughed softly as he tried to get up and she clung to him.

“Promise me we’ll have another weekend like this,” she whispered.

“I promise you,” he spoke with more honesty than he ever had before. “We will.”

“Okay,” she sighed as she stood reluctantly.

“Hey Syd?” he asked cautiously. She looked up at him. “Remember before when you said that whole ‘just once’ thing... was that literal or figurative meaning ‘just today’?”

A grin spread across her face and she laughed at how adorable he was. “Just today.”

“Oh thank god,” he sighed with relief.

“Vaughn!”

“What?” he smiled innocently.

~*~

The following morning, when Vaughn’s alarm went off at six-thirty, neither of the bed’s occupants wanted to move. “Rewind time Vaughn,” Sydney mumbled sleepily.

“If I could, I would,” he sighed. “Come on...we’ve got to shove you back in my trunk.”

“Ohh, it sounds so romantic when you say it,” she snapped. He looked at her strangely. “Sorry,” she sighed with her eyes downcast. He kissed her forehead and tapped her nose gently, indicating it was ok.

Their ride to the ops center was silent, both of them loathing the parting ahead of them and more determined than ever to end the Alliance as soon as possible. When she climbed out of his trunk, they embraced only briefly knowing that she was due at SD-6 and Kendall would be waiting for him.

She had only walked five steps away before she turned. “Hey Vaughn... just to make sure... we’re a couple, right?” she asked almost shyly.

A massive grin spread across his face. “Of course.”

Her grin matched his. “Okay... oh and Vaughn...,” she let her voice drift off as she smiled and tugged at her necklace. Vaughn nodded in silent agreement. Then, they parted, both of them a hundred thousand times happier than when Sydney had first gotten in his trunk two and a half days earlier.



Chapter 12

Upon reaching her car and pulling out onto the highway, Sydney called Sloane to inform him that she would be a little late due to the fact that she hadn’t actually changed clothes in three days but, of course, she didn’t tell him that. She went straight home and changed quickly, but before she could leave again she was intercepted by Francie, who was looking at her suspiciously. “So, I get this insane message on Friday from my former friend who has apparently become schizophrenic....,” Francie said casually.

“Fran, I’m so sorry,” Sydney apologized immediately. “I... I was stressed with work and I went a little crazy, but I’m fine now.”

“Uh huh... so what’s with the fact that your face looks like it’s been perma-glued into that smile?” she asked.

“What smile?” Sydney tried to act casual even though a pink color was creeping into her cheeks.

“Spill girl,” Francie grinned. “That’s the least you can do after ditching me for an entire weekend with no explanation.”

Sydney sighed. She honestly didn’t care about being late to SD-6 and she was positively dying to talk to someone about what happened (in a covert way, of course). “Well see, there’s this guy....”

“Of course there is,” Francie smiled as she and Sydney both took seats at the kitchen counter. “What’s his name?”

“Michael... we work together... and there’s always been kinda this thing between us... like, I don’t know, it’s just there and...”

“You have a crush on him?” she asked casually.

Sydney laughed slightly. “More than a, crush Fran.” She sighed. Francie looked intrigued. “Anyway, our work has this anti-dating rule in-between employees...”

“Yet another reason to QUIT,” Francie interrupted.

Sydney smiled softly. “Anyway so... he and I had to go on this last minute trip and we sorta.... made a weekend getaway of it,” Sydney told her quietly.

Francie grinned. “Sooo, where did this little escape happen? Some place beachy?”

“Detroit,” Sydney told her dully.

“Oh.... so you never left the hotel room, niiiiiice.”

“Fran, you make it sound so sordid,” Sydney blushed.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little... fun with a hot guy, Syd,” Francie told her. “Lord knows you need it.”

“Thanks... but now I don’t know what to do,” she sighed.

“It wasn’t just a one time thing?” Francie asked.

“Well... it was, sort of, but only until we could come up with a better... situation... you know?”

“Quit.”

“Fran, I can’t,” Sydney sighed.

“But you should,” Francie challenged.

Just then, Will walked in and said his hellos before making his way to the kitchen and looking for food. “Whatcha guys talking about?” he asked as he bit into an apple.

Francie sipped her coffee casually. “Sydney slept with some guy Michael from her work,” Will choked on his apple while Sydney turned crimson.

“She... what?!” he croaked while looking at her in shock.

“Will, don’t look at her like that. This is good. She needs to move on.... anyway, I need a shower. Later people,” she smiled before sliding off her stool and walking towards the bathroom. Only when she was gone did Sydney make eye contact with Will, feeling completely mortified.

“You slept with Vaughn?!” he hissed quietly. “How?! Where?! A CIA broom closet?!”

“Will! No... I... I went to his house,” she cringed. Will’s jaw fell open wider, if that was even possible. “I know, I know!! Will...,” she whined. “I don’t know what to do.”

“How did this happen? Meanwhile doesn’t Vaughn have a girlfriend?” Will asked.

Sydney shook her head. “He broke up with her... Will, he told me that he loved me...he gave me this necklace,” she said while tugging on it.

“Wow,” Will said in disbelief. “What’d you do? Well, I mean clearly....”

“Will stop!” Sydney insisted with an embarrassed little laugh. “I love him too.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised...,” he told her honestly.

She smiled softly. “But now... now everything’s so hard. I can’t see him but, God, I wanna see him.” She sighed with her head in her hands. Will gave her a sympathetic rub on the back. She sat there for a moment before sliding off the stool and kissing Will’s cheek. “I gotta go, the bad guys are waiting.”

Will nodded. “If you ever wanna talk more....”

“Yeah, thanks Will.”

~*~

“Agent Vaughn!” Kendall called to him only a moment after Vaughn had sat down at his desk. “Can I have a word?”

“Yes, Sir?” Vaughn asked as he walked over to Kendall.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me Agent Vaughn?”

Vaughn had decided the moment he walked into the office that he was going to play dumb until absolutely forced by torture to do otherwise. “No, I don’t think so...,” he said, managing a brow furrow of confusion.

“Then perhaps I should send you a memo on the proper behavior between handlers and their assets,” Kendall told him sternly. Vaughn broke out into a cold sweat but managed to keep his face plastered with a look of confusion. “Look, I’m going to be frank with you here, it is impossible for me to fire or reassign you or Agent Bristow at this point. We’re too close now. So I’m going to write off Friday’s incident as a moment of insanity that followed a near death experience but it will not happen again, is that understood?”

“Yes sir,” Vaughn managed. Then, with another stern glance, Kendall walked away and Vaughn let out the breath he had been holding. That was almost too close. Almost.

Over his lunch break, Vaughn picked up a McDonald’s Big Mac for Eric on his way to the hospital. Usually, Vaughn refused to contribute to Eric’s expanding middle, but Big Macs were the only thing that could appease Eric in his current state, so Vaughn considered it as a goodwill gesture to the hospital staff.

“You are THE best friend ever, you know that?” Eric mumbled through his burger.

“Yeah, yeah,” Vaughn sighed.

“So how’s Alice?”

“Alice and I broke up,” Vaughn said casually. Eric stopped chewing and looked up at Vaughn with confusion. Vaughn quickly averted his eyes from Eric’s but his face was already turning pink. He was the worst secret keeper ever, especially when it came to Sydney.

“NO WAY!” Eric gasped. Vaughn gave him a half-sheepish, half-shy look. “You and Syd?! Oh man!” Eric laughed.

“Eric, shh!” Vaughn scolded. “It’s not the way it sounds.”

“Ohh really?! Were you or were you not in bed with Sydney yesterday when I called you?” Eric smirked.

“It’s complicated.”

“Yeah, no shit. I gotta hand it to you though, man. I never thought you’d have the balls to do anything about it while Sloane was around,” Eric sighed before taking another massive bite of his burger.

“Thanks,” he groaned.

“So tell me, how’d it happen? Did you guys do it on your desk at the CIA?”

“No, and I’m taking these fries just for that comment,” Vaughn said as he snatched the bag from Eric. He whined. “You wanna hear the story or not?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay so... I had just talked to Irina,” he said with a grimace. “And she-”

“Told you to nail her daughter?” Eric smirked.

“Why do I even bother...,” Vaughn sighed exasperatedly.

“Sorry.”

“Anyway she was asking if I loved Syd and I just kept thinking ‘well, I do love her, so I should tell her’. So then, I went up to Syd and I kissed her right in the middle of the hallway,” he laughed at himself.

“You didn’t?!” Eric gasped.

“Yeah I did and she was... speechless... and then I told her that I loved her and we left, I put her in the trunk of my car and I took her to my house... clearly it wasn’t a well thought out plan.”

“Clearly,” Eric laughed. “When was this?”

“Friday,” Vaughn smiled.

“You dog... so what is the world record for amount of sex in a forty-eight hour period?”

“Eric, that’s disgusting,” Vaughn snapped. “Syd and I aren’t about sex.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, I’m just agitated and humor is an outlet for me to express myself.”

Vaughn rolled his eyes. “Anyway, so we just hung out... we were normal... my mom came over and she met Sydney it was.... the best weekend ever. Then, on Sunday...,” he paused with a smile; Eric smirked. “It was just..... there are no words.... the best hours of my life,” he sighed.

“HOURS?!” Eric whispered. “Dude!”

Vaughn blushed slightly. “Shut up, Eric.”

“So you and Syd are.....?”

“We’re nothing now,” Vaughn sighed sadly. “Well, I mean, technically we’re together, but it’s not like we can be together.”

“Right,” Eric nodded. “That sucks man, but at least you have her in some way, right?”

“Definitely,” Vaughn said, knowing he wouldn’t trade that for the world.



Chapter 13

It was nearly a week before Sydney and Vaughn saw each other again. On Friday night, Vaughn received a message from her on his phone telling him to meet her at the warehouse as soon as possible. When he arrived, he could see her through the wire fence, pacing, wearing a large sweater and hugging herself. Immediately, he knew she was crying. “Syd? Babe, what’s wrong? What happened?” he asked as he pulled back the gate. In an instant, she was in his arms and he was trying to comfort her.

“I’m sorry to call you like this,” she sniffed.

“Don’t be,” he assured her. “What’d I tell you, hmm? You always have my number.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “What happened?”

“Sloane,” she muttered. “He and Sark... they’re just so... and it’s my fault! And then I had this fight with Francie over not being around when she needs me and... I don’t know... I don’t know!! I’m horrible.”

“You are not horrible,” he told her firmly.

She shook her head and wiped her cheeks off with her sleeves that were covering her fists. “I am, I am.... Vaughn, why do you love me?” she whimpered.

He laughed softly, thinking she was kidding, but then he saw the look of uncertainty in her eyes and the tears still flooding down her cheeks. He reached up and brushed them away. “Syd, why don’t I love you?! You are so amazing,” he told her as he rubbed his hands on her shoulders. She smiled softly but shook her head. “Yes, yes you are. You have this amazing strength and presence that just captivates everyone, including me. You’ve been stuck in my head ever since that day you left my office looking like a clown that had been beat with a stick.” With this, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I just love you Syd and I’m so, so lucky to have you in my life and I thank God every day that I do. I love you Syd, because there’s no reason not to,” he told her.

“But-” she began, but he cut her off Syd.

“No but's Syd. Do you want me to make a list for you?” he smiled.

“No,” she laughed softly.

“Okay,” he sighed as he rubbed her back. “Oh and speaking of – I enjoyed the note I found in my sock drawer.”

“Oh, I had forgotten about that,” she smiled. He leaned down and kissed her and then hugged her tightly. “Thanks Vaughn.”

“For what?”

“Loving me.”

~*~

Five days later, Sydney was sitting on a plane in utter disbelief as she stared across the aisle at her parents, who were exchanging occasional glares. They were on their way to India, Kashmir more specifically, with the task of disarming nuclear weapons. How their mission had come to pass was something that Sydney was still in disbelief about.

Two days earlier, she had been tasked to obtain codes. At the time, they didn’t know what the codes were for. Then, Sark sold them to people in possession of the nuclear weapons they corresponded to. The weapons were being held in a secure facility that could only be infiltrated by someone who knew the facility well. That was why Irina was going with them; she knew the facility. Jack had refused to let Sydney go alone with her mother, so that’s why he was there.

Sydney sighed and glanced down at her watch. They had only been in the air for three hours and no one had spoken a word. It was going to be a long flight.

“Something’s different about you Sydney,” her mother said, breaking the silence.

“What?” Sydney was caught off guard by the randomness of her comment. “No...”

“Yes, there is. You’re smiling more.... and that necklace. I’ve never seen you wear it before, but you’ve been wearing it the past three times I’ve seen you,” Irina said. Sydney, feeling nervous, shoved the necklace down in her shirt.

“Irina, it’s a necklace. Don’t you think it’s possible she owns more than one, or maybe she bought it...,” Jack suggested dully.

“No, it’s special,” Irina told him.

“And how do you know that?”

“I just do.” She smiled proudly. Sydney decided it was best to just stay quiet and let them bicker; that way there was no way she could reveal anything by accident. Unfortunately, her plan only lasted ten more minutes. “Is it from Agent Vaughn?” Irina asked. Sydney’s eyes opened wide as she gaped at her. How did she know?

Jack laughed. “Where on earth did you get such a ridiculous idea?”

“It is, isn’t it?” Irina asked, ignoring Jack completely.

“Agent Vaughn is my handler,” Sydney said in a weak attempt at defense.

“But you’re clearly in love with him,” Irina said.

“Irina stop it. You’re being ridiculous,” Jack snapped.

“Well you couldn’t see it, but I can.” Irina glared at him.

“Oh and how exactly is that? You see them every day? Work around them, do you?”

“I’m not dense, Jack. I wouldn’t need that much time,” she argued back. Jack opened his mouth to retort but Sydney beat him to it.

“Stop it!” Sydney shouted at them both. “I don’t know if you both failed to realize, but we’re about to enter an extremely dangerous situation and we have to get along civilly or we’ll all be dead! The fact that I love Vaughn has nothing to do with anything!” she shouted.

A proud smile crossed Irina’s face as she looked pointedly at Jack, who was gaping. “You love Vaughn?!” he gasped. She didn’t respond, which only made him more infuriated as he began to scan through the rolodex in his mind. “Kendall... mentioned something...”

“What?! What did Kendall say?!” Sydney asked quickly, half-panicking.

“I don’t remember exactly; I wasn’t paying attention at the time. Something about a video camera.... in the parking garage maybe...,” he said unsurely. Irina choked back laughter as Sydney turned bright pink. Her father looked up and saw this and turned red as well, but from anger. “SYDNEY ANNE!”

“Vaughn and I didn’t do anything in the parking garage! You ... you heard him wrong,” Sydney insisted rather weakly. Irina continued to stifle her laugher, but Jack refused to hold back his fury.

“Sydney, you are aware that there is protocol for a reason, correct?! Or perhaps your disregard for guidelines is a biological factor...,” he grumbled as he glared at Irina; she stopped laughing. Then, he turned back to Sydney. “You could be compromising this entire operation!”

“Really, Dad, could I? I fail to see how me sleeping with Vaughn could compromise the entire CIA,” she snapped, regretting the words the moment they left her mouth. Jack grunted, got up from his seat and walked away. Sydney, knowing she was flushing, tried concentrating on the mission specs in her lap. A moment later, she glanced cautiously up at her mother and saw that she was smiling softly as she picked at invisible things in her lap. Sydney sighed and rested her head back against the seat, knowing that the next two days would be the longest of her life.



Chapter 14

In all of her life, Sydney had never had a real, true family vacation. Her memories of the time with her mother when she was younger were scattered, broken flashes and occasional moments that she barely recalled at all. She believed that once she heard her father speak of a trip to the beach when she was five years old, but she had no recollection of it at all. After her mother’s ‘death’, her father was so distant he was almost non-existent, so there were no vacations then either. But, standing there, twenty-eight years old, dressed up, pretending to be a family, Sydney couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that her life had reached a new twisted, insane level. Family vacations for spies.

Standing in line at New Dehli, the tension was palpable. Not only was that the point of no return, but the fact that her mother and father were arm in arm for the first time in over two decades added a new level of anxiety. Sydney tried her best to put on her ‘annoyed valley girl’ attitude, but her thoughts were elsewhere. For starters, she was standing a foot away from both her parents, something she never thought possible in her life. Secondly, she was about to work with her mother in the field, which in itself, gave a significant level of apprehension, given her mother’s questionable allegiance. Besides that, she was never good with new partners. She always liked to be in control and, unfortunately, in this situation, there was an absolute lack of control.

When her mother kissed her father, Sydney’s heart jumped all the way up into her throat as she waited for him to pull out a gun and shoot her in the face. Thankfully, there was no bloodshed, but she decided it was highly possible that this was the single most awkward moment of her life.

~*~

When Sydney, accompanied by her parents, ran out of the PRF prison and saw Vaughn in a helicopter waiting for them, she had never been more thankful to see anyone in her life. She had been thankful that she had survived the preceding day and a half, especially after her mother’s apparent betrayal, but seeing him was simply an added bonus. She ran to the chopper and he helped her inside, and then helped her parents before they took off. Once seated, she flashed him a smile and received a wink in return as he squeezed her hand. Jack saw this entire exchange and scowled. Irina then glared at him and he casually looked out the window.

“How’d you get here?” Sydney asked Vaughn once they disembarked from the helicopter and were making their way towards the plane waiting for them.

“Kendall told me to come because I was annoying the hell out of him,” Vaughn smiled proudly. Sydney laughed.

“Well, Agent Vaughn, I suppose a ‘thank you’ is in order,” Jack said rather sternly.

“Uh... sure...,” Vaughn responded with confusion, not understanding Jack’s hostility at all, but assuming it was from spending two days alone with his ex-wife. With another glare, Jack walked away. Vaughn shook it off and walked over to Sydney with a smile. “You should get some rest, you look exhausted.”

“Only if you get some rest with me,” she smiled. He looked obviously hesitant as he nervously glanced back at her parents. “They already know,” she told him quietly.

“Oh ok- WHAT?!” he gasped once he realized what she had said.

Sydney shrugged. “Long story.”

“What?! How long?! What happened?” he asked.

“Vaughn. Tired. Long story. Sleep now. Tell later,” she grunted.

“Okay,” he laughed as he reached up into one of the overhead compartments and grabbed a blanket. He sat down on one of the seats and Sydney sat beside him, banking her body up against his and resting her head on his shoulder. Then, he draped the blanket over them both and rested his cheek against the top of her head before shutting his eyes, not bothering (or wanting) to catch sight of Jack’s reaction to all of this.

“I missed you Vaughn,” she told him with a sigh.

“I missed you too,” he told her.

Across the plane, Jack was scowling at his daughter and Agent Vaughn as they slept, when Irina switched seats and sat beside him. He turned his head and glared at her for a moment before returning his scowl to the sleeping pair. “Leave her alone, Jack. She’s happy,” Irina told him quietly. Jack opened his mouth to protest but Irina glared at him.

“You don’t know her like I do,” he challenged.

Slightly miffed, Irina cleared her throat. “But I know she was unhappy and now she is not.”

“You mean like unhappiness as a result of her mother, who had been dead for twenty-some-odd years, returning and becoming an annoying presence in her life?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Or unhappiness as a result of discovering that her father used her as a lab rat and programmed her to be a spy and then failed to tell her,” Irina countered with a stoic expression.

Jack was speechless for a moment, hating the fact that she had beat, or at least tied him, at his own game. He tilted his head slightly to the side and nodded. “Touché.”

She smiled proudly. “You’re starting to trust me again.”

He laughed. “Don’t delude yourself into believing in the impossible, Irina.”

“Nothing’s impossible.... just slightly less likely than something else,” she told him. He grumbled and shook his head, ignoring her and turning back to finishing the report he was writing.

~*~

“Hey... did you return your mother to her little cage?” Vaughn asked when he saw Sydney approaching.

Sydney cocked her head to the side and gave him a look. “Vaughn,” she said warningly.

He held up his hands. “Sorry, it was too easy,” he winked. She rolled her eyes and went to walk away, but he caught her arm. “Here,” he handed her three tickets.

She looked down at them and then back up at him. “Mini golf?”

He nodded. “For you, Will and Francie.”

A small smile crept across her face. “Some day we’ll go.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that Bristow,” he winked.



Chapter 15

“Hey, hey, hey kiddies! Don’t tell me you had too much fun without me now,” Weiss grinned as he walked over to Sydney and Vaughn a few days after their return from India.

“Weiss!” Sydney grinned as she stepped forward and hugged him tight. “I didn’t know you were out of the hospital.”

“Just got out yesterday,” he told her.

“Yeah and the hospital staff threw a party,” Vaughn commented with a smirk. Weiss gave him a look.

“Are you coming to France with us?” Sydney asked referring to her latest counter-mission involving a gyroscope.

“Yep! I can’t wait. I need to get out of this place,” he said desperately. Then a sly grin crossed his face. “So, how’ve you been Syd?”

Sydney smacked Vaughn with the file folder she was holding. He jumped and gave her a look. “You told him?!” she hissed.

“You told Francie, didn’t you!?” he challenged. She didn’t respond which meant ‘yes’. “See, Weiss is my girlfriend.”

“Heyyy,” Weiss whined. “I’m not your girlfriend, you sicko. That’s what she’s for,” he gestured to Sydney.

She smacked his arm. “Would you stop it! Honestly! For spies, you two are the least covert people on the planet,” she shook her head in disapproval.

“Oh come on Syd, like the whole office doesn’t already know!” Weiss laughed softly. Sydney and Vaughn exchanged horrified glances and then glared at Weiss. He backed up a few steps. “Come on guys.... when do I get to start a rumor, huh?” he laughed nervously. “Guys....”

“If we take him down to the subfloor no one will see,” Vaughn told Sydney.

“GUYS! Let’s talk about this... I know you can both take me but come on, you wouldn’t kill a man the day after he got out of the hospital.... right?” Weiss laughed nervously.

“Who said anything about killing? Killing’s messy.” Sydney smiled evily.

“What’s going on here?!” Kendall boomed, interrupting their fun.

“Nothing,” Sydney and Vaughn said in unison.

“Then let’s go people! Wheel’s up in twenty minutes, go! Go! GO!” he instructed.

Sydney sighed and looked at Vaughn. “See you in France.”

~*~

“Oh come on now, tell me you aren’t loving this?” Weiss laughed as they observed Sydney obtaining the gyroscope by essentially stripping.

Vaughn looked down at Weiss hand on his shoulder and then glared up at him. “I’m not loving that you’re loving this.”

“Right...,” Weiss said cautiously as he removed his hand. “Well, I’m not loving it loving it... I mean Syd’s hot and all but.... I’m just going to shut up,” he said, noting the scowl on Vaughn’s face.

A few minutes later, Sydney sauntered into their make shift operations center that had been set up inside one of the spare rooms in the airport. She passed off the stolen gyroscope to the tech guys and then walked over to Vaughn. “I like the purple hair and eyelashes,” he laughed.

“Oh yeah, I’m not a freak at all,” she laughed.

“Nah,” he smiled. “The um... plastic bra is a nice touch though. Where do you get this stuff?”

“My closet is a scary place,” she told him with a nod and a laugh.

“I can’t wait to see it,” he smiled.

“I’m gonna go change,” she said as she walked away, running her hand down his arm on the way. Once she had disappeared, a collective ‘awww’ echoed through the remaining agents at Weiss’s command.

“You’re all hysterical,” Vaughn groaned.

“Oh come on, this is fun for us. We no longer have to deal with the suppressed sexual tension,” Weiss told him, and then lowered his voice. “Which, by the way... there’s a bed in the back if you-”

“WEISS!” Vaughn snapped.

Eric shrugged innocently. “I was just sayin’....”

“Well don’t,” he said before walking back towards where Sydney was changing, ignoring the cat calls emanating from the agents behind him. “Syd?” he knocked softly on the door.

“Come on in!” she called to him. He opened the door slowly and found her zipping up her jeans, but otherwise fully dressed. “Are they mocking us out there?” she asked.

He nodded slowly. “But only because of Weiss’ encouragement.”

“Great.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you know how long the gyroscope will take?”

“They estimate about two hours, so... we have some time,” he grinned.

“Vaughn!” she giggled.

“Hey, it was Weiss that pointed out there’s a bed back here, not me,” he played innocent even though he was far from it.

“Vaughn,” she repeated, warning him that time.

“I know, I know,” he sighed as he rubbed her shoulders. “You know, that makeup is really freaky.”

“I know,” she grimaced as she pulled off one fake eyelash and then the other. “Some days I really get sick of painting myself up like this.”

“Yeah... but it’s fun sometimes, right?” he asked.

“That’s what I thought in the beginning.... until somewhere in the mess of it all I lost myself,” she sighed sadly.

Vaughn wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “It’s good I found you then.”

Sydney smiled softly and rubbed her hands gently across his arm. “Very good. Ohh, I can’t wait to get home. Francie’s throwing Will a birthday party and her parties are always such a blast.”

“Oh yea?” Vaughn asked.

“Totally. She always has a theme or something and... I don’t know, I can’t explain it. They’re just fun!” She grinned. Vaughn gave her a half-smile and then walked over to the bed in the corner of the room (which was really more of a cot) and plopped down on it. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he sighed. “I just... I hate that I can’t be part of your life. I mean... you get to spend your free time with them... goof off with Francie... and Will,” he said slightly menacingly.

“Vaughn,” Sydney sighed as she walked over and perched herself upon his knee. She dragged her fingers through his hair and tilted his face up towards hers. “Are you jealous of Will?”

Vaughn shifted slightly uncomfortably and mumbled, “Maybe,” under his breath. “It’s just.... he gets to see you whenever he wants... he can hug you and take you out to movies....”

“But he can’t love me like you do,” she told him. He smiled slightly. “Vaughn, you don’t have to be jealous of Will. He might have feelings for me, but he’s just a friend and he’ll never be anything more.”

“That's g- wait! What do you mean he might have feelings for you?!” he asked quickly.

“Vauuuuughn,” she groaned.

“I’m serious.”

“Well... Will has tried to kiss me in the past... but that was a while ago. He likes Francie now.”

“Oh,” he said, his voice slightly lighter. “That’s good for him then.”

Sydney laughed and smacked his chest. “Well now that I know you’re the jealous type....”

“Excuse me,” he gasped, offended. “I am not the jealous type! Once I’m able to go out with you and be seen around you....”

“Making your presence known,” she interjected with a smile.

“Exactly. Then I’ll be good.”

“Uh huh,” she rolled her eyes.

“Well,” he sighed as he locked his arms around her. “I just don’t want anyone taking you away, not when it took so long to have you.”

“Don’t worry,” she smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Mmhmm,” he grinned as he pulled her down into a kiss. A moment later, he was laying back on the caught with Sydney on top of him kissing him while his hands roamed up the back of her shirt.

“Hey, you guys wan – HOLY JESUS! Lock the door why don’t ya!” Eric exclaimed when he caught sight of them. Then, he left quickly and slammed the door behind him.

“Oops,” Vaughn cringed while half-laughing.

“Yeah.... oops,” Sydney giggled.



Chapter 16

Another month passed and both Sydney and Vaughn were growing restless. It seemed as though they had come to a standstill with their progress against Sloane. They weren’t gaining any ground, but not losing any either. Kendall’s attitude had gone from irritated to just plain rude to all of them. Even Weiss’s humor had disappeared slightly, mostly because he continued to tease Sydney and Vaughn while neither of them found it very amusing at all.

Sydney and Vaughn continued to steal an occasional kiss in the warehouse or a camera-free corner of the Ops center, but it wasn’t the same. They both longed for the closeness they had shared during their weekend together and were growing steadily more impatient without it. Often, they mused about running away from it all, but logically they knew that a life on the lam wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone. They were stuck, working against seemingly impossible odds, trapped by the world that had brought them together.

It was a chilly evening shortly after the New Year when Vaughn was pacing the hallways of his house with Donovan at his heels. He always paced when Sydney was away on a mission, even more so after they had gotten together romantically. He knew he could never rest until she was at least back in LA, where, idealistically, he thought he could be there in an instant if she needed him.

Twelve hours earlier, Sydney had been sent on a mission based on her mother’s intel. Her task was fairly straightforward: obtain a Rambaldi manuscript before Sloane could get his grubby hands on it, but Vaughn was still nervous. No matter how many times she had been accurate, even in saving his own life, he could never and would never trust Irina Derevko, even if it did seem like she would never put her own daughter in harms way... well, at least not in mortal peril.

He knew that the longer her paced, the more he would obsess and the lower his chances of getting any sleep that night were, but he didn’t mind. Sydney’s safety was much more important than his need to catch a few ‘zzz’s’.

When his cell phone rang, he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Vaughn?” he answered.

“Get in here. NOW!” came a voice and then the line went dead.

Immediately, Vaughn’s heart rate skyrocketed and he felt sick to his stomach. That could not possibly be good news. Quickly, he grabbed his ID, wallet and keys before bolting out the door and breaking every traffic law in existence, arriving at the Ops center in record time. “What.... happened...,” he managed breathlessly after running the entire way from the parking garage.

“Jesus Vaughn, did you run the entire way here?!” Kendall asked.

“What happened?!” Vaughn repeated more forcefully, not appreciating his snide comment.

“Agent Bristow may or may not have been compromised,” Kendall told him.

Vaughn’s heart nearly exploded out of his chest. “MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE?!?! WHICH ONE IS IT?!” he shouted.

“Calm yourself, Agent Vaughn!” Kendall snapped. “You won’t do her any good if you’re not focused.”

“I am focused!! On getting her back here, alive,” he said firmly. Kendall nodded then walked off. Vaughn followed him to the command room where he found Weiss yawning and Jack looking worried. “How the hell did you get here before me?” Vaughn asked his friend.

“They hesitated calling you because they knew you’d freak,” Eric told him. Vaughn glared at Kendall, but he ignored it.

“Okay people, three hours ago we lost radio communication with Agent Bristow and-”

“THREE HOURS?!” Vaughn gasped. “THREE HOURS?! SHE COULD BE DEAD BY NOW!”

“That would be why they didn’t call you,” Eric whispered in his ear. Vaughn glared.

“Bristow is due at her extraction point any moment now. If she doesn’t make it, then we’ll get worried,” Kendall told him.

The next ten minutes were painful for Vaughn. He just stared down at the radio waves on Sydney’s comm link, begging them to move, but they didn’t. “Agent Bristow is negative at her extraction,” came a male voice through the radio. Vaughn squeezed his eyes shut and sighed heavily; dropping his chin to his chest, praying that she was alright. Eric squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

“Okay people, let’s find her,” Kendall told them all.

“Sir, permission to-”

“Denied,” Kendall snapped at Vaughn. Vaughn’s eyes narrowed. “I will not have you gallivanting off when she’s only been missing for two minutes.”

“YOU SAID THREE HOURS!” Vaughn shouted. Kendall didn’t respond. Vaughn flopped down in a chair and tried to calm his heart rate. She just had to be ok. Briefly, Vaughn glanced up at Jack, but wasn’t comforted at all. For the very first time (as far as Vaughn had seen), Jack looked truly worried.

Another ten minutes passed, feeling like hours, and a crackle came over the radio. “He-hello?” The voice was broken, but quite obviously Sydney’s.

“Agent Bristow, you missed your extraction,” Kendall said into one of the microphones.

“I-I know... I was caught... they knocked me out... I just woke up...,” she said, her voice obviously slurred and stressed. “I’m in some sort of box.”

“Box?!” Vaughn repeated quietly to Eric; he shrugged.

“A box?” Kendall asked.

“Yes... it’s moving.... I might be on the back of a truck....”

“How big is the box?” Kendall asked.

“Barely large enough for me.... it... it's round.... it might be a fifty gallon drum...,” she said, her voice almost a whimper at the end.

Vaughn snatched the microphone headset from Kendall and ignored the indignant look on his face. “Sydney, it’s me.”

“V-Vaughn?” she croaked.

“Yes, it’s Vaughn. Sydney, is the top of the drum sealed?” he asked.

“Uh... yes... but the bottom is rusted through. There’s a hole.”

“How big?” he asked hopefully.

“Smaller than a quarter.”

He sighed heavily.

“W-wait, something’s happening... we’ve stopped moving...,” she whispered. For a second, their comm link went dead, and then when it returned, Sydney was screaming.

“Syd!! SYDNEY!” Vaughn shouted back.

“Water!” she managed with a choke. “They threw me in the water.... it’s coming in the holes!”

Vaughn’s heart sank deep down into the pit of his stomach. He looked behind him and saw Jack close his eyes and sigh heavily and Weiss look progressively paler. “Sydney....”

“It’s cold,” she sobbed. “The water’s really cold.... it’s coming in fast....”

“Sydney, listen to me. Try and break through the bottom. If it’s rusted it will be weak,” he told her.

“I can’t,” she choked.

“Yes you can. Yes you can, Sydney,” he told her.

“No... no I can’t... it’s too hard... I can’t,” she sobbed. Vaughn could hear her teeth chattering and he had to lean against a chair for support. “Vaughn...,” came a heart wrenching choked sob from her.

Vaughn looked up at Kendall with a pleading look in his eyes, but Kendall looked helpless. “We... we don’t know where she is...,” he stammered as he looked at the screen that was trying to GPS track her signal, but to no avail.

“Sydney, how fast is the water coming in?” Vaughn asked hoarsely.

“It... it’s almost up to my waist... it’s seeping through tiny holes in the sides.... Vaughn, I’m cold,” she choked.

“It’s ok Sydney, you’re going to be ok,” he assured her as if trying to convince himself it was true, though deep down he knew it wasn’t. “You’re going to be ok. Think about something warm. Think about... laying in bed with a fire and Donovan at our feet,” he told her, not even caring if Kendall or the other agents heard.

“Can’t...,” she whimpered.

“Yes you can Sydney, yes you can. Be strong,” he told her.

“C-can’t,” she managed with a loud chatter of her teeth. “V-Vaughn.... I... lo-love y-you.”

Vaughn squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He felt so sick he wasn’t sure how he wasn’t managing to lose it all right there. He was going to listen to her die; he knew it. “Sydney,” his voice cracked from the lump forming in his throat. “Sydney please, please baby you have to fight. Come on Sydney, you can do it, I know you can.”

“Vaughn... Vaughn listen,” she said.

“What Syd?”

“Remember... remember that night... in-in your h-house. Remember you a-asked... asked me to t-t-tell you something I ne-never told?” she asked, her voice strained and trembling. “Remember what you told me... I... I would have said ye-” but her comm cut out and the sickening sound of water could be heard before it shorted out and went dead silent.

In that moment, Vaughn was convinced that he too had died. His knees crashed painfully into the cement floor, but he felt no pain at all. He was forever numb. He was faintly aware of footsteps around him, but he felt nothing except for the warm wetness of tears streaking down his face. He didn’t care who saw him; who noticed that he was weeping openly. In one second he had lost the love of his life and he was going to cry for her.

He wasn’t sure how long it was that he sat there, crumpled on the floor, in an utter daze, but then suddenly it hit him. There was a reason for this. Sydney had been compromised. It was someone’s fault and he knew exactly whose it was. He bolted from the floor and out of the room, ignoring the shouts of his name from behind him. He raced down to the wing where she was being held and startled the dozing night guard since it was after midnight. He dove his way under the gates as they rose and found her asleep on the cot in her cell.

He pounded on the glass and shouted until she awoke, completely stunned. “Mr.. Mr. Vaughn?” she asked sleepily.

“Is this what you wanted all along?!” he spat. “Was this your endgame? To kill your own daughter? Is that what you wanted? Was she just worthless to you, like everyone else?”

In her half-asleep state, Irina could barely make sense of what he was saying. “What...what are you talking about? Sydney...?”

“SYDNEY IS DEAD!” he spat. “Thanks to you and your intel. Does that feel good to you? Do you feel accomplished now?” he asked, his voice trembling.

Slowly, Irina got off her bed, her heart thumping rapidly as she realized what he was saying. “S-Sydney’s dead?” she asked, her voice sounding haunted.

For a moment, Vaughn faltered. Could it be that she truly didn’t know? Her reaction would indicate this, but it could have been simply an act. He was about to open his mouth and berate her once more, when Jack came stomping through the gates.

“J-Jack?” Irina turned to him, but one look at the single tear streak down the left side of his face and his graven expression gave her the answer she was seeking.

Irina’s reaction was indescribable and unimaginable to Vaughn, emanating from a woman typically filled with such cruelty. She let out a lamenting cry, one that could have only come from a true mother, as tears of shock and horror spilled down from her eyes. Vaughn watched as Jack hesitated for a moment, then walked over to her cell door and used his thumbprint to unlatch it. Suddenly, Vaughn came to a realization. For perhaps the one and only time in his life, the three of them had one thing in common; a common, devastating loss.

Jack opened Irina’s cell door and paused for a moment as she crumbled back onto her cot, shaking her head and choking on her own sobs. Then, he walked over to her and hesitated before sinking down on the bed beside her and letting her cry onto his shoulder. In that moment, they weren’t two people who shared an equal hatred and love for one another; they weren’t a terrorist and a CIA officer; they were no longer a betrayer and a betrayee. They simply became two parents, grieving the loss of their only daughter.



Chapter 17

Vaughn only watched them for a moment before bolting back to the room where he had listened to his love take her final breath. His numbness continued as he watched the agents slowly continue their tasks with Weiss off to the side looking utterly lost. Vaughn walked straight up to Kendall and stared him down. “When’s the recovery team leaving?”

“Agent Vaughn, I don’t think...”

“When are they leaving?!” Vaughn repeated more loudly.

“Vaughn, man, maybe you should-” Eric began but Vaughn cut him off.

“Do you know what she said? At the end? Her last words? She was going to marry me, god damn it!! So I am going to go and I’m going to recover the body of the woman that I love and nobody is going to stop me,” he hissed as he physically trembled.

“Then I’ll go too,” Eric said quietly.

“You don’t-” Vaughn began but that time Eric cut him off.

“You shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

Half an hour later, they were in a helicopter speeding up the coastline on their way to Canada, in search of Sydney’s last known whereabouts. The CIA was able to pinpoint her coordinates, but only moments too late.

Vaughn was numb as he listened to the deafening noise of the helicopter blades. He was accompanied by Weiss and two other agents he barely knew. He wasn’t sure when it would truly hit him, but he knew it was highly likely he would barely survive seeing her in the way he would inevitably find her.

“We’re nearing the coordinates,” the pilot told him. Vaughn nodded once in response. He then leaned out of his seat slightly and looked down at the countryside passing below them. They were approaching a river. He could barely see the white, foaming rapids through the helicopters search light, but he knew it would be there.

“Fly down stream,” he told the pilot. The pilot nodded and all the agents aboard the helicopter leaned toward the windows to carry out what seem like a nearly impossible search.

For nearly twenty minutes, Vaughn strained his vision, searching for any tiny speck that wasn’t a rock, but a metal drum. They found none. “Maybe we should try again in the light,” Weiss suggested.

“No, keep looking,” Vaughn snapped, knowing that he’d find her that night even if he had to search on the ground. Then, suddenly, something on the shore caught his eye. “There!! To the left!” he shouted towards the pilot in control of the search light. The pilot moved the light back into the position Vaughn instructed and he saw her crumpled in a tiny ball along the shore. Somehow she must have escaped the drum, or it had burst against one of the jagged rocks.

His eyes burned with tears as the pilot got as close to the ground as he could with the nearby trees. A rope was lowered for Vaughn to slide down and he slowly descended. The climb down was difficult enough with the swaying rope and he knew that with Sydney’s deadweight it would be nearly impossible to ascend back to the helicopter, but he wasn’t worried about that. His only concern was returning her safely, even if it was only her body he was returning.

Once on the ground, he froze for a movement. He was about ten feet from her and could see her face clearly through the flashing light of the helicopter. Though her face was partly covered by mud and matted hair, she looked angelic, almost as though she was sleeping. Slowly, he began to approach her, each step shakier than the last.

Finally, he reached her side and knelt down to touch her face as the tears began to flow once more. He saw her necklace, the one had given her, sticking out of her collar, engrained with mud and a tiny stick. Knowing that the helicopter had a limited amount of fuel, he decided to save his grieving for the ride back, and rolled her slightly so it would be easier for him to pick her up.

For one brief, heart-soaring moment, he though he heard a strange exhale when she was moved from her side to her back. Slowly, his hand trembling, he reached his hand out to her mouth and was almost convinced he felt warm breath emanating. As quickly as he could, while slipping on the muddy embankment, he moved to her side and checked for a pulse. He found one.

As if he had gained the strength of a thousand men, he scooped her up swiftly and gestured frantically for the helicopter to return. A harness was lowered and Vaughn quickly strapped it around them both and tugged on it, signaling for them to be lifted. Once up in the helicopter, Vaughn slammed Sydney down on the floor and began stripping off her freezing, soaking wet clothing. “She’s breathing,” he said breathlessly.

“What?” Weiss gasped as he slid down to the floor and checked himself. The moment he felt her pulse, his eyes shot open wide and he began shouting instructions. “GET US TO A HOSPTIAL! NOW! We need blankets.”

“We can’t. This is a CIA helicopter,” the pilot told them.

“Then get us to a safe house,” Vaughn hissed. He wasn’t going to lose her now; he’d save her life single-handedly if he had to. “And get me Jack!”

Fifteen minutes later, Eric and Vaughn were carrying Sydney into a safe house while Vaughn was shouting into a satellite phone, giving out their location and demanding a doctor as soon as humanly possible.

“Okay... what do we do?!” Eric asked rather helplessly as they laid the blanket clad Sydney on top of the tiny safe house bed.

“She’s freezing. If we don’t warm her up she’s going to...,” he let his voice drift off at that thought. Then he began unzipping his own gear as fast as possible. Weiss, understanding what was going on, turned his back.

“What should I do?”

“Call them back every three minutes until that doctor gets here!” Vaughn instructed as he climbed underneath the covers with Sydney and rubbed her body vigorously, trying to start the blood flow once more. “Come on baby, come on,” he coaxed quietly. “Come on Syd, I need you here baby, don’t let go. Fight, Syd, fight. I’m not going to lose you,” he said quietly with his face against hers. Her skin was so cold that it terrified him. He held her close and refused to let go while he prayed that she’d be ok.



Chapter 18

It was almost half an hour before the doctor arrived by helicopter and Vaughn refused to let go of Sydney the entire time. In fact, the doctor practically had to have Eric shoot him off so that Sydney could be examined.

“Her body temperature is barely ninety-four degrees. She’s still suffering from hypothermia and it has caused her body to go into a coma to limit the damage,” the doctor told Vaughn once he had finished his examination.

Vaughn pulled the blanket he was wearing tighter around his body and shifted his weight uncomfortably. “So... what does that mean?” he asked slowly.

“It means we need to warm her up and get her to a hospital as soon as possible,” he said. “I’d rather not move her until her temperature is up at least one more degree...,” the doctor told Vaughn, but before he was able to finish his sentence, Vaughn was back in the bed, trying to warm Sydney.

“They’re a couple,” Weiss whispered to the doctor. The doctor nodded his head in obvious understanding.

“Have you been able to reach Jack yet?” Vaughn asked.

“No. Kendall said he hasn’t been seen since he left Irina’s cell and he’s not answering his phone,” Weiss explained.

“Great,” Vaughn grumbled. The last thing they needed was Jack armed and running loose around LA, thinking his daughter was dead.

“What do you bet he kills Sloane before dawn?” Weiss chuckled softly. Vaughn shot him a look. It wasn’t funny because it was a completely valid point.

“I’m going to start an IV of warm saline, that should help her,” the doctor said as he placed an IV into the back of Sydney’s hand.

Vaughn sighed and nodded as he looked down at Sydney. For the first time since they reached the safe house, he realized how dirty her face really was. “Weiss, can you get a wet cloth or something to get the mud off her face?”

“Yeah sure,” he said. A moment later, he returned with a wet paper towel and began to clean the mud off the side of her face that had been pressed down into the earth. Vaughn gently took off her necklace and passed it to Weiss so he could clean the excess mud off of it too. When Weiss gave it back, Vaughn put it on himself, not wanting to lose it and knowing that the hospital wouldn’t want her wearing it when they brought her in. “Looks good on you,” Weiss commented with a smile.

“Thanks,” Vaughn grumbled.

“Seriously though, it’s a nice necklace. I always get women hideous stuff that they never wear. I wish I had good taste in jewelry...,” he sighed.

“Yeah...you should see her ring,” Vaughn laughed absentmindedly.

Weiss’s face lit up. “Ring?! You already got her a ring?!”

“Yes...”

“Oh, what’s it look like?! I wanna see!” he said in a giddy way.

“Weiss!” Vaughn snapped. “This really isn’t the time....”

“Oh... right...yeah...,” he said slowly as he turned and walked away.

“Come on Syd,” Vaughn whispered to her. “Warm up faster.”

It was dawn before the doctor felt Sydney’s temperature was safe enough to move. They bundled her up in every blanket they could find and made sure she was well covered before carrying her to the helicopter. During their ride, Vaughn held most of her body in his lap with his arm’s around her, trying not to let any heat escape her body.

Immediately upon landing, Sydney was whisked away by the medical staff and Vaughn was tasked to find Jack. “How the hell am I supposed to find Jack Bristow?! I wouldn’t have the faintest clue where to look, not to mention the fact that he’s not allowed to be seen with me, if you fail to recall,” Vaughn snapped at Kendall.

“We don’t have much of a choice, do we? We don’t want him doing anything...”

“Jack-like,” Vaughn muttered under his breath.

“Right,” Kendall said. “Well, get moving.”

“But I want to-”

“You may return to hover over Agent Bristow after you’ve found her father,” Kendall told him rather harshly. Vaughn gave him a death glare before stalking off and telling Weiss not to let Sydney out of his sight.

Vaughn had positively no idea where to find Jack, but he decided to start at the last place he had been seen. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to another encounter with Irina, especially in his emotionally distressed state, but he had no choice; he needed to find Jack.

He found her with her knees pulled to her chest and her face buried in them with her long dark hair falling all around her. “Where’s Jack?” Vaughn asked.

“Leave me be, Agent Vaughn,” came her muffled response.

Vaughn sighed and cursed his circumstances for a moment before speaking again. “We found Sydney alive. She’s in bad shape but...,” he let his voice drift off as Irina lifted her head and stared at him. Her eyes were much larger and less harsh than he remembered. It was almost as though the tears she had been crying had softened them.

“S-Sydney’s alive?” she croaked out, her voice harsh and gravelly. Vaughn nodded once, but kept his face stoic. “She’s alive,” Irina repeated, her face cracking into a smile of relief.

“I need to know where Jack is,” Vaughn told her, returning to his purpose for being there.

“I-I don’t know. He didn’t say anything when he left,” Irina told him. Vaughn sighed heavily and dropped his head to his chest. Typically, a ‘thanks anyway’ would have been in order, but not for Irina Derevko. He began to walk away, but paused when she spoke again. “He liked the observatory,” Irina said quietly.

Vaughn turned to her with his brow furrowed. “Whenever he was angry at something, he’d go to the observatory,” Irina clarified. Vaughn nodded before walking away and thinking ‘like father; like daughter’.

~*~

When Vaughn arrived at the observatory, there were no cars there. Disappointed, he cursed the fact that he was suddenly back to ‘square one’, but just as he was about to drive away, another black sedan pulled up. Vaughn rolled down his window just as Jack was getting out of the car. “She’s alive,” Vaughn called simply. Jack froze just as the engine in Vaughn’s car was turning over. “Naval hospital,” Vaughn called out before pulling out of his parking space and speeding back to the hospital to continue his watch over Sydney’s side.

Jack arrived at the hospital only moments after Vaughn. He ran up to Vaughn, firing questions all the way until Vaughn quickly detailed what had happened very early that morning. Then, both men went into the hospital, intent on finding out the latest news on the woman they loved.

“Well, her temperature is almost back to normal now,” one doctor told them.

“That’s good, right?” Vaughn asked hopefully.

“Yes..., but it also appears she had severe head trauma. Agent Weiss has told me what you believe happened and it’s possible she was hit by a rock or even the drum she was in. We stitched the gash on the side of her head, but as for the permanent damage, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.

Jack and Vaughn exchanged graven expressions. “What... what kind of odds are we looking at here?” Jack asked cautiously.

“It’s too soon to tell,” the doctor said solemnly. “She’s in a coma, but she still may be able to hear you. Talking to her could help.”

Vaughn immediately walked towards Sydney’s room where Weiss was standing guard at the door. Vaughn went inside and stared at her for a moment. She looked so amazingly peaceful, just like she had when she was sleeping. That first night in his house, Vaughn awoke at six a.m. and just watched her sleep for hours, thanking God that she was there with him and at the same time, praying she’d never have to leave.

“Syd,” he whispered as he approached. He pulled a chair up to her bedside and sat down in it before taking her hand in his and then stroking her face with his other hand. “Hey Syd, it’s me; it’s Vaughn. You gotta get better, okay? Because you and I... we’ve got a lot left to do, you know? We’re going to get married and you’re going to look so drop dead gorgeous on our wedding day. We’re going to have kids too, lots of them. A whole Bristow-Vaughn clan, okay? We’re gonna do all that together, I promise you, but you gotta get better. Please, Syd, please wake up, please,” he repeated and he kissed her hand.

In the doorway, Jack and Weiss were watching Vaughn, both of them fighting back the tears in their own eyes upon watching Vaughn’s heartfelt plea.



Chapter 19

Soon after Jack and Vaughn arrived to hover over Sydney, Weiss went home to get some sleep and the other two men were left alone. “She wasn’t behind this, you know,” Jack told Vaughn quietly while they were sitting on either side of Sydney’s bed.

Vaughn glanced up at Jack briefly before turning his attention back to Sydney’s face. “I know,” he admitted begrudgingly.

After another moment of silence, Jack spoke up once more. “She... she told me everything after you left. Everything about why she turned herself into the CIA, her betrayal in Kashmir and in using the Echelon satellite and even her plans for an eventual extraction,” Jack told him almost as if he was still in disbelief.

Vaughn looked over at Jack with a furrowed brow. “Basically...,” Jack continued. “She wanted to see Sydney, as well as use the CIA and their... affiliation, so to speak, with Sloane to obtain more Rambaldi documents... she seemed surprisingly remorseful that Sydney was killed in an attempt to obtain something she eventually wanted.”

“Did you tell Kendall?” Vaughn asked.

Jack shook his head. “I told no one... until now.”

Vaughn wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed with Jack statement. He was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to determine whether or not it contained an underlying death threat, so he decided to just move past it. “Are you going to?”

“I haven’t decided,” Jack said in a way that made it quite clear he was searching for Vaughn’s opinion on the matter.

Vaughn sighed heavily and looked down at Sydney’s hand in his for a moment before speaking again. “I believe it’s become fairly obvious over the past twenty-four hours that I have intentions to marry your daughter,” Vaughn said rather timidly as he glanced up at Jack. Jack’s only response was to nod and Vaughn took his lack of murderous rage as a sign of approval, so he sighed with relief and continued.

“Well, then, as part of what can only be described as the most ridiculous family on the planet, I don’t believe my judgment concerning Irina Derevko can be unbiased. That being said, I also believe Sydney should be able to have the opportunity to spend time with her mother if she so chooses.”

Jack nodded slowly in agreement, then, much to Vaughn’s surprise, he cracked a small smile. Vaughn looked at him curiously. “Oh... I was just thinking about how you would explain this to your children.”

Vaughn laughed. “Preferably not at all.” Then, he realized that Jack had made an implication as to his future with Sydney and was almost touched, until he saw Jack’s scowl return and decided to be thankful simply for the fact that Jack wasn’t about to shoot him in the head. “Did you speak to Sloane at all?” Vaughn asked, realizing that Sydney’s position in the hospital could actually put her in other danger.

“Sloane won’t be a problem,” Jack told him firmly.

Vaughn gulped, remembering Weiss’s joke from earlier that day. “Ever?”

“I managed to convince Sloane of Sydney’s death since, at the time, I thought she was dead myself,” Jack explained. “He actually seemed upset.”

Vaughn laughed bitterly. “How nice of him to care.”

“Right.... but it raises an interesting point,” Jack said. Vaughn raised an eyebrow. “When she gets out of here...”

“She’s free, but she’s dead,” Vaughn finished his thought. Jack nodded. Vaughn had to fight to keep a smile from forming on his face when he thought of one solution to their dilemma: Sydney moving in with him and never leaving. But, somehow, he knew that Jack wouldn’t be overly fond of that plan. “Well... we’ll figure something out,” Vaughn sighed. Again, Jack nodded.

~*~

“Psst, Vaughn!” Weiss whispered when he poked his head into Sydney’s hospital room when he returned at seven p.m. that evening. Vaughn looked over and Weiss beckoned to him. He begrudgingly left Sydney’s side and followed Weiss into the hallway. “How is she?” Weiss asked.

“No change.” Vaughn sighed. Weiss nodded and handed him a tiny packet. “What’s this?” Vaughn asked.

“Sleeping pills. Go home, take them.” Weiss instructed. Vaughn opened his mouth to protest, but Weiss beat him to it. “Kendall’s orders. He doesn’t want to see you in this hospital until after six a.m. tomorrow morning.”

“But what if she wakes up?!” Vaughn asked.

“I’ll be here and I’ll tell her that her valiant rescuer is at home getting some much needed R&R,” Eric told him.

“But what if she needs me?”

“For what? Are you a surgeon or a doctor?” Eric laughed at him. Vaughn glared. “Go,” Eric said sharply. Vaughn didn’t move. “Go... or I’ll tell her you cheated on her with Donovan.”

“That’s sick,” Vaughn hissed before leaving.

~*~

Vaughn arrived at his house and went directly into the shower. When he emerged, he stared down at the packet of sleeping pills for a full ten minutes. He knew that he was exhausted and needed to sleep. He also knew that if he didn’t have a drug induced sleep, he’d lay awake and obsess over Sydney’s well being. But at the same time, he didn’t want to be dead to the world just in case of an emergency. In the end, he forced himself to swallow the pills and crashed into his sheets, waiting for them to take effect.

~*~

The next morning, Vaughn awoke in horror. He had been having a terrible nightmare where Sydney was drowning and he couldn’t save her. Then, once his surroundings had come into focus, he realized that his nightmare was actually reality. Well, not exactly. In the dream, he had been trying to throw Sydney an amazingly short rope that she couldn’t reach; in reality, he had been hundreds of miles away when she was drowning.

Quickly, he took a shower to wake himself up and was nearly out the door before he realized something he forgot. He charged back to his bedroom, nearly tripping over Donovan on the way, and began digging through his sock drawer. Once he found the black square box he was seeking, he raced out the door.

“Agent Vaughn, that’s an... interesting choice of jewelry,” Kendall nearly laughed when he saw Vaughn arrive at the hospital.

“What? Oh...,” he sighed when he realized he was still wearing Sydney’s heart necklace which was protruding above the collar of his Oxford shirt. “It’s Sydney’s... I didn’t want it to get lost.”

“Uh huh,” Kendall said, sounding unconvinced.

“Has there been any change?” Vaughn asked, ignoring Kendall’s smirk.

“No, no change,” Kendall told him before leaving. Vaughn sighed and walked back to Sydney’s room, where Weiss was dozing in a chair but woke up when Vaughn walked in.

“Hey man,” Eric sighed.

“Hey... she looks better. Don’t you think she looks better?” Vaughn asked hopefully, thinking that Sydney looked slightly pinker and less pale than before.

“Oh... yeah... sure...,” he said casually. Vaughn then walked over to the left side of Sydney’s bed and picked up her hand. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure it fits her,” Vaughn told him as he held up the ring that he pulled from his pocket.

“And if it doesn’t?”

“I’ll cry,” he laughed softly. Weiss laughed as well. Vaughn slid the ring onto Sydney’s finger easily and it fit.

“Very nice,” Weiss commented.

“I know,” Vaughn smiled as he admired the ring. Seeing it on her finger made him feel a thousand times better than anything ever had in his life. “I guess I should take it off though.”

“Probably,” Weiss laughed. “So, they told me that Sloane thinks Sydney’s dead... which leaves Jack as the only double within SD-6.”

“So? He’s a big boy...,” Vaughn grunted as he struggled to pull the ring off Sydney’s knuckle.

“Got it stuck on her, didn’t ya?” Weiss smirked. Vaughn ignored him and tried twisting the ring slightly, which made it slide off. Weiss clapped.

“Shut up,” Vaughn glared.

“Ya’ll are just so messed up,” Weiss laughed at him. “You love her before you’ve even kissed her... while you’re dating another woman. Then, you tell her you bought a ring and she accepts without you even proposing. And don’t even get me started on the fact that her mother killed your father!” Weiss exclaimed while practically doubled over with laughter.

“I’m glad you find us so amusing Eric. Oh and hey, by the way, thanks for the recap.” Vaughn rolled his eyes.

“No problemo, man,” Eric grinned.

“At least I have someone other than my dog,” he said pointedly.

“Hey! Alan is man’s best friend, unlike that pig of a beast you call a dog,” Eric challenged.

“Because you fed him too much!” Vaughn snapped.

“Whatever,” Eric muttered. “At least I didn’t pine...”

“PINE?!” Vaughn gasped.

“Yes pine... for like fourteen years.”

“Oh yeah, it’s been fourteen years,” Vaughn interrupted. “I did join the CIA when I was fifteen, I had forgotten.”

“You-”

“Stop it! Some people are trying to be in a coma here,” came a grumble from the bed. Weiss and Vaughn’s head snapped towards Sydney, who was trying to pull the oxygen out from underneath her nose.

“Syd!” Vaughn gasped as he shot to her side. “Oh Syd, thank God, I was so worried,” he said as he kissed her face.

“You seemed worried about me,” she smiled softly, teasing him.

“How much of that did you hear?” Vaughn asked with a slight laugh.

“Starting with the recap,” she sighed as she finally opened her eyes. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he grinned at her. “You okay?”

“Eh, you know me,” she said casually.

“Oh Syd, we thought you died,” Vaughn said as he held her hand next to his face.

“I thought I died too,” she told him. “After my last transmission, that stupid barrel hit a rock and I don’t remember anything after that.”

“Well, you’re safe now,” he assured her. “And... speaking of your transmission... Syd,” he breathed as he dug into his pocket and pulled the ring out once more. She looked down at it and then back up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “I know we’ve barely been technically together for a month, but I love you so, so, so much and I know that even if I searched my whole life, I’d never find anyone I loved even half as much as you. Our engagement can be as long as you’d like, but... I know that life can change in an instant and if I never had you as my wife, I’d life a whole lifetime full of regret. So... will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she choked out, her voice barely audible through her tears. Vaughn’s grin was impossibly large as he brought his lips to hers and kissed her fully.

“You guys are just too damn cute,” Weiss sobbed. Both of them looked up and laughed, having forgotten that he was in the room.

“I love you,” Vaughn whispered as he slid Sydney’s ring on her finger. Then he kissed it.

“I love you too.” She smiled. “Oh, that necklace looks cute on you,” she giggled.

“Okay, I really need to take this thing off,” he groaned as he reached for the clasp.

“We could get you one and then we’d match!” she grinned.

“Great,” he rolled his eyes.



Chapter 20

Shortly after Vaughn’s proposal, the doctor came in to examine Sydney and found that she would be alright to leave the hospital in a few days. Just as he was leaving, Jack returned from going home to sleep. “Sydney, you’re awake!”

“Hi Dad,” she smiled.

Jack walked over and kissed her forehead. “I was worried about you.”

“Me? Nah,” she sighed.

“The doctor said she can go home in two days,” Vaughn told Jack.

“Oh no, did you tell Sloane? Did you make something up? What about Francie?” Sydney asked. Vaughn looked nervously at Jack; neither of them looked at Sydney. “What?!” Sydney asked impatiently.

“Sydney... they all think you’re dead,” Jack told her slowly.

“What?” she gasped.

“Well... we thought you died...,” Jack said sadly as he sat down in a chair by her side. “Vaughn... myself... your mother.”

“Mom thinks I’m dead?!” Sydney asked in horror.

“No, she knows you’re alive,” Vaughn informed her. “But think of it this way, Sydney – you’re free. No more double agent status.”

“But... but Dad... and what about the Alliance!”

“Sydney, we can worry about all that later. Right now, you need to get better,” Jack told her.

“But-”

“Syd, Syd, it’s okay,” Vaughn said calmly as he put an arm around her. “We’ll figure it all out, but right now you need to relax and get better.”

“I’m fine!” she insisted. “What about Will and Francie!? They think I’m dead!”

“Sydney, they’re safer this way. Sloane can’t get them,” Vaughn told her. “Besides, it’s not forever. This will end.”

Sydney said nothing else, she just pressed her face into Vaughn’s chest and he held her tightly.

Later on, Sydney had fallen asleep and Vaughn was forced to return to the Ops Center by Kendall threatening his life. When Sydney awoke, her father was watching over her. “Daddy, I don’t want you to kill Vaughn when I tell you we’re getting married.”

Jack laughed softly. “Sweetheart, I’m not going to kill Vaughn.”

“Are you sure?” Sydney asked cautiously.

Jack nodded. “Vaughn and I have come to an understanding.” Sydney looked suspicious. “Okay, well it may not be a mutual understanding, but I need to instill at least some fear in him,” Jack smiled.

Sydney laughed softly. “Alright.”

“And when you leave the hospital, you may go home with Vaughn,” Jack said rather begrudgingly.

Sydney’s eyes widened at him. “You’re not really Jack Bristow, are you?” she asked rather woefully.

“Of course I am. I just want you to be happy, Sydney. Would going home with Vaughn make you happy?”

“Yes...,” she said slowly.

“Then go home with Vaughn,” he told her.

“O-Okay...,” she agreed cautiously, not wanting to give him any reasons to change his mind. “You can pretend Vaughn sleeps on the couch though.”

“Oh, I already am,” he assured her.

~*~

“Vaughn, I’m gross,” Sydney whined the following day. “Can’t I shower?”

“Sorry babe, not until the stitches come out of your head,” he shook his head.

“Then take ‘em out.”

“But then you’d bleed.”

“So?! Who cares if I have a scar? It’s under my hair!” she exclaimed, exasperated.

“Only three more days and just think... in only a few more hours you’ll be home, with me, in our bed,” he told her with a grin.

She grinned. “I’m going to love that, but I’d love it more if I was clean.”

“Well, how about loving it in the adorable snowflake PJs I bought you?” he smiled.

“You bought me PJs?” she laughed.

“Well... yeah... since you’re technically dead, I can’t take your clothes from Will and Francie’s... although I probably could have gotten Jack to.... but I had fun.” He smiled.

“How long did you spend in Victoria’s Secret, Vaughn?” Sydney asked suspiciously.

“Ha, ha,” he said dully. “Only like... five minutes, because I was power shopping for essentials only.”

“Right,” she laughed.

“And don’t worry: I wouldn’t let Weiss come along.”

“I appreciate that. Help me to the bathroom, please?” she asked as she began pulling back the covers to her bed. Though she was mostly fine, the hypothermia had left her extremely weak and unable to walk more than a few steps on her own, so Vaughn had to help her (which he didn’t mind at all).

“Sure, oh and your father wanted me to find out if you wanted to visit your mother on the way home tomorrow,” Vaughn told her while he helped her walk.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Okay, I’ll let him know.”

~*~

The following afternoon, Vaughn was wheeling Sydney, who was in a wheelchair, in to see her mother with Jack following them. As soon as they came into sight, Irina came over to the glass and pressed her hand up against it while tearing up slightly. “Sydney...,” she breathed.

“Hi Mom,” Sydney smiled. Jack walked over to Irina’s cell door to unlock it. “How long has he been able to do that?” Sydney whispered to Vaughn.

“Not sure,” Vaughn said quickly.

“Your chair won’t fit in there,” Jack told her.

“I can walk,” Sydney said stubbornly as she lifted herself out of the chair. She only made it two steps before her knees buckled, but thankfully Vaughn was right there to catch her. He slid one of his arms underneath her thighs as he lifted her up, muttering under his breath about the fact that he was about to enter the same vicinity as Irina Derevko for the second, and second too frequent, time in his life. “What’s that sweetie?” she smiled at him.

“Nothing,” he said quickly as he carried her inside and set her down next to her mother before vacating as quickly as possible.

Irina immediately wrapped her arms around her daughter and Sydney hugged her back willingly. “I’m so glad you’re ok,” Irina sniffed as she held Sydney close. Then, she held Sydney’s weight up as they backed two steps towards the cot in her cell. “Sydney, I’m so sorry, this is my fault.”

“No, no it’s not Mom. I messed up, it was me,” Sydney assured her.

“I know, but it was my fault I sent you out on that mission. I just... I’d never want you to get hurt... I’m sure your father told you everything,” Irina sniffed.

“Wait, what? Dad didn’t tell me anything... what are you talking about?” Sydney asked.

“He... he didn’t tell you?” Irina asked as she looked from her daughter to Jack, who was standing in the doorway.

“I didn’t tell anyone… except him,” Jack told her with a casual nod towards Vaughn.

“Oh...,” Irina said cautiously.

“Will somebody tell me what’s going on?!” Sydney groaned impatiently.

“I told your father that the only reason I turned myself in was so that I could see you,” Irina told her. “And... and tell you that I love you because I do love you Sydney and I know I don’t deserve anything from you, I just needed you to know that I love you and I’m so, so proud of you.”

Sydney’s bottom lip trembled with her mother’s words. All her life, she had only wanted to hear those three little words from her mother, but when she found out who her mother truly was, she was convinced she never would. But there she was, hearing them over and over again, and though her mother had done terrible things, she still loved her in her own Irina Derevko way. “Oh Mom,” Sydney sighed. “I love you too.”

Irina gave an immensely relieved sigh mixed with a slight laugh and a choke because of her tears as she gathered up Sydney’s hands in hers and kissed them. “What’s this...?” she gasped when she felt the ring.

“Vaughn and I are getting married,” Sydney giggled girlishly.

“Sydney, that’s wonderful,” Irina told her.

“I know,” Sydney grinned. “Well... I should go. They have to sneak me out of here. Vaughn!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered as he returned to the cell and scooped her up once more.

“Let’s go home, Vaughn,” she smiled at him.

He smiled back. “Home sounds very, very good.”



Epilogue

Three weeks later, the Alliance was destroyed. As it turned out, Sloane was so saddened by Sydney’s death that he stepped down from the Alliance and offered his position to Jack. After that, all the cards simply fell into place and it was destroyed. Sydney was even there for the takedown of SD-6 (much to the protest of both Vaughn and her father). Unfortunately, her friends there didn’t see the relief of her being alive as enough of a positive thing to cover up what they felt was a betrayal on her account, but she was hopeful that in time they would forgive her.

After SD-6 was gone, Sydney knew that there was one thing left in her life to set straight: Will and Francie. She had invited Vaughn to come along with her that Saturday morning hoping to either introduce Francie to him or use him to help resuscitate Francie after she collapsed from shock. When they pulled up, they found Will outside watering plants. He looked curiously at the black sedan and even more curious when Vaughn got out of the passenger side.

“What are you....”

“SD-6 was destroyed,” Vaughn explained simply. Just then, Sydney got out of the driver's side and Will’s face lit up.

“I KNEW IT! I knew you couldn’t die! SYD!” he screamed as he ran over to her and picked her up into a hug.

“Sorry Will,” Sydney sighed as she hugged him back.

“Sorry nothin’. I never believed it for a second, but your dad is a really good actor,” Will told her once he set her on her feet.

Sydney laughed softly. “That is a very, very long story. Is Fran here?” she cringed.

“Yeah, lemme just go in and make sure she’s not holding anything breakable,” Will told her as he bolted towards the house shouting Francie’s name.

“Come on,” Sydney laughed as she took Vaughn’s hand and pulled him towards the house.

“...Fran! Come on, you gotta put that down!” Will groaned.

“William, I will put it down when I’m good and ready,” Francie said from the kitchen. Sydney heard a dish clank against the counter and felt it was safe to walk forward and reveal herself.

“Fran...,” she said cautiously. Francie turned around slowly and went amazingly pale. “Francie, I’m so sorry,” Sydney apologized immediately.

“You...,” she managed, her voice sounding haunted. “You’re not dead?”

“No,” Sydney told her.

“Your father told us you were dead.”

“I know,” Sydney sighed. “He was wrong and--OH!” she gasped as Francie pulled her into a smothering hug.

“Syd! Oh thank god you’re alive, Syd!” Francie sobbed. Francie hugged Sydney tightly for nearly five minutes before she noticed Vaughn standing rather awkwardly next to Will. “Who are you?” she asked him.

“That’s Michael,” Sydney told her as she pulled out of Francie’s death grip.

A grin spread across Francie’s face. “Michael, from work Michael? THE Michael?! Michael, MICHAEL?!”

“Apparently, she’s heard of you,” Will laughed.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Sydney laughed.

“Oh, he’s hot- I mean, oops! Sorry,” she cringed slightly as Vaughn turned pink.

“It’s okay... it’s nice to meet you, Francie,” he laughed.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Francie said as she clearly looked him up and down.

“Fran,” Will warned.

“Right sorry, I’m just so happy!” She squealed as she hugged Sydney again.

“Fran, there’s one more thing,” Sydney told her. She took a deep breath and looked at her confused friend. “Fran.... I never worked for a bank.”

“Uh oh...,” Will mumbled under his breath.

“What do you mean? You worked at a bank. You took all those ridiculous trips...,” Francie said with confusion.

“No Fran,” Sydney shook her head. “I didn’t work for a bank. The bank was a cover up. I – Michael and I work for the CIA.”

“The CIA?” Francie asked slowly. Sydney nodded. “You’re like... a spy?” she asked. Sydney nodded again. Francie burst out laughing. “No way you’re a spy! You’re Sydney Bristow, she cannot be a spy.”

“She’s a spy, Fran,” Will told her.

“You.... what?!” Francie gasped. Then, Sydney and Will began to give Francie a brief and as simple as possible explanation about SD-6, his lack of heroin addiction and being a double agent. By the end, Francie’s jaw was practically through the floor. “So....,” she began after five minutes of silence. “That’s what all those wrong numbers were?”

“That was me,” Vaughn chimed in.

“You’re insane... all of you!” Francie exclaimed.

“I’m really, really sorry Fran, but I couldn’t tell you. You would have been in danger,” Sydney told her sadly.

Then, a light bulb went on in Francie’s head. “Danny...,” she breathed. Sydney looked down and nodded sadly. “Oh Syd,” Francie sighed as she hugged her friend. “So... you’re a spy! You can kick people’s asses!”

“Yeah, she’s really scary,” Will told her.

“Well, not anymore. I quit,” Sydney told her.

“You quit?” Will and Francie gasped.

“Yeah,” Sydney nodded as she took a step back and grabbed Vaughn’s arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. “We’re going to be normal. No more spying.”

“Well, that’s good. You don’t need to – HOLY SHIT RING! You’re engaged?!” Francie gasped when she saw the sparkling ring on Sydney’s left hand.

“Yeah,” Sydney laughed.

“YOU DIDN’T TELL ME THAT FIRST?! How could you not tell me that first?! Who cares about the CIA! You’re going to get married!” Francie squealed.

“At least the big news didn’t affect her in any way.” Will laughed.

“Shut up, Will,” Francie glared at him. “Weddings are SO much fun to plan!”

“Slow down Fran, we’re not getting married anytime soon,” Sydney told her.

“But when you do, I get to help plan, right?” Francie smiled.

“Of course,” Sydney smiled.

“Chill out Fran, they’ll probably get married at the CIA so all of their friends and Sydney’s parents can be there,” Will said casually.

“Will, are you sure you’re not on heroin? Or are you just deformed. Sydney doesn’t have parents – sorry girl,” Francie added to her friend. Sydney bit her lip. Francie gasped. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?!”

“Hey, when I found out she had a gun... just be glad she’s not armed,” Will told her.

“Maybe I should just let Will explain everything,” Sydney laughed at him.

“Oh no, I’m not touching your messed up family,” he insisted.

“I need a drink,” Francie said woefully as she reached into a kitchen cabinet in search of something alcoholic.

~*~

Half an hour later, Sydney and Vaughn were finally leaving Francie’s with a few boxes of her belongings. “So that wasn’t too painful, right?” Sydney asked cautiously.

“Are you kidding? That was hilarious.”

“Well after she started drinking, yeah,” Sydney laughed.

“GO AHEAD! ABANDON ME!” Francie slurred from the doorway of her house.

“Okay, bye Fran!” Sydney waved as she got into Vaughn’s car. “I assure you she’s usually saner.”

“Nah, its ok. I’m glad I finally was able to meet her.” Vaughn smiled.

“Me too,” Sydney smiled back, feeling very thankful that he could finally be a part of every aspect of her life.

---------------------------------------------------------------