A/N: This fic is based on The Getaway. I may add more parts that relate to the other S/V scenes in that episode. Please review and let me know if you want more. Enjoy.
Rain
The rain pelted down on her windshield as she sped away from the warehouse. At that moment, she wished that she was out in the cleansing rain, so that it would wash away the anger and frustration that presently cloaked her after the argument that she had just left. She just needed to get away for a while and cool off. But she couldn't keep her thoughts from drifting back to the heated conversation that led to her driving furiously towards anywhere that could help her clear her head.
It was just another routine check-in between handler and asset. Everything was going smoothly, information and instructions for the mission being exchanged as usual. It was only when he steered the conversation into personal matters that things turned ugly.
Through with official business, Vaughn mentioned his support for her and her family. "Syd, you should know that we've been doing everything we can to help your father."
"You've been helping my father," she states in return. This was not exactly what he had expected.
"Yeah," he said, not knowing where she was going with this.
"You knew the Alliance was investigating my father," she continued.
"Yes," he confirmed again, still lost.
"For how long?" she asked suspiciously.
"For two weeks." Her look of betrayal was all he needed to finally clue in. "Syd, I understand you're upset."
"Yeah, I am."
Suddenly on the defense, Vaughn tried to reason with her. "Your father explained why we hadn't told you."
This only served to further set her off. She shook her head and blinked rapidly in frustration. "Now that I've had time to think about that—"
Still armed only with reason, Vaughn whipped out gun number two. "It was a question of your safety."
Strike two, Rational Man.
"He as almost killed! I saved him!" she exclaimed indignantly.
"It hadn't gotten to that—" he defended.
"Yeah, but it did!"
Still in a deep hole, he turned to a more personal response. "I didn't want you to have more on your mind."
She was getting sick of being treated like she couldn't take care of herself. "Why are you worring about what's on my mind?"
Now he was starting to get angry at her ingratitude. "It was a judgement call."
Still annoyed, she answered, "Yeah, it was a judgement call that you've been making for the past three months."
He persisted in his new line of defense. "Involving you had no upside."
And off she went again. "There's no upside to keeping me informed? You didn't tell me about Monolo, or that you had discussions with my mother. You didn't even tell me you were seeing Alice again!" She was probably as shocked as he was about that little slip. But she regrouped in time.
"Wait, what is this about?"
"This is about me being too old to be coddled."
Feeling unappreciated, he went with, "Your life is complicated, Sydney. Forgive me for trying to make it any easier."
Strike three.
She was still seething. "I don't need you for that."
There was nothing to say after that. It couldn't be any clearer that she didn't want his help – not in the fashion that he wanted to give it, anyway.
She left him abruptly in thick silence.
She made it quickly to her destination. She exited her car, glad to finally feel the healing coolness of the rain as the crashing sound of the ocean and the fresh smell of the air hit her senses. She walked along the pier for several minutes waiting for the lingering anger to leave her. She stopped and gripped the cold metal railing and took a calming deep breath as she gazed out over the ocean. It was a rather bleak afternoon, both the sky and the ocean gray from the heavy clouds. The setting seemed to match her mood rather well, she thought.
She thought back to the argument once again. She admitted to herself that he was only acting in what he thought was her best interest, but that certainly didn't give him the right to not inform her of anything. She knew that he wanted to protect her, but she thought he respected her enough to handle her own issues herself. She sighed. This wasn't helping. The rain started to fall harder, and she shivered as the breeze picked up. Just as she decided to return to her car, her pager went off.
It was Vaughn.
'Here we go again,' she thought.
TBC?
