Title: Broken

Pairing: some Vaughn/Lauren, Syd/Vaughn

Summary: Set during season three up to eppy 3.9. If you don't know what that is, well it's the one when Syd and Vaughn kiss, but not the time in the Korean prison and I much too lazy to figure out the name of the eppy. But it's completely AU from that point. It's a story of the aftermath of the kiss, and how I think Syd should really being feeling.

Rating: T for language, mature themes.

Disclaimer: JJ is the god of all things Alias and he owns it and so does ABC and its affiliates and I had no part in creating Alias. Because if I did it would still be on the air.

A/N: Hey guys. Well when I finished For One So Small I decided to put up another fic I was currently working on cuz, well I don't know. Don't worry; it doesn't spell doomsday for Love Heals, that still has a lot of life left in it.

Chapter One: Nothing Here is Right

He really had to forget what her lips felt like, but it was nearly impossible. Every time he looked at her all he could think of was the taste of her lips and their softness. And as hard as he tried, he could not convince himself that the kiss wasn't his fault. Sure she initiated it, but he hadn't pulled away; he didn't want to pull away. He tried to put those thoughts from his mind as he struggled, noticeably, with the task before him.

"Dude, you okay?" Weiss's voice came floating through the comm link in his ear.

"Yeah" Vaughn replied trying to snap out of it.

"Well you look like your going to hurl and I don't think the CIA is going to appreciate you ruining a $5000 tuxedo." Weiss replied casually. "Heads up. She's coming."

Vaughn look towards the entrance of the ballroom and watched as Sydney made her appearance. His jaw dropped unconsciously as he took in her appearance. She was wearing a floor length red halter gown with a deep back. Her hair was her own tonight and was done in curls, pulled back slightly but out just enough so it grazed right below her toned shoulders. She looked utterly amazing.

He wasn't the only one in the room who noticed her arrival. Several men in the room were appreciating her openly, much to the dismay of their dates. A few of the bolder ones even approached her as she swept further into the room.

With a casual toss of her head she caught his eye and sent him a small smile. Her look made his heart pound and he licked his lips and decided to approach her. After all, it would only be normal for a single man at this party to approach a single woman. Vaughn stopped in his tracks, however, when the host of the evening, and their target, Juli Troch, went over to Sydney. He placed his hand low on her back, too low, and bent to whisper in her ear, with a glint in his eyes. Vaughn felt jealously rising in him and he resisted the urge to punch out the jackass.

"Easy Vaughn. Remember your wife's name is Lauren." Weiss's voice reprimanded.

The mention of Lauren snapped him back into reality and into the mission. He repressed his jealousy as he watched Sydney exit the room with the man.

"Cool. She's right on schedule. Okay Vaughn, take the back stairs up. Based on their conversation he is showing her his gallery. That's on the fourth floor, the third room to the right."

"Yeah I'm sure that's what he wants to do, show her his gallery, more like show her the family jewels." Vaughn muttered.

"Dude. Snap out of it. Syd can handle herself if that guy tries to pull anything. We need you at the gallery now so you can grab the card."

"I still don't like that we're leaving Syd to be decoy while I break into the safe." Vaughn huffed as he climbed the stairs.

"Vaughn. Shut up."

He found the gallery and slipped inside, hiding behind one of the large statues.

"Tell Syd I'm behind the statue of Aphrodite."

"Okay." Weiss replied.

Vaughn only had to wait minutes before the door opened and they enter. From his position he could see the man slowly kiss Syd. Once again, his jealously almost got the better of him. His lips froze in a silent scream of rage as Sydney caught his eyes. She had maneuvered the man so he was leaning against the statue, but her eyes never left his. Caught in her stare he reached out and easily picked the card from the man's pocket. Sydney waited until he was nearly at the door before flipping positions so that his back was facing the door and Vaughn. Vaughn ran from the room and ran swiftly down the hall to where the house safe was located. Checking the room for traps, Vaughn cautiously used the card to open the safe. He took out the papers that were there and closed the safe slightly confused.

"Well that was easier than normal." Vaughn said over the comm to Weiss.

"Yeah it—shit Vaughn get back to the gallery. The target's gone psycho on Sydney, he's throttling her."

Vaughn felt adrenaline pumping through him as he raced down the hall. As he burst into the gallery, he saw Sydney huddled on the floor and the target standing over her with a gun. Without pause, Vaughn drew his own weapon and shot the other man in the knee. When he went down, Vaughn hit him over the head with his gun, throwing him into unconsciousness.

The threat disabled, Vaughn turned to the unmoving shape that was Sydney. He pushed back the hair that had fallen over her face and breathed a sign of relief when he saw she was just unconscious. The only markings on her were bruising around her neck Vaughn lightly traced one of the bruises and considered killing the bastard but Weiss interrupted his thoughts.

"Vaughn, get out know. I don't know what alerted them but there are tons of guards headed towards you. Use the front stairs and you should be safe."

Vaughn complied, sliding his arms under Sydney and cradling her close to him. He allowed a few seconds to savor in the feel of her body before leaving at the fastest speed possible. He had almost made it out of the door of the mansion when Sydney woke up and started to fight him.

"It's alright honey, I've got you." He whispered barely registering the endearment he had just let slip.

She allowed herself to be carried to the waiting van but as soon as he placed her inside of it, she scooted as far away as him as she possibly could. Vaughn sighed and signaled Weiss to start the van. As they speed away, Vaughn watched as Sydney began to inspect her bruises. The silence between them was deafening. Vaughn wasn't sure what to say, if he should say anything at all. Syd was probably still ticked off at him, but that was to be expected. He knew he was torturing himself; he must be torturing her as well.

"How did he get you?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't flip out on him.

"He had some sort of alarm on him that went off when the safe was opened, I wasn't expecting it. The next thing I knew, I was barely conscious. He was extremely strong." Sydney replied, rubbing her neck. "Did you retrieve the papers?"

"Yeah. Is your neck okay?"

"It's fine. We should contact the office; let them know we have it. We should also scan them and send them so Marshall can start decoding them. How long do you think it's going to take to get to the safe house?"

"Syd are you sure you're okay?"

"Vaughn drop it I'm fine."

"No I'm not going to drop it Syd. You could be seriously hurt yet you don't care. All you care about is getting the job done. You don't care for your life anymore. Syd, that guy could have killed you, he almost did. But you don't care; you're just worried about the job not being done." He realized he was yelling at her, but he didn't care, he needed to let her hear it all.

"Well maybe being dead is a hell of a lot better than were I'm at now. My best friend is dead, my other best friend is in witness protection, and you're married!" Syd yelled right back at him.

"This has nothing to do with Lauren and me! This has to do with you not realizing how hurt we all were when you were dead and how hurt we all will be if you keep up with death wishes. I can't lose you again Sydney!"

"You already have."

Vaughn felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

"You two behave back there or so help me God, I'm going to turn this van right around." Weiss joked from the front, trying to lighten the mood.

It wasn't very helpful but it kept Vaughn from shaking some sense into Sydney. The silence grew again as Sydney shot daggers at him through her eyes.

Thankfully they arrived at the safe house. Sydney burst from the van and into the house, not even looking back.

"You okay?" Weiss asked as he pulled some equipment from the van.

"What do you think she meant by 'you already have'?" Vaughn asked

Weiss sighed.

"You made a choice between Lauren and her. And you chose Lauren. She's still hurting. Give her time she might get over it."

"Might?"

"Vaughn, I'm telling you the truth. You hurt her real bad. And you hurt her even more when you act like nothing's happen, like you two are still together."

"Do you know that I have dreams every night that we are still together?"

"That doesn't change anything."

"I know but I hate it. I miss her so much Weiss."

"It will get easier."

"It's not just that, I realized that I don't love Lauren."

"That's serious."

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