Chapter 1
"Sydney, you've been gone for two years…we… we thought you were dead."
And that's the last thing I remember. After that I must have passed out, and I know that most people think I'm crazy for thinking this, but I know that it happened. When I woke up it was four years earlier, and I had only just found out about SD-6 recently. Now, with everything
different, with everything changed and knowing what I know I have to make something different. I have to make changes. And for the first time in my life I know that I will be searching out the help of my closest enemy. But this time Vaughn won't be married, this time I won't have
years missing from my mind, this time everything will turn out for the best.
"Sydney, you've been gone for two years… we… we thought you were dead."
"No. No. That isn't possible."
Everything suddenly felt different, and some how I knew that he was telling me the truth. But I couldn't hear it. The ring on his finger was the last straw, suddenly; everything began to turn gray.
When I woke up I was in my bed back in California. At first I thought that I had been flown back. However, when Francie came into my room talking about her newest boyfriend, and asking about work I knew that something was wrong. I remembered this conversation; I knew that we had had it years before.
"Syd, are you alright?" Her face looked just as it should, but I still wasn't sure what was going on at this point. Something about Francie seemed wrong. And I couldn't figure out why she was repeating this speech since I knew she was seeing Will… or at least pretending to.
"Syd-"
"Stop there. What is going on here?" I almost screamed the words as I backed away from her, now sitting on my pillow, and reaching down instinctively for my gun. "I don't know what is going on, but I do know who you really are."
"I should hope so, Sydney. We've known each other for a while now. Are you okay?"
"I thought I killed you. How are you still here? Where am I?"
"Sydney, I think you are taking a dream a little too seriously."
My gun was in my hand now, and as Francie reached to take my arm to calm me down, I pulled it out and pointed it at her. She froze. Shocked that I had a gun, even more shocked, I suppose, that I was pointing it between her eyes.
"Sydney, what is that?" She said; indicating the gun.
"What is the date?"
"May 27, 2001."
My arm fell when she said this. What had happened, I don't know. I still to this day can't explain how any of this happened to me, and I really don't care. What I do know is that somehow I went back almost four years. My mind was reeling, and suddenly I knew that any minute a Vulcan and a Klingon would walk into my room too. Thankfully, this never happened.
"Oh my God… Francie are you sure?"
Unsure of what to do Francie said, "Yes… where did you get that gun?"
"It's a long story. I have to go to work."
SD-6 was an amazing place. The first time around I could never see this, never understand the complexities of the operation because I was too betrayed to see the beauty of the entire plot. In this office alone, almost two hundred people were employed, and only about seven or eight knew the truth. No one ever figured out the truth without being told, nothing ever aroused suspicion, and unless necessary, none of these people would ever be told.
It was this fact that had hurt me so in the beginning. My knowledge that all of these people were being lied to, betrayed, and none of them knew it. I still knew it was wrong, but after experiencing it all, and knowing that it would all end and the light would be shown to them I was able, now, to look past all of this.
I dropped my things off at my desk, said hello to Dixon, and went straight to Marshall's office. I loved him so much. His nervousness made him cute, and it was a quality that made him so wonderful.
"Marshall, do you have a minute?" I asked him peeking my head into his office.
"Sure, what is it, Ms. Bristow?" He quickly straightened the papers on his desk and tried to neaten up the area for the company.
"Have you ever heard of someone going back in time?"
"Like in a movie?"
"No, more like in real life… like extended deja vu?"
"Um, not that I can think of… would you like me to research that for you?"
"Yeah, when you have a minute. It's no big deal." I looked around his office, and noticed the strangest thing on his desk. "Um, Marshall, is that a pinecone?"
"Huh? Oh this?" He picked it up, "It's a video surveillance camera, I got the idea—"
"I would love to hear about your pinecone, Marshall, but I'm really busy right now." I paused for a minute. What could it hurt; I had always wondered what it would be like… "How about you tell me about it over dinner? Tonight?"
I thought that Marshall was going to pass out. I knew that he had always had a crush on me, but I never thought that it would merit this reaction. He stumbled, jaw dropped, and had to grasp the counter behind him to keep from falling over.
"Uh… um… I… I would l-love t-to Miss Bristow."
"Marshall, call me Sydney. And I'll see you at seven tonight at the Café on Richmond?"
"Sure."