Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm just borrowing.. You don't want to sue me.. all you'll get is an abundance of Student loans, a laptop, and a trumpet.

Without further Ado....

Inevitability Through Nightmares

The city was sleeping. Los Angeles tends to do that at three A.M., but across town by the beach in the suburbs, the air was being disturbed by the terror-laced cries of a young woman.

Sydney Bristow had horrible nightmares and he knew it, but this one seemed particularly so. Her scream echoed off the walls of her (their) bedroom and abruptly woke him from his slumber. He bolted upright and threw off the covers, half-expecting to see an assailant in the room. But, much to his relief and dismay, he only found her thrashing wildly and grasping at the large scar that marred her abdomen. He usually caught her nightmares before they reached this point. He would feel her start to stir and shift in her sleep and he would take her in his arms and calm and gently wake her from her dreams.

Eric had told him about her dreams one day at the office when he was still with her. He got it out of him after noticing a bruise on the side of his friend's face. He said that she was so disoriented that she didn't know where she was, or who he was, and she lashed out at a faceless attacker. When probed for more information, he explained she had them most every night and that she didn't want him around to witness them or to help her. Suddenly, the ever-funny Eric Weiss was dead-serious and desperately worried for his friend. The first one he, himself, had ever witnessed was on a plane to a mission and it scared the crap out of him. At the time, he could only imagine what it did to her; now he knew.

It took him a second to react after realizing what was happening. Swiftly and gently he reached out and grabbed her thrashing form, trying to calm her. As he did so, Nadia, and to his surprise, Weiss came bursting through the bedroom door with panic-filled faces.

"Oh God, not another one." Eric said with a melancholy look in his eye, which Nadia also shared.

Vaughn on the other hand, was trying to calm his struggling love by stroking her hair and hugging her tightly to him. He still hadn't said anything to her; his heart wasn't done breaking for her yet.

"Mike, is there anything we can do?" Nadia asked after a moment in the doorway.

"I don't think so. I'll try and calm her down. She's all right." He squeaked out, turning his attention back to Sydney.

He barely registered Nadia and Weiss' exit from the room. He was so focused on Sydney, who was still mumbling, struggling against him and clutching that wretched scar. He sensed that this nightmare was different somehow.

"Syd - - Sydney, please. You have to wake up. You're safe Syd. You're with me now. Nothing will ever happen to you again, I promise. I promise, Sydney.."

He had tears in his eyes now, he couldn't stand to see her like this. The truth was, there wasn't a dam thing he could do about it. She refused to talk about the nightmares to anyone, himself and Barnett included. In fact, they never really discussed her missing time either. She always glossed over it and changed the subject. Vaughn realized now that the nightmares were probably a product of the denial she was creating. It was time for that conversation. She needed to say it and he needed to hear it.

She knew about what he went through without her, both he and Weiss had told her what a complete wreck he was, but she never told anyone what she knew and/or remembered; not even he sister.

Fifteen minutes had past when Vaughn was beginning to realize he had a problem. No amount of talking to her or soothing her was working. He couldn't even get her to respond let alone wake up. She was still squirming in his arms. He bent his head forward to kiss her forehead and his lips were met with feverish flesh. Whatever she was reliving it was becoming unsafe for her. Running through his options quickly in his head, he came to the conclusion that he needed backup.

"Weiss! Nadia! I could use some help in here!" Vaughn yelled, still holding on to Sydney tightly. The two of them slid into the bedroom seconds later.

"I can't.. I can't wake her up. And.. She's- - running a fever. I just don't know what to do." Vaughn said shakily to his friends.

"I'll go get some cool rags for her. They'll control the fever and they'll wake her up, hopefully." Weiss spoke first and then, without waiting for an answer, quickly exited the room.

Nadia moved towards her sister's side of the bed and started whispering soft Spanish in her ear, in a feeble attempt to calm her. Vaughn suddenly found himself on his feet searching for a tee shirt with shaking hands.

"Vaughn, they've never been this bad before." Nadia deduced as she turned to look at him with tear-fulled eyes.

"I know. Where ever she is right now, she's suffering. I just can't stand to see her like this, Nadia." Vaughn said, hanging his head. He couldn't bear to look at her any longer.

Suddenly, Weiss appeared at Vaughn's side with a bowl in his hands; He, too, was shaking. After a quick, mumbled "Thank you" Vaughn took the towel and sat next to her on the bed, gently pressing it to Sydney's forehead. The coolness of the towel elicited a small hiss from her; it was the first response they had received from her. Vaughn then moved the rag to her neck with drew a response again, this time in a slight groan. She looked as if she was desperately trying to wake herself up, but failing miserably.

"Come on Syd.. Show me those beautiful brown eyes. Come on. Je t'aime Sydney." Vaughn then turned to Weiss. "Eric, has she ever had a nightmare like this? Have you ever seen this?"

In return, he received a guilty look from his friend.

"Once." He replied softly. "At least, I've only seen it once. After she hit me accidentally she stopped talking about them. She told me she "didn't want to be a burden..." I think that was the only time I ever fought with her." He paused with the memory. "It wasn't too long after she came back. We were watching a movie on her couch and we both found ourselves asleep. The next thing I knew she was screaming and I couldn't wake her up." He shrugged slightly. "The water trick worked after about a half hour. When she finally did wake up, she cried for the next two hours. When I asked her what it was about, she swore she didn't remember..... I never did believe her."

By the time Eric was done speaking his shoulders were slumped, his head was down, and his voice was cracking. A pensive silence fell across the room as the trio shared looks between each other and the point of concern.

"I hate seeing her like this" Weiss broke the silence. "She's my super hero. This doesn't happen to super heros. This shouldn't happen to her." he added with a small, sad, smile, which everyone but Sydney returned.

The situation had not changed much. Sydney was still engulfed in her nightmare, shaking and mumbling incoherent phrases. Vaughn was still pressing the wet rag to her forehead and neck. There was not much else he could do.

Forty-five minutes of silence had passed when Sydney's eyelids began to flutter. Everyone acknowledged the movement at once, leaning forward in expectation, unconsciously. When her eyes finally opened fully and adjusted to the light, it was obvious she was confused as to where she was and what had happened.

"What- - What's going on?" She croaked, as she was still trembling, scanning the trio's concerned faces for some sort of answer.

"Sydney, your nightmares...." Nadia trailed off after initially speaking up. She was looking at her sister and tears were in her eyes. Instead of continuing to speak, she got up and moved toward her sister, embracing her, and sobbing tears of relief into her shoulder. Sydney's expression, on the other hand, had shifted from that of confusion to that of understanding and embarrassment.

When Nadia got up, she walked to the door and waited for Weiss, who had moved toward Sydney to give her a hug. He kept it brief and promised to talk to her in the morning. As he got to the door, he turned back, looking seriously back at his friend saying simply.

"You're my hero, Syd. I hope you know that." He then, shut the door behind them before she had a chance to respond, leaving the couple alone.

"Vaughn... What the Hell happened?" She asked, looking toward the chair across the room where he was seated.

"I don't know, Sydney. Why don't You tell me??" He spat a little more harshly than he would have liked.

Sydney visibly flinched at his words and looked down at her hands in an attempt to avoid his inquiries. Vaughn, seeing her avoidance, crossed the room and sat on the bed, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him once again.

"I'm Sorr--" She began.

"Don't you dare, Sydney. Don't - You - Dare." He cut in, his voice dripping with venom.

She knew he wasn't angry with her. He was angry with what was happening to her in front of his eyes. But most of all, he was angry he could do nothing. She went to look down again, ashamed and afraid to continue looking into his piercing green eyes.

"Look at me, damn it!"

Her head popped up again and she saw the pain in his eyes, shining back at her. Suddenly, before her eyes, he broke down.

"I couldn't wake you up.... We couldn't get you to wake up." He bent his head down and cried for her. Without hesitation, she took him in her embrace and rubbing her hand up and down his back.

"Vaughn, it's okay. I'm okay. Really, I'm fine. It was just a dream." She stated.

The minute the words passed her lips, she knew she had said the wrong thing. She knew they weren't "just dreams" and she also knew he would call her on it. Her suspicions were confirmed when he tore himself from her embrace and glared at her with blazing eyes.

"Only a Dream!? You were running a fever! Shaking, mumbling! Screaming even!" He was pacing now in front of their bed, throwing his arms in the arm for emphasis and his voice was a deadly whisper. It was clear he was trying to keep his voice low for the benefit of Nadia and Weiss, but he was getting progressively louder.

"Only a dream...." repeated shaking his head. "Dreams don't do this to you Sydney! Dreaming is what I do about you every night! This isn't dreaming."

His anger was shifting now. Instead of being mad at the situation, he was quickly becoming mad at her. Her denial of the situation was driving him to madness. Sydney, on the other hand, had yet to say anything. Tears were streaming down her face as she realized her "dreams" were not only hurting her, but the people she cared about.

"You told me once I could talk to you. Do you remember that? On the plane?" She nodded. "Well, I talked, Syd! I told you everything! But you.... You treated those two years like they were an extended vacation.. I know the basics, yes, but obviously there's more to it than that. You need to tell me now. This conversation has been a long time in the making."

"I can't..." she whispered.

"You Can't!? You can't talk to me? You don't trust me? Is that what this is about?" he asked, doubting himself, raising his eyebrows in question.

"No! Vaughn, No. I trust you with my life. It's just... It's Classified..."

She knew her explanation wouldn't fly with him. She knew, if she ever told him, he'd blame it on himself and feel guilty about not finding her. She just didn't want any more pity, especially from him. Right now though, she didn't expect the laughter that escaped his lips and was taken aback by his outburst.

"Classified..... Classified, right. How could I forget?" He was still smiling as he said it but suddenly, his laughter stopped and his smile disappeared. "I think I'm going to go back to my place. Suddenly, I don't feel like I belong here any longer." He said bitterly, turning away from her.

"What? Vaughn, No! It's 4:15! You can't leave now..." She replied, jumping to her feet.

He was moving swiftly throughout the room, grabbing clothes to dress in, his wallet, car keys, and things he would need for work the next morning, paying no attention to her protests. Sydney stood rooted to the same spot, just watching him walk out on her. Only when he was done and moving toward the door, did she scramble to block his way out. They stood, neither touching, just staring into the other's eyes.

"Move, Sydney..." Vaughn warned, his voice low.

"Vaughn, don't do this. Please, don't leave." She was staring into his green eyes, watching them flicker with emotion; she was sure hers were reflecting the same.

"Sydney... I just can't do this anymore. I just can't help you and it's killing me. I can't watch you do this to yourself, kill yourself with denial of the past. I know it may sound selfish, but my heart can't take it anymore. I love you too much to stand by and do nothing. So, I'm done. You know I don't want to leave you. You know I would give anything to stay, but you're not ready for that yet. When you're ready to trust me... When you're finally ready to let go and be honest with me.... let me in... You know where I'll be..."

With tears in his eyes he bent down and gently kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger for only but a second before pushing past her out of the bedroom toward the front door. He had reached for the door knob when her voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Vaughn..... I love you." she whispered through tears.
"I Love you too, Syd."

With those words, the door softly clicked in his wake.