TITLE: Dissonance
AUTHOR: Lillian
RATING: PG for Chapter 1
SUMMARY: The Telling aftermath
SPOILERS: All the way through season two, post-episode for The Telling.
DISCLAIMER: The characters all belong to JJ, in whom I trust until September. If I owned them, I wouldn't be working a 2nd job. I wish I was making money off of this story but alas, it isn't to be. ;)
A/N: A friend wrote a fic post Telling and it inspired my own bit of madness. Thanks Mickey for beta-reading this for me. All feedback is appreciated.
Distribution: Alias Fan Fiction Archive, Cover Me, SD-1.com Boards. All others please let me know first. Thank you!
Chapter 1
Sydney stared out the airplane window as she tried to make sense of the past 24 hours. Waking up in an alley in Hong Kong had been surreal enough but seeing Vaughn wearing a wedding ring had been more disconcerting than the fact she had been missing for almost 2 years. Fragments of memories flitted in and out of her mind, dancing behind her eyes, driving her mad. Syd closed her eyes and saw Francie eating the coffee ice cream, confirming her identity as the second double. Will lying seemingly dead in the bathtub. Francie, collapsing after being shot. The world going hazy as Syd sank into unconsciousness.
But more than anything, Sydney felt guilty. Guilty that she had unwittingly caused the death of her closest friend. Francie would still be alive if Sloane hadn't been spying on Sydney. She kept hearing Will's words over and over in an unrelenting loop. "Meeting you destroyed my life." Unable to bear the memories or her thoughts another moment, Sydney asked a passing stewardess for a scotch, neat. The liquor burned her throat but immediately began to blessedly numb her brain. The drink gone, Syd slipped into a fitful sleep for the rest of the flight to Los Angeles.
The jarring of the plane as it landed woke Sydney up. She didn't even have a carry-on to worry about as she arose to debark from the plane. I'm home, Syd automatically said to herself as she stepped into the walkway connecting the plane to the terminal. Home, she thought, it's not really home anymore. Home was where Vaughn was and he was no longer hers. He hadn't explained the ring to her in the safe house in Hong Kong. He'd only told her she'd been missing, they'd believed her dead, and that she would be returning to Los Angeles for de-briefing. He'd been distant and troubled, leaving after his terse explanation, the wedding ring glinting on his finger.
She saw an agent holding a sign with her name as she entered the gate area. He would be driving her to the CIA safe house where she would be staying the next who knew how long. Sydney just wanted to sleep. The Los Angeles night was hot and muggy. Depression washed over her in waves as she and the non-descript agent got into the equally non-descript sedan. Sydney was grateful for the air-conditioning as she and her driver sped through the city streets.
The safe house was as plain as she had expected. Sydney was surprised to realize she was hungry and went into the kitchen to see what food the CIA had stocked up for her. She found a frozen dinner and proceeded to cook it in the microwave. It wasn't the best tasting food in the world, but it stopped her stomach from its loud protesting.
After throwing away the remains of her dinner, she wandered through the house, familiarizing herself with her new surroundings. She found toiletries in the bathroom and clothes in the bedroom. The clothes were a size too big but they would do. She'd lost weight in the last 2 years. 2 years. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of having been missing. In her mind, it had only been yesterday that she and Vaughn had been intent on escaping to Santa Barbara. Her heart ached at the thought of Vaughn. She pushed the pain down. She would have to deal with that later.
Sydney shook her head and went back into the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water felt good on her aching muscles. After drying off and putting on some pajamas, she brushed her teeth and, yawning, she went to bed.
Sydney was back in her old apartment. Francie had just knocked her into the bathroom and Syd came face to face with Will lying in the bathtub, bloodied and seemingly dead. Bile rose in her throat as she turned to attack the thing that had brought her so much pain. Syd kept kicking and punching, trying to get to her gun to put an end to the woman who had robbed Syd of her closest friends. Her hand wrapped around the solid weight of her gun. Quickly, she lifted it and fired.
"Sydney, wake up. Sydney."
Frantically, Sydney opened her eyes, not quite able to let go of her nightmare. Her eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings, not focusing on where she really was.
Then she recognized the person who had woken her. Her father was sitting on the side of the bed, waiting for Sydney to shake free of her nightmare. Syd had never been so relieved to see someone in her life. She reached for him and felt safe as he wrapped his arms around her. Sunlight poured into the room through the window as Jack Bristow held onto his only daughter. CIA be damned, he thought, as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her again. He'd been through hell the past 2 years, not knowing where Sydney was or even if she was alive.
AUTHOR: Lillian
RATING: PG for Chapter 1
SUMMARY: The Telling aftermath
SPOILERS: All the way through season two, post-episode for The Telling.
DISCLAIMER: The characters all belong to JJ, in whom I trust until September. If I owned them, I wouldn't be working a 2nd job. I wish I was making money off of this story but alas, it isn't to be. ;)
A/N: A friend wrote a fic post Telling and it inspired my own bit of madness. Thanks Mickey for beta-reading this for me. All feedback is appreciated.
Distribution: Alias Fan Fiction Archive, Cover Me, SD-1.com Boards. All others please let me know first. Thank you!
Chapter 1
Sydney stared out the airplane window as she tried to make sense of the past 24 hours. Waking up in an alley in Hong Kong had been surreal enough but seeing Vaughn wearing a wedding ring had been more disconcerting than the fact she had been missing for almost 2 years. Fragments of memories flitted in and out of her mind, dancing behind her eyes, driving her mad. Syd closed her eyes and saw Francie eating the coffee ice cream, confirming her identity as the second double. Will lying seemingly dead in the bathtub. Francie, collapsing after being shot. The world going hazy as Syd sank into unconsciousness.
But more than anything, Sydney felt guilty. Guilty that she had unwittingly caused the death of her closest friend. Francie would still be alive if Sloane hadn't been spying on Sydney. She kept hearing Will's words over and over in an unrelenting loop. "Meeting you destroyed my life." Unable to bear the memories or her thoughts another moment, Sydney asked a passing stewardess for a scotch, neat. The liquor burned her throat but immediately began to blessedly numb her brain. The drink gone, Syd slipped into a fitful sleep for the rest of the flight to Los Angeles.
The jarring of the plane as it landed woke Sydney up. She didn't even have a carry-on to worry about as she arose to debark from the plane. I'm home, Syd automatically said to herself as she stepped into the walkway connecting the plane to the terminal. Home, she thought, it's not really home anymore. Home was where Vaughn was and he was no longer hers. He hadn't explained the ring to her in the safe house in Hong Kong. He'd only told her she'd been missing, they'd believed her dead, and that she would be returning to Los Angeles for de-briefing. He'd been distant and troubled, leaving after his terse explanation, the wedding ring glinting on his finger.
She saw an agent holding a sign with her name as she entered the gate area. He would be driving her to the CIA safe house where she would be staying the next who knew how long. Sydney just wanted to sleep. The Los Angeles night was hot and muggy. Depression washed over her in waves as she and the non-descript agent got into the equally non-descript sedan. Sydney was grateful for the air-conditioning as she and her driver sped through the city streets.
The safe house was as plain as she had expected. Sydney was surprised to realize she was hungry and went into the kitchen to see what food the CIA had stocked up for her. She found a frozen dinner and proceeded to cook it in the microwave. It wasn't the best tasting food in the world, but it stopped her stomach from its loud protesting.
After throwing away the remains of her dinner, she wandered through the house, familiarizing herself with her new surroundings. She found toiletries in the bathroom and clothes in the bedroom. The clothes were a size too big but they would do. She'd lost weight in the last 2 years. 2 years. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of having been missing. In her mind, it had only been yesterday that she and Vaughn had been intent on escaping to Santa Barbara. Her heart ached at the thought of Vaughn. She pushed the pain down. She would have to deal with that later.
Sydney shook her head and went back into the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water felt good on her aching muscles. After drying off and putting on some pajamas, she brushed her teeth and, yawning, she went to bed.
Sydney was back in her old apartment. Francie had just knocked her into the bathroom and Syd came face to face with Will lying in the bathtub, bloodied and seemingly dead. Bile rose in her throat as she turned to attack the thing that had brought her so much pain. Syd kept kicking and punching, trying to get to her gun to put an end to the woman who had robbed Syd of her closest friends. Her hand wrapped around the solid weight of her gun. Quickly, she lifted it and fired.
"Sydney, wake up. Sydney."
Frantically, Sydney opened her eyes, not quite able to let go of her nightmare. Her eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings, not focusing on where she really was.
Then she recognized the person who had woken her. Her father was sitting on the side of the bed, waiting for Sydney to shake free of her nightmare. Syd had never been so relieved to see someone in her life. She reached for him and felt safe as he wrapped his arms around her. Sunlight poured into the room through the window as Jack Bristow held onto his only daughter. CIA be damned, he thought, as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her again. He'd been through hell the past 2 years, not knowing where Sydney was or even if she was alive.