Author: Would you believe me if I said Millie Vanillie?

Summary: Sydney said if she'd been the one left behind she would have waited for him. This is what her life could have been if Vaughn had been the one to disappear.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alias (although JJ if you want to give it to me I wouldn't protest), or any of the other things I will invariably mention in this story. Some of the scenes are taken directly from the show, sorry 'bout that. But don't try and sue me because all I own is this computer, and even that I rent from school!

Author's Note: OK, this story is technically the sequel to another I've written, but I never posted it or even bothered to finish writing, this one kind of took over. However, if you are interested in the other I could be persuaded to post it. Also, I know this story is a little over done, but I honestly couldn't help myself.

Prologue

The continuous buzzing of a thriving city was the first thing to penetrate the thick fog of unconsciousness. Once the barrier between sleep and awake was breached Michael Vaughn's senses were bombarded by the vast array of sounds, smells, and pains all vying to be the first to be recognized, classified and prioritized. It was all so overwhelming that he couldn't help but wish for the sweet ignorance of oblivion. Still one little voice somewhere far in the back of his head reminded him that if he didn't wake up now he'd have to do it later, and things weren't likely to get any better with time.

Thanking that annoying little voice that made it impossible for him to ever sleep past 9 o'clock, Vaughn slowly forced his eyes open. It was barely a second before the assault on his retinas caused him to slam his eyes shut once more. The bright red light flashing at erratic intervals in combination with the acrid smell of garbage gave him the brief impression that he had descended into hell. The fiery stabbing pains on the inside of his skull did little to dissuade such a notion.

When he heard the sound of a cat somewhere nearby he once again forced his eyes open. This time he was ready for the pain and was able to keep them open long enough to recognise the dumpsters and garbage around him and place himself in a generic alley in some unknown city. Armed with his new knowledge, Vaughn once again fought against the other annoying little voice telling him to just pass out, and struggled to his feet. He was surprised by how difficult it was; his muscles ached from disuse.

Wandering unsteadily towards the mouth of the alley he stumbled multiple times, the sounds and sights overwhelming him. As he stepped out onto the busy street he was slightly shocked to realise he was in China! Hong Kong more specifically if the papers in the boxes lining the streets were to be trusted.

He soon found himself at a payphone, dialling numbers his slumberous mind was slow to recall.

"Yes?" chirped and overly pleasant voice.

"This," his voice too, seemed to feel the pain of misuse. "This is Officer 2179647 calling for connection—confirmation 'Iliad'."

Once again the voice on the other end set off hammers in his skull. "Stand by."

The wait was excruciating, not just physically, though the pains shooting through the muscles in his legs and back made standing difficult, but emotionally too. His mind was full of questions, all begging to be answered.

Kendall's brisk tone shattered the canned silence coming across the line. "Vaughn!"

"I just woke up in Hong Kong—I don't know how I got here, or how long I've been here," he rushed desperately. "Hello?" he asked more nervously when there was no answer.

"Get to our safe house in Tsim Sha Tsui. You remember how to get there?"

"Of course," Vaughn replied confused, one more question began swirling around in his mind.

"I'll make sure they're expecting you," he said before hanging up.

"OK," Vaughn whispered into dead air.

True to his word, Kendall had warned them, and when Vaughn arrived at the safe house he was quickly ushered to a small room somewhere towards the back.

"Have they said anything about haw I got here?" he asked, pausing in the dingy hall outside his temporary room. "What do they know?"

"They've asked you to wait until your contact arrives," the tired old Chinese man replied cryptically.

Just like the good little Boy Scout he was, Vaughn lowered his head and walked dejectedly into the room. The minutes crept by like hours, the hours like days. He fell into a fitful sleep but was unable to get any rest. Too many things made so little sense. Too many questions haunted his conscience.

Finally, after hours of tossing and turning, of pacing until Vaughn could almost swear he'd worn a path into the cement floor, someone gently knocked at the door. Anxiously Vaughn rushed towards the door, unsure of what, or rather who could lie on the other side. In the time he'd spent alone since waking up, his mind had come up with so many scenarios, none seemed to be true, many were completely implausible, all of them left him with an aching sense of dred in the pit of his stomach.

"Syd!" he breathed, when he opened the door to reveal her beautiful face. He didn't think he had ever seen anyone look better than she did at the moment. Despite her tired eyes and pained expression, her sloping shoulders as even her body seemed to scream for sleep, despite it all she managed to glow like no one else he had ever seen.

Automatically he wrapped her in his arms, taking comfort in the familiar feel of her body and the sweet smell that was uniquely 'Sydney'. Something about her was different, he couldn't quite tell what it was, but somehow she was not the woman he knew.

"Sydney," he whispered again angling his head to kiss her. For a moment he let himself get lost in the taste of her. Then long before he was ready she pulled away.

"Vaughn, I can't," the pain evident in her voice.

Yet more confusion was added to the mess currently substituting for Vaughn's brain. "What happened?" he asked desperately.

"I don't know."

"Where have I been? How long?"

The hurt and confusion was painfully evident on Sydney's face, a single tear slowly rolled down her cheek. "Sit…you should sit down," she said, gradually making her way towards the bed.

Vaughn sat down across from her. "Syd?"

"God," she whispered to herself. Then a little louder and trying hard to look him in the eye. "They told me you were dead."

She wasn't sure she could continue, and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear anymore. "They asked me to come back…to tell you this…"

"Come back? Come back from what?" he asked not liking at all where the conversation was heading.

Struggling to find the words, Sydney slowly raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. And that's when he saw it; a glint of gold, two shiny bands on her left ring finger, one sporting a generously sized diamond.

"Syd?" he choked. "What are those rings?"

She raised her eyes to meet his and he could see that she had resigned herself to the pain. "Vaughn…since that night," a deep sigh shook her whole body. "Since that night…you've been missing," once again the will to continue, to believe that this was all happening seemed to escape her. "You've been missing for over two years."

The confusion that had flooded his mind just moments before was dwarfed by the new sense of panic and dread that nearly crippled him as she spoke the words. The brief thought that this was all some sick joke orchestrated by his 'best friend' Weiss was quickly cast aside when he saw the pain in Sydney's eyes.

This was real. This was all much too real. There was no way this could possibly be real.

Suddenly it was all too much. The waking up alone not knowing where he was. Kendall's cryptic manner on the phone. The hours of waiting in silence. Sydney. The rings. Two years. There was no way he could handle it all! It couldn't be real! It had to be a dream. No not a dream, this was a nightmare!

That made sense, if this was a nightmare then he was asleep, and all he had to do to escape and find himself in a warm bed lying next to Sydney was wake up.

Sydney looked on as if she was watching someone else's life. As if her world hadn't just come crashing down around her yet again. She watched dejectedly as Vaughn stood up, pinching his arm discreetly, obviously trying to wake himself from this terrible dream. A chagrined smile spread across her face, she knew what he was feeling so well. For too long she'd been dead with him, she knew he couldn't believe what was happening. There was one person responsible for bringing her back to life; she hoped Vaughn would find someone to do the same for him.

When waking up didn't seem to work, Vaughn agreed that it all could have been real, if only for the moment. He replayed it all in his head trying to see the faults. See what about this wasn't really happening.

The pain in his body told him it wasn't completely made up. The phone call to Kendall had gone as expected, well kind of. The safe house was the same as it always had been. Then there had been Sydney, so beautiful and…different! That's when he remembered; when he'd first seen her, he'd thought there was something different; maybe it wasn't her at all.

They'd doubled Lenox, what if she was the second double they'd all been searching for. He looked closely at the woman sitting across from him. Her eyes seemed tired, but there was a spark hidden in the pain he'd never seen before. The half smile on her lips, filled with so much pain, yet triumphant. No, the woman in front of him couldn't possibly be Sydney. Not his Sydney. She would never get married to another man.

Somewhere that little nagging voice of doubt in the back of his mind reminded him how ready he'd been to propose to her the last time he'd seen her, and that hadn't been much longer than two years after Danny died.

But that was then, this was now! She wasn't like that; things had been different with them! She couldn't be married to some one else! She couldn't! Still that shiny gold band with its matching engagement ring said something entirely different.

No! His Sydney loved him. He knew it. This wasn't real. She wasn't real.

Instantly the fear and pain in Vaughn's eyes melted away. In their place were anger and resolve. He reached for the lamp resting on the table between the two beds, and aimed a solid blow at Sydney's head.

Her super spy reflexes had her standing behind him before the solid metal base encountered its target. His aching body left him in no shape to defend himself against her. His only advantage had been surprise. That was gone. Quickly and efficiently she pulled the gun from her waistband and took perfect aim.

The dart took only moments to work, but the look on Vaughn's face as he turned to face Sydney spoke volumes of the betrayal he felt. Sydney caught him before he hit the ground and sunk slowly under his weight. Then, for the first time since she'd been woken by the call telling her he was back, Sydney allowed herself to cry.

A/N: So, did you like it? Did it suck as much as I fear it does? Use that little purple button to tell me what you think. Hell I'd even welcome flames. 'Cause as what can I say; I'm a bit of a masochist!