"Hi, Lauren," Sydney said, startled.
"Are you alright?" Lauren asked with a tone Sydney could not quite place.
"Yeah. . ." Sydney replied, "I mean, yes, I'm fine. Just a little shaky still I guess."
Lauren nodded. "Right, well, I just wanted to say goodbye to you before the weekend. Michael and I are about to leave." Lauren paused. "I also just wanted to say thank you. . .for bringing Michael home safely. I know this situation is ridiculous, but somehow I felt reassured knowing that you were out there with him."
"Well, you're welcome, I guess," Sydney answered, making her way towards the door. This conversation was starting to make her uncomfortable. Talking to the wife of the man she loved, and had kissed just a short time ago, was not high on her list of fun activities. She was stopped, however, by a hand on her shoulder.
"How did you make it out?" Lauren questioned.
The question surprised Sydney. "Can't you ask Vaughn about that?"
Lauren turned away. "He doesn't like to tell me about his missions. I think he's trying to protect me."
"Oh, well then. . ." Sydney didn't know what to say. "I really think you should talk to him about it." Sydney repeated, trying again to walk away. Lauren's arm shot out in front of her, however the forceful action did not match the expression on her face.
"Please, Sydney. Tell me what happened. Tell me how you got out." Lauren pleaded.
Sydney relented. "We weren't held for very long. When we were taken outside, we were sure that we were going to be killed, but one of the guards turned out to be on our side and helped us escape," Sydney said briefly, hoping that would satisfy Lauren's curiosity.
Lauren nodded. "The guard was a Korean?" Sydney nodded. "Who was he working for?"
Sydney was starting to feel claustrophobic. Between the close proximity of Lauren and her line of questioning, she was getting a very bad vibe. "I think he was a contact of my father's." Sydney replied.
"I see. Well I'll have to thank him then." Lauren commented absently. Snapping back into the present, the glazed look in her eyes disappeared and was replaced with her normal cheerfulness. "Well, then, I guess I should be going."
"Yeah, me too." Sydney agreed, walking out of the bathroom with Lauren behind her. Spotting Vaughn across the room, she moved away from him, towards her desk. "Have a good weekend," She called over her shoulder.
Lauren nodded back at her, "you too," and moved towards Vaughn. She wrapped her arm around his and looked up at him sweetly. "Ready?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied, as they started walking towards the door. As they past Sydney's desk, she turned around and met eyes with Vaughn. The world slowed as they read each other's eyes, and the sadness that Sydney saw in Vaughn's was hopeful and heartbreaking at the same time. Knowing that he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him was almost harder than forcing herself to believe that he had moved on and felt nothing towards her. She tore her eyes from Vaughn's, telling herself it was for the best, and gathered her things to go home. She looked around the office and mentally said goodbye to it. She had made a decision. She would be the one to leave.