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Chapter Three:
An Open Door

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Down in the bottom of the temple, William waited nervously. He hated the anxiety that rose in him about what he was doing. He had waited his whole life for this one moment, and he could not bear to face it yet. He could not bear to face him.

William sat back in the chair and lit a cigarette, the smoke hovered in a cloud above him. He was shrouded by his own illusions.

Looking at the desk, he saw the pictures he had of his son. The old childhood photographs that William himself had taken. And after he had left, photos he had found of him through other means. He always knew where Vaughn had been in his life, he had been waiting for the right moment. He had waited too long.

He could see himself in the photos on his desk. The fresh faced government agent, wanting to do some good in the world. Vaughn had been given a life free of this haunting legacy until now. It was catching up to him after all the years he had run from it. Vaughn had never known he was running from his father

The door opened and William closed his eyes. He knew it was her, how odd it was that Irina Derevko was the one person he knew he was safe around.

Have you found the bastards who crashed into them yet? He could not stop himself from being vulgar, he was disgusted by himself. Irina was watching him with her silently apprasing eyes.

It was clearly someone working against us and our ends. Someone who wants to see our children dead, while we need them very much alive. I suspect the only remnant of the Covenant that remains; Sark. Irina bit his name off with displeasure. William turned to face her and could not help but smile.

It is rather hard to keep track of Mr. Sark, William aknowledged. But he represents everything we are against. For too long, people have been using Rambaldi for their own ends. Its not right. William's eyes seem to look upon Irina accusingly and she flinched under his gaze. He was one of the few people she hated to disappoint.

It is good to be back among the living, Irina told him. The warmth had gone out of her voice, leaving it chill as ice. And you know that I have always worked toward the greater end, William. I thought you were the one person who really trusted me. She did not say that she trusted him, William noticed.

His eyes fell back on the picture of Vaughn and he was once more amazed at the feel of his son's presence so close to him. William could sense the emotions that were pouring forth from the room far above him. He could only imagine what Sydney and Vaughn were discussing... or what they were doing. William frowned and concentrated on closing off the emotions that were radiating to him from Vaughn, lest they become too intense and overwhelm him suddenly.

From his picture frame on the desk, Vaughn seemed to watch his father with accusing eyes as he grew up from one photo to the next. He had grown into this man that William had pulled from fire and death. William had known his son as a child, known his fears and his loves. He did not know the man who waited for him in the white room where he had left his lover to handle him. William could not yet bring himself to face him.

I know how you feel, Irina could read him like an open book. Her words were painfully true, and he knew it. She sighed and shifted slightly, the only sign of her own anxiety. When I came face to face with Sydney, I was terrified. We cannot help but love our children, even when they hate us.

William rubbed at his eyes wearily with his knuckle. All these years I waited for the time when he was ready, he looked at her and his shoulders slumped in resignation. I never thought that I would be the one who was not ready.You are, Irina spoke so simply. You should know better than to let your fear control you.

William paced nervously on the bare stone floor as Irina sat back and watched him. She was ever so patient at times, but he knew that she was quick to rise to anger and lash out, but not at him. Rarely did she ever lash out at him, they respected one another too much.

I don't suppose you'll face them with me? William entreated her though he knew her answer would be the same. She was already shaking her head before he finished speaking

Not yet, they'll demand to know why I never told them that you were alive, Irina's eyes flashed with a sudden fire that William knew very well. They had argued in the past over this matter, despite all of her secrecy, Irina did not like keeping something this big from her own daughter. I can't be the one to face their wrath, not until they have heard something of an explanation and that can only come from you, William. You hold more answers than I.I know, he sighed heavily, the burden of the years weighed heavily upon him. But it is they that hold all of the most important answers. I just have to find a way to get them to work with me, rather than against me. It is imperative not only for them to learn the truth, but that we learn it as well.

Irina's eyes were dark with her understanding of this plight. She had long been the only one who worked as he did, for a greater purpose that not even they knew the whole truth of. But soon, very soon, they would all know.

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Curled together on the bed, Sydney and Vaughn were lying in silence. She was waiting for him to speak, waiting for the questions to come and for the world to change.

Who brought us here, Sydney? His question was a whisper in her ear and she sighed softly against his chest.

Your father. It was such a simple statement but she knew how much it meant to him. He stiffened against her and closed his eyes.

I should have known. There was a note of bitterness in his voice and Sydney wondered at his easy acceptance of the fact .

Sydney did not know where to begin. Do you know why we are here?

He sat up and moved away from her, swinging his long legs off the bed. His body protested the sudden movement and he fought the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him. I have my suspicions. But you know why we're here. He knew, deep in his soul, that the door to his deepest secrets had been opened. Sydney had stepped through and uncovered more than even he knew. William had opened this door for them and they could only go through together.

Sydney was chagrined by his words and sat silently for a moment as she watched him pace the small length of the room.

What the hell is this place? Vaughn's low murmur of frustration was muffled by the stone of the wall as he leaned his head against it heavily. He felt his skull impact with the cold, hard surface with a dull thud and a wave of dizziness swam through his body. He could tell that he was not fully healed. Yet he dared not turn his eyes back to the formula that had swum through his bloodstream only moments earlier. He could not bring himself to move back over to the bed, where Sydney sat, watching him in silence. He had removed the tube from his own arm, after Sydney had given him a terse explanation of its nature. He feared the unnatural green glow of it and all that it represented.

Sydney watched him, her dark gaze following his every movement. She wanted to memorize every line of his body at this moment. She wanted to remember his innocence, his naivete that had always clung to him like a second skin. She did not want to shatter his illusions.

Closing her eyes, she remembered the first time she had seen him. The way he had hovered so cautiously around her in the small CIA office. She had been so focused on her own words on the page that she had barely even glanced at him, shrugging him off with an arrogance that she only later saw fully. He had been so patient with her and above all, he had always been honest. Now the limits of that honesty were to be tested, the moment had come and she could not hold her tongue any longer.

How long have you known? Her question was a whisper between them, a current of air that floated from her lips to his ears. He halted in his movements, letting his hand trail down across the wall carelessly. She watched that gesture with greedy eyes, knowing it to be the last one he would make as the Vaughn she knew, before he became something else before her eyes.

He turned toward her slowly, a sudden weight upon his shoulders slumped his height. He could not meet her gaze, studying her body instead. The rigid set of her shoulders, the tight clasp of one hand over the other as if to keep them from shaking. So many signs that he had become familiar with, they spoke to him as clear as the emotions that were currently bouncing between them. She was terribly afraid and that hurt him deeply, he knew that he could not lie to her any longer.

Known what? His voice came out bitter and cynical to his own ears, but he could not help it. That I am descended from the line of Rambaldi? That I see unbelievable things in my dreams that later came true, despite how impossible they seem? How long have I known that my father was really alive?

Sydney was stunned, she had not guessed at how much he had kept from her. That knowledge stung her and cracked the armor of her resolve. Why didn't you ever tell me? There was heartbreak in her eyes.

Vaughn's face crumbled and he dropped suddenly, the weight too great for him to bear. It crushed him to the floor and on his knees, he looked up into her loving gaze.

How could I? The pain in his voice was too much for her. She could feel her own eyes begin to burn with tears but she could not bear to look away from him.

How could I attempt to explain what I could never understand, myself? He reached out to take her hand, freeing from the death grip she had encased it within. He stroked the palm of it tenderly and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

The visions have been with me since I was a child, his lip curled in distaste at the word vision.' She knew that Vaughn had never been a man of faith, he was not one to believe in any supernatural power, especially not in himself. He had been hiding from his own power for his entire life, trying to outrun his own destiny.

About six years ago, I discovered an oddity in my birth records. It was back when I first tried out to become field qualified. I had to gather my papers for the CIA and I found that I had misplaced my copy of my birth certificate. He shook his head wryly, still astonished at the simple coincidences of fate that had led him to that moment.

So I went to my mother's home in attempt to find the original. She was not home at the time but I knew where she kept her papers, and the few papers that my father had left behind. They were in an office in my old home. These files had always been kept from my curious eyes but I had left it alone, for my mother's peace of mind. She insisted that I never dwell on the past but instead, think on the future.

Vaughn's gaze had taken on a distant look, as he searched inwardly for his own memories of that time. That dusty little room hadn't been touched in years. It seemed that my mother had barely stepped foot inside since my father's death.' And the door had always been locked to me. He shrugged, My lockpicking skills aren't bad, not nearly as good as yours, he flashed her a brief, but brilliant smile. It almost blinded her in the face of her sadness. But I found my way in.

He took a deep breath, clearly unwilling to speak the next words aloud. Sydney squeezed his hand in reassurance. She could feel his love for her swell within his breast, reaching out to envelop her in his warmth.

My curiosity got the better of me, once I had made it into the room. I could not help but open the drawers of every cabinet, pore through the files. At that time, they were the closest I could get to my father and I needed them at that moment, I needed him. The pain in his eyes this time was one she had seen before. The sorrow of missing his father, all of his life. He still missed him, though they both knew he was alive.

Most were case files, assignments he had been given, memos he had recieved. All carefully coded of course, but I knew the code by then. None were really important... Except for one file, hidden in a false bottom in his desk, that gave me answers to questions I had not yet begun to ask.

Sydney felt a chill wash over her at his words, despite the warmth she felt in his presence. His words were so like William's at that moment. With a slight tug on his hand, she pulled him up onto the bed with her, once more and wrapped her arms around him. He complied willingly, automatically, his body moving but his mind was far away.

In that file was the record of my birth, but it was not the one I had always known. It identified me as Vaughn and said that I had been born to William Rambaldi. It was not an official document, but it was written in my father's hand. There were photos of me, a newborn. I had been born deep in the forest somewhere, hidden away from civilization, something I had never known. The thing that chilled me most, however, was the third signature at the bottom of the page. The woman who had stood as witness to my birth, as midwife to my mother... Vaughn looked at her with a suddenly clear gaze and Sydney's hand trembled in his grasp.

It was the signature of Irina Derevko.

Sydney gasped aloud, her mind reeling at the statement. I was also confused by this, and I was becoming increasingly alarmed. It made no sense to me. This was a woman I knew only as a wanted terrorist, not only that but I believed she had killed my father! How had my father known her? How had he been close enough for her to trust her to be present at the birth of his child? It made absolutely no sense to me and I felt a panic rising in me like I had never known before. This paper completely contradicted everything I thought I knew to be true. I didn't understand then, I didn't know how far back this thing went.

The words had been spilling out of him in a stream at this end and Sydney softly covered his lips with her fingertips. A sigh left him at this contact, a breath of hot air fluttering against the palm of her hand. For a long moment, she could not speak.

How odd it seemed now to her that all along, she had been calling him by his true first name. The name Michael had always felt unnatural on her lips, but Vaughn had always been who he was.

Do you remember that very first mission Sloane sent me on that involved Rambaldi? He nodded mutely, a darkness passing over his face at her question.

You told me then that you had never heard the name Rambaldi before. Her fingers dropped from his lips and she swallowed hard against the lump continously rising in her throat. You lied to me.

His face was dark with pain at this betrayal of her, he could not deny it. Yes, I did. It was a low, shame filled whisper. I was given no choice, you see. It was then, that I discovered that there were forces in the government who knew of my connection to Rambaldi.

Sydney frowned, her brow knitting delicately.

Vaughn shifted uncomfortably. I'm not quite sure. It's something that I have been trying to discover for years but it has proved to be a very dangerous mission. It is someone high up, someone who wanted to keep me away from you and from what you would uncover about Rambaldi. Don't you remember that I was immediately replaced by Lambert?

Illumination of this mystery just seemed to uncover deeper and darker secrets of their own past together, it seemed. Sydney could not help but feel like they were puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.

I thought it was because you were too young, inexperienced...Thats what I thought for a long time too, it wasn't until much later that I figured it out. Somebody knew that we were both involved in these Rambaldi schemes and was trying to keep us apart.But they failed... I refused to work with anyone but you. Sydney had always wondered at that. Vaughn had driven her insane in the beginning, but he had been the one person she felt that she could trust. They had had an instinctive connection from the beginning and only now did she wonder, how much of their relationship had been carefully charted out and watched by other, unknown and unseen eyes.

So... Someone in the government threatened you against speaking to anyone about your knowledge of Rambaldi? These pieces of the puzzle did not seem quite right to Sydney, the layers of deception were thick upon them, distorting the edges so they did not fit with the rest just yet.

Not quite, Vaughn's face heated, a mixture of shame and embarassment. They threatened you. Sydney was taken aback, yet it made sense. It was the only way Vaughn could have justified this large a lie. He was nodding slowly, his eyes careful on her face.

I was told that if I ever spoke of my knowledge of Rambaldi, limited as it was. That you would be killed in a most brutal fashion. All I knew at that time, was that I was somehow connected to Rambaldi through a convoluted stream of blood that had been passed down to me from my father. It was not information that I was truly willing to share, so I kept quiet. He squeezed her hand hard and brought it up to his lips, kissing the palm gently.

Despite the warnings I recieved, no one in the CIA, or the DSR, thank god, had any idea of my connection to Rambaldi. And seeing what they had done to you, Vaughn shook his head, guiltily. I did not want to invite that upon myself, I would lose everything. I would lose you. He had thought of a hundred excuses over the years but they all boiled down to that. He could not lose her. He was terrified of her disappointment, her anger toward him that he did not think he would be able to quell.

I thought about telling you so many times, but I couldn't know for sure if it was true. As far as the CIA knew, Milo Rambaldi had never married, never had children. Any special powers he might have had, died with him.But they didn't, Sydney could not yet see the larger picture but parts of it were coming into focus. The information that William had given her, in its small doses, had been overwhelming and Vaughn's own knowledge seem to fit in with its pattern.

These visions you spoke of, Vaughn. What are they? Sydney looked at him with new eyes, he could feel the familiarity of her gaze mingled with this new strangeness that had fallen upon him. This was precisely why he had never spoken of it.

Taking both of her hands firmly into his, he swung his legs up onto the bed and sat cross legged, facing her. She sat opposite, their knees touching, entwined hands resting in the space between them. She felt the touch of his mind on hers, opening to her so she could know truly what he had experienced.

There is one dream that I have had since I was a young child, it was a whisper in her mind as well as from his lips. Sydney could see him clearly in her mind's eye, a young boy with bright eyes and a joyful smile.

I am always running. He shook his head, When they first began, there was only darkness behind him. Then as I grew older, a red sun rose above me, illuminating an earth that was rapidly withering away. The land was dead but I knew, that it had once been lush and fertile. Life had evolved there out of the same earth where it had returned. All that remained was a red sun which hung low in a bruised sky.

Vaughn was silent for a moment, but Sydney could see the vision unfolding in her mind as if she had known it already. As if it had been waiting for her somewhere deep in the depth of her own brain, waiting to be seen.

When the sun finally dies, it does so with a great roar. A wave of water covering the land rushes upon me and I run from it. He hesitated upon these last words as the weight of the water sank into her mind, the way it had closed over him in the end. Every time it had closed over his head, until the last time.

I remember when we were in Russia, attempting to retrieve the Mueller device. I came after you on instinct and when I saw that wave following you down the hall, I stopped and stared. In that moment, I saw my vision before me with waking eyes. I knew that the red orb had exploded and water had rushed toward you. A deadly formula created by Rambaldi, which invetably infected me when it finally reached me and threw me against the door. I remember seeing your face through the haze of unreality, that in those last moments I had been running toward you. You were the light before me, calling out to save me from the waters.

Sydney remembered the look that had filled his eyes at that moment, the incredible fear that had taken over him. She understood now why he had stopped and stared in horror, though it had never been something she had deeply questioned.

After that, the visions came more frequently, in my dreams as well as when I was awake. They shifted and blurred, but often I saw you. I had a preternatural sense about you in a way, one that I was always unconsciously aware of. He smiled softly at her and reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face. The gesture was so acutely Vaughn that Sydney wanted to cry. No matter who he was, he was still her Vaughn.

We have always made an incredible team, Sydney whispered. Vaughn bent his head to kiss her hands and when he looked up at her again, there were tears shimmering in the ocean of his eyes.

The entire time I have known you, Sydney, I have loved you. Before I knew you, I loved you. I was always running toward you, and time and again, you have saved me. You are all that I have ever truly wanted in my life, more than my father, more than the CIA, more than knowing the answers to any history of who or what I am. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against hers. Sydney wondered if this is what his proposal would have been like if he hadn't done it in the back of an airplane moments before jumping into chaos.

When you married Lauren, I felt it was the ultimate betrayal. Sydney's words were simple, but they struck him like a blow. Vaughn shuddered at the name of his, thankfully, dead ex-wife and felt shame creep over him.

But when it was your father who revealed to me that you must already know some of these secrets, I was terrified that you had betrayed me in an even deeper way. I could not stand that hurt again, Vaughn.I know, he kissed her forehead gently. He seemed to be attempting to convince her of his love, though she truly did know how deep it went. I swear to you, Sydney. I will never lie to you again. His voice was so honest and hopeful that she had to smile at him.

with one word, she absolved him of every sin he had committed against their love and took him into his arms. Because we're in this together, Vaughn, her eyes darkened. There is so much waiting for us outside these walls that I don't even know where we will begin.He will come for us, Vaughn's voice was low and dangerous as he spoke. There was a touch of anger in it, mixed with fear and hope. There is no doubt of that. I suppose he is finally ready to face me.

Sydney caught his face in her hand and turned him toward her. You are much like him though you will not like to admit it once you see him. But you must remember that you are both going to be very obstinate.

He surprised her with his laughter, his head tipping back out of her hand as it escaped his throat. That doesn't surpise me in the slightest.Nor should it, the new voice spoke from the corner, an older echo of Vaughn's own amused tone. William stepped into the room, the door closing behind him to vanish back into the wall. Vaughn tried to focus on it for a brief moment, studying how it slid shut and where the cracks for the opening must be, although they remained hidden.

Then his eyes moved to his father. William stood before the two of them, having crossed the room in a few long strides. The sight of him startled Vaughn so that he remained speechless. He had prepared himself for this moment, but he could never truly ready himself for this.

There was a moment of silence in which father and son regarded one another cautiously. Then William broke out into an uneasy smile, it slid across his face uncertainly.

You're just as stubborn as I, you know that your mother is a strong woman but she listens to reason far more than you or I ever have. Though, women usually do. William smiled more confidently at Sydney, and she could not help but smirk.

Vaughn stared at him, disbelieving. He did not know what to say, but words managed to escape nonetheless. How would you know anything about a woman you left nearly thirty years ago?

William's face darkened and the smile creeped away. A terrible sadness filled his eyes and instantly Vaughn was sorry that these were the first words he spoke to his father. Yet he could not control the anger that burned in him ever so slowly.

Marie understood, William said softly. She was a believer.

Vaughn stared at the man in disbelief. This was not quite how he had imagined this conversation. He stared up at the man and saw his father, the one he had known as a child. He was older of course and he looked very tired, but there was a power about him that Vaughn remembered well.

Slowly, Vaughn stood to face his father. Sydney watched the exchange in silence, slowly releasing Vaughn's hand as he moved away from her. He squeezed it tightly before he let go and she knew he was grateful for her support.

The two men stood opposite one another, energy seemed to crackle between them. Vaughn looked upon with cold eyes for a long moment while the warmth in William's seemed to blaze like a fire.

There was only one word that slipped from Vaughn's lips, He swallowed hard and shook himself, It was the plea of a child, for some measure of understanding.

William's composure seemed to crumble at the greeting, tears filling his eyes. He could not help but step foward and embrace his son. Vaughn stood woodenly in his arms, fists clenched at his sides. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and his arms around his father for the first time since he was a child. He did not know what else to do.

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