Secrets: The Answer 7/9

A/N: Just a reminder, this is most definitely pre-Page 47.

~~

"Because I know who lives there…"

"Who is it?" Sydney demanded at Will, but he wasn't paying any attention. He was already scrambling out of the conference room and heading back to his makeshift hospital room. She followed. "Will?" But he showed no sign of acknowledging her presence behind him, obviously deep in thought.

He opened up the drawers of the small closet until he found his clothes from the previous day, dried blood staining the blue shirt and khaki slacks in brown splotches. Will grabbed his only possessions and took the articles into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Sydney sunk down onto the bed. She had expected this reaction. The Will in the other room was too calm and collected, too mature. She could hear him muttering to himself quickly as he dressed, sorting out the many thoughts that were probably running through his head. She longed to know those thoughts. This was the crazy, frazzled Will she'd come to love.

Though his babbling was inaudible through the bathroom door, Will addressed Sydney as he came out, now dressed. "I have to see her." He told her, urgency in his voice.

Sydney was still confused, but now accepting of her friend's behavior. "Who?" She asked patiently, hoping she finally broke through.

Will seemed almost dumbfounded that Sydney still didn't know whom he was talking about. "Jenny."

She almost found it comical that the bubbly co-ed could be trying to take down a massive government organization. But then again, someone could say the same about her.

"We have a car ready." Sydney turned to see that Vaughn had appeared in the doorway to make the announcement. After he spoke, Vaughn started back down the hallway towards a door with a brilliant orange "EXIT" sign above it. Sydney began to follow, but Will grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry." He told her simply.

"For what?" She questioned, noticing he seemed calmer now.

"Everything. For putting your operation in danger by investigating this, for all the cracks I made about the bank, for not understanding when your job made you cry. If I knew then what I know now, I would've been a much better friend."

She pulled him into a hug. "Don't worry. I can't expect anyone to understand who doesn't know my story. And this will all work out for the best. I'm glad I have one less person to lie to." She brushed his hair out of his eyes and made eye contact. "And you were never a bad friend." Sydney gave him a quick peck on the cheek and broke their embrace to lead him down the long hallway and back out into the world.

~~

The non-descript van slowed to a stop in front of a small white house. It was a nice part of town, one where you could really feel safe raising a family. Sydney squeezed Will's hand before opening the side door for him. He fumbled with the new addition of a small pen in his shirt pocket, a CIA bug. The weird flower bug was understandable, but the fact that something as normal as a pen could be a transmitting device bothered him. How often could someone have been listening to him?

"We'll be right here if you need us." Sydney reminded him.

Will really hated how she said "we" so easily, as if it had been the two of them forever. However, now was not the time to be jealous. He only nodded and stepped out into the crisp night air. It was hard to believe that only last night he had stumbled from his overturned car to Sydney's home. He hadn't been outside since then.

Jenny's small Volkswagon was in the driveway, so he knew she had to be home. The lights were on in the house and illuminated the small, modest garden around the front porch. Finding the door unlocked, Will entered quietly and heard the shower running in the nearby bathroom.

Will took in the familiar surrounding he'd spent many nights in recently and wondered if they had this all wrong. She was so normal, so simple. He could imagine Sydney as a spy. She was so strong, mysterious, and had a job that resulted in the death of her fiancé. But Jenny? Too happy, young, and innocent.

This train of thought ended abruptly when he noticed a small black box on the table by the phone. It was a voice distorter. "Will Tippin." He said into it, hearing the same voice that called him produced as the result. He swung around to face the window and held it up for his back-up to see.

He laid it back on the table and moved to the desk. On the surface, papers from works were scattered around, proving Jenny was as good assistant as he thought she was. Or was this scene only a coverup? Still hearing the sound of running water, he pulled on the handle of a couple drawers, finding them all locked. "Shit." He muttered quietly as he knocked a lamp off the desk and heard it shatter.

Suddenly a figure in black appeared from around the corner, a gun in hand pointed at Will. Jenny was wearing an ankle-length black silk robe and her hair was pulled away from her face into a tight bun, revealing that she now looked much older than usual, her face hardened, her eyes cold.

~~

end 7/?

A/N: So you see now why I had to add that note at the top of the page. The sickeningly bubbly Jenny was too apparent in Page 47 and even though I already had this idea, after those scenes I couldn't imagine that character having any layers. But I went along with this anyway, deciding to ignore that all together.

I know this is a tiny chapter, but to me, it makes more sense to break this up more. I really don't want to have a million chapters, but you'll see that ending here makes sense soon. In Chap 8 (which I should be writing after I post this) I'm going to do a "meanwhile, back in the van…" thing and I didn't want to put it in here.

And yes, I finally did add a little shippy Syd/Will moment here, but I don't think it's out of character and I made some Syd/Vaughn comments so you S/V shippers be nice in your reviews.

So just sit tight, review and you'll get an update soon. I promise.

And I'm really looking for a beta reader who has kept up with my story that I can basically bounce ideas back on and who can offer suggestions about content. If you're interested email me.