Chapter 13

The next day was really busy for Weiss, who was covering for Vaughn, off from work for the next few days. Tired, he glanced at his watch. 4:14pm. He rubbed his eyes, thinking how this day would never end. He was only halfway through some three inches thick document he really had to read before going home. He sighed. He shouldn't be complaining. Vaughn's day had probably been a hundred times worse than his. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Vaughn entered his office.

"Hey man! What are you doing here?" Weiss said, surprised.

Vaughn looked awful, with the purple bruise on his head, the dark circles under his eyes and his 30-hours stubble.

"I just came by the office to get some work. I can get a few things done while Alice is asleep," he said with a tired voice.

"How is she?"

Vaughn sighed.

"Not good. She was very close to her dad."

"That sucks… When is the funeral taking place?"

"Tomorrow," Vaughn answered wearily.

"So… I bet we can say goodbye to that hockey game Saturday night, huh?"

Vaughn's first impulse was to agree with his friend, but then he realised that taking Alice out could be a good idea.

"Well… Alice likes to go to a Kings' game. Maybe it would take her mind off things if we took her along."

Weiss nodded.

"Listen, Mike, I give up. You won the bet. In spite of your pitiful pick up lines," he smirked. "I'll buy three tickets."

Vaughn was too tired to enjoy his victory. He only nodded and said:

"I'll pay for hers…"

Weiss shook his head.

"No need to. Just take care of the beer."

A wry smile flashed across Vaughn's face.

"Knowing you, I think it would be cheaper to pay for the ticket!"

Sitting at her desk, supposedly reading some intel about a new terrorist group, Sydney was lost in her thoughts. She was thinking about how the day had gone so far. Seeing Arvin Sloane act like her second dad after he had ordered a hit on her in Tuscany almost made her want to throw up. She despised the man with all her being. At least now he was convinced she was a loyal operative. She smiled at the idea. Poor little Arvin, you don't know what's coming your way, she thought.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Joey's Pizza?"

"Wrong number," she said nonchalantly.

"Sorry, missy," said the man, which caused Sydney to flinch.

That voice wasn't Vaughn's, but that didn't mean he had really resigned, did it? He had probably taken a few days off because of his girlfriend's dad. Could it have been Weiss?

She got her answer when she entered the warehouse that night. A tall, pot bellied man was standing in front of her, a grin plastered on his unpleasant face.

"Where's Vaughn?" she said right away.

"He took a few days off, so I'm taking over. I'm Agent Lambert," the man said, extending his hand.

She didn't move.

"That's what I was afraid of."

Lambert stared at her in mild shock, bewildered. What? An asset showing disrespect for their superior? The poor girl must be suffering from her PMS, he thought.

Like nothing had happened, Lambert put his hand back into his pocket, playing with the coins there, before restarting:

"I want you to know that you're going to like working with me."

"Really," she replied coldly.

Lambert went on.

"Must have been uh… I almost don't know how to say it… devastating when your father had to go into hiding. And now you don't even know if he's still alive. But I want you to know, you can trust me. I understand. I empathise."

What was that about? Some middle-aged guy, who knew nothing about her life or her relationship with her father, was telling her he empathised. What did he know about the way she felt? The biggest drama in his life had probably been the day his hairline had started to recede.

Containing her resentment, she said:

"Mr Lambert, I got your message. Is there a reason I'm here?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself. Grab a little face time with my girl. I just wanted to make sure you don't have any queries I might be able to-"

With his crass comments and condescension continuing, Sydney felt her growing anger starting to bite. Cutting him off, she said:

"I've got a query."

Lambert seemed pleased.

"Yeah, shoot."

"Are you insane?" she exploded, whilst still managing to speak succinctly and in a controlled manner. "Calling me in here for a social event. SD-6 has a division whose sole responsibility it is to track their agents and report back suspect activity. Your girl is risking her life and you yours, every time we lay eyes on each other. So do me a favour, don't be so friendly."

Lambert was taken aback by this outburst, unused to being spoken to in that way, particularly by a young, female agent he clearly had underestimated.

He closed his open mouth and swallowed, but his male pride prevented him from acknowledging her outburst in any other way:

"I, I just love your spirit."

"That's heartening. Are we done here?" Sydney replied dismissively.

"Yeah, we're all done."

"Okay."

She took two steps but then stopped and turned to face him.

"I think you are mistaken Agent Lambert, I'm not going to like working with you. If something comes up in the next couple of days, then send Weiss. I've already made it clear who I want as my handler, tell Devlin he won't get another chance."

Not waiting for Lambert to react, Sydney quickly walked away, irritated. She had to talk to Vaughn to convince him to stay and fast.

She sighed, remembering why he had taken a few days off. He probably had enough to deal with right now. She decided to give him until Monday.

Not one day more.

Luckily for everyone, the rest of the week went by uneventfully. Sydney even got her whole Saturday off, something that hadn't happened in a long, long time.

That was nice, because it had given her the whole day to prepare for her date with Danny. Francie had insisted on doing her nails and had supervised the choosing of the perfect outfit. She had almost begged Sydney to give a real chance to Daniel, which she had agreed to half-heartedly. After the fiasco with Noah, all those years ago, she wasn't sure she was ready to be in a relationship again. Love stories weren't compatible with the spy life, so she believed…

But as soon as she met with Danny that evening, she forgot all about her job. He was an interesting, charming and funny medical student who respected her boundaries. They had joked all the way to their seats and were now waiting for the game to begin.

"So the guys in the black and purple shirts are the Kings," Danny teased when the players jumped on the ice for the national anthem.

"I know that, Daniel!" she exclaimed, chuckling.

"Call me Danny."

"I know that, Danny."

"They are the ones we are rooting for," he went on to explain, grinning.

"Oh, really? That's good to know," she laughed, playing along.

Well, maybe this wouldn't lead to anything serious, but at least, for once, she would have a little fun…

"Honey, Eric and I will go get some hot-dogs before the game begins. Would you like something?"

Alice took a second to think.

"Uh… A slice of pizza. And a bottle of water. Please."

"Okay, we'll be right back," Vaughn said. He and Eric got up and took a few steps toward to end of their row before Alice called him back.

"Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful on the stairs, honey…" she said, and Weiss wasn't sure if she was teasing him or really worried.

The guys walked away and, when they were far enough, Weiss asked:

"Why did she say that?"

Vaughn pointed at the giant bruise on his face.

"Because of this."

"That's how you explained the bruise? You said you fell in the stairs?"

"Yeah. Wasn't going to say I had been beaten up by a girl…"

They erupted into laughter, which stopped abruptly two seconds later.

There, sitting by the stairs, was Sydney Bristow.

The threesome exchanged surprised looks, but Vaughn and Weiss regained their senses quickly and continued to climb the stairs.

But Sydney wasn't going to let this occasion pass her by. She had to find a way to set up a meeting with Vaughn.

"Danny? I'm just going to the washroom, okay? I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay. Do you know where it is?"

"I'll find my way, don't worry…"

She gave him a big dimpled smile and hurried to follow the guys though keeping a safe distance between them. When they reached the food stands, Vaughn and Weiss went their own way: Vaughn went for pizza while Eric got in line for the beer. Sydney walked up to Vaughn and stood behind him.

"All there seems to be here is a Pizza Hut. I wished they had a Joey's Pizza here…" she said loudly enough for him to hear.

He turned around, question marks in his eyes.

"You think it's better? I don't."

She looked at him intensely. He had to understand what she was trying to do. She was trying to set up a meeting with him at the warehouse. Tonight. She had to convince him to stay as her handler.

"Yes, I do. Sometimes I wake up at 2 am and just have to order one of their Joey's Specials, don't you?"

He paused before replying:

"No, not really."

"You must be kidding me."

"No."

"You should try it one more time."

Vaughn sighed.

"You're persistent… Okay, I will. But don't expect me to change my mind."

"At least you will have tried," she said with a small smile before heading to the washrooms, leaving behind a conflicted Vaughn.

As Vaughn went down the narrow stairs to retake his seat, he saw Sydney and Danny in front of him, laughing. He paused and observed them for a second, unnoticed. Sydney's companion was a brown-haired, tall man that women would probably qualify as 'handsome'. Was that guy her boyfriend? They seemed to get along well. No touching though. Maybe they were just old friends, or cousins?

As Vaughn passed her and Danny on the stairs, Sydney couldn't help from discreetly follow him with her eyes. She saw him take a seat and give a water bottle to a blond woman sitting next to him. Could that be Alice? She had short hair and seemed kind of nice looking, but didn't she seem a bit older than Vaughn?

"I had fun," Sydney said when they reached her doorstep later that night.

Danny smiled, obviously relieved.

"Me too. Maybe we could do this again? Or something more… girlie, if you wish."

"Girlie?" she laughed.

"Yeah, like… going to a play, or the ballet…" he smirked.

"Okay, I'll try to figure out something."

"Great. Goodnight, Sydney."

He took a step forward and hugged her, lingering just a second longer than required. Sydney smiled.

"Goodbye, Danny."

When Sydney got to the warehouse that night, Vaughn had already arrived. He was sitting on a crate, fighting sleep. Poor guy, Sydney thought. If his girlfriend was experiencing half the pain she had felt when her own mother died, he must be having a real hard time consoling her. No wonder he looked that drained.

She opened the gate and their eyes locked. He smiled weakly at her and got up.

"How's… is it Alice? Hope she didn't mind you leaving in the middle of the night," she said kindly.

"I told her I had to get a few things at my place. If she wakes up before I come back she'll probably think I just fell asleep over there… What did you tell your boyfriend?"

"He's not… That was only our first date," she said before wondering why she had felt the need to explain.

"Oh."

An awkward silence fell between the two. Was discussing their private lives commonplace among handlers and their assets? Sydney let a few seconds go by before she begun:

"You have to remain my handler."

"Sydney, I told you this was a bad idea."

"You're wrong," she stated firmly.

"Oh, I'm wrong?" Vaughn questioned incredulously with a furrowed brow. Even though he was really tired, he had agreed to this meeting in order to be nice to her. And now she was acting like a 'know-it-all' teenager? He certainly didn't need that at the moment.

"Yes," Sydney asserted, not realising he was slightly offended.

"Therefore you must be right?"

"Yes, I am. Listen-"

Vaughn, arms crossed on his chest, decided this was a bit much. Who did she think she was?

"Are you aware of the fact that I'm your superior? You can't keep pushing the CIA around, Miss Bristow. You're not the one that makes the decisions."

"What?" she exclaimed in bewilderment, but he continued:

"I mean, why would you want me anyway...?"

"Agent Vaughn..." she tried to gain his attention, beginning to recognise their misunderstanding.

"... if I'm so WRONG," he emphasised, rambling as the stress and fatigue of the last few days looked to escape.

"Vaughn..." Sydney said louder.

"You'll be much better off with Weiss."

"They didn't give me Weiss, Devlin sent me Lambert," she almost shouted at him.

Taken by surprise, Vaughn was silenced. He could only manage, "Oh."

"Yeah and it didn't go well."

Slowly, a lopsided smile formed on Vaughn's face. He was glad she seemed to despise Lambert as much as he did.

"It didn't?"

"No," she confirmed with her own knowing smile.

Seeing that he was now listening, Sydney saw her chance to start again:

"Listen, about Tuscany… You only had my best interests at heart. You wanted me to be safe. I need to thank you for that."

"Sydney…" he sighed.

"Vaughn, please. Stay. I'll behave," she teased.

He was going to refuse once again when he realised how hard it must be for her, being such a proud person, to practically beg him to stay. This woman was going through hell. He couldn't let her down.

He sighed once more in surrender.

"Okay."

She smiled, trying to contain her joy and relief.

"Great. So… I'll see you soon."

"Yes," he confirmed with a small smile.

Walking past him, she somehow lost her balance and stepped on his foot.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologized.

"If you keep hurting me we'll never be friends," he joked, a huge, more relaxed smile on his face.

She didn't need to say anything to that. She could see from his easy expression that they had reached an understanding tonight. So she smiled too and walked away, her heart feeling lighter than it had some minutes earlier.