Chapter 21

Two uneventful days later, Sydney was putting the final touch ups to her flowing hairstyle. She, Francie, Will and Danny were due to leave for their friend Paula's Halloween party soon.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighed. She had just reached behind her head to loosely join the two portions of hair, which she had braided from the front. The hair, the dress, the light make-up… Perfect. But she wondered apprehensively how Danny would react to her costume. Would he feel as uncomfortable as she did to be paired so obviously?

Not that she didn't like Danny, because she did. But their relationship was still very recent and they hadn't exactly gone as far as calling each other girlfriend/boyfriend… She didn't want him to think she was the kind of girl that could be described as 'needy' or as 'desperate', like Francie may have led him to believe. She was already concerned enough as it was about the many things he couldn't learn about her, she didn't need him to be wrong about the things he could actually know…

But Will peeking into her room interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Syd? Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Will came in and just stood in front of her, with his mouth opened.

"Wow, Syd, you look amazing!"

"Thanks," she replied, blushing a bit.

"That dress... and what you've done with your hair... You look like the girl in that movie you and Fran are always watching… with that guy… uh…"

"Richard Gere."

"Yeah…."

But seeing Sydney's expression, he wondered:

"What's wrong? You don't seem too enthusiastic."

Sydney sighed once more.

"Danny is going to be wearing a knight's costume…" she said in a low voice.

"And…?"

"What would you be thinking if a girl you've only been on a couple of dates with, showed up dressed as your romantic counterpart?"

Will winced. Now he understood her reservations.

"Don't worry, Syd, he probably won't make a big deal out of this," he offered, torn between his desire to reassure his friend and his hope that Danny would just run away forever.

"Yeah, I know…" she said, although it was clear she was still unsure about this. But she continued, in a cheerier tone:

"So, what are you wearing? Or is it still a secret?"

Will raised his shoulders.

"I still don't know. Fran put my costume in the guestroom. I'll go find out what it is."

The two friends shared a smile before Will walked out, in search of his answer. Sydney was now ready, so she decided that it was time to satisfy her curiosity about Francie's disguise. She walked up to her best friend's bedroom and knocked.

"Fran? Are you ready?"

A joyful voice answered.

"Come in!"

"Oh. My. God," was all that Sydney could say when she saw her friend's attire.

Francie had gotten herself a costume that could be described as a female ringmaster. She was wearing a top hat and a red coat, which was cut away at the front, with long tails at the back. But instead of a white shirt and black trousers, she had slipped into a white body with a black bow tie and black fishnets under black boots. She had just the figure for it and she looked extremely sexy.

"Fran, that's an amazing idea you had!" Sydney complimented her. Why couldn't Francie get her something more like that?

"So, now are you going to tell me what you got for Will?"

Francie opened her mouth to answer but a scream interrupted her.

"Francine Calfo!"

Sydney's eyes widened while her friend started to laugh.

"Oh, my instincts tell me you'll know in about ten seconds…"

But a mere five seconds had passed when Will, displaying an interesting look of desperation mixed with anger, barged into the room.

"Francie!"

"Yes, honey?" Francie replied, a big satisfied grin on her face.

"Fran! Is this my costume?" he asked, showing her what looked like a lion's outfit.

Francie nodded.

"Yes, honey. We're going to be so great together! The best costume prize is for us, I'm telling you!"

But Will didn't agree.

"Well you can kiss that little fantasy of yours goodbye, because there is NO WAY I'm going out dressed like that!"

Knowing she had to play nice if she wanted to win this battle, Francie gently said:

"Oh, come on Will. Lions are so… strong and…"

"Cute," Sydney added, trying not to burst out laughing. Oh, she just loved these two so much. They were the perfect antidotes to her very stressful life.

"Really?" Will asked, looking at Sydney, now perplexed.

"You'll be so huggable, all the girls are going to be after you!" Francie added.

Will sighed, beaten.

"Okay, then. But that is the LAST time I EVER let you choose my disguise."

Francie smiled in victory.

"Sure, honey, now go get dressed or we're going to be late."

With one last unsure gaze to Sydney who nodded in encouragement, Will went to get dressed, leaving the girls chuckling. When they finally regained control, Sydney asked:

"Are we all riding together?"

"Will and I will ride seperately."

"Why? Oh, don't tell me you want me and Danny to be alone," she sighed.

"Well, nothing is ever going to happen between you two if you're stuck with us," explained Francie, unaware that Danny and Sydney had kissed on their last date.

Sydney abandoned her protests, wondering at the same time why no one seemed to be able to resist Francie Calfo.

"Fine."

Right as she said that, the doorbell rang.

Danny.

Still worried about Danny's reaction to her dress, Sydney walked up to the door and opened it. Danny was standing in front of her and gasped as he looked her up and down.

"Sydney, you're… you're beautiful," he finally managed to say admiringly.

Feeling her face flush, Sydney had to admit he didn't look bad either. Far from it, actually. He looked as though he was dressed all in black aside from a burnished golden breastplate and matching gauntlets. Under his arm, he carried a helmet, which appeared to complete his set of armour.

Glad he seemed to appreciate her dress but feeling sheepish, she had to let him know that the costume was her friend's choice, not hers.

"I'm sorry, Danny… Francie is the one that chose my costume."

Danny's face was enlightened by a huge smile.

"Our little Francie is quite the matchmaker, huh? Come on, I don't mind at all. We might just win that contest after all," he joked, knowing from previous years how bad Francie wanted to win that prize.

Danny's smile was contagious. As long as he didn't feel pressured by having them going as Lancelot and Guinevere, if he actually made it out to be a big joke, well then maybe she could just have fun and enjoy her night.

Grinning, she took the hand he offered her and they made their way to Danny's car.

Time to have some fun.

Sitting at the bar in front of two beers, Vaughn and Weiss were talking about the Moscow events. Some facts still eluded Eric and he was finally getting the chance to fill in some blanks.

"It was lucky that Sydney called you from the archives room," Weiss said. "But what did she want to tell you?"

Vaughn's forehead creased as he explained:

"She had just found some documents about who her mother really was."

"You mean Anna Espinosa was telling the truth?" Weiss exclaimed, surprised.

"Yes. Sydney found proof that her mother's real name was in fact Irina Derevko, former KGB agent… and that she is still alive."

"What? Wow… I understand she needed to tell someone about that! Must be pretty hard information to deal with…"

"Yes, but I think the worst bit for her is figuring out how to tell her dad," Vaughn replied, clearly troubled. He could have taken that problem away from her by telling her Jack already knew, but it would only cause her more grief. Bristow family matters really wasn't something he needed to get in the middle of…

Weiss watched his friend carefully and waited. But Vaughn was in no hurry to spill anything else.

"Mike, it's obvious something is eating you inside, and I doubt it's your concern for Jack. What is it, bud?"

Hesitantly, Vaughn said:

"Eric, no one must know what I'm about to tell you, okay?"

"Sure, man. I won't tell a soul."

Vaughn sighed, knowing full well Jack and Devlin expected him to keep this piece of information to himself. But something had to give. Between telling Eric about his feelings for Sydney, letting her know about her dad or clearing his conscience about lying to his asset, the choice was easy to make.

"Jack knew that his former wife was a Russian spy."

"What?" exclaimed Weiss a little too loudly, attracting curious stares. "What?" he repeated in a lower voice.

"Yes, and the CIA did too. That's why they sent me to Moscow. They didn't want anybody else to know about this."

"Jeez… That's… Wow."

But realisation slowly crept inside Weiss' mind.

"Sooo… you know that Jack knows and yet you're not telling Sydney?"

"Exactly. This is between Sydney and her father. I have to give him the chance to explain things himself first."

"But you feel real guilty, huh?"

"Yes," Vaughn sighed.

"What did you tell her? I mean, she must have asked how you found her and so on…"

"Technically, I only told her the truth, but… I gave her that speech about trust and a minute later I'm keeping important information from her."

Eric put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Mike, don't beat yourself up. You're doing what you have to do. Their family matters aren't your business. Anyway, she might very well never learn you knew about this."

"I guess… But that doesn't make it any easier to look at her knowing I'm not being truthful with her."

Trying to find a way to cheer his friend up, Eric's gaze fell on Vaughn's empty beer bottle. Pointing at it, he said:

"Let me buy you another one."

But Vaughn shook his head.

"I've got to go. I'm going to see Alice and I can't be late."

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Why not this time?"

Vaughn drew his friend a brief look before looking down at his beer for a few seconds.

"We had a big argument last night because I hadn't told her I was going away for a few days. She had tried to call me and… I'll spare you the details, but she's really mad. I'm going to see her and try to patch things up."

"You didn't tell her you were leaving for Moscow?! Even with all the risks involved? That's just so not like you man…"

"So many things were happening, it didn't even cross my mind… It should have but it didn't," Vaughn explained, sighing once more.

He and Alice had gotten so far apart… Was there still any point in staying together? They hardly even talked anymore… And now that he had realised that he had strong feelings for Sydney, he knew that keeping on with this relationship wasn't fair on Alice. Or on himself.

But if he ended it tonight… How would Alice react? It hadn't been very long since her father had died and he knew she still needed his support. Maybe he could hang on for a few more weeks and then break up with her?

Vaughn would have liked to tell Eric he was falling in love with Syd. To unload the burden and seek advice would be nice. But he knew full well that this was a Pandora box he'd better not open, particularly as he had taken the decision to stay on as her handler. Weiss would surely tell him that it was a ridiculous situation to put himself in and that really wasn't something he needed to hear right now.

Vaughn sighed, got up and took his wallet out, but Eric stopped him.

"'On me, remember?"

"Thanks."

"Good luck with Alice."

After a short nod, Vaughn left, leaving a pensive Weiss behind. Didn't his friend remember he was a spy, too? And one that had known him for a long time? It was clear Vaughn still wasn't telling him everything that was bothering him. This was probably about Sydney… Weiss was becoming more certain that Vaughn definitely had more than a little crush on her. It was at least something more like a MAJOR crush. If Vaughn wasn't entertaining strong feelings for her, he most likely wouldn't have moved heaven and earth to get her back, putting his own life at great risk in the process.

Weiss put a few dollars on the bar with a furrowed brow of his own. Maybe he would have to keep an eye on his friend for a while. After the way he had behaved with both Jack and Devlin, after the way he had jeopardised his own safety, in no time at all to save Sydney… Preventing him from making more mistakes was the right thing to do.

That's what friends were for.

It was still early the next morning when Sydney woke up and the house was still silent. Looking back on the night's events, she realised that it had had its ups and downs.

Although Danny had turned the whole thing in a joke and didn't mind the reference to one of the most romantic couples ever, Sydney's costume had been a source of discomfort for her all night. No wonder Francie and Will won first prize on the night for their outfits!

Sydney smiled to herself. Francie was so happy to win! And she deserved it. She had been a genius for choosing those costumes and had adopted the spirit of her disguise so much better than herself, therefore impressing the judges. Considering that Sydney played other people so often in her line of work, it was really ironic that on this occasion, Francie had been better at pretending! And even though she was happy for her friend, it was kind of frustrating to be outplayed by an amateur, Sydney joked to herself.

But she had had a great time with Danny. He was so funny! When she was with him she completely forgot about her job. She felt like she was this totally normal young woman and that was such a priceless feeling. Sydney couldn't deny the admiration she saw in his eyes made her feel so good! It meant so much to her that a man like him could maybe fall in love with her REAL self, as opposed to te person she had to be when she slipped inside the spy world…

Yes, she and Danny had really gotten closer last night… Sydney turned onto her side, blushing as she remembered their goodnight kiss… uh… kisses. There hadn't exactly been sparks flying when they made out, but still, she was recalling the moment fondly when she was startled by a vibration on her bedside table.

Her pager.