The Dream

Chapter 6: Midnight

Vaughn waited as patiently for Sydney's arrival as he could. His ears picked up the slightest sounds in the dark warehouse, and after what seemed like half a lifetime, he heard Sydney's familiar steps.

His heart skipped a beat as soon as heard her footsteps. He knew that he should have waited until tomorrow to call her, that would have been closer to the time of her mission and probably would have been a lot better than calling her so close to midnight. He had waited nearly a week to see her and a few more hours wouldn't have hurt, but he had been aching to see her.

Thoughts of the last time they spent together had been running through his head ever since she had left him in Valencia. The soft Spanish breeze and the cool moonlight had been intoxicating. He had been able to control himself while dancing with her in the mansion and even while she lay on top of him under the desk, but sitting on the hill, under the stars…it had just seemed so normal and so right. He had forgotten that he was sitting there with a woman whose purse contained the stolen plans for a vaccine, and that they were on a secret mission; he had only known that he was sitting next to the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on and he wanted her more than anything in the world.

Sydney's steps were drawing nearer and in a few seconds he would finally be able to see her. During those seemingly interminable seconds, Vaughn allowed himself to wonder if she would be angry with him. She had turned away from him when he had been about to kiss her, nearly breaking his heart. At first he thought that maybe she didn't feel the same way as he did, or that she still missed Danny. But he saw the pained look in her eyes and the way her hand shook and faltered for a moment as she handed him the plans and turned to leave. Sydney had been an award-winning actress all night, hiding her true identity from everyone at the party, and her true feelings from Vaughn, but at that moment, when she had said goodbye, her emotions slipped through her disguise. While her mouth had been telling him that she needed to get back to the hotel, her eyes told him that she wanted him more than anything, but it had just not been the right time.

Sydney appeared before him. He was still standing at the gate and had not opened it yet. She stopped a few feet away from him, not looking into his eyes, but still giving him a shy smile, "Hi."

"Hey," Vaughn answered as he quickly moved to open the gate for her.

She walked past him and settled down on one of the chairs in the room. Vaughn noticed that her blue tank top was almost the exact color that her dress had been that night in Valencia. Trying to force any thoughts of "that night" out of his head, he took a seat quite a few feet away from her.

"Sorry I called you so late, but…" he fumbled for an excuse, but Sydney interjected.

"You have to give me my countermission."

"Right," Vaughn looked down at the floor.

"Don't worry, I wasn't in bed yet."

"What?" The word "bed" caught Vaughn off guard and he looked at her, startled, and noticed that although she was looking at him, she was avoiding his eyes.

"I, I wasn't…I mean, you didn't wake me up."

"Oh, that's good." He was acting like a damn fool and decided he had better give her the countermission before he did something really stupid. "Well," he said reaching into a bag, "You can take pictures with SD-6's camera, it's okay if they get the information, but we also want to ID this guy. We might be able to connect him to others who are selling weapons to K-Directorate or even SD-6." He held up a tube of lipstick. "Here's your camera."

Sydney nodded, but remained in her seat.

"Um, I'm sure you could catch it if I threw it to you, but my arm's probably a little rusty so I don't think it would be such a good idea." He smiled and watched her eyes light up.

"Sorry," she laughed, and they both stood up and walked towards each other.

Vaughn held the camera out and she slowly reached up to take it. He watched as she touched the lipstick, her fingers almost successfully taking the object from him, before they collided with his skin.

She gasped slightly, but did not move her hand. Vaughn's pulse soared. It was amazing how her slightest movement, her footsteps, the touch of her fingers against his, made him lose his breath.

Ignoring the rules she had set for herself, Sydney finally let her eyes meet his. They stood that way for a moment, her fingers pressed ever so slightly against his, while Sydney's thoughts raced out of control and Vaughn struggled to control his breathing.

Without taking her eyes from his, Sydney slowly took the lipstick from his hand and put it in her pocket. "Vaughn," she whispered as she took a step closer to him. "I'm sorry…In Spain, I…"

He touched his fingers to her lips and she became silent. Vaughn could feel her lips quiver under his slight touch and wondered, "Why the hell can't I control these sudden urges to touch her? Especially to touch her lips?" He knew that he should take his hand away, but her lips were so soft and smooth, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Eventually, he brought his hand away from her mouth and slowly and gently ran his fingers over her cheek. "You don't have to be sorry."

The heat in the warehouse had suddenly become intense and unbearable. Vaughn wished he could take off his shirt, but although he had no doubt that Sydney wouldn't object, he didn't think it would be the appropriate thing to do. Instead he waited. Waiting was something he had become very good at over the past months, and he had already decided that he could wait a lifetime if he knew that for even a second at the end of it he would get a chance to feel Sydney's lips against his own.

Vaughn knew it was wrong to think of Sydney as he had been He was her handler, and because of the way he had been wishing that word could be defined, he was breaking just about every rule he knew. But he didn't really care. It was worth it just to be this close to her, to see her smile, to know that she trusted him, and to dream of her at night.

Vaughn had taken his hand away from her face and Sydney longed for him to bring it back. She hoped he understood that she hadn't meant to turn him away. She would make him understand; she had to. "Vaughn, please listen to me," she pleaded. "I don't know why I…I wanted to…Something just wasn't…" A single tear slid down her cheek. She knew what she wanted to say, but she was having trouble getting the words out, and the thought that he wouldn't understand, would think that she had meant to turn away from him…

"I know," Vaughn said in a whisper, gently wiping the tear off her cheek. Although neither of them had moved, the space between them seemed to be widening, and he didn't know how much longer he could stand to be so far away from her.

Suddenly, Sydney moved closer to him. They were separated by just millimeters and she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She tilted her head upward and closed her eyes. In an instant, she felt Vaughn's lips pressed tenderly against her own in a kiss more sweet than any she had ever imagined. For a few brief seconds she could taste the delicious sweetness of his lips; then they were gone.

Vaughn knew that although Sydney appeared to be an invincible, ass-kicking secret agent, she was a lot more vulnerable and delicate than she made out to be. He didn't want to hurt her or force her into anything. Although he was dying to rip off her clothes and have her right then and there, he was willing, and just barely able, to stop and let that one tender kiss satisfy his longing for her.

Vaughn may have been able to satisfy himself with that one kiss, but that fleeting moment could not satiate Sydney's sudden, intense hunger for him She placed her hand on the back of his neck and brought his head down to meet hers. This kiss started out as tender as the first, but soon exploded with passion. Vaughn's hands, kept back for so long were finally freed from their chains and able to wander over her, and he was caressing her back and running his fingers through her silky hair.

For the first time in months, Sydney's mind was clear of everything except the man in her arms, the feel of his smooth skin, his sweet scent, and the taste of his lips. She didn't worry about SD-6, the Agency, her mother, her friends…In Vaughn's arms she was finally free, and nothing else mattered as their kiss cascaded deeper and deeper.

She could have stayed like that forever, never having to worry about anything else again, if she did not slowly come to the realization that just as her skin was burning for Vaughn's touch, her lungs were burning for want of air. But she did not ever want this kiss to end and would have been content to die right then and there, with their lips locked in a literally breathtaking kiss for all of eternity, when she gradually noticed that there was a sound in the usually silent warehouse. A sound that was different than that of her pounding heartbeat…it was a ringing sound…

Now, she had heard stories of bells and whistles going off when someone finally found their true love, but this did not sound like the bells in cartoons and old movies; it was more familiar, a sound she heard at least ten times a day…Dammit! Her cell phone!

Sydney considered just letting the phone ring until whoever was on the other end hung up. That was obviously not working however, because the phone had been ringing long before she actually realized it and continued to ring mercilessly, seeming to scream for someone to answer it.

Reluctantly, she backed away from Vaughn, gasping for air. She took his hand while she slowly pulled away from him, and only let go when she had moved too far away from him for her fingers to continue clinging to his. She searched in her purse for her cell phone, wishing that she had been near the ocean and could throw her damn phone in the Pacific alongside her beeper. She found it and waited until she caught her breath before answering. "Hello?"

"Sydney! Where the hell are you?!" answered a very worried sounding Francie.

"Oh, sorry. I just felt like stepping out. I didn't realize how late it was." Sydney answered.

"I was so worried, I was about to call the police! I got home and you weren't here, and I called Will and he didn't know where you were and…"

"It's okay, Francie. I'm really sorry. I'll be home in about half an hour."

"I'll wait up for you. I'm just so glad you're all right."

"Bye," Sydney turned off her phone and put it away, wishing that her life didn't have to be one big lie. She gazed sadly into Vaughn's eyes and whispered, "I've got to go."

Vaughn nodded and without another word, Sydney turned and slowly walked away. He wanted so badly to run up to her and take her in his arms and kiss her, or at least hug her goodbye. But he knew that if he touched her, he would never be able to let her go. "Good luck in Cairo," he whispered after her.