The Dream

Chapter 7: Time

A/N: I changed the subcategory because although the next chapter will have some action, I thought angst was more appropriate.

Please continue to let me know what you think; I love getting the feedback!

Vaughn watched Sydney until she was out of sight, and even then kept his eyes glued on the dark corner where he had last seen her, listening to her footsteps until the warehouse door finally closed behind them. His feet hadn't moved from the spot where they had kissed. It was as if he thought that by cementing his feet to the ground where his lips had finally found hers, he would be able to cement the feeling of her in his mind forever.

His skin still tingled where she had touched him and his mouth still burned with the memory of her kiss. He wondered why they always seemed to be the victims of merciless time. If it hadn't been so late Francie wouldn't have gotten worried and called Sydney's cell phone. If it hadn't been for time, Sydney would still be in his arms at that very moment, and could stay there forever.

Vaughn sighed and sat down, not in the chair that he had been in before, but in the one that Sydney had sat in. Time always seemed to be a problem where Sydney was concerned. She always had somewhere else to be and something else to do. Time had been an issue in Dinatti Park, when Cole had taken over SD-6, and especially when Sydney had been infiltrating Hassan's stockpile on Crete. Vaughn couldn't remember the exact events of that night; they seemed to be a blur. The sounds of that night, however, were stuck in his head. Sydney coughing and gasping as the gasoline rained down on her, her scared voice demanding to know what has happening. She had almost died, and all because of time. He recalled running up the stairs, faster than he had ever run up any stairs before, and into Devlin's office, "If I don't get your signature on a protection order for Ineni Hassan's family in the next forty seconds, Sydney Bristow will die." Forty seconds was the difference between life and death, and even as he had said that, the seconds had been ticking down; they had saved her, but only just in time.

As Vaughn sat there, alone in the dark warehouse, he wondered what could have happened if time had stopped that night. If it had not been midnight, and Francie had not called. Would the kiss have ended and he would have her in his arms, letting the silence speak louder than any words they could have uttered? Would they still be standing in that same spot, letting their kiss escalate further and further? Would they have already passed the point of no return and been on the floor in a heated frenzy?

A million scenarios raced through Vaughn's head, each one better than the last. But he would never know how the night truly would have ended. He could only sit in the warehouse and dream. Dream that he could still see Sydney before him, smell her sweet perfume, hear her heart beat in time with his, feel her smooth skin under his fingers, and taste her lips with his own…

As Sydney slowly walked away from Vaughn and out of the warehouse, her thoughts were raging so furiously through her mind that her head was throbbing. She hadn't yet figured out why she had turned away from him so easily in Valencia, when it was taking all of her strength no to turn back to him now.

She refused to look back at Vaughn, because she knew that if she looked just once into his eyes, she wouldn't be able to leave. It took all of her willpower to walk out of the warehouse, he seemed to be drawing her to him like iron to a magnet, but she managed it and with a small sigh, closed the door of the warehouse behind her.

The night air cooled her burning flesh, which hadn't yet realized that she was no longer with Vaughn and was still screaming for more of his touch. She got into her car and quickly drove away before she gave in to her desire to return to him.

Her mouth and lips ached where he had touched her, not because the kiss itself had been physically painful, his touch had been soft and tender, but because his lips were gone from hers and she longed for them to return.

She kept repeating to herself that to kiss him had been wrong, and not because of protocol. She had damned protocol to hell the moment her fingers had brushed against his. The kiss had been wrong because now, she wanted more. She wanted to be inside the warehouse with Vaughn, lighting the fire within her until she burned uncontrollably with passion, not in her car trying to use the air conditioning to cool herself down so that Francie would not know what she had been doing.

During the entire ride home, Sydney had not only been thinking of Vaughn, but had also been trying desperately not to be angry with Francie. She was a good friend even if she did pick a hell of a time to call. It wasn't her fault; it's not like she knew that Sydney was at a secret meeting with her gorgeously irresistible handler and had purposely tried to break them up.

Sydney sighed as she pulled into her driveway. Francie and Will thought they knew everything about her, but they didn't. They didn't know that she could speak just about any language she wanted to, kick the ass of a man that was ten times her size, and wore dresses that were almost as revealing as lingerie. They thought that she worked at a bank and went on business trips to solve bankruptcy problems. They didn't know a damn thing, but it was her fault, not theirs. The life she was living was one huge lie, and for the most part, it sucked.

Francie had her wrapped in a huge hug before she even stepped in the door. "Sydney, thank God! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry," Sydney said as her friend let go of her and she collapsed on the couch.

"You didn't leave me a note or anything!" Francie exclaimed as she sat down next to her. "I got home, expecting to find you in bed, but you weren't even here. Where did you go?"

Sydney smiled. If Francie really knew what she dealt with every time she went to work, she'd have a heart attack. "I took a drive down to the pier, looked at the water…It was so peaceful."

"Well, next time at least leave a note."

Sydney laughed weakly, "You worry too much, Francie."

Francie looked at her strangely, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just…tired." Sydney stood up and hugged her friend again. "I'm going to bed. Thanks for worrying about me."

Francie laughed, "No problem. Good night."

"Night."

Sydney walked into her room without turning on the light and lay down on her bed. Forty-five minutes ago she had been in the arms of the man of her dreams. If only she could have stopped time! Now, she was alone, with only her dreams. If she closed her eyes tight enough she could almost feel him next to her, his soft touch tickling her skin.

Little did she know that in a warehouse a few miles away, a man hadn't moved from the chair she had sat in, and was still dreaming of her…