A/N: I'm not happy with this chapter... sadly it's also the first chapter... however, a HUGE thanks to Jasmine for betaing it for me.

Thank you to YoungStarsOwner and leo's l'il sista for reviewing! :)




Chapter 1
~ A Fateful Goodbye ~

The sickening baby blue sky was dusted with fluffy clouds of undercover angels. Sunshine spilled on every place possible, raising the Santa Monica temperature into the nineties. Children and parents were laughing in the streets and in the sand; sandcastles were being built as waves broke onto the shore, effacing the footprints of couples in love. The irony of the pure joy and heavenly weather did not go unnoticed by the figure dressed in a black dress suit. Her hair blew in every direction, covering up her face, but allowing enough for everyone to see her beauty.

A car pulled up to a space near the woman, but she made no motion of apperception or even hearing it. A man in his late thirties came out of the car, hesitating as he approached the woman standing on the pier who was looking out at the sea.

"You know, I checked the observatory, the train station, the warehouse, the bluffs and palisades… and you weren't there."

She dipped her head, a slow smile arising on her face.

"You didn't really check all those places."

"You're right. I didn't. The observatory is no longer a free admission so there are less people, you can't disappear there. The train station is closed for maintenance… there are no more normal people going to their normal jobs; well, unless you count the construction workers. The warehouse is now a meeting place for gangs, and the bluffs and palisades were burned in the fires of October 2003. The pier was the only place left; the only place not destroyed by time."

"This place still calms me down after so many years."

He stayed silent, knowing that she needed her time to speak. But he still wanted to rush her, tell her that they were coming for her. That she needed to leave, to vanish.

"Did you know that this is where I fell in love with you?"

His heart skipped a beat. They had never talked about this, not even when they were together. There had been no admittance of love. This was new ground; a path that should have been covered all those years ago.

"Sydney…" there was a warning in his voice, slightly veiled by desperation.

"You know… I've been thinking. Maybe I'm not really back. Maybe when this is all over, I'll disappear again, turn into another person and forget everything in this life. Maybe there's only one reason I'm back—to take down the Covenant. Maybe I'm not supposed to be interacting with the people I used to love, to the people I used to know even. It'll only get them killed. Maybe—"

"Syd, stop. You know that's not true. You can't do this to yourself…"

"And if it is true?" she threw back at him. "You don't understand this! You just don't understand it."

"That's unfair Syd. I know what it's like to have my whole world turned upside down in one day! I know what it's like to try and take everything in stride, to try to keep everything normal. That day you died Sydney, that day changed everything. In those ten minutes. One minute I saw you, and then I didn't. After that explosion, you know what the firemen told me? It would have been instantaneous death; no one could have lived through it. I lost you, Sydney! I loved the woman I loved most in less than a second. Realizing that you might have died by yourself, all alone in that house, no one was with you. And I felt betrayed by everything and everyone, especially fate. And then I moved on, God decided to punch me again with reality. And then I got you back. It was faith deciding to throw things back at me, for not having enough faith in us. So don't give me that bulls*** about me not understanding what you're going through. I went through it twice. Sure, the circumstances might not be the same, but the feelings would be. Stop throwing the blame around."

Beat.

"I'm sorry Mi- …Va-… I'm sorry. There's just been too much going on. I've only been back five weeks and I feel like I'm about to drown. There's too much… it's too much. You know, when Weiss told me that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California, I thought he was joking. There's been too much change for me to cope with. Maybe I need a new environment, away from LA. There are too many memories here."

"Sydney, you'll survive. You're still the strongest person I know." The need to hug her was tremendous; he had to force himself to remember the invisible barrier in between them.

"You don't get it. My father was my strength these past weeks. And now he's gone. I don't have it anymore. I'm by myself now. Truly by myself. Maybe this is how all orphans feel."

"You're not an orphan."

"How do you know that, Vau-? How? For all purposes, my mother died when I was six years old. And we don't even know if Irina is still alive right now. I am alone." Tears were steadily streaming down her face, trickling so that the sun would catch it. A glimmer.

"Sydney, your father wouldn't want you doing this to yourself. He would want you to stay strong."

"My father was my strength. And he told me that I was his. But now I've lost my strength. I don't have any left," she was choking on her tears, trying to keep the lump in her throat down.

"You still have me," he quietly whispered.

"You don't understand. I don't anymore. Maybe I never have."

"No, you still do. You always have, and you always will." He was trying to stress it so hard that she still had him. No matter what happened, he would always be there for her.

"You're married." She whispered while tears drenched her eyes.

"So what? I'll be here whenever you need me."

"You can't do that anymore. You can't. It's better if we just part ways."

It felt like a blow to his stomach. He couldn't bear to have her leave again. Ironic considering that was what he was here to tell her to do.

"Vaughn, you're married, you don't need me here. You have comfort—a type of comfort I was never supposed to have. You're happy, you're in love… hell, you're still classified as a newlywed. Why am I even here? I will not make your life hell… I will not let you choose between your wife and me."

She looked up at him, finally able to look him directly in the eye.

"Maybe I should leave the CIA. I should become a freelance. I won't have to meet with people I love and know. There will be no harm done to them. Maybe I only appeared again after dying to take down the covenant. There's no other reason. You've all moved on. I'm only holding you all back." She was going around in circles, but she couldn't stop herself. The words were just pouring out. "I saw you with your wife in the hospital after I stabbed you." She grimaced, remembering what she had to do. "You're in love with her."

"Sydney…" he cut her off. Trying to prevent her from falling into the pit she was digging for herself. "I'm not in love with her the same way I was in love with you."

She paused to think; a look passed over her face. She was remembering something. Something bittersweet. It was amazing how he could still read her like when they were together.

"You know what I find ironic? The only time I hear you say some version of "I love you" would have to be in the past tense. You're not the same person that I loved, and I'm definitely not the same person you once loved. Maybe it's time that I let go of the past. Let go of my dreams and deal with the reality." Her tone was pensive and full of wonder, yet there was a thin lace of anger in the statement.

He gripped both her shoulders. Heat immediately seared through both of them. It had been so long since they had touched each other. "Never give up a dream. Never. You once told me that what it all comes down to faith. Keep the faith Sydney."

"Vau- … There is no reason to keep faith if faith is already dead. I've just begun to understand that."

It hurt him to see her losing herself in all her own lies. "Your faith is not dead. It's just dormant right now. You'll see. You have reason for hope. I promise you. And Syd, you haven't been able to call me 'Vaughn' at all. Why?"

"Because if I called you 'Vaughn,' it would bring me back to a period when you were mine. And you aren't mine anymore. And I can't call you 'Michael' because it would just remind me that you're Lauren's for forever. And right now, I don't think I can think about that."

"Syd… I'll always be Vaughn. It's always been saved for you."

"Don't say that. Not when you know you're not supposed to. Just don't say it anymore."

A cloud passed over the sun, killing off the sunlight.

Time all of a sudden had become significant again. He remembered why he was here. Sydney watched as his entire demeanor changed into his business mode.

"Syd, the NSC knows you killed him; you have to run. Before they take you in for tests."

"I've been thinking… Would it really be so bad? I'd finally know what happened those two years, other than Simon of course. He might have been lying through his teeth for all we know. If they tested me, I'd have the information to help you bring the covenant down. You could get back to a normal life with Lauren."

"I won't let them do this to you, Syd. I swore I would always keep you safe. And I will not go back on that promise. Not even to bring down the Covenant. It would have to be some other way, a way not detrimental to you. I cannot lose you again, Syd." There was aggressiveness in his tone, and yet his words spoke otherwise about a love affair that just wouldn't end.

"Don't worry about me, Vaughn. You have a wife waiting for you back home. Leave me be. You know what? Forget about me. Truly forget about Sydney Bristow. She only brought your life hell."

"I would never be able to forget about you, Sydney."

"Why not? Live your life properly. Don't try to remember me." She was determined, and he knew he would not get her to agree to anything else.

"You're unforgettable Sydney. You were the love of my life."

"Vaughn, don't sugar coat things. Leave it as a memory. And forget it."

"If I forget you, will you promise to be safe?" His green eyes explored her sad chocolate ones.

"Of course."

They both knew that this was goodbye. The last time they would ever see one another.

Slowly, Vaughn was just a breath away, and finally their lips met in one last passionate embrace.

It was both sweet and tender, forgiving, and a promise.

A goodbye.

They both pulled back together, always moving together.

He murmured a "be careful."

He closed his eyes as he felt her hand wrap around his and gave it a quick squeeze. A breeze passed by and he knew she was gone.

He bowed his head, knowing that that was going to be the last time he would ever see Sydney Bristow again, to touch her, to love her again. He had lied; he would always remember her, not as a memory, but as his soul mate.