Author: CarolineEJ@bolt.com
Disclaimer: I'm not JJ Abrams and have no affiliation once so ever with the show, unfortunately :(
Rating: PG
Category: Sydney/Vaughn
Summary: Vaughn preps Sydney for her next mission, but that's not the main thing on either of their minds.
Dedication: To Biz and Vicky and our obsession with the Vaughn Show... I mean Alias
:)

Worth The Wait

Sydney stood in the deserted warehouse, the same place where her and Vaughn met most of the time. The walls were gray concrete and a chain link fence surrounded them. The building reminded Syd of her life, trapped with nothing but bleak surroundings all around her. Five feet from her stood her handler, agent Michael Vaughn. His side was leaning against the fencing and his arms were crossed, as they usually were.

"So what's my counter-mission?" Sydney looked into Vaughn's eyes, trying to read what he was thinking but having no luck. She could never tell what was going on in his head. Just like the night she called him when her father stood her up for dinner, she had so many regrets for calling him that night. She thought he was so disturbed and aggravated that she had called him to come out to listen to her cry and whine in the dead of night. But he wasn't, his speech proved her to be wrong and it proved that he did care about her.

"When you get to Lithuania, get Milo Slovenski's password to his files, write it down on a slip of paper, we'll have an agent waiting at the airport terminal on your flight home to take it from you. We'll go through Slovenski's files get what we need, and delete most of the account before Sloane gets a chance to. Then when SD-6 goes to check out Slovenski's files, there will be nothing but a bunch of old bank statements and useless documents." From the distance Vaughn was to Sydney, he could smell her perfume, it wasn't a strong smell, but pleasant, like being in a patch of wild strawberries and flowers. At this point, Vaughn would have given almost anything to take Sydney and hop on the next flight to some remote island and take her away from all the lies and deceit in her life. 'Get a hold of yourself Michael, you're her handler, she doesn't think of you like that. Her fiancée just died not even a year ago, give her up right now. You can't even talk to her normally in public.'

Sydney nodded her head "Sounds good. I'll contact you when I get back."

Vaughn reached out and grabbed her hand. "Sydney" He looked deep into her eyes. That moment, he wanted to do a million things. He wanted to tell her that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, tell her that if there was just a chance they could be together, he would give it up, he would give it all up, the CIA, his position, his life. He would throw all that he had worked for in the trash just to build a life together and grow old in each other's arms. 'Why don't you just get out the mop and bucket, you sap' he thought briefly. "Be careful, we don't know what kind of tricks Slovenski will pull, take care of yourself."

Feeling slightly disappointed that he had let go of her hand so quickly, Sydney managed a smile "I will" she promised. Vaughn opened the gate for her and watched as she walked away to risk her life again, and all just to bring down SD-6 to avenge Danny's death.

Once again Vaughn's mind wandered and he wondered what it would be like if he had met her before that day she barged into the CIA, wanting to be a double agent. What if he had met her while walking down the street? Would his heart still have skipped a beat when he first laid eyes on her like it did when he saw the bright flash of red vigorously writing her statement. This was a question which life would never provide an answer too, and it was something he had to accept.

For now though, he would play the waiting game. Maybe nothing would come of his newly found feelings for Sydney, but who knows. Sydney will someday take down SD-6, piece by piece, the walls are slowly crumbling. Maybe after that he will have a real chance to be more than just her handler, he could be her everything. But until then, he would wait, he'd wait forever if need be. She was worth the wait for him.