Summary: Will and Francie learn the "truth" and Sydney pays a late night visit to Vaughn's house...
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 5
Sydney walked over to Vaughn and lightly brushed her lips against his. "I'll see you later sweetie," she whispered loudly enough for Will to hear, and gently stroked his arm before turning around. "Come on Will, I'll explain on the way home," she said and pulled a confused Will with her.
She had goosebumps all over.
-------
Vaughn's mouth hung open as he watched Sydney walk away. He was shocked. He was sweating. His hands were trembling. He had momentarily forgotten all about the present situation; he was on cloud nine. And he knew why.
-------
"Shouldn't we wait until those people from the CIA get here?" Will asked, confused. "I think one of them had your same last name," he said.
"There's no relation," Sydney said quickly, not having any interest in seeing her father now. "Let's just go." In fact, she had to go before they arrived so as not to blow her cover any further. "Where's your car?" she asked, "I'll come back for mine tomorrow."
-------
Sydney fastened her seatbelt and shut the passenger door of Will's car. They emerged from the warehouse and Sydney checked around for the arriving CIA agents. She didn't see them.
As soon as they were away from the area, away from any immediate danger, away from the chance of running into any CIA people, Sydney began to tell Will yet another lie.
"Ok," she sighed, "here's the story. That man, his name is Michael Vaughn. He works for the CIA. And I've sort of been seeing him. I couldn't tell you because of his job - you know, national safety and all," she laughed anxiously. "Anyway, I was supposed to meet him here --"
"In a warehouse?" Will asked, skeptically.
"He told me to meet him there because he had a surprise for me," she said quietly.
"Yeah a double homicide - gee, that's a good way to impress a girl."
"Come off it, Will, he was obviously followed!"
"Well why did they talk to you then, and not him?"
"I don't know, Will," she answered. "I guess they thought they had shot him so they tried to get the information they wanted out of me. Luckily he killed them before they did anything drastic to get it out of me." It felt odd for her to say Michael instead of Vaughn. It didn't roll off her tongue as easily. And Vaughn sounded so much sexier.
"So he tells you about his missions? As a citizen, that comforts me," Will said cynically.
"Only a few things," Sydney replied.
She sat in silence, waiting for Will to ask her about Dixon's monologue and what the hell he had been talking about. But he didn't. Sydney assumed he had left before that point.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Will said bluntly, "You know, Syd, I'm really sick of your lies. You could have just told us about him. I'm sure us knowing about your boyfriend wouldn't have placed the country in any immediate danger," he said sarcastically, and harshly.
"It's not just his job," Sydney told him. "I didn't know how you and Francie would react to me dating, you know, after Danny..." she trailed off.
"Syd, we would have been happy for you. It's about time you regained some happiness in your life," he said as he pulled up in front of Sydney's house.
"Do you want to come in?" she offered.
-------
Will looked at Sydney as she asked him if he wanted to come in. She looked so innocent, so pristine, so delicate, so pure. It was hard for him to fathom that she was involved in all this CIA crap, even if it was indirectly.
He wanted to come in, to hold her and caress her and stroke her; comfort her and tell her that everything would be all right. But it wasn't his place anymore. Sydney had a new man in her life. And as much as that hurt Will, he knew that coming in would just hurt him more.
"I'd love to Syd," he sighed. "But I don't think I should."
He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. "It'll be ok, I promise," he whispered.
"Ok," Sydney gulped, trying to hold back her tears.
She climbed out of the car and slowly trudged inside.
-------
"Sydney! Where have you been?" Francie rushed over as Sydney entered the house.
As soon as the door shut behind her, Sydney began to weep uncontrollably.
"Francie," she managed, "I have something to tell you."
She relayed the same lie to Francie as she had to Will, speaking through her tears while Francie hugged her.
"Shhh," Francie cooed, "everything is ok. I love you no matter who you're dating," she smiled.
Sydney looked at her friend and smiled as well. She was so thankful for Francie. She knew Francie would never, ever shut her out.
The two girls sat crying and hugging for a long time thereafter. Francie finally surrendered to bed, leaving Sydney alone in the living room.
Sydney replayed the day's events in her head. Anna was Dixon's daughter. Dixon was a mole for K-Directorate. Will and Francie could now connect Sydney to the CIA, at least indirectly. And she had kissed Vaughn.
Whatever image her friends had of Sydney's perfect life had changed today. She knew that they thought of her life as a perfect snowglobe. Anyone could look in through the glass and see her; diligent, hard-working, smiling Sydney Bristow. But no one could get in.
Now that snowglobe was shattered. Her friends were one step closer to finding out about Sydney's double life, and the web of deception had just grown immensely.
Once again, Vaughn's words crossed her mind: "You got my number..."
This time, Sydney didn't hesitate.
-------
Vaughn had just entered his house when his phone rang. He had just finished up debriefing the CIA on the warehouse episode. And it was 1 in the morning. Who would be calling him? Probably Devlin, he thought, wanting to clarify yet another detail.
"Hello," he said, his voice husky with sleep - or lack thereof.
"It's me," Sydney's voice replied. His heart skipped a beat and any thoughts of sleep immediately vanished.
"Are you ok?" he asked tenderly.
"I need to talk," she whispered. "I guess our meeting place is out of the question."
"Yeah," he grinned. "We can't really go anywhere at this hour. Why don't you just come over?" he suggested, immediately smacking his forehead at the notion.
-------
Sydney pondered his proposition. Sloane still thought she was out sick, but she was sure he knew that Dixon had been murdered - and that he was a mole. He had probably relaxed her surveillance with this new proof that she was not the mole. Even if she couldn't shake a possible tail, which was highly unlikely, she could always use the one night stand excuse if Sloane questioned her.
"Sounds good," she replied. "I'll be there soon," she said, hanging up.
Sydney went to her bedroom before leaving. She changed into some sweatpant capris and a body fitting tank top. She brushed her hair, splashed cold water on her face, and smoothed some foundation over her cheekbones to hide the fact that she had been crying. She decided that this was a suitable look. She wrote Francie a note saying that she was going to "Michael's house" and she quietly left.
-------
Vaughn too, changed his clothes, putting on sweatpants and a faded hockey t-shirt. He picked up some things that he had left scattered across his living room floor, tidying the small place up. When he finished, he put on a pot of coffee for he and Sydney to drink.
He heard a knock on the door and opened it, letting a casually beautiful Sydney enter his house.
"Any problems?" he inquired caringly.
"Nope," she replied.
He led her into his freshly cleaned living room and sat her down on his couch, resting himself down next to her. They sat in silence for a minute, then Sydney began to cry softly.
"My partner..." she began, searching for words. "I mean, I thought he was good. Innocent. But he was just as much scum as the rest of them."
Vaughn put his arm around Sydney's shoulders, bringing immediate warmth to them both.
Sydney cried and spilled out all of her worries and thoughts to Vaughn. He was very receptive and comforting. Sydney's fears temporarily vanished. She truly felt safe with Vaughn. When she could say no more, Sydney just settled into him, inhaling his scent and dreaming of being able to wake up settled into him like this every morning.
-------
Vaughn wrapped his arms tighter around Sydney as she nestled herself in his embrace. His pulse quickened, remembering her sudden kiss in the warehouse and dreaming of being able to extend it.
-------
Sydney stopped crying. "Thank you Vaughn. I can't tell you what a good friend you are," she smiled.
"I'm just glad I could bring that smile to your face. It's so beautiful," he said, accidentally uttering the last part.
Sydney blushed, and longed for Vaughn in a way that she never had before.
-------
Vaughn immediately picked up on Sydney's desire, relieved that she felt it too. He brought his hands up to her face, gently cupping it. He rubbed his thumbs across her deep dimples and leaned closer.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 5
Sydney walked over to Vaughn and lightly brushed her lips against his. "I'll see you later sweetie," she whispered loudly enough for Will to hear, and gently stroked his arm before turning around. "Come on Will, I'll explain on the way home," she said and pulled a confused Will with her.
She had goosebumps all over.
-------
Vaughn's mouth hung open as he watched Sydney walk away. He was shocked. He was sweating. His hands were trembling. He had momentarily forgotten all about the present situation; he was on cloud nine. And he knew why.
-------
"Shouldn't we wait until those people from the CIA get here?" Will asked, confused. "I think one of them had your same last name," he said.
"There's no relation," Sydney said quickly, not having any interest in seeing her father now. "Let's just go." In fact, she had to go before they arrived so as not to blow her cover any further. "Where's your car?" she asked, "I'll come back for mine tomorrow."
-------
Sydney fastened her seatbelt and shut the passenger door of Will's car. They emerged from the warehouse and Sydney checked around for the arriving CIA agents. She didn't see them.
As soon as they were away from the area, away from any immediate danger, away from the chance of running into any CIA people, Sydney began to tell Will yet another lie.
"Ok," she sighed, "here's the story. That man, his name is Michael Vaughn. He works for the CIA. And I've sort of been seeing him. I couldn't tell you because of his job - you know, national safety and all," she laughed anxiously. "Anyway, I was supposed to meet him here --"
"In a warehouse?" Will asked, skeptically.
"He told me to meet him there because he had a surprise for me," she said quietly.
"Yeah a double homicide - gee, that's a good way to impress a girl."
"Come off it, Will, he was obviously followed!"
"Well why did they talk to you then, and not him?"
"I don't know, Will," she answered. "I guess they thought they had shot him so they tried to get the information they wanted out of me. Luckily he killed them before they did anything drastic to get it out of me." It felt odd for her to say Michael instead of Vaughn. It didn't roll off her tongue as easily. And Vaughn sounded so much sexier.
"So he tells you about his missions? As a citizen, that comforts me," Will said cynically.
"Only a few things," Sydney replied.
She sat in silence, waiting for Will to ask her about Dixon's monologue and what the hell he had been talking about. But he didn't. Sydney assumed he had left before that point.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Will said bluntly, "You know, Syd, I'm really sick of your lies. You could have just told us about him. I'm sure us knowing about your boyfriend wouldn't have placed the country in any immediate danger," he said sarcastically, and harshly.
"It's not just his job," Sydney told him. "I didn't know how you and Francie would react to me dating, you know, after Danny..." she trailed off.
"Syd, we would have been happy for you. It's about time you regained some happiness in your life," he said as he pulled up in front of Sydney's house.
"Do you want to come in?" she offered.
-------
Will looked at Sydney as she asked him if he wanted to come in. She looked so innocent, so pristine, so delicate, so pure. It was hard for him to fathom that she was involved in all this CIA crap, even if it was indirectly.
He wanted to come in, to hold her and caress her and stroke her; comfort her and tell her that everything would be all right. But it wasn't his place anymore. Sydney had a new man in her life. And as much as that hurt Will, he knew that coming in would just hurt him more.
"I'd love to Syd," he sighed. "But I don't think I should."
He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. "It'll be ok, I promise," he whispered.
"Ok," Sydney gulped, trying to hold back her tears.
She climbed out of the car and slowly trudged inside.
-------
"Sydney! Where have you been?" Francie rushed over as Sydney entered the house.
As soon as the door shut behind her, Sydney began to weep uncontrollably.
"Francie," she managed, "I have something to tell you."
She relayed the same lie to Francie as she had to Will, speaking through her tears while Francie hugged her.
"Shhh," Francie cooed, "everything is ok. I love you no matter who you're dating," she smiled.
Sydney looked at her friend and smiled as well. She was so thankful for Francie. She knew Francie would never, ever shut her out.
The two girls sat crying and hugging for a long time thereafter. Francie finally surrendered to bed, leaving Sydney alone in the living room.
Sydney replayed the day's events in her head. Anna was Dixon's daughter. Dixon was a mole for K-Directorate. Will and Francie could now connect Sydney to the CIA, at least indirectly. And she had kissed Vaughn.
Whatever image her friends had of Sydney's perfect life had changed today. She knew that they thought of her life as a perfect snowglobe. Anyone could look in through the glass and see her; diligent, hard-working, smiling Sydney Bristow. But no one could get in.
Now that snowglobe was shattered. Her friends were one step closer to finding out about Sydney's double life, and the web of deception had just grown immensely.
Once again, Vaughn's words crossed her mind: "You got my number..."
This time, Sydney didn't hesitate.
-------
Vaughn had just entered his house when his phone rang. He had just finished up debriefing the CIA on the warehouse episode. And it was 1 in the morning. Who would be calling him? Probably Devlin, he thought, wanting to clarify yet another detail.
"Hello," he said, his voice husky with sleep - or lack thereof.
"It's me," Sydney's voice replied. His heart skipped a beat and any thoughts of sleep immediately vanished.
"Are you ok?" he asked tenderly.
"I need to talk," she whispered. "I guess our meeting place is out of the question."
"Yeah," he grinned. "We can't really go anywhere at this hour. Why don't you just come over?" he suggested, immediately smacking his forehead at the notion.
-------
Sydney pondered his proposition. Sloane still thought she was out sick, but she was sure he knew that Dixon had been murdered - and that he was a mole. He had probably relaxed her surveillance with this new proof that she was not the mole. Even if she couldn't shake a possible tail, which was highly unlikely, she could always use the one night stand excuse if Sloane questioned her.
"Sounds good," she replied. "I'll be there soon," she said, hanging up.
Sydney went to her bedroom before leaving. She changed into some sweatpant capris and a body fitting tank top. She brushed her hair, splashed cold water on her face, and smoothed some foundation over her cheekbones to hide the fact that she had been crying. She decided that this was a suitable look. She wrote Francie a note saying that she was going to "Michael's house" and she quietly left.
-------
Vaughn too, changed his clothes, putting on sweatpants and a faded hockey t-shirt. He picked up some things that he had left scattered across his living room floor, tidying the small place up. When he finished, he put on a pot of coffee for he and Sydney to drink.
He heard a knock on the door and opened it, letting a casually beautiful Sydney enter his house.
"Any problems?" he inquired caringly.
"Nope," she replied.
He led her into his freshly cleaned living room and sat her down on his couch, resting himself down next to her. They sat in silence for a minute, then Sydney began to cry softly.
"My partner..." she began, searching for words. "I mean, I thought he was good. Innocent. But he was just as much scum as the rest of them."
Vaughn put his arm around Sydney's shoulders, bringing immediate warmth to them both.
Sydney cried and spilled out all of her worries and thoughts to Vaughn. He was very receptive and comforting. Sydney's fears temporarily vanished. She truly felt safe with Vaughn. When she could say no more, Sydney just settled into him, inhaling his scent and dreaming of being able to wake up settled into him like this every morning.
-------
Vaughn wrapped his arms tighter around Sydney as she nestled herself in his embrace. His pulse quickened, remembering her sudden kiss in the warehouse and dreaming of being able to extend it.
-------
Sydney stopped crying. "Thank you Vaughn. I can't tell you what a good friend you are," she smiled.
"I'm just glad I could bring that smile to your face. It's so beautiful," he said, accidentally uttering the last part.
Sydney blushed, and longed for Vaughn in a way that she never had before.
-------
Vaughn immediately picked up on Sydney's desire, relieved that she felt it too. He brought his hands up to her face, gently cupping it. He rubbed his thumbs across her deep dimples and leaned closer.
TO BE CONTINUED...