Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.
Summary: Continuation of Valentine's Day.
CIA Headquarters (a few days later) Tick…tick…tick…Michael Vaughn tried to concentrate on the paperwork in front of him but he was having a hard time keeping his mind on his work. He stole a glance at the clock on his desk. 6 more hours until he would get to see Sydney again. For a brief moment, he let himself think about her. Her smile, sometimes so fragile it would break his heart and other times so defiant, it would inspire fear in men twice her size. The way she would never directly look at him when they were in public, hiding behind the silky-smooth curtain of hair that he longed to brush away from her face just once. The resolve and conviction in her voice whenever she spoke about taking down SD-6. He admired her so much, but it wasn't just your typical male reaction to a beautiful woman. Yes, he was wildly attracted to her, but he knew himself well enough to know that if there hadn't been a brain behind those soft brown eyes, he wouldn't be this far gone.
Tick…tick…tick…
He felt his facial muscles relax into a grin as he thought back a few days ago to their last meeting. It had felt sort of like a first date, when you're just getting to know a person you've had a crush on for ages and you're tripping over the questions you want to ask. Well, actually, she had been asking all the questions, but then he already knew a lot about her, didn't he? But it wasn't a date, his rational side reminded him. You're not supposed to have a personal relationship with your Agent, Handler.
Vaughn winced. Okay, so he wasn't showing the best judgment where Sydney was concerned and one of these days, it might put her in real danger. If only she weren't so damned irresistible…
Vaughn looked at the clock again. Only 5 minutes had passed since the last time he had looked. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he turned the clock away from him and tried to focus once again.
Credit DauphineSydney Bristow strolled out of the briefing room ahead of Marshall and Dixon. Sloane had just congratulated her for obtaining the cloning formula and from preventing K-Directorate from getting their hands on the plans. To reward her, she was free for the next few days until her next mission, which suited her just fine.
Because Sydney had some very special plans for tonight. Most specifically was her plan for Agent Michael Vaughn.
She sailed by her desk, noticing that her computer was currently showing a "Felicity" screensaver. Marshall had given it to her the other day, mumbling something about the "dark-haired" guy. She rarely had time to watch TV, so she didn't know who any of the actors were. The blond guy was good-looking, if a bit squinty-eyed. The girl was pretty, with those enviable blonde ringlets that Sydney used to crave for as little girls with stick-straight hair always did. She studied the dark-haired guy for a moment. He was cute with his puppy-dog blue eyes and a nice smile. Then she shrugged as she turned off the computer. Not my type, she shook her head, and grabbed her tote and the garment bag that was hanging on the coat rack behind her desk.
Sydney ducked into the ladies' room—empty most of the time because there weren't a lot of women who worked at SD-6. Why was that? She mused. Wasn't Sloane an Equal Opportunity employer? She gave a smirk as she locked the door behind her. There was no reason for her to undress in a cramped little stall when she could do it out in the open.
She placed her tote bag up on one of the white porcelain sinks and started unbuttoning her very businesslike plum-colored jacket. Moments later, she was stepping out of her skirt and then hung up her suit on the extra hanger in her garment bag. Then she pulled out The Dress.
CIA Headquarters
Vaughn looked up at the knock on his door to see Weiss in the doorway.
"Did you want something?" He asked.
Weiss strolled into his office rather nonchalantly and sat down in the chair in front of Vaughn's desk. Weiss didn't speak right away and sat there for a moment, resting his elbows on the chair and tenting his hands up in front of him, fingertip to fingertip. A sly smile spread across his face. Vaughn's mouth quirked. He knew what was coming.
"Got a hot date tonight?" Weiss asked, a slightly lascivious look on his face.
"I'm seeing Sydney." Vaughn replied.
"Same thing." Weiss deadpanned.
"We're meeting to talk about her mission." He corrected, refusing to take the bait. "She couldn't meet me last night, so we scheduled for tonight."
"How convenient." Weiss nodded. "So what'd you get?" He inquired in a conspiratorial fashion.
"What did I get for what?" Vaughn said blankly.
"Not what, whom." Weiss rolled his eyes dramatically. "You know," He leaned in. "For Agent Bristow." He said in a low voice.
"Ohhh," Vaughn nodded, deliberate in his movements as he gathered the papers on his desk into a folder and placed it in his OUT basket. Then he folded his hands on his empty desk and met Weiss' eyes. "Was I supposed to get something for Jack?" He asked innocently. "Is he getting transferred? Retiring, maybe?"
Weiss looked put out. "Okay, don't tell me." He pouted.
Vaughn could barely suppress the grin at his fellow agent's disappointment. "Oh, come on, Weiss, you have to let me in on the joke if you expect me to play along."
Weiss shot him a disbelieving look. "You do know what today is, don't you?"
Vaughn felt a quick stab of panic. "It-It's not Sydney's birthday." He stuttered. "It's only February and her birthday is in April."
Weiss gave him a superior look. "Oh, man, you know when her birthday is?"
Vaughn flushed. "It's not as if it's classified information. It's in her file." He said defensively.
"Which you've probably memorized word for word." He quipped. "Tell me, does it make for good bedtime reading?"
Vaughn's eyes flashed irritatedly. "Do you know how close you are to experiencing the ass-kicking that I'd like to give our little friend out there?" He growled.
"Okay, okay," Weiss conceded, knowing in his heart he'd gotten the best of his friend yet again. "What's the date today?"
Vaughn couldn't even guess and had to look at his desk calendar. "February 14th."
Weiss looked at him expectantly. "Which is also….?" He prodded.
Vaughn thought a moment and then he got it. "Valentine's Day." He croaked out.
"Bingo." Weiss crowed.
"Oh, God," Vaughn looked troubled. "I wish I could, but I can't do anything, Weiss. You remember how much flak I got when they found out I got Sydney a Christmas gift. If they found out I got her something for Valentine's Day, they'd remove me as her handler for sure."
"Yeah, Valentine's Day does have a whole other set of connotations." Weiss grimaced.
"They'd think I was interested in her—"
"Which you are." Weiss interjected.
Vaughn gave him an exasperated look. "That's not the point. The point is that if I want to, they can't find out."
"So tell me what you want to get and I'll go buy it." Weiss offered.
Vaughn was touched in spite of himself. "You would do that?"
"Sure," Weiss shrugged. "The saleswoman will think I have a girlfriend. Maybe she'll come on to me."
Vaughn grinned.
"So what sounds good?" Weiss clapped his hands together. "Chocolates, roses, sexy lingerie…" He said suggestively.
"Yeah, that would really go over well." Vaughn shook his head. "It can't be too personal. I mean, I don't even know if she—wait a minute, I've got it!" He booted up his computer. "Weiss, give me 10 minutes to check something out and I'll let you know where to go."
Note: Sorry to any Ben fans out there, but Scott Foley has always been the one for me and since he's Jennifer's favorite as well, he had to get the girl this time!