All disclaimers and such are in Part One.
Author's Notes: Had most of this finished, but I wanted to see what they did in "Q&A" before I finalized this part. There will be more, as we all suffer through three weeks of no new eps ;), and I can only hope that I will still be following canon, as I have been trying to so far! The first bit of this takes place before the Russia mission is brought up in "The Coup", the second bit is after she gets back from Russia, right before she meets Vaughn about going to Sloane's in "Page 47", and the last of it takes place after the end of "The Prophecy". Confused yet? Good. *grin*
~*~
Sydney dragged herself into the house, tossing the cooler out of the way of the door and then closing the door with her butt. She leaned up against it, letting out a little groan.
[That *has* to win for worst attempt at a date,] she thought, gently banging her head on the door as she let it fall back.
"Syd?" Francie poked her head around her bedroom door to look out to the living room.
Sydney pulled herself up and moved to the living room, giving her friend a half-hearted smile as she threw herself onto the couch. "Yeah, it's me."
Francie came out of her room to join her friend. "Long day at work?" she asked as she sat down beside Sydney.
She snorted in response.
"Wow, that bad?"
"Have you ever had a casual date crash and burn so massively that you considered the convent?" Sydney queried, turning her head to face her roommate at the end.
The other woman sat up straight. "You went out on a date!? And you didn't tell me until now!?"
The brunette made a face. "Sorry, it just kinda happened. Or I should say it kinda *didn't* happen."
"Thus the 'crash and burn'?"
Sydney nodded. "Yeah. Everything started out good, but...someone got in the way and it wasn't the same after."
"Someone..as in a female someone?"
The agent chuckled. "No," she paused and laughed harder when Francie gave her an odd look.
"And no," she finally managed to get out. "A co-worker, one who knows how to kill a mood."
"Ah," Francie replied. She then looked pensive. "Well then, if it's nothing you did wrong, and nothing he did wrong, then what's wrong?"
Sydney sighed, leaning her head back. "It's...complicated."
"How complicated could it be?" Francie wondered, standing. She walked over to the kitchen, the brunette watching her. She opened a cupboard and took out a glass.
"Francie, it *is* complicated, trust me on this one, okay?"
Francie turned off the tap and brought her attention back to Sydney. "Is this Christmas Gift Guy?"
The agent could hear the capital letters in the nickname Francie had given Vaughn. "Yeah, it's him."
"Ohhh..." she trailed off. Francie walked back to the couch, and Sydney turned to a more comfortable position. Sitting down, she said, "I'll admit, office romance is notoriously bad, especially when the breakup happens..."
"Not every office romance needs to end badly. It could last," Sydney responded. She realized that she was suddenly on the opposite side from before and wondered how that had happened.
"Listen to Miss Positive," Francie teased, causing Sydney to roll her eyes. "Okay, then I only have one more thing to say. If you want this guy, I say go for it."
"Go for it," the brunette repeated.
"Yeah, go for it."
The agent lay back against the couch, weighing Francie's words.
~ * ~
Sydney entered the warehouse, a rush of nervous energy flowing through her. While she normally enjoyed her meetings with Vaughn, even the ones where they didn't have much conversation beyond the mission, this time was different. She planned that this time they would really talk about what happened, and Francie's words kept running around in her head, goading her on.
"Go for it", she had said, and the brunette was finally seriously taking the chance because she felt, as she had for a while, that Vaughn wanted more. He had as much as said that before she had gone off to Moscow. But thinking of going for it and actually doing it were two different things. Of course there was still the whole risk factor to take in...
She quieted her thoughts so as to concentrate on walking when she nearly ploughed into a post.
[Yeah, how would you explain that bruise? 'Oh, this big, fat bruise on my forehead? This was from me not paying attention when I was daydreaming about throwing you up against that chainlink fence and kissing you until *you* couldn't think straight.']
The double agent snorted at her chastising thoughts. No, that most definitely wouldn't sound right, not at this early stage of the game.
Sydney sighed. Why did everything have to be a game? Why couldn't people just be honest and straightforward? It would make things a lot easier..or perhaps that much more complicated.
She sighed even more deeply this time. These thoughts were getting her nowhere, except to lead to a bruising with a post.
The brunette pulled herself together and opened the gate to their meeting place. She walked in and closed the gate after her. When she looked over to the crates, he was there, as always. She felt her stomach flutter with nerves once again.
[No time for this, Sydney, keep focused,] she commented internally. She gave Vaughn a big smile in greeting and attempted to calm herself again so as to get the countermission part over and then lead to further discussion of the more personal kind.
~ * ~
Sydney sat in the van, trying to get Vaughn to look at her. The DSR agents silently watched her, but her handler did not seem to have the ability to lay eyes on her. Did he feel like he had let her down, was that it?
The double agent sighed, wishing like hell that they could be alone so she could talk to him. Right about now she could do with him even glancing her way so that she could communicate to him that she didn't blame him for any of this. No such luck though, he kept his gaze firmly on that back door.
She sat back as best she could, trying to get comfortable. She had no idea how long the ride was going to be. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander, hoping to relax herself, even if just for a few minutes.
Suddenly she sat bolt upright and opened her eyes, her mind picking up on something she forgot. Her actions immediately caught the attention of all around her, increasing the already tense situation.
She turned to look at Vaughn. "Will and Francie, they won't know what happened to me. I don't want them to worry," she told him.
He glanced at the other agents.
"We can't allow her outside contact now," was the answer.
"What if I get into contact with one of them, say that you didn't have time to do it yourself, tell them that you were called out of town?" he suggested, really looking at Sydney for the first time in a while.
She gave him a grateful smile. "What about Sloane?"
"We know where he's watching and how, I'll be careful," he told her, returning the smile.
More than any other time, right now Sydney wanted to wrap Michael Vaughn in a big embrace. He always managed to help her find a way to work everything out when she was stuck. One of these days she'd have to find a way to repay him, by making him a more permanent part of her life.
For the rest of the ride, Sydney and Vaughn kept eye contact, the double agent finally starting to feel more at ease. Once they arrived though, she felt it start to slip away as she was pulled out of the van and into the underground parking lot.
"Is it me or do I spend a lot of time underground?" she joked, trying to calm her nerves and see if anyone else had a sense of humor. Vaughn was the only one to crack a smile.
As they began to lead her away, Sydney realized that Vaughn wasn't coming any further. She strained to look back at him, her worry starting to rise once again.
"I'll see you soon!" he called, attempting to assuage her fears, and hoping to hell that he was right.
~ * ~
"Dammit!" Vaughn yelled, slamming his phone down.
Agent Weiss stuck his head around the corner, through the open door. "Something wrong?"
The handler let out a frustrated sigh. "What isn't these days?" He sat heavily in his seat while Weiss dared to enter the angry man's office.
"They stonewallin' you?"
"To put it politely, yes." Vaughn wiped a hand over his tired face, resting it under his chin. "I tell her friend Francie that Sydney's fine, she's just off on another business trip. Problem is, I have no *clue* if she's fine. I don't even know where the hell they have her anymore."
Weiss sat down in the visitor's chair. "You mean she's not where you last saw her?"
"No. And even Devlin can't find out. I don't know what I'm going to do."
End of Part Two
Author's Notes: Had most of this finished, but I wanted to see what they did in "Q&A" before I finalized this part. There will be more, as we all suffer through three weeks of no new eps ;), and I can only hope that I will still be following canon, as I have been trying to so far! The first bit of this takes place before the Russia mission is brought up in "The Coup", the second bit is after she gets back from Russia, right before she meets Vaughn about going to Sloane's in "Page 47", and the last of it takes place after the end of "The Prophecy". Confused yet? Good. *grin*
~*~
Sydney dragged herself into the house, tossing the cooler out of the way of the door and then closing the door with her butt. She leaned up against it, letting out a little groan.
[That *has* to win for worst attempt at a date,] she thought, gently banging her head on the door as she let it fall back.
"Syd?" Francie poked her head around her bedroom door to look out to the living room.
Sydney pulled herself up and moved to the living room, giving her friend a half-hearted smile as she threw herself onto the couch. "Yeah, it's me."
Francie came out of her room to join her friend. "Long day at work?" she asked as she sat down beside Sydney.
She snorted in response.
"Wow, that bad?"
"Have you ever had a casual date crash and burn so massively that you considered the convent?" Sydney queried, turning her head to face her roommate at the end.
The other woman sat up straight. "You went out on a date!? And you didn't tell me until now!?"
The brunette made a face. "Sorry, it just kinda happened. Or I should say it kinda *didn't* happen."
"Thus the 'crash and burn'?"
Sydney nodded. "Yeah. Everything started out good, but...someone got in the way and it wasn't the same after."
"Someone..as in a female someone?"
The agent chuckled. "No," she paused and laughed harder when Francie gave her an odd look.
"And no," she finally managed to get out. "A co-worker, one who knows how to kill a mood."
"Ah," Francie replied. She then looked pensive. "Well then, if it's nothing you did wrong, and nothing he did wrong, then what's wrong?"
Sydney sighed, leaning her head back. "It's...complicated."
"How complicated could it be?" Francie wondered, standing. She walked over to the kitchen, the brunette watching her. She opened a cupboard and took out a glass.
"Francie, it *is* complicated, trust me on this one, okay?"
Francie turned off the tap and brought her attention back to Sydney. "Is this Christmas Gift Guy?"
The agent could hear the capital letters in the nickname Francie had given Vaughn. "Yeah, it's him."
"Ohhh..." she trailed off. Francie walked back to the couch, and Sydney turned to a more comfortable position. Sitting down, she said, "I'll admit, office romance is notoriously bad, especially when the breakup happens..."
"Not every office romance needs to end badly. It could last," Sydney responded. She realized that she was suddenly on the opposite side from before and wondered how that had happened.
"Listen to Miss Positive," Francie teased, causing Sydney to roll her eyes. "Okay, then I only have one more thing to say. If you want this guy, I say go for it."
"Go for it," the brunette repeated.
"Yeah, go for it."
The agent lay back against the couch, weighing Francie's words.
~ * ~
Sydney entered the warehouse, a rush of nervous energy flowing through her. While she normally enjoyed her meetings with Vaughn, even the ones where they didn't have much conversation beyond the mission, this time was different. She planned that this time they would really talk about what happened, and Francie's words kept running around in her head, goading her on.
"Go for it", she had said, and the brunette was finally seriously taking the chance because she felt, as she had for a while, that Vaughn wanted more. He had as much as said that before she had gone off to Moscow. But thinking of going for it and actually doing it were two different things. Of course there was still the whole risk factor to take in...
She quieted her thoughts so as to concentrate on walking when she nearly ploughed into a post.
[Yeah, how would you explain that bruise? 'Oh, this big, fat bruise on my forehead? This was from me not paying attention when I was daydreaming about throwing you up against that chainlink fence and kissing you until *you* couldn't think straight.']
The double agent snorted at her chastising thoughts. No, that most definitely wouldn't sound right, not at this early stage of the game.
Sydney sighed. Why did everything have to be a game? Why couldn't people just be honest and straightforward? It would make things a lot easier..or perhaps that much more complicated.
She sighed even more deeply this time. These thoughts were getting her nowhere, except to lead to a bruising with a post.
The brunette pulled herself together and opened the gate to their meeting place. She walked in and closed the gate after her. When she looked over to the crates, he was there, as always. She felt her stomach flutter with nerves once again.
[No time for this, Sydney, keep focused,] she commented internally. She gave Vaughn a big smile in greeting and attempted to calm herself again so as to get the countermission part over and then lead to further discussion of the more personal kind.
~ * ~
Sydney sat in the van, trying to get Vaughn to look at her. The DSR agents silently watched her, but her handler did not seem to have the ability to lay eyes on her. Did he feel like he had let her down, was that it?
The double agent sighed, wishing like hell that they could be alone so she could talk to him. Right about now she could do with him even glancing her way so that she could communicate to him that she didn't blame him for any of this. No such luck though, he kept his gaze firmly on that back door.
She sat back as best she could, trying to get comfortable. She had no idea how long the ride was going to be. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander, hoping to relax herself, even if just for a few minutes.
Suddenly she sat bolt upright and opened her eyes, her mind picking up on something she forgot. Her actions immediately caught the attention of all around her, increasing the already tense situation.
She turned to look at Vaughn. "Will and Francie, they won't know what happened to me. I don't want them to worry," she told him.
He glanced at the other agents.
"We can't allow her outside contact now," was the answer.
"What if I get into contact with one of them, say that you didn't have time to do it yourself, tell them that you were called out of town?" he suggested, really looking at Sydney for the first time in a while.
She gave him a grateful smile. "What about Sloane?"
"We know where he's watching and how, I'll be careful," he told her, returning the smile.
More than any other time, right now Sydney wanted to wrap Michael Vaughn in a big embrace. He always managed to help her find a way to work everything out when she was stuck. One of these days she'd have to find a way to repay him, by making him a more permanent part of her life.
For the rest of the ride, Sydney and Vaughn kept eye contact, the double agent finally starting to feel more at ease. Once they arrived though, she felt it start to slip away as she was pulled out of the van and into the underground parking lot.
"Is it me or do I spend a lot of time underground?" she joked, trying to calm her nerves and see if anyone else had a sense of humor. Vaughn was the only one to crack a smile.
As they began to lead her away, Sydney realized that Vaughn wasn't coming any further. She strained to look back at him, her worry starting to rise once again.
"I'll see you soon!" he called, attempting to assuage her fears, and hoping to hell that he was right.
~ * ~
"Dammit!" Vaughn yelled, slamming his phone down.
Agent Weiss stuck his head around the corner, through the open door. "Something wrong?"
The handler let out a frustrated sigh. "What isn't these days?" He sat heavily in his seat while Weiss dared to enter the angry man's office.
"They stonewallin' you?"
"To put it politely, yes." Vaughn wiped a hand over his tired face, resting it under his chin. "I tell her friend Francie that Sydney's fine, she's just off on another business trip. Problem is, I have no *clue* if she's fine. I don't even know where the hell they have her anymore."
Weiss sat down in the visitor's chair. "You mean she's not where you last saw her?"
"No. And even Devlin can't find out. I don't know what I'm going to do."
End of Part Two