Title: Shades of Gray
Author: Carrie (CaReYbEaRy@aol.com)
Disclaimer: I don't own Alias or any of the characters.
Spoilers: Season Finale
Rating: PG, but it will probably change throughout the series
Category: Angst, Romance, little action, little everything
Distribution: Anywhere. Just let me know.
Author's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks so much for your awesome reviews, you guys are so kind. I'm really trying to post write these quickly and post them. I know that I like long series stories, so I'm trying to make this one good. I don't really know where I'm going at the moment, but I'll get some direction soon.
CHAPTER 4
The plane steadily rose until they were perfectly horizontal in the air. The back of the plane was loud and cold. Sydney was still wearing her clubbing outfit, and Vaughn was only wearing half of his shirt. He saw her shiver slightly and wished that he had something that he could give her to keep warm. He scanned the area around him, looking for anything he could give her. He wanted to keep her warm, but he also wanted to cover her up. The ensemble that she sported was revealing, to say the least, and he didn't want her to think that he was a pig by continuing to look at her. They were both sitting on crates, leaning back against the hard wall of the plane, making them even colder than they already were.
Sydney looked over at Will, wondering if he was asleep yet. He already knew too much, and for some reason, she wouldn't feel comfortable if he knew about her mother. She wanted to tell Vaughn everything. He was the one that she would go to when she needed to vent, and she was dying to share details with him. She moved her eyes off of Will, assured that he was asleep, and turned to Vaughn.
Vaughn looked over at Sydney, and was slightly peeved that she was staring at Will. She's probably just worried about him. Vaughn assured himself. Sydney tore her eyes away from Will, and looked at him. He quickly averted his eyes and looked over at Will.
"He'll be okay." He tried to comfort Sydney.
Sydney was confused for a moment. She wasn't even thinking of Will. She knew that he'd be fine. He wasn't that badly hurt. Physically, at least.
"I know." She replied, shivering again, and casting her glance downward.
"Hold on." Vaughn said, getting up and crossing the room. He ducked behind some boxes and returned a moment later with a large quilt of sorts. It actually looked like something that you put over the carpets to protect them when workmen come, but they were something.
"Here," he said, holding out the quilt to her, "It's the best I can do."
"Thanks." She replied, taking the blanket and pulling it over her shoulders. She felt better now that she had something to cover herself with, and keep her warm. Although she liked having Vaughn's eyes on her, she felt far less self-conscious with a blanket over her.
Vaughn sat back down on the crate next to Sydney's, and winced as the movement disturbed his arm. He moved around, trying to find a comfortable position for his arm, which was difficult, considering the conditions.
Sydney looked over at him and wished that she could do something for him. He was obviously in a lot of pain, and there wasn't much she could do for him.
"Hold on." She said, repeating his earlier words. She let the blanket fall from her shoulders and walked across the plane to where Will was lying. She picked up a large burlap bag, one that Will wasn't using, and carried it back over to Vaughn. She motioned for him to get up, and he did, allowing her to kick the crate away and place the bag on the floor. She then sat down, leaning against the soft bag, instead of a hard wall. She motioned for him to sit next to her, and he did, leaning against the cushy bag, his bad arm on the outside. Sydney pulled the blanket back up over her shoulders, picking half of the blanket up and placing it on Vaughn's lab, and he pulled it up over his legs.
"Much better." He said, making Sydney smile. She felt good knowing that she had brought him at least a little relief. She reveled in how well they worked together, each doing things for the other.
Sydney snuck another glance at Will, trying not to be very obvious, for Vaughn's sake, and noticed that he was completely dead to the world, drool coming out of his mouth. She turned her head to look at Vaughn, willing him to look at her. When he didn't, she spoke up first.
"Vaughn, what happened? I mean, how did you get out?" she asked softly, her voice almost being drowned out by the noise of the plane.
Vaughn shook his head. "That can wait for later." He said. "Tell me about your mother."
"It was weird. First Khasinou came in, bringing me food, and then he told me that his boss wanted to speak with me."
"The man?" Vaughn questioned.
"Yeah. I told him that I thought that the man was the boss, and he told me that the man was in charge, but that the man wasn't him."
Vaughn just nodded, and made a "Hmm…" sound.
"When he left, my mother came in."
"What did she say?"
"She said that she assumed I had a lot of questions, but that they would have to wait. I told her that I wanted my questions answered immediately, and she just agreed, saying something about how I was like my father." Sydney replied, not looking at Vaughn, but at a random point on the floor. "I asked her why she joined the KGB, why she abandoned me, and why she killed all those men." Sydney said, her eyes getting blurry from having to tell Vaughn about the woman who killed his father.
Vaughn just nodded again, not really having anything to say to that. He knew how guilty she felt about his father, and he just didn't know how to make her understand that she shouldn't.
"She just said that she did it for her country. Like me." Sydney said quietly.
At this, Vaughn spoke up. "No Sydney, not like you. What she did wasn't for her country, it was for herself. You do this for everyone, but yourself." Vaughn said forcefully.
Sydney just nodded, knowing that he was right. "I know, I know. And I told her that. I told her that she did these things ruthlessly and without any care of the consequences, and that I would never do that. I asked her if she was still doing these things for her country, and she told me that we would talk in the morning. She just left. Again." Sydney said, her eyes still gazing at the floor.
Vaughn didn't really know what to say. He understood now why Sydney wanted to stay. She wanted to get the rest of her questions answered; she wanted to see her mother. Vaughn was also staring at the floor, and he looked up at her.
"Sydney, you need to know that this is going to be okay. The mission went well. It was completed. We did what we came to do. We don't have to worry about your mother right now. She can't get to you. I won't let her." Vaughn spoke the last sentence softly, and Sydney raised her eyes from the floor to meet his gaze.
"I know." She said. "Thank you."
The tension between them was palpable, and Vaughn willed himself not to kiss her. Apparently, she was doing the same thing, because they both averted their eyes, hopelessness sinking in. They were silent for a few moments before Sydney spoke up.
"I'm sorry." She said simply, looking at the floor again.
"What?" Vaughn asked, not understanding.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, "I never should have just left you. To die."
"No, Sydney, you didn't leave me to die! You were attacked; there was nothing you could have done. If anything, you shouldn't have tried as hard as you did, you should have left sooner." Vaughn said, looking at her, but her eyes remained glued to the floor.
She shook her head. "I could have done more, I should have warned you of what I was going to do, or pushed you ahead of me, or figured out how to get you out."
Vaughn reached around to grab her shoulders, ignoring the pain in his arm, and turning her towards him, forcing her to look at him.
"Sydney. There was nothing you could have done. But it doesn't matter. I'm okay. I'm fine. I made it out and so did you." He tried to reassure her. Her eyes were looking into his, and they were slowly tearing up. Vaughn cautiously pulled her into him as she mumbled 'I'm sorrys" into his chest.
They slowly untangled and leaned back against the bag, lulled into sleep by the humming of the plane, and the comfort mutually radiating off of them.
Not much action, I know, but I'll put more in the next few chapters. Please review, (bad or good) I appreciate it, and I'll have more chapters posted soon.
Author: Carrie (CaReYbEaRy@aol.com)
Disclaimer: I don't own Alias or any of the characters.
Spoilers: Season Finale
Rating: PG, but it will probably change throughout the series
Category: Angst, Romance, little action, little everything
Distribution: Anywhere. Just let me know.
Author's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks so much for your awesome reviews, you guys are so kind. I'm really trying to post write these quickly and post them. I know that I like long series stories, so I'm trying to make this one good. I don't really know where I'm going at the moment, but I'll get some direction soon.
CHAPTER 4
The plane steadily rose until they were perfectly horizontal in the air. The back of the plane was loud and cold. Sydney was still wearing her clubbing outfit, and Vaughn was only wearing half of his shirt. He saw her shiver slightly and wished that he had something that he could give her to keep warm. He scanned the area around him, looking for anything he could give her. He wanted to keep her warm, but he also wanted to cover her up. The ensemble that she sported was revealing, to say the least, and he didn't want her to think that he was a pig by continuing to look at her. They were both sitting on crates, leaning back against the hard wall of the plane, making them even colder than they already were.
Sydney looked over at Will, wondering if he was asleep yet. He already knew too much, and for some reason, she wouldn't feel comfortable if he knew about her mother. She wanted to tell Vaughn everything. He was the one that she would go to when she needed to vent, and she was dying to share details with him. She moved her eyes off of Will, assured that he was asleep, and turned to Vaughn.
Vaughn looked over at Sydney, and was slightly peeved that she was staring at Will. She's probably just worried about him. Vaughn assured himself. Sydney tore her eyes away from Will, and looked at him. He quickly averted his eyes and looked over at Will.
"He'll be okay." He tried to comfort Sydney.
Sydney was confused for a moment. She wasn't even thinking of Will. She knew that he'd be fine. He wasn't that badly hurt. Physically, at least.
"I know." She replied, shivering again, and casting her glance downward.
"Hold on." Vaughn said, getting up and crossing the room. He ducked behind some boxes and returned a moment later with a large quilt of sorts. It actually looked like something that you put over the carpets to protect them when workmen come, but they were something.
"Here," he said, holding out the quilt to her, "It's the best I can do."
"Thanks." She replied, taking the blanket and pulling it over her shoulders. She felt better now that she had something to cover herself with, and keep her warm. Although she liked having Vaughn's eyes on her, she felt far less self-conscious with a blanket over her.
Vaughn sat back down on the crate next to Sydney's, and winced as the movement disturbed his arm. He moved around, trying to find a comfortable position for his arm, which was difficult, considering the conditions.
Sydney looked over at him and wished that she could do something for him. He was obviously in a lot of pain, and there wasn't much she could do for him.
"Hold on." She said, repeating his earlier words. She let the blanket fall from her shoulders and walked across the plane to where Will was lying. She picked up a large burlap bag, one that Will wasn't using, and carried it back over to Vaughn. She motioned for him to get up, and he did, allowing her to kick the crate away and place the bag on the floor. She then sat down, leaning against the soft bag, instead of a hard wall. She motioned for him to sit next to her, and he did, leaning against the cushy bag, his bad arm on the outside. Sydney pulled the blanket back up over her shoulders, picking half of the blanket up and placing it on Vaughn's lab, and he pulled it up over his legs.
"Much better." He said, making Sydney smile. She felt good knowing that she had brought him at least a little relief. She reveled in how well they worked together, each doing things for the other.
Sydney snuck another glance at Will, trying not to be very obvious, for Vaughn's sake, and noticed that he was completely dead to the world, drool coming out of his mouth. She turned her head to look at Vaughn, willing him to look at her. When he didn't, she spoke up first.
"Vaughn, what happened? I mean, how did you get out?" she asked softly, her voice almost being drowned out by the noise of the plane.
Vaughn shook his head. "That can wait for later." He said. "Tell me about your mother."
"It was weird. First Khasinou came in, bringing me food, and then he told me that his boss wanted to speak with me."
"The man?" Vaughn questioned.
"Yeah. I told him that I thought that the man was the boss, and he told me that the man was in charge, but that the man wasn't him."
Vaughn just nodded, and made a "Hmm…" sound.
"When he left, my mother came in."
"What did she say?"
"She said that she assumed I had a lot of questions, but that they would have to wait. I told her that I wanted my questions answered immediately, and she just agreed, saying something about how I was like my father." Sydney replied, not looking at Vaughn, but at a random point on the floor. "I asked her why she joined the KGB, why she abandoned me, and why she killed all those men." Sydney said, her eyes getting blurry from having to tell Vaughn about the woman who killed his father.
Vaughn just nodded again, not really having anything to say to that. He knew how guilty she felt about his father, and he just didn't know how to make her understand that she shouldn't.
"She just said that she did it for her country. Like me." Sydney said quietly.
At this, Vaughn spoke up. "No Sydney, not like you. What she did wasn't for her country, it was for herself. You do this for everyone, but yourself." Vaughn said forcefully.
Sydney just nodded, knowing that he was right. "I know, I know. And I told her that. I told her that she did these things ruthlessly and without any care of the consequences, and that I would never do that. I asked her if she was still doing these things for her country, and she told me that we would talk in the morning. She just left. Again." Sydney said, her eyes still gazing at the floor.
Vaughn didn't really know what to say. He understood now why Sydney wanted to stay. She wanted to get the rest of her questions answered; she wanted to see her mother. Vaughn was also staring at the floor, and he looked up at her.
"Sydney, you need to know that this is going to be okay. The mission went well. It was completed. We did what we came to do. We don't have to worry about your mother right now. She can't get to you. I won't let her." Vaughn spoke the last sentence softly, and Sydney raised her eyes from the floor to meet his gaze.
"I know." She said. "Thank you."
The tension between them was palpable, and Vaughn willed himself not to kiss her. Apparently, she was doing the same thing, because they both averted their eyes, hopelessness sinking in. They were silent for a few moments before Sydney spoke up.
"I'm sorry." She said simply, looking at the floor again.
"What?" Vaughn asked, not understanding.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, "I never should have just left you. To die."
"No, Sydney, you didn't leave me to die! You were attacked; there was nothing you could have done. If anything, you shouldn't have tried as hard as you did, you should have left sooner." Vaughn said, looking at her, but her eyes remained glued to the floor.
She shook her head. "I could have done more, I should have warned you of what I was going to do, or pushed you ahead of me, or figured out how to get you out."
Vaughn reached around to grab her shoulders, ignoring the pain in his arm, and turning her towards him, forcing her to look at him.
"Sydney. There was nothing you could have done. But it doesn't matter. I'm okay. I'm fine. I made it out and so did you." He tried to reassure her. Her eyes were looking into his, and they were slowly tearing up. Vaughn cautiously pulled her into him as she mumbled 'I'm sorrys" into his chest.
They slowly untangled and leaned back against the bag, lulled into sleep by the humming of the plane, and the comfort mutually radiating off of them.
Not much action, I know, but I'll put more in the next few chapters. Please review, (bad or good) I appreciate it, and I'll have more chapters posted soon.