The Dream

Chapter 20: Sway

~~~

My heart, your hands, gentle my friend

Break me neatly, numb me sweetly

~

Say you would, say you could

Say you'd come and stop the rain

Say you'd try and hold me tight

And you just give me away

Make me high on lullabies

A melody for me to sway

Say you would, say you could

And you don't do anything

~~~

A burly man was standing menacingly in the doorway holding a rifle.

"Don't move," he commanded, pointing the gun at Vaughn. Vaughn craned his neck, trying to see if Sydney was all right, if she had been shot, if she was still breathing…But he couldn't see. He was too far away.

Vaughn glanced around. Fahim was still lying beneath him, not moving, but still breathing. Dammit. Why were the bad ones so hard to kill?

Then he noticed a bullet hole in the wall, just over his own head. Thank God.

At least he knew that Sydney hadn't been shot. Whether she was still alive was another matter. She had lost so much blood…He had to get her out of there.

Vaughn casually felt around in his pockets. He wasn't wearing his holster; he didn't have a knife; he didn't even have a damn paperclip for God's sake. The guard was eyeing him suspiciously, watching his every move.

He cautiously shifted positions and as he did, he noticed that Fahim was wearing something around his waist. He nonchalantly brought his hand down to examine it, all the while keeping an eye on the guard.

It was a knife. There really was a God.

Vaughn closed his fist around the handle. In one swift motion, he whipped the knife out of its holder and brought the blade to Fahim's neck.

The guard's eyes widened and he looked confused for a moment. Then he moved the gun so he had better aim at Vaughn's head.

Vaughn pushed the blade harder against Fahim's skin, locking eyes with the guard. "Go ahead and pull the trigger. It'll give me just enough time to slit his throat."

The guard shifted uncomfortably, but didn't bring the gun down.

"Do you want him to die?" Vaughn asked, scratching Fahim with the knife so that a thin line of blood appeared at his throat.

The guard moved his gaze from Vaughn, to the knife, to Fahim, and then back to Vaughn again. He brought the gun down slowly, but after a moment's thought, quickly moved it back up.

Vaughn glanced at Sydney. She still hadn't moved and he was too far away to see if she was still breathing. He didn't have time for this.

"You let me take her safely out of here, and your boss will live."

The man didn't move. He was thinking so hard that Vaughn could practically hear the gears turning.

"God dammit!" Vaughn shouted impatiently. "Make up your mind! Do you want your boss to live or die?!"

The guard thought for a minute. A minute that seemed to stretch for all eternity.

"Live," he finally stated simply, lowering the gun.

Vaughn reluctantly brought the knife away from Fahim's throat. Part of him had hoped that the guard would have said, "Die," and pulled the trigger. He would have gladly paid for taking Fahim's life with his own, but that meant Sydney would have to die too. Vaughn wouldn't, couldn't be responsible for her death. He would do anything to keep her alive, even if it meant that that bastard had to live too.

Vaughn stood up. "Take him out of my sight," he said, glancing at Fahim and kicking him towards the door.

The guard complied, easily throwing Fahim over his shoulder and carrying him from the room.

As soon as they were gone, Vaughn ran to Sydney. He kissed her lightly again, not caring about the blood that smeared his lips; and quickly disentangled the top sheet from the rest of the blankets.

He placed the sheet over her, covering her bare legs, and was about to scoop her up, when he felt her move slightly, a move that was more a twitch than any sort of voluntary motion.

"Syd?" he whispered, immediately moving to the head of the bed. He knelt next to her, running his fingers delicately across her cheek.

She flinched at the slight pressure, but whether it was from pain or fear, he couldn't tell.

"It's okay Syd," he murmured. "I'm here now."

 Her eyes fluttered open. "Vaughn," she whispered weakly. Her voice was low and hoarse, but it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

"Oh, Sydney…" his voice broke, and the tears started to stream down his face. He wanted to throw his arms around her, bury his face in her shoulder and cry. He wanted to caress her, embrace her, kiss her; but he couldn't. He didn't want to frighten her, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Vaughn…what…what happened?…Where am I?"

She had known his name. She had remembered that much. Please let her remember the rest. He was praying that she didn't have a concussion, that she didn't have amnesia, that she wasn't really hurt as badly as she looked.

"You…you had some trouble on a mission," he answered, choosing his words carefully. "You're in Egypt, remember?"

"Fahim," she whispered, closing her eyes. He saw her cringe, and this time he knew that it was from the memories and not the physical pain.

"Shh, he won't hurt you anymore." He took a clean corner of the sheet and gently tried to wipe the blood from her face. He succeeded in getting most of it off, but as soon as he finished, he saw a crimson trail slowly start to make its way down her face again.

He sighed, and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm here now, and I'm never going to leave you again."

She slowly, painfully, lifted her hand to take his. Her grip was weak, barely there at all. An hour ago she had been fighting fiercely for her life; now she could hardly take his hand.

"Pr…promise me," she murmured.

"I promise." He kissed her hand and then laid it gently at her side. "We have to go now. I'm going to carry you, okay?"

She tried to nod her head, but winced from the pain. He carefully put his arms under her and lifted her up, wrapping her in the sheet. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears mixing with the blood that had found its way back into her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he quickly grabbed the map and carried her out of the room, the sudden bright light almost blinding him.

He waited for her to respond, but she didn't answer; she didn't make a sound.

"Syd?…Sydney, baby, keep your eyes open."

"It…it hurts." Her voice faltered. She was trying not to cry.

"I know it does. Just keep your eyes open for me, okay?"

"It makes…it makes me dizzy to… to keep my eyes…"

Vaughn stopped walking and looked down at her. The light in the hallway made her wounds look even more ghastly, and he swore that the bump on her head had grown larger than it had been when he had first seen it.

"I'm sorry, Sydney. I know it makes you dizzy, but can you open your eyes for me, just for a minute? Look up at me; open them as wide as you can."

Her eyes fluttered open, but she quickly shut them again.

"I know it's bright, baby. I know it hurts. But just for a minute and then you can close them, I promise. I want to see your beautiful eyes…Please?"

She opened them slowly, about halfway.

"Great, Syd, that's perfect. Just keep them open for a few more seconds. Let me look at them…"

He glanced from one eye to the other. Her left pupil reacted normally, instantly becoming much smaller when the light hit it, but her right pupil hardly changed at all.

"I can't…see you…You're…spinning around…so fast…"

Shit. A concussion. He had to get her to the hospital, now.

"Okay, sweetie, you can close your eyes now. They're beautiful, you're going to be all right."

Her long lashes fell gently down as the lids hid her soft brown eyes from his view. He continued walking and started down the stairs as quickly as he could without jostling her too much.

"I'm…so…tired."

He could barely hear her whisper. Her voice was becoming softer and weaker, the spaces between her words increasing.

"Don't fall asleep, Sydney. You need to stay awake…"

"Vaughn?"

"That's right, Syd. Just keep talking."

She brought her arm up and softly touched his cheek, then ran her fingers across his lips.

"Remember…that…I…always…love…you."

"I love you too, with all my heart. I couldn't live without you..."

"Re…remember…please…"

"I will Syd." Her fingers were still on his lips, and he kissed them. "You'll be here to remind me of that tomorrow and the next day, forever and always. I promise I'll…" He stopped talking as her fingers dropped suddenly from his lips.

"Don't fall asleep…please" He was pleading, not with her but with God and whoever else would listen. If she fell asleep she might never wake up…

He felt her head sink to her chest and sway slightly with every step he took

"Syd?…Sydney?…"

But she didn't answer. She couldn't hear him. He lowered his head to hers, sighing with relief when he felt her breath against his ear.

Vaughn awkwardly pulled the door open and stepped out onto the porch. When the door shut behind him, he was swallowed by the inky blackness of the night. The ominous darkness startled him, taunting him, mocking him.  He sighed and started down the path to the gate.

Sydney needed medical attention as soon as possible. He hadn't lost her. Yet. But he still could if she didn't get the help she needed. How long had it been since she had been wounded? Half an hour at least. A person could lose a lot of blood in half an hour.

Vaughn didn't even know where in Cairo he was; not that it would have helped him. He didn't know where any hospitals were anyway.

He opened the gate and stood outside the fence. Now what was he going to do? In his rush to find Sydney, he hadn't even grabbed his cell phone. He was stuck in the middle of nowhere holding a battered and badly bleeding Sydney in his arms, and no way to help her.

He lowered his head to hers again. She was still breathing, but how much longer would that last? Vaughn didn't want to think about that.

He had found her. He had rescued her from Fahim, but not before the damage had been done. He wished it hadn't had to be like that. For just once, he wished that he could save her from the discomfort, the agony.

But, somehow he was never able to. Something always happened. She always got screwed.

Now all that was going to change. They had the map; they could take down SD-6. But whether they did or not, he was never going to let her out of his sight again. He would hold onto her forever, SD-6 and the CIA be damned.

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, avoiding the cuts and bruises, but not the blood. The blood was inevitable. It was everywhere.

He had three choices.

One of them was as just good as doing nothing. Wandering around Cairo until he found someone to help him would do neither him nor Sydney any good. It was a waste of time.

The second was out as well. He sure as hell was not going back to Fahim's and asking to use the phone.

He had to act, and he had only one option left. He had often told Sydney that he would do anything for her, now he would put some action behind his words.

He would do something. Even if it meant putting his own life in danger, even if it meant destroying everything Sydney had worked so hard for. He would do something, anything, to keep her alive.

Vaughn took a deep breath and slowly trudged down the path and knocked on the side of the SD-6 van.

A/N: Well, we're almost there. For all of you wondering when the heck this story is ever going to end, don't worry. There should only be about two more chapters. Maybe three, but then that's it, and I'll have to think of something else to write. :( I already went a lot farther than I thought I would, and don't want to bore you by dragging this out too much. By the way, the song from the beginning was "Sway" by Vanessa Carlton. Thanks for reading and please review; writing's great, but it's the feedback that makes it worth it! Thanks again!