Chapter 3:- The Rescue

Sydney desperately tried to think of something to stop him before it was too late.

"It can't be like this!" Sydney exclaimed. "Vaughn, please!"

Vaughn turned around, but he didn't allow his face to betray anything.

            "Can I…will I be able to talk to you?" she blurted out nervously. It had been the question he had waited for and he had his answer already prepared.

"You'll have Weiss to talk to about missions. He's a good man."

            "I know." Sydney replied.

            "He cares for you. I know he'll do all he can for you. You can also talk to your father and even Will now he knows." Vaughn suggested.

            "No!" Sydney exclaimed as she jumped off the crate and ran towards Vaughn. "You're the only one that understands. You know me. I need to be able to talk to you." She knew she didn't sound coherent, but she didn't have time to think her thoughts through. The emotion in her voice forced Vaughn to look directly into her eyes. He could see that the sincerity of her words was mirrored in her dark eyes.

            "I need you." She managed to add.

            The lie that he had forced himself to believe on the return journey from Taipei had been torn apart in that instant. The separation that he felt they needed suddenly became impossible to carry out.

            "Okay." He eventually whispered. He exhaled, realising that he finally felt something. In the past it had been enough to simply love her and not have her reciprocate it, but now he knew that she couldn't live without him.

            "Okay?!" She repeated in disbelief. The tears that had been building up as she had tried to persuade him finally spilled over. Vaughn was secretly pleased that he would get to see her again.

"Thank you." She breathed.

            Vaughn knew it would now be his turn to wait for the 'Joey's Pizza' phone calls. He would be the one waiting to meet her at unusual places and at even stranger times. The empty pier on a winter's night, maybe at the Observatory just before it closed or perhaps at dawn just before the morning commuters would flood the train station.

            He knew that the only words he'd say to her would be 'Hey' or 'How's it going?' before she would explain her latest mission or even her problems dealing with her friends and her father. He knew he'd not get to see if her hair was tied up in a ponytail or worn loose or even what colour lipstick she wore on her full lips. He also knew that he would cherish and be tortured by every second of their meetings.

            He then realised that what had initially been a selfish decision had turned into something totally selfless. He should have known that no matter what happened, he'd still love Sydney.

            The briefest of smiles spread across Vaughn's face. It was his first smile in days. Sydney finally saw a glimpse of her Vaughn; the one that made her feel her whole life wasn't a lie.

            "It'll be okay." He said. He wasn't sure if it was the truth, but he wanted to pretend it was.

            "It will be now." Sydney's warm smile shone, even through her tears.

            Vaughn desperately wanted to put his arms around her, to continue the pretence, but he resisted as he had done so many times in the past.

            "I should go now." He reluctantly lied.

            "Could you stay?" she asked her voice full of hope.

"Yes." He immediately answered, more than happy to do so.

They sat back down on the crates. Vaughn placed his jacket behind him on the crate once again and waited for Sydney to start talking. Vaughn was unable to think of his own feelings at all at that moment. All he could do was look at Sydney's face.

"What do you think?" she asked after she had carefully recounted everything that had happened between her and her mother in Taipei.

"You should do what Weiss and your father advise you to do."

"I didn't ask you what I should do. I wanted to know what you think about it all."

"Syd, I know how much you want an end to SD-6. It must be so tempting. You can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. But you of all people know, no one is what they seem on first impression. SD-6 fooled not only you, but almost everyone that works for them."

Sydney nodded in agreement.

"My first impression of you was correct." She said smiling.

"And what was that?" He asked.

"That you'd help me. That you would do your best for me."

"I remember you not believing a word I'd said and then arguing with me!"

"I did not!" She protested, but she ended up laughing.

"I've got to go." Vaughn lied again. Sydney's gentle laughter reminded him how comfortable he was in her company. He couldn't afford to forget the sacrifice he was making.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Sydney asked finally understanding why he was acting the way he was.

"It has to be this way."

"No. I don't agree Vaughn." She retorted as her eyes fired up with anger.

"Hey, maybe you could start calling me Mike now." He joked.

"I think Michael is a big enough step!" She joked back.

Sydney studied Vaughn's face. Despite his smile, she could see the sadness in his eyes. He couldn't fool her no matter how hard he tried. But she had no choice, but to play along for now.

"Go." Sydney said softly. "Francie will start to wonder where I am."

Vaughn opened his mouth as if to speak, but he thought better of it. He had to force himself not to ask her personal questions. He had to learn to control his emotions once more.

"Bye, Syd." He eventually managed to say.

"I'll see you soon." She said as if it were a promise. Vaughn nodded his head and walked out of the warehouse relieved, as if a heavy weight of had been lifted from him.