Chapter 6 :- The Return

Sydney closed the book she was reading and jumped off the couch when she heard the phone ring. She hurried over to the phone to answer it.

"Joey's Pizza."

"Wrong number." She replied. She wondered why Weiss had arranged a meeting when she hadn't been given a new SD-6 mission. She knew the only way to ease her growing concern that something was wrong was to hurry to the warehouse as soon as she could.

Sydney's footsteps echoed on the hard concrete floor of the warehouse. She looked down at her shoes willing her feet to move more quickly.

"Hey Er" Her voice trailed off as she saw the person standing in front of her wasn't Weiss.

Vaughn's heart had been pounding faster as her heard Sydney's approaching footsteps becoming louder. He felt like his heart would explode.

"Whatwhat are you doing here?" Sydney managed to say.

"I, erI spoke to Devlin yesterday." Vaughn began nervously.

"And?!" She asked impatiently. She then walked up towards him not quite ready to believe he was actually standing there in front of her.

"You didn't tell me you spoke to Devlin about me."

"Come on, just tell me!" She needed to hear him say the words.

"Devlin's agreed that I can be your Handler again."

"That's fantastic!" A big smile of relief and delight spread across her face.

"I'm on probation and Eric'll still work with the both of us." Vaughn explained.

"What made you decide to come back? You never talked about it with me."

"It doesn't matter anymore." He said truthfully. He just wanted to leave the past behind him.

"I'm so happy!" Sydney laughed and without thinking she put her arms around Vaughn's neck. She held on to him tightly unwilling to let him go. As he recovered from the surprise, he put his arms around Sydney's waist. He couldn't believe how incredible it felt to be able to hold her, to be so close to her. He then wondered why he had ever doubted Sydney's reaction.

"I'd hoped this day would happen for so long, but I forced myself not to expect it." Sydney's voice was full of emotion as she continued to hold on to Vaughn. She eventually pulled away from him so she could see his face.

"I've missed you." Sydney didn't give Vaughn time to respond. "Just when I thought I had you all worked out, you manage to amaze me." She added quickly.

"Was I that transparentbefore?" Vaughn asked as if it were a weakness..

"Honest, not transparent." Sydney replied straight away. She smiled at him, but it was mixed with the realisation that he now kept so many thoughts and feelings hidden from her.

"Guess what? No more secret meetings!" She said trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Apart from the ones we'll have here." Vaughn smiled.

"You know what I mean; the super-secret ones no one knew about."

"Except for Eric." He waited for the surprised look on her face.

"He told you?!" Sydney said pretending to be upset.

"He's far too clever. He found us out!"

"It's not as if we really did anything to get into trouble for." She responded.

"Well, anyway I'm staying out of trouble from now on."

"Really?" She asked a little disappointed.

"Devlin asked me whether I would break the rules again if you asked me to." A small smile played on his lips and Sydney could see his green eyes sparkling mischievously.

"And what did you say?" She asked eager for his reply. Her hand travelled up the sleeve of his jacket and rested on his chest. She could feel her hand rise and fall with every breath he took.

"I said I would, if you asked me to." Vaughn whispered. He gazed directly into her dark eyes. Whenever he thought he was in control in her presence, she would say or do something to turn everything upside down.

Vaughn desperately tried to think of something, anything to prevent what he longed to do. He hadn't intended it to go so far and now it took all his willpower not to kiss her. He still wanted to be her Handler with the same eagerness and commitment that he had shown the first time they had met. But his reasons were entirely different now. He had just returned from the desert of their enforced separation and he didn't want to go back to it.

He eventually took a step back with both feet and looked down at the floor, at the space between their feet. Sydney looked at her hand, which was still hanging in the air and she slowly let it fall to her side. She tried to hide the hurt look on her face. Sydney wondered whether she had mistaken his desire for her as just innocent teasing.

"It's not as if I don't want to." He said as if he had read her mind.

"But?" She asked. Sydney wanted them both to forget all the obstacles between them, if only for a moment. However Vaughn knew that if they crossed that line, they wouldn't be able go back to how it was ever again.

"I can't risk it." He said firmly, trying to take back some control of the situation. Sydney just nodded her head in resignation.

"Next time, you'll meet with both Eric and myself." He added finally killing the moment for good.

"Okay." She said forcing a smile.

They stood opposite each other in silence for a few minutes. He didn't want to say something that would upset her, but he knew he didn't want to leave either.

"Everything's different now." Vaughn finally said not only to Sydney, but also to himself.

"But maybe it should be different." She replied softly. "It was like a test for the both of us. Perhaps we can start again. A new beginning?" She suggested.

"A new beginning." He simply repeated, hoping she was right.