Sydney and Francie's residence
Los Angeles
"...and then I found out that all the guests were vampires, and I had to serve them *real* bloody Marys, and it was so disgusting."
"Hmmm. Then what happened?" Sydney asked, her eyes fixed on a point in midair somewhere over the sink.
"Syd, you didn't hear a word I said!" Francie accused.
"Of course I did. Wait a minute, did you say something about vampires?" Sydney's attention snapped back to Francie.
Francie sighed in exasperation. "What's wrong, Syd? You've been a total space cadet ever since you got back from your trip. Did something happen?"
"No." Sydney became extremely engrossed in her fork. She shouldn't say anything, but, God, she needed to talk to someone. She had been able to think of little else. And she couldn't talk to Vaughn about this one.... She took a deep breath. "Francie, what would you say if I told you that I kind of ... slept with my boss on the trip."
"What?" Francie's own fork clattered to the table.
"OK, first you have to promise me you won't say anything about this to *anyone*. OK?" Francie nodded, her eyes wide. "There was this fancy party, and we were dancing, and we ended up alone later, and it just kind of ... happened."
"Did he pressure you? Because if he did, you should really report him. Although I guess that would be awkward for you, but he shouldn't get away with taking advantage of --"
"No! It wasn't like that!" Sydney's eyes shot up. "He's not like that. Nobody took advantage of anybody."
"Well, that's a relief. But now you really regret it, and you're worried about your job, right?" Francie said sympathetically.
She should regret it, Sydney knew. It had only further complicated an already-complicated situation. They couldn't let it be anything more. It could compromise their judgment. They had no future, unless they could by some miracle take down SD-6 before they were both old and gray. They could never be seen together in public. It could get one or both of them killed. And yet....
"No. I don't regret it." Sydney's chin jutted forward. "I should, but I don't. It was ... wonderful." The last word was little above a whisper.
"Syd ... are you in love with this guy?" Francie was startled at the almost dreamy look in Sydney's eyes.
Sydney's expression changed to one that Francie couldn't read. "I can't be. We can't be together."
Francie was struck with a sudden, awful thought. "Oh, please tell me he's not married."
Sydney shook her head. "He's not. But he's my boss. It's against the rules. If anyone at work found out about what happened, we'd ... we'd be in big trouble. We might both be terminated. Or we'd be assigned to other departments and not get to work together anymore. And I couldn't stand that."
"Is this job that important to you? I mean, if you think you really want to be with him...."
"It doesn't matter what we want. The job is important. And we work well together. We don't want that to change."
"So ... what are you going to do?" Francie still didn't understand, but Sydney's mind was obviously made up. She'd never known Syd to be so ... fatalistic. Of course, she'd never known her to sleep with her boss before, either.
"Nothing. There's nothing we can do. It was just one night." Sydney stood and put her plate in the sink.
One night was all they could have.
For now.
Los Angeles
"...and then I found out that all the guests were vampires, and I had to serve them *real* bloody Marys, and it was so disgusting."
"Hmmm. Then what happened?" Sydney asked, her eyes fixed on a point in midair somewhere over the sink.
"Syd, you didn't hear a word I said!" Francie accused.
"Of course I did. Wait a minute, did you say something about vampires?" Sydney's attention snapped back to Francie.
Francie sighed in exasperation. "What's wrong, Syd? You've been a total space cadet ever since you got back from your trip. Did something happen?"
"No." Sydney became extremely engrossed in her fork. She shouldn't say anything, but, God, she needed to talk to someone. She had been able to think of little else. And she couldn't talk to Vaughn about this one.... She took a deep breath. "Francie, what would you say if I told you that I kind of ... slept with my boss on the trip."
"What?" Francie's own fork clattered to the table.
"OK, first you have to promise me you won't say anything about this to *anyone*. OK?" Francie nodded, her eyes wide. "There was this fancy party, and we were dancing, and we ended up alone later, and it just kind of ... happened."
"Did he pressure you? Because if he did, you should really report him. Although I guess that would be awkward for you, but he shouldn't get away with taking advantage of --"
"No! It wasn't like that!" Sydney's eyes shot up. "He's not like that. Nobody took advantage of anybody."
"Well, that's a relief. But now you really regret it, and you're worried about your job, right?" Francie said sympathetically.
She should regret it, Sydney knew. It had only further complicated an already-complicated situation. They couldn't let it be anything more. It could compromise their judgment. They had no future, unless they could by some miracle take down SD-6 before they were both old and gray. They could never be seen together in public. It could get one or both of them killed. And yet....
"No. I don't regret it." Sydney's chin jutted forward. "I should, but I don't. It was ... wonderful." The last word was little above a whisper.
"Syd ... are you in love with this guy?" Francie was startled at the almost dreamy look in Sydney's eyes.
Sydney's expression changed to one that Francie couldn't read. "I can't be. We can't be together."
Francie was struck with a sudden, awful thought. "Oh, please tell me he's not married."
Sydney shook her head. "He's not. But he's my boss. It's against the rules. If anyone at work found out about what happened, we'd ... we'd be in big trouble. We might both be terminated. Or we'd be assigned to other departments and not get to work together anymore. And I couldn't stand that."
"Is this job that important to you? I mean, if you think you really want to be with him...."
"It doesn't matter what we want. The job is important. And we work well together. We don't want that to change."
"So ... what are you going to do?" Francie still didn't understand, but Sydney's mind was obviously made up. She'd never known Syd to be so ... fatalistic. Of course, she'd never known her to sleep with her boss before, either.
"Nothing. There's nothing we can do. It was just one night." Sydney stood and put her plate in the sink.
One night was all they could have.
For now.
