Sydney sat in a chair in the local coffee shop. It was just approaching
6am. She got around 2 and half hours of sleep that night. Her mind was a
whirlwind of thoughts that bounced from Vaughn, Sloane, her father, SD-6,
Francie, Will, and then back to Vaughn.
As she sipped her black coffee her mind kept going over the same 'what ifs'. What if she hadn't accepted Vaughn's help? What if she could just let her mother go and accept the fact that she is really dead in her heart? What if she had pushed Vaughn to run faster? In a thousand different ways she blamed herself for Vaughn's current state.
She had figured out her story. She knew it was a huge chance, being with Vaughn at his place. It was hard enough to set up undisclosed meetings with him, now she was going to be spending all of his time at his house, with him openly. Not only was she putting herself in danger, but she was also putting him in more danger. However, Sydney could not get the image of Vaughn's innocent eyes trying to read hers. He used to be a very good reader of her. He could always tell when something was the matter with her. He knew when a mission had gone wrong. She loved how he understood her without any words being spoken. And now it was as if he were a naïve child going into the big bad world. Her heart ached for him. It hurt so much she wished that she were in his place instead.
She had already called her father and told him to meet him at the warehouse. Dreading this meeting with him was an understatement. He was going to be livid when he hears what she did.
"Sydney, I'm glad you called, I wanted to see how Mr. Vaughn is doing. I was going to call the doctor, but I got your page first and assume this has something to do with him." Jack said, wasting no time as he entered the gated meeting place.
Sydney's melancholy look was beginning to worry Jack as he saw her nervously wriggle her hands together. "It's not good dad. The doctor said that his brain was damaged from lack of oxygen." Pause "He's suffering from amnesia."
His face saddened a bit "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how close you are to him."
"That's not actually all." She said apprehensively.
"The doctor said that he needs to be supervised 24/7 in his home environment. For when he has his bad moments of frustration and panic. I couldn't just let some stranger ta--"
"Sydney, you can't! No, that's the dumbest thing to ever come out of your mouth. The answer is no! He must have some relatives or friends to take care of him!"
He lowered his voice marginally. "Sydney, you'd be away from work for weeks"
"One week.maybe two"
"How are you going to explain this to Sloane? How will you explain this to your friends without them getting suspicious? Sydney the risks here are extremely high."
Sydney dropped her eyes to the floor. "But it's my fault he's in the condition he is. Dad, I couldn't let some stranger or unknowing family member take care of him when it's my fault he has amnesia in the first place. He was trying to help me by coming with me."
Jack took one step closer towards Sydney. "Sydney, he knew the risks he was taking. He went despite them. I'm sure he wouldn't blame you in any way for what happened. It's not your fault."
"I'm just going to tell Sloane that one of my friends from college is getting married in Boston and I'm a bridesmaid. I'll just need a week or two off. That should cover Sloane and SD-6 and I'll simply tell Francie that you're going out of town for a few weeks and there have been multiple burglaries in your area and you want me to stay at your place to make sure the place is being lived in."
"Please Sydney, take a moment and acknowledge the risks!" Jack needed to try one more time to reason with Sydney.
But she wouldn't have it. "Dad, I have. I have thought over and over, and I know I'm doing the right thing. Vaughn needs me. I got him into this mess, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I get him out of it."
"Just be careful." He turned to walk out, but stopped and turned to Sydney. "By the way, Sloane told me last that Emily has taken a turn for the worst. He's been acting rather strange and preoccupied with her at the moment. I don't think he'll think twice about it."
"Sorry to hear that, I'll give him my regards when I talk to him."
They exchanged good-byes and Jack left leaving Sydney with a sense of happiness. Now she just had to explain to Sloane and have a quick lunch with Francie and then she would be free to spend the next week or so with Vaughn. She just hoped she could control her own impulses when she's around him. ****************************************************************
Notes: I just wanted to thank you guys SO much for the feedback. I know the first 2 chapters were a little slow, as was this chapter. But I'm getting to the good shippy stuff, I promise ( I know a lot of you said it was a little unbelievable, her being able to spend time with Vaughn, so I hoped I made it a tiny bit more believable. I've been trying to get the chapters out ASAP but I haven't been home a lot lately. I should get the next chapter out tomorrow though. Thanks again for reviewing! You guys rock (
As she sipped her black coffee her mind kept going over the same 'what ifs'. What if she hadn't accepted Vaughn's help? What if she could just let her mother go and accept the fact that she is really dead in her heart? What if she had pushed Vaughn to run faster? In a thousand different ways she blamed herself for Vaughn's current state.
She had figured out her story. She knew it was a huge chance, being with Vaughn at his place. It was hard enough to set up undisclosed meetings with him, now she was going to be spending all of his time at his house, with him openly. Not only was she putting herself in danger, but she was also putting him in more danger. However, Sydney could not get the image of Vaughn's innocent eyes trying to read hers. He used to be a very good reader of her. He could always tell when something was the matter with her. He knew when a mission had gone wrong. She loved how he understood her without any words being spoken. And now it was as if he were a naïve child going into the big bad world. Her heart ached for him. It hurt so much she wished that she were in his place instead.
She had already called her father and told him to meet him at the warehouse. Dreading this meeting with him was an understatement. He was going to be livid when he hears what she did.
"Sydney, I'm glad you called, I wanted to see how Mr. Vaughn is doing. I was going to call the doctor, but I got your page first and assume this has something to do with him." Jack said, wasting no time as he entered the gated meeting place.
Sydney's melancholy look was beginning to worry Jack as he saw her nervously wriggle her hands together. "It's not good dad. The doctor said that his brain was damaged from lack of oxygen." Pause "He's suffering from amnesia."
His face saddened a bit "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how close you are to him."
"That's not actually all." She said apprehensively.
"The doctor said that he needs to be supervised 24/7 in his home environment. For when he has his bad moments of frustration and panic. I couldn't just let some stranger ta--"
"Sydney, you can't! No, that's the dumbest thing to ever come out of your mouth. The answer is no! He must have some relatives or friends to take care of him!"
He lowered his voice marginally. "Sydney, you'd be away from work for weeks"
"One week.maybe two"
"How are you going to explain this to Sloane? How will you explain this to your friends without them getting suspicious? Sydney the risks here are extremely high."
Sydney dropped her eyes to the floor. "But it's my fault he's in the condition he is. Dad, I couldn't let some stranger or unknowing family member take care of him when it's my fault he has amnesia in the first place. He was trying to help me by coming with me."
Jack took one step closer towards Sydney. "Sydney, he knew the risks he was taking. He went despite them. I'm sure he wouldn't blame you in any way for what happened. It's not your fault."
"I'm just going to tell Sloane that one of my friends from college is getting married in Boston and I'm a bridesmaid. I'll just need a week or two off. That should cover Sloane and SD-6 and I'll simply tell Francie that you're going out of town for a few weeks and there have been multiple burglaries in your area and you want me to stay at your place to make sure the place is being lived in."
"Please Sydney, take a moment and acknowledge the risks!" Jack needed to try one more time to reason with Sydney.
But she wouldn't have it. "Dad, I have. I have thought over and over, and I know I'm doing the right thing. Vaughn needs me. I got him into this mess, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I get him out of it."
"Just be careful." He turned to walk out, but stopped and turned to Sydney. "By the way, Sloane told me last that Emily has taken a turn for the worst. He's been acting rather strange and preoccupied with her at the moment. I don't think he'll think twice about it."
"Sorry to hear that, I'll give him my regards when I talk to him."
They exchanged good-byes and Jack left leaving Sydney with a sense of happiness. Now she just had to explain to Sloane and have a quick lunch with Francie and then she would be free to spend the next week or so with Vaughn. She just hoped she could control her own impulses when she's around him. ****************************************************************
Notes: I just wanted to thank you guys SO much for the feedback. I know the first 2 chapters were a little slow, as was this chapter. But I'm getting to the good shippy stuff, I promise ( I know a lot of you said it was a little unbelievable, her being able to spend time with Vaughn, so I hoped I made it a tiny bit more believable. I've been trying to get the chapters out ASAP but I haven't been home a lot lately. I should get the next chapter out tomorrow though. Thanks again for reviewing! You guys rock (