Title: A Few Months Later
Author: ReeCee
Feedback: If you'd like to give it, then I'd love to get it. lol No pressure.
E-mail: dangerous_angel@2die4.com
Distribution: Here! lol I'm not sure if my stuff is really up to par with everyone else's so I have no idea WHY you'd want to. . . but if you do. Thanks! Just email me and tell me where.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to? . . . (sigh) NOT MINE. Capiche? Besides, JJ Abrams is God to my Alias world.
A/N: My internet is retarded... Just thought I'd let you know :o) Here is my chapter 7. I'm sure there'll be a few that don't like it. Just keep in mind that I'm an S/V shipper to the end. lol Ch. 8 will be difficult for me to write. i'll try to have it out asap. toodles!
"Hey Mike... You alright?" His eyes snapped open to reveal (Agent) Matthew Stevens, an office buddy of his.
"Hey... – Yeah, I'm great. Fine," he replied offhandedly as he sighed wearily, leaning back into his cushy seat.
"Uh, it's just that... Ok, I'll give it to you straight. Our friends out there? They're all worried about you, Mike. They voted on me to come talk to you about it 'cause we're close and all that… You've been very detached and… well, you volunteer yourself for the most dangerous missions." Matt sighed. "We're all worried. We don't need you to be in suicide mode here."
//Have I been that obvious?//
He sighed, and shook his head, trying to come off as rueful. "I've been a tad bit occupied, that's all."
Matt scoffed haughtily. "For the past 5 months? You've got to be kidding me! I swear Mike, you need to get over this girl and move on with your –"
"Who told you it was a girl?" he broke in, suddenly enraged at the mere thought of Sydney. "I don't recall even mentioning a girl to you, Matt."
"True, true," Matt replied, "but it doesn't take a genius to see what you're going through. You gonna tell me about it?"
Mike shook his head. "No, no I won't. Not now, anyway." He added the last part when he saw the hurt flicker across his friend's face.
Matt nodded and turned to leave. "You know where to find me."
When he was alone again, he let his mind drift to thoughts of her (thoughts of loving her, needing her). He remembered her lying in his arms, kissing him sweetly.
His few minutes of silence were interrupted when his phone rang loudly on his desk. Sighing, he scooped up the receiver.
"Vaughn."
"Hey, it's Eric." A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he quickly frowned instead.
"How are you, buddy?" he asked, settling comfortably in his chair.
"I'm good. I just wanted to know if you... Well, if you'd..."
"Christ, just spit it out."
Eric sighed. "I wanted to know if you'd meet Sydney."
Sigh (a lot of those going around). "Not this again. You always ask me to… If she wants to see me, tell her to set it up herself. I don't have time for go-betweens, Eric."
They sat in relative silence before Eric ventured out into the open again. "She asked about you again today."
"What did you tell her?" he asked, beginning to get irritated.
He could hear Eric shuffling papers around, trying to look busy no doubt.
"Well, I told her the truth. I told her that you never stay on the phone long enough for me to get a clear idea of what state of mind you're in. I told her that you're quieter, more reserved. I told her that you recommend yourself for all the suicide missions. I told her… I told her you don't ask about her."
He nodded, even though he knew his friend couldn't see him. "Good, that's what I wanted," he replied shortly.
"Mike, don't do this. I don't exactly know what happened in New York, but it can't be this bad."
Steadily, his blood began to boil with anger. "You'd like to think so, wouldn't you Eric? You'd love to think of me as the bad guy here. Why don't you ask her why she left me in New York? Ask her THAT, Eric. Ask her why I had to come home alone!"
"Whoa there, calm down! It doesn't seem so different from what you did to her… what was that, 4 years ago?"
He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, it'd be so much easier if things were as cut and dry as that." He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself and his emotions. "The only thing that was different was that we spent that entire week together. TOGETHER, Eric. I made love to that woman every night. We walked around like normal people, and I realized that I actually wanted to BE normal. I finally told her I loved her. I was ready to commit like she'd asked me to months before. Then she—" his voice cracked with all the emotion it held, "She LEFT me." By the time he finished, he was out of breath and red-faced (ready to break down and cry all over again).
"Ask her that, Eric, then you can judge about what was worse." Silently, he hung up the phone. He closed his eyes, involuntarily letting a few tears fall.
He began to see what other people were seeing… how emotionally unstable he really was. He never talked about what happened to anyone, and he finally realized that he should talk to someone. ANYONE.
Brushing the tears away, he dialed Matt's extension on his phone. "Hey Matt, you wanna get in here for a sec?"
***
Over an hour later, he was sitting silently with Matt, having told his entire story to him. He was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, and he let out a yawn for effect. But he felt remotely better (just a little bit).
Matt merely sat with a stunned expression on his face.
After a few minutes, he whispered, "It all makes sense now. How some C.I.A. operatives and officers were crawling around here that year you went solo and almost didn't come back." Mike thought back, remembered, and nodded.
"Yeah," he replied.
"The girl... Bristow? She was your double?"
He closed his eyes and breathed out another soft "Yeah."
Matt waited till he opened his eyes before smirking good-naturedly at his friend. "I thought it was your fiancée or something, coming down with the family and her father." He couldn't help but smile and chuckle (it's been a while).
"It's been a hard road for you, Mike," he continued in all seriousness. "You need to loosen up a bit, get back to the land of the living. I know you still love her; I can see it in your eyes. Anybody who isn't blind can probably pick up on it."
Mike dragged his face over his hand roughly, moaning good-naturedly. "What are you suggesting?"
Matt nodded at him with a smile. "Come out with me tonight. Just me and my wife... and my cousin, Sara..." he mumbled.
Mike laughed out loud. "You're trying to set me up with your cousin?" he asked incredulously, with no venom lacing his words. He smiled despite himself.
Matt laughed along with him. "Yes, I am. She's staying with us for a few months. She passed her board exams... all of them. My girl's a great lawyer, apparently. You'll like her. If nothing else, I'm sure you guys would be great friends. You have a ton in common."
//Here goes nothing...//
"Yeah," he replied with a slight smile. "I'm... I'm up for it."
Author: ReeCee
Feedback: If you'd like to give it, then I'd love to get it. lol No pressure.
E-mail: dangerous_angel@2die4.com
Distribution: Here! lol I'm not sure if my stuff is really up to par with everyone else's so I have no idea WHY you'd want to. . . but if you do. Thanks! Just email me and tell me where.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to? . . . (sigh) NOT MINE. Capiche? Besides, JJ Abrams is God to my Alias world.
A/N: My internet is retarded... Just thought I'd let you know :o) Here is my chapter 7. I'm sure there'll be a few that don't like it. Just keep in mind that I'm an S/V shipper to the end. lol Ch. 8 will be difficult for me to write. i'll try to have it out asap. toodles!
"Hey Mike... You alright?" His eyes snapped open to reveal (Agent) Matthew Stevens, an office buddy of his.
"Hey... – Yeah, I'm great. Fine," he replied offhandedly as he sighed wearily, leaning back into his cushy seat.
"Uh, it's just that... Ok, I'll give it to you straight. Our friends out there? They're all worried about you, Mike. They voted on me to come talk to you about it 'cause we're close and all that… You've been very detached and… well, you volunteer yourself for the most dangerous missions." Matt sighed. "We're all worried. We don't need you to be in suicide mode here."
//Have I been that obvious?//
He sighed, and shook his head, trying to come off as rueful. "I've been a tad bit occupied, that's all."
Matt scoffed haughtily. "For the past 5 months? You've got to be kidding me! I swear Mike, you need to get over this girl and move on with your –"
"Who told you it was a girl?" he broke in, suddenly enraged at the mere thought of Sydney. "I don't recall even mentioning a girl to you, Matt."
"True, true," Matt replied, "but it doesn't take a genius to see what you're going through. You gonna tell me about it?"
Mike shook his head. "No, no I won't. Not now, anyway." He added the last part when he saw the hurt flicker across his friend's face.
Matt nodded and turned to leave. "You know where to find me."
When he was alone again, he let his mind drift to thoughts of her (thoughts of loving her, needing her). He remembered her lying in his arms, kissing him sweetly.
His few minutes of silence were interrupted when his phone rang loudly on his desk. Sighing, he scooped up the receiver.
"Vaughn."
"Hey, it's Eric." A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he quickly frowned instead.
"How are you, buddy?" he asked, settling comfortably in his chair.
"I'm good. I just wanted to know if you... Well, if you'd..."
"Christ, just spit it out."
Eric sighed. "I wanted to know if you'd meet Sydney."
Sigh (a lot of those going around). "Not this again. You always ask me to… If she wants to see me, tell her to set it up herself. I don't have time for go-betweens, Eric."
They sat in relative silence before Eric ventured out into the open again. "She asked about you again today."
"What did you tell her?" he asked, beginning to get irritated.
He could hear Eric shuffling papers around, trying to look busy no doubt.
"Well, I told her the truth. I told her that you never stay on the phone long enough for me to get a clear idea of what state of mind you're in. I told her that you're quieter, more reserved. I told her that you recommend yourself for all the suicide missions. I told her… I told her you don't ask about her."
He nodded, even though he knew his friend couldn't see him. "Good, that's what I wanted," he replied shortly.
"Mike, don't do this. I don't exactly know what happened in New York, but it can't be this bad."
Steadily, his blood began to boil with anger. "You'd like to think so, wouldn't you Eric? You'd love to think of me as the bad guy here. Why don't you ask her why she left me in New York? Ask her THAT, Eric. Ask her why I had to come home alone!"
"Whoa there, calm down! It doesn't seem so different from what you did to her… what was that, 4 years ago?"
He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, it'd be so much easier if things were as cut and dry as that." He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself and his emotions. "The only thing that was different was that we spent that entire week together. TOGETHER, Eric. I made love to that woman every night. We walked around like normal people, and I realized that I actually wanted to BE normal. I finally told her I loved her. I was ready to commit like she'd asked me to months before. Then she—" his voice cracked with all the emotion it held, "She LEFT me." By the time he finished, he was out of breath and red-faced (ready to break down and cry all over again).
"Ask her that, Eric, then you can judge about what was worse." Silently, he hung up the phone. He closed his eyes, involuntarily letting a few tears fall.
He began to see what other people were seeing… how emotionally unstable he really was. He never talked about what happened to anyone, and he finally realized that he should talk to someone. ANYONE.
Brushing the tears away, he dialed Matt's extension on his phone. "Hey Matt, you wanna get in here for a sec?"
***
Over an hour later, he was sitting silently with Matt, having told his entire story to him. He was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, and he let out a yawn for effect. But he felt remotely better (just a little bit).
Matt merely sat with a stunned expression on his face.
After a few minutes, he whispered, "It all makes sense now. How some C.I.A. operatives and officers were crawling around here that year you went solo and almost didn't come back." Mike thought back, remembered, and nodded.
"Yeah," he replied.
"The girl... Bristow? She was your double?"
He closed his eyes and breathed out another soft "Yeah."
Matt waited till he opened his eyes before smirking good-naturedly at his friend. "I thought it was your fiancée or something, coming down with the family and her father." He couldn't help but smile and chuckle (it's been a while).
"It's been a hard road for you, Mike," he continued in all seriousness. "You need to loosen up a bit, get back to the land of the living. I know you still love her; I can see it in your eyes. Anybody who isn't blind can probably pick up on it."
Mike dragged his face over his hand roughly, moaning good-naturedly. "What are you suggesting?"
Matt nodded at him with a smile. "Come out with me tonight. Just me and my wife... and my cousin, Sara..." he mumbled.
Mike laughed out loud. "You're trying to set me up with your cousin?" he asked incredulously, with no venom lacing his words. He smiled despite himself.
Matt laughed along with him. "Yes, I am. She's staying with us for a few months. She passed her board exams... all of them. My girl's a great lawyer, apparently. You'll like her. If nothing else, I'm sure you guys would be great friends. You have a ton in common."
//Here goes nothing...//
"Yeah," he replied with a slight smile. "I'm... I'm up for it."