Vaughn drove back to his apartment and as he opened the door he heard his cell phone ringing. He ran to search in his briefcase, but his phone stopped ringing just as he found it.

"Damn!" He exclaimed when had he saw that the call was from Sydney. He grabbed his car keys once again and headed to the warehouse as fast as he could. Once he got inside the warehouse he ran the final few yards. However Vaughn stopped in his tracks before he reached the chain-link fence. He took another breath and realised he could smell the scent of Sydney's soft floral perfume in the air. He couldn't help but hear his mother's words echoing in his mind. He resisted the urge to confess his feelings to Sydney so he took a second to compose himself before he opened the fence.

"Hey Sydney." Vaughn saw Sydney pacing up and down the concrete floor.

"Hi." Sydney smiled with relief.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No." She took a few steps forward and looked at his face to see if he was okay.

"Why did you call me? Is everything alright?" Vaughn asked concerned.

"I just wanted to talk that's all. I'm sorry for calling you at the weekend." She apologised.

"No, don't be. It's fine."

"I was worried." She confessed. "I thought something had happened." It was the first time Vaughn had not responded straight away to a call and it had made her realise how much she took him for granted.

"I went to visit my mother on the spur of the moment. I forgot to take my pager and cell phone with me." Vaughn explained.

"Is she alright?" Sydney asked.

"Yeah, I just haven't been to visit in a while."

"But you're okay?" She asked.

"That's the first thing she asked me! She said I only go to see her if something's wrong or it's a holiday." He chuckled.

"It's not a holiday." Sydney said quietly.

"What?" Vaughn's eyes met hers. He was surprised that he had been caught out.

"It's not a holiday. So was something wrong?" She asked again.

"No, no." He said a little too emphatically.

"Are you close with your mother?" She asked.

"Yes. I can talk to her about almost anything." Vaughn replied.

"That's nice." Sydney looked down at her feet for a few moments before she spoke again. "I don't mean to pry, but if you want, you can talk to me anytime."

"Thank you." Vaughn said before he deliberately changed the subject. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"You." Sydney managed to surprise Vaughn once again.

"Why?" Vaughn asked as he tried to cover his discomfort.

"You've seemed distant lately."

"Really?" Vaughn had thought he had learned to mask his emotions around Sydney, but it was clear Sydney was able to see through his act.

"Have I done something to upset you?" Sydney asked.

"No, of course not. I'm fine." He said matter-of-factly.

"I've said 'I'm fine' so many times when I'm really the opposite."

"I'll remember, the next time you say that!" He replied.

"Vaughn, please."

"I appreciate your concern, but it's not part of your job." He said guardedly.

"My job?! I was asking as a friend. I thought we were friends too." He could hear the sadness in her voice.

"We are, but I'm sure there are lots of things you don't tell me."

"You're the only person I can be totally honest with. I'm sorry if I burden you with my problems!" She retorted.

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you have your friends, a separate life."

"It's not by choice." Sydney said bitterly.

"Can we just drop this?" Vaughn wanted to end the conversation before he said something he regretted. The last thing he wanted was to get into an argument with her.

"Why?" Sydney asked.

"Some things are better left unsaid." He said carefully.

"You really believe that?" She challenged.

"I don't know." He sighed.

"I do. I know all about the burden that keeping secrets entails." Vaughn saw the unhappy look on Sydney's face.

"I'm sorry." Vaughn said sincerely. "You shouldn't be worrying about me, you have enough to contend with already." Vaughn desperately tried to regain control of the situation and his feelings.

"But I do worry about you, Vaughn." Sydney tried to study the expression on his face. She knew he was holding back so much and she wanted to say something to provoke him to respond. "And it's a bit late now to stop caring." Her comment startled him for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"If there's nothing else you wanted to talk about. So, do you have plans this weekend with Francie and Will?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Why are you being like this?"

"Like what exactly?" He wondered why she continues to make it so difficult for him.

"Pushing me away all of a sudden." She said.

Vaughn smiled sadly and shook his head. He had been trying to pull away from her for months now and he had failed miserably. Each time they met, his connection with her had only deepened and not lessened.

"I'm tired, Syd." Vaughn then rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm tired of having to think about the consequences before I say anything, to you, to anyone."

"You'll get used to it after a while." She retorted. Sydney stood up to make her way out of the warehouse. Vaughn took a few steps forward and stopped her by touching her hand. But he moved away as soon as he saw the look on her face.

"Sydney." He said softly. Vaughn stared at Sydney for a few moments. He wondered exactly how he had reached that point, standing so close to Sydney, aching to tell her the truth. He realised that if he had just taken the leap and confessed his feelings for her as soon as he had walked in to see her, it all would have been resolved one way or another by now. He was about to look away when she placed her hand on his face and with a nervous smile she took a step towards him and kissed him gently on the lips. Vaughn quickly recovered after his initial shock and kissed her back. They finally broke apart and Vaughn smiled at Sydney.

"If I had waited for you to kiss me first, I would have been waiting a long time." She joked.

"The real reason I went to see my Mom was to ask her advice about you." Vaughn confessed.

"What did she say?" Sydney asked.

"She said that I should trust my feelings...." Vaughn hesitated a moment before he added, "and that beingin love should be simple."

"I totally agree." Sydney smiled brightly as she looked into his eyes. "It can all be so simple if you let it be." With that Sydney pulled Vaughn closer towards her and they kissed once again.

~~~~

The End.