Chapter 2: And We Meet Again

Author's note: Thank you so much for your reviews. You have no idea what they mean to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember, cursive means one of the characters is having a flashback. Oh, and like I said in the summary, this is kinda AU so some of the 'facts' are not accurate, alright? I've altered them to fit with my story.

**********

As Vaughn walked to the parking lot, he recalled his conversation with Devlin. At first, Devlin hadn't been thrilled to know that he knew agent Sydney Bristow. However, Vaughn managed to convince him that it really had been a long time since he had last seen her. In fact, he added, he wasn't even sure she'd remember him at all. Of course Vaughn secretly hoped that she would remember him. He remembered everything about her. How her face lit up when she smiled, the way her brown hair shone under the sunlight, how she could be so determined and passionate about things… and her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes.

He sat in his car and carefully flipped through the file. Her whole life was written in those pages. He wished he had more time, so he could read Sydney Bristow's life and remember every detail about her. However, he knew that he was already running very late. She'd probably be mad at him.

He wondered how she would react to him being her handler. Would she just shrug it off like it was no big deal? Would she be happy to see him again after all these years? He hoped it was the latter, but then the goofy grin that had been plastered on his face faded. Even if she did remember him and was happy to see him again, they could never have a real relationship. It would not be just about breaking protocol, but it could also get them killed. He'd had the time to read about Danny, Sydney's fiancé, and how SD-6 had murdered him. That much he knew.

As he was nearing the warehouse, where he was supposed to meet Sydney, he remembered the first time they had met. They had been both seven years old. Vaughn had recently moved from France, after his father had died. His mother had driven him to school that morning. He'd walked in, feeling very nervous and anxious, and having trouble finding Mrs. Mathews' class. When he'd entered the classroom, the kind teacher had suggested that he sat next to Sydney.

"Hi, I'm Sydney." The little girl with shiny brown hair said.

He smiled shyly, "I'm Michael Vaughn. I just moved here."

"I know. Where did you live before?" She asked interested.

"France." Michael replied, "In Toulouse. It was very pretty there."

Sydney looked at Mrs. Mathews, who was currently writing something on the chalkboard.

"Why did you move here then?"

He looked away, "My dad died a couple of months ago and my mom thought it would be a good idea to come live with my aunts."

"I'm sorry." She said sincerely and secretly thanked God for letting her have both of her parents.

Suddenly, Michael seemed to cheer up a little.

"My dad worked for the CIA. He never told me, but I bet he was a spy." He stated proudly.

Sydney's eyes lit up, "That's awesome. I wish my dad did something like that. All he does is work for some stupid software company all day and go on business trips."

"I'm gonna be exactly like my dad when I grow up and everybody's gonna call me 'Agent Vaughn'." He said excitedly, "You can come to my house someday and we can play we're both spies. I'll be agent Vaughn and you'll be agent… what's your last name?" He asked.

Sydney smiled, liking the idea tremendously, "Bristow. You'll be agent Vaughn and I'll be agent Bristow."

They grinned at each other already looking forward to their little game.

The memory brought a smile to Vaughn's face. He stopped the car once he'd reached the abandoned warehouse and scanned the place. He thought it was a little cliché to held a secret meeting there, but it's not like he could go against Devlin's orders and besides, they couldn't meet in a public place either so this warehouse would have to do.

He walked over to the door and opened it carefully, trying to avoid making any noises. He didn't want to startle Sydney. His eyes searched the place, which was very dark, except for a dim light in the center. He didn't see Sydney until he got there. She was standing with her back at him not looking at anything in particular. He swallowed a lump in his throat and took a step forward making a faint noise this time so she would turn around.

Sydney turned around slowly and saw someone standing there. My handler, she thought. She couldn't quite see him yet so she took a step forward, just like Vaughn had done seconds ago.

When she saw him clearly, thanks to the dim light, she gasped and her hand went to her mouth. It couldn't be, could it? It had been almost twenty years. For all she knew, this man could just look a lot like him, but when he continued to walk and was close enough to her, she knew she couldn't be mistaken. She'd know those eyes anywhere. They drew her in.

"Michael?" She asked tentatively in a low voice.

Vaughn broke into a huge grin, "Hello, Sydney… and we meet again."

**********

TBC

Author's note: I was planning on writing the talk between them and all that, but I thought it would be more… interesting if I left things like this. Don't kill me please. I promise I'll post the next chapter soon. Please, review this story. I'm not gonna threaten you saying that I won't post the next chapter if I don't get ten reviews, but it would be nice to know that you're reading my story. If you want to e-mail me you can do it to: l_aliaga@hotmail.com