An hour after returning from the slopes, Sydney made her way down to the hotel's restaurant. She stopped at a mirror in the lobby to check her appearance. She smoothed the skirt of her short black dress, and fiddled with the sleeves of the black sweater she wore over it. Had she made a mistake by putting her hair up? She didn't want Vaughn to think she had fussed over her appearance, even though she totally had. She looked at the reflection staring back at her, and noticed that her cheeks were flushed. She wasn't sure if it was because she had spent the entire day out in the cold air or if she was simply excited about having dinner with Vaughn for the first time. Even though this technically wasn't a date, her stomach was full of butterflies as she walked into the restaurant. Almost immediately, she noticed Vaughn standing at the bar with his back turned to her. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him in a black turtleneck sweater and khakis. If there was an institution for the criminally beautiful, she thought, they'd have to lock him up and throw away the key.
She steadied her nerves, walked up behind him and playfully asked, "Can I buy you a drink?"
"No thanks, I'm wai --" He turned around and laughed when he saw her standing in front of him. "Yeah. Actually, you might have to buy me a few drinks." He let his eyes take her in. "Wow. You look great."
She could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Thanks. You don't look half bad, yourself. I didn't keep you waiting long, did I?"
"No. But it would have been worth it if you had." He said as the host came to take them to their table.
The table was next to a huge floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked Lake Tahoe itself. Even though it was dark outside, they could see the calmness and stillness of the water. It was a gorgeous sight, made even more so by the soft candlelight flickering throughout the dining room. The overall effect was soft and romantic, a fact not lost on either Vaughn or Sydney.
Vaughn looked over the top of his menu to steal a glance at Sydney. She looked incredibly beautiful. He had a hard enough time trying not to notice that when they were working together, but today when they were skiing, it had been impossible not to notice. All day long, she had been smiling and laughing, her cheeks rosy, her eyes sparkling. He wished more than anything that he could see her that way all the time. She deserved to be happy, not trapped in a double life that caused her nothing but misery.
"What, Vaughn?" Sydney asked, not looking up from her menu, but breaking his train of thought.
"I didn't say anything," he murmured.
"Yeah, but you were looking at me," she smiled. "Your surveillance technique needs work, not that I mind."
He laughed. He was busted. "How did you know that I was looking at you?"
"Because I saw your reflection in the window," she laughed. "*My* technique is pretty good. I could teach you a few things."
Sydney Bristow could probably teach him a lot of things, Vaughn thought, and he was oh so willing to learn. "Sorry. I just noticed that you've been smiling ever since we sat down. You just seem like you're in a really good mood. It's nice, that's all."
Sydney set her menu down and turned to look at her own reflection in the window. She almost didn't recognize herself. Physically, she looked the same, but there was definitely something different in her eyes. Something she hadn't seen in a really long time. The realization took her by surprise.
"I *am* in a good mood." She paused, unsure of whether she should continue. She didn't want to give too much of herself away, and she didn't want to freak Vaughn out. But they were friends, right? So she should just be completely honest with him, even if she couldn't quite look him in the eye. "Vaughn, today was the first day since before Danny died that I felt truly, completely happy. It was the first day in eight years that I didn't have to lie to anyone or pretend to be something that I'm not. This morning when you asked me to go skiing with you, I decided that I wasn't going to think about SD-6 or the CIA or my parents for a whole day, and I didn't." She shook her head slightly. "I didn't think it would be so easy to forget all those things, but . . . it was somehow." She took a deep breath and continued. Today was the first day that I could actually imagine what it would feel like to be free from all of that. It was even better than I thought it would be." She finally looked up at him and found his green eyes full of understanding and warmth. "I know it's probably going to be a long time before SD-6 is gone. So if I only got to feel this way for one day, I'm really glad that it was a day that I spent with you."
"Syd," Vaughn started. He wasn't quite sure what to say, but he was completely touched by Sydney's words. It killed him knowing that this was probably the last time for a long time that she would feel this way. It was probably also the last time for a while that *he* would feel this way. She wasn't the only one who had felt free earlier; he had too. For one perfect afternoon, he was free to look at her and hear the melodic sound of her laugh. He was free to fully appreciate how much he loved spending time with her. And even though he tried to stop himself from doing it, he had been free to imagine what it would be like to be the kind of people who could go away on vacation together whenever they wanted to. It was all a fantasy, of course, but for one afternoon it had felt so real. As he looked across the table and saw Sydney's eyes shining in a way that he had never seen before, he vowed that he would do everything in his power to help her escape her double life. He would do it not in the hope that they could one day be together, but because she deserved it, whether they ended up together or not.
She laughed nervously when she noticed how quiet he had gotten. "Hey, I didn't mean to get all serious on you. I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed today." She was desperate to change the subject before Vaughn had a chance to remember all the things that she was trying to forget. She wasn't quite ready for the glass carriage to turn back into a pumpkin, for Michael Vaughn to go back to being Agent Vaughn. Luckily, their waiter chose that moment to come take their order. After he left, Vaughn leaned back in his seat a bit and smiled at her.
"So are you sore from all the falling -- I mean skiing -- you did today?" he asked teasingly.
"Not yet," she laughed, "but ask me again in the morning, after --" her voice trailed off. No, no, no, no, she did *not* just say that. She had meant it completely innocently, but now Vaughn's eyes were locked on hers and she knew that they were thinking the same thing . . . *the morning after*. Could she have possibly chose a more loaded phrase? The words kept echoing in her mind, and her thoughts were sprinting to places that they should not go. She told, no ordered, herself not to think about what Vaughn would look like or feel like or smell like *the morning after*. She wouldn't let herself imagine that -- until she went to bed, and then she knew she would probably think of nothing else.
Vaughn couldn't tear his eyes away from Sydney. Was she starting to blush? He knew that she hadn't meant anything by her comment, but his heart couldn't help but beat faster when he heard it. His mind was screaming at him to the rules of agent/handler protocol, but his heart and body were causing him to have a case of temporary amnesia.
"Yeah, you'll be lucky if you can walk tomorrow." When her eyebrows shot up, he stammered, "'Cause, um, you know, skiing uses a lot of muscles that don't get used every day. You should soak in a hot bath tonight."
"Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Vaughn?" she teased. "I'm sure I won't be *that* sore." She figured the pain caused by skiing couldn't be any worse than the pain of getting her ass kicked on a semi-regular basis by guards and goons.
"Great, so you'll be out on the slopes again tomorrow?"
"Uh, I doubt it. I think I'll be spending some quality time with the masseuse, instead."
Okay, he wasn't going to touch *that* with a ten foot pole. The thought of Sydney laying on a table draped by only a towel was more than he could handle. He thought it best to return the conversation to safer subjects.
"So how come you didn't want to spend your time off back in L.A. with Will and Francie?"
She blinked in surprise at Vaughn's question. In all honesty, she hadn't even considered spending the weekend with them. The realization made her feel a little bit guilty. She had spent so little time with them lately, and as soon as she had the chance, she had hightailed it out of town.
"Honestly, I didn't even think about it. That's horrible, isn't it? I guess I just wanted to spend some time by myself." At least, she thought she had, until she ran into him in the elevator. "Besides, Francie's so busy with the restaurant, and Will is really caught up in the research project you gave him. I wouldn't expect them to drop everything and hang out with me just because I got a couple of days off." She looked up at him and smiled. "You know so much about my friends, and other than Weiss, I know almost nothing about yours. Tell me about Peter."
"Ah, Peter. Well, he's probably my oldest friend. He and I played hockey together in college, and we went to the same law school."
"Wait, you went to law school? How did I not know that?"
Vaughn shrugged. "I guess it never came up."
"Hmm, I guess not. So you and Peter were jocks," she laughed. "I can't even imagine how many girls used to throw themselves at you guys. I bet they still do, and don't even think about pulling the modest routine, Vaughn. I know better." She was fishing, in much the same way as she had when she'd asked him about his "wife" that one time. She couldn't help it; she knew that she wasn't the only woman who had ever had her head turned by him. She just wondered if he was aware of that.
"Well, yeah, we used to get our fair share of attention from girls, but Peter was the only one who ever took advantage of it," he grinned.
"Yeah, right! You're such a liar, Vaughn." She lowered her voice, "You can tell me. I bet you had one of those take-a-number machines outside your dorm room."
"I did, but it broke from overuse," he laughed. "Seriously, Sydney, you think I was a ladies man?"
"How could you not be?" She shrugged. "You don't have to apologize for that. You were in college, that's what college guys do." She took a deep breath. "So how many women hit on you this week?"
"Including you at the bar?" he teased. "A few . . . I don't know. I didn't really pay them much attention."
"Why not? I mean, you were on vacation, you wouldn't have to see any of them again . . . Why not enjoy it?" She knew she was treading into dangerous territory, but she had never let danger deter her before.
Vaughn knew what Sydney was doing, and if he had had any sense at all, he would have changed the subject. But he was enjoying their flirting too much to let common sense get in the way. He decided for once and for all that, in keeping with Sydney's theme for the day, he wasn't her handler; he was just a normal guy having dinner with the girl he was crazy about.
"I guess I was just waiting for the right woman to show up. So are you going to buy me that drink, or what?"
She steadied her nerves, walked up behind him and playfully asked, "Can I buy you a drink?"
"No thanks, I'm wai --" He turned around and laughed when he saw her standing in front of him. "Yeah. Actually, you might have to buy me a few drinks." He let his eyes take her in. "Wow. You look great."
She could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Thanks. You don't look half bad, yourself. I didn't keep you waiting long, did I?"
"No. But it would have been worth it if you had." He said as the host came to take them to their table.
The table was next to a huge floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked Lake Tahoe itself. Even though it was dark outside, they could see the calmness and stillness of the water. It was a gorgeous sight, made even more so by the soft candlelight flickering throughout the dining room. The overall effect was soft and romantic, a fact not lost on either Vaughn or Sydney.
Vaughn looked over the top of his menu to steal a glance at Sydney. She looked incredibly beautiful. He had a hard enough time trying not to notice that when they were working together, but today when they were skiing, it had been impossible not to notice. All day long, she had been smiling and laughing, her cheeks rosy, her eyes sparkling. He wished more than anything that he could see her that way all the time. She deserved to be happy, not trapped in a double life that caused her nothing but misery.
"What, Vaughn?" Sydney asked, not looking up from her menu, but breaking his train of thought.
"I didn't say anything," he murmured.
"Yeah, but you were looking at me," she smiled. "Your surveillance technique needs work, not that I mind."
He laughed. He was busted. "How did you know that I was looking at you?"
"Because I saw your reflection in the window," she laughed. "*My* technique is pretty good. I could teach you a few things."
Sydney Bristow could probably teach him a lot of things, Vaughn thought, and he was oh so willing to learn. "Sorry. I just noticed that you've been smiling ever since we sat down. You just seem like you're in a really good mood. It's nice, that's all."
Sydney set her menu down and turned to look at her own reflection in the window. She almost didn't recognize herself. Physically, she looked the same, but there was definitely something different in her eyes. Something she hadn't seen in a really long time. The realization took her by surprise.
"I *am* in a good mood." She paused, unsure of whether she should continue. She didn't want to give too much of herself away, and she didn't want to freak Vaughn out. But they were friends, right? So she should just be completely honest with him, even if she couldn't quite look him in the eye. "Vaughn, today was the first day since before Danny died that I felt truly, completely happy. It was the first day in eight years that I didn't have to lie to anyone or pretend to be something that I'm not. This morning when you asked me to go skiing with you, I decided that I wasn't going to think about SD-6 or the CIA or my parents for a whole day, and I didn't." She shook her head slightly. "I didn't think it would be so easy to forget all those things, but . . . it was somehow." She took a deep breath and continued. Today was the first day that I could actually imagine what it would feel like to be free from all of that. It was even better than I thought it would be." She finally looked up at him and found his green eyes full of understanding and warmth. "I know it's probably going to be a long time before SD-6 is gone. So if I only got to feel this way for one day, I'm really glad that it was a day that I spent with you."
"Syd," Vaughn started. He wasn't quite sure what to say, but he was completely touched by Sydney's words. It killed him knowing that this was probably the last time for a long time that she would feel this way. It was probably also the last time for a while that *he* would feel this way. She wasn't the only one who had felt free earlier; he had too. For one perfect afternoon, he was free to look at her and hear the melodic sound of her laugh. He was free to fully appreciate how much he loved spending time with her. And even though he tried to stop himself from doing it, he had been free to imagine what it would be like to be the kind of people who could go away on vacation together whenever they wanted to. It was all a fantasy, of course, but for one afternoon it had felt so real. As he looked across the table and saw Sydney's eyes shining in a way that he had never seen before, he vowed that he would do everything in his power to help her escape her double life. He would do it not in the hope that they could one day be together, but because she deserved it, whether they ended up together or not.
She laughed nervously when she noticed how quiet he had gotten. "Hey, I didn't mean to get all serious on you. I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed today." She was desperate to change the subject before Vaughn had a chance to remember all the things that she was trying to forget. She wasn't quite ready for the glass carriage to turn back into a pumpkin, for Michael Vaughn to go back to being Agent Vaughn. Luckily, their waiter chose that moment to come take their order. After he left, Vaughn leaned back in his seat a bit and smiled at her.
"So are you sore from all the falling -- I mean skiing -- you did today?" he asked teasingly.
"Not yet," she laughed, "but ask me again in the morning, after --" her voice trailed off. No, no, no, no, she did *not* just say that. She had meant it completely innocently, but now Vaughn's eyes were locked on hers and she knew that they were thinking the same thing . . . *the morning after*. Could she have possibly chose a more loaded phrase? The words kept echoing in her mind, and her thoughts were sprinting to places that they should not go. She told, no ordered, herself not to think about what Vaughn would look like or feel like or smell like *the morning after*. She wouldn't let herself imagine that -- until she went to bed, and then she knew she would probably think of nothing else.
Vaughn couldn't tear his eyes away from Sydney. Was she starting to blush? He knew that she hadn't meant anything by her comment, but his heart couldn't help but beat faster when he heard it. His mind was screaming at him to the rules of agent/handler protocol, but his heart and body were causing him to have a case of temporary amnesia.
"Yeah, you'll be lucky if you can walk tomorrow." When her eyebrows shot up, he stammered, "'Cause, um, you know, skiing uses a lot of muscles that don't get used every day. You should soak in a hot bath tonight."
"Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Vaughn?" she teased. "I'm sure I won't be *that* sore." She figured the pain caused by skiing couldn't be any worse than the pain of getting her ass kicked on a semi-regular basis by guards and goons.
"Great, so you'll be out on the slopes again tomorrow?"
"Uh, I doubt it. I think I'll be spending some quality time with the masseuse, instead."
Okay, he wasn't going to touch *that* with a ten foot pole. The thought of Sydney laying on a table draped by only a towel was more than he could handle. He thought it best to return the conversation to safer subjects.
"So how come you didn't want to spend your time off back in L.A. with Will and Francie?"
She blinked in surprise at Vaughn's question. In all honesty, she hadn't even considered spending the weekend with them. The realization made her feel a little bit guilty. She had spent so little time with them lately, and as soon as she had the chance, she had hightailed it out of town.
"Honestly, I didn't even think about it. That's horrible, isn't it? I guess I just wanted to spend some time by myself." At least, she thought she had, until she ran into him in the elevator. "Besides, Francie's so busy with the restaurant, and Will is really caught up in the research project you gave him. I wouldn't expect them to drop everything and hang out with me just because I got a couple of days off." She looked up at him and smiled. "You know so much about my friends, and other than Weiss, I know almost nothing about yours. Tell me about Peter."
"Ah, Peter. Well, he's probably my oldest friend. He and I played hockey together in college, and we went to the same law school."
"Wait, you went to law school? How did I not know that?"
Vaughn shrugged. "I guess it never came up."
"Hmm, I guess not. So you and Peter were jocks," she laughed. "I can't even imagine how many girls used to throw themselves at you guys. I bet they still do, and don't even think about pulling the modest routine, Vaughn. I know better." She was fishing, in much the same way as she had when she'd asked him about his "wife" that one time. She couldn't help it; she knew that she wasn't the only woman who had ever had her head turned by him. She just wondered if he was aware of that.
"Well, yeah, we used to get our fair share of attention from girls, but Peter was the only one who ever took advantage of it," he grinned.
"Yeah, right! You're such a liar, Vaughn." She lowered her voice, "You can tell me. I bet you had one of those take-a-number machines outside your dorm room."
"I did, but it broke from overuse," he laughed. "Seriously, Sydney, you think I was a ladies man?"
"How could you not be?" She shrugged. "You don't have to apologize for that. You were in college, that's what college guys do." She took a deep breath. "So how many women hit on you this week?"
"Including you at the bar?" he teased. "A few . . . I don't know. I didn't really pay them much attention."
"Why not? I mean, you were on vacation, you wouldn't have to see any of them again . . . Why not enjoy it?" She knew she was treading into dangerous territory, but she had never let danger deter her before.
Vaughn knew what Sydney was doing, and if he had had any sense at all, he would have changed the subject. But he was enjoying their flirting too much to let common sense get in the way. He decided for once and for all that, in keeping with Sydney's theme for the day, he wasn't her handler; he was just a normal guy having dinner with the girl he was crazy about.
"I guess I was just waiting for the right woman to show up. So are you going to buy me that drink, or what?"