"Joey's Pizza?"
Sydney.
Vaughn paused for a moment, mind whirling with the millions of possibilities of what could be wrong, what had made her so upset that she didn't want to leave the room, couldn't just call him in.
"You have the right number," he said softly.
Vaughn thought in retrospect how insane he must have looked in the following moments, slamming the cell phone shut, and bolting to the door that lead to Sydney's bedroom, yanking it open, and slamming it shut behind him. But that didn't matter. All he knew at that moment was that Sydney needed him. And that was all that mattered.
The sight that greeted him as he entered the room caused a wave of sadness to wash over him. To see Sydney, someone who was the representation of strength, looking so shattered. so lost.It was a sight he had seen only too many times, and every time, his heart broke for her. She sat on the bed, looking unbelievably small in her baggy sweatshirt. Her eyes were red, and even in the dim light, Vaughn could see the tears that trailed down her cheeks. In concerned silence, he sat on the bed next to her. The quiet was deafening as he waited for her to speak.
Sydney had thought through over and over what she would say to him in that moment, but when she opened her mouth, the words wouldn't come. Instead, she took another deep breath in an attempt to steady her voice, and tried again.
Quietly, she said, "When I think. about how close I came to losing you that night -,"
She broke off with a small sob, that she was unable to stop. Vaughn reached over and gently squeezed her hand, silently reminding her that he was there, lending her strength. After a moment, Sydney repeated, "When I think about how close I came to losing you, it scares me. Because I know that. I know that if that were to happen . I don't know what I'd do without you. And I know that if I ever had to find that out, there would be no one to blame but myself."
Vaughn sighed and shut his eyes, trying to ignore the lump that had formed in his throat. Once again, he was amazed at how great an effect Sydney managed to have on his emotions. How she could blame herself for this. why she thought that the responsibility of everything rested solely on her, he would never understand. But at least he could try to make her understand that she didn't have to hold the weight of the world alone. He let go of her hand, and took her by the shoulders, forcing her teary eyes towards his.
"Syd, it is not your fault what happened in Taipei. You can't blame yourself for that. I made the choice, and I'm the one that's responsible for my actions," he told her softly. "It's not my job to hug you, to comfort you, be there for you when you need to talk. It's not in my job description that I should worry about you as much as I do, worry that when you walk out of that warehouse, it might be the last time I see you."
After a brief pause, he continued, "But I do. I'm supposed to be impersonal, and detached. Remember that day after Denpasar? When you told me I was acting weird, asked me what was wrong? Weiss had just had a long talk with me about. aspects of our relationship that could get the both of us in trouble," as he stopped for a breath, Vaughn hoped his face wasn't showing his embarrassment as he remembered the details of that particular conversation. "And I tried to pull away. Make it less personal. But I couldn't, and the SECOND that I heard about Will, and knowing how that would affect you, all of that just flew out the window. Sydney, all of that - they were my decisions, my actions . my emotions.. So I don't want you to EVER feel responsible for what could have happened back there - Ever."
Sydney looked at Vaughn with a watery smile. Closing her eyes, she said, "You told me a little while ago that you had been labeled as being "too emotionally attached" to be my handler, to do your job correctly and be objective. Back in Taipei. I wasn't exactly thinking objectively.and I'm beginning to think that I may be a little too emotionally attached too."
* * *
Weiss sighed as he clicked off the TV. Man, those spy kids were something else. Looking around the room, he noticed that Duncan and Palmer had fallen asleep. Moving his gaze to Sydney's bedroom door, he realized it had been closed for quite some time. And his yo-yo was in there for a reason he couldn't remember. Resigning himself to the fact that if he wanted it, he would have to go in and get it, Weiss slowly moved off the couch. He really didn't want to disturb them in the middle of sorting, whatever it was they were sorting, out.
When he reached the door, he knocked softly. As he waited, he thought through his motives and realized that it wasn't really the yo-yo, although he did miss it a bit, he just wanted to make sure Vaughn wasn't doing something that he shouldn't, as that seemed to be happening a lot lately. When no reply came from inside, he slowly turned the knob and peeked in.
They had fallen asleep talking. Vaughn was lying on top of the covers in the middle of the bed, upper body propped up slightly by pillows. One arm was draped over Sydney, holding her close, where she lay tucked against his side, her head resting gently on his chest. Her hand was placed almost possessively over him.
Weiss breathed out slowly as he shut the door with a soft click. His words from weeks prior echoed in his head. "I don't want to trivialize your relationship by calling it a crush." Recalling his friend's indignant response to that, he shook his head as he walked back to the couch and said quietly, "The two of them are so far past crush, I don't think trivializing is a strong enough word for what calling their relationship that would be."
Sydney.
Vaughn paused for a moment, mind whirling with the millions of possibilities of what could be wrong, what had made her so upset that she didn't want to leave the room, couldn't just call him in.
"You have the right number," he said softly.
Vaughn thought in retrospect how insane he must have looked in the following moments, slamming the cell phone shut, and bolting to the door that lead to Sydney's bedroom, yanking it open, and slamming it shut behind him. But that didn't matter. All he knew at that moment was that Sydney needed him. And that was all that mattered.
The sight that greeted him as he entered the room caused a wave of sadness to wash over him. To see Sydney, someone who was the representation of strength, looking so shattered. so lost.It was a sight he had seen only too many times, and every time, his heart broke for her. She sat on the bed, looking unbelievably small in her baggy sweatshirt. Her eyes were red, and even in the dim light, Vaughn could see the tears that trailed down her cheeks. In concerned silence, he sat on the bed next to her. The quiet was deafening as he waited for her to speak.
Sydney had thought through over and over what she would say to him in that moment, but when she opened her mouth, the words wouldn't come. Instead, she took another deep breath in an attempt to steady her voice, and tried again.
Quietly, she said, "When I think. about how close I came to losing you that night -,"
She broke off with a small sob, that she was unable to stop. Vaughn reached over and gently squeezed her hand, silently reminding her that he was there, lending her strength. After a moment, Sydney repeated, "When I think about how close I came to losing you, it scares me. Because I know that. I know that if that were to happen . I don't know what I'd do without you. And I know that if I ever had to find that out, there would be no one to blame but myself."
Vaughn sighed and shut his eyes, trying to ignore the lump that had formed in his throat. Once again, he was amazed at how great an effect Sydney managed to have on his emotions. How she could blame herself for this. why she thought that the responsibility of everything rested solely on her, he would never understand. But at least he could try to make her understand that she didn't have to hold the weight of the world alone. He let go of her hand, and took her by the shoulders, forcing her teary eyes towards his.
"Syd, it is not your fault what happened in Taipei. You can't blame yourself for that. I made the choice, and I'm the one that's responsible for my actions," he told her softly. "It's not my job to hug you, to comfort you, be there for you when you need to talk. It's not in my job description that I should worry about you as much as I do, worry that when you walk out of that warehouse, it might be the last time I see you."
After a brief pause, he continued, "But I do. I'm supposed to be impersonal, and detached. Remember that day after Denpasar? When you told me I was acting weird, asked me what was wrong? Weiss had just had a long talk with me about. aspects of our relationship that could get the both of us in trouble," as he stopped for a breath, Vaughn hoped his face wasn't showing his embarrassment as he remembered the details of that particular conversation. "And I tried to pull away. Make it less personal. But I couldn't, and the SECOND that I heard about Will, and knowing how that would affect you, all of that just flew out the window. Sydney, all of that - they were my decisions, my actions . my emotions.. So I don't want you to EVER feel responsible for what could have happened back there - Ever."
Sydney looked at Vaughn with a watery smile. Closing her eyes, she said, "You told me a little while ago that you had been labeled as being "too emotionally attached" to be my handler, to do your job correctly and be objective. Back in Taipei. I wasn't exactly thinking objectively.and I'm beginning to think that I may be a little too emotionally attached too."
* * *
Weiss sighed as he clicked off the TV. Man, those spy kids were something else. Looking around the room, he noticed that Duncan and Palmer had fallen asleep. Moving his gaze to Sydney's bedroom door, he realized it had been closed for quite some time. And his yo-yo was in there for a reason he couldn't remember. Resigning himself to the fact that if he wanted it, he would have to go in and get it, Weiss slowly moved off the couch. He really didn't want to disturb them in the middle of sorting, whatever it was they were sorting, out.
When he reached the door, he knocked softly. As he waited, he thought through his motives and realized that it wasn't really the yo-yo, although he did miss it a bit, he just wanted to make sure Vaughn wasn't doing something that he shouldn't, as that seemed to be happening a lot lately. When no reply came from inside, he slowly turned the knob and peeked in.
They had fallen asleep talking. Vaughn was lying on top of the covers in the middle of the bed, upper body propped up slightly by pillows. One arm was draped over Sydney, holding her close, where she lay tucked against his side, her head resting gently on his chest. Her hand was placed almost possessively over him.
Weiss breathed out slowly as he shut the door with a soft click. His words from weeks prior echoed in his head. "I don't want to trivialize your relationship by calling it a crush." Recalling his friend's indignant response to that, he shook his head as he walked back to the couch and said quietly, "The two of them are so far past crush, I don't think trivializing is a strong enough word for what calling their relationship that would be."