"All the miles that separate
Disappear now when I'm dreamin' of your face
I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight, there's only you and me."
-from HERE WITHOUT YOU
Three Doors Down
Epilogue
Two Dead People
He got to keep his name. He thinks it might have been harder to make the transition if he hadn't been Michael Vaughn.
He sat in his favorite little café, watching people through the window, and pushing his cold breakfast around on his plate. He's had a lot of time to think lately. Think about love and what it really means. A lot of time to dream. Dream about how they're going to work this out, because it he doesn't have any illusions that this will be easy. Too much time and too much distance, but he's amazed at how well he remembers her face.
He gave up on the people outside and looked up straight into her eyes, materialized right in front of him. He wondered dimly how long she had been standing there, and blinked. He gave himself a mental shake and figured he must be dreaming again. It's only been a year and a half, not quite long enough for her to be here.
But then she slid across the slick leather of the booth to sit down beside him. "Sydney Bristow's dead," she said almost conversationally. He was quiet, knowing she had more she needed to say. "Sloane believes she died on a mission. She was captured, tortured, and killed. They only identified her by her dental records." She paused, the pain still raw. "They told Will and Francie that she died in a plane crash on her way home."
"You mean...?" he couldn't seem to wrap him mind around the possibility.
"Yes, SD-6 still exists. It would have taken a lifetime of work, maybe two lifetimes, to finally take it down. But they've already had enough of my life. I have no doubt that someone else can finish the job."
They were silent for a moment, both letting the meaning of this finally sink in. "So," he broke the silence, "if Sydney Bristow's dead, what do I call you?"
She leaned into him, hiding her smile in his shoulder. "I've always had a fondness for the name Sydney Vaughn for some reason..."
He laughed, putting his arm around her to pull her closer. "You sound like some love-struck teenager...You haven't been writing my name all over your binders, have you?"
"Oh, no, that's much too juvenile. I've been practicing the flourishes in my signature."
"Then we can't let all your hard work go to waste. Just tell me one thing, how do two dead people start a life together?"
"A life together? Why, Michael Vaughn, I barely know you!" She looked playfully at him under her lashes, so he knew she was just teasing. "Let's start will dinner and movie and see where we go form there."
She was right though, there was a lot they still didn't know about each other. But dead was forever, and forever was long enough to learn.
And if he was still dreaming, he didn't ever want to wake up again.
Disappear now when I'm dreamin' of your face
I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight, there's only you and me."
-from HERE WITHOUT YOU
Three Doors Down
Epilogue
Two Dead People
He got to keep his name. He thinks it might have been harder to make the transition if he hadn't been Michael Vaughn.
He sat in his favorite little café, watching people through the window, and pushing his cold breakfast around on his plate. He's had a lot of time to think lately. Think about love and what it really means. A lot of time to dream. Dream about how they're going to work this out, because it he doesn't have any illusions that this will be easy. Too much time and too much distance, but he's amazed at how well he remembers her face.
He gave up on the people outside and looked up straight into her eyes, materialized right in front of him. He wondered dimly how long she had been standing there, and blinked. He gave himself a mental shake and figured he must be dreaming again. It's only been a year and a half, not quite long enough for her to be here.
But then she slid across the slick leather of the booth to sit down beside him. "Sydney Bristow's dead," she said almost conversationally. He was quiet, knowing she had more she needed to say. "Sloane believes she died on a mission. She was captured, tortured, and killed. They only identified her by her dental records." She paused, the pain still raw. "They told Will and Francie that she died in a plane crash on her way home."
"You mean...?" he couldn't seem to wrap him mind around the possibility.
"Yes, SD-6 still exists. It would have taken a lifetime of work, maybe two lifetimes, to finally take it down. But they've already had enough of my life. I have no doubt that someone else can finish the job."
They were silent for a moment, both letting the meaning of this finally sink in. "So," he broke the silence, "if Sydney Bristow's dead, what do I call you?"
She leaned into him, hiding her smile in his shoulder. "I've always had a fondness for the name Sydney Vaughn for some reason..."
He laughed, putting his arm around her to pull her closer. "You sound like some love-struck teenager...You haven't been writing my name all over your binders, have you?"
"Oh, no, that's much too juvenile. I've been practicing the flourishes in my signature."
"Then we can't let all your hard work go to waste. Just tell me one thing, how do two dead people start a life together?"
"A life together? Why, Michael Vaughn, I barely know you!" She looked playfully at him under her lashes, so he knew she was just teasing. "Let's start will dinner and movie and see where we go form there."
She was right though, there was a lot they still didn't know about each other. But dead was forever, and forever was long enough to learn.
And if he was still dreaming, he didn't ever want to wake up again.