AN: Thanks to everyone that has been loyally reviewing. I truly appreciate it. Anyways, Merry Christmas to everyone!! I hope you enjoy the chapter and PLEASE REVIEW!!

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Chapter 5

Of all the years he had been with Alice, Vaughn had never suspected she would ever do anything like this. Alice was the sweet girl, the understanding woman who thought he was going to work every time he rushed out on her at dinner. He guessed he was wrong this whole time.

Vaughn's hand tightened on the steering wheel. He tried to concentrate on the road, but it was hard. There were too many things going through his mind. Sydney, Michelle, Alice. All important women in his life that he knew nothing about. He knew Sydney, but they had never really got a chance to talk about their lives so in reality, he knew very little about her. He of course didn't know anything about Michelle; Vaughn was still mad at Sydney for not telling him, for keeping his daughter a secret from him. Then there was Alice. The woman he thought he knew the most was actually an evil obsessed person. Vaughn shook his head.

They had been driving for only a couple of minutes. Everyone in the car was silent, thinking about the many things that had just happened. Amazingly, it was Michelle that spoke first. You would think she would ask about Alice or why they were running, but she asked about Vaughn instead.

"Are you my father?" Vaughn could see her looking curiously at him from his rearview mirror. Vaughn cleared his throat and spoke.

"Yes." Michelle didn't say anything. She just nodded and went back to staring out the window. Vaughn almost thought the conversation was over when he heard Michelle speak again.

"Where were you?" Vaughn didn't know what to say. What was he supposed to tell her? That her mother kept her a secret from him. His lips thinned into a grim line and worry lines appeared on his forehead. Luckily, Sydney answered for him.

"Your father has been away on a long trip, but he's back now and he's going to be here for you whenever you need him." It was a lame excuse, but he couldn't have thought of a better one. As he looked in the mirror, he saw that Michelle seemed satisfied with that answer and went back to looking out the window. She soon fell asleep.

"Where are we going, Vaughn?" Vaughn stole a glance at Sydney. She looked lost and confused. He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her forever, but he didn't want to take the chance. Vaughn didn't want to get hurt again. He knew she had a plausible reason for leaving him, but it didn't make it hurt any less. She should have known that he would have taken the chance of getting killed just to be with her. She was worth it.

"We're going to Arizona. I have a friend who owns a private airplane that can take us to Canada. My father, before he died, bought a small cottage in Canada. It's located in a very small town that most people haven't even heard of. We'll be safe there."

"What happens then?"

"Well, you and Michelle will stay at the cottage while your father and I search for Alice."

"Why search for her, Vaughn? If she doesn't know where we are, there's no harm." Vaughn sighed.

"We don't know what she's capable of, Sydney. It'll be much better if we find her first, than if she finds us." Sydney knew he was right, but was scared of what might happen to him if he went searching for her. Alice wanted Vaughn dead and there was no telling what she would do to make it happen.

"What about Sloane?"

"There's not much we can do. We don't know who Sloane has sent out to find you and we have no idea where Sloane could be. You should be safe at the cottage though. We'll have to take the necessary precautions, but the only thing you can really do is stay in hiding." Sydney nodded. There was more silence in the car as they continued driving.

"Did you ever run a background check on Alice?" Sydney looked at him with a questioningly glance.

"No. I didn't think there was a need to. (pause)I know what you're going to say. I should have been more careful, less naive. It was just...she seemed to innocent. She was always understanding even though she knew I didn't truly love her."

"Some people are good at keeping secrets and acting. You should know that." Vaughn looked over at Sydney.

"Of course, you taught me that." He didn't know why he said that. Vaughn guess he was still bitter that Sydney had kept all these secrets from him. The man she said she trusted and would never lie to. Sydney winced at his comment and looked out the window. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sydney. I didn't mean it." Sydney shook her head as she wiped at her eyes. Vaughn's heart ached. He hated to see her cry.

"No, I deserve it. You have every right to be mad at me." Vaughn didn't respond. What was he supposed to say? She was right. He was mad at her and he did mean what he said. Vaughn still felt bad about hurting her though. He bet even if she shot him, he would still not want to hurt her. Damn him for being so in love with this woman.

He ran a hand through his hair as he exited the freeway to Freelance Airport. He suddenly remembered that Jack didn't know about the new change of plans. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he handed it to Sydney.

"Here, call your dad. Tell him about the new plans." As Sydney dialed the number, Vaughn had a sinking feeling that his life would never be the same after this and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

*Sorry for the lame chapter, everyone. I just wanted to show how Vaughn was feeling about all this. More action in the next chapter I promise! Please review, it makes my fingers type faster...lol.*