TITLE: Past
AUTHOR: Carrie
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere just let me know so I can visit
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Alias or any of the characters that appear on the show.
NOTE: Thanks soooo much for all the reviews!! They really keep me going. Sorry about the long delay between chapters, but midterms suck ass!!! Hope you like this chapter!! Keep Reviewing!!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vaughn returned to LA the following day, Tuesday, and was immediately ushered into Sloane's office. There, Sloane had showered praise on him about how he was the most promising agent that he'd ever seen. Despite this, Vaughn still had to go on minor field mission until they were positive he could do the job. On Wednesday morning, Vaughn left LA for a lab in Minsk to check on technicians suspected of working against SD-6. This mission consisted of hiding out in bushes and trees for three days only to find out that the techs were completely normal except for the fact that they hadn't seen sunlight in about four years. When Vaughn got back on Sunday night he was still cold. He was glad to be back in LA where it was nice and warm.
So far, his time at SD-6 had been good. Everyone really seemed to like him and Sloane kept on telling him what a great job he'd been doing. He didn't like the fact that they had to take so many steps backwards in order for Vaughn to fit in, but he just kept telling himself that the long-term damage they would do would be worth it.
More than anything, he wanted to talk to Sydney. It was torture being around her all day and not being able to really talk to her. Sure, they had casual conversations, but nothing beyond work related things. Things had been left kind of up in the air between them, and he wasn't really sure how he should act around her if he ever did get to see her in private. He missed talking to her and being involved in her life. She had gone on a mission around the same time that he was away and it killed him that he couldn't brief her for it, or that he couldn't talk her through it. He didn't even know if she was home safely right now, if her mission had gone okay. The only hope that he could cling to was that he would be working with her soon enough.
With that thought, he climbed into his warm bed and quickly drifted off too sleep.
The next morning Vaughn went into Credit Dauphine and felt an immediate rush of relief upon seeing Sydney there. He saw her talking with a colleague and walked over to say good morning.
She smiled as she saw him approaching, but he could tell that something was wrong. Her eyes were sad and gave her away. He wasn't supposed to be able to read her like this so he pretended like he didn't notice.
"Good morning." He said as he approached her.
"Hi, Vaughn." She said. For a while, she had debated on whether or not she should call him Michael at SD-6, but it just didn't sound natural, and after all, she did call Dixon by his last name. "How was your mission?" she asked, but it was half-hearted.
"It was good. Cold, but good." He commented, she smiled a little. "How did yours go?" he asked, knowing that it couldn't have gone well.
Sydney looked down. "Not so well." She said. "Dixon was shot." She said.
"I'm so sorry." Vaughn said genuinely. All he wanted to do was give Sydney a hug and tell her that everything would be okay, but he couldn't.
"He's going to be okay, but he probably won't be able to work in the field anymore. They shot him in his knee." Sydney said. She was really upset, but Vaughn caught on to the deeper meaning of her statement. If Dixon was truly out, then he was in.
Vaughn was about to respond when Sloane called him into his office. "I'll see you later I guess." Vaughn said.
"Yeah." Sydney said as she turned back to her desk.
Vaughn walked into Sloane's office and took a seat in the familiar chair on one side of the large desk; Sloane sat in his chair.
"Mr. Vaughn, welcome back. I'm glad that the mission in Minsk had no surprises." Sloane began.
"Sometimes overcoming the challenge is what makes it all worth it." Vaughn retorted, hoping Sloane would be pleased with his enthusiasm. He was.
"I agree." He replied. "And I'm glad you feel that way because your missions are about to get more challenging." Sloane told him.
"I'm ready for it." Vaughn assured him.
Sloane smiled. "Good." Sloane paused for a moment. "On a mission this weekend, Agent Dixon was injured. He probably won't be able to work in the field ever again."
"I heard that, Agent Bristow told me. At least it was just his knee." Vaughn said.
Sloane looked momentarily surprised, but continued on. "Yes, he's very lucky. However; since he will no longer be able to serve as Agent Bristow's partner, I'd like you to take his place." Sloane said.
"Really?" Vaughn asked him, trying to look surprised.
"Yes. That is if you feel you're up to it." Sloane reminded him.
"Absolutely." Vaughn reassured him.
"This is a very unusual situation. I normally train agents for years before sending them on a real field mission, but I have a feeling about you. I think this is going to be a very good move for you." Sloane said, smiling.
"Thank you, sir." Vaughn said.
Sloane nodded. "As I said before, and even more so now, I think it would be a very good idea for you to get to know Agent Bristow better. You two will be working very closely together and it is important that you trust each other." Sloane said.
"I understand." Vaughn said.
Sloane smiled and got out of his chair, Vaughn did the same.
"Congratulations Agent Vaughn." Sloane said.
"Thank you." Vaughn replied.
Vaughn walked out of Sloane's office and straight over to Sydney's desk. She smiled when she saw him approaching. She raised her eyebrows in question.
"I'm your new partner. I'm officially an agent." Vaughn said excitedly.
Sydney smiled. She wanted to hug him so badly, but she settled for a "Congratulations! That's great Vaughn."
"Sloane said that we should get to know each other better since we'll be working closely, so I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight." Vaughn asked her.
Sydney's eyes widened for a moment, and she was torn on whether or not to accept. She desperately wanted to go on a real date with Vaughn, but it was completely against CIA rules. Ultimately, she decided that they couldn't really get in trouble since Sloane had told them to.
Sydney smiled at Vaughn and replied, "I'd love to."
"Great." Vaughn said smiling. They arranged when and where they would meet and went back to their respective desks.
Sydney couldn't concentrate all day. All she kept thinking about was how well everything was going. Her hellish world was improving everyday, and soon, it would be gone all together.
She couldn't believe that she was actually going out with Vaughn, in public. She felt so free. She could introduce him to Francie, and have him over to her house. She knew that they couldn't let SD-6 think that they were more than friends, but there were no rules against being close friends. Sydney was already dreaming of all the possibilities. She was practically giddy by the time she left work.
She arrived at home still buzzing with anticipation. She guessed that it showed too because Francie noticed her good spirits almost immediately.
"What's up with you?" Francie asked.
"Nothing. Why?" Sydney replied defensively.
Francie walked over to her and examined her. "You just look really happy." Francie said.
"I am happy." Sydney shot back jokingly.
Francie had a questioning look on her face. "And what exactly has made you so happy?"
Sydney walked past her and headed into her room. "I'm going out tonight." Sydney said nonchalantly, knowing that Francie would want to know all the details. Sydney had been looking forward to a chance to talk with Francie like they used to.
Francie chased after her. "With who?" She asked.
"A guy from work." Sydney said, taking a seat on her bed.
"What's his name? When did you meet him? Are you guys going out?" Francie shot questions at her.
Sydney laughed, happy that she and Francie were being girly. "His name's Michael, and I've known him for about a year, but he just got transferred to my department, so we've gotten closer lately." Sydney replied. "We can't technically be dating though. The bank has these rules." Sydney drifted off, ready for Francie's reply.
"Three words: quit the bank." Francie said. Sydney rolled her eyes. "Syd, really. It's obvious that you like this guy and that he likes you. I haven't seen you this happy since Danny. To be honest, I don't think I ever saw you this happy when you were with Danny. Quit." She said.
Sydney sighed, "Francie, I like my job, I really do. So does Michael. Anyway, it could be fun sneaking around, you know, having a secret." Sydney said this purely for Francie's benefit. She wanted nothing more than to have a real, normal relationship with Vaughn, but she wanted Francie to think that she liked the lies so she'd stop giving her a hard time.
"So how are you too going out tonight?" Francie questioned logically.
"Our boss suggested that since we are going to be working together, we should get to know each other better." Sydney said.
Francie was quiet for a moment. "So tell me, is he hot? He's hot isn't he." France said.
Sydney nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah." She felt the heat rising to her face as she thought about him. She hoped that Francie wouldn't notice.
"So when do I get to meet this guy?" Francie asked. This is the question that Sydney had actually been excited to answer now that Vaughn could actually meet Francie.
"Soon. Maybe I'll bring him by the restaurant after dinner." She suggested. Francie smiled at this.
"Syd, this is so great." Francie said. She glanced at her watch. "What time are you going?" She asked.
"Were meeting at Sequoia at eight." Sydney said.
Francie jumped up. "You have to get ready! Why are you still talking to me? Go, get in the shower!"
Sydney smiled and hopped up, walking into the bathroom.
Francie smiled at her and walked out of Sydney's bedroom and into the kitchen. She was rifling through the refrigerator when she heard Will walk in the door.
"Hey." Will said, walking into the kitchen.
Francie straightened up and looked at him. "Hey." She replied. Will walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
"Where's Syd?" He asked her.
Francie smiled. "She's in the shower getting ready for her date." She replied.
Will almost choked on his water. "What? With who?" He asked.
"Some guy from work." Francie said.
"The picture frame guy?" Will asked. He sat down at the table and waited for Francie's reply.
Francie thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Maybe." She said. She sat down next to Will. "You should have seen her. She looked so happy. She actually started blushing when she was talking about him." Francie gushed.
Will just mumbled something. "Look, I gotta go do some work or something. I'll see you later though." He said. He stood up and walked out. He didn't want to be there to see Sydney all ready for her date. He guessed it was with Vaughn. When he'd met him, he could sense that he had more than professional feelings for Sydney. He didn't know where he was going; he just walked around for a while.
Back at the house, Sydney was almost ready. She was just putting the finishing touches of makeup on when Francie knocked on her door.
"Hey, how are you coming along?" She said as she walked into the room.
"What do you think?" Sydney did a little spin for Francie. She was wearing a black dress that was pretty modest compared to what she wore on missions. It had thin straps that crossed in the back, which was mostly open. The fabric along the neckline pooled low enough to be sexy, but not indecent. The dress came down to about mid-calf and she adorned the outfit with strappy sandals. Her hair was up in a messy bun with tendrils hanging down, framing her face.
"You look great!" Francie told her. "He is going to drop dead at the sight of you."
Sydney smiled. "I better get going." She said. Francie nodded and they walked out of the bedroom.
Sydney got a wrap and draped it over her shoulders. "Bye." Sydney said, walking out the door.
"Have fun!" Francie called. "And bring this guy by the restaurant, I'm dying to meet him!"
Sydney got into her car and started driving towards the restaurant. She'd been there before and liked it. It was a nice restaurant on the water with great atmosphere and she was glad that Vaughn had chosen it.
When she walked into the restaurant it was a little after eight and she scanned the room for Vaughn. She spotted him at a table by the window and started to walk over to him. He saw her walking towards him and stood up to greet her.
He was floored by what he saw. He thought that she looked amazing in France, but she looked even better in her own clothes. He was breathless at the sight of her and he could feel his heart actually start to beat faster. He tried to calm himself as she approached him.
"Wow." He said. "You look absolutely amazing." He said, looking her up and down.
Sydney blushed slightly and said "Thank you. You look good too." She said. And he did. He was wearing black pants that fit him excellently, and a green shirt with a black sports coat. She loved him in green. She missed the leather jacket, but she thought that this look was more appropriate for dinner.
He motioned to the seat across from the one that he had just been sitting in and pulled it out for her. She sat down and he pushed the chair into the table before returning to his seat.
The dinner went great. They were so at ease with each other that anyone watching would have thought that they'd been dating forever. They talked about everything and learned things that they never knew about each other. They talked about their friends, pets, high school, college, movies, books, anything.
They both had coffee after dinner and were exchanging embarrassing drunk stories, something neither of them ever thought they would talk about.
"Okay," Vaughn said, "I've got one." Sydney nodded. "My friend Eric and I were at a bachelor party for one of our friends," he began, and Sydney knew that he was talking about Weiss, " it wasn't a big party, just a bunch of guys together at this bar. So it's getting late and I'm pretty drunk when this woman gets up and walks by our table. Weiss points her out to me and tells me that I should ask for her number when she walks by again. She was kind of older, but I said I'd go for it anyway. So she comes back from the bathroom or whatever and when she walks by our table I grab her hand and really sleazily start to come on to her. Not one of my finest moments." Vaughn commented. "Anyway, all of the sudden she says, 'Michael, is that you?' Turns out, it's one of my mom's friends that's known me since I was a kid. I was totally mortified." Vaughn finished.
"Oh my God." Sydney said, laughing. "That's horrible. Did she tell your mom?"
"No, she was cool about it. She said that she was flattered." Vaughn laughed with her.
"Well, I think you win. That's totally worse than mine." Sydney said.
"I don't know, you and Francie going to your professor's house to sing love songs to him is pretty bad." Vaughn said. "She sounds crazy."
"She is, believe me, but she's my best friend and I love her." Sydney told him.
Vaughn nodded. "I'd love to meet her sometime." He said.
"She actually has a restaurant not too far away if you want to drop in. I'm sure she'd love to meet you too." Sydney said.
"That sounds great." Vaughn replied. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. He was on a date with Sydney, and he was going to meet one of her friends. It was all so surreal.
The check came and Vaughn took it without hesitation and paid for their meal. They walked out of the restaurant and down the street towards Francie's, talking about the city.
When they got there, Francie was at the bar, lecturing the bar tender about more broken glasses. Sydney and Vaughn walked up behind her and Sydney cleared her throat to get her attention.
Francie whipped around to see who it was. "Hey!" she said when she saw who it was.
"Hi, Francie, this is Michael." Sydney introduced them.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Vaughn said, shaking Francie's hand, "I've heard so much about you."
"You too." Francie looked Vaughn up and down and looked at Sydney and nodded.
Sydney was embarrassed, but tried not to show it.
"Do you guys want something to drink?" Francie offered.
"No, that's okay, we just thought we'd come say hi since we were so close." Sydney answered.
"Alright, well nice meeting you." Francie said.
"You too." Vaughn replied.
"Oh," Francie said before he left, "We're having some friends over on Friday night, just to hang out, dinner, drinking, movies whatever. You should come." Francie said.
"I'd like that, thanks." Vaughn told her, smiling.
"Great." Francie looked smugly at Sydney.
"See you later Francie." Sydney said, practically dragging Vaughn out of the restaurant.
Once they got outside, Sydney said "Sorry, she can be a little overwhelming sometimes."
"No problem, she seems nice." Vaughn reassured her.
"Well, we are having some friends over on Friday if you want to come. It's just going to be me, Francie, my friend Will and his sister. I'm sure Will would like to have another guy there." Sydney offered.
"That sounds great." Vaughn looked at her and smiled. They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until they were at the parking lot where they had parked.
They stopped and Sydney looked up at Vaughn, desperately wanting to end this like a real date and kiss him. But she knew that they were just supposed to look like friends, so she resisted. "Well, thanks for dinner, I had a really good time." Sydney said.
"Me too. I'm glad that we did this, now I feel like I really know you." Vaughn said. It sounded like a normal enough statement, but Sydney knew that there was deeper meaning behind it. Before tonight, they'd rarely spoken of anything besides work, and now he knew so much more about her.
Sydney smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She said
Vaughn nodded. He watched as Sydney walked to her car and got in before going to his own car.
Both Sydney and Vaughn were extremely pleased with the night. Their only regret was that they had to act like strangers. They had wanted to kiss so badly, but they never knew who was watching. They only saving grace getting them through it was that they'd be able to be with each other soon.
A/N: Okay, another long chapter. I hoped you liked it. I realized that there hadn't been any S/V action in forever. Don't worry, there's going to be TONS in the next chapter. I'll try to post it soon. Please R&R!
AUTHOR: Carrie
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere just let me know so I can visit
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Alias or any of the characters that appear on the show.
NOTE: Thanks soooo much for all the reviews!! They really keep me going. Sorry about the long delay between chapters, but midterms suck ass!!! Hope you like this chapter!! Keep Reviewing!!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vaughn returned to LA the following day, Tuesday, and was immediately ushered into Sloane's office. There, Sloane had showered praise on him about how he was the most promising agent that he'd ever seen. Despite this, Vaughn still had to go on minor field mission until they were positive he could do the job. On Wednesday morning, Vaughn left LA for a lab in Minsk to check on technicians suspected of working against SD-6. This mission consisted of hiding out in bushes and trees for three days only to find out that the techs were completely normal except for the fact that they hadn't seen sunlight in about four years. When Vaughn got back on Sunday night he was still cold. He was glad to be back in LA where it was nice and warm.
So far, his time at SD-6 had been good. Everyone really seemed to like him and Sloane kept on telling him what a great job he'd been doing. He didn't like the fact that they had to take so many steps backwards in order for Vaughn to fit in, but he just kept telling himself that the long-term damage they would do would be worth it.
More than anything, he wanted to talk to Sydney. It was torture being around her all day and not being able to really talk to her. Sure, they had casual conversations, but nothing beyond work related things. Things had been left kind of up in the air between them, and he wasn't really sure how he should act around her if he ever did get to see her in private. He missed talking to her and being involved in her life. She had gone on a mission around the same time that he was away and it killed him that he couldn't brief her for it, or that he couldn't talk her through it. He didn't even know if she was home safely right now, if her mission had gone okay. The only hope that he could cling to was that he would be working with her soon enough.
With that thought, he climbed into his warm bed and quickly drifted off too sleep.
The next morning Vaughn went into Credit Dauphine and felt an immediate rush of relief upon seeing Sydney there. He saw her talking with a colleague and walked over to say good morning.
She smiled as she saw him approaching, but he could tell that something was wrong. Her eyes were sad and gave her away. He wasn't supposed to be able to read her like this so he pretended like he didn't notice.
"Good morning." He said as he approached her.
"Hi, Vaughn." She said. For a while, she had debated on whether or not she should call him Michael at SD-6, but it just didn't sound natural, and after all, she did call Dixon by his last name. "How was your mission?" she asked, but it was half-hearted.
"It was good. Cold, but good." He commented, she smiled a little. "How did yours go?" he asked, knowing that it couldn't have gone well.
Sydney looked down. "Not so well." She said. "Dixon was shot." She said.
"I'm so sorry." Vaughn said genuinely. All he wanted to do was give Sydney a hug and tell her that everything would be okay, but he couldn't.
"He's going to be okay, but he probably won't be able to work in the field anymore. They shot him in his knee." Sydney said. She was really upset, but Vaughn caught on to the deeper meaning of her statement. If Dixon was truly out, then he was in.
Vaughn was about to respond when Sloane called him into his office. "I'll see you later I guess." Vaughn said.
"Yeah." Sydney said as she turned back to her desk.
Vaughn walked into Sloane's office and took a seat in the familiar chair on one side of the large desk; Sloane sat in his chair.
"Mr. Vaughn, welcome back. I'm glad that the mission in Minsk had no surprises." Sloane began.
"Sometimes overcoming the challenge is what makes it all worth it." Vaughn retorted, hoping Sloane would be pleased with his enthusiasm. He was.
"I agree." He replied. "And I'm glad you feel that way because your missions are about to get more challenging." Sloane told him.
"I'm ready for it." Vaughn assured him.
Sloane smiled. "Good." Sloane paused for a moment. "On a mission this weekend, Agent Dixon was injured. He probably won't be able to work in the field ever again."
"I heard that, Agent Bristow told me. At least it was just his knee." Vaughn said.
Sloane looked momentarily surprised, but continued on. "Yes, he's very lucky. However; since he will no longer be able to serve as Agent Bristow's partner, I'd like you to take his place." Sloane said.
"Really?" Vaughn asked him, trying to look surprised.
"Yes. That is if you feel you're up to it." Sloane reminded him.
"Absolutely." Vaughn reassured him.
"This is a very unusual situation. I normally train agents for years before sending them on a real field mission, but I have a feeling about you. I think this is going to be a very good move for you." Sloane said, smiling.
"Thank you, sir." Vaughn said.
Sloane nodded. "As I said before, and even more so now, I think it would be a very good idea for you to get to know Agent Bristow better. You two will be working very closely together and it is important that you trust each other." Sloane said.
"I understand." Vaughn said.
Sloane smiled and got out of his chair, Vaughn did the same.
"Congratulations Agent Vaughn." Sloane said.
"Thank you." Vaughn replied.
Vaughn walked out of Sloane's office and straight over to Sydney's desk. She smiled when she saw him approaching. She raised her eyebrows in question.
"I'm your new partner. I'm officially an agent." Vaughn said excitedly.
Sydney smiled. She wanted to hug him so badly, but she settled for a "Congratulations! That's great Vaughn."
"Sloane said that we should get to know each other better since we'll be working closely, so I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight." Vaughn asked her.
Sydney's eyes widened for a moment, and she was torn on whether or not to accept. She desperately wanted to go on a real date with Vaughn, but it was completely against CIA rules. Ultimately, she decided that they couldn't really get in trouble since Sloane had told them to.
Sydney smiled at Vaughn and replied, "I'd love to."
"Great." Vaughn said smiling. They arranged when and where they would meet and went back to their respective desks.
Sydney couldn't concentrate all day. All she kept thinking about was how well everything was going. Her hellish world was improving everyday, and soon, it would be gone all together.
She couldn't believe that she was actually going out with Vaughn, in public. She felt so free. She could introduce him to Francie, and have him over to her house. She knew that they couldn't let SD-6 think that they were more than friends, but there were no rules against being close friends. Sydney was already dreaming of all the possibilities. She was practically giddy by the time she left work.
She arrived at home still buzzing with anticipation. She guessed that it showed too because Francie noticed her good spirits almost immediately.
"What's up with you?" Francie asked.
"Nothing. Why?" Sydney replied defensively.
Francie walked over to her and examined her. "You just look really happy." Francie said.
"I am happy." Sydney shot back jokingly.
Francie had a questioning look on her face. "And what exactly has made you so happy?"
Sydney walked past her and headed into her room. "I'm going out tonight." Sydney said nonchalantly, knowing that Francie would want to know all the details. Sydney had been looking forward to a chance to talk with Francie like they used to.
Francie chased after her. "With who?" She asked.
"A guy from work." Sydney said, taking a seat on her bed.
"What's his name? When did you meet him? Are you guys going out?" Francie shot questions at her.
Sydney laughed, happy that she and Francie were being girly. "His name's Michael, and I've known him for about a year, but he just got transferred to my department, so we've gotten closer lately." Sydney replied. "We can't technically be dating though. The bank has these rules." Sydney drifted off, ready for Francie's reply.
"Three words: quit the bank." Francie said. Sydney rolled her eyes. "Syd, really. It's obvious that you like this guy and that he likes you. I haven't seen you this happy since Danny. To be honest, I don't think I ever saw you this happy when you were with Danny. Quit." She said.
Sydney sighed, "Francie, I like my job, I really do. So does Michael. Anyway, it could be fun sneaking around, you know, having a secret." Sydney said this purely for Francie's benefit. She wanted nothing more than to have a real, normal relationship with Vaughn, but she wanted Francie to think that she liked the lies so she'd stop giving her a hard time.
"So how are you too going out tonight?" Francie questioned logically.
"Our boss suggested that since we are going to be working together, we should get to know each other better." Sydney said.
Francie was quiet for a moment. "So tell me, is he hot? He's hot isn't he." France said.
Sydney nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah." She felt the heat rising to her face as she thought about him. She hoped that Francie wouldn't notice.
"So when do I get to meet this guy?" Francie asked. This is the question that Sydney had actually been excited to answer now that Vaughn could actually meet Francie.
"Soon. Maybe I'll bring him by the restaurant after dinner." She suggested. Francie smiled at this.
"Syd, this is so great." Francie said. She glanced at her watch. "What time are you going?" She asked.
"Were meeting at Sequoia at eight." Sydney said.
Francie jumped up. "You have to get ready! Why are you still talking to me? Go, get in the shower!"
Sydney smiled and hopped up, walking into the bathroom.
Francie smiled at her and walked out of Sydney's bedroom and into the kitchen. She was rifling through the refrigerator when she heard Will walk in the door.
"Hey." Will said, walking into the kitchen.
Francie straightened up and looked at him. "Hey." She replied. Will walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
"Where's Syd?" He asked her.
Francie smiled. "She's in the shower getting ready for her date." She replied.
Will almost choked on his water. "What? With who?" He asked.
"Some guy from work." Francie said.
"The picture frame guy?" Will asked. He sat down at the table and waited for Francie's reply.
Francie thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Maybe." She said. She sat down next to Will. "You should have seen her. She looked so happy. She actually started blushing when she was talking about him." Francie gushed.
Will just mumbled something. "Look, I gotta go do some work or something. I'll see you later though." He said. He stood up and walked out. He didn't want to be there to see Sydney all ready for her date. He guessed it was with Vaughn. When he'd met him, he could sense that he had more than professional feelings for Sydney. He didn't know where he was going; he just walked around for a while.
Back at the house, Sydney was almost ready. She was just putting the finishing touches of makeup on when Francie knocked on her door.
"Hey, how are you coming along?" She said as she walked into the room.
"What do you think?" Sydney did a little spin for Francie. She was wearing a black dress that was pretty modest compared to what she wore on missions. It had thin straps that crossed in the back, which was mostly open. The fabric along the neckline pooled low enough to be sexy, but not indecent. The dress came down to about mid-calf and she adorned the outfit with strappy sandals. Her hair was up in a messy bun with tendrils hanging down, framing her face.
"You look great!" Francie told her. "He is going to drop dead at the sight of you."
Sydney smiled. "I better get going." She said. Francie nodded and they walked out of the bedroom.
Sydney got a wrap and draped it over her shoulders. "Bye." Sydney said, walking out the door.
"Have fun!" Francie called. "And bring this guy by the restaurant, I'm dying to meet him!"
Sydney got into her car and started driving towards the restaurant. She'd been there before and liked it. It was a nice restaurant on the water with great atmosphere and she was glad that Vaughn had chosen it.
When she walked into the restaurant it was a little after eight and she scanned the room for Vaughn. She spotted him at a table by the window and started to walk over to him. He saw her walking towards him and stood up to greet her.
He was floored by what he saw. He thought that she looked amazing in France, but she looked even better in her own clothes. He was breathless at the sight of her and he could feel his heart actually start to beat faster. He tried to calm himself as she approached him.
"Wow." He said. "You look absolutely amazing." He said, looking her up and down.
Sydney blushed slightly and said "Thank you. You look good too." She said. And he did. He was wearing black pants that fit him excellently, and a green shirt with a black sports coat. She loved him in green. She missed the leather jacket, but she thought that this look was more appropriate for dinner.
He motioned to the seat across from the one that he had just been sitting in and pulled it out for her. She sat down and he pushed the chair into the table before returning to his seat.
The dinner went great. They were so at ease with each other that anyone watching would have thought that they'd been dating forever. They talked about everything and learned things that they never knew about each other. They talked about their friends, pets, high school, college, movies, books, anything.
They both had coffee after dinner and were exchanging embarrassing drunk stories, something neither of them ever thought they would talk about.
"Okay," Vaughn said, "I've got one." Sydney nodded. "My friend Eric and I were at a bachelor party for one of our friends," he began, and Sydney knew that he was talking about Weiss, " it wasn't a big party, just a bunch of guys together at this bar. So it's getting late and I'm pretty drunk when this woman gets up and walks by our table. Weiss points her out to me and tells me that I should ask for her number when she walks by again. She was kind of older, but I said I'd go for it anyway. So she comes back from the bathroom or whatever and when she walks by our table I grab her hand and really sleazily start to come on to her. Not one of my finest moments." Vaughn commented. "Anyway, all of the sudden she says, 'Michael, is that you?' Turns out, it's one of my mom's friends that's known me since I was a kid. I was totally mortified." Vaughn finished.
"Oh my God." Sydney said, laughing. "That's horrible. Did she tell your mom?"
"No, she was cool about it. She said that she was flattered." Vaughn laughed with her.
"Well, I think you win. That's totally worse than mine." Sydney said.
"I don't know, you and Francie going to your professor's house to sing love songs to him is pretty bad." Vaughn said. "She sounds crazy."
"She is, believe me, but she's my best friend and I love her." Sydney told him.
Vaughn nodded. "I'd love to meet her sometime." He said.
"She actually has a restaurant not too far away if you want to drop in. I'm sure she'd love to meet you too." Sydney said.
"That sounds great." Vaughn replied. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. He was on a date with Sydney, and he was going to meet one of her friends. It was all so surreal.
The check came and Vaughn took it without hesitation and paid for their meal. They walked out of the restaurant and down the street towards Francie's, talking about the city.
When they got there, Francie was at the bar, lecturing the bar tender about more broken glasses. Sydney and Vaughn walked up behind her and Sydney cleared her throat to get her attention.
Francie whipped around to see who it was. "Hey!" she said when she saw who it was.
"Hi, Francie, this is Michael." Sydney introduced them.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Vaughn said, shaking Francie's hand, "I've heard so much about you."
"You too." Francie looked Vaughn up and down and looked at Sydney and nodded.
Sydney was embarrassed, but tried not to show it.
"Do you guys want something to drink?" Francie offered.
"No, that's okay, we just thought we'd come say hi since we were so close." Sydney answered.
"Alright, well nice meeting you." Francie said.
"You too." Vaughn replied.
"Oh," Francie said before he left, "We're having some friends over on Friday night, just to hang out, dinner, drinking, movies whatever. You should come." Francie said.
"I'd like that, thanks." Vaughn told her, smiling.
"Great." Francie looked smugly at Sydney.
"See you later Francie." Sydney said, practically dragging Vaughn out of the restaurant.
Once they got outside, Sydney said "Sorry, she can be a little overwhelming sometimes."
"No problem, she seems nice." Vaughn reassured her.
"Well, we are having some friends over on Friday if you want to come. It's just going to be me, Francie, my friend Will and his sister. I'm sure Will would like to have another guy there." Sydney offered.
"That sounds great." Vaughn looked at her and smiled. They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until they were at the parking lot where they had parked.
They stopped and Sydney looked up at Vaughn, desperately wanting to end this like a real date and kiss him. But she knew that they were just supposed to look like friends, so she resisted. "Well, thanks for dinner, I had a really good time." Sydney said.
"Me too. I'm glad that we did this, now I feel like I really know you." Vaughn said. It sounded like a normal enough statement, but Sydney knew that there was deeper meaning behind it. Before tonight, they'd rarely spoken of anything besides work, and now he knew so much more about her.
Sydney smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She said
Vaughn nodded. He watched as Sydney walked to her car and got in before going to his own car.
Both Sydney and Vaughn were extremely pleased with the night. Their only regret was that they had to act like strangers. They had wanted to kiss so badly, but they never knew who was watching. They only saving grace getting them through it was that they'd be able to be with each other soon.
A/N: Okay, another long chapter. I hoped you liked it. I realized that there hadn't been any S/V action in forever. Don't worry, there's going to be TONS in the next chapter. I'll try to post it soon. Please R&R!