Chapter 14 -

For the first time in weeks, Sydney woke up rested and relaxed. Her comfort partially stemmed from the safeness she felt in Sark's embrace. 

The vivid dreams, the ones that had constantly plagued her most nights, were absent. After Sark lightly kissed her shoulder, it only took five minutes for Sydney to drift off into a deep slumber. She didn't have the chance to relish in the love that they had shared, and neither did he. She could tell from the sound of his breathing, that he fell just after his release in her. It was the steadiness of his breathing that had gently rocked her to sleep.

The quickness of her sleep and the dreamless night, were both signs of her comfort. Sark was wonderful, and not just in his lovemaking. The way he looked at her, read her the past few days was eerie; he knew exactly what to do or say to fulfill her physically and emotionally. Then he followed through, with every bit of the suaveness that she'd imagined would be present. 

Sometime in the middle of the night, their bodies changed places on the bed, but even that didn't stir her. Feeling his nakedness behind her, and his arm thrown around her waist as she stirred, a shift was obvious.

One look at the room revealed what had transpired last night. The heap of black clothing, with one white towel as contrast, was still in a pile after sitting overnight on the bathroom corner. The slightly dirty water that Sark had trailed from the shower, left footprint sized stains on the tan carpet. Of course the most telling was the two of them, still in the bed, a white sheet barely covering their naked bodies.

With the new morning barely lighting the room, Sydney was still. She had been awake for some time, but was listening to the man behind her, trying to determine whether he was awake or not. His breathing was deep, but steady, signs that he was still asleep. She's slightly relieved, as she was just beginning to experience the nervousness expected the morning after. Yet she allowed a smile to form on her face as she thought about what they did last night.

She felt pain between her legs – a bittersweet reminder of him. She wouldn't call it unpleasant, just an ache from the way his hips dug into her inner thighs. Besides, when she slowly rose from the bed, standing for the first time in quite a few hours was when she felt real pain. Right when she put weight on her injured leg, she shrieked and immediately returned to sitting on the bed.

She felt a mild disturbance from behind her. "Ankle?" Sark asked, his voice a bit groggy.

"Yeah," Sydney responded. She brought her ankle closer and surveyed the damage. The outside had an egg-sized lump that was beginning to turn black and blue. "I didn't keep it elevated."

"Well not for long, that is," Sark said flirtatiously.

Sydney turned her head to face him. Any anxiety she felt over their pending morning interaction was washed away by that one statement, and the playful look she found on his face. She didn't stop the smile that sprung to her face, because he earned it. Sark skimmed his fingers over her bare shoulder, and pulled her hair behind her ear to view her entire face.

Instead of removing his hand, he wrapped it around a large chunk of her hair, while tenderly pulling her down to him. His lips were kind, which was good. Her mouth was mildly swollen – another reminder of their passion from the night before. Sydney rejoined him in the bed, swinging her leg over his hip to straddle his sheet-covered lap. Sark grabbed the comforter from beside him and covered her with it, using it to pull her closer against him.

The passion between them was nowhere near the level of last night. Their kisses were light and teasing, reenacting the post-coital action that should have taken place before they fell asleep. Sark ended the kiss by placing his hands around her face, and pushing her away.

"Hinkey will be downstairs in less than a half hour," Sark informed her. "I need to run down and get our clothes."

Sydney kissed him one last time before rolling back off of him. "Back to reality." Sydney flatly commented.

Sark ran his finger down the curve of her neck, ending at her shoulder. Amusement flashed across his face for a moment, as he was staring at the invisible line that he had just traced. "I see your neck didn't take the brunt of my teeth too well."

"You're kidding me," Sydney joined in the laughter. It had been so long since she had to deal with a hickey. At least the past few years, she had learned about covering her wounds; a hickey shouldn't be too different. "Well, my lips didn't either." Sydney placed her fingers on the wounded pair, covering the few cuts that had formed.

Sark lightly kissed them, careful to not cause any further irritation. The smile that he offered was caked with mischief, he had no regrets and whether he could tell or not, neither did she. Not even bothering to cover himself, he climbed out of bed, and walked to the bathroom to start the day.

Everything went smoothly that morning. She happily changed into the light blue sweat suit that she brought, along with her most comfortable pair of tennis shoes. Sark was a little less casual, wearing jeans and a dark taupe sweater. To preserve their cover, he left the room ten minutes before to meet Hinkey.

In the bathroom, Sydney placed her hair up in a sloppy bun and lightly wet her lips with the clear gloss she loved. Using the wooden cane Sark provided her with, she finally limped her way out of the hotel.

"Man you look like hell," Hinkey blurted out at first sight of Sydney in the rearview mirror. "Did you get clocked in the mouth or something?"

Sydney kept from laughing or smiling, although she really wanted to do both. "Something like that." Quickly, she changed the subject. "Where's Dixon?"

Sark began before Hinkey could, "He's being brought to the airport by ambulance. Sloane ensured me that an equipped, private plane would be waiting for us."

"Dude," Hinkey started, "you should've seen all the shit that came out of his arm. I spent a good two hours scrubbing it off the black leather." Sydney shook her head, trying to keep from responding. "And I had no clue about the night life here – completely off the hook. The chicks here will do…"

Sark interrupted him, "No need to offer any details. I'm sure we're all aware of what some women will do here."

"Right." Sounding a bit uncomfortable with Sark's tone, Hinkey stopped. They continued on to the airport, in complete silence.

In the very back of the plane was a separate room closed off by curtains. Knowing Dixon was in there, Sydney hobbled to the back to greet her partner and friend. Her relief was evident as she pulled back the curtain and first saw his sleeping form. When she slid her hand down the curtain to close it again, she heard him stir.

"Syd?"

"Yeah Dixon, it's me." Sydney spoke at a whisper.

Dixon turned his head in her direction and smiled. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Sydney smiled back as she stepped into the room. "I was going to say the same thing about you. How are you feeling?"

He cringed as he tried to move, his arm was completely bandaged and wrapped in a sling. "Good, considering. How about you? I was terrified that they had gotten to you too."

"No, I'm fine," she sat right next to him and held his good hand. "Just a sprained ankle is all."

"I'm glad to hear that." Dixon whispered, as his eyes flutter momentarily.

Sydney stood and grabbed her cane, "I'll let you get some rest." She bent over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."

"Thanks Syd," Dixon quietly spoke before allowing his eyes to close.

When she came back to the main area of the plane, she found Hinkey sprawled out on the left couch and Sark sitting on the right, working on his laptop. With no other option, she sat next to Sark, also pulling out her computer.

After working side by side in silence for the first few hours, Sydney shut her laptop and instead pulled out some last minute work for school. The small amount of noise that was produced, in the process, woke Hinkey.

"Hey, do you guys think they'll let me in the cockpit?" Hinkey asked, breaking the silence.

Sark didn't look up from his computer when he answered. "It's not unheard of on flights like these. "

"Cool. Since, I'm not needed back here and all." Hinkey walked toward the cockpit, leaving them alone.

Completely engrossed in her reading, it took a few minutes before she noticed Sark had stopped typing and was staring at her. She finished the paragraph and smiled.

"What?" Her voice was quiet, to ensure Dixon didn't hear.

With his signature smirk, he kept the same quiet she started. "Nothing."

"Well you need to stop the nothing, before Hinkey takes notice." Sark laughed at her comment. "Besides, I'm getting some important work done here." Sydney joked.

"Continue on, Miss Bristow." Sark leaned against the back of the couch, still watching her. Around ten minutes later, Sydney noticed his eyes had now closed. She continued her reading, hoping to finish by the time they reached the States.

"Well isn't that sweet."

Those four words jolt her awake. She looked around the room: couch, table, and computer, Hinkey with a kinky smile… and Sark. Behind her, being used as her pillow. And most embarrassing, his arm was protectively wrapped around her stomach.

Dear God.

Playing it cool, Sydney sat up. "I must have fallen asleep." Not long after she moved, Sark woke up. "Are we here already?"

Unaware of the significance of what he had just witnessed, Hinkey dismissed it. "Yup. Back in bright and shiny L.A."