Chapter 2

A/N- Here it is, chapter 2. I know that three different points of view and no dialogue at all is a bit much, but things will get better next chapter. This is my little bit of destressifying fluff, and I don't want to even try to get at all deep. Sorry.

Review- The more, the merrier!! I live on reviews.

Disclaimer- See chapter 1.

Vaughn paced restlessly around his apartment. Had he done the right thing? He didn't want to pressure Syd, especially now, but last night.

Seeing her there, mascara mixing with tears as it ran down her cheeks, had, oddly enough, only made him fall for her even more. All he had thought about as he'd held her was how much he wanted to be able to take her pain away, to bear it for her.

Well.. Maybe not ALL he'd thought about..

Even then, ESPECIALLY then, she had been beautiful. But it wasn't just her beauty that made her attractive to him. It was her determination, her strength, her unflagging bravery and loyalty. Even her weaknesses (the very few of them) only drew him closer to her. In short, he loved everything that made Sydney Sydney.

Love.

It was a powerful word, and an even more powerful feeling. He knew this as well as anybody, and a lot better than some. After all, here he was putting his career, his heart, and even his life on the line for a woman who might not even feel the same way.

And he would do it again in a heartbeat.

Donovan's paws on his leg startled Vaughn back into reality. Patting the dog absently on the head, Vaughn sighed and walked over to sit and stare at the phone. Why hadn't she called? It was nearly five o' clock. The courier had sworn on pain of death that she would get it by eleven. He knew that she had an SD-6 briefing at noon, but that must have finished ages ago. She SHOULD have called by now, even if it was just to arrange a meeting about her counter-mission.

Was she avoiding him, then? Was she disgusted, or, worse, angry? Had she-he drew in a sharp breath-had she turned him in to his superiors? Devlin, perhaps? He couldn't imagine her being so cruel as to turn him in without even speaking to him first.

So what, then? Maybe she hadn't gotten it. That courier was going to get it if this was the case. Or maybe she had it and hadn't opened it yet. Or maybe she hadn't been home when it got there. Or maybe-or maybe- or maybe..

Sighing again, Vaughn stood and resumed his pacing.

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Sydney sat, staring openmouthed at the CD player whirring to a stop in her lap. This was so surreal, something from a movie or a faerie tale. Things like this didn't happen to normal people.

"How many times do you have to remind yourself that you're not normal?" the small, sarcastic voice floated up through her dreamy haze.

What DID she feel for Michael Vaughn? More than friendship, she was sure. But..love?

The word gave her shivers, but not the pleasant kind that most people got. Danny was dead, Noah was dead. Will, because his love was unrequited, had managed to only have his life destroyed rather than taken. She couldn't bear for that to happen to Vaughn too.

Even if she did manage to convince herself that a relationship with Vaughn wouldn't result in his death, there was still that thoroughly disgusting thing called protocol. She wasn't even supposed to LOOK at Vaughn most of the time. If anyone connected at all with the CIA found out about the package he had sent he would be instantly transferred off of her case, no matter what either of them might say.

Her reverie was shattered by a quick glance at the clock. She had ten minutes to get to SD-6 headquarters and it was a fifteen minute drive. She leapt up and dashed for the door, quickly hiding the box and it's contents away. In her haste, however, she neglected to notice that she had left Vaughn's note on the coffee table..

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Francie stepped into the house, her exasperated expression and slam of the door indicating her mood all too clearly. She thumped her purse down on the counter and all but threw herself into the couch. Her fingers snaked through her hair and down to massage her temples.

This was NOT a day that she wanted to have to live again. First thing in the morning, somebody had knocked over a bottle of ketchup and she had spent an hour cleaning up glass and red goop. Then Janine, the new waitress, had shown up three hours late with no excuse whatever. THEN the little old lady who always came in for lunch..

Francie lost her train of thought when she noticed the note on the table. Impossible though she had just thought it, her annoyance increased. Syd had probably been called off on another God-forsaken business trip, and this note was all that would be seen of her for the next few days. Francie lifted the note, unfolded the crisp white stationary, and began to read.

A/N- More coming soon. Pleeeeeeeeeeeese review!!!! By the way, I'm not sure how long it actually takes Syd to get to the Credit Dauphine building. Do any of you know?