Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Happy? Well, with the exception of my networking stuff and my crappy CD burner, I own nothing.

Time Frame: Season Two, after "Trust Me"

Author's Note: My first Alias fic. I usually write Dark Angel fanfic, but after I started watching the show recently, I kept getting all these ideas for Alias fanfic..

Please R&R, flames and reviews are accepted!
Two- He was That Close!

Sydney drove through the streets of Los Angeles to the warehouse on mental autopilot. The warehouse seemed to be her second home in an odd way; she had been there so many times in the last two years that she could probably get there in her sleep. As she numbly navigated through the streets, thoughts swam in her head and she could feel her conscious drowning, unable to seek peace of mind at all.

'I can't believe it. I'm a double agent fighting to take down high and mighty men who give evil a whole new meaning. I know how to diffuse bombs, the best pressure points in a 250-pound security guard, and how to fool lie detector tests, but when it comes to love. I'm still in the dark. I mean, I did have Danny, and he was wonderful. but he died because of me. I don't want anyone that I love to get hurt anymore, and I don't want a repeat of what happened to Will. So I guess in order to keep that up, I've just turned my emotions off. Hiding behind a mask has gotten me this far, but is it really how I want to spend the rest of my life, alone and secretive?'

She pulled into the drive next to Vaughn's car and walked into the dark warehouse. Here goes nothing.

Vaughn looked up as she made her usual entrance into the warehouse, and he flashed her a grin. "Hey."

"Hey. Whatcha got for me?" she asked coolly. 'The answer I'm looking for would be you.'

"Your mission to Jakarta was successful. The agency's using the disk you got for us and is looking through it to find any viable information," he said optimistically.

Moments passed in a comfortable silence. "About your next mission," Vaughn said, slicing through the unspoken comfort. "We would like you to take this bottle, in place of the real one, and give it to SD-6. It's an exact replica of the bottle, except that this one only has perfume in it."

"So Sloane will just think it was a false alarm," she concluded.

"Exactly. We'll test the real agent and see its global impact. While exiting the airport, you'll wrap up the real bottle and drop it in a "recycle only" trashcan near the baggage claim. An agent, posing as a janitor, will empty the bins and pick up the bottle," Vaughn finished.

After getting the bottle and examining it, Sydney set the bottle back on the table. Silence filled the warehouse once again, neither one attempting to taint the comfortable atmosphere. Sydney finally asked the question that would make her father's blood boil over. "No intel from my mother before leaving tomorrow?"

"Not that I can see," he said, relieved that she wouldn't be put through anymore. Her mother had caused her enough pain over the last year.and the last twenty years. I don't want to see her in any more pain. She means too much to me. I've broken protocol and gone to Barnett too many times to see Syd in any pain.

Sydney sighed in relief. She didn't really want to see her mother again. I can't become attached, dependent, and vulnerable to whatever she's hiding up her sleeve. It had put her through too much pain. 'Vaughn seems to be the only person I can trust and who I know won't stab me in the back.'

"Sydney? Sydney?" Vaughn waved his hand in front of her face. She looked like she was going through some kind of internal battle, but he didn't know what it was about. 'I have no idea how she does it, how she can go through each day without cracking; she has so much stuff going on now. I wish I could make it all go away, but when Sydney's personal life is involved, my hands are tied.'

"What?" She was so lost in her own realizations that she had missed Vaughn's hand trying to beckon her back to earth. She looked up to see concern all over his face but quickly looked at the gray concrete. 'Keep it professional, professional.'

Vaughn lifted her chin gently so he could see her. "Are you ok? You seem kind of distant.Is this about your mother? Because, you know we can always see if we could get-"

Syd couldn't help smiling at him. Vaughn was so concerned about her happiness even though it was against the rules. She nodded slightly and smiled back his worry self. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just.you know."

"Stressed out?" he offered.

"Yeah... just stressed out. that's all. It's nothing to worry about." she rambled on.

Vaughn covered her hands with his own. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

'I can't tell you that I'm madly in love with you!' She nodded mutely and looked up into his beautiful eyes once more. "I have to go," she whispered softly, "I told Francie I would help her out with some stuff at the restaurant."

His hands let go of hers and returned to his pockets. As she slowly picked up her purse and started to walk out, Vaughn saw the bottle of perfume that she had left on the table.

"Wait!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her back quickly.

The space keeping them apart was only a few inches, but the tension was a several hundred miles thicker than that. She could feel his breath on her face as he moved just a little closer. His green eyes reflected a mix of emotions, most which she couldn't ascertain. Vaughn was moving closer and closer.

Ring ring ring! Sydney's cell phone caused them to both jump back. She fumbled around in her purse for her phone and finally fished it out. "Hello?"

"Syd? Where are you? I thought we were going to have lunch together about 45 minutes ago?" Francie's worry voiced questioned.

"Sorry, I had a lot of bank stuff to go over. I'll be there soon, ok?"

When she finally hung up, Vaughn handed her the bottle. "You forgot this."

Syd put the perfume in her purse and smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll see you when I get back."

"Yeah. Good luck, Sydney."

As Vaughn watched her leave, he got the feeling that she was hiding something from him, but he didn't know why. Sydney turned back to look at him with a darker shade of brown in her eyes. A weak smile graced her features but quickly disappeared. 'What are you hiding from me, Sydney Bristow? What are you hiding?'

Sydney let the breath jumping in her lungs finally escape as the sun caressed her face. He was that close to kissing her! That close! 'How am I going to survive these meetings if I keep acting like a hormonal teenager? If only this revelation about being head over heels had come after I return from Paris.but it just never seems to work out that way, does it?'
The restaurant was crazy. The bare shell yet to be transformed into Francie's vision of a lively, comfortable getaway was insulated in a thick coat of sawdust, and the orchestra of hammers kissing nails fiercely and saws screaming filled the stale air. Sydney found Francie standing in the middle of it all, plastic work goggles on, covered in dust, just standing in awe of her dream coming true. She taped Francie lightly on the shoulder since yelling seemed to drown in all the sounds of the Mexican radio station blaring somewhere in the background.

"Hey, sweetie!" Syd said, hugging her best friend.

"Hey! Isn't this great! I can't believe that this will be my restaurant soon! It's so exciting!" Francie gushed. "Oh! Is that lunch I smell?"

Sydney laughed at her friend's animation and handed Francie the lunch she had gotten for the two of them. They walked outside of Francie's soon-to-be restaurant and sat on a bus bench not far from the madness that brewed behind them. As the two ate, Francie babbled on at a rapid fire pace. Opening a restaurant was quite eventful and time consuming. Francie's words soon started to muddle together into a long, incoherent sentence. Her gaze slowly shifted from Francie and her food to the floral shop across the street. She looked at the flowers contained behind glass windows, and their vibrant colors welcomed her warmly. The windows of the shop were also plaited with green ivy running along the edges. 'Green. just like his gorgeous green eyes.'

"Syd? Syd!" Francie nudged her friend. "Did you hear what I said?"

Sydney slowly nodded. "Of course I did! You were talking about. your restaurant, right?" Francie shot a look at Syd. Syd was always on top of things; she was never this disconnected. Suddenly a light bulb went on in Francie's head. Is she in love? Not wanting to scare her, Francie moved to another subject not to far from the one she had had in mind. "Something's changed in you Syd. You seem so.how do I put this.disconnected. Is there something you want to tell me? Syd?"

"Me? No, I'm okay. I just keep getting distracted. That's all."

"Distracted? What's so distracting?" Francie asked.

"Well, my job's.well, school's been. I've been.everything's distracting," Syd ended lamely.

"Oh, come on! You can't expect me to fall for that! Don't lie to me! I've seen you like this before. when you were with Danny. You're in love, aren't you?"

Sydney blushed and glanced down the street to seek refuge from Francie's questioning face. Her eyes landed on a billboard advertising some new movie she didn't really want to see, but it was much better than looking at Francie. Finally deciding that she could avoid her best friend all day, Syd looked back at Francie who was rather impatiently awaiting her answer. "I.how, but." she fumbled to find words to deny Francie's accusations. Finally she just decided to give up and tell Francie the truth. Well, not the whole truth, but some of it. "Am I that transparent?" Sydney wondered aloud.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Francie shouted happily, "I'll hafta tell Will that he owes me ten bucks."

"Wait, what? Why does Will care about my lo-You and Will had a bet? That I was in love with someone? You're betting on my love life?" Syd couldn't believe it.

"Well, I mean, come on Syd! You haven't gone a date with anyone since Danny died, but I can still see that look in your eyes whenever you get home from work! Are you in love with somebody from the bank?"

'I think McCullough's finally met his match... Remember, the truth.' "His name is Michael," Sydney said with a smiled plastered on her face.

Francie inched closer to Sydney with anticipation sparkling in her eyes. "And.?"

"And there's nothing I can do about it. Interoffice dating is frowned upon at the bank. Case closed," Syd said sadly.

Francie leaned forward and wrapped Syd in a hug. "Aww, sweetie! You know you could just quit your job at the bank and go out with him! I could always use your help at the restaurant when it's done," Francie offered optimistically.

Sydney sadly smiled and shook her head. "I can't. I need this job," she lied.

"What you need is love, not some stupid job," Francie stated firmly.

'What I need is Michael Vaughn.'