******A/N – Two chapters for the price of one. Thanks for the reviews guys. This has been a fun ride. Special thanks to Rhien for the beta, amongst other things. There are two more chapters left in this series and both will be posted at the same time, likely within the next week and a half.

Chapter 9 –

Close to a week went by before she saw Sark again privately. It wasn't a deliberate break, both of them were quite busy, but as Sydney drove to his house, she planned for it to be a somewhat awkward reunion. They still hadn't talked about their last night together.

In the span of a week, they'd had three missions to complete, with the help of Dixon of course, but the ops were too short to share any alone time. Since they weren't Rambaldi related there were no surprise guests. Just three smooth ops, with equally smooth counter ops. It was a relief to have some sort of success. Anything to feel that what she was doing still had a point, some sort of purpose.

She also felt some relief concerning her personal situation, and she could pinpoint the exact reason why.

The night after she had cried herself to sleep in Sark's arms, Sydney made it home from work at her usual time. Like every other day she could remember, Will was home, and she figured he would be working on some new assignment for the CIA. She crept in the house, walking directly to her room, still believing that any start of conversation would be futile.

Once inside the safety of her room, she stripped herself of her normal black suit combination and chose a comfortable sweat suit. She knew what happened between her and Will from now on would be his call, but of course she deeply hoped that he would break the ice sooner than later.

She was, of course, completely surprised and slightly apprehensive, when she heard a light tap on her door, just as she finished changing.

"Yeah."

Preparing herself for another confrontation, Sydney sat on her bed. When the door opened, she hoped for a civil conversation, but wasn't raising her hopes. If that's the kind of loyalty you show your friends, I don't want to be on that list. His words from that night still haunted her. The pain that he was feeling had to be immeasurable. Although, she was surprised to see a weak half smile on his face as he peered through the door.

"Hey," he broke the silence.

"Hey," she answered back, a myriad of emotions mounting when she saw some serenity on his face. Will hesitantly walked into her room, holding two glasses of wine, and looking like he was seeing the room, and her, through new eyes. 

"Um," He could barely stand to keep eye contact. "I was hoping that we could talk." He handed her a glass of wine, almost a peace offering in her eyes. She accepted it gladly, anxious for whatever that followed.

"Anything," she replied, craving everything that he had to say.

Will sat next to her, close to an arms length away. He appeared uncomfortable, and every inch of her just wanted to reach out and hug him, but she kept her distance. The words that he began with almost broke her heart.

"Sydney, you know that I love you…" Those words were normally followed by a break up of sorts – a regular excuse for leaving somebody behind in a relationship.

What they had was different. Deep down she believed it, and hoped that he did also. Ever since she'd saved him over a year ago, their relationship had changed. They had a closeness that neither one of them had elsewhere now. They were a kindred pair. Still, given all that, she looked at him with hope, begging for whatever forgiveness that he may have been offering.

"I love you," Will continued, "but I was completely thrown, and hurt by your actions." Will didn't make eye contact with her yet. It appeared to her that he was repeating a speech that, knowing him, he prepared beforehand. "Everything that I knew was kicked out from under me when I found out that you had been seeing… Sark." She flinched at the sound of his name rolling awkwardly off of Will's tongue. "I've had my stints of jealousy when it comes to the men you've been with, but this was something way different. Something that I never would have seen coming. You, with a man of such notoriety, not to mention what happened to me while I was in his hands." He finally looked up at her, with mist glazing over his eyes. "You've had a tough year Sydney. I don't need to explain what you've been through. My reaction… well, I reacted badly."

She almost couldn't believe her ears. Her eyes revealed her relief as a steady stream of tears fell from them. Thankfully, he continued because she couldn't speak.

"We've been through too much together to let this lessen the depth of our friendship. I know that you obviously didn't set out to hurt me, although you did. But you have to deal with so much everyday, and as I said before, I love you enough that I want to be there for you. In whatever shape you want me to be."

She didn't remember much after that. He told her that he was going to be there for her regardless. She could be happy on both fronts without any losses. There was an exchange of hugs, an embrace that lasted a few minutes. More tears, from them both, and happiness – mostly from her. He would be fine with it, not right away, but the possibility was there.

She smiled as she walked up the staircase of Sark's building. The gait in her step was evident, and after what seemed like weeks of turmoil, she was happy again. As she reached his door, she froze, hearing what sounded like a heavy thump against the wall near her. She listened for any other noise, but the walls were too thick.

Cautiously, she inserted her key in the lock, turning it slowly.