Time
By Risa
Summary: A darker purpose lies behind Rambaldi's works and Sydney's caught in the middle of it…
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone/anything from Alias, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
Author's Note: Yes, it's a post-Season 2 finale story – there are probably a lot of these coming up. :-) Anyway, I'm writing this because I need closure and the wait for the next season is just too long… Anyway, any comments/criticisms will be greatly appreciated.
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Prologue
Florence, 1493
"You need to leave now," a man said urgently as he rushed around the room, dumping papers, books and clothing into a pack. His black hair was streaked with silver and the creases around his eyes reflected years of care and worry. His usual languid, relaxed grace was now completely gone, replaced by tension and fear.
"No, Father, I'm not going alone," the young man standing beside him objected.
"Alessandro, listen to me," the man said, as he stopped packing and held the young man's shoulders firmly. "You're the only chance we have of stopping him. Rambaldi's insane, out of control."
"Let's go together," the young man said, "Father, I don't want to leave you."
The man sighed. "I know, Alessandro. But you have to. Just in case I can't stop them I need you to make the necessary preparations. You must do this – the world depends on it."
"But Father – "
"I know you're afraid, son," the man said, as he caressing the young man's hair as he stared into his eyes deeply. "At so young an age, to bear such a burden… But you're my own flesh and blood. I know you're strong and brave enough for this." He then picked up a manuscript bound with worn leather. "This contains everything I know about Rambaldi's plans," he said, pushing the book into the hands of Alessandro. "Take good care of it."
"Farewell, Father," Alessandro said, as he picked up the back and walked towards the door. He hesitated when he reached the door and turned back, looking at his father, unwilling to leave.
"Go, my son," the man said softly. "Stay safe and may God be with you."
May He be with us all.
Two years. The words reverberated in Sydney's mind. How could that be? It didn't make sense. It only seemed like minutes ago when she had lost consciousness in her apartment. How could two years just go by without her knowledge? "What do you mean I've been gone for two years? This is just some sick joke, right?" she said, her eyes pleading with Vaughn to tell her that it was just a joke, or just her imagination.
"Syd," Vaughn said quietly, looking into Sydney's eyes intently. "You know I won't make a joke like this. That night, a neighbour called 911 after hearing gunshots. When we got there Francie's double was already dead and Will was barely alive. But you were missing.
"At first we thought that someone might've taken you. For months we waited and searched everywhere for any bit of news that we might get about your whereabouts. But it was as if you vanished. After six months we assumed that you were dead."
"Assumed?" Sydney said incredulously, "You just assumed that I was dead and got on with your life as if I never happened. Is that it?"
"Syd – "
"After all you've said, after all we've been through, you just forget about me and get married?" Sydney glared at him, the betrayal and pain evident in her eyes. Through all the chaos and confusion in her life, he had been the only constant, the only thing she could depend on. And even though she knew logically that two years had been a long time, her heart still couldn't accept it and the sight of the ring had stung.
"Syd – " Vaughn said again, touching Sydney's shoulder, hoping that the gesture might calm her.
"Don't touch me!" Sydney said harshly, pushing his hand away.
The silence that fell between them was thick with tension. Finally, Vaughn said, "Syd, you need to understand. When you went missing it was as if I had lost a part of myself too. The only thing I focused on was getting you back. Everywhere I went I was haunted by your face, haunted by you. Every night I'll get nightmares about all the bad things that could have happened to you.
"I was losing it; I was on the verge of a breakdown. And the only way I could deal with it is to carve out a new life from myself – away from the CIA, away from everything that reminded me of you. I wanted to numb myself from the pain because numbness was better than the uncontrollable pain and worry.
"Then six months ago I met Kate. She helped me get through the pain, stood by me through everything. I felt grateful to her, which was why I proposed to her a month ago."
"Do you love her?" Sydney asked quietly.
Vaughn paused, thinking. Then he shook his head with a sigh. "I love her, but not like I do you. It was easier for me to deal with the pain by treating that part of my life as that of someone else's. Kate was part of the life that I had created for myself to escape. But I always loved you – that never changed."
Sydney closed her eyes, holding back the pain the threatened to overwhelm her. Vaughn's words provided little consolation. God, why did this have to happen? Why is it that every time I meet someone something happens to tear them away from me? I don't know how much more of this I can take… She wanted to tell Vaughn to leave Kate, to continue the special relationship that they had together, but she couldn't. Vaughn had an obligation and responsibility to her, she couldn't ask him to throw it all away. She sighed. Now wasn't the time to deal with the issues between them. There were so many questions she needed to ask, so many things she needed to catch up on…
"What about my father?" she asked then, anxious. "How is he?"
"I don't know," he replied. "He just disappeared about eight months ago and nobody's heard anything about him since."
This was another blow to Sydney. She had hoped that with all these changes that had suddenly taken place she could at least depend on the presence of her father. To find out that he had disappeared… questions and worries filled her mind. "What about my mother?" she asked, with some trepidation.
"Nothing since that night when she jumped off the roof," Vaughn replied as he watched Sydney in concern. He could barely imagine what she was feeling right now.
"What about Will? Marshall? Dixon?" Sydney said in a rush, hoping that there might be some good news.
"They're fine. Syd," he said gently, "get some rest. I'll fill you in on the rest of the details tomorrow. You've had enough for one day."
Sydney nodded reluctantly. Even though she wanted desperately to know more, she was exhausted. "So what happens now?"
"You'll rest here tonight. Tomorrow we'll get a flight back to LA. You'll probably be under custody for awhile – "
"I know. Standard procedure," Sydney said. All the more reason to get some sleep. She needed her full set of wits to deal with what was to come.
"Syd –" Vaughn began, before he paused, hesitating. He looked as if he wanted to say something important but in the end all he said was, "Sleep well."
Sydney nodded as she walked into the bedroom, hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, she'll wake up to find out that this was just all a dream…
Vaughn watched Sydney disappear into her bedroom and sighed. Seeing her again after so long… All he wanted to do was to hold her tightly and make sure that she would never leave him again. So often in the past two years he had thought he had seen her face, in a restaurant, or on a street, that just now, seeing her again, he could barely believe that she was real.
The hurt and betrayal on her face when she saw the ring and heard that he was married was more than he could bear. Right then he wanted to tell her the truth, tell her everything, that there was no way he could just let go of her like that. But he couldn't. The conversation that he had earlier with Jack Bristow prevented him from doing so.
"And I don't want you to say anything to Sydney about the real reason why you're married," Jack had told him firmly.
"But she deserves to know – "
"She's been gone for two years. It's not safe for her to know all this now. We'll tell her when it's time."
Vaughn had agreed reluctantly. His life for the past two years had already been filled with secrets. But keeping secrets from Sydney… it had been so difficult to do. All he could do now was hope for the day when all the secrets were over…
*~ To Be Continued ~*