Author's Comments: Thank you everyone for your reviews. Repetitive, I know, but my joy remains in your words. Anywayz, once again I'm going to address some reader's reviews, so if you're not one of the below people, feel free to read on. Keep reading and reviewing!

Side note: Can you believe what happened on last Sunday's Alias? Oh my God! Do you all really think that Irina is just what the prophecy says? I'm dying to know what happens!

C-strike: I'd like to answer your question, but I'm not comfortable with giving out where I live. I'm just cautious. Sorry.

Val: I'll address what's going on with Will and Francie in the upcoming chapters.

HoneyB: I'm really honored that you want to nominate me for best Alias fanfic, but I'm not comfortable with giving out my e-mail to strangers (please don't take offense). Thanks again, though. :)

Chapter 16

Dr. Williams carried the clipboard containing the patient's information to the desk.

"Hey Jessie!" Dr. Williams called to one of the on duty nurses.

"Is," Sam looked at the clipboard, "Arvin Sloane's family here?" The pretty brunette shook her head.

"Excuse me." Sam looked up into the eyes of a young man with dark hair and green eyes. His expression was confused.

"Yes?" Sam inquired.

"Did you say that Arvin Sloane was a patient here?" He asked.

"Yes, are you related to Mr. Sloane?" Sam asked suspicious.

"No, I'm--" he stopped looking through his pockets until he found his ID. "I'm Agent Michael Vaughn of the CIA. Is Mr. Sloane here?"

Dr. Williams looked at the badge before answering the question. "Yeah, he's here, but he coded. We tried resuscitation for forty-five minutes. He's dead," he explained. "I'm sorry," Dr. Williams added seeing Vaughn's surprised expression.

"How?" Vaughn managed to ask before Dr. Williams turned away.

"Two gunshot wounds to the back. Guy really didn't have a chance," Dr. Williams said before taking a new chart and heading down the corridor.

As worried as Vaughn was about Sydney, he had been surprised to hear a doctor mention Sloane's name, and even more surprised to hear that he was dead. Vaughn somehow wandered back to where Jack was tensely sitting in the chair. Vaughn looked over at him and told him the news.

Jack nodded almost knowingly. "Probably the work of the Alliance." The two of them fell back into silence, lost in their own thoughts. Sydney had been gone for twenty minutes and the more the clocked ticked the more nervous they became.

The doctor however came out less then ten minutes later and relieved them of their fears.

"We got her stable," he said, explaining the situation. "A blood clot triggered the attack. The obstruction has been cleared, and in my honest medical opinion, I think we'll have some breakthroughs sometime soon."

"May we see her?" Jack inquired.

"In a few minutes. She's being taken back up to the ICU," he explained. Jack nodded curtly to the man, as Vaughn quickly said his thanks and headed quickly down the hallway to catch up with Jack.

The two headed into the ICU, waiting for Sydney to return. She was brought up in a matter of minutes. Just as the doctor had said. The nurse set the stretcher in its previous spot, checked her vital signs, and then left them alone.

Jack headed back to her side. Vaughn continued to stand where he was in order to allow them some space. Vaughn, in every aspect wanted to believe that Sydney would be coming out of it soon, but upon her return from surgery, she looked no better than she had when she had left. Her face and skin were still pale, and it even seemed like there were more tubes in her body then there had been previously. The general sight made his heart ache.

Vaughn came up to the opposite side of the bed and took her had once again. He sat down and stayed there. Not caring what Jack was thinking about his display of affection, not even acknowledging that he was even the room. It was just the two of them. He leaned back in his chair, never letting go of her hand. Slowly his eyelids closed, but in his mind, her face was still there.

He could visualize her perfectly. Her hair was brown as it always was, and her eyes too. In his dreams she had always been okay. Sloane was nonexistent, and the letters CIA seemed not to be in his vocabulary. The only problem was that her vision, was at first happy to him, but the smile began to fade. She turned away from him, pain was her only feeling. This emotion made her unreachable, and he was to only watch. Even in his dreams he was forced to watch her pain with no assistance.

Vaughn blinked his eyes open. The room was lit with the morning sunshine. He looked across the room. Jack was asleep. He turned his gaze back to Sydney. He wanted her so much. He hated his last dream for being so much like reality. He rubbed the hand that he so lovingly cradled and wished that his dream not come true. They were going to be together, happy and in love. Together, always.

* * *

The world was dark to Sydney's eyes. She found the darkness suffocating and frightening until she forced her eyelids open. She blinked a couple times trying to adjust. The room was still dark, but not as dark as it had been before. It was still however, suffocating. Sydney struggled to breathe, and soon found that there was something in her throat.

She attempted to raise her hands and find out what it was that was making it difficult to breathe, but she found they were tied. She panicked slightly, thinking of all those times she had been threatened with torture and interrogated, bound tightly to a chair. Her eyes scanned her surroundings again, but this time she spied something she had missed. It was Vaughn. He sat in a chair next to her, with his head in his hand as his arm lay on the chair's armrest. His other hand was barely resting on the bed however it remained not too far from where her hand lay.

Sydney relaxed slightly. Seeing something familiar was comforting, but she was still weary. At least she was until her father stepped into the room.

"Sydney!" he cried, as he rushed to the side opposite of Vaughn, carrying a cup of coffee. He set the coffee down and came to her side.

Vaughn awoke at this exclamation, automatically reaching for his gun. He calmed down when he saw what the cry was really about.

"Sydney, you're awake!" Vaughn said happily. Sydney tried to respond to their outcries but the tube made it difficult.

"Don't try and talk," Jack advised. "Vaughn," Jack said without looking at him. "Go get the doctor." Vaughn nodded and ran only as far as the door as he spied Dr. Eric Conner at the front desk. He called him over.

He put down the charts he had been looking at and came towards them at a fast walk. "She's awake!" Vaughn exclaimed as he entered the room.

Dr. Conner approached Sydney with a smile. "Impressive Ms. Bristow. Very impressive. That's got to be one of the fastest recoveries I've ever seen." Vaughn stayed back as Dr. Conner stood next to Sydney and checked all her vital signs. Vaughn was happy to see that the blue colored contacts that Sydney had been wearing had been removed to reveal her nature brown eyes.

Sydney attempted to make indications to the tube in her throat, without using her hands. He put his hand out to tell her to relax. "I know the tube is uncomfortable, Ms. Bristow. Just wait a second. It's not going to be anymore comfortable when it's removed." He finished looking over her and smiled.

"Everything looks good, Ms. Bristow. Alright, I'm going to untie your hands, but you have to promise not to try and remove the tube, okay?" Sydney nodded as well as she could, as Dr. Conner reached down to undo the left binding. Jack worked on the right. Sydney rubbed her wrists while moving her fingers.

"I know," Dr. Conner said shaking his head. "The straps are no fun, but it keeps people from causing more damage to themselves. We can't have people waking up and then attempting to yank the tube out of their throat. Especially if they're incapable of breathing without it.

"Do you feel alright?" he asked her. She nodded. "Do you want to try sitting up?" Again, she nodded. Dr. Conner reached for the keypad on the railing on the side of the bed, and pushed the bed up so that the bed was now at a fifty-degree angle. "Now, from our view of your respiratory habits, you are capable of breathing on your own. I'm going to remove the tube, but in doing so, the sides of the tube will tickle your throat, causing you to cough. Can you handle that? It may hurt your stomach wound."

Sydney's mind flashed back to the warehouse as she remembered what had happened. It was odd though, her chest hurt in more than one place. She however, shrugged it off. She had been through much worse in the past. She nodded to his question.

"Alright then. Open your mouth real wide, and try to keep your tongue out of the way." Dr. Conner grabbed his flashlight, and shined it down, looking past the tube, and gently began to pull it out. As soon as the end of it left her mouth, Sydney fell into a fit of coughing. Sydney grabbed her chest in the pain that wrenched threw her body, as her father and Vaughn watched on in anxiety.

Dr. Conner, seeing her pained expression, reached for the pillow on the empty bed next to them and gave it to Sydney, instructing her to hold it tightly to her abdomen as she coughed. Sydney did as he instructed, relaxing slightly as the coughing ceased and the pain her chest lessened with the help of the pillow.

"Thanks," she rasped, once the coughs had finally subsided.

Dr. Conner smiled at her. "No problem Sydney. You're one hell of a patient. If you keep your recovery rate up, you'll be outta here in no time."

Dr. Conner checked her vitals one more time, and listened to her take deep breaths in her chest. "Very good. Now, you two," he said turning to Jack and Vaughn. "Must not tire out the patient. The best thing she can do right now is rest. No liquids or outside food for the time being, we've got to let your stomach settle Ms. Bristow, before we try that."

Dr. Conner walked out the door, leaving the three alone. Jack looked down at his daughter. "You should get some rest," he said in his voice that would instantly demand the listener his respect. Sydney, however, could see the happiness in his eyes, and the bags under them.

Sydney looked at both of them. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Not until the two of you go home and take the same advice," she said, her voice still scratchy. "I've been out for--" she paused, looking at them to fill in the blank.

"Two days," Vaughn supplied.

"Two days," Sydney repeated, continuing, "I've gotten my rest. You need to get yours." Sydney said, starting to feel tired.

"Sydney," Jack said sternly.

"Not until I see you walk out that door, both of you," she said, yawning after that sentence.

"Alright," Vaughn amended. She may have been tired, but she was stubborn. He went to her side and took her hand. She looked back at him. She could see in her eyes that she was happy, but there was something else that seemed to flash through them, and that was despair. It scared him a little.

She gave him a shadow of a smile, and he kissed her forehead and headed to the door. He didn't want to leave, but she needed rest and for that he was willing to meet her terms.

Jack stayed by the door and gave her a long searching look before heading towards the door. "Take care, Sydney," he said and stepped out of the room. Sydney couldn't say she was surprised by his actions. Sydney's life had been completely void of her father's physical affection. Jack Bristow wasn't one to come up and kiss her on the cheek or even hug her in greeting or good-bye. She understood now, that in the times he wanted to, he didn't know how, but she knew how he felt in his heart.

Sydney settled back into bed, and was about to close her eyes, when Vaughn stuck his head back into the room.

"Sydney?" he asked. He needn't continue. Sydney knew what he was making reference to. She was however, to tired to talk about it now.

Sydney shook her head. "Later," she said.

Vaughn nodded unhappily. He wanted her to talk, to explain, why her spirit cried.

"Vaughn?" He looked up. "I love you." She said, looking him straight in the eye so that there was no way he could not know that her feelings were genuine.

He smiled with his heart on stage. "I love you too." Her eyes searched his and she gave him a contented smile as she settled back in her bed. Vaughn left with the grin still on his face.