~**~**~**~**~**~
Sydney stood back, too shocked for words. "W-w-w-what?" She stuttered.
"You heard me Sydney. I really don't think that it is necessary for me to repeat what I said."
"You shouldn't have said that. It can't be true anymore. You are with Alice now. And you're married."
"Sydney. Just because I am with Alice," Vaughn paused for a second, as if to remember his wife's name. "Doesn't mean I don't still love you. You were so much of my world that I just can't stop. You are part of me."
"Get. Out. Of. Here. You're married now Vaughn. You can't say those things any more to me."
"I never stopped loving you."
"Did you hear me? Get out of here."
"You're not being reasonable Syd."
"I said don't call me that."
"I'm sorry Sydney for telling you how I felt."
"You should have had Will come, or Weiss, or my father, or Dixon, even Kendall would have been a better choice than you!"
"The whole reason that you hate me is because you still love me. But when I tell you that I love you too, you scream at me and tell me to leave."
"Yes."
"Why Sydney?"
"Because you gave up enough hope that you got married to someone else."
"You're not being fair."
"Leave. I don't ever want to talk to you again unless we're at work."
"If you ever show up again."
"Maybe I'm sick of work ok? Work caused me to lose two years of my life, like you lose change in the couch. But people steel money. And maybe that is what happened in those past two years, someone stole them, but I don't know. And the reality is I will never know what happened to me. Now just get out of here."
"Sydney."
"Get out of my apartment." She spat. Vaughn took one last look at Sydney before leaving. "And tell everyone at work that I'm ok, and don't need their pity!" She shouted to his retreating back. The minute the door shut, Sydney crumbed in her own self pity. She had kicked him out. He was in her apartment professing his undying love for her, and she kicked him out. Smooth. But he was standing just there. Saying those three magic words that every girl longs to hear. Meaning only one thing. There was a ray of hope. But she couldn't capture it. She could do nothing with the tiny ray. Vaughn was the only one that could do anything with it.
Sydney suddenly had a new reason to work harder for Sloane. But suddenly it became all the harder to work. He would figure it out. And what would getting two years back do? Yes they would be together, but Sydney would always feel the guilt that she betrayed her country, she killed people, all for the relationship to work. Telling Vaughn what she did would just push him away. And the cost was too great. She loved him. She loved him with every fiber that was her. But she had reason to work harder. She had a reason. And even if the reason wasn't the best, it was better than none.
It was the first night in three months she didn't cried herself to sleep.