Chapter Four:  Reunion

"Sydney?  Sydney? Wake up!"

Sydney opened her eyes and saw the most beautiful thing in her life. Vaughn.  He was leaning over her, gently shaking her awake. 

"Nice to have you back Sleeping Beauty."  He said giving her a brilliant smile that would have made any male supermodels jealous even with the cuts and bruises currently marring it.

She wanted to hug him but realized that she was immobile.  "Vaughn, why can't I move?"  She asked frustrated.

"Don't worry; give it a few more minutes."  He said sitting her upright and began briskly rubbing her arms and legs to get the circulation going.

"Where are we?"  Sydney asked wishing that she could feel his hands.  It was the longest length of time that he had touched her and she couldn't feel it.

"I was hoping that you could tell me.  What is the last thing you remember?"  Vaughn asked giving her a rueful smile.

"I remember I was talking to Sark and then, the son of bitch shot me!"  She said angrily remembering.

"I didn't notice any gunshot wounds under your clothes.  I mean when I checked you over…for wounds, checked you over for wounds.   Not for any perverted reasons or anything."  Vaughn stammered blushing.

Sydney laughed.  Once she started, she couldn't stop.  Vaughn joined her.  It lasted for a full 5 minutes.  Sydney found herself cuddled up in Vaughn's lap with his face inches from hers.  The laughter evaporated in the sexual tension.  Her hand came up to push her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture.

"You can move."  Vaughn said breaking out of their trance.  His voice was slightly husky.

"Yes."  Sydney said not knowing what else to say.  "Oh!"  Realizing that she was sitting on his lap she scrambled off of him.  She shakily got to her feet.

 "Sark must have shot me with a tranquilizer."  Sydney said.

"Do you remember anything else?  Do you know how we got here?"  Vaughn asked her gently.

"No, the last thing I remember is Sark."  Sydney's eyes widen as a fuzzy memory invaded her consciousness.  She touched her lip trying to decipher if it was just a hallucination or a memory. 

"What?  What is it?"  Vaughn ask concerned. 

"No, it must have been the drugs."  She said distractedly.

"What must have been the drugs?"  Vaughn repeated confused.

"Promise not to laugh?"  Sydney demanded.

"Yes"  Vaughn acquiesced.

"I think he kissed me."  Sydney said unsure if the memory was real or not.

"What?  Who kissed you?"  Vaughn asked still confused.

"Sark."  She spitted out as if it was a dirty word.

"Sark?!!  Sark kissed you? Are you sure?"  Vaughn asked incredulous.

"No, it's really fuzzy.  Maybe the drugs have a hallucinogenic compound to it.  What was the last thing you saw?"  Sydney asked Vaughn trying to change the subject.

"I saw you.  You were leaning over me and you said that Sydney will need me soon."  Vaughn said.

Sydney ignored the sexual connotations to the remark. 

"It was the drug.  The last time I saw you, it was through the glass opening in the door.  Vaughn, I…."

Vaughn squeezed her shoulder.

"It's all over Sydney, we're both alive."

"But if anything had happened to you…" She moved away.

"But nothing did.  We're both alive."  Vaughn insisted.

"How did you escape the room when it filled up with water?"  Sydney asked.

"There was a vent.  I crawled out through it but I got caught trying to look for you.  Then the next thing I remember is hearing voices and people's faces covered in surgical masks.  When I saw you I thought that maybe I'd died.  Next time I came to, I was here.  I couldn't move for a while but once I could I saw you and tried to wake you up.  Do you think that your friend Will is ok?"  Vaughn asked as bits and pieces began to fall together and he could think again.

"Yes, Sark told me that the exchange went well."  Sydney assured him.

"And you believe him?"  Vaughn asked wondering how much time Sydney and Sark spent together.

"He had no reason to lie since he knew that we were going to be let go."  Sydney said confidently.

"Sydney, what happened since your capture?"  Vaughn as an ugly suspicion came over him.

"Vaughn, my mother is still alive."  Sydney said as if just remembering.

"What?!!  How is that possible?"  Vaughn exclaimed forgetting about Sark.

"That's not all.  'The Man' is my mother."  Sydney revealed further not quite fully absorbing the information herself.

"What?!!"  Vaughn didn't think he could take anymore surprises.

"She is the head of the organization that took down the head of FTL and K-directorate."  Sydney explained dully.

"Are you sure?"  Vaughn asked gently noticing her sadness.

"Yes.  She came into the room when I was tied to a chair and she said was that she'd been waiting thirty years for this moment.  No apology, no remorse, nothing."  Sydney said sadly.

"I've been waiting 30 years for this moment."  Irena said walking closer. "And to think that I could have prevented you from destroying the device!"  She punched Sydney in the face.  "You've been a naughty little girl haven't you?  Who do you work for?"

"Did we matter to you at all?" Sydney asked not being able to resist asking.

Irina punched her again. "Who do you work for?" She repeated.

"How could you abandon your husband and daughter?  How could you betray our country and kill the Agents who's only job was to protect it.  They had families too!  One of the men you killed was named Vaughn.  He was a good man and he had wife and son."

"Enough!  I do not have time for this.  You do not understand and I don't have time to explain everything to you.  Another time perhaps.  Now who do you work for?" Irina asked again.

"Go to hell!"  Sydney spat out not answering her question.

"After I told her to go to hell, I blacked out.  She must have hit me again."  Sydney said to Vaughn.

"Sydney, I'm sorry."  Vaughn said sympathetically.

"It's ok, that woman isn't my mother.  My mother is dead; she died in a car crash.  That woman is a traitor to our country."  Sydney said vehemently.

Vaughn decided it was time to change the subject.  "So how does Sark come into the picture?"

"Vaughn, do you believe in alternate realities?"  Sydney asked.

"No, why?"  Vaughn answered wondering what she was getting at.

"What happened with Sark is straight from the twilight zone.  The short version is that he let me escape, caught me, made me breakfast, fixed me up, and then offered me a job."

"Ms. Bristow…"Sark began.

"Damn it, my name Sydney, just call me Sydney." Sydney said annoyed.

"Sydney, you are a very talented individual and this organization wants the best."  Sark complimented.

"If you're offering me a job, you can forget it.  It'll be snowing in hell before that happens." Sydney retorted throwing the offer in his face.

"Please, hear me out.  I know that you are a double agent for SD-6 and the CIA.  We have a common goal, to bring down SD-6.  It will take us a quarter of the time if we work together." Sark said laying his cards on the table.

"And what makes you think that the CIA will go along with this even if I do?" Sydney asked suspiciously.

"We have never acted against the CIA and we don't intend to. They do not interest us." Sark said simply.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?" Sydney asked irked by Sark's arrogance.

"I understand that you may need time to make a decision."  Sark replied realizing that Sydney was in no mood to make decisions.

"I don't need any time at all.  You can take your offer and…"

There was a muffle pop as something hit Sydney in the arm.  Everything was going black.

"Until we meet again, Sydney." Sark said catching Sydney as she fell and placed a kiss on her lips.

"The last part must have been the drugs but I'm certain he offered me a job.  Why are you looking at me like that?"  Sydney asked as she notices the worry in Vaughn's eyes.

 "Sydney, if the CIA knows about the offer, they will want you to accept."  Vaughn explained.

"What are you talking about?  I thought we had a 'we don't negotiate with terrorists' rule."  Sydney said not wanting to accept such a horrible possibility.

"No one knows anything about them.  They don't even have a name.  All we know is that they have the resources to take down the head of two powerful organizations and damage a third one all in a week."  Vaughn pointed out.

"So what are you saying?  You want me to accept it?"  Sydney asked horrified.

"It's not about what I want."  Vaughn said looking away from her.

"Then you want me to not tell the CIA about it?"  Sydney said quietly.

Their conversation was cut short as the door opened and Jack Bristow rushed in.