The Way it Should Be

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Title: The Way It Should Be

Author: Jennifer

            e-mail: aliaswriter@hotmail.com

            AIM: aivilo313

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Post "The Telling" – begins a couple of minutes before the ending of the season finale and serves to release the angst and anguish that I am feeling over the fact that Vaughn is "married"- - please note that my words that are spilling out into this ultimately S/V story does not necessarily reflect my thoughts on what will occur in the next season.

Spoilers: All of Seasons One, Season Two, and whatever flashbacks that may pop into my head related to those seasons. (Obviously until "The Telling")

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3.

He was not surprised when he saw the first stretcher being lifted into the ambulance that waited in the driveway but felt a little thrill of terror when he saw the second. He raced towards the man overseeing the process, his heart somehow drumming within his ribcage telling him that he had made some sort of mistake, that he had been an idiot not to check the entire house because of his supposed gut instincts.

Sydney must have been in one of the other rooms, must have been too weak to call out his name. Or… the thought froze him as he realized the sheets on both the stretchers covered the bodies of the people it held. Standing in the middle of the yard, his head shook the word 'no' because his mind would not mouth it. Sydney couldn't be dead- she couldn't have left him, it was impossible because she was much too alive to ever die-

Despite all his worrying when she was on her missions, he had always believed, deep in a part of his heart that he never told of to anyone, that she was somehow immortal.

He turned to the officer, standing there. "Is she dead?"

The man turned to him with a quizzical look on his face. "I was told that you were the one who had found her, Agent Vaughn. Yes, she is."

His heart plummeted to the ground, was swallowed up entirely by the horror that swept his body and throttled him. "Oh my God, Sydney, oh my God."

He realized that the man hadn't stopped talking. "He's alive though."

Vaughn's ears perked. "He?"

"Yeah, the other stretcher, the one that was in the bathtub." Vaughn didn't know how to feel; he strode towards the other stretcher and gingerly lifted the sheets.

Will.

His lying there provoked feelings that Vaughn hadn't known that he had towards the other man. He had known the feelings of jealousy that coursed through his veins when he saw him with Sydney and admiration for his knowledge and skill but- this kind of sadness was new.

He turned and saw Jack standing behind him. "He was in the bathtub?"

"Yes. Sloane's idea of a sick joke I suppose."

Vaughn nodded helplessly before turning back. Realizing now that the "she" the officer had referred to was Francie, new resolve began to form within him. "Has the CIA ordered all the surveillance from the traffic cameras? Posted more warnings? The spot where Sydney was was still warm when I touched it. They had to have left a couple minutes at the most before I came."

Jack nodded. "I've ordered all the footage already and we have 14 analysts that we've pulled away from other assignments working on what we have."

Vaughn turned and saw that he was right. Every light in the apartment was lit though the light seemed more intrusive than it had ever been. He saw the shadows of the men and women walking back and forth, retracing the fight scene, scanning the provacillium, checking for DNA or further struggle—

He couldn't take it anymore and strode into the house. At least three people hunched over the spot where Sydney's body had been, dusting and lighting; when the lights were turned off and the black lights activated, the various blood spots stood out in a million tiny polka dots that made him feel sick to his stomach.

There was a tentative tap on his shoulder and Michael turned to see Marshall standing behind him.

"Yes Marshall?" Knowing how his mind worked, Vaughn couldn't help but feel that Marshall had to have something to lift his spirits up, that he must have somehow come up with some ingenious way of finding her.

"Mr. Vaughn- er Michael, I managed to pinpoint the time that she was taken."

Vaughn's eyebrows raised. "What? How could you do that?" It was impossible wasn't it, to pinpoint a time?

Marshall blushed with embarrassment, "Well, it's not perfect but I think that I have it to correct give or take three minutes."

Michael nodded. "And?"

Marshall led him to the spot where Francie had been lying when Vaughn entered the room. "Francie was here, shot from, as far as I can tell, where Sydney was lying on the other side of the room which can be confirmed by the amount of debris and the size of the bullet holes. After she fell, Sydney must have passed out." Michael nodded.

"Well, assuming that Francie's body temperature stayed at 98.6 because you know, that's the normal human body temperature and- of course you know this, everyone knows that because it's…just something that everyone would know but what I'm trying to say is – Wow I'm sweating now, I shouldn't be so nervous-. Anyway, my point is that as soon as we arrived, I took Francie's temperature and took it just now as she was being loaded into the ambulance. There was a difference of 5.7 degrees within in a span of 25 minutes."

He forced himself to concentrate.

"Using a simple temperature equation, a x b^x +c, c being the ambient temperature of the room which I saw was 78 degrees, Fahrenheit of course because it would be a sauna if it was 78 Celsius…more than a sauna- I don't really know, I have enough body fat so I don't need to go to saunas- ahem-, it's a very nice temperature I mean, I was able to make the equation to find out the base or the "b". Once I had the base, I solved for 98.6 which told me approximately how long she had been dead; now look at this."

Marshall began to calm down as he crouched towards the floor, motioning impatiently for Vaughn to follow suit.

The glowing blue dot that indicated a blood spatter was the focus of his attention and, seeming from nowhere, Marshall pulled out a magnifying glass and poised it over the dot. "Look at the way this drop spattered. That sort of pattern doesn't come from a drop of blood merely falling. See the way the edges on the left side reach out farther? That indicates that Sydney was being dragged out carried out-" Marshall pointed right at the open door.

"Bingo."

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"I want the surveillance feeds from every camera within a 50 mile radius." Vaughn's voice was strained with the tangled emotions of love and desperation; a combination that no one thought to mess with. The people in front of him merely nodded and went about their way to contact the necessary people.

As he looked around, he saw that he was now standing alone in the yard. The frenzy that had encompassed him had now moved to a separate location and he was left alone.

God Sydney… where are you?

He closed his eyes and let the breeze swim past him and engulf him in its utter coldness.

Please be safe. I'll find you.

TBC…

I know, I know, you guys are still waiting for the present section and Syd's reaction but I promise it will come!!!

This just needs to be said first (plus: You guys shouldn't be complaining too much seeing as how I'm not exactly leaving you to writhe in despair… I've been updating a chapter a day for goodness' sake! It's coming, it's coming!!! like 1-2 more chaps of flashbacks and you'll get your reaction… I'll make it up to you with a good S/V lovin' later)